Catholic Missal of the day: Wednesday, February 24 2016
Wednesday of the Second week of Lent
Wednesday of the Second week of Lent
1. ReadingBook of Jeremiah
18,18-20.]The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, "Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word."
]Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say.
]Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them.
Psalms
31(30),5-6.14.15-16.]You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
]Into your hands I commend my spirit;
You will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
]I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
]But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God.
]In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
20,17-28.]As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way,
]Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
]and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."
]Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
]He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."
]Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can."
]He replied, "My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
]When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers.
]But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
]But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
]whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
]Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Bl. Tommaso (Thomas) Maria Fusco(Founder (1831-1891))
Blessed Tommaso (Thomas) Maria Fusco Priest and Founder of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood (1831-1891) Bl. Thomas was the seventh of eight children. He was baptized on the day he was born, December 1, 1831, in Pagani, the Diocese of Nocera-Sarno, Italy. His parents were Dr. Antonio, a pharmacist, and Stella Giordano, of noble descent. His mother died of cholera in 1837 and his father died four years later in 1841. Fr. Guiseppe, an uncle on his father's side and a primary school teacher, took charge of his education. Since 1839, the year of St. Alphonsus Mary de' Liguori's canonization, Thomas felt drawn to the priesthood. In 1847, he entered the diocesan seminary of Nocera, where his brother Raffaele was ordained in 1849.He received the Sacrament of Confirmation on April 1, 1851, and was ordained to the priesthood on December 22, 1855, by Bp. Agnello Giuseppe D'Auria. The deaths of his uncle in 1847 and younger brother Raffaele in 1852 were deeply sorrowful. However, devotion to the Patient Christ and to His Blessed Sorrowful Mother took root. His biographers wrote, "He had a deep devotion to the crucified Christ, which he cherished throughout his life." Fr. Thomas opened a morning school in his own home for boys' education and spiritual formation. For young people and adults, he organized evening prayers at the parish church of S. Felice e Corpo di Cristo. This was a true place of conversion and prayer, just as it had been for St. Alphonsus. In 1857, Fr. Thomas was admitted to the Congregation of the Missionaries of Nocera and worked in southern Italy.In 1860, he was appointed chaplain at the Shrine of our Lady of Carmel in Pagani. He set up the altar of the Crucified Christ and established the Pious Union for the Adoration of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus.In 1862, he opened a school of moral theology in his own home to train priests for confession. That same year, he founded the (Priestly) Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the people. In 1874, he received the approval of Pope Pius IX, now blessed. Deeply moved by the sorrowful plight of an orphaned girl, Fr. Thomas founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood on January 6, 1873, the Solemnity of the Epiphany. The institute was inaugurated at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the presence of Bp. Raffaele Ammirante. With the religious habits of the first three sisters, Bp. Ammirante blessed the first orphanage for seven poor orphan girls. It was not long before the new religious family and the orphanage received the pope's blessing. Fr. Thomas continued his priestly ministry, spiritual retreats and popular missions. From his apostolic travels sprung foundation-houses and orphanages. He was also parish priest at the principal church of S. Felice e Corpo di Cristo in Pagani (1874-1887), extraordinary confessor to the cloistered nuns in Pagani and Nocera and spiritual father of the lay congregation at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1880, a brother priest accused him out of envy. He lovingly carried the cross that Bp. Ammirante had foretold at the time of the institute's foundation: "Have you chosen the title of the Most Precious Blood? Well, may you be prepared to drink the bitter cup." Fr. Thomas bore the trials meekly. He repeated, "May work and suffering for God always be your glory; and in your work and suffering, may God be your consolation on this earth and your recompense in heaven. Patience is the safeguard and pillar of all the virtues." Fr. Thomas passed away on February 24, 1891, from liver disease. He was only 59 years old. In the notice issued by the town council of Pagani on February 25, 1891, the witness of his life was summarized in these words: "Tommaso Maria Fusco, Apostolic Missionary, Founder of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood, an exemplary priest of indomitable faith and ardent charity, worked tirelessly in the name of the Redeeming Blood for the salvation of souls: in life he loved the poor and in death forgave his enemies." Fr. Thomas' life was directed to the highest devotion of Christian virtues by the priestly life, lived in constant meditation on the Father's love, and contemplated in the crucified Son, whose Blood is "the expression, measure and pledge" of divine Charity. He was an Apostle of the Most Precious Blood, a friend of young people, and attentive to every kind of poverty and human and spiritual misery. He enjoyed the fame of holiness among the diocesan priests, among the people and among his spiritual daughters. The Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood witness the Founder's charism in various parts of the world. The cause for the beatification of Fr. Thomas was initiated in 1955; and the decree of his heroic virtues was published on April 24, 2001. The miraculous healing of Mrs. Maria Battaglia on August 20, 1964, in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicily, through the intercession of Fr. Thomas was recognized on July 7, 2001. With his beatification, Pope John Paul II presented Fr. Thomas as a guide to holiness for priests, the people of God and his Spiritual Daughters.
St. Ethelbert()
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of february 2016
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z