Universalis
Saturday 2 August 2025    (other days)
Saturday of week 17 in Ordinary Time 
 or Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop 
 or Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest 
 or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Using calendar: Asia - India - Goa & Daman. You can change this.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: come, let us adore him.

Year: C(I). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Green.

St Eusebius of Vercelli (283 - 371)

He was born in Sardinia and brought up in Rome, and later (in around 340) was made the first bishop of Vercelli in Piedmont. He lived in a community with his diocesan priests, the first bishop ever to do so.
  He was a strong supporter of orthodoxy, and in 355 was sent into exile by the Emperor for refusing to sign the condemnation of St Athanasius which had been passed by the Council of Milan. He was in exile for six years, harshly treated by those who had charge of him. On his release he worked hard for unity, but in vain.
  He co-operated with St Hilary in fighting Arianism, and eventually died peacefully in Vercelli, where a manuscript of the Gospels in his handwriting is preserved.

St Peter Julian Eymard (1811 - 1868)

He was born in the town of La Mure, France in the year 1811. Ordained a priest and engaged in pastoral work for some time, he later entered the Society of Mary. A fervent disciple of the Eucharistic Mystery, he established two congregations, one for men, the other for women, dedicated to the worship of the Eucharist. He was also the initiator of many other apostolates, aptly chosen to arouse love for the Holy Eucharist among the faithful. He died on August 1, 1868 in the town in which he was born.

Saturday memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary

‘On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.
  ‘Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial derives from Carolingian times (9th century), but the reasons for having chosen Saturday for its observance are unknown. While many explanations of this choice have been advanced, none is completely satisfactory from the point of view of the history of popular piety.
  ‘Whatever its historical origins may be, today the memorial rightly emphasizes certain values to which contemporary spirituality is more sensitive. It is a remembrance of the maternal example and discipleship of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, strengthened by faith and hope, on that “great Saturday” on which Our Lord lay in the tomb, was the only one of the disciples to hold vigil in expectation of the Lord’s resurrection. It is a prelude and introduction to the celebration of Sunday, the weekly memorial of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a sign that the Virgin Mary is continuously present and operative in the life of the Church.’
  Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001), §188

Other saints: Saint Peter Faber (1506-1546)

2 Aug (where celebrated)
Peter Faber (1506-1546) was born in Savoy, France. In 1525, he enrolled at the University of Paris. He was ordained a priest in May 1534. While in Paris, he was among the group of six students who under the leadership of Ignatius of Loyola would form the nucleus of the Society of Jesus. Renowned as a religious scholar, spiritual guide and talented mediator, Faber was tasked with missionary work and other important tasks throughout Europe. He was a pioneer of ecumenism. He died in Rome in August 1546. Pope Francis, by a decree of confirmation of cult, also known as equipollent canonization, inscribed Faber in the Church’s universal calendar in 2013.

About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings:

Second Reading: St Ignatius of Antioch (- 107)

He was the second bishop of Antioch after St Peter (the first being Evodius). He was arrested (some writers believe that he must have been denounced by a fellow-Christian), condemned to death, and transported to Rome to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. In one of his letters he describes the soldiers who were escorting him as being like “ten leopards, who when they are kindly treated only behave worse.”
  In the course of his journey he wrote seven letters to various churches, in which he dealt wisely and deeply with Christ, the organisation of the Church, and the Christian life. They are important documents for the early history of the Church, and they also reveal a deeply holy man who accepts his fate and begs the Christians in Rome not to try to deprive him of the crown of martyrdom.
  He was martyred in 107.

Liturgical colour: green

The theological virtue of hope is symbolized by the colour green, just as the burning fire of love is symbolized by red. Green is the colour of growing things, and hope, like them, is always new and always fresh. Liturgically, green is the colour of Ordinary Time, the orderly sequence of weeks through the year, a season in which we are being neither single-mindedly penitent (in purple) nor overwhelmingly joyful (in white).

Mid-morning reading (Terce)1 Kings 8:60-61
May all the peoples of the earth come to know that the Lord is God indeed, and that there is no other. May your hearts be wholly with the Lord our God, following his laws and keeping his commandments as at this present day.

Noon reading (Sext)Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets? I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, to give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.

Afternoon reading (None)Wisdom 7:27,8:1
Although she is alone, Wisdom can accomplish everything. She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things for good.

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