Mass Readings

First Reading – Gn 18:20-32

In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.” While Abraham’s visitors walked on farther toward Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew nearer and said: “Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?” The LORD replied, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” He answered, “I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there.” But Abraham persisted, saying “What if only forty are found there?” He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty.” Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.” Still Abraham went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?” The LORD answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.” But he still persisted: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?” He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8 (R.3a)

R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name. R.

Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me. R.

The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand. R.

Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R.

Second Reading – Col 2:12-14

Brothers and sisters: You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.

Gospel – Lk 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Featured Saints

St. Charbel Makhluf, priest (+1898). A Lebanese Maronite monk known for his asceticism and profound mystical life. He was later permitted to live as a solitary hermit and acquired a widespread reputation for holiness during his life.

Sts. Boris and Gleb, martyrs (†1015). Sons of St. Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev, they preferred to die than to enter into armed conflict with their brother Sviatopolk.

Blessed Louise of Savoy, religious (†1503). Daughter of Blessed Amadeus, Duke of Savoy. She married Hugo, Prince of Chalon, and was widowed while still very young. She abandoned worldly honours and riches to become a Clarist under the reform of St. Colette.

Blessed Maria Mercedes Prat, virgin and martyr (†1936). Shot for being a nun during the anti-Catholic hatred of the Spanish Civil War.

St. Joseph Fernandez, priest and martyr (†1838). Dominican missionary beheaded during the reign of Emperor Minh Mang, in Nam Dinh (Vietnam).

St. Euphrasia, virgin (†fifth century). From a noble senatorial family, she withdrew to lead a hermitic life in the desert in Egypt.

St. Baldwin, abbot (†1140). Disciple of St. Bernard in the monastery of Clairvaux, he founded the Monastery of St. Matthew in Rieti, Italy.

St. Fantinus the Elder (†fourth century). Nicknamed the Wonderworker, he performed many prodigies in Tauriana, Italy.

St. Kinga (or Cunegunde) of Poland, religious (†1293). Daughter of the King of Hungary, she married the Prince of Krakow, Bolesław V , and both lived in perfect chastity. After the death of her spouse, she became a Poor Clare in the monastery she had founded.