SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - August 23, 2020

Sunday - August 23, 2020

Lord what wilt Thou have me do? Behold the true sign of a totally perfect soul: when one has reached the point of giving up his will so completely that he no longer seeks, expects or desires to do ought but that which God wills.

--St. Bernard

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

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First reading	Isaiah 22:19-23 ©

I place the key of the House of David on my servant's shoulder

Thus says the Lord of Hosts to Shebna, the master of the palace:

I dismiss you from your office,

I remove you from your post,

and the same day I call on my servant

Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

I invest him with your robe,

gird him with your sash,

entrust him with your authority;

and he shall be a father

to the inhabitants of Jerusalem

and to the House of Judah.

I place the key of the House of David

on his shoulder;

should he open, no one shall close,

should he close, no one shall open.

I drive him like a peg

into a firm place;

he will become a throne of glory

for his father’s house.

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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 137(138):1-3,6,8

Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:

  you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you.

  I will adore before your holy temple.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,

  which excel all we ever knew of you.

On the day I called, you answered;

  you increased the strength of my soul.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.

The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly

  and the haughty he knows from afar.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal,

  discard not the work of your hands.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.

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Second reading	Romans 11:33-36 ©

All that exists comes from him; all is by him and from him.

How rich are the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods! Who could ever know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything? All that exists comes from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.

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Gospel Acclamation	2Co5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,

and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

Or:	Mt16:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

You are Peter

and on this rock I will build my Church.

And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.

Alleluia!

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Gospel
Matthew 16:13-20 ©

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

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.

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Breaking through demonic strongholds  

When Jesus ordained Peter to become the rock upon which he would build his Church, he made a promise. The gates of hell, he said, speaking of the netherworld that belongs to the principalities and powers of darkness (see Ephesians 6), "shall never prevail against it."

Jesus did not say that hell would never win battles against the Church. He said that the gates of hell would not win. Of course they won't: Gates don't attack! Gates protect. Gates hold inside their boundaries whatever has been enclosed by a fence or wall. Do you know anyone who's been imprisoned by their sins? Or by hellish circumstances?

Christians are not called to take a defensive posture against attacks and encroachments from evil-doers. Christians are called to take the offensive -- we are called to attack the very gates of hell, knock them down, and conquer the devils that are trying to drag people into their kingdom of misery and eternal death.

What Jesus did 2000 years ago to free people from evil he still does today through you and me.

For the sinners who want to escape from evil before it's too late, Jesus gave gate keys to Peter when he ordained him as the first shepherd (priest and pope) of Christianity. These keys have been passed from generation to generation through the unbroken line of Catholic priests.

What are the keys? The gates of hell are unlocked by Sacraments; they open the way to eternal life. When a priest "looses" (releases) the grace and forgiveness of God upon a repentant sinner during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or when a priest "binds" a man and woman together in the Sacrament of Marriage, it's Jesus who's doing it through him.
The supernatural power of the Sacraments conquers evil every time we take them seriously and rely on the graces they provide.

Where is there a locked gate in your life, which needs to get blown open so that Jesus can rescue you from some sort of darkness? What will you do this week to utilize the Sacraments more deeply, more profoundly? Who do you say Jesus really is, and how do you encounter this Jesus in the Sacraments? Which Sacrament (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Marriage, Ordination, or the Anointing of the Sick) is most powerful for you personally? Why?

Today's Prayer
Thank you, Lord, that through Your Holy Spirit I am able to recognize You. Give me the strength I need to carry out the mission that You have entrusted to me. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”