Mass Readings

First Reading – Hos 11:1-4, 8e-9

Thus says the LORD: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16 (R.4b)

R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken.
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power. R.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see:
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted,
the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R.

Gospel – Mt 10:7-15

Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words– go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Featured Saints

Blessed Benedict XI, Pope (†1304). Friar of the Order of Preachers, he fostered harmony, the renewal of discipline and religious growth during his brief pontificate.

St. Edilburga, abbess (†695). Daughter of the King of East Anglia, she consecrated herself to God as a religious in the monastery of Ebreuil, France.

St. Willibald, bishop (†787). Son of Saxon ruler St. Richard; after spending some years in the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino, he accompanied his uncle St. Boniface in the evangelization of Germania.

St. Pantaenus of Alexandria (†third century). A man of great culture, who for love of the Word of God, travelled to the Far East to spread the Gospel.

Blessed Peter To Rot, martyr (†1945). Father of a family and catechist from the village of Rakunai, in Melanesia. He was martyred by the Japanese during World War II by lethal injection.

St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, martyr (†1900). Unable to receive the Eucharist for thirty years because of an addiction to opium which he had originally used for medicinal purposes, he fought continually to free himself from this vice and always prayed for a holy death. He received the crown of martyrdom in Ji Xian Hebei, China, professing his Faith in Christ.

Blessed Iphigenia of St. Matthew, virgin and martyr (†1794). Benedictine nun, guillotined in Orange during the French Revolution.

St. Odo of Urgell, bishop (†1122). Appointed Bishop of Urgell, Spain, by public acclaim while still a layman.

Blessed Maria Romero Meneses, virgin (†1977). Nicaraguan Salesian religious sent to Costa Rica where she worked in the formation of youth for forty-six years.

St. Pantaenus of Alexandria (†third century). A man of great culture who, for love of God’s Word, set out for the Far East to spread the Gospel.