Words of the Word

Easter, Week 2: Thursday.
Voices ever ancient, ever new: Saint John Chrysostom
Optional memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker

“The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven [is above all].” (John 3:31)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel reading:

“As the worm gnaws through the wood from which it is born, and rust destroys the iron from which it came, and moths consume fleece, so pride destroys the soul that nourishes it. Therefore we need perseverance to get rid of it. John himself can hardly subdue it in his disciples even with all of his cogent arguments. He has to say again what he has said above, “He that comes from above is above all.” He means: you make much of my testimony and say that the witness is more worthy to be believed than Jesus to whom I bear witness. Know this, that it is impossible for the one who comes from heaven to be accredited by an earthly witness. He is above all, being perfect in himself and above comparison.” (Homilies on the Gospel of John, 30)

O God, Who for the salvation of the world
brought about the paschal sacrifice,
be favorable to the supplications of Your people,
so that Christ our High Priest, interceding on our behalf,
may by His likeness to ourselves
bring us reconciliation,
and by His equality with You
free us from our sins.
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.

God our Father
You gave to us
the just-man
Saint Joseph,
who was completely
obedient to the call
of the Holy Spirit,
by being spouse to the Virgin Mother of God
and watching like a father over Jesus,
Your Only Begotten Son.

Gracious Father,
charge once again Saint Joseph,
patron of our parish,
to watch over us as he watched over
Mary and Your Son, Jesus:
• to know Your Will,
• to be given the grace to carry it out faithfully, and
• the wisdom to respond to Your love for us.

Saint Joseph, patron of our parish,
guard and protect us
from all that keeps us
from following more closely
Jesus, your son and Son of God,
in the unfolding mysteries
of the Father’s plan for our salvation.

As in all things,
we make this prayer
through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter, Week 2: Wednesday

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Let us praise the Son first of all, venerating the blood that expiated our sins. He lost nothing of his divinity when he saved me, when like a good physician he stooped to my festering wounds. He was a mortal man, but he was also God. He was of the race of David but Adam’s creator. He who has no body clothed himself with flesh. He had a mother who, nonetheless, was a virgin. He who is without bounds bound himself with the cords of our humanity. He was victim and high priest — yet he was God. He offered up his blood and cleansed the whole world. He was lifted up on the cross, but it was sin that was nailed to it. He became as one among the dead, but he rose from the dead, raising to life also many who had died before him. On the one hand, there was the poverty of his humanity; on the other, the riches of his divinity. Do not let what is human in the Son permit you wrongfully to detract from what is divine. For the sake of the divine, hold in the greatest honor the humanity, which the immortal Son took on himself for love of you.” (Poem 2)

As we recall year by year the mysteries
by which, through the restoration of its original dignity,
human nature has received the hope of rising again,
we earnestly beseech your mercy, Lord,
that what we celebrate in faith
we may possess in unending 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. Amen.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter, Week 2: Tuesday

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

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“Let me try to explain, as far as the Lord enables me to, what these signs mean. The rod stands for the kingdom, the snake for mortality. It was by the snake that humanity was given death to drink. The Lord was prepared to take this death on himself. So when the rod came down to earth it had the form of a snake because the kingdom of God, which is Jesus Christ, came down to earth. He put on mortality, which he also nailed to the cross. In his mercy God provided a remedy, a remedy that restored health at the time but also foretold the wisdom that was to come in the future. Whoever has been bitten by the snakes of sin need only gaze on Christ and will have healing for the forgiveness of sins. And so, brothers, it is the mortality that the Lord took on himself that the church must go on experiencing as his body, of which he is the head, as man, in heaven. So the church experiences mortality, which was inflicted through the seduction of the serpent. We owe death to the sin of the first persons, but afterward we shall reach eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But when does the church arrive at life and return to the kingdom? At the end of the world. That is why he took it by the tail, which is the end, in order to restore his rod to its original condition.” (Sermon 6)

Enable us, we pray, almighty God,
to proclaim the power of the risen Lord,
that we, who have received the pledge of his gift,
may come to possess all he gives
when it is fully 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. Amen.

