Words of the Word

ORDINARY TIME, Week 8: Monday

“Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18.)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel Proclamation:

“The rich man called Jesus “good,” as if he were offering him a favor, just as some favor others with honorary titles. [The Lord] fled from that by which people favored him, so that he might show that he had received this goodness from the Father through nature and generation, and not [merely] in name. “Only one is good,” [he said], and did not remain silent, but added, “the Father,” so that he might show that the Son is good in just the way that the Father is good.” (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron)

Collect

Grant us, O Lord, we pray,
that the course of our world
may be directed by Your peaceful rule
and that Your Church may rejoice,
untroubled in her devotion.
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

Top

If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil?

Saint Gregory the Great

Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Moral Reflections on Job, Book 3.

ORDINARY TIME, Week 8: Monday

When Paul perceived within himself the riches of internal wisdom, yet saw the corruptibility of his own body, he was led to say: We have this treasure in earthen vessels. Now in the blessed Job the earthen vessel felt the gaping sores without, while this treasure of wisdom remained whole and intact within. For outwardly his body was in agony, but inwardly from the treasure of wisdom came forth holy thoughts: If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil? The good here refers either to the temporal or to the eternal gifts of God, and the evil to the scourges of the present time, about which the Lord says through the prophet: I am the Lord and there is no other. I form the light and create the darkness. I make peace and create evil.

I form the light and create the darkness, for though outwardly these scourges create the darkness of anguish, inwardly knowledge enkindles the light in the mind. I make peace and create evil, for peace with God is restored to us when those things which were rightly created for us, but are not ordinarily desired, are turned into scourges and become evil for us. It is through sin that we become opposed to God; therefore, it is fitting that we should return to his peace by way of scourges. In this manner, when everything created for good is turned into a source of pain for us, the mind of the chastened man may be humbly renewed and restored to peace with his Creator.

We ought particularly to observe in Job’s words how skillfully he meets his wife’s persuading: If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil? It is a great comfort in tribulation if, in times of adversity, we recall the gifts our Creator has given us. Nor will overwhelming sorrow break us, if we quickly call to mind the gifts which have sustained us. For it is written: On the day of prosperity do not forget affliction, and on the day of affliction do not forget prosperity. For if a man receives God’s gifts, but forgets his affliction, he can fall through his own excessive joy. On the other hand, when a man is bruised by scourges, but is not at all consoled by the thought of the blessings he has been fortunate to receive, he is completely cast down.

Thus both attitudes must be united so that one may be supported by the other: the memory of the gift can temper the pain of the affliction, and the foreboding and fear of the affliction can modify the joy of the gift. And so the holy Job, to soothe his soul’s depression in the midst of his wound, weighs the delightful gifts he has received even while he suffers from the scourges, saying: If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil?

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

Top

ORDINARY TIME, Week 8: The Lord’s Day

“No one can serve two masters.mHe will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s Gospel Proclamation, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Now Jesus calls mammon here “a master,” not because of its own nature but on account of the wretchedness of those who bow themselves beneath it. So also he calls the stomach a god, not from the dignity of such a mistress but from the wretchedness of those enslaved. To have mammon for your master is already worse itself than any later punishment and enough retribution before the punishment for any one trapped in it. For what condemned criminals can be so wretched as those who, once having God for their Lord, do from that mild rule desert to this grievous obsession for money? Even in this life such idolatry trails immense harm in its path, with losses unspeakable. Think of the lawsuits! The harrassments, the strife and toil and blinding of the soul! More grievous, one falls away thereby from the highest blessing — to be God’s servant.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 21.)

Collect

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

Top

ORDINARY TIME, Week 7: Friday

“The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him.” (Mark 10:2.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Of those who came to Jesus and interrogated him, some put questions to him simply to trick him. If our glorious Savior was tested in this way, should any of his disciples called to teach be annoyed when questioned by some who probe, not from the desire to know, but from the intent to trip up?” (Commentary on Matthew, 14.)

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, always pondering spiritual things,
we may carry out in both word and deed
that which is 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.

