Tuesday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time

2nd book of Samuel

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 earth while the mule he had been riding ran off.
Someone saw this and reported to Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.
Joab replied, "I will not waste time with you in this way." 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 a lookout mounted to the roof of the gate above the city wall, where he looked about and saw a man running all alone.
The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said, "If he is alone, he has good news to report." As he kept coming nearer,
The king said, "Step aside and remain in attendance here." So he stepped aside and remained there.
When the Cushite came in, he said, "Let my lord the king receive the good news that this day the LORD has taken your part, freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you."
But the king asked the Cushite, "Is young Absalom safe?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you with evil intent be as that young man!"
The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate to weep. He said as he wept, "My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!"
Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom;
and that day's victory was turned into mourning for the whole army when they heard that the king was grieving for his son.

Psalms

Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet
and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."
He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

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 2024 / Catholic Missal of january 2024