October 9
St Denis and companions
Friday, week 27 in Ordinary Time — Year II
St Denis, also known as St Dionysius, is venerated as the first bishop of Paris and a martyr of the third century. According to tradition, he was sent from Italy to Gaul (modern-day France) to evangelize the region and establish the Church in the area surrounding Paris. He, along with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, faced intense persecution under Roman rule. They were eventually arrested and beheaded on the hill of Montmartre, a place whose name is often associated with their martyrdom (although the precise etymology is debated). Ancient accounts tell of Denis picking up his severed head and walking some distance while preaching, a legendary detail symbolizing unwavering faith and missionary zeal.
While many of the details about St Denis and his companions come from later hagiographical sources and are difficult to verify, their memory has deeply shaped the Christian identity of Paris and France. The Basilica of Saint-Denis, built over what was believed to be his tomb, became a key pilgrimage site and the burial place of French kings. St Denis is invoked as a patron of Paris, and his feast invites the faithful to contemplate courage under persecution, steadfast witness to the Gospel, and the roots of the faith in early France. Memorializing these martyrs, the Church celebrates not only those who died for Christ, but also the enduring evangelizing mission of the Church in every age.
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The liturgical day
Mass readings
ReadingGa 3, 6-14
Brothers,
Abraham had faith in God,
and it was considered to him as righteousness.
So understand this:
those who rely on faith,
it is they who are sons of Abraham.
Moreover, Scripture had foreseen about the nations
that God would make them righteous by faith,
and it had announced in advance to Abraham
this good news:
In you all the nations shall be blessed.
Thus, those who rely on faith
are blessed along with Abraham, the believer.
As for those who rely on keeping the Law,
they are all under the threat of a curse,
for it is written:
Cursed is everyone who does not cling to keeping
everything that is written in the book of the Law.
It is, moreover, clear that through the Law
no one becomes righteous before God,
because, as Scripture says,
the one who is righteous by faith will live,
and the Law does not proceed from faith,
but it says:
The one who keeps the commandments
will live by them.
As for this curse of the Law,
Christ redeemed us from it
by becoming, for us, a curse,
for it is written:
He is accursed who is hanged on a tree.
All this so that the blessing of Abraham
might come to the Gentile nations in Christ Jesus,
and that we might receive, through faith,
the Spirit who was promised.
– The word of the Lord.
PsalmPs 110 (111), 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
With all my heart I will give thanks to the Lord
in the assembly, among the just.
Great are the works of the Lord;
all who love them reflect on them.
Nobility and beauty are in his deeds:
his justice stands firm forever.
He has left a memorial of his wonders;
the Lord is tenderness and mercy.
He has given food to his faithful,
ever mindful of his covenant.
He has shown his power to his people,
giving them the heritage of the nations.
GospelLc 11, 15-26
At that time,
as Jesus had cast out a demon,
some said:
"It is by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
that he casts out demons."
Others, to test him,
sought from him a sign from heaven.
Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them:
"Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert,
its houses collapse upon one another.
If Satan too is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
Indeed, you say it is by Beelzebul
that I cast out demons.
But if it is by Beelzebul that I cast them out,
your followers—by whom do they cast them out?
Therefore, they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God
that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has indeed come upon you.
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his palace,
everything he owns is safe.
But if someone stronger comes and overpowers him,
he takes away the armor he trusted in,
and distributes everything he has taken from him.
Whoever is not with me is against me;
whoever does not gather with me scatters.
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man,
it wanders through arid places
seeking somewhere to rest.
And not finding any, it says to itself:
“I will return to my house
from which I came out.”
Arriving, it finds it swept and put in order.
Then it goes off,
and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself;
they go in and settle there.
In this way, the state of that man
is worse at the end than at the beginning."
– Let us acclaim the word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org