O God,
Who set Saint Catherine of Siena
on fire with divine love in her contemplation
of the Lord’s Passion and
her service of Your Church,
grant, through her intercession, that your people,
participating in the mystery of Christ,
may ever exult in the revelation of His glory.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter, Week 2: Monday

“Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” (John 3:5)

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

“First of all, it is necessary that the continuity of the old life be cut. And this is impossible unless one is born again, according to the Lord’s word. For the regeneration, as indeed the name shows, is a beginning of a second life. So before beginning the second, it is necessary to put an end to the first. For just as in the case of runners who turn and take the second course, a kind of break and pause intervenes between the movements in the opposite direction, so also in making a change in lives it seems necessary for death to come as mediator between the two, ending all that goes before, and beginning all that comes after.” (On the Holy Spirit, 15)

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who have been renewed by paschal remedies,
transcending the likeness of our earthly parentage,
may be transformed in the image of our heavenly maker.
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.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter 2014, the Second Sunday

“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” (John 20:27)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa offers the following insight on these verses from today's Gospel:

“Once he had accustomed people to seeing the miracle of resurrection in other bodies, he confirmed his word in his own humanity. You already received a glimpse of that word working in others — those who were about to die, the child who had just ceased to live, the young man at the edge of the grave, the putrefying corpse, all alike restored by one command to life. Now look at him whose hands were pierced with nails, look at him whose side was transfixed with a spear. Pass your fingers through the print of the nails, thrust your hand into the spear wound. You could surely guess how far within your hand would reach by the breadth of the external scar since the wound that gives admission to the hand shows to what depth the iron entered. If he then has been raised, well may we utter the apostle’s exclamation, “How do some say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Since, then, every prediction of the Lord is shown to be true by the testimony of events — in fact, we not only learned this from his words but also received the proof in his deeds from the very same people who returned to life by resurrection — what other occasion is left for those who do not believe? Let us rather bid farewell to those who pervert our simple faith by “philosophy and vain deceit.” Let us instead hold on to our confession [of the resurrection] in its purity, a confession that we have learned through the gracious words of the prophet, “You shall take away their breath, and they shall fail and turn to dust. You shall then send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.” (On the Making of Man, 25)

God of everlasting mercy,
Who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast
kindle the faith of the people You have made Your own,
increase, we pray, the grace You have bestowed,
that all may grasp and rightly understand
in what font they have been washed,
by Whose Spirit they have been reborn,
by Whose Blood they have been redeemed.
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.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter Saturday 2014

“After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country.” (Mark 16:12)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“Jesus appeared; he was visible to their eyes, yet he was not recognized. The master walked with them on the way; in fact, he was the way on which they were not yet walking; but he found that they had wandered some distance from the way. For when he was with them before his passion, he had foretold all — that he would suffer, that he would die, that he would rise again on the third day — he had predicted all; but his death was as a loss of memory for them. They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind.” (Sermon 235)

O God, who by the abundance of your grace
give increase to the peoples who believe in you,
look with favor on those you have chosen
and clothe with blessed immortality
those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism.
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.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter Friday 2014

“Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.” (John 20:13)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“Mystically, the broiled fish is Christ who suffered. And he is the bread that came down from heaven. The church is united to his body in order to participate in everlasting blessedness. This is why he says, “Bring of the fish that you have now caught,” in order to signify that all of us who have this hope and are in that number seven of disciples, which represents the universal church here, partake of this great sacrament and are admitted to this bliss.” (Tractate on the Gospel of John, 123)

Almighty ever-living God,
who gave us the Paschal Mystery
in the covenant you established
for reconciling the human race,
so dispose our minds, we pray,
that what we celebrate by professing the faith
we may express in deeds.
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.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter Thursday 2014

“While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, He [Jesus] asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of baked fish; He took it and ate it in front of them.” (Luke 24:41-43)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“While they were still flustered for joy, they were rejoicing and doubting at the same time. They were seeing and touching, and scarcely believing. What a tremendous favor grace has done us! We have neither seen nor touched, and we have believed. While they were still flustered for joy, he said, “Have you got here anything to eat? Certainly you can believe that I am alive and well if I join you in a meal.” They offered him what they had: a portion of grilled fish. Grilled fish means martyrdom, faith proved by fire. Why is it only a portion? Paul says, “If I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” Imagine a complete body of martyrs. Some suffer because of love, while others suffer out of pride. Remove the pride portion, offer the love portion. That is the food for Christ. Give Christ his portion. Christ loves the martyrs who suffered out of love.” (Sermon 229)

O God, who have united the many nations
in confessing your name,
grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds.
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.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter Wednesday 2014.

