Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 08-19-12, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 08-19-12 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

August 19, 2012

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Reading 1 Prv 9:1-6

Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
"Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2 Eph 5:15-20

Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

Gospel Jn 6:51-58

Jesus said to the crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

[Salvation]

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From: Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom’s invitation to her banquet

---

[1] Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven pillars.
[2] She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
[3] She has sent out her maids to call
from the highest places in the town,
[4] “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who is without sense she says,
[5] “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
[6] Leave simpleness, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

9:1-6. The introduction to the book of Proverbs ends with an invitation from Wis-
dom to attend a banquet she is holding at her house. This meal is a symbol for
the teachings of the wise men; those who listen to them assimilate those tea-
chings, which become part of them (cf. Sir 24:26-29; Ezek 3).

This nourishment prefigures the true Bread of Life (cf. Jn 4:14; 6:35) that God
will give mankind — the Body of the Incarnate Word, of Wisdom made man. An
ancient Christian writer puts these words on Jesus’ lips: “To those who are lac-
king in the good works of faith as well as to those who desire to lead a more
perfect life, he says: ‘Come, eat of my body, which is the bread that will nourish
and strengthen you; drink my blood, which is the wine of heavenly teaching that
brings you delight and makes you holy; I have mixed my blood with my divinity
for your salvation’” (Procopius of Gaza, “In librum Proverbiorum”, 9).

The “seven pillars” of Wisdom’s house (v. 1 ) may be a reference to its perfection
(seven was a symbol for perfection), but it is more likely to refer to the seven col-
lections of proverbs that go to make up this book — those of Solomon (10:1-22:
16). the wise men (22:17-24:22), another collection of words of the wise (24:23-
34); Solomon again (25:1-29:27); Agur (30:1-14); the Numerical Proverbs (30:15-
33) and the words of Lemuel (31:1-9). The fact that there are seven means that
the wisdom taught in the book is perfect (it includes, we know, wisdom of Israel,
and wisdom from the countries round about).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

From: Ephesians 5:15-20

Walking in the Light (Continuation)

---

[15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, [16]
making the most of the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not
be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. [18] And do not get drunk
with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, [19] addressing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
to the Lord with all your heart, [20] always and for everything giving thanks in the
name of our Lord Jesus to God the Father.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

15-17. The new life one receives in Baptism is characterized by a wisdom which
contrasts with the foolishness of those who are bent on turning their backs on
God (cf. 1 Cor 1:18). This wisdom, this sanity, stems from ones’ knowledge of
the will of God and full identification with his plans. When a person’s life is cohe-
rent with his faith, true wisdom is the result; and this immediately leads him to
“make the most of the time” (”redeeming the time”, in the famous words of the
King James version). In fact, we have to make up for lost time. “Redeeming the
time”, St Augustine explains, “means sacrificing, when the need arises, present
interests in favor of eternal ones, thereby purchasing eternity with the coin of
time” (”Sermon 16”, 2).

The word “kairos”, translated as “time”, has a more specific meaning in Greek.
In refers to the content of the point in time in which we find ourselves, the situa-
tion which it creates, and the opportunities which that very moment offers as re-
gards the ultimate purpose of this life. Hence, “making the most of the time” is
saying much more than “not wasting a minute”: it means “using every situation
and every moment” to give glory to God. For, “time is a treasure that melts away,”
St. Escriva reminds us. “It escapes from us, slipping through our fingers like wa-
ter through the mountain rocks. Tomorrow will soon be another yesterday. Our
lives are so very short. Yesterday has gone and today is passing by. But what a
great deal can be done for the love of God in this short space of time!” (”Friends
of God”, 52).

This is a particularly pressing matter, “because the days are evil”, as the Apostle
puts it. St Peter makes the same point: “Be sober, be watchful, Your adversary
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him,
firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your
brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Pet 5:8-9).

18. This verse is an invitation to temperance. In a pagan environment, o easily to
be found then and now, one often meets people who think that happiness and joy
can be attained simply though material things. Nothing could be further from the
truth. St Paul identifies the source of true happiness—docility to the action of the
Holy Spirit in one’s soul. This docility gives a peace and a joy which the world is
incapable of providing.

Temperance is “the virtue which holds our passion and desires in check, espe-
cially the sensual ones, and which bring us to moderation in using temporal
goods” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 917). This virtue expresses man’s lordship over
everything that God has made, and its practice is essential if one is to see life
from the correct, supernatural, perspective. “Any food excessive to the body’s
need eventually stimulates impurity. A soul in this position, sated with food,
cannot wear the bridle of temperance. So, it is not just wine that intoxicates the
mind. Any kind of excessive eating renders it dull and easily influenced and com-
pletely undermines its purity and integrity” (Cassian, “Institutions”, 5, 6).

Temperance is a sign of the genuineness of the Christian life of the “children of
light”, and it is something that attracts and wins over all naturally noble people.
“Temperance makes the soul sober, modest, understanding. It fosters a natural
sense of reserve which everyone finds attractive because it denotes intelligent
self-control. Temperance implies not narrowness but greatness of soul” (St. J.
Escriva, “Friends of God”, 84).

19. From the very beginning of the Church, Christian liturgy has expressed its ap-
preciation to God through psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles. Because man
is made up of body and soul, proper worship of God needs to have a certain ex-
ternal expression. “God has disposed that ‘while recognizing God in visible form
we may through him be drawn to the love of things invisible’ (Christmas preface).
Moreover it is natural that the outpourings of the soul should be expressed by the
senses” (Pius XII, “Mediator Dei”, 8). In the Church’s liturgical ceremonies, can-
ticles are a form of celebration of the greatness of God, and an expression of gra-
titude for blessings received. For their part, “in the psalms there is an opportunity
for the people to bless and praise God; the psalms express the admiration that
people feel and what the people want to say; in them the Church speaks, the
faith is professed in a melodious way, and authority finds a ready acceptance;
there too is heard the joyful call of freedom, the cry of pleasure and the sound
of happiness” (St Ambrose, “Enarratio in Psalmos” 1, 9).

Dignified recital and chant of liturgical prayers makes for active participation of
the faithful in liturgical ceremonies, allowing everyone to share what St Augustine
tells us was his experience: “I wept at the beauty of your hymns and canticles,
and was powerfully moved by the sweet sound of your Church’s singing. Those
sounds flowed into my ears, and the truth streamed into my heart—so that my
feeling of devotion overflowed, and the tears poured from my eyes, and I was
happy in them” (”Confessions”, 9, 6).

Liturgical prayer in this way becomes a source of genuine fervor and piety, while
at the same time promoting solidarity with other members of the Church, not on-
ly those who praise God while still on their earthly pilgrimage, but also those who
unceasingly glorify him in heaven. “What a wonderful thing it is to imitate on earth
the choir of angels!”, St Basil explains; “preparing oneself for prayer at the first
hour of the day and glorifying the Creator with hymns and praise. And later, when
the sun is at its height, full of splendor and light, doing one’s work to the accom-
paniment of prayer on all sides, seasoning one’s actions, so to speak, with the
salt of ejaculatory prayers” (”Epistle”, II, 3).

20. We need to be continually thanking God, “for everything works for good with
those who love (God)” (Rom 8:28) or, in another version, “everything helps to se-
cure the good of those who love God” (Knox). Everything that happens in life falls
within the providence of God. He permits us to experience sorrows and joys,
successes and failures. Therefore, for a Christian who acts in line with his faith,
everything is success, even things which in human terms he may find negative
and painful; for, if he views disagreeable things in a supernatural way and approa-
ches them with love for Christ’s cross, they bring him joy and peace and merit.
That is why we should always be grateful to God: “Get used to lifting your heart
to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day. Because he gives you this
and that. Because you have been despised. Because you haven’t what you need
or because you have [...]. Thank him for everything, because everything is good”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 268).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

Sorry everyone, the number 5 and I are not getting along tonight. I’m getting it fixed.

[Religion Moderator]

This Religion Forum thread is labeled “Catholic Caucus” meaning if you are not currently, actively Catholic then do not post on this thread.

[Salvation]

From: John 6:51-58

The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)

---

(Jesus said to the Jews,) [51] “I am the living bread which came down from Hea-
ven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall
give for the life of the world is My flesh.” [52] The Jews disputed among them-
selves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said
to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink His blood, you have no life in you; [54] he who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For My flesh is
food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats My flesh and drinks
My blood abides in Me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent Me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. [58] This is
the bread which came from Heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who
eats this bread will live for ever.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

49-51. The manna during the Exodus was a figure of this bread—Christ Himself —
which nourishes Christians on their pilgrimage through this world. Communion
is the wonderful banquet at which Christ gives Himself to us: “the bread which I
shall give for the life of the world is My flesh”. These words promise the manifes-
tation of the Eucharist at the Last Supper: “This is My body which is for you” (1
Corinthians 11:24). The words “for the life of the world” and “for you” refer to the
redemptive value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In some sacrifices of the
Old Testament, which were a figure of the sacrifice of Christ, part of the animal
offered up was later used for food, signifying participation in the sacred rite (cf.
Exodus 11:3-4). So, by receiving Holy Communion, we are sharing in the sac-
rifice of Christ: which is why the Church sings in the Liturgy of the Hours on the
Feast of Corpus Christi: “O sacred feast in which we partake of Christ: His suf-
ferings are remembered, our minds are filled with His grace and we receive a
pledge of the glory that is to be ours” (”Magnificat Antiphon”, Evening Prayer II).

52. Christ’s hearers understand perfectly well that He means exactly what He
says; but they cannot believe that what He says could be true; if they had un-
derstood Him in a metaphorical, figurative or symbolic sense there would be no
reason for them to be surprised and nothing to cause an argument. Later, Jesus
reaffirms what He has said—confirming what they have understood Him to say
(cf. verses 54-56).

53. Once again Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive Him
in the Blessed Eucharist in order to share in divine life and develop the life of
grace received in Baptism. No parent is content to bring children into the world:
they have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity.
“We receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion to nourish our souls and to give us
an increase of grace and the gift of eternal life” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 289).

54. Jesus clearly states that His body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and
a guarantee of the resurrection of the body. St. Thomas Aquinas gives this expla-
nation: “The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our
bodies. In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also
in His humanity; therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls
but also of that of our bodies” (”Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).

Our Lord uses a stronger word than just “eating” (the original verb could be
translated as “chewing”) which shows that Communion is a real meal. There is
no room for saying that He was speaking only symbolically, which would mean
that Communion was only a metaphor and not really eating and drinking the Bo-
dy and Blood of Christ.

“All these invitations, promises and threats sprang from the great desire which
(Jesus) had of giving us Himself in the holy Sacrament of the altar. But why
should Jesus so ardently desire us to receive Him in Holy Communion? It is be-
cause love always sighs for, and tends to a union with, the object beloved. True
friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one. The love of
God for us being immense, He destined us to possess Him not only in Heaven,
but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance of bread
in the Eucharist. It is true we do not see Him; but He beholds us, and is really
present; yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him and He conceals
Himself, that we may desire Him, and until we reach our true homeland Jesus
Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us”
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).

55. In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy Com-
munion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul, which is why the Church
exhorts us to receive this Sacrament frequently: “Every day, as is desirable, and
in the greatest possible numbers, the faithful must take an active part in the sac-
rifice of the Mass, avail themselves of the pure, holy refreshment of Holy Commu-
nion and make a suitable thanksgiving in return for this great gift of Christ the
Lord. Here are the words they should keep in mind: ‘Jesus Christ and the Church
desire all Christ’s faithful to approach the sacred banquet every day. The basis
of this desire is that they should be united to God by the sacrament and draw
strength from it to restrain lust, to wash away the slight faults of daily occurrence
and to take precautions against the more serious sins to which human frailty is
liable’ (”Decree of the S.C. of the Council”, 20 December 1905)” (Paul VI, “Mys-
terium Fidei”).

