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From: Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63

Jerusalem, the unfaithful wife

[1] Again the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, make known to
Jerusalem her abominations, [3] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem:
Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an
Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. [4] And as for your birth, on the day you were
born your navel string was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse
you, nor rubbed with salt, nor swathed with bands. [5] No eye pitied you, to do
any of these things to you out of compassion for you; but you were cast out on
the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

[6] “And when I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you
in your blood, ‘Live, [7] and grow up like a plant of the field.’ And you grew up and
became tall and arrived at full maidenhood; your breasts were formed, and your
hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

[8] “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, behold, you were at the
age for love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yea, I
plighted my troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord GOD,
and you became mine. [9] Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood
from you, and anointed you with oil. [10] I clothed you also with embroidered cloth
and shod you with leather, I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
[11] And I decked you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms, and a
chain on your neck. [12] And I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears,
and a beautiful crown upon your head. [13] Thus you were decked with gold and
silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth; you ate
fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful, and came to regal
estate. [14] And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beau-
ty, for it was perfect through the splendor which I had bestowed upon you, says
the Lord GOD. [15] “But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot be-
cause of your renown, and lavished your harlotries on any passer-by.

[60] [Y]et I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I
will establish with you an everlasting covenant. [63] that you may remember and
be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when
I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD.”

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

16:1-19:14. In these chapters Ezekiel announces the sentence passed on Israel
and Judah on account of the transgressions and sins they have been piling up.
He does this by imagining a formal trial (rib) in which the charges are described
by a series of allegories. First there is the story of the unfaithful and evil wife, who
stands for Israel (chap. 16); then comes the allegory of the eagles, symbolizing
the deportation: Nebuchadnezzar seems to destroy everything before him, but
the Lord comes on the scene and sets about reassembling the broken pieces
(chap. 17); thirdly, the metaphor of the father and son is used to reiterate tea-
ching about personal responsibility (chap. 18); thirdly, the metaphor of the father
and son is used to reiterate teaching about personal responsibility (chap. 18);
and finally, comes the allegory of the lioness and her cubs — a lament over the
plight of the Exiles in Babylon (chap. 19).

16:1-43. The prophet Hosea was the first to use the metaphor of the wanton wife
to charge Israel with her infidelity (Hos 1-3); Jeremiah uses the imagery of mar-
riage to describe the Covenant and how Israel came to break it (Jer 2:2). Ezekiel,
here and in chapters 20 and 23, is the one who develops the metaphor most. The
wife is Jerusalem, depicted with negative features from her birth onwards (vv. 1-5)
and then completely transformed into the most beautiful of princesses (vv. 6-14).
However, she proved unfaithful and committed the most vile sins of adultery with
the empires round about (vv. 15-34). All this, a mixture of fact and metaphor,
paves the way for the sentence that must be passed: “I will judge you as women
who break wedlock” (v. 38); she will become the prey of the nations that she adu-
lated (vv. 35-41). But the end is not destruction (vv. 42-43), as one would have ex-
pected; it is the start of a new phase (cf. 16:59-63). Ezekiel, who is addressing
the exiles, once again opens the door to hope in an ultimate restoration (vv. 42-
43).

16:1-5. “Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite” (v. 3). Jerusalem
had, in fact, belonged to the Canaanites until David conquered it; these would
have included the Amorites, a Semitic people (cf. Num 21:13), and the Hittites,
who had come from Asia Minor (cf. Gen 23:16). Ezekiel is not so much con-
cerned about historical accuracy (cf. Deut 7:1 and par.) as in pointing out the pa-
gan origins of the holy city, to make it clear that all its qualities and all its digni-
ty derive solely from the Lord. The practices mentioned in v. 4 were ancient cus-
toms to do with the care of newborn babies. The point being made is that in addi-
tion to having an obscure origin, Jerusalem began life utterly alone.

16:6-34. The charge of infidelity against Jerusalem lies in the endowments it re-
ceived from God (vv. 6-14) and its history of wickedness — evidence of the fact
that it has persistently abused God’s gifts (vv. 15-34). Although the charge has
historical basis, the passage is not meant to be a detailed catalogue; the point
being made is that the city had a history of sin and infidelity.