“... but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him [Jesus].” (Luke 24:16)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

““We,” they said, “had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” O my dear disciples, you had hoped! So now you no longer hope? Look, Christ is alive! Is hope dead in you? Certainly, certainly, Christ is alive! Christ, being alive, found the hearts of his disciples dead, as he appeared and did not appear to their eyes. He was at one and the same time seen and concealed. I mean, if he wasn’t seen, how could they have heard him questioning them and answered his questions? He was walking with them along the road like a companion and was himself the leader. Of course he was seen, but he wasn’t recognized. For their eyes were restrained, as we heard, so that they wouldn’t recognize him. They weren’t restrained so that they wouldn’t see him, but they were held so that they wouldn’t recognize him.

Ah yes, brothers and sisters, but where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the breaking of bread. We’re all right, nothing to worry about — we break bread, and we recognize the Lord. It was for our sake that he didn’t want to be recognized anywhere but there, because we weren’t going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So if you’re a believer, any of you, if you’re not called a Christian for nothing, if you don’t come to church pointlessly, if you listen to the Word of God in fear and hope, you may take comfort in the breaking of bread. The Lord’s absence is not an absence. Have faith, and the one you cannot see is with you. Those two, even when the Lord was talking to them, did not have faith, because they didn’t believe he had risen. Nor did they have any hope that he could rise again. They had lost faith, lost hope. They were walking along, dead, with Christ alive. They were walking along, dead, with life itself. Life was walking along with them, but in their hearts life had not yet been restored.” (Sermon 235)

O God, who gladden us year by year
with the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection,
graciously grant
that, by celebrating these present festivities,
we may merit through them to reach eternal joys.
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.

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. Easter Tuesday 2014.

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”” (John 20:15)

Saint Gregory the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Perhaps this woman was not as mistaken as she appeared to be when she believed that Jesus was a gardener. Was he not spiritually a gardener for her when he planted the fruitful seeds of virtue in her heart by the force of his love? But why did she say to the one she saw and believed to be the gardener, when she had not yet told him whom she was seeking, “Sir, if you have taken him away?” She had not yet said who it was who made her weep from desire or mentioned him of whom she spoke. But the force of love customarily brings it about that a heart believes everyone else is aware of the one of whom it is always thinking. After he had called her by the common name of “woman,” he called her by her own name, as if to say, “Recognize him who recognizes you.” And so because Mary was called by name, she acknowledged her creator and called him at once “Rabboni,” that is, “teacher.” He was both the one she was outwardly seeking and the one who was teaching her inwardly to seek him.” (Forty Gospel Homilies, 25)

O God, who have bestowed on us paschal remedies,
endow your people with heavenly gifts,
so that, possessed of perfect freedom,
they may rejoice in heaven
over what gladdens them now on earth.
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. Easter Monday 2014.

“And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.” (Matthew 28:9)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“After they had departed with fear and joy, Jesus met them, saying, “Hail!” They ran to him with great joy and gladness. They “took hold of his feet.”

Thus they received by his touch an irrefutable proof of his resurrection, with full personal assurance of it. And they “worshiped him.”

What does he then say? “Do not be afraid.” Again, Jesus himself casts out their fear, making room for faith: “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Note well how he himself sends good tidings to his disciples by these women. He thereby brings honor to women, as I have so often said, honor to that sex which is most prone to be dishonored. Through these women he brings good hope and the healing of that which was diseased.

