Saint of the day · July 17
Ferial Day in Ordinary Time
Liturgical colour : Green
Today in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar is a 'ferial day' in Ordinary Time. This means that there is no specific saint or special feast assigned for commemoration, and the liturgy follows the normal readings and prayers of the current week—in this case, Friday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is the liturgical season outside of the high feast periods of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, and is characterized by spiritual growth, reflection, and the daily following of Christ.
On ferial days, the Church invites the faithful to meditate on the Scriptures and live out the lessons of Jesus’ ministry in everyday life. The green vestments symbolize hope and the ongoing journey of faith. These days are an invitation to find God’s presence in the ordinary moments and challenges of daily living, drawing inspiration from Christ’s example and teachings, especially as depicted in the Gospel readings assigned for the day. Although not marked by particular festivities or saints, ferial days are essential to the rhythm of the Church’s prayer and spiritual life, reminding us that holiness is also to be found in the simplicity and quiet perseverance of ordinary days.
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Local variations
- Africa — St. Speratus and his companions, martyrs
The liturgical day
Mass readings
"I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears" — Is 38, 1-6.21-22.7-8
In those days,
King Hezekiah was sick with a mortal illness.
The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came to him and said:
"Thus says the Lord:
Set your house in order,
for you are going to die; you shall not recover."
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall
and prayed to the Lord:
"Ah! Lord, remember!
I have walked before you,
in faithfulness and with an undivided heart,
and I have done what is good in your sight."
Then King Hezekiah wept bitterly.
The word of the Lord was addressed to Isaiah:
"Go and say to Hezekiah:
Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer,
I have seen your tears.
I am going to add fifteen years to your life.
I will deliver you and this city
from the hand of the king of Assyria,
I will protect this city."
Then Isaiah said:
"Let them bring a cake of figs;
let them apply it to the ulcer, and the king will live."
Hezekiah said:
"What sign will assure me
that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?"
– Here is the sign the Lord gives you
to show that he will fulfill his promise:
I am going to make the shadow that has descended
sundial of Ahaz go back ten steps."
And the sun went back on the sundial
the ten steps it had already descended.
– The word of the Lord.
Is 38, 10, 11, 12abcd, 16-17a
I said: In the middle of my days,
I am leaving;
my dwelling is among the dead
for the rest of my years.
I said: I shall no longer see the Lord
on the land of the living,
nor any human face
among the inhabitants of the world!
My home is taken from me, uprooted,
like a shepherd's tent.
Like a weaver, I have rolled up my life:
the thread is cut.
"The Lord is by them: they will live!
All that lives in them lives by his spirit!"
Yes, you will heal me, you will restore me to life:
see, my bitterness is changed into peace.
"The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" — Mt 12, 1-8
At that time, on a sabbath day,
Jesus was walking through the grainfields;
his disciples were hungry
and they began to pick heads of grain and eat them.
Seeing this, the Pharisees said to him:
"Look, your disciples
are doing what is not permitted on the sabbath!"
But he said to them:
"Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry?
He entered the house of God,
and they ate the bread of offering;
but neither he nor those with him had the right to eat them,
only the priests.
Or have you not read in the Law
that on the sabbath, the priests in the Temple
break the sabbath and yet are not guilty?
But I tell you: there is something greater than the Temple here.
If you had understood what it means:
I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned
those who are not guilty.
Indeed, the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org