St. Susanna

St. Susanna

Feast daySeptember 25
Patronof Cork, Diocese of Cork
Birth550
Death620

The beautiful daughter of Gabinius, a priest, and niece of Pope Caius, St. Susanna refused Emperor’s Diocletian request that she marry his son-in-law, Maximian. She converted two of her uncles, Claudius and Maximus, to Christianity. They were court officers sent by Diocletian to persuade her to marry. Diocletian was enraged by her actions. He sent one of his favorites, Julian, to deal with the matter. Julian executed Maximus, Claudius, his wife Praepedigna, and their two sons by burning them to death at Cumae. Then, he beheaded Susanna and her father. There was a Susanna who lived in Rome, but the details of the story are fictitious. Her feast day is August 11th.


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A family of four is gathered around a table, reading a book together. The text on the image reads 'BIBLE READINGS WITH FAMILY' in red and 'STRENGTHENING BONDS THROUGH THE WORD' in gold. The website 'www.thecatholic.online' is written in red at the bottom left corner. The background shows a cozy, well-lit room with a window and some decorations.

Daily mass readings for Oct 29,2024

Daily mass readings: Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 : EPH 5:21-33

Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the Church,
he himself the savior of the Body.
As the Church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the Church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the Church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the Church,
because we are members of his Body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.
In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,
and the wife should respect her husband.
 

Responsorial Psalm : PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. (1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R.  Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Alleluia : See MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : LK 13:18-21

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”


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Daily mass readings for Oct 28, 2024

Daily mass readings: Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Reading 1 : Eph 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm : Ps 19:2-3, 4-5

R. (5a) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

Alleluia : See Te Deum

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Lk 6:12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.


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St. Ada

St. Ada

Feast daySeptember 25
Patronof Cork, Diocese of Cork
Birth550
Death620

St. Ada is a lesser-known early Christian saint venerated primarily in parts of Europe. She lived in the 7th century and is often associated with the Benedictine tradition. Ada was the abbess of a convent in France, most likely in Le Mans, where she devoted her life to the service of God and the care of her fellow sisters. Her leadership and sanctity earned her a lasting reputation of holiness.

Though not much is documented about her life, she is often remembered for her piety and dedication to her monastic community. Ada’s feast day is celebrated on December 4. As with many early saints, details of her life may be scarce, but her example as a religious leader remains significant within the Church.


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St. Seraphina

St. Seraphina

Feast daySeptember 25
Patronof Cork, Diocese of Cork
Birth550
Death620

St. Seraphina, also known as St. Fina, was born in 1238 in San Gimignano, Italy. She is a beloved saint known for her great patience and acceptance of suffering. Fina was afflicted with a severe and debilitating illness at a young age, which left her paralyzed. Despite her immense physical pain and the hardship of her condition, she offered her suffering to God with remarkable grace and trust in His will.

Fina’s devotion to God deepened through her suffering. She lived on a wooden board for several years, as her body was too weak to move. According to tradition, during her illness, she experienced a vision of St. Gregory the Great, who told her that she would pass away on the anniversary of his death, which she did on March 12, 1253.

One of the most well-known miracles attributed to St. Fina happened after her death. As her body was being prepared for burial, white violets bloomed on the board where she lay, and these flowers still bloom every spring in San Gimignano.

St. Fina is honored as a patron of those who suffer from chronic or terminal illnesses, and her story is one of hope, endurance, and trust in God’s providence, even in the midst of great suffering.


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Daily mass readings for Oct 27, 2024

Daily mass readings : Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I : Jer 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.

Responsorial Psalm : Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading II : Heb 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Alleluia : Cf. 2 Tm 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.


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Daily mass readings for Oct 26, 2024

Daily mass readings : Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1: EPH 4:7-16

Brothers and sisters:
Grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore, it says:

He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants,
tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching
arising from human trickery,
from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
Rather, living the truth in love,
we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole Body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
with the proper functioning of each part,
brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

Responsorial Psalm : PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5

R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Alleluia : EZ 33:11

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion that he may live.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : LK 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply, 
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way 
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed 
when the tower at Siloam fell on them–
do you think they were more guilty 
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable: 
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, 
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree 
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also, 
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; 
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”


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Daily mass readings for Oct 25,2024

Daily mass readings : Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 : Eph 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;  
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Responsorial Psalm : 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R.    (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart  is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Alleluia : See Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : LK 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”


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Daily mass readings for Oct 24,2024

Daily mass readings: Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 : EPH 3:14-21

Brothers and sisters:
I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine,
by the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.

Responsorial Psalm : PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19

R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of  famine.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Alleluia : PHIL 3:8-9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : LK 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father, 
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”


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St. Rita of Cascia

St. Rita of Cascia

Feast daySeptember 25
Patronof Cork, Diocese of Cork
Birth550
Death620

St. Rita of Cascia (1381–1457) is a beloved saint in the Catholic Church, known as the “Saint of the Impossible” and a powerful intercessor for difficult situations. Born in Roccaporena, near Cascia, Italy, she faced many challenges throughout her life but is celebrated for her deep faith, patience, and devotion to God.

Key Aspects of St. Rita’s Life:

  • Marriage and Family Life: At a young age, Rita was married to an abusive man named Paolo Mancini, with whom she had two sons. Despite her husband’s harsh treatment, she maintained a peaceful and forgiving attitude, eventually leading to Paolo’s conversion before his death. After Paolo was murdered in a feud, Rita forgave his killers, even though her sons initially sought revenge. Through her prayers, they also came to forgive, and both died of illness soon after.
  • Religious Life: Following the deaths of her husband and sons, Rita sought to enter the Augustinian convent in Cascia. Initially, the nuns refused her due to her past association with a violent family feud. However, through prayer and persistence, Rita was eventually accepted. Her life as a nun was marked by deep humility, charity, and mystical experiences.
  • The Stigmata: Toward the end of her life, Rita received a partial stigmata, specifically a wound on her forehead, said to resemble the wound of Christ from the crown of thorns. She bore this wound for the remaining 15 years of her life, offering her suffering for the love of Christ and the Church.
  • Legacy: St. Rita is invoked as a patroness of impossible causes, marital difficulties, and those suffering from physical or emotional wounds. Her feast day is celebrated on May 22. Pilgrims visit her shrine in Cascia, and many attest to her miraculous intercessions.

St. Rita’s life is an inspiring example of forgiveness, endurance in suffering, and faith in God’s providence, even in seemingly impossible circumstances.


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