“I passed by you” (v. 6): when God passes by, he brings salvation; here he turns
an abandoned child into the most beautiful of women, the envy of all her peers.
St John of the Cross will apply this to what happens when the Lord passes by
the soul (”Spiritual Canticle”, 23, 6) and the things said here help us to see the
relationship between the soul and God as a love story. St Thérèse of Lisieux men-
tions Ezekiel in this connexion: “I was at the most troubling age for girls. But the
Lord passed by, and did for me as he said he would do, in the words of the pro-
phet Ezekiel: ‘When he passed by me, Jesus saw that I was at the age for love.
He pledged his troth to me, and I became his … He wrapped his cloak about me,
and anointed me with perfume; he dressed me in embroidered cloth and silk, and
gave me gold and silver and precious jewels to wear ... He gave me fine flour and
honey and oil to eat ... and I grew more and more beautiful, until I was like a
queen ...’ (cf. Ezek 16:6-13). Jesus did all these things for me. I could repeat,
again, all the words that I have just written, and show how he has fulfilled each,
one by one, in me. But all the graces that I have referred to elsewhere are proof
enough” (”Autobiographical Writings”, 5, 47, r).

“You trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot” (v. 15): breaking away from
God, particularly the sin of idolatry, was called prostitution by the prophets who
used marriage as a metaphor for the Covenant (cf. Hos 2:18-25; Jer 2:2-3). Ezek-
iel accentuates the features of this sin by pointing out that, instead of being paid
for her harlotry, Jerusalem took the initiative: she gave herself over to her lovers,
that is, other gods, and, worse still, presented to them the finery that the Lord
had bestowed on her (v. 33): that was how Jerusalem behaved towards Egypt (v.
26), Assyria (v. 28) and Babylon (v. 29). The prophet shows that, since Jerusa-
lem’s history could not have been worse, it would be difficult to devise a punish-
ment fitted to such a crime. However, while spelling out the whole charge, Eze-
kiel is able to see the wonderful rehabilitation that will take place once her pu-
nishment is over.

Some of the things he says have been read as a prophecy about Christ: “The
Daughter of Sion did not repay the Lord for the gifts she received from his bounty.
The Father washed her clean with his blood; she covered his son with spittle. He
dressed her in the purple robes of kings; she wrapped him in a rag woven from
jibes and jeers. He crowned her with glory; she crowned him with thorns. He gave
her milk and honey to eat; she gave him gall to drink. He poured out pure wine for
her; she handed him a sponge dipped in vinegar. He made her welcome in his ci-
ties; she cast him out into the wilderness. He clothed her feet in sandals; she
made him limp barefoot to Golgotha. He gave her a sapphire brooch to wear on
her breast; she pierced his side with a spear. When she committed outrages a-
gainst the servants of God and killed the prophets, and endured exile in Babylon
as a punishment, he led her home to freedom when the day of her chastisement
was ended” (St Ephraem of Nisibi, “Commentarii in Diatessaron”, 18, 1).

Pseudo-Macanus, for his part, applies this text of Ezekiel to every Christian soul
that has been unfaithful to divine grace. After quoting and making a précis of 16:
6-15, he exclaims: “Thus does the Spirit reprove the soul who, by his grace, had
come to know God; the soul who had been forgiven all his past sins, and adorned
with the precious gifts of the Holy Spirit, and given divine and heavenly food to eat;
the soul who, in spite of his knowledge of the Lord, turned his back on righteous
living, and was cast out of the life in which he had once rejoiced because his
deeds were not just, and he was judged lacking in love for Christ, his heavenly
spouse” (”Homiliae spirituals”, 15, 4).

