ENTRANCE ANTIPHONDt 32:10-12
Circumduxit eam Dominus et docuit; et custodivit quasi pupillam oculi sui. Sicut aquila expandit alas suas, et assumpsit eam, atque portavit in humeris suis. Dominus solus dux eius fuit.
The Lord led her and taught her,
and kept her as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle spreading its wings
he took her up and bore her on his shoulders.
The Lord alone was her guide.
COLLECT
Deus, qui regnum tuum humilibus parvulisque disponis, fac nos beatae Teresiae tramitem prosequi confidenter, ut, eius intercessione, gloria tua nobis reveletur aeterna.
O God, who open your Kingdom
to those who are humble and to little ones,
lead us to follow trustingly in the little way of Saint Thérèse,
so that through her intercession
we may see your eternal glory revealed.
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 READINGIsaiah 66:10-14
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
Exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
That you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like
an overflowing torrent.
As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
As a mother comforts her son,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
and your bodies flourish like the grass;
The LORD's power shall be known to his servants.
RESPONSORIAL PSALMPs 131:1bcde,2,3
Custodi animam meam in pace apud te, Domine.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
ALLELUIAMatthew 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.
GOSPELMatthew 18:1-4
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
In beata Teresia te, Domine, mirabilem praedicantes, maiestatem tuam suppliciter exoramus, ut, sicut eius tibi grata sunt merita, sic nostrae servitutis accepta reddantur officia.
As we proclaim your wonders in Saint Thérèse, O Lord,
we humbly implore your majesty,
that, as her merits were pleasing to you,
so, too, our dutiful service may find favor in your sight.
Through Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Matthew 18:3
Dicit Dominus: Nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum caelorum.
Thus says the Lord:
Unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Sacramenta quae sumpsimus, Domine, illius in nobis vim amoris accendant, quo beata Teresia se tibi addixit, tuamque cupiit miserationem pro omnibus impetrare.
May the Sacrament we have received, O Lord,
kindle in us the force of that love
with which Saint Thérèse dedicated herself to you
and longed to obtain your mercy for all.
Through Christ our Lord.
BENEDICTUS (Canticle of Zechariah) Antiphon: Unless you change your lives and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Evening Prayer
MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary) Antiphon: Rejoice and be glad, for your names are written in heaven.
COLLECT
O God, who open your Kingdom
to those who are humble and to little ones,
lead us to follow trustingly in the little way of Saint Thérèse,
so that through her intercession
we may see your eternal glory revealed.
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.
Office of Readings
SECOND READING
From the autobiography of St Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin
Manuscrits autobiographiques, Lisieux 1957, 227-229
In the heart of the church I will be love
Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of St. Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance the 12th and 13th chapters of the 1st epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace.
I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: "Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others." For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.
When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognised myself in none of the members which St. Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favourably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realised that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting.
Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.
RESPONSORYSee Ps 21:4l Job 31:18; Eph 3:18; Ps 31:20
From the very beginning, God, you came to me with your love,
which has grown since my childhood.
- Its depths I cannot fully grasp.
O Lord, how great is the goodness
you have stored up for those who fear you.
- Its depths I cannot fully grasp.
COLLECT
O God, who open your Kingdom
to those who are humble and to little ones,
lead us to follow trustingly in the little way of Saint Thérèse,
so that through her intercession
we may see your eternal glory revealed.
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.