Sunday of the 11th Week of Ordinary Time
Featured Saints
St. Anthony of Padua, priest and Doctor of the Church (+1231). Disciple of St. Francis and renowned miracle-worker, he preached relentlessly against the errors of Albigensianism, earning the title “Hammer of the Heritics”. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, he exercised his apostolate in Paudua, Italy, where he died.
St. Fandilas, priest and martyr (†853). Monk from the Monastery of Peñamelaria, Córdoba, beheaded by order of Emir Muhammad I.
St. Eulogius, bishop (†c. 607). Patriarch of Alexandria; he vigorously fought the heresies of his time, especially Monophysitism.
St. Rambert, martyr (†680). Knight of high nobility, imprisoned and killed in the vicinity of Lyon by order of Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace of the King of Neustria.
Sts. Augustine Phan Viet Huy and Nicholas Bui Viet, martyrs (†1839). Soldiers in the Vietnamese army, executed for the “crime” of being Christian, during persecutions in Vietnam.
Blessed Gerard of Clairvaux, monk (†1138). He left his military career to enter the Monastery of Clairvaux, France, governed by his brother, St. Bernard. He stood out for his intelligence and spiritual discernment.
Blessed Marianna Biernacka, widow and martyr (†1943). During the religious persecution of the Polish people during World War II, she offered to be imprisoned and killed in place of her daughter-in-law Ana, who was about to give birth. She was shot to death in Naumowicze, Poland.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Ez 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 (R.cf. 2a)
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to You.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night. R.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God. R.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong. R.
Second Reading – 2 Cor 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please Him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Gospel – Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables He did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples He explained everything in private.
