11th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST; SAINT BARTHOLOMEW; OUR LADY, HELP OF THE SICK

ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

 

Jose (Jusepe) de Ribera
The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew
Prado, Madrid
1639

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW

Apostle

OUR LADY HEALTH OF THE SICK

[Historical]

DOUBLE / GREEN  
INTROIT Ps. 67:6-7, 36 God is in His holy place. It is God who makes men dwell in unity in his house; it is He who gives power and strength to His people. Ps. 67:2. Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee before Him. V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
Almighty and eternal God, Your bounteous kindness exceeds the merits and fondest hopes of our prayers. Shower Your mercy upon us, forgive us the sins that strike fear in our consciences, and grant us the blessings we dare not presume to ask for. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
Bartholomew, a doctor in the Jewish law, was a dear friend of St. Philip the Apostle. Because Bartholomew was a man "in whom there was no guile," his mind was open to the truth. He went willingly with Philip to see Christ, and recognized the Saviour immediately as the Son of God. After having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost, Bartholomew evangelized Asia Minor, northwestern India, and Greater Armenia. In the latter country, while preaching to idolators, he was arrested and condemned to death.

Almighty and Eternal God, the feast of Your blessed apostle Bartholomew fills us with reverent and holy joy. Grant that Your Church may love the truths that he believed and preach the doctrines that he taught. Through our Lord . . .
 
 
EPISTLE I Cor. 15:1-10
Brethren: Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain.

GRADUAL Ps. 27:7, 1
My heart has trusted in God, and I have found help. I have thrived once again, and with all my will I shall give praise to Him.
V. To You, O Lord my God, I cry; be not deaf to me, nor depart from me.

Alleluia, alleluia! V. Ps. 80:2-3
Sing joyfully to God our helper, sing aloud to the God of Jacob. Play a pleasant psalm upon the harp. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Mark 7:31-37
At that time, Jesus went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to lay his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it. And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, "He hath done all things well; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 29:2-3
I will extol You, O Lord, for You have upheld me, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, I cried out to You, and You have healed me.

SECRET
 O Lord, look mercifully upon this service of ours that our gift may be acceptable to You and worthy of winning Your assistance for our weakness. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
O Lord, grant us Your blessings through the help of the blessed apostle Bartholomew, in whose memory we offer this Sacrifice of praise to celebrate his feast day. Through our Lord . . .
 
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Prov. 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first of all your fruits; and your barns shall be filled with abundance, and your presses shall run over with wine.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may we experience strength of mind and body from the Sacrament we have received. Let it restore health to both that we may glory in Your heavenly healing. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
We have received in Holy Communion the pledge of eternal salvation, O Lord. May it help us in this life and in the life to come through the prayers of Your blessed apostle Bartholomew. Through our Lord . . .

OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK

When Bishop Don Vasco de Quiroga wanted a statue of the Blesses Virgin for the Christian community of Patzcuaro, he persuaded a member of the Tarascan tribe to sculpt it for him.  Accustomed to fashioning idols, the Indian’s statue was well received and is the one that is now venerated as the miraculous image of Our Lady Health of the Sick.

For three centuries the little statue of Our Lady has been dearly loved and venerated by the Indians and the people of Patzcuaro.  Known for restoring peace, giving needed rain during droughts, restoring wells and spring, it has even dismissed epidemics.  But most of all, the Blessed Virgin is known as Nuestra Senora de la Salud, Our Lady, Health of the Sick, the worked of miracles and a guiding star for her faithful children. 

Prayer

Virgin, most holy, Mother of the Word Incarnate, Treasurer of graces, and Refuge of sinners, I fly to your motherly affection with lively faith, and I beg of you the grace ever to do the will of God.

Into your most holy hands I commit the keeping of my heart, asking you for health of soul and body, in the certain hope that you, my most loving Mother, will hear my prayer.

Into the bosom of your tender mercy, this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body.

To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of your Divine Son. Amen.