In those places where this Memorial is observed as a Solemnity or Feast, please use the texts found in the Common of Apostles with the proper texts below.
INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Lord, + open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
The antiphon is repeated. In individual recitation, the antiphon may be said only at the beginning of the psalm; it need not be repeated after each strophe.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
O Barnabas, the Apostles’ friend,
who shared their labors zealously
and helped them in their saving work,
receive our praise and humble prayer.
Through those great messengers of Christ
an age of deepest joy arose,
a lasting age of truth and peace,
of gladness only Christ can give.
And since their burdens you have shared,
to heaven you are borne aloft;
like them you shine in glory now,
exalted in their pow’r on high.
You once were sower of the Light,
so by the Sun, the living Christ,
bring seeds to harvest everywhere,
to fill the barns of heaven’s store.
When with the apostolic band
you stand beside the sov’reign judge,
obtain release from all our debts
and gain for us God’s healing grace.
All glory to the Three in One;
and may they grant us to rejoice
with you and all the heav’nly hosts
for ever in their great reward. Amen.
Tune: ST. VENANTIUS, 8 8 8 8
Music: Rouen church melody, 1728
or Mode III, melody 54; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983*
Text: O vir beate, Apostolis, Anselmo Lentini, O.S.B., 1901-1989, © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.
Psalm 44
The misfortune of God’s people
We triumph over all these things through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
I
We heard with our own ears, O God, *
our fathers have told us the story
of the things you did in their days, *
you yourself, in days long ago.
To plant them you uprooted the nations: *
to let them spread you laid peoples low.
No sword of their own won the land; *
no arm of their own brought them victory.
It was your right hand, your arm *
and the light of your face: for you loved them.
It is you, my king, my God, *
who granted victories to Jacob.
Through you we beat down our foes; *
in your name we trampled down our aggressors.
For it was not in my bow that I trusted *
nor yet was I saved by my sword:
it was you who saved us from our foes, *
it was you who put our foes to shame.
All day long our boast was in God *
and we praised your name without ceasing.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.
Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.
II
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us: *
you no longer go forth with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe *
and our enemies plunder us at will.
You make us like sheep for the slaughter *
and scatter us among the nations.
You sell your own people for nothing *
and make no profit by the sale.
You make us the taunt of our neighbors, *
the laughing stock of all who are near.
Among the nations, you make us a byword, *
among the peoples a thing of derision.
All day long my disgrace is before me: *
my face is covered with shame
at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer, *
at the sight of the foe and avenger.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.
Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.
III
This befell us though we had not forgotten you; *
though we had not been false to your covenant,
though we had not withdrawn our hearts; *
though our feet had not strayed from your path.
Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows *
and covered us with the shadow of death.
Had we forgotten the name of our God *
or stretched out our hands to another god
would not God have found this out, *
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
It is for you that we face death all day long *
and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep? *
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
Why do you hide your face from us *
and forget our oppression and misery?
For we are brought down low to the dust; *
our body lies prostrate on the earth.
Stand up and come to our help! *
Redeem us because of your love!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, rise up and come to our aid; with your strong arm lead us to freedom, as you mightily delivered our forefathers. Since you are the king who knows the secrets of our hearts, fill them with the light of truth.
Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.
Lord, to whom shall we go?
— You have the words of eternal life.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the book of Joshua
5:13—6:21
The enemy’s most powerful city is destroyed
While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or of our enemies?” He replied, “Neither. I am the captain of the host of the Lord and I have just arrived.” Then Joshua fell prostrate to the ground in worship, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of the host of the Lord replied to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy.” And Joshua obeyed.
Now Jericho was in a state of siege because of the presence of the Israelites, so that no one left or entered.
And to Joshua the Lord said, “I have delivered Jericho and its king into your power. Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, with seven priests carrying ram’s horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. When they give a long blast on the ram’s horns and you hear that signal, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and they will be able to make a frontal attack.”
Summoning the priests, Joshua, son of Nun, then ordered them to take up the ark of the covenant with seven of the priests carrying ram’s horns in front of the ark of the Lord. And he ordered the people to proceed in a circle around the city, with the picked troops marching ahead of the ark of the Lord.
At this order they proceeded, with the seven priests who carried the ram’s horns before the Lord blowing their horns, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. In front of the priests with the horns marched the picked troops; the rear guard followed the ark, and the blowing of horns was kept up continually as they marched. But the people had been commanded by Joshua not to shout or make any noise or outcry until he gave the word: only then were they to shout. So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going once around it, after which they returned to camp for the night.
