Aug 16, Morning Prayer for Thursday of the 19th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 654
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1065

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1029

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 896

Morning Prayer for Thursday in Ordinary Time

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

Text: Francis of Assisi, circa 1225 (Cantico di fratre sole, Song of Brother Sun). He wrote this hymn shortly before his death, but it was not published for almost 400 years. Translated to English by William H. Draper for a children’s Whitsuntide festival in Leeds, England; first appeared in the Public School Hymn Book, 1919.
“All Creatures Of Our God And King” performed by Gloucester Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.

Psalm 87
Jerusalem is mother of us all
The heavenly Jerusalem is a free woman; she is our mother (Galatians 4:26).

On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!

“Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called ‘Mother’
for all shall be her children.”

It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
“These are her children,”
and while they dance they will sing:
“In you all find their home.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, your only son wept over ancient Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed for its lack of faith. He established the new Jerusalem firmly upon rock and made it the mother of the faithful. Make us rejoice in your Church and grant that all people may be reborn into the freedom of your Spirit.

Ant. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.

Ant. 2 The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.

Canticle – Isaiah 40:10-17
The Good Shepherd: God most high and most wise
See, I come quickly; I have my reward in hand (Revelation 22:12).

Here comes with power
the Lord God,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea,
and marked off the heavens with a span?
Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth,
weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
or has instructed him as his counselor?
Whom did he consult to gain knowledge?
Who taught him the path of judgment,
or showed him the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations count as a drop of the bucket,
as dust on the scales;
the coastlands weigh no more than powder.

Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor its animals be enough for holocausts.
Before him all the nations are as nought,
as nothing and void he accounts them.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.

Ant. 3 Give praise to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.

Psalm 99
Holy is the Lord our God
Christ, higher than the Cherubim, when you took our lowly nature you transformed our sinful world (Saint Athanasius).

The Lord is king; the peoples tremble.
He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes.
The Lord is great in Zion.

He is supreme over all the peoples.
Let them praise his name, so terrible and great.
He is holy, full of power.

You are a king who loves what is right;
you have established equity, justice and right;
you have established them in Jacob.

Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before Zion, his footstool.
He the Lord is holy.

Among his priests were Aaron and Moses,
among those who invoked his name was Samuel.
They invoked the Lord and he answered.

To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud.
They did his will; they kept the law,
which he, the Lord, had given.

O Lord our God, you answered them.
For them you were a God who forgives;
yet you punished all their offenses.

Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before his holy mountain
for the Lord our God is holy.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

God, you are the source of all holiness. Though no one can see you and live, you give life most generously and in an even greater way restore it. Sanctify your priests through your life-giving Word and consecrate your people in his blood until our eyes see your face.

Ant. Give praise to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.

READING 1 Peter 4:8-11a

As generous distributors of God’s manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure he has received. The one who speaks is to deliver God’s message. The one who serves is to do it with the strength provided by God. Thus, in all of you God is to be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

From the depths of my heart I cry to you; hear me, O Lord.
– From the depths of my heart I cry to you; hear me, O Lord.

I will do what you desire;
– hear me, O Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– From the depths of my heart I cry to you; hear me, O Lord.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. Let us serve the Lord in holiness, and he will save us from our enemies.

Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Let us serve the Lord in holiness, and he will save us from our enemies.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us joyfully cry out in thanks to God the Father whose love guides and nourishes his people:
– May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Most merciful Father, we praise you for your love,
for you wondrously created us and even more wondrously restored us to grace.
– May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

At the beginning of this day fill our hearts with zeal for serving you,
so that our thoughts and actions may redound to your glory.
– May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Purify our hearts of every evil desire,
make us intent on doing your will.
– May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Open our hearts to the needs of all men,
fill us with brotherly love.
– May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

All-powerful and ever-living God,
shine with the light of your radiance
on a people who live in the shadow of death.
Let the dawn from on high break upon us:
your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Aug 16, Midday Prayer for Thursday of the 19th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 659
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1071 (Midday)

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1035 (Midday)

Midday Prayer for Thursday using Current Psalmody

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Glory to God in the highest
And peace to His people on earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship You
We give You thanks
We praise You for Your glory

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father
Lord God, Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Lord, have mercy on us
You are seated at the right hand of the Father
Receive our prayer

For You alone are the Holy One
For You alone are the Lord
For You alone are the Most High
Jesus Christ
With the Holy Spirit
In the glory of God the Father

Amen

Glory to God in the highest by St. Paul’s Choir Indianapolis; Lyrics are based upon the text of the Sacred Liturgy
Glory to God in the highest by St. Paul’s Choir Indianapolis is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Receive me, Lord, according to your promise, that I may live.

Psalm 119
XV (Samech)

I have no love for half-hearted men:
my love is for your law.
You are my shelter, my shield;
I hope in your word.

Leave me, you who do evil;
I will keep God’s command.
If you uphold me by your promise I shall live;
let my hopes not be in vain.

Sustain me and I shall be saved
and ever observe your commands.
You spurn all who swerve from your statutes;
their cunning is in vain.

You throw away the wicked like dross:
so I love your will.
I tremble before you in terror;
I fear your decrees.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Help us and we shall be saved, Lord God; leave us and we are doomed. May you remain with us always so that the fullness of life may be ours.

Ant. Receive me, Lord, according to your promise, that I may live.

Ant. 2 Help us, O God our Savior, and pardon all our sins.

Psalm 79
Lament for Jerusalem
If only you had known what would bring you peace (Luke 19:42).

O God, the nations have invaded our land,
they have profaned your holy temple.
They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
They have handed over the bodies of your servants
as food to feed the birds of heaven
and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out blood like water in Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
We have become the taunt of our neighbors,
the mockery and scorn of those who surround us.
How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever,
how long will your anger burn like fire?

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.
Let your compassion hasten to meet us;
we are left in the depths of distress.
O God our savior, come to our help,
come for the sake of the glory of your name.

O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;
rescue us for the sake of your name.
Why should the nations say:
“Where is their God?”
Let us see the nations around us repaid
with vengeance for the blood of your servants that was shed!
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.

But we, your people, the flock of your pasture,
will give you thanks for ever and ever.
We will tell your praise from age to age.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of your Church, in order to strengthen our faith and to lead us to the kingdom, you renewed and far surpassed the marvels of the old law. Through the uncertainties of this earthly journey, lead us home to the everlasting pastures.

Ant. Help us, O God our Savior, and pardon all our sins.

Ant. 3 O God of power, look down from heaven and come to tend this vine.

Psalm 80
Lord, come to tend your vineyard
Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
you who lead Joseph’s flock,
shine forth from your cherubim throne
upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.

God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Lord God of hosts, how long
will you frown on your people’s plea?
You have fed them with tears for their bread,
an abundance of tears for their drink.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
our enemies laugh us to scorn.

God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
to plant it you drove out the nations.
Before it you cleared the ground;
it took root and spread through the land.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,
the cedars of God with its boughs.
It stretched out its branches to the sea,
to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.

Then why have you broken down its walls?
It is plucked by all who pass by.
It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,
devoured by the beasts of the field.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
Men have burnt it with fire and destroyed it.
May they perish at the frown on your face.

May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again:
give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, eternal Shepherd, you so tend the vineyard you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest coast. Look down on your Church and come to us. Help us to remain in your Son as branches on the vine that, planted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere.

Ant. O God of power, look down from heaven and come to tend this vine.

