Tuesday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Numbers

12,1-13.

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.
They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" And the LORD heard this.
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.
So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the meeting tent." And the three of them went.
Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud, and standing at the entrance of the tent, called Aaron and Miriam. When both came forward,
he said, "Now listen to the words of the LORD: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to him, in dreams will I speak to him;
Not so with my servant Moses! Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him, plainly and not in riddles. The presence of the LORD he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?"
So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,
and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper! When Aaron turned and saw her a leper,
"Ah, my lord!" he said to Moses, "please do not charge us with the sin that we have foolishly committed!
Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe that comes forth from its mother's womb with its flesh half consumed."
Then Moses cried to the LORD, "Please, not this! Pray, heal her!"

Psalms

51(50),3-4.5-6a.6bc-7.12-13.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
That you may be justified in your sentence,
vindicated when you condemn.
Indeed, in guilt was I born,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

15,1-2.10-14.

Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash (their) hands when they eat a meal.
He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one."
Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"
He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."

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St. Dominic(Priest (1170-1221))

ST DOMINIC Priest (1170-1221) St. Dominic was born in Spain in 1170. As a student, he sold his books to feed the poor during a famine; and offered himself as ransom for a slave. At the age of 25, Dominic became superior of the Canons Regular of Osma, and accompanied his Bishop to France. There, his heart was well-nigh broken by the ravages of the Albigenian heresy, and his life was henceforth devoted to the conversion of heretics and the defence of the Faith. For this end, he established his threefold religious order. The convent for nuns was founded first to rescue young girls from heresy and crime. Afterward, a company of apostolic men gathered around him and became the Order of Friar Preachers. Lastly, an organization of laypersons was founded: the Tertiaries, persons of both sexes living in the world. God blessed the new order, and France, Italy, Spain and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under her special protection, and whispered to St. Dominic as he preached. It was in 1208, while St. Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de la Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary, and bade him go forth and preach. Beads in hand, St. Dominic converted herectics by the multitudes, with a victory that overcame heresy against overwhelming odds. His nights were spent in prayer; and though he was pure, he scourged himself thrice before daybreak, like one tensing his muscles to stave off temptations of the flesh. His words rescued countless souls; and three times he raised the dead to life. At length, on August 6, 1221, at the age of 51, Dominic gave up his soul to God; and was welcomed by Our Lady and Lord in Heaven.

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St. Mary of the Cross Mackillop(Virgin)

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Mary of the Cross MacKillop was born on January 15, 1842, in Melbourne, Australia. Conditions in the mid-nineteenth century were still primitive. Poverty was rife, especially in country areas. Religious discrimination was also widespread, and the plight of native, aboriginal people was deplorable. Many of the first settlers were convicts with little education, 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 who were scattered around rural areas and experiencing poverty. Mary was the first of eight children of Catholic Scottish immigrants, Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald. They imbued their children with a great love for the Church and the supernatural virtues of faith, hope and charity. Their family was poor, and the father was often without work because he dabbled in business and politics. Mary, in her teens, was called upon to assist the family finances by finding employment. At a young age, Mary had increasingly felt the call to live as a religious sister, but she still had the obligation to care for her family. While working as a governess in Penola, she met Father Julian Tenison Woods, who was the parish priest of a large part of South East, South Australia. At that period of Australian history, schools, medical care and any form of social services were lacking, especially for the poor. The Catholic rural poor were especially disadvantaged. Mary’s dream of a free education for such children corresponded with the dream of Father 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 there was a need, but especially in rural areas. They would live in small convents or in whatever style of dwelling that the local people had. It was a courageous plan. In January 1866, the plan was put into action. Mary and her two sisters began teaching in Penola, South Australia, in a stable refurbished by her brother. With the encouragement and mentoring of Father Woods, the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart was born. On the advice of Father Woods, Mary moved to the main South Australian city of Adelaide. On August 15, 1867, Mary and her companions professed the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Mary took the name Sister Mary of the Cross. She was joined by other young women, who responded to needs in rural areas. Without payment, they provided elementary teaching in religion and secular subjects to poor children who otherwise had no hope of education. Soon afterward, Mary’s charitable heart opened to the destitute and elderly who were friendless and abandoned in a harsh society without any social welfare. By 1869, there were sixty sisters working in schools, orphanages and refuges for women. Father Woods and Sr Mary envisaged the sisters being governed centrally by one superior and being free to go wherever there was a need anywhere in the colonies. In a short time, the sisters could be found in the other colonies and in New Zealand. A complex set of circumstances led to the Bishop of Adelaide, who was once her friend and benefactor, excommunicating Mary in 1871 for supposed disobedience. Mary accepted the excommunication and the dismissal of many of her sisters with serenity and peace. 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 to the Institute. Mary was advised to go to Rome to seek the help of Pope Pius IX. Establishing a central government was crucial to sending the sisters anywhere they were needed. While in Rome, Mary did not receive final approval for the institute (this came in 1888), but she did receive encouragement from many, and especially from her three meetings with Pope Pius IX. She returned to Australia with support for central government. Back in Australia, further problems arose, and Mary was ordered to leave Adelaide for Sydney. In 1885, she was deposed as Mother General. Mary accepted the changes: retaining respect for the bishops and priesthood and encouraging 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.” Throughout her life, Mary suffered from ill health and was often confined to bed with severe and debilitating headaches. Instead of becoming fixated, she lifted her spirit outside of her self, becoming even purer and closer to God. While visiting New Zealand when she was 60, 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 and even made several visitations to faraway convents. By 1905, her health deteriorated, and for the next years she suffered while keeping a cheerful, pleasant outlook on life: always speaking of God’s will. In 1909, her condition worsened, and she passed away peacefully on August 8, 1909.Her last days were ones of recollection for those who were gathered around her. Cardinal Moran said when he left 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 death. Mary’s remains were removed 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 have 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 the works for which she had been responsible, nor the kindness of an isolated, aloof person, but the kindness which 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). During his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking about Mary MacKillop said, “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."

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