*********************************************************************************************
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 19:3-12

Marriage and Virginity

[3] And Pharisees came up to Him (Jesus) and tested Him by asking, “Is it
lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read
that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and
said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one’? [6] So they are no longer two but one. What
therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” [7] They said to Him,
“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her
away?” [8] He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to
divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you: who-
ever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adul-
tery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

[10] The disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is
not expedient to marry.” [11] But He said to them, “Not all men can receive this
precept, but only those to whom it is given. [12] For there are eunuchs who have
been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men,
and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the
Kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

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

4-5. “Marriage and married love are by nature ordered to the procreation and edu-
cation of children. Indeed children are the supreme gift of marriage and greatly
contribute to the good of the parents themselves. God Himself said: ‘It is not good
that man should be alone’ (Genesis 2:18), and ‘from the beginning (He) made them
male and female’ (Matthew 19:4); wishing to associate them in a special way with
his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: ‘Be fruitful
and multiply’ (Genesis 1:28). Without intending to underestimate the other ends
of marriage, it must be said that true married life and the whole structure of family
life which results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiant-
ly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and en-
rich His family from day to day” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 50).

9. Our Lord’s teaching on the unity and indissolubility of marriage is the main
theme of this passage, apropos of which St. John Chrysostom comments that
marriage is a lifelong union of man and woman (cf. “Hom. on St. Matthew”, 62).
On the meaning of “except for unchastity”, see the note on Matthew 5:31-32).

11. “Not all men can receive this precept”: our Lord is fully aware that the de-
mands involved in His teaching on marriage and His recommendation of celiba-
cy practised out of love of God run counter to human selfishness. That is why
He says that acceptance of this teaching is a gift from God.

12. Our Lord speaks figuratively here, referring to those who, out of love for Him,
renounce marriage and offer their lives completely to Him. Virginity embraced for
the love of God is one of the Church’s most precious charisms (cf. 1 Corinthians
7); the lives of those who practise virginity evoke the state of the blessed in Hea-
ven, who are like the angels (cf. Matthew 22:30). This is why the Church’s Magis-
terium teaches that the state of virginity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is
higher than the married state (cf. Council of Trent, “De Sacram. Matr.”, can. 10;
cf. also Pius XII, “Sacra Virginitas”). On virginity and celibacy the Second Vati-
can Council teaches: “The Church’s holiness is also fostered in a special way by
the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to His disciples in the Gospel for
them to observe. Towering among these counsels is that precious gift of divine
grace given to some by the Father (cf. Matthew 19:11; 1 Corinthians 7:7) to de-
vote themselves to God alone more easily in virginity or celibacy [...]. This per-
fect continence for love of the Kingdom of Heaven has always been held in high
esteem by the Church as a sign and stimulus of love, and as a singular source
of spiritual fertility in the world” (”Lumen Gentium”, 42; cf. “Perfectae Caritatis”,
12). And, on celibacy specifically, see Vatican II’s “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 16
and “Optatam Totius”, 10.

However, both virginity and marriage are necessary for the growth of the Church,
and both imply a specific calling from God: “Celibacy is precisely a gift of the
Spirit. A similar though different gift is contained in the vocation to true and faith-
ful married love, directed towards procreation according to the flesh, in the very
lofty context of the sacrament of Matrimony. It is obvious that this gift is funda-
mental for the building up of the great community of the Church, the people of
God. But if this community wishes to respond fully to its vocation in Jesus Christ,
there will also have to be realized in it, in the correct proportion, that other gift,
the gift of celibacy ‘for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Bl. John Paul II,
“Letter To All Priests”, 1979).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

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

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

EITHER:

First reading
Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63 ©

I clothed you with my own splendour but you made yourself a prostitute

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her filthy crimes. Say, “The Lord says this: By origin and birth you belong to the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. At birth, the very day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel-string, or wash you in cleansing water, or rub you with salt, or wrap you in napkins. No one leaned kindly over you to do anything like that for you. You were exposed in the open fields; you were as unloved as that on the day you were born.

‘“I saw you struggling in your blood as I was passing, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live, and grow like the grass of the fields. You developed, you grew, you reached marriageable age. Your breasts and your hair both grew, but you were quite naked. Then I saw you as I was passing. Your time had come, the time for love. I spread part of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness; I bound myself by oath, I made a covenant with you – it is the Lord who speaks – and you became mine. I bathed you in water, I washed the blood off you, I anointed you with oil. I gave you embroidered dresses, fine leather shoes, a linen headband and a cloak of silk. I loaded you with jewels, gave you bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your throat. I gave you nose-ring and earrings; I put a beautiful diadem on your head. You were loaded with gold and silver, and dressed in fine linen and embroidered silks. Your food was the finest flour, honey and oil. You grew more and more beautiful; and you rose to be queen. The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed you with my own splendour – it is the Lord who speaks.

