Churches of the Day

Thursday of 18th week of Ordinary Time, Cycle 1

At Meribah, the people of God loose faith in their God and He gives them water.
Peter professes his faith in Christ  and he is hailed as the 'Rock' of the Church.

Saint of the Day: Aug 7th, . Ss Sixtus II, pope and his 4 deacon companions , all martyrs.
Saint of the Day: Aug 7th,2 St Cajetan, priest, founder of the Theatines to renew the sacramental life of the church.
C/f A short life of these saints can be found below today's Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING      

A reading from the Book of Numbers      20:1-13
 Make water flow for the community from the rock.

The sons of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.

There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron.
The people challenged Moses: 'We would rather have died,' they said 'as our brothers died before the Lord!
Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle?
Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place?
It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!'

Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said,
'Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.'

Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, 'Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?' And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
'Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them'.

These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.


Responsorial Psalm        Ps 94: 1-2, 6-9, R/v 8
Response                              O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

1. Come, ring out our joy to the Lord: hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord.                                                Response

2. Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.   Response

3. O that today you would listen to his voice! 'Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.'                                                                                         Response 

Gospel  Acclamation              Ps 114: 13
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!

Or                                                Mt 16: 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                                     

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew     16:13-23                Glory to you, O Lord.
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples,
'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'
And they said, 'Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets'.
'But you,' he said 'who do you say I am?'
Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ,' he said 'the Son of the living God'.

Jesus replied,
'Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.'
Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.
Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord;' he said 'this must not happen to you'.
But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God's way but man's.'

The Gospel of the Lord.                          Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection     Thursday,     Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time       Matthew 16:13–23

In today’s gospel reading, Simon Peter shows great insight into Jesus, when he confesses him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the insight of faith. Jesus tells Peter that his insight is a graced insight. It is given to him by God. Faith, and the insight it gives rise to, is not just a human quality. It is a gift from God. It is because of Peter’s faith that Jesus declares him to be the rock on which he will build his church. Peter will have a foundational role in Jesus’ church. Jesus gives him a special authority, symbolized by the keys, and then identifies this authority as a teaching authority. The task of binding and losing refers to Peter’s authoritative role in interpreting the teaching of Jesus for the community of believes. We have here a very exalted portrait of Peter as a man of deep faith which equips him for a teaching role in the church. Yet, this teacher immediately shows himself to be a slow learning. Jesus began to teach his disciples about the need for him to go to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die. Peter would have none of this talk; he rebuked Jesus for it.

Peter’s faith in Jesus did not embrace the cross. The Son of the living God could not suffer and be crucified. Because of Peter’s resistance to this vulnerable dimension of Jesus’ identity, Jesus now addresses him as an obstacle, a stumbling stone, an agent of Satan. The rock becomes a stumbling stone to trip Jesus up. Within one short reading, we see the best of Peter and the worst of Peter. He clearly had a lot of growing in faith to do. We are all people of faith here at this Mass. Yet we all need to grow in faith as well.

We can never become complacent about our faith; we are always on a journey. God may have begun a good work in us, but he has yet to bring it to completion. Like Peter we can all have our bad moments when it comes to our relationship with Jesus and the living out of that relationship. Yet, the Lord continues to invest in us, as he continued to invest in Peter. We are not defined by our failures. They do not block the Lord from continuing his good work in our lives of bringing us to an ever deeper relationship with himself.

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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Gospel reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings: You have the Words of Eternal life by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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The Martyrs and Saint of the Day: Aug 7;
1. Ss Sixtus II, pope and his  companions, martyrs.
2. St Cajetan, priest, founder

1: St Sixtus & Companions, martyrs. died on 6 August 258, martyred the year after his election as bishop of Rome during the persecution of the emperor Valerian. According to his contemporary, St Cyprian, Sixtus was not so much 'killed' as 'offered himself  in place with some of his followers. He died  along with four deacons, while addressing a congregation. Honoured as one of the most popular Roman martyrs.

Pope St Sixtus, (a Latinisation of the Greek Xystos, meaning "polished")  was ordained bishop of Rome in 257 and was pope from August 257 to August 258 - during the time of the persecution of the Emperor Valerian (253-260). He is the Sixtus mentioned in the Roman Canon (First Eucharistic Prayer).

Paddy Duffy writes:

A Conciliatory Approach to the "Lapsed" and the Baptism of Heretics
During the pontificate of Sixtus's predecessor, Pope St Stephen I (253-257), a sharp dispute had arisen among the Christian churches about the attitude to be taken to those who had lapsed from the faith during persecution (should they be kept out or re-admitted?) and the attitude to be taken towards those who had been baptised by heretics (was that baptism valid or should they be re-baptised?). St Cyprian in Africa and the churches in Asia favoured a stricter approach while Rome in the person of Popes  Stephen I and Pope St Sixtus II favoured a more conciliatory approach which eventually won the day.

Martyred at the Catacombs of St Callistus
The next year, while saying Mass in the cemetery of Saint Callistus, Sixtus's was seized by soldiers on the orders of the Emperor Valerian and along with four deacons was put to death. He was buried at the catacombs of Saint Callistus. Every Pope up to this time and including Sixtus II was a martyr.

