Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Featured Saints
St. Martin de Porres, religious (†1639). Born in Lima, Peru, in 1579, of Spanish and black descent. He entered the Dominican Order as a lay brother and took upon himself the most humble and repugnant tasks. He was gifted with extraordinary mystical gifts, such as prophecy, ecstasy and bilocation. Optional Memorial.
St. Perminius, bishop (†circa 755). Abbot and Bishop of Reichenau, he preached the Gospel to the Alemans and Bavarians, founded many monasteries and wrote a book for his followers on the religious instruction of uncultured peoples.
St. Bernard, bishop (†1130). From a noble family of the Counts of Marsi and Sangro, he became a Benedictine in Montecasino. At the age of 30, he was elevated to episcopal dignity in the diocese of Marsi, Italy, and fought against simony, while striving to restore ecclesiastical discipline and to protect the poor.
St. Ermengol, bishop (†1035). One of the most illustrious prelates who dedicated themselves to restoring Christianity in the lands reconquested from the moors in Catalonia, Spain.
St. Peter Francis Néron,priest and martyr (†1860). Religious from the Foreign Missions Society of Paris, who was imprisoned in a cramped cell, cruelly beaten and beheaded in Tonkin, Vietnam under the Emperor Tu Duc.
St. Joannicius, monk (†846). He left the imperial army to live as a hermit on Mount Olympus and later entered the monastery of Antidium, Turkey. He defended the veneration of sacred images and is the author of several icons in honour of the Virgin Mary.
St. Sílvia (†seventh century). Mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great. She abandoned the world to better dedicate herself to prayer and penance.
Blessed Alpais, virgin (†1211). Peasant who lived alone in a small cell in Cudot, France, where she received the gift of counsel and of performing miracles.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Rom 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9 (R.5a)
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed. R.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice. R.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory. R.
Gospel – Lk 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
