Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful. Week22c-2013.

Father in Heaven, as your sons and daughters we present these prayers to You born of confidence and humility.

1. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches us ‘to conduct our affairs with humility.’ Fill the Church – Your Son’s Body – with men and women who act as Jesus’ disciples, humbly seeking You and the salvation of one another, especially our family members. We humbly pray.

2. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father promises the Spirit-filled peace of Your Son. Pour forth that same peace upon our world. Bring peace to Syria. For the innocent victims of wars, crime, violence and hatred – We humbly pray.

3. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches us that “You have made a home for the poor.” In all levels of Church and parish planning and living, impel us to work to alleviate the burdens of the poor and all who suffer in any way. We humbly pray.

4. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches that we have “approached Jesus, the Mediator of a new Covenant.” As many return to school this week, may learning equip all students with the Truth of Jesus that reverences life and serves the needs of the poor. We humbly pray.

5. For all the sick (especially …) [PAUSE] May all who have died (especially …) live eternally with You: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We pray …

Father,
all that is good comes from You.
Humbly we ask that You
graciously fill our hearts with love for You.
Increase our faith and by Your constant care,
protect the good You have given to us.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week21-2013

“After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.” (Matthew 25:19)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Notice too that the servants did not go to the master so they might be judged and receive their just deserts. Rather, “the master came to them” in due course. “After a long time” he came and “settled accounts with them” on everything they had done, compensating them for the gains of their good works and the losses of their sins. Settling “accounts” and scrutinizing everything, he dealt with each one individually. It behooves us, then, as those who by sinning have done evil and by doing good reaped a profit, to keep a guard on our hearts. In this way, when our Master comes to settle accounts with us, we may not be found to have done evil, even through idle words.” (Commentary on Matthew, 66)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week21-2013.

“The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” (Matthew 25:3-4)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following commentary on these verses taken from today’s Scripture:

“It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgment. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is with good reason signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water, and pour in oil upon it; the oil will swim above. Pour in oil, pour in water upon it; the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost; if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails.” (Sermon 93)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist 2013.

Commenting on Mark 6:28 from today’s Scriptures, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“In what way, then, was this just man harmed by this demise, this violent death, these chains, this imprisonment? Who are those he did not set back on their feet—provided they had a penitent disposition—because of what he spoke, because of what he suffered, because of what he still proclaims in our own day—the same message he preached while he was living. Therefore, do not say: “Why was John allowed to die?” For what occurred was not a death, but a crown, not an end, but the beginning of a greater life. Learn to think and live like a Christian. You will not only remain unharmed by these events, but will reap the greatest benefits.” (On the Providence of God, 22)

Today is also the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. Click here for a commentary on the Baptist’s death by Saint Bede the Venerable (the selection is taken from today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings).

Pope Benedict XVI spoke on Saint John the Baptist during an audience in August 2012.

Collect

O God,
Who willed that Saint John the Baptist
should go ahead of Your Son
both in his birth and in his death,
grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice,
we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Augustine 2013.

Commenting on Matthew 23:27 from today’s Scriptures, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“You have been counted worthy to become temples of God. But you have instead suddenly become more like sepulchers, having the same sort of smell. This is dreadful. It is extreme wretchedness that one in whom Christ dwells and in whom the Holy Spirit has worked such great works should turn out to be a sepulcher, a place for death. What wretchedness is this? What mourning and lamentation does this call for! The members of the body of Christ have become a tomb of uncleanness? Remember your sonship and how you were born. Consider of what things you have been counted worthy. Recall what sort of garment you received in baptism. You were intended to be a temple without fault, beautiful, not adorned with gold or pearls but with the spirit that is more precious than these. You are hardly ready to appear in the city above if you remain a sepulcher below. For if here this is forbidden, much more there. Even here you are an object of scorn. You carry around a dead soul. You are shunned. Be honest. If anyone were to go around carrying about a dead body, wouldn’t everyone else rush for cover! Wouldn’t they all flee? But this is what you are like. You go about carrying a corpse far more grievous than this. It is a soul deadened by sins, a soul paralyzed.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 73)

Today is also the memorial of Saint Augustine of Hippo, a Father of the Church. Click here for an excerpt from his writings (the selection is taken from today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings).

Pope Benedict XVI devoted a number of General Audiences to Saint Augustine: Audience 1, Audience 2, Audience 3, Audience 4, and Audience 5.

