Ordinary Time: January 18th
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Other Commemorations: St. Prisca, Virgin and Martyr (RM)
MASS READINGS
January 18, 2023 (Readings on USCCB website)
COLLECT PRAYER
Second Week in Ordinary Time: Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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Second Week in Ordinary Time, Entrance Antiphon, Ps 66 (65):4:
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Alleluia Verse for Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time, Cf. Mt 4:23:
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.
Communion Antiphon, Ps 23 (22):5:
You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.
The Roman Martyrology today commemorates St. Prisca, virgin and martyr (d. 275). Under Emperor Claudius II in about 270 she gained the crown of martyrdom. Prisca should not be confused with Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, mentioned in the Acts, whose feast dates to the earliest days of Christianity.
St. Prisca
Prisca, who is 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 Roman emperors, Christians still did not practice their faith openly. In fact, Prisca's parents went to great lengths to conceal their faith, and thus they were not 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.