Reading Deuteronomy 4:7

What great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

The Lord is close to all who call upon him.
– He will answer their prayers.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

All-powerful and ever-living God,
with you there is no darkness,
from you nothing is hidden.
Fill us with the radiance of your light:
may we understand the law you have given us
and live it with generosity and faith.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Aug 16, Evening Prayer for Thursday of the 19th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1076

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 632
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1040

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 901

Evening Prayer for Thursday in the Ordinary Time

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

For the fruits of his creation,
thanks be to God.
gifts bestowed on every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
Thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labor,
God’s will is done.
In the help we give our neighbor,
God’s will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
For the hungry and despairing,
In the harvests we are sharing,
God’s will is done.

For the harvests of his Spirit,
Thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
Thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
For the truths that still confound us,
Most of all that love has found us,
Thanks be to God..

Words: Fred Pratt Green © 1970; Music: Ar hyd y nos, All through the night, East Acklam; Meter: 84 84 88 84
“For the Fruits of His Creation” performed by Wells Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Let your holy people rejoice, O Lord, as they enter your dwelling place.

Psalm 132
God’s promises to the house of David
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David (Luke 1:32).

I

O Lord, remember David
and all the many hardships he endured,
the oath he swore to the Lord,
his vow to the Strong One of Jacob.

“I will not enter the house where I live
nor go to the bed where I rest.
I will give no sleep to my eyes,
to my eyelids I will give no slumber
till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Strong One of Jacob.”

At Ephrathah we heard of the ark;
we found it in the plains of Yearim.
“Let us go to the place of his dwelling;
let us go to kneel at his footstool.”

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest,
you and the ark of your strength.
Your priests shall be clothed with holiness:
your faithful shall ring out their joy.
For the sake of David your servant
do not reject your anointed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Let your holy people rejoice, O Lord, as they enter your dwelling place.

Ant. 2 The Lord has chosen Zion as his sanctuary.

II

The Lord swore an oath to David;
he will not go back on his word;
“A son, the fruit of your body,
will I set upon your throne.

If they keep my covenant in truth
and my laws that I have taught them,
their sons also shall rule
on your throne from age to age.”

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
“This is my resting-place for ever,
here have I chosen to live.

I will greatly bless her produce,
I will fill her poor with bread.
I will clothe her priests with salvation
and her faithful shall ring out their joy.

There David’s stock will flower:
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame
but on him my crown shall shine.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to suffer and be overwhelmed by death in order to open the gates of death in triumph. Stay with us to help us on our pilgrimage; free us from all evil by the power of your resurrection. In the company of your saints, and constantly remembering your love for us, may we sing of your wonders in our Father’s house.

Ant. The Lord has chosen Zion as his sanctuary.

Ant. 3 The Father has given Christ all power, honor and kingship; all people will obey him.

Canticle – Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
you have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger,
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you,
the great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come,
the reign of our God and the authority
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
and you that dwell therein!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Father has given Christ all power, honor and kingship; all people will obey him.

READING 1 Peter 3:8-9

All of you should be like-minded, sympathetic, loving toward one another, kindly disposed, and humble. Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult. Return a blessing instead. This you have been called to do, that you may receive a blessing as your inheritance.
The audio for this hour uses a longer reading taken from the single volume Christian Prayer book, while this abbreviated text is from the 4 volume Liturgy of the Hours.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

The Lord has given us food, bread of the finest wheat.
–The Lord has given us food, bread of the finest wheat.

Honey from the rock to our heart’s content,
– bread of the finest wheat.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
–The Lord has given us food, bread of the finest wheat.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. God has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. God has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us call upon Christ, the Good Shepherd who comes to the aid of his people:
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

Blessed are you, Lord, for you graciously called us into your holy Church,
keep us within the Church until death.
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

You have given the care of all the churches to our Pope,
give him unfailing faith, lively hope and loving concern.
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

Grant the grace of conversion to all sinners,
and the grace of true repentance to all men.
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

You were willing to live as a stranger in our world,
be mindful of those who are separated from family and homeland.
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

To all the departed who have hoped in you,
grant eternal peace.
– Hear us, O God our refuge.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

Lord,
we thank you for guiding us
through the course of this day’s work.
In your compassion forgive the sins
we have committed through human weakness.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Aug 16, Night Prayer for Thursday of the 19th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, page 1183
Vol II, Page 1642
Vol III, Page 1283
Vol IV, Page 1247

Christian Prayer:
Page 1049

General instruction:
Please pray with us actively, especially by joining with us in saying antiphons and responses, most of which are indicated in this highlight.

Consider an examination of your own conscience before beginning to best make use of our time together in prayer.

Night Prayer for Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of conscience:

We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Lord Jesus raise us to new life:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins:
Christ, have mercy.
– Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus you feed us with your body and blood:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

HYMN

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

”How Great Thou Art” by Melinda Kirigin-Voss; Originally this was a Swedish folk melody, “O Store Gud” by Carl Boberg (1859-1940) and was translated by Stuart K. Hine in 1899.
”How Great Thou Art” by Melinda Kirigin-Voss is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.

Psalm 16
God is my portion, my inheritance
The Father raised up Jesus from the dead and broke the bonds of death (Acts 2:24).

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: “You are my God.
My happiness lies in you alone.”

He has put into my heart a marvelous love
for the faithful ones who dwell in his land.
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows.
Never will I offer their offerings of blood.
Never will I take their name upon my lips.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight:
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.

READING 1 Thessalonians 5:23

May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Gospel Canticle

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord God,
send peaceful sleep
to refresh our tired bodies.
May your help always renew us
and keep us strong in your service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Blessing

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Stephen of Hungary

Saint Stephen of Hungary
Optional Memorial
August 16th

Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Herm of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary
Bronze
Cathedral Treasury, Zagreb

(969-1038) He ruled as king of Hungary with great wisdom and was an excellent model of justice and piety. He organized the evangelization of his country.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
Grant your Church, we pray, almighty God,
that she may have Saint Stephen of Hungary,
who fostered her growth while a king on earth,
as her glorious defender in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:3-9
Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them; that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 25: 14-30 [or Matthew 25:14-23]
Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' [He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.]

Saint Stephen-Confessor, King Of Hungary 975-1038
Saint Stephen-Confessor, King of Hungary 975-1038

Information: St. Stephen of Hungary

Feast Day:	August 16
Born:	975, Hungary
Died:	August 15, 1038, Esztergom or Székesfehérvár, Kingdom of Hungary
Canonized:	August 20, 1083, Esztergom, Hungary by Pope Gregory VII
Major Shrine:	Saint Stephen's Basilica in Budapest, Hungary
Patron of:	Hungary

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Stephen of Hungary

Feast Day: August 16
Born: 969 :: Died: 1038

St. Stephen was born in Hungary and was named Vaik. His father was the Duke of Hungary. Then at the age of ten when his family and many other rich people became Christians, he was given the name of Stephen.

But, when Stephen himself became king, the people were still quite pagan and did not believe in God. Some people were cruel and fierce. So he decided to make the Christian faith stronger in Hungary and helped build many Churches.

God blessed St. Stephen because of his hard work and people began believing in God. The secret of St. Stephen's amazing success in leading his people to the Christian faith was his devotion to Mary. He placed his whole kingdom under her protection and built a wonderful church in her honor.

Pope Sylvester II sent a beautiful crown to King Stephen. This treasure became known as the crown of St. Stephen. During the Second World War, American soldiers captured the crown but it was later returned to Hungary in 1978.

Stephen was a strong, fearless and just, ruler. But he was also gentle and kind to the poor. He tried to avoid war as much as he could. He loved to give gifts of money to beggars without letting them know who he was.

Once he was giving these gifts in disguise when a crowd of rough beggars knocked him down and hit him. They pulled his hair and beard, and stole his money pouch.

