Saint Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr (Commemoration) ~ Optional Memorial ~ 11 April 2014

St. Stanislaus was the Bishop of Cracow, Poland. Stanislaus Szczepanowski was born to his noble parents, Belislaus and Bogna on 26 July 1030 in Szczepanow near Cracow and was educated at Gnesen and at Paris. Lambert Zula, Bishop of Cracow, ordained him priest and made him pastor of Czembocz near Cracow. After his ordination to the priesthood he was made a canon of the cathedral at Cracow as well as archdeacon and preacher. Upon the death of the bishop of Cracow, he was nominated bishop of the diocese by Pope Alexander II. In 1072 was named Bishop of Cracow. King Boleslaus II, who was becoming notorious for his violent and depraved lifestyle. Stanislaus spared neither tears nor prayers and admonitions to bring the king to lead a more Christian life. The king was furious and followed the bishop with his guards, some of whom he sent to kill the saint. These dared not obey, Boleslaus took matters into his own hands. He ambushed Stanislaus and struck him down with a sword during his celebration of Mass at the chapel of Saint Michael, Cracow on 8 May 1079. Stanislaus was acclaimed a martyr, while Boleslaus II lost his power, became a fallen monarch and left Poland. Stanislaus was canonized 1253 by Innocent IV at Assisi, Italy. St. Stanislaus is the patron saint for Cracow, Plock, Poland and soldiers in battle.

O God, for whose honour the Bishop Saint Stanislaus fell beneath the swords of his persecutors, grant we pray, that we may persevere strong in faith even until death. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Friday, 11 April, 2014
St. Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr (Commemoration)

Reading ~ Jeremiah 20:10-13

I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!

Psalm ~ Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7

R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

Gospel ~ John 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Commemoration)

“Neither can I call myself by any other name 

than what I am — a Christian.”

~ Perpetua ~

Saints. Perpetua and Felicity were two young North African woman who chose to die as martyrs under the Roman empire for their Christian faith in the third century on on 7 March, 203. Their names are familiar to Catholics because Perpetua and Felicity are mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass (Roman Canon of the Mass). Both women were mothers and highly respected members of their Christian community. Perpetua and Felicity bravely chose to separate themselves from their families in order to pursue what they saw as their destiny of martyrdom. Perpetua’s last words were to her brothers in the faith: “Stand fast in the faith and love one another.”

God will not leave us bereft, 

either of the Divine presence or 

of beloved ones to walk 

the difficult path with us. 

Prayer

God, Perpetua and Felicity faced fear with love, met cruelty with kindness, and encountered the unknown with arms wide open. As I struggle in life, help me to live each day as Perpetua and Felicity did: fearlessly and with knowledge that I am a child of God. AMEN. 

O God, at the urging of whose love the Martyrs Saints Perpetua and Felicity defied their persecutors and overcame the torment of earth, grant, we ask, by their prayers, that we may ever grow in your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Friday, 7 March, 2014
Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Commemoration)

Reading 1

Isaiah 58:1-9A
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!


Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 18-19
R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.


Gospel 

Matthew 9:14-15
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”