Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
Lectionary: 423
Reading 1
The hand of the LORD came upon me,
and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain,
which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.
How dry they were!
He asked me:
Son of man, can these bones come to life?
I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”
Then he said to me:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:
Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,
cover you with skin, and put spirit in you
so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
I prophesied as I had been told,
and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;
it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,
and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me:
Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,
and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD
From the four winds come, O spirit,
and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;
they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me:
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They have been saying,
“Our bones are dried up,
our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the foe
And gathered from the lands,
from the east and the west, from the north and the south.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
They went astray in the desert wilderness;
the way to an inhabited city they did not find.
Hungry and thirsty,
their life was wasting away within them.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them.
And he led them by a direct way
to reach an inhabited city.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men,
Because he satisfied the longing soul
and filled the hungry soul with good things.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082120.cfm
Meditation: What
Is the Greatest Rule of Life?
What
is the purpose of God's law and commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves
in the knowledge of the law of Moses and the ritual requirements of the law.
They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Torah - the
books of the Old Testament containing the Law of Moses - along with the
numerous rabbinic commentaries on the law. The religious authorities tested
Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled
them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its
purpose.
God's love rules all
Jesus summarized the whole of the law in two great commandments found in
Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might" - and Leviticus 19:18 -
"you shall love your neighbor as yourself". God's love directs all
that he does - His love is holy, just, and pure because it seeks only what is
good, beneficial, and life-giving - rather than what is destructive, evil, or deadly.
That is why he commands us to love - to accept and to give only what is good,
lovely, just, and pure and to reject whatever is contrary.
God puts us first in his thoughts
God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us (1 John 3:1, 4:7-8,
16). God puts us first in his thoughts and concerns - do we put him first in
our thoughts? God loved us first (1 John 4:19) and our love for him is a
response to his exceeding goodness and kindness towards us. The love of God
comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The
more we know of God's love, truth, and goodness, the more we love what he loves
and reject whatever is hateful and contrary to his will. God commands us to
love him first above all else - his love orients and directs our thoughts,
intentions, and actions to what is wholly good and pleasing to him. He wants us
to love him personally, wholeheartedly, and without any reservation or
compromise.
The nature of love - giving to others for their sake
What is the nature of love? Love is the gift of giving oneself for the good of
others - it is wholly other oriented and directed to the welfare and benefit of
others. Love which is rooted in pleasing myself is self-centered and possessive
- it is a selfish love that takes from others rather than gives to others. It
is a stunted and disordered love which leads to many hurtful and sinful desires
- such as jealousy, greed, envy, and lust. The root of all sin is disordered
love and pride which is fundamentally putting myself above God and my neighbor
- it is loving and serving self rather than God and neighbor. True love, which
is wholly directed and oriented to what is good rather than evil, is rooted in
God's truth and righteousness (moral goodness).
How God loves us
God loves us wholly, completely, and perfectly for our sake - there is no
limit, no holding back, no compromising on his part. His love is not subject to
changing moods or circumstances. When God gives, he gives generously,
abundantly, freely, and without setting conditions to the gift of his love. His
love does not waver, but is firm, consistent, and constant. He loves us in our
weakness - in our fallen and sinful condition. That is why the Father sent his
only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem us from slavery to sin and
its disordered cravings, desires, passions, and addictions. God the Father
always seeks us out to draw us to his throne of mercy and help. God the Father
corrects and disciplines us in love to free us from the error of our wrong ways
of thinking and choosing what is harmful and evil rather than choosing what is
good and wholesome for us. Do you freely accept God's love and do you willingly
choose to obey his commandments?
We do not earn God's love - it is freely given
How can we possibly love God above all else and obey his commandments willingly
and joyfully, and how can we love our neighbor and willing lay down our life
for their sake? Paul the Apostle tells us that "hope does not
disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). We do not
earn God's love - it is freely given to those who open their heart to God and
who freely accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord Jesus to flood your
heart with his love through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Love grows with faith and hope
What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope
in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a
good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God
the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope
in his promises. The Lord Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us
a new freedom to love as he loves. Paul the Apostle writes, "For freedom
Christ has set us free... only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for
the flesh [sinful inclinations], but through love be servants of one
another" (Galatians 5:1,13). Do you allow anything to keep you from the
love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart?
Lord
Jesus, your love surpasses all. Flood my heart with your love and increase my
faith and hope in your promises. Help me to give myself in generous service to
others as you have so generously given yourself to me.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,
by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Worthy
is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a
heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of
knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such
gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the
prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would
understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the
principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection
of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON
MATTHEW 13)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug21
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, MATTHEW 22:34-40
Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope
(Ezekiel
37:1-14; Psalm 107)
KEY VERSE: "The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" (v. 40).
