Then the angel said to me, "Write this:
Blessed are those who have been called
to the wedding feast of the Lamb."


RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18
Benedic, anima mea, Domino.

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward his children's children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!


ALLELUIA          Cf. Mt 11:25
Benedictus es, Pater, Domine caeli et terrae, quia mysteria regni parvulis revelasti.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.


GOSPEL          Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed,
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for your selves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

From a Sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot
(Cap. 14, 109-110; Acta Sanctorum Febr.1, 769)

I Am With Him in Tribulation

I am with him in tribulation, says God. Shall I then seek anything here below apart from tribulation? For me it is good to cling to God, and also to put my hope in the Lord God, because he has said: I will rescue him and glorify him.

I am with him in tribulation. My delight, he says, is to be with the sons of men – Emmanuel, God with us. He himself descended to be near those who are saddened in spirit, to be with us in our tribulation. One day we shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord – provided, however, that we are concerned here below to have him with us, as our companion on the journey, who will restore us to our true country or, better, as one who is now our way and our true country hereafter.

It is good for me to be sad, O Lord, as long as you are with me, rather than to be a king apart from you, to feast without you, to boast without you. It is better for me to embrace you in tribulation, to have you with me in the furnace, than to be without you in heaven. For what do I have in heaven apart from you? What have I desired on earth? Gold is tested in the furnace, and the just by the trial of tribulation. There, yes there, you are present with them, Lord. You are there in the midst of those gathered in your name, as you were once with the three young men in the fiery furnace.

Why are we afraid, why do we hesitate, why do we flee from this furnace? The fire rages, but the Lord is with us in tribulation. If God is with us who can be against us? And if he then rescues us, who will steal us from his hand? Lastly, if he honors us, who can dishonor us? If he honors us, who can humiliate us?

I will fill him with length of days. It is as if he said more clearly: I know what he desires, I know what he thirsts for, and what he likes. He likes neither silver nor gold, pleasure nor curiosity, nor any of the honors of the world. All this he considers as loss; all this he despises, counting it as dung. He has totally emptied himself, and he does not allow himself to be concerned with things he knows can never satisfy him. He knows in whose image he has been made, of what greatness he is capable; he does not strive to raise himself up only to be cut down from the highest state.

So I will fill him with length of days, for only the true light can refresh, only the eternal can fill him. Indeed this length of days has no end, this light knows no setting, and this fullness can never turn to disgust.


RESPONSORY          
For the law of God this holy man enganged in combat even unto death.
He feared no wicked threats;
- his faith was founded on solid rock, alleluia.

He renounced earthly joys,
and so gained the kingdom of heaven.
- His faith was founded on solid rock, alleluia.


COLLECT
May your Church rejoice, O God,
confident in the intercession of the Martyr Saint Pancras,
and by his glorious prayers
may she persevere in devotion to you
and stand ever firm.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.