The Lesser Feast of John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli)
Learn more about today’s Feast
Page numbers listed are from The Book of Common Prayer.
Opening Sentence, page 103
Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.
People: O Lord, make haste to help us.
All: 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.
Psalm 50:1-6, page 654
1 The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken; *
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, *
God reveals himself in glory.
3 Our God will come and will not keep silence; *
before him there is a consuming flame, and round about him a raging storm.
4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above *
to witness the judgment of his people.
5 “Gather before me my loyal followers, *
those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
for God himself is judge.
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.
Reading: Luke 5:36–39
Jesus told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”
Reflection: John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli), Bishop
Born in Northern Italy in 1881, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was trained in Roman Catholic schools from an early age. After service in the military, Roncalli was ordained as a priest in 1904. His passion for social justice for working people and for the poor was formed early and remained an important commitment of his ministry.
Roncalli often received complicated assignments. He was made an archbishop in 1925 and sent as the papal envoy to Bulgaria, where he was responsible for reducing the tensions between Eastern Rite and Latin Rite Catholics during a difficult period. Some years later, he was the papal representative to Greece and Turkey when anti-religious sentiments were running high. His leadership in Turkey anticipated on a local scale some of the developments of later decades on a universal scale: putting the liturgy and the official documents of the church in the language of the people, and opening conversations with Orthodox Christians and those of other faiths.
While serving as the papal nuncio in Turkey, Roncalli actively aided Jews fleeing Nazi persecution and encouraged priests under him to do the same. Near the end of the Second World War, he was made the papal nuncio to Paris with the task of trying to heal the divisions caused by the war. In 1953, at the age of 72, he was made a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice, the first time he had ever been the bishop ordinary of a diocese.
In 1958, Cardinal Roncalli was elected Pope and took the name John XXIII. After the long pontificate of Pius XII, it was widely assumed that John XXIII would be a brief “placeholder” pope of minor consequence. During the first year of his pontificate, however, he called the Second Vatican Council for the purpose of renewing and revitalizing the church. The work of the Council transformed the church of the twentieth century, not only for Roman Catholics, but for all Christians. With its emphasis on liturgical renewal, ecumenism, world peace, and social justice, the legacy of the Council continues to inspire the mission of the church among Christians of all traditions.
John XXIII died on June 3, 1963.
Source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2024
The Prayers, pages 106-107
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Officiant: Lord, hear our prayer;
People: And let our cry come to you.
Officiant: Let us pray.
God of all truth and peace, who raised up your bishop John to be servant of the servants of God and bestowed on him wisdom to call for the work of renewing your church: Grant that, following his example, we may reach out to other Christians in the love of your Son, and labor throughout the nations of the world to kindle a desire for justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Dismissal, page 107
Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Officiant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.