You will find everything in the Lord’s Prayer



Saint Augustine of Hippo
Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from The Letter to Proba (Letter 130)

ORDINARY TIME: Week 29, Wednesday

We read, for example: May you receive glory among all the nations as you have among us, and May your prophets prove themselves faithful. What does this mean but Hallowed be your name?

We read: Lord of power and might, touch our hearts and show us your face, and we shall be saved. What does this mean but Your kingdom come?

We read: Direct my ways by your word, and let no sin rule over me. What does this mean but Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?

We read: Do not give me poverty or riches. What does this mean but Give us this day our daily bread?

We read: Lord, remember David and all his patient suffering, and Lord, if I have done this, if there is guilt on my hands, if I have repaid evil for evil. What does that mean but Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?

We read: Rescue me, God, from my enemies, deliver me from those who rise up against me. What does this mean but Deliver us from evil?

If you study every word of the petitions of Scripture, you will find, I think, nothing that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray, then, we may use different words to say the same things, but we may not say different things.

We should not hesitate to make these prayers for ourselves, for our friends, for strangers, and even for enemies, though the emotions in our heart may vary with the strength or weakness of our relationships with individuals.

You now know, I think, the attitudes you should bring to prayer, as well as the petitions you should make, and this not because of what I have taught you but thanks to the teaching of the one who has been pleased to teach us all.

We must search out the life of happiness, we must ask for it from the Lord our God. Many have discussed at great length the meaning of happiness, but surely we do not need to go to them and their long drawn out discussions. Holy Scripture says concisely and with truth: Happy is the people whose God is the Lord. We are meant to belong to that people, and to be able to see God and live with him forever, and so the object of this command is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and a sincere faith.

In these three qualities, “a good conscience” stands for “hope.” Faith, hope and love bring safely to God the person who prays, that is, the person who believes, who hopes, who desires, and who ponders what he is asking of the Lord in the Lord’s Prayer.

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

 






Memorial: Saint Teresa of Jesus



“I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8.)

Saint Cyprian of Carthage comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“In the Gospel, the Lord speaks saying, “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me, even I will deny him.” He does not deny him who denies or acknowledge him who acknowledges. The gospel cannot be firm in part and waver in part. Either both must be strong or both must lose the force of truth. If those who deny will not be guilty of a crime, those who acknowledge him will not receive the reward of virtue. If he crowns the faith that has conquered, he must punish the treachery that has been conquered. If the gospel can be broken, the martyrs can be of no benefit. If the gospel cannot be broken, they who become martyrs, according to the gospel, cannot act contrary to the gospel. Most beloved brothers and sisters, let no one defame the dignity of the martyrs. Let no one destroy their glories and crowns. The strength of an uncorrupted faith is sound. No one can say or do anything against Christ whose hope, faith, virtue and glory are entirely in Christ. They who have performed the commands of God cannot be the authors of anything done by the bishops contrary to the command of God.” (The Lapsed, 20.)



Collect
O God, Who through Your Spirit
raised up Saint Teresa of Jesus
to show the Church the way to seek perfection,
grant that we may always be nourished
by the food of her heavenly teaching
and fired with longing for true holiness.
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


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Ordinary Time, Week 28: Thursday



“Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.” (Luke 11:47.)

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

“It is also a good argument against the vainest superstition of the Jews, who by building the tombs of the prophets condemned the actions of their ancestors. Then, by imitating their ancestors’ actions, they turned the judgment back on themselves. By building the tombs of the prophets, they accused those who had killed them of their crime. By the imitation of similar acts, they declared themselves heirs of their ancestors’ iniquity. Not the building but the imitation is an offense. Those who by crucifying the Son of God added a crime worse than their ancestors’ wrongdoing cannot be absolved of their hereditary wickedness. He fittingly added elsewhere, “Fill up then the measure of your fathers,” because there is no worse sin that they can commit than the assault on God. Wisdom sends the apostles and the prophets to them. Who is Wisdom if not Christ?” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 7.)



Collect
May Your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
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





Optional Memorial: Pope Saint John XXIII



“After he had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat.” (Luke 11:37.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“The Pharisee invites him to an entertainment for his own purpose. The Savior of all submits to this for providence’s sake. He made the matter an opportunity of giving instruction, not consuming the time of their meeting in the enjoyment of food and delicacies but in the task of making those who were assembled there more virtuous. The dull Pharisee himself supplied an occasion for his speech, “because he wondered,” it says, “that he did not wash before dinner.” Did he wonder at him as having done something of which he approved, as being especially worthy of the saints? This was not his view. How could it be? On the contrary, he was offended because although he had the reputation of a righteous man and a prophet, he did not conform himself to their unreasonable customs.

