Book of Micah

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, That dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

Psalms

You have favored, O LORD, your land;
you have brought back the captives of Jacob.
You have forgiven the guilt of your people;
you have covered all their sins.
You have withdrawn all your wrath;
you have revoked your burning anger.
Restore us, O God our savior,
And abandon your displeasure against us.
Will you be ever angry with us,
prolonging your anger to all generations?
Will you not instead give us life;
and shall not your people rejoice in you?
Show us, O LORD, your kindness,
and grant us your salvation.  

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you."
But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."

St. Bridget of Sweden(Co-patron of Europe (1304-1373))

SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN Patron saint of Sweden and co-patron of Europe (1304-1373) St. Bridget was born to the Swedish royal family in 1304. In obedience to her father, she married Prince Ulpho of Sweden. She had eight children: one of whom, Catherine, is a saint. After many years, Bridget's husband entered the Cistercian Order. Bridget then founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior at the Abbey of Wastein. Raising a family, attending to court affairs and founding an Order reflects Bridget's zealousness for the House of the Lord and the Kingdom of God. In 1344, Bridget became a widow. She received visions and personal revelations that she submitted to her confessor. Her mystical experiences led her on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Amidst the places of our Lord's Passion and Resurrection, she received further instruction in sacred mysteries. Bridget's ministries included caring for the marginalized together with St. Catherine of Sweden. She honored Our Lord's designation of a leader for His flock and worked tirelessly to support the pope and return him to Rome. Sheis the Patron Saint of Sweden and a patron saint of women.

Bl. Vasil' Hopko(Bishop and martyr († 1976))

Blessed Vasiľ Hopko(1904-1976)Bishop and martyr Vasil' Hopko was born on April 21, 1904, in Hrabské, a small village in eastern Slovakia. His father died when he was 1 year old and his mother was left to care for him. Vasil's mother left for the United States in 1908 to find work and put him in his grandfather's care. When Vasil' was 7, he went to live with his uncle, Demeter Petrenko, a Greek-Catholic priest. His uncle's example awakened a call to the priesthood. In 1923, Vasil' entered the Greek-Catholic Seminary of Presov. He was ordained a priest on February 3, 1929, and was entrustedwiththe pastoral care of the Greek-Catholic faithful in Prague. He was involved in many different activities: work with youth, the elderly, the unemployed and orphans. Fr. Vasil' founded the MovementofGreek-Catholic Students and the Greek-Catholic Youth Unionand contributed to the building of the city's Greek-Catholic parish. It was also in Prague that, after 22 years, the young priest met his mother who had returned from the United States. In 1936, Fr. Vasil' returned to Slovakia and served as a spiritual father at the Greek-Catholic Seminary of Presov. In 1941, he was appointed as secretary of the Bishop's Curia. He became professor of moral and pastoral theology at the Theological Faculty in Presov in 1943. He also made time to write, published various works and became the first editor of the magazine Blahovistnik (The Gospel Messenger). After World War II, the Czechoslovakian Republic fell under a growing Soviet Bolshevik and atheist influence. Foreseeing a systematic "Sovietization" along with its totalitarian, atheistic Marxism, Bishop Gojdic of Presov asked the Holy See for an auxiliary bishop to help him defend against attacks on the Greek-Catholic faithful. Fr. Vasil' became the newly-appointed auxiliary bishop and was consecrated on May 11, 1947. He helped Bp. Gojdic immensely and strengthened others against the encroaching darkness. Little by little, the Czechoslovakian Communist Party prepared for the violent elimination of the Greek-Catholic Church. On April 28, 1950, the Communists carried out their work of "liquidation" during the so-called "Council of Presov," which they held without the presence of bishops. They declared that the Greek-Catholic Church of Czechoslovakia no longer existed and that all its priests, faithful and churches were to be transferred over to the Orthodox Church. Bishops Gojdic and Hopko were arrested. Following the arrests, Bp. Hopko underwent interrogation and torture. It was aimed at coercing him to deny his faith and confess to false accusations. On October 24, 1951, after more than a year of cruel and diabolical interrogation, he was condemned by the State Court to 15 years in prison and a loss of all civil rights for 10 years. While in prison, he was tortured and given small doses of arsenic, which caused chronic poisoning and was later verified by an analysis of his bones. On May 12, 1964, Bp. Hopko was released from prison for health reasons. After years of maltreatment, the Bishop suffered from grave physical ailments and mental depression. Notwithstanding all this, he continued to contribute actively to the resurgence of the Greek-Catholic Church. On June 13, 1968, the renewal of the Greek-Catholic Church of Czechoslovakia was reestablished after 18 years of open persecution. From 1968 onward, Bp. Hopko began living in Presov. On December 20, 1968, Pope Paul VI confirmed his appointment as auxiliary bishop for all Greek-Catholic faithful in Czechoslovakia. Bp. Hopko passed away on July 23, 1976, in Presov. He made for his own the words of his friend, Bp. Gojdic: "For me, it is not important if I die in the Bishop's Palace or in prison; what matters is entering into Paradise." Bp. Vasil' Hopko was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 14, 2003, in Bratislava.

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