Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot
St. Benedict of Nursia, abbot (†547). Founder of the Benedictine Order, which was the harbinger of the Middle Ages. From the Benedictines came the evangelizers of the barbarian peoples, which gave rise to European Christian civilization. He is thus hailed as the father of Western monasticism and patron of Europe. The maxim for his order was: Ora et labora.
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Gn 46:1-7, 28-30
Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here I am.” Then he said: “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.” So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport. They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt. His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters all his descendants-he took with him to Egypt. Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. And Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive.”
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 (R.39a)
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests. R.
The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;
their inheritance lasts forever.
They are not put to shame in an evil time;
in days of famine, they have plenty. R.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones. R.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him. R.
Gospel – Mt 10:16-23
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
Featured Saints
St. Olga of Kiev (†969). Russian princess and grandmother of King St. Vladimir. The first Russian sovereign to receive Baptism, her conversion opened the doors of Russia to Christianity. She died in Kiev, present-day Ukraine.
St. Leontius, bishop (†c. 570). He stood out in Bordeaux, France as a builder and restorer of places of worship, and an advocate of the poor.
St. Quetilus, priest (†1151). Augustinian religious in Denmark, he promoted evangelization and acted as a peacemaker in the dynastic disputes of his country.
St. Abundius, priest and martyr (†854). Killed in Cordoba, during the persecution of the Moors, for his fearless confession of the Faith.
St. Hidulphus, abbot (†707). He lived as a hermit in the dense forest of Vosges, France. For the sake of his many followers he founded and governed the monastery of Moyenmoutier.
Blessed Bertrand, abbot (†1149). Superior of the Monastery of Grandselve, outside Toulouse (France); he incorporated it into the Cistercian Order.
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