Thursday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Genesis

Judah approached Joseph and said: “I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak earnestly to my lord, and do not become angry with your servant, for you are the equal of Pharaoh.
My lord asked your servants, 'Have you a father, or another brother?'
So we said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a young brother, the child of his old age. This one's full brother is dead, and since he is the only one by that mother who is left, his father dotes on him.'
Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.'
But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you shall not come into my presence again.'
When we returned to your servant our father, we reported to him the words of my lord.
"Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family.
So we reminded him, 'We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother is with us can we go, for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.'
Then your servant our father said to us, 'As you know, my wife bore me two sons.
One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts; I have not seen him since.
If you now take this one away from me too, and some disaster befalls him, you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.'
Joseph could no longer control himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, "Have everyone withdraw from me!" Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers.
But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh's palace.
"I am Joseph," he said to his brothers. "Is my father still in good health?" But his brothers could give him no answer, so dumbfounded were they at him.
"Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you."

Psalms

When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you."
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words--go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."

Sts. Rufina & Secunda(Virgins and Martyrs (3rd century))

SAINTS RUFINA AND SECUNDAVirgins and Martyrs(3rd century) Rufina and Secunda were Roman sisters and virgins. To better serve Christ, they declined marriages to Armentarius and Verinus, respectively. Rufina and Secunda were arrested during the reign of emperors Valerian and Gallienus. They remained indifferent to the blandishments and threats of the prefect Junius. When Junius saw they could not be swayed, he had them tortured. Guarded by angels, Rufina and Secunda persevered in their holy resolutions. They were beheaded at the tenth milestone on the Aurelien Way. Their bodies were buried by a matron named Plautilla on her estate outside the city. Their relics were later enshrined at the basilica of Constantine, near the baptistry.

St. Felicitas and Her Seven Holy Sons(Martyrs († c. 150))

ST. FELICITAS and HER SEVEN HOLY SONS Martyrs( c. 150) St. Felicitas and her seven sons were martyred in Rome by Emperor Antoninus. Their story takes place shortly after Felicitas' husband passed away. In spite of the loss, the family continued edifying the Church through works of mercy. Many received faith in Jesus through their prayers and deeds. A calamity befell the family when Satan stirred the worldly, materialistic spirit governing the minds of Rome's pagan cults. The pagan priests grew jealous at the propagation of Christianity and directed their ire toward Felicitas and her sons. Thus, a case was brought against Felicitas: accusing her of attacking Roman cults. In order to appease the gods, they reasoned, Felicitas and her seven children would need to be sacrificed. Out of human respect, the prefect Publius arrested Felicitas and her sons. The narrator Alban Butler wrote the following description of that event: "Publius asked Felicitas to spare her children from torture saying, 'Take pity on your children. ... They are in the bloom of youth and may aspire to the greatest honors and preferments.' Felicitas replied, 'Your pity belies a lack of love.' She then turned toward her children and said, 'My sons, look up to Heaven with courage because Jesus Christ and His saints expect you.'" Publius, exasperated and indignant at Felicitas' steadfastness, commanded her to be cruelly beaten. He then called her children one by one and offered vanities and deceptions, promises and threats. When all seven rejected idolatry and proclaimed the Gospel, they were scourged. Later, Antoninus sent them to different judges. The first brother, Januarius, was scourged to death with whips loaded with leaden plummets. The next two, Felix and Philip, were beaten to death with clubs. The fourth, Sylvanus, was thrown down a steep precipice. The three youngest, Alexander, Vitalis and Martialis, were beheaded. Last of all, Felicitas was beheaded four months after her children. The martyrs stood on principles that formed Western civilization: among them freedom of speech and not the abuse of speech. They died to themselves for love of Jesus Christ; and became like Him. They reign with Christ in Heaven forever.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2025 / Catholic Missal of july 2025