Collect

Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord,
that spirit with which You endowed
Your Bishop Saint Augustine that,
filled with the same spirit,
we may thirst for you,
the sole fount of true wisdom,
and seek you, the author of heavenly love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Monica 2013.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“This passage teaches us that we should hasten to be righteous, not merely to appear so. Whoever strives only to appear righteous will cleanse his exterior and will take great care of what can be seen by others but will neglect his heart and his conscience. He fails to realize that the one who is eager to purify his interior life and his thoughts will also naturally want to give a healthy outward appearance as well. Whoever works hard on the externals but neglects his interior life, however, will inevitably be filled with avarice, lust, malice, and many other kinds of evil. For the one who is solicitous of his own interior salvation also takes care of his external, public reputation. But not everyone who cares first about his public reputation is also solicitous of his interior salvation. In this connection, it is written that “whoever sees a woman and lusts after her has committed adultery with her in his heart.” He who refrains from acts of fornication, therefore, but commits fornication by lusting in his heart is like the one who cleanses the outside of the cup and plate while the inside is left full of intemperance. Whoever performs acts of mercy for the purpose of earning human respect, doing his good deeds “to be seen by men,” also seems to cleanse only the exterior of the cup and plate but is full of intemperance and lust for vainglory within.” (Commentary on Matthew, 21)

Today is the Memorial of Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo. In this excerpt from Saint Augustine’s work Confessions, he writes of his mother's death.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Saint Monica during the Angelus on 30 August 2009.

Collect

O God,
Who console the sorrowful and
Who mercifully accepted the motherly tears of
Saint Monica for the conversion of her son Augustine,
grant us, through the intercession of them both,
that we may bitterly regret our sins and
find the grace of your pardon.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week21-2013

“You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?” (Matthew 22:19)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Anyone who thinks that his own almsgiving, his own fasting, his own psalms and prayers are in themselves great and who, without good judgment, blesses them and does not reflect that it is just from such a heart that his almsgiving or psalms or prayers or fasting are offered — such a man is blind. For indeed his heart is the altar that sanctifies his offering which is the heart of the world. The heart and the conscience of such a man “do not feel remorse but have trust in God,” because his own heart has been rightly formed. He does not rely on his gifts as such or the words of his prayers or of his psalms — although they may seem well composed and chosen from the Scriptures — but on the heart rightly formed.

Whoever places his own witness on the altar, that is, his own conscience and the center of his heart, such a man swears by the altar, embracing everything which is contained in it. One who swears according to what we attest to by the temple, that is, “through the whole sense of Scriptures,” such a man seems to swear according to the word and the will of God which is contained in it. Such a man in this sense swears upon the temple (upon all the Scriptures) and upon the altar (upon the whole heart), that is, an understanding of the sense of the whole of the Scriptures and upon the whole heart. The temple is the glory of God, which “we see as in a mirror darkly.” The heavens, however, are above the temple of God, in which sits the throne of God, on which we may look “with our face uncovered” when he comes.” (Commentary on Matthew, 18)

Collect

O God,
Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant your people to love what You command
and to desire what you promise, that,
amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week21-2013.

“Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Luke 13:23-24)

In commenting on these verses from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” This reply may seem perhaps to wander from the scope of the question. The man wanted to learn whether there would be few who are saved, but he explained to him the way whereby he might be saved himself. He said, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” What do we answer to this objection? It was a necessary and valuable thing to know how a man may obtain salvation. He is purposely silent to the useless question. He proceeds to speak of what was essential, namely, of the knowledge necessary for the performance of those duties by which people can enter the narrow door.

I now consider it my duty to mention why the door to life is narrow. Whoever would enter must first before everything else possess an upright and uncorrupted faith and then a spotless morality, in which there is no possibility of blame, according to the measure of human righteousness…. One who has attained to this in mind and spiritual strength will enter easily by the narrow door and run along the narrow way.

“Wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.” What are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency toward carnal lust and a shameful and pleasure-loving life. It is luxurious feasts, parties, banquets and unrestricted inclinations to everything that is condemned by the law and displeasing to God. A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Feast of Saint Bartholomew 2013

“But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”” (John 1:46)

In commenting on John 1:46 from today’s Mass Readings, Theodore of Mopsuesteia writes:

“This is not exactly the way this sentence appears, but rather it should be understood in a different and more doubtful sense, as in “How is it possible that anything good comes out of Nazareth?” In fact, among the Jews the name of that village was much despised, because a great number of its inhabitants were pagans, and it seemed impossible that anything good might come out from there. Therefore also the Pharisees said to Nicodemus, “Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” And so it is only right that Philip says to Nathanael, “Come and see.” Since there is now a contrast to that old opinion, [he seems to be saying], I promise to show you the real facts. This was superfluous, otherwise, for someone who had once believed in the truth.” (Commentary on John, 1)

Today is the Feast of Saint Bartholomew. In his Wednesday audience on 4 October 2006, Pope Benedict XVI offered this reflection on Saint Bartholomew.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week20-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 22:35 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Now let us consider one argument of entrapment: “Teacher,” he says, “what is the greater commandment in the law?” He says “teacher” trying to entrap him, since he offers his thoughts not as a disciple of Christ. This however, will be clearer from an example we now offer. Consider: The father of a son is indeed the father, and no one else is able to call him father except the son; and the mother of a daughter is indeed her mother, and no one else can call her mother except her own daughter.

