SAINT JULIANNA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
Psalter II | GREEN
She was born in Nicomedia to a pagan family. She was betrothed as a child to a senator, Eleusius, who was also a pagan. However, Juliana secretly became a Christian and refused to marry Eleusius. She was tortured and beheaded for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith during the persecution of Maximian.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
First reading: James 1:1-11
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways. The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride in high standing, and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.” For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76
R/ Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
- Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I hold to your promise.
- You are good and bountiful; teach me your statutes.
- It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
- The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
- I know, O Lord, that your ordinances are just, and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
- Let your kindness comfort me according to your promise to your servants.
Saint Biography
She was born in Nicomedia to a pagan family. She was betrothed as a child to a senator, Eleusius, who was also a pagan. However, Juliana secretly became a Christian and refused to marry Eleusius. She was tortured and beheaded for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith during the persecution of Maximian.
Gospel Acclamation: John 14:6
Alleluia, alleluia. I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mark 8:11-13
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“No sign will be given to this generation.” Jesus had preached and performed countless signs among the people, but the Pharisees still did not believe in him. Their request for a sign from heaven was an indication of their lack of faith. It is this lack of faith that St. James condemns in the First Reading; the man who doubts, he says, is a man of two minds and cannot obtain anything from God. If we want God to answer our prayers, we must pray in faith. As Jesus says, when we ask God for something in prayer, we should believe that we have already obtained it, it will be given to us (Mk 11: 24). Our relationship with God should not depend on signs and wonders; rather, it should be grounded on our firm conviction that God can and will do all that he says in his Word. May God rid our hearts of every trace of doubt and give us the gift of faith in his Son Jesus Christ. May we develop the faith that makes us pray with total confidence and stand firm when trials come our way.