Some among you may desire to be like these faithful women. You too may wish to take hold of the feet of Jesus. You can, even now. You can embrace not only his feet but also his hands and even his sacred head. You too can today receive these awesome mysteries with a pure conscience. You can embrace him not only in this life but also even more fully on that day when you shall see him coming with unspeakable glory, with a multitude of the angels. If you are so disposed, along with him, to be compassionate, you shall hear not only these words, “All hail!” but also those others: “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 89)

O God, who give constant increase
to your Church by new offspring,
grant that your servants may hold fast in their lives
to the Sacrament they have received in faith.
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, Easter: the First Sunday

“Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.” (Matthew 28:8)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“He calls upon them not only to behold the evidence but to attest it further to others: “Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.” The angel here is preparing the women to take the good news to the other disciples. They are to tell of the evidence that made them believe — the empty tomb. Furthermore, “He is going before you to Galilee.” He says this to relieve them from anxieties and the fear of danger, that their faith not be hindered.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 89)

O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light 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. Easter Triduum 2014: Holy Saturday morning

“Therefore, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings:

“He says that there are “three” rests: one, that of the sabbath, in which God rested from works; the second, that of Palestine, in which, when the Jews had entered, they would be at rest from their hardships and labors; the third, that which is rest indeed, the kingdom of heaven, where those who obtain it do indeed rest from their labors and troubles. Of these three then he makes mention here. And why did he mention the three, when he is speaking only of the one? That he might show that the prophet is speaking concerning this one. For he did not speak, he says, concerning the first. For how could he, when that had taken place long before? Nor yet again concerning the second, that in Palestine. For how could he? For he says, “They shall not enter into my rest.” It remains, therefore, that it is this third.” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 6)

All-powerful and ever-living God,
Your only Son went down among the dead
and rose again in glory.
In Your goodness
raise up your faithful people,
buried with him in baptism,
to be one with Him
in the everlasting life of heaven,
where He lives and reigns with You and 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. Easter Triduum 2014: Good Friday, morning.

“Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.” (John 18:18)

Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from the Passion according to Saint John:

“The Evangelist John says, “It was cold.” If we consider the season, it could not have been cold. But it was cold where Jesus was not acknowledged, where there was none to see the light, where the consuming fire was denied. Peter stood beside the brazier, because he felt he was freezing. Evil is the ... flame [that night]. It burns but does not warm. Evil is the hearth that scatters a soot of error even on the minds of the saints because even the inner eyes of Peter were darkened.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 10)

Remember your mercies, O Lord,
and with your eternal protection sanctify your servants,
for whom Christ your Son,
by the shedding of his Blood,
established the Paschal Mystery.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Easter Triduum 2014: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

“Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feetd and dry them with the towel around his waist.” (John 13:5)

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

“I find the Lord divesting himself of his garments and girding himself with a towel, pouring water into a basin, washing the feet of his disciples. This water was that heavenly dew with which, it was prophesied, the Lord Jesus would wash the feet of his disciples. And now let the feet of our souls be extended. The Lord Jesus wishes to wash our feet also. There is a kind of water that we pour into the basin of our soul, water from the fleece and from the Book of Judges, water from the Book of Psalms. The water is the dew of the heavenly message. Therefore, Lord Jesus, let this water come into my soul, into my flesh, that by the moisture of this rain the valleys of our minds and the fields of our inmost heart may grow green. Let your drops come on me, sprinkling grace and immortality. Wash the steps of my mind that I may not sin again. Wash off the heel of my spirit that I may be able to abolish the curse so that I may not feel the bite of the serpent on my inner foot, but, as you yourself have ordered your followers, that I may have the power with uninjured foot to tread on the serpents and scorpions. You have redeemed the world. Redeem the soul of one sinner.” (On the Holy Spirit, 1)

O God, who have called us to participate
in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church
a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of his love,
grant, we pray,
that we may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and 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.

Preface

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give You thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
through Christ our Lord.

For he is the true and eternal Priest,
who instituted the pattern of an everlasting sacrifice
and was the first to offer himself as the saving Victim,
commanding us to make this offering as his memorial.
As we eat his flesh that was sacrificed for us,
we are made strong,
and, as we drink his Blood that was poured out for us,
we are washed clean.

And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts . . .

