Posted on 08/09/2007 9:06:53 AM PDT by Salvation
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Thursday of the Eighteenth Week
in Ordinary Time
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Reading 1
Nm 20:1-13
The whole congregation of the children of Israel
arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month,
and the people settled at Kadesh.
It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried.
As the community had no water,
they held a council against Moses and Aaron.
The people contended with Moses, exclaiming,
“Would that we too had perished with our kinsmen in the LORD’s presence!
Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this desert
where we and our livestock are dying?
Why did you lead us out of Egypt,
only to bring us to this wretched place
which has neither grain nor figs nor vines nor pomegranates?
Here there is not even water to drink!”
But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly
to the entrance of the meeting tent, where they fell prostrate.
Then the glory of the LORD appeared to them,
and the LORD said to Moses,
“Take your staff and assemble the community,
you and your brother Aaron,
and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters.
From the rock you shall bring forth water for the congregation
and their livestock to drink.”
So Moses took his staff from its place before the LORD, as he was ordered.
He and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock,
where he said to them, “Listen to me, you rebels!
Are we to bring water for you out of this rock?”
Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff,
and water gushed out in abundance for the people
and their livestock to drink.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
“Because you were not faithful to me
in showing forth my sanctity before the children of Israel,
you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them.”
These are the waters of Meribah,
where the children of Israel contended against the LORD,
and where the LORD revealed his sanctity among them.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tested me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Gospel
Mt 16:13-23
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
and he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
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Edith Stein — Convert, Nun, Martyr
My Journey With St. Edith Stein
First Documents Emerge From Vatican Archives, Including Letter From Edith Stein
The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]
This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.
On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.
INVOCATIONS
O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.
Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.
ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.
Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."
Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.
Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII
IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
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Sacred Heart Of Jesus |
Immaculate Heart of Mary |
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Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen. ....Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way ----From the Catechism. P:1439 From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power. The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps.-- >From the Catechism. P: 2669 |
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The first is that we ought to love and honor whatever God loves and honors, and that by which He is loved and glorified. Now, after the adorable Heart of Jesus there has never been either in heaven or on earth, nor ever will be, a heart which has been so loved and honored by God, or which has given Him so much glory as that of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Never has there been, nor will there ever be a more exalted throne of divine love. In that Heart divine love possesses its fullest empire, for it ever reigns without hindrance or interruption, and with it reign likewise all the laws of God, all the Gospel maxims and every Christian virtue.
This incomparable Heart of the Mother of our Redeemer is a glorious heaven, a Paradise of delights for the Most Holy Trinity. According to St. Paul, the hearts of the faithful are the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost take up Their abode in the hearts of those who love God. Who, therefore, can doubt that the Most Holy Trinity has always made His home and established the reign of His glory in an admirable and ineffable manner in the virginal Heart of her who is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, who herself loves God more than all other creatures together?
How much then are we not obliged to love this exalted and most lovable Heart?
