Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

August is the month dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In other years: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, "Doctor Mellifluous” (1090-1153); Saint Samuel, prophet; Saint Maria de Mattias, Foundress of the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (1805-1866)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 64 The Election of an Abbot - Ch 68 Assignment of Impossible Tasks

Mass: For the Solemnity of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Wis 7:7-10, 15-16; Resp Ps 19 or Sirach 39:8-14; Resp Ps 37; Ph 3:17-4:1; Mt 5:13-19 or Jn 17:20-26

20th Week in Ordinary Time: Is 56:1, 6-7; Resp Ps 67; Rm 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, 

giving wisdom to the simple.

OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

SACRED HOST, BOND OF CHARITY,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

HEART OF MARY, COMFORT OF THE AFFLICTED,

PRAY FOR US.

Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me ...

Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, And I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

(Wisdom 7:7, 10)

Welcome to Sunday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, and for Cistercians the Solemnity of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor Mellifluous, about whom Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) had this to say: "The 'Doctor Mellifluus,' 'the last of the Fathers, but certainly not inferior to the earlier ones,' was remarkable for such qualities of nature and mind, and so enriched by God with heavenly gifts, that in the changing and often stormy times in which he lived, he seemed to dominate by his holiness, wisdom and most prudent counsel."* In our times, then, not so different than the ones Saint Bernard of Clairvaux found himself in, we pray for holiness, wisdom, and prudence. May the Doctor Mellifluous, whose praise of Jesus "flowed like honey" from his lips, intercede for us. 

With our voices for the week, we go forth united in faith and prayer. Dear faithful readers, please pray for all the brothers and sisters of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, and for all those in the Cistercian family. Thank you for being there.

The psalmist says: "Seek God's face." Nor, I think, will the soul cease to seek God even when she has found Him. It is not with steps of the feet that God is sought, but with the heart's desire ...

Think, if you can, of this eagerness to see God as not caused by God's absence, for God is always present. And think of the desire for God as without fear or failure, for grace is abundantly present.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)

Human action cannot help us, but only the sufferings of Christ. My aspiration is to share them.

(Edith Stein, "Martyr for Love," at her 1938 profession as a Carmelite nun, 1891-1942)

Do everything through love and nothing through constraint.

(Saint Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)

The Christian must suffer unjustly, but if he keeps his eyes on Jesus, God will work wonders in his soul.

(Mother Angelica of the Annunciation, 1923-2016)

This is our main endeavor: to think, to feel, to love as Christ Jesus, to act and to speak as He ... We need, above all, to study His life, know it, and mediate upon it, not only in its outward appearance, but by immersing ourselves in the thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams of Jesus Christ.

(Saint Henry de Osso y Cervello, 1840-1896)

O how lovingly can we expect everything from God when we expect nothing from ourselves! There is nothing I cannot do in Him, knowing as I do there is nothing I can do without Him.

(John of Forde, 1140-1214)

I want my life to be like the tabernacle candle, and it is daily carrying my cross that I can shine. In whatever suffering you experience, let your life be like the tabernacle candle, always burning in His presence.

(Father Andrew Hofer, O.P.)

If everyone simply did his Christian duties, we would not have so much hate and misery in the world.

(Blessed Karl of Austria, 1887-1922)

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

SAINT SAMUEL, PROPHET,

SAINT MARIA DE MATTIAS,

POPE SAINT PIUS X,

SAINT JOHN KEMBLE,

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA,

SAINT EUGENE,

SAINT JOHN WALL,

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW,

SAINT LOUIS OF FRANCE,

SAINT JOSEPH CALASANZ,

SAINT MARY OF JESUS CRUCIFED BAOUARDY,

BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI,

SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN,

SAINT DAVID LEWIS,

OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA,

SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES,

BLESSED JACQUES RETOURET,

SAINT TERESA OF JESUS' TRANSVERBERATION,

SAINT JEANNE ELIZABETH DES BICHIER,

PRAY FOR US.

*Doctor Mellifluus Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the Last of the Church Fathers, May 24, 1953.

Today's photo: Agnolo Gaddi (1350-1396), "Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint Catherine of Alexandria," about 1380-1390, tempera and gold on wood, once formed part of a larger altarpiece, Indianapolis Museum of Art. My dear oldest sister and I saw this in 2017. 

© Gertrude Feick 2023