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TWENTY-SECOND OF JUNE
FEAST OF SAINT JOHN FISHER & THOMAS MORE, MARTYRS
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ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
The souls of the Saints are rejoicing in heaven,
the Saints who followed the footsteps of Christ,
and since for love of him they shed their blood,
they now exult with Christ for ever.
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GLORIA
LATIN
Gloria in excelsis Deo
et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
Laudamus te,
benedicimus te,
adoramus te,
glorificamus te,
gratias agimus tibi propter
magnam gloriam tuam,
Domine Deus,
Rex cælestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili Unigenite,
Iesu Christe,
Domine Deus,
Agnus Dei,
Filius Patris,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,
miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus,
tu solus Dominus,
tu solus Altissimus,
Iesu Christe,
cum Sancto Spiritu:
in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen.
ENGLISH
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father,
Lord Jesus Christ,
Only Begotten Son,
Lord God,
Lamb of God,
Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us,
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
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COLLECT
O God,
who in martyrdom
have brought true faith
to its highest expression
graciously grant that,
strengthened through the intercession
of Saints John Fisher
and Thomas More,
we may confirm by the witness of our life
the faith we profess with our lips.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God,
for ever and ever.
R.) Amen.
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FIRST READING
MACCABEES 6:18.21.24-31 †
A READING FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF MACCABEES
(I AM GLAD TO SUFFER BECAUSE THE AWE WHICH HE INSPIRES IN ME.)
Eleazar, one of the foremost teachers of the Law,
a man already advanced in years
and of most noble appearance,
was being forced to open his mouth wide to swallow pig’s flesh.
Those in charge of the impious banquet,
because of their long-standing friendship with him,
took him aside
and privately urged him to have meat brought of a kind he could properly use,
prepared by himself,
and only pretend to eat the portions of sacrificial meat
as prescribed by the king.
“Such pretence”
he said
“does not square with our time of life;
many young people would suppose that Eleazar
at the age of ninety
had conformed to the foreigners’ way of life,
and because I had played this part
for the sake of a paltry brief spell of life
might themselves be led astray on my account;
I should only bring defilement and disgrace on my old age.
Even though for the moment
I avoid execution by man,
I can never,
living or dead,
elude the grasp of the Almighty.
Therefore
if I am man enough to quit this life here and now
I shall prove myself worthy of my old age,
and I shall have left the young a noble example
of how to make a good death,
eagerly and generously,
for the venerable and holy laws.”
With these words
he went straight to the block.
His escorts,
so recently well disposed towards him,
turned against him after this declaration,
which they regarded as sheer madness.
Just before he died under the blows,
he groaned aloud and said,
“The Lord whose knowledge is holy
sees clearly that,
though I might have escaped death,
whatever agonies of body
I now endure under this bludgeoning,
in my soul
I am glad to suffer,
because of the awe which he inspires in me.”
This was how he died,
leaving his death as an example of nobility
and a record of virtue
not only for the young
but for the great majority
of the nation.
The word of the Lord.
R.) Thanks be to God.
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responsorialpsalmcatholic 