which lead to eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be all honour and glory,
now and for ever.
A reading from the book Ecclesiasticus.
Whoever fears the Lord will do this,
and whoever holds to the law will obtain wisdom.
She will come to meet him like a mother,
and like a young bride she will welcome him.
She will feed him with the bread of learning,
and give him the water of wisdom to drink.
He will lean on her and not fall,
and he will rely on her and not be put to shame.
She will exalt him above his neighbours,
and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.
He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing,
and will inherit an everlasting name.
This is the word of the Lord.
Ecclesiasticus 15.1–6
Responsorial Psalm
R: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you;
[before you were born, I consecrated you].
Preserve me, O God, for in you have I taken refuge;
I have said to the Lord, ‘You are my lord, all my good depends on you.’
All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land,
upon those who are noble in heart. R
The Lord himself is my portion and my cup;
in your hands alone is my fortune.
My share has fallen in a fair land;
indeed, I have a goodly heritage. R
I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel,
and in the night watches he instructs my heart.
I have set the Lord always before me;
he is at my right hand; I shall not fall. R
From Psalm 16
A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians.
Though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
This is the word of the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 2.2–12
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Matthew 16.24–27
Post Communion
God, shepherd of your people,
whose servant David revealed the loving service of Christ
in his ministry as a pastor of your people:
by this eucharist in which we share
awaken within us the love of Christ
and keep us faithful to our Christian calling;
through him who laid down his life for us,
but is alive and reigns with you, now and for ever.
Or (Wales)
Almighty God,
awaken in us the zeal of your servant David
that we may follow you in singleness of heart;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 March
Chad
White
Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary
England: Lesser Festival – Scotland: Commemoration
20 May – Wales: V
Chad was born in Northumbria, the youngest of four sons, all of whom became both priests and monks. They entered the monastery on the isle of Lindisfarne and were taught by St Aidan. Chad’s brother Cedd had founded the abbey at Lastingham and, on his brother’s death, Chad was elected abbot. During the confusion in ecclesiastical discipline between the Celtic-oriented, Anglo-Saxon hierarchy and the pressure from Rome for conformity, Chad became Bishop of York for a time. He graciously stepped back with the arrival in Britain of Theodore, who doubted the validity of indigenous consecrations. This was eventually rectified and Chad became Bishop of Mercia, a huge diocese the centre of which he moved from Repton to Lichfield. Chad travelled extensively and became much loved for his wisdom and gentleness in otherwise difficult situations. The plague was prevalent at this time and Chad died on this day in the year 672.
Collect
Almighty God,
from the first fruits of the English nation who turned to Christ,
you called your servant Chad
to be an evangelist and bishop of his own people:
give us grace so to follow his peaceable nature,
humble spirit and prayerful life,
that we may truly commend to others
the faith which we ourselves profess;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
A reading from the book Ecclesiasticus.
My child, perform your tasks with humility;
then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself;
so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord.
For great is the might of the Lord;
but