They did not know that they were bullying their king. And they never found out from him. He took the insult quietly and humbly.

Instead he prayed to Mother Mary: "Queen of heaven, see how your people have treated me whom you made king. If they were your enemies, I would have punished them. But since they are your Son's people, I will suffer this joyfully and say thank you for it."

In fact, King Stephen made a promise then and there to give more than ever to beggars.

Stephen was king of Hungary for forty-two years and his people loved him. He died on August 15, 1038. He is the patron saint of Hungary.

Catholic

Almanac:

Thursday, August 16
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary. He converted as a child with his father. After becoming king, Stephen toiled to convert his whole country. During his reign, he established hospices and a monastery, before dying in 1038.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: August 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant your Church, we pray, almighty God, that she may have Saint Stephen of Hungary, who fostered her growth while a king on earth, as her glorious defender in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

The Immaculate Heart

Ordinary Time: August 16th

Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary

Old Calendar: St. Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, confessor; St. Roch

Vaik, son of Geza, Duke of Hungary, was baptized about 985 by St. Adalbert of Prague who gave him the name of Stephen. He was chosen by God to bring his people to the Christian faith. With the assistance of monks from Burgundy he established bishoprics, founded several monasteries and re-organized the whole life of the country. Pope Silvester II offered him the privilege of being crowned king and the ceremony took place on December 25, 1000. His great zeal for the spread of the Catholic faith earned him the title of apostolic king and apostle of Hungary. He died on August 15, 1038, the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, to whom he had consecrated his kingdom.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. Joachim, now celebrated July 26. St. Stephen's feast was September 2. St. Roch, who is in the Roman Martyrology, was from France, near Montpellier. By the sign of the cross he delivered many cities of Italy from an epidemic. His body was afterwards transferred to Venice, deposited with great honors in the church dedicated under his invocation.

St. Stephen
St. Stephen was the first Christian king of Hungary. He was born in 975 at Gran, the son of Prince Geisa, and was baptized in 985 by St. Adalbert. While courting Gisela, the sister of Emperor St. Henry II, he was promised her hand in marriage provided that he remain firm in the Christian faith and lead the pagan Hungarians to Christianity. He kept his word though it cost him dearly. From the hands of Pope Sylvester II (999-1003) he received the royal crown and was solemnly enthroned at Gran on the feast of Mary's Assumption, 1001. (The alleged bull of Pope Sylvester granting to Stephen and his successors the privilege of having the cross carried before them, like metropolitans, is now regarded as a seventeenth-century forgery.)

Stephen was one of the wisest princes of his time. His royal generosity is shown in the establishment of the archbishopric of Gran and ten Hungarian bishoprics, and in his love toward the poor. Because he visited them in their houses and washed their feet, his right hand has remained incorrupt. Great was his zeal in prayer and meditation. From his marriage came a saintly son, the devout Emeric, an angel of purity, who died seven years before his father. By prayer and fasting Stephen sought the conversion of all Hungary; rightfully is he called the apostle of his nation. He chose the Mother of God as the patroness of Hungary.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Bricklayers; death of children; Hungary; kings; masons; stone masons; stonecutters.

Symbols: Cross and sword; model of a church.

Things to Do:

A saint upon the throne, who besides being king was the apostle and father of his people! Reflect his spirit in your own family and toward your associates.
Read more the history of Hungary. This site contains a wealth of information about the Hungarian Holy Crown, the Hand of St. Stephen and other information (Scroll down the page since the links don't work). You can also visit this site for a virtual tour of Hungary.

St. Roch or Rocco
Untrustworthy sources say he was probably born at Montpellier, France, son of the governor there. He was orphaned when he was twenty. He went on pilgrimage to Rome and devoted himself to caring for the victims of a plague that was ravaging Italy. He became a victim himself at Piacenza but recovered and was reputed to have performed many miracles of healing. On his return to Montpellier, he was imprisoned for five years as a spy in pilgrim's disguise when his uncle, who was governor, ordered him imprisoned. (His uncle failed to recognize him, and Roch failed to identify himself.) Roch died in prison and was only then identified as the former governor's son by a birthmark in the form of a cross on his chest. Another biographer says that he was arrested as a spy at Angers, Lombardy, and died in prison there. When miracles were reported at his intercession after his death, a popular cult developed, and he is invoked against pestilence and plague. He is known as Rocco in Italy and Roque in Spain.

Excerpted from the Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney

Patron: bachelors; cholera; diseased cattle; dogs; epidemics; falsely accused people; invalids; knee problems; plague; relief from pestilence; skin diseases; skin rashes; surgeons; tile makers; Barano, Italy; Castropignano, Italy; Constantinople; Istanbul; Orsogna, Italy; Patricia, Italy.

Symbols: Pilgrim's hat and staff; angel; dog with loaf in mouth; hat with crossed keys of with escallop; plague spot on his thigh.

Things to Do:

Read more about San Rocco and the Italian traditions surrounding this saint.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 18:21–19:1

“If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

Every person this side of glory has a problem with forgiveness. But we don’t all have the same problem.

Some of us are unable to receive forgiveness. We are keenly aware of the ways we have sinned and wronged other people. We would desperately love to make amends, but we are afraid that we could never do enough. Harsh words, once spoken, can’t be erased. Destructive actions are irrevocable. We keep beating ourselves up because we feel we don’t deserve to be forgiven. Even when the one we have hurt seems to have moved on, we are still stuck in our guilt.

On the other hand, there are those of us who are unable to give forgiveness. We fasten onto someone’s shortcomings and wrongdoings. We turn them over and over in our minds, magnifying them out of proportion. No apology can ever fully compensate for the pain that person has caused us. Like the servant in today’s parable, we want the wrongdoer locked up until he or she has paid the last penny. Meanwhile, we conveniently forget our own sins—especially the sin of self-righteous judgment.

Of course there is partial truth in both perspectives. None of us “deserves” to be forgiven. That’s why God gives us his free, unmerited grace. And of course, none of us on our own is capable of forgiving as fully as we need to.

But here are two pieces of good news: God forgives us unconditionally, and he gives all of us a share in his forgiving nature. So whichever side you find yourself on, turn around! Take your eyes off wrongdoing, either your own or that of another, and fix your gaze on Jesus. You will find him smiling at you warmly. Turn from sin and accept God’s forgiveness. Turn from your neighbor’s sin and extend that forgiveness. However unwilling or unworthy you feel, forgiveness is yours for the asking.

With the Psalmist, repeat this wonderful refrain until you begin to believe it. “God’s mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)

“Father of mercy, you have cast my sins into the sea and forgotten about them! Help me to tap into your unfathomable mercy.”

Ezekiel 12:1-12 Psalm 78:56-59, 61-62

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 16, 2012:

Our culture is often obsessed with newness. If it’s new, it’s better. Sometimes the old, the tried, and trusted is better. Over the years spouses develop a comfort with each other’s idiosyncrasies. What crazy things do you love about your spouse?

Vultus Christi

An Irish Priest for Priests

By

Father Mark

on August 16, 2012 6:57 AM |

August 16th, 1917: The Anniversary of Father Willam Doyle, S.J.

When Father Willie Doyle entered my life, something happened. It was the beginning of one of those heavenly friendships that make a difference. The anniversary of his death compels me to seek his intercession with confidence. I recommend his friendship and his intercession to all the readers of Vultus Christi.

The marvelous blog, Remembering Father Willlie Doyle, gives the following information on the death of the soldier priest:

It is worth noting that there is some dispute about the exact date of Fr Doyle's death. The earliest sources seem to agree that it was the 16th. Recent references suggest that he died on the 17th while some veterans of the war came forward in the 1940's to state that Fr Doyle was killed on the 15th. Given the horrendous conditions in the war, it is not surprising that such confusion exists.

