Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7A, 17-24A
When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of Egypt and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh directed all the Egyptians to go to Joseph and do whatever he told them. When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world. The sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations. It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph’s brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But Joseph concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days. On the third day Joseph said to his brothers: “Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die.” To this they agreed. To one another, however, they said: “Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us.” Reuben broke in, “Did I not tell you not to do wrong to the boy? But you would not listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” The brothers did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. But turning away from them, he wept.
Responsorial Psalm – PS 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19 (R.22)
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully,
with shouts of gladness.R.
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations. R.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.R.
Gospel – Mt 10:1-7
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Featured Saints
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, receiving several physical stigmata including permanent engravings on her heart.
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. 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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