Voices ever ancient, ever new. Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus 2013.

“When the days for his being taken up* were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem ...” (Luke 9:51)

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

“It says, “When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” This means that after he would endure his saving passion for us, the time would come when he should ascend to heaven and dwell with God the Father, so he determined to go to Jerusalem. This is, I think, the meaning of his “set his face.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 56)”



Today is the memorial of Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. On 6 April 2011, Pope Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday audience to reflections on her life and theology.

An excerpt from Saint Thérèse’s autobiography (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.



O God,
Who open your Kingdom
to those who are humble and to little ones,
lead us to follow trustingly
in the little way of Saint Therese,
so that through her intercession
we may see your eternal glory revealed.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Jerome 2013.

“and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)

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

“What kind of type and representation did he make the child he had taken? He made the child a representation of an innocent and humble life. The mind of a child is empty of fraud, and his heart is sincere. His thoughts are simple. He does not covet rank and does not know what is meant by one man being higher than another is … Christ brought forward the child as a pattern of simplicity and innocence, and set him by him. He showed him as in an object lesson, that he accepts and loves those who are like the child. He thinks they are worthy of standing at his side, as being like-minded with him and anxious to walk in his steps.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 54)”



Today is the memorial of Saint Jerome. On 7 November 2007 and 14 November 2007, Pope Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday audience to reflections on the life and theology of Saint Jerome.

An excerpt from his Commentary of Isaiah (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.



O God,
Who gave the Priest Saint Jerome
a living and tender love for Sacred Scripture,
grant that your people
may be ever more fruitfully nourished
by your Word and find in it the fount of life.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week26-2013.

“Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Jerome writes:

“If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead.” “If you believed Moses, you would believe me also, for he wrote of me.” Do you now see what Abraham means? You do well to wait for him who will rise from the dead, but Moses and the prophets proclaim that he is the One who is going to rise from the dead. Christ, in fact, speaks in them. If you hear them, you will also hear him.” (On Lazarus and Dives, 86)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week25-2013.

“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” (Luke 9:44)

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

“The mystery of the passion may be seen also in another instance. According to the Mosaic law, two goats were offered. They were not different in any way from one another,3 but they were alike in size and appearance. Of these, one was called “the lord,” and the other was called “sent-away.” When the lot was cast for the one called “lord,” it was sacrificed. The other one was sent away from the sacrifice, and therefore had the name of “sent-away.” Who was signified by this? The Word, though he was God, was in our likeness and took the form of us sinners, as far as the nature of the flesh was concerned. The male or female goat was sacrificed for sins. Death was our desert, for we had fallen under the divine curse because of sin. When the Savior of all undertook the responsibility, he transferred to himself what was due to us and laid down his life, that we might be sent away from death and destruction.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 53)”



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Vincent de Paul 2013.

“Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Messiah of God.” (Luke 9:20)

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

“You see the skillfulness of the question. He did not at once say, “Who do you say that I am?” He refers to the rumor of those that were outside their company. Then, having rejected it and shown it unsound, he might bring them back to the true opinion. It happened that way. When the disciples had said, “Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, that some prophet of those in old time has risen up,” he said to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Oh! how full of meaning is that word you! He separates them from all others, that they may also avoid the opinions of others. In this way, they will not conceive an unworthy idea about him or entertain confused and wavering thoughts. Then they will not also imagine that John had risen again, or one of the prophets. “You,” he says, “who have been chosen,” who by my decree have been called to the apostleship, who are the witnesses of my miracles. Who do you say that I am?” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)”



Today is the memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul. Click here for a letter of Blessed John Paul II on the occasion of the 4th centenary of the priestly ordination of Saint Vincent de Paul. Click here to read an excerpt from Saint Vincent’s writings (today’s Second Reading from the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) as well as a short biography.

O God,
Who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit,
we may love what he loved and
put into practice what he taught.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week25-2013.

“You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not become intoxicated; you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed; And the hired worker labors for a bag full of holes.” (Haggai 1:6).”

