Friday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Sirach

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 giant and wiped out the people's disgrace, When his hand let fly the slingstone that crushed the pride of Goliath.
Since he called upon the Most High God, who gave strength to his right arm To defeat the skilled warrior and raise up the might of his people,
Therefore the women sang his praises and ascribed to him tens of thousands. When he assumed the royal crown, he battled
and subdued the enemy on every side. He destroyed the hostile Philistines and shattered their power till our own day.
With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise. With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung;
He added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year With string music before the altar, providing sweet melody for the psalms
So that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The Lord forgave him his sins and exalted his strength forever; He conferred on him the rights of royalty and established his throne in Israel.

Psalms

18(17),31.47.50.51.

God's way is unerring;
the LORD'S promise is tried and true;
he is a shield for all who trust in him.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
Thus I will proclaim you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
You who gave great victories to your king
And showed kindness to your anointed;
to David and his posterity forever.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

6,14-29.

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him."
Others were saying, "He is Elijah"; still others, "He is a prophet like any of the prophets."
But when Herod learned of it, he said, "It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up."
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."
He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."
She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."
The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

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St. John de Britto(martyr (+1693))

SAINT JOHN DE BRITTOMartyr(+ 1693) Don Pedro II of Portugal, when a child, had among his little pages a modest boy of rich and princely parents. Much had John de Britto—for so was he called—to bear from his careless-living companions, to whom his holy life was a reproach. A terrible illness made him turn for aid to St. Francis Xavier, a Saint so well loved by the Portuguese; and when, in answer to his prayers, he recovered, his mother vested him for a year in the dress worn in those days by the Jesuit Fathers. From that time John's heart burned to follow the example of the Apostle of the Indies. He gained his wish. On December 17, 1662, he entered the novitiate of the Society at Lisbon; and eleven years later, in spite of the most determined opposition of his family and of the court, he left all to go to convert the Hindus of Madura. When Blessed John's mother knew that her son was going to the Indies, she used all her influence to prevent him leaving his own country, and persuaded the Papal Nuncio to interfere. "God, Who called me from the world into religious life, now calls me from Portugal to India," was the reply of the future martyr. "Not to answer the vocation as I ought, would be to provoke the justice of God. As long as I live, I shall never cease striving to gain a passage to India." For fourteen years he toiled, preaching, converting, baptizing multitudes, at the cost of privations, hardships, and persecutions. At last, after being seized, tortured, and nearly killed, he was banished from the country. Forced to return to Portugal, John once more broke through every obstacle, and went back again to his labor of love. Like St. John the Baptist, he died a victim to the anger of a morally destitute woman, whom a convert king had put aside. And like the Precursor, St. John was beheaded after a painful imprisonment. St. John de Britto was canonized by Ven. Pope Pius XII in 1947.

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St. Jane of Valois(Queen and Religious (+ 1505))

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SAINT JANE OF VALOIS Queen and Religious (+ 1505) Born to royal parents and herself a queen, St. Jane of Valois led a life remarkable for its humiliations even in the annals of the Saints. Her father, Louis XI, who had hoped for a son to succeed him, banished Jane from his palace, and, it is said, even attempted her life. At the age of five the neglected child offered her whole heart to God, and yearned to do some special service in honor of His blessed Mother. At the king's wish, though against her own inclination, she was married to the Duke of Orleans. Towards an indifferent and unworthy husband her conduct was ever most patient and dutiful. Her prayers and tears saved him from a traitor's death and shortened the captivity which his rebellion had merited. Still nothing could win a heart which was already given to another. When her husband ascended the throne as Louis XII, his first act was to repudiate by false representations one who through twenty-two years of cruel neglect had been his true and loyal wife. At the final sentence of separation, the saintly queen exclaimed, "God be praised Who has allowed this, that I may serve Him better." Retiring to Bourges, she there realized her long-formed desire of founding the Order of the Annunciation, in honor of the Mother of God. Under the guidance of St. Francis of Paula, the director of her childhood, St. Jane was enabled to overcome the serious obstacles which even good people raised against the foundation of her new Order. In 1501, the rule of the Annunciation was finally approved by Alexander VI. The chief aim of the institute was to imitate the ten virtues practised by Our Lady in the mystery of the Incarnation, the superioress being called "Ancelle," handmaid, in honor of Mary's humility. St. Jane built and endowed the first convent of the Order in 1502. She passed away in a state of grace after a sanctified life marked by heroic virtues; and was buried in the royal crown and purple, beneath which lay the habit of her Order.

misalcatolico.com

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2022 / Catholic Missal of february 2022