— St. John Eudes
The History of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Homilies preached by Father Robert Altier on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Marian Associations Unite to Celebrate Immaculate Heart
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
| First reading | Numbers 20:1 - 13 © |
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| The sons of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried. There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said ‘as our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!’ Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’ Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them’. These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 94 |
| Gospel | Matthew 16:13 - 23 © |
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| When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets’. ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God’. Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you’. But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’ |
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O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 43 (44) |
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| In time of defeat |
| Our own ears have heard, O God, and our fathers have proclaimed it to us, what you did in their days, the days of old: how with your own hand you swept aside the nations and put us in their place, struck them down to make room for us. It was not by their own swords that our fathers took over the land, it was not their own strength that gave them victory; but your hand and your strength, the light of your face, for you were pleased in them. You are my God and my king, who take care for the safety of Jacob. Through you we cast down your enemies; in your name we crushed those who rose against us. I will not put my hopes in my bow, my sword will not bring me to safety; for it was you who saved us from our afflictions, you who set confusion among those who hated us. We will glory in the Lord all the day, and proclaim your name for all ages. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 43 (44) |
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| But now, God, you have spurned us and confounded us, so that we must go into battle without you. You have put us to flight in the sight of our enemies, and those who hate us plunder us at will. You have handed us over like sheep sold for food, you have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for no money, not even profiting by the exchange. You have made us the laughing-stock of our neighbours, mocked and derided by those who surround us. The nations have made us a by-word, the peoples toss their heads in scorn. All the day I am ashamed, I blush with shame as they reproach me and revile me, my enemies and my persecutors. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 43 (44) |
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| All this happened to us, but not because we had forgotten you. We were not disloyal to your covenant; our hearts did not turn away; our steps did not wander from your path; and yet you brought us low, with horrors all about us: you overwhelmed us in the shadows of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God, if we had spread out our hands before an alien god — would God not have known? He knows what is hidden in our hearts. It is for your sake that we face death all the day, that we are reckoned as sheep to be slaughtered. Awake, Lord, why do you sleep? Rise up, do not always reject us. Why do you turn away your face? How can you forget our poverty and our tribulation? Our souls are crushed into the dust, our bodies dragged down to the earth. Rise up, Lord, and help us. In your mercy, redeem us. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | Hosea 1:1 - 3:5 © |
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| The word of the Lord that was addressed to Hosea son of Beeri when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were reigning in Judah, and Jeroboam son of Joash in Israel. When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said this to him, ‘Go, marry a whore, and get children with a whore, for the country itself has become nothing but a whore by abandoning the Lord’. So he went; and he took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, who conceived and bore him a son. ‘Name him Jezreel’, the Lord told him ‘for it will not be long before I make the House of Jehu pay for the bloodshed at Jezreel’ and I put an end to the sovereignty of the House of Israel.’ When that day comes I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.’ She conceived a second time and gave birth to a daughter. ‘Name her Unloved’ the Lord told him. ‘No more love shall the House of Israel have from me in future, no further forgiveness.’ (But my love shall go to the House of Judah and through the Lord their God I mean to save them – but not by bow or sword or battle, horse or horseman.) She weaned Unloved, conceived again and gave birth to a son. ‘Name him No-People-of-Mine’ the Lord said. ‘You are not my people and I am not your God.’ The Lord said to me, ‘Go a second time, give your love to a woman, loved by her husband but an adulteress in spite of it, just as the Lord gives his love to the sons of Israel though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes’. So I bought her for fifteen silver shekels and a bushel-and-a-half of barley, and said to her, ‘For many days you must keep yourself quietly for me, not playing the whore or offering yourself to others; and I will do the same for you’. For the sons of Israel will be kept for many days without a king, without a leader, without sacrifice or sacred stone, without ephod or teraphim. Afterwards the sons of Israel will come back; they will seek the Lord their God and David their king; they will come trembling to the Lord, come for his good things in those days to come. |
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| Reading | A sermon of St Cyprian |
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| If we desire to receive what the Lord has promised, we must imitate him in all things | |