Saint Clement of Alexandria offers the following insight on this verse from today’s first Reading:

“Generally speaking, riches that are not under complete control are the citadels of evil. If the ordinary people look on them covetously, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, because they are letting themselves become contaminated by the things of this world and are living above themselves in self-indulgence. Those concerned for their salvation should take this as their first principle, that, although the whole of creation is ours to use, the universe is made for the sake of self-sufficiency, which anyone can acquire by a few things. They who rejoice in the holdings in their storehouses are foolish in their greed. “He that earned wages,” Scripture reminds us, “put them into a bag with holes.” Such is the man who gathers and stores up his harvest, for by not sharing his wealth with anyone he becomes worse off. (Christ the Educator, 2)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week25-2013

“He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic” (Luke 9:3).”

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“This is a great vision. But if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet. Remove every chain of sin. Remove the chains of the world. Leave behind earthly sandals. Jesus sent the apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, so that they would not carry earthly things with them. The one who seeks to do good is praised not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet. The Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Therefore remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the gospel. (Flight from the World, 5)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week25-2013.

“He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 18:21)

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

“The present lesson teaches us that obedience and listening to God are the causes of every blessing. Some entered and spoke respectfully about Christ’s holy mother and his brothers. He answered in these words, “My mother and my brothers are they who hear the word of God and do it.” Now do not let any one imagine that Christ scorned the honor due to his mother or contemptuously disregarded the love owed to his brothers. He spoke the law by Moses and clearly said, “Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you.” How, I ask, could he have rejected the love due to brothers, who even commanded us to love not merely our brothers but also those who are enemies to us? He says, “Love your enemies.” What does Christ want to teach? His object is to exalt highly his love toward those who are willing to bow the neck to his commands. I will explain the way he does this. The greatest honors and the most complete affection are what we all owe to our mothers and brothers. If he says that they who hear his word and do it are his mother and brothers, is it not plain to every one that he bestows on those who follow him a love thorough and worthy of their acceptance? He would make them readily embrace the desire of yielding themselves to his words and of submitting their mind to his yoke, by means of a complete obedience. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 42)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Pius of Pietrelcina 2013.

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” (Luke 8:16)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Scripture does not say this about a tangible lamp but about a comprehensible one. One does not “light” the lamp and conceal it “with a vessel” or put it “under a bed, but on the lamp stand” within himself. The vessels of the house are the powers of the soul. The bed is the body. “Those who go in” are those who hear the teacher … He calls the holy church a “lamp stand.” By its proclamation, the Word of God gives light to all who are in this world and illuminates those in the house with the rays of the truth, filling the minds of all with divine knowledge. (Fragments on Luke, 120)”


Today is the memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina. Click here for a biography of Padre Pio and here for Blessed Pope John Paul II’s homily on the occasion of Padre Pio’s canonization in 2002.

Almighty ever-living God,
Who, by a singular grace,
gave the Priest Saint Pius
a share in the Cross of your Son and,
by means of his ministry,
renewed the wonders of your mercy,
grant that through his intercession
we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ,
and so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week25-2013.

“He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ … ‘Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’” (Luke 16:5&7)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on these verses from today's Gospel:

“What the Gospel of “the unjust steward” says is also an image of this matter. He says to the debtor [of one hundred measures of wheat], “Take your bill, sit down, and write eighty,” and the other things that are related. You see that he said to each man, “Take your bill.” It is evident from this that the documents of sin are ours, but God writes documents of justice. The apostle says, “For you are an epistle written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart.” You have in yourselves documents of God and documents of the Holy Spirit. If you transgress, you yourself write in yourselves the handwriting of sin. Notice that at any time when you have approached the cross of Christ and the grace of baptism, your handwriting is fastened to the cross and blotted out in the fountain of baptism. Do not rewrite later what has been blotted out or repair what has been destroyed. Preserve only the documents of God in yourself. Let only the scripture of the Holy Spirit remain in you. (Homily on Genesis, 13)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Matthew 2013.

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9)

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

“Why did Jesus not call Matthew at the same time as he called Peter and John and the rest? He came to each one at a particular time when he knew that they would respond to him. He came at a different time to call Matthew when he was assured that Matthew would surrender to his call. Similarly, he called Paul at a different time when he was vulnerable, after the resurrection, something like a hunter going after his quarry. For he who is acquainted with our inmost hearts and knows the secrets of our minds knows when each one of us is ready to respond fully. Therefore he did not call them all together at the beginning, when Matthew was still in a hardened condition. Rather, only after countless miracles, after his fame was spread abroad, did he call Matthew. He knew Matthew had been softened for full responsiveness.
We may admire, incidentally, the self-effacing temperament of Matthew, for we note how he does not disguise his own former life. In his account he freely adds his own name and his own bad profession, while the other Gospel writers had generously protected him under another name. But why did Matthew himself indicate precisely that he was “sitting at the tax office?” To point to the power of the One who called him, underscoring that he was being actively drawn away from the midst of the very evils in which he was presently engaged and that he had not already abandoned his wicked business as a tax gatherer. (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 30 )”



O God,
Who with untold mercy
were pleased to choose as an Apostle
Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that,
sustained by his example and intercession,
we may merit to hold firm in following 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-Week24-2013.

“Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5)

In commenting on this verse from the First Letter of Paul to Timothy from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Augustine writes:

“He, then, is happy who has everything he wants but does not want what is not proper…. But, when men have attained that welfare for themselves and for those whom they love, shall we be able to say that they are now happy? They have something which it is proper to wish for, but if they have nothing else, either greater or better or more to their advantage and personal distinction, they are still far from happiness…. Certainly it is proper for them to wish for these things, not for the sake of the things themselves but for another reason, namely, that they may do good by providing for the welfare of those who live under them, but it is not proper to covet them out of the empty pride of self-esteem or useless ostentation or hurtful vanity. (Letters, 1305)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week24-2013.

“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.” (Luke 7:44)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Peter Chrysologus writes:

“With her hands of good works, she holds the feet of those who preach his kingdom. She washes them with tears of charity, kisses them with praising lips, and pours out the whole ointment of mercy, until he will turn her. This means that he will come back to her and say to Simon, to the Pharisees, to those who deny, to the nation of the Jews, “I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet.” When will he speak these words? He will speak them when he will come in the majesty of his Father and separate the righteous from the unrighteous like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. He will say, “I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in.” This is equivalent to saying, “But this woman, while she was bathing my feet, anointing them and kissing them, did to the servants what you did not do for the Master.” She did for the feet what you refused to the Head. She expended upon the lowliest members what you refused to your Creator. Then he will say to the church, “Your sins, many as they are, are forgiven you because you have loved much. (Sermon 95)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week24-2013

“They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’” (Luke 7:32)

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

“The prophet’s words will apply to us, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil. Who call bitter sweet and sweet bitter. Who put light for darkness, and darkness for light.” This was the character of the Israelites and especially of those who were their chiefs, the scribes, namely, and Pharisees. Christ said about them, “To what shall I liken the men of this generation? (Commentary on Luke, Homily 39)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week24-2013.

“When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”” (Luke 7:13)

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Although there is grave sin that you cannot wash away yourself with the tears of your penitence, let the mother of the church weep for you. She who intercedes for all as a widowed mother for only sons is she who suffers with the spiritual grief of nature when she perceives her children urged on to death by mortal sins. We are heart of her heart, for there is also a spiritual heart that Paul has, saying, “Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.” We are the heart of the church, since we are members of his Body, of his flesh and of his bones. Let the pious mother grieve, let the crowd, too, help. Let not only the crowd but also a multitude feel pity for a good parent. Already at the funeral you will arise, already will you be released from the sepulcher; the attendants at your funeral will stand still, you will begin to speak words of life, all will be afraid; for very many are corrected by the example of one. They will praise God, who has bestowed upon us such great help for the avoidance of death.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week24-2013.

“Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.” (Luke 7:7)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“I am not worthy that you should enter my house. I am not capable of receiving the Sun of Righteousness in its entirety; a little radiance from it is sufficient for me to remove sickness, as it does for the darkness.” When our Lord heard this, he marveled at him. God marveled at a human being. He said to those who were near him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in anyone among the house of Israel have I found this kind of faith.” … The centurion had brought them, and he came so that they would be advocates on his behalf. He rebuked them because they did not possess his faith. To show that the centurion’s faith was the first of the faith of the Gentiles, he said, “Do not imagine that this faith can be limited to the centurion.” For he saw and believed. “Many will believe who have not seen.” “Many will come from the east and from the west and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, etc.” (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron, 6)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


μετάνοια (metanoia): a Word for Sunday, Week 24, 2013.

