The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: come, let us adore him.
Year: B(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Green.
Saturday memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary
‘On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.
‘Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial derives from Carolingian times (9th century), but the reasons for having chosen Saturday for its observance are unknown. While many explanations of this choice have been advanced, none is completely satisfactory from the point of view of the history of popular piety.
‘Whatever its historical origins may be, today the memorial rightly emphasizes certain values to which contemporary spirituality is more sensitive. It is a remembrance of the maternal example and discipleship of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, strengthened by faith and hope, on that “great Saturday” on which Our Lord lay in the tomb, was the only one of the disciples to hold vigil in expectation of the Lord’s resurrection. It is a prelude and introduction to the celebration of Sunday, the weekly memorial of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a sign that the Virgin Mary is continuously present and operative in the life of the Church.’
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001), §188
Other saints: St Chad ( - 672)
England
He was educated at Lindisfarne under Aidan. He became abbot of Lastingham and was chosen to be bishop of Northumbria, but St Wilfrid contested his appointment, and Chad obediently withdrew. He was then sent as bishop to Mercia, where he founded the see of Lichfield. His ministry there was very short (he died at Lichfield on 2 March 672), but he was immediately revered as a saint because of the holiness of his life, his outstanding humility, and his dedication to preaching of the Gospel.
Other saints: St Cedd (- 664)
England
Like his brother Chad, he was educated at Lindisfarne under Aidan. He founded many monasteries and was sent as a bishop to evangelize the East Saxons. He established his see at Bradwell in Essex. He died at his monastery at Lastingham in Yorkshire on 26 October 664, of the plague.
About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings:
Second Reading: St Peter Chrysologus (380 - 450)
Peter was born and died in Imola in northern Italy. He was made bishop of Ravenna, the new capital of the Roman Empire, and was responsible for many of the building works there. The name “Chrysologus” means “golden speech”, and was given to Peter because he was such a gifted preacher; unfortunately, most of his writings have perished, and only a collection of short sermons remains.
Liturgical colour: green
The theological virtue of hope is symbolized by the colour green, just as the burning fire of love is symbolized by red. Green is the colour of growing things, and hope, like them, is always new and always fresh. Liturgically, green is the colour of Ordinary Time, the orderly sequence of weeks through the year, a season in which we are being neither single-mindedly penitent (in purple) nor overwhelmingly joyful (in white).
| Mid-morning reading (Terce) | 1 Kings 8:60-61 |
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May all the peoples of the earth come to know that the Lord is God indeed, and that there is no other. May your hearts be wholly with the Lord our God, following his laws and keeping his commandments as at this present day.
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| Noon reading (Sext) | Jeremiah 17:9-10 |
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The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets? I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, to give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.
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| Afternoon reading (None) | Wisdom 7:27,8:1 |
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Although she is alone, Wisdom can accomplish everything. She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things for good.
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