Catholic Missal of the day: Tuesday, January 5 2016
2nd day after Epiphany
2nd day after Epiphany
1. ReadingFirst Letter of John
4,7-10.]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
]Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
]In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.
]In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Psalms
72(71),1-2.3-4.7-8.]O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
]He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
]The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
]He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
]Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
]May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
6,34-44.]When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
]By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
]Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
]He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?"
]He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out they said, "Five loaves and two fish."
]So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
]The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
]Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to (his) disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.
]They all ate and were satisfied.
]And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish.
]Those who ate (of the loaves) were five thousand men.
St. John N. Neumann(Bishop (1811-1860) - Memorial)
SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE NEUMANNBishop(1811-1860) St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia on March 20, 1811. His affection for the American missions brought him to the United States as a cleric. He was ordained in New York in 1836. In 1840, he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). He labored in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1852, he was consecrated as the bishop of Philadelphia. There, he worked hard to establish parish schools and parishes for immigrants. Many Christian centers of worship, learning and service are inspired by St. John Neumann. He passed away on January 5, 1860. He was beatified in 1963, and canonized in 1977.
St. Genoveva Torres Morales(Foundress (1870-1956))
Saint Genoveva Torres MoralesFoundress of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels (The Angélicas)(1870-1956) Genoveva Torres Morales was born on January 3, 1870, in Almenara, Castille, Spain. She was the youngest of six children. By the age of 8, both her parents and four of her siblings had died, leaving her to care for the home and her brother José. Although José treated her respectfully, he was demanding and taciturn. Genoveva lacked companionship and grew accustomed to solitude. When Genoveva was 10, she took a special interest in reading spiritual books. Through this pursuit, she came to understand that true happiness is doing God's will: effectively freeing one's self from the world. Participating in the life of God is the reason we were created. This became her rule of life. At the age of 13, Genoveva's left leg was amputated because of gangrene. The amputation was done in her home and the anaesthesia was insufficient. Throughout her life, her leg caused her pain and sickness, and she was forced to use crutches. From 1885 to 1894, Genoveva lived at the Mercy Home run by the Carmelites of Charity. She lived with the sisters and with other children, deepened her life of piety and perfected her sewing skills. During those years, Fr. Carlos Ferrís, a diocesan priest and future Jesuit founder of a leprosarium in Fontilles, guided the "beginnings" of her spiritual and apostolic life. God gave Genoveva the gift of "spiritual liberty," which she practiced throughout her life. Reflecting on her time at the Mercy Home, she later wrote: "I loved freedom of heart very much, and worked and am working to achieve it fully. ... It does the soul so much good that every effort is nothing compared with this free condition of the heart." Genoveva intended to join the Carmelites of Charity, but was rejected because of her physical condition. She was decisive and resolute by nature and continued opening herself to God's guidance. All the while, she longed to be consecrated to God. In 1911, Canon Barbarrós suggested that Genoveva begin a new religious community. He pointed out that there were many poor women who could not afford to live on their own and suffered much hardship. For years, Genoveva had thought of starting a religious congregation that would meet the needs of such women, since she knew of no one engaged in the work. With the help of Canon Barbarrós and Fr. Martín Sánchez, S.J., the first community was established in Valencia. Women joined the congregation and shared the apostolic and spiritual life. Despite problems and obstacles, more communities were established in other parts of Spain. Mother Genoveva was goaded by external activities and involvement in the new foundations. She desired to return to her characteristic interior solitude and remain alone with the Lord, but she accepted her calling as God's will and did not let her physical or interior suffering stop her. She would say: "Even if I must suffer greatly, thanks be to God's mercy, I will not lack courage." She was known for her kindness, openness and good sense of humor. She even joked about her physical ailments. In 1953, the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels received pontifical approval. Mother Genoveva passed away on January 5, 1956. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on January 29, 1995, and canonized in Madrid on May 4, 2003.
St. Simeon Stylites((c.401-460))
SAINT SIMEON STYLITES(c.401 - 460) One winter's day, around the year 401, the snow lay thick around Sisan, a little town in Cilicia. A shepherd boy, who could not herd his flock on account of the cold, went to church and heard the eight beatitudes. He asked how these blessings could be obtained; and when told of the monastic life, a thirst for perfection arose within him. He became the wonder of the world, the great St. Simeon Stylites. He was warned that perfection would cost him dear, and so it did. A mere child, he began the monastic life and spent a dozen years in austerity. On at least one occassion, he ate just once in seven days. When God led him to a solitary life, he kept fasts of forty days. For 37 years, St. Simeon climbed on top of pillars and was exposed to the heat and cold. Day and night, he adored the majesty of God. Perfection was all in all to St. Simeon: the means nothing except in so far as God chose them. The solitaries of Egypt were suspicious of a life so new and so strange and they sent one of their number to bid St. Simeon come down from his pillar. When the Saint began to descend, the Egyptian religious witnessed humility. "Stay," he said, "and take courage: Your way of life is from God." Cheerfulness, humility and obedience set their seal upon the austerities of St. Simeon. The words that God put into his mouth brought crowds of pagans to baptism and sinners to penance. At last, in the year 460, those who watched below noticed that he had been motionless for three whole days. They ascended and found him in a prayer posture, but his soul was with God. Extraordinary as the life of St. Simeon may appear, it teaches us two plain and practical lessons: First, we must constantly renew within ourselves an intense desire for perfection. Secondly, we must use the means of perfection God points out with fidelity and courage. The Lord said, "Take up your cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24).
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of january 2016
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:07Z