“The Savior has instituted the most august sacrament of the Eucharist, which
truly contains His flesh and His blood, so that he who eats this bread may live
forever; whosoever, therefore, makes use of it often with devotion so strengthens
the health and the life of his soul, that it is almost impossible for him to be poi-
soned by any kind of evil affection. We cannot be nourished with this flesh of life,
and live with the affections of death. [...]. Christians who are damned will be un-
able to make any reply when the just Judge shows them how much they are to
blame for dying spiritually, since it was so easy for them to maintain themselves
in life and in health by eating His Body which He had left them for this purpose.
Unhappy souls, He will say, why did you die, seeing that you had at your com-
mand the fruit and the food of life?” (St. Francis de Sales, “Introduction to the
Devout Life”, II, 20, 1).

56. The most important effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Je-
sus Christ. The very word “communion” suggests sharing in the life of our Lord
and becoming one with Him; if our union with Jesus is promoted by all the sacra-
ments through the grace which they give us, this happens more intensely in the
Eucharist, for in it we receive not only grace but the very Author of grace: “Really
sharing in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are
taken up into communion with Him and with one another. ‘Because the bread is
one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread’ (1
Corinthians 10:17)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 7). Precisely because the Eu-
charist is the sacrament which best signifies and effects our union with Christ, it
is there that the whole Church manifests and effects its unity: Jesus Christ “in-
stituted in His Church the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist, by which the
unity of the Church is both signified and brought about” (Vatican II, “Unitatis Re-
ditegratio”, 2).

57. In Christ, the Incarnate Word sent to mankind, “the whole fullness of deity,
dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9) through the ineffable union of His human nature
and His divine nature in the Person of the Word. By receiving in this sacrament
the body and blood of Christ indissolubly united to His divinity, we share in the
divine life of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. We will never be able to
appreciate enough the intimacy with God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—
that we are offered in the eucharistic banquet.

“We can therefore do nothing more agreeable to Jesus Christ than to go to Com-
munion with the dispositions suitable to so great an action, since we are then
united to Jesus Christ, according to the desire of this all-loving God. I have said
with ‘suitable’ and not ‘worthy’ disposition, for who could communicate if it was
necessary to be worthy of so great a Savior? No one but a God would be worthy
to receive a God. But by this word suitable, or convenient, I mean such a dispo-
sition as becomes a miserable creature, who is clothed with the unhappy flesh
of Adam. Ordinarily speaking, it is sufficient that we communicate in a state of
grace and with an anxious desire of advancing in the love of Jesus Christ” (St.
Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2)

58. For the third time (cf. 6:31-32 and 6:49) Jesus compares the true bread of
life, His own body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day du-
ring their forty years in the wilderness—thereby, inviting us to nourish our soul
frequently with the food of His body.

“’Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a
saint by now, you told me, and I...I’m always the same!’ Son, I replied, keep up
your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone’” (St. J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 534).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Mass Readings

---

First reading	Proverbs 9:1-6 ©

Wisdom has built herself a house,

  she has erected her seven pillars,

she has slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine,

  she has laid her table.

She has despatched her maidservants

  and proclaimed from the city’s heights:

‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’

  To the fool she says,

‘Come and eat my bread,

  drink the wine I have prepared!

Leave your folly and you will live,

  walk in the ways of perception.’

---

Psalm	Psalm 33:2-3,10-15 ©

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times,

  his praise always on my lips;

in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.

  The humble shall hear and be glad.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Revere the Lord, you his saints.

  They lack nothing, those who revere him.

Strong lions suffer want and go hungry

  but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Come, children, and hear me

  that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is he who longs for life

  and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Then keep your tongue from evil

  and your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn aside from evil and do good;

  seek and strive after peace.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

---

Second reading	Ephesians 5:15-20 ©

Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. This may be a wicked age, but you redeem it. And do not be thoughtless but recognise what is the will of the Lord. Do not drug yourselves with wine, this is simply dissipation; be filled with the Spirit. Sing the words and tunes of the psalms and hymns when you are together, and go on singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, so that always and everywhere you are giving thanks to God who is our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

---

Gospel Acclamation	Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us:

to all who did accept him

he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn6:56

Alleluia, alleluia!

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood

lives in me, and I live in him,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel	John 6:51-58 ©

Jesus said to the Jews:

‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;

and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,

for the life of the world.’

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,

you will not have life in you.

Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood

has eternal life,

and I shall raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is real food

and my blood is real drink.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood

lives in me

and I live in him.

As I, who am sent by the living Father,

myself draw life from the Father,

so whoever eats me will draw life from me.

This is the bread come down from heaven;

not like the bread our ancestors ate:

they are dead,

but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’

[Salvation]

			PRAYERS AFTER HOLY MASS AND COMMUNION Leonine Prayers Complete Prayer to St. Michael Prayer Before the Crucifix Anima Christi Prayer Prayer for Vocations Leonine Prayers Following are the Prayers after Low Mass which were prescribed by Pope Leo XIII who composed the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, and were reinforced by Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII to pray for the conversion of Russia. These prayers were in effect until after Vatican II. A decade later Paul VI said, "satan has entered the sanctuary." Could the elimination of these powerful prayers with a ten year indulgence have played a huge part in allowing the devil such easy access? The answer is obvious. Below the normal Leonine Prayers is the longer version of the Prayer to St. Michael, composed by His Excellency Pope Leo XIII to defend against The Great Apostasy.

Latin Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructis ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. (Said 3 times)     Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae. Ad te suspiramus gementes et fientes in hac lacrymarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis, post hoc exilium, ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.     Oremus. Deus, refugium nostrum et virtus, populum ad te clamantem propitius respice; et intercedente gloriosa, et immaculata Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, ejus Sponso, ac beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, et omnibus Sanctis, quas pro conversione peccatorum, pro libertate et exaltatione sanctae Matris Ecclesiae, preces effundimus, misericors et benignus exaudi. Per eundum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis, satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen. Cor Jesu sacratissimum. Miserere nobis. Cor Jesu sacratissimum. Miserere nobis. Cor Jesu sacratissimum. Miserere nobis.			Vernacular    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Said 3 times)    Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee to we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mouring and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.    Let us pray. O God, our refuge and our strength, look down with mercy upon the people who cry to Thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of the Holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.    Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us.

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Complete Prayer to Saint Michael

The following is the longer version of the vital prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 after his startling vision as to the future of the Church. This prayer was dedicated for the Feast of St. Michael 1448 years from the date of the election of the first Leo - Pope Saint Leo the Great. Everyone is familiar with the first prayer below which was mandated by His Holiness as part of the Leonine Prayers after Low Mass. After Vatican II, in legion with the devil Giovanni Montini outlawed this necessary prayer and then one wonders how "the smoke of satan" got into the sanctuary? The conciliarists wanted to make sure the words in bold below would never see the light of day again for in it Leo foretold what would happen: The shepherd would be struck, the sheep scattered. Below are both the short and longer versions of this poignant prayer which should never be forgotten.

    Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, O heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

V: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
R: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.
V: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R: As we have hoped in Thee.
V: O Lord hear my prayer.
R: And let my cry come unto Thee.

V: Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls. Amen.

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Prayer Before the Crucifix

   Look down upon me, O good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; the while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me, calling to mind the words which David Thy prophet said of Thee, my good Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."

Indulgence of ten years; a plenary indulgence if recited after devout reception of Holy Communion, Raccolta 201)

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Anima Christi - Soul of Christ

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds, hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
In the hour of my death, call me.
And bid me come to Thee, that with
Thy saints I may praise Thee for ever and ever. Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days; if recited after devout reception of Holy Communion, seven years Raccolta 131)

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Prayer for Vocations

   O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst take to Thyself a body and soul like ours, to teach us the glory of self-sacrifice and service, mercifully deign to instill in other hearts the desire to dedicate their lives to Thee. Give us PRIESTS to stand before Thine Altar and to preach the words of Thy Gospel; BROTHERS to assist the priests and to reproduce in themselves Thy humility; SISTERS to teach the young and nurse the sick and to minister Thy charity to all; LAY PEOPLE to imitate Thee in their homes and families. Amen.

[Salvation]

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

[Salvation]

Continue to Pray for Pope Benedict [Ecumenical]

[Salvation]

 

Jesus, High Priest

 

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem.  He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

[Salvation]

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1.  Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2.  The Apostles Creed:  I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3.  The Lord's Prayer:  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. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary:  HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be:  GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer.  Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

 

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

[Salvation]

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
 Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we  humbly pray,
 and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
 by the power of God,
 Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
 Amen
+

[Salvation]

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama.  Psalm 109:8"

   

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?  

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.    Please forward this to your praying friends.

[Salvation]

August Devotion -- The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person: and as the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue.

This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.

On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.

INVOCATIONS

O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.

ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.

Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.

Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII

IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen. ....Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way ----From the Catechism. P:1439 From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power. Amen. - - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps.-- >From the Catechism. P: 2669 The Salutation to the Heart of Jesus and Mary   An Offering of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart  of Jesus Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus   Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart   Meditation & Novena Prayer on the Sacred Heart Beads to the Sacred Heart		Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary   A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary   The Daily Offering to the  Immaculate Heart of Mary   Exaltation of the Immaculate  Heart of Mary   Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

The Holy Heart of Mary Is, After the Heart of Jesus, the Most Exalted Throne of Divine Love
Let us recollect that God has given us the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin so that we may render on that day all the respect, honor and praise that we possibly can. To enkindle this spirit within us let us consider our motivating obligations.

The first is that we ought to love and honor whatever God loves and honors, and that by which He is loved and glorified. Now, after the adorable Heart of Jesus there has never been either in heaven or on earth, nor ever will be, a heart which has been so loved and honored by God, or which has given Him so much glory as that of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Never has there been, nor will there ever be a more exalted throne of divine love. In that Heart divine love possesses its fullest empire, for it ever reigns without hindrance or interruption, and with it reign likewise all the laws of God, all the Gospel maxims and every Christian virtue.

This incomparable Heart of the Mother of our Redeemer is a glorious heaven, a Paradise of delights for the Most Holy Trinity. According to St. Paul, the hearts of the faithful are the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost take up Their abode in the hearts of those who love God. Who, therefore, can doubt that the Most Holy Trinity has always made His home and established the reign of His glory in an admirable and ineffable manner in the virginal Heart of her who is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, who herself loves God more than all other creatures together?

How much then are we not obliged to love this exalted and most lovable Heart?

— St. John Eudes

Today: Immaculate Heart of Mary [DEVOTIONAL]

The Immaculate Heart of Mary [Devotional] Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Saturdays and the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Brown Scapular (Catholic Caucus)
The History of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Homilies preached by Father Robert Altier on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Marian Associations Unite to Celebrate Immaculate Heart
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AUGUST 22ND
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

August Devotion -- The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person: and as the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue.

This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.

On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.

INVOCATIONS

O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.

ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.

Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.

Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII

IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen. ....Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way ----From the Catechism. P:1439 From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power. Amen. - - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps.-- >From the Catechism. P: 2669 The Salutation to the Heart of Jesus and Mary   An Offering of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart  of Jesus Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus   Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart   Meditation & Novena Prayer on the Sacred Heart Beads to the Sacred Heart		Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary   A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary   The Daily Offering to the  Immaculate Heart of Mary   Exaltation of the Immaculate  Heart of Mary   Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

The Holy Heart of Mary Is, After the Heart of Jesus, the Most Exalted Throne of Divine Love
Let us recollect that God has given us the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin so that we may render on that day all the respect, honor and praise that we possibly can. To enkindle this spirit within us let us consider our motivating obligations.

The first is that we ought to love and honor whatever God loves and honors, and that by which He is loved and glorified. Now, after the adorable Heart of Jesus there has never been either in heaven or on earth, nor ever will be, a heart which has been so loved and honored by God, or which has given Him so much glory as that of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Never has there been, nor will there ever be a more exalted throne of divine love. In that Heart divine love possesses its fullest empire, for it ever reigns without hindrance or interruption, and with it reign likewise all the laws of God, all the Gospel maxims and every Christian virtue.

This incomparable Heart of the Mother of our Redeemer is a glorious heaven, a Paradise of delights for the Most Holy Trinity. According to St. Paul, the hearts of the faithful are the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost take up Their abode in the hearts of those who love God. Who, therefore, can doubt that the Most Holy Trinity has always made His home and established the reign of His glory in an admirable and ineffable manner in the virginal Heart of her who is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, who herself loves God more than all other creatures together?