Inscription by Pope Damasus
Later Pope Damasus (366-384) wrote an inscription in Sixtus' name which was placed on his tomb:
'At the time  when suddenly the soldiers rushed in and dragged me from the chair. The faithful offered their necks to the sword, but as soon as the Pastor saw the ones who wished to rob him of the palm (of martyrdom) he was the first to offer himself and his own head, not tolerating that the (pagan) frenzy should harm the others. Christ, who gives recompense, made manifest the Pastor's merit, preserving unharmed the flock' (PL 13:383-4).

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Memorable Proverbs for today

Martyrdom does not end something, it is only the beginning,
 ~ Indira Gandhi ~

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Saint of the Day: - 2 St Cajetan, priest,

Cajetan is  the founder of an institute for the reform of the clergy who worked in Rome, Vicenza and Naples in the 16th Century. (this distinguishes this Cajetan from his contemporary Thomas Cardinal Cajetan O.P. (Giacomo de Vio 1469-1534), a Dominican neo-scholastic theologian and examiner of Martin Luther at the Diet of Augsburg in 1517.)

Patrick Duffy profiles today's saint

Native of Vicenza
Cajetan dei Conti di Tiene was born in Vicenza in the republic of the Veneto. He was of noble family, the youngest of three brothers. His mother played a strong part in developing his piety. After attending college at Vicenza he studied law at Padua where he attained a doctorate in both civil and canon law. He then went to Rome where became a diplomat in the service of Pope Julius II and won over the Venetian Republic.

Ordination as Priest and Reform of the Clergy
Ordained a priest in 1516, Cajetan worked hard for the poor and the sick and founded a hospital for incurables. He had the idea of forming a community that would combine monastic spirituality with active ministry. The emphasis would be on the three functions of preaching, administering the sacraments and celebrating the liturgy. What he wanted was to restore true apostolic life among the clergy at a time of great corruption.

[caption id="attachment_48900" align="alignright" width="204"] St Cajetan, founder of the Threatines[/caption]

The Theatines
Along with John Peter Carafa, who later became Pope Paul IV, and two others, he formed an institute of clerks regular. They got the name the specific Theatines from the Latin name for Chieti (Theate), where Carafa had been bishop; he resigned and became the first superior general. The name helped to distinguish them from other reforming orders of the time, like the Jesuits, the Barnabites and the Somaschi.

From Venice to Naples
After the sack of Rome in 1527 Cajetan returned to Venice and during three years he directed the religious institute he had founded. In 1533 Carafa transferred him to Naples where he lived for the next fourteen years. He encouraged the growth of what were called monti di pietà (were they the first credit unions?) offering financial loans at a moderate interest to those in need to keep them out of the hands of usurers. His congregation also cared for incurable syphilitics. Worn out by his apostolic labours, Cajetan died in Naples at the age of sixty-seven.

Subsequent Theatine Influence
Many illustrious names of the Italian aristocracy later joined the Theatine order - among them was liturgical scholar St Joseph Mary Tomasi (1649-1713) who was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1986. The Theatines also founded many beautiful churches, including that of Sant'Andrea della Valle on the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele in Rome. They were also the first to found papal missions in foreign lands - India, Burma, Persia and Peru. At present the order has 33 houses and 189 members, of whom 133 are priests, mostly in Italy, Spain, Latin America and the USA.

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Memorable Proverbs for today

We (the Church) must always be willing to reform our practices to conform to God's Word
because, as many have stated, we just don't drift toward holiness.

~ Unknown Author ~

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Christ calls us to continual vigilance and prayer against temptation and particularly to our final perseverance.

FIRST READING     

A reading from the Book of  Wisdom             18:6-9
By the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes you made us glorious by calling us to you.

That night had been foretold to our ancestors, so that, once they saw what kind of oaths they had put their trust in, they would joyfully take courage. This was the expectation of your people, the saving of the virtuous and the ruin of  their enemies; for by the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes you made us glorious by calling us to you.
The devout children of worthy men offered sacrifice in secret and this divine pact they struck with one accord: that the saints would share the same blessings and dangers alike; and forthwith they had begun to chant the hymns of the fathers.

The Word of the Lord                Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm            Ps 32: 1, 12, 18-20, 22 R/v 12
Response                                Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

1. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own.    Response

2. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.                               Response

3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.                       Response

SECOND READING       

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews     11: 1-2. 8-19. 
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for,
or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.
It was for faith that our ancestors were commended.

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going.
By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God.

It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.

All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They, can hardly have meant the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them.

It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

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Shorter form
SECOND READING 

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews       11: 1-2. 8-12.
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for,
or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.
It was for faith that our ancestors were commended.

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going.
By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God.

It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

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Gospel  Acclamation                   Mt 11: 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.
Alleluia!

Or                                                      Mt 24: 42: 44
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know
the hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                                   

The Lord be with you.                And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 32-48      Glory to you, O Lord
You too must stand ready.

Jesus said to his disciples:
'There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.

'Sell your possessions and give alms.
Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

'See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.

Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'

Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’
The Lord replied,
'What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.

But as for the servant who says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming”, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Shorter form
GOSPEL                             

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke           12: 35-40
You too must stand ready.

Jesus said to his disciples:
'See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.

I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.

You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

 



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.