Pope Benedict XVI to the Church in Ireland

Reading the Holy Father's message to the Church in Ireland, I cannot but relate it to the sufferings, prayers, and holiness of Father William Doyle.

As you take up the challenges of this hour, I ask you to remember "the rock from which you were hewn" (Is 51:1). Reflect upon the generous, often heroic, contributions made by past generations of Irish men and women to the Church and to humanity as a whole, and let this provide the impetus for honest self-examination and a committed programme of ecclesial and individual renewal. It is my prayer that, assisted by the intercession of her many saints and purified through penance, the Church in Ireland will overcome the present crisis and become once more a convincing witness to the truth and the goodness of Almighty God, made manifest in his Son Jesus Christ.

Serving with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 16th Irish Division

Father Doyle, serving with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 16th Irish Division, fell in the Battle of Langemarck doing his duty to God and the many soldiers, of all armies, who also died in the Third Battle of Ypres. Although I have written of Father Willie Doyle elsewhere on Vultus Christi, I want, once again, to make these pages from Alfred O'Rahilly's splendid biography of Father Doyle (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1920) available to the Spiritual Mothers of Priests and to all my readers.

Priestly Sanctity and Reparation

Fr. Doyle had a very high ideal of the sacerdotal vocation. This he showed not only by his efforts to procure labourers for the great harvest, but especially in his own life. His daily Mass, for instance, was celebrated with a fervour which was apparent even to strangers. Phrases, such as Kyrie Eleison, Sursum Corda, Dominus Vobiscum, which by their very iteration tend to become mechanical utterances, seemed on his lips to be always full of freshness and meaning.

The Office: Every Word A Precious Coin

Similarly he always strove to prevent the recitation of the Office from becoming mere routine; he regarded it as a minting of merit, every word a precious coin. He so valued the Sacrament of Penance that he resolved to go daily to Confession. This lofty priestly ideal is made abundantly evident by his growing preoccupation with the work of promoting priestly sanctity and his increasing realisation that, like the great High Priest, he should be "a propitiation for the sins of the people." (Hebr. 2. 17.)

Priest and Victim

We see this idea in the following note: Sacerdos et victima -- Priest and Victim: After the words, Accipe protestatem offere sacrificium Dei*, the ordaining bishop adds, Imitamini quod tractatis. Jesus is a Victim, the priest must be one also. Christ has charged His priest to renew daily the sacrifice of the Cross; the altar is a perpetual Calvary ; the matter of the sacrifice, the victim, is Himself, His own Body, and He is the sacrificer. 'Receive, O Eternal Father, this unspotted Victim.' Can a priest worthy of the name stand by and watch this tremendous act, this heroic sacrifice, without desiring to suffer and to be immolated also? 'With Christ I am nailed to the Cross.' (Gal. 2. 20.) . . . Would that I could say a pure holy spotless victim. Let Jesus take me in His hands, as I take Him in mine, to do as He wills with me."

This idea is quite scriptural. "I beseech you," writes S. Paul, "that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God." "Be you also," says S. Peter (I. 2, 5), "as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Priesthood of the Lay Faithful

This association of priesthood and sacrifice applies also to those who are not priests, to all the faithful, who constitute "a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people." (I Peter 2. 9.) "Pray, Brothers," says the priest at Mass, "that the sacrifice which is mine and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty" And all through the Canon of the Mass the words emphasize the intimate union between celebrant and people in the great mystery which is being enacted. The assistants join not only in offering up the Divine Victim but also, as a water-drop in wine, in offering themselves as 'a living sacrifice.'

Extending and Supplementing the Sacerdotal Work

Thus the Sacrifice of the Mass is the living source from which our reparation derives its efficacy and inspiration. Co-operation in the great mystery of the Redemption, says Blessed Marie-Thérèse Dubouché, the foundress of the Congrégation de l'Adoration Réparatrice, is "the act of the Sacrifice of the Mass continued by the members of the Saviour at every moment of the day and night." And this ideal of co-sacrifice with Christ leads naturally from an appreciation of the sublime function of the priesthood to the idea of a spiritual crusade, extending and supplementing the sacerdotal work and atoning for the inevitable negligences and even scandals which occur in its performance.

Prayer for Priests

This is the devotion which, during the last three years of his life, strongly took hold of Fr. Doyle, namely, prayer for priests to aid them in their ministry and reparation in atonement for the negligences and infidelities of those whose calling is so high. We have already seen how earnestly he besought prayers for his own work. Saint Teresa of Avila exhorts her nuns to this apostolate of prayer. "Try to be such," she says, 3 "that we may be worthy to obtain these two favours from God: (1) that among the numerous learned and religious (priests) whom we have, there may be many who possess the requisite abilities . . . and that our Lord would improve those that are not so well prepared, since one perfect man can do more than many imperfect ones; (2) that our Lord may protect them in their great warfare, so that they may escape the many dangers of the world." She considered that her Carmelites, enjoying the seclusion and immunity of the cloister, owed this duty to the Church Militant.

Blessed Marie de Jésus Deluil-Martiny

This ideal is still more conspicuously enshrined in some recent religious institutes, particularly in the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus founded by Blessed Marie de Jésus Deluil-Martiny. These sisters are "to ask by fervent prayers, by sufferings and even by their lives, if necessary, for the outpouring of grace on the Church, on the Catholic priesthood and on religious orders." In his Brief to Mgr. van den Berghe, 14th March, 1872, Pius IX welcomed the new foundation. "It is not without consolation of heart," said the Pope, "that we have heard of your plan to arouse and spread in your country that admirable spirit of sacrifice which God apparently wishes to oppose to the ever increasing impiety of our time. We see with pleasure that a great number of persons are everywhere devoting themselves entirely to God, offering Him even their life in ardent prayer, to obtain the deliverance and happy preservation of His Vicar and the triumph of the Church, to make reparation for the outrages committed against the divine Majesty, and especially to atone for the profanations of those who, though the salt of the earth, lead a life which is not in conformity with their dignity."

Reparation: Horizons Opened Up for the Weak

The seal of the Church has therefore been set on this apostolate of prayer and reparation. There is, needless to say, no question of pride or presumption, no attempting to judge others. It is merely the just principle that those who are specially shielded and privileged should aid those active religious - priests, brothers and sisters - who have great responsibilities and a difficult mission, and should by their faithfulness atone for the shortcomings of those who are exposed to greater temptations. "More than ever," says Cardinal Mermillod, "is it necessary to console the wounded Heart of Jesus, to pray for the priesthood, and by immolation and adoration, without measure or truce to give our Saviour testimony of affection and fidelity." "There is much which needs reparation," writes Mgr. d'Hulst, "even in the sanctuary and the cloisters, and indeed especially there. Our Lord expects compensation from souls who have not abused special graces." "How grievous are these scandals!" he exclaims in another letter. "Only the thought of reparation can soften the bitterness of them. To take expiation on oneself is to be like Him of whom it is said: Vere languores nostros ipse tulit et dolores nostros ipse portavit, "Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows." (Isaias 53, 4) If this thought had thoroughly entered into us, without running after great penances, should we not give quite another reception than we usually do to sufferings, vexations, and the dulness and bitterness of our poor lives? And then the thought of reparation is so beneficial to poor souls like ours! It is a great mistake to think it is the privilege of the perfect. On the contrary, it pleases our Lord to open up these horizons to the weak, to give them courage by turning their attention away from their own wretchedness. If I am incapable of satisfying God in myself, I will try to make up to Him for others. If I cannot lament my own ingratitude sufficiently, I will learn to do so by lamenting for others."