A word to ponder this Sunday comes from Luke 15:

“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance (μετανοίας, metanoias).” (Luke 15:7) and

“In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents (μετανοοῦντι, metanoouvti).” (Luke 15:10)

In the flow of undergraduate Scripture study, I often ask students the meaning of words that appear in the various translations of the Bible used in class. The exercise provides and opportunity to know where the students are in their approach to the Sacred Text and an entre to examine a particular word in its original Hebrew or Greek context.
Among the more challenging words that we explore in class is repentance or the verb to repent. Repentance translates the word μετάνοια (metanoia), a compound of the Greek prefix μετα (meta, “beyond”) and the Greek noun νοος (noos, “mind”). Literally, μετάνοια is “going beyond the mind” suggesting an action “from the heart.” This is certainly the way of living that the Divine Lawgiver had in mind when the Decalogue was offered to the Chosen People. The 10 prescriptions of the Covenant were not intended to be a mindless checklist of do’s and don’ts that ‘earned points with God,’ but a norm for experiencing true peace and happiness lived from the heart.

“The Prodigal Son” by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
As important as “from the heart” is in exploring the depth of μετάνοια, I was fortunate to stumble upon a description of μετάνοια years ago put forth by the Jesuit philosopher-theologian, Bernard Lonergan in his work, Method in Theology. Over the years, I have – with due respect and deference to Fr Lonergan – tailored the description in view of additional patristic and theological insights. With that in mind, I have found the following helpful as a starting point to ponder Jesus’ summons to His followers:
μετάνοια is a Grace initiated and sustained response to the Kingdom of God that is a radical transformation actively engaging all dimensions and levels of human living. μετάνοια consciously acknowledges that life is an interlocking and interdependent series of changes and developments expressive of relational living with God, others, the true self and all of creation. μετάνοια further involves transforming apprehensions (how one sees the world), sensitizing conscience and moral criteria (values) all as a continuous straining forward to receive the ‘call up’ from God the Father in Christ Jesus Our Lord through the Grace of the Holy Spirit.
Yes there is much to ponder in the description of what seems is to be simple and “from the heart.” Yet the affects and effects of Original Sin often limit what we think needs to be done in terms of repenting … if I just change this or change that – I will be fine, I will be done. The truth is that this side of the grave the work of μετάνοια is never done. It involves the ‘work’ of letting oneself be found. As the Lord’s Grace leads us onward and upward, μετάνοια is an affirmation not only of transformation that needs to occur, but more so the discovery of abundant riches of the Father’s loving mercy poured into our lives as Gift.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week24-2013.

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4)

Saint Basil the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Leaving those that have not strayed, the good Shepherd seeks you. If you will surrender yourself, he will not hold back. In his kindness, he will lift you up on his shoulders, rejoicing that he has found his sheep that was lost. The Father stands and awaits your return from your wandering. Only turn to him, and while you are still afar off, he will run and embrace your neck. With loving embraces, he will enfold you, now cleansed by your repentance…. He says, “Truly I say to you that there is joy in heaven before God over one sinner who repents.” If any one of those who seem to stand will bring a charge that you have been quickly received, the good Father himself will answer for you. He will say, “It is fitting that we should celebrate and be glad, for this my daughter was dead and is come to life again. She was lost and is found.” (Letter 46)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Exaltation of the Cross 2013.

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up ...” (John 3:14)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint John from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Justin writes:

“It seems that the type and sign that was erected to counteract the serpents that bit Israel was intended for the salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come thereafter on the serpent through him who would be crucified. But salvation was to come to those who had been bitten by him and had committed themselves to him who sent his Son into the world to be crucified. For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the beginning. And in Isaiah he tells us that he shall be put to death as an enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.

By this [lifting up of the serpent], he proclaimed the mystery where he declared that he would break the power of the serpent, which occasioned the transgression of Adam. He [would bring] salvation to those who believe on him because of this sign (i.e., his crucifixion) — salvation from the fangs of the serpent, which are wicked deeds, idolatries and other unrighteous acts. . . . Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the brazen serpent—and yet he is blameless — even so, though a curse lies in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse are saved.” (Dialogue with Trypho,, 94.)



Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. 2007, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this Feast during the Angelus of 11 September 2005.

An excerpt from a discourse on the Exaltation of the Cross by Saint Andrew of Crete appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

O God, Who willed that Your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven. 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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint John Chrysostom 2013.