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. Holy Week 2014: Thursday, The Chrism Mass

“Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” (Luke 4:20

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at today’s Chrism Mass:

“When Jesus had read this passage, he rolled up “the scroll, gave it to the servant, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.” Now too, if you want it, your eyes can be fixed on the Savior in this synagogue, here in this assembly. When you direct the principal power of seeing in your heart to wisdom and truth and to contemplating God’s Only-Begotten, your eyes gaze on Jesus. Blessed is that congregation of which Scripture testifies that “the eyes of all were fixed on him!” How much would I wish that this assembly gave such testimony. I wish that the eyes of all (of catechumens and faithful, of women, men and children)—not the eyes of the body, but the eyes of the soul—would gaze upon Jesus. When you look to him, your faces will be shining from the light of his gaze. You will be able to say, “The light of your face, Lord, has made its mark upon us.” (Homilies on the Gospel of Luke, 32)

O God,
Who anointed your Only Begotten Son
with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made sharers in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
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.

Please remember all priests in your prayers today. During the Chrism Mass, priests will renew the promises each made the day he was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ in the line of Melchizedek. The bishop will ask:

Beloved sons,
on the anniversary of that day
when Christ our Lord conferred his priesthood
on his Apostles and on us,
are you resolved to renew,
in the presence of your Bishop and God’s holy people,
the promises you once made?

Are you resolved to be more united with the Lord Jesus
and more closely conformed to him,
denying yourselves and confirming those promises
about sacred duties towards Christ’s Church
which, prompted by love of him,
you willingly and joyfully pledged
on the day of your priestly ordination?

Are you resolved
to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God
in the Holy Eucharist and the other liturgical rites
and to discharge faithfully
the sacred office of teaching,
following Christ the Head and Shepherd,
not seeking any gain,
but moved only by zeal for souls?

As for you, dearest sons and daughters,
pray for your Priests,
that the Lord may pour out his gifts
abundantly upon them,
and keep them faithful
as ministers of Christ, the High Priest,
so that they may lead you to him,
who is the source of salvation.

And pray also for me,
that I may be faithful to the apostolic office
entrusted to me in my lowliness
and that in your midst I may be made day by day
a living and more perfect image of Christ,
the Priest, the Good Shepherd,
the Teacher and the Servant of all.

May the Lord keep us all in his charity
and lead all of us,
shepherds and flock,
to eternal life.

Preface

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give You thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For by the anointing of the Holy Spirit
you made your Only Begotten Son
High Priest of the new and eternal covenant,
and by your wondrous design were pleased to decree
that his one Priesthood should continue in the Church.

For Christ not only adorns with a royal priesthood
the people he has made his own,
but with a brother’s kindness he also chooses men
to become sharers in his sacred ministry
through the laying on of hands.

They are to renew in his name
the sacrifice of human redemption,
to set before your children the paschal banquet,
to lead your holy people in charity,
to nourish them with the word
and strengthen them with the Sacraments.

As they give up their lives for you
and for the salvation of their brothers and sisters,
they strive to be conformed to the image of Christ himself
and offer you a constant witness of faith and love.

And so, Lord, with all the Angels and Saints,
we, too, give you thanks, as in exultation we acclaim:

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. Holy Week 2014: Wednesday

“... and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.” (Matthew 26:15-16)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Let us consider what Judas said to the Jewish priests: “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” He was willing to take money in exchange for handing over the Word of God. They do the same thing who accept sensual or worldly goods in exchange for handing over and casting out from their souls the Savior and Word of truth who came to dwell with them. Indeed, it would be fitting to apply Judas’s example to all who show contempt for the Word of God and betray him, as it were, by committing sin for the sake of money or for any selfish motive. People who behave in this way appear openly to be calling out to the powers of the enemy who offer worldly gain in return for the sin of betraying God’s Word, saying, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?”

And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.” The number of coins they gave Judas was equivalent to the number of years the Savior had sojourned in this world. For at the age of thirty, he was baptized and began to preach the gospel, like Joseph was thirty years old when he began to gather grain for his brothers. Just as at that time the grain was prepared by God for the sons of Israel but given also to the Egyptians, so also the gospel was prepared for the saints but preached also to the unfaithful and wicked.” (Commentary on Matthew, 78)

O God,
Who willed Your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us
the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants,
to attain the grace 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. Amen.

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. Holy Week 2014: Tuesday.