| I greet you, dearest brothers, and would like also to enjoy your company face to face, if only the conditions in which I find myself did not prevent my coming to see you. What could be more desirable or more joyful for me than to embrace you now, to be encircled by those pure and sinless hands that have kept the faith of the Lord and refused to offer sacrilegious worship? What could be more pleasant, more sublime, than to kiss at this moment those lips of yours, which have given such glorious utterance in praise of the Lord; to be seen also by those eyes of yours, which have despised the world and proved themselves worthy of seeing God? But, because there is no opportunity for my sharing this joy, I send this letter as my representative for your ears and eyes to hear and see. Through it I congratulate you, and at the same time urge you to persevere courageously and steadfastly in your witness to heavenly glory, and to continue with spiritual courage, now that you have entered on the way that the Lord has graciously opened up for you, until you receive the crown of victory. You have the Lord as your protector and guide, for he has said: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. How blessed is the prison honoured by your presence, how blessed the prison that sends men of God to heaven! Darkness brighter than the sun itself, more resplendent than this light of the world, for it is here that God’s temples are now established, and your limbs made holy by your praise of God. Let nothing else be now in your hearts and minds except God’s commandments and the precepts of heaven: by their means the Holy Spirit has always inspired you to bear your sufferings. Let no one think of death, but only of immortality; let no one think of suffering that is for a time, but only of glory that is for eternity. It is written: Precious in the sight of God is the death of his holy ones. And again: A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a broken and humbled heart God does not despise. Holy Scripture speaks also of the sufferings which consecrate God’s martyrs and sanctify them by the very testing of pain: Though in the eyes of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. They will judge nations, and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever. When, therefore, you recall that you will be judges and rulers with Christ the Lord, you must rejoice, despising present suffering for joy at what is to come. You know that from the beginning of the world it was so; justice is here oppressed in its conflict with the world, for at the very outset Abel the just is killed, and after him the just, and those sent as prophets and apostles. The Lord himself is an example of all this in his own person. He teaches us that only those who have followed him along his way arrive at his kingdom: He who loves his life in this world will lose it. And he who hates his life in this world will save it for eternal life. And again he says: Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; fear rather him who can kill both body and soul and send them to hell. Paul too admonishes us, that as we desire to gain the Lord’s promises we must imitate the Lord in all things. We are God’s children, he tells us. If children, we are also heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. |
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| Concluding Prayer |
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| Come to the aid of your servants, O Lord; be good to those who pray to you. We glory in having you as our creator and guide: renew whatever is good in us, and make it last. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| Thursday, August 9, 2007 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin and Martyr (Optional Memorial) |
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Alleluia Mass Bump.
| Mt 16:13-23 | ||
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| # | Douay-Rheims | Vulgate |
| 13 | And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? | venit autem Iesus in partes Caesareae Philippi et interrogabat discipulos suos dicens quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis |
| 14 | But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. | at illi dixerunt alii Iohannem Baptistam alii autem Heliam alii vero Hieremiam aut unum ex prophetis |
| 15 | Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? | dicit illis vos autem quem me esse dicitis |
| 16 | Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. | respondens Simon Petrus dixit tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi |
| 17 | And Jesus answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. | respondens autem Iesus dixit ei beatus es Simon Bar Iona quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi sed Pater meus qui in caelis est |
| 18 | And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. | et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversum eam |
| 19 | And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. | et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum et quodcumque ligaveris super terram erit ligatum in caelis et quodcumque solveris super terram erit solutum in caelis |
| 20 | Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. | tunc praecepit discipulis suis ut nemini dicerent quia ipse esset Iesus Christus |
| 21 | From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. | exinde coepit Iesus ostendere discipulis suis quia oporteret eum ire Hierosolymam et multa pati a senioribus et scribis et principibus sacerdotum et occidi et tertia die resurgere |
| 22 | And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. | et adsumens eum Petrus coepit increpare illum dicens absit a te Domine non erit tibi hoc |
| 23 | Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. | qui conversus dixit Petro vade post me Satana scandalum es mihi quia non sapis ea quae Dei sunt sed ea quae hominum |
http://vultus.stblogs.org/2007/08/bride_of_the_eternal_one.html
Bride of the Eternal One
Esther 4C: 12-16, 23, 25
Psalm 30: 3cd–4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17
John 4:19-24
An Extraordinary Woman
Sixty-five years ago today, on August 9, 1942, the Carmelite Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, known in the world as Dr. Edith Stein, met death in the infernal concentration camp of Auschwitz. Edith Stein was a Jew, born into an Orthodox family on October 12th October 1891. It was the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. For a time, suffering from depression, and determined nonetheless to seek her own truth, she abandoned all outward religious practice. Edith asked for Baptism after reading the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila. “This,” she said, “is the truth.”
The Prayer of Esther
Today’s liturgy places the impassioned prayer of Esther on the lips of Teresa Benedicta in Auschwitz. “As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forefathers that you, O Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, as a lasting heritage, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them. Be mindful of us, O Lord. Manifest yourself in the time of our distress.“(Est 4:3, 12).
