Friday in the 1st Week of Ordinary time
St. Anthony of Egypt, abbot. Great patriarch and master of monastic life. He began to live as an anchorite at the age of 20, in the regions outlying his native village and later took up his abode in increasingly remote locations in the desert. The fame of his extraordinary life spread, influencing many other souls to follow a similar path. He was a victorious against the attacks of the devil until his death in 356, at the age of 105. His most eminent biographer was St. Athanasius.
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Heb 4:1-5, 11
Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened. For we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said: As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest,” and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; and again, in the previously mentioned place, They shall not enter into my rest. Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 78:3 & 4bc, 6c-7, 8 (R. see 7b)
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
we will declare to the generation to come
The glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength. R.
That they too may rise and declare to their sons
that they should put their hope in God,
And not forget the deeds of God
but keep his commands. R.
And not be like their fathers,
a generation wayward and rebellious,
A generation that kept not its heart steadfast
nor its spirit faithful toward God. R.
Gospel – Mk 2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” –he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Featured Saints
St. Marcellus, bishop (†510). Of the Dioceses of Die, France. He was exiled by the Arian king, Eurico.
St. Sulpicius the Pious, bishop (†647). Bishop of Bourges, France, admirable for his generosity, especially with the poor and the sick, and the austerity of his private life. He is known to have converted all the inhabitants of his diocese with his inspiring example of holiness.
Blessed Gamelbert, priest (†circa 802). A wealthy young man, he was ordained priest and successfully combined pastoral ministry with hermetic life. He gave all his possessions to found the monastery of Metten, Germany.
St. Januarius Sánchez Delgadillo, priest and martyr (†1927). Promoted religious instruction of children; killed during the anti-Christian persecution in Mexico.
St. Rosalina, virgin (†1329). From a French noble family, she renounced a favourable marriage and became a Carthusian nun and eventually the prioress of the Chartreuse of CelleRoubaud, in Provence, France, excelling in abnegation and austerity.
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