Monday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Proverbs

Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim when it is in your power to do it for him.
Say not to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give," when you can give at once.
Plot no evil against your neighbor, against him who lives at peace with you.
Quarrel not with a man without cause, with one who has done you no harm.
Envy not the lawless man and choose none of his ways:
To the LORD the perverse man is an abomination, but with the upright is his friendship.
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses;
When he is dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness.

Psalms

He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things
shall never be disturbed.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Jesus said to the crowd : "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed ; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away."

St. Pio da Pietrelcina(Capuchin Priest (1887-1968) - Memorial)

PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINACapuchin priest(1887-1968)"Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6:14). Like the Apostle Paul, Padre Pio da Pietrelcina placed the Holy Cross at the center of his life and apostolic work. In the Cross, he became like the Holy One: a victim, a sacrifice, the expiation of sin. In emulating the Crucified Christ, he could have said: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). Serving those who came to him in ever greater numbers, he was the spiritual father of an immense number of sons and daughters. St. Pio was the son of Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. He was born on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, in the Archdiocese of Benevento. He was baptized the next day and named Francesco. At the age of 12, Francesco received the Sacrament of Confirmation and made his First Holy Communion. On January 6, 1903, at the age of 16, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars in Morcone. On January 22, he took the Franciscan habit and the name Brother Pio. At the end of his novitiate year, he took simple vows. He made his solemn profession on January 27, 1907, and he was ordained a priest on August 10, 1910. He stayed at home with his family until 1916 because of ill health. That September, he was sent to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo. The Holy Spirit spoke through Padre Pio in the sacrament of reconciliation and the celebration of the Eucharist. The graces people received were thanks to his priestly ministry. He spent the day and a large part of the night in conversation with God. He would say: "In books we seek God, in prayer we find him. Prayer is the key which opens God's heart." With heroic prudence, Padre Pio spoke inconvenient truths to those who sought his counsel. During the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he sometimes read the hearts of men. He was so effective in this ministry that Satan would manifest and attempt to frighten him. Padre Pio was unmoved by demonic manifestion, and placed his trust in God and prayed even while experiencing complete darkness. His concern was the glory of God and the good of souls. He treated everyone with justice, frankness and great respect. For more than fifty years, he welcomed countless people who had recourse to his ministry and his confessional; his counsel and his consolation. He was almost beseiged. They sought him in church, in the sacristy and in the friary. He gave himself to everyone, rekindling faith, dispensing grace and bringing light. But especially in the poor, the suffering and the sick, he saw the image of Christ, and he gave himself particularly to them. On May 5, 1956, he founded the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering). Padre Pio understood very early in life that his would be the way of the Cross, and he accepted it at once with courage and love. For many years, he experienced spiritual suffering. For years, he endured the pains of his wounds with admirable serenity.When he had to submit to investigations and restrictions in his priestly ministry, he accepted everything with profound humility and resignation. In the face of unjust accusations and calumnies, he remained silent, trusting always in the judgement of God, of his immediate superiors and of his own conscience. Padre Pio mortified his senses and was temperate in his attitude and in his way of life. He always obeyed the commands of his superiors even when they were burdensome. His obedience was supernatural in intention, universal in its scope and complete in its execution. He lived the spirit of poverty with total detachment from self, from earthly goods, from his own comfort and from honors. With great love for the virtue of chastity, his behavior was modest in all situations and with all people.He sincerely thought of himself as small, weak and infirm, and yet carried God's gifts obediently: like the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem (St. Jose Maria Escriva). Amid so much admiration around him, he would say: "I only want to be a poor friar who prays." From his youth, Padre Pio's health was not very robust, and it declined rapidly in the last years of his life. Sister Death took him well-prepared and serene on September 23, 1968, at the age of 81. An extraordinary gathering of people attended his funeral. On February 20, 1971, barely three years after his passing, Pope Paul VI, speaking to the Superiors of the Capuchin Order, said of him: "Look what fame he had, what a worldwide following gathered around him! But why? Perhaps because he was a philosopher? Because he was wise? Because he had resources at his disposal? It is because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from dawn to dusk and was - it is not easy to say it - one who bore the wounds of our Lord (stigmata). He was a man of prayer and suffering." In the years following his death, his reputation for sanctity and miracles grew steadily, and became established in the Church all over the world and among all kinds of people. (...) On May 