TO KNOW: The Pharisees believed in the divine authority of the written Hebrew Scriptures ("the law and the prophets," v. 40) as well as the oral interpretations of the law. These included 613 precepts that were divided into categories of greater or lesser importance. The Sadducees, on the other hand, accepted only the first five books of the law (the Pentateuch) and rejected oral tradition, including the belief in angels and bodily resurrection. Both groups were opposed to Jesus. A scribe, an expert in the law, challenged Jesus by asking which law was greater than the others. Jesus summed up the entire law with two commands upon which the whole law was based: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Dt 6:5) and "You must love your neighbor as yourself” (Lv 19:18). Jesus thereby put the love of God on a par with love of neighbor. Only by loving oneself, will we be able to start loving God and other people as the Lord commanded. Jesus perfectly fulfilled this law of love in his words and deeds.
TO LOVE: Do I have a healthy self-love?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, fill me with love for you so that it will overflow to others.
Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope
Giuseppe Melchore Sarto was born in 1835, in Riese near Venice. He entered the seminary in Padua, and was ordained at the age of 23. Due to his pastoral and administrative abilities, his bishop named him spiritual director of the diocesan major seminary and chancellor of the archdiocese. After nine years as bishop he was transferred to Venice as the city's patriarch and cardinal. After the death of Leo XIII the conclave of 1903 elected Cardinal Sarto pope despite his own hesitancy to accept the office. The new pope assumed the name Pius X taking as his motto the passage from Paul, "To restore all things in Christ, that Christ might be all and in all" (I Cor. 15:28), a goal which was particularly important during that period of the Church's emergence into the modern world. His profound devotion to the Blessed Sacrament prompted a universal appeal to all Catholics to a frequent and fervent reception of Holy Communion. He also exhorted catechists to prepare the young for an early, knowledgeable reception of the Eucharist. It was his love for the liturgy which caused him to be remembered as the pope who began modern liturgical reform. Pius was also instrumental in urging sound Biblical scholarship, which led him to found the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome which, to this day, is an important source of scholarship. His sorrow over the international conflict that led to Word War I led to his death on August 20, 1914, at the age of 79. He was canonized Saint Pius X on May 31, 1954. He was the first pope in modern times to be canonized. His will read: "I was born poor; I lived poor; I wish to die poor."
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Friday 21 August 2020
St Pius X. Day of penance
Ezekiel 37:1-14. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is
everlasting – Psalm 106(107):2-9. Matthew 22:34-40.
The commandments of love
The readings today form a harmony of contrasts, reminding us of
the diversity of experiences we can have while reading the Bible.
The first is the most famous passage from Ezekiel, and it
spawned the well-known Spiritual by James Weldon Johnson, ‘Dry Bones’ – listen
to it sometime for an experience of playful joy! The Lord performs the
impossible – skeletal remains are, piece by piece, reformed into living humans.
It is a vivid picture – stunningly unforgettable – reminding us that God is the
source of life and of life’s salvation.
The Gospel from Matthew also suggests an extremity of
experience: ‘…love the Lord your God with all your heart
… all your soul … all your mind.’
To be Christian is not to settle for mediocrity – life, life to
the full, life down to your bones and, as Weldon Johnson put it in another of
his hymns, life ‘high as the listening skies!’
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/friday-21-august-2020/
Saint Pius X
Saint of the Day for August 21
(June 2, 1835 – August 20, 1914)
Portrait of Pope Saint Pius X | Library of Congress | Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller
Saint Pius X’s Story
Pope Pius X is perhaps best remembered for his encouragement of
the frequent reception of Holy Communion, especially by children.
The second of 10 children in a poor Italian family, Joseph Sarto
became Pius X at age 68. He was one of the 20th century’s greatest popes.
Ever mindful of his humble origin, Pope Pius stated, “I was born
poor, I lived poor, I will die poor.” He was embarrassed by some of the pomp of
the papal court. “Look how they have dressed me up,” he said in tears to an old
friend. To another, “It is a penance to be forced to accept all these
practices. They lead me around surrounded by soldiers like Jesus when he was
seized in Gethsemani.”
Interested in politics, Pope Pius encouraged Italian Catholics
to become more politically involved. One of his first papal acts was to end the
supposed right of governments to interfere by veto in papal elections—a
practice that reduced the freedom of the 1903 conclave which had elected him.
