Wednesday of the11th Week in Ordinary Time
Featured Saints
St. Lutgardis, virgin (†1246). A Belgian Cistercian nun favoured with mystical visions of the Passion and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She offered her life for the conversion of the Albigensians and of sinners.
St. Aurelian of Arles, bishop (†551). Bishop of Arles and Vicar of the the Apostolic See in Gaul, he founded both a masculine and feminine monastery in his diocese and wrote a rule for them.
St. Ceccardus, Bishop and martyr (†860). Bishop of Luni and Sarzana, killed by marble quarry workers in Carrara, Italy.
St. Julitta and St. Cyriacus, martyrs (†unknown). Young widow martyred along with her three-year-old son, during the Diocletian persecution in Tarsus (in modern Turkey)
Bl. Antoine Constante Auriel, priest and martyr (†1794). For refusing to sign the Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution, he was imprisoned in a sordid jail cell where he died ministering to his fellow prisoners.
Blessed Thomas Reding, martyr (†1537). Carthusian monk of London, England. For remaining united to the Church, he was shackled in Newgate Prison, where he died of hunger and illness during the reign of Henry VIII.
Blessed Maria Theresa Scherer, foundress (†1888). Founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross in Ingenbohl, Switzerland, for the assistance of the poor and the sick.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Cor 9:6-11
Brothers and sisters, consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 112:1bc-2, 3-4, 9 (R.1b)
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed. R.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just. R.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory. R.
Gospel – Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
