Ordinary Time: January 18th
Friday of the First Week of Ordinary Time
Other Commemorations: St. Prisca, Virgin and Martyr (RM)
MASS READINGS
January 18, 2008 (Readings on USCCB website)
COLLECT PRAYER
Father of love, hear our prayers. Help us to know your will and to do it with courage and faith. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Before the reform of the Roman Calendar the feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome and the commemoration of St. Prisca were celebrated today. The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is now kept on February 22 and St. Prisca is no longer on the Universal Roman Calendar.
Regarding St. Prisca, the Martyrology reads: "In the city of Rome, the holy virgin and martyr Prisca; after many tortures she gained the crown of martyrdom under Emperor Claudius II (about 270)." Prisca should not be confused with Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, mentioned in the Acts, whose feast dates to the earliest days of Christianity.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, traditionally celebrated every year from January 18 to 25, is due to begin today. The theme for the 2007 initiative is: "He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.""This year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity," says a communique released by the pontifical council, "brings together two themes, two invitations extended to Christian Churches and people: to pray and strive together for Christian unity, and to join together in responding to human suffering. These two responsibilities are deeply intertwined. Both relate to healing the Body of Christ (the Church), hence the principal text chosen for this year's week of prayer is a story of healing."
Each day of the Week will have a different theme. Today's theme is: Pray always. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5, 17)
Prayer
Lord of unity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we pray without ceasing that we may be one, as you are one. Father, hear us as we seek you. Christ, draw us to the unity which is your will for us. Spirit, may we never lose heart. Amen.
St. Prisca
Prisca, also known as Priscilla, was a child martyr of the early Roman Church. Born to Christian parents of a noble family, Prisca was raised during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius. While Claudius did not persecute Christians with the same fervor as other emperors, Christians still did not practice their faith openly. In fact, Prisca's parents went to great lengths to conceal their faith, so as not to be suspected of being Christians.
Prisca, however, did not feel the need to take precaution. The young girl openly professed her dedication to Christ, and eventually, she was reported to the emperor. Claudius had her arrested, and commanded her to make a sacrifice to Apollo, the pagan god of the sun.
According to the legend, Prisca refused and was tortured for disobeying. Then, suddenly, a bright, yellow light shone about her, and she appeared to be a little star.
Claudius ordered that Prisca be taken away to prison, in the hopes that she would abandon Christ. When all efforts to change her mind were unsuccessful, she was taken to an amphitheatre and thrown in with a lion.
As the crowd watched, Prisca stood fearless. According to legend, the lion walked toward the barefoot girl, and then gently licked her feet. Disgusted by his thwarted efforts to dissuade Prisca, Claudius had her beheaded.
Seventh-century accounts of the grave sites of Roman martyrs refer to the discovery of an epitaph of a Roman Christian named Priscilla in a large catacomb and identifies her place of interment on the Via Salaria as the Catacomb of Priscilla.
—Excerpted from Ordinary People Extraordinary Lives.
Symbols and Representation: young woman with a one or more lions, an eagle and a sword
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Read more about St. Prisca:
- St. Prisca's relics are in the Church in Rome named after her, Santa Prisca. Wikipedia has a few more details.
