Tuesday of the Seventh week in Ordinary Time

Letter of James

4,1-10.

Beloved : Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy"?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Psalms

55(54),7-8.9-10a.10b-11a.23.

I say, "If only I had wings like a dove
that I might fly away and find rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would stay in the desert.
I would soon find a shelter
from the raging wind and storm."
Lord, check and confuse their scheming.
I see violence and strife in the city
making rounds on its walls day and night.
Within are mischief and evil;
Cast your care upon the LORD,
who will give you support.
God will never allow the righteous to stumble.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

9,30-37.

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise."
But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them,
Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me."

---

St. Cristobal Magallanes Jara(Martyr & Priest (1869-1927))

Saint Cristóbal Magallanes JaraMartyr & Priest(1869 - 1927) St. Cristóbal Magallanes was born in 1869 in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara. His parents, Rafael Magallanes and Clara Jara, were poor farmers and devout Catholics. Growing up on a farm, Cristóbal worked as a shepherd, but he felt truly called to look after Christ's sheep. At the age of 19, he entered the seminary; and at 30 was ordained a priest. He taught school in Guadalajara until returning to hishome village of Totatiche to minister as a parish priest. He served there for nearly two decades: opening a carpentry business to provide jobs for local men and helping plan and construct a dam to aid the people of the area. He was most interested in bringing the Catholic faith to those who had not heard the Good News of Jesus, in this case the Huichol people in the region. During this time in Mexico’s history, the government feared the power of the Catholic Church and tried to eliminate the practice of the faith. A constitution even banned the training of priests; and the seminary where Cristóbal had studied was closed and turned into a museum. In 1915, he opened his own small seminary in Totatiche and soon had more than a dozen students. The government did not look kindly on this kind of behavior and accused Fr. Cristóbal of trying to incite rebellion, even though he preached against violence of any kind.He was on his way to celebrate Mass when he was arrested; and was convicted without a trial. He gave away his few possessions to his jailers; and on May 21, 1927, he and twenty-one other priests and three lay Catholics were executed.His last words to his executioners were, “I die innocent, and ask God that my blood may serve to unite my Mexican brethren.” St. Cristóbal wascanonizedbyPope John Paul IIon May 21, 2000.

---

St. Eugene de Mazenod(Bishop (1782-1861))

