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 – Eph 1:15-23
Brothers and sisters: Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his Body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 8:2-3ab, 4-5, 6-7 (R. 7)
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 8:2-3ab, 4-5, 6-7 (R. 7)
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
O LORD, our LORD,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
you have fashioned praise because of your foes. R.
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him? R.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet. R.
Gospel – Lk 12:8-12
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
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, 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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