AUGUST 8 Mon Saint Dominic, Priest Memorial Ez 1:2-5, 24-28c/Mt 17:22-27 

9 Tue Weekday [St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr]

Ez 2:8—3:4/Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 

10 Wed St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr Feast 2 Cor 9:6-10/Jn 12:24-26 

11 Thu Saint Clare, Virgin Memorial Ez 12:1-12/Mt 18:21—19:1 

12 Fri Weekday [St Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious]

Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63 or 16:59-63/Mt 19:3-12 

13 Sat Weekday [Sts Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs]

Ez 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32/Mt 19:13-15 

14 SUN TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jer 38:4-6, 8-10/Heb 12:1-4/Lk 12:49-53 

Our liturgical calendar this week takes us to distant times and places where we meet a variety of saints and situations.

August 8 we meet St. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans. August 9th to a German concentration camp to remember the heroic death of Edith Stein, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. August 10th we’re in 3rd century Rome for the martyrdom of Lawrence the Deacon; August 11th in 13th century Assisi with St. Clare; August 12th in 17th century France remembering St. Jane Francis de Chantal, August 13th to Rome for Pontian and Hippolytus, 3rd century martyrs, August 14th to a German concentration camp again, to remember Maximilian Kolbe.

 A wide variety. The saints teach us the many ways and how many situations God can be served. How are you going to serve God in your day, they ask us?

The liturgy itself is a school open day by day. We learn from it how to live. We also learn that God is with us too in life and death.

The weekday readings from Matthew’s gospel are from chapters 18-19 which describe the care the disciples of Jesus should have for each other’s faith and his departure with them from Galilee for Jerusalem.

Our first readings this week are from the Prophet Ezechiel who is the first prophet to speak from exile, after the Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians in 597 BC. He reminds us that unfavorable times can be hard, but necessary. A time that appears destructive can be transformative. A good message for now?