And so the teacher of a disciple is indeed his teacher, and the disciple of a teacher is truly his disciple. As a result, no one is able to say “teacher” properly except a disciple. And see how, on account of this, that not all who call him teacher do so appropriately but only those who have a desire to learn from him. He said to his disciples, “You call me teacher and lord, and rightly so, for so I am.” Therefore disciples of Christ properly indeed address him as teacher, and by this word from the Lord himself his servants rightly call him Lord. Thus the apostle spoke well when he said, “Yet for us there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and for whom we exist.” And consider what he says, “It is enough for the disciple to be” not simply like a teacher but “like his teacher.” Therefore if anyone does not learn something from this word or surrender himself with his whole heart, in order to become his delightful dwelling place but still calls him “teacher,” he is brother to the Pharisees attempting to entrap Christ while calling him “teacher.” And so all who say “Our Father who art in heaven” ought not to have “the spirit of slavery in fear but a spirit of the adoption of sons.” However, whoever does not have “the spirit of adoption of sons” and yet says “Our Father who art in heaven” is lying, since he is not a son of God, while calling God his Father. (Commentary on Matthew, 2)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week20-2013

Saint Gregory the Great comments on Matthew 22:11 from today's Readings:

But since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy church, as a result of God’s generosity, be careful, my friends, lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your heart’s clothing. We must consider what comes next with great fear in our hearts. But the king came in to look at the guests and saw there a person not clothed in a wedding garment. What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast to join the church to himself. Only God’s love brought it about that his only begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us.” (Forty Gospel Homilies, 38)

Today is also the memorial of The Queenship of Mary. Pope Pius XII's encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam (To the Queen of Heaven) offers insights worthy to ponder today. Additional insights are provided by St Amadeus of Lausanne in the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

Collect

O God,
Who made the Mother of Your Son
to be our Mother and our Queen,
graciously grant that,
sustained by her intercession,
we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom
the glory promised to your children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week20-2013.

Saint Gregory the Great comments on Matthew 20:15 from today's Readings:

“The householder said to them, “I wish to give to this last one as I give even to you.” And since the obtaining of his kingdom comes from his good will, he properly adds, “Or am I not allowed to do what I wish?” It is always foolish to question the goodness of God. There might have been reason for loud complaint if he did not give what he owed but not if he gives what he does not owe. And so he adds, “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” But no one should boast of his work or of his time, when after saying this Truth cries out: “So the last will be first and the first last.” We know what good things we have done and how many they are; we do not know with what exactitude our judge on high will investigate them. Indeed, we must all rejoice exceedingly to be even the last in the kingdom of God.” (Forty Gospel Homilies)

Today is also the memorial of Pope Saint Pius X. An excerpt from his writings appears in today's Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

Collect

O God,
Who to safeguard the Catholic faith and
to restore all things in Christ,
filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth with
heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude,
graciously grant that,
following his teaching and example,
we may gain an eternal prize.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voice ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week20-2013

Commenting on Matthew 19:27 from today’s Scriptures, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“What is “everything,” blessed Peter? Is it your fishing rod? your net? your boat? your skill? Are you telling me these are the “everything”? “Yes,” he says, “I am not saying these things to show off but in order that by this question I may embrace the multitude of the poor.” For when the Lord said, “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven,” one of the poor may say, “What then? If I have no possessions, can I not be perfect?” Peter asks the question so that you, the poor man, may learn that you are in no way inferior to the disciples. Peter asks the question, not so that you may have doubts if you learn it from Peter (for he was still imperfect and as yet unfilled by the Spirit) but so that you may hear the word from Peter’s Master and so believe. When we dispute on behalf of others, we often make their concerns our own. That is what the apostle did when he offered this question to the Master on behalf of the wider world of the poor. (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 64)”

Today is also the memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a doctor of the Church. Click here for an excerpt from his writings (the selection is taken from today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings).

Collect

O God,
Who made the Abbot Saint Bernard
a man consumed with zeal for your house and
a light shining and burning in your Church,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may be on fire with the same spirit and
walk always as children of light.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Quote from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux:

“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge;
that is curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others;
that is vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve;
that is love.”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week20-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 19:21 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Someone might ask, If a perfect person is one who possesses all the virtues and no longer acts out of malice, how can the person who sells all his possessions and gives it to the poor then be perfect? For granted someone has done this, how will he go forth instantly without rage if he has previously been subject to rage? How will he instantly be immune to grief and rise above all the worries that can beset someone and cause him grief? How can he be free from all fear, whether of troubles or of death or those things which can upset the still imperfect soul? How will it be that anyone who sells his possessions and gives them to the poor will lack all desire? More wisely a believer would seem to meet the question by keeping to the literal meaning and not expounding it allegorically. You decide for yourself whether what is said is worthily said according to its context or not. Some will say that anyone who gives to the poor is helped by their prayers. He takes for his salvation the abundance of the spiritual goods of those who are poor in material possessions to meet his own lack, as the apostle suggests in the second letter to the Corinthians. Who else would have this happen to him and be so greatly helped? For God listens to the prayers of so many poor people who have been relieved. Among them perhaps are people like the apostles or at any rate a little inferior to them, poor in material effects but rich in spiritual gifts. (Commentary on Matthew, 15)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week20-2013.

