Saturday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Heb 13:15-17, 20-21
Brothers and sisters: Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you. May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the Blood of the eternal covenant, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will. May He carry out in you what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (R. 1)
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures He gives me repose.
Beside restful waters He leads me;
He refreshes my soul. R.
He guides me in right paths
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for You are at my side
With Your rod and Your staff
that give me courage. R.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. R.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come. R.
Gospel – Mk 6:30-34
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
Featured Saints
St. Joan of Valois, queen (†1505). Wife of King Louis XII, of France, she consecrated herself to the service of God after her marriage was annulled. She founded the Order of the Holy Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bourges. (See featured image.)
St. Rabanus Maurus, bishop (†856). Abbot of the monastery of Fulda, he was elected Archbishop of Mainz, Germany.
St. Isidore, priest (†circa 449). Desiring to imitate the life of St. John the Baptist, he abandoned the world and became a monk in Pelusium, Egypt. He intervened in the debates surrounding the Nestorian heresy.
St. Gilbert of Sempringham, priest (†1189). Consecrated to the serviceof the Church since his youth, he founded the Gilbertine Order in England, with two rules of life: the rule of St. Benedict for nuns and that of St. Augustine for the clergy.
St. Joseph of Leonessa, priest (†1612). Capuchin Franciscan; he aided Christian captives in Constantinople and preached the Gospel, even in the palace of the sultan. He died in Amatrice, Italy.
St. John de Britto, priest and martyr (†1693). Portuguese Jesuit sent to the missions in India, where he suffered martyrdom after converting many people to the Catholic Faith.
St. Nicholas the Studite, monk (†868). Abbot of the Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople; he was exiled repeatedly for defending the cult of images.
Blessed John Speed, martyr (†1594). Layman condemned to death during the persecution of Elizabeth I for aiding Catholic priests.
Image gallery
