Thursday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
Featured Saints
St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop (†604/605). Optional Memorial Benedictine monk sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great to convert England; first Bishop of Canterbury. Feast in Great Britain.
St. Eutropius, bishop (†circa 475). After his wife’s death, he consecrated himself entirely to God, was ordained deacon and later elected Bishop of Orange, France.
St. Bruno of Würzburg, bishop (†1045). He Restored the Cathedral of Würzburg, he reformed the clergy and taught
the Sacred Scriptures to the people.
St. Julius of Silistra, martyr (†circa 302). Veteran of the Roman army; he was beheaded in Silistra, present day Bulgaria, for refusing to sacrifice to idols.
St. Gonzaga Gonza, martyr (†1886). Servant of the King of Uganda, run through by the lance of an executioner when he was led in chains to the fire.
St. Athanasius Bazzekuketta, martyr (†1886). Guardian of the treasury of the Royal House of Nakiwubo, Uganda. He died at twenty years of age for having embraced the Catholic Faith.
Sts. Barbara Kim and Barbara Yi, martyrs (†1839). Two laywomen, the former a widow and the latter a virgin of fifteen years of age, who died in prison in Seoul during the persecution in Korea.
Blesseds Edmund Duke, Richard Hill, John Hogg and Richard Holiday, priests and martyrs †1590). Killed for being Catholic priests during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Sir 42:15-25
Now will I recall God’s works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God’s word were his works brought into being; they do his will as He has ordained for them. As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works; Yet even God’s holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory. He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets. No understanding does He lack; no single thing escapes Him. Perennial is his almighty wisdom; He is from all eternity one and the same, with nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for Him! How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and fleeting vision! The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has He made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 33:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R. 6a)
R. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness. R.
For upright is the word of the LORD
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask;
in cellars He confines the deep. R.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all who dwell in the world revere Him.
For He spoke, and it was made;
He commanded, and it stood forth. R.
Gospel – Mk 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed Him on the way.
