01 Aug 2024 – Thursday of Week 17 Memorial: St Alphonsus Liguoiri, 1696-1787, founder of the Redemptorist Congregation, a great preacher and writer of theology. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-6 Like a potter, God re-forms Israel from clay that was previously formless The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the…
31 July 2024 – Wednesday of Week 17 Memorial: St Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556 – The founder of the Jesuits was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Having seen the Mother of God in a vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat near…
Presider’s Page for 4 August (Ordinary Time 18) From the days when the Jewish people wandered in the desert to this very day, God has been ‘food to the hungry’ and ‘meaning to those who lose their way’. We celebrate our Lord’s loving-kindness and call to mind moments when we forgot his mercy (pause): You…
30 July 2024 – Tuesday of Week 17 Optional Memorial: St Peter Chrysologus, died c 450, Bishop of Ravenna, famous for preaching. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 14:17-22 Jeremiah laments his people’s destruction and begs God for mercy You shall say to them this word: Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let…
29 July 2024 – Saint Martha (and Mary and Lazarus) of Bethany Martha is mentioned in the Gospels of Luke and John. She lived in the village of Bethany near Jerusaleh4>with her siblings Lazarus and Mary. She welcomed Jesus and the disciples into her home, and was witness to the raising of her brother, Lazarus….
28 July 2024 – 17th Sunday (Year B) World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly (see prayer at bottom of page) (1) 2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha provides food for a hundred men A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears…
27 July 2024 – Saturday of Week 16 1st Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-11 Words and ceremonies cannot absolve us of our obligations to social justice The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all…
26 July 2024 – Friday of Week 16 Memorial: Ss Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin. Lect 11:1115 – See readings at bottom of this page. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 3:14-17 Israel and Judah will be united and all nations will assemble at Jerusalem Return, O faithless children, says the Lord, for I am your…
25 July 2024 – Saint James, Apostle 1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 Although only a “clay jar” Paul is willing to die, that others may live But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We…
24 July 2024 – Wednesday of Week 16 Optional Memorials: St Sharbel Maklūf, a monk of St Maron at Annaya, ordained in 1859, a hermit from 1875 to his death in 1898. Great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. St Declan: Bp of Waterford & Lismore, a pre-Patrician saint of noble blood, visited Europe, settled in Ardmore…
23 July 2024 – Saint Bridget of Sweden, Patron of Europe Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) was a mystic also given to works of charity and founder of the Bridgettine nuns after the death of her husband, to whom she had borne eight children. She is one of the six patron saints of Europe, along with…
22 July 2024 – St Mary Magdalene 1st Reading (Option 1): Song of Songs (3: 1-4 I have found him whom my heart loves. The bride says this: On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. So I will rise and go through the…
21 July 2024 – 16th Sunday (Year B) (1) Jeremiah 23:1-6 God will raise up worthy shepherds for his people The Lord says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people:…
20 July 2024 – Saturday of Week 15 Optional Memorial: St Apollinaris, preached in Ravenna in the second century when he was martyred. 1st Reading: Micah 2:1-5 When the wealthy covet and steal the lands of others, their own land will fall to their captors Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on…
19 July 2024 – Friday of Week 15 1st Reading: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22 King Hezekiah is cured of illness; as a sign of full health God turns the sun’s rays backward In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said…
Presider’s Page for 21 July (Ordinary Time 16) Our God is like a shepherd who always looks after the flock: the Lord cares for us in all our needs. Penitential Rite The Good Shepherd lifts our drooping spirits, so we can bring our sins and seek forgiveness (pause) Lord Jesus, you have shown us the…
18 July 2024 – Thursday of Week 15 1st Reading: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 A prayer of quiet confidence, awaiting the dawn of God’s justice The way of the righteous is level; O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you;…
17 July 2024 – Wednesday of Week 15 1st Reading: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 Assyria was used to punish Israel but later was discarded for interfering with God’s plans for his people Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger, the club in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against…
16 July 2024 – Tuesday of Week 15 Optional Memorial: Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Lect 11: 1103 for readings. 1st Reading: Isaiah 7:1-9 During a national crisis people must first turn to a deeper faith in God In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of…
15 July 2024 – Monday of Week 15 Memorial: St Bonaventure, 1221-74, born in Tuscany, Minister General of the Franciscans, Cardinal Archbishop of Albano, theologian of the Council of Lyons. 1st Reading: Isaiah 1:10-17 Formal worship from people who oppress of the poor is spurned by God Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers…