How much then are we not obliged to love this exalted and most lovable Heart?

— St. John Eudes

[Salvation]

August 2012

Pope's intentions

General Intention: That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity

Missionary Intention: Youth Witness to Christ. That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

[Salvation]

The Work of God

 

Year B

 -  20th Sunday in ordinary time

He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.

John 6:51-59

51 I am the living bread, which came down from heaven.
52 If any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.
53 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.
55 He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.
56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.
57 He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him.
58 As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me, the same also shall live by me.
59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eats this bread shall live forever.

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I am the celestial food that has come down from heaven to feed the spiritual body - the soul. I have come to the world to offer my flesh as food and my blood as drink, a concept that the human mind associates cannibalism. This new teaching created confusion among those who heard me for the first time and doubted my holy word; this is the reason why many of my followers decided to reject me.

I, the Word of God, by the work of the Holy Spirit, became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary; this in itself is a great miracle of God, then I offered myself as food for the soul, that guarantees the resurrection and eternal life, this is the greatest miracle that I performed and that I continue performing. After that, I submitted myself to death on the cross as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, thus fulfilling my mission as Saviour in order to liberate the human race.

Using my authority as God, I consecrated my body as food and my blood as drink, when I instituted the Sacrament of Thanksgiving - the Eucharist. I stated, with my power as the Word of God, that I am the bread of Life, that this bread is my body and that my flesh is true food; that the consecrated wine is my blood which is true drink, and that by doing this in memory of me, when you eat and drink of me, you are feeding your souls for everlasting life.

I said this several times, not because my Word needs to be repeated to be accomplished, but because you are very hard of heart to understand and because I wanted to leave this totally clear, since the banquette sent from heaven for the salvation of humanity had a very high price which was my death on the cross, with which I completed my redemptive mission.

Physical food is necessary to sustain the physical body. I came to emphasize the existence of the soul, and to provide the food for its existence. God created the universe and sustains it with His Love through the power of the Holy Spirit. God created man with a pure spirit in Paradise, but sin tainted it and caused death, for this reason I have come to offer everlasting life, by the forgiveness of sins and by my offering as food for the life of the soul.

He who eats my flesh and drinks by blood will live forever. I will resurrect him on the last day and He will participate in the joy of my Kingdom.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

[Salvation]

Archdiocese of Washington

Wine, a Woman, and Song: A Meditation on the Readings for the 20th Sunday of the Year.

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

In the readings today we are reminded of, and invited to rejoice, at the great Eucharistic Feast of the Lord Jesus. Indeed, the Lord Jesus at the great cost of the loss of many disciples, teaches us that he himself is the food of this great feast: the Bread is in fact his Body, broken and offered, the Wine is in fact his Blood in the New Covenant shed for many unto the remission of sin. And the Church, in the voice of “Lady Wisdom” from Proverbs, calls all to come to the holy feast, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb and the Church, his beautiful Bride. And in that feast we are not only to recognize the Lord and receive, we are to rejoice with song, as the second reading joyfully sets forth.

Yes, you might say we have here Wine, a Woman and Song: the Wine of Christ’s sacrificed body and blood, the Woman who is his beloved Bride the Church saying “Come to the feast!” And the song of our praise in every Holy Eucharist. Lets look at each dimension in today’s readings.

I. WINE – We are, in the Gospel continuing with the great treatise on the Eucharist by Jesus in John 6. Many of the Jewish listeners who hear him the synagogue at Capernaum are grumbling and murmuring in protest at his insistence that they eat his flesh and drink his blood. But Jesus does not back down for a minute. In fact, he “doubles down” and quite graphically teaches a very real (as distinct from symbolic) call for eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He does this in four stages. He begins by insisting on the:

A. REALITY of the Eucharist – He says: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Notice therefore, the bread IS HIS FLESH. The bread is not simply a symbol of his flesh, of his body, or of his life and teachings. It is not simply a way of remembering him when he is gone. No, it IS his flesh. Other scriptures also insist on the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the truth that it is his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity:

a. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor 11:23-25)

b.The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ? (1 Cor 10:16)

c. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. (1 Cor 11:27-29)

d. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight..Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:31, 35)

Thus the Lord teaches them first of the reality of the Eucharist, of the food, the wine that he offers. It is in fact his Body and Blood.

B. REACTION - The Lord’s teaching provokes a reaction: The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, ”How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Here was one of the most difficult moments of Jesus’ public ministry. The scene is the synagogue at Capernaum. The town where Jesus worked some of his greatest miracles. You’d think he’d have a real audience here! But as it turns out: You might say he had no “Amen corner,” and the old spiritual was demonstrated that says, Way down yonder by myself and I couldn’t hear nobody pray. As we shall see next week, their reaction and revulsion is so severe that many will leave him and no longer walk in his company. It is to be wondered if Jesus did not have this moment in mind when he said of Capernaum: And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Mat 11:23-24)

C. REINFORCEMENT – But Jesus does not back down. Their rejection leads to his reinforcement of his teaching: Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Yes, Jesus gets emphatic and uses the intensifier  “Amen, Amen I say to you” which is the Jewish equivalent of “Let me be perfectly clear…” And he also switches his vocabulary from the polite word for “eat” (φαγεῖν (phagein) in Greek) to τρώγων (trogon) which more graphically and impolitely speaks of gnawing on, or crunching or chewing his flesh.

Jesus wants to be very clear. They understood him to speak literally, not metaphorically or symbolically. He assures them he expect to be understood literally. Why is he so emphatic? He wants to save us and links the eating of his Body and Blood to eternal life: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. In order to be raised up and to make the journey to eternal life we must be sustained and strengthened for the journey by eating and drinking his blood.

It is just like the manna in the wilderness that sustained them for forty years in the desert as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Had they not eaten, they would have died in the desert. So it is for us in the desert of this world. Without our Manna, our Bread from heaven, without the Body and Blood of the Lord to sustain us, we will not make it to the Promised Land of heaven.

Jesus insists: EAT! Else the journey will be too long for you! For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. I am the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.

D. REWARD of the Eucharist – Here the words of Jesus speak plainly of the reward in receiving the Eucharist: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.“

And therefore, we see the most essential teaching of today’s readings: the Bread is Christ’s Body and the Wine is his blood. How can any of us doubt what Jesus teaches us here about his true presence? St Thomas Aquinas says simply of this teaching of Jesus: Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius, nil hoc verbo veritátis vérius (I believe whatever the Son of God says, nothing is more true than this word of truth).

And thus we have the “Wine” of this day, the wine of Truth, the Wine that is his Blood, the bread that is in fact his Body. And this leads us to the “Woman” of today’s feast, the Church.

II. A WOMAN - The First reading describes the Woman this way: Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: “Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.”

The “Woman” here is “Lady Wisdom” an allegory for the Church, Christ’s Bride and our Mother. Notice two things that the Church as Mother does:

1. She FEEDS – the text describes here as having set up her seven columns (the Sacraments) and that she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She calls out: Come, eat of my food. And in the great banquet of the Eucharist She feeds us with the Word and Eucharist. To every Catholic our Mother, the Church calls every Sunday, and she says “Eat! Partake of what my Spouse offers, His Word, and his Word become flesh, his very Body and Blood. Come Eat!”

2. She FORMS - For the Church, like any mother says, “Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.” She calls us not only to be informed by the Word of God but to be transformed!

Yes, there is a Woman in today’s feast, Christ’s holy Bride and our Mother.

III. SONG – and finally there is a song as described in the Epistle today: Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

Yes, we are called to the feast to partake the WINE of Christ’s Body and Blood, by the WOMAN, our Mother the Church, and she calls us to SONG, to rejoicing, to celebration.

And as the text from the Epistle says, we ought to sing in thanksgiving, the very meaning of the word “Eucharist.” Scripture says that we were made to praise the Lord: we…have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory (Eph 1:12). It also says, The joy of the LORD is your strength. (Neh 8:9).

Yes, we are called to this feast to tell our story and recount the victory of the Cross. Every Sunday we rejoice that, whatever our trials, God can and does make a way, and that we already have the Victory in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So today, Wine, a Woman, and Song. The wine, the feast of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Woman, his Bride and our Mother the Church, the Song, our very rejoicing and the feast of Victory for our King, Jesus.

Somehow this post reminds me of an old Monteverdi Motet entitled “Jubilet Tota Civitas” (from Selva Morale) wherein Holy Mother Church Bids the whole city to rejoice. Here is a translation, then the motet:

Jubilet tota civitas.
 Psallat nunc organis Mater Ecclesia Deo aeterno, quae Salvatori nostro gloriae melos laetabunda canat. Let the whole city rejoice.
 Mother Church now sings with instruments to the eternal God, she who to our Savior now joyfully sings a song of glory.

Quae occasio cor tuum, dilectissima Virgo, gaudio replet tanta hilaris et laeta? Nuntia mihi! What glad and happy occasion, most beloved Virgin, fills your heart with such joy? Tell me!

Festum est hodie Sancti gloriosi
 qui coram Deo et hominibus operatus est. Today is the feast of a glorious Saint
 who worked in the sight of God and of men.

Quis est iste Sanctus qui pro lege Dei tam illustri vita et insignis operationibus usque ad mortem operatus est. Who is this Saint who, for the law of God,
 with such a distinguished life and outstanding works labored until death?

Est Sanctus Cyprianus. It is Saint Cyprian.

O Sancte benedicte! O holy and blessed one!

Dignus est certe ut in ejus laudibus Semper versentur fidelium linguae. Jubilet ergo. Jubilet ergo tota civitas. Alleluia. He is assuredly worthy that in his praises
 the tongues of the faithful will always be exercised. Rejoice therefore! Let the whole city rejoice.
 Alleluia.

[Salvation]

Sunday Gospel Reflections

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Proverbs 9:1-6 II: Ephesians 5:15-20

---

Gospel
John 6:51-58

⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."
⁵² The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
⁵³ So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
⁵⁴ he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
⁵⁵ For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
⁵⁶ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
⁵⁷ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

---

Interesting Details

• In chapter six of John, after feeding five thousand people (vv. 1-15), Jesus walks on the sea (vv. 16-21) and goes to the other side of Lake Tiberias. When the people come to look for him, he tells them: "I am the bread of life that came down from heaven" (v. 41) and "whoever believes has eternal life" (v. 47). That leads us into today's reading: Eating Jesus' flesh and drinking his blood to have eternal life.
• Concerning the language of the reading, the Hebrew idiom "flesh and blood" means the whole person. Furthermore, in the Old Testament, "to eat someone's flesh" is a hostile action, and the "eater of flesh" is the other name for the devil; and there are laws in the Old Testament forbidding the "drinking of blood" (Gen 4:4; Lev.3:17, etc). In short, the language should be understood as referring to the Eucharist (AB: RE Brown p. 282, 284).
• However, the problem here is how to implement the phrase "eat my flesh and drink my blood will have eternal life" (v. 54). "Eternal life" obviously can refer to the afterlife, but it also refers to this very life on earth; it is possible to participate in God's life while still living on earth (realized eschatololy); it is already present and, at the same time, is expected to come in the future.
• The key to understand "eternal life" rests on the verb "abide:" Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them" (v. 56). Abide (stay, remain, dwell in) has many meanings, and one of them is "to be intimately united with [Jesus]." Abiding, or having eternal life, can be best illustrated by St. Paul: "It is Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20).
• Returning to the hard part of the above phrase - "eat my flesh and drink my blood" -, it can be understood in at least three ways:
  1) sacramentally by partaking in the Eucharist,
  2) dramatically by being spiritually united with the Crucified and Risen Christ, and
  3) symbolically by committing to Jesus as the revealer sent from God, the Word becomes flesh.
  No matter how one understands it, the point is Jesus insists that we have to go beyond believing to participating in God's life. It is a deeper level of faith, a life in spirit.

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One Main Point

Jesus gives those who "eat his flesh and drink his blood" eternal life. By doing so, by participating in the Eucharist, we stay in communion with him, and we have eternal life.

