Mass Readings

First Reading – Dt 4:32-40

Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other. Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see His great fire, and you heard Him speaking out of the fire. For love of your fathers He chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by His great power, driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today. This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep His statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land whichh the LORD, your God, is giving you forever.”

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 77:12-13, 14-15, 16 and 21 (R.12a)

R. I remember the deeds of the Lord.

I remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I remember Your wonders of old.
And I meditate on Your works;
Your exploits I ponder. R.

O God, Your way is holy;
what great god is there like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
among the peoples You have made known Your power. R.

With Your strong arm You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You led your people like a flock
under the care of Moses and Aaron. R.

Gospel – Mt 16:24-28

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father’s glory, and then He will repay each according to His conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.”

Featured Saints

Blesseds John Sandys (†1586) and Stephen Rowsham (†1587), priests, and William Lampley (†1588), martyrs. Killed in England for their fidelity to the Catholic Church during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Blessed Miguel Domingo Cendra, martyr (†1936). Salesian killed in the religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War.

St. Gaugericus, Bishop (†c. 625). He governed the Diocese of Cambrai, France, for thirty-nine years, and built a chapel on the site of what would become the city centre of Brussels. Noted for performing numerous miracles. 

St. Susanna, martyr (†fourth century). Young Christian beheaded in Rome by the order of Emperor Diocletian.

Blessed Louis Biraghi, priest (†1879). Priest of the Diocese of Milan, Italy, founder of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Marcellina.

St. Alexander, bishop and martyr (†third century). Consecrated Bishop of Comana, Turkey by St. Gregory, he was burned to death on a pyre by the enemies of the Faith.

St. Equitius, abbot (†c. 571). Due to his holiness of life he drew many vocations to the monasteries of the ancient province in Valeria, Italy. 

Blessed Maurice Tornay, priest and martyr (†1949). Swiss born, he proclaimed the Gospel in China and Tibet, where he was murdered in an ambush, out of hatred for the Faith.

Image gallery

St. Clare of Assisi

1 of 6