Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Book of Genesis

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground,
he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way." "Very well," they replied, "do as you have said."
Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, "Quick, three seahs of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls."
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.
"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There in the tent," he replied.
One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son."

Psalms

He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things
shall never be disturbed.

Letter to the Colossians

Brothers and sisters: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church,
of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

St. Alexius(Confessor (+404))

SAINT ALEXIUS Confessor(+404) St. Alexius was the only son of noble Roman parents. On his wedding-night, he secretly quitted Rome and journeyed to Edessa in the far East. There, he gave away all his possessions and lived on alms at the gate of Our Lady's church. It came to pass that Alexius' servants, sent by his father, saw him at the Church's gate; and gave him alms not recognizing him. The encounter was God's way of testing Alexius' vocation: the prefiguring of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of evangelical poverty. From his actions, we can deduce that Alexius chose a life of penance over the one marked by his parents, which ran contrary to his heart and conscience. After seventeen years, when Alexius' sanctity was manifested by the Blessed Virgin's image, he once more sought obscurity and blessed solitude. On his way to Tarsus, contrary winds drove his ship to Rome. There, no one recognized in the wan and tattered mendicant the heir of Rome's noblest house; not even his sorrowing parents. From his father's charity, he begged a mean corner of his palace as a shelter, and the leavings of his table as food. Thus Alexius spent seventeen years, bearing patiently the ill-usage of his servants and witnessing the grief of his spouse and parents. At last, when death came for Alexius, his household learned, from a writing in his own hand, who it was that they had unknowingly sheltered. God bore testimony to His servant's sanctity by many miracles. St. Alexius received God by way of self-renunciation. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:3)" With nothing to cling to on earth, Alexius' spirit rose to heights of contemplation, in union with God. Sadness of wealth or the bitter taste of entitlement never pinned him down, and his spirit was free to soar like St. John the Apostle. He went into eternity where his treasure was stored and lives with Our Lord and Mother forever.

Bl. Pavol Gojdič((1888+1960))

