From: Habakkuk 1:12-2:4

The prophet’s second complaint

[12] Art thou not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, thou hast ordained them as a judgment;
and thou, O Rock, hast established them for chastisement.
[13] Thou who art of purer eyes than to behold evil
and canst not look on wrong,
why dost thou look on faithless men,
and art silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
[14] For thou makest men like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
[15] He brings all of them up with a hook,
he drags them out with his net,
he gathers them in his seine;
so he rejoices and exults.
[16] Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his seine;
for by them he lives in luxury,
and his food is rich.
[17] Is he then to keep on emptying his net,
and mercilessly slaying nations for ever?

[1] I will take my stand to watch,
and station myself on the tower,
and look forth to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

God’s reply

[2] And the Lord answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain upon tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
[3] For still the vision awaits its time;
it hastens to the end — it will not lie.
If it seem slow, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
[4] Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.

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Commentary:

1:12-2:1. Here the prophet gives full expression to his confusion. He admits that
God is the sovereign Lord who has raised up the Chaldeans “as a judgment” and
“for chastisement” (1:12). The chastisement is valid, but what he does not under-
stand is the method God uses: How is it possible for the Lord, who is the immor-
tal Holy One (1:12), to choose a treacherous and unbelieving nation to carry out
the punishment (1:13)? And he then goes on to explain in what this treachery
and faithlessness consists. He describes the treachery by using the analogy of
fishing: men, the righteous (cf. 1:13), are like fish that are living in their natural
habitat, the sea, and the in invader is like the fisherman who catches them with
his hook, net and seine (1:15) and then kills them. But this treachery turns into
irreligion; for the invader delights in what he does; worse still, he adores what
gives him power (1:16-17; cf. 1:11). There may be a reference here to some Eas-
tern peoples who had the custom of offering an annual sacrifice to their sword,
taking it as a symbol of their god of war (Herodotus, History, 4, 62), but in bibli-
cal tradition the seduction of power is often likened to or described as idolatry:
“Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant tempta-
tion to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idola-
try whenever he honours and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be
gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the
state, money, etc. Jesus says, ‘You cannot serve God and mammon’ (Mt 6:24).
Many martyrs died for not adoring ‘the Beast’, refusing even to simulate such
worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible
with communion with God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2113).

But the prophet is a man of faith; even though he does not understand what God
is telling him, he continues to listen carefully, because he knows that God will
not fail him: “Listen to the words of Habakkuk: I will take my stand to watch, and
station myself on the tower, and look forth to see what he will say to me, and
what I will answer concerning my complaint. We too, my beloved brothers, should
be watchmen, for the day of battle has come. Let us enter into the depths of our
hearts, where Christ lives and awaits us. May we refine our spirits and be prudent,
never trusting to our own strengths, but concentrating on keeping our watch and
weak guard” (St Bernard, Sermones de diversis, 5, 4).

2:2-4. As if admitting that the prophet is right, God answers his questions. The
first point he makes clear is that when he promises something, it will happen:
time may pass, but his word will not pass away unfulfilled (vv. 2-3). And this de-
lay is a test of people’s faithfulness (v. 4).

The last verse here (”Behold ... the righteous shall live by his faith”) is important
in both the Jewish and Christian biblical traditions. Some rabbis saw it as a sum-
mary of all 613 commandments of the Law; the writers of the Qumran commen-
tary understood it to mean that he who kept the Law would escape the Judgment;
and in the New Testament it is quoted on a number of occasions in connexion
with the power of faith and the need for fortitude.

However, the verse is difficult to translate; this can he seen in various translations
and even in the way the text is quoted in the New Testament. The Letter to the
Hebrews 10:38 quotes this passage, working from the Greek translation, to exhort
Christians to persevere in the faith they have received: “My righteous one shall live
by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” Although the au-
thor of Hebrews inverts the order of the original, the meaning is unchanged. Simi-
larly, “faith” (”faithfulness”: note d) translates a very common word (’emunah)
which means stability, faithfulness, faith. It is a quality of God (Deut 32:4) and also
of those who honour him (2 Chron 19:9) and who are righteous in his eyes (Prov
12:22). In Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, St Paul quotes the second part of the
Habakkuk verse (”the righteous shall live by his faith”) applied to the individual, to
ground his teaching on justification by faith rather than by the works of the Law.
St Paul’s use of the verse means that it is very important from a Christian point of
view.

