Catholic Missal of the day: Monday, January 4 2016
1st day after Epiphany
1st day after Epiphany
1. ReadingFirst Letter of John
3,22-24.4,1-6.]Beloved : we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
]And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.
]Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.
]Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
]This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh be longs to God,
]and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.
]You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
]They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.
]We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
Psalms
2,7bc-8.10-12a.]The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
]this day I have begotten you."
]"Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
]And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
]Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
]
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
4,12-17.23-25.]When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
]He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
]that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
]Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
]the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen."
]From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
]He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
]His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.
]And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton(Foundress (1774-1821))
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's (1774-1821)Pope Paul VI's Homily During Elisabeth Ann Seton's Canonization Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is a Saint! She is the first daughter of the United States of America to be glorified with this incomparable attribute! But what do we mean when we say, "She is a Saint"? We all have some idea of the meaning of this highest title; but it is still difficult for us to make an exact analysis of it. Being a Saint means being perfect, with a perfection that attains the highest level that a human being can reach. A Saint is a human creature fully conformed to the will of God. A Saint is a person in whom all sin - the principle of death - is cancelled out and replaced by the living splendor of divine grace. The analysis of the concept of sanctity brings us to recognize in a soul the mingling of two elements that are entirely different but which come together to produce a single effect: sanctity. One of these elements is the human and moral element, raised to the degree of heroism: heroic virtues are always required by the Church for the recognition of a person's sanctity. The second element is the mystical element, which express the measure and form of divine action in the person chosen by God to realize in herself - always in an original way - the image of Christ (Cfr. Rom. 8, 29). The science of sanctity is therefore the most interesting, the most varied, the most surprising and the most fascinating of all the studies of that ever mysterious being which is man. The Church has made this study of the life, that is, the interior and exterior history, of Elizabeth Ann Seton. And the Church has exulted with admiration and joy, and has today heard her own charism of truth poured out in the exclamation that we send up to God and announce to the world: She is a Saint! (...). This will be one of the most valuable fruits of the Canonization of the new Saint: to know her, in order to admire in her an outstanding human figure; in order to praise God who is wonderful in his saints; to imitate her example which this ceremony places in a light that will give perennial edification; to invoke her protection, now that we have the certitude of her participation in the exchange of heavenly life in the Mystical Body of Christ, which we call the Communion of Saints and in which we also share, although still belonging to life on earth. (...) Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was born, brought up and educated in New York in the Episcopalian Communion. To this Church goes the merit of having awakened and fostered the religious sense and Christian sentiment which in the young Elizabeth were naturally predisposed to the most spontaneous and lively manifestations. We willingly recognize this merit, and, knowing well how much it cost Elizabeth to pass over to the Catholic Church, we admire her courage for adhering to the religious truth and divine reality which were manifested to her therein. And we are likewise pleased to see that from this same adherence to the Catholic Church she experienced great peace and security, and found it natural to preserve all the good things which her membership in the fervent Episcopalian community had taught her, in so many beautiful expressions, especially of religious piety, and that she was always faithful in her esteem and affection for those from whom her Catholic profession had sadly separated her. (...) And then we must note that Elizabeth Seton was the mother of a family and at the same time the foundress of the first Religious Congregation of women in the United States. (...) The Church renders the greatest honor possible to Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton and extols her personal and extraordinary contribution as a woman a wife, a mother, a widow, and a religious. May the dynamism and authenticity of her life be an example in our day - and for generations to come - of what women can and must accomplish, in the fulfillment of their role, for the good of humanity. And finally we must recall that the most notable characteristic of our Saint is the fact that she was, as we said, the foundress of the first Religious Congregation of women in the United States. It was an offspring of the religious family of Saint Vincent de Paul, which later divided into various autonomous branches - five principal ones - now spread throughout the world. And yet all of them recognize their origin in the first group, that of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's, personally established by Saint Elizabeth Seton at Emmitsburg in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The apostolate of helping the poor and the running of parochial schools in America had this humble, poor, courageous and glorious beginning. (...) Yes, brethren, and sons and daughters: the Lord is indeed wonderful in his saints. Blessed be God for ever!
St. Gregory(Bishop († c. 541))
SAINT GREGORYBishop( c. 541) St. Gregory was a principal senator of Autun and a widower. At 57 years old, he was consecrated bishop of Langres. He governed the See with admirable prudence and zeal for 33 years. St. Gregory converted idolaters and pagans. Many received faith and new direction through his prayers and ministry. St. Gregory passed away after the feast of the Epiphany in 541. Out of devotion to St. Benignus, he was buried near that saint in Dijon.
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of january 2016
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z