Free Republic

December 21 2019 Saturday of the Third Week of Advent Reading 1 Sg 2:8-14 Hark! my lover–here he comesspringing across the mountains,leaping across the hills.My lover is like a gazelleor a young stag.Here he stands behind our wall,gazing through the windows,peering through the lattices.My lover speaks; he says to me,"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,and come!"For see, the winter is past,the rains are over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth,the time of pruning the vines has come,and the song of the dove is heard in our land.The fig tree puts forth its figs,and the vines, in...

December 14 2019 Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Sir 48:1-4, 9-11 In those days,like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijahwhose words were as a flaming furnace.Their staff of bread he shattered,in his zeal he reduced them to straits;By the Lord's word he shut up the heavensand three times brought down fire.How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose glory is equal to yours?You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,in a chariot with fiery horses.You were destined, it is written, in time to cometo put an...

December 13 2019 Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Reading 1 Is 48:17-19 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,the Holy One of Israel:I, the LORD, your God,teach you what is for your good,and lead you on the way you should go.If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river,and your vindication like the waves of the sea;Your descendants would be like the sand,and those born of your stock like its grains,Their name never cut offor blotted out from my presence. Responsorial Psalm pS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R.(see John 8:12) Those who follow...

December 11 2019 Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 40:25-31 To whom can you liken me as an equal?says the Holy One.Lift up your eyes on highand see who has created these things:He leads out their army and numbers them,calling them all by name.By his great might and the strength of his powernot one of them is missing!Why, O Jacob, do you say,and declare, O Israel,"My way is hidden from the LORD,and my right is disregarded by my God"? Do you not knowor have you not heard?The LORD is the eternal God,creator of the ends...

December 6 is the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra, later of Bari. Though known more commonly in modern times for his connection with “Santa Claus”, Saint Nicholas was considered a great saint in his day and numerous anecdotes relating to his acts of holiness, courage and generosity have come down to us from antiquity. Here is an excerpt from an anonymous history from the 4th century AD entitled, Praxis de Stratelatis (Act of the Generals). In it, we see Saint Nicholas doing what he does best: using his authority as bishop to rescue the innocent and speak the truth...

December 6 2019 Friday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 29:17-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:But a very little while,and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,and the orchard be regarded as a forest!On that day the deaf shall hearthe words of a book;And out of gloom and darkness,the eyes of the blind shall see.The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.For the tyrant will be no moreand the arrogant will have gone;All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,those whose mere word...

December 4 2019 Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hostswill provide for all peoplesA feast of rich food and choice wines,juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.On this mountain he will destroythe veil that veils all peoples,The web that is woven over all nations;he will destroy death forever.The Lord GOD will wipe awaythe tears from all faces;The reproach of his people he will removefrom the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!This...

On this feast day of Saint Francis Xavier, let us recall in particular his missionary zeal. In our own age, we too often hear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be adapted to appeal to the modern world. We are told that traditional Christian practices are out of step with reality, and that Christian morality practiced for millennia now impose an impossible burden upon both sophisticated city-dwellers and the simple painted people of the jungle alike. Saint Francis Xavier, perhaps the greatest Jesuit missionary of them all, had no such qualms. He preached the authentic Gospel of Jesus...

December 3 2019 Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest Reading 1 Is 11:1-10 On that day,A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,A Spirit of counsel and of strength,a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.Not by appearance shall he judge,nor by hearsay shall he decide,But he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide aright for the land's afflicted.He shall strike the ruthless with the rod...

If you’ve never heard of Saint Saturninus of Toulouse, you may be forgiven. Though obscure today, he was among the most illustrious early martyrs of the Church in France. His feast day is November 29. Saturninus is certainly worth knowing about, however, because the account of his death represents one of the most ancient extant Christian works to originate from the Roman province of Gaul. Saturninus was bishop of Tolosa — Toulouse in modern-day France. He was martyred either during the the persecution of Christians initiated by Decius (AD 250) or Valerian (AD 258). Saturninus is mentioned by the 6th...

November 25 2019 Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dn 1:1-6, 8-20 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cameand laid siege to Jerusalem.The Lord handed over to him Jehoiakim, king of Judah,and some of the vessels of the temple of God;he carried them off to the land of Shinar,and placed the vessels in the temple treasury of his god. The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain,to bring in some of the children of Israel of royal bloodand of the nobility, young men without any defect,handsome, intelligent...

November 23 2019 Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Mc 6:1-13 As King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces,he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,famous for its wealth in silver and gold,and that its temple was very rich,containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weaponsleft there by Alexander, son of Philip,king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city.But he could not do so,because his plan became known to the people of the citywho rose up in battle against him.So he retreated...

November 22 is the feast day of one of the most ancient female martyrs of the Church – Saint Cecilia of Rome. Unlike many of the other early martyrs I have mentioned in this blog (eg. here, here, here, and here), Saint Cecilia’s Acts are considered by ecclesiastical scholars to be unreliable, having been composed two to three hundred years after her death. That said, there does seem to be broad agreement on some of the basic facts: 1.) There was a Christian martyr named Cecilia. 2.) She was martyred in Rome. 3.) She was buried in the catacombs of...

November 22 2019 Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr Reading 1 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 Judas and his brothers said,"Now that our enemies have been crushed,let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it."So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month,that is, the month of Chislev,in the year one hundred and forty-eight,they arose and offered sacrifice according to the lawon the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had...

November 18 2019 Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 [From the descendants of Alexander's officers]there sprang a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes,son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome.He became king in the year one hundred and thirty sevenof the kingdom of the Greeks. In those days there appeared in Israelmen who were breakers of the law,and they seduced many people, saying:"Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us;since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us."The proposal was agreeable;some from among...

November 16 2019 Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9 When peaceful stillness compassed everythingand the night in its swift course was half spent,Your all-powerful word, from heaven's royal thronebounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land,bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree.And as he alighted, he filled every place with death;he still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth. For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew,serving its natural laws,that your children might be preserved unharmed.The cloud overshadowed their camp;and out of what had before...

November 15 2019 Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 13:1-9 All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,let them know how far more excellent is the Lord...

November 13 2019 Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin Reading 1 Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand;learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!Hearken, you who are in power over the multitudeand lord it over throngs of peoples!Because authority was given you by the Lordand sovereignty by the Most High,who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,and did not keep the law,nor walk according to the will of God,Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,because judgment is stern for the exalted–For the lowly may be...

November 12 2019 Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Reading 1 Wis 2:23–3:9 God formed man to be imperishable;the image of his own nature he made them.But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,and they who are in his possession experience it. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and their passing away was thought an afflictionand their going forth from us, utter destruction.But they are in peace.For if before men, indeed, they be punished,yet...

November 11 2019 Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Reading 1 Wis 1:1-7 Love justice, you who judge the earth;think of the Lord in goodness,and seek him in integrity of heart;Because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.For perverse counsels separate a man from God,and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;Because into a soul that plots evil, wisdom enters not,nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.For the holy Spirit of discipline flees deceitand withdraws from senseless counsels;and when injustice...