Churches of the Day
Pictorial Thought for Today
Sept 1 - St Giles (Aegidius) (640-710) hermit
Summary: St Giles or Aegidius (640-710) a Christian hermit, originally from Athens, but associated with Provence and the area around Marseilles in the south of France. He is often depicted with a deer. He is a patron for works of charity. Many churches throughout Europe are dedicated to him.
Patrick Duffy gives some of his history.
From Athens to Marseilles
It is said Giles (or Aegidius) was born in Athens. He became so famous for giving alms and working miracles of healing that he sailed to Marseilles in pursuit of peace and a hermitage. While living as a hermit in the woods near Arles, a deer chased by a hunting party of the King of the Visigoths ran to him for refuge. A huntsman shot an arrow at the deer as it escaped into the bushes, but the arrow hit and wounded the holy man in the foot. In compensation the king offered Giles land for a monastery. This later became the famous Benedictine abbey of St-Gilles-du-Gard, a famous stop on the pilgrim road from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, thus spreading the saint's reputation.
Patron Saint of difficult confessions
Another story about St Giles is that Charles Martel had committed the sin of incest with his sister and was stricken with remorse before his battle with the Moors at Poitiers. Fearing to confess his sin, he presented himself before St Giles while the latter was saying Mass. During the Mass an angel placed on the altar a scroll on which the sin was written and as the Mass progressed the writing on the scroll gradually faded until it completely disappeared and Charles Martel felt himself completely absolved. This has led to St Giles being invoked for help with difficult confessions.
Reputation and Influence
In medieval art he is depicted with his symbol, the deer. His emblem is also an arrow, and he is the designated patron saint of disabled people. Giles also became a patron of beggars, blacksmiths, lepers, woods and nursing mothers and people suffering with cancer, epilepsy, sterility in women and men and night terrors and is numbered among the' Fourteen Holy Helpers' initially invoked as protection against the 'Black Death'. His cult spread rapidly throughout Europe. Many churches, monasteries and hospitals are dedicated to him in France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Great Britain. Giles is also the patron saint of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, where St. Giles' Cathedral is a prominent landmark.
The Benedictine monastery in St-Gilles-du-Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its west portal is considered one of the finest examples of Provençal Romanesque.
The Community of Sant'Egidio
Giles is also, partly at least, an inspiration behind the lay movement of prayer, inter-religious dialogue and charity called the Community of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere in Rome where in 1968 a young 18-year old, Andrea Riccardi, gathered a group of high-school students like himself, to listen to and practise the Gospel. They began to provide an afternoon school for children in the slums on the outskirts of Rome. Today it has become a movement of more than 50,000 mostly lay members dedicated to evangelisation, inter-religious dialogue and charity in more than 70 countries throughout the world.
It has as its centre the Roman Church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere, Rome from which it takes its name. Here it maintains a continuous presence of prayer and welcome for the poor and for pilgrims.
See image right> The Roman Church of Sant' Egidio, in Trastevere, Rome.
See also http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Egidio.pdf
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Memorable Proverb for Today
I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi
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Patrick Duffy gives some of his history.
From Athens to Marseilles
It is said Giles (or Aegidius) was born in Athens. He became so famous for giving alms and working miracles of healing that he sailed to Marseilles in pursuit of peace and a hermitage. While living as a hermit in the woods near Arles, a deer chased by a hunting party of the King of the Visigoths ran to him for refuge. A huntsman shot an arrow at the deer as it escaped into the bushes, but the arrow hit and wounded the holy man in the foot. In compensation the king offered Giles land for a monastery. This later became the famous Benedictine abbey of St-Gilles-du-Gard, a famous stop on the pilgrim road from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, thus spreading the saint's reputation.Patron Saint of difficult confessionsAnother story about St Giles is that Charles Martel had committed the sin of incest with his sister and was stricken with remorse before his battle with the Moors at Poitiers. Fearing to confess his sin, he presented himself before St Giles while the latter was saying Mass. During the Mass an angel placed on the altar a scroll on which the sin was written and as the Mass progressed the writing on the scroll gradually faded until it completely disappeared and Charles Martel felt himself completely absolved. This has led to St Giles being invoked for help with difficult confessions.