BLESSED PAVOL GOJDIČ Basilian Bishop and Martyr (1888-1960) Pavol Gojdič was born on July 17th, 1888 at Ruské Pekľany near Prešov. He was from the family of the Greek-Catholic priest Štefan Gojdič; his mother's name was Anna Gerberyová. He received the name of Peter in baptism. Peter attended the elementary school at Cigeľka, Bardejov and Prešov, finishing his primary studies at Prešov, which he concluded with his maturity exam in 1907. Obeying God's call to the priesthood, he began his study of theology at Prešov. Since he obtained excellent results, he was sent a year later to continue his studies in Budapest. Here, too, he tried to lead a profound spiritual life. While still a seminarian, he was directed by his spiritual director on these lines: "Life is not difficult, but it is a serious matter"- words that were to guide him throughout his life. Having finished his studies on August 27, 1911, he was ordained priest at Prešov by Bishop Dr. Ján Valyi. After his ordination, he worked for a short period as assistant parish priest with his father. After a year, he was appointed prefect of the eparchial seminary and at the same time taught religion in a higher secondary school. Later, he was put in charge of protocol and the archives in the diocesan curia. He was also entrusted with the spiritual care of the faithful in Sabinov as assistant parish priest. In 1919, he became director of the episcopal office. To everyone's surprise on July 20, 1922, he joined the Order of St. Basil the Great at Černecia Hora near Mukačevo, where, taking the habit on January 27, 1923, he took the name Pavol. He took this decision as a sign of modesty, humility, and a desire to lead an ascetic life in order to better serve God. But God willed otherwise and had ordered him to a higher office as bishop. On September 14, 1926, he was nominated Apostolic administrator of the eparchy of Prešov. During his installation as Apostolic Administrator, he announced the programme of his apostolate: "With the help of God, I want to be a father to orphans, a support for the poor and consoler to the afflicted." The first official act of Pavol Gojdič in his office as newly appointed administrator of the eparchy of Prešov was to address a pastoral letter on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the birth of St. Cyril, apostle of the Slavs. Thus he begins his activity in the spirit of the apostle of the Slavs, always faithful to Rome, as they were. He was a Slav and was very fond of his oriental rite. A short time later, on March 7, 1927, he was nominated bishop with the title of Harpaš (Church of Harpaš - in Asia Minor). The episcopal consecration took place in the basilica of San Clemente, Rome, on March 25, 1927, the feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady. After his episcopal ordination, he visited the basilica of St. Peter in Rome, where he prayed on the tomb of the Apostle. On March 29, 1927, together with Bishop Nyaradi, he was received in a private audience by the Holy Father Pius XI. The pope gave Bishop Pavol a gold cross saying: "This cross is only a faint symbol of the heavy crosses that God will send you, my son, in your work as bishop." For his episcopal programme, he chose as a motto the following words: "God is love, let us love Him!" As bishop, he was engaged in the promotion of spiritual life of both clergy and faithful. He insisted on the proper celebration of the liturgy and of church feasts. Following new conditions, he erected new parishes, for instance, in Prague, Bratislava, Levoča and elsewhere. Thanks to his hard work, the orphanage at Prešov was built and entrusted to the local sisters. His activity in the scholastic field was outstanding, as is proved by the foundation of the Greek-Catholic school in Prešov in the year 1936. He supported also the teaching academy, the seminary, colleges etc. He was interested in every aspect of spiritual reading, which resulted in the launching of the review Blahovistnik (Messenger of the Gospel), Da prijdet carstvije Tvoje (Thy Kingdom Come) and various prayers etc., published by the PETRA publishing house. For his kindness, caring and charitable relationship with the people, he was described as "a man with a heart of gold." An important characteristic of the bishop was his strong affection for the Eucharistic Savior, continually strengthened through his visits to the Blessed Eucharist in the chapel at his residence. Another characteristic, not less evident, of his spiritual life, was his devotion to the Sacred Heart. Already as a Seminarian in Budapest, he had consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and this he confirmed every morninng with the words "All the prayers, sacrifices and crosses I offer to make up for the sins of the whole world!" One must not forget that the bishop had great devotion to the Mother of God, and as as a marian devotee, held in his residential chapel a picture of the Virgin of Klokočov, in front of which he prayed every day and to whose protection he entrusted himself and the whole eparchy. On April 13, 1939, he was appointed apostolic administrator in Slovakia of the Apostolic Administration of Mukačevo. In the difficult situation of the Slovak State, he became a "thorn in the flesh" for the representatives of the government of the time and so offered his resignation from the post - in fact, the present Holy Father appreciated his work and not only refused his resignation, but also made him residential bishop of Prešov. And so, on August 8, 1940, he was solemnly consecrated at Prešov, and then, on January 15, 1946, confirmed in his jurisdiction over the Greek-Catholics in the whole of Czecho-Slovakia. The progress in religious and spiritual life in the eparchy that followed the personal example and fervor of Bishop Pavol was interrupted by the events of war, and especially with the coming to power of the communists in 1948. Their ideological program made itself felt above all against the Greek-Catholic Church. Bishop P. P. Gojdič resisted any initiative to submit the Greek-Catholics to Russian orthodoxy assisted by the communist party and the power of the State, even though he knew he was risking persecution and arrest; maybe even death. Gradually, he was isolated from the clergy and the faithful. Even though put under severe pressure to renounce the Catholic faith and break unity with the Pope, he refused every attractive offer and exclaimed: "I am already 62 and sacrifice all my goods and residence, but I will not deny my faith in any way because I want to save my soul. Do not even come to me." During the events sadly known of Sobor of Prešov, April 28, 1950, when the State outlawed the Greek-Catholic Church and forbade her activity, bishop Pavol Gojdič was arrested and interned. Thus began his via crucis in many prisons of what was Czecho-Slovakia, which ended with his death. In the days from January 11 to 15, 1951, in a trial set up against the so called high treason bishops (Vojtaššák, Buzalka, and Gojdič) he was given a life sentence; fined two hundred thousand crowns and deprived of all his civic rights. Transfers from one prison to another followed. Bishop P. P. Gojdič suffered physical and psychological punishments, humiliations; he was forced to do the most difficult and degrading jobs. Howewer, he never complained and never asked to be relieved. He made use of every available time to pray, and celebrated the sacred liturgy in secret. Following the amnesty in 1953, given by State President A. Zapotocký, his life sentence was changed to 25 years detention. He was then 66 and his state of health deteriorated continuously. Yet, all further requests for amnesty were refused. Bishop Pavol Gojdič could only leave prison at the cost of his faithfulness to the Church and to the Holy Father. Various offers were made to him, as is proved by an event that he himself recounts: In the prison of Ruzyň he was received in an office, where he had been brought from his cell, by a high official in uniform. This informed him that from that office he would go straight to Prešov, on condition that he was willing to become patriarch of the Orthodox church in Czecho-Slovakia. The bishop refused this offer excusing himself and explaining that this would be a very grave sin against God, a betrayal of the Holy Father, of his conscience and of his faithful, most of whom were then suffering persecution. Even in the most difficult situation, he abandoned himself to the will of God, as can be seen from these words of his: "I do not really know whether it is a gain to exchange the crown of martyrdom with two or three years of life in freedom. But I leave the good Lord to decide." On the occasion of his 70th birthday, even the Holy Father Pius XII sent him a telegram in prison. In it, he assured him he would not forget his heroic son. For the bishop, this was one of his best days in prison. A great desire of bishop Gojdič was to die comforted by the sacraments on his birthday. Both desires were fulfilled. Father Alojz Vrána was transferred to the room of the prison hospital of Leopoldov (Slovakia), where the bishop passed his last days, and could hear his confession. The chalice of suffering of bishop Pavol was about to overflow. An eye witness of the last instants of his life was his fellow prisoner - the nurse František Ondruška, who has given a unique testimony. He confirmed that the desire of the bishop had been fulfilled - he died on July 17, 1960, that is on the day of his 72nd birthday. He died in the hospital of the prison of Leopoldov as a result of illness resulting from the ill treatment he had suffered. Afterward, he was buried without ceremony in the prison cemetery in a nameless tomb, with the prison number 681. As a result of the easing of the political situation in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968, the state autorities, after many delays gave permission for exhuming the mortal remains of bishop P. P. Gojdič. This happened in the cemetery of Leopoldov on October 29, 1968, and was followed by the transfer of the remains to Prešov. By a decision of the autorities set up after the soviet occupation, these were transferred to the crypt of Greek-Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Prešov. From May 15, 1990, they are to be found in a sarcophagus in the chapel of the cathedral. Bishop Pavol Gojdič was legally rehabilitated on September 27, 1990. Subsequently, he was decorated posthumously with the Order of T. G. Masaryk - II class, and with the Cross of Pribina - 1st class. The Holy Father Pope John Paul II, during his historic visit in Slovakia, while visiting Prešov, prayed at the tomb of this bishop-martyr in the chapel of the cathedral.He beatified Bp. Pavol on November 4, 2001.

The Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne()

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