Friday of the 2nd Week of Advent
Featured Saints and Commemorations
St. Jane Frances de Chantal, religious, (†1641). As the Baroness de Chantal, she was widowed at a young age. She took a vow of celibacy, became the spiritual disciple of St. Francis de Sales, and with him founded the religious Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.
Our Lady of Loreto. According to tradition, the Holy House of Nazareth was transported by the Angels in the 13th century to the Italian town of Loreto, in the province of Ancora (now enshrined in the Basilica della Santa Casa). It is identified as the house in which the Blessed Virgin was born and where the Annunciation and Incarnation took place, as well as where the Holy Family lived after their return from Egypt.
St. Gregory III, Pope († 741). He was an advocate of the evangelization of the Germanic peoples, particularly by his support of St. Boniface. In opposition to the iconoclasts, he embellished the churches of Rome with sacred images.
St. Luke of Isola, bishop (†1114). Tirelessly dedicated himself to the poor of his Diocese of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Italy, and to the formation of monks. He died in the Monastery of St. Nicholas de Viotorito, in Calabria.
St. Polydore Plasden, priest and martyr († 1591). Executed at Tyburn during the persecution of Elizabeth I, of England, declaring that said that he would rather give a thousand lives than deny his Catholic Faith.
St. Edmund Gennings, priest, and St Swithun Wells, layman, martyrs (†1591). St. Edmund, a London native, was ordained in France and returned to England as a missionary. He was arrested after celebrating a Mass at the country mansion of St. Swithun, and both were executed on the latter’s property.
St. John Roberts, martyr († 1610). Welsh-born to Protestant parents, he converted to Catholicism in his youth and joined the Benedictine Order in Valladolid, Spain, whence he left as a missionary to England, during the reign of James I. He became so well known for his heroism and charity that there was complete silence at his execution at Tyburn.
St. Amaro, martyr († circa the 4th century). Pope St. Damasus celebrates him as an innocent child whom no torture could separate from his Faith.
St. Eulalia of Merida , virgin and martyr († 304). As a maiden of twelve, during a persecution of Christians in her city, she did not hesitate to give her life for the love of God.
Blessed Marco Antonio Durando, priest (†1880). Religious from the Congregation of the Missions and founder of the Congregation of Sisters of Jesus the Nazarene in Turin, Italy.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 48:17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night. R.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers. R.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes. R.
Gospel – Mt 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