“So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.” (John 13:30)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“The Savior said to Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly,” and for once the betrayer obeys the teacher. For when he had received the morsel, he neither hesitated nor procrastinated, but as it is written, “he went out immediately” to do quickly the work of betrayal in accordance with Jesus’ command. And “he went out” truly, for he not only went out of the house in which the supper was held, according to the simpler meaning, but he also went out from Jesus in a final sense, analogous to the statement “they went out from us.

“And it was night,” has not been interjected in vain by the Evangelist. The perceptible night at that time was symbolic, being an image of the night that was in Judas’s soul when Satan, the darkness that lies over the abyss, entered him.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 32)

Almighty ever-living God,
grant us so to celebrate
the mysteries of the Lord’s Passion
that we may merit to receive 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. Amen.

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. Holy Week 2014: Monday

“So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”” (John 12:7-8)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

So powerful is the praise of a good work of this kind that it exhorts all of us to fill the Lord’s head with fragrant and rich works so that it may be said also of us that we have done a good work on his head. Because as long as we are in this life we will always have the poor with us, and those who have advanced in word and have become rich in the wisdom of God need to care for them, but [this] cannot be equal to having always with them, by night and day, the Son of God, the Word and Wisdom of God, and whatever also the Lord our Savior is.” (Commentary on Matthew, 77)

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, though in our weakness we fail,
we may be revived through
the Passion of your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

“hen one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.” (Matthew 26:14-16)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

Judas means “confessor.” Luke the Evangelist numbers both “Judas the son of James and Judas Iscariot” among the twelve apostles. Since two of Christ’s disciples were given this same name and since there can be no meaningless symbol in the Christian mystery, I am convinced that the two Judases represent two distinct types of confessing Christians. The first, symbolized by Judas the son of James, perseveres in remaining faithful to Christ. The second type, however, after once believing and professing faith in Christ, then abandons him out of greed. He defects to the heretics and to the false priests of the Jews, that is, to counterfeit Christians, and (insofar as he is able) delivers Christ, the “Word of truth,” over to them to be crucified and destroyed. This type of Christian is represented by Judas Iscariot, who “went out to the chief priests” and agreed on a price for betraying Christ.

“Let us consider what Judas said to the Jewish priests: “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” He was willing to take money in exchange for handing over the Word of God. They do the same thing who accept sensual or worldly goods in exchange for handing over and casting out from their souls the Savior and Word of truth who came to dwell with them. Indeed, it would be fitting to apply Judas’s example to all who show contempt for the Word of God and betray him, as it were, by committing sin for the sake of money or for any selfish motive. People who behave in this way appear openly to be calling out to the powers of the enemy who offer worldly gain in return for the sin of betraying God’s Word, saying, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?”

“And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.” The number of coins they gave Judas was equivalent to the number of years the Savior had sojourned in this world. For at the age of thirty, he was baptized and began to preach the gospel, like Joseph was thirty years old when he began to gather grain for his brothers. Just as at that time the grain was prepared by God for the sons of Israel but given also to the Egyptians, so also the gospel was prepared for the saints but preached also to the unfaithful and wicked.” (Commentary on Matthew, 78)

Almighty ever-living God,
who as an example of humility
for the human race to follow
caused our Savior to take flesh
and submit to the Cross,
graciously grant that we may heed
His lesson of patient suffering
and so merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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. Lent, Week 5: Saturday

“So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.” (John 11:47)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“I think the phrase “this man” was used to diminish [Jesus’] glory because they did not believe what was said above about him being God. Notice both the audacity and the blindness of their evil. It was audacious because they had already witnessed the fact that he had performed many signs, and yet they thought they could plot against him — as if he could do nothing when they plotted against him. On the other hand, they were no less blind either because it makes more sense to be on the side of someone who performs such miracles than [to be a part of ] the plot of those who do not want to allow him to live. Or perhaps they thought that he performed signs that were not the result of divine power and that this was why he could not do all things or deliver himself from their plot. They resolved, therefore, not to let him live, thinking that they would place an impediment in the way of those who believed in him and also prevent the Romans from taking away their place and nation.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 28)

O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ
a chosen race and a royal priesthood,
grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command,
that the people called to eternal life
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds.
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.

