Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Our Lady of Lourdes

optional memorial Ordinary Time

Selected Mass Reading

Gospel — Mark 7:14-23

And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: Hear ye me all and understand. There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. And he saith to them: So are you also without knowledge? Understand you not that every thing from without entering into a man cannot defile him: Because it entereth not into his heart but goeth into his belly and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats? But he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.

Feast Days

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Castrese di Sessa Bishop 450–500

Saint Castrese di Sessa (450–500) was a Christian saint and Catholic priest, born in North Africa during a time when the Church was steadily taking root across the Mediterranean world. Though few details of his earthly life have come down to us, his enduring veneration testifies to a ministry that strengthened the faith of those he served and left a lasting spiritual legacy. Remembered especially in Italy, Saint Castrese is honored as patron of Castel Volturno, Marano di Napoli, and Monreale, where generations have looked to his intercession with trust and gratitude. His feast is celebrated on February 11, inviting the faithful to recall the quiet holiness of priestly service and to seek, through his prayers, a deeper fidelity to Christ and His Church.

Gobnait Abbess, Nun, Monastic founder d. 501

Saint Gobnait was born in County Clare, Ireland, in the fifth or sixth century. Tradition remembers her as the sister of Saint Abbán, and tells how she fled a family feud and found refuge on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands. There an angel is said to have guided her onward, instructing her to seek the place where she would find nine white deer grazing. Following this sign, she came to the wooded valley near present-day Ballyvourney, County Cork, where her church and convent were established and where she served as abbess. Gobnait is lovingly venerated as a woman of prayer and practical mercy, devoted to caring for the sick and protecting her people. She became closely associated with bees and beekeeping, with honey remembered as part of her healing work. Local legend credits her with saving Ballyvourney from plague and with driving away a thief by sending a swarm of bees, compelling him to restore stolen cattle. She is invoked as a patron of beekeepers (and is also associated with apis). Her feast day is February 11.