BULLETIN 23RD SEPTEMBER, 2016

Friday 23 September 2016

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina


Friday of Week 25; St. Pio of Pietrelcina

FIRST READING
Ecclesiastes 3:1–11

There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.


What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to be busied about. He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 144:1b and 2abc, 3–4

R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! 

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, my mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, My shield, in whom I trust. 

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! 

LORD, what is man, that you notice him; the son of man, that you take thought of him? Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow. 

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

ALLELUIA
Mark 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia. 

The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Luke 9:18–22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. 

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."



About Today

Psalm week: 1.

St Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)

He was born in the small village of Pietrelcina in southern Italy, and joined the Capuchin friars at the age of 16. He became a priest seven years later, and spent fifty years at the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, where he was very much sought after as a spiritual advisor, confessor, and intercessor. Many miracles were popularly ascribed to him during his lifetime. He died a few days after the fiftieth anniversary of his receiving the stigmata, and over 100,000 people attended his funeral.

Other saints: Saint Adomnan of Iona (627/8 - 704)

(His name is written as Adamnan or Adomnan and anglicised as Eunan). He was educated by the Columban monks of his native place, subsequently becoming a novice at Iona in 650. In 679 he succeeded to the abbacy of Iona, which position he held up to his death. He was also president-general of all the Columban houses in Ireland. During his rule he paid three lengthy visits to Ireland, one of which is memorable for his success in introducing the Roman dating and celebration of Easter. On his third visit (697) he assisted at the Synod of Tara, when the Cain Adamnain, or Canon of Adamnan (the “Law of Innocents”) was adopted, which freed women and children from the evils inseparable from war, forbidding them to be killed or made captive in times of strife. He is famous for his Life of St Columba, written some time after 688, which has been praised as the best and most complete biography written in Europe for many centuries.