Mass Readings

First Reading – Jas 5:13-20

Beloved: Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing a song of praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Elijah was a man like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land. Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Responsorial Psalm – 141:1-2, 3 and 8 (R.2a)

R. Let my prayer come like incense before You.
O LORD, to You I call; hasten to me;
hearken to my voice when I call upon You.
Let my prayer come like incense before You;
the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice. R.

O LORD, set a watch before my mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
For toward You, O God, my LORD, my eyes are turned;
in You I take refuge; strip me not of life. R.

Gospel – Mk 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that He might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this He became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to Me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then He embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Featured Saints

St. Alexander, bishop (†326). A glorious elder, aflame with zeal for the Faith; as Bishop of Alexandria, he excommunicated the priest Arius for becoming corrupted by heresy and refusing divine truth. Afterwards, with 318 fathers, he condemned him in the First Nicene Council.

St. Faustinian, Bishop (†fourth century). Second Bishop of Bologna, Italy. The Church, oppressed by persecution, was strengthened and experienced growth because of his preaching.

St. Porfirius of Gaza, bishop (+421). He was born into a Thessalonian family and he lived as an anchorite in the desert. After being ordained Bishop of Gaza, Palestine, he ordered the demolition of many temples dedicated to idols and was instrumental in the conversion of many pagans to the Faith.

St. Victor, hermit (†seventh century). Praised in the sermons of St. Bernard, he died in Arcis-surAube, France, where he had led a life of prayer and contemplation.

St. Paula of St. Joseph Calasanz, virgin (†1889). Endowed with an extraordinary charism for education, she adopted the motto: Piety and Learning. She founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary, Sisters of the Pious Schools in Barcelona, Spain. 

Blessed­ Robert­ Drury,­ priest and martyr (†1607). Falsely accused of conspiracy against King James I, he suffered death by hanging at Tyburn, England.

Blessed Piety of the Cross Ortiz Real, virgin (†1916). She founded the Congregation of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Alcantarilla, Spain, for the formation and religious instruction of poor children.