Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – 1 Cor 7:25-31
Brothers and sisters: In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. So this is what I think best because of the present distress: that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation. Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife. If you marry, however, you do not sin, nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries; but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life, and I would like to spare you that. I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17 (R.11)
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for He is your lord, and you must worship Him. R.
All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are brought to You. R.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land. R.
Gospel – Lk 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward His disciples Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
Featured Saints
St. Regina, virgin and martyr (†third century). In Autun, France under the proconsul Olybrius, Regina was denounced for her conversion to the Christian Faith, which she refused to renounce under torture, and was finally put to death.
St. Stephen of Châtillon, bishop (†1208). Carthusian monk, consecrated Bishop of Die (France). He virtuously governed the diocese without neglecting the austerity of monastic life.
St. Clodoald, priest (†560). Of royal lineage, he was raised by his grandmother St. Clotilde after the death of his father and siblings. He renounced his royal dignity to embraced the priesthood; he died in Saint-Cloud, France
Sts. Mark Krizevcanin, Stephen Pongrácz and Melchior Grodziecki, priests and martyrs (†1619). St. Mark was a diocesan priest while the others were Jesuits; they were tortured and killed in Kosice, Slovakia, for refusing to adhere to the Protestant Reformation
Blesseds Ralph Corby and John Duckett, priests and martyrs (†1644). During the Reign of Charles I, in England, they were condemned to death at Tyburn for the “crime” of Catholic priesthood. Ralph was arrested while celebrating Mass, and John while on his way to baptize some children.
Blessed Ignatius Klopotowski, priest (†1931). Priest of the Diocese of Lublin, Poland, and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto.
Blessed Eugenia Picco, virgin (†1921). Religious from the Congregation of the Little Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who served as a teacher, mistress of novices, and finally as superior general. She died of bone tuberculosis in Parma, Italy.
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