Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend My sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend My sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I Myself will pasture My sheep; I Myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 (R.1)
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures He gives me repose. R.
Beside restful waters He leads me;
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for His name’s sake. R.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. R.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come. R.
Second Reading – 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at His coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to His God and Father, when He has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. When everything is subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to Him, so that God may be all in all.
Gospel – Mt 25:31-46
Jesus said to His disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the king will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
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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