“This saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.” (1 Timothy 3:1.)
Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:
“I want to be a bishop; oh, if only I were a bishop!” Would that you were! Are you seeking the name or the real thing? If it’s the real thing you’re seeking, you are setting your heart on a good work. If it’s the name you’re seeking, you can have it even with a bad work but with a worse punishment. So what shall we say? Are there bad bishops? Perish the thought, there aren’t any; yes, I have the nerve, the gall to say there are no bad bishops; because if they are bad, they aren’t bishops. You are calling me back again to the name and saying, “He is a bishop, because he is seated on the bishop’s throne.” And a straw scarecrow is guarding the vineyard.” (Sermon 340)
Collect
O God,
Who willed
that, when your Son
was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by
and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary
in the Passion of Christ,
may 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.
Who willed
that, when your Son
was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by
and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary
in the Passion of Christ,
may 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 the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
