Saint of the day · July 16
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Thursday, week 15 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical colour : Green
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in connection with Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, a place associated since ancient times with the prophet Elijah and later with the hermits who dwelled there seeking a life of prayer and contemplation. This devotion crystallized in the 13th century with the establishment of the Carmelite Order, whose members saw Mary as their spiritual Mother and Patroness, holding her up as a model of prayer, humility, and fidelity to God. The famous Carmelite scapular, a sacramental associated with Marian protection, became a symbol of her maternal care, particularly after various traditions—though historically complex—grew around Mary's appearance to St. Simon Stock, an early Carmelite. The feast, recognized in the universal calendar as an optional memorial, is an invitation for all the faithful to reflect on Mary’s role in helping Christians draw closer to Christ through a life centered on prayer and service. While the details of the early scapular apparition remain uncertain, the deep Marian spirituality of the Carmelites has inspired countless faithful to entrust themselves to Our Lady, seeking her intercession and guidance on their journey of faith.
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Mass readings
“They will awake, they will shout for joy, those who dwell in the dust” — Is 26, 7-9.12.16-19
The path of the righteous is straight;
you who are upright, you smooth the way for the righteous.
Yes, on the path of your judgments,
Lord, we hope in you.
To speak your name, to remember you,
is the desire of the soul.
My soul longs for you at night,
and my spirit within me watches for you at dawn.
When your judgments are upon the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn what justice is.
Lord, you assure us peace:
in all our deeds, it is you who act for us.
Lord, in distress we turn to you;
when you send punishment,
we try to ward it off.
We stood before you, Lord,
like a pregnant woman about to give birth,
who writhes and cries out in pain.
We have conceived, we have been in pain,
but we have given birth to only wind:
we have brought no salvation to the earth,
no inhabitant of the world has come to life.
Your dead shall live,
their corpses will rise.
They will awake, they will shout for joy,
those who dwell in the dust,
for your dew, Lord, is a dew of light,
and the land of shadows will bring forth life again.
– The word of the Lord.
Ps 101 (102), 13-15, 16-18, 19-21
You, Lord, are there forever;
from generation to generation, people will remember you.
You will show your tenderness to Zion;
it is time to show her mercy: the hour has come.
Your servants have pity on her ruins,
they even love her dust.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth, his glory:
when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
when he appears in his glory,
he will turn to the prayer of the destitute,
he will not scorn their prayer.
Let this be written for generations to come,
and the people yet to be created will sing their God:
“From the heights of his sanctuary, the Lord has bent down;
from heaven, he looks upon the earth
to hear the groans of the captives
and to free those doomed to die.”
“I am gentle and humble of heart” — Mt 11, 28-30
At that time, Jesus spoke and said:
“Come to me,
all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you,
become my disciples,
for I am gentle and humble of heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Yes, my yoke is easy
and my burden light.”
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org