Secret Apostolate of Victim Souls for Priests

These consoling words will help to convince those whose ideal of holiness is unconsciously individualistic and self-centred, that the ideal of reparation by no means implies the possession or the delusion of perfection. Of course in all this there may creep in some spirit of censorious self-sufficiency, though indeed there is not much danger of it in the hidden humble lives of those victim-souls who are devoted to the secret apostolate of prayer for God s ministers and reparation for those scandals and infidelities which occur from time to time in the Church. It has, therefore, seemed right to show briefly here, by way of preface to Fr. Doyle's private notes, how explicitly this work of priestly sanctification and reparation has been recognised by the Church and adopted by saints and mystics.

To Obtain Grace for Other Priests

This ideal appealed greatly to Fr. Doyle. On 28th July, 1914, the anniversary of his Ordination, he wrote: "At Exposition Jesus spoke clearly in my soul, 'Do the hard thing for My sake because it is hard.' I also felt urged to perform all my priestly duties with great fervour to obtain grace for other priests to do the same, e.g. the Office, that priests may say theirs well." On the Feast of St. Teresa, October, 1914, there is this simple but eloquent record: "Last night I rose at one a.m. and walked two miles barefooted in reparation for the sins of priests to the chapel at Murrough (Co. Clare), where I made the Holy Hour. God made me realise the merit of each step, and I understood better how much I gain by not reading the paper; each picture, each sentence sacrificed means additional merit. I felt a greater longing for self-inflicted suffering and a determination to do more little things.'"

Chosen by God for Priests

During his 1914 retreat this ideal came home to him as a special mission. "The great light of this retreat, clear and persistent," he writes on 1st December, "has been that God has chosen me, in His great love and through compassion for my weakness and misery, to be a victim of reparation for the sins of priests especially; that hence my life must be different in the matter of penance, self-denial and prayer, from the lives of others not given this special grace they may meritoriously do what I cannot; that unless I constantly live up to the life of a willing victim, I shall not please our Lord nor ever become a saint - it is the price of my sanctification; that Jesus asks this from me always and in every lawful thing, so that I can sum up my life 'sacrifice always in all things.'"

League of Priestly Sanctity

On the following Christmas Day (1914) Fr. Doyle records a further step. "During midnight Mass at Dalkey Convent I made the oblation of myself as a member of the League of Priestly Sanctity.* During my preparation beforehand a sudden strong conviction took possession of me that by doing so, I was about to begin the 'work' which - had spoken of. Our Lord gave me great graces during the Mass and urged me more strongly than ever to throw myself into the work of my sanctification, that so I may draw many other priests to Him. He wants the greatest possible fervour and exactness in all priestly duties."

* The League of Priestly Sanctity, to which reference is here made, was founded in the North of France in the year 1901, under the direction of Père Feyerstein, S.J. (+ 1911). Fr. Doyle became Director-General for Ireland and strove to spread the League among Irish priests. In an explanatory leaflet which he issued, it is described as "an association of priests, both secular and regular, who, in response to the desire of the Sacred Heart, strive to help each other to become holy and thus render themselves worthy of their sublime calling and raise the standard of sacerdotal sanctity." Two special objects are enumerated: "(1) The assistance of priests, and especially those of the League, in living a life worthy of their high calling. (2) The atonement for outrages to the Sacred Heart in the Sacrament of His love. This Sacrament, needless to say, is committed to priests in a special manner; and there ought to be a priestly expiation for irreverence, negligence, and particularly sacrilegious Masses, which the Divine Heart has to endure from the very ministers of His altar.

Fr. Doyle had this League very much at heart and had prepared several schemes for its spread and improvement when his appointment as military chaplain interrupted the work. But while engaged in this novel sphere of activity, the ideal of a life of reparation remained uppermost in his mind and once more the special form which it took was expiation for the negligences and sins of God's anointed. He recorded this resolution on 26th July, 1916: "During a visit our Lord seemed to urge me not to wait till the end of the war, but to begin my life of reparation at once, in some things at least. I have begun to keep a book of acts done with this intention. He asked me for these sacrifices, (1) To rise at night in reparation for priests who lie in bed instead of saying Mass. (2) At all costs to make the 50,000 aspirations. (3) To give up illustrated papers. (4) To kiss floor of churches. (5) Breviary always kneeling. (6) Mass with intense devotion. The Blessed Curé d'Ars used to kneel without support while saying the Office. Could not I?"

Reparation and Penance for the Sins of Priests

"This is my vocation," he notes on 8th February, 1917, "reparation and penance for the sins of priests; hence the constant urging of our Lord to generosity." Appropriately enough the last entry in his diary was made on 28th July, 1917, the tenth anniversary of his ordination. Fr. Doyle's last recorded thought was about his sacrificial ideal of priestly immolation.

All That Happens, Sent by Jesus

"The reading of La vie réparatrice (Canon Leroux de Bretagne, Desclée 1909) has made me long more to take up this life in earnest. I have again offered myself to Jesus as His Victim to do with me absolutely as He pleases. I will try to take all that happens, no matter from whom it comes, as sent to me by Jesus and will bear suffering, heat, cold, etc., with joy as part of my immolation, in reparation for the sins of priests. From this day I shall try bravely to bear all 'little pains' in this spirit. A strong urging to this."

Regnum Christi

Human Harshness vs. the Charity of a Saint

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Father Steven Reilly, LC

Matthew 18:21 - 19:1

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ´Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.´ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ´Pay back what you owe.´ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ´Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.´ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ´You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?´ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe you are present here with me as I begin this moment of prayer. I hope in you. I know that you will always take care of me. I want this time with you to be a sign of my love for you. I seek only to please you, without desiring any spiritual consolation for myself.

Petition: Lord, grant me a more forgiving heart!

1. Human Harshness: “He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’” The Gospel gives a startling example of human harshness. History recalls another one. In Auschwitz, the camp deputy commander, Karl Fritzch, decided that the most effective way to keep prisoners from trying to escape would be an overwhelming example of reprisal. Ten men in Block 13 were picked out for starvation. The thought of innocent men dying because of another’s escape would definitely make anyone think twice about it. The master of our Lord’s story is angry at the harshness of his servant. We can only imagine the Lord’s anger at the harshness of a place like Auschwitz, called by Pope Benedict, “a place of horror” and “unprecedented mass crimes” (May 28, 2006). Let us purge our own hearts of the evil of harshness, which brings down such misery on our own soul.

2. St. Maximilian Steps Forward: The Lord’s answer to Peter in this Gospel, “not seven times but seventy-seven times,” points to a heroic living of the virtue of charity and forgiveness. St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose feast we celebrated this week, gives us an example of that kind of love. When the commander had picked out his ten victims, St. Maximilian had been passed over. No doubt the others who were spared were breathing intense sighs of relief. Instead, St. Maximilian stepped forward and offered to take the place of one of those chosen, Franciszek Gajowniczek, who cried out in anguish over his family. We can only shake our heads in amazement that the flame of love could burn so brightly in that “place of horror.”

3. The Cross Sets the Standard: The examples of the saints challenge us. They don’t give us a “superhuman” example, but rather the testimony of what men and women are capable of doing when they allow the grace of God to work in their souls. We, too, have many occasions when we are called to live a higher degree of virtue, but so often we cut ourselves a little too much slack. When Peter asked about a seven-fold forgiveness, he was being quite generous. But the “seventy-seven times” that Jesus speaks about is measured against the Cross, the symbol of the Lord’s infinite love and forgiveness. Saints like Kolbe understood this. Let’s try to imitate it today, in ways both big and small.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I can only be amazed at your work through the soul of St. Maximilian Kolbe. You enabled him to lay down his life for another, in imitation of your own self-sacrificing love. Help me to embrace the same path of love and forgiveness.

