Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional memorials: St. John Fisher, bishop, and St. Thomas More, martyrs (+1535). St. John Fisher was bishop of Rochester, made cardinal during his imprisonment, by Pope St. Pius V. Thomas More was an Oxford scholar, an incorruptible judge and finally Lord Chancellor. For their refusal to support Henry VIII’s remarriage and Act of Supremacy, both were beheaded. Also:
St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop (†431). Of a noble Roman family, he practised law, and became governor of the Italian province of Campania. He was converted under the influence of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine and abandoned the world, embracing the hermetical life and was ordained a priest and eventually made Bishop of Nola.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Cor 11:1-11
Brothers and sisters: If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me! Please put up with me. For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ. For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough. For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these “”superapostles.”” Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the Gospel of God to you without charge? I plundered other churches by accepting from them in order to minister to you. And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 111:1b-2, 3-4, 7-8 (R. 7a)
R.Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights. R.
Majesty and glory are His work,
and His justice endures forever.
He has won renown for His wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD. R.
The works of His hands are faithful and just;
sure are all His precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity. R.
Gospel – Mt 6:7-15
Jesus said to His disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Featured Saints
St. Nicetas (†c. 414). Bishop of Remesiana, in present-day Serbia, evangelized the barbarians, transforming them into sheep of Christ, and led them to the peaceful fold. St. Paulinus of Nola eulogized him for his evangelization of the barbarians.
St. Eusebius of Samosata, bishop and martyr (†379). Morto ao ser golpeado na cabeça com uma telha lançada por uma mulher ariana, enquanto visitava os fiéis de Dülük, Turquia.
St. Flavius Clemens, martyr (†96). Roman Consul martyred for refusing to adore pagan gods during the Domitian persecution
Blessed Innocent V, Pope (†1276). After having received the Dominican habit and taught theology in Paris, he was appointed Bishop of Lyon and later elected Pope. During his four-month pontificate he strove to bring peace to Italy and unite the separated churches to the Roman See.
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