Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Rv 15:1-4
I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring: seven angels with the seven last plagues, for through them God’s fury is accomplished. Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire. On the sea of glass were standing those who had won the victory over the beast and its image and the number that signified its name. They were holding God’s harps, and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty. Just and true are your ways, O king of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 98:1, 2-3AB, 7-8, 9 (R.Rev. 15: 3b)
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. R.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. R.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy. R.
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity. R.
Gospel – Lk 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Featured Saints
Our Lady of Graces (Miraculous Medal) In the year 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared St. Catherine Labouré, a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Paul, asking her to have a medal struck after the model that was shown to her, and promising special graces to those who would wear it with confidence.
St. Maximus, bishop (†455). Founder of the monastery of Lerins, France. Despite his resistance, he was appointed Bishop of Riez, in Provence.
St. Acharius of Noyon, bishop (†circa 640). As a monk of Luxeuil, he was elected Bishop of Noyon (France) and Tournai (Belgium) then a single diocese.
St. Vergilius, bishop (†784). Irish abbot of great learning, he was appointed to direct the Church of Salzburg, Austria, and furthered the evangelization of Carinthia, to the south.
St. Gulstan, monk (†1040). Of Breton origin, he was captured in his youth by pirates who abandoned him, after years of slavery, on the island of Ouessant, France. After St. Felix came to his aid, he entered the monastery of St. Gildas where, despite his illiteracy, learned the psalter by by heart, and sang with great fervour.
Blessed Bernardine of Fossa, priest (†1503). Franciscan religious who propagated the Catholic Faith in many regions of Italy. He was Provincial Superior in Abruzzi, Dalmatia and Bosnia.
Blesseds Thomas Koteda Kiuni and companions, martyrs (†1619). Beheaded in Nagasaki (Japan), by order of the Governor Gonzuku.
Blessed Bronislaw Kostowski, martyr (†1940). Polish seminarian imprisoned during the Second World War; he was tortured and eventually died in Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
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