Catholic Missal of the day: Saturday, March 24 2018
Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent
Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent
1. ReadingBook 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?"
St. Catherine of Sweden(Abbess (1330-1381))
SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN Virgin(1331 to 1381) St. Catherine was the fourth child of St. Bridget and Ulf Gudmarsson. She was born in 1331 or 1332. At the age of 7, she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg for schooling. St. Catherine's father arranged her marriage to Eggart von Kürnen when she was around 14. When she asked Eggart to join her in a vow of chastity, he agreed. They lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to charity and works of mercy. St. Catherine once accompanied St. Bridget to Rome in 1349. Soon after they arrived, St. Catherine received news that her husband had passed away in Sweden. She then lived with St. Bridget and took an active part in the latter's ministry. She also zealously imitated her mother's asceticism. Many suitors pursued St. Catherine, but she had already consecrated her whole being to God. In 1372, she and her brother, Birger, accompanied St. Bridget went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After they returned, she accompanied St. Bridget during the latter's final illness and death. In 1374, after interring St. Bridget's remains in Wadstena, Sweden, St. Catherine became the head of the foundation. The motherhouse of the Brigittine Order was based in Wadstena. It was also called the Bridgittine Order and the Order of St. Savior. St. Catherine managed the convent in accordance with St. Bridget's rule. She passed away on March 24, 1381.
Bl. Maria Karlowska(Foundress (1865-1935))
Blessed Maria Karlowska Religious(1865-1935) Maria Karlowska was born in the territories under Prussian occupation in 1865. She assisted women who suffered material and moral deprivation. She quickly attracted a group of Christians and together they founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Divine Providence. The Sisters' goal is: "We must proclaim the Heart of Jesus, that is, so to live from him, in him and for him, as to become like him and that in our lives he may be more visible than we ourselves." The Foundress provided shelters for trafficked women and at-risk youth and girls. Her devotion to the Sacred Heart spread throughout the world and bears great fruit in those who cultivate it. Maria Karlowska loved the Church heroically. A love of this kind, according to her, will never say "enough," will never stop midway. She was beatified following a miraculous healing through her intercession. The miracle was verified by a medical board and offices for the causes of saints.
St. Oscar Romero(Archbishop (1917-1980))
Saint Oscar Romero (1917 - , CardinalEarly lifeOscar Romero was born into a large family on August 15, 1917, in El Salvador. Although they had more money than many of their neighbors, Oscar’s family had neither electricity nor running water in their small home, and the children slept on the floor. Oscar’s parents could not afford to send him to school after the age of 12, so he went to work as an apprentice carpenter. He quickly showed great skill, but Oscar was already determined to become a priest. He entered the seminary at the age of 14 and was ordained a priest when he was 25 in 1942. Recognising the power of radio to reach the people, he convinced five radio stations to broadcast his Sunday sermons to peasant farmers who believed they were unwelcome in the churches.In 1970, he became Auxiliary Bishop in San Salvador. In 1974, he became Bishop of Santiago de Maria. At this time, Oscar Romero was described as a conservative, not wanting to break from tradition. He supported the hierarchy who encouraged conformity. He was uncomfortable with social action that challenged political leaders.Growing awarenessDuring his two years as Bishop of Santiago de Maria, Romero was horrified to find that children were dying because their parents could not pay for simple medicines. He began using the resources of the diocese and his own personal resources to help the poor, but he knew that simple charity was not enough. He wrote in his diary that people who are poor should not just receive handouts from the Church or the government, but participate in changing their lives for the future.In 1977, Romero became Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital city. The situation in El Salvador was becoming worse and he couldn’t remain silent any longer. The military were killing the Salvadorian people - especially those demanding justice - such as teachers, nuns and priests, and including Romero’s good friend, Fr. Rutilio Grande. Thousands of people began to go missing. Romero demanded that the President of El Salvador thoroughly investigate the killings, but he failed to act.Voice of the voicelessIn his actions and words, Oscar demanded a peace that could only be found by ensuring people had access to basic needs and their rights upheld. He raised awareness globally about the people in his country who had been killed or "disappeared." When he visited the Vatican in 1979, Oscar Romero presented the Pope with seven detailed reports of murder, torture, and kidnapping throughout El Salvador.In 1979, the number of people being killed rose to more than 3,000 per month. Oscar Romero had nothing left to offer his people except faith and hope. He continued to use the radio broadcast of his Sunday sermons to tell people what was happening throughout the country, to talk about the role of the Church and to offer his listeners hope that they would not suffer and die in vain.MartyrdomOn March 23, 1980, after reporting the previous week’s deaths and disappearances, Oscar Romero began to speak directly to soldiers and policemen: “I beg you, I implore you, I order you... in the name of God, stop the repression!” The following evening, while saying Mass in the chapel of Divine Providence Hospital, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot by an assassin. Only moments before his death, Romero spoke these prophetic words: “Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ will live like the grain of wheat that dies… The harvest comes because of the grain that dies.”
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2018 / Catholic Missal of march 2018
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:27Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:27Z