Friday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Genesis

The span of Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years.
She died in Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham performed the customary mourning rites for her.
Then he left the side of his dead one and addressed the Hittites:
"Although I am a resident alien among you, sell me from your holdings a piece of property for a burial ground, that I may bury my dead wife."
After this transaction, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
Abraham had now reached a ripe old age, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all his possessions: "Put your hand under my thigh,
and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not procure a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,
but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred to get a wife for my son Isaac."
The servant asked him: "What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land from which you migrated?"
"Never take my son back there for any reason," Abraham told him.
"The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my kin, and who confirmed by oath the promise he then made to me, 'I will give this land to your descendants'--he will send his messenger before you, and you will obtain a wife for my son there.
If the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But never take my son back there!"
Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the region of the Negeb.
One day toward evening he went out. . . in the field, and as he looked around, he noticed that camels were approaching.
Rebekah, too, was looking about, and when she saw him, she alighted from her camel
and asked the servant, "Who is the man out there, walking through the fields toward us?" "That is my master," replied the servant. Then she covered herself with her veil.
The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done.
Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent; he married her, and thus she became his wife. In his love for her Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah.

Psalms

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Who can tell the mighty deeds of the LORD,
or proclaim all his praises?
Blessed are they who observe what is right,
who do always what is just.
Remember us, O LORD, as you favor your people.
Visit me with your saving help,
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people,
and glory with your inheritance.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

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

SAINT PANTÆNUS Father of the Church (+c. 216) Our tradition-practicing, church-founding Father flourished during the second century. He was born a Sicilian; and spoke about stoicism. He befriended Christians through their innocence, joyfulness and detachment. Soon, Pantænus received faith in Jesus through their witness and prayers. 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. When Pantænus' great progress in sacred learning was recognized, he was appointed head of the Christian school around the year 179. He reformed and revitalized the institution; making it a leader and a standout amid the schools of philosophy. 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 in the East. 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 teaching in private till about the year 216, when he closed a noble 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 center, 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." 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. Many were in disbelief that she had been miraculously healed. On December 8, 1915, María joined the Marian Association "Daughters of Mary," offering herself with great confidence to the Mother of God. The Salesian, spiritual director Don Emilio Bottari, helped María discern her vocation and mystical experiences. In 1920, at age of 18, María joined the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. 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 6, 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 described in her spiritual writings. In 1931, Sr Maria 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 and catechizing, as well as supporting the abused and marginalized. Sr Maria discovered that her life's work was inspiring the have's to help the have-not's. In 1945, Sr Maria began establishing community recreational centers. In 1953, she had centers for food distribution. In 1961, she opened a casita: a school for poor girls. In 1966, she opened a (again) nonprofit clinic; where God's Providence helped her with the volunteer services of doctors and donations of needed medicines. Sr Maria then planned a village housing for communities. On a piece of land outside the city, in 1973, the first seven homes were built in the Centro San José. It was followed by a farm, a market, and 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 with Mary and Her social apostolate. Sr María was very "limited" in terms of available funding, but with total confidence, she always left everything in the hands of Our Lady. In her later years, she retired from full time teaching, but continued catechesis among the young and young at heart. On July 7, 1977, in Leon, Nicaragua in the Salesian house where she had been sent to rest, María suffered a fatal heart attack at 75 years old. Her mortal remains was sent to San José Costa Rica and buried in the Salesian Chapel. Sr María was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 14, 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 2023 / Catholic Missal of july 2023