PRAYER OF THE DAY

A Prayer of St. Stephen of Hungary

Almighty Father,

grant that Saint Stephen of Hungary,

who fostered the growth of your Church on earth,

may continue to be our powerful helper in heaven.

We ask 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.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

JOS 24:1-13

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 that 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 that you had not tilled

and cities that you had not built, to dwell in;

you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves

which you did not plant.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22 AND 24

R. His mercy endures forever.

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.

R. 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.

R. 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.

R. His mercy endures forever.

Gospel

MT 19:3-12

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, man must not 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.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

August 16

St. Stephen of Hungary (975-1038)

The Church is universal, but its expression is always affected—for good or ill—by local culture. There are no “generic” Christians; there are Mexican Christians, Polish Christians, Filipino Christians. 

This fact is evident in the life of Stephen, national hero and spiritual patron of Hungary.

Born a pagan, he was baptized around the age of 10, together with his father, chief of the Magyars, a group who migrated to the Danube area in the ninth century. At 20 he married Gisela, sister to the future emperor, St. Henry. When he succeeded his father, Stephen adopted a policy of Christianization of the country for both political and religious reasons. He suppressed a series of revolts by pagan nobles and welded the Magyars into a strong national group. He asked the pope to provide for the Church's organization in Hungary—

and also requested that the pope confer the title of king upon him. 

He was crowned on Christmas day in 1001.

Stephen established a system of tithes to support churches and pastors and to relieve the poor. Out of every 10 towns one had to build a church and support a priest. He abolished pagan customs with a certain amount of violence, and commanded all to marry, except clergy and religious. He was easily accessible to all, especially the poor.

In 1031 his son Emeric died, and the rest of Stephen's days were embittered by controversy over his successor. 

His nephews attempted to kill him. 

He died in 1038 and was canonized, along with his son, in 1083.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open our lips.

And we shall praise your name.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

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.

Give thanks to the Lord,

for his great love is without end.

Hymn

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

In ancient times God spoke to us

Through prophets, and in varied ways,

But now he speaks through Christ his Son,

His radiance through eternal days.

To God the Father of the world,

His Son through whom he made all things,

And Holy Spirit, bond of love,

All glad creation glory sings.

Psalm 68 (69)

I am consumed with zeal for your house

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I am stuck in bottomless mud;

I am adrift in deep waters

and the flood is sweeping me away.

I am exhausted with crying out, my throat is parched,

my eyes are failing as I look out for my God.

Those who hate me for no reason

are more than the hairs of my head.

They are strong, my persecutors, my lying enemies:

they make me give back things I never took.

God, you know my weakness:

my crimes are not hidden from you.

Let my fate not put to shame those who trust in you,

Lord, Lord of hosts.

Let them not be dismayed on my account,

those who seek you, God of Israel.

For it is for your sake that I am taunted

and covered in confusion:

I have become a stranger to my own brothers,

a wanderer in the eyes of my mother’s children –

because zeal for your house is consuming me,

and the taunts of those who hate you

fall upon my head.

I have humbled my soul with fasting

and they reproach me for it.

I have made sackcloth my clothing

and they make me a byword.

The idlers at the gates speak against me;

for drinkers of wine, I am the butt of their songs.

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.

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Psalm 68 (69)

For food they gave me poison,

and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

But I turn my prayer to you, Lord,

at the acceptable time, my God.

In your great kindness, hear me,

and rescue me with your faithful help.

Tear me from the mire, before I become stuck;

tear me from those who hate me;

tear me from the depths of the waters.

Do not let the waves overwhelm me;

do not let the deep waters swallow me;

do not let the well’s mouth engulf me.

Hear me, Lord, for you are kind and good.

In your abundant mercy, look upon me.

Do not turn your face from your servant:

I am suffering, so hurry to answer me.

Come to my soul and deliver it,

rescue me from my enemies’ attacks.

You know how I am taunted and ashamed;

how I am thrown into confusion.

You can see all those who are troubling me.

Reproach has shattered my heart – I am sick.

I looked for sympathy, but none came;

I looked for a consoler but did not find one.

They gave me bitterness to eat;

when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

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.

For food they gave me poison,

and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 68 (69)

Seek the Lord,

and he will give life to your soul.

I am weak and I suffer,

but your help, O God, will sustain me.

I will praise the name of God in song

and proclaim his greatness with praises.

This will please the Lord more than oxen,

than cattle with their horns and hooves.

Let the humble see and rejoice.

Seek the Lord, and your heart shall live,

for the Lord has heard the needy

and has not despised his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that swims in them.