Our argument is this. “O foolish Pharisee, you boast much of your knowledge of the sacred Scriptures. You are always quoting the law of Moses. Tell us where Moses gave you this commandment? What commandment ordained by God requires people to wash before eating? The waters of sprinkling were indeed given by the command of Moses for the cleansing of bodily uncleanness, as being a type of the baptism which really is holy and cleansing, even that in Christ. Those who were called to the priesthood were also bathed in water. The divine Moses bathed Aaron and the Levites. The law thereby declared by means of the baptism enacted in type and shadow that even its priesthood did not have what is sufficient for sanctification. On the contrary, it needs divine and holy baptism for the true cleansing.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 83)



Collect
Almighty ever-living God,
Who chose blessed John the Twenty-third
to preside over Your whole people
and benefit them by word and example,
keep safe, we pray, by his intercession,
the shepherds of Your Church
along with the flocks entrusted to their care,
and direct them
in the way of eternal salvation.
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


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Christ’s foundation on Peter abides



Pope Saint Leo the Great
Bishop of Rome and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Sermo 3 de natali ipsius

Optional Memorial: Pope Saint John XXIII

Beloved, I am both weak and lazy in fulfilling the obligations of my office; whenever I try to act with vigor and devotedness, the frailty of our human condition slows me down. Yet I share in the ever-present atoning work of that almighty and eternal high priest, who is like us and yet equal to the Father; he brought the godhead down to our human level and raised our humanity to the godhead. Rightly, then, do we rejoice in what he established; for, though he delegated to many shepherds the care of his sheep, he has not ceased to watch over in person the flock that is dear to him.

It is from this ultimate inexhaustible source of security that we have received strength in our apostolic task; for his activity is never relaxed. The powerful foundation upon which the whole structure of the church rests is never shaken by the weight of the temple that presses upon it.

That faith which Christ commended in the prince of the apostles remains forever unshaken. And, just as Peter’s faith in Christ endures, so does Christ’s foundation upon Peter. The structure of truth persists; blessed Peter retains his rock-like strength and has not abandoned the helm of the Church which he took over.

Peter is called the rock; he is declared to be the foundation; he is made doorkeeper of the heavenly kingdom; he is made judge of what is to be bound or loosed, and his judgments remain valid even in heaven; in these various ways he is assigned a rank above the others. By reflecting on the hidden meaning of these titles of his, we can come to appreciate how close he is to Christ.

In our day he carries out his trust over a wider field and with greater power; he attends to every department of his duties in and along with him who gave him that dignity.

And so, if I do anything well, if my judgment is sound, if I obtain anything from God’s mercy by my daily prayer, all this is due to the achievement and the deserts of Peter; it is his power that lives on in his See, it is his prestige that reigns.

This, beloved, is the outcome of that profession of faith which God the Father inspired in the apostle’s heart. That declaration rose above the doubts of all merely human opinion, and took on the solidarity of a rock unshaken by any outside pressure.

For in the world-wide Church, every day Peter declares: you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and every man who acknowledges the Lord is enabled to proclaim what those words mean.

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

 





Memorial — Saint Francis of Assisi



“She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.” (Luke 10:39.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“What was Mary enjoying while she was listening? What was she eating? What was she drinking? Do you know? Let’s ask the Lord, who keeps such a splendid table for his own people, let’s ask him. “Blessed,” he says, “are those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, because they shall be satisfied.” It was from this wellspring, from this storehouse of justice, that Mary, seated at the Lord’s feet, was in her hunger receiving some crumbs. You see, the Lord was giving her then as much as she was able to take. But as for the whole amount, which he was going to give at his table of the future, not even the disciples, not even the apostles themselves, were able to take in at the time when he said to them, “I still have many things to say to you, but you are unable to hear them now.”

What was Mary enjoying? What was she eating? I’m persistent on this point, because I’m enjoying it too. I will venture to say that she was eating the one she was listening to. I mean, if she was eating truth, didn’t he say himself, “I am the truth”? What more can I say? He was being eaten, because he was the Bread. “I,” he said, “am the bread who came down from heaven.” This is the bread which nourishes and never diminishes.” (Sermon 179)




Collect
O God,
by whose gift Saint Francis
was conformed to Christ in poverty and humility,
grant that, by walking in Francis’ footsteps,
we may follow Your Son,
and, through joyful charity,
come to be united with 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 the Father
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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Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Father of the Church



“Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Consider the great authority he gave the holy apostles, how he declared them praiseworthy, and how he decorated them with the highest honors…. “He that hears you,” he says, “hears me, and he that rejects you, rejects me; and he that rejects me, rejects him that sent me.” O what great honor! What incomparable dignities! O what a gift worthy of God! Although men, the children of earth, he clothes them with a godlike glory. He entrusts his words to them that they who resist anything or venture to reject them may be condemned. When they are rejected, he assures them that he suffers this. Then again, he shows that the guilt of this wickedness, as being committed against him, rises up to God the Father. See with the eyes of the mind how vast a height he raises the sin committed by men in rejecting the saints! What a wall he builds around them! How great security he contrives for them! He makes them such as must be feared and in every way plainly provides for their being uninjured.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 63)