Resolution: I will immediately forgive any wrongs I suffer today, and I will try to sacrifice myself in a hidden way for someone else.

The Freedom of Forgiveness

First Reading: 1 Ez. 12:1-12
Psalm: Ps. 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62
Gospel: Mt. 18:21-19:1

Forgiveness is a way of living, of developing a habit of pardoning others for the little everyday hurts and annoyances and pardoning ourselves for small things as well. In short, forgiveness is choosing to love. It takes the hurt, acknowledges the problem, accepts the person, and goes forward from there. Forgiveness frees the forgiver and the one who accepts forgiveness and helps the forgiver and the forgiven to love and grow. Forgiveness heals relationships and heals the spirit.

Without forgiveness, we are condemned to live with resentment or guilt. Without forgiveness, bad feelings will deepen and harden. Instead of human fellowship, there will be separate individual prisons. When someone injures us and we hold onto the hurt, we cannot love.

To err is human, to forgive divine. We must imitate divine forgiveness. Nothing makes us more like God than to be always willing to forgive. It is a fearful thought that others may only see God as they see God in us.

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, August 16, 2012 >>

St. Stephen of Hungary
Saint of the Day

Ezekiel 12:1-12
View Readings

Psalm 78:56-59, 61-62

Matthew 18:21—19:1

"I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION"

"One was brought in who owed him a huge amount." —Matthew 18:24

The original Greek of Matthew's parable sheds light on the great difference between the two debts Jesus discusses. The first servant owed the master "a huge amount" (Mt 18:24), a term which translates to over 100,000 years' wages. The second servant owed "a mere fraction" (Mt 18:28), amounting to about one-hundred days' wages in the Greek. The second debt could realistically be repaid, while repayment of the first debt was impossible.

It was ludicrous for the first servant to contend that he could actually pay the master back 100,000 years' wages (Mt 18:26). He was out of touch with reality. The realistic response would be to fall on his knees and beg for complete mercy (see Lk 18:13) rather than beg for the opportunity to repay his debt, which was impossible (see Ps 49:8-9). Yet this servant wanted to be justified through his own actions. Out of pity, the master forgave the debt. However, the first servant still hadn't changed his mindset or his heart. His approach was still to satisfy debts through payment, not a write-off. So he arrested the one who owed him a debt (Mt 18:30).

If we attempt to justify ourselves with God by our efforts, we will fail (Gal 5:4-5), we won't want to forgive others (Mt 18:30), and we condemn ourselves to be damned (Mt 6:12, 15; 18:34-35). Let's never lose sight of how much God has forgiven us — even for a moment. Then let us totally lose sight of what others have done to us. Let us live to forgive, and forgive so as to live.

Prayer: Father, I accept Your grace to forgive from my heart and with my mind everyone who has hurt me. Bless them with peace.

Promise: "I have made you a sign." —Ez 12:6

Praise: St. Stephen, king of Hungary, prepared himself for battle with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."

~Ronald Reagan, quoted in New York Times, 22 September 1980

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 18
21.	Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?	Tunc accedens Petrus ad eum, dixit : Domine, quoties peccabit in me frater meus, et dimittam ei ? usque septies ?	τοτε προσελθων αυτω ο πετρος ειπεν κυριε ποσακις αμαρτησει εις εμε ο αδελφος μου και αφησω αυτω εως επτακις
22.	Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.	Dicit illi Jesus : Non dico tibi usque septies : sed usque septuagies septies.	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους ου λεγω σοι εως επτακις αλλ εως εβδομηκοντακις επτα
23.	Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.	Ideo assimilatum est regnum cælorum homini regi, qui voluit rationem ponere cum servis suis.	δια τουτο ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω βασιλει ος ηθελησεν συναραι λογον μετα των δουλων αυτου
24.	And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.	Et cum cœpisset rationem ponere, oblatus est ei unus, qui debebat ei decem millia talenta.	αρξαμενου δε αυτου συναιρειν προσηνεχθη αυτω εις οφειλετης μυριων ταλαντων
25.	And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.	Cum autem non haberet unde redderet, jussit eum dominus ejus venundari, et uxorem ejus, et filios, et omnia quæ habebat, et reddi.	μη εχοντος δε αυτου αποδουναι εκελευσεν αυτον ο κυριος αυτου πραθηναι και την γυναικα αυτου και τα τεκνα και παντα οσα ειχεν και αποδοθηναι
26.	But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.	Procidens autem servus ille, orabat eum, dicens : Patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi.	πεσων ουν ο δουλος προσεκυνει αυτω λεγων κυριε μακροθυμησον επ εμοι και παντα σοι αποδωσω
27.	And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.	Misertus autem dominus servi illius, dimisit eum, et debitum dimisit ei.	σπλαγχνισθεις δε ο κυριος του δουλου εκεινου απελυσεν αυτον και το δανειον αφηκεν αυτω
28.	But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest.	Egressus autem servus ille invenit unum de conservis suis, qui debebat ei centum denarios : et tenens suffocavit eum, dicens : Redde quod debes.	εξελθων δε ο δουλος εκεινος ευρεν ενα των συνδουλων αυτου ος ωφειλεν αυτω εκατον δηναρια και κρατησας αυτον επνιγεν λεγων αποδος μοι ει τι οφειλεις
29.	And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.	Et procidens conservus ejus, rogabat eum, dicens : Patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi.	πεσων ουν ο συνδουλος αυτου εις τους ποδας αυτου παρεκαλει αυτον λεγων μακροθυμησον επ εμοι και αποδωσω σοι
30.	And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.	Ille autem noluit : sed abiit, et misit eum in carcerem donec redderet debitum.	ο δε ουκ ηθελεν αλλα απελθων εβαλεν αυτον εις φυλακην εως ου αποδω το οφειλομενον
31.	Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.	Videntes autem conservi ejus quæ fiebant, contristati sunt valde : et venerunt, et narraverunt domino suo omnia quæ facta fuerant.	ιδοντες δε οι συνδουλοι αυτου τα γενομενα ελυπηθησαν σφοδρα και ελθοντες διεσαφησαν τω κυριω εαυτων παντα τα γενομενα
32.	Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:	Tunc vocavit illum dominus suus : et ait illi : Serve nequam, omne debitum dimisi tibi quoniam rogasti me :	τοτε προσκαλεσαμενος αυτον ο κυριος αυτου λεγει αυτω δουλε πονηρε πασαν την οφειλην εκεινην αφηκα σοι επει παρεκαλεσας με
33.	Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?	nonne ergo oportuit et te misereri conservi tui, sicut et ego tui misertus sum ?	ουκ εδει και σε ελεησαι τον συνδουλον σου ως και εγω σε ηλεησα
34.	And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.	Et iratus dominus ejus tradidit eum tortoribus, quoadusque redderet universum debitum.	και οργισθεις ο κυριος αυτου παρεδωκεν αυτον τοις βασανισταις εως ου αποδω παν το οφειλομενον αυτω
35.	So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.	Sic et Pater meus cælestis faciet vobis, si non remiseritis unusquisque fratri suo de cordibus vestris.	ουτως και ο πατηρ μου ο επουρανιος ποιησει υμιν εαν μη αφητε εκαστος τω αδελφω αυτου απο των καρδιων υμων τα παραπτωματα αυτων
	Matthew 19
1.	AND it came to pass when Jesus had ended these words, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan.	Et factum est, cum consumasset Jesus sermones istos, migravit a Galilæa, et venit in fines Judææ trans Jordanem,	και εγενετο οτε ετελεσεν ο ιησους τους λογους τουτους μετηρεν απο της γαλιλαιας και ηλθεν εις τα ορια της ιουδαιας περαν του ιορδανου

21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22. Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

JEROME; The Lord had said above, See that you despise not one of these little ones, and had added, If your brother sin against you, &c. making also a promise, If two of you, &c. by which the Apostle Peter was led to ask, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? And to his question he adds an opinion, Until seven times?

