Memorial of St. Polycarp
Bishop and martyr. Apostolic Father, disciple of St. John the Evangelist and friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch; he was martyred in Smyrna, in present-day Turkey, in the year 155.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Jas 4:13-17
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.
Responsorial Psalm – 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11 (R.Mt 5:3)
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike. R.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast. R.
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction. R.
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth. R.
Gospel – Mk 9:38-40
John said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”
Featured Saints
St. John, monk (†eleventh century). His mother was brought as a slave by the Saracens to Palermo, Italy, shortly before his birth. She instructed him in the Christian Faith and when he had reached age fourteen, she sent him to his ancestral city. He joined the Basilian monks of that region, attracted by their heroic lives; he stood out for his virtue and contemplative spirit.
St. Milburga, virgin (†circa 722). Daughter of King Merewalh of Mercia, in present-day England. She abandoned worldly riches, embraced religious life and founded the Monastery of Wenlock of which she was abbess.
Blessed Nicolas Tabouillot, priest and martyr (†1795). Parish priest of the Diocese of Verdun, imprisoned in a galley in Rochefort during the French Revolution where he became ill and died.
Blessed Louis Mzyk, priest and martyr (†1942). Religious from the Congregation of the Divine Word; during the Nazi occupation he was taken to Fort VII, in Poznan, Poland, where he was tortured and killed out of religious hatred.
Blessed Vincent Frelichowski, priest and martyr (†1945). His faith remained steadfast despite incarceration in several prisons. He died in the concentration camp of Dachau, Germany, after caring for many sick companions.
Blessed Rafaela Ybarra, religious (†1900). Mother of seven children, she obtained her husband’s permission to take religious vows and founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Guardian Angels in Bilbao, Spain.
St. Josephine Vannini, virgin (†1911). Foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Camillus in Rome.
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