Churches of the Day

All the Saints of Ireland
Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.

Saints of the Day; Nov 6; ; All the Saints of Ireland
C/f A short review of today’s saints can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.     

FIRST READING

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews       11:2, 12:1-4, 15, 13:1
Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.

It was for faith that our ancestors were commended. With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started.

Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne.
Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death.

Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community. Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

The Word of the Lord.                 Thanks be to God.


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Alternative FIRST READING 

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus     44:1-15
Their name lives on for all generations.

Let us praise illustrious men, our ancestors in their successive generations.
The Lord has created an abundance of glory, and displayed his greatness from earliest times.
Some wielded authority as kings and were renowned for their strength;
others were intelligent advisers and uttered prophetic oracles.
Others directed the people by their advice, by their understanding of the popular mind,
and by the wise words of their teaching; others composed musical melodies, and set down ballads;
others were rich and powerful, living peacefully in their homes.

All these were honoured by their contemporaries, and were the glory of their day.
Some of them left a name behind them, so that their praises are still sung.
While others have left no memory, and disappeared as though they had not existed,
they are now as though they had never been, and so too, their children after them.

Here is a list of generous men whose good works have not been forgotten. In their descendants there remains a rich inheritance born of them. Their descendants stand by the covenants and, thanks to them, so do their children's children.
Their offspring will last for ever, their glory will not fade.
Their bodies have been buried in peace, and their name lives on for all generations.
The peoples will proclaim their wisdom, the assembly will celebrate their praises.

The Word of the Lord.             Thanks be to God.


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Responsorial Psalm           Ps 125: Rv 5
Response                                Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

1.Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion,
that cannot be shaken, that stands for ever.                           Response

2. Jerusalem! The mountains surround her,
so the Lord surrounds his people both now and for ever.   Response

3. For the sceptre of the wicked shall not rest over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just should turn to evil.         Response

4. Do good, Lord, to those who are good, to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil, drive them away!
On Israel, peace!                                                                          Response

Gospel Acclamation         Mt 11: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL             

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke           6: 20-26       Glory to you, O Lord.
Rejoice when that day comes, your reward will be great in heaven

Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you,
denounce your name as criminal,
on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven.

The Gospel of the Lord.           Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.


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Gospel Reflection          All the Saints of Ireland         Luke 6:20-26

The gospel reading for this feast of 'all the saints of Ireland' is the beatitudes as found in the gospel of Luke. They are less familiar to us that the beatitudes as found in Matthew, and, perhaps, more difficult to come to terms with. In what sense are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the persecuted, happy or blessed? They are happy because, according to Jesus, God is close to them and is working to reverse their miserable situation, ‘yours is the kingdom of God… you shall be satisfied… you shall laugh… your reward will be great in heaven’. Is it the case then that they should accept their plight in the hope that all will be well in the next life? Jesus’ words and actions in this gospel of Luke as a whole would not suggest so.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus is certainly poor, hungry and weeping. He had no one who tried to improve his situation, even though the rich man on the other side of the gate could have transformed his miserable state with just a little effort. Beyond death, God not only improved his situation, but completely reversed it. At the banquet of Abraham, he enjoyed the hospitality of the kingdom of God; he was satisfied and joyful. Yet, the clear message of the parable is that Lazarus should not have had to wait until after his death for his situation to be reversed. God wanted and expected the rich man to begin to do for Lazarus what God did for him in the kingdom of God.

Luke’s gospel as a whole is clear that God wants the work of reversing the situation of the most vulnerable to begin in the here and now. Throughout his ministry, Jesus powerfully revealed this hospitable, transformative, love of God to those who found themselves living on the margins. He looks to his disciples to do the same. The saints were those through whom God’s hospitable, welcoming, love began to transform the lives of those in greatest need. Because of their lives, the kingdom of God was not just a future hope but was also something of a present reality for those who longed for its coming.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings  : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saints of the Day: Nov 6th ; All our Irish saints.
The early Irish Martyrologies and the Stowe Missal give a firm basis for devotion to the saints of Ireland. The feast celebrates the gifts and the glory of God in his saints, their sharing in the paschal mystery of Christ, our communion with them in Christ, their example and their intercession for us, a pilgrim Church, the sustaining power of the Eucharist, the hope of eternal life.

