July 17, Saturday Weekday

Do not forget the poor, O Lord! — Psalm 10:12

Mass Readings: Micah 2:1-5 / Matthew 12:14-21

Moses in Venice 

Sometimes summer vacations can unintentionally turn into pilgrimages. A few years ago, my wife and I were fortunate enough to be tourists in Venice, the city of canals. By chance, we came upon the Church of St. Moses, a Baroque structure, behind whose main altar stood a huge bas-relief sculpture of Moses receiving the two tablets on Mount Sinai. 

Who knew Moses was a Catholic saint? Well, I learned after some research, Venetian Catholics were influenced by Byzantine Christianity, which venerated Old Testament prophets and holy people as saints. Byzantines even gave them feast days (Moses’ is September 4). If saints are defined as those who are in heaven, certainly Moses and Elijah and Isaiah are saints. That day in Venice, a Catholic-Jewish couple became unlikely pilgrims honoring the same holy man. 

Prayer: “St.” Moses, our ancestor in faith, pray for us and for your people Israel.