The Brotherhood of man is set forth in this Mass, as it must be practiced despite worldly persecution (Introit) and diabolical snares (Postcommunion). Love for one another with all its blessings is chiefly inspired by Love for God with all His graces (Prayer).

This love for God can really dominate all our actions, in the face of selfish pleasure or false friends. Human experience confirms Divine teaching that, only when the Fatherhood of God is recognized (Epistle), will there be realized the brotherhood of man, for which certain positive duties are necessary, such as returning good for evil, possible only to those who love God. Our "Gospel" of love warns against that other gospel of hatred, whether it be class warfare on a large scale, or personal enmity amongst individuals. Prayer and sacrifice are unavailing (Gospel and Secret) if we separate from our brother either in acts seen by men or in thoughts seen by God. Our offering of the Mass is acceptable to the Fatherhood of God only when we practice the brotherhood of man.

The 27th June is venerable Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The Mass is found in the Masses for Some Places in the Missale Romanum but is not commemorated in the the 1960 rubrics. Ask Our Lady to protect and guide you everyday of your life!

First Prayer

O Mother of Perpetual Succour, behold me, a miserable sinner, at your feet. I have recourse to you, and put my trust in you. O Mother of Mercy, have pity upon me. I hear you called by all the refuge and hope of sinners; be then my refuge and my hope. Succour me for the love of Jesus Christ; stretch out your hand to me, O my Mother, who recommend and dedicate myself to you as your perpetual servant. I bless and thank God for having in his mercy given to me this confidence in you, the pledge, as I believe, of my eternal salvation. Alas, too often in the past I have miserably fallen because I did not have recourse to you! I know that with your help I shall conquer; I know that you will help me if I recommend myself to you; but I fear that in the occasions of falling I might not call on you and so should lose my soul. This, then, is the grace I seek from you – and I beg you to obtain it for me – namely, in the assaults of hell always to have recourse to you and to say to you: O Mary, help me; Mother of Perpetual Succour, do not allow me to be separated from God.

(Nine Ave)

Ant. Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the fainthearted, cheer those that weep, pray for the people, be the advocate of the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God. Let all who implore your perpetual succour feel your aid.

V. O Lady, you have been made a refuge for us.
R. A helper in need and tribulation.

Let us pray:

O almighty and merciful God, who have given us the picture of your most Blessed Mother to venerate, under the title of Perpetual Succour, grant that, amid all the changes of our journey through life, we may be so defended by the continual protection of the same ever-virgin Mary that we may deserve to obtain the rewards of your eternal redemption. Who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.

Second Prayer:

O Mother of Perpetual Succour, grant that I may always invoke your most powerful name, for your name is help in life, salvation in death. Mary most pure, Mary most sweet, let your name henceforth be the breath of my life. O Lady, do not be slow to come to my succour whenever I call on you; for in all the wants which befall me, I will never cease to call on you, and to repeat again and again: Mary, Mary! What comfort, what sweetness, what confidence, what tenderness my soul feels at the mere mention of your name, at the very thought of you! I thank the Lord for having given me for my good this name, so sweet, so amiable, so powerful. But merely to pronounce your name is not enough for me. I wish to do so out of love. I wish that love may remind me always to call you Mother of Perpetual Succour.

Third Prayer:

O Mother of Perpetual Succour, you are the dispenser of all the graces which God bestows on us wretched creatures; and for this he made you so powerful, so rich, so kind, so that you may succour us in our miseries. You are the advocate of the most miserable and abandoned sinners, who have recourse to you; help me, then, who recommend myself to you. I place my eternal salvation in your hands, to you I consign my soul. Number me among your more special servants; take me under your protection, and I will be satisfied. Yes, for if you help me, I fear nothing, not even my sins; since you will obtain for me the pardon of them; nor the devils, for you are more powerful than all hell; nor even Jesus, my true Judge, because by one prayer of yours he will be appeased. My only fear is that through my own negligence I should cease to recommend myself to you, and so should be lost. Obtain for me, my Lady, the pardon of my sins, the love of Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace of always having recourse to you, O Mother of Perpetual Succour.

