Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 17th February, 2026Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Be on your guard against false Prophets
Saint of the Day: Feb 17th: 1. The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, religious
2. St Fintan of Clonenagh, abbot
C/f A short life of be these saints can found below todays’ Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St James 1:12-18
God does not tempt anybody.
Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation‘; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.
Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 93: 12-13, 14-15, 18-19
Response Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
1. Happy the man whom you teach, 0 Lord, whom you train by means of your law:
to him you give peace in evil days. Response
2. The Lord will not abandon his people nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just and all true hearts shall uphold it. Response
3. When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’, your mercy, Lord, holds me up.
When cares increase in my heart your consolation calms my soul. Response
Gospel Acclamation Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
or Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 8: 14-21 Glory to you, O Lord
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.
‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod’.
And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread‘.
And Jesus knew it, and he said to them,
‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’
They answered, ‘Twelve’.
And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?‘
And they answered, ‘Seven’.
Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 8:14-21
Immediately prior to the gospel scene in today’s gospel reading, Jesus had fed a crowd of four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish. Yet, as they cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat, the disciples are fretting because they had only one loaf with them. They completely misunderstood Jesus’ warning about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod as a reference to the scarcity of bread present among them. Jesus didn’t intend his reference to ‘leaven’ to be taken literally. Leaven was a traditional image for a hidden element working moral corruption. Jesus is portrayed as being totally frustrated with his disciples, asking a series of eight questions, like a schoolteacher who feels he will never get through to his pupils. Jesus, however, remained faithful to them to the end, even though they would go on to desert him. Even after they deserted him, he appeared to them as risen Lord and renewed their calling.
The portrayal of the disciples in the gospel of Mark can be of some consolation to us. Their inability to hear what Jesus is saying, to see what he is showing them, and their self-protective flight at the end, shows up all the more the faithful love of the Lord for them. The Lord who was faithful to the first disciples is faithful to us, even though we get it wrong from time to time. He keeps coming towards us, inviting us to renew our response to his call to become his faithful followers in today’s world, and also promising us that, if we strive to respond to his call he will give us the spiritual resources that we need.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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Saints of the Day: Feb 17th:
1. The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, religious
2. St Fintan of Clonenagh, abbot
1. The Seven Founders of the Order of Servites, Religious.
In 1233 these prominent businessmen from Florence (Italy) withdrew to a life of solitude, prayer, and penance. They developed into an order of mendicant friars (Servants of Mary). Noted for their radical response to the demands of the gospel.
Patrick Duffy tells the story of their founders and some other saints associated with them.
Seven wealthy young merchants
In 1233 seven wealthy young merchants of the city of Florence, disenchanted with the worldly life of the city, wanted to live a more radical Christian life. They came together to found a religious society in honour of Mary, the Mother of God and at first were first known as “Laudesi,” “Praisers”. Later they went to Monte Senario outside the city where they built a hermitage and a church and began to devote themselves to a life together of prayer, penance and poverty.
Servites
Their penitential and communal life attracted others to join them and
Spread
By 1260 the order was divided into two provinces, Tuscany and Umbria, with Manettus directing that of Tuscany and Sosthenes that of Umbria. Within five years two more provinces were added, Romagna and Lombardy. For a while around the time of the Second Council of Lyons 1274 the order was suppressed, but eventually in 1304 Pope Benedict IX gave it definitive approval. Six of its members were ordained priests. Alexis Falconieri remained a lay brother; he outlived all the others and was the only one alive when the order received papal approval. He died in 1310.
Pope Leo XIII canonised the seven Servite founders in 1888.
Other Servite saints
Three other saints of this order are worthy of mention: The first is St. Philip Benizi (1233-85) who had doctorates in medicine and philosophy before he joined the order and was was elected general in 1267. He codified the rules and constitutions, defended the order when it was under threat of suppression and sent the first Servite missionaries to the land of the Tartars. In 1279 at the request of Pope Nicholas III, he was also successful in bringing peace between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.
The second is St Peregrine Laziosi (1265-1345). Born in Forli, he was an active supporter of the Ghibelline (anti-papal) party when Philip Benizi visited the city. He heckled and struck Philip, who literally turned the other cheek. This caused Peregrine to repent and join the Servites at Siena in 1292. He returned to Forli where he founded a new friary and devoted himself to working for the sick and the poor. His humility and patience were so great that he was called by his people a second Job. He also imposed a penance on himself of standing when it was not necessary to sit. This led to his contracting varicose veins which turned cancerous and were so bad that a doctor was about to amputate his leg. The night before the surgery Peregrine prayed before the image of the crucified Christ and when he awoke next morning he was completely healed. He died in 1345 aged 80 and his incorrupt body rests in the Servite Church in Forli. His feast day is 4th May.
A third saint associated with the Servites is St Juliana Falconieri (1270-1341), the niece of Alexis mentioned above. She founded a female branch of the Servites called the Mantallate. c/f/ 16th June.
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Memorable Wisdom saying for today
Good people see the good and bring out the best in other people.
~ Roy T. Bennett,~
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2. St Fintan of Clonenagh
Abbot Fintan of Clonenagh (6th century) monk born in Leinster, received his religious formation in Terryglass, Co. Tipperary under the abbot Colum, and was deeply influenced by his penitential practices and the severity of the Rule. Fintan made his own foundation in Clonenagh, Co. Laois. He died in 603.
St Fintan‘s monastery at Clonenagh had a reputation for austerity,
Patrick Duffy tells what is known about him.
Two Fintans
There are at least two Fintans among the Irish saints – St Fintan of Clonenagh, Co Laois, and St Fintan of Taghmon, Co Wexford. A third is associated with Doon in Co Limerick.
Formation at Terryglass
Our Fintan was educated by St Colum of Terryglass, Co Tipperary, the severity of whose Rule and penitential practices so influenced Fintan that his own foundation in Clonenagh, Co. Laois, also acquired a reputation for austerity.
Bread of woody barley
Another version says that, warned by an angel, he prepared a great feast for the deputation with plenty available as long as they stayed, but when they went away, all reverted to as it was before. In spite of the hardships, or maybe even because of them, the monastery was crowded with young monks from all over Ireland.
^Saint Oengus , Martyrologist on the Nativity of Christ
Followers
Among those trained by Fintan at Clonenagh was St Comgall, who founded his own monastery at Bangor, where he trained Columbanus and a host of others who brought monasticism to Europe. Oengus, an associate of St Maelruain of Tallaght as leaders the Céilí Dé reform movement, was born, educated by Fintan, lived and died at Clonenagh.
The pact of the two Fintans
The Martyrology of Oengus (above left) tells that Fintan of Taghmon, who was also called Munnu, and Fintan of Clonenagh formed an oentas (or pact) that the name of each of them would be given to the other, in commemorationem societatis. Munnu was the baptismal name of the man from Taghmon. He took on the name Fintan, while Fintan of Clonenagh took Munnu or Munda as a second name. Not surprisingly this led to some confusion.
The Book of Clonenagh
The Book of Clonenagh is one of the lost sources cited by Geoffrey Keating in his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (The History of Ireland) for information about the setting up of the dioceses of Ireland at the Synod of Rath Breasail in the year 1111.
For St Munna / Fintan of Taghmon, and another perspective see
http://homepage.eircom.net/~taghmon/histsoc/vol2/8munnac/8munnac.htm
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Memorable Proverbs for today
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper.
He who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
~Proverbs 28:13 ~
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