In 1905, when France renounced its agreement with the Holy See
and threatened confiscation of Church property if governmental control of
Church affairs were not granted, Pius X courageously rejected the demand.
While he did not author a famous social encyclical as his
predecessor had done, he denounced the ill treatment of indigenous peoples on
the plantations of Peru, sent a relief commission to Messina after an
earthquake, and sheltered refugees at his own expense.
On the 11th anniversary of his election as pope, Europe was
plunged into World War I. Pius had foreseen it, but it killed him. “This is the
last affliction the Lord will visit on me. I would gladly give my life to save
my poor children from this ghastly scourge.” He died a few weeks after the war
began, and was canonized in 1954.
Reflection
His humble background was no obstacle in relating to a personal
God and to people whom he loved genuinely. Pius X gained his strength, his
gentleness and warmth for people from the source of all gifts, the Spirit of
Jesus. In contrast, we often feel embarrassed by our backgrounds. Shame makes
us prefer to remain aloof from people whom we perceive as superior. If we are
in a superior position, on the other hand, we often ignore simpler people. Yet
we, too, have to help “restore all things in Christ,” especially the wounded
people of God.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-pius-x/
Lectio Divina: Matthew 22:34-40
Lectio Divina
Friday, August 21, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by
asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He
said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first
commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
3) Reflection
• The text is enlightened. Jesus is in Jerusalem and precisely
in the Temple where a process between Him and His adversaries is taking place,
the chief priests and the scribes (20:18; 21:15), between the chief priests and
the elders of the people (21:23) and between the chief priests and the
Pharisees (21:45). The point of controversy of the debate is: the identity of
Jesus or of the Son of David, the origin of His identity, and, therefore, the
question regarding the nature of the Kingdom of God. The evangelist presents
this plot of debates with a sequence of controversies that present a growing
rhythm: the tribute to be paid to Caesar (22:15-22), the resurrection of the
dead (22:23-33), the greatest commandment (22:34-40), the Messiah, son and Lord
of David (22:41-46). The protagonists of the first three discussions are
representatives of the official Judaism who try to place Jesus in difficulty on
some crucial questions. These disputes are addressed to Jesus in so far as He
is “Master” (Rabbi). This title tells the reader of the understanding that the
interlocutors have of Jesus, but Jesus takes this occasion to lead them to ask
themselves a more crucial question: the last time they took position concerning
His identity (22:41-46).
• The greatest commandment. On the trail of the Sadducees who have preceded,
the Pharisees ask Jesus a burning question: which is the greatest commandment?
The Rabbis first make evident the multiplicity of the prescriptions (248
commandments), then the question is asked of Jesus regarding which is the most
important. Just the same, the Rabbis themselves had created a true survey to
reduce them as far as possible: David lists eleven (Ps 15:2-5), Isaiah six (Isa
33:15), Micah three (Mic 6:8), Amos two (Am 5:4) and Habakkuk only one (Hab
2:4). But the intention of the Pharisees regarding their question goes beyond
every type of survey; it is a question of the essence itself of the
prescriptions. Jesus, in answering, binds together love of God and love of
neighbor, so much so as to unite them in only one, but without refusing to give
priority to the first one, which subordinates, in a close way, the second one.
Thus, all the prescriptions of the Law, all 613, are placed in relationship
with this unique commandment: the whole Law finds its significance and
foundation in the one of love. Jesus carries out a process of simplification of
all the precepts of the law: anyone who puts into practice the only commandment
of love does not only observe the law, but also the prophets (v. 40). Just the
same, the novelty of the response is not so much the material content as in its
realization: in Jesus, the love of God and love of neighbor have their own
context, their last solidity. That is to say, that God’s love and love of
neighbor, shown and realized in some way in his person, guides man to place
himself before God and before others through love. The only commandment in two,
God’s love and love for neighbor, become the supporting column, not only of the
scriptures, but also of the life of the Christian.
4) Personal questions
• Is love for God and for neighbor only a vague sentiment, an
emotion, a passing motion or a reality that affirms your whole person: heart,
will, intelligence and human relationships?
• You were created out of love. Are you aware that your fulfillment takes place
in God’s love, to love Him with the whole heart, with the whole soul, with the
whole mind? Such a love demands a confirmation of charity toward the brothers
and sisters and their situation of life. Do you practice this in daily
life?
5) Concluding Prayer
Let them thank Yahweh for His faithful love,
for His wonders for the children of Adam!
He has fed the hungry to their hearts' content,
filled the starving with good things. (Ps 107:8-9)
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