Voices ever ancient, ever new. Lent: Saturday after Ash Wednesday

“Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.” (Luke 5:29)

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

“People are hungry when Christ is absent and they lack the abundance of good desserts. Truly, one for whom his own virtue suffices for pleasure, who receives Christ in his own home, prepares a great feast. It is a spiritual banquet of good works, at which the rich people go without and the poor one feasts. It says, “The sons of the Bridegroom cannot fast while the Bridegroom is with them.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)

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Almighty ever-living God,
look with compassion on our weakness
and ensure us your protection
by stretching forth the right hand of your majesty.
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.

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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. Ordinary Time Week 6: Wednesday.

“He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?” (Mark 8:23)

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

“So too he placed mud upon you, that is, modesty, prudence, and consideration of your frailty. You went, you washed, you came to the altar, you began to see what you had not seen before. This means: Through the font of the Lord and the preaching of the Lord’s passion, your eyes were then opened. You who seemed before to have been blind in heart began to see the light of the sacraments.” (The Sacraments, 3)

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O God,
Who teach us that You abide
in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned by Your grace
as to become a dwelling pleasing 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.

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

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Ordinary Time Week 5: Monday. Saint Scholastica.

“Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.” (Mark 6:56)

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

“The Lord of hosts was not signaling weakness as he gave sight to the blind, made the crooked to stand upright, raised the dead to life, anticipated the effects of medicine at our prayers, and cured those who sought after him. Those who merely touched the fringe of his robe were healed. Surely you did not think it was some divine weakness, you speculators, when you saw him wounded. Indeed there were wounds that pierced his body, but they did not demonstrate weakness but strength. For from these wounds flowed life to all, from the One who was the life of all.” (On the Christian Faith, 4)

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As we celebrate anew
the memorial of the Virgin Saint Scholastica,
we pray, O Lord,
that, following her example,
we may serve You with pure love
and happily receive what comes from loving 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.

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