Reputation and Influence
In medieval art he is depicted with his symbol, the deer. His emblem is also an arrow, and he is the designated patron saint of disabled people. Giles also became a patron of beggars, blacksmiths, lepers, woods and nursing mothers and people suffering with cancer, epilepsy, sterility in women and men and night terrors and is numbered among the' Fourteen Holy Helpers' initially invoked as protection against the 'Black Death'. His cult spread rapidly throughout Europe. Many churches, monasteries and hospitals are dedicated to him in France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Great Britain. Giles is also the patron saint of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, where St. Giles' Cathedral is a prominent landmark.
The Benedictine monastery in St-Gilles-du-Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its west portal is considered one of the finest examples of Provençal Romanesque.
The Community of Sant'Egidio
Giles is also, partly at least, an inspiration behind the lay movement of prayer, inter-religious dialogue and charity called the Community of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere in Rome where in 1968 a young 18-year old, Andrea Riccardi, gathered a group of high-school students like himself, to listen to and practise the Gospel. They began to provide an afternoon school for children in the slums on the outskirts of Rome. Today it has become a movement of more than 50,000 mostly lay members dedicated to evangelisation, inter-religious dialogue and charity in more than 70 countries throughout the world.
It has as its centre the Roman Church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere, Rome from which it takes its name. Here it maintains a continuous presence of prayer and welcome for the poor and for pilgrims.
See image right> The Roman Church of Sant' Egidio, in Trastevere, Rome.
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Memorable Proverb for Today
Its not how much we give,
but how much love we put into the giving.
~ Mother Teresa ~
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See also http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Egidio.pdf
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Memorable Proverb for Today
I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi
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Liturgical Readings for: Tuesday, 1st September, 2026
Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
A day to remember that we all , humankind, animals, plants and other forms of life all share this world
and that together we need to care for it deeply, gratefully and carefully.
FIRST READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 2:10-16
An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God:
A spiritual man is able to judge the value of everything.
The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually.
An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit.
A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 144: 8-14. R/v17
Response The Lord is just in all his ways.
1. The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures. Response
2. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Response
3. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall and raises all who are bowed down. Response
Gospel Acclamation Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia !
Or Lk 7:16
Alleluia, alleluia
A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 4:31-37 Glory to you, O Lord
I know who you are: the Holy One of God.
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice,
'Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.'
But Jesus said sharply, 'Be quiet! Come out of him!'
And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another,
'What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.'
And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 4:31-37
There are times in all our lives when our spirit is disturbed. We are not ourselves. We find ourselves distressed and it can cause us to respond to people in ways that we normally would not. There can be a sharpness in our tone or an anger in our voice. We might look back on those moments and wonder what got into us. We have an extreme case of this phenomenon in today’s gospel reading. In the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus encounters a very disturbed person. Jesus was shouted at by this person in a very aggressive way, ‘What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth’.
Luke the evangelist tells us that the man was possessed by an unclean spirit. The spirit which had taken hold of him was not the Spirit of God; it was a spirit that was opposed to God. It was not the Spirit that Paul speaks about in the first reading, the Spirit that comes from God who alone knows the depths of God. Jesus released this man of this spirit that was destructive of him and of others. He restored him to God and to himself. There are times when we too need to be released from some spirit that holds us back from becoming the person God is calling us to be. The same Lord, who was in the synagogue on that Sabbath, stands among us today to deliver us from the spirits that diminish us and, sometimes, others. He continues to offer us the Holy Spirit, so that our lives can bear God’s fruit more fully. We need to stand ready to keep receiving this gift of the Spirit that comes from God.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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Liturgical Readings for: Tuesday, 1st September, 2026
CÉAD LÉACHTSliocht as an céad Litir Naomh Pól chuig na Coirintigh 2:10-16
An duine nádúrtha, ní ghlacann sé leis na nithe a bhaineann le Spiorad Dé.
An duine spioradálta, féadann seisean gach ní a mheas.
A bhráithre, scrúdaíonn an Spiorad gach uile ní, fiú duibheagáin Dé féin. Cé a thuigeann cúrsaí an duine ach spiorad an duine féin istigh ann? Ar an gcuma chéanna níl aon duine a thuigeann cúrsaí Dé ach Spiorad Dé. Ní hé spiorad an tsaoil seo atá faighte againne ach an Spiorad a sheol Dia chun go dtuigfimis na nithe atá bronnta orainn ag Dia. Agus ní i mbriathra na heagna daonna a chuirimid síos ar na nithe sin ach i mbriathra a mhúin an Spiorad dúinn nuair a bhímid ag míniú cúrsaí an spioraid dóibh siúd a bhfuil an Spiorad iontu. An duine nádúrtha, ní ghlacann sé leis na nithe a bhaineann le Spiorad Dé; is díth céille leis iad agus ní féidir dó iad a thuiscint mar is de réir an Spioraid nach foláir iad a mheas.
Ach an duine spioradálta, féadann seisean gach ní a mheas ach ní féidir d’aon duine eisean a mheas.
"ÓirCé a thuigeann aigne an Tiarna? Nó cé a thabharfaidh comhairle dó?”
Tá aigne Chríost againne, áfach.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 144: 8-14. R/v17
Freagra Is fíréanta é an Tiarna ina shlite uile.
1. Is cineálta an Tiarna agus is trócaireach, mall chun feirge, agus lán de thrua.
Is grámhar an Tiarna le gach aon neach; tá trua aige do gach dúil dá ndearna sé. Freagra
2. Ceiliúrfaidh d’oibreacha uile thú, a Thiarna; agus beannóidh do dhaoine dílse thú.
Canfaidh siad glóir-réim do ríochta; agus foilseoidh siad uile do chumhacht,
ionas go nochtfar do chumhacht do dhaoine agus niamhracht agus glóir-réim do ríochta. Freagra
3. Mairfidh do ríochtsa feadh saol na saol, agus do cheannas go brách na breithe.
Is dílis an Tiarna ina bhriathra uile;agus is naofa é ina oibreacha go léir.
Tacaíonn an Tiarna lena mbíonn ag titim; agus tógann sé an dream a bhíonn ar lár Freagra
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as an Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Lúcás 4:31-3 Glóir duit, a Thiarna.
Is eol dom cé hé tú: Naomh Dé.
San am sinm chuaigh Íosa síos go Cafarnáum, cathair sa Ghailíl. Agus bhí sé á dteagasc lá sabóide. Agus ghabh iontas iad faoina theagasc, óir bhí údarás lena bhriathar.Bhí sa tsionagóg duine a raibh spiorad deamhain mhíghlain ann, agus scread sé amach de ghlór ard:
“Há, cad ab áil leat dínn, a Íosa Nazairéanaigh? Ar tháinig tú chun sinn a mhilleadh? Is eol dom cé hé tú: Naomh Dé.”
Agus dúirt Íosa leis go bagrach: “Bí i do thost, agus imigh amach as.”
Agus theilg an deamhan ar lár os comhair chách é agus d’imigh amach as, gan dochar a dhéanamh dó. Agus bhí alltacht ar chách agus bhí siad ag caint eatarthu féin a rá:
“Cad é mar bhriathar é seo? Óir fógraíonn sé ar na spioraid mhíghlana le húdarás agus le cumhacht, agus gabhann siad amach.”
Agus leath a chlú i ngach áit ar fud na tíre.
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 6th September, 2026
The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
The three readings today deal with the same theme - neighbourly correction. This is a difficult art and can only be exercised through genuine love, the purest of motives and diplomatic skill. We have to learn to help and to heal each other. In this we have to avoid attitudes of prying, denunciation, jealousy and informing. The spirit of the Gospel lays down a procedure that must be our guide- The Jesus way
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel 33:7-9
If you do not speak to warn the wicked man I will hold you responsible for his death.
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows:'Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name.
If I say to a wicked man:
Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.'
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 94: 1-2. 6-9. R: v8
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
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 13:8-10
Love is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love.
If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations.
All the commandments:
You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself.
Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord, consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or 2 Cor 5:19
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 18:15-20
If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
Jesus said to his disciples:
'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you:
the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
'I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
'I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.'
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 copyrighted 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 6th September, 2026
CÉAD LÉACHT Sliocht as an Leabhar Ezícéal, Fáidh. 33:7-9
Nach dtugtann tusa rabhadh dó iompú ó bhealach a aimhleasa, cuirfidh mé an fhreagracht ortsa.
Tháinig briatar an Tiarna chugam:“A mhic an duine, tá tusa ceaptha agam mar gharda do mhuintir Iosrael; aon uair a chluineann tú focal uaimse cuir ar a bhfaichill iad thar mo cheannsa.
Má deirim le drochdhuine:
'A dhrochdhuine, éagfaidh tú gan teip'; agus nach dtugtann tusa rabhadh dó iompú ó bhealach a aimhleasa, gheobhaidh an drochdhuine sin bás de bharr a pheaca ach cuirfidh mé an fhreagracht ortsa.
Ach má thugann tú rabhadh don drochdhuine iompú óna aimhleas agus nach n-iompaíonn sé, gheobhaidh sé bás de bharr a pheaca ach tabharfaidh tusa do bheatha slán.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 94: 1-2. 6-9. R: v8
Freagra Á, dá n-éistfeadh sibh lena ghuth inniu: 'Ná calcaigí bhur gcroí.'
I. Tagaigí, déanaimis gairdéas don Tiarna, tógaimis gartha áthais do Charraig ;ar slánaithe.
Tagaimis ina láthair le moltaí, déanaimis gairdéas dó le laoithe. Freagra
2. Tagaigí, adhraimis agus sléachtaimis, feacaimis ár nglúine don Tiarna a rinne sinn.
Óir is é ár nDia é, agus is sinne pobal a aoireachta agus caoirigh a lámh. Freagra
3. Á, dá n-eistfeadh sibh lena ghuth innÍu:'Na calcaigí bhur gcroí mar a tharla i Meríba,
mar a tharla an lá úd ag Masa san fhásach mar ar chuir bhur n-aithreacha cath orm,
mar ar thriail siad mé cé go bhfaca siad m'obair.' Freagra
DARA LÉACHT
Sliocht as Litir Naomh Pól chuig na Rómhánaigh 13:8-10
Is é an grá comhlíonadh an dlí.
A bhráithre, ná bíodh fiacha ar bith ag aon duine oraibh ach amháin fiacha an ghrá a thabhairt dá chéile. Mar an té a thugann grá dá chomharsa tá an dlí comhlíonta aige. Na haitheanta
“Ná déan drúise,” “ná déan marú,” “ná déan goid,” “ná santaigh,” agus aon aithne eile dá bhfuil ann, tá coimriú déanta orthu go léir san abairt seo: “Gráigh do chomharsa mar thú féin.”
Ní dhéanann an grá aon olc ar an gcomharsa, agus, dá bhrí sin, is é an grá comhlíonadh an dlí.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Alleluia Véarsa Eo 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Is fírinne do bhriathar A Thiarna. Déan sinn a naomhú san fhírinne.
Alleluia!
SOISCÉAL
Sliocht as Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Mhatha 18:15-20
Má éisteann sé leat, tá tú tar éis do bhráthair a thabhairt leat.
San am sin dúirt Íosa lena dheisceabail“Má dhéanann do bhráthair peaca i d’aghaidh, gabh chuige á áiteamh air is gan ann ach é agus tú.
Má éisteann sé leat, tá tú tar éis do bhráthair a thabhairt leat; ach mura n-éisteann, beir leat duine nó beirt eile, chun go mbeadh focal a dó nó a trí d’fhinnéithe ag deimhniú gach scéil.
Má dhiúltaíonn sé éisteacht leo sin, inis don eaglais é; agus má dhiúltaíonn éisteacht leis an eaglais féin, bíodh sé ina phágánach agus ina phoibleacánach agat.
“Deirim libh go fírinneach, gach uile ní a cheanglaíonn sibh ar talamh beidh siad ceangailte ar neamh, agus nithe ar bith a scaoilfidh sibh ar talamh beidh siad scaoilte ar neamh.
Agus deirim go fírinneach rud eile libh má bhíonn beirt agaibh ar talamh ar aon aigne faoi rud ar bith a bhíonn le hiarraidh acu, beidh sé le fáil acu ó m’Athair atá ar neamh. Óir, mar a mbíonn beirt nó triúr tagtha i gceann a chéile i m’ainmse, bím féin ansin ina measc.”
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
