Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent
Optional Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, (†203). Martyrs of Carthage, Tunisia, during the persecution of Septimus Severus. Their names are mentioned among the martyrs in the Canon of the Mass.
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 He though they had seen Hy 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.”
Featured Saints
St. Teresa Margaret Redi, virgin (†1770). Discalced Carmelite from the Convent of Florence, Italy. She followed an arduous path to perfection in her short life of 23 years, notable for her abnegated service to the sick and elderly in her community and for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (See featured photo.)
St. Paul of Prusa, bishop (†850). He was expelled from his homeland and died in exile in Prusa, present-day Bursa, Turkey, for defending the cult of sacred images.
St. Siméon-François Berneux, bishop and martyr (†1866). French missionary, appointed Apostolic Vicar in Korea. He was beheaded after undergoing cruel torture.
St. Paul the Simple, hermit (†fourth century). Disciple of St. Anthony of the desert, from Thebaid, Egypt. His master put his his obedience and patience to various tests, and was greatly impressed with his exemplary virtue.
St. John Baptist Nam Chong Sam, martyr (†1866). Korean noble and royal chamberlain who converted to Christianity and fell out of favour with the court. He was arrested, tortured and beheaded.
Blessed Leonid Fëdorov, bishop and martyr (†1935). Exarch of Russian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite, he was imprisoned in Kirov, where he died as a faithful disciple of Christ.
Blessed José Olallo Valdés, religious (†1889). From the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, he served the sick for fifty-four years in a hospital in Havana, Cuba.
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