– St Alphonsus Liguori

The Mass of this Sunday reflects the call of St. Peter as a fisher of men.

The Introit expresses our confidence in God to overcome enemies that oppose us. The Collect is a prayer that the course of the world may be ordered by the Lord and “joyfully serve Thee to quiet devotion.”

In the Epistle we ask for “deliverance” from corruption into the “liberty” enjoyed by a child of God. The Gradual continues the theme of asking for help from God lest the “Gentiles” ridicule our religion.

The Gospel teaches that Christ is the great Fisher of Men who relies upon the Apostles, priests and Bishops, for success. We are the fish drawn out of the water by  the teaching of Christ from the sea of the world. In the Offertory we  ask Jesus to “enlighten my eyes”  and in the Secret entreat Him to “draw our rebellious wills” to Him.

The Communion reflects the  sentiment thatthe Lord is my “firmament...and ...refuge,” while the Postcommunion tells us that  the Mass and Holy Sacrament of the  Altar will “purify” our hearts and protect us.

O Blessed St. Joseph,
tenderhearted Father, faithful
guardian of Jesus, chaste
spouse of the Mother of God, I
pray and beseech thee to offer
to God the Father, His Divine
Son, bathed in Blood on the
Cross for sinners, and through
the thrice Holy Name of Jesus,
obtain for us from the Eternal
Father , the favour we
implore... Amen.


Pray today to the Holy Family
that our own families may be
modelled after the Holy Family,
headed by the Father, working
together in pure love with the
Mother, to bring children into
the world who know, love and
serve God.

Just as the brilliance of the sun is often hidden by the clouds, so too, the true motives and the hearts of men are hidden by the appearance of other things. The Scribes and Pharisees could not see the Divinity in Jesus Christ; they could not see His goodness, His mercy or His love. As they were filled with their own pride, they could not see nor comprehend how the Divinity could be in Man. God humbled and hidden in the flesh of a Man, was too much for their pride and vanity to comprehend.

Appearances are seldom what they seem to be. Only God is witness to many of the things that are hidden in the hearts and minds of men. Frequently, we are not even aware of the many things that transpire within us. Because of this, we should be ever more vigilant in the discerning of the motives of others. A child that has just been reprimanded or punished, often thinks (feels) that he is no longer loved because he sees the anger in his father's face. Every father, however, knows that the appearance of his countenance at this moment is not reflective of the sentiments of his heart. For the father truly loves his child. It is love for the child that causes him to become displeased and even angry over the sins, faults, or failings of his child. It is actually love for the child that brings him to discipline and correct him.

A harsh word from our superiors should not fill our hearts with dismay, but should be rather a consolation that the superior cares enough for us to correct us. Tragically, there are many in the world that fail to see or understand this, and end up filling their lives with great anxiety and even misery. We should care when we are corrected, and we should strive always to make amends and do better, but we should not allow the correction to cause despair or hopelessness.

The corrections, punishments, and chastisements of God and of the Church are signs that we are loved. This should fill our hearts with joy not despair. Outwardly we may see something completely different, but when we examine it from within — on a spiritual level — we find something much more beautiful and pleasing.

Christ spoke to and ate with sinners, and the "righteous" were scandalized by this. They could not comprehend how a holy man could in any way associate with sinners. The real motives of Christ were not visible to them because they were filled with pride and vanity. Christ loved these men too, and He went out of His way to explain to them the love that God has for all men, and how His heart rejoices in the salvation of those souls that were lost in sin.

The evil of sin, became a grace to those that Christ went after to save. He, like the shepherd, went in search of them and picked them up and returned them to their proper place with God. The humility of the sinner opened for him the door to grace. The grace of righteousness in the Scribes and Pharisees became an evil for them because they were proud and vain. We must not be too quick to judge someone as a sinner or as a saint. We all have some of both in us. The sinner through humility and the grace of God can become a saint. The righteous in this world may actually be the greatest sinner of all. Things are not always what they appear to be.

