1ST READING
Today is the Feast day of St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists. He was a remarkable lawyer who became a priest after losing a court case through a very simple mistake. He had won his previous 40 or so cases. He saw a great need to reach out to the rural parishes that were often without priests due to lack of money. He began a very effective parish mission ministry, for which the Redemptorists are still well known. Let us pray for the success of these missions in deepening parishes in their faith.
Leviticus 25:1, 8-17
1 The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 8 “Seven weeks of years shall you count — seven times seven years — so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years. 9 Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the trumpet resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo throughout your land. 10 This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property, every one to his own family estate. 11 In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the after growth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. 12 Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you, you may not eat of its produce, except as taken directly from the field. 13 “In this year of jubilee, then, every one of you shall return to his own property. 14 Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from him, do not deal unfairly. 15 On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee shall you purchase the land from your neighbor; and so also, on the basis of the number of years for crops, shall he sell it to you. 16 When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more; when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less. For it is really the number of crops that he sells you. 17 Do not deal unfairly, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the Lord, am your God.
P S A L M
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8
R: O God, let all the nations praise you!
1 [2] May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. 2 [3] So may your way be known upon the earth; among all nations, your salvation. (R) 4 [5] May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. (R) 6 [7] The earth has yielded its fruits; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 [8] May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! (R)
GOSPEL
Let us never be like Herod who did not spare the life of John the Baptist, even if he knew that John had done nothing wrong. We should be careful about the promises we make, as they may come back to haunt us. We should also pray for the grace to stand up for the truth, especially when a person’s life is at stake. Herod was a people pleaser; he acted in order to make people like him. This is a superficial existence, as it means that we stand for very little other than our own popularity.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 14:1-12
1 Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus 2 and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” 3 Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, 4 for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7 so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, 10 and he had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
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