June 2025: St Columba
Entrance Antiphon (Cf. Psalm 138:9-10)
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,
your right hand hold me fast.
Collect
Almighty God,
who filled the heart of Saint Columba with the joy of the Holy Spirit
and with deep love for those in his care; grant, by his intercession,
that your pilgrim people may follow him, strong in faith, sustained by hope,
and one in the love that binds us to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First Reading: Romans 12:1-2, 9-13
Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other.
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.
Alternative First Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
We are ambassadors for Christ.
The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.
From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:2-3, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15. R/. v. 11
Response: Those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
- I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. R/.
- Revere the Lord, you his
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing. R/.
- Come, children, and hear me
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life
and many days, to enjoy his prosperity? R/.
- Then keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking Turn aside from evil and do good; seek and strive after peace. R/.
Gospel Acclamation: Psalm 129:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word. Alleluia!
Gospel Reading: Matthew 8:18-27
Follow me.
When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go’. Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’.
Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first’. But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead’.
Then Jesus got into the boat followed by his disciples. Without warning a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the waves were breaking right over the boat. But he was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are going down!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the seas; and all was calm again. The men were astounded and said, ‘Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him’.
Alternative Gospel
Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 5:3
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!
Gospel Reading: Matthew 19:27-29
You who have followed me will be repaid a hundred times over.
Peter said to Jesus: ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.’
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, in your goodness receive these gifts and through the prayers of Saint Columba make us ever worthy to serve you.
Through Christ our Lord.
Preface
V/. The Lord be with you. R/. And also with you.
V/. Lift up your hearts.
R/. We lift them up to the Lord.
V/. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R/. It is right to give him 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, and to offer you fitting praise
as we honour Saint Columba.
For you gave him joy in all the works of your hands and from his youth he delighted in your praise making songs to the glory of your name.
With your gift of wisdom he guided many in holiness, charity and fidelity
along the pathways to heaven.
And answered your call to become for Christ a pilgrim from his native land,
so that those who dwelt across the seas might hear the Gospel of peace.
And so, with archangels and angels, with all the heavenly host,
we proclaim your glory
and join in their unending chorus of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy …
Communion Antiphon (Cf. Colossians 3:14-15)
Clothe yourselves with love and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Prayer after Communion
As we have received from you, Lord, the blessing of your holy gifts,
we pray that, at the intercession of Saint Columba, their healing power
may work within us in body, mind and spirit. Through Christ our Lord.
Solemn Blessing
May the Lord be a sure path beneath your feet, a bright light before you,
a kindly shepherd behind you; this day, this night and always. R/. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, H and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain for ever.
R/. Amen.