In commenting on Hebrews 12:2 from today’s Readings, Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes:

“A fire that lies in wood hidden below the surface is often unobserved by the senses of those who see or even touch it but is manifest when it blazes up. So too, at his death (which he brought about at his will, who separated his soul from his body; who said to his own Father, “Into your hands I commit my spirit;” who, as he says, “had power to lay it down and had power to take it again”) He — Who, because he is the Lord of Glory, despised that which is shame among men — having concealed, as it were, the flame of his life in his bodily nature, by the dispensation of his death, kindled and inflamed it once more by the power of his own Godhead, fostering into life that which had been brought to death. Having infused with the infinity of his divine power that humble firstfruits of our nature, he made it also to be that which he himself was — making the servile form to be Lord, and the human born of Mary to be Christ, and him who was crucified through weakness to be life and power, and making all that is piously conceived to be in God the Word to be also in that which the Word assumed. Thus these attributes no longer seem to be in either nature by way of division, but the perishable nature, being, by its commixture with the divine, made anew in conformity with the nature that overwhelms it, participates in the power of the Godhead, as if one were to say that mixture makes a drop of vinegar mingled in the deep to be sea, by reason that the natural quality of this liquid does not continue in the infinity of that which overwhelms it. This is our doctrine (Against Eunomius, 5).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week19-2013.

In commenting on Joshua 24:27 from today’s Readings, St Basil of Caesarea (St Basil the Great) writes:

“Joshua, the son of Nun, even calls a stone to give testimony (a heap of stones had already been called to testify between Jacob and Laban) when he said, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” Perhaps he believed that the power of God would enable the stones to cry out in testimony against the transgressors or at least that everyone’s conscience would be wounded by the force of the reminder. So those who have been entrusted with the care of souls provide various kinds of witnesses to testify at a future date. But the Spirit is organically united with God, not because of the needs of each moment but through communion in the divine nature. He is joined to the Lord; he is not brought in by our efforts (On the Spirit, 13).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week19-2013.

In commenting upon Matthew 19:6 from today’s Mass Readings, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Then he showed that it is a fearful thing to tamper with this law. When establishing this law, he did not say, “Therefore, do not sever or separate” but “What God has joined together, let man not separate.” If you quote Moses, I will quote the God of Moses, and with him I am always strong. For God from the beginning made them male and female. This law is very old, even if it appears human beings have recently discovered it. It is firmly fixed. And God did not simply bring the woman to her husband but ordered her also to leave her father and mother. And he not only ordered the man to go to the woman but also to cling to her, showing by his way of speaking that they could not be separated. And not even with this was God satisfied, but he sought also for another greater union: “for the two shall be one flesh (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 54).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2013.

In commenting on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John Damascene preached the following homily:

“But even though, according to nature, your most holy and happy soul is separated from your most blessed and stainless body and the body as usual is delivered to the tomb, it will not remain in the power of death and is not subject to decay. For just as her virginity remained inviolate while giving birth, when she departed her body was preserved from destruction and only taken to a better and more divine tabernacle, which is not subject to any death.... Hence I will call her holy passing not death, but falling asleep or departure, or better still, arrival.... "Your stainless and wholly immaculate body has not been left on earth; the Queen, the Mistress, the Mother of God who has truly given birth to God has been translated to the royal palaces of heaven.... "Angels and archangels have borne you upwards, the impure spirits of the air have trembled at your ascension. The air is purified, the ether sanctified by your passing through them. . . the powers meet you with sacred hymns and much solemnity, saying something like this: Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, elect like the sun? [cf. Cant 6:9] How you have blossomed forth, how sweet you have become! You are the flower of the field, a lily among the thorns [Cant 2.1] . . . Not like Elijah have you entered heaven, not like Paul have you been rapt to the third heaven; no, you have penetrated even to the royal throne of your Son himself . . . a blessing for the world, a sanctification of the universe, refreshment for those who are tired, comfort for the sorrowing, healing for the sick, a port for those in danger, pardon for sinners, soothing balm for the oppressed, quick help for all who pray to you. . . “Good Mistress, graciously look down on us; direct and guide our destinies wheresoever you will. Pacify the storm of our wicked passions, guide us into the quiet port of the divine will and grant us the blessedness to come.”

Also noteworthy for today, the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII Munificentissimus Deus (Defining the Dogma of the Assumption) or an excerpt from that Document which appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings.