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. Lent, Week 5: Friday

“If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside...” (John 10:35)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“If the word of God came to people, that they might be called gods, how can the very Word of God, who is with God, be other than God? If by the word of God people become gods, if by participation they become gods, can he in whom they participate not be God? If lights that are lit are gods, is the light that enlightens not God? If through being warmed in a way by saving fire they are constituted gods, is he who gives them the warmth other than God? You approach the light and are enlightened and numbered among the children of God. If you withdraw from the light, you fall into obscurity and are counted as being in darkness; but that light does not approach because it never recedes from itself. If, then, the word of God makes you gods, how can the Word of God be other than God?” (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 48)

Pardon the offenses of your peoples,
we pray, O Lord,
and in your goodness set us free
from the bonds of the sins
we have committed in our weakness.
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.

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. Lent, Week 5: Thursday

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” (John 8:51)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“For what is that death that has come into the world through sin if it is not the last enemy of Christ that will be destroyed? And what is that death that passed to all people because all have sinned if it is not this very death that also reigned from Adam to Moses? Now Moses, that is, the law, continued until the sojourn of our Lord Jesus and ruled by one man’s transgression through that one man, until those who have received the abundance of grace and righteousness should reign in life through the one Christ Jesus. Whoever, then, has kept the word of the Only Begotten and Firstborn of creation will never see this death, since it is the nature of the Word to prevent death from being seen. And this is how we must understand the words “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” It is as if he who speaks these words had given those who hear them light as a gift and said, If anyone keeps this light of mine, he will never see darkness.” (Commentary on John, 20)

Be near, O Lord, to those who plead before you,
and look kindly on those who place their hope in your mercy,
that, cleansed from the stain of their sins,
they may persevere in holy living
and be made full heirs of your promise.
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.

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. Lent, Week 5: Wednesday

“I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you.” (John 8:37)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“It is also possible for one who happens to be the [biological] seed of Abraham by diligence to become his [spiritual] child. And it is possible, by neglect and poor stewardship, for one to cease to be his seed. There was still hope for them, however, to whom the saying was addressed. Jesus knew that they were the seed of Abraham and saw that they had not yet lost the ability to become children of Abraham. Since it was possible for them to become children of Abraham in addition to being his seed, he said, “If you are the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.” But just as some are seed of Abraham, so others are really “seed of Canaan, not of Judah,” as Daniel says.

But if, in addition to being seed of Abraham, they had cultivated the seed of Abraham and given it over to greatness and growth, the word of Jesus would have produced great growth in the seed of Abraham. . . . But those who wished to kill the Word and to crush him did not contain his greatness. If any one of us is seed of Abraham and the Word of God does not continue in him still, let him not seek to kill the Word. Let him change from merely being seed of Abraham to becoming a child of Abraham, and he will be able to take in the Word of God, whom he did not have till then.” (Commentary on John, 20)

Enlighten, O God of compassion,
the hearts of your children, sanctified by penance,
and in your kindness
grant those you stir to a sense of devotion
a gracious hearing when they cry out to 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. Amen.

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. Lent, Week 5: Tuesday

“He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.” (John 8:23)

Origen of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

But pay attention, if you also desire to learn from Scripture who it is who is from below and who it is who is from above. Since each person’s treasure is where his heart is, if someone stores up treasure on earth, by the very act of storing up treasure on earth he is from below. But if someone stores up treasure in heaven, that person is born from above and assumes “the image of the heavenly.” And in addition, when this person has passed through all the heavens, he is found to have reached the most blessed goal.” (Commentary on John, 19)

Grant us, we pray, O Lord,
perseverance in obeying your will,
that in our days the people dedicated to your service
may grow in both merit and number.
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.

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. Lent, Week 5: Monday

“They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.” (John 8:6)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“He wrote with his finger on the ground, as if indicating that the names of people like these men were to be written in earth, not in heaven, which is where he told his disciples they should rejoice that their names were written. Or perhaps he meant to convey the idea of humility when he bowed his head [to write on the ground]; or he wrote on the ground to signify that the time had now arrived when his law should be written on soil that would bear fruit and not on sterile stone, as before.” (Harmony of the Gospels, 4)

O God, by whose wondrous grace
we are enriched with every blessing,
grant us so to pass from
former ways to newness of life, that we may be made ready
for the glory of the heavenly Kingdom.
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.