‘“You have become infatuated with your own beauty; you have used your fame to make yourself a prostitute; you have offered your services to all comers. But I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever. And so remember and be covered with shame, and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I have pardoned you for all that you have done – it is the Lord who speaks.”’

OR:

Alternative First reading
Ezekiel 16:59-63 ©

I will renew my covenant with you and you will learn that I am the Lord

The Lord says this: ‘Jerusalem, I will treat you as you deserve, you who have despised your oath even to the extent of breaking a covenant, but I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever. And you for your part will remember your past behaviour and be covered with shame when I take your elder and younger sisters and make them your daughters, although that was not included in this covenant. I am going to renew my covenant with you; and you will learn that I am the Lord, and so remember and be covered with shame, and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I have pardoned you for all that you have done – it is the Lord who speaks.’

Responsorial Psalm	Isaiah 12 ©

The rejoicing of a redeemed people

Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.

Truly, God is my salvation,

I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

Declare the greatness of his name.

Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

for he has done glorious deeds;

make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.

Gospel Acclamation	Ps110:7,8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;

they stand firm for ever and ever.

Alleluia!

Or:	cf.1Th2:13

Alleluia, alleluia!

Accept God’s message for what it really is:

God’s message, and not some human thinking.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 19:3-12 ©

Husband and wife are no longer two, but one body

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’

They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable’ he said ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of fornication – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’

The disciples said to him, ‘If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.’ But he replied, ‘It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 19
3.	And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?	Et accesserunt ad eum pharisæi tentantes eum, et dicentes : Si licet homini dimittere uxorem suam, quacumque ex causa ?	και προσηλθον αυτω οι φαρισαιοι πειραζοντες αυτον και λεγοντες αυτω ει εξεστιν ανθρωπω απολυσαι την γυναικα αυτου κατα πασαν αιτιαν
4.	Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said:	Qui respondens, ait eis : Non legistis, quia qui fecit hominem ab initio, masculum et feminam fecit eos ? Et dixit :	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ουκ ανεγνωτε οτι ο ποιησας απ αρχης αρσεν και θηλυ εποιησεν αυτους
5.	For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh.	Propter hoc dimittet homo patrem, et matrem, et adhærebit uxori suæ, et erunt duo in carne una.	και ειπεν ενεκεν τουτου καταλειψει ανθρωπος τον πατερα [αυτου] και την μητερα και προσκολληθησεται τη γυναικι αυτου και εσονται οι δυο εις σαρκα μιαν
6.	Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.	Itaque jam non sunt duo, sed una caro. Quod ergo Deus conjunxit, homo non separet.	ωστε ουκετι εισιν δυο αλλα σαρξ μια ο ουν ο θεος συνεζευξεν ανθρωπος μη χωριζετω
7.	They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away?	Dicunt illi : Quid ergo Moyses mandavit dare libellum repudii, et dimittere ?	λεγουσιν αυτω τι ουν μωσης ενετειλατο δουναι βιβλιον αποστασιου και απολυσαι αυτην
8.	He saith to them: Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.	Ait illis : Quoniam Moyses ad duritiam cordis vestri permisit vobis dimittere uxores vestras : ab initio autem non fuit sic.	λεγει αυτοις οτι μωσης προς την σκληροκαρδιαν υμων επετρεψεν υμιν απολυσαι τας γυναικας υμων απ αρχης δε ου γεγονεν ουτως
9.	And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.	Dico autem vobis, quia quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam, nisi ob fornicationem, et aliam duxerit, mœchatur : et qui dimissam duxerit, mœchatur.	λεγω δε υμιν οτι ος αν απολυση την γυναικα αυτου μη επι πορνεια και γαμηση αλλην μοιχαται και ο απολελυμενην γαμησας μοιχαται
10.	His disciples say unto him: If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry.	Dicunt ei discipuli ejus : Si ita est causa hominis cum uxore, non expedit nubere.	λεγουσιν αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου ει ουτως εστιν η αιτια του ανθρωπου μετα της γυναικος ου συμφερει γαμησαι
11.	Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given.	Qui dixit illis : Non omnes capiunt verbum istud, sed quibus datum est.	ο δε ειπεν αυτοις ου παντες χωρουσιν τον λογον τουτον αλλ οις δεδοται
12.	For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it.	Sunt enim eunuchi, qui de matris utero sic nati sunt : et sunt eunuchi, qui facti sunt ab hominibus : et sunt eunuchi, qui seipsos castraverunt propter regnum cælorum. Qui potest capere capiat.	εισιν γαρ ευνουχοι οιτινες εκ κοιλιας μητρος εγεννηθησαν ουτως και εισιν ευνουχοι οιτινες ευνουχισθησαν υπο των ανθρωπων και εισιν ευνουχοι οιτινες ευνουχισαν εαυτους δια την βασιλειαν των ουρανων ο δυναμενος χωρειν χωρειτω