“No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40)

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

“This parable he added as a most necessary attachment to what had been said. The blessed disciples were about to be the initiators and teachers of the world. It was necessary for them therefore to prove themselves possessed of everything piety requires. They must know the pathway of the evangelic mode of life and be workmen ready for every good work. They must be able to bestow upon well-instructed hearers such correct and saving teaching as exactly represents the truth. This they must do, as having already first received their sight and a mind illuminated with the divine light, lest they should be blind leaders of the blind. It is not possible for those enveloped in the darkness of ignorance to guide those who are afflicted in the same way into the knowledge of the truth. Should they attempt it, they will both roll into the ditch of carelessness.

He overthrew the bragging passion of boastfulness, which most give way, that they may not enviously strive to surpass their teachers in honor. He added, “The disciple is not above his teacher.” Even if some make such progress, as to attain to a virtue that rivals that of their teachers, they will range themselves no higher than their level and be their imitators. Paul shall again support us. He says, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.”” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 29)



Today is the memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, one of the four great Eastern Fathers of the Church. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI devoted two General Audiences to reflect on the life and teaching of Saint Gregory: 19 September 2007 audience and 26 September 2007 audience.

One of Saint John Chrysostom’s homilies is presented in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

O God,
strength of those who hope in You,
Who willed that the
Bishop Saint John Chrysostom
should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence
and his experience of suffering,
grant us, we pray, that,
instructed by his teachings,
we may be strengthened
through the example of his invincible patience.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Vocies ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week23-2013.

“But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” (Luke 6:35)

Saint Basil the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Lend to those from whom you do not hope to receive in return.” “And what sort of a loan is this,” he says, “to which there is no hope of a return attached?” Consider the force of the statement, and you will admire the kindness of the Lawmaker. When you have the intention of providing for a poor person for the Lord’s sake, it is at the same time both a gift and a loan. It is a gift because of the expectation of no repayment, but a loan because of the great gift of the Master who pays in his place and who, receiving trifling things through a poor person, will give great things in return for them.” (Homily on Psalm 14)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week23-2013.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.” (Luke 6:22)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“The Christian who has advanced by means of good discipline and the gift of the Spirit to the measure of the age of reason experiences glory and pleasure and enjoyment that is greater than any human pleasure. These come to one after grace is given to him, after being hated because of Christ, being driven, and enduring every insult and shame in behalf of his faith in God. For such a person, whose entire life centers on the resurrection and future blessings, every insult and scourging and persecution and the other sufferings leading up to the cross are all pleasure and refreshment and surety of heavenly treasures. For Jesus says, “Blessed are you when men reproach you and persecute you and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you; for my sake rejoice and exult because your reward is great in heaven.” (On the Christian Mode of Life)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week23-2013.

“… For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Since then it was impossible that our life, which had been estranged from God, should of itself return to the high and heavenly place, for this reason, as the apostle says, he who knew no sin is made sin for us and frees us from the curse by taking on him our curse as his own. Having taken up and, in the language of the apostle, “slain” in himself “the enmity” which by means of sin had come between us and God (in fact sin was the “enmity”) and having become what we were, he through himself again united humanity to God. For having by purity brought into closest relationship with the Father of our nature that new man which is created after God, in whom dwelled all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, he drew with him into the same grace all the nature that partakes of his body and is akin to him.” (Against Eunomious, 12)



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week23-2013. Saint Peter Claver.

“Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.” (Luke 6:10)

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.” That is the common and universal remedy. You who think that you have a healthy hand beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege. Hold it out often. Hold it out to the poor person who begs you. Hold it out to help your neighbor, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult. Hold it out to God for your sins. The hand is stretched forth; then it is healed. Jeroboam’s hand withered when he sacrificed to idols; then it stretched out when he entreated God.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)



Today is the memorial of Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit who worked among the many women and men who were removed from their homes in Africa and forcibly sold into slavery in ‘the New World.’ One of Saint Peter’s letters is presented in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings. Click here to find out more information about the Saint Peter Claver museum in Cartagena, Columbia.

O God,
Who made Saint Peter Claver
a slave of slaves and strengthened him
with wonder charity and patience
as he came to their help,
grant, through his intercession, that,
seeking the things of Jesus Christ,
we may love our neighbor in deeds and in truth.
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.



Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!


Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week23-2013.

“If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

Saint Symeon the New Theologian offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“I heard his holy voice speaking to all without distinction. “He who does not leave father and mother and brothers and all that he possesses and take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” I learned from Scripture and from experience itself that the cross comes at the end for no other reason than that we must endure trials and tribulations and finally voluntary death itself. In times past, when heresies prevailed, many chose death through martyrdom and various tortures. Now, when we through the grace of Christ live in a time of profound and perfect peace, we learn for sure that cross and death consist in nothing else than the complete putting to death of self-will. He who pursues his own will, however slightly, will never be able to observe the law of Christ the Savior.” (Discourses, 20)




The following excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship is a most appropriate text to ponder:

“Discipleship means adherence to Christ, and, because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship. An abstract Christology, a doctrinal system, a general religious knowledge on the subject of grace or on the forgiveness of sins, render discipleship superfluous, and in fact they positively exclude any idea of discipleship whatever, and are essentially inimical to the whole conception of following Christ. With an abstract idea it is possible to enter into a relation of formal knowledge, to become enthusiastic about it, and perhaps even to put it into practice; but it can never be followed in personal obedience. Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth that has a place for the Fatherhood of God, but omits Christ as the living Son. A Christianity of that kind is nothing more or less than the end of discipleship.”

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time — death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call.”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week22-2013

“While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.” (Luke 6:1-2)

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“The Lord Jesus begins to divest man [people] of the observation of the old law and clothes him with the new covering of grace not only through the understanding of words but also through the very usage and appearance of actions. Already on the sabbath, he leads him through the cornfields, that is, he brings him to what abounds in fruit. What the sabbath, the standing corn, and the ears mean to him is no small mystery. The field is this whole world, and the standing corn of the field is an abundant fruitfulness of saints in the sowing of the human race. The ears of the field are the fruits of the church that the apostles scattered with their works and on which they fed, sustaining themselves on our progress. The corn was already standing rich in abundant ears of virtues. The fruits of our merit are compared with these, because they also wither in a shower or are parched by the sun or soaked by the rain or shattered by storms or hoarded by the reapers in the storehouses of the blessed granaries. The earth has already received the Word of God, and the nourishing field sown with heavenly seed has brought forth abundant fruit. The disciples hungered for the salvation of humankind, and by the splendid miracles of their works they plucked as if from the husks of their bodies fruits of their minds to the light of faith. The Jews thought that this was not permitted on the sabbath, but Christ through the gift of new grace designated the idleness of the law as a work of grace.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week22-2013.

“And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.”” (Luke 5:33)

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Then in this passage, fasting represents the old garment that the apostle thought should be taken off. He said, “Strip yourselves of the old man with his deeds,” so that we may put on the new man, which is renewed by the sanctification of baptism. Then the series of teachings is suited to the same garment, lest we mix the deeds of the old and the new man, when the physical exterior performs the works of the flesh. The inner man, which is reborn, should not have the varied appearance of old and new actions but be the same color as Christ. With zeal of mind, it should imitate him for whom he was cleansed by baptism. So let the discolored coverings of the mind, which are displeasing to the Bridegroom, be absent, for one who has not a wedding garment is displeasing to him. What can please the Bridegroom, except peace of spirit, purity of heart and clarity of mind?” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week22-2013.

“Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.” (Luke 5:3)

Saint Maximus of Turin offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Ordinarily people are not given life on a boat but transported. Nor are they comforted on a vessel but anxious about its journey. Notice also that this boat is not a boat that is given to Peter to be piloted — rather, it is the church, which is committed to the apostle to be governed. For this is the vessel that does not kill but gives life to those borne along by the storms of this world as if by waves. Just as a little boat holds the dying fish that have been brought up from the deep, so also the vessel of the church gives life to human beings who have been freed from turmoil. Within itself, I say, the church gives life to those who are half-dead, as it were.” (Sermon 110)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week22-2013.

“After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her.” (Luke 4:38)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Jerome writes:

“Now Simon’s mother-in-law was kept in her bed sick with a fever.” May Christ come to our house and enter in and by his command cure the fever of our sins. Each one of us is sick with a fever. When-ever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers as there are faults and vices. Let us beg the apostles to intercede for us with Jesus, that he may come to us and touch our hand. If he does so, at once our fever is gone. He is an excellent physician and truly the chief Physician. Moses is a physician. Isaiah is a physician. All the saints are physicians, but He is the chief Physician.” (Homilies on the Gospels, 75)




In some areas of the world today (such as Holy Family University, Philadelphia PA), the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are celebrating the feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek.

From the Congregation’s website: “Sister Mary Stella CSFN, (Adela Mardosewicz) and her 10 companion sisters were executed by the Nazi regime on 1 August 1943 and buried in a common grave outside Nowogródek, then in Poland now part of Belarus.

In the wake of mass arrests the previous month in Nowogrodek, Sister Mary Stella and her companions prayed:

‘O God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us who are free from family obligations and spare those who have wives and children.’

Sr. Stella and her 10 companions were beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.”

O Most Blessed Trinity,
we praise and thank You
for the example of Blessed Mary Stella
and Her ten companions,
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth,
who by imitating Jesus Christ,
offered themselves as a sacrifice of love.
God of mercy and compassion,
through the merits of their martyrdom
and by their intercession,
grant us the grace we humbly ask…
(insert intention here)…
so that like them,
we may witness with our lives
to the presence of the Kingdom of God’s love
and extend it to the human family throughout the world.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Blessed Martyred Sisters of Nowogródek, pray for us.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Gregory the Great 2013.

“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34)

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

“Even when the demons spoke the truth, for they spoke the truth when they said, “Thou are the Son of God,” the Lord himself silenced them and forbade them to speak. He did this to keep them from sowing their own wickedness in the midst of the truth. He also wished us to get used to never listening to them even though they seem to speak the truth..” (The Life of Saint Antony, 26)



Today is the memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, one of the four great Western Fathers of the Church. In May 2008, Pope Benedict XVI devoted two General Audiences to reflect on the life and teaching of Saint Gregory: 28 May 2008 audience and 4 June 2008 audience.

One of Saint Gregory’s homilies on Ezekiel is presented in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

O God,
Who care for Your people
with gentleness and rule them in love,
through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory,
endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom
those to whom you have given authority to govern,
that the flourishing of a holy flock
may become the eternal joy of the shepherds.
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. Labor Day-Week22-2013

“The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” (Genesis 2:15)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following commentary on these verses taken from today’s Scripture (optional Readings for Labor Day):

“Although man was placed in paradise so as to work and guard it, that praiseworthy work was not toilsome. For the work in paradise is quite different from the work on the earth to which he was condemned after the sin. The addition “and to guard it” indicated the sort of work it was. For in the tranquility of the happy life, where there is no death, the only work is to guard what you possess.” (Two Books on Genesis Against the Manichaeans, 2)

Labor Day (USA). Monday-Week22-2013

“May Your favor, O Lord, be upon us, and may You give success to the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

COLLECT
O God, Who through human labor
never cease to perfect and govern
the vast work of creation,
listen to the supplications of Your people
and grant that all men and women
may find work that befits their dignity,
joins them more closely to one another
and enables them to serve their neighbor.
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.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)
Prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)
“Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation (Genesis 1:26-2:3.”


REFLECTION
Today’s reflection is an excerpt from Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Labor). Click here for the text of the entire encyclical.

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God himself, his Creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ-the Jesus at whom many of his first listeners in Nazareth “were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? ... Is not this the carpenter?’” For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by his deeds the “gospel,” the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to him. Therefore this was also “the gospel of work.” because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth. And if we do not find in his words a special command to work-but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life - at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: he belongs to the “working world”, he has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said that he looks with love upon human work and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father. Is it not he who says: “My Father is the vinedresser,” and in various ways puts into his teaching the fundamental truth about work which is already expressed in the whole tradition of the Old Testament, beginning with the Book of Genesis?

On the basis of these illuminations emanating from the Source himself, the Church has always proclaimed what we find expressed in modern terms in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: “Just as human activity proceeds from man, so it is ordered towards man. For when a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside of himself and beyond himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be garnered ... Hence, the norm of human activity is this: that in accord with the divine plan and will, it should harmonize with the genuine good of the human race, and allow people as individuals and as members of society to pursue their total vocation and fulfill it.”
Such a vision of the values of human work, or in other words such a spirituality of work, fully explains what we read in the same section of the Council’s Pastoral Constitution with regard to the right meaning of progress: “A person is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that people do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about.” This teaching on the question of progress and development – a subject that dominates present day thought-can be understood only as the fruit of a tested spirituality of human work; and it is only on the basis of such a spirituality that it can be realized and put into practice. This is the teaching, and also the program, that has its roots in “the gospel of work.””