Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Rv 22:1-7
John said: An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the street, On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will look upon His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7AB (R.1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c)
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
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.
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In His hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are His.
His is the sea, for He has made it,
and the dry land, which His hands have formed. 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.
Gospel – Lk 21:34-36
Jesus said to His disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” And He said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent His angel to show His servants what must happen soon.” “Behold, I am coming soon.” Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.
Featured Saints
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, priest (†1751). Franciscan priest who spent his life preaching and publishing devotional books. He participated in more than three hundred missions in Italy.
St. Conrad, Bishop (†975). Bishop of Constance, Germany. An exemplary pastor of his flock, he generously distributed his goods in benefit of the Church and of the poor.
Blessed Delphine (†1358-1360). Wife of St. Elzear of Sabran, Count of Ariano (in the Kingdom of Naples), with whom she made a vow to preserve chastity. After her husband’s death, she lived in poverty, dedicated to prayer.
St. Siricius, Pope (†399). St. Ambrose praised him as a true master, for he took upon himself responsibility for all bishops, instructed them with the teachings of the Holy Fathers and confirmed them with his apostolic authority.
St. Sylvester Gozzolini, abbot (†1267). After his ordination, he first exercised his ministry in the Cathedral of Osimo (Italy), his native city. Witnessing the opening of a relative’s tomb, he comprehended the vanity of the world and began to lead a hermitic life in a grotto, where other young men joined him. He founded several monasteries under the rule of St. Benedict, which were later recognized as the Congregation of the Sylvestrians.
St. Nikon, monk (†998). He evangelized the Island of Crete, recently liberated from Saracen domination. He preached in Greece, where he died in a monastery he founded in Sparta.
Blesseds Hugh Taylor, priest, and Marmaduke Bowes, layman, martyrs (†1585). Executed at York during the anti-Catholic persecutions of Elizabeth I of England.
Blessed James Alberione, priest (†1971). Founder of the Pious Society of St. Paul (Pauline Brothers, the first of the ten branches of the Pauline Family), he used social communications as an instrument of evangelization.
Blessed Humils Pirozzo, religious (†1637). Franciscan friar from the monastery of Calabria. Popes Gregory XV and Urban VIII consulted him on matters of grave importance for the Church.
Blessed Gaetana Stérni (†1889). She became a widow at a young age and founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Will, for the assistance of the poor and sick.
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