A good article appears here and as well as a summary of Patristic teaching on Mary’s Assumption here.

Almighty ever-living God,
Who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory,
grant we pray, that,
always attentive to the things that are above,
we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week19-2013.

In commenting on Deuteronomy 34:5 from today’s Mass Scriptures, Saint Ambrose of Milan writes:

“We do not read of [Moses], as we do of others, that he fell sick and died. We read that “he died by the word of God” — for God does not grow weak or undergo diminution or addition. Hence Scripture added, “No man has known of his sepulcher until this present day” — by which we are to understand that he was taken up into heaven rather than buried, for death may be called a separation of the soul from the body. He died therefore as the Scripture states: “by the word of God” — not “in accordance with the word” — so as to make known that this was not an announcement of his death but was more in the nature of a gracious gift to one who was translated rather than left here and whose sepulcher was known to no one.”

Today is the Memorial of Saint Maximiliam Kolbe, and an excerpt from his writings is presented from the Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings

O God,
Who filled the Priest and Martyr
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
with a burning love for the
Immaculate Virgin Mary and
with zeal for souls and love of neighbor,
graciously grant, through his intercession,
that striving for your glory
by eagerly serving others,
we may be conformed,
even until death, to your Son.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week19-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 18:10 from today’s Mass Readings, Chromatius of Aquileia writes:

And rightly the Lord has said, “The Son of man has come to save what had perished,” so that all the more he might show that not one of these little ones who believe in Christ should be despised. For their sake the Son of God came down from heaven and saved them by his Passion. It was for this that he took on the body of our human weakness, so that he might in every way save this one who had perished. For the elements of the world have kept the law given them by the Lord. Humanity alone has been found the transgressor. Alone we had fallen from immortality into death. And for this reason to save us the Son of God at a mature time descended from heaven according to the will of the Father. Hence, quite rightly Solomon speaks of a time of destroying and a time of saving. There was a time when the devil destroyed humankind. But again there came a time when the Son of God, the only begotten Son of God, saved the human race for life (Tractate on Matthew, 57).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week19-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 17:27 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“This coin was not in Jesus’ house but happened to be in the mouth of a fish in the sea. This too, I think, was a result of God’s kindness. It was caught and came up on the hook belonging to Peter, who was the fisher of men. That which is figuratively called a fish was caught in order that the coin with the image of Caesar might be taken from it, that it might take its place among those which were caught by them who have learned to become fishers of men. Let him, then, who has the things of Caesar render them to Caesar, that afterwards he may be able to render to God the things of God. But since Jesus is the image of God the unseen and did not have the image of Caesar (for there was nothing in him that had anything to do with the prince of this world), he therefore took the image of Caesar from a suitable place in the sea, so as to pay it to the kings of the earth as the contribution of himself and his disciple. Jesus did this so that those taking the half-shekel might not suppose Jesus to be in debt either to them or to the kings of the earth. For he paid the debt, one he had never taken on or possessed or used to buy anything or made his personal possession, to prevent the image of Caesar ever being alongside the image of the invisible God (Commentary on Matthew, 13).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week19-2013.

In commenting on Luke 12:35 from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“The girding of our loins signifies the readiness of the mind to work hard in every thing praiseworthy. Those who apply themselves to bodily labors and are engaged in strenuous toil have their loins girded. The lamp apparently represents the wakefulness of the mind and intellectual cheerfulness. We say that the human mind is awake when it repels any tendency to slumber off into that carelessness that often is the means of bringing it into subjection to every kind of wickedness. When sunk in stupor, the heavenly light within the mind is liable to be endangered, or even already is in danger from a violent and impetuous blast of wind. Christ commands us to be awake. To this, his disciple also arouses us by saying, “Be awake. Be watchful.” Further on, the very wise Paul also says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall give you light.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 92).”

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, Ordinary Time 2013, Week 19.

To live life as Jesus taught and to be prepared for His return, we offer these petitions:

1. For the Church as the Body of Christ: to be the Lamp that lights the path to Truth. For Jesus’ disciples to seek Him as the only Light for all dimensions of living. We pray.

2. May your kindness, O Lord, be upon all people of the world. May each of us respond to Your kindness by reverencing life as Your sacred Gift. For peace throughout the world, in our families and in our hearts. We pray.

3. For our parish and all Christians to be firmly grounded in the Faith of Jesus Christ. For docile receptivity to Jesus’ Word and courage to act as His obedient disciples. We pray.

4. For vigilance to live life safely and free from sin. To satisfy the needs of people experiencing all forms of poverty. We pray.

5. For all the sick (especially …) [PAUSE]
May all who have died (especially …) live eternally with You: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We pray.

Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit with us and
bring us to our promised inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.

