19th Sunday of the Year (c)
Ordinary Season of the Year. (c)
Weekdays – Year 2
Sunday 7th August: Nineteenth Sunday of the Year. (c)
The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom. It is an extract from a long section in which the author reminds the people of what God had done for them during the Exodus. Just as God came to the rescue of the people in Israel so now he will save those who trust in him.
The second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews and tells of the trust that Abraham and Sarah had in God.
The Gospel passage, from St. Luke, reminds us that we are the stewards of the Lord and he will return to see how effective we have been. Since we do not know when this will happen we should stand ready all the time and reflect that in our lives.
Monday 8th August: Memorial of St. Dominic.
Dominic was born in Castille in Spain in 1170. He studied for the priesthood and, when he was 46, Pope Honorius entrusted to him and his companions the mission to preach the Word of God to combat heresy that was rampant at the time. This was the beginning of the Dominican order. They worked from smaller houses rather than traditional monasteries and combined a life of study and contemplation. Dominic died in 1221.
Tuesday 9th August: Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
(Edith Stein)
Born in `891 in Germany, Edith Stein was the eleventh child of a Jewish family. Initially she opted for atheism but gradually she came to realise she wished to become a catholic and was baptised on January 1st in 1922. She joined the Carmelites in Cologne in 1933 before moving to Holland to be with her sisters. She was arrested by the Germans in August 1942 and gassed in Auschwitz on August 9th. She was canonised by Pope John Paul in 1998. She left behind a legacy of deeply spiritual writings which reflected her own deep faith and wish to identify her life with that of the suffering Christ.
Wednesday 10th August: Memorial of St. Lawrence.
Deacon Lawrence is one of the most heroic of the age of martyrs. He was a Spaniard called from Toledo to Rome. In 258, the Emperor Valerian began a fierce persecution of the Church. He had the Pope put to death. Lawrence was one of the Pope’s chief executives and had charge of the Church’s property. Knowing this would be confiscated by the Emperor, and that he himself would probably be captured and put to death, he devised a plan to distribute all the Church’s wealth to the poor of Rome. As a result, he was sentenced to a particularly cruel death being burned on a gridiron. His basilica is one of the seven major churches of Rome.
Thursday 11th August: Memorial of St. Clare.
Clare was born into an aristocratic family in 1193 and was a life long friend of St. Francis of Assisi. They possessed the same love of Christ and commitment to poverty. After receiving the habit from St. Francis, St. Clare founded the first convent of Franciscan (Poor Clare) nuns at San Damiano. Her mother and sister were among those who formed this first community. She ruled her community for forty years until her death in 1253.
Friday 12th August: Friday of the 19th week of the year.
Ezekiel gives a grim reminder of how the chosen people have fallen. He reminds the people of how much God loves them in spite of their infidelity.
Jesus redefines the law of marriage – what God has joined together let no-one put asunder. The love of husband and wife is an image of God’s love for all people.
Saturday 13th August: Saturday of the 19th week of the year.
Ezekiel reminds the people that each person is individually responsible for the good or evil that we do. Again, he calls them to repentance so that they might live their lives to the full, as God would want them to.
Again, Jesus reminds those who would be his followers that they should be like little children – to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.
“Each Christian needs half an hour of prayer each day
except when they are busy.
Then, we need an hour”
St. Frances of Sales.
