SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
St Sylvester - 15thC fresco at MontepulcianoAbbot
St Peter of Alexandria with Christ - Byzantine frescoSAINT PETER OF ALEXANDRIA
Bishop and Martyr
DOUBLE / GREEN
God
so made the human mind that it remembers joys more easily than pains.
Man's very destiny is eternal joy, and joy is the life of his hope. But
for Christ's members, even pain has a vast meaning and dignity, because
it is the price by which Christ opened heaven, and the price He asks
every Christian to pay in imitation of Him. The Final Judgment will
reveal what use each soul has made of joy and of pain. During the past
year of worship, what increased sorrow for sin, what deepened love for
Our Lord, and what greater kindness to others, especially the poor and
forsaken, have prepared you for the joyous peace of heaven?
INTROIT Jer. 29:11, 12, 14
Said
the Lord: "I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You shall
call upon me and I will hear you, and I will bring you back from
captivity from all places."
Ps. 84:2. Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity.
V. Glory be . . .
GLORIA
COLLECT
O
Lord, stir up the wills of the faithful that they may be more eager to
seek the fruits of divine grace, and to discover in Your mercy greater
healing for their sinfulness. Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT SYLVESTER
Sylvester, of the noble Gozzolini family, was born in Italy in 1177. After making a distinguished record at the universities of Bologna and Padua, he was made a canon at Osimo, his native city. His inclination toward the contemplative life was strengthened by the sight of the dead body of a once handsome relative. "I am what he was," said Sylvester to himself, "and I will also be what he is." At the age of 50 he resigned his post and became a hermit. Many disciples came to him, and these he organized under the rule of St. Benedict. After his death the order became known as the Sylvestrines, especially noted for their spirit of poverty. Their founder died at the age of 90.
O
Most merciful God, You gave the holy abbot Sylvester his vocation to be
a hermit as he stood before an open grave, contemplating the vanity of
this world; and then later made his hidden life brilliant with merit.
May we imitate him in despising the pleasures of this life, so that we
may enjoy Your presence for all eternity.
Commemoration of SAINT PETER OF ALEXANDRIA
Patriarch
of Alexandria, Peter was martyred because of his orthodoxy in 310.
Eusebius wrote that Patriarch Peter was "a divine model of the Christian
teacher."
Almighty
God, look upon our weakness and the heavy burden we carry because of
our own deeds. Let the prayers of Your blessed martyr bishop Peter, in
heaven, be our protection. Through our Lord . . .
EPISTLE Col. 1:9-14
Brethren:
Therefore we also, from the day that we heard it, cease not to pray for
you and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will,
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: That you may walk worthy of
God, in all things pleasing; being fruitful in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God: Strengthened with all might
according to the power of his glory, in all patience and long-suffering
with joy, giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be
partakers of the lot of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the
Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the
remission of sins.
Gradual Ps. 43:8-9
You have freed us from those who afflict us, O Lord, and You have put to shame those who hate us. V. In God we will glory all the day, and praise Your name forever.
Alleluia, alleluia! Ps. 129:1-2
V. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer!
Alleluia!
GOSPEL Matt. 24:15-35
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: "When
therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth
let him understand. Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the
mountains: And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take
any thing out of his house: And he that is in the field, let him not go
back to take his coat. And woe to them that are with child and that
give suck in those days. But pray that your flight be not in the winter
or on the sabbath. For there shall be then great tribulation, such as
hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall
be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved:
but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.
"Then
if any man shall say to you, 'Lo here is Christ,' or 'there': do not
believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and
shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible)
even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. If therefore
they shall say to you, 'Behold he is in the desert': go ye not out.
'Behold he is in the closets': believe it not. For as lightning cometh
out of the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the
cowling of the Son of man be. Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall
the eagles also be gathered together.
"And
immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be
darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall
from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved. And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And then shall all tribes
of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And he shall send his
angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to
the utmost bounds of them.
"And
from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now
tender and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. So you
also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even
at the doors. Amen I say to you that this generation shall not pass
till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass: but my words
shall not pass."
CREED
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 129:1-2
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer, out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord.
SECRET
O
Lord, lend a responsive ear to our petitions. Receive the offerings and
prayers of Your people, and turn the hearts of us all towards Yourself,
so that we may be drawn from earthly desires to the joys of heaven.
Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT SYLVESTER
Commemoration of SAINT PETER OF ALEXANDRIA
O Lord, graciously accept the gifts we offer You in honor of Your blessed martyr bishop Peter, and help us find in them unending assistance. Through our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mark 11:24
Amen I say to you, all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come to you.
POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, cure the evil in our hearts by the healing power of the Sacrament we have received. Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT SYLVESTER
O
Lord, You have refreshed us at Your divine banquet. Grant that we may
now follow in the footsteps of the holy abbot Sylvester in order that we
may share Your bounteous reward with Your saints in Your glorious
kingdom.
Commemoration of SAINT PETER OF ALEXANDRIA
We
are refreshed by the reception of Your sacred Gift, O Lord, our God.
May the prayers of Your blessed martyr bishop Peter make us feel the
benefit of the sacred Rite we have performed. Through our Lord . . .
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