Memory of St. Stanislaw, bishop of Krakow and martyr (†1071). He defended the poor, the dignity of men and women, and the freedom of the Gospel and the Church.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

2 Corinthians 4, 7-18

But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God's and not our own.

We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair;

we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us;

always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body.

Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh.

In us, then, death is at work; in you, life.

But as we have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture -- I believed and therefore I spoke -we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak,

realising that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus in our turn, and bring us to himself -- and you as well.

You see, everything is for your benefit, so that as grace spreads, so, to the glory of God, thanksgiving may also overflow among more and more people.

That is why we do not waver; indeed, though this outer human nature of ours may be falling into decay, at the same time our inner human nature is renewed day by day.

The temporary, light burden of our hardships is earning us for ever an utterly incomparable, eternal weight of glory,

since what we aim for is not visible but invisible. Visible things are transitory, but invisible things eternal.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul, who never hesitated to extol the apostolic ministry, with all that it entails, is however, aware of his and of our weakness. Thus he affirms: “We have this treasure in clay jars.” It is extremely clear that the extra¬ordinary power of the ministry does not come from us but from God. The apostle reviews his life within this light. He understands that in spite of the tribulations, threats, dangers, difficulties, he has never been abandoned by God. Indeed, in the weakness of his existence “the very life of Jesus” was manifested. In persecution and in abandonment, Paul is, like Jesus, one “well acquainted with grief.” It is faith that renders the disciple strong even in the face of opposition and adversity. So Paul does not withdraw when faced by difficulties and dangers, but always proclaims the Gospel: “I believed, and so I spoke.” We, disciples of the Lord, clothed with the power of faith, are called to communicate the Lord Jesus to all through our lives: in them must shine the same life of Jesus. The Apostle exhorts us not to lose heart or to be discouraged when confronted by the weakness and evil that strike our lives and that of the world. If on the one hand we experience a weakening of the body, on the other hand, we must strive day by day to renew the ‘interior’ person, the spiritual, renewed person. The sufferings of today, particularly those which assail us on account of the Gospel, do not compare with the glory that is to be manifested in us (cf. Rom 8:18).