September 5th - The day in the Church's Calender we remember St.Teresa of Kolkata.
“He is the Life that I want to live, He is Light that I want to radiate. He is the Way to the Father. He is the Love with which I want to love. He is the Joy that I want to share. He is the Peace that I want to sow. Jesus is Everything to me. Without Him, I can do nothing.” Teresa of Kolkata
"To those who say they admire my courage, I have to tell them that I would not have any if I were not convinced that each time I touch the body of a leper, a body that reeks with a foul stench, I touch the same Christ I receive in the Eucharist."
PROPERS & READINGS FOR TODAY
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Mt 25:34-35
Come, you blessed of my Father, says the Lord:
I was thirsty and you gave me to drink;
behold, now I give you the water of everlasting life.
COLLECT
God, who called the virgin Saint Teresa
to respond to the love of your Son thirsting on the Cross
with outstanding charity to the poorest of the poor,
grant us, we beseech you, by her intercession,
to minister to Christ in our suffering brothers and sisters.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
1ST READING Isaiah 58:6-11: Share your bread with the hungry.
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me: to break unjust fetters, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break all yokes? Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin?
Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and the Lord’s glory come behind you. Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call, and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon. The Lord will always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never run dry.
The Word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM. PS. 33.
Response: I will bless the Lord at all times.
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Response: I will bless the Lord at all times
.
Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Response: I will bless the Lord at all times.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
Response: I will bless the Lord at all times.
ALLELUIA Cf. Mt 11:25:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
Alleluia!
THE GOSPEL: Matthew chapter 25:
verses 31 – 40.
When the Son of Man comes, whatever you have done to the very least
of my brothers and sisters,
you have done to me.
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.”
Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?”
And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me”.
The Gospel of the Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Receive, O God, the homage of our humble service,
which we present to you
on the Solemnity of Saint Teresa,
and grant that, by participation in this mystery,
our lives may burn with charity
and be consumed with zeal for the salvation of souls.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE Missionary of charity
The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For you granted Saint Teresa
a share in the thirst of your Son dying on the Cross,
making her a missionary of Charity:
she took upon herself the rejection of the poor
and, placing herself at their service,
she radiated the light of your merciful love.
And so, with the Angels and Archangels,
and with the great multitude of the Saints,
we sing the hymn of your praise,
as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy…
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mt 25:40
Amen, I say to you: Whatever you did
to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me, says the Lord.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
May the sacred mysteries we have received, O Lord our God, foster within us the fire of charity by which Saint Teresa, with a joyful spirit, served Jesus Christ your Son in the poor.
Through Christ our Lord.
Speak tenderly, let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting.
Always have a cheerful smile.
Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.
I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?”
Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery. St Teresa of Kolkata