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February 19, 2012   Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 Thus says the LORD:Remember not the events of the past,the things of long ago consider not;see, I am doing something new!Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?In the desert I make a way,in the wasteland, rivers.The people I formed for myself,that they might announce my praise.Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob,for you grew weary of me, O Israel.You burdened me with your sins,and wearied me with your crimes.It is I, I, who wipe out,for my own sake, your offenses;your...

February 18, 2012  Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jas 3:1-10 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters,for you realize that we will be judged more strictly,for we all fall short in many respects.If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man,able to bridle the whole body also.If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,we also guide their whole bodies.It is the same with ships:even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds,they are steered by a very small rudderwherever...

February 17, 2012   Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jas 2:14-24, 26 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?If a brother or sister has nothing to wearand has no food for the day,and one of you says to them,"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,"but you do not give them the necessities of the body,what good is it?So also faith of itself,if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and...

February 16, 2012   Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jas 2:1-9 My brothers and sisters, show no partialityas you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly,and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothesand say, "Sit here, please,"while you say to the poor one, "Stand there," or "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselvesand become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved...

February 15, 2012   Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time     Reading 1 Jas 1:19-27 Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to angerfor anger does not accomplishthe righteousness of God.Therefore, put away all filth and evil excessand humbly welcome the word that has been planted in youand is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face...

February 14, 2012   Memorial of Saint Cyril, monk, and Saint Methodius, Bishop   Reading 1 Jas 1:12-18 Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.No one experiencing temptation should say,"I am being tempted by God";for God is not subject to temptation to evil,and he himself tempts no one.Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved...

February 13, 2012   Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jas 1:1-11 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,when you encounter various trials,for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.And let perseverance be perfect,so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.But if any of you lacks wisdom,he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,and he will be given it.But he should ask in faith, not doubting,for the...

February 12, 2012   Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Lv 13:1-2, 44-46 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotchwhich appears to be the sore of leprosy,he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,or to one of the priests among his descendants.If the man is leprous and unclean,the priest shall declare him uncleanby reason of the sore on his head. "The one who bears the sore of leprosyshall keep his garments rent and his head bare,and shall muffle his beard;he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'As long as...

February 10, 2012   Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin   Reading 1 1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 Jeroboam left Jerusalem,and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road.The two were alone in the area,and the prophet was wearing a new cloak.Ahijah took off his new cloak,tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself;the LORD, the God of Israel, says:'I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's graspand will give you ten of the tribes.One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant,and of Jerusalem,the city I have chosen out...

February 9, 2012   Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Kgs 11:4-13 When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,as the heart of his father David had been.By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians,and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites,Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD;he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done.Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab,and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites,on the...

February 8, 2012 Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Kgs 10:1-10 The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame,came to test him with subtle questions.She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,and with camels bearing spices,a large amount of gold, and precious stones.She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subjectin which she was interested.King Solomon explained everything she asked about,and there remained nothing hidden from himthat he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's great wisdom,the palace he had built, the food at his table,the...

February 7, 2012 Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 Solomon stood before the altar of the LORDin the presence of the whole community of Israel,and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,he said, "LORD, God of Israel,there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;you keep your covenant of mercy with your servantswho are faithful to you with their whole heart. "Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,how much less this temple which I have built! Look...

February 6, 2012   Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs   Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13 The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenantfrom the City of David, which is Zion.All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomonduring the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).When all the elders of Israel had arrived,the priests took up the ark;they carried the ark of the LORDand the meeting tent with...

February 5, 2012 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jb 7:1-4, 6-7 Job spoke, saying:Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?Are not his days those of hirelings?He is a slave who longs for the shade,a hireling who waits for his wages.So I have been assigned months of misery,and troubled nights have been allotted to me.If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"then the night drags on;I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;they come to an end without hope.Remember that my life is like the wind;I shall not see...

February 4, 2012   Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Kgs 3:4-13 Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,because that was the most renowned high place.Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you."Solomon answered:"You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David,because he behaved faithfully toward you,with justice and an upright heart;and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today,seating a son of his on his...

February 3, 2012 Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 47:2-11 Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,so was David in Israel.He made sport of lions as though they were kids,and of bears, like lambs of the flock.As a youth he slew the giantand wiped out the people's disgrace,When his hand let fly the slingstonethat crushed the pride of Goliath.Since he called upon the Most High God,who gave strength to his right armTo defeat the skilled warriorand raise up the might of his people,Therefore the women sang his praises,and ascribed to him tens of...

February 2, 2012 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord   Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord God:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner's fire,or like the fuller's lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or like silverthat...

February 1, 2012 Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-shebaand register the people, that I may know their number.Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered:in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service;in Judah, five hundred thousand. Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people,and said to the LORD:I have sinned grievously in what I have done.But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of...

January 31, 2012   Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest   Reading 1 2 Sm 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30; 19:3 Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants.He was mounted on a mule,and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth,his hair caught fast in the tree.He hung between heaven and earthwhile the mule he had been riding ran off.Someone saw this and reported to Joabthat he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.And taking three pikes in hand,he thrust for the heart of Absalom,still hanging from the tree alive. Now David was sitting between the two gates,and...

January 30, 2012   Monday, Weekday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 2 Sm 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 An informant came to David with the report,"The children of Israel have transferred their loyalty to Absalom."At this, David said to all his servantswho were with him in Jerusalem:"Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom.Leave quickly, lest he hurry and overtake us,then visit disaster upon us and put the city to the sword." As David went up the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing.His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot.All those who were with...

January 29, 2012   Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Dt 18:15-20 Moses spoke to all the people, saying:"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for youfrom among your own kin;to him you shall listen.This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horebon the day of the assembly, when you said,'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.I will raise up for them a prophet like you from...

January 28, 2012   Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and  Doctor of the Church   Reading 1 2 Sm 12:1-7a, 10-17 The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him,Nathan said: "Judge this case for me!In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers.But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought.He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children.She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and...

January 27, 2012   Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 2 Sm 1:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17 At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,David sent out Joab along with his officersand the army of Israel,and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.David, however, remained in Jerusalem.One evening David rose from his siestaand strolled about on the roof of the palace.From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.David had inquiries made about the woman and was told,"She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam,and wife of Joab's armor bearer Uriah the...

January 26, 2012 Memorial of Saint Timothy and Saint Titus, Bishops   Reading 1 2 Tm 1:1-8 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of Godfor the promise of life in Christ Jesus,to Timothy, my dear child:grace, mercy, and peace from God the Fatherand Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God,whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,so that I may be filled with joy,as I recall your sincere faiththat first lived in your grandmother...

January 25, 2012 Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle   Reading 1 Acts 22:3-16 Paul addressed the people in these words:"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,but brought up in this city.At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral lawand was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.I persecuted this Way to death,binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.Even the high priest and the whole council of elderscan testify on my behalf.For from them I even received letters to the brothersand set out for Damascus...

January 24, 2012   Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and  Doctor of the Church   Reading 1 2 Sm 6:12b-15, 17-19 David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edominto the City of David amid festivities.As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.Then David, girt with a linen apron,came dancing before the LORD with abandon,as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORDwith shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.The...

January 22, 2012 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Jon 3:1-5, 10 The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,and announce to it the message that I will tell you."So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,according to the LORD'S bidding.Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;it took three days to go through it.Jonah began his journey through the city,and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "when the people of Nineveh believed God;they proclaimed a fastand all of them, great and...

January 21, 2012   Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr   Reading 1 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27 David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.On the third day a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.David asked him, "Where do you come from?"He replied, "I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.""Tell me what happened," David bade him.He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle and that many of...

January 20, 2012   Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 24:3-21 Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men in the direction of the wild goat crags.When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to relieve himself.David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave. David's servants said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'I will deliver your enemy into your grasp; do with him...

January 19, 2012 Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7 When David and Saul approached(on David's return after slaying the Philistine), women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.The women played and sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.All that remains for him is the kingship."And from that day on, Saul was jealous...

January 18, 2012 Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 David spoke to Saul:"Let your majesty not lose courage.I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine."But Saul answered David,"You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth." David continued:"The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine."Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you." Then,...

January 17, 2012 Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbott   Reading 1 1 Sm 16:1-13 The LORD said to Samuel:"How long will you grieve for Saul,whom I have rejected as king of Israel?Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,for I have chosen my king from among his sons."But Samuel replied:"How can I go?Saul will hear of it and kill me."To this the LORD answered:"Take a heifer along and say,'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;you are to...

January 16, 2012 Monday, Weekday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 15:16-23 Samuel said to Saul:"Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night."Saul replied, "Speak!" Samuel then said: "Though little in your own esteem,are you not leader of the tribes of Israel?The LORD anointed you king of Israel and sent you on a mission, saying,'Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction.Fight against them until you have exterminated them.'Why then have you disobeyed the LORD?You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD."Saul answered Samuel: "I did indeed obey...

January 15, 2012 Second Sunday In Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19 Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORDwhere the ark of God was.The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me.""I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."So he went back to sleep.Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli."Here I am, " he said. "You called me."But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep." At that time Samuel...

January 14, 2012 Saturday of the First Week In Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1 There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish,who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;he stood head and shoulders above the people. Now the asses of Saul's father, Kish, had wandered off.Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with youand go out and hunt for the asses."Accordingly...

  January 13, 2012   Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a All the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramahand said to him, "Now that you are old,and your sons do not follow your example,appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us." Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them.He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer:"Grant the people's every request.It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king." Samuel delivered the message...

January 12, 2012 Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 4:1-11 The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,while the Philistines camped at Aphek.The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,"Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated todayby the Philistines?Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shilohthat it may...

January 11, 2012 Wednesday of the First Week In Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli,a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.One day Eli was asleep in his usual place.His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORDwhere the ark of God was.The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am." Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me.""I...

January 10, 2012 Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Sm 1:9-20 Hannah rose after a meal at Shiloh,and presented herself before the LORD;at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chairnear the doorpost of the LORD's temple.In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously,and she made a vow, promising: "O LORD of hosts,if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid,if you remember me and do not forget me,if you give your handmaid a male child,I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives;neither...

November 26, 2011 Saturday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Dn 7:15-27 I, Daniel, found my spirit anguished within its covering of flesh,and I was terrified by the visions of my mind.I approached one of those presentand asked him what all this meant in truth;in answer, he made known to me the meaning of the things:"These four great beasts stand for four kingdomswhich shall arise on the earth.But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship,to possess it forever and ever." But I wished to make certain about the fourth beast,so very terrible...

November 25, 2011 Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Dn 7:2-14 In a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night,the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,from which emerged four immense beasts,each different from the others.The first was like a lion, but with eagle's wings.While I watched, the wings were plucked;it was raised from the ground to stand on two feetlike a man, and given a human mind.The second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side,and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks.It was given the...

November 24, 2011 Memorial of Saint Andrew Düng-Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs   Reading 1 Dn 6:12-28 Some men rushed into the upper chamber of Daniel's homeand found him praying and pleading before his God.Then they went to remind the king about the prohibition:"Did you not decree, O king,that no one is to address a petition to god or manfor thirty days, except to you, O king;otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions?"The king answered them, "The decree is absolute,irrevocable under the Mede and Persian law."To this they replied, "Daniel, the Jewish exile,has paid...

November 23, 2011   Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,with whom he drank.Under the influence of the wine,he ordered the gold and silver vesselswhich Nebuchadnezzar, his father,had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,to be brought in so that the king, his lords,his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.When the gold and silver vesselstaken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainerswere drinking wine...

November 22, 2011 Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr   Reading 1 Dn 2:31-45 Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar:"In your vision, O king, you saw a statue,very large and exceedingly bright,terrifying in appearance as it stood before you.The head of the statue was pure gold,its chest and arms were silver,its belly and thighs bronze, the legs iron,its feet partly iron and partly tile.While you looked at the statue,a stone which was hewn from a mountainwithout a hand being put to it,struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces.The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once,fine...

November 21, 2011 Memorial of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1 Dn 1:1-6, 8-20 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cameand laid siege to Jerusalem.The Lord handed over to him Jehoiakim, king of Judah,and some of the vessels of the temple of God;he carried them off to the land of Shinar,and placed the vessels in the temple treasury of his god. The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain,to bring in some of the children of Israel of royal bloodand of the nobility, young men without any defect,handsome,...

November 18, 2011 Friday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 Judas and his brothers said,"Now that our enemies have been crushed,let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it."So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month,that is, the month of Chislev,in the year one hundred and forty-eight,they arose and offered sacrifice according to the lawon the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had...

November 17, 2011 Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious   Reading 1 1 Mc 2:15-29 The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasycame to the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices.Many of Israel joined them,but Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart.Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias:"You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city,supported by sons and kin.Come now, be the first to obey the king's command,as all the Gentiles and the men of Judahand those who are left in Jerusalem have done.Then you and your sons...

November 16, 2011 Wednesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31 It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrestedand tortured with whips and scourges by the king,to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law. Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,she exhorted each of themin the language of their ancestors with these words:"I do...

November 15, 2011   Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 2 Mc 6:18-31 Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes,a man of advanced age and noble appearance,was being forced to open his mouth to eat pork.But preferring a glorious death to a life of defilement,he spat out the meat,and went forward of his own accord to the instrument of torture,as people ought to do who have the courage to reject the foodwhich it is unlawful to taste even for love of life.Those in charge of that unlawful ritual meal took the man aside privately,because of their...

November 14, 2011 Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 [From the descendants of Alexander's officers]there sprang a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes,son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome.He became king in the year one hundred and thirty sevenof the kingdom of the Greeks. In those days there appeared in Israelmen who were breakers of the law,and they seduced many people, saying:"Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us;since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us."The proposal was agreeable;some from among...