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Sunday 16 August
Today we celebrate
Missionary to Japan (1578-1618) Franciscan Priest and MartyrBlessed Juan Santamarta
His life:
+ Juan was born in Tarragona, Spain.
+ After entering the Franciscan Order, he was ordained a priest in 1606 and sent to the order’s missions in Japan.
+ Although he quickly mastered the local language, his time and ministry in Japan were limited because he was arrested in Macao in 1615.
+ Imprisoned for three years, Juan was executed for his Christian Faith on August 16, 1618, in Kyoto.
+ Blessed Juan Santamarta was beatified with other 204 other missionaries and Japanese martyrs in 1867. These martyrs are honored in a common commemoration on September 10.
Spiritual bonus:
August 16 is also the day on which the Church honors Saint Roch, a French nobleman who renounced his title and wealth to live as a pilgrim. Saint Roch died 1327 and is honored as the patron saint of plague victims.
For prayer and reflection:
“Whoever loses his life for the sake of the Gospel will save it.”—Matthew 8:35
Spiritual bonus:
On this day we also celebrate the memory of Saint Stephen of Hungary. As king, Stephen united the Magyar peoples of Hungary into a single nation and was crowned king of Christmas Day 1001. Remembered for organizing dioceses and establishing monasteries, he and his wife, Blessed Gisella of Ungarn, also had a son, Emeric, who succeeded his father and who is also numbered among the saints. Saint Stephen died in 1038 and was canonized in 1083. He is honored as the patron saint of Hungary.
Prayer
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may follow with due devotion the faith of blessed N., who, for spreading the faith, merited the crown of martyrdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Missionary-Martyr)
Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
Meditation of the Day
The Great Faith of the Gentiles
The faith of the gentile nations was swift in its speed, eager in its rejoicing, wise in its search, resolute in its finding, faithful in its adoration, generous in its gift of itself…. Think of the faith of the centurion, at which Scripture tells us that Jesus marveled. In fact, he went so far as to say that he had not found faith as great in Israel….
Then we have the Canaanite woman who interceded for her daughter, and when she was refused, persisted, and by the great noise she made, battered at the silence of Jesus. When he turned away from her, she followed him without apology; she humbly adored him when he rejected her; she listened patiently to his reproaches, and so, in the end, she brought forth (Dt 32:13). In the person of this woman, the church of the gentiles deserved to hear the Lord Jesus say:
There was the centurion, too, when Jesus was suffering and the faith of the disciples was exceedingly disturbed. He reached the full stature of a strong faith, and the crucified Jesus, whom others saw and fell away scandalized, drew him forward in praise….
The gentiles…snatched [Jesus] in with outstretched hands, laid hold of him and took him to their embrace…. Like the dawn, they saw with joy that the Sun of justice had arisen, because the radiance of a new grace was enlightening them…. The conversion of the gentiles, so unexpected and so spontaneous, from its very beginning gave…[Jesus] himself great occasion to rejoice and celebrate.
John of Ford († 1214) was the abbot of a Cistercian monastery in southwest England. / From Sermons on the Final Verses of the Song of Songs, Vol. IV; Translated by Sister Wendy Mary Beckett, Cistercian Fathers Series: Number Forty-Four. © 1983 by Cistercian Publications, Inc. © 2008 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN. All rights reserved. www.litpress.org. Used with permission.
Prayers of the day
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Prayer for the Morning
In Christ are we made one:
come, let us adore him!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HymnMeter: CM
This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
Amazing Grace
In Christ there is no east or west,
In him no south or north;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.
In him shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find;
His service is the golden cord,
Close binding all mankind.
In Christ now meet both east and west,
In him meet north and south;
All Christly souls are one in him
Throughout the whole wide earth.
Psalm 133
Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.” (Acts 10:34)
God’s plan is that, in Christ, there be no “insiders” or “outsiders.” All will be made one in him. In this present age, we are called to work toward that profound unity through humble love of one another.
How good and how pleasant it is,
when brothers live in unity!
It is like precious oil upon the head
running down upon the beard,
running down upon Aaron’s beard
upon the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon which falls
on the heights of Zion.
For there the Lord gives his blessing,
life for ever.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God Galatians 3:26-29
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all
who call upon him.
Canticle of Zechariah(Text, back cover B)
In every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:35)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father…
Intercessions
Let us pray in and with Christ:
Father, may all be one!
Where differences divide:
Where competition leads to hostility and violence:
Where judgment has replaced understanding:
Personal intentions
Our Father….
O God, most holy Three-in-One, you have made us in your image. May we grow into the unity that mirrors your inner life of love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the Evening
God is love: come, let us adore him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HymnMeter: SM
This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
Rise Up, O Men of God
To Christ, the Prince of peace,
And Son of God most high,
The Father of the world to come,
We lift our joyful cry.
Deep in his heart for us
The wound of love he bore,
That love which he enkindles still
In hearts that him adore.
O Jesus, victim blest,
What else but love divine
Could thee constrain to open thus
That sacred heart of thine?
Psalm 92-5, 8-11, 14-15
Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Mt 15:28)
We are one in sin; we are one in suffering; we are one in the merciful redeeming love of the one God. As we see in today’s Gospel, God ignores no plea for help and abandons no one in pain. Let us, as Jesus’ disciples, go and do likewise.
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause;
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.
But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you:
you will never forsake those who seek you.
Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings,
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise
at the gates of the city of Zion
and rejoice in your saving help.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God 1 Corinthians 12:24b-27
God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.
In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons.
Canticle of Mary(Text, back cover A)
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Is 56:7c)
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,
he 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 for ever.
Glory to the Father…
Intercessions
As one household, beloved by God, we pray:
Lord, have mercy.
Where peoples of different races and nations suffer together the ravages of war, poverty, and disease:
– let even enemies join hands in helping one another in their need.
Where believers differ in their faith:
– let them unite in doing the works of love.
Where the poor, the sick, and the suffering cry out in pain:
– let your people respond with charity in your
name.
Personal intentions
Our Father….
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage our hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. Amen. (cf. 2 Thes 2:16-17)
Marian Antiphon (page 9 or 10)
Antiphon commemorating
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Th
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
