Monday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time

Letter to the Hebrews

What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,
who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,
put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.
Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.
Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword's point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.
The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.
Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised.
God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.

Psalms

How great is the goodness, O LORD,
which you have in store for those who fear you,
And which, toward those who take refuge in you,
you show in the sight of the children of men.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men;
You screen them within your abode
from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be the LORD whose wondrous mercy
he has shown me in a fortified city.
Once I said in my anguish,
“I am cut off from your sight”;
Yet you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried out to you.
Love the LORD, all you his faithful ones!
The LORD keeps those who are constant,
but more than requites those who act proudly.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"
(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")
He asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion is my name. There are many of us."
And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him, "Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

St. Bathildes(Queen (c. 634-680))

SAINT BATHILDES Queen. (c. 634-680) St. Bathildes was an Anglo Saxon slave who became a Christian queen. She was sold at a very young age to Erkenwald, mayor of the palace under King Clovis II. When she grew up, Erkenwald was so taken with her prudence and virtue that he placed her in charge of his household. The renown of St. Bathildes' spirit, fervor and virtues spread through all France; and King Clovis II took her for his royal consort. This unexpected marriage produced no alteration in her heart, which she kept under seven locks: Chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. It is certain that great, Holy Angels assist in the keeping and growth of each virtue. "You will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (Jn 1:51). "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed ... Once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches" (Mk 4:26-34). Queen Bathildes was brave, truthful and unselfish, so King Clovis II gave her authority for the protection of the Church, care of the poor, and furtherance of religious undertakings. King Clovis' death left Queen Bathildes regent of the kingdom. She forbade the enslavement of Christians, did all in her power to promote piety, and filled France with hospitals and religious houses. As soon as her son, Clotaire, was of age, Queen Bathildes withdrew from the world and entered the convent of Chelles. There, she seemed entirely to forget her worldly dignity, and was distinguished from the rest of the community only by her humility, obedience to spiritual superiors, and her devotion to the sick, whom she comforted and served with wonderful charity. As Queen Bathildes neared her end, God visited her with a severe illness, which she bore with Christian patience and perseverance. She breathed forth her soul with prayer on January 30, 680. Joining the Church Triumphant in heaven, St. Bathildes reigns with the Blessed in our true native land. She intercedes for the faithful until the end of time.

Bl. Columba Marmion((1858-1923))

Bl. Columba Marmion Third Abbot of Maredsous (1858-1923) Bl. Columba Marmion was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 1, 1858, to an Irish father (William Marmion) and a French mother (Herminie Cordier). Given the name Joseph Aloysius at birth, he entered the Dublin diocesan seminary in 1874 and completed his theological studies at the College of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. He was ordained a priest at St. Agatha of the Goths on June 16, 1881. Fr. Columba dreamed of becoming a missionary monk in Australia, but was won over by the liturgical atmosphere of the newly founded Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium, which he visited on his return to Ireland in 1881. His Bishop asked him to wait and appointed him curate in Dundrum, then professor at the major seminary in Clonliffe (1882-86). As the chaplain at a convent of Redemptorist nuns and at a women's prison, he learned to guide souls, to hear confessions, to counsel and to help the dying. In 1886, he received his Bishop's permission to become a monk. He voluntarily renounced a promising ecclesiastical career and was welcomed at Maredsous by Abbot Placidus Wolter. His novitiate, under the iron rule of Dom Benoît D'Hondt and among a group of young novices (when he was almost 30), proved all the more difficult because he had to change habits, culture and language. But saying that he had entered the monastery to learn obedience, he let himself be moulded by monastic discipline, community life and choral prayer until his solemn profession on February 10, 1891. Fr. Columba received his first "obedience" or mission when he was assigned to the small group of monks sent to found the Abbey of Mont César in Louvain. Although it distressed him, he gave his all to it for the sake of obedience. There he was entrusted with the task of Prior beside Abbot de Kerchove, and served as spiritual director and professor to all the young monks studying philosophy or theology in Louvain. He started to devote more time to preaching retreats in Belgium and in the United Kingdom, and gave spiritual direction to many communities, particularly those of Carmelite nuns. He became the confessor of Mons. Joseph Mercier, the future Cardinal, and the two formed a lasting friendship. During this period, Maredsous Abbey was governed by Dom Hildebrand de Hemptinne, its second Abbot, who in 1893 would become, at the request of Leo XIII, the first Prelate of the Benedictine Confederation. Hildebrand's frequent stays in Rome required that he be replaced as Abbot of Maredsous. Thus Fr. Columba was elected the third Abbot of Maredsous on September 28, 1909, receiving the abbatial blessing on October 3. Fr. Columba was placed at the head of a community of more than 100 monks, with a humanities college, a trade school and a farm to run. He also had to maintain a well-established reputation for research on the sources of the faith and to continue editing various publications, including the Revue Bénédictine. Fr. Columba's ongoing care of the community did not stop him from preaching retreats or giving regular spiritual direction. He was asked to help the Anglican monks of Caldey when they wished to convert to Catholicism. His greatest ordeal was the First World War. His decision to send the young monks to Ireland so that they could complete their education in peace led to additional work, dangerous trips and many anxieties. It also caused misunderstandings and conflicts between the two generations within this community shaken by the war. German lay brothers, who had been present since the monastery's foundation by Beuron Abbey, had to be sent home (despite the Benedictine vow of stability) at the outbreak of hostilities. After the war was over, a small group of monks was urgently dispatched to the Monastery of the Dormition in Jerusalem to replace the German monks expelled by the British authorities. Finally, the Belgian monasteries were separated from the Beuron Congregation; and in 1920, the Belgian Congregation of the Annunciation was set up with Maredsous, Mont César and St. André of Zevenkerken. Fr. Columba's sole comfort during this period was preaching and giving spiritual direction. His secretary, Dom Raymond Thibaut, prepared his spiritual conferences for publication: Christ the Life of the Soul (1917), Christ in His Mysteries (1919) and Christ the Ideal of the Monk (1922). He was already considered an outstanding Abbot (Queen Elisabeth of Belgium consulted with him at length) and a great spiritual author. Bl. Columba Marmion passed away during a flu epidemic on January 30, 1923. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 3rd of September 2000.

St. Hyacinthe Mariscotti()

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