On the day of 5 August


The dedication of the basilica of Santa Maria* in Rome, erected on the Esquiline, that Pope Sixtus III presented to the people of God in commemoration of the Council of Ephesus at which the Virgin Mary was acclaimed the Mother of God.

*Saint Mary Major
**Saint of the day segment copied from the USSCB NAB website

Prayer for the Basilica:
I couldn't find a specific prayer for the Basilica, so I thought that this might be appropriate:

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.

Reading 1: Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22

I was having a lot of trouble with this one, and then a light bulb just went off in my head. It seems pretty simple now, actually. God is saying that he punished his people in a big way. He seriously beat them down for their sins, but not to worry, he will make it all better. And by the way, he wants it all recorded in a book so that future generations can learn from the mistakes that his early people made. If that's not it, I still don't got it.


Gospel Reading: Matthew 15: 1-2, 10-14

Well, there is no link to the reading because the USCCB website went down the the middle of me writing this. I hope it comes back up soon.

This reading seems pretty simple to me today, also. Jesus is trying to show the Pharisees and scribes that they place too much importance on empty traditions, and not enough on actions and words. It reminds me of the Isaiah readings last month, when God was angry that people were having festivals in his name, and making sacrifices, but weren't feeling the worship. It was all empty, just going through the motions. Going to church and taking communion and following all the right motions are great, but it doesn't mean anything if I spend the whole time thinking about what I'm gonna do later, then fuss out the family behind me for making too much noise. It's our actions and words that count, all of the ceremony and tradition is there to help us remember that, not excuse us from that.