Voice ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week18-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 16:26 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“But what shall a person give in exchange for his life, would seem, if spoken in answer to a query, to indicate a person who trades his life; a person who, after sin, has given up his substance in order that his property might feed the poor. He would in that way receive salvation. Yet, in a positive light, I think this indicates that there is nothing in a person that he can give in trade for his life that will buy off death. God, however, has ransomed us all with the priceless blood of Jesus so that “we are bought with a price,” “having been purchased not with perishable things like silver and gold but with the priceless blood of the spotless, flawless Lamb,” Christ (Commentary on Matthew, 12).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week18-2013.

In commenting upon Matthew 16:23 from today’s Mass Readings, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Therefore, the rest being troubled and in perplexity, Peter again in his ardor alone ventures to discuss these things. And he does not discuss them openly but only when he had taken him aside. Having separated himself from the rest of the disciples, he says, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” What is happening here? The very one who had obtained a revelation, who had been blessed, has now so soon fallen away, so as now to fear the Passion of the Lord, and thereby his faith has been overthrown. It is remarkable that Peter, who had not yet been fully instructed in the course of revelation, should come up with these responses. The larger picture had not yet been revealed to Peter, and he was confused and overwhelmed. Peter had learned that Christ is the Son of God. But he had not learned of the mystery of the cross and the resurrection. It was as yet not manifested to him. It remained hidden. Do you see how correct Jesus was in forbidding them not to declare his identity publicly? For if it so confounded the disciples, who were being made aware of it, who knows what the response of others might have been. This is why he rebuked Peter and called him Satan: to signify that he is coming to his future suffering voluntarily (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 54).”

Today is the Memorial of Saint Dominic. An excerpt ‘From various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers’ is found here. The Encyclical of Pope Benedict XV (yes, the 15th!) on Saint Dominic is found here.

May Saint Dominic
come to the help of Your Church
by his merits and teaching, O Lord,
and may he, who was an outstanding preacher
of your truth,
be a devoted intercessor on our behalf.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week18-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 15:28 from today’s Mass Readings, Theodore of Mopsuesteia writes:

“Having seen her advocates unsuccessful, the woman then appeals for herself and does not stop but in effect says to the Lord, “Help me, I haven’t been asking this for my own sake.” Then the Savior in turn says, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs.” He uses the term dog on account of the Gentiles’ unclean lifestyle and proneness to idolatry, while he calls the Jews children on account of the fact that they appeared to be devoted to God. But he uses the word bread not only to speak of his teaching, which was through words, but also of that which nourished the faithful by means of signs. But in this case the word preceded the condemnation of the Jews, since when life in the Lord had been given to them as bread, they did not accept it. The woman does not complain, even when insulted. What does the Savior do? By his answer, he showed what he had premeditated from the outset. For it was for this reason that he postponed giving a reply: that the woman might cry aloud with this word. Thereby he would show her to be worthy of a thousand crowns. For it was not because he did not want to give her the gift that he delayed but because he sought and took care beforehand to reveal her faith. With his accolades he honors her as presenting a type of the church that is from the Gentiles. Note that he did not say, “Let your child be healed,” but “Be it done for you as you desire,” in order to show that it was the power of her faith that elicited the healing. Even if she were worthy of even greater things, nevertheless that which she wanted was what was given to her (Fragment, 83).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Transfiguration 2013 (evening).

In commenting on Daniel 7:9 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Next they come to Libnah, which means “whitewashing.” I know that in some respects whitewashing has a pejorative connotation, as when we speak of a “whitewashed wall” and “whitewashed tombs.” But this whitewashing is that concerning which the prophet says, “You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” And again Isaiah says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will whiten them like snow and will make them white like wool.” Again in the psalm, “They were whitened with snow in Zalmon.” And the hair of the Ancient of Days is said to be dazzling, white, that is, white like wool. So then, this whitewashing must be understood to come from the radiance of the true light and to descend from the brightness of heavenly visions. (Homilies on Numbers, 27.12).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Transfiguration 2013

In commenting on Luke 9:32 on this Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, Saint Ambrose of Milan writes:

”Peter saw this grace, and so did those who were with him, although they were heavy with sleep. The incomprehensible magnificence of the Godhead overwhelms the perceptions of our body. If the sharpness of bodily vision cannot bear the ray of the sun directly into watching eyes, how may the corruption of human members endure the glory of God? The garment of the body, purer and finer after the removal of the materiality of vices, is made for the resurrection. Perhaps they were so heavy with sleep that they saw the radiance of the resurrection after their rest. Keeping vigil, they saw his majesty, because no one sees the glory of Christ unless he is vigilant (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week18-2013

In commenting on Matthew 14:17 from today’s Readings, Saint Hilary of Poitiers writes:

“But was Jesus unaware there was nothing to give? Did he not know the disciples possessed a limited amount of food? He could read their minds, so he knew. We are invited to explain things by reasoning according to types. It was not yet granted to the apostles to make and administer heavenly bread for the food of eternal life. Yet their response reflected an ordered reasoning about types: they had only five loaves and two fish. This means that up to then they depended on five loaves — that is, the five books of the law. And two fish nourished them — that is, the preaching of the prophets and of John. For in the works of the law there was life just as there is life from bread, but the preaching of John and the prophets restored hope to human life by virtue of water. Therefore the apostles offered these things first, because that was the level of their understanding at the time. From these modest beginnings the preaching of the gospel has proceeded from them, from these same apostles, until it has grown into an immense power. (On Matthew, 14).”