Pope Benedict XV beatified Oliver Plunkett in 1920 and during his papacy (1914-22)  the 'Feast of All the Saints of Ireland' was instituted.  It recalls especially the seventeen Irish Martyrs of the 16th and 17th centuries who were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992 and many others who died as a result of persecution during what in Ireland are known as the "Penal Times".

Patrick Duffy comments on the significance of the feast.

Our Four Canonised Saints
Only four Irish saints: Ss Malachy (1094-1148), Lawrence O'Toole (1128-80) Oliver Plunkett (1625-81) and Charles of Mount Argus (1821-93), have been officially canonised. All the other Irish saints, such as Ss Patrick, Brigid, and Colmcille, are saints, as it were, by' acclamation' of the local Church, before the official papal canonisation process was established. Recently we have had quite a few beatifications.

Canonisation
"Canonisation" as a process can be said to have begun when the name of a martyr was included in the dyptichs (or prayer lists) proclaimed by the deacon during Mass. This process would have been overseen by the local Church authority, especially the bishop. Later the names of holy people who were not martyrs, such as Ss Hilarion and Ephrem the Syrian in the East, and Saints Martin of Tours and Hilary of Poitiers in the West, were included. But it was only in 1170 that Alexander III issued a decree arrogating to the Pope alone the right to declare a person a saint as regards the Church of the West. This was confirmed in 1200 by a bull of Pope Innocent III.

Other Irish 'Saints'
The scope of this feast, while it includes canonised saints, is wider. It also includes those who had a 'reputation for holiness' and whose causes for canonisation have not yet been completed, such as Bl. Thaddeus Mac Carthy (1455-92), the seventeen Irish martyrs of the 16th and 17th centuries, Bl Edmund Ignatius Rice (1762-1844), Bl Columba Marmion (1858-1923) and the Servant of God Matt Talbot (1856-1925) and people like Legion of Mary envoys Edel Quinn and Alfie Lamb, whose causes have already been introduced. But it also includes those whose lives of sanctity were known only to their families, friends or members of their parish diocese or religious community.

Exchange of Spiritual Goods
Like All Saints (1 Nov) and All Souls (2 Nov), this is a celebration of the' communio sanctorum,' that is, a sharing, not only of the "holy persons" (sancti and sanctae), but also of the "holy things" (sancta).
As the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium on the Church of Vatican II taught:
"So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the constant faith of the Church, this union is reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods" (LG 49).

Island of Saints and Scholars
 The reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15 echoes the theme of "the island of saints and scholars" which was so strong in Ireland in the first half of the twentieth century
Let us praise illustrious men (and women), our ancestors in their successive generations. The Lord has created an abundance of glory, and displayed his greatness from earliest times.

(The Book of Kells (image right>) is believed to have been created sometime around 800A.D, when Ireland was said to be the 'Island of Saints and Scholars'.) It can be viewed in Trinity College, Dublin

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Memorable Saying for Today

Every saint has a past & every sinner a future.

~ Oscar Wilde ~ 

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Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

FIRST READING 

A reading from the book of Wisdom       6:12-16
Wisdom is found by those who look for her.


Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her.     
Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them.
Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates.
Even to think about her is understanding fully grown; be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you.

She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.

The Word of the Lord.         Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm        Ps 62: 2-8
Response                            For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.

1. O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.                                  Response

2. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.                             Response

3. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.   Response

4. On my bed I remember you. On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.                         Response

SECOND READING             

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians     4:13-18
God will bring them with him those who have died in Jesus.

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord's own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord's coming will not have any advantage over those who have died.
At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

The Word of the Lord                Thanks be to God

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Shorter Form of the Second Reading

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians     4:13-14
God will bring them with him those who have died in Jesus.

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus:
God will bring them with him.

The Word of the Lord          Thanks be to God

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Gospel Acclamation               Mt 24:42
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know
the hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL 

The Lord be with you                     And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew    25:1-13           Glory to you, O Lord
The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: 'The kingdom of heaven will be like this:
Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps.

The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry,
"The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him."
At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, "Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out".
But they replied, "There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves".

They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. "Lord, Lord," they said "open the door for us."
But he replied, "I tell you solemnly, I do not know you".
So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.'

The Gospel of the Lord.              Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.