September 18
Friday, week 24 in Ordinary Time
Africa : St Cornelius, pope and martyr · Luxembourg : St Lambert, bishop and martyr
Today in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar is an ordinary Friday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time, noted as a 'feria.' On ferial days, no particular saint or special feast is celebrated, allowing the Church to focus on the regular cycle of readings and prayers. Ordinary Time is a season that gently encourages believers to grow in faith and live out the teachings of Christ in the daily moments of life. The Lectionary continues sequentially through the Scriptures, providing spiritual nourishment and challenges appropriate for the journey of discipleship.
Feriae—days without assigned feasts—remind the faithful that holiness is not reserved solely for feast days or the commemoration of saintly lives, but is called to be lived out in the routine rhythm of ordinary life. Liturgical green symbolizes hope and the spiritual growth of the Church, inviting individuals to continual renewal and deeper communion with God. This 'time of the Church' emphasizes the importance of daily acts of charity, prayer, and witness. In this way, Ordinary Time and its ferial days anchor Catholic spirituality in the ongoing, sometimes quiet, yet always meaningful encounter with God present in the ordinary.
While today's celebration may seem simple, it is actually a profound affirmation of the call to steadfastness and faithfulness in daily Christian living.
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Questions about Friday, week 24 in Ordinary Time (Novus Ordo Missae)
Local variations
- Africa — St Cornelius, pope and martyr
- Luxembourg — St Lambert, bishop and martyr
The liturgical day
Mass readings
Reading1 Co 15, 12-20
Brothers,
we proclaim that Christ has been raised from the dead;
so how can some among you say
that there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then Christ has not been raised either.
And if Christ has not been raised,
our proclamation is meaningless,
your faith is meaningless as well;
and we are shown to be false witnesses about God,
for we have claimed, in testifying about God,
that he raised Christ,
when he did not raise him
if indeed the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised,
neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is worthless,
you are still in your sins;
and so, those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
If we have placed our hope in Christ
for this life only,
we are the most pitiable of all people.
But no! Christ has been raised from the dead,
he, the first raised among those who have fallen asleep.
– The word of the Lord.
PsalmPs 16 (17), 1, 6-7, 8.15
Lord, hear my plea for justice!
Listen to my cry, receive my prayer:
my lips do not speak falsely.
I call on you, O God who answers:
hear me, listen to what I say.
Show the wonders of your mercy,
you who deliver from the oppressor
those who take refuge at your right hand.
Guard me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
And I, in your justice, shall see your face:
when I awake, I shall be satisfied beholding your likeness.
GospelLc 8, 1-3
At that time,
it happened that Jesus, traveling through towns and villages,
proclaimed and announced the Good News of the kingdom of God.
The Twelve were with him,
as well as some women
who had been healed of illnesses and evil spirits:
Mary, called Magdalene,
from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward,
Susanna, and many others,
who provided for them out of their resources.
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org