St Jerome’s interpretation takes account of both the original audience and the
Christian readership: “If your faith is weak and you begin to doubt that what was
promised will come about, you will cause my soul great displeasure. But the just
man, who believes in my word and never doubts the promises I make, will receive
eternal life as his reward [...]. It is clear that these words contain a prophecy of
the coming of Christ. The problem they contain will be resolved by him: sin will tri-
umph and punishment be never-ending until He comes” (Commentarii in Abacuc,
2, 4). The verse is similar in style to a proverb (or maxim), and can be readily ap-
plied to the Christian life. For example, just as the New Testament says of St Jo-
seph that he was a just man (cf. Mt 1:19), the Habakkuk passage can be applied
to him as a sign that justice implies faith: “To be just is not simply a matter of
obeying rules. Goodness should grow from the inside; it should be deep and vital
— for the just man lives by faith’ (Hab 2:4). These words, which later became a fre-
quent subject of St Paul’s meditation, really did apply in the case of St Joseph.
He didn’t fulfill the will of God in a routine or perfunctory way; he did it sponta-
neously and wholeheartedly. For him, the law which every practising Jew lived by
was not a code or a cold list of precepts, but an expression of the will of the li-
ving God. So he knew how to recognize the Lord’s voice when it came to him so
unexpectedly and so surprisingly” (St. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 41).

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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.

From: Matthew 17:14-20

The Curing of an Epileptic Boy

[14] And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling be-
fore him said, [15] “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he
suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. [16] And I
brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” [17] And Jesus an-
swered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How
long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” [18] And Jesus rebuked him,
and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. [19] Then the
disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” [20]
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have
faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move hence to
yonder place,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

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Commentary:

14-21. This episode of the curing of the boy shows both Christ’s omnipotence
and the power of prayer full of faith. Because of his deep union with Christ, a
Christian shares, through faith, in God’s own omnipotence, to such an extent
that Jesus actually says on another occasion, “he who believes in me will also
do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go
to the Father” (Jn 14:12).

Our Lord tells the Apostles that if they had faith they would be able to work mi-
racles, to move mountains. “Moving mountains” was probably a proverbial sa-
ying. God would certainly let a believer move a mountain if that were necessary
for his glory and for the edification of one’s neighbor; however, Christ’s promise
is fulfilled everyday in a much more exalted way. Some Fathers of the Church
(St. Jerome, St. Augustine) say that “a mountain is moved” every time someone
is divinely aided to do something which exceed man’s natural powers. This clear-
ly happens in the work of our sanctification, which the Paraclete effects in our
souls when we are docile to him and receive with faith and love the grace given
us in the sacraments: we benefit from the sacraments to a greater or lesser de-
gree depending on the dispositions with which we receive them. Sanctification
is something more sublime than moving mountains, and it is something which
is happening every day in so many holy souls, even though most people do not
notice it.

The Apostles and many saints down the centuries have in fact worked amazing
material miracles; but the greatest and most important miracles were, are and
will be the miracles of souls dead through sin and ignorance being reborn and
developing in the new life of the children of God.

20. Here and in the parable of Matthew 13:31-32 the main force of the compari-
son lies in the fact that a very small seed — the mustard seed — produces a
large shrub up to three meters (ten feet) high: even a very small act of genuine
faith can produce surprising results.

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading
Habakkuk 1:12-2:4 ©

If the vision comes slowly, wait: it will come without fail

Are not you, from ancient times the Lord,

my God, my Holy One, who never dies?

O Lord, you have made this people an instrument of justice,

set it firm as a rock in order to punish.

Your eyes are too pure to rest on wickedness,

you cannot look on at tyranny.

Why do you look on while men are treacherous,

and stay silent while the evil man swallows a better man than he?

You treat mankind like fishes in the sea,

like creeping, masterless things.

A people, these, who catch all on their hook,

who draw them with their net,

in their dragnet gather them,

and so, triumphantly, rejoice.

At this, they offer a sacrifice to their net,

and burn incense to their dragnet,

for providing them with luxury

and lavish food.

Are they then to empty their net unceasingly,

slaughtering nations without pity?

I will stand on my watchtower,

and take up my post on my battlements,

watching to see what he will say to me,

what answer he will make to my complaints.

Then the Lord answered and said,

‘Write the vision down,

inscribe it on tablets

to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only:

eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;

if it comes slowly, wait,

for come it will, without fail.

‘See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,

but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 9A(9):8-13 ©

You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.

The Lord sits enthroned for ever.

He has set up his throne for judgement;

he will judge the world with justice,

he will judge the peoples with his truth.

You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,

a stronghold in times of distress.

Those who know your name will trust you;

you will never forsake those who seek you.

You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.

Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.

Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples,

for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,

has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or:	cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 17:14-20 ©

If your faith were the size of a mustard seed, the mountain would move

A man came up to Jesus and went down on his knees before him. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘take pity on my son: he is a lunatic and in a wretched state; he is always falling into the fire or into the water. I took him to your disciples and they were unable to cure him.’ ‘Faithless and perverse generation!’ Jesus said in reply ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And when Jesus rebuked it the devil came out of the boy who was cured from that moment.

Then the disciples came privately to Jesus. ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ they asked. He answered, ‘Because you have little faith. I tell you solemnly, if your faith were the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move; nothing would be impossible for you.’

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 17
14.	And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water.	Et cum venisset ad turbam, accessit ad eum homo genibus provolutus ante eum, dicens : Domine, miserere filio meo, quia lunaticus est, et male patitur : nam sæpe cadit in ignem, et crebro in aquam.	και ελθοντων αυτων προς τον οχλον προσηλθεν αυτω ανθρωπος γονυπετων αυτον
15.	17:14 And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water.	17:14 Et cum venisset ad turbam, accessit ad eum homo genibus provolutus ante eum, dicens : Domine, miserere filio meo, quia lunaticus est, et male patitur : nam sæpe cadit in ignem, et crebro in aquam.	και λεγων κυριε ελεησον μου τον υιον οτι σεληνιαζεται και κακως πασχει πολλακις γαρ πιπτει εις το πυρ και πολλακις εις το υδωρ
16.	17:15 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.	17:15 Et obtuli eum discipulis tuis, et non potuerunt curare eum.	και προσηνεγκα αυτον τοις μαθηταις σου και ουκ ηδυνηθησαν αυτον θεραπευσαι
17.	17:16 Then Jesus answered and said: O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.	17:16 Respondens autem Jesus, ait : O generatio incredula, et perversa, quousque ero vobiscum ? usquequo patiar vos ? Afferte huc illum ad me.	αποκριθεις δε ο ιησους ειπεν ω γενεα απιστος και διεστραμμενη εως ποτε εσομαι μεθ υμων εως ποτε ανεξομαι υμων φερετε μοι αυτον ωδε
18.	17:17 And Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour.	17:17 Et increpavit illum Jesus, et exiit ab eo dæmonium, et curatus est puer ex illa hora.	και επετιμησεν αυτω ο ιησους και εξηλθεν απ αυτου το δαιμονιον και εθεραπευθη ο παις απο της ωρας εκεινης
19.	17:18 Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said: Why could not we cast him out?	17:18 Tunc accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum secreto, et dixerunt : Quare nos non potuimus ejicere illum ?	τοτε προσελθοντες οι μαθηται τω ιησου κατ ιδιαν ειπον δια τι ημεις ουκ ηδυνηθημεν εκβαλειν αυτο
20.	17:19 Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.	17:19 Dixit illis Jesus : Propter incredulitatem vestram. Amen quippe dico vobis, si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis, dicetis monti huic : Transi hinc illuc, et transibit, et nihil impossibile erit vobis.	ο δε ιησους ειπεν αυτοις δια την απιστιαν υμων αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν εαν εχητε πιστιν ως κοκκον σιναπεως ερειτε τω ορει τουτω μεταβηθι εντευθεν εκει και μεταβησεται και ουδεν αδυνατησει υμιν
21.	17:20 But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.	17:20 Hoc autem genus non ejicitur nisi per orationem et jejunium.	τουτο δε το γενος ουκ εκπορευεται ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια

(*) Verses 14-15 breakdown differs.

14. And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15. Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.
17. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

ORIGEN; Peter, anxious for such desirable life, and preferring his own benefit to that of many, had said, It is good for us to be here. But since charity seeks not her own, Jesus did not this which seemed good to Peter, but descended to the multitude, as it were from the high mount of His divinity, that He might be of use to such as could not ascend because of the weakness of their souls; whence it is said, And when he was come to the multitude; for if He had not gone to the multitude with His elect disciples, there would not have come near to Him the man of whom it is added, There came to him a man kneeling down, and, saying, Lord, have mercy on my son.

Consider here, that sometimes those that are themselves the sufferers believe and entreat for their own healing, sometimes others for them, as he who kneels before Him praying for his son, and sometimes the Savior heals of Himself unasked by any. First, let us see what this means that follows, For he is lunatic, and sorely vexed. Let the physicians talk as they wish; for they think it no unclean spirit, but some bodily disorder, and say, that the humors in the head are governed in their motions by sympathy with the phases of the moon, whose light is of the nature of humors. But we who believe the Gospel say that it is an unclean spirit that works such disorders in men. The spirit observes the moon's changes, that it may cheat men into the belief that the moon is the cause of their sufferings, and so prove God's creation to be evil; as other demons lay wait for men following the times and courses of the stars, that they may speak wickedness in high places, calling some stars malignant, others benign; whereas no star was made by God that it should produce evil. In this that is added, For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water,

CHRYS; is to be noted, that were not man fortified here by Providence, he would long since have perished; for the demon who cast him into the fire, and into the water, would have killed him outright, had God not restrained him.