3. The Pharisees also came to him, tempting him, and saying to him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4. And he answered and said to them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5. And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh?
6. Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.
7. They say to him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorce, and to put her away?
8. He said to them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

CHRYS; For indeed Christ so healed men, as to do good both to themselves, and through them to many other. For these men's healing was to others the occasion of their knowledge of God; but not to the Pharisees, who were only hardened by the miracles; whence it follows; And the Pharisees came to him, tempting him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

JEROME; That they might have Him as it were between the horns of a syllogism, so that, whatever answer He should make, it would lie open to cavil. Should He allow a wife to be put away for any cause, and the marriage of another, he would seem to contradict Himself as a preacher of chastity. Should He answer that she may not be put away for any cause whatsoever, He will be judged to have spoken impiously, and to make against the teaching of Moses and of God.

CHRYS; Observe their wickedness even in the way of putting their question. The Lord had above disputed concerning this law, but they now ask Him as though He had spoken nothing thereof; supposing He had forgot what He had before delivered in this matter.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; But, as when you see one much pursuing the acquaintance of physicians, you know that he is sick, so, when you see either man or woman inquiring concerning divorce, know that that man is lustful and that woman unchaste. For chastity has pleasure in wedlock, but desire is tormented as though under a slavish bondage therein. And knowing that they had no sufficient cause to allege for their putting away their wives, save their own lewdness, they feigned many divers causes. They feared to ask Him for what cause, lest they should be tied down within the limits of fixed and certain causes; and therefore they asked if it were lawful for every cause; for they knew that appetite knows no limits, and cannot hold itself within the bounds of one marriage, but the more it is indulged the more it is kindled.

ORIGEN; Seeing the Lord thus tempted, let none of His disciples who is set to teach think it hard if he also be by some tempted. However, He replies to His tempters with the doctrines of piety.

JEROME; But He so frames His answer as to evade their snare. He brings in the testimony of Holy Writ, and the law of nature, and opposing God's first sentence to this second, He answered and said to them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? This is written in the beginning of Genesis This teaches that second marriages are to be avoided, for He said not male and females, which was what was sought by the putting away of the first, but, male and female, implying only one tie of wedlock.

RABAN; For by the whole some design of God it was ordained that a man should have in the w omen a part of his own body, and should not look upon as separate from himself that which he knew was formed out of himself.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; If then God created the male and female out of one, to this end that they should be one, why then henceforth were not they born man and wife at one birth, as it is with certain insects? Because God created male and female for the continuance of the species, yet is He ever a lover of chastity, and promoter of continence. Therefore did He not follow this pattern in all kinds, to the end that, if any man choose to marry, he may know what is, according to the first disposition of the creation, the condition of man and wife; but if he choose not to marry, he shall not be under necessity to marry by the circumstances of his birth, lest he should by his continence be the destruction of the other who was not willing to be continent; for which same cause God forbids that after being joined in wedlock one should separate if the other be unwilling.

CHRYS. But not by the law of creation only, but also by the practice of the law, He shows that they ought to be joined one and one, and never put asunder; And he said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife.

