Mass Readings

First Reading – Is 58:7-10

Thus says the LORD: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and He will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R. 4a)

R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice. R.

He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. R.

His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
His justice shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory. R.

Second Reading – 1 Cor 2:1-5

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Gospel – Mt 5:13-16

Jesus said to His disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

Featured Saints

St. Agatha, virgin martyr (†250). She was a young noblewoman from Catania, Sicily, where the Church suffered terrible persecution. St. Agatha has been greatly venerated by the Popes, and owes to St. Gregory Gregory the Great the inclusion of her name into the Roman Canon.

St. Sabas the younger, monk (†995). Together with his brother St. Macarius, he spread monastic life in Calabria and Lucania (Italy), during a time of devastation caused by the Saracens.

Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora, housewife (†1825). She patiently and charitably endured her husband’s infidelity and abuse. She joined the Third Order of the Trinitarians in Rome, offering her life for the conversion of sinners, and was favoured with mystical gifts.

St. Luke of Lucania, abbot (†995). He lived a monastic life, initially in Sicily, and then in several other places, fleeing the Saracen incursions. He died in the monastery of Sts. Elias and Anastasius, which he had founded in Carbone (Italy).

St. Adelaide, abbess (†1015). Descendant of high nobility, she became a nun and was elected abbess of the Monastery of Villich, Germany. She adopted the Benedictine Rule and promoted the intellectual formation of the religious.

Blessed Françoise Mézière, virgin and martyr (+1794). A laywoman who dedicated herself to caring for the sick and teaching poor children. For her faith she was decapitated in Laval during the French Revolution.

St. Jesus Méndez Montoya, priest and martyr (†1928). Killed by firing squad in the Archdiocese of Morelia during the Mexican persecution.

St. Avitus, bishop (†518). Converted St. Sigismund, King of Burgundy, to Catholicism. He defended the Gauls from the Arian heresy and died in Vienne, France.

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Saints of February 5

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