“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.
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!
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!
