Saint of the Day for 16 January
Saint of the Day 16 January: Celebrating the Lives of the Church’s Saints
Every day, the Catholic Church honors a saint or blessed who stood out for their faith, dedication, and love for God. The Saint of the Day is an opportunity for the faithful to learn more about the history of the Church and be inspired by the witness of these men and women who lived according to Christ’s teachings.
The Meaning of the Saint of the Day
The celebration of the Saint of the Day is a Church tradition that helps us remember those who were examples of faith and holiness. Saints may have been martyrs who gave their lives defending their faith, missionaries who spread the Gospel, or ordinary people who lived in deep communion with God through simplicity.
Learning about each saint’s story inspires us to live with more love, patience, and hope. It also reminds us that we are all called to holiness.
Why Do We Celebrate the Saints?
Saints serve as models of Christian life. Their stories show us that, despite challenges, it is possible to live according to God’s will. Moreover, the faithful often seek the intercession of saints, believing that they are close to God and can pray for our needs.
Following the Saint of the Day is a way to strengthen our spiritual journey and learn from those who dedicated their lives to serving God. May we follow their examples and strive each day to live with greater love, faith, and hope!
🙏 May today’s Saint of the Day intercede for us and inspire us to live according to God’s will!
Priscilla was a Roman matron of the first century. Some have identified her with the wife of Aquila, engaged in the first Christian catechesis; or with the founder of a cemetery named for her on the Via Salaria, who received St Paul as a guest. According to others, she was a freed slave.
Liturgical Calendar
16 January: Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings and Gospel
Reading 1 :
Hebrews 3:7-14
Alleluia :
Matthew 4:23
Gospel :
Mark 1:40-45
Liturgical vestments: Green
“Especially through His lifestyle and through His actions, Jesus revealed that love is present in the world in which we live. This [merciful God’s] love makes itself particularly noticed in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty.” (Saint John Paul II)
“We live in this world, where God is not so manifest as tangible things are, but can be sought and found only when the heart sets out and recognize that we do not live by bread alone, but first and foremost by obedience to God’s word.” (Benedict XVI)
“Though often unconscious collaborators with God's will, they can also enter deliberately into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers and their sufferings (Cf. Col 1:24). They then fully become ‘God's fellow workers and co-workers for his kingdom’ (I Cor 3:9).” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 307)
Today’s Gospel (cf. Mk 1:40-45) presents us with the encounter between Jesus and a man sick with leprosy. Lepers were considered impure and, according to the prescriptions of the Law, they had to remain outside inhabited centres. They were excluded from every human, social and religious relationship: for example, they could not enter a synagogue, they could not go into the temple, even for religious purposes. Jesus, instead, allows this man to draw near him; He is moved to the point of reaching out His hand and touching him. This was unthinkable at that time. This is how he fulfils the Good News he proclaims: God draws near to our lives; he is moved to compassion because of the fate of wounded humanity and comes to break down every barrier that prevents us from being in relationship with him, with others and with ourselves. He drew near... Closeness. Remember this word, closeness. Compassion. The Gospel says that Jesus, seeing the leper, was moved with compassion, tenderness. (…) And allow me a thought here for the many good priest confessors who have this behaviour of attracting people, and many people who feel that they are nothing, who feel they are “flat on the ground” because of their sins... But with tenderness, with compassion... Good confessors who do not have a whip in their hands, but just welcome, listen and say that God is good and that God always forgives, that God does not get tired of forgiving. (Angelus, 14 February 2021)