CHRYS; Peter thought that he had made a large allowance; but what answers Christ the Lover of men? it follows, Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times, but, Until seventy times seven.

AUG; I am bold to say, that if he shall sin seventy-eight times, you should forgive him; yea, and if a hundred; and how often so if ever he sin against you, forgive him. For if Christ found a thousand sins, yet forgave them all, do not you withdraw your forgiveness. For the Apostle says, Forgiving one another, if any man have quarrel against any, even as God in Christ forgave you.

CHRYS; When He says, Until seventy times seven, He does not limit a definite number within which forgiveness must be kept; but He signifies thereby something endless and ever enduring.

AUG; Yet not without reason did the Lord say, Seventy times seven; for the Law is set forth in ten precepts; and the Law is signified by the number ten, sin by eleven, because it is passing the denary line. Seven is used to be put for a whole, because time goes round in seven days. Take eleven seven times, and you have seventy. He would therefore have all trespasses forgiven, for this is what He signifies by the number seventy-seven.

ORIGEN; Or, because the number six seems to denote toil and labor, and the number seven repose, He says that forgiveness should be given to all brethren who live in this world, and sin in the things of this world. But if any commit transgressions beyond these things, he shall then have no further forgiveness.

JEROME; Or understand it of four hundred and ninety times, that He bids us forgive our brother so oft.

RABAN; It is one thing to give pardon to a brother when he seeks it, that he may live with us in social charity, as Joseph to his brethren; and another to a hostile foe, that we may wish him good, and if we can do him good, as David mourning for Saul.

23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe.
29. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done.
32. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said to him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me:
33. Should not you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?
34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.
35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also to you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

CHRYS; That none should think that the Lord had enjoined something great and burdensome in saying that we must forgive till seventy times seven, He adds a parable.

JEROME; For it is customary with the Syrians, especially they of Palestine, to add a parable to what they speak, that what their hearers might not retain simply, and in itself, the instance and similitude may be the means of retaining.

ORIGEN; The Son of God, as He is wisdom, righteousness, and truth, so is He a kingdom; not indeed any of those which are beneath, but all those which are above, reigning over those in whose senses reigns justice and the other virtues; these are made of heaven because they bear the image of the heavenly. This kingdom of heaven then, i.e. the Son of God, when He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, was then like to a king, in uniting man to himself.

REMIG; Or, by the kingdom of heaven is reasonably understood the holy Church, in which the Lord works what He speaks of in this parable. By the man is sometimes represented the Father, as in that, The kingdom of heaven is like to a king who made a marriage for his son; and sometimes the Son; but here we may take it for both, the Father and the Son, who are one God. God is called a King, inasmuch as He created and governs all things.

ORIGEN; The servants, in these parables, are only they who are employed in dispensing the word, and to whom this business is committed.

REMIG; Or, by the servants of this King are signified all mankind whom He has created for His own praise, and to whom He gave the law of nature; He takes account with them, when He would look into each man's manners, life, and deeds, that He may render to each according to that He has done; as it follows, And when He had begun to reckon, one was brought to Him which owed Him ten thousand talents.

ORIGEN; The King takes account of our whole life then, when we must all be presented before the judgment-seat of Christ We mean not this so as that any should think that the business itself must needs require a long time. For God, when He will scrutinize the minds of all, will by some indescribable power cause every thing that every man has done to pass speedily before the mind of each. He says, And when he began to take account, because the beginning of the judgment is that it begin from the house of God. At His beginning to take account there is brought to Him one who owes Him many talents; one, that is, who had wrought great evils; one on whom much had been enjoined' and had yet et brought no gain; who perhaps had destroyed as many men as he owed talents; one who was therefore become a debtor of many talents, because he had followed the woman sitting upon a talent of lead, whose name is Iniquity.

JEROME; I know that some interpret the man who he owed the ten thousand talents to be the devil, and by his wife and children who were to be sold when he persevered in his wickedness, understand foolishness, and hurtful thoughts. For as wisdom is called the wife of the righteous man, so the wife of the unrighteous and the sinner is called foolishness. But how the Lord remits to the devil ten thousand talents, and how he would not remit ten denarii to us his fellow-servants, of this is there its no ecclesiastical interpretation, nor is it to be admitted by thoughtful men.

AUG; Therefore let us say, that because the Law is set forth in ten precepts, the ten thousand talents which he owed denote all sins which can be done under the Law.

REMIG; Man who sinned of his own will and choice, has no power to rise again by his own endeavor, and has not wherewith to pay, because he finds nothing in himself by which he may loose himself from his sins; whence it follows, And when he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The fool's wife is folly, and the pleasure or lust of the flesh.

AUG; This signifies that the transgressor of the decalogue deserves punishment for his rusts and evil deeds; and that is his price; for the price for which they sell is the punishment of him that is damned.

CHRYS; This command issued not of cruelty, but of unspeakable tenderness. For he seeks by these terrors to bring him to plead that he be not sold, which fell out, as he shows when he adds, The servant therefore fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

REMIG; That he says, falling down, shows how the sinner humbled himself, and offered amends. Have patience with me, expresses the sinner's prayer, begging respite, and space to correct his error. Abundant is the bounty of God, and His clemency to sinners converted, seeing He is ever ready to forgive sins by baptism or penitence, as it follows, But the lord of that servant had mercy upon him, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

CHRYS; See the exuberance of heavenly love! The servant asked only a brief respite, but he gives him more than he had asked, a full remittance and canceling of the w hole debt. He was minded to have forgiven him from the very first, but he would not have it to be of his own mere motion, but also of the other's suit, that he might not depart without a gift. But he did not remit the debt till he had taken account, because he would have him know how great debts he set him free of, that by this he should at the least be made more merciful to his fellow servants. And indeed as far as what has gone he was worthy to be accepted; for he made confession, and promised that he would pay the debt, and fell down and begged, and confessed the greatness of his debt. But his after deeds were unworthy of the former, for it follows, But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants which owed him a hundred denarii.

AUG; That He says he owed him a hundred denarii is taken from the same number, ten, the number of the Law. For a hundred times a hundred are ten thousand, and ten times ten are a hundred; and those ten thousand talents and these hundred denarii are still keeping to the number of the Law; in both of them you find sins. Both are debtors, both are suitors for remission; so every man is himself a debtor to God, and has his brother his debtor.

CHRYS; But there is as great difference between sins committed against men, and sins committed against God, as between ten thousand talents and a hundred denarii; yes rather there is still greater difference. This appears from the difference of the persons, and from the fewness of the offenders. For when we are seen of man we withhold and are loath to sin, but we cease not daily though God see us, but act and speak all things fearlessly. Not by this only are our sins against God shown to be more heinous, but also by reason of the benefits which we have received from Him; He gave us being, and has done all things in our behalf, has breathed into us a rational soul, has sent His Son, has opened heaven to us, and made us His sons. If then we should every day die for Him, could we make Him any worthy return? By no means; it should rather redound again to our advantage. But, on the contrary, w e offend against His laws.

REMIG; So by him who owed ten thousand talents are represented those that commit the greater crimes; by the debtor of a hundred denarii those who commit the lesser.

