Memorial of St. Scholastica
St. Scholastica, twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia who consecrated herself to God from childhood. Following the example of her brother, she founded a feminine community close to Monte Cassino which became the first monastery of Benedictine nuns, and she died in 547.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Gn 1:1-19
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day. Then God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.” And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed–the second day. Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.” And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “the earth,” and the basin of the water he called “the sea.” God saw how good it was. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the third day. Then God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c (R. 31b)
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
May the Lord be glad in his works.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak. R.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood. R.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song. R.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia. R.
Gospel – Mk 6:53-56
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
Featured Saints
Blessed Eusebia Palomina Yenes, virgin (†1935). Daughter of poor Spanish farmers, she worked in several family homes before entering the Salesian Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in in Valverde del Camino, Spain.
St. José Sanchez del Rio, martyr (†1928). Having joined the Cristero War of Mexico at age 14, he was captured and courageously braved many torments, refusing to renounce his fidelity to Cristo Rey. Finally he was killed by gunshot, his body falling upon the cross that he had traced on the ground with his own blood.
St. William of Maleval, hermit (†1157). After a dissolute youth, he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a penitent and then became a hermit in Maleval, Italy, where he spent the rest of his life in prayer and penance. His example gave rise to many congregations of hermits.
St. Austreberta, virgin and abbess (†704). She piously governed the monastery of Pavilly, France, previously founded by Bishop St. Audeno.
Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, bishop (†1960). He courageously opposed the doctrines denying the Faith and human dignity, until he succumbed to the illnesses and privations brought on by lengthy imprisonment in Krašić, close to Zagreb (Croatia), for his fidelity to the Church.
Blessed Hugh of Fosse, abbot (†circa 1163). When St. Norbert, was elected Archbishop of Magdeburg, he appointed Hugh, one of the monks under his care, as abbot of the recently founded Premonstratensian Order, which he governed for 35 years.
Blesseds Pierre Frémond and five companions, martyrs (†1794). Shot in Angers during the French Revolution for remaining faithful to the Catholic Church.