Catholic Missal of the day: Sunday, July 28 2019
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. ReadingBook of Genesis
18,20-32.]In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,
]that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out."
]While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
]Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
]Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
]Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty, so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?"
]The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
]Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes!
]What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "if I find forty-five there."
]But Abraham persisted, saying, "What if only forty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it for the sake of the forty."
]Then he said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it if I can find but thirty there."
]Still he went on, "Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "for the sake of the twenty."
]But he still persisted: "Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?" "For the sake of those ten," he replied, "I will not destroy it."
Psalms
138(137),1-2.3.6.7-8.]I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
]I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
]When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
]The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
]Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.
Your right hand saves me.
]The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
Letter to the Colossians
2,12-14.]Brothers and sisters: you were buried with Christ in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
]And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions;
]obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
11,1-13.]Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
]He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
]Give us each day our daily bread
]and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."
]And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
]for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,'
]and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.'
]I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
]And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
]For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
]What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
]Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
]If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
St. Pedro Poveda Castroverde(Priest and Martyr (1874-1936))
Saint Pedro Poveda CastroverdePriest and Martyr, Founder of the Teresian Association(1874-1936) Pedro Poveda was born on December 3, 1874, in Linares, Spain. From early childhood, he felt called to become a priest; and in 1889, he entered the diocesan seminary in Jaén. Because of financial difficulties, he transferred to the Diocese of Guadix in Grenada where the bishop had offered him a scholarship. He was ordained a priest on April 17, 1897. After ordination, Fr. Poveda taught in the seminary and served the diocese. In 1900, he completed a licentiate in theology in Seville and later began an apostolate among the "cave-dwellers," those who lived in dugouts in the hills outside of Guadix. There, he built a school for children and workshops for adults to provide professional training and Christian formation. He was misunderstood, however, and had to leave this special ministry. Fr. Poveda headed for the solitude of Covadonga in the mountains of northern Spain. In 1906, he was appointed canon of the Basilica of Covadonga in Asturias, where the Blessed Virgin is venerated. He spent much time reflecting on the problems in Spain's education system. He understood that the Lord was inviting him to open new paths in the Church and in the society of his time. He began publishing articles and pamphlets on the question of the professional formation of teachers and was also in contact with others who wanted to take action. One barrier to educational reform was the education system's alienation of God. Fr. Poveda's apostolic experiences and years of reflection helped him identify a need for the Christian formation of teachers in the State's school system. He believed that both solid faith and professional qualifications were needed to transmit the Gospel. In 1911, Fr. Poveda opened the St. Teresa of Avila Academy as a residence for students and the starting point of the Teresian Association. The Association's mission was forming the spiritual foundation and pastoral ability of teachers. The following year, he joined the Apostolic Union of Secular Priests and started new pedagogical centers and some periodicals. To further his work, Fr. Poveda moved to Jaén, where he taught in the seminary, served as spiritual director of Los Operarios Catechetical Centre, and worked at the Teacher Training College. In 1914, he opened Spain's first university residence for women in Madrid. Meanwhile, the Teresian Association developed and spread to various groups and areas. Soon, it gained ecclesiastical and civil approval in Jaén. Fr. Poveda offered the Teresian Association as a new path of Christian life and evangelization, created with and for lay persons. Its members were formed as Gospel witnesses according to the expression: "To believe firmly and to keep silent is not possible." He wanted the adherents to be ready to give their lives for the faith and expressed the same desire himself. In 1921, Fr. Poveda moved to Madrid and was appointed chaplain of the Royal Palace. A year later, he was appointed as a member of the Central Board Against Illiteracy, but most of his time was devoted to the Teresian Association, which received papal approval in 1924. He did not direct the Association, but as its founder worked to consolidate and promote the various dimensions of its mission as it spread to Chile and later to Italy in 1934. It was during the religious persecution in Spain that Fr. Poveda would be called to martyrdom. At dawn on July 28, 1936, when told by his persecutors to identify himself, he said, "I am a priest of Christ." He was martyred soon after. He was beatified on October 10, 1993, and was canonized on May 3, 2003, by Pope John Paul II.
