Memorial
of Saint Dominic, Priest
Lectionary: 412
Reading 1
Are you not from eternity, O LORD,
my holy God, immortal?
O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,
O Rock, you have readied him punishment!
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?
You have made man like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things without a ruler.
He brings them all up with his hook,
he hauls them away with his net,
He gathers them in his seine;
and so he rejoices and exults.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net,
and burns incense to his seine;
for thanks to them his portion is generous,
and his repast sumptuous.
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (11b) You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
They trust in you who cherish your name,
for you forsake not those who seek you, O LORD.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
Sing praise to the LORD enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations his deeds;
For the avenger of blood has remembered;
he has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,
“Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Jesus said in reply,
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me.”
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
“Why could we not drive it out?”
He said to them, “Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.”
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Dominic, please go here.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080820.cfm
Meditation: Nothing
Will Be Impossible to You
What kind of faith does the Lord expect of us, especially when
we meet set-backs and trials? Inevitably there are times when each of us
disappoint others or disappoint ourselves when we suffer some kind of set-back
or failure. In this Gospel incident the disciples of Jesus fail to heal an
epileptic boy. Jesus' response seems stern; but it is really tempered with love
and compassion. We see at once Jesus' dismay with the disciples' lack of faith
and his concern to meet the need of this troubled boy and his father. With one
word of command Jesus rebukes the evil spirit that has caused this boy's
affliction and tells the spirit to "never enter him again".
Pray with expectant faith
Jesus tells his disciples that they can "remove mountains" if they
have faith in God. The expression to "remove mountains" was a common
Jewish phrase for removing difficulties. A wise teacher who could solve
difficulties was called a "mountain remover". If we pray with
expectant faith God will give us the means to overcome difficulties and
obstacles. When you meet trials and disappointments how do you respond? With
faith and trust in Jesus?
Lord Jesus, help my unbelief! Increase my faith and trust in
your saving power. Give me confidence and perseverance, especially in prayer.
And help me to bring your healing love and truth to those I meet
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Faith
as a grain of mustard seed, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"The mountains here spoken of, in my opinion, are the
hostile powers that have their being in a flood of great wickedness, such as
are settled down, so to speak, in some souls of various people. But when
someone has total faith, such that he no longer disbelieves in anything found
in holy Scripture and has faith like that of Abraham, who so believed in God to
such a degree that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis
15:6), then he has all faith like a grain of mustard seed. Then such a man will
say to this mountain - I mean in this case the deaf and dumb spirit in him who
is said to be epileptic - 'Move from here to another place.' It will move. This
means it will move from the suffering person to the abyss. The apostle, taking
this as his starting point, said with apostolic authority, 'If I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains' (1 Corinthians 13:2). For he who has all
faith - which is like a grain of mustard seed - moves not just one mountain but
also more just like it. And nothing will be impossible for the person who has
so much faith. Let us examine also this statement: 'This kind is not cast out
except through prayer and fasting' (Mark 9:29). If at any time it is necessary
that we should be engaged in the healing of one suffering from such a disorder,
we are not to adjure nor put questions nor speak to the impure spirit as if it
heard. But [by] devoting ourselves to prayer and fasting, we may be successful
as we pray for the sufferer, and by our own fasting we may thrust out the
unclean spirit from him." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW
13.7.19)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug8
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, MATTHEW 17:14-20
Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest
(Habakkuk 1:12--2:4; Psalm 9)
KEY VERSE: "Nothing will be impossible for you" (v. 20).
TO KNOW: No sooner had Jesus come down from the heavenly glory on the mountain of the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-13), than he was confronted with an earthly problem. He encountered a lack of faith, even among his own disciples. They were unable to heal a young man suffering from epilepsy, and his father begged Jesus to cure him. Jesus reproached the unbelievers in the same way that Moses rebuked the people when he returned from the mountain of Sinai and saw the people's lack of faith (Ex 32:19). Jesus healed the boy with a simple command, and then told his disciples that with enough faith, they could move mountains, a well-known metaphor for removing difficulties in one’s life. Jesus meant that with faith in God, even the hardest tasks could be accomplished. He told his humbled disciples that they only needed the smallest amount of faith, the size of a tiny mustard seed, to remove immense obstacles that blocked their path to God.
TO LOVE: What obstacles stand in the way of my serving the Lord?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, increase my faith when I face overwhelming problems.
Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest
Dominic was born to Spanish nobility of the house of Guzman. His mother was Blessed Joan of Aza who, when pregnant, had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch carried in its mouth. A dog bearing a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the Dominicans. Dominic founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who lived a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Legend says that when Dominic became discouraged at the progress of his mission, he received a vision from Our Lady who told him to say the rosary daily, and teach it to all who would listen. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary, but it predates him. There is also a story that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Church. Dominic met the beggar the next day, embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Saturday 8 August 2020
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
1 Kings 17:8-16. My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me
fast – Psalm 62(63):1-8. Colossians 3:12-17. Matthew 6:25-34.
Do not worry about tomorrow: your holy Father knows your needs
Today is an important feast for Australians as we celebrate a
woman who deeply relied on God’s goodness and believed in it with all her
being.
Elijah did as God asked and was replenished along with the widow
of Zarephath because he trusted. Psalm 62 used for so many saints and martyrs
speaks of what it is to trust the providence of God. Matthew then speaks of
Jesus’ encouragement not to worry about all the little things, leave them to
God, God will provide. This reliance on God is hard to follow in our lives and
every now and then God gives us a jolt to remind us that all is in hand. When
life throws us some really difficult situations it is hard to remember these
things but it is good to have a friend or family member who is good at
reminding us that God will provide.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/saturday-8-august-2020/
Saint Dominic
Saint of the Day for August 8
(August 8, 1170 – August 6, 1221)
Stained glass | St. Dominic sends out the Friars | photo by Lawrence, OP | flickr
Saint Dominic’s Story
If he hadn’t taken a trip with his bishop, Dominic would probably
have remained within the structure of contemplative life; after the trip, he
spent the rest of his life being a contemplative in active apostolic work.
