Approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in August 20th, 2011 (Prot. Num. 319/11/L)

August 30th
Blessed Eustáquio van Lieshout, priest
Memorial

Introductory Antiphon: Cf. Matt 14,14
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

Prayer of the day:
God Almighty, who has enriched Blessed Eustáquio, priest, by giving him the gift of returning health to the sick and peace to the sinners, allow us, through his merits and intercession, to enjoy perpetual health of soul and of body and to reach eternal joy. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

First Reading: Rom. 12,3-18
Be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.

Reading of Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans
I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.
The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 33
Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be always in my mouth. My soul will glory in the Lord; let the poor hear and be glad. A.

Magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me, delivered me from all my fears. A.

Look to him and be radiant, and your faces may not blush for shame. This poor one cried out and the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. A.

Gospel Acclamation: Jn. 6, 63c.68c
Your words, Lord, are spirit and life; you have the words of eternal life.

Gospel: Mr 1, 29-39
On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord

Prayer over the offerings:
God Almighty, look to the offerings we present you in memory of Blessed Eustáquio and make it so that, in celebrating the memorial of the passion of the Lord, we may conform our lives to these holy mysteries. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ezk. 34,15
I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God.

Prayer after communion:
Lord, who gives us true life in this divine sacrament, make it so that, as we joyfully celebrate the memory of Blessed Eustáquio, his example of apostolic zeal will help us flourish every day in grace and sanctity. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Office of Readings

August 30th
Blessed Eustáquio van Lieshout, priest
Memorial

Second Reading
From Blessed Eustáquio's letter to Bishop José Gaspar de Afonseca e Silva, Most Rev. Metropolitan Archbishop of São Paulo, June 24th, 1941

"To facilitate the hearing that Your Excellency has granted me tonight, I would like to, in a few words, formulate the great ideal which stimulates my priestly and religious life today. Although I have never given rest to my body when it came to alleviating the suffering of my neighbor and removing from the world as much as possible the evil that stands in the way of the happiness of life and of eternity; now, however, I find myself constrained from all sides out of helping humanity in my capacity as a priest, who by his blessings finds himself the instrument of Divine Providence in order to relieve his neighbor's sorrows. But, as in all things matter is but the path towards the spirit, the corporeal cures we have attested are solely the means of obtaining the second cure, a much more important one: the cure of the soul, and not only of those who have received the bodily cure, but of the hundreds and hundreds who have witnessed it, and whose souls were either in complete spiritual indifference, or profoundly lukewarm in matters of God and of the soul. That, there, is the saintly vocation I feel within me: to relieve corporeal pains in order to revive the shaken faith of our times. For thi great work I feel especially summoned. I was never as conscious as I am today of how much, by the grace of God, I can reach towards those who suffer... The good Lord has visibly shown me the path to take. Yes, today I feel compelled, if my word suits me, to help all those who suffer and endure. God has even given me the gift of curing a disease that human science once considered incurable. But I don't take glory in that. That this does not operate by natural means was understood by very many people, who, as proof of what they felt in their souls, have seeked immediate conversion and the spiritual indifference they had been living in for so many years has given way to an ardent faith and boundless confidence. This is what I am able to say of the gift that God, in his mercy, has given this poor sinner. But the faith in God, Our Lord, is like faith in a historical person whose greatness lives on through the pages of History. In our times, we don't contemplate enough how the life of Our Lord remains as present as it was nineteen centuries ago. And that is why I almost cannot agree with the word of sacred History as if it were something in the past, something finished. Oh, God lives still on earth, among us the story of Christ is still creating life. After this testimony, humbly presented by Fr. Eustáquio himself, let us see what he himself wrote to the Fr. Superior General (August 10th, 1941): "For a long time, but mainly during last year, many people have sought me for the healing of the soul and the body. And, thanks to the good Lord, many souls were converted, and many of the sick, including the blind and the paralyzed, were cured through a simple blessing. And even if we have done all that we could in order to conceal any extraordinary fact, the newspapers seized the opportunity of making a lot of noise regarding myself; so much so that my superiors, also clergymen, afraid that something severe could come from Rome, have counseled me to retire for a while, until an order from above comes in..."

Responsorial: Mt 25, 21.20

A/. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities:
* Come, share your master's joy. (T.P. Hallelujah)
V/. Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.
* Come.