Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin and Doctor of the Church (†1897). At a very young age she entered the Carmel of Lisieux (France), where she became a mistress of novices. Her innocence and simplicity led her to the practice of a new way of perfection: that of spiritual childhood, the “Little Way”, which she expounds upon in her writings. After her death at age 24, she quickly became a much-beloved and powerful intercessor throughout the world. See also: Letters from the Trenches.
Other featured Saints
St. Nicetius of Tréveris, bishop (†561). He was, according to St. Gregory of Tours, strong in preaching, formidable in debate and constant in teaching. He suffered exile during the reign of Clothar I.
Blessed Gerard Edwards, priest and martyr (†1588). Executed in Canterbury during the anti-Catholic persecution of Elizabeth I, together with Blesseds Robert Wilcox and Christopher Buxton, priests, and Robert Widmerpool, a layman charged with giving aid to a Catholic priest.
St. Romanos, deacon (†c. 555/565). After converting from Judaism, he was ordained a deacon and departed for Constantinople. Due to his prolific composition of hymns in praise of God and the Saints he received the appellation “the Melodist”.
St. Bavo of Ghent, monk (†c. 659). Of a noble family, he lived a dissolute youth. After hearing a sermon of St. Amand, he distributed his goods among the poor and withdrew to the Benedictine abbey in Ghent, Belgium.
Blessed Antoni Rewera, priest and martyr (†1942). For confessing the true Faith, he was deported from Poland to the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. He endured terrible tortures and obtained the crown of martyrdom.
Blessed Luigi Maria Mónti, religious (†1900). Founder of the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception. He died in the orphanage he had founded in Saronno, Italy.
Blessed Kaspar Hikojiro e Andrew Yoshida, martyrs (†1617). Catechists beheaded in Nagasaki, Japão, for having recieved priests in their homes.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Bar 1:15-22
During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed: “Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors, have sinned in the Lord’s sight and disobeyed him. We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us. From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice. And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today. For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.”
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 279:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9 (R.9)
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. R.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire? R.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low. R.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake. R.
Gospel – Lk 10:13-16
Jesus said to them,
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’
Whoever listens to you listens to Me.
Whoever rejects you rejects Me.
And whoever rejects Me rejects the one who sent Me.”
