Daily TV Mass Wednesday August 19, 2026

Fr. Henk van Meijel, S.J.

Transcript

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From the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center in Pickering, Ontario. The National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents the Daily TV Mass.

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Welcome to the celebration of the Daily TV Mass. I'm Father Hank van Mijel. The televising of this Mass is made possible by the contribution from Patricia Altman Kane from Aurora, Ontario. This Mass is offered in thanksgiving for blessings received. We know that this television mass brings meaning to the lives of tens of thousands of the faithful across Canada and around the world, and they join with me in thanking Patricia for the gift of this Mass. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you.

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And with your Spirit.

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And as we have placed ourselves before the Lord, just like Saint John Hugh did in the 17th century, a reformer who brought reformation to the formation of priests, then recalling our own weakness like he did. You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord have mercy. You came to call sinners. Christ have mercy. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord have mercy. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. And let us pray. O God, who wonderfully chose the priest St. John Yude to proclaim the unfathomable riches of Christ, grant us by His example and teaching that growing in knowledge of you we may live faithfully by the light of the gospel. True, O Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

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A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Prophecy and say to them, to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, you should not, shepherds, feed the sheep. You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered. They wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord, as I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and not fed the sheep. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds, I will demand my sheep at their hand, but put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord God, I myself will search for the sheep and will seek them out. The word of the Lord.

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Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life. The word of God is living and active, it probes the thoughts and motives of our heart.

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. Jesus spoke this parable to the disciples. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went. When he went out again at noon and at three o'clock he did the same. And at five o'clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard. When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to the manager, Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first. When those hired at about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily weights. Now when the first came they brought they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received the usual daily weights. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, These last worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied to them, Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you. I choose to give to the last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I'm generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last. The gospel of the Lord. Jesus throws everything upside down. And normal human reason would say the first should get a whole lot more pay than the last one. It's rightly so, they only work for an hour. But if you look at salvation, we the price is to be fully united in heaven with God. Fully united in heaven with God. And it doesn't matter if we have been good Christians all our life from childhood or we have a conversion right at the last minute before we die. It doesn't matter, the price is the same. And so it is so important to keep that in mind and to give freely. Also, so often, and I uh at Menriso we do also a lot of work with addictions with AA community. And someone can say, hey, I've been always a good person all my life, I was a good Christian, and uh why and I had an easy life, and why do they get the same thing I do? But often we, someone who's away from the Lord, we and especially in addictions, the turmoil they go through, the internal battle between good and evil in their lives, is sometimes unspeakable. And so they did plenty of penance. And sometimes when I especially receive a fifth step, especially if it is under confession, that I will say at the end of confession, which can be an hour or more, I will say your penance is you're free, you have served your penance because in your addiction you knew what hell looked like. You suffered enough, enough is enough. And this is also with with uh with God. God is a just judge. But uh in the first reading we have uh we have Ezekiel really lassing out against the shepherds. The shepherds in those days it was the Jewish leadership, but we can take it today too as priest. I as a priest as a shepherd. And I'm am I looking after myself? Am I taking the easy way out? Am I saying, and I can I have that choice as a priest, to say, well, I just do the minimum I have to do and I will just have an easy life, or am I really living my vocation? Am I living my vocation and I'm giving what I can? And there's of course a difference between having a vocation and an 8 to 5 job, or in these days 9 to 5. And so this is for each one of us. How generous am I with my life? How generous am I with my resources and give it to God? St. John Hugh, uh he lived in the 17th century, actually, he died in 1680, uh, at a fair age of 79. But he really saw how many shepherds, uh how many priests were poorly educated. Just uh and so many religious orders they had their own formation. For example, the Jesuits, their formation of priests was well established and it was pretty good. But especially priests, Diorcen priests of his time in France, they were very poorly educated, barely knew what they were doing. And so he established several seminaries and really promoted proper education. And as a priest, I have to have a decent formation so I know what I'm talking about, so I have some kind of understanding of scripture and so on, and know what some kind of understanding of canon law and so on. And so he brought renewal to the church, and actually, there's a movement to elevate him to doctor of the church because of all he did to promote good faith and good habits, and actually he very much promoted the sacred heart of Jesus and the and of Mary. The love that heart of Jesus and Mary which suffers for us but and loves us so much and that suffering heart. And he wrote, I just quote you must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whatever beholds Jesus sees Mary. Whoever loves Jesus loves Mary. Whoever has devotion to Jesus has devotion to Mary. Mary and Jesus are so closely related, and he really promoted this, and it brought many people through the church to the church. And of course, the better the shepherds are educated and formated in their prayer life and but also in their studies, the more they will be examples for others, which is as much needed today as in the time of Jesus 2000 years ago, that we are signs for others, that people can trust us, and that we are we are people who live what we preach, and this is so important, but this is also so important for parents to be that example for others, to be the priestly presence for the children, and to live and uh to live uh to preach and live uh what they preach. Amen. And so let us bring our prayers before the Lord. We pray for all those in the daily TV Mass Prayer Intention Book. We pray to the Lord. We pray this month that Mary's assumption renews our hope of one day sharing eternal life with her and her son. We pray to the Lord. With Pope Leo, we pray this month that in large cities, often marked by anonymity and loneliness, we find new ways to proclaim the gospel, discovering creative paths to build community. We pray to the Lord. We pray for the unemployed and underemployed that they will find full-time employment. For this we pray to the Lord. And for these prayers and the prayers in the silence of our own hearts, we lift them up to you, Lord. Amen. Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you, fruit of the earth and work of human hands. It will become for us the bread of life. By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity. Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you, fruit of the vine, and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink. That humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and mere sacrifice in your sight as they be pleasing to you, Lord God. Cleanse me of my sins. Thank you. Pray, my sisters and brothers, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.

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May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy church.

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Receive, O Lord, we pray, the offerings placed on your altar in commemoration of Blessed John Yude, so that as you brought him glory, you may through these sacred mysteries grant us to us your pardon through Christ, O Lord. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. For as on the festival of Saint John Yude, you bid your church rejoice, so too you strengthen her by the example of his holy life, teach her by his words of preaching, and keep her safe in answer to his prayers. And so, with the company of angels and saints, we sing the hymn of your praise, as without end we acclaim.

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Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heaven and earth are full of your glory.

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You are indeed holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy therefore these gifts we pray, by sending down your spirit upon them like the dofold, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion. He took bread and giving you thanks broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, and once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. The mystery of faith.

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When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.

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Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that partaking of the body and blood of Christ we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Leo or Pope, Francis or Bishop, the other bishops, the clergy, and the entire people you have called your own. Remember also our sisters and brothers who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy, welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray that with the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the Blessed Joseph, our spouse, with the blessed apostles and all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ. Through him and with him and in him, O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours for ever and ever.

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Amen.

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And at the Savior's command, informed by divine teaching, we dare to say, O Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespass, as we forgive those who trespass against us. It is not in temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray from every evil. Graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

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With the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.

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Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously grant our peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you always.

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And with your spirit.

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And let us offer each other a sign of peace.

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You take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us.

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Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word my soul shall be heard. And may the body of Christ give a safe eternal life.

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Please join me now in this act of spiritual communion. My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this holy sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things, and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul, so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

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The Lord be with you. And may Almighty God bless you, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

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Amen.

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Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

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Our thanks to our donor for the gift of this mass.