Wednesday of Holy Week
Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 50:4-9a
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm – 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34 (R.14c)
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. R.
Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
for consolers, not one could I find.
Rather they put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. R.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving:
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” R.
Gospel – Mt 26:14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“ The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
Featured Saints
St. Engratia, virgin and martyr (+ fourth century). Christian from a noble family, martyred for boldly appearing before the Roman magistrate in Saragossa, Spain, to rebuke him for the atrocities he was committing against her fellow Christians.
St. Bernadette Soubirous, virgin (†1879 Nevers – France) Born to a poor family, she was favoured as a young girl with the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes; she later entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she was a model of humility. See also: The Spirituality of St. Bernadette Soubirous.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre, pilgrim (†1783). Wishing to lead a life of penance, he undertook exhausting pilgrimages to famous shrines, poorly clothed and living off alms. He died in Rome at 35 years of age.
St. Turibius of Astorga, bishop (†fifth century). Bishop of Astorga, in Hispania.
By mandate of Pope St. Leo the Great he fought the Priscillianist sect which was widespread in that region.
St. Fructuosus, bishop (†circa 665). Monk and founder of monasteries, he was Bishop of Dume and afterwards Archbishop of Braga, Portugal.
St. Magnus, martyr (†1116). Earl of the Orkney Islands, Scotland; he embraced the Catholic Faith and was traitorously killed during peace negotiations with his adversary in the principality.
St. Contardo of Este, pilgrim (†1249). Of noble lineage, he renounced worldly goods and adopted a life of extreme poverty. He died during a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
St. Drogo, recluse (†c. 1186). Resolved to lead a simple and recollected life, he lived forty years in a small cell adjacent to the church of Sebourg, France, from where he attended Mass through a small window.
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