Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jn 6:60-69

Reading 1 Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: "If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

   But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2 Eph 5:21-32
Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

or Eph 5:2a, 25-32
Brothers and sisters:
Live in love, as Christ loved us. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Gospel Jn 6:60-69
Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."

    As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

A Prayer for Today

Eternal God,
who are the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you;
grant us so to know you
that we may truly love you,
and so to love you
that we may fully serve you,
whom to serve is perfect freedom,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

- St Augustine of Hippo

Saint Stephen of Hungary

Also known as;

Stephen the Great
Istvan
Memorial
16 August
formerly 2 September
20 August (translation of relics)
Profile
Born to a pagan family, but was baptized at age 10 with his father. King of the Magyars in Hungary. Married to Blessed Gisella of Ungarn, sister of emperor Saint Henry II. Evangelized both their peoples. Saint Astricus served as his advisor. Stephen united the Magyars into a single nation, suppressing revolts led by pagan nobles. Crowned king on Christmas Day 1001 by Emperor Otto III by authority of Pope Sylvester II. Organized dioceses, and founded monasteries. Father of Saint Emeric; brought Saint Gerard Sagredo to tutor his son.
Born
969 at Esztergom, Hungary
Died
15 August 1038 at Szekesfehervar, Hungary
Canonized
1083 by Pope Saint Gregory VII
Patronage
against the death of children
bricklayers
Hungary
kings
masons
stone masons
stonecutters
Representation
king with sword and banner of the cross
king offering his crown to the Blessed Virgin Mary
king on horseback with banner of the cross
king holding a church in his hands
king holding a standard or banner with the Blessed Virgin Mary
Additional Information
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Catholic Online
Katherine Rabenstein
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
Pictorial Lives of the Saints
Wikipedia
Readings
My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow-countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak. Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up to much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that ;you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death. All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown, and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom. - from Saint Stephen’s advice to his son
MLA Citation

Give Jesus To Others

"Mary, my dearest mother, give me your heart so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate, so full of love and humility, that I may receive Jesus as you did-and go in haste to give him to others."

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

A Prayer for Today

Immaculata, Queen of heaven and earth,
refuge of sinners and our most loving mother,
please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body,
of my whole life, death and eternity,
whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you,
use all that I am and have without reserve,
Let me be a fit instrument
in your immaculate and merciful hands
for introducing and increasing your glory
in all the many strayed and indifferent souls,
and thus help extend as far as possible
the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading 1
Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
God's temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed One."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16
R. (10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father's house.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

Reading 2
1 Cor 15:20-27
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for "he subjected everything under his feet."

Gospel
Lk 1:39-56
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever."

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

Assumption of the Virgin Mary

"I hold that Mary is now with Christ
and in Christ.
She is in Christ, because
"in Him we live and move and have our being." She is with Christ,
because she has been assumed into glory."

St. Augustine

A Prayer for Today

Most high, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
all praise is yours, all glory,
all honor and all blessings.
To you alone, most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy
to pronounce your name.
Praised be you my Lord with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom you give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
Of you most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be you, my Lord,
through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them
bright, precious and fair.
Praised be you, my Lord,
through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which you cherish all that you have made.
Praised be you my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.
Praised be you my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom you light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Some Prayers for Sunday

I pray you, most gentle Jesus,
by your precious blood,
deliver me from all evils,
past, present and to come.
Give me a lively faith,
a firm hope and perfect charity,
so that I may love you with all my heart
and all my soul and all my strength.
Make me firm and steadfast in good works
and grant me perseverance in your service
so that I may be able to please you always. Amen.
- St. Clare of Assisi

Father, I believe in you with all my heart. I trust in your infinite goodness and mercy. Thank you for so patiently guiding me along the pathway to everlasting life. I love you and offer you all that I have and all that I do, for your glory and the salvation of souls.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water.

After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.


Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.


Reading 2 Eph 4:30-5:2
Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.


Gospel Jn 6:41-51
The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven?'"

Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Prayer for Today

I love You, O my God,
and my only desire is to love You
until the last breath of my life.
I love You, O my infinitely lovable God,
and I would rather die loving You,
than live without loving You.
I love You, Lord
and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally.
My God, if my tongue cannot say
in every moment that I love You,
I want my heart to repeat it to You
as often as I draw breath.

- St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ex 16:2-4, 12-15

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!"

   Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not.

   "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."

   In the evening quail came up and covered the camp. In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.

   On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, "This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."


Responsorial Psalm Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.


Reading 2 Eph 4:17, 20-24

Brothers and sisters: I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth.


Gospel Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

   And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

   Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

   For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

   So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.? So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

   For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

   So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

ASSORTMENT OF PRAYERS I AM HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU

This is from a Holy Wounds leaflet - Sr. M. Martha Chambon -
Visitation of Chambery, France - 1907


PRAYER TO DEFEAT THE WORK OF SATAN


O Divine Eternal Father, in union with your Divine Son and the
Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg You
to destroy the power of your greatest enemy - the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain them there
forever! Take possession of Your Kingdom which You have created
and which is rightfully Yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You with every beat of
my heart and with every breath I take. Amen.


Imprimatur, March 1073, + Richard H. Ackerman, Bishop of
Covington.


A PRAYER OF THE FIVE SACRED WOUNDS


I kiss the Wounds of Thy Sacred Head with sorrow deep and true
May every thought I think today be an act of love for You.

I kiss the Wounds of Thy Sacred Feet with sorrow deep and true
May every step I take today be an act of love for You.

I kiss the Wounds of Thy Sacred Hands with sorrow deep and true
May every touch of my hands today be an act of love for You.

I kiss the Wounds of Thy Sacred Lips with sorrow deep and true
May every word I speak today be an act of love for You.

I kiss the Wounds of Thy Sacred Side with sorrow deep and true
May every beat of my heart today be an act of love for You.



AN ACT OF CONTRITION


Forgive me my sins, O Lord, forgive me my sins; the sins of my
youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul, the sins of my
body; my idle sins, my serious voluntary sins, the sins I know,
the sins I do not know; the sins I have concealed so long, and
which are now hidden from my memory.

I am truly sorry for every sin, mortal and venial, for all the
sins of my childhood up to the present hour.

I know my sins have wounded Thy tender Heart, O my Savior, let me
be freed from the bonds of evil through the most bitter Passion
of my Redeemer. Amen.

O my Jesus, forget and forgive what I have been. Amen.

This is another prayer I think quite a few may know, but I would
like to put it on again. Thanks -


A PRAYER FOR DAILY NEGLECTS


Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all
Its love, all Its sufferings and all Its merits.

First - To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and
during all my life.


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Ghost as it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without
end, Amen.


Second - To purify the good I have done badly this day and during
all my life. {Glory be to the Father...}


Third - To minister for the good I ought to have done, and that I
have neglected this day and during all my life.
{Glory be to the Father...}


A poor Clare nun who had just died, appeared to her Abbess, who
was praying for her, and said to her, ' I went straight to
Heaven, for, by means of this prayer, recited every evening, I
paid all my debts.'



PRAYER OF GRACE


O my God and my All, in Thy goodness and mercy, grant that before
I die I may regain all the graces which I have lost through My
carelessness and folly.

Permit me to attain that degree of merit and perfection to which
Thou dost desire to lead me, and which I have failed by my
unfaithfulness to reach.

Mercifully grant also that others regain the graces which they
lost through my fault.

This I humbly beg through the merits of the Sacred Hearts of
Jesus and the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Amen.

Devotion to Mary

"Many will not let devotion

to the Blessed Virgin even take root in their hearts. But blessed is the person

who accepts this grace and keeps it.

Such a devotion dwells in all

who are the Lord's heritage--

in all who will praise Him eternally in heaven."

St. Alphonsus Liguori

The Litany of Humility

The Litany of Humility
(written by Cardinal Merry del Val)

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved , Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being maliciously or falsely accused, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
Amen!

A Prayer for Today

Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of Your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.

Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.

Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.

Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.

Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

--------St. Thomas Aquinas