We reflect upon the fact in the Introit that the Church is actually the dwelling place of God. It is here that “He shall give power and strength to His people.” Only in the church, and strengthened by the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Penance in particular, can we gain strength to withstand the onslaught of the World, the Flesh and the Devil.
The Epistle renews our faith in the doctrines of the Catholic Church. St. Paul lists proofs for the Resurrection of Our Lord from the dead. St. Paul recalls his own Baptism wherein he received the Grace of the Sacrament. The joy of our own Baptism is recalled in the Gradual and Alleluia of the Mass.
The Gospel emphasises that we are spiritually deaf and dumb and need the graces of God through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist to open our ears to the eachings of Christ and then use our
tongue to spread His Word. The Church since earliest times has used this Gospel as a symbol of Baptism. By extension the Holy Eucharist continues what Baptism initiated.
Sunday 21st August is the Feast of St, Jane Frances Fremiot de Chantal who devoted herself to God following the death of her husband with the assistance of St. Francis de Sales and founded the Order of the Visitation in XVII Century France. Although not commemorated in the Mass using the 1962 book, pray today for restoration of our religious orders.