Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent

Book of Ezekiel

37,21-28.

Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.
My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.
They shall live on the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children's children, with my servant David their prince forever.
I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.

Book of Jeremiah

31,10.11-12ab.13.

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
Proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
He guards them as a shepherd his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings:
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

11,45-56.

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation."
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish."
He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?"

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St. Turibius of Mongrovejo(Bishop (1538-1606))

SAINT TURIBIUS of MONGROVEJO Archbishop of Lima (1538-1606) Turibius Alphonsus Mongrovejo was born on November 6, 1538, in Mayorga, the Kingdom of Leon, Spain. Raised by pious and virtuous parents, Turibius lived a blessed childhood. His leisure included spiritual exercises and reading. He was cheerful while doing works of charity and rejected self-gratification. Turibius made long pilgrimages on foot. Turibius' reputation as a master of canon and civil law reached the ears of King Philip II, who made him a judge at Granada. About that time, the see of Lima, Peru, fell vacant, and among those proposed, Philip II found no one who seemed better endowed than Turibius. The Roman Pontiff confirmed King Philip's appointment and directed Turibius to receive Holy Orders and be consecrated. Yielding at last by direction of his confessor, Turibius was ordained a priest and consecrated. Bp. Turibius arrived in Lima in 1587. With humility and consistent effort, he edified the Christians and brought order to his episcopal city. He received confessions daily and prepared for Mass by long meditation. Bp. Turibius then began visiting his vast diocese, which he traversed three times. His first visitation lasted seven years, and his second four. He held provincial councils and framed decrees and regulations adopted in neighboring countries. Always acting for the common good, Bp. Turibius channeled nearly his entire revenue toward safety nets that uplifted the needy. While performing his duties during a third visitation, Bp. Turibius was seized with a fatal illness. He passed away on March 23, 1606, in Santa, exclaiming as he received the sacred Viaticum: "I rejoiced in the things that were said to me: 'We shall go into the house of the Lord.'"The proofs of his holy life and of the favors granted through his intercession led Pope Innocent XI to beatify him. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

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Sts Victorian and others(Martyrs (+ 484))

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STS. VICTORIAN AND OTHERS Martyrs (+ 484) Huneric, the Arian king of the Vandals in Africa, succeeded his father Genseric in 477. He moderated his behavior toward Catholics, but began persecuting the clergy and holy virgins in 480. The killings escalated into a general persecution in 484. Victorian, one of the principal lords of the kingdom, had been made governor of Carthage with the Roman title of proconsul. He was the wealthiest subject of the king and endowed with trust. The king's confidence came from Victorian's unwavering fidelity. After the king published his edicts, he sent a message to Proconsul Victorian, promising wealth and honor if the latter conformed to the state religion. Victorian replied, "Tell the king that I trust in Christ. His Majesty may condemn me to any torments, but I shall never consent to renounce the Catholic Church, in which I have been baptized. Even if there were no life after this, I would never be ungrateful and perfidious to God, Who has granted me the happiness of knowing Him..." In retaliation, the tyrant ordered Victorian to be tortured to the brink of death. Victorian suffered the torture courageously and with heroic charity. The Roman Martyrology joins Victorian with four others who were martyred on this day. Two brothers, who were arrested for the faith, had promised each other, if possible, to die together. The executioners hung them in the air using weights on their feet. Alban Butler writes, "One brother, under the excess of pain, begged to be taken down for a brief pause. The other brother, fearing that relief might cause him to deny his faith, cried out, 'God forbid... Is that what we promised Jesus?' The brother was so encouraged that he cried out, "No... Increase my tortures..." They were then burned with red-hot plates of iron, and tormented so long that others received faith in Christ. Two merchants of Carthage, both named Frumentius, suffered martyrdom around the sane time. Another confessor, Liberatus, an eminent physician, was sent into banishment with his wife. The Roman Martyrologies also mention twelve young children who were dragged away and violently separated from each other. They were cruelly beaten and scourged every day; yet all of them persevered in the faith until the end of the persecution.

misalcatolico.com

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2024 / Catholic Missal of march 2024