Monday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Genesis

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set, he stopped there for the night. Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!"
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.
Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode."

Psalms

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall take refuge.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured.
When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping." And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

St. Pantaenus(Father of the Church († c. 216))

SAINT PANTÆNUS Father of the Church ( c. 216) Saint Pantænus was born during the second century. He was Sicilian who taught stoicism. He befriended Christians because of their innocence, joyfulness and disinterested love. Soon, he received faith in Jesus through their prayers and witness. After encountering Jesus, Pantænus studied Holy Scripture under the apostles' disciples. He went to Alexandria in Egypt, where the disciples of St. Mark founded a school of Christian doctrine. Pantænus' great progress merited his appointment as head of the Christian school around the year 179. He revitalized and expanded the institute: making it a leader and a standout amid the schools of philosophy. The Indians who traded in Alexandria entreated Pantænus to visit their country; so he left the school and preached the Gospel in the East. He found some seeds of the faith already sown in the Indies and a book of the Gospel of St. Matthew, written in Hebrew and carried there by St. Bartholomew. He brought the book with him to Alexandria after several years. He continued teaching in private until around the year 216, when he closed a noble life with a happy death.

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

BLESSED MARÍA ROMERO MENESES Salesian Sister (1902-1977) Blessed María Romero Meneses was a SalesianSister who is popularly known as the Social Apostle of Costa Rica. She was born in Granada, Nicaragua, on January 13, 1902. In Costa Rica, María was a social apostle through multiple initiatives for the poor. She started with teaching catechism and vocational skills; and finished with a medical center, a school for the Church's social doctrine and seven housing communities for poor families. María was one of eight children from an upper class family. She was educated by her aunts and parents. She had artistic talent, so her parents had her trained in drawing and painting as well as piano and violin. She was also enrolled at the Salesian Sisters' school. In 1914, when she was 12, María fell ill with rheumatic fever that paralyzed her for six months. It was a source of trial and suffering that made her miss a year at herbeloved school. During her trial, she 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." She offered herself with great confidence to the Mother of God. The Salesian spiritual director Don Emilio Bottari helped her discern a vocation and recorded her mystical experiences. In 1920, at age of 18, María joined the Daughters of Mary. 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 life. On January 6, 1929, in Nicaragua, María made her final profession. Her interior life unfolded as each day she strived to live in joyful union with God as His instrument, after the example of Don Bosco, which she 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 wealthy girls at the school and catechetics and practical trades in the barrios. In 1934, she began winning over young girls who were her students (misioneritas) to join her in the work of evangelizing and catechizing. She 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 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. Sr. 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. On July 7, 1977, in Leon, Nicaragua, at the Salesian house where she had been sent to rest, Sr. María suffered a fatal heart attack. She was 75 years old. Her remains were sent to San José, Costa Rica, and buried at the Salesian Chapel. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 14, 2002.

Bl. Ralph Milner & Roger Dickenson(Martyrs († 1591))

Bl. Ralph Milner & Fr. Roger DickensonBritish MartyrsThese two men lived in England at a time when practicing one’s Catholic faith meant imprisonment and possible execution. Ralph Milner was an elderly, illiterate farmer and a father of eight children. He was from Flacstead, Hampshire. He was raised Protestant, but was so impressed by his Catholic neighbors that he received catechism and baptism. On the day of his First Communion, he was arrested for changing his religion and was imprisoned at the Winchester jail.Farmer Milner’s behavior in prison was such that he gained the respect and trust of the prison guards and was granted frequent parole. He came and went at will: seeing to the spiritual and temporal needs of his fellow prisoners and aiding and escorting undercover Catholic priests. He thus met 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, but managed to escape his drunken guards. He was not so fortunate a second time and was arrested with Ralph Milner, who had been escorting him around the local villages. The two were put under close confinement at the Winchester jail. Father Dickenson was charged with the crime of being a Catholic priest and Ralph Milner for aiding him.During their trial, the judge pitied Ralph Milner 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. They begged 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. Witnesses said they faced their deaths calmly and courageously.

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