Thursday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Hosea

Thus says the LORD: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them, the farther they went from me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.
My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred.
I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.

Psalms

O shepherd of Israel, hearken.
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see:
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

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."

St. Pantaenus(Father of the Church, (+ c. 216))

SAINT PANTÆNUS Father of the Church (+c. 216) This learned father flourished in the second century. He was by birth a Sicilian; by profession a Stoic philosopher. His esteem for virtue led him to an acquaintance with Christians, and being charmed by the innocence and sanctity of their conversation, his eyes were opened. One can only guess the prayers said by those Christians; "Lord, that I may see" (Lk. 18:41). After encountering the Lord, Pantænus studied Holy Scripture under the disciples of the apostles. His zeal brought him to Alexandria in Egypt, where the disciples of St. Mark had instituted a school of Christian doctrine. Pantænus never made a show of his gifts or talents. His great progress in sacred learning was discovered, and he was called, like we are, to proclaim the Gospel. Being placed at the head of the Christian school some time before the year 179, he raised its reputation above the schools of philosophy. His lessons on wisdom, the Gospel, love, salvation and eternal life were gathered from the flowers of the prophets and apostles, conveying light and knowledge to the minds of his listeners. The Indians who traded at Alexandria entreated him to pay their country a visit, whereupon he departed his school and went to preach the Gospel to the Eastern nations. St. Pantænus found some seeds of the faith already sown in the Indies, and a book of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, carried there by St. Bartholomew. He brought it back with him to Alexandria after some years. St. Pantænus continued to teach in private till about the year 216, when he closed a noble and excellent life by a happy death.

Bl. María Romero Meneses (1902-1977)()

BLESSED MARÍA ROMERO MENESES Salesian Sister (1902-1977) Blessed María Romero Meneses, SalesianSister, Social Apostle of Costa Rica, was born in Granada, Nicaragua, on 13th of January 1902. In Costa Rica, María was a social apostle through a multiple initiatives designed for the needs of the poor. She started with teaching catechism and vocational skills, and finished with a medical centre, a school for teaching the social doctrine of the Church, and seven housing communities for poor families. María was one of eight children of an upper class family in Nicaragua. She was educated by her aunts and her parents. Since she had artistic talent, her parents had her trained in drawing and painting as well as in piano and violin. She was also enrolled in the Salesian Sisters' school. In 1914, when she was 12, she underwent a year of sickness whose miraculous cure led to her total confidence in Our Lady, Help of Christians and to the vision of her Salesian vocation. María came down with a serious form of rheumatic fever that paralyzed her for six months, a real source of trial and suffering because it made her miss a year at herbeloved school. However, during this trial, María already showed a mature faith, character and will. She called her sufferings "gifts of God." Even when a doctor informed her that her heart had been seriously damaged, she did not complain, but put her confidence for a complete recovery in Our Lady, Help of Christians. To a school friend who visited her, she said after receiving heavenly guidance, "I know that the Blessed Virgin will cure me." A few days later, María returned to school in good health; no one could believe she had ever been so sick. On December 8th, 1915 María joined the Marian Association "Daughters of Mary" offering herself with great confidence to the Mother of God. Her Salesian spiritual director Don Emilio Bottari helped her discern her vocation and her mystical experiences. In 1920, at age of 18, María joined the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. Her spiritual director Fr. Emilio Bottari gave her a prophetic recommendation: "Even though difficult moments will come and you will feel torn to pieces, be faithful and strong in your vocation." For María, these words sustained her for the rest of her religious life. On January 6th, 1929 in Nicaragua, María made her final profession. Her interior life unfolded as each day she strived to live joyful union with God as his instrument, after the example of Don Bosco as is apparent from her spiritual writings. In 1931, she was sent to San José, Costa Rica, which became her second country. In 1933, she was teaching music, drawing, and typing to the rich girls in the school, while beginning in the barrios with catechetics and practical trades. In 1934, Sr María began to win over the young girls who were her students in the school (misioneritas) to join her in the work of evangelizing, catechizing and advancing materially the oppressed, isolated and abused. She found the shape of her life's work: bringing about the revolution of charity by inspiring the have's to help the have-not's. In 1945, she began to set up recreational centres; in 1953 centres for the distribution of food. In 1961, she opened a casita as a school for poor girls; in 1966, a clinic where God's Providence helped her with the volunteer services of fine doctors and donations of needed medicines. Soon, she planned a village so poor families could have decent homes; and on a piece of land outside the city, realized the dream. In 1973, the first seven homes were built in the Centro San José. Then a farm and a market along with school space for religious formation, catechesis and job training. There was also a church dedicated to Our Lady, Help of Christians. María always joined love and devotion to the Eucharist and Mary with her social apostolate. María was very "limited" in terms of available funding; but, with total confidence, she always left everything in the hands of Our Lady since it was God's work. In her old age, she retired from full time teaching but never from catechesis of young and old. On July 7th, 1977, in Leon, Nicaragua in the Salesian house where she had been sent for a good rest, María died of a fatal heart attack at 75 years old. Her mortal remains were sent back to San José Costa Rica, to be buried in the Salesian Chapel. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 14th, 2002.

Bl. Ralph Milner & Roger Dickenson()

Bl. Ralph Milner & Fr. Roger DickensonBritish MartyrsThese two men lived in England at a time when the practice of one’s Catholic faith meant imprisonment and possible execution. Ralph Milner was an elderly, illiterate farmer, the father of eight children, from Flacstead, Hampshire. He was brought up as a Protestant but was so impressed by the lives of his Catholic neighbors that he took instructions and was received into the Catholic Faith. On the very day of his First Communion, he was arrested for having changed his religion and imprisoned in the Winchester jail.Farmer Milner’s behavior in prison was such that he gained the respect and trust of the prison guards and so was granted frequent parole during which he could come and go at will. He made use of these times to see to the spiritual and temporal needs of his fellow prisoners and to aid and escort undercover Catholic priests. This is how he came into contact with the secular priest, Father Roger Dickenson (sometimes spelled Dicconsen).Father Dickenson was a native of Lincoln who had studied for the priesthood in Rheims, France. In 1583 he was sent on a mission to England and was imprisoned soon afterwards but managed to escape when his guards got drunk. He was not so fortunate the second time he was arrested, this time with Ralph Milner who had been escorting him around the local villages. The two men were put under close confinement at the Winchester jail; Father Dickenson was charged with the crime of being a Catholic priest, Ralph Milner for aiding him.At their trial, the judge took pity on the elderly farmer and made several attempts to set him free, urging him to merely visit a Protestant church as a matter of form. Since to Ralph Milner this would have been tantamount to renouncing his new-found Faith, he refused, saying that he could not “embrace a counsel so disagreeable to the maxims of the gospel.”On July 7, 1591, the day of execution, Ralph Milner’s children were escorted to the gallows, begging him to renounce his Faith and so save his life, but again he refused. He gave them his final blessing, declaring that “he could wish them no greater happiness than to die for the like cause.” The two men were hanged, drawn, and quartered; it is said that they faced their deaths calmly and with great courage.

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