do not be ashamed to be yourself.
For there is a shame that leads to sin,
and there is a shame that is glory and favour.
Do not show partiality, to your own harm,
or deference, to your downfall.
Do not refrain from speaking at the proper moment,
and do not hide your wisdom.
For wisdom becomes known through speech,
and education through the words of the tongue.
Never speak against the truth,
but be ashamed of your ignorance.
Do not be ashamed to confess your sins,
and do not try to stop the current of a river.
Do not subject yourself to a fool,
or show partiality to a ruler.
Fight to the death for truth,
and the Lord God will fight for you.
This is the word of the Lord.
Ecclesiasticus 4.20–28
Responsorial Psalm
R: Let your faithful love come unto me, O Lord,
[even your salvation, according to your promise.]
O take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your judgements.
So shall I always keep your law;
I shall keep it for ever and ever. R
I will walk at liberty,
because I study your commandments.
I will tell of your testimonies, even before kings,
and will not be ashamed. R
My delight shall be in your commandments,
which I have greatly loved.
My hands will I lift up to your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes. R
From Psalm 119
A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
This is the word of the Lord.
2 Timothy 4.1–8
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.
‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
John 12.24–32
Post Communion
God our Redeemer,
whose Church was strengthened
by the blood of your martyr Janani Luwum:
so bind us, in life and death, to Christ’s sacrifice
that our lives, broken and offered with his,
may carry his death and proclaim his resurrection in the world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
18 February
Colman of Lindisfarne
Bishop
Scotland: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Bishops
Colman was a monk of Iona, like Aidan and Finan, whom he succeeded as bishop of Lindisfarne. At a critical time in the disagreement between the Celtic and Roman traditions about the date of Easter and other usages, which led to the Synod of Whitby, Colman led the Celtic party. However, at the Synod the Northumbrian king was persuaded by Wilfrid’s arguments in favour of the Roman usage. Colman resigned his See and retired first to Iona and then to Ireland, where he died on this day in the year 676. Bede gives a glowing account of his person and ministry.
18 February
John of Fiesole and Andrei Rublev
John of Fiesole (Fra Angelico), Priest, and Andrei Rublev, Religious, Painters
Wales: V
If celebrated otherwise, Common of any Saint
John of Fiesole was born near the end of the fourteenth century in Tuscany. In 1407 he became a Dominican friar, taking the name John, and was ordained. After decorating the walls of the friary at Fiesole, his ministry became one of visual preaching through his great skills as a painter of human figures. He was nicknamed Fra Angelico (Brother Angel) because of the beauty of the faces, human and angelic, that he painted. He died at Rome in 1455.
Andrei Rublev
