Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Joel 4:12-21
Thus says the LORD: Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there will I sit in judgment upon all the neighboring nations. Apply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; Come and tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for great is their malice. Crowd upon crowd in the valley of decision; For near is the day of the LORD in the valley of decision. Sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their rightness. The LORD roars from Zion, and from Jerusalem raises his voice; The heavens and the earth quake, but the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the children of Israel. Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain; Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass through her no more. And then, on that day, the mountains shall drip new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; And the channels of Judah shall flow with water: A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD, to water the Valley of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a desert waste, Because of violence done to the people of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem for all generations. I will avenge their blood, and not leave it unpunished. The LORD dwells in Zion.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12 (R.12a)
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne. R.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory. R.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name. R.
Gospel – Lk 11:27-28
While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Featured Saints
St. Philip the Deacon, One of the seven first deacons of the Church chosen by the Apostles (cf. Acts 6:1-6). He converted the Samarian and baptized the minister of Queen Candace of Ethiopia.
St. Firminus (†circa 553) Bishop. In his youth, a disciple of St. Caesarius of Arles. He became the Bishop of Uzès, France, and assisted at several synods.
St. Bruno, bishop (†965). Brother of the Emperor Otto I; he was simultaneously Bishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia.
St. Radim Gaudentius, bishop (†c. 1011). Benedictine monk, brother and missionary companion of St. Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, whose martyrdom he witnessed. He became the Archbishop de Gniezno, Poland.
St. Meinard, bishop (†1196). German monk who set out to evangelize Latvia in his old age; he was ordained Bishop, and carried out missions of evangelization, overcoming many obstacles to convert souls.
St. Alexander Sauli, bishop (†1592). He abandoned his position in the court of Emperor Charles V to enter the Barnabite Congregation. He was the confessor of St. Charles Borromeu and Superior General of the congregation. Appointed Bishop of Aleria, her is considered the “Apostle of Corsica”.
St. Anastasius, presbítero (†666). Companion of St. Maximus the Confessor in suffering and defending the Faith; he died in exile in the Caucasus Mountains.
St. Peter Lê Tuy, priest and martyr (†1833). Beheaded at the time of Emperor Minh Mang, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
St. Maria Soledade Torres Acosta, virgin (†1887). From her youth she displayed extraordinary dedication to the sick and needy. To this end, she founded the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick.
Blessed Jacob Griesinger of Ulm, religious (†1491). Of German origin, he travelled to Italy at the age of 25 and eventually became a Dominican lay brother in Bologna, where for 50 years he dedicated himself with exemplary virtue and much skill to the art of stained glass painting.
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