JEROME; That this may be made plainer, let us speak it in instances. If any one of you shall have committed an adultery, a homicide, or a sacrilege, these greater sins of ten thousand talents shall be remitted when you beg for it, if you also shall remit lesser offenses to those that trespass against you.

AUG; But this unworthy, unjust servants would not render that which had been rendered to him, for it follows, And he laid hands on him, and held him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe.

REMIG; That is, he pressed him hardly, that he might exact vengeance from him.

ORIGEN; He therefore, as I suppose, took him by the throat, because he had come forth from the king; for he would not have so handled his fellow servant, if he had not gone forth from the king.

CHRYS; By saying, as he went out, He shows that it was not after long time, but immediately; while the favor he had received still sounded in his ears, he abused to wickedness the liberty his lord had accorded him. What the other did is added; And his fellow-servant fell down, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

ORIGEN; Observe the exactness of Scripture; the servant who owed many talents fell down, and worshipped the king; he who owed the hundred denarii falling down, did not worship, but besought his fellow servant, saying, Have patience. But the ungrateful servant did not even respect the very words which had saved himself, for it follows, but he would not.

AUG; That is, he nourished such thoughts towards him that he sought his punishment. But he went his way.

REMIG; That is, his wrath was the rather inflamed, to exact vengeance of him; And he cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt; that is, he seized his brother, and exacted vengeance of him.

CHRYS; Observe the Lord's tenderness, and the servant's cruelty; the one for ten thousand talents, the other for ten denarii; the one a suitor to his fellow, the other to his lord; the one obtained entire remission,, the other sought only respite, but he got it not They who owed nothing, grieved with him; his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very sorry.

AUG; By the fellow-servants is understood the Church, which binds one and looses another.

REMIG; Or perhaps they represent the Angels, or the preachers of the holy Church, or any of the faithful, who when they see a brother whose sins are forgiven refusing to forgive his fellow-servant, they are sorrowful over his perdition. And they came, and told their lord what was as done. They came not in body, but in spirit. To tell their Lord, is to show the woe and sorrow of the heart in their carriage. It follows, Then his lord called him. He called him by the sentence of death, and bade him pass out of this world, and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.

CHRYS; When he owed him ten thousand talents, he did not call him wicked, nor did he at all chide him, but had mercy on him; but now when he had been ungenerous to his fellow-servant, then he says to him, you wicked servant; and this is what is said, Ought you not to have had mercy upon your fellow-servant.

REMIG; And it is to be known, that we read no answer made by that servant to his lord; by which it is shown us, that in the day of judgment, and altogether after this life, all excusing of ourselves shall be cut off.

CHRYS; Because kindness had not mended him, it remains that he be corrected by punishment; whence it follows, And the lord of that servant was as angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay the whole debt. He said not merely, Delivered him, but was angry, this he had not said before; when his Lord commanded that he should be sold; for that was not in wrath, but in love, for his correction; now this is a sentence of penalty and punishment.

REMIG; For God is said then to be wroth, when he takes vengeance on sinners. Torturers are intended for the demons, who are always ready to take up lost souls, and torture them in the pangs of eternal punishment. Will any who is once sunk into everlasting condemnation ever come to find season of repentance, and a way to escape? Never; that until is put for infinity; and the meaning is, He shall be ever paying, and shall never quit the debt, but shall be ever under punishment.

CHRYS; By this is shown that his punishment shall be increasing and eternal, and that he shall never pay. And however irrevocable are the graces and callings of God, yet wickedness has that force, that it seems to break even this law.

AUG; For God says, Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; I have first forgiven, forgive you then after Me; for if you forgive not, I will call you back, and will require again all that I had remitted to you. For Christ neither deceives nor is deceived; and He adds here, This will my heavenly Father do to you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. It is better that you should cry out with your mouth, and forgive in your heart, than that you should speak smoothly, and be unrelenting in your heart. For the Lord adds, From your hearts, to the end that though, out of affection you put him to discipline, yet gentleness should not depart out of your heart. What is more beneficial than the knife of the surgeon? He is rough with the sore that the man may be healed; should he be tender with the sore, the man were lost.

JEROME; Also this, from your hearts, is added to take away all feigned reconciliations. Therefore the Lord's command to Peter under this similitude of the king and his servant who owed him ten thousand talents, and was forgiven by his lord upon his entreaty, is, that he also should forgive his fellow-servants their lesser trespasses.

ORIGEN; He seeks to instruct us, that we should be ready to show clemency to those who have done us harm, especially if they offer amends, and plead to have forgiveness.

RABAN; Allegorically; The servant here who owed the ten thousand talents, is the Jewish people bound to the Ten Commandments in the Law. These the Lord oft forgave their trespasses, when being in difficulties they besought His mercy; but when they were set free, they exacted the utmost with great severity from all their debtors; and of the gentile people which they hated, they required circumcision and the ceremonies of the Law; yes, the Prophets and Apostles they barbarously put to death. For all this the Lord gave them over into the hands of the Romans as to evil spirits, who should punish them with eternal tortures.

Catena Aurea Matthew 18

1. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan;

CHRYS; The Lord had before left Judea because of their jealousy, but now He keeps Himself more to it, because His passion was near at hand. Yet does He not go up to Judea itself, but into the borders of Judea; whence it is said, And it came to pass when Jesus had ended all these sayings, he departed from Galilee.

RABAN; Here then He begins to relate what He did, taught, or suffered in Judea. At first beyond Jordan eastward, afterwards on this side Jordan when He came to Jericho, Bethphage, and Jerusalem; whence it follows, And He came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; As the righteous Lord of all, who loves these servants so as not to despise those.

RABAN; It should be known, that the whole territory of the Israelites was called Judea, to distinguish it from other nations. But its southern portion, inhabited by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, was called Judea proper, to distinguish it from other districts in the same province as Samaria, Galilee, Decapolis, and the rest. It follows, And great multitudes followed him.

Catena Aurea Matthew 19

Royal Door

Unknown Cretan iconographer

1450-1500
Egg tempera on spruce, 116 x 59 cm
Ikonen-Museum, Recklinghausen

The double door was the central entrance of a templon (an iconostasis) and once led to the sanctuary (bema). What is striking is the shape of the door with its twice-curved ogee arch, a feature that is known neither from Byzantine nor Russian royal doors. During the Byzantine period, double doors with a round arch were customary. They replaced the curtains which had previously been used to cover the entrances to the templon.

The door is decorated with images painted on it over a gold background. The top left image shows the Archangel Michael in armour holding a raised sword, the top right image depicts Gabriel holding a staff and a sphaira (orb). Painted on the door's lower zone are the abbot Saint Zosimas and the ascetic hermit Mary of Egypt. They are represented at the moment when Zosimas administers communion to the former prostitute as a sign of forgiveness; she had atoned her sins as an anchorite in the desert for 47 years.

Source

August 16, 2012

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ez 12:1-12

Responsorial Psalm Ps 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62

Gospel Mt 18:21–19:1

St. Stephen of Hungary

Daily Readings for: August 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time: August 16th

Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary

Meditation: Matthew 18:21–19:1

An Irish Priest for Priests

The Freedom of Forgiveness

One Bread, One Body

"I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION"

August 16, 2012

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ez 12:1-12

Responsorial Psalm Ps 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62

Gospel Mt 18:21–19:1

St. Stephen of Hungary

Daily Readings for: August 16, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time: August 16th

Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary

Meditation: Matthew 18:21–19:1

An Irish Priest for Priests

The Freedom of Forgiveness

One Bread, One Body

"I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION"

Daily Readings for: August 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)