Daily Catholic Mass Readings

First Reading - Sir 2:1-11
Tue, 21 May
1 Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. 2 Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds. 3 Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. 4 Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. 5 For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.6 Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein. 7 Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy: and go not aside from him, lest ye fall. 8 Ye that fear the Lord, believe him: and your reward shall not be made void. 9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him: and mercy shall come to you for your delight. 10 Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened.11 My children behold the generations of men: and know ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.

Psalm - Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
Tue, 21 May
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. 4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.18 The Lord knoweth the days of undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled:27 Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever. 28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish. 39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him. 

Gospel - Mk 9:30-37
Tue, 21 May
30 And he taught his disciples, and said to them: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise again the third day.31 But they understood not the word, and they were afraid to ask him. 32 And they came to Capharnaum. And when they were in the house, he asked them: What did you treat of in the way? 33 But they held their peace, for in the way they had disputed among themselves, which of them should be the greatest. 34 And sitting down, he called the twelve, and saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the minister of all. 35 And taking a child, he set him in the midst of them. Whom when he had embraced, he saith to them:36 Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in my name, receiveth me. And whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. 37 John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. 

Saint of the Day

St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions
Tue, 21 May
“Long live Christ the King and the Virgin of Guadalupe!�This was the slogan of the “Cristero� uprising in the 1920’s against the anti-Catholic government of Mexico which had instituted and enforced laws against the Church in an absurd attempt to eradicate the Catholic faith in Mexico, even going so far as to ban all foreign clergy and the celebration of Mass in some regions.St. Christopher Magallanes, along with 21 other priests and three lay companions, were martyred between 1915 and 1937, by shooting or hanging, throughout eight Mexican states, for their membership in the Cristero movement. Magallanes erected a seminary in Totatiche and he and his companions secretly preached and ministered to the faithful.The last words heard spoken by Magallanes were from his cell, when he shouted, "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico".Pope John Paul II beatified the Cristero martyrs in 1992 and canonized them in 2000.