JEROME; In like manner He says his wife, and not wives, and adds expressly, and they two shall be one flesh For it is the reward of marriage that one flesh, namely in the offspring, is made of two.

GLOSS; Or, one flesh, that is in carnal connection.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; If then because the wife is made of the man, and both one of one flesh, a man shall leave his father and his mother, then there should be yet greater affection between brothers and sisters, for these come of the same parents, but man and wife of different. But this is saying too much, because the ordinance of God is of more force than the law of nature. For God's precepts are not subject to the law of nature, but nature bends to the precepts of God. Also brethren are born of one, that they should seek out different roads; but the man and the wife are born of different persons, that they should coalesce in one. The order of nature also follows the appointment of God. For as is the sap in trees, so is affection in man. The sap ascends from the roots into the leaves, and passes forth into the seed. Therefore parents love their children, but are not so loved of them, for the desire of a man is not towards his parents, but towards the sons whom he has begot; and this is what is said, Therefore shall a man lease his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife.

CHRYS; See the wisdom of the Teacher. Being asked, Is it lawful, He said not straight, It is not lawful, lest they should be troubled, but establishes it through a proof. For God made them from the beginning male and female, and not merely joined them together, but bade them quit father and mother; and not bade the husband merely approach his wife, but be joined to her, showing by this manner of speaking the inseparable bond. He even added a still closer union, saying, And they two shall be one flesh.

AUG; Whereas Scripture witnesses that these words were said by the first man, and the Lord here declares that God spoke them, hence we should understand that by reason of the ecstasy which had passed upon Adam, he was enabled to speak this as a prophecy.

REMIG; The Apostle says that this is a mystery in Christ and the Church; for the Lord Jesus Christ left His Father when He came down from heaven to earth; and He left His mother, that is, the synagogue, because of its unbelief, and crave to His wife, that is, the Holy Church, and they two are one flesh, that is, Christ and the Church are one body.

CHRYS; When He had brought forward the words and facts of the old law, He then interprets it with authority, and lays down a law, saying, Therefore they are no more two, but one flesh. For as those who love one another spiritually are said to be one soul, And all they that believed had one heart and one soul, so husband and wife who love each other after the flesh, are said to be one flesh. And as it is a wretched thing to cut the flesh, so is it an unjust thing to put away a wife.

AUG; For they are called one, either from their union, or from the derivation of the woman, who was taken out of the side of the man.

CHRYS; He brings in God yet again, saying, What God has joined, let no man put asunder, showing that it is against both nature and God's law to put away a wife; against nature, because one flesh is therein divided; against law, because God has joined and forbidden to sunder them.

JEROME; God has joined by making man and woman one flesh; this then man may not put asunder, but God only. Man puts asunder, when from desire of a second wife the first is put away; God puts asunder, who also had joined, when by consent for the service of God we so have our wives as though we had them not.

AUG; Behold now out of the books of Moses it is proved to the Jews that a wife may not be put away. For they thought that they were doing according to the purport of Moses' law when they did put them away. This also we learn hence by the testimony of Christ Himself, that it was God who made it thus, and joined them male and female; which when the Manicheans deny, they are condemned, resisting the Gospel of Christ.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; This sentence of chastity seemed hard to these adulterers; but they could not make answer to the argument. However, they will not submit to the truth, but betake themselves for shelter to Moses, as men having a bad cause fly to some powerful personage, that where justice is not, his countenance may prevail; They say to him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

JEROME; Here they reveal the cavil which they had prepared; but the Lord had not given sentence of Himself, but had recalled to their minds ancient history, and the commands of God.

CHRYS; Had the Lord been opposed to the Old Testament, He would not thus have contended in Moses' behalf, nor have gone about to show that what was his, was in agreement with the things of old. But the unspeakable wisdom of Christ made answer and excuse for these in this manner, He said to them, Moses for the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives. By this He clears Moses from their charge, and retorts it all upon their own head.

