ENTRANCE SONG 1 Cor. 2:2
Non iudicavi me scire aliquid inter vos, nisi Iesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum
I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except for Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
COLLECT
Impetret nobis, Domine, gratiam tuam beatus presbyter Paulus, qui unico crucem amore dilexit, ut, eius exemplo vividius incitati, crucem nostram fortiter amplectamur.
May the Priest Saint Paul,
whose only love was the Cross,
obtain for us your grace, O Lord,
so that, urged on more strongly by his example,
we may each embrace our own cross with courage.
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.
FIRST READING1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written:I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.
Where is the wise one?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age?
Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
For since in the wisdom of God
the world did not come to know God through wisdom,
it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation
to save those who have faith.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM117:1bc, 2
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples! R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
ALLELUIAMt 5:6
Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam quoniam ipsi saturabuntur.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
GOSPELJohn 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay each one according to his conduct.".
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Respice quas offerimus hostias, omnipotens Deus, in commemoratione beati Pauli, et praesta, ut, qui dominicae passionis mysteria celebramus, imitemur quod agimus.
Look, upon the sacrificial gifts we offer, almighty God,
in commemoration of Saint Paul of the Cross
and grant that we who celebrate the mysteries of the Lord's Passion
may imitate what we now enact.
Through Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON1 Cor. 1:23-24
Nos praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Christum, Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam.
We proclaim Christ crucified;
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Deus, qui crucis mysterium in beato Paulo mirabiliter illustrasti, concede propitius, ut, ex hoc sacrificio roborati, Christo fideles haereamus, et in Ecclesia ad salutem omnium operemur.s
O God, who in Saint Paul
have wonderfully made known the mystery of the Cross,
graciously grant
that, drawing strength from this sacrifice,
we may cling faithfully to Christ
and labor in the Church for the salvation of all.
Through Christ our Lord.
From a letter by St. Paul of the Cross, priest
(Epist. 1, 43; 2, 440. 825)
We preach Christ crucified
It is very good and holy to consider the passion of our Lord and to meditate on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In this most holy school we learn true wisdom, for it was there that all the saints learned it. Indeed when the cross of our dear Jesus has planted its roots more deeply in your hearts, then will you rejoice: "To suffer and not to die," or, "Either to suffer or to die," or better: "Neither to suffer, nor to die, but only to turn perfectly to the will of God."
Love is a unifying virtue which takes upon itself the torments of its beloved Lord. It is a fire reaching through to the inmost soul. It transforms the lover into the one loved. More deeply, love intermingles with grief, and grief with love, and a certain blending of love and grief occurs. They become so united that we can no longer distinguish love from grief nor grief from love. Thus the loving heart rejoices in its sorrow and exults in its grieving love.
Therefore, be constant in practicing every virtue, and especially in imitating the patience of our dear Jesus, for this is the summit of pure love. Live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy. For if a man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through a patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to his will.
When you become true lovers of the Crucified, you will always celebrate the feast of the cross in the inner temple of the soul, bearing all in silence and not relying on any creature. Since festivals ought to be celebrated joyfully, those who love the Crucified should honor the feast of the cross by enduring in silence with a serene and joyful countenance, so that their suffering remains hidden from men and is observed by God alone. For in this feast there is always a solemn banquet, and the food presented is the will of God, exemplified by the love of our crucified Christ.
RESPONSORYGalatians 6:14; Habakkuk 3:18
God forbid that I should boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Through it the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will exult in God my Savior.
- Through it the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
COLLECT
May the Priest Saint Paul,
whose only love was the Cross,
obtain for us your grace, O Lord,
so that, urged on more strongly by his example,
we may each embrace our own cross with courage.
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.