OXYGEN

30 Sep – Memorial for St. Jerome, priest, doctor
St Jerome (347-419) led a misspent youth. He later converted in theory, being baptised in 365, and then had a true conversion when he studied theology. Monk. He revised the Latin text of the Bible. The result of his 30 years of work was the Vulgate translation, [...]

29 Sep – Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are [...]

28 Sep – Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ Obedient Unto Death
We celebrate Chrsit who obeyed his Father’s will not only in word but also in deed. And Christ assures us that it is not too late to turn to God and to do his will.
- the Sunday Missal
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While today’s reflection is on commitment, today’s readings [...]

27 Sep – Saturday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8

Rejoice in your youth, you who are young;
let your heart give you joy in your young days.
Follow the promptings of your heart
and the desires of your eyes.
But this you must know: for all these things God will bring you to judgement.
Cast worry from your heart,
shield [...]

26 Sep – Friday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth,
a time for dying;
a time for planting,
a time for uprooting what has been planted.
A time for killing,
a time for healing;
a time for knocking down,
a time for building.
A time for [...]

25 Sep – Thursday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The sun rises, the [...]

24 Sep – Wednesday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Proverbs 30:5-9
Every word of God is unalloyed,
he is the shield of those who take refuge in him.
To his words make no addition,
lest he reprove you and know you for a fraud.
Two things I beg of you,
do not grudge me them before I die:
keep falsehood and lies [...]

23 Sep – Tuesday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time; Pio of Pietrelcina, priest
St Pio (1887-1968) was ordained when he was 22. He founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year. In the 1920s he started a series of prayer groups that continue today with over [...]

22 Sep – Monday in the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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Proverbs 3:27-34
Do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it,
if it is in your power to perform it.
Do not say to your neighbour, ‘Go away! Come another time!
I will give it you tomorrow’, if you can do it now.
Do not plot harm against your neighbour
as [...]

21 Sep – Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Isaiah 55:6 – 9
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in [...]