If we have been lifted up from evils or preserved from them, we should be especially grateful to God and become ever more humble. We must, however, be careful not to despise those who appear to be less blessed with the graces of God than we have been. The obvious and humiliating sins of others are often less detestable than the hidden vices of pride and vanity.

We caution one and all true Catholics to be grateful to God for this gift and to become ever more humble, realising that this is God's gift and not our own work. We need not look down upon or scorn those less fortunate. The love we have for God and our fellow men should be abundant enough in us that we are drawn to compassion for these less fortunate. We should have compassion even upon those who consider themselves our enemies and do evil to us. As Jesus said upon the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." It may be necessary for us to correct and instruct from time to time, in doing so, we should remember how gently and kindly God dealt with us when we were in sin; as well as remember the compassion that Jesus has for sinners, even as He corrected and instructed the Scribes and Pharisees. May we humbly do good always as Christ has done — even to those who do evil to us.

(N.B. Many churches today will celebrate an External Solemnity of Corpus Christi this Sunday)

The Gospel today presents us with a parable for the edification of the Pharisees with whom Christ was invited to eat. On this occasion Our Lord sought to instruct them concerning the Kingdom of God.

It should not be much of a difficulty for us to comprehend this parable. Christ is the man that made a great supper and sent out his servants to call in all those that were invited. The Apostles are His servants. The tribes of Israel were those that were invited and refused to come. The Gentiles (other nations) are those who have been called in to take the place of those who were invited but would not come. The great supper itself is the Church or the Kingdom of God.

Christ was attempting to show these Pharisees to themselves, if only they would see it. They were the ones that were invited but refused to come. The three different excuses exactly agree with what St. John says: "All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life." The one says, I have married a wife, by which may be understood the concupiscence of the flesh; another says, I have bought five yoke of oxen, by which is denoted the concupiscence of the eyes; and the pride of life is signified by the purchase of the farm, which the third alleges in his justification. (St. Augustine, de verb. Dei.)

These Pharisees were invited into the Church first. They even had in their possession the written invitation contained in the Sacred Scriptures. Christ Himself came and personally invited them, and He sent His Apostles and they refused them also. So then much to the shame and embarrassment of the Pharisees they who were first invited were now barred from entering: "none of those men that were invited shall taste of my supper".

They became too filled with their own pride and vanity. They began to love the world in which they lived more than the heavenly world which was spoken of in the Sacred Texts. They possessed these Sacred Texts, read them and preached upon them, but apparently were not as interested in them as they wished to appear. They found more joy in appearing to be holy than in actually being holy. They wished to appear learned rather than believe what they themselves were saying. They therefore easily fell to snares of this mortal body. They gave in to the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life. These became more important and even all important to them rather than seeking the Kingdom of God. They were unable to "see the forest, for the trees". Too focused upon themselves they failed to see the bigger picture of God's eternal plan and the immortality of their own souls.

The Pharisees blinded by their own passions failed to enter the Church even though they already had in their hands the invitation. They were replaced and the supper (heaven) was filled by others that were not given the prior invitation.

St. Paul chastised himself and kept his body in subjection lest after having preached to others he himself might be lost. He saw clearly what had happened to the other Pharisees, and wished to make certain that he did not fall as they did.

Today we witness history repeating itself. There are so many who have been born into the true Faith. They have been given the prior invitation _ the Faith and the Sacraments, but they have set them aside to pursue worldly pleasures: the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life. All most all those who glory in the name of Catholic or Christian have begun to make excuses, so others will be called in to take their place. What good is it if one has the Gospels and preaches upon them while he is filled with concupiscence and pride?

God will reject the high and the mighty. He will lift up the humble and the weak. Those who have been given the Faith have the invitation, but if they set it aside to pursue the pleasures of this world and body, they will soon find that they have been excluded from the eternal feast in Heaven, and others who were much less than they, have been lifted up to take their place.

Therefore, let us strive to keep ourselves faithful, humble, and obedient so that we will not be barred from heaven, but will find, in spite of our weakness and lowliness, a place has been made for us at the great supper in Heaven.