August 21, 2026
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/082126.cfm
Commentary on
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Today’s First Reading is a kind of parable of the renewal of
Israel—a theme not unlike that of yesterday’s reading. The prophet gives no
indication as to when it was written, but it must be dated after 586 BC, the
year following the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. God’s people are
in exile in distant Babylon and see no brightness in their future.
In his vision, the prophet is set down by God in a valley
full of bones. Such scenes must not have been unknown as the result of battles
when the casualties were left behind by fleeing armies to die and rot. As we
will see, these bones symbolise Israel’s apparently hopeless condition in
exile. They are “very dry”, indicating that they are long dead and beyond hope
of resuscitation. But Ezekiel is now going to receive a message of hope for the
future.
Perhaps testing his faith, God asks Ezekiel if they can live
again. “O Lord God, you know” the prophet replies. He is then told to prophesy
to them:
O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Apart from addressing people, Ezekiel had also addressed inanimate
things like mountains and forests, and now it is lifeless bones. Through him,
Yahweh tells the bones he will bring spirit into them so that they may become
living again. The Hebrew word ruah used here can mean spirit,
breath or wind. They will once more have tendons, flesh, skin and breath. A
listing of four items indicates wholeness and completeness.
As Ezekiel spoke the prophecy, there was a great rattling
sound as the bones reformed into whole skeletons and grew sinews and flesh
covered by skin. The sound could refer either to the bones coming together or
to the active presence of God over them.
But there was as yet no breath, no life. This recalls the
two steps by which the man was created in Genesis. He was first formed from the
dust of the earth and then received the breath of life. Ezekiel then follows
the Lord’s instructions:
Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the
breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain…
Then they all rose to their feet and formed a mighty army.
The Jerusalem Bible comments:
God announces the messianic restoration of Israel after the
sufferings of the Exile. But also, by the imagery chosen, he is already
preparing minds for the idea of individual resurrection of the body, vaguely
perceived in Job and explicitly stated in Daniel. (edited)
Clearly, the risen bones are the restored House of Israel.
In exile in Babylon, they had lost all hope and were in the depths of despair:
Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut
off completely.
That was how they felt separated from their homeland.
Ezekiel is now to tell them that their graves will be opened
and they will return to their homeland. This final part of the reading has
switched from the image of a battlefield of dead bones to that of a cemetery of
many graves.
As in yesterday’s reading, Yahweh promises to give them his
spirit, a spirit of life:
I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and
I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have
spoken and will act… (Ezek 37:14)
It is clear from the context that Yahweh is not speaking
here of a resurrection from the dead, but of the restoration of Israel as a
nation.
As we read this dramatic passage, we can transpose its
images to our Christian situation. God, through Jesus, is for us, too, a source
of new life. But through our infidelities that life can become effectively dead
in us. Spiritually, we become as dry as dead bones.
Jesus said that he had come precisely to give us new life,
life in greater abundance. He made this promise many times in the Gospels and
proved it by the new life he gave to so many people by raising them from death,
by healing them of incurable diseases or disabilities, by liberating them from
the power of evil influences.
We too have been given new life in Baptism, but we need to
be constantly renewed in heart and spirit. May the Lord never cease to pour his
Spirit into our hearts.
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Commentary on
Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew’s Gospel is building up to its climax. The continued
confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders is leading to the final
showdown. It had been described symbolically in the parable we heard yesterday.
This parable is followed in Matthew by three encounters
where Jesus’ opponents try to wrongfoot him by showing him to be in opposition
to the Law. There is the famous scene where he is asked whether it is right to
pay tribute to Caesar or not. The question is put in such a way that, no matter
what answer he gives, he will say the wrong thing. This is followed by the
Saduccees, who did not believe in the after life, bringing up what they thought
was an insoluble problem for those who did believe in the resurrection of the
dead.
In both cases, Jesus dealt expeditiously with his
questioners and left them with no comeback.
Today we read of a third encounter. The Pharisees, who were
very pleased that the Sadducees had been silenced by Jesus, now had their own
challenge for him. They asked him:
Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?
This was a much-discussed question among the experts. There
were more than 600 laws and it was common to ask which ones were of greater
importance than others.
