Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, queen (†1336). Daughter of the King of Aragon, she was given in marriage to the King of Portugal. She suffered much due to his infidelities and from false accusations. She acted as a peacemaker in grave family disputes and thereby prevented bloodshed. After the death of her husband, she became a Franciscan tertiary and spent the rest of her days in detachment and mortification.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Hos 2:16, 17C-18, 21-22
Thus says the LORD: I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt. On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me “My husband,” and never again “My baal.” I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.8a)
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable. R.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works. R.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice. R.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works. R.
Gospel – Mt 9:18-26
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.
Featured Saints
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, layman (†1925). Born to a wealthy family of Turin, Italy, he habitually renounced personal privileges and comforts to help those in need, whether materially or spiritually, and showed zeal in defending virtue among youth, one of his causes being a “Eucharistic Crusade ”. He died of a fulminant case of poliomyelitis at the age of 24, and his funeral brought out thousands of mourners who regarded him as a saint.
St. Andrew of Crete, bishop (†740). Archbishop of Gortyna (Crete); eminent preacher and hymnodist.
St. Ulrich, bishop (†973). Bishop of Augsburg, in Bavaria (Germany). He died in his nineties after exercising his Episcopal ministry for 50 years.
St. Bertha of Blangy, abbess (†c. 725). In her widowhood she became a religious in the monastery which she founded, in the city of Blangy, France.
St. Caesidius Giacomantonio, priest and martyr (†1900). Franciscan who was stoned and burned in the city of Hengyang, China, while he protected the Blessed Sacrament from profanation.
Blessed Jozef Kowalski, priest and martyr (†1942). Salesian priest, arrested for practising his ministry and shipped to Auschwitz concentration camp where he continually ministered to souls despite being subjected to barbarous treatment. He was violently attacked and killed out of religious hatred by the prison guards.
Blessed Boniface of Savoy, bishop (†1270). Carthusian monk born of a noble French family and elected Archbishop of Canterbury, England.
Blessed Mary of the Crucifix Curcio, religious (†1957). Founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, in Santa Marinella, near Rome. She desired to unite a missionary aspect to Carmelite spirituality, with the goal of “bringing souls to God.”
Blessed Catherine Jarrige, virgin (†1836). Dominican tertiary; during the French Revolution, she helped priests who had not taken the revolutionary oath, supplying them with bread and wine for the Eucharistic celebration.
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