Tuesday after Epiphany
First Reading – 1 Jn 3:22–4:6
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8 (R. see 11)
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment. R.
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor. R.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth. R.
Gospel – Mk 6:34-44
When Jesus 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. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
Featured Saints
St. Raphaela Mary of the Sacred Heart, virgin (†1925). Foundress of the Congregation of Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Madrid, Spain. Victim of misunderstandings, she renounced the office of superior and virtuously spent the last 32 years of her life as a simple sister.
St. André Bessette, religious (†1937). Member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, he served as porter at Notre-Dame-des Neiges College in Montreal, Canada. Through his initiative, a world-famous shrine dedicated to St. Joseph was built on an elevation across from the school. (In Canada, celebrated as a Memorial on January 7).
St. Peter Thomas, bishop (†1366). French Carmelite religious. He worked for unity with the Eastern Churches as papal legate and later as Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.
St. Andrew Corsini, bishop (†1373). After a dissolute youth, he became a Carmelite and was elected Bishop of Fiesole (Italy). He governed his diocese with wisdom, aiding the poor and reconciling enemies.
St. John of Ribera, bishop (†1611). Archbishop of Valencia, Spain, for more than forty years. Devotee of the Blessed
Sacrament and defender of Catholic truth, he instructed the people with sound teaching.
St. Charles of Sezze, religious (†1670). After joining the Franciscan Order, he became known for his Eucharistic piety and love of neighbour.
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