Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and Doctor of the Church
St. Thomas Aquinas (†1274). Friar of the Dominican Order, a theology pupil of St. Albert the Great at the beginning of his studies in the University of Paris. Endowed with extraordinary intellectual gifts, St. Thomas is a luminary of the Church.
See also:
- The Sanctity of the Priesthood, in the Light of St. Thomas Aquinas
- Learning From the Teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas
- Eucharistic Devotion of St. Thomas Aquinas – Living Example of Theology
- Contemplation according to St. Thomas Aquinas – To Contemplate is to Know and Love!
- Brief Biography of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Angelic Itinerary of a Man
Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Sam 7:4-17
That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the children of Israel out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth. In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel, did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ “Now then, speak thus to my servant David, ‘The LORD of hosts has this to say: It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I removed from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'” Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30 (R.29a)
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”R.
“He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!’
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth.”R.
“Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.”R.
Gospel – Mk 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Featured Saints
St. Julian of Cuenca, Bispo (†1207). Bishop and patron of this Spanish city. He applied himself to the growth and glorification of Christ’s Church. He supported the poor of his diocese with his own labours.
St. Joseph Freinademetz, priest (†1908). Religious of the Society of the Divine Word, sent to the missions in China where he worked tirelessly in the evangelization of those people.
St. James, anchorite (†554). A hermit in Palestine. Por penance, he made his abode in a tomb.
St. Agatha Lin Zao, virgin, St. Jerome Lu Ting mei and St. Laurence Wang Bing, catechists and martyrs (†1858). Beheaded in Macau, China, after being denounced as Christians.
Blessed Julian Maunoir, priest (†1683). Priest of the Company of Jesus who dedicated himself to popular missions in the region of Plévin, France.
Blessed Olympia Bida, virgin and martyr (†1952). Ukrainian religious from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, she was sent to a concentration camp in Siberia where she endured grievous suffering for the love of Christ.
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