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Reflections

1. Catholics believe that the Risen Lord is truly present in the Eucharist. How do I understand and practice "eating his flesh and drinking his blood?" Furthermore, how is that understanding and practice leading me to a deeper spiritual life?
2. Those who eat Jesus' flesh and drink his blood will abide in him, and He in them. Am I abiding in Jesus? Is Jesus abiding in me? Am I living in his love, his grace?
3. Jesus said that he has come so we may have life and have it in abundance. What are some of the results of sharing this eternal life? How are those results manifested in my actions and words?

[Salvation]

Sunday, August 19, 2012
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Psalm: Second Reading: Gospel:

Proverbs 9:1-6 Psalm 34:2-7 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58 Salvation is shown to faith, it is prepared for hope, but it is given only to charity. Faith points out the way to the land of promise as a pillar of fire, hope feeds us with its manna of sweetness, but charity actually introduces us into the Promised Land. -- St. Francis De Sales

[Salvation]

The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Invitatory for Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. Come, worship the Lord for we are his people, the flock he shepherds, alleluia.

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Ant.

The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

Ant.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker,
For he is our God and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.

Ant.

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.

Ant.

Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger,
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Ant.

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. Come, worship the Lord for we are his people, the flock he shepherds, alleluia.

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Office of Readings for Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 118
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 1087

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for Sunday 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

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

Melody: Nicaea 11.12.12.10; Music: John B. Dykes, 1823-1876; Text: Reginald Heber, 1783-1826
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty ” performed by Norwich Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (St. Irenaeus).

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things,
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

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

When your Son was unjustly condemned, Lord God, and surrounded by the impious, he cried to you, and you set him free. Watch over your people as the treasure of your heart and guide their steps along safe paths that they may see your face.

Ant. Who can climb the Lord’s mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Ant. 2 Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Psalm 66
Eucharistic hymn
The Lord is risen and all people have been brought by him to the Father (Hesychius).

I

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: “How tremendous your deeds!

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!”

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations;
let rebels not rise against him.

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

O peoples, bless our God,
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

For you, O God, have tested us,
you have tried us as silver is tried:
you led us, God, into the snare;
you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water
but then you brought us relief.

Ant. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

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. Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Ant. 3 Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

II

Burnt offering I bring to your house;
to you I will pay my vows,
the vows which my lips have uttered,
which my mouth spoke in my distress.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

I will offer burnt offerings of fatlings
with the smoke of burning rams.
I will offer bullocks and goats.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

If there had been evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has heeded the voice of my prayer.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

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

Almighty Father, in the death and resurrection of your own Son you brought us through the waters of baptism to the shores of new life. By those waters and the fire of the Holy Spirit you have given each of us consolation. Accept our sacrifice of praise; may our lives be a total offering to you, and may we deserve to enter your house and there with Christ praise your unfailing power.

Ant. Listen to me, all you who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

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.

God’s word is alive; it strikes to the heart.
– It pierces more surely than a two-edged sword.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
6:1-14
The call of the prophet Isaiah

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” they cried one to the other. “All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” And he replied: Go and say to this people:

Listen carefully, but you shall not understand!
Look intently, but you shall know nothing!
You are to make the heart of this people sluggish,
to dull their ears and close their eyes;
Else their eyes will see, their ears hear,
their heart understand,
and they will turn and be healed.

“How long, O Lord?” I asked. And he replied:

Until the cities are desolate,
without inhabitants,
Houses, without a man,
and the earth is a desolate waste.
Until the Lord removes men far away,
and the land is abandoned more and more.
If there be still a tenth part in it,
then this in turn shall be laid waste;
As with a terebinth or an oak
whose trunk remains when its leaves have fallen.
(Holy offspring is the trunk.)

RESPONSORY Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 6:3

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
he who was, and who is, and who is to come;
– all the earth is full of his glory.

The seraphim cried out to one another:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
– All the earth is full of his glory.

Second reading
From a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostum, bishop
Salt of the earth and light of the world

You are the salt of the earth. It is not for your own sake, he says, but for the world’s sake that the word is entrusted to you. I am not sending you into two cities only or ten or twenty, not to a single nation, as I sent the prophets of old, but across land and sea, to the whole world. And that world is in a miserable state. For when he says: You are the salt of the earth, he is indicating that all mankind had lost its savor and had been corrupted by sin. Therefore, he requires of these men those virtues which are especially useful and even necessary if they are to bear the burdens of many. For the man who is kindly, modest, merciful and just will not keep his good works to himself but will see to it that these admirable fountains send out their streams for the good of others. Again, the man who is clean of heart, a peacemaker and ardent for truth will order his life so as to contribute to the common good.

Do not think, he says, that you are destined for easy struggles or unimportant tasks. You are the salt of the earth. What do these words imply? Did the disciples restore what had already turned rotten? Not at all. Salt cannot help what is already corrupted. That is not what they did. But what had first been renewed and freed from corruption and then turned over to them, they salted and preserved in the newness the Lord had bestowed. It took the power of Christ to free men from the corruption caused by sin; it was the task of the apostles through strenuous labor to keep that corruption from returning.

Have you noticed how, bit by bit, Christ shows them to be superior to the prophets? He says they are to be teachers not simply for Palestine but for the whole world. Do not be surprised, then, he says, that I address you apart from the others and involve you in such a dangerous enterprise. Consider the numerous and extensive cities, peoples and nations I will be sending you to govern. For this reason I would have you make others prudent, as well as being prudent yourselves. For unless you can do that, you will not be able to sustain even yourselves.

If others lose their savor, then your ministry will help them regain it. But if you yourselves suffer that loss, you will drag others down with you. Therefore, the greater the undertakings put into your hands, the more zealous you must be. For this reason he says: But if the salt becomes tasteless, how can its flavor be restored? It is good for nothing now, but to be thrown out and trampled by men’s feet.

When they hear the words: When they curse you and persecute you and accuse you of every evil, they may be afraid to come forward. Therefore he says; “Unless you are prepared for that sort of thing, it is in vain that I have chosen you. Curses shall necessarily be your lot but they shall not harm you and will simply be a testimony to your constancy. If through fear, however, you fail to show the forcefulness your mission demands, your lot will be much worse, for all will speak evil of you and despise you. That is what being trampled by men’s feet means.”

Then he passes on to a more exalted comparison: You are the light of the world. Once again, “of the world”: not of one nation or twenty cities, but of the whole world. The light he means is an intelligible light, far superior to the rays of the sun we see, just as the salt is a spiritual salt. First salt, then light, so that you may learn how profitable sharp words may be and how useful serious doctrine. Such teaching holds in check and prevents dissipation; it leads to virtue and sharpens the mind’s eye. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do men light a lamp and put it under a basket. Here again he is urging them to a careful manner of life and teaching them to be watchful, for they live under the eyes of all and have the whole world for the arena of their struggles.

RESPONSORY Acts 1:8; Matthew 5:16

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
– and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Your light must shine before men,
so that they may see your good works
and give praise to your father in heaven.
– And you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

TE DEUM

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the King of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
– Govern and uphold them now and always.

Day by day we bless you.
– We praise your name for ever.

Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
– Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

Lord, show us your love and mercy,
– for we have put our trust in you.

In you, Lord, is our hope:
– And we shall never hope in vain.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray,
with the warmth of your love, so that,
loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
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.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

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

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Morning Prayer for Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
Proper of Seasons: 122
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 1091

Christian Prayer (single volume)
Ordinary: 689
Proper of the Season: 625
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 925

Morning Prayer for Sunday 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

From all that dwell below the skies,
let the Creator’s praise arise;
let the Redeemer’s name be sung,
through every land by every tongue.

Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
eternal truth attends thy word.
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.

Your lofty themes, ye mortals, bring,
in songs of praise divinely sing;
the great salvation loud proclaim,
and shout for joy the Savior’s name.

In every land begin the song;
to every land the strains belong;
in cheerful sounds all voices raise,
and fill the world with loudest praise.

From All That Dwell Below the Skies by St. Michael’s Singers; Words: Isaac Watts, 1719. Music: John Hatton, 1793.
From All That Dwell Below the Skies by St. Michael’s Singers is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Psalm 118
Song of joy for salvation
The Lord our mighty God now reigns supreme; let us rejoice and be glad and give him praise (Revelation 19:6-7).

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love endures for ever.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Let the sons of Israel say:
“His love endures for ever.”
Let the sons of Aaron say:
“His love endures for ever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures for ever.”

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

I called to the Lord in my distress;
he answered and freed me.
The Lord is at my side; I do not fear.
What can man do against me?
The Lord is at my side as my helper:
I shall look down on my foes.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in men:
it is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

The nations all encompassed me;
in the Lord’s name I crushed them.
They compassed me, compassed me about;
in the Lord’s name I crushed them.
They compassed me about like bees;
they blazed like a fire among thorns.
In the Lord’s name I crushed them.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

I was hard-pressed and was falling
but the Lord came to help me.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he is my savior.
There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the just.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
I was punished, I was punished by the Lord,
but not doomed to die.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Open to me the gates of holiness:
I will enter and give thanks.
This is the Lord’s own gate
where the just may enter.
I will thank you for you have answered
and you are my savior.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Go forward in procession with branches
even to the altar.
You are my God, I thank you.
My God, I praise you.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

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, you have given us the great day of rejoicing: Jesus Christ, the stone rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone of the Church, our spiritual home. Shed upon your Church the rays of your glory, that it may be seen as the gate of salvation open to all nations. Let cries of joy and exultation ring out from its tents, to celebrate the wonder of Christ’s resurrection.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Ant.2 Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Canticle – Daniel 3:52-57
Let all creatures praise the Lord
The Creator… is blessed for ever (Romans 1:25).

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

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. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Ant. 3 Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
Let mind and heart be in your song: this is to glorify God with your whole self (Hesychius).

Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.

Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.

Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.

Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

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, maker of heaven and earth and of all created things, you make your just ones holy and you justify sinners who confess your name. Hear us as we humbly pray to you: give us eternal joy with your saints.

Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

READING 2 Timothy 2:8, 11-13

Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David,
was raised from the dead. You can depend on this:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
If we hold out to the end
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful
he will still remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

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

We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
– We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.

We cry aloud how marvelous you are,
– as we call upon your name.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. I am the living bread come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever, alleluia.

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. I am the living bread come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Open your hearts to praise the God of power and goodness, for he loves us and knows our needs:
– We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

We bless you, almighty God, King of the universe, because you called us while we were yet sinners,
to acknowledge your truth and to serve your majesty.
– We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

O God, you opened the gates of mercy for us,
let us never turn aside from the path of life.
– We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

As we celebrate the resurrection of your beloved Son,
help us to spend this day in the spirit of joy.
– We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

Give to your faithful, O Lord, a prayerful spirit of gratitude,
that we may thank you for all your gifts.
– We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

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

O God,
who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray,
with the warmth of your love, so that,
loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
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.

DISMISSAL

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

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Midday Prayer for Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
Proper of Seasons: 123 (concluding prayer)
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 1097 (Midday reading)

Midday Prayer for Sunday in Ordinary Time, 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

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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 He who eats this bread will live for ever, alleluia.

Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
The Lamb himself will be their shepherd and will lead them to the springs of living waters (Revelation 7:17).

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and 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. Alleluia.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of your Church, you give us new birth in the waters of baptism, anoint us with saving oil, and call us to salvation at your table. Dispel the terrors of death and the darkness of error. Lead your people along safe paths that they may rest securely in you and live for ever in your Father’s house.

Ant. He who eats this bread will live for ever, alleluia.

Ant. 2 The Lord will come in glory and show himself wonderful in his saints, alleluia.

Psalm 76
Thanksgiving for victory
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:30).

I

God is made known in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.
He set up his tent in Jerusalem
and his dwelling place in Zion.
It was there he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, the armor.

You, O Lord, are resplendent,
more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
The warriors, despoiled, slept in death;
the hands of the soldiers were powerless.
At your threat, O God of Jacob,
horse and rider lay stunned.

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.

