Saint Joseph Catholic Church

At the conclusion of his July 5 Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Blessed Trương Bửu Diệp (1897-1946), who was beatified in Vietnam on July 2.

The priest, slain by Japanese soldiers, “was killed in 1946 in hatred of the faith,” Pope Leo said. “Amid oppression and violence, he defended the rights of the people and did not abandon his parishioners. May his intercession and prayers strengthen all those who proclaim the Gospel in situations of persecution today.”

The Pontiff also said that he continued to “remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people. May the Lord sustain them in this time of great hardship.”

The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti (1890-1902). St. Maria was born near Ancona (Italy), the daughter of a poor peasant family. Maria was well known to her neighbors for her cheerfulness and piety. When she was eleven, she was murdered after refusing repeated sexual advances made by a teenage boy who worked on her mother's farm. She preferred to die rather than to sin against chastity. She died in 1902, and her mother was present at her canonization in 1950, the first time a parent was present for their own child's canonization.

From Today's Gospel: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him" (Matt 11:25-27).

The United States celebrates Independence Day, the national celebration of our Nation's independence, the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Church in the United States of America incorporates this observance into the liturgy with a special Mass asking for peace, justice and truth. As we celebrate let us remember to pray that God will strengthen and bless America and make our nation a haven of liberty and justice for all--born and unborn.

The Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle, who at first did not believe, has become for the Church one of the first witnesses to her faith. She is fond of appealing to his testimony and frequently puts in our mouths those simple words whereby he expressed the fervour of his regained faith: "My Lord and my God." It is known that St. Thomas preached the Gospel in Asia beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire, probably in Persia and possibly as far afield as India. St. Thomas' feast was formerly celebrated on December 21.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates Sts. Processus and Martinian whose bodies lie in a chapel at St. Peter's in Rome. During the time when Sts. Peter and Paul were prisoners in the Mamertine, legend says that these two jailors together with forty others were converted through the prayers and miracles of the holy apostles. They were baptized with water that suddenly sprang out from a rock. The jailors then wished to help the apostles make their escape. Both died as martyrs for the faith under the Emperor Nero (about 67 A.D.).

Today the United States celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Junípero Serra (1713-1784). Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of Mallorca, Spain. He took the name Junípero when he entered the Franciscan Order in 1730. Ordained in 1737, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Padua for twelve years. At age 37, he went to Mexico City where he spent the rest of his life working for the conversion of the peoples of the New World. Largely responsible for the spread of the Church on the West Coast of the United States, Junípero founded 21 missions and converted thousands of Native Americans.

The Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church honors of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the imperial parks Christians were put into animal skins and hunted, were brutally attacked, and were made into living torches to light the road for Nero's chariot. From 64 to 314 "Christian" was synonymous with "execution victim."

Today the Church universally celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (d. 64-67). This is a holyday of obligation in some countries. Veneration of the two great Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the solid rock on which the Church is built, the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.

From today's Gospel: Jesus said to his apostles: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matt 10:37-39).