AUG; For how great was that hardness! When not even the intervention of a bill of divorce, which gave room for just and prudent men to endeavor to dissuade, could move them to renew the conjugal affection. And with what wit do the Manicheans blame Moses, as severing wedlock by a bill of divorce, and commend Christ as, on the contrary, confirming its force? Whereas according to their impious science they should have praised Moses for putting asunder what the devil had joined, and found fault with Christ who riveted the bonds of the devil.

CHRYS; At last, because what He had said was severe, He goes back to the old law, saying, From the beginning it was not so.

JEROME; What He says is to this purpose. Is it possible that God should so contradict Himself, as to command one thing at first, and after defeat His own ordinance by a new statute? Think not so; but, whereas Moses saw that through desire of second wives who should be richer, younger, or fairer, that the first were put to death, or treated ill, he chose rather to suffer separation, than the continuance of hatred and assassination. Observe moreover that He said not God suffered you, but, Moses; showing that it was, as the Apostle speaks, a counsel of man, not a command of God.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Therefore said He well, Moses suffered, not commanded. For what we command, that we ever wish; but when we suffer, we yield against our will, because we have not the power to put full restraint upon the evil wills of men. He therefore suffered you to do evil that you might not do worse; thus in suffering this he was not enforcing the righteousness of God, but taking away its sinfulness from a sin; that while you did it according to His law, your sin should not appear sin.

9. And I say to you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commit adultery: and who marries her which is put away, does commit adultery.

CHRYS; Having stopped their mouths, He now set forth the Law with authority, saying, But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery.

ORIGEN; Perhaps some one will say, that Jesus in thus speaking, suffered wives to be put away for the same cause that Moses suffered them, which He says was for the hardness of the hearts of the Jews. Put to this it is to be answered, that if by the Law an adulteress is stoned, that sin is not to be understood as the shameful thing for which Moses suffers a writing of divorce; for in a cause of adultery it was not lawful to give a writing of divorce. But Moses perhaps calls every sin in a woman a shameful thing, which if it be found in her, a bill of divorce is written against her. But we should inquire, If it is lawful to put away a wife for the cause of fornication only, what is it if a woman be not an adulteress, but have done any other heinous crime; have been found a poisoner, or to have murdered her children? The Lord has explained this matter in another place, saying, who puts her away, except for the cause of fornication, makes her to commit adultery, giving her an opportunity of a second marriage.

JEROME; It is fornication alone which destroys the relationship of the wife; for when she has divided one flesh into two, and has separated herself by fornication from her husband, she is not to be retained, lest she should bring her husband also under the curse, which Scripture has spoken, He that keep an adulteress is a fool and wicked.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; For as he is cruel and unjust that puts away a chaste wife, so is he a fool and unjust that retains an unchaste; for in that he hides the guilt of his wife, he is an encourager of foulness.

AUG; For a reunion of the wedlock, even after actual commission of adultery, is neither shameful nor difficult, where there is an undoubted remission of sin through the keys of the kingdom of heaven; not that after being divorced from her husband an adulteress should be called back again, but that after her union with Christ she should no longer be called an adulteress.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; For every thing by whatever causes it is created, by the same is it destroyed. It is not matrimony but the will that makes the union; and therefore it is not a separation of bodies but a separation of wills that dissolves it. He then who puts away his wife and does not take another is still her husband; for though their bodies be not united, their wills are united. But when he takes another, then he manifestly puts his wife away; wherefore the Lord says not, Who puts away his wife, but, Who marries another, commits adultery.

RABAN; There is then but one carnal cause why a wife should be put away, that is, fornication; and but one spiritual, that is, the fear of God. But there is no cause why while she who has been put away is alive, another should be married.

JEROME; For it might be that a man might falsely charge an innocent wife, and for the sake of another woman might fasten an accusation upon her. Therefore it is commanded so to put away the first, that a second be not married while the first is yet alive. Also because it might happen that by the same law a wife would divorce her husband, it is also provided that she take not another husband; and because one who had become an adulteress would have no further fear of disgrace, it is commanded that she marry not another husband. But if she do marry another, she is in the guilt of adultery; wherefore it follows, And who marries her that is put away, commits adultery.

GLOSS; He says this to the terror of him that would take her to wife, for the adulteress would have no fear of disgrace.

