Wednesday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, religious (†1457). Revered as a patroness of seemingly impossible cases. She patiently bore the harsh treatment of her husband. After his death and that of her two sons, she entered the Augustinian convent at Cascia where she was an exemplary religious. She was favoured with mystical visions and bore permanent wound on her forehead associated with the crown of thorns.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Jas 4:13-17
Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11 (R. Mt 5:3)
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike. R.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast. R.
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction. R.
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth. R.
Gospel – Mk 9:38-40
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”
Featured Saints
St. Atto, bishop (†c. 1153). After serving as abbot of the Order of Vallumbrosa, he was elect ed to the Episcopal Seat of Pistoia, Italy.
St. Dominic Ngon, martyr (†1862). Father of a family who was decapitated during the persecutions in Vietnam, for refusing to renounce his Faith.
St. John Forest, priest and martyr († 1538). Franciscan priest, burned alive during the reign of Henry VIII of England, for defending the unity of the Catholic Church.
Blessed Matthias of Arima, martyr (†1620). Catechist from Oruma, Japan; tortured to death for refusing to denounce the missionaries.
Blessed Humility (Rosanna), abbess (†1310). At twenty-four years of age, she and her husband decided to abandon the world and enter religious life. Drawn by her example, several young women joined her in the Monastery of St. Maria Novella, of which she became prioress.
Blessed Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini, religious (†1868). Widow who dedicated herself to helping the impoverished sick and founded the Congregation of the Sister Ministers of the Sick of St. Camillus in Lucca, Italy.
Blesseds Peter of the Assumption and John Baptist Machado, priests and martyrs (†1617) Franciscan priests beheaded in Kori, Japan, out of hatred for the Faith.
Image gallery
