Friday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Joshua

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: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods.
But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac.
To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
"Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies which I wrought in her midst.
Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea with chariots and horsemen.
Because they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians, upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them. After you witnessed what I did to Egypt, and dwelt a long time in the desert,
I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them (the two kings of the Amorites) before you.
Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to war against Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you;
but I would not listen to Balaam. On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him.
Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power.
And I sent the hornets ahead of you which drove them (the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites) out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.
"I gave you a land which you had not tilled and cities which you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant."

Psalms

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female'
and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?"
He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."
(His) disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept (this) word, but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga(Priest (1901-1952))

Saint Alberto Hurtado CruchagaPriest(1901-1952) Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on the 22nd of January 1901. He was orphaned at 4 by the death of his father. His mother had to sell their modest property at a loss to pay the family's debts. As a further consequence, Alberto and his brother had to live with relatives, and were often moved from one family to another. From an early age, Alberto experienced what it meant to be poor, without a home and at the mercy of others. After completing his secondary education, Alberto was given a scholarship to the Jesuit College in Santiago. There, he became a member of the Sodality of Our Lady and developed a lively interest in the poor: spending time with them in the slums every Sunday afternoon. When he completed his secondary education in 1917, Alberto wanted to become a Jesuit, but he postponed his novitiate to take care of his mother and younger brother. By working in the afternoons and evenings, he successfully supported them. At the same time, he studied law at the Catholic University. During this period, he maintained his care for the poor and continued to visit them every Sunday. Obligatory military service interrupted his studies, but once he fulfilled this duty, he went on to earn his degree in August 1923. On the 14th of August 1923, Alberto entered the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Chillán. In 1925, he went to Córdoba, Argentina, where he studied humanities. In 1927, he was sent to Spain to study philosophy and theology. However, because of the suppression of the Jesuits in Spain in 1931, he went on to Belgium and continued studying theology at Louvain. He was ordained a priest there on the 24th of August 1933, and in 1935 obtained a doctorate in pedagogy and psychology. After completing his Tertianship in Drongen, Belgium, Fr. Alberto returned to Chile in January 1936. He began working as a professor of religion at Colegio San Ignacio, and of Pedagogy at the Catholic University of Santiago. He was entrusted with the Sodality of Our Lady for the students, and he involved them in teaching catechism to the poor. He frequently directed retreats and offered spiritual direction to many young men, accompanying several of them in their response to the priestly vocation and contributing in an outstanding manner to the formation of many Christian laymen. In 1941, Fr. Alberto published his most famous book: "Is Chile a Catholic Country?" The same year, he was asked to assume the role of Assistant for the Youth Movement of the Catholic Action, first within the Archdiocese of Santiago and then nationally. He performed these roles with an exceptional spirit of initiative, dedication and sacrifice. In October 1944, while giving a retreat, he felt impelled to appeal to his audience to consider the many poor people of the city, especially the numerous homeless children who were roaming the streets of Santiago. This request evoked a ready and generous response. This was the beginning of the initiative for which Fr. Alberto is especially well-known: a form of charitable activity which provided not only housing but a home-like milieu for the homeless: "El Hogar de Cristo." By means of contributions from benefactors and with the active collaboration of committed laity, Fr. Alberto opened the first house for children. This was followed by a house for women and then one for men. The poor found a warm home in "El Hogar de Cristo." The houses multiplied and took on new dimensions. In some houses, there were rehabilitation centers; in others, trade-schools and so on. In 1945, Fr. Alberto visited the United States to study the "Boys Town" movement and to consider how it could be adapted to his own country. The last six years of his life were dedicated to the development of various forms in which "El Hogar" could exist and function. In 1947, Fr. Alberto founded the Chilean Trade Union Association (ASICH) to promote a union movement inspired by the social teaching of the Church. Between 1947 and 1950, he wrote three important works: on trade unions, on social humanism, and on the Christian social order. In 1951, he founded "Mensaje," the well-known Jesuit periodical dedicated to explaining the doctrine of the Church. Pancreatic cancer brought Fr. Alberto to the end of his life. In the midst of terrible pain, he was often heard saying, "I am content, Lord." After spending his life manifesting Christ's love for the poor, Fr. Alberto was called to Paradise on the 18th of August 1952. From his return to Chile after his Tertianship to his death, a matter of only fifteen years, Fr. Alberto lived and accomplished all the works described above. His apostolate was the expression of a personal love for Christ the Lord; it was characterized by a great love for poor and abandoned children, an enlightened zeal for the formation of the laity, and a lively sense of Christian social justice. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on the 23rd of October 2005.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of august 2023