Saint of the day · August 12
St Jane Frances de Chantal
Optional memorialWednesday, week 19 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical colour : Green
St Jane Frances de Chantal was a French widow and foundress, who lived during a time of great religious and social turmoil in France, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born into a noble family, she married and had several children before being widowed at a young age when her husband died in a hunting accident. Deeply devout, Jane Frances entrusted herself to God's will, caring for her children and estate with patience and faith. Her spiritual journey deepened further when she met St Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director and collaborator. Together, they founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in 1610, welcoming women who felt called to religious life, even those unable to endure the austerities of earlier orders. St Jane Frances embodied gentleness, humility, and perseverance, and became known for her wise leadership and motherly care for her sisters. Despite experiencing profound interior trials and sufferings, she trusted in God’s providence and encouraged others to do the same. The Church commemorates her for her witness as a mother, widow, religious foundress, and spiritual guide, especially highlighting her example of fortitude and trust in God through life's difficulties.
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Mass readings
“Mark with a cross on the forehead those who grieve over all the abominations committed in Jerusalem” — Ez 9, 1-7 ; 10, 18-22
I heard the Lord God cry out to me in a loud voice:
“They are very near, the punishments for Jerusalem,
and each one holds in his hand his weapon of death.”
Then six men came forward,
coming from the upper gate,
the one that is on the north side.
Each held in his hand his destructive weapon.
Among them was a man clothed in linen,
wearing at his waist a scribe’s writing case.
They came forward and stopped near the bronze altar.
The glory of the God of Israel rose from above the Cherubim where it rested,
and moved to the threshold of the house of the Lord.
Then the Lord called the man clothed in linen,
wearing at his waist a scribe’s writing case.
He said to him:
“Pass through the city, through Jerusalem,
and mark with a cross on the forehead
those who grieve and lament
over all the abominations committed there.”
Then I heard the Lord say to the others:
“Follow him through the city and strike.
Do not look with pity, spare no one:
old men and young men,
young women, children, women,
kill them, destroy them.
But anyone who is marked on the forehead,
do not touch them.
Begin the destruction at my sanctuary.”
So they began with the old men
who worshipped idols at the entrance of the house of the Lord.
The Lord added:
“Defile this House,
fill the courts with corpses,
then go out!”
So they went out and struck throughout the city.
The glory of the Lord left the threshold of the House
and stopped above the Cherubim.
They spread their wings;
I saw them depart, rising from the earth,
and the wheels with them.
They stopped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the house of the Lord;
the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
These were the Living Creatures that I had seen
beneath the God of Israel,
by the river Kebar,
and I recognized that they were Cherubim.
Each had four faces and four wings,
and the form of human hands under their wings.
Their faces were similar
to the faces I had seen by the river Kebar;
that was their appearance.
Each went straight ahead.
– The word of the Lord.
Ps 112 (113), 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Praise, servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
now and forever more!
From the rising to the setting of the sun,
blessed be the name of the Lord!
The Lord rules over all peoples,
his glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God?
He who sits on high.
But he bends down to see
toward the heavens and the earth.
“If he listens to you, you have won over your brother” — Mt 18, 15-20
At that time,
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother has sinned against you,
go and point out his fault just between the two of you.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen to you,
take one or two others with you
so that every case may be settled
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them,
tell it to the assembly of the Church;
if he even refuses to listen to the Church,
regard him as a pagan and a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you:
whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven.
And similarly, amen, I say to you,
if two of you on earth
agree to ask for anything whatever,
they will receive it from my Father who is in heaven.
Indeed, when two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there in their midst.”
– Let us acclaim the word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org