Sunday-Week18-2013. Words of THE WORD

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

O God, come to my assistance;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
You are my rescuer, my help;
O Lord, do not delay. (Psalm 70: 2, 6).

COLLECT

Draw near to Your servants, O Lord,
and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness,
that, for those who glory in
You as their Creator and guide,
You may restore what You have created
and keep safe what You have restored.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Psalm 90: 1).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all Readings for this Sunday)

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.” (Luke 11:13-15).”

REFLECTION

Two imperatives – or if you prefer, commands – frame Jesus’ response to the plea seeking His resolution of a nasty family dispute over inheritance (sound familiar?): ὁράω (horao) and φυλάσσω (phulasso). ὁράω (horao, ‘see so as to discern’) and φυλάσσω (phulasso, ‘guarding in such a way that one is saved’) are verbs that denote necessary actions for anyone responding to Jesus’ call to be His disciple. Even before considering ‘what needs to be seen’ and ‘what needs to be guarded against’ it is imperative for a disciple of Jesus to know what is involved in ‘seeing’ and ‘guarding’ as a disciple.

There are a number of Greek verbs that are translated into English “to see” and the Sacred Scriptures employ a variety of these verbs throughout both Testaments. When it comes to “seeing” as expressed by the verb ὁράω (horao, translated here from the NABRE as “take care”), this is a deliberate action, often involving related actions of gazing, staring, and beholding. ὁράω (horao) is not an involuntary, momentary or mindless sight of a given reality. ὁράω (horao) involves a choice whereby one rivets attention on another person, place or object. While not excluding per se the eye itself and the various processes that occur when light falls upon cones and rods in the retina, ὁράω (horao) is more about intellectual and spiritual insight. Such intellectual or spiritual ‘seeing’ thus moves the beholder to knowing – and since the ‘seeing’ or ‘beholding’ is intense, one comes to knowledge that gets to the core of the person, place or object that is beheld. ὁράω (horao) is “to see” the essence of another person, place or object and consequently “know” (or “experience”) the other with more than just a superficial, passing glance. It is in this context that ὁράω (horao) can describe the act of discerning the true nature of another person, place or object in the created order. Recall Genesis 3 and the allure of the fruit: in terms of a passing glance, ‘the fruit looks good.’ To see beyond the surface, more than human biology and the physics of light are required. “Seeing” in the sense of ὁράω (horao) requires (especially in the case of discipleship) “listening and receiving the revelation of the Other.” This act informs ὁράω (horao) and properly directs the discerning process.

φυλάσσω (phulasso) - the other important verb in this Sunday’s reflection - translated here from the NABRE as “to guard,” also expresses a person’s attitude or disposition ‘to keep and to observe all that has been asked’ such as a Covenant or Divine Law. When used in situations to express ‘protecting life or possession,’ φυλάσσω (phulasso) also embodies elements of ‘being alert,’ ‘being vigilant’ and ‘being attentive.’ These important ‘mental’ aspects of “to guard / to protect” can be defensive (‘guarding against an enemy’) or offensive (‘protecting/treasuring the good I/others possess’). Yet in both cases, φυλάσσω (phulasso) is devoid of passivity. Whether the action is protecting or observing, one consciously chooses the action and keeps alert while observing all that has been asked or while protecting the goods in one’s possession.

Both verbs, ὁράω (horao) and φυλάσσω (phulasso), describe vital dimensions of activity pertinent to being Jesus’ disciple. Gazing that is informed by Divine Revelation to know a course of action and to then observe and protect the good entrusted to one are applicable across the spectrum of living Jesus’ life. In this Sunday’s Word, Jesus specifically applies these imperative actions to greed. As one of the capital sins (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sin and capital sins), greed (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2535-2540) is the disordered attachment to anyone or anything. It is a block to authentic relational living with God, others, the true self and all creation. Greed is a desire that, while originally grounded in the natural instinct for what is necessary to survive, becomes disordered by an appetite to either attach oneself exclusively to an item(s) of the created order or to allow – consciously or unconsciously – the hunger for ‘more’ to grow insatiably. Greed ‘says’ to the human condition that this item or that item will bring complete happiness. Greed ‘says’ you NEED and MUST HAVE this item or that item to be fully alive and complete as a person. When that voice is heard as opposed to the Word of Revelation informing our vision, distorted sight is not the only problem a person faces. Fixation and an insatiable desire for ‘more’ drive life to the point that one locks on a particular item or the path to acquire ‘more beyond what is needed for living.’ Life is skewed dangerously and one is unable to be like Mary who chooses the better part to sit at the feet of Jesus. Greed further distorts life by making elements of the created order ends in themselves, ‘mini-gods’ that become an ‘all-or-nothing’ – ‘make it or break it’ in living life.