Ant. The Lord will come in glory and show himself wonderful in his saints, alleluia.

Ant. 3 Pay your vows, and bring offerings to the Lord our God, alleluia.

II

You, you alone, strike terror.
Who shall stand when your anger is roused?
You uttered your sentence from the heavens;
the earth in terror was still
when God arose to judge,
to save the humble of the earth.

Men’s anger will serve to praise you;
its survivors surround you in joy.
Make vows to your God and fulfill them.
Let all pay tribute to him who strikes terror,
who cuts short the life of princes,
who strikes terror in the kings of the earth.

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.

Psalm-prayer

Your power is awesome, Father, and wonderful is your holiness. In your presence the earth both trembles and stands still, for you shattered death’s power by the cross. Rise to help your people: give your light, and grant salvation to the meek of the earth, that they may praise your name in heaven.

Ant. Pay your vows, and bring offerings to the Lord our God, alleluia.

READING Deuteronomy 10:12

What does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul?

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.

Lord, who can dwell in your sanctuary?
– One whose life is blameless, and whose heart is true.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray,
with the warmth of your love, so that,
loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
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.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

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

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Evening Prayer for Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 632
Proper of Seasons: 123
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 1101

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Proper of Seasons: 625
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 931

Evening Prayer II for Sunday 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

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

“Love divine all loves excelling”; Words: Charles Wesley, 1747. Music: John Zundel, 1870
“Love divine all loves excelling” by Gloucester Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

Psalm 110
The Messiah, king and priest
Christ’s reign will last until all his enemies are made subject to him (1 Corinthians 15:25).

The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
“Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

The Lord will wield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.”

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his great wrath.

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

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

Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praising you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.

Ant. In eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

Psalm 112
The happiness of the just man
Live as children born of the light. Light produces every kind of goodness and justice and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9).

Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honor.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
he will see the downfall of his foes.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

The wicked man sees and is angry,
grinds his teeth and fades away;
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

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, you are the eternal light which illumines the hearts of good people. Help us to love you, to rejoice in your glory, and so to live in this world as to avoid harsh judgment in the next. May we come to see the light of your countenance.

Ant. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they will be satisfied.

Ant. 3 Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

Canticle – See Revelation 19:1-7
The wedding of the Lamb

Alleluia.
Salvation, glory, and power to our God:
– Alleluia.
his judgments are honest and true.
– Alleluia. Alleluia.

Ant. Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

Alleluia.
Sing praise to our God, all you his servants,
– Alleluia.
all who worship him reverently, great and small.
– Alleluia. Alleluia.

Ant. Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

Alleluia.
The Lord our all-powerful God is King;
– Alleluia.
Let us rejoice, sing praise, and give him glory.
– Alleluia. Alleluia.

Ant. Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

Alleluia.
The wedding feast of the Lamb has begun,
– Alleluia.
and his bride is prepared to welcome him.
– Alleluia. Alleluia.

Ant. Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

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. Praise God, all you who serve him, both great and small, alleluia.

READING Hebrews 12:22-24

You have drawn near to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born enrolled in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

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

Our Lord is great, mighty is his power.
– Our Lord is great, mighty is his power.

His wisdom is beyond compare,
– mighty is his power.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Our Lord is great, mighty is his power.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. I have come to cast fire upon the earth; how I long to see the flame leap up!

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. I have come to cast fire upon the earth; how I long to see the flame leap up!

INTERCESSIONS

Rejoicing in the Lord, from whom all good things come, let us pray:
– Lord, hear our prayer.

Father and Lord of all, you sent your Son into the world, that your name might be glorified in every place,
strengthen the witness of your Church among the nations.
– Lord, hear our prayer.

Make us obedient to the teachings of your apostles,
and bound to the truth of our faith.
– Lord, hear our prayer.

As you love the innocent,
render justice to those who are wronged.
– Lord, hear our prayer.

Free those in bondage and give sight to the blind,
raise up the fallen and protect the stranger.
– Lord, hear our prayer.

Fulfill your promise to those who already sleep in your peace,
through your Son grant them a blessed resurrection.
– Lord, hear our prayer.

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

O God,
who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray,
with the warmth of your love, so that,
loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
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.

DISMISSAL

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

[markomalley]

Aug 19, Night Prayer for Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, Page 1172
Vol II, Page 1628
Vol III, Page 1272
Vol IV, Page 1236

Christian Prayer:
Page 1037

Night Prayer after Evening Prayer II on Sundays and Solemnities

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.

Kýrie, eléison
– Kýrie, eléison

Christé, eléison
– Christé, eléison

Kýrie, eléison
– Kýrie, eléison

HYMN

O radiant Light, O Son divine
Of God the Father’s deathless face
O image of the light sublime
That fills the heavenly dwelling-place

Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades
As shine the lights of eventide
We praise the Father with the Son
The spirit blest and with them one.

O Son of God, the source of life
Praise is your due by night and day
Unsullied lips must raise the strain
Of your proclaimed and splendid name.

O Radiant Light by Choir of The Cathedral of the Madeleine & The Madeleine Choir School; Lyrics copyright 1973, Fides Publishers, Inc. Notre Dame, Indiana from “Morning Praise and Evensong”. Used by permission of the publisher for non-profit or devotional purposes.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

Psalm 91
Safe in God’s sheltering care
I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions (Luke 10:19).

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.

Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.

With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.

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. Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

READING Revelation 22:4-5

They shall see the Lord face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.

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,
we have celebrated today
the mystery of the rising of Christ to new life.
May we now rest in your peace,
safe from all that could harm us,
and rise again refreshed and joyful,
to praise you throughout another day.
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

[markomalley]

WDTPRS 20th Ordinary Sunday: snatched up into invisible love

The Collect for the 20th Ordinary Sunday, found also in the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary, is in the 1962 Missale Romanum for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost.

Deus, qui diligentibus te bona invisibilia praeparasti, infunde cordibus nostris tui amoris affectum, ut, te in omnibus et super omnia diligentes, promissiones tuas, quae omne desiderium superant, consequamur.

Our prayer has many different words for love and longing: diligo, amor, affectus and the related cor, desiderium, promissio.  Affectus means “a state of body, and especially of mind produced in one by some influence, affection, mood: love, desire, fondness, good will, compassion, sympathy.”  The marvelous diligo means initially, “to value or esteem highly, to love”.  It also has the impact of being careful  and attentive, as in English “diligent”.  When you love, you give your best.  Desiderium is “a longing, ardent desire or wish, properly for something once possessed; grief, regret for the absence or loss of any thing [or person].” Cor is, of course, “heart” and promissio “promise”.  Consequor means, among other things, “pursue, go after, attend, to follow” and also, “to follow a model, copy, obey”.  It indicates, “to follow a preceding cause as an effect, to be the consequence, to arise or proceed from.”  I will say “attain.”

LITERAL RENDERING:

O God, who have prepared unseen goods for those loving You, pour into our hearts the disposition of Your love, so that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may attain Your promises, which surpass every desire.

OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):

God our Father, may we love you in all things and above all things and reach the joy you have prepared for us beyond all our imagining.

CURRENT ICEL (2011):

O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire.

Today’s Collect pulses with longing.

When this is sung aloud – can we please sing our prayers more often? In Latin? – I hear a connection between invisibilia at the beginning and promissiones at the end.  The concepts are ordered climactically, beginning with the ways that we can love on our own (the starting point as the prayer begins), namely, that at first we love with “natural” love, previous to or apart from our new Christian character given to us through baptism.  We then move beyond mere human loves.  We can love, in this world, with the help of the grace which we ask God to pour into our hearts (charity).  Then we aim at the love which awaits us in heaven, a love beyond anything we can experience in this life.  This Love will complete our every hope and desire.

Everything God promised is already fulfilled for us, but we still have to live in love to have later Love Himself.  What a mystery it is that, even though Christ defeated death, we must still pass through death to have Love’s unimaginable fulfillment.  What awaits us at our entrance into the Beatific vision is unimaginable.  For now, however, we can only ache for the completion of what God promised.

Although we have, in our Collect, an ascent in and to Love personified, we shouldn’t oppose natural and supernatural loves. Human love, sometimes called eros, isn’t automatically in conflict with “religious love”.  We are human beings, not angels.  We must avoid the extreme of trying to profane what is supernatural by locking it into the finite and, on the other hand, in this life paying attention to purely spiritualized supernatural love, which would render us ineffective in regard to Our Lord’s two-fold command of love for God and neighbor.  Our good earthly loves are fulfilled in the perfect love which is only in God.  Grace builds on nature, it doesn’t destroy it.  In redeeming us, God did not undo us. He lifts up who and what we are and makes us whole again.

We therefore long for Love, we reach out to it, thirsting for its fullness, its completing, it healing, transforming power. This is the promise we live for in this vale of tears.

Though this is summer, consider the Preface for Christmas, the celebration of Love Incarnate and finally visible:

“For through the mystery of the incarnate Word, the new light of Your glory dazzled the eyes of our mind, so that while we know God visibly, through Him we may be snatched up into invisible love… (in invisibilem amorem rapiamur).”

Richard of St. Victor said: “Love is the eye and to love is to see.” Our Collects teaches us that love is the key to seeing the one who is otherwise unseeable.

[Salvation]

Saint John Eudes, Priest

Saint John Eudes, Priest
Optional Memorial
August 19th

 

(1601-1680) Born in France, he was a gifted preacher and encouraged devotions to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Specially concerned to council and defend endangered women, he founded an association of priest and the religious Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

 

Collect:
O God, who wonderfully chose the Priest Saint John Eudes
to proclaim the unfathomable riches of Christ,
grant us, by his example and teachings,
that, growing in knowledge of you,
we may live faithfully by the light of the Gospel.
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: Ephesians 3:14-19
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

[Salvation]

A saint's days are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] Saint Jean Eudes
On St. John Eudes
Saint John Eudes, Founder Congregation of Jesus and Mary
St. John Eudes, Confessor

[Salvation]

Information: St. John Eudes

Feast Day:	August 19
Born:	November 14, 1601, Ri, France
Died:	August 19, 1680, Caen, France
Canonized:	1925 by Pope Pius XI

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 6
51.	I am the living bread which came down from heaven. 6:52 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.	Ego sum panis vivus, qui de cælo descendi. 6:52 Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in æternum : et panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita.	εγω ειμι ο αρτος ο ζων ο εκ του ουρανου καταβας εαν τις φαγη εκ τουτου του αρτου ζησεται εις τον αιωνα και ο αρτος δε ον εγω δωσω η σαρξ μου εστιν ην εγω δωσω υπερ της του κοσμου ζωης
52.	6:53 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?	6:53 Litigabant ergo Judæi ad invicem, dicentes : Quomodo potest hic nobis carnem suam dare ad manducandum ?	εμαχοντο ουν προς αλληλους οι ιουδαιοι λεγοντες πως δυναται ουτος ημιν δουναι την σαρκα φαγειν
53.	6:54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.	6:54 Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, et biberitis ejus sanguinem, non habebitis vitam in vobis.	ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν εαν μη φαγητε την σαρκα του υιου του ανθρωπου και πιητε αυτου το αιμα ουκ εχετε ζωην εν εαυτοις
54.	6:55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.	6:55 Qui manducat meam carnem, et bibit meum sanguinem, habet vitam æternam : et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die.	ο τρωγων μου την σαρκα και πινων μου το αιμα εχει ζωην αιωνιον και εγω αναστησω αυτον [εν] τη εσχατη ημερα
55.	6:56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.	6:56 Caro enim mea vere est cibus : et sanguis meus, vere est potus ;	η γαρ σαρξ μου αληθως εστιν βρωσις και το αιμα μου αληθως εστιν ποσις
56.	6:57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.	6:57 qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo.	ο τρωγων μου την σαρκα και πινων μου το αιμα εν εμοι μενει καγω εν αυτω
57.	6:58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.	6:58 Sicut misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo propter Patrem : et qui manducat me, et ipse vivet propter me.	καθως απεστειλεν με ο ζων πατηρ καγω ζω δια τον πατερα και ο τρωγων με κακεινος ζησεται δι εμε
58.	6:59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.	6:59 Hic est panis qui de cælo descendit. Non sicut manducaverunt patres vestri manna, et mortui sunt. Qui manducat hunc panem, vivet in æternum.	ουτος εστιν ο αρτος ο εκ του ουρανου καταβας ου καθως εφαγον οι πατερες υμων το μαννα και απεθανον ο τρωγων τουτον τον αρτον ζησεται εις τον αιωνα

[annalex]

51a. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.