10. His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11. But he said to them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
12. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

JEROME; A wife is a grievous burden, if it is not permitted to put her away except for the cause of fornication. For what if she be a drunkard, an evil temper, or of evil habits, is she to be kept. The Apostles, perceiving this burden, express what they feel; His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

CHRYS; For it is a lighter thing to contend with himself, and his own lust, than with an evil woman.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; And the Lord said not, It is good, but rather assented that it is not good. However, He considered the weakness of the flesh; But he said to them, All cannot receive this saying; that is, All are not able to do this.

JEROME; But let none think, that wherein He adds, save they to whom it its given, that either fate or fortune is implied, as though they were virgins only whom chance has led to such a fortune. For that is given to those who have sought it of God, who have longed for it, who have striven that they might obtain it.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; But all cannot obtain it because all do not desire to obtain it. The prize is before them; he who desires the honor will not consider the toil. None would ever vanquish, if all shunned the struggle. Because then some have fallen from their purpose of continence, we ought not therefore to faint from that virtue; for they that fall in the battle do not slay the rest. That He says therefore, Save they to whom it is given, shows that unless we receive the aid of grace, we have not strength. But this aid of grace is not denied to such as seek it, for the Lord says above, Ask, and you shall receive.

CHRYS; Then to show that this is possible, He says, For there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men; as much as to say, Consider, had you been so made of others, you would have lost the pleasure without gaining the reward.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; For as the deed without the will does not constitute a sin; so a righteous act is not in the deed unless the will go with it. That therefore is honorable continence, not which mutilation of body of necessity enforces, but which the will of holy purpose embraces.

JEROME; He speaks of three kinds of eunuchs, of whom two are carnal, and one spiritual. One, those who are so born of their mother's womb; another, those whom enemies or courtly luxury has made so; a third, those who have made themselves so for the kingdom of heaven, and who he might have been men, but become eunuchs for Christ. To them the reward is promised, for to the others whose continence was involuntary, nothing is due.

HILARY; The cause in one item he assigns nature; in the next violence, and in the last his own choice, in him, namely, that determined to be so from hope of the kingdom of heaven.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; For they are born such, just as others are born having six or four fingers. For if God according as He formed our bodies in the beginning, had continued the same order unchangeably, the working of God would have been brought into oblivion among men. The order of nature is therefore changed at times from its nature, that God the framer of nature may be had in remembrance.

JEROME; Or we may say otherwise. The eunuchs from their mothers' wombs are they whose nature is colder, and not prone to lust. And they that are made so of men are they whom physicians made so, or they whom worship of idols has made effeminate, or who from the influence of heretical teaching pretend to chastity, that they may thereupon claim truth for their tenets. But none of them obtain the kingdom of heaven, save he only who has become a eunuch for Christ's sake. Whence it follows, He that is able to receive it, let him receive it; let each calculate his own strength, whether he is able to fulfill the rules of virginity and abstinence. For in itself continence is sweet and alluring, but each man must consider his strength, that he only that is able may receive it. This is the voice of the Lord exhorting and encouraging on His soldiers to the reward of chastity, that he who can fight might fight and conquer and triumph.

CHRYS; When he says, Who have made themselves eunuchs. He does not mean cutting off of members, but a putting away of evil thoughts. For he that cuts off a limb is under a curse, for such an one undertakes the deeds of murderers, and opens a door to Manicheans who depreciate the creature, and cut off the same members as do the Gentiles. For to cut off members is of the temptation of demons. But by the means of which we have spoken desire is not diminished but made more urgent; for it has its source elsewhere, and chiefly in a weak purpose and an unguarded heart. For if the heart be well governed, there is no danger from the natural motions; nor does the amputation of a member bring such peacefulness and immunity from temptation as does a bridle upon the thoughts.

Catena Aurea Matthew 19

A Woman and a Kneeling Monk

Fra Carnevale

1440s
Pen, with brown and white wash, on reddish-coloured paper, 163 x 139 mm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

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Pray the Rosary!

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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.

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 Sorrowful Mysteries

(Tuesdays and Fridays)

1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ 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
+

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]

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FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AUGUST 22ND
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary