Thursday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time

First Letter to the Thessalonians

We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters, in our every distress and affliction, through your faith.
For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?
Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.
Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you,
and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

Psalms

You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
Prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

St. Raymund Nonnatus (1204-1240)()

SAINT RAYMUND NONNATUS(1204-1240) St. Raymund Nonnatus was born in Catalonia in 1204. He descended from a gentleman's family of small fortune. In his childhood, he seemed to find pleasure only in devotions and serious duties. His took him from school after perceiving an inclination to religious life, and sent him to take care of a farm that he had in the country. Raymund readily obeyed, and in order to enjoy the opportunity of holy solitude, kept the sheep himself, and spent his time in the mountains and forests in holy meditation and prayer. Some time after, Raymund joined the new Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives, and was admitted to his profession at Barcelona by the holy founder, St. Peter Nolasco. Within 2 or 3 years after his profession, he was sent into Barbary with a considerable sum of money, where he purchased, at Algiers, the liberty of a great number of slaves. When all this treasure was exhausted, he gave himself up as a hostage for the ransom of certain others. This magnanimous sacrifice served only to exasperate the Mohammedans, who treated him barbarously. Raymund almost died at their hands, but they stopped short because he was worth money as a slave. When Raymund was finally permitted to walk on the streets, he stole minutes to comfort and encourage Christians who were in chains. However, after Raymund converted and baptized Muslims, the governor sentenced him to death by impalement. Even though the sentence was commuted, Raymund endured a cruel bastinado. A victim of torture, Raymund was unyeildng. Racked with pain, he summoned the courage to continue exhorting Christian captives and converting Muslims. The governor, livid with rage, ordered him to be tortured and manacled until his ransom was paid. This brutality continued until Raymund's Order bought his freedom. After returning to Spain, Raymund was appointed cardinal by Pope Gregory IX. When the pope summoned him to Rome, Raymund obeyed, but got no further than Cardona. There, he was seized by a fever and passed away. He went to eternity with Jesus and Mary on August 31, 1240, at the age of 37.

St. Aristedes()

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of august 2023