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Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday Ordinary Time

Holy Day of Obligation

Mass Readings → Liturgy of the Hours →

Selected Mass Reading

Gospel — Matthew 10:37-42

He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you he shall not lose his reward.

Feast Days

Irenaeus
Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons, Theologian, Church Father, Martyr 130–202

Saint Irenaeus was born in Smyrna in Anatolia (modern İzmir, Turkey) sometime between about 120 and 130. Raised in a Christian family, he learned the faith close to the apostles’ memory, having heard Saint Polycarp preach—Polycarp himself was believed to have known Saint John the Evangelist. Irenaeus later traveled west and became a priest of the Church in Lugdunum (now Lyon, France). During a fierce persecution under Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the suffering Christians of Lyon sent him to Rome in 177 with a message for Pope Eleutherius. When he returned, he succeeded the martyred Saint Pothinus as the second bishop of Lyon, strengthening the wounded Church with pastoral care and missionary zeal. Around 180 he wrote Against Heresies, courageously refuting Gnostic teachings and defending the Church’s faith through Scripture, apostolic tradition, and the witness of bishops as successors of the apostles. He also urged unity in disputes over the date of Easter. Honored as a martyr and named a Doctor of the Church in 2022, he is celebrated on June 28.