Wednesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial for Sts. Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, priest, martyrs (†c. 236 Sardinia – Italy). Condemned to forced labour in the mines of Sardinia, they died there under ill-treatment.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Dt 34:1-12
Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land — Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms, and as far as Zoar. The LORD then said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.” So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses. Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience, thus carrying out the LORD’s command to Moses. Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17(R.see 20a and 10b)
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!” R.
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
Bless our God, you peoples;
loudly sound his praise. R.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue. R.
Gospel – Mt 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Featured Saints
St. Radegunde (†587). Queen of the Francs. While her husband, King Clotaire was still alive, she entered the monastery of the Holy Cross of Poitiers, France, where she dedicated herself to prayer and works of charity for more than thirty years.
St. John Berchmans, religious (†1621). Jesuit brother who died in Rome, at 22 years of age, after a brief illness.
Blessed Mark of Aviano, priest (†1699). Capuchin priest, great preacher and miracle worker. Through his influence on the Holy League, he played an essential role in the victory at the Battle of Vienna.
Blessed Gertrude, abbess (†1297). Daughter of St. Elizabeth of Hungary; she was consecrated to God as a girl, and governed the Premonstratensian convent of Altenberg, Germany, for 48 years.
St. Maximus the Confessor, abbot (†662). Abbot of Chrysopolis Monastery; mutilated, imprisoned and exiled from Constantinople by Emperor Constans II, for his zeal in combatting Monothelitism.
St. Benilde, religious (†1862). Religious of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, he dedicated his life to youth formation in Saugues, France.
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