Tuesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin to St. Bernadette Soubirous in the Grotto of Massabielle, France in 1858, announcing herself as the Immaculate Conception. See also: “And I shall be whiter than snow”
See also:
Mass Readings
First Reading – Gen 1:20—2:4a
God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.” and so it happened: God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.” Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.” and so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.2ab)
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him? R.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet. R.
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas. R.
Gospel – Mk 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”
Featured Saints
St. Gregory II, Pope (†731). In the time of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, he defended the cult of sacred images and sent St. Boniface to preach the Gospel in Germania.
St. Paschal I, Pope (†824). He promoted the first missions in Scandinavian countries and transferred many relics of the
martyrs from the catacombs to the churches. He rebuilt the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Rome.
St. Peter Maldonado, priest and martyr (†1937). Arrested while hearing Confessions on Ash Wednesday, he was barbarously killed in Chihuahua, Mexico.
St. Soteris, virgin and martyr (†c. 304). Choosing the Faith to nobility of blood and human honour, she refused to obey the order to sacrifice to idols, boldly facing insults, condemnation and death by sword. Her tomb can be found in Rome.
Blessed Tobias Borras Romeu, martyr (†1937). Religious from the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God. He was a model of virtue. Martyred during the Spanish Civil War.
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