Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional memorial of St. Sixtus II, Pope, and companions, martyrs (†258 Rome). He was seized during the celebration of the Eucharist in the Catacomb of Callixtus and killed out of hatred for the Faith together with four deacons; also, Optional Memorial of St. Cajetan of Thiene, priest (†1547 Naples – Italy). He dedicated himself to works of mercy, especially the care of the incurably ill. Founder of the Order of Thietines Clerics Regular, aimed at the renewal of priestly and religious life.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob, the pride of Israel, Though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils.Woe to the bloody city, all lies, full of plunder, whose looting never stops! The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels; horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear, the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon! I will cast filth upon you, disgrace you and put you to shame; Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying, “Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her? Where can one find any to console her?”
Responsorial Psalm – Dt 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41 (R.39c)
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity. R.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.” R.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”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
Blessed Nicholas Postgate, priest and martyr (†1679). Hanged in York, during the reign of Charles II of England, for being a priest.
Blesseds Agathangelus of Vendôme and Cassian of Nantes, priests and martyrs (†1638).Capuchin religious who sought to reconcile Christians separated from the Church in Syria, Egypt and Ethiopia. They were strangled with the cords of their habits by order of the king in Gondar, Ethiopia.
St. Victricius of Rouen, bishop (†c. 410). He was tortured and condemned to death at the time of Emperor Julian, for having deserted the army to follow Christ; he was eventually freed and ordained bishop, and was sent to evangelize near Rouen, France.
St. Donatus, Bishop and martyr (†fourth century). Bishop of Arezzo, he was beheaded by order of Emperor Julian the Apostate, together with whom he had received his religion formation in his youth.
St. Miguel de la Mora, priest and martyr (†1927). Shot to death in Colima, Mexico, during the persecution against the Church. To proclaim his love for Mary he prayed the Rosary while dying.
Blessed Jordan Forzatei, abbot (†c.1248). When he took refuge in a Benedictine monastery during the great fire that ravaged Padua, he felt attracted to religious life and remained there.
Blessed Edmund Bojanowski, priest (†1871). Founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Mother of God, Virgin Immaculate Conception, in Poland.
St. Albert of Trapani, priest (†circa 1306). Italian Carmelite priest who, through ardent preaching, obtained the conversion of many Jews to Christianity.
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