ALCUIN. Therefore I say, He that eats this bread, dies not: I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

THEOPHYL. By becoming incarnate, He was not then first man, and afterwards assumed Divinity, as Nestorius fables.

AUG. The manna too came down from heaven; but the manna was shadow, this is substance.

ALCUIN. But men must be quickened by my life: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live, not only now by faith and righteousness, but for ever.

51b. - And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

AUG. Our Lord pronounces Himself to be bread, not only in respect of that Divinity, which feeds all things, but also in respect of that human nature, which was assumed by the Word of God: And the bread, He says, that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

BEDE. This bread our Lord then gave, when He delivered to His disciple the mystery of His Body and Blood, and offered Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross. For the life of the world, i.e. not for the elements, but for mankind, who are called the world.

THEOPHYL. Which I shall give: this shows His power; for it shows that He was not crucified as a servant, in subjection to the Father, but of his own accord; for though He is said to have been given up by the Father, yet He delivered Himself up also. And observe, the bread which is taken by us in the mysteries, is not only the sign of Christ's flesh, but is itself the very flesh of Christ; for He does not say, The bread which I will give, is the sign of My flesh, but, is My flesh. The bread is by a mystical benediction conveyed in unutterable words, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, transmuted into the flesh of Christ. But why see we not the flesh? Because, if the flesh were seen, it would revolt us to such a degree, that we should be unable to partake of it. And therefore in condescension to our infirmity, the mystical food is given to us under an appearance suitable to our minds. He gave His flesh for the life of the world, in that, by dying, He destroyed death. By the life of the world too, I understand the resurrection; our Lord's death having brought about the resurrection of the whole human race. It may mean too the sanctified, beatified, spiritual life; for though all have not attained to this life, yet our Lord gave Himself for the world, and, as far as lies in Him, the whole world is sanctified.

AUG. But when does flesh receive the bread which He calls His flesh? The faithful know and receive the Body of Christ, if they labor to be the body of Christ. And they become the body of Christ, if they study to live by the Spirit of Christ: for that which lives by the Spirit of Christ, is the body of Christ. This bread the Apostle sets forth, where he says, We being many are one body. O sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of love! Whoso wishes to live, let him draw nigh, believe, be incorporated, that he may be quickened.

52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

AUG. The Jews not understanding what was the bread of A peace, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Whereas they who eat the bread strive not among themselves, for God makes them to dwell together in unity.

BEDE. The Jews thought that our Lord would divide His flesh into pieces, and give it them to eat: and so mistaking Him, strove.

CHRYS. AS they thought it impossible that He should do as He said, i.e. give them His flesh to eat, He shows them that it was not only possible, but necessary: Then said Jesus to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

AUG. As if He said, The sense in which that bread is eaten, and the mode of eating it, you know not; but, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

BEDE And that this might not seem addressed to them alone, He declares universally, Whoso eats My flash, and drinks My blood, has eternal life.

AUG. And that they might not understand him to speak of this life, and make that an occasion of striving, He adds, has eternal life. This then he has not who eats not that flesh, nor drinks that blood. The temporal life men may have without Him, the eternal they cannot. This is not true of material food. If we do not take that indeed, we shall not live, neither do we live, if we take it: for either disease, or old age, or some accident kills us after all. Whereas this meat and drink, i.e. the Body and Blood of Christ, is such that he that takes it not has not life, and he that takes it has life, even life eternal.

THEOPHYL. For it is not the flesh of man simply, but of God: and it makes man divine, by inebriating him, as it were, with divinity.

AUG. There are some who promise men deliverance from eternal punishment, if they are washed in Baptism and partake of Christ's Body, whatever lives they live. The Apostle however contradicts them, where he says, The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us examine what is meant here. He who is in the unity of His body, (i.e. one of the Christian members,) the Sacrament of which body the faithful receive when they communicate at the Altar; he is truly said to eat the body, and drink the blood of Christ. And heretics and schismatics, who are cut off from the unity of the body, may receive the same Sacrament; but it does not profit them, may, rather is hurtful, as tending to make their judgment heavier, or their forgiveness later. Nor ought they to feel secure in their abandoned and damnable ways, who, by the iniquity of their lives, desert righteousness, i.e. Christ; either by fornication, or other sins of the like kind. Such are not to be said to eat the body of Christ; forasmuch as they are not to be counted among the members of Christ For, not to mention other things, men cannot be members of Christ, and at the same time members of an harlot.

AUG. By this meat and drink then, He would have us understand the society of His body, and His members, which is the Church, in the predestined, and called, and justified, and glorified saints and believers. The Sacrament whereof, i.e. Of the unity of the body and blood of Christ, is administered, in some places daily, in others on such and such days from the Lord's Table: and from the Lord's Table it is received by some to their salvation, by others to their condemnation. But the thing itself of which this is the Sacrament, is for our salvation to every one who partakes of it, for condemnation to none. To prevent us supposing that those who, by virtue of that meat and drink, were promised eternal life, would not die in the body, Ho adds, And I will raise him up at the last day; i.e. to that eternal life, a spiritual rest, which the spirits of the Saints enter into. But neither shall the body be defrauded of eternal life, but shall be endowed With it at the resurrection of the dead in the last day.

55. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him.
57. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.
58. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.


BEDE. He had said above, Whoso eats My flesh and drinks My blood, has eternal life: and now to show the great difference between bodily meat and drink, and the spiritual mystery of His body and blood, Ho adds, For My flesh its meat indeed, and My blood its drink indeed.

CHRYS. i.e. this is no enigma, or parable, but you must really eat the body of Christ; or He means to say that the true meat was He who saved the soul.

AUG. Or thus: Whereas men desire meat and drink to satisfy hunger and thirst, this effect is only really produced by that meat and drink, which makes the receivers of it immortal and incorruptible; i.e. the society of Saints, where is peace and unity, full and perfect. On which account our Lord has chosen for the types of His body and blood, things which become one out of many. Bread is a quantity of grains united into one mass, wine a quantity of grapes squeezed together. Then He explains what it is to eat His body and drink His blood: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him. So then to partake of that meat and that drink, is to dwell in Christ and Christ in you. He that dwells not in Christ, and in whom Christ dwells not, neither eats His flesh, nor drinks His blood: but rather eats and drinks the sacrament of it to his own damnation.

CHRYS. Or, having given a promise of eternal life to those that eat Him, He says this to confirm it: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him.

AUG. As for those, as indeed there are many, who either eat that flesh and drink that blood hypocritically, or, who having eaten, become apostates, do they dwell in Christ, and Christ in them? Nay, but there is a certain mode of eating that flesh, and drinking that blood, in the which he that eats and drinks, dwells in Christ, and Christ in him.

AUG. That is to say, such an one eats the body and drinks the blood of Christ not in the sacramental sense, but in reality.

CHRYS. And because I live, it is manifest that he will live also: As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father, even so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. As if He said, As the Father lives, so do I live; adding, lest you should think Him unbegotten, By the Father, meaning that He has His source in the Father. He that eats Me, even he shall live by Me; the life here meant is not life simply, but the justified life: for even unbelievers live, who never eat of that flesh at all. Nor is it of the general resurrection He speaks, (for all will rise again,) but of the resurrection to glory, and reward.

AUG. He said not, As I eat the Father, and live by the Father, so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. For the Son does not grow better by partaking of the Father, as we do by partaking of the Son, i.e. of His one body and blood, which this eating and drinking signifies. So that His saying, I live by the Father, because He is from Him, must not be understood as detracting from His equality. Nor do the words, Even he that eats Me, the same shall live by Me, give us the equality that He has. He does not equalize, but only mediates between God and man. If, however, we understand the words, I live by the Father, in the sense of those below, My Father is greater than I, then it is as if He said, That I live by the Father, i.e. refer my life to Him, as my superior, my humiliation in my incarnation is the cause; but He who lives by Me, lives by Me by virtue of partaking of My flesh.

HILARY. Of the truth then of the body and blood of Christ, no room for doubting remains: for, by the declaration of our Lord Himself, and by the teaching of our own faith, the flesh is really flesh, and the blood really blood. This then is our principle of life. While we are in the flesh, Christ dwells in us by His flesh. And we shall live by Him, according as He lives. If then we live naturally by partaking of Him according to the flesh, He also lives naturally by the indwelling of the Father according to the Spirit. His birth did not give Him an alien or different nature from the Father.

AUG. That we who cannot obtain eternal life of ourselves, might live by the eating that bread, He descended from heaven: This is the bread which comes down from heaven.

HILARY. He calls Himself the bread, because He is the origin of His own body. And lest it should be thought that the virtue and nature of the Word had given way to the flesh, He calls the bread His flesh, that, inasmuch as the bread came down from heaven, it might be seen that His body was not of human conception, but a heavenly body. To say that the bread is His own, is to declare that the Word assumed His body Himself.

THEOPHYL. For we do not eat God simply, God being impalpable and incorporeal; nor again, the flesh of man simply, which would not profit us. But God having taken flesh into union with Himself; that flesh is quickening. Not that it has changed its own for the Divine nature; but, just as heated iron remains iron, with the action of the heat in it; so our Lord's flesh is quickening, as being the flesh of the Word of God.

BEDE. And to show the wide interval between the shadow and the light, the type and the reality, He adds, Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.

AUG. The death here meant is death eternal. For even those who eat Christ are subject to natural death; but they live for ever, because Christ is everlasting life.

CHRYS. For if it was possible without harvest or fruit of the earth, or any such thing, to preserve the lives of the Israelites of old for forty years, much more will He be able to do this with that spiritual food, of which the manna is the type. He knew how precious a thing life was in men's eyes, and therefore repeats His promise of life often; just as the Old Testament had done; only that it only offered length of life, He life without end. This promise was an abolition of that sentence of death, which sin had brought upon us. These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum; where many displays of His power took place. He taught in the synagogue and in the temple, with the view of attracting the multitude, and as a sign that He was not acting in opposition to the Father.

Catena Aurea John 6

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The Institution of the Eucharist (Cell 35)

Fra Angelico

1441-42
Fresco, 186 x 234 cm
Convento di San Marco, Florence

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Interactive Saints for Kids

St. John Eudes

Feast Day: August 19
Born: 1601 :: Died: 1680

John Eudes was born in Normandy, in France and was the oldest son of a farmer. Even as a child, he tried to copy the example of Jesus in the way he treated his family, friends and neighbors.

When he was only nine years old, another boy slapped his face and John felt himself becoming angry. Then he remembered Jesus' words in the Gospel: 'to turn the other cheek' and he did.

John's parents wanted him to marry and have a family. He gently but firmly made them understand that he wanted to become a priest. He joined the congregation of the Oratory and studied for the priesthood.

After John was a priest, there was plague in Normandy which brought terrible suffering and death. Father Eudes went to help the sick, caring for both their souls and bodies.

Later, he became a well-liked preacher of missions in parishes. In fact, during his lifetime he preached 110 missions.

St. John started many important religious congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity and the Good Shepherd nuns. He also started the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for priests. This congregation was dedicated to training young men to become good parish priests.

St. John was very devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Holy Heart of Mary. He wrote a book about these devotions.

John became sick after he preached an outdoor mission in very cold weather. He never fully recovered and died in 1680.

The Pope called John Eudes the apostle of devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Catholic

Almanac:

Sunday, August 19
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of St. John Eudes, priest. With St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, he promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart, composing a Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart. St. John died in 1680.

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Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: August 19, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. 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

• Late Summer into Fall Sample Menu

ACTIVITIES

• Religion in the Home for Preschool: August

PRAYERS

• Angelus Domini (The Angel of the Lord)

Ordinary Time: August 19th

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever (John 6:54-58)."