Salvation From the Jews
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is of the lineage of Miriam, of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Judith and Esther, of the same people as the Blessed Virgin, Miriam of Nazareth, of whom was born Yeshouah who is called the Christ. The words of Our Lord in today’s gospel strike us with a particular resonance. “Salvation is from the Jews” (Jn 4:22).
The Root
Saint Paul reminds us that, “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). God’s choice of Israel remains; His love for Israel stands firm forever. How could God not cherish with a love of predilection the race that gave His only begotten Son flesh and blood? Gentile Christians are the wild olive shoot, grafted in place to share the richness of the olive tree. Lest we be tempted to boast, Saint Paul says: “Remember, it is not you that supports the root, but the root that supports you” (Rom 11:18).
Through the Eyes of a Bridal Love
Through the gift of the Law and the message of the prophets, God Himself undertook Israel’s education and preparation for a universal mission, for an abiding vocation. The Law and the prophets admonish Israel to fear the Lord God, to follow all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord God with heart and soul, to keep His commandments and laws. All of this is a response to merciful love. The vocation of Israel is to discover the holiness of God revealed in the Torah, to contemplate Him through the eyes of a bridal love. The God to Whom belong the heavens and the earth set his heart on Israel; God chose a people to be uniquely His own in view of a covenant by which Israel would become the beloved, the bride of the Eternal One.
Praise and Blessing
Where love is, there is praise. Praise colours all the dealings of Israel with the Lord; the chosen people are called to bless the Lord at all times, his praise is ever on their lips (Ps 33:1). The religion of Israel is to surpass the dictates of the Law, to respond to the exigencies of love, to overflow in praise, to fill the world with blessing.
Leaning Upon Her Beloved
In entering the Church, Edith Stein did not abandon her Jewish heritage; she entered into it deeply. In her own body, mind and heart, she experienced what it means to enter into covenant with the God of faithful love, to make His desires, His thoughts, His projects and His will her own. In the solitude of Carmel Teresa Benedicta of the Cross learned, like Israel in the desert, to lean upon the Beloved and upon no other.
“Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (Ct 8:5).
Edith’s experience of the liturgy at the Benedictine abbey of Beuron opened her soul to the universal, objective prayer of the Church, balancing her personal attraction to long hours of solitary prayer before the tabernacle. Called with her sisters to chant the psalms of David in the Divine Office, she recognized in them the very prayer of Christ our High Priest to the Father.
Auschwitz
In 1942, after the Catholic bishops of Holland protested against the Nazi persecution of the Jews, Teresa Benedicta, together with her sister Rosa, was deported from the Carmel of Echt to Auschwitz. There she penetrated into the mystery of the Suffering Servant, offering her life for the people whom God Himself calls “the apple of his eye.” In her last Testament, she wrote:
I joyfully accept in advance the death God has appointed for me, in perfect submission to His most holy Will. May the Lord accept my life and death for the honour and glory of His Name, for the needs of His holy Church — especially for the preservation, sanctification, and final perfecting of our holy Order, and in particular for the Carmels of Cologne and Echt — for the Jewish people, that the Lord may be received by His own and His kingdom come in glory, for the deliverance of Germany and peace throughout the world, and finally, for all my relatives living and dead, and all whom God has given me; may none of them be lost.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
How can we who were born in the century of the Holocaust, not be moved by this daughter of the Synagogue and of the Church? As we celebrate her martyrdom today, we are mindful that the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Jesus offered and received in this Eucharist are Jewish flesh and Jewish blood. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the anguished prayer of Esther is assumed into the prayer of the crucified and forsaken Jesus. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jewish and Gentile Christians enter together into the “adoration in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24) revealed by Christ. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s promise of “a spring of water, welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14) is wondrously fulfilled. The force of that torrent is capable of extinguishing every bitterness, of overcoming every horror, of quenching every thirst.