JEROME; In saying, And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him, he covertly accuses the Apostles, whereas that a cure is impossible is sometimes the effect not of want of power in those that undertake it, but of want of faith in those that are to be healed.

CHRYS; See herein also his folly, in that before the multitude he appeals to Jesus against His disciples. But He clears them from shame, imputing their failure to the patient himself; for many things show that he was weak in faith. But He addresses His reproof not to the man singly, that He may not trouble him, but to the Jews in general. For many of those present, it is likely, had improper thoughts concerning the disciples, and therefore it follows, Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, how long shall I suffer you? His How long shall I be with you? shows that death was desired by Him, and that He longed for His withdrawal.

REMIG; It may be known also, that not now for the first time, but of a long time, the Lord had borne the Jews' stubbornness, whence He says, How long shall I suffer you? because I have now a long while endured your iniquities, and you are unworthy of My presence.

ORIGEN; Or; Because the disciples could not heal him as being weak in faith, He said to them, O faithless generation, adding perverse, to show that their perverseness had introduced evil beyond their nature. But I suppose, that because of the perverseness of the whole human race, as it were oppressed with their evil nature, He said, How long shall I be with you?

JEROME; Not that we must think that He was overcome by weariness of them, and that The meek and gentle broke out into words of wrath, but as a physician who might see the sick man acting against his injunctions, would say, How long shall I frequent your chamber? How long throw away the exercise of my skill, while I prescribe one thing, and you do another? That it is the sin, and not the man with whom He is angry, and that in the person of this one man He convicts the Jews of unbelief, is clear from what He adds, Bring him to me.

CHRYS; When He had vindicated His disciples, He leads the boy's father to a cheering hope of believing that he shall be delivered out of this evil; and that the father might be led to believe the miracle that was coming, seeing the demon was disturbed even when the child was only called;

JEROME; He rebuked him, that is, not the sufferer, but the demon.

REMIG; In which deed He left an example to preachers to attack sins, but to assist men.

JEROME; Or, His reproof was to the child, because for his sins he had been seized on by the demon.

RABAN; The lunatic is figuratively one who is hurried into fresh vices every hour, one while is cast into the fire, with which the hearts of the adulterers burn; or again into the waters of pleasures or lusts, which yet have not strength to quench love.

AUG. Or the fire pertains to anger, which aims upwards, water to the lusts of the flesh.

ORIGEN; Of the changefulness of the sinner it is said, The fool changes as the moon. We may see sometimes that an impulse towards good works comes over such, when, lo! again as by a sudden seizure of a spirit they are laid hold of by their passions, and fall from that good state in which they were supposed to stand. Perhaps his father stands for the Angel to whom was allotted the care of this lunatic, praying the Physician of souls, that He would set free his son, who could not be delivered from his suffering by the simple word of Christ's disciples, because as a deaf person he cannot receive their instruction, and therefore he needs Christ's word, that henceforth he may not act without reason.

19. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20. And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
21. This kind goes not out except by prayer and fasting.

CHRYS; The disciples had received from the Lord the power over unclean spirits, and when they could not heal the demoniac thus brought to them, they seem to have had misgivings lest they had forfeited the grace once given to them; hence their question. And they ask it apart, not out of shame, but because of the unspeakable matter of which they were to ask.

Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief.

HILARY; The Apostles had believed, yet their faith was imperfect; while the Lord tarried in the mount, and they abode below with the multitude, their faith had become stagnant.

CHRYS; Whence it is plain that the disciples' faith was grown weak, yet not all, for those pillars were there, Peter, and James, and John.

JEROME; This is what the Lord says in another place, Whatever you shall ask in my name believing, you shall receive. Therefore when we receive not, it is not the weakness of Him that gives, but the fault of them that ask.

CHRYS; But it is to be known, that, as often the faith of him that draws near to receive supplies the miraculous virtue, so often the power of those that work the miracle is sufficient even without the faith of those who sought to receive. Cornelius and his house hold, by their faith, attracted to them the grace of the Holy Spirit; but the dead man who was cast into the sepulcher of Elisha, was revived solely by virtue of the holy body. It happened that the disciples were then weak in faith; for indeed they were but in an imperfect condition before the cross; wherefore He here tells them, that faith is the mean of miracles, I say to you, if you shall have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence, and it shall remove.

