Friday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Deuteronomy

Moses said to the people: "Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other.
Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire.
For love of your fathers he chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by his great power,
driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today.
This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."

Psalms

I remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I remember your wonders of old.
And I meditate on your works;
your exploits I ponder.
O God, your way is holy;
what great god is there like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
among the peoples you have made known your power.
With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You led your people like a flock
under the care of Moses and Aaron.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct."
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

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, 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. Hence, 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. Dominic's nights were spent in prayer. As a voluntary penance, he scourged himself thrice before daybreak. His penances shared Christ's pain for people's sins. He gave up his soul to God on August 6, 1221, at the age of 51. The Rosary is the Church's most potent weapon against evil: assuring protection and liberation for souls.

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. Religious discrimination was also widespread and the plight of native, aboriginal people was deplorable. 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 and supernatural virtues. Their family was poor and the father was often without work because he dabbled in business and politics. In her teens, Mary was called upon to assist the family finances through work. At a young age, Mary increasingly felt the call to live as a religious sister, but she 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. They would live in small convents or in whatever style of dwelling the local people had. 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 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 without access to education. Soon, Mary began 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 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 received encouragement during her three meetings with Pope Pius IX. She returned to Australia with support for central government. In Australia, further problems arose, and Mary 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. Instead of becoming fixated, she lifted her spirit outside of herself and became even purer and nearer to God. 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 then made several visits to faraway convents. By 1905, Mary's health had deteriorated, and for the next years, she suffered with 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 were 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."

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