Posted by Father Mark on August 9, 2007 1:33 AM | Permalink
Thanks for that picture!
Thanks for the bump!
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August 9, 2007
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
(1891-1942)
A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis. After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-38), she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942. Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta in 1987 and canonized her in 1998. Quote:
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Collect: God of power and mercy, you gave Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, your martyr, victory over pain and suffering. Strengthen us who celebrate this day of her triumph and help us to be victorious over the evils that threaten us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr
Old Calendar: St. John Mary Vianney, confessor; St. Romanus, martyr; Vigil of St. Lawrence
Edith Stein was born of Jewish parents in 1891, becoming an influential philosopher following her extensive studies at major German universities. After her conversion to Catholicism she became a major force in German intellectual life, entering the Discalced Carmelites in 1933. Sister Teresa Benedicta was arrested by the Nazi regime in 1942, along with all Catholics of Jewish extraction and transported by cattle train to the death camp of Auschwitz. She died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz that same year.
Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. John Mary Vianney which is now celebrated on August 4 and the Vigil of St. Lawrence. It was also the commemoration of St. Romanus, a martyr who was buried on the Via Tiburtina outside the walls of Rome.
A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was fourteen, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Gottingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protege of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.
After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-1938), she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.
Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta in 1987 and canonized her in 1998.
Excerpted from the Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M..
Patron: Europe; loss of parents; martyrs.
Things to Do:
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 79 (80) |
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| Lord, tend your vine |
| Shepherd of Israel, listen – you who take Joseph as your flock. Shine out before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh – you who are enthroned upon the cherubim. Awaken your power and come to us, come to us and save us. Bring us back, O God: let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. Lord God of hosts – how long will your anger endure against the prayers of your people? You have given us tears for our bread, abundance of tears for us to drink. You have made us a mockery among our neighbours, and our enemies laugh at us. Bring us back, O God of hosts: let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. You brought a vine out of Egypt; planted it, and drove out the nations. You cleared the ground all about it, made firm its roots; and it filled the land. Its shade covered mountains, its boughs shaded the cedars of God; its leaves spread as far as the sea, its shoots as far as the River. So why did you destroy its wall, so that anyone could pluck its fruit, whoever was passing by? The wild boar of the forest broke it, every wild beast could graze off it. Turn back, O God of hosts, look down from heaven and tend this vine. Protect the vine, for your right hand planted it; and the son of man, whom you made strong. The vine is burnt and dug up; and they too will perish when they see you rebuke them. Stretch out your hand over your chosen one over the son of man, whom you made strong – and we will not forsake you, and you will give us life; and we will call on your name. Bring us back, Lord God of hosts: let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Isaiah 12 |
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| The rejoicing of a redeemed people | |
| I will praise you, Lord, for when you were angry with me you calmed your rage and turned again to console me. Behold, God is my salvation: I will be confident, I will not fear; for the Lord is my strength and my joy, he has become my saviour. And you will rejoice as you draw water from the springs of salvation. And then you will say: “Praise the Lord and call upon his name. Tell the peoples what he has done, remember always the greatness of his name. Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things: let this be known throughout the world”. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Psalm 80 (81) |
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| Solemn renewal of the covenant |
| Shout with joy to God our helper, rejoice in the God of Jacob. Take up the song, sound the timbrel, play on the lyre and the harp. At the start of the month, sound the trumpet, at the full moon, at our festival. For this is the law for Israel, the decree of the God of Jacob. He gave it to Joseph, for a witness, when he went out of the land of Egypt; with words that had never been heard: “I freed his back from burdens; his hands were freed from heavy loads. In your tribulation you called on me and I freed you, I heard you from the heart of the storm, I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Listen, my people, and I will put my case – Israel, if you would only hear me! You shall not have any strange god, you shall not worship the gods of foreigners. For I am the Lord, your God, who led you out of the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I shall fill it. But my people did not hear my voice: Israel did not turn to me. So I let them go on in the hardness of their hearts, and follow their own counsels. If my people had heard me, if only they had walked in my ways – I would swiftly have crushed their enemies, stretched my hand over those who persecuted them. The enemies of the Lord would be overcome with weakness, Israel’s would be the good fortune, for ever: I would feed them full of richest wheat and give them honey from the rock, to their heart’s content. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Short reading | Romans 14:17 - 19 © |