Born in old Castile, Spain, Dominic was trained for the
priesthood by a priest-uncle, studied the arts and theology, and became a canon
of the cathedral at Osma, where there was an attempt to revive the apostolic
common life described in Acts of the Apostles.
On a journey through France with his bishop, Dominic came face
to face with the then virulent Albigensian heresy at Languedoc. The
Albigensians–or Cathari, “the pure ones”–held to two principles—one good, one
evil—in the world. All matter is evil—hence they denied the Incarnation and the
sacraments. On the same principle, they abstained from procreation and took a
minimum of food and drink. The inner circle led what some people regarded as a
heroic life of purity and asceticism not shared by ordinary followers.
Dominic sensed the need for the Church to combat this heresy,
and was commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against it. He saw
immediately why the preaching crusade was not succeeding: the ordinary people
admired and followed the ascetical heroes of the Albigenses. Understandably,
they were not impressed by the Catholic preachers who traveled with horse and
retinues, stayed at the best inns and had servants. Dominic therefore, with
three Cistercians, began itinerant preaching according to the gospel ideal. He
continued this work for 10 years, being successful with the ordinary people but
not with the leaders.
His fellow preachers gradually became a community, and in 1215
Dominic founded a religious house at Toulouse, the beginning of the Order of
Preachers or Dominicans.
Dominic’s ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link
a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation
to people by the word of God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to
pass on the fruits of contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.”
Reflection
The Dominican ideal, like that of all religious communities, is
for the imitation, not merely the admiration, of the rest of the Church. The
effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck
driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the
tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any full
human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity.
Saint Dominic is the Patron Saint of:
Astronomers
Dominican Republic
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-dominic/
Lectio Divina: Matthew 17:14-20
Lectio Divina
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Prayer
Show us Your continued kindness, Father,
and watch Your people,
as we acknowledge Your guidance and Your leadership.
Renew the work of Your creation
and guard what You have renewed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
2) Reading
From the Gospel according to Matthew 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, "Lord, have pity
on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and
often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure
him." Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how
long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to
me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour
the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
"Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "Because of
your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard
seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will
move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
3) Reflection
• Context. Our passage has Jesus in his work of healing. After
having stayed with the disciples alone in the region of Caesarea Philippi
(16:13 to 28) Jesus climbs a high mountain and is transfigured before three
disciples (17:1-10) and then reaches the crowd (17:14 - 21) and attempts a new
approach to Galilee (17:22). What to think of these geographical shifts of
Jesus? It is not to be discounted that they could have geographical
value, but Matthew presents them as part of a spiritual journey. In his journey
of faith, the community is increasingly called upon to retrace that
spiritual journey which marked the life of Jesus from Galilee to His passion,
death and resurrection: a spiritual journey in which the power of faith plays a
crucial role.
• The power of faith. Jesus, after His transfiguration, with His
small community of disciples, returned from the crowd before returning to
Galilee (v. 22) and arriving in Capernaum (v. 24). In the crowd a man
approached Him and begged Him to intervene in the evil that keeps his son
imprisoned. The description preceding the intervention of Jesus is really
clear: this is a case of epilepsy with all its pathological consequences on the
psychic level. At the time of Jesus, this type of illness was traced to evil
forces and specifically the action of Satan, enemy of God and man, and
therefore the origin of evil and all evil. Faced with such a situation in which
evil forces far beyond human capabilities are at work, the disciples find
themselves powerless to heal the child (vv. 16-19) and because of their lack of
faith (v. 20). For the evangelist, this young epileptic is a symbol of those
who devalue the power of faith (v. 20), not mindful of the presence of God in
their midst (v. 17). The presence of God in Jesus, Emmanuel, is not recognized.
Understand something of Jesus is not enough. We need true faith. After Jesus
rebuked the crowd, they bring the boy: "Bring him here" (v. 17).
Jesus heals and frees him and rebukes the devil. This is not simply the miracle
of healing a single person, but also the healing of the weak and
uncertain faith of the disciples. Jesus approaches them, who are confused or
dazed by their impotence: "Why could we not cast it out?" (v. 20).
Jesus' answer is clear: "because of your wavering faith.” Jesus calls for
faith that can move mountains to identify with His person, His mission, His
divine power. It is true that the disciples have left everything to follow
Jesus but have failed to heal the epileptic boy because of "little
faith." It is not lack of faith, only that it is weak, vacillating for
sure, with a predominance of mistrust and doubt. It is a faith that is not
rooted entirely in relationship with Christ. Jesus goes beyond the language
when He says, "If you have faith like a mustard seed" it can move
mountains, it is an exhortation to be guided by the power of faith in action,
which becomes especially strong in times of trial and suffering and attains
maturity in the scandal of the cross. True faith can do anything, can
even move mountains. The disciples, the early community, experienced that you
must join in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Through meditation we observed that the disciples are placed
in relation to the epileptic and to Jesus Himself. Do you find that your
faith helps you to relate to Jesus as well as to others?
• Do you feel committed every day to move the mountains that stand between your
self-interest and the will of God?
5) Final Prayer
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, stronghold in times
of trouble. Those who honor Your name trust in You; You never forsake those who
seek You, LORD. (Psalm 9)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-matthew-1714-20
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