St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception(Religious (1910-1946))
Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (1910-1946) Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception was born on August 19 in Kudamalur, the Arpookara region, in the diocese of Changanacherry, India. She was from the ancient and noble family of Muttathupadathu. From her birth, Alphonsa's life was marked by the cross. Her mother, Maria Puthukari, gave birth during the eighth month of pregnancy after a snake wrapped itself around her waist while she was sleeping. Eight days later, on August 28, Alphonsa was baptized by Fr. Joseph Chackalayil according to the Syro-Malabar rite. She was named Annakutty, a diminutive of Anne. Annakutty's mother passed away three months after childbirth, so she was raised by her grandparents in Elumparambil. Her grandmother, a pious and charitable woman, communicated the joy of the faith, love for prayer, and charity toward the poor. At 5 years old, Annakutty already knew how to lead the family's evening prayer in accordance with the Syro-Malabar custom, which was held in the prayer room. Annakutty received the Eucharistic bread for the first time on November 11, 1917. She used to say to her friends: "Do you know why I am so particularly happy today? It is because I have Jesus in my heart!" In a letter to her spiritual father, on November 30, 1943, she confided the following: "Already from the age of seven I was no longer mine. I was totally dedicated to my divine Spouse. Your reverence knows it well." In 1917, Annakutty began attending the elementary school of Thonnankuzhy. She established sincere friendships with the Hindu children. In 1920, she moved to her aunt Anna Murickal's house in Muttuchira, who her mother had entrusted her to. Her aunt was severe and demanding, and at times despotic and violent. Her aunt was assiduous in religious practices, but did not share the friendship with the Carmelites of the close-by Monastery or the long periods of prayer at the foot of the altar. Annakutty's aunt was determined to procure an advantageous marriage for her. Annakutty's virtue was manifested in accepting her aunt's severe and rigid education as a path of humility and patience for the love of Christ. She also resisted continual arranged marriage attempts that were pushed upon her. To get out of one, Annakutty burned herself by putting her foot into a heap of embers. "My marriage was arranged when I was thirteen years old. What had I to do to avoid it? I prayed all that night... then an idea came to me. If my body were a little disfigured no one would want me! ... O, how I suffered! I offered all for my great intention." Annakutty's attempt to disfigure herself did not fully succeed in freeing her from the attentions of suitors. In the following years, she had to defend her religious vocation: even during the year of probation, when an attempt to give her in marriage was made with the Mistress of Formation's compliance. She wrote, "O, the vocation which I received! A gift of my good God! ... God saw the pain of my soul in those days. God distanced the difficulties and established me in this religious state." It was Fr. James Muricken, Annakutty's confessor, who directed her toward Franciscan spirituality and put her in contact with the Congregation of the Franciscan Clarists. Annakutty entered their college in Bharananganam on May 24, 1927, and attended seventh class as an intern student. On August 2, 1928, she began her postulancy and took the name of Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception in honor of St. Alphonsus Liguori. She was clothed in the religious habit on May 19, 1930, during the first pastoral visit made to Bharananganam by the bishop, Msgr. James Kalacherry. Alphonsa's life from 1930 to 1935 was characterized by grave illness and moral suffering. She could only teach children at the school in Vakakkad in 1932. Due to physical weakness, she carried out the duties of assistant-teacher and catechist at the parish. She also worked as a secretary, especially to write official letters because of her beautiful script. When the canonical novitiate was introduced into the Congregation of the Franciscan Clarists in 1934, Alphonsa wished to enter immediately. However, she was only admitted in 1935 because of ill-health. About one week after the beginning of her novitiate, she had a hemorrhage from the nose and eyes and a profound organic wasting and purulent wounds on her legs. The illness escalated to the point that her life was in danger. She was miraculously cured during a novena to The Servant of God Fr. Kuriakose Elia Chavara, a Carmelite who is today a Blessed. Having restarted her novitiate, she wrote the following proposals in her spiritual diary: "I do not wish to act or speak according to my inclinations. Every time I fail, I will do penance... I want to be careful never to reject anyone. I will only speak sweet words to others. I want to control my eyes with rigor. I will ask pardon of the Lord for every little failure and I will atone for it through penance. No matter what my sufferings may be, I will never complain and if I have to undergo any humiliation, I will seek refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus." On August 12, 1936, the feast of St. Clare, Alphonsa joyfully made her perpetual profession. She had realized her heart's desire - guarded for a long time and confided to her sister Elizabeth when she was 12 years old: "Jesus is my only Spouse, and no other." God led Sr. Alphonsa to perfection through a life of suffering. She wrote, "I made my perpetual profession on the 12th of August 1936 and came here to Bharanganam on the following 14th. From that time, it seems, I was entrusted with a part of the cross of Christ. There are abundant occasions of suffering... I have a great desire to suffer with joy. It seems that my Spouse wishes to fulfill this desire." Painful illnesses followed one after another: typhoid fever, double pneumonia, and, the most serious of all, a dramatic nervous shock, the result of a fright on seeing a thief during the night of October 18, 1940. Her state of psychic incapacity lasted for about a year, during which she was unable to read or write. In every situation, Sr. Alphonsa always maintained recollectedness and a charitable attitude toward the Sisters. In 1945, she had a violent outbreak of illness. A tumor, which had spread throughout her organs, transformed her final year of life into a continuous agony. Gastroenteritis and liver problems caused violent convulsions and vomiting up to forty times a day. She wrote, "I feel that the Lord has destined me to be an oblation, a sacrifice of suffering... I consider a day in which I have not suffered as a day lost today." With her attitude of a victim for the love of Jesus, happy until her final moments and with a smile of gratitude always on her lips, Sr. Alphonsa quietly and joyfully brought her earthly journey to a close at the convent of the Franciscan Clarists in Bharananganam, at 12:30 on July 28, 1946. She left behind the memory of a Sister full of love and a saint. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception Muttathupadathu was proclaimed Blessed by Pope John Paul II in Kottayam, India, on February 8, 1986. She was canonized on October 12, 2008, by Pope Benedict XVI. With that canonization, the Church in India presents its first saint to the veneration of the faithful of the whole world. The faithful thank God for St. Alphonsa who is united with Christ and who harmonized the Roman and Malabar traditions.
St. Victor(Pope and Martyr († 198))
Saint Victor IPope and Martyr( 198) St. Victor governed the Church during the reign of Emperor Severus. He confuted Theodotus Coriarius and guided Christian thought on the question of Easter. After being martyred, he was buried on the fifth day before the Calends of August, at what is today Vatican Hill.
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2019 / Catholic Missal of july 2019
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:35Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:35Z