Memorial of Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, martyrs
St. Cornelius, Pope (+253) and St. Cyprian, bishop (+258), martyrs. St. Cornelius fought zealously for the unity of the persecuted Church. He was banished from Rome under Emperor Gallus and died a martyr in exile in Civitavecchia. St. Cyprian, as Bishop of Carthage, dedicated himself to the organization of the Church in Africa. Great orator and master of moral theology, he figures among the Patristic writers of the early Church, one of the first defenders of the Primacy of Peter.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 1 Tm 1:15-17
Beloved: This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all His patience as an example for those who would come to believe in Him for everlasting life. To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7 (R.2)
R.Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever. R.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is His glory. R.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill He lifts up the poor. R.
Gospel – Lk 6:43-49
Jesus said to His disciples: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
Featured Saints
St. Ludmila, martyr (†921). Duchess of Bohemia, baptized by St. Methodius. She dedicated herself to works of charity, building churches and spreading the Faith. On account of her religious influence in the education her her grandson, the future ruler St. Wenceslaus, St. Ludmilda was murdered by her daughter-in-law.
St. Ninian of Galloway, bishop (†c. 432). Of British origin, he led the Picts of southern Scotland to embrace the Faith, becoming the first Bishop of Galloway.
St. Vital, abbot (†1122). He renounced earthly posts and founded a monastery in Savigny, France, where he gathered many disciples.
St. Martin of Finojosa, bishop and abbot (†1213). Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of St. Mary of Huerta, Spain, he was ordained Bishop of Sigüenza, where he strove to reform the clergy.
St. John Macias, religious (†1645). Dominican lay brother who for many years carried out humble offices in the monastery of Lima (Peru), excelling in piety and charity. His projects for the assistance of the needy were adopted in other Latin-American countries.
St. Edith of Wilton, virgin (†984). Daughter of King Edgar of England, she consecrated herself to God from a young age at the monastery of Wilton, where she was outstanding for her humility and abnegation, repeatedly declining to accept the office of abbess.
St. Euphemia, virgin and martyr (†c. 303). For her Faith, she bore cruel torture unto death in Chalcedon, present-day Turkey.
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