---

Eugene de Mazenod Bishop of Marseille, founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries, Oblates of Mary Immaculate (1782-1861) CHARLES JOSEPH EUGENE DE MAZENOD came into a world that was destined to change very quickly. Born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782, he seemed assured of position and wealth from his family, who were of the minor nobility. However, the turmoil of the French Revolution changed all that forever. When Eugene was just eight years old, his family fled France, leaving their possessions behind, and started a long and increasingly difficult eleven-year exile.The Years in Italy The Mazenod family, political refugees, trailed through a succession of cities in Italy. His father, who had been President of the Court of Accounts, Aids and Finances in Aix, was forced to try his hand at trade to support his family. He proved to be a poor businessman, and as the years went on the family came close to destitution. Eugene studied briefly at the College of Nobles in Turin, but a move to Venice meant the end to formal schooling. A sympathetic priest, Don Bartolo Zinelli, living nearby, undertook to educate the young French emigre. Don Bartolo gave the adolescent Eugene a fundamental education, but with a lasting sense of God and a regimen of piety which was to stay with him always, despite the ups and downs of his life. A further move to Naples because of financial problems, led to a time of boredom and helplessness. The family moved again, this time to Palermo where, thanks to the kindness of the Duke and Duchess of Cannizzaro, Eugene had his first taste of noble living and found it very much to his liking. He took to himself the title of "Count" de Mazenod, did all the courtly things and dreamed of a bright future.Return to France: the Priesthood In 1802, at the age of twenty, Eugene was able to return to his homeland: and all his dreams and illusions were quickly shattered. He was just plain "Citizen" de Mazenod, France was a changed world, his parents had separated, and his mother was fighting to get back the family possessions. She was also intent on marrying off Eugene to the richest possible heiress. He sank into depression, seeing little real future for himself. But his natural qualities of concern for others, together with the faith fostered in Venice, began to assert themselves. He was deeply affected by the disastrous situation of the French Church, which had been ridiculed, attacked and decimated by the Revolution. A calling to the priesthood began to manifest itself, and Eugene answered that call. Despite opposition from his mother, he entered the seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, and on December 21, 1811, he was ordained a priest in Amiens.Apostolic endeavors: Oblates of Mary Immaculate Returning to Aix-en-Provence, he did not take up a normal parish appointment, but started to exercise his priesthood in the care of the truly spiritually-needy: prisoners, youth, servants and country villagers. Often in the face of opposition from the local clergy, Eugene pursued his course. Soon, he sought out other equally zealous priests who were prepared to step outside the old, even outmoded, structures. Eugene and his men preached in Provencal, the language of the common people, not in "educated" French. They went from village to village, instructing at the level of the people, spending amazingly long hours in the confessional. In between these parish missions, the group joined in an intense community life of prayer, study and fellowship. They called themselves "Missionaries of Provence." However, so that there would be an assured continuity in the work, Eugene took the bold step of going directly to the Pope and asking that his group be recognized officially as a Religious Congregation of pontifical right. His faith and his persistence paid off, and on February 17, 1826, Pope Leo XII approved the new Congregation, the "Oblates of Mary Immaculate." Eugene was elected Superior General, and continued to inspire and guide his men for thirty-five years until his death. Together with their growing apostolic endeavors - preaching, youth work, care of shrines, prison chaplaincy, confessors, direction of seminaries, parishes - Eugene insisted on deep spiritual formation and a close community life. He was a man who loved Christ and was always ready to take on any apostolate if he saw it answering the needs of the Church. The "glory of God, the good of the Church and the sanctification of souls" were impelling forces for him.Bishop of Marseilles The Diocese of Marseilles had been suppressed after the 1802 Concordat; and when it was re-established, Eugene's aged uncle, Canon Fortune de Mazenod, was named Bishop. He appointed Eugene Vicar General immediately, and most of the difficult work of rebuilding the Diocese fell to him. Within a few years, in 1832, Eugene himself was named auxiliary bishop. His Episcopal ordination took place in Rome, in defiance of the pretensions of the French Government that it had the right to sanction all such appointments. This caused a bitter diplomatic battle, and Eugene was caught in the middle with accusations, misunderstandings, threats and recriminations swirling around him. It was an especially devastating time for him, further complicated by the growing pains of his religious family. Though battered, Eugene steered ahead resolutely, and finally the impasse was broken. Five years later, he was appointed to the See of Marseilles as its bishop, when Bishop Fortune retired.A heart as big as the world While the Oblates of Mary Immaculate was founded to serve the spiritually needy and deprived in the French countryside, Eugene's zeal for the Kingdom of God and his devotion to the Church moved the Oblates to the advancing edge of the apostolate. His men ventured into Switzerland, England and Ireland. Because of his zeal, Eugene was dubbed "a second Paul," and bishops from the missions came to him asking for Oblates for their expanding mission fields. Eugene responded willingly: Despite small initial numbers, he sent his men out to Canada, the United States, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South Africa and Basutoland (Lesotho). As missionaries in his mould, they fanned out: preaching, baptising and caring. They frequently opened up previously uncharted lands, established and manned many new dioceses, and in a multitude of ways, they "left nothing undared that the Kingdom of Christ might be advanced." In the years that followed, the Oblate mission thrust continued, so that today the impulse of Eugene de Mazenod is alive in his men in sixty-eight different countries.Pastor of his Diocese During all this ferment of missionary activity, Eugene was an outstanding pastor of the Church of Marseilles: ensuring the best seminary training for his priests, establishing new parishes, building the city's cathedral and the spectacular Shrine of Notre Dame de la Garde above the city. He encouraged his priests to lives of holiness, introduced many Religious Congregations to work in the diocese and led his fellow Bishops in support of the rights of the Pope. He grew into a towering figure in the French Church. In 1856, Napoleon III appointed him a Senator, and at his death he was the senior bishop of France.Legacy of a Saint May 21, 1861, saw Eugene de Mazenod taken up by God at the age of seventy-nine, after a life crowded with achievements, many of them born in suffering. For his religious family and for his diocese, he was a founding and life-giving source: For God and for the Church, he was a faithful and generous son. As he lay dying, he left his Oblates a final testament, "Among yourselves, charity, charity, charity: In the world, zeal for souls." He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on December 3, 1995.

---

St. Hospitius(Recluse (+ 681))

---

SAINT HOSPITIUS, Recluse (+681) St. Hospitius took sanctuary in the ruins of an old tower near Villafranca, one league from Nice in Provence. He girded himself with a heavy iron chain and lived on bread and dates. During Lent, he ate only roots - striving to conform his life to Jesus and the anchorites of Egypt. Hospitius had the gifts of prophecy and miracles. He also foretold the ravages of the Lombards in Gaul. When the Lombards arrived at the tower where he lived, they saw his chain and mistook him for a criminal. On questioning him, Hospitius acknowledged that he was a great sinner, whereupon one of the soldiers lifted his sword to strike. In that moment, the soldier's arm stiffened and became numb; and it was not until Hospitius made the sign of the cross over it that the man recovered. The soldier embraced Christianity, renounced the world and passed the rest of his days serving God. When Hospitius felt his last hour had arrived, he removed his chain and knelt in prayer. Then, stretching himself on a little bank of earth, he calmly gave up his soul to God on May 21, 681.

misalcatolico.com

---

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