2, 1999, in the course of a solemn concelebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II beatified the Venerable Servant of God Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, naming September 23 as the date of his liturgical feast. (...)On December 20, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, the Decree on the miracle was promulgated. Finally, on February 28, 2002, the Decree of Canonization was promulgated.Homily at the canonization of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (June 16, 2002)1. "For my yoke is easy and my burden light" (Mt 11: 30). Jesus' words to his disciples, which we just heard, help us to understand the most important message of this solemn celebration. Indeed, in a certain sense, we can consider them as a magnificent summary of the whole life of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, today proclaimed a saint. The evangelical image of the "yoke" recalls the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo had to face. Today we contemplate in him how gentle the "yoke" of Christ is, and how truly light is his burden when it is borne with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio prove that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted out of love, are transformed into a privileged way of holiness, which opens onto the horizons of a greater good, known only to the Lord. 2. "But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6,14). Is it not, precisely, the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope. Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross. In God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the whole of humanity and the way clearly offered by the Lord to those who wish to follow him (cf. Mk 16,24). The Holy Franciscan of the Gargano understood this well, when on the Feast of the Assumption in 1914, he wrote: "In order to succeed in reaching our ultimate end we must follow the divine Head, who does not wish to lead the chosen soul on any way other than the one he followed; by that, I say, of abnegation and the Cross" (Epistolario II, p. 155). 3. "I am the Lord who acts with mercy" (Jer 9,23). Padre Pio was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making himself available to all by welcoming them, by spiritual direction and, especially, by the administration of the sacrament of Penance. I also had the privilege, during my young years, of benefitting from his availability for penitents. The ministry of the confessional, which is one of the distinctive traits of his apostolate, attracted great crowds of the faithful to the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo. Even when that unusual confessor treated pilgrims with apparent severity, the latter, becoming conscious of the gravity of sins and sincerely repentant, almost always came back for the peaceful embrace of sacramental forgiveness. May his example encourage priests to carry out with joy and zeal this ministry which is so important today (...). 4. "You, Lord, are my only good". This is what we sang in the responsorial psalm. Through these words, the new Saint invites us to place God above everything, to consider him our sole and highest good. In fact, the ultimate reason for the apostolic effectiveness of Padre Pio, the profound root of so much spiritual fruitfulness can be found in that intimate and constant union with God, attested to by his long hours spent in prayer and in the confessional. He loved to repeat, "I am a poor Franciscan who prays" convinced that "prayer is the best weapon we have, a key that opens the heart of God". This fundamental characteristic of his spirituality continues in the "Prayer Groups" that he founded, which offer to the Church and to society the wonderful contribution of incessant and confident prayer. To prayer, Padre Pio joined an intense charitable activity, of which the "Home for the Relief of Suffering" is an extraordinary expression. Prayer and charity, this is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching, which today is offered to everyone.5. "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because ... these things ... you have revealed to little ones" (Mt 11,25). How appropriate are these words of Jesus, when we think of them as applied to you, humble and beloved Padre Pio. Teach us, we ask you, humility of heart so we may be counted among the little ones of the Gospel, to whom the Father promised to reveal the mysteries of his Kingdom. Help us to pray without ceasing, certain that God knows what we need even before we ask him. Obtain for us the eyes of faith that will be able to recognize right away in thepoor andsuffering the face of Jesus. Sustain us in the hour of the combat and of the trial and, if we fall, make us experience the joy of the sacrament of forgiveness. Grant us your tender devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother. Accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage toward the blessed homeland, where we hope to arrive in order to contemplate forever the glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.Amen.

St. Thecla(Virgin & Martyr (1st century))

SAINT THECLA Virgin and Martyr(1st century) St. Thecla was born in 30 AD. In both great and small things, she relied on Jesus' will (Lk. 16:10, Mt. 10:39). She is honored in Eastern and Western traditions for her perfect love. St. Thecla encountered Jesus in Iconium, present day Turkey. She received the Holy Spirit while listening to St. Paul preach. To follow Jesus, she renounced her title and an arranged marriage to a Roman nobleman. In retaliation, secular authorities burned her at the stake. Miraculously, God rescued her. St. Thecla's apostolate with St. Paul converted the hearts of many (Lk. 2:35). She was arrested yet again and thrown to starving lions in the colosseum. Miraculously, the lions did not harm her and she escaped her captors. St. Thecla went on to preach with St. Paul and lived happily. She became a healer and doctor of souls. Her memory is celebrated in churches throughout Turkey and Syria.

St. Constantius()

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