For the Lord will make Zion safe

and build up the cities of Judah:

there they will live, the land will be theirs.

The seed of his servants will inherit the land,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

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.

Seek the Lord,

and he will give life to your soul.

The Lord will teach us his ways

– and we shall walk in his paths.

First Reading

Micah 6:1-15

Now listen to what the Lord is saying:

Stand up and let the case begin in the hearing of the mountains

and let the hills hear what you say.

Listen, you mountains, to the Lord’s accusation,

give ear, you foundations of the earth,

for the Lord is accusing his people,

pleading against Israel:

My people, what have I done to you,

how have I been a burden to you? Answer me.

I brought you out of the land of Egypt,

I rescued you from the house of slavery;

I sent Moses to lead you,

with Aaron and Miriam.

My people, remember:

what did Balak plot, that king of Moab?

What did Balaam answer, that son of Beor?

From Shittim to Gilgal,

for you to know the rightness of the ways of the Lord.

‘With what gift shall I come into the Lord’s presence

and bow down before God on high?

Shall I come with holocausts,

with calves one year old?

Will he be pleased with rams by the thousand,

with libations of oil in torrents?

Must I give my first-born for what I have done wrong,

the fruit of my body for my own sin?’

What is good has been explained to you, man;

this is what the Lord asks of you:

only this, to act justly,

to love tenderly

and to walk humbly with your God.

The voice of the Lord. He is calling to the city:

Listen, tribe, and assembly of the city

whose rich men are crammed with violence,

whose citizens are liars.

Must I put up with fraudulent measure,

or that abomination the short-weight bushel?

Must I hold the man honest who measures with false scales

and a bag of faked weights?

I have therefore begun to strike you down,

to bring you to ruin for your sins.

You will eat but never be satisfied,

store away but never preserve –

and what is preserved I shall give to the sword.

You will sow but never reap,

press the olive but never rub yourself with oil,

press the grape but never drink wine from it.

Responsory

What is good has been explained to you, O man.

This is what the Lord asks of you:

act rightly and justly and walk humbly with your God.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,

then you will dwell in the land:

act rightly and justly and walk humbly with your God.

Second Reading

St Pacian's sermon on Baptism

Let us follow a new way of life through the Spirit

The sin of Adam passed on to the whole human race. As St Paul says, Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race. So the righteousness of Christ has to pass on to the whole human race also; and as Adam ruined all his descendants by sin, so must Christ, through righteousness, give life to his entire race. St Paul makes this point, saying As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Just as sin reigned and brought death, 

so grace will reign to bring eternal life through righteousness.

Someone might object as follows: “The sin of Adam deservedly passed on his posterity, because they were born of him. And are we then born of Christ, that we can be saved through him?” Stop thinking simply in terms of the body: then you will see in what sense Christ is our parent and we are born of him. In these last days Christ took a soul and body from Mary. It is this flesh that he came to save, that he did not abandon to the underworld: he united it with his own spirit and made it his own. This is the marriage of the Lord, united with the flesh of man, a mystery uniting the two 

— Christ and the Church — in one flesh.

From this marriage and from the coming of the Spirit of the Lord from above, the Christian people is born. The substance of our souls receives the seed of heaven: we are conceived in the womb of our mother and born of that womb we receive life in Christ. So St Paul says, The first man, Adam, as scripture says, “became a living soul;” but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. It is through his priests that Christ sows his seed in the Church. St Paul, again, says: It was I who begot you in Christ Jesus. It is the seed of Christ, that is, the Spirit of God, that produces the new man through the priest’s hands, 

conceived in the womb of his mother and born in the baptismal font under the auspices of faith.

We must receive Christ so that he can give us birth, as the Apostle John says: To all who accepted him he gave power to become children of God. But this cannot be brought about except by the sacrament of cleansing and anointing, the sacrament which the bishop administers. Sins are washed away by the cleansing waters of the font; the Holy Spirit is infused by oil of chrism; and we receive both at the bishop’s hands and through his words. Thus the whole man is born again and made new in Christ: so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. That is, having put behind us the errors of our former life, 

we should through the Spirit follow a new way of life in Christ.

Responsory

As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,

so by one man’s obedience many will be reconciled to God.

Just as sin reigned where there was death,

so grace will reign to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ.

God sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

Just as sin reigned where there was death,

so grace will reign to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.

Almighty, ever-living God,

we confidently call you Father as well as Lord.

Renew your Spirit in our hearts:

make us ever more perfectly your children,

so that we may enter upon the inheritance you have promised us.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.