TRADE FAIR READINGS

August 16, 2024 (readings on the USCCB website)

Mass Propree for Friday in the nineteenth week in Ordinary Time:

Entrance antiphon, cf. Ps 74(73),20, 19, 22, 23: Look to your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of your poor forever. Arise, O God, and defend your cause, and forget not the cries of those who seek you.

Hallelujah Verse, 1 Thess 2,13: Receive the Word of God not as the word of man, but as what it really is: the Word of God.

Communion antiphon, Ps 147:12, 14: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord, who satisfies you with the finest wheat.

OR: See John 6:51: The bread that I will give, says the Lord, is my flesh for the life of the world.

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Mass Propree for the optional commemoration of Saint Stephen of Hungary:

Entrance antiphon, cf. Ps 21 (20),2-3: The righteous rejoices in your strength, O Lord; how greatly does your salvation delight him! You have given him the desire of his soul.

Hallelujah verse, John 14:23: Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

Communion antiphon, cf. Mt 16:24: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, says the Lord.

COLLECTING PRAYERS

Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time: Almighty, ever-living God, whom we call our Father as we are taught by the Holy Spirit, may we perfect in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, so that we may be worthy to inherit the inheritance you have promised us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

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Optional Monument of Saint Stephen of Hungary: We pray, Almighty God, that we may give to your Church Saint Stephen of Hungary, who as king on earth promoted its development, as a glorious protector in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

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• The breaking of bread throughout the liturgical year

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Today is the Optional monument of Saint Stephen of Hungary (969-1038). Vaik, son of Geza, Duke of Hungary, was baptized around 985 by St. Adalbert of Prague, who gave him the name Stephen. He was chosen by God to lead his people to the Christian faith. With the help of monks from Burgundy, he established bishoprics, founded several monasteries and reorganized the entire life of the country. Pope Sylvester II offered him the privilege of being crowned king, and the ceremony took place on December 25, 1000. His great zeal for the spread of the Catholic faith earned him the title of apostolic king and apostle of Hungary. He died on August 15, 1038, the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, to whom he had dedicated his kingdom.

Saint Roch (1295-1327) is in today’s Roman Martyrology. Roch was a French nobleman from Montpellier in France, but he gave away his wealth to the poor and became a mendicant monk. During his pilgrimage he helped those suffering from the plague and effected several miraculous healings, but he contracted the plague himself. He is usually depicted with a wound on his leg and a dog nearby, as he befriended a dog during his illness and eventually recovered, usually by making the sign of the cross over them, but he contracted the plague himself. He went into a forest to die, but he befriended a dog who brought him food and he eventually recovered. When he returned home he was unrecognizable and was arrested as a spy. He suffered years in prison until he died.

Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen was the first Christian king of Hungary. He was born in 975 in Grana as the son of Prince Geisa and baptized by Saint Adalbert in 985. When he courted Gisela, the sister of Emperor Henry II, he was promised her hand in marriage on the condition that he remained faithful to the Christian faith and converted the pagan Hungarians to Christianity. He kept his word, even though it cost him dearly. He received the royal crown from the hands of Pope Sylvester II (999-1003) and was ceremoniously enthroned in Grana on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in 1001. (The alleged bull of Pope Sylvester, which granted Stephen and his successors the privilege of having the cross carried in front of them like metropolitans, is now considered a forgery from the 17th century.)

Stephen was one of the wisest princes of his time. His royal generosity is evident in the founding of the Archbishopric of Gran and ten Hungarian bishoprics, as well as in his love for the poor. Because he visited them in their homes and washed their feet, his right hand remained intact. He was very zealous in prayer and meditation. From his marriage came a holy son, the pious Emeric, an angel of purity, who died seven years before his father. Through prayer and fasting, Stephen strove for the conversion of all Hungary; he is rightly called the apostle of his people. He chose the Mother of God as the patron saint of Hungary.

—Excerpt from The Church’s Year of GracePius Parsch

Patronage: against the death of children; masons; kings; stonemasons; stonemasons; Budapest, Hungary

Symbols and representation: Cross and sword; model of a church; king with sword and cross banner; king offering his crown to the Blessed Virgin Mary; king on horseback with cross banner; king holding a church in his hands; king holding a standard or banner with the Blessed Virgin Mary

Highlights and activities:

• Here sits a saint on the throne who was not only king, but also apostle and father of his people! Reflect his spirit in your own family and to your co-workers.
• For more information about St. Stephen, please visit these links:
• Read “Saint Stephen of Hungary” by John Janaro, originally published in The MagnificatApril 2019.
• One of the station churches of Rome, the St. Stephen’s Rotunda at Celius (Italian: Santo Stefano Rotondo al Celio) or more simply the Basilica of Saint Stephen in the Round on Celius Hill. It is the Hungarian national church from the 5th century. It is officially dedicated to the protomartyr Saint Stephen, but unofficially to Saint Stephen of Hungary.
• Read Saint Stephen’s letter, A Saint’s Advice to His Son.
• St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Budapest contains the holy relics of Saint Stephen. For more information and pictures, see St. Stephen in Hungary: Relics and Sacred Beauty Fit for the King of Kings and The Holy Right, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest, Hungary.
• Read more about the history of Hungary. This site contains a wealth of information about the Hungarian Holy Crown, the Hand of Saint Stephen and other information. You can also visit this site for a virtual tour of Hungary.

St. Roch or Rocco

Unreliable sources say he was probably born in Montpellier, France, the son of the governor there. He was orphaned at twenty. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and devoted himself to caring for victims of a plague that was raging in Italy. He himself fell victim to the plague in Piacenza, but recovered and is said to have performed many miraculous cures. After returning to Montpellier, he was imprisoned for five years as a spy disguised as a pilgrim when his uncle, who was governor, ordered his imprisonment. (His uncle did not recognize him, and Roch could not identify himself.) Roch died in prison, and was only then identified as the son of the former governor by a birthmark in the shape of a cross on his chest. Another biographer says he was arrested as a spy in Angers, Lombardy, and died in prison there. When miracles were reported after his death through his intercession, a popular cult developed, and he is invoked against plague and disease. In Italy he is known as Rocco and in Spain as Roque.

—Excerpt from the Dictionary of SaintsJohn J. Delaney

Patronage: Bachelors; cholera; sick cattle; dogs; epidemics; wrongly accused persons; invalids; knee complaints; plague; relief from plague; skin diseases; rashes; surgeons; tile makers; Barano, Italy; Castropignano, Italy; Constantinople; Istanbul; Orsogna, Italy; Patricia, Italy.

Symbols and representation: Pilgrim’s hat and staff; angel; dog with bread in its mouth; hat with crossed keys or scallop shell; plague stain on his thigh.

Highlights and activities:

• Saint Roch is one of the many Franciscan saints.
• Learn more about the relic of the fingers of Saint Roch, which the ladyfingers are reminiscent of.
• San Rocco is a popular saint among Italians! Check out some of the festival locations and Italian traditions surrounding this saint:
• Read more about St. Roch: