Churches of the Day

Thursday of the 19th week of Ordinary Time, Cycle 2

Saints of the Day: Aug 13 –
1. St Pontian, pope and Hippolytus, priest and martyrs.
2. St Fachtha,bishop
C/f A short look at these saints' lives can be found below today's Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel          12:1-12
Emigrate by daylight when they can see you.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows,
'Son of man, you are living with that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears and never hear, for they are a set of rebels.

You, son of man, pack an exile's bundle and emigrate by daylight when they can see you, emigrate from where you are to somewhere else while they watch. Perhaps they will admit then that they are a set of rebels.

You will pack your baggage like an exile's bundle, by daylight, for them to see, and leave like an exile in the evening, making sure that they are looking. As they watch, make a hole in the wall, and go out through it. As they watch, you will shoulder your pack and go out into the dark; you will cover your face so that you cannot see the country, since I have made you a symbol for the House of Israel.'

I did as I had been told. I packed my baggage like an exile's bundle, by daylight; and in the evening I made a hole through the wall with my hand. I went out into the dark and shouldered my pack as they watched.

The next morning the word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows,
'Son of man, did not the House of Israel, did not that set of rebels, ask you what you were doing?
Say, "The Lord says this:
This oracle is directed against Jerusalem and the whole House of Israel wherever they are living".
Say, "I am a symbol for you; the thing I have done will be done to them; they will go into exile, into banishment".
Their ruler will shoulder his pack in the dark and go out through the wall; a hole will be made to let him out; he will cover his face rather than see the country.'

The Word of the Lord.           Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 77 56-59. 61.-62.R/v 7
Response                              Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

1. They put God to the proof and defied him; they refused to obey the Most High.
They strayed, as faithless as their fathers, like a bow on which the archer cannot count.   Response

2. With their mountain shrines they angered him; made, him jealous with the idols they served.
God saw and was filled with fury he utterly rejected Israel.                                                       Response

3. He gave his ark into captivity, his glorious ark into the hand of the foe.
He gave up his people to the sword, in his anger against his chosen ones.                             Response

Gospel Acclamation         Ps 118: 88 
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life, and I will do your will.
Alleluia!

Or                                            Ps 118: 135
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                                     And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to   Matthew   18:21- 19:1      Glory to you, O Lord
Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

Peter went up to him and said,
'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?' Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

'And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet. "Give me time" he said "and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.

Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. "Pay what you owe me" he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, "Give me time and I will pay you". But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for him. "You wicked servant," he said "I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.

And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the part of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.

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

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Gospel Reflection        Thursday      Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time        Matthew 18:21-19:1

People ask lots of questions of Jesus in the gospels. In today’s gospel reading, Peter asks a very concrete question, ‘How often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me?’ He goes on to suggest an answer that he might have expected Jesus to agree with – ‘seven times!’ The number ‘seven’ was a symbol of perfection in that culture, so to forgive someone seven times would seem like perfect forgiveness. However, not for the first time, Jesus would have shocked his hearers with his answer to a question. ‘Not seven … but seventy-seven times.’ Jesus seems to set the bar so high as to be beyond us. The parable he goes on to tell seeks to justify his call for such forgiveness without limit.

The first servant owed an astronomical debt to a pagan king. Ten thousand talents would be equivalent to the vast international debts under which some developing countries labour today. He asks the king for time, but the servant could never have paid this debt back, no matter how much time he was given. The king simply cancelled the whole debt. Mercy triumphed over justice. Yet when this servant met a fellow servant who owed him a very small and manageable debt, he acted on the basis of a very brutal justice and, in so doing, lost the abundant mercy he had received. Jesus is reminding us in this parable that God’s forgiveness is limitless. God’s forgiveness has been poured out on us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The parable calls on us to allow this boundless forgiveness to so touch and shape our lives that some of it flows through us onto those who offend and hurt us. It doesn’t mean that forgiving another will ever come easily to us. It has been said that everyone agrees that forgiveness is a wonderful value, until they have someone to forgive. Yet, the more aware we become of ourselves as forgiven sinners, the freer we will become to forgive those who sin against us.

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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 Gospel Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : My Words Will Not Pass Away by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookstore

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Saints of the Day: Aug 13 – 1. St Pontian, pope and Hippolytus, priest and martyrs.
Ss Pontian & Hippolytus, martyrs: died some time in the fourth century after mistreatment in exile. They were brought back to Rome for burial on this day and honoured as seekers of the truth.

Patrick Duffy tells us what is known about them.

Pontian: (circular image) as Bishop of his native Rome in 230 but exiled to Sardinia, where he abdicated the papacy during the persecution of the Emperor Maximinus in 235. He succeeded Pope Urban I as pope in the year 230 AD.

During his reign as pope, Pontian held a synod which confirmed the excommunication of the great theologian Origen in Alexandria. Pontian was banished to exile by the Roman emperor in 235, and resigned so that a successor could be elected in Rome. n 235.

Hippolytus(>>image) was a Roman priest who disagreed with two previous popes over laxity in receiving those who had committed offences. He was a conservative theologian and presbyter who objected to the teaching of one pope and the election of the next and who, in 217, went into schism. Regarded as the author of the Apostolic Tradition, whose eucharistic prayer forms the basis of Eucharistic Prayer II in the Roman Missal.

He was a presbyter of the church at Rome under Pope Zephyrinus (199–217) and was distinguished for his learning and eloquence. Origen of Alexandria heard him preach there as a young man (212) and was impressed by his eloquence.

Conflict with four popes
Hippolytus came into conflict with Popes Zephyrinus (119-217), Callixtus I (217–222), Urban I (222-230) and Pontian (230–235) whom he accused of christological unorthodoxy and laxity in receiving back those guilty of serious offences and may even have allowed himself to be elected as a rival Bishop of Rome or an anti-pope.

Pontian and Hippolytus martyred

Under the persecution by Emperor Maximinus, the Thracian, Hippolytus and Pontian were exiled together in 235 to work in the mines of Sardinia, and it is very probable that before his death there he was reconciled to the other party at Rome, for under Pope Fabian (236–250) their bodies were brought back together to Rome for burial (Chronograph of 354) indicating both were considered Catholic martyrs. Little is known of Pontian other than he was elected pope in 230 and died in Sardinia in 235.



Hippolytus's writings

Hippolytus was said (by Photius, 9th century patriarch of Constantinople) to have been a disciple of Irenaeus and is credited with a number of theological (for example, The Philosophoumena) and liturgical writings (for example, The Apostolic Tradition), which have been argued about by scholars for years. In 1551 on the Via Tiburtina in Rome, a 3rd century statue of him was discovered portraying him seated on a chair, on the sides of which are listed works attributed to him: this is now in the Vatican library. More recently some archaeologists say that originally this statue was of a woman and was re-used to portray Hippolytus.

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Memorable Proverb for Today

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do
if he knew he would be found out

~ Thomas Macaulay ~

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Saints of the Day: Aug 13 – 2. St Fachtha, bishop
 Fachtna; founded a monastery and scripture school in Rosscarbery (Ros Ailithir), is the patron of the Diocese of Ross, and now integrated into the combined diocese of Cork and Ross.

Patrick Duffy explains.

Scripture school
Toward the end of the sixth century Fachtna founded a monastery and school in the area now known as Rosscarbery (Ros Ailithir – “the wooded headland of the pilgrims”). The School of Ross became a celebrated seat of learning and gained an international reputation for study of sacred scripture and learning until the ninth century when it was besieged and destroyed by the Danes. Brendan, the Navigator, taught in this school, which was crowded with students from every land. It flourished for three hundred years and survived in some form until the coming of the Normans to Ireland. 

Ross diocese
Fachtna is regarded as the first bishop and patron of Ross diocese, which comprises eleven parishes on the seaboard from Timoleague, near Clonakilty, to Aughadown, west of Skibereen, as well as Oileán Cléire and Sherkin Island. Though not listed among the dioceses set up by the Synods of Rathbreasail (1111) or Kells (1152). He died around 600. His monastery became the principal monastery of west Cork and later had a famous Scripture school.

[caption id="attachment_84554" align="alignright" width="216"]                  Rosscarb Church[/caption]

Pope Celestine III appointed Daniel Bishop of Ross in 1197 and the diocese had its own bishop from the 12th century until 1693, when it was united with Cork and Cloyne. In 1849 the diocese regained its own bishop, but in 1954 was united with Cork diocese.

Influence
The description of Saint Fachtna in Cuimin of Connor's poem on the characteristic virtues of the Irish saints is:
Fachtna, the generous and steadfast, loved
To instruct the crowds in concert,
He never spoke that which was mean,
Nor aught but what was pleasing to his Lord.

Fachtna is a favoured name for Catholic boys from this area. There is a Catholic church dedicated to St Fachtna in the picturesque village of Glandore. A stained-glass window of St Fachtna by Sarah Purser appears in the Honan Chapel in University College, Cork. (c/f upper left image)

A Church of Ireland Cathedral dedicated to him remains in the village of Rosscarbery.

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Memorable Proverb for Today

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

~ William Arthur Ward ~

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Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah       56:1. 6-7
I will bring foreigners to my holy mountain

Thus says the Lord:
Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.

Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants - all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

The Word of the Lord.             Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 66: 2-3. 5-6. 8. R/v 4
Response                                 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

1. O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us
So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.     Response

2. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.                          Response

3. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing. till the ends of the earth revere him.                   Response


SECOND READING                 

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans  11:13-15. 29-32
With Israel, God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.

Let me tell you pagans this:
I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.

Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now - and only because of the mercy shown to you - will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.

The Word of the Lord.        Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation     Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!

or                                        Ps 129: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My Soul is waiting on the Lord, I count on his word
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you                      And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew   15:21-28        Glory to you, O Lord
Woman, you have great faith.

Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting,
'Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.'
But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. 'Give her what she wants,' they said 'because she is shouting after us.'
He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel'.
But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. 'Lord,' she said 'help me.'
He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the house-dogs'.
She retorted, 'Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master's table'.
Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.'
And from that moment her daughter was well again.

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.