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| The kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and be respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement. | |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| We pray to you, Lord, the true Light and the creator of light. May we keep our minds on what is holy and live always in the brightness of your presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
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Lord Jesus Revealed
Matthew 16: 13-23
Petition:Lord, may I know you personally through faith and generous imitation of you. 1. Mysterious Jesus We acquire knowledge through experience. Some people in the gospel attempted to know Jesus by identifying him with others. Some said he was John the Baptist, who preached repentance and conversion like the Lord. Some compared him to Jeremiah, whose prophecies involved a new covenant that God would make with the house of Israel, one in which he would place his law within them, and “write it upon their hearts.” “I will be their God,” he said, “and they shall be my people.” (see Jeremiah 31:33). Some heard of Jesus’ extraordinary powers, and mistook him for Elijah, who was carried away in a chariot of fire. 2. Rays to the Sun Jesus does resemble the prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament. He resembles them, but also supersedes them. None of these holy men exhaust the dimensions of Christ’s person. They are rays, he is the sun. The apostles know the Lord is more than Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah or even John. “Who do you say that I am?” “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 3. Blessed are you… “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” The apostles had first compared Jesus to all of the holy ones of Israel’s past, but soon saw that he surpassed them all. His virtue, goodness and power rose higher and higher, until he shattered the paradigms of measurement and comparison. He was not only quantitatively, but qualitatively, much, much more. The heavenly Father shed his light, and they believed at last. Dialogue with Christ: Lord, in my reading of the gospels I come to admire you exceedingly, but only grace can allow me to believe. Only grace can strengthen my faith and allow me to understand and see things the way you do. Flesh and blood are limited. Give me the gift of faith, so I might rise above those limits and come to know you as my supreme good. Resolution: I will pray for the gift of faith for those who don’t believe today. |
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 71 (72) |
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| The Messiah's royal power |
| Give the king your judgement, O God, give the king’s son your righteousness. Let him judge your people with justice and your poor ones with wisdom. Let the mountains bring peace to your people, let the hills bring righteousness. He will give his judgement to the poor among the people, he will rescue the children of the destitute, he will lay low the false accuser. He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon, from generation to generation. He will come down like rain on the pasture, like a shower that waters the earth. In his time, righteousness will flourish and abundance of peace, until the moon itself is no more. He will rule from coast to coast, from the world’s centre to its farthest edge. The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him; his enemies will eat dust at his feet. The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts. All the kings will worship him, all nations will serve him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 71 (72) |
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| Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him, to the poor, whom no-one will hear. He will spare the poor and the needy, he will keep their lives safe. He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence, their blood will be precious in his sight. He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia; they will pray for him always, bless him all through the day. There will be abundance of grain in the land, it will wave even from the tops of the mountains; its fruit will be richer than Lebanon. The people will flourish as easily as grass. Let his name be blessed for ever, let his name endure beneath the sun. All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him, all nations will acclaim his greatness. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. Let his majesty be blessed for ever; let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Apocalypse 11 |
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| The Judgement | |
| We thank you, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign. The nations were angered, but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged, the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants, and those who feared your name, both great and small. Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God, and the power of his Anointed, for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down, who accused them day and night in the sight of God. But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb and through their own witness. They did not cling to life, even in the face of death. Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Short reading | 1 Peter 1:22 - 23 © |
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| You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. | |
| Canticle | Magnificat |
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| My soul rejoices in the Lord | |
| My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| As we offer our evening praises we ask you, gentle Lord: do not let our hearts fall away from contemplation of your Law; and give us, at the end, the bright reward of eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
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