Universalis
Friday 14 August 2026    (other days)
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Martyr 
 on Friday of week 19 in Ordinary Time

Using calendar: Middle East - Southern Arabia. You can pick a diocese or region.

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Red. Year: A(II).

Readings for the feria

Readings for the memorial

These are the readings for the feria


First reading
Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63

You are perfect because of my splendor which I bestowed on you; you became a harlot.

The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were neither washed with water nor anointed, nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes. No one looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome, the day you were born.
  Then I passed by and saw you weltering in your blood. I said to you: Live in your blood and grow like a plant in the field. You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty; your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still stark naked. Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you; you became mine, says the Lord God. Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with an embroidered gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms, a necklace about your neck, a ring in your nose, pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food. You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen. You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was, because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God.
  But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by, whose own you became.
  Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you, that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord God.

Responsorial Psalm
Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

The rejoicing of a redeemed people

You have turned from your anger.
God indeed is my savior;
  I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the Lord,
  and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
  at the fountain of salvation.
You have turned from your anger.
Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;
  among the nations make known his deeds,
  proclaim how exalted is his name.
You have turned from your anger.
Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement;
  let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
  for great in your midst
  is the Holy One of Israel!
You have turned from your anger.

Gospel Acclamation
see 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but, as it truly is, the word of God.
Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMatthew 19:3-12

Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

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These are the readings for the memorial


First readingWisdom 3:1-9

As sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
  and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
  and their passing away was thought an affliction
  and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
  yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
  because God tried them
  and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
  and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
  and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
  and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
  and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
  and his care is with his elect.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 116:10-11, 12-13, 16ac-17
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
I believed, even when I said,
  “I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my alarm,
  “No man is dependable.”
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
How shall I make a return to the Lord
  for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
  and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
O Lord, I am your servant;
  you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
  and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.

Gospel AcclamationJohn 12:25
Alleluia, alleluia.
If you hate your life in this world,
you will preserve it to life eternal.
Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJohn 15:12-16

This is my commandment: love one another.

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”

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Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from 16 to 22 August

The Seven Deadly Sins in Dante: 1. Pride. (23 minutes)
Episode notes.

Christian Art

Illustration

Each day, The Christian Art website gives a picture and reflection on the Gospel of the day.

The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in much of the English-speaking world. The English Standard Version, which is used at Mass in Great Britain, will be shown here if you set this page to use a calendar for Great Britain. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.


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Copyright © 1996-2026 Universalis Publishing Limited: see universalis.com. Readings and psalms from the New American Bible are copyright © 1970, 1986 1997, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. The English translation of the Psalm Responses from “Lectionary for Mass” © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). Excerpts from the English translation of “The Roman Missal” © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved.
 
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