Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Featured Saints
St. Eulogius, priest and martyr (†859). He was beheaded in Cordoba, Spain, for gloriously confessing the name of Christ.
St. Dominic Cam, priest and martyr (†1859). Dominican religious born in present-day Vietnam. After clandestinely exercising his ministry for many years, helping many Christians to remain steadfast in the Faith, he was imprisoned and beheaded in Hung Yên at the command of Emperor Tu Ðuc.
St. Sophronius, bishop (†639). Monk from Palestine, he was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem. He fought the Monothelite heresy and composed hymns and canticles that until today are included in the eastern Liturgy.
Sts. Mark Chong Ui-bae and Alex U Se-yong, martyrs (†1866). Beheaded in Sai-NamThe, Korea for practicing and
propagating the Catholic Faith.
St. Constantine, king and martyr (†sixth century). After committing murders and sacrilege, he converted to Christianity. He abandoned the throne of Cornwall to withdraw to an Irish monastery. After being ordained priest, he left on mission to Scotland, where he received the palm of martyrdom.
Blessed Thomas Atkinson, priest and martyr (†1616). Tireless apostle, he served Catholic families in England during the reign of James I, showing special dedication to the poor. After being betrayed and arrested, he was drawn, hanged, and quartered.
Blessed John Kearney, priest and martyr (†1653). Irish Franciscan executed in London, during the rule
of Oliver Cromwell, for exercising his priestly ministry.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Jer 7:23-28
Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you,so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to Me. From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed Me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (R.8)
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to Him. R.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For He is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock He guides. R.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted Me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.” R.
Gospel – Lk 11:14-23
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
He drives out demons.”
Others, to test Him, asked Him for a sign from heaven.
But He knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
