“Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.” (Wisdom 1:13.)
Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading:
“God wants all to be saved. Thus Solomon says, “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.” He made the soul so that it would exist. He created human beings to be incorruptible, making them in his image. But they, straying from their natural duty, have become subject to death and are corrupted, because they were made from the earth. But, through trials, God compels them to penance, so that the evil that had appeared — wickedness — would be burned up, consumed and eliminated through penance, and the place in the soul that was dominated by the unrighteousness that had arisen would be opened to receive virtue and grace. Certainly the soul has a precious nature that, since it is made in the likeness of God, is capable of receiving every virtue.” (Exposition on the Psalms, 1.)
Collect
O God,
Who through the grace of adoption
chose us to be children of light,
grant, we pray,
that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error
but always be seen
to stand in the bright light of Truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Who through the grace of adoption
chose us to be children of light,
grant, we pray,
that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error
but always be seen
to stand in the bright light of Truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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