Seeing the created order properly and not permitting it to control our lives is the caution Jesus sounds. He does so because, in the words of Saint Augustine, “O Lord our God, You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” true joy and peace in life lies in attachment to the God and Father of us all, not what He has created.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week18-2013.

In commenting on the sin of greed from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes:

“But if any one, yearning for greater possessions, and letting his desire become as boundless as a sea, has an insatiable greed for the streams of gain flowing in from every side, let him treat his disease by looking at the real sea. For as the sea does not exceed its boundary with the innumerable streams of water flowing into it, but remains at the same volume just as though it were receiving no new water from streams, in the same way human nature too, restricted by specific limits in the enjoyment of what comes to it, cannot enlarge its appetite to match the extent of its acquisitions; while the intake is endless, the capacity for enjoyment is kept within its set limit.(Homilies on Ecclesiastes, 289).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week 17-2013

In commenting on Matthew 14:4 from today’s Mass Readings, Peter Chrysologus writes:

“John aroused Herod by his moral admonitions, not by any formal accusation. He wanted to correct, not to suppress. Herod, however, preferred to suppress rather than be reconciled. To those who are held captive, the freedom of the one innocent of wrongdoing becomes hateful. Virtue is undesirable to those who are immoral; holiness is abhorrent to those who are impious; chastity is an enemy to those who are impure; integrity is a hardship for those who are corrupt; frugality runs counter to those who are self-indulgent; mercy is intolerable to those who are cruel, as is loving-kindness to those who are pitiless and justice to those who are unjust. The Evangelist indicates this when he says, “John said to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have the wife of your brother Philip.’” This is where John runs into trouble. He who admonishes those who are evil gives offense. He who repudiates wrongdoers runs into trouble. John was saying what was proper of the law, what was proper of justice, what was proper of salvation and what was proper certainly not of hatred but of love. And look at the reward he received from the ungodly for his loving concern (Sermons, 127).”

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, Ordinary Time 2013, Week 18.

The Word of God leads us to offer these prayers in the Spirit to our Loving Father.

1. For the Church, the Body of Christ, “to guard against all greed.” That disciples of Jesus seek to be rich in only “what matters to God.” We pray …

2. For citizens of the world to put to death all ‘immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, lying and the greed that is idolatry.’ Let freedom from these addictions enable generous and loving service to all people in need. We pray …

3. For our parish and all Christians families to welcome the Word of God and become communities formed with docile hearts to do only Our Father’s will. We pray …

4. For all preparing to begin another year of learning. May all reap a bounteous harvest of Truth that serves the needs of all particularly those who have no opportunities for school. We pray …

5. For all the sick (especially …) [PAUSE]
May all who have died (especially …) live eternally with You: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We pray …

Father of all goodness,
be close to us and
hear the prayers of all who praise You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week17-2013.

In commenting on Matthew 13:53 from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“We must therefore inquire whether by the expression “his own country” is meant Nazareth or Bethlehem. It might have been Nazareth, because of the saying “he shall be called a Nazarene.” Or it might have been Bethlehem, since he was born there. Furthermore, I wonder whether the Evangelists could have said “coming to Bethlehem” or “coming to Nazareth.” They have not done so but have named it more simply “his country.” This is because of something being declared in a mystic sense in the passage about his country — namely, the whole of Judea — in which he was dishonored. This is according to the saying “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country.” Jesus Christ was considered “a stumbling block to the Jews,” among whom he is persecuted even until now. But he was proclaimed among the Gentiles and believed in everywhere — for his word has run over the whole world. In his own country Jesus had no honor, but among those who were “strangers from the covenants,” the Gentiles, he is held in honor. But the Evangelists have not recorded what things he taught and spoke in their synagogue. All we know is that they were so great and of such a nature that all were astonished. Probably the things spoken were too elevated to be written down. Only let us note that he taught in their synagogue, not separating from it or disregarding it. (Commentary on Matthew, 10).”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday, Week 17, 2013

In commenting on Matthew 13:51 from today’s Readings, Saint Hilary of Poitiers writes:

“He spoke not to the crowds but to the disciples, and he gave fitting witness to those who understood the parables. He compared them with a householder, for they understood the teaching of his storeroom of things new and old. He referred to them as scribes because of their knowledge, for they understood the new and old things — that is, in the Gospels and in the law. He brought forth both of these on behalf of the same householder and from the same storeroom (On Matthew, 14).”

Today is the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, and an excerpt of his writings is presented in today’s selection from the: Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings