“Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,” so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13.)
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:
“Give us this day our superessential bread.” Ordinary bread is not “superessential,” but this holy bread is superessential in the sense of being ordained for the essence of the soul. Not of this bread is it said that it “passes into the stomach and is discharged into the drain.” No, it is absorbed into your whole system to the benefit of both soul and body. By “this day” he means “daily,” as in Paul’s “while it is called ‘today.’” (Mystagogical Lectures, 5.)
“In the Old Testament, house of God and rest of God are parallel notions. God rests in his house (cf. Ps. 132:8, 14. 2Chr 6:41). Christians have the "heavenly vocation" (Heb. 3:1) to enter with Christ into the "rest of God." They are already part of the house of Christ and of God (3:6); by faith they are already entering into God's rest (4:3), but they are called upon to enter in a definitive and perfect way.” (Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, The Letter to the Hebrews: A New Commentary. Paulist Press 978-0809149285, page 88.)
“In the Old Testament, house of God and rest of God are parallel notions. God rests in his house (cf. Ps. 132:8, 14. 2Chr 6:41). Christians have the "heavenly vocation" (Heb. 3:1) to enter with Christ into the "rest of God." They are already part of the house of Christ and of God (3:6); by faith they are already entering into God's rest (4:3), but they are called upon to enter in a definitive and perfect way.” (Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, The Letter to the Hebrews: A New Commentary. Paulist Press 978-0809149285, page 88.)
Collect
O God,
Who brought the Abbot Saint Anthony
to serve You
by a wondrous way of life in the desert,
grant, through his intercession,
that, denying ourselves,
we may always love You above all things.
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 brought the Abbot Saint Anthony
to serve You
by a wondrous way of life in the desert,
grant, through his intercession,
that, denying ourselves,
we may always love You above all things.
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 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
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