Jesus responds very quickly, not by using his own words, but
by quoting from the Books of the Law themselves. And his answer contains not
one, but two laws:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind. (Deut 6:5)
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev
19:18)
They both have the word ‘love’ in common. It is important to
be aware that the word translated ‘love’ here is the verb agapeo,
from which we get agape; it is not phileo. Agape can
be described as an intense desire for the good or the well-being of the
other. Philia, on the other hand, implies friendship and affection.
We are not asked to have affection for each other, only to work for the good of
the other, no matter what that person is like.
And, from the Gospel (see Matt 25) we know that not only are
these two commandments similar, they are complementary and inseparable. In
other words, it is not possible to love God and not love the neighbour and vice
versa.
So Jesus is, strictly speaking, answering their question
about the “greatest commandment” (singular). The greatest commandment is
simultaneously to love God and neighbour. And, in Luke’s Gospel, the identity
of the “neighbour” will be clearly shown, although it is also in fact clearly
indicated later in Matthew’s Gospel:
I was hungry…thirsty…just as you did it to one of the
least of these brothers and sisters…you did it to me. (Matt 25:35-40)
Jesus says:
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the
Prophets.
In other words, the whole of the Old Testament teaching is
linked to these two laws. The Law was contained in the Pentateuch, the first
five books of our Bible; the Prophets included both the major prophets (Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and the twelve minor prophets, as well as the so-called
‘former’ prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. Also included were the
Wisdom books.
Jesus is saying that as long as one is truly loving God and
neighbour, the rest of the Law will take care of itself. There may even be
times when such love will transcend and override the requirements of some laws.
No truly loving act can ever be sinful.
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Friday,
August 21, 2026
Ordinary Time
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.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 22: 34-40
The Pharisees
heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to put him to
the test, one of them put a further question, 'Master, which is the greatest
commandment of the Law?'
Jesus said to him, 'You must 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 resembles it: You must love your neighbor
as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets
too.'
Reflection
The text is
enlightened. Jesus is in Jerusalem and precisely in the Temple where a process
between he 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 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 always
first made evident the multiplicity of the prescriptions (248 commandments) the
question is asked to Jesus regarding which is the fundamental precept. 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 (Is 33: 15), Micah three
(Mi 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 renouncing to give priority to the first
one, which subordinates, in a close way, the second one. Thus, all the
prescriptions of the Law, they were 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 in 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 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.
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 fulfilment 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?
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)
The future Pope Pius X was born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto at
Riese, near Venice, on 2 June, 1835. He was the second of 10 children in a poor
family, his father being the village postman.
On 18 September, 1858, Giuseppe Sarto was ordained priest
and became curate at Tombolo. While there, the young priest deepened his
knowledge of theology by carrying out most of the functions of his parish
pastor, who was quite ill. In 1867, he was named Archpriest of Salzano. He
became popular with his people when he worked to help the sick during a cholera
plague that swept northern Italy in the early 1870s.
In 1875, he was made Chancellor of the Diocese of Treviso.
In 1878, Bishop Zanelli died, leaving the bishopric vacant. In 1879, Sarto was
elected as Vice-Capitular to take responsibility for the diocese until a new
bishop was elected, and he held the post until June, 1880. After 1880, Sarto
taught dogmatic theology and moral theology at the seminary in Treviso. In
1884, he was made Bishop of Mantua.
On 12 June, 1893, Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal in a
secret consistory and he was named Cardinal-Priest of Saint Bernardo alle
Terme. Three days later, Cardinal Sarto was publicly named Patriarch of Venice.
However, this caused difficulty as the government of the reunified Italy
claimed the right to nominate the Patriarch based on a privilege formerly
exercised by the Emperor of Austria. Sarto was finally allowed to assume the
position of Patriarch in 1894.
As Cardinal and Patriarch, Sarto avoided politics and gave
his time to social works and strengthening parish finances. In his first
pastoral letter to the Venetians, he argued that in matters pertaining to the
Pope:
There should be no questions, no subtleties, no opposing
of personal rights to his rights, but only obedience.
On 20 July, 1903, Pope Leo XIII died. During the conclave to
elect his successor, Cardinal Rampolla seemed the favourite, but his nomination
was blocked by the Emperor Franz Joseph and, on the fifth ballot, Giuseppe
Sarto was elected the 257th pope on 4 August, 1903. He was at first reluctant
to accept the post, but after urging from fellow-cardinals and deep prayer,
accepted the nomination. He took the name Pius out of respect for his
predecessors with this name, especially Pius IX whom he admired. He took as his
motto Instaurare Omnia in Christo (‘to gather up all things in
Christ’—from Eph 1:10).
