Colossians 1.18-23 (Epistle)

18I on je glava tijelu crkve, koji je poèetak i prvoroðeni iz mrtvijeh, da bude on u svemu prvi; 19Jer bi volja oèina da se u nj useli sva punina, 20I kroza nj da primiri sve sa sobom, umirivši krvlju krsta njegova, kroza nj sve, bilo na zemlji ili na nebu. 21I vas koji ste nekad bili odluèeni i neprijatelji kroz pomisli u zlijem djelima, 22A sad vas primiri u tijelu mesa njegova smræu njegovom, da vas svete i bez mane i bez krivice izvede preda se; 23Ako samo ostanete u vjeri utemeljeni i tvrdi, i nepokretni od nada jevanðelja, koje èuste, koje je propovijedano svoj tvari pod nebom, kojemu ja Pavle postadoh sluga.

Luke 9.44-50 (Gospel)

44Metnite vi u uši svoje ove rijeèi: jer sin èovjeèij treba da se preda u ruke èovjeèije. 45A oni ne razumješe rijeèi ove; jer bješe sakrivena od njih da je ne mogoše razumjeti; i bojahu se da ga zapitaju za ovu rijeè. 46A uðe misao u njih ko bi najveæi bio meðu njima. 47A Isus znajuæi pomisli srca njihovijeh uze dijete i metnu ga preda se, 48I reèe im: koji primi ovo dijete u ime moje, mene prima; i koji mene prima, prima onoga koji me je poslao; jer koji je najmanji meðu vama on je veliki. 49A Jovan odgovarajuæi reèe: uèitelju! vidjesmo jednoga gdje imenom tvojijem izgoni ðavole, i zabranismo mu, jer ne ide s nama za tobom. 50I reèe mu Isus: ne branite; jer ko nije protiv vas s vama je.

Holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion (1st c.)

This is the Centurion who stood at the Cross of Christ and, seeing Him breathe his last, cried out “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). From that day forth he was a believer, and was soon baptized. According to some accounts, he was one of the guard at the Tomb of Christ, and was one of those whom the Judaean leaders sought to bribe not to tell the news of the Resurrection. But Longinus would not be bribed, so the leaders plotted to kill him. He left the army and went to his homeland of Cappadocia, where he boldly preached Christ. He was beheaded at the instigation of Pontius Pilate.

Our Venerable Father Gall, Enlightener of Switzerland (640)

He was born in Ireland to wealthy parents, who sent him to be educated at the Monastery of Bangor. There he embraced the ascetical life and became a monk. He was one of the twelve monks who traveled with his spiritual father St Columbanus (November 23) as missionaries to Gaul. In time some of the group traveled into pagan lands, up the Rhine river to Lake Zurich. The monks settled on Lake Constance around a chapel dedicated to St Aurelia, which had been taken by the pagans as a shrine; they cleansed and reconsecrated the chapel, which became the center of their new monastery. Saint Gall lived as a hermit, serving the brethren by making nets and catching fish. In 612 St Columbanus went on to Italy with most of his disciples, leaving St Gall and a few others to continue their life. When St Gall delivered Frideburga, the daughter of a local duke, from a demon, he offered the saint a tract of land on the shores of Lake Constance; here was founded the monastery that in later times bore St Gall’s name.

At various times, the holy Gall refused calls to become a bishop, or to take over the abbacy of the great monastery at Luxeuil. To all such requests he answered that he would rather serve than command. He continued living in his isolated monastic community until he reposed in peace in 640, at the age of ninety-nine. In later years, and continuing well into the middle ages, the Monastery of St Gall became famed for the holiness of its monks and for its library.