Catholic Missal of the day: Wednesday, August 8 2018
Wednesday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
1. ReadingBook of Jeremiah
31,1-7.]At that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, and they shall be my people.
]Thus says the LORD: The people that escaped the sword have found favor in the desert. As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
]the LORD appears to him from afar: With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.
]Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
]Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
]Yes, a day will come when the watchmen will call out on Mount Ephraim: "Rise up, let us go to Zion, to the LORD, our God."
]For thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel.
Book of Jeremiah
31,10.11-12ab.13.]Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
Proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
He guards them as a shepherd his flock.
]The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
]Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
]they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings:
]Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
15,21-28.]At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
]And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."
]But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
]He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
]But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
]He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."
]She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."
]Then 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.
St. Dominic(Founder (1170-1221))
ST DOMINIC Priest (1170-1221) St. Dominic was born in Spain. From a very young age, he cultivated supernatural virtues. When he was a student, he sold his books to relieve the poor during a famine. He also ransomed his life to free a slave. At 25 years old, St. Dominic became superior of the Canons Regular of Osma. When he accompanied his bishop to France, his heart was broken by the ravages of the Albigenian heresy. Thus, he dedicated his life to converting heretics and established a threefold religious order. A convent for nuns was founded to transmit the Gospel to young women; a cadre of apostolic men became the Order of Friar Preachers; and an organization of laypersons formed the Tertiaries. Through God's intercession, France, Italy, Spain and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under her special protection. While St. Dominic preached, Our Lady would prompt him. In 1208, while St. Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de la Prouille, he implored the Mother of God to save the Church. Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary and bade him go forth and preach. St. Dominic's nights were spent in prayer. As a voluntary penance, he scourged himself thrice before daybreak. He gave up his soul to God on August 6, 1221, at the age of 51. The Rosary is the Church's most powerful weapon against evil: referred to as a sword by St. Padre Pio.
St. Mary of the Cross Mackillop(Foundress (1842-1909))
Mary of the Cross MacKillop was born on January 15, 1842, in Melbourne, Australia. Living conditions during the mid-nineteenth century were primitive. Poverty was rife, especially in country areas. Many of the first settlers were convicts and many were descendants of Irish Catholics - discriminated against because of their religion and place of origin. The Church had few priests to serve its people scattered around the rural areas. Mary was the first of eight children born to Catholic Scottish immigrants. Her parents were Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald. They instilled in their children a great love for the Church. Their family was poor and the father was often without work because he dabbled in business and politics. In her teens, Mary worked to assist the family. At a young age, Mary increasingly felt the call to live as a religious sister, but was obliged to care for her family. While working as a governess in Penola, she met Father Julian Tenison Woods, the parish priest of a large part of South East, South Australia. The Catholic rural poor were deprived of schools, medical care and social services. Mary’s dream of giving children free education coincided with that of Fr. Woods. He became her mentor and spiritual director and encouraged her vocation. Together, they developed a plan for a congregation of sisters who would work wherever they wereneeded, but especially in rural areas. In January 1866, Mary and her two sisters began teaching in Penola, South Australia, at a stable refurbished by her brother. Thus, the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart was born. With Fr. Woods' guidance, Mary moved to the main South Australian city of Adelaide. On August 15, 1867, Mary and her companions professed vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Mary took the name Sister Mary of the Cross. She was joined by other young women; and together, they provided elementary teaching in religion and secular subjects to children from poor families. Later, Mary started missions for the destitute and the elderly who were friendless and abandoned. By 1869, there were sixty sisters working in schools, orphanages and refuges for women. Fr. Woods and Sr. Mary envisaged the sisters being governed centrally by one superior and being free to go wherever they were needed. In a short time, the sisters were found in other territories and in New Zealand. A complex set of circumstances led to the bishop of Adelaide, who was once Mary's friend and benefactor, excommunicating her in 1871 for supposed disobedience. Mary accepted the excommunication and the dismissal of many of her sisters serenely and peacefully. The bishop revoked the sentence before his death less than six months later. Mary returned to her work and the majority of the sisters who had been sent away returned. Mary went to Rome and sought Pope Pius IX's help to establish a central government and sending the sisters anywhere they were needed. Mary did not receive final approval for the institute (this came in 1888), but received encouragement during her three meetings with the pope. She returned to Australia with support for central government, but was ordered to leave Adelaide for Sydney. In 1885, she was deposed as mother general. She accepted the change, retained respect for the bishops and the priesthood and encouraged her sisters to do the same. It was not until 1899 that the sisters were free to elect her as their mother general - an office she held until her death. Mary was untiring in her zeal for the poor. One of her favorite sayings was, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” Her devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Sacrament and Saint Joseph impelled her to love God and all persons. Her attention to the will of God enabled her to accept the joys as well as the difficulties that beset her so frequently. She wrote, “The will of God is to me a very dear book and I never tire of reading it.” Shesuffered from ill health and was often confined to bed with severe and debilitating headaches. While visiting New Zealand at 60 years old, she suffered a stroke. Her right side was impaired, but she learned to write with her left hand and continued in the office of superior general. She even visited faraway convents. By 1905, Mary's health was deteriorating. She maintained a cheerful, pleasant outlook on life: always speaking of God’s will. In 1909, her condition worsened. She passed away peacefully on August 8, 1909.Her last days were ones of recollection for those who gathered around her. Cardinal Moran said after leaving her, “I have this day attended the death-bed of a saint... Her death will bring many blessings.” One thousand sisters in the Institute mourned her passing. Mary’s remains were moved to the Memorial Chapel at the Motherhouse in North Sydney, NSW, Australia. Three popes, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI have prayed at her tomb, as do thousands of pilgrims annually from all over the world. The lasting memory many sisters had of Mary was her kindness. It was not just the kindness reflected in all her works, nor the kindness of an isolated, aloof person, but the kindness that St. Paul describes in his first letter to the Corinthians: "Love is patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence and is not resentful. Love... delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, to endure whatever comes" (1 Cor.13: 4-7). When Pope Benedict XVI visited Sydney for World Youth Day in July 2008, he said about Mary, “I know that her perseverance in the face of adversity, her plea for justice on behalf of those unfairly treated and her practical example of holiness have become a source of inspiration for all Australians.” Quoting St. Mary MacKillop, he said, “Believe in the whisperings of God to your heart. Believe in him. Believe in the power of the Spirit of love."
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2018 / Catholic Missal of august 2018
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:21Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:21Z