Friday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – Phil 1:1-11
Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the Gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (R.2)
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights. R.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD. R.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations. R.
Gospel – Lk 14:1-6
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question.
Featured Saints
St. Marcellus of Leon, martyr (†298). Roman centurion decapitated in Tangier, Morocco, for declaring to his companions that he was a Christian.
Sts. Claudius, Lupercus and Victorius, martyrs of the Diocletian persecution of the fourth century. Sons of St. Marcellus of Leon.
Blessed Angelo of Acri, priest (†1739). Franciscan Capuchin who travelled throughout the Kingdom of Naples for almost 40 years, preaching the Word of God with simplicity.
Blessed Benvenuta Boiani, virgin (†1292). Daughter of the lord of Cividale del Friuli, Italy, she made a vow of virginity at the age of eleven. Still at a young age, she became a Dominican tertiary and consecrated her life to prayer and penance.
St. Eutropia, martyr (†c. third century). For her refusal to deny her faith in Christ, she was cruelly tortured until death in Alexandria, Egypt.
Blessed Terence Albert O’Brien, Bishop and martyr (+1651). Dominican prior who became Bishop of Limerick, Ireland. When his diocese was besieged during the regime of Oliver Cromwell, he was captured and hanged at Gallows Green.
Blessed Oleksa Zaryckyj, priest and martyr (†1963). Under the soviet regime, he was arrested due to religious persecution and deported to a concentration camp in Dolinka, Kazakhstan, where he died.
Blessed John Michael Langevin, priest and martyr (†1793). Killed due to anti-religious hatred during the French Revolution.
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