Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (†107). Disciple of St. John the Evangelist, and Bishop of Antioch. He was later martyred in the Amphitheatre of Rome. His sanctity, courage, and zeal for souls is evident in the famous letters he wrote to the newly founded communities of the early Church.
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Rom 4:1-8
Brothers and sisters: What can we say that Abraham found, our ancestor according to the flesh? Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works, he has reason to boast; but this was not so in the sight of God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. A worker’s wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due. But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. So also David declares the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11 (R. see 7)
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.R.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin. R.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart. R.
Gospel – Lk 12:1-7
At that time: So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees. “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”
Featured Saints
St. Francois Isidore Gagelin, priest and martyr (†1833). As a small boy in a devout French family that provided refuge for faithful clerics during the French Revolution, he longed to be a priest and a martyr. He became a priest of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris and died during the persecutions in Vietnam.
St. Richard Gwyn, martyr (†1584). Father of a family and schoolteacher in Wales, he converted to the Catholic Faith and was imprisoned for four years and executed for his efforts to lead others to the Faith.
St. Hosea, Prophet. By his words and example of life, he proclaimed the Lord as the ever-faithful Spouse of infinite mercy.
Blessed Jacques Burin, priest and martyr (†1794). He clandestinely carried out his pastoral ministry during the French Revolution, until being shot to death while celebrating Mass in Laval.
Blessed Peter of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Casani, presbítero (†1647). priest (†1647). Piarist religious who died in Rome; He was a child educator and also attracted multitudes with his preaching.
Blessed Gilbert the Cistercian, abbot (†1167). Born in England, he was a Cistercian abbot; a man of great knowledge, he defended St. Thomas Beckett in exile.
Blesseds Marie Natalie of St. Louis Vanot and companions, virgins and martyrs (†1794). Religious of the Ursuline Order guillotined in Valenciennes during the French Revolution.
Blessed Tarsila Cordoba Belda, mother of a family, martyr (†1936). In Valencia, Spain, during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Civil War, she hid Church goods and cared for nuns in hiding until she was discovered, imprisoned and killed.
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