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. Lent, Week 4: Saturday

“Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?” (John 7:40-41)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“They were so astonished at his divine confidence, seeing that his words could no longer be gauged in human terms, that they revert to their recollection of the law as having already declared beforehand concerning the Christ and saying that a prophet would be raised up similar to the all-wise Moses who should interpret to Israel the words from God. From the quality therefore of his words and the superiority of his sayings they say that he is already shown to be the one who was heralded in the law. They thought that the Christ would be someone other than the prophet of the law. Whereas two were supposed to come, I mean, the prophet of the law, that is, Christ, and Elijah — they were looking for three, imagining that the prophet was other than Jesus. But we must observe that they were already fully prepared to believe. They are persuaded by the Savior’s words to marvel at him. And yet, without guidance from their rulers, they are borne along a many-branching path of ideas. Some call him and now believe him to be the Christ, others that he is the prophet.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 5)

May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray,
direct our hearts aright,
for without your grace
we cannot find favor in your sight.
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.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Lent, Week 5: Friday

“But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret.” (John 7:10)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Let us examine, then, what thing to come was foreshadowed in this feast day. I have explained what this Feast of Tabernacles was. It was a celebration of tabernacles because the people, after their deliverance from Egypt wandered through the wilderness on their way to the promised land dwelling in tents. As we begin to observe what this feast is, we will see how it applies to us if we are members of Christ — but we are, he having made us worthy, not we having earned it for ourselves. Let us then consider ourselves, brothers: We have been led out of Egypt, where we were slaves to the devil as to Pharaoh, where we applied ourselves to works of clay, engaged in earthly desires and worked exceedingly hard. And, while laboring, as it were, at the bricks, Christ cried aloud to us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden.” From there we were led out by baptism as through the Red Sea — red because it is consecrated by the blood of Christ. All our enemies that pursued us were dead, that is, all our sins were blotted out, and we have been brought over to the other side.

At the present time, then, before we come to the land of promise, namely, the eternal kingdom, we are in the wilderness in tabernacles. Those who acknowledge these things are in tabernacles; for it was destined that some would acknowledge this. That person who understands that he is a stranger in this world is, as it were, in a tabernacle. That person understands that he is traveling in a foreign country when he sees himself sighing for his native land. But while the body of Christ is in tabernacles, Christ is in tabernacles. But at that time he was so secretly and not out in the open. For as yet the shadow obscured the light. When the light came, the shadow was removed. Christ was in secret: he was there in the feast of tabernacles, but hidden. At the present time, when these things are already made known, we acknowledge that we are journeying in the wilderness. If we recognize it, then we are in the wilderness.

What is it to be in the wilderness? It is to be in the desert wasteland. Why in the desert wasteland? Because it means we are in this world, where we thirst in a way in which there is no water [to satisfy]. Yet, let us thirst that we may be filled. For “blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” And our thirst is quenched from the rock in the wilderness. For “the Rock was Christ,” and it was struck with a rod so that the water might flow. But that it might flow, the rock was struck twice, suggesting the two beams of the cross. All these things, then, that were once done in a figure are now made known to us. And it is not without meaning that it was said of the Lord, “He went up to the feast day, but not openly, but as it were in secret.” For himself being in secret was what was prefigured because Christ was hid in that same festal day. For that very festal day signified Christ’s members that were to sojourn in a foreign land.” (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 28)

O God, who have prepared
fitting helps for us in our weakness,
grant, we pray, that we may receive
their healing effects with joy
and reflect them in a holy way 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. Amen.

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. Lent, Week 4: Thursday

“How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“He accuses the Pharisees of a love for power and of prizing honors from people. He is covertly hinting that it is exceedingly inadvisable to put the diseases of their own soul on God, who can by no means have anything to do with disease. He goes on to say that they, held fast by an empty kind of glory, thereby lose the fairest prize, meaning faith in him. Paul speaks clearly of this too when he says, “For if I were yet pleasing people, I should not be Christ’s servant.” It is almost always necessarily the case that those who hunt for honors from people fail when it comes to the glory that comes from above and from the only God.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 3)

We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord,
that you may cause us, your servants,
corrected by penance and schooled by good works,
to persevere sincerely in your commands
and come safely to the paschal festivities.
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.

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