Many of his achievements as pope were directed towards the
fulfilment of this ideal. They included the encouragement of more frequent
reception of Holy Communion and the admission of children to the Sacrament from
the age of seven (an age at which it was felt children could understand the
meaning of the Sacrament).
Pius also worked for the reform of Church music, encouraging
the revival of Gregorian chant and, to a lesser degree, of classical polyphony.
Classical and Baroque compositions had long been favoured over Gregorian chant
in ecclesiastical music. Pius announced a return to earlier musical styles,
championed by Don Perosi, director of the Sistine Chapel choir. This led to the
adoption of the Solesmes School of Gregorian Chant.
He also began the reform of Canon Law, which would be
promulgated by his successor Pope Benedict XV, and the reorganisation of the
administration of the Vatican. As well, he gave new life to Catholic Action and
pointed it in new directions beyond the merely social and political.
In the area of Christian doctrine, he condemned the error of
Modernism in the encyclical Pascendi and the decree Lamentabili.
Modernism and relativism were trends which wanted to assimilate modern
philosophers into theological research in the way Aristotelianism had been used
by thinkers like Thomas Aquinas in the past. Modernists claimed that Church
beliefs were in a continuous process of evolvement. Following these
encyclicals, Pius ordered that all clerics take the Sacrorum antistitum,
an oath against Modernism. He also encouraged the formation and efforts
of Sodalitium Pianum (League of Pius V), an anti-Modernist
network of informants.
Unfortunately, these condemnations led to the orthodoxy of
many outstanding Catholic scholars being questioned for many years afterwards.
It took the coming of the Second Vatican Council for a number of outstanding
theologians to be reinstated.
In 1908, the papal decree Ne Temere came
into effect. Marriages not performed by a Catholic priest were declared legal,
but religiously invalid, a move which worried many about the status of ‘mixed
marriages’ outside a Catholic church. Priests were given discretion to refuse
to perform mixed marriages, or lay conditions upon them, commonly including a
requirement that the children be raised Roman Catholic.
Also in 1908, the Catechism of Christian Doctrine was
first issued. In less than 50 pages it dealt with questions of faith and morals
in simple language, one reason for its continuing popularity. Later Joseph
Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) would say that Pius’ characteristics were
“simplicity of exposition and depth of content”.
In the area of Church-State relations, Pius sacrificed
church property in France for the sake of independence from state control, in
the process asking both clergy and faithful to make considerable sacrifices. In
France, he also condemned what he saw as the extremes of the liberal movement
called Sillon (Furrow) and the extreme right-wing thinking
of Action Francaise. The latter condemnation did not become public
until some years after Pius X’s death.
In 1913, Pius suffered a heart attack from which he never
fully recovered. In 1914, the Pope fell ill on the Feast of the Assumption (15
August). The outbreak of the First World War only worsened his condition, and
the 79-year-old pope became deeply depressed. He died on 20 August, 1914, just
a few hours after the death of the Jesuit superior general, Franz Xavier Wernz.
In his will he wrote:
I was born poor, I have lived poor, and I wish to die
poor.
Much of the pomp and ceremony of the Vatican he found
profoundly distasteful.
Pius X was buried in a simple tomb in the crypt below St
Peter’s Basilica. He had forbidden the removal of organs for the embalming
process, a custom followed by his successors.
He was being acclaimed a saint immediately after his death,
and the crypt could not hold all those wanting to venerate his tomb. Masses
were held near his tomb until 1930.
On 19 August, 1939, Pope Pius XII delivered a tribute to
Pius X at Castel Gandolfo and on 12 February, 1943, he was given the title
“Venerable”. In 1944, his coffin was opened and, although he had not been
embalmed, his body was found after 30 years to be in an excellent state of
conservation. Following the confirmation of two miracles, he was beatified on 3
June, 1951.
On 29 May, 1954, less than three years after his
beatification, he was canonized, following the recognition of two more
miracles. Pius X thus became the first pope to be canonised since Pope Pius V
in the 17th century. Pius X’s feast day, initially assigned to 3 September, was
moved to 21 August, closer to the day of his death, in 1969.
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