JEROME; Some think that the faith that is compared to a grain of mustard-seed is a little faith, whereas the Apostle says, If I shall have such faith that I could remove mountains. The faith therefore which is compared to a grain of mustard-seed is a great faith.

GREG; The mustard-seed, unless it be bruised, does not give out its qualities, so if persecution fall upon a holy man, straightway what had seemed weak and contemptible in him is roused into the heat and fervor of virtue.

ORIGEN; Or, all faith is likened to a grain of mustard-seed, because faith is looked on with contempt by men, and shows as something poor and mean; but when a seed of this kind lights upon a good heart as its soil, it becomes a great tree. The weakness of this lunatic's faith is yet so great, and Christ is so strong to head him amidst all his evils, that He likens it to a mountain which cannot be cast out but by the whole faith of him who desires to heal afflictions of this sort.

CHRYS; So He not only promises the removal of mountains, but goes beyond, saying, And nothing shall be impossible to you.

RABAN; For faith gives our minds such a capacity for the heavenly gifts, that whatsoever we will we may easily obtain from a faithful Master.

CHRYS; If you shall ask, Where did the Apostles remove mountains? I answer, that they did greater things, bringing many dead to life. It is told also of some saints, who came after the Apostles, that they have in urgent necessity removed mountains . But if mountains were not removed in the Apostles' time, this was not because they could not, but because they would not, there being no pressing occasion. And the Lord said not that they should do this thing, but that they should have power to do it. Yet it is likely that they did do this, but that it is not written, for indeed not all the miracles that they wrought are written.

JEROME; Or; the mountain is not said of that which we see with the eyes of the body, but signified that spirit which was removed by the Lord out of the lunatic, who is said by the Prophet to be the corrupter of the whole earth.

GLOSS; So that the sense then is, you shall say to this mountain, that is to the proud devil, Remove hence, that is from the possessed body into the sea, that is into the depths of hell, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you, that is, no sickness shall be incurable.

AUG; Otherwise; That the disciples in working their miracles should not be lifted up with pride, they are warned rather by the humbleness of their faith, as by a grain of mustard-seed, to take care that they remove all pride of earth, which is signified by the mountain in this place.

RABAN; But while He teaches the Apostles flow the demon ought to be cast out, He instructs all in regulation of life; that we may all know that all the heavier infliction, whether of unclean spirits, or temptations of men, may be removed by fasts and prayers; and that the wrath also of the Lord may be appeased by this remedy alone; whence he adds, This kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting.

CHRYS; And this He says not of lunatics in particular, but of the whole class of demons. For fast endues with great wisdom, makes a man as an Angel from heaven, and beats down the unseen powers of evil. But there is need of prayer as even still more important. And who prays as he ought, and fasts, had need of little more, and so is not covetous, but ready to almsgiving. For he who fasts, is light and active, and prays wakefully, and quenches his evil lusts, makes God propitious, and humbles his proud stomach. And he who prays with his fasting, has two wings, lighter than the winds themselves. For he is not heavy and wandering in his prayers, (as is the case with many,) but his zeal is as the warmth of fire, and his constancy as the firmness of the earth. Such an one is most able to contend with demons, for there is nothing more powerful than a man who prays properly. But if your health be too weak for strict fast, yet is it not for prayer, and if you cannot fast, you can abstain from indulgences. And this is not a little, and not very different from fast.

ORIGEN; If then we shall ever be required to be employed in the healing of those who are suffering any thing of this sort, we shall not adjure them, nor ask them questions, nor even speak, as though the unclean spirit could hear us, but by our fasting and our prayers drive away the evil spirits.

GLOSS; Or; This class of demons, that is the variety of carnal pleasures, is not overcome unless the spirit be strengthened by prayer, and the flesh enfeebled by fast.

REMIG; Or, fasting is here understood generally as abstinence not from food only, but from all carnal allurements, and sinful passions. In like manner prayer is to be understood in general as consisting in pious and good acts, concerning which the Apostle speaks, Pray without ceasing.

Catena Aurea Matthew 17

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, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there 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.

6. 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 Joyful Mysteries

(Mondays and Saturdays)

1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

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

Sacred Heart Of Jesus image

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary image

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

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August 11, 2018

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin

Reading 1 Hab 1:12—2:4

Responsorial Psalm Ps 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

Alleluia See 2 Tm 1:10

Gospel Mt 17:14-20

Readings at Mass