Early the next morning, Joshua had the priests take up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests bearing the ram’s horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Ahead of these marched the picked troops, while the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, and the blowing of horns was kept up continually. On this second day they again marched around the city once before returning to camp; and for six days in all they did the same.
On the seventh day, beginning at daybreak, they marched around the city seven times in the same manner; on that day only did they march around the city seven times. The seventh time around, the priests blew the horns and Joshua said to the people, “Now shout, for the Lord has given you the city and everything in it. It is under the Lord’s ban. Only the harlot Rahab and all who are in the house with her are to be spared, because she hid the messengers we sent. But be careful not to take, in your greed, anything that is under the ban; else you will bring upon the camp of Israel this ban and the misery of it. All silver and gold, and the articles of bronze or iron, are sacred to the Lord. They shall be put in the treasury of the Lord.”
As the horns blew, the people began to shout. When they heard the signal horn, they raised a tremendous shout. The wall collapsed, and the people stormed the city in a frontal attack and took it. They observed the ban by putting to the sword all living creatures in the city: men and women, young and old, as well as oxen, sheep and asses.
RESPONSORY
See Isaiah 25:1, 2; Hebrews 11:30
O Lord, you are my God:
I will extol you and praise your name.
— You have reduced the city to a heap of stones,
never to be rebuilt.
After seven days’ procession around Jericho’s walls,
Israel’s faith brought them down in ruins.
— You have reduced the city to a heap of stones,
never to be rebuilt.
SECOND READING
From a treatise on the Gospel of Saint Matthew by Saint Chromatius, bishop
(Tract. 5, 1, 3-44; CCL 9, 405-407)
You are the light of the world
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp only to put it under a bushel basket; they put it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. The Lord called his disciples the salt of the earth because they seasoned with heavenly wisdom the hearts of men, rendered insipid by the devil. Now he calls them the light of the world as well, because they have been enlightened by him, the true and everlasting light, and have themselves become a light in the darkness.
Since he is the Sun of Justice, he fittingly calls his disciples the light of the world. The reason for this is that through them, as through shining rays, he has poured out the light of the knowledge of himself upon the entire world. For by manifesting the light of truth, they have dispelled the darkness of error from the hearts of men.
Moreover, we too have been enlightened by them. We have been made light out of darkness as the Apostle says: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. He says another time: For you are not sons of the night and of darkness, but you are all sons of light and of the day.
Saint John also rightly asserts in his letter: God is light, and whoever abides in God is in the light just as God himself is in the light. Therefore, because we rejoice in having been freed from the darkness of error, we should always walk in the light as children of light. This is why the Apostle says: Among them you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.
If we fail to live in the light, we shall, to our condemnation and that of others, be veiling over and obscuring by our infidelity the light men so desperately need. As we know from Scripture, the man who received the talent should have made it produce a heavenly profit, but instead he preferred to hide it away rather than put it to work and was punished as he deserved.
Consequently, that brilliant lamp which was lit for the sake of our salvation should always shine in us. For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandment and spiritual grace, to which David referred: Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Solomon also says this about it: For the command of the law is a lamp.
Therefore, we must not hide this lamp of law and faith. Rather, we must set it up in the Church, as on a lampstand, for the salvation of many, so that we may enjoy the light of truth itself and all believers may be enlightened.
RESPONSORY
Acts 11:23-24
When Barnabas arrived in Antioch
and saw God’s grace at work there,
he rejoiced,
— for he was a good man,
filled with the Holy Spirit and faith (E.T. alleluia).
He encouraged all to stand firm in their commitment to the Lord.
— For he was a good man,
filled with the Holy Spirit and faith (E.T. alleluia).
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
God our Father,
you filled Saint Barnabas with faith and the Holy Spirit
and sent him to convert the nations.
Help us to proclaim the gospel by word and deed.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
O God, who decreed that Saint Barnabas,
a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
should be set apart to convert the nations,
grant that the Gospel of Christ,
which he strenuously preached,
may be faithfully proclaimed by word and by deed.
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.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
******
Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Irenaeus).
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, *
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas; *
on the waters he made it firm.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? *
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart, †
who desires not worthless things, *
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
He shall receive blessings from the Lord *
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him, *
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Psalm 67
People of all nations will worship the Lord
You must know that God is offering his salvation to all the world (Acts 28:28).
O God, be gracious and bless us *
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth *
and all nations learn your saving help.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Let the nations be glad and exult *
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, *
you guide the nations on earth.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
The earth has yielded its fruit *
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing *
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Psalm 100
The joyful song of those entering God’s temple
The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius).
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. †
Serve the Lord with gladness. *
Come before him, singing for joy.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Holy Spirit, for he has spoken to us through the prophets and teachers of the Church (E.T. alleluia).