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Proverbs 9:1-6 in which wisdom is described as a person.

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:15-20. St. Paul urges his converts to live according to the Christian wisdom they have received: to live according to the will of the Lord. He urges them to avoid drunkeness, to be full of the Holy Spirit and full of gratitude to God for all the gifts given them.

The Gospel is from St. John 6:51-58. We, like the Christians of the year 90 A.D., have a great advantage over those Galileans to whom Christ spoke in Capernaum. We are convinced that Christ was the Son of God who had become man in order to make us sons of God. He died on the cross as a sacrifice of atonement to his Father for us and for our sins. He himself said "Greater love than this no man hath that a man lay down his life for his friends." That is the greatest sacrifice a man can make for anyone. Christ, however, was more than man, he was God too; he was therefore able to do more for his friends. He was able to leave to his Church the power to repeat the sacrifice of the cross under the symbolic form of the consecrated bread and wine. By this repetition and recalling: "do this in memory of me," his followers could give infinite honor to the Father and renew the infinite atonement made on their behalf on Calvary. Furthermore, by partaking of this real sacrifice offered to God Christians could be united with Christ and with the Father in an intimate manner.

The Eucharist is a sacrifice and a sacrament. As a sacrifice it is the repetition, the re-enactment, of Christ's sacrifice of himself on Calvary. It is a sacrifice of infinite value for it is the same Christ, the God-man, who is offering himself, through the medium of his human representative, to his heavenly Father. It is a sacrament for it is a visible sign instituted by Christ to give us grace. Under the visible appearances of bread and wine, it is the source of all grace whom we receive within us. The staple human nourishment, bread and wine, are changed into the infinite source of our staple spiritual nourishment, the body and blood of Christ.

The Blessed Eucharist is a mystery in so far as our minds cannot understand how exactly Christ is present on our altars after the words of consecration. The very words given us by Christ himself have been said over the bread and wine. But while we cannot grasp how exactly this happens, we can have no room for doubt but that it does happen: for we have the solemn affirmation of Christ the Son of God that it is so. In today's Gospel he clearly says "the bread which I shall give ... is my flesh. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." And during the course of the Last Supper "he took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them saying `take, this is my body.' And he took a cup . . . he gave it to them and they all drank of it. And he said to them: `this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many"' (Mk. 14: 22). That the Apostles accepted his word and made this ceremony of partaking of the consecrated bread and wine the central act of the Christian worship from the very beginning of the Church, is fully proved in the Acts of the Apostles and in the writings of St. Paul. This has continued down to our day and will continue as long as men inhabit the earth.

For devout Christians the biggest mystery about the Blessed Eucharist is the mystery of the divine love that moved Christ to leave us such an intimate and such an effective memorial of the love he proved to have for us on Calvary. We certainly do not deserve this extra proof of his love. He opened heaven for us, he showed us how to get there, he did not leave us to struggle alone. His infinite and divine love made him find a means of remaining always with us in our tabernacles, and of opening the floodgates of divine mercy each time this sacrifice is offered on our altars. Furthermore, he wanted to give himself to us as the life-giving food which would give us the spiritual strength for salvation. The infinite love of Christ for us is the only explanation of this. And what return do we make for this love? We attend at the sacrifice of the Mass realizing that by active participation we are capable of giving infinite honor to God. Do we receive this truly heavenly food, the body of Christ, with the proper preparation? Do we visit Christ in the church where he ever remains ready to receive us and to listen to our requests?

If the Jews of old could boast: "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us" (Dt. 4:7), how much more truly can we Christians make such a boast, for Christ our Lord has deigned to remain with us on our altars until the end of time.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

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The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 6:51-58

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” (Psalm 34:9)

We can all relate to eating. We all know what hunger feels like. We all need to eat in order to survive. But it’s one thing to eat just to survive or satisfy our hunger, and it’s another thing altogether to enjoy healthy, well-prepared food. It’s the difference between fast food and a gourmet meal!

That’s why the psalmist speaks of God’s goodness as something we can taste, and talks about God’s praises being always in his mouth (Psalm 34:2). It’s why we hear of Wisdom preparing a banquet table full of understanding and the knowledge of God (Proverbs 9:2, 5)!

These meals offer us something more than just an end to our hunger. They offer us a spiritual food that will satisfy our longing for heaven itself! It’s with these thoughts in mind that Jesus offers us his body and blood as true food and drink—it’s the food that will bring us to everlasting life.

Many people take great care with the food they eat. They go to great lengths to make sure it’s healthy, nutritious, and appetizing. And that’s the way we should all care for our physical needs. But how much more important it is when it comes to our spiritual needs!

Everything we consume—whether it’s the food we put into our mouths, the words that enter our ears, or the images that come into our eyes—has the potential to nourish us or sicken us. It can strengthen us or weaken us—body and soul!

The world is full of things that can fill you, but God doesn’t want you to settle for just quenching your thirst or satisfying your hunger. Look higher. Look to what is even bet­ter, what will give you heavenly life! Saturate your mind with the word of God. Let the Holy Spirit fill you with life-giving water during prayer. And above all, receive Jesus, the bread of life, in the Eucharist! Why settle for just a hamburger when you can have a heavenly feast?

“Lord Jesus, I want to drink deeply of your life. Come, Lord, and fill my hunger with your heavenly bread!”

Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34:2-7; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58

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A Christian Pilgrim

THE LIVING BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN

(A biblical refection on THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – August 19, 2012) 

Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58 

First Reading: Prov 9:1-6; Psalms: Ps 34:2-3,10-15; Second Reading: Eph 5:15-20 

The Scripture Text

I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”  (Jn 6:51-58 RSV) 

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56)

It really sounds inviting to be able to “abide” in Christ! The Greek word for abide in this passage  has connotations of dwelling, remaining, and enduring, all of which point to Jesus’ desire to have a close relationship with us.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus drew the apostles to Himself with words: “Come and see,” and John tells us: “They came and … stayed with Him that day (Jn 1:39). Throughout their time with Him, they learned about the Father’s enduring love and the life of faith He was calling them to. They experienced forgiveness of sins, healings, powerful miracles, and godly teaching with authority. Friendship with Jesus was like no other relationship they had ever known.

However, how could this close relationship continue after He returned to the Father? Jesus gave the answer – the Eucharist. In the gift of His body and blood, we hear Jesus saying: “Yes, come and stay with Me. I abide in you; come and abide in Me.”

By the power of the Spirit, God has prepared a special place in each of us where Jesus dwells. As we take time to rest with Him and learn from Him, we meet Jesus and we are refreshed. As we continue resting in Him, we are moved to surrender all to Him – our lives, our concerns, all of our circumstances – and we open our hearts to Him. In the intimacy of the moment, we may feel like God is holding us close like beloved children, writing His truths deep within us.

Those who learn to remain in Jesus’ presence know the promise of eternal life (Jn 6:51,58). This promise can fill us with hope and trust in God as He gives us a taste of His joy and the strength to endure the trials that are a normal part of life in this world. Let us prepare ourselves for Jesus. He will remain in us as often as we receive Him.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we receive You in the Eucharist today, help us to open our hearts to You. Teach us to abide in You, and show us how fully You abide in us. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

HE GOOD LIFE

(A biblical refection on THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – August 19, 2012) 

First Reading: Prov 9:1-6; Psalms: Ps 34:2-3,10-15 ; Second Reading: Eph 5:15-20; Gospel Reading: Jn 6:51-58 

The world of advertising often appeals to our basic human needs for food and drink. Television commercials like Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” cater to our hunger for food. Magazine ads with slogans like Coca-Cola’s “It’s the real thing” claim that their drink will satisfy our thirst.

The whole express purpose of advertisers is to sell us the good life by promising that their products will satisfy our every desire. We might say that today’s readings make their own sales pitch for the good life, except that they speak about life in a higher sense.

In the first reading from Proverbs, Wisdom invites us to come to her table where we can eat her food and drink her wine. She calls us to forsake foolishness that we may live and advance in the way of understanding.

In the Gospel, Jesus says that He Himself gives life to the world. His flesh is real food and His blood is real drink. Anyone who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will live forever.

In his Pelican commentary on this text, John Marsh underlines the meaning of the adjective real in the phrases real food and real drink:

These are what satisfy those hungers and thirst from which men suffer in distinction from all other earthly creatures. Man’s genuine nourishment lies in them; without them the really “human” person dies, even though he continues to live in the flesh, but with them he lives the life that is really life both here in the course of history and in that which lies beyond history in the world to come.

We can better appreciate Marsh’s insight if we compare some of the extravagant claims of advertisers to satisfy our needs for this life with the claims of Christ to give us life in a higher sense.

Since we have a need for the pleasures of oral gratification, many of us want to have our “Winstons taste good like a cigarette should.” But there are also spiritual delights which today’s Psalm 34 addresses when it says: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”

From time to time we have a need to escape from boredom and monotony. So to answer our need we have airline ads like United’s beckoning us to “Fly away in our friendly skies.”

Yet when we are weary, only the Lord can really refresh us in the fullest sense: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).

We naturally seek security and protection for ourselves and our families. So insurance companies like Prudential propose to give us a “Piece of the Rock” of security.

Nonetheless, only Jesus can promise and guarantee us eternal life: “The man who feeds on this bread shall live forever.”

It seems that no matter what our basic needs are, advertisers claim they have the product or service to provide for them. Yet, contrary to their claims, what they offer is not the real thing at all, but only an illusion, a fantasy, a substitute. To verify this, for example, a male customer need only compare his car on a cold winter morning with the television model accompanied by a warm female.

Advertisers shout about the essentials of life, but offer things that are merely superficial. It is only Christ who can show us how to really live and to live more abundantly.

What Jesus gives in the Eucharist is not an illusion. It is real food and real drink. What Jesus gives is not something superficial. It is His own body and His own blood. What Jesus gives is not a temporary gratification. It is a life that will last forever.

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 19, 2012:

“(L)ive, not as foolish persons but as wise.” (Eph 5:15) Who is the wisest (not smartest) living person you know? Who is the most foolish? Do you and your spouse share the same opinion of these people?

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Sunday Scripture Study

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time  -  Cycle B

August 19, 2012

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer  

First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6

Psalm: 34:2-7

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20

Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58

• We return to the setting of the readings for the last three Sundays—the synagogue at Capernaum. The Passover is near and it is a year before Good Friday.

• We start with the verse we ended with last Sunday (John 6:51). The crowd has realized that Jesus is speaking not in metaphor, but literally (this is in contrast to Nicodemus—John 3:4—and the Samaritan woman at the well—John 4:11—who started out thinking literally and then were corrected by Jesus to think spiritually).

• In their minds he is talking about cannibalism and blood drinking—both personally repulsive and accursed under the Jewish Law (see Deuteronomy 28:53; Leviticus 17:10-14), as well as being an existing term of abuse that meant to slander and revile someone (Psalm 27:2).

• The Greek term rendered “will live forever” in verse 58 only appears here and in Genesis 3:22. This implies a connection between the Eucharist (the Bread of Life) and the Tree of Life in paradise. Missing in the crowd’s understanding of Jesus’ words, then, is that the life he will give through his body (see Hebrews 10:5-10) and blood (on the cross and in the Eucharist) is eternal—spiritual—life.

 

QUESTIONS:

• The setting for Jesus’ discourse on the Eucharist is in the synagogue on the Jewish feast of Passover. Why are each of these conditions significant?

• What is the crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ statement of verse 51? How does Jesus respond? Read verse 52. Do you think the Jews thought Jesus was speaking in a symbolic or metaphorical sense? Why or why not? What would you have thought?

• Compare verse 53 with the words of Jesus at the institution of the Eucharist (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Mark 14:22-25). How are these words similar and a fulfillment of John 6: 53-56? What is required for one to be raised on the Last Day?

• What promise does Jesus make in verse 54? What kind of authority must someone have to make such a promise—and be able to keep it?

