The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Dominica 13 post Pentecosten) falls in the Time after Pentecost, the long liturgical stretch focused on the Christian life grown from the Spirit’s gifts. The rank “Semidouble” is an older liturgical classification indicating this Sunday has an established celebration with its own prayers and readings; in plain terms, it is more than an ordinary Sunday but not among the highest feasts, so typical Sunday devotions and the appointed propers for this day are observed. There is no octave or vigil attached to this celebration in the provided context, so the Mass and offices for the Sunday itself are the central observance.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Ps 73:20; 73:19; 73:23 Look to Your covenant, O Lord, forsake not forever the lives of Your afflicted ones. Arise, O Lord; defend Your cause; be not unmindful of the voices of those who ask You. Ps 73:1 Why, O God, have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture? Glory Be to the Father…
Almighty, eternal God, grant us an increase of faith, hope and charity; and make us love what You command so that we may be made worthy to attain what You promise. Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
℣ Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. ℟ And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Weekly Formation
The Corporal Works of Mercy
The Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the hungry
Feeding the hungry supplies necessary nourishment to those who lack it. It is a corporal work because it serves a bodily need, and an act of mercy because charity responds to another’s misery rather than ignoring preventable want.
Give drink to the thirsty
Giving drink to the thirsty provides the water or other wholesome refreshment needed for life and health. The work includes direct aid and reasonable support for efforts that make safe water available to people in need.
Clothe the naked
Clothing the naked provides suitable clothing and protection to those who lack them. It safeguards bodily health and personal dignity while recognizing that unused or excess goods can answer another person’s genuine necessity.
Visit the imprisoned
Visiting the imprisoned brings humane presence and assistance to those deprived of liberty, including people unjustly confined or otherwise held captive. It neither approves wrongdoing nor abandons justice, but refuses to treat any prisoner as beyond dignity, truth, or mercy.
Shelter the homeless
Sheltering the homeless provides safe lodging or helps secure it for those without a stable place to live. Traditional language calls this harboring the harborless, extending hospitality and protection to the stranger and displaced person.
Visit the sick
Saint & Feast
Principal celebrationCalendar title
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.
Commemoration
Philip Benizi
St. Philip Benizi, Confessor
General Superior of the Order of the Servites
Born
1233-08-15 · Florence
Died
1285-08-22 · Todi
Philip Benizi was a general superior of the Order of the Servites, and credited with reviving the order.
The formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948 marked a significant moment in ecumenical dialogue, bringing together various Christian denominations. However, the Catholic Church was not a member at its founding and did not engage directly with the WCC until later years. This event reflects broader Christian efforts towards unity, but the Catholic Church's formal engagement came post-Vatican II.
The pursuit of Christian unity calls us to live out Christ's prayer for oneness among His followers.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
According to the Catechism, humanity is called to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father’s only Son. This personal vocation also concerns the whole human community: all are called to God, and love of neighbor cannot be separated from love for God. Because we need society, mutual service, and dialogue, life with others helps us develop our potential and respond to our vocation. The family and the state are societies that correspond directly to human nature, while associations also help people pursue goals beyond individual capacities and develop initiative and responsibility. As we reflect on these teachings in family life, we can remember that communities and authorities serve the common good. The principle of subsidiarity teaches that larger communities should support, rather than take over, the proper functions of smaller ones, respecting personal freedom and initiative.
¶ 1877
The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole.
¶ 1878
All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love. Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.
Visiting the sick relieves the isolation and practical burdens caused by illness. Presence, care, needed assistance, and attention to spiritual needs all recognize the sick person as a neighbor rather than as a problem to be avoided.
Bury the dead
Burying the dead gives reverent care to every human body in view of its God-given dignity and the resurrection of the body. For the baptized, it also honors the body’s consecration as a temple of the Holy Ghost, while assisting the bereaved and securing a dignified burial.
¶ 1879
The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation.
¶ 1880
A society is a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and prepares for the future. By means of society, each man is established as an "heir" and receives certain "talents" that enrich his identity and whose fruits he must develop. He rightly owes loyalty to the communities of which he is part and respect to those in authority who have charge of the common good.
¶ 1881
Each community is defined by its purpose and consequently obeys specific rules; but "the human person . . . is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions."
¶ 1882
Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man; they are necessary to him. To promote the participation of the greatest number in the life of a society, the creation of voluntary associations and institutions must be encouraged "on both national and international levels, which relate to economic and social goals, to cultural and recreational activities, to sport, to various professions, and to political affairs." This "socialization" also expresses the natural tendency for human beings to associate with one another for the sake of attaining objectives that exceed individual capacities. It develops the qualities of the person, especially the sense of initiative and responsibility, and helps guarantee his rights.
¶ 1883
Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. the teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good."
Baltimore track
Baltimore Catechism No. 3
Lesson 23 — On the Ends for which the Holy Eucharist Was Instituted
Q. 899.Is it not beneath the dignity of Our Lord to enter our bodies under the appearance of ordinary food?
A.It is not beneath the dignity of Our Lord to enter our bodies under the appearance of ordinary food any more than it was beneath His dignity to enter the body of His Blessed Mother and remain there as an ordinary child for nine months. Christ's dignity, being infinite, can never be diminished by any act on His own or on our part.
Q. 900.Why does not the Church give Holy Communion to the people as it does to the priest under the appearance of wine also?
A.The Church does not give Holy Communion to the people as it does to the priest under the appearance of wine also, to avoid the danger of spilling the Precious Blood; to prevent the irreverence some might show if compelled to drink out of a chalice used by all, and lastly, to refute those who denied that Our Lord's blood is present under the appearance of bread also.
Q. 901.What is necessary to make a good Communion?
A.To make a good Communion it is necessary to be in the state of sanctifying grace and to fast according to the laws of the Church.
Q. 902.What should a person do who, through forgetfulness or any other cause, has broken the fast necessary for Holy Communion?
A.A person who through forgetfulness or any other cause has broken the fast necessary for Holy Communion, should again fast and receive Holy Communion the following morning if possible, without returning to confession. It is not a sin to break one's fast, but it would be a mortal sin to receive Holy Communion after knowingly breaking the fast necessary for it.