Mass Readings
First Reading – Hos 8:4-7, 11-13
Thus says the LORD: They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my approval. With their silver and gold they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction. Cast away your calf, O Samaria! my wrath is kindled against them; How long will they be unable to attain innocence in Israel? The work of an artisan, no god at all, Destined for the flames— such is the calf of Samaria! When they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind; The stalk of grain that forms no ear can yield no flour; Even if it could, strangers would swallow it. When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin, his altars became occasions of sin. Though I write for him my many ordinances, they are considered as a stranger’s. Though they offer sacrifice, immolate flesh and eat it, the LORD is not pleased with them. He shall still remember their guilt and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
Responsorial Psalm – PS 115:3-4, 5-6, 7ab-8, 9-10 (R.9a)
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men. R.
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not. R.
They have hands but feel not;
they have feet but walk not.
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone that trusts in them. R.
Gospel – Mt 9:32-38
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Featured Saints
Blessed Giovanna Scopelli, virgin (†1491). Carmelite religious; prioress of a monastery which she founded in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She was outstanding for her devotion to Our Lady and for her austere penances.
St. Joachim He Kaizhi, martyr (†1839). Catechist, strangled to death for his Christian Faith in Kouy-Yang, city of Guizhou province, China.
St. Veronica Giuliani, abbess (†1727). At age seventeen she entered the Monastery of Città di Castello (Italy) as a Capuchin nun. She lived there for fifty years as a religious and mystically participated in the Passion of Christ.
St. Nicholas Pieck, priest, and companions, martyrs (†1572). Franciscan priest tortured and strangled to death by Calvinists together with 10 religious from his Order and eight secular priests in Brielle, Holland, for defending the Primacy of the Pope and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Blessed Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier and Marguerite-Marie-Anne of the Angels, virgins and martyrs (†1794). Ursuline nuns martyred during the religious persecutions of the French Revolution.
Blessed Fidelis Chijnacki, martyr (†1942). Capuchin monk imprisoned during the occupation of Poland and sent to Dachau Concentration Camp.
Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovič, virgin (†1966). Founded the Franciscan Congregation of the Daughters of Mercy in the Diocese of Dubrovnik, Croatia.
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