Words of the Word

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Ordinary Time Week 5: Wednesday.

“... since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)” (Mark 7:19)

In commenting upon this verse from today’s Gospel proclaimed at today’s Mass, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“When we read in Leviticus and Deuteronomy of the laws about food as clean and unclean (for the transgression of which we are censured by the legalists and by the Ebionites, who differ from them very little), we are not to think that the scope of the Scripture is found in any superficial understanding of them. For “whatever goes into a person from the outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on.” According to Mark, the Savior “declared all food clean,” so we are not defiled when we eat those things declared to be unclean by those who still desire to be in bondage to the letter of the law. But we are then defiled when our lips, which ought to be bound with good judgment as we search for correct balance and weight, speak recklessly and discuss matters we ought not.” (Commentary on Matthew, 11)

Keep Your family safe, O Lord,
with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope
of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always
by Your protection.
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. Amen.

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 5: Tuesday.

“Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God)..." (Mark 7:11)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The Lord himself discussed that commandment of the law which says: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” He made it clear that it is to be interpreted not as mere words, which, while offering an empty show of honor to parents, might still leave them poor and their necessities unrelieved. Instead the honor of parents should focus on the actual provision of the necessities of life. The Lord commanded that poor parents should be supported by their children who would reimburse them back when they are old for all those benefits which they themselves received in childhood. The scribes and Pharisees instead were teaching children to honor their parents by saying: “It is corban, that is to say, a gift which I have promised to the altar and will present at the temple, where it will relieve you as much as if I were to give it to you directly to buy food.” So it frequently happened that while father and mother were destitute, their children were offering sacrifices for the priests and scribes to consume.” (Letter 123)

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 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)

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.

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: Sunday.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13)

In commenting upon this verse from today’s Gospel proclaimed at Sunday Mass, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Salt is useful for so many purposes in human life! What need is there to speak about this? Now is the proper time to say why Jesus’ disciples are compared with salt. Salt preserves meats from decaying into stench and worms. It makes them edible for a longer period. They would not last through time and be found useful without salt. So also Christ’s disciples, standing in the way of the stench that comes from the sins of idolatry and fornication, support and hold together this whole earthly realm.” (Fragment 91)

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 4: Saturday.

“I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you.” (I Kings 3:12)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading proclaimed at Mass:

“Since the narrative [of the Book of Kings] is accurate in the facts, nobody can have any doubt that Solomon received his noble sovereignty, his elevated thought and extraordinary power as a gift from God, thus it is evident that no one among those kings who were dead, nor among those who would succeed him, could be compared with him. It is certain, nevertheless, that these qualities, and others, which are described in the psalms about Solomon, mostly are to be transferred to Christ; otherwise the words [of these biblical passages] would not be in absolute and complete agreement with their meaning and truth. Therefore Christ is that prince of peace whose wisdom and royal power were never preceded in time or overcome in greatness. And before him no Son was born of an eternal nature or equal to the Father, nor after him will there ever be someone similar to him, as the Word, God says through another prophet: “Before me no god was formed, nor will be after me.” (On the First Book of Kings, 3)

Grant us, Lord our God,
that we may honor You with all our mind,
and love everyone in truth of heart.
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. Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Ordinary Time Week 4: Friday.

“He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.” (Mark 6:28)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“In what way, then, was this just man harmed by this demise, this violent death, these chains, this imprisonment? Who are those he did not set back on their feet — provided they had a penitent disposition — because of what he spoke, because of what he suffered, because of what he still proclaims in our own day — the same message he preached while he was living. Therefore, do not say: “Why was John allowed to die?” For what occurred was not a death, but a crown, not an end, but the beginning of a greater life. Learn to think and live like a Christian. You will not only remain unharmed by these events, but will reap the greatest benefits.” (On the Providence of God, 22)

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 4: Thursday. Saint Paul Miki and companions

“He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick — no food, no sack, no money in their belts.” (Mark 6:8)

Prudentius (formally known as Aurelius Clemens Prudentius) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“To wish for nothing more than need
demands
Is rest supreme, with simple food and dress
To feed and clothe our bodies and to seek
No more than is prescribed by nature’s
wants.
When going on a journey, take no purse, Nor of a second tunic think, and be Not anxious for the morrow, lest for food
The belly lack.
Our daily bread returns
With every sun.
Does any bird take thought
Of tomorrow, certain to be fed by God? (Spiritual Combat)

O God, strength of all the Saints,
Who through the Cross were pleased to call
the Martyrs Saint Paul Miki and companions to life,
grant, we pray, that by their intercession
we may hold with courage even until death
to the faith that we profess.
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. Amen.

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 4: Saint Agatha.

“So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.” (Mark 6:5)

In commenting upon this verses from today’s Gospel proclaimed at daily Mass, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“And perhaps, as in the case of metallic substances there exists in some a natural attraction toward some other thing, as in the magnet for iron, and in naphtha for fire, so there is an attraction in such faith toward the divine power according to what Jesus said: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, ‘Move to another place,’ and it shall be moved.” Matthew and Mark wished to present the all-surpassing value of that divine power as a power that works even in those who do not believe. But they did not deny that grace works even more powerfully among those who have faith. So it seems to me that they accurately said not that the Lord did not do any mighty works because of their unbelief, but that he did not do many there. Mark does not flatly say that he could do no mighty work there at all, and stop at that point, but added, “except that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them.” Thus the power in him overcame even their unbelief.” (Commentary on Matthew, 10)

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha
implore Your compassion for us, O Lord, we pray,
for she found favor with You
by the courage of her martyrdom
and the merit of her chastity.
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. Amen.

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 4: Tuesday.

“She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.” (Mark 5:27)

In commenting on these verses from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Peter Chrysologus writes:

“No seas were ever so troubled by the ebb and flow of the tide, as the mind of this woman, pulled to and fro by the sway of her thoughts. After all the hopeless strivings of physicians, after all her outlay on useless remedies, after all the usual but useless treatment, when skill and experience had so long failed, all her substance was gone. This was not by chance, but divinely ordered, that she might be healed solely through faith and humility, whom human knowledge had failed through so many years. At a little distance apart from him stood this woman, whom nature had filled with modesty, whom the law had declared unclean, saying of her: She shall be unclean and shall touch no holy thing.

She fears to touch, lest she incur the anger of the religious leaders, or the condemnation of the law. For fear of being talked about, she dares not speak, lest she embarrass those about her, lest she offend their ears. Through many years her body has been an arena of suffering. Everyday, unceasing pain she can endure no more. The Lord is passing by so quickly. The time is short to think what she must do, aware that healing is not given to the silent, nor to the one who hides her pain. In the midst of her conflicting thoughts, she sees a way, her sole way of salvation. She would secure her healing by stealth, take in silence what she dares not ask for, guarding her respect and modesty. She who feels unworthy in body, draws near in heart to the physician. In faith she touches God. With her hand she touches his garment, knowing that both healing and forgiveness may be bestowed on this stratagem, undertaken due to the demands of modesty, and not as she otherwise would have preferred. She knew the gain she sought by stealth would cause no loss to him from whom she took it. . . . In an instant, faith cures where human skill had failed through twelve years.” (Sermon 33)

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 4: Monday.

“But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” (Mark 5:19)

Saint Gregory the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“A legion of demons has been, as I believed, cast out of me. I would prefer merely to forget all of this that I have known and simply to rest at the feet of the Savior. But lo it is said to me, so strongly as to compel me against my will, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Epistle 5)

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