• How might the old adage “You are what you eat” apply to this passage? Of what are we to become partakers of (see 2 Peter 1:4)? In verse 56, how do we abide in Christ (cf. John 15: 1-10)?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 787, 1331, 1355, 1381, 1391, 2837

 

Obey your bishop and clergy with undivided mind…Share in one common breaking of bread [Eucharist]—the medicine of immortality, and the sovereign remedy by which we escape death and live in Jesus Christ for evermore.             - St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca. A.D. 35—107)

 

[Salvation]

 Jesus, Who Means What He Says

Pastor's Column

20th Sunday Ordinary Time

August 19, 2012

 

          The words of Jesus Christ in John chapter 6 are just as scandalous to hear today as they were when Jesus first said them 2000 years ago.  Jesus, of course, uses many metaphors when describing himself, among them:  I am "The Son of Man," "The Light of the World," "The Way the Truth and the Life," “The Vine” and "The Door.”

          But when Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life," he was not just using another metaphor.  He really meant what he said.  To emphasize this, he repeats himself seven times, each time more emphatic than the last.  Seven is the divine number: in the Bible, this number stands for perfection.  Here are seven of the most scandalous phrases (from John chapter 6) that Jesus ever said:

 

“The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

"I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you."

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink."

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."

"Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me."

"Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

 

          When we receive communion at Mass, we are not receiving a metaphor, although it may be convenient to think so.  If this really is the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, then how great is the importance of what I am doing when I receive the Body and Blood of Christ!  What does it mean to consume Jesus Christ?  For one thing, it means that Jesus Christ, the maker of all things, who is on an order being far beyond anything we can imagine, is inviting us to his table as a friend, something unimaginable to us now.  With what holiness should we receive him?  Each time I receive communion, let me tell Jesus that I love him; let me tell Jesus I'm sorry for my sins; if I have a serious sin, let me go to confession first; and having received him, let me go out and allow him to change my world, beginning with my own heart.

                                                                Father Gary

[Salvation]

20th Sunday: True Words

"My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink"

Sunday Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/081912.cfm

Proverbs 9: 1-6

Eph 5: 15-20

Jn 6: 51-58

I think most of us, more likely all of us, are tired of hearing bad news.  In this election year the ping pong volley of positions and statements makes us want to just say, “All right already!  Let’s just get this over with. That’s enough with the mudslinging and gossip.”

Certainly the mountain of press that was spent on the Catholic Church and the whole tarnished image of sexual scandal in the priesthood bring us to make the same cry.  Scandal caused by irresponsible behavior or words touch us deeply with disgust and disappointment.  But, there is another kind of scandal that challenges us as well, albeit in a different way.

That scandal may be referred to as the scandal of truth. The scandal of straight talk which brings a particular issue into the light of day; it forces us to make a choice about our own thinking and behavior.  Such we may apply to Jesus himself for it is clear from the Scriptures that he indeed confronted with the truth and meant what he said. What he said was sometimes subtle like many of the parables but at times it was a kind of frying pan over the head. 

This Sunday we’ve been given a good knock on the head: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you . . .” In the original Greek, John emphasizes the literal meaning of Jesus' word eat the flesh.  John relates that Jesus stressed to gnaw the flesh or chew the flesh, as in the act of tearing a piece of meat apart with our teeth as we eat.  Cannibalism?  This was an accusation flung at the early Christians by the pagan world in regards to their Eucharistic assemblies.

To the sensibilities of the early Jews such a literal picture was repulsive, as it surely is to us as well.  While Jesus obviously does not mean to eat human flesh, let alone his, he must mean something else.  With the eyes of faith and an open heart we come to understand the meaning of this scandalous teaching.  

The scandal of these words was not only its literal imagery but even more so the challenge to the status quo that it brought to Jesus’ audience and to us. Jesus’ emphasis on chewing his body and drinking his blood is a clear reference for the early Christians to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  At those assemblies, the Christians found a fellowship among themselves and an encounter with the living Christ which created their sense of community.  They knew that Christ was truly present among them under the signs of bread and wine and that in feasting on those species, they shared in the life of the risen Lord. It was truly living bread.

This challenged the status quo of public worship which placed the emphasis on the sacred Word or Torah revered at synagogue services by the early Jews of the time. So, is it a meal or the precepts of the sacred Torah that unite us to God?

The first reading from the book of Proverbs says: “. . . She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table . . . come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed . . . that you may advance in the way of understanding.”  It sounds like there is something very special about this food we share at the meal we celebrate.

Not only are we wise to eat at this meal, as the book of Proverbs remind us, but in doing so we create a relationship between ourselves and the one who has provided the meal for us – between us and the risen Savior. What our early Christian brothers and sisters believed, so do we today.   

The unique character of this meal is that it is unlike any other type of food.  While we are certainly guided by the Law of God as we read in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, we are a people of relationship and encounter.  In the Eucharistic gathering we encounter the living Christ in his “living bread” and we find ourselves in a spiritual relationship of brother and sisterhood with those who share in this living bread.  For us Catholic - Christians, this meal is the primary place we come to feast.  That is our identity. The Word of God feeds us and we are fed with Christ himself who is food for our journey to eternal life.

The scandal here is the literal truth that what Christ alone provides is more than what we could ever be given by technology, science, medicine, or any other person.  The wonders of science, technology and medicine are indeed true accomplishments to be celebrated. Yet, we are confronted and confused often by the promises that are made by leaders, television advertisements, new medical treatments, and the like that promises far more than they are able to deliver.  Marketing can be seductive.  “Read the fine print” before you buy. 

Only the words of Jesus can be ultimately counted upon.  Only Christ does indeed deliver what he promises.  If our Lord says he is the living bread – he is.  If he says that “unless you eat (chew) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life,” we don’t.  If he states, “he who feeds on me will have life because of me,” we will.

This is the meaning of true that Jesus speaks of.  The scandal is its truth which confronts our very lives and the way in which we choose to embrace what we profess. The scandal of Jesus’ words still rings true today and confronts all the naysayers which dismiss any relevance of the Christian message or of Christ himself or of Christians. 

What or who is my bread of life?  Where do I go to be fed?  

 

Fr. Tim      

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

So intimate an alliance

By

Father Mark

 on August 19, 2012 8:27 AM |

 

Priestly Union with the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, 19 August, is the feast of Saint John Eudes, priest and ardent mystic of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Saint John Eudes is numbered among the few saints who lived a mystical espousal with the Most Holy Mother of God. Already as a young man, John Eudes placed a wedding band on the finger of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was a portent of things to come. As a priest, a reformer of the clergy, and an outstanding preacher, he experienced the fruitfulness that results from what one must dare to call a spousal intimacy with the Mother of God.

Something to Which All Priests Should Aspire

Saint John Eudes presents this grace as something to which all priests should aspire. To describe it he uses the French word alliance: covenant, bond, or union. Significantly, the same word is used to designate a wedding ring. I decided to translate the following passage from his Memorial on the Life of Ecclesiastics:

The Eternal Father

Consider that priests have a special alliance with the most holy Mother of God. This because, just as the Eternal Father made her participate in His divine paternity, and gave her the power to form in her womb the same Son whom He begets in His bosom, so too does He communicate to priests that same paternity, giving them power to form this same Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and in the hearts of the faithful.

The Son

As the Son made her [the Virgin Mary] His cooperator and coadjutrix (helpmate) in the work of the redemption of the world, so too does He make priests His cooperators and coadjutors in the work of saving souls.

The Holy Ghost

As the Holy Ghost, in an ineffable manner, associated her [the Virgin Mary] with Himself in the most divine of His operations, and in the masterpiece of His that is the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, so too does He associate priests with Himself to bring about an extension and a continuation of this mystery in each Christian, in whom the Son of God, in some manner, incarnates Himself by means of Baptism and by the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Mediatrix of All Graces

Just as the Eternal Father gave us His Son through her [the Virgin Mary], so too does He give Him to us through His priests. Even as all the graces that come forth to us from the Heart of God pass through the hands of Mary, so too are they given us by the ministry of priests. This in such wise that, just as Mary is the treasurer of the Most Holy Trinity, priests too bear this title.

The Sacrifice of Christ

Finally, it is through her that Jesus was offered to His Father at the first and last moment of His life, when she received Him in her sacred womb, and when she accompanied Him to the sacrifice that He made of Himself on the cross; and it is by means of priests that He is immolated daily upon our altars.

Mother of the Sovereign Priest

This is why priests, being bound by so intimate an alliance and so marvelous a conformity to the Mother of the Sovereign Priest, have very particular obligations to love her, to honour her, and to clothe themselves in her virtues, in her spirit, and in her dispositions. Humble yourselves that you should find yourselves so far removed from this. Enter into the desire to tend thereto with all your heart. Offer yourselves to her, and pray her to help you mightily.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

The Good Samaritan

By

Father Mark

 on August 19, 2012 9:19 AM |

 

The Mystery of the Good Samaritan

Today's Gospel, the parable of the Good Samaritan, is familiar to us. It is, perhaps, too familiar. That may be the problem. We assume that we have grasped its message when, in fact, its message may not yet have grasped our hearts. The Fathers of the Church discerned a mystery -- that is to say, something hidden -- in the story of the Good Samaritan: the mystery of the healing mercy of God revealed in Christ.

God Suffers at the Sight of Our Suffering

The Good Samaritan is none other than Christ Himself. In the days of His flesh, as He journeyed in this world, Christ came to where we were (cf. Lk 10:33). And when He saw all of us, sinners, stripped, and beaten, and left for dead in a ditch, He had compassion (cf. Lk 10:33). The human Heart of God was moved. God, looking upon us through the eyes of His Christ, suffered at the sight of our suffering.

Ethical Religion Alone Is Not Enough

It would be altogether too facile to reduce the message of today's gospel to its ethical demands alone, to hear it exclusively in terms of a social imperative. Be good. Be sensitive. Be caring. Show mercy. It is, of course, all of that.

In Chapter IV of the Holy Rule Saint Benedict counts the corporal and spiritual works of mercy among the Instruments of Good Works.

Saint Vincent de Paul writes that "we must try to be stirred by our neighbors' worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions."

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina: "I demand of you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for me. You are to show mercy to your neighbours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it."

Wanting to Be Splendid

All of that being said, there is more to the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Most of us prefer to cast ourselves in the role of the Samaritan rather than to see ourselves in the one robbed, stripped, forsaken, and half-dead. The Samaritan is the hero. The Samaritan keeps the upper hand in the story. The Samaritan is splendid. Who among us does not, at least sometimes, want to be splendid?

Salvation in the Gutter

Churches are full of splendid people and of people who want to be splendid. We needed the teaching of a twenty-four year old Doctor of the Church to see that holiness is not about being splendid at all. Saint Thérèse tells that it is, rather, about accepting that we have landed in the gutter, that we are in fact without resources, stripped, wounded, half-dead, and utterly incapable of changing any of that by ourselves. The God who bends over our souls with a face of indescribable tenderness, the God who touches our wounds with the strong and gentle hands of mercy, meets us not in the high places, not in Jerusalem, nor in Jericho, nor on the road of a splendid progress, but in the gutter of our absolute need of Him.

Discerning the Face, the Heart, the Hands of Christ

In the Samaritan of today's gospel, the Fathers of the Church discern the face, the heart, the hands of Christ. Christ is near us in our poverty, near us in our nakedness, nearer to us when we are broken and brought very low than we when we are splendid and marching on. "A Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion" (Lk 10:33).

Christ Stops for Each of Us

Christ comes to where we are and, seeing us, has compassion. Christ stops for each of us; He binds up our wounds, pouring oil and wine upon them, cleansing and disinfecting them, healing them with the medicine of His Spirit and of His Blood. Christ lifts us from where He finds us. He brings us to the inn of His Father's healing hospitality where He cares for us, and pays all our expenses.

The Human Face of God

When the poor man opened his eyes to see who it was who was caring for him with such tenderness he beheld a human face. Christ is the human Face of God, the Face we behold when we open our eyes to see who it is who is caring for us. In the end, it is the experience of this Face that changes us. It is in the closeness of this Face to ours, with, as Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity said, "His eyes in our eyes," and with the warmth of His breath upon us, that we are resurrected to newness of life and sent back to the road whence we came to "go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37).