Collect
O God,
Who gave the Priest Saint Jerome
a living and tender love
for Sacred Scripture,
grant that Your people
may be ever more fruitfully nourished
by your Word
and find in it the fount of life.
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


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Memorial — Saint Vincent de Paul



“... and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there ...” (Luke 9:52.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“It would be false to affirm that our Savior did not know what was about to happen, because he knows all things. He knew, of course, that the Samaritans would not receive his messengers. There can be no doubt of this. Why then did he command them to go before him? It was his custom to benefit diligently the holy apostles in every possible way, and because of this, it was his practice sometimes to test them…. On this occasion, he also tested them. He knew that the Samaritans would not receive those who went forward to announce that he would stay with them. He still permitted them to go that this again might be a way of benefiting the holy apostles.

What was the purpose of this occurrence? He was going up to Jerusalem, as the time of his passion was already drawing near. He was about to endure the scorn of the Jews. He was about to be destroyed by the scribes and Pharisees and to suffer those things that they inflicted upon him when they went to accomplish all of violence and wicked boldness. He did not want them to be offended when they saw him suffering. He also wanted them to be patient and not to complain greatly, although people would treat them rudely. He, so to speak, made the Samaritans’ hatred a preparatory exercise in the matter. They had not received the messengers.

For their benefit, he rebuked the disciples and gently restrained the sharpness of their wrath, not permitting them to grumble violently against those who sinned. He rather persuaded them to be patient and to cherish a mind that is unmovable by anything like this.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 56)



Collect
O God,
Who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit,
we may love What he loved
and put into practice what he taught.
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


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Ordinary Time, Week 26 - Monday



“An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.” (Luke 9:46.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“The passion and lust of pride attacked some of the holy apostles. The mere argument about who of them was the greatest is the mark of an ambitious person, eager to stand at the head of the rest. Christ, who did not sleep, knows how to deliver. He saw this thought in the disciple’s mind, springing up, in the words of Scripture, like some bitter plant. He saw the weeds, the work of the wicked sower. Before it grew up tall, struck its root down deep, grew strong, and took possession of the heart, he tears up the evil by the very root.

In what way does the Physician of souls amputate pride’s passion? How does he deliver the beloved disciple from being the prey of the enemy and from a thing hateful to God and man? “He took a child,” it says, “and set it by him.” He made the event a means of benefiting both the holy apostles themselves and us their successors. This illness, as a rule, preys upon all those who are in any respect superior to other people.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 53)



Collect
O God,
Who manifest Your almighty power
above all by pardoning and showing mercy,
bestow, we pray,
Your grace abundantly upon us
and make those
hastening to attain Your promises
heirs to the treasures of heaven.
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


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Let us put on the armor of righteousness



Saint Polycarp of Smyrna
Bishop, Apostolic Church Father and Martyr

An excerpt from the Leter to the Philippains

ORDINARY TIME, Week 26: Monday


It is not out of presumption that I write to you, my brothers, on what righteousness means, but rather because you asked me to do so. For neither I nor anyone like me can equal the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul. When he was in your city, he fully and courageously taught the men of that time the word of truth; when he was absent, he wrote you letters. By carefully studying these letters, you can strengthen yourselves in the faith that has been given to you. This faith is the mother of us all, followed by hope, preceded by love—love of God, of Christ, of our neighbor. Whoever lives within this framework has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness. For anyone who has love is far from sin.

Now the source of all evil is the desire to possess. Mindful that we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it, let us put on the armor of righteousness. We must begin by teaching ourselves how to walk in the commandment of the Lord. Then you should teach your wives to walk in the faith that has been handed down to them, in love and in chastity. They must love their husbands with complete fidelity, but they must cherish all others equally, and with self-control; they must raise their children in the discipline that comes from fear of God. We must teach widows to be discreet in all that concerns the faith of the Lord; they must pray without ceasing for all men, shunning all calumny, gossip, false witness, greed, in a word, every sort of evil. They must bear in mind that they are God’s sacrificial altar. He sees everything clearly, nothing escapes his vigilance, be it calculation, thought or some secret desire of the heart.

God, as we know, is not mocked. Let us walk in a way that is worthy of his commands and his purposes. Deacons, in the same way, must be blameless in the sight of his goodness, for they are servants of God and of Christ, not of men. They must avoid calumny, hypocritical talk and greed. Merciful and diligent, they must control all their desires, walking according to the truth of the Lord who became the servant of all. If we please him in this life, we shall receive the life to come; for he has promised us that he will raise us from the dead, and that, if we lead lives worthy of him, we shall reign along with him. This is what our faith tells us.



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

 






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