Thursday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Jeremiah

2,1-3.7-8.12-13.

This word of the LORD came to me:
Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, Following me in the desert, in a land unsown.
Sacred to the LORD was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; Should anyone presume to partake of them, evil would befall him, says the LORD.
When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, You entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome.
The priests asked not, "Where is the LORD?" Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols.
Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD.
Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.

Psalms

36(35),6-7ab.8-9.10-11.

O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
your just defense of the upright of heart.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

13,10-17.

The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.'"
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: 'You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.'
But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it".

---

St. Lawrence of Brindisi(Priest and Doctor of the Church (1559-1619))

SAINT LAWRENCE OF BRINDISIPriest and Doctor of the Church(1559-1619) At first glance, perhaps the most remarkable quality of Lawrence of Brindisi is his outstanding gift of languages. In addition to his native Italian, he was fluent in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and French. Lawrence was born on July 22, 1559, and died exactly 60 years later on his birthday in 1619. His parents, William and Elizabeth Russo, gave him the name of Julius Caesar, Caesare in Italian. After the early death of his parents, he was educated by his uncle at the College of St. Mark in Venice. When he was just 16, he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Venice and received the name of Lawrence. He completed his studies of philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained a priest at 23. With his brilliance in languages, he was able to study the Bible in its original texts. At the request of Pope Clement VIII, he spent much time preaching to the Jews in Italy. So excellent was his knowledge of Hebrew, the rabbis felt sure he was a Jew who had become a Christian. In 1956, the Capuchins completed a 15-volume edition of his writings. Eleven of these fifteen contain his sermons, each of which uses scriptural quotations to illustrate his teaching. Lawrence’s sensitivity to the needs of people began to surface. He was elected major superior of the Capuchin Franciscan province of Tuscany at the age of 31. He had the combination of brilliance, human compassion and administrative skill needed to carry out his duties. In rapid succession, he was promoted by his fellow Capuchins and was elected minister general in 1602. In this position, he was responsible for the great growth and geographical expansion of the Order. Lawrence was appointed as papal emissary and peacemaker, which took him to foreign countries. An effort to achieve peace in his native kingdom of Naples took him on a journey to Lisbon to visit the king of Spain. Serious illness in Lisbon took his life in 1619.Quote: “God is love, and all his operations proceed from love. Once he wills to manifest that goodness by sharing his love outside himself, then the Incarnation becomes the supreme manifestation of his goodness and love and glory. So, Christ was intended before all other creatures and for his own sake. For him all things were created and to him all things must be subject, and God loves all creatures in and because of Christ. Christ is the first-born of every creature, and the whole of humanity as well as the created world finds its foundation and meaning in him. Moreover, this would have been the case even if Adam had not sinned” (St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Universal Church, Capuchin Educational Conference, Washington, D.C.).

---

St. Victor(Martyr (3rd century))

---

SAINT VICTOR Martyr(3rd century) The Emperor Maximian, red-handed with the blood of the Thebæan legion and many other martyrs, arrived at Marseilles. Against this backdrop, Victor, a Christian officer in the Roman army, was visiting the faithful and exhorting them to "fight the good fight." Caught unaware, he was brought before prefects Asterius and Eutychius. They demanded that Victor renounce his faith. Undaunted, Victor replied that he loved Jesus Christ. With indignation, the courtroom cried out, some calling for blood. A lynch mob formed; and Victor was bound hand and foot and dragged through the streets of the city. Brought back nearly dead to the tribunal, Victor cried out, "Jesus Christ is the true and living God." Victor was then stretched on the rack and his limbs disjointed. Afterward, he was thrown into a dungeon. At midnight, God visited Victor by His angels; the prison was filled with light brighter the sun, and Victor sung the praises of God. Three soldiers who guarded the prison, seeing this light, cast themselves at Victor's feet, asking his pardon and desiring Baptism. Victor instructed them as well as time would permit, sent for priests the same night, and, going with them to the seaside, had them baptized, and returned with them to prison. The next morning, Maximian was informed of the guards' conversion and had them beheaded. Victor was tortured again. 3 days later, he was called before the tribunal and commanded the martyr to offer incense to a statue of Jupiter. Allegedly, Victor went up to the altar, kicked the statue and toppled it. Then the emperor ordered Victor's foot to be chopped off, which the Saint suffered with courage. The emperor then commanded Victor be put under the grindstone of a hand-mill and crushed to death. The executioners turned the wheel, but when parts of his body were bruised and crushed, the mill broke down. The Saint still breathed a little, but then was beheaded. His body was thrown into the sea, but was cast ashore and buried by the Christians in a grotto hewn out of a rock. Do we look to Jesus and Mama Mary with courage as we speak with others about our faith?

misalcatolico.com

---

Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2022 / Catholic Missal of july 2022