Sunday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 22:19-23
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.”
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 (R.8bc)
R. Lord, Your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of Your hands.
I will give thanks to You, O LORD, with all my heart,
for You have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing Your praise;
I will worship at Your holy temple. R.
I will give thanks to Your name,
because of Your kindness and Your truth:
When I called, You answered me;
You built up strength within me. R.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly He sees,
and the proud He knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of Your hands. R.
Second Reading – Rom 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that He may be repaid? For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Gospel – Mt 16:13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against It. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Then He strictly ordered His disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.
Featured Saints
St. Monica widow.(†387 Ostia – Italy). Mother of St. Augustine, for whose conversion she shed many tears. Through her patience, she also obtained the conversion of the pagan husband. A model Christian mother, she died at the age of fifty, shortly after St. Augustine’s baptism, just as both were departing for Africa.
St. Guarinus, bishop (†1150). Having been a monk of Molesme during the time of St. Robert, he founded the Aulps Abbey in France, and united it to the Cistercian Order. He was elected Bishop of Sion, Switzerland.
St. David Lewis, priest and martyr (†1679). Jesuit priest who became the last of those martyred in Wales for the Catholic Faith after having clandestinely administered the Sacraments to Catholics in the Hereford-Monmouth region for thirty years.
St. Caesarius, bishop (†542). After living the monastic life on the Island of Lerins, he was appointed Bishop of Arles, France. He wrote a book of sermons as a catechetical aid for priests and drew up rules for monastic discipline.
Blessed Angelo Conti, priest (†1312). Priest of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, who died in Foligno, Italy, he stood out for patience in bearing affronts.
Blessed Maria del Pilar Izquierdo Albero, virgin (†1945). She was blind and paraplegic as the result of a series of infirmities; after a miraculous cure, she founded the Missionary Work of Jesus and Mary in Madrid.
St. Amadeus, bishop (†1159). Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Hautecombe, France, he was elected Bishop of Lausanne, Switzerland.
St. Poemen, abbot (†fourth-fifth century). An anchorite famous for his wise teachings.
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