Saturday 14 November 2020
Saturday of week 32 in Ordinary Time
or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Office of Readings
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
________
Hymn
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
True reverence for the Lord
“I have not come to abolish the Law but to bring it to perfection” (cf Mt 5:17).
The Lord has summoned heaven and earth to witness his judgement of his people.
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Sion’s perfect beauty he shines.
Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.
Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgement of his people.
‘Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord has summoned heaven and earth to witness his judgement of his people.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will come to free you.
‘Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
‘For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.
‘Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
‘Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free you and you shall honour me.’
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will come to free you.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honour me.
But God says to the wicked:
‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds?
‘You who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,
‘you who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
‘Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honour me.
Psalm-prayer
Father, accept us as a sacrifice of praise, so that we may go through life unburdened by sin, walking in the way of salvation, and always giving thanks to you.
Or:
Father, because Jesus, your servant, became obedient even unto death, his sacrifice was greater than all holocausts of old. Accept the sacrifice of praise we offer you through him, and may we show the effects of it in our lives by striving to do your will until our whole life becomes adoration in spirit and truth.
________
℣. We never cease to pray for you.
℟. We ask God to fill you with knowledge of his will.
________
Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Daniel 12:1-13
A prophecy of the Last Day and of resurrection
The angel said to me:
‘At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who mounts guard over your people. There is going to be a time of great distress, unparalleled since nations first came into existence. When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book. Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace. The learned will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue, as bright as stars for all eternity.
‘But you, Daniel, must keep these words secret and the book sealed until the time of the End. Many will wander this way and that, and wickedness will go on increasing.’
Then I, Daniel, looked on and saw two others standing, one on the near bank of the river, one on the other. One said to the man dressed in linen who was standing further up the stream, ‘How long until these wonders take place?’ I heard the man speak who was dressed in linen, standing further up the stream: he raised his right hand and his left to heaven and swore by him who lives for ever, ‘A time and two times, and half a time; and all these things are going to happen when he who crushes the power of the holy people meets his end.’ I listened but did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what is to be the outcome?’ ‘Daniel,’ he said ‘go away: these words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the End. Many will be cleansed, made white and purged; the wicked will go on doing wrong; the wicked will never understand; the learned will understand. From the moment that the perpetual sacrifice is abolished and the disastrous abomination erected: one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who stands firm and attains a thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But you, go away and rest; and you will rise for your share at the end of time.’
Responsory
Lk 20:35-36,38
℟. Those who have been judged worthy of the resurrection from the dead are no longer subject to death.* They are like angels; they are sons of God, because they share in the resurrection.
℣. He is not God of the dead but of the living: for him they are all alive.* They are like angels; they are sons of God, because they share in the resurrection.
________
Second Reading
A sermon of the second century
Let us seek righteousness so that in the end we are saved
Let us therefore find ourselves among those who give thanks, those who have served God, and not among the wicked who are judged. Although I myself am a sinner in all things, and still ensnared by the devil, I aim for righteousness and hope to get close to it in the end; for I fear the judgement that is to come.
So, brothers and sisters, after we have heard the words of the God of truth, I read you this exhortation. I hope to turn your souls’ full attention to what has been written, so that you bring salvation not only to yourselves but to me as I read the word of God to you. I beg for this reward: that you should do penance wholeheartedly and thus bring salvation and life on yourselves. If we do this then we shall be able to show an example to all the young who want to turn their lives towards the love and goodness of God. And if someone sees our folly and tries to turn us from evil to righteousness, let us not be angry or indignant; for often when we do evil we do not pay attention to the fact – either from inner duplicity or from lack of faith – and our minds are clouded by our worthless desires.
Therefore let us be righteous so that in the end we may be saved. Blessed are those who obey these precepts: even if they suffer evil in this world for a short while, they will reap a harvest of eternal life. Let the good man not be saddened if he suffers present troubles: a blessed time awaits him, when he will be raised to life and will rejoice with his fathers through an untroubled eternity.
We should not be perturbed if we see the wicked living in comfort while the servants of God suffer want. Brothers and sisters, let us be firm in faith: in this life we are suffering trials that come from the living God, so that we may wear crowns in the next life. None of the righteous receive the fruits of their goodness instantly, but all have to wait for them. If it were otherwise, if God gave quick rewards for righteousness, then it would not be piety that drove us to good acts but a simple matter of business. We would see virtue not as a good thing but as a profitable thing. For this reason the judgement of God shakes a spirit that is not filled with righteousness and loads chains upon it.
To the one invisible God, the Father of truth, who sent us our saviour as the founder of our immortality and showed us the truth through him and the way to eternal life – to God be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Responsory
℟. Turn away from evil and do good,* for the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his friends.
℣. Do not fret because of the wicked; do not envy those who do evil,* for the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his friends.
________
Let us pray.
Defend us, Lord, against every distress
so that, unencumbered in body and soul,
we may devote ourselves to your service in freedom and joy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
(one) God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.