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

Top

Exult, my soul, in the Lord

Saint Gregory of Agrigentum

Bishop

An excerpt from his Commentary on Ecclesiastes

Ordinary Time, Week 7: Friday

Come, eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for your works have been pleasing to God. If we would interpret this text in its obvious and ordinary sense, it would be correct to call it a righteous exhortation, in which Ecclesiastes counsels us to embrace a simple way of life and to be led by doctrines which involve a genuine faith in God. Then we may eat our bread in gladness and drink our wine with a cheerful heart. We will not fall into slanderous speech nor be involved in anything devious; rather we should think that which is right, and, insofar as we can, we should help the poor and destitute with mercy and generosity, truly dedicated to those pursuits and good deeds which please God.

But a spiritual interpretation of the text leads us to a loftier meaning and teaches us to take this as the heavenly and mystical bread, which has come down from heaven, bringing life to the world, and to drink a spiritual wine with a cheerful heart, that wine which flowed from the side of the true vine at the moment of his saving passion. Of this the Gospel of our salvation says: When Jesus had taken bread and had blessed it, he said to his holy disciples and apostles, Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins; and in like manner, he took the cup and said, All of you, drink of this: this is my blood of the new covenant, which will be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. For whoever eats this bread and drinks this mystical wine enjoys true happiness and rejoices, exclaiming: You have put gladness into my heart.

Indeed, I think this is the bread and this is the wine that is referred to in the book of Proverbs by God’s subsistent Wisdom, Christ our Savior, saying: Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed for you, hereby referring to our mystical sharing in the Word. For those worthy to receive this are ever clothed in the works of light, which shine like a bright light as the Lord says in the Gospel: Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And, indeed, oil appears to flow continually over their heads, the oil that is the Spirit of truth, guarding and preserving them from all the harm of sin.

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

Top

ORDINARY TIME, Week 6: Saturday

“After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.b And he was transfigured before them...” (Mark 9:2.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Listen spiritually that it is not said simply, “he was transfigured,” but with a certain necessary addition, which Matthew and Mark have recorded; for, according to both, “he was transfigured before them” [in the presence of Peter, James and John]. The text suggests that it would be possible for Jesus to be transfigured before some of his disciples, and not before others. But if you wish to see the transfiguration of Jesus as seen by those who went up into the lofty mountain apart from the others, view with me the Jesus in the Gospels. Remember that Jesus was more literally apprehended by those below “according to the flesh” — by those who did not go up to the lofty mountain of wisdom, who did not go up through words and deeds that are uplifting. But there were others by whom he became known no longer after the flesh, but in his divinity. To this all the Gospels attest. He was beheld in the form of God according to their spiritual knowledge. It was before these who ascended and in their presence that Jesus was transfigured, not to those who remained below.” (Commentary on Matthew, 12.)

Collect

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 place 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. 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

Top

The sanctity of marriage and the family

Second Vatican Council

An excerpt from Gaudium et Spes, 48.

ORDINARY TIME, Week 6: Saturday

Husband and wife, by the covenant of marriage, are no longer two, but one flesh. By their intimate union of persons and of actions they give mutual help and service to each other, experience the meaning of their unity, and gain an ever deeper understanding of it day by day.

This intimate union in the mutual self-giving of two persons, as well as the good of the children, demands full fidelity from both, and an indissoluble unity between them.

Christ the Lord has abundantly blessed this richly complex love, which springs from the divine source of love and is founded on the model of his union with the church.

In earlier times God met his people in a covenant of love and fidelity. So now the Savior of mankind, the Bridegroom of the Church, meets Christian husbands and wives in the sacrament of matrimony. Further, he remains with them in order that, as he loved the Church and gave himself up for her, so husband and wife may, in mutual self-giving, love each other with perpetual fidelity.

True married love is caught up into God’s love; it is guided and enriched by the redeeming power of Christ and the saving action of the Church, in order that the partners may be effectively led to God, and receive help and strength in the sublime responsibility of parenthood.

Christian partners are therefore strengthened, and as it were consecrated, by a special sacrament for the duties and the dignity of their state. By the power of this sacrament they fulfill their obligations to each other and to their family, and are filled with the spirit of Christ. This spirit pervades their whole lives with faith, hope and love. Thus they promote their own perfection and each other’s sanctification, and so contribute together to the greater glory of God.

Hence, with parents leading the way by example and family prayer, their children—indeed, all within the family circle—will find it easier to make progress in natural virtues, in salvation and in holiness. Husband and wife, raised to the dignity and the responsibility of parenthood, will be zealous in fulfilling their task as educators, especially in the sphere of religious education, a task that is primarily their own.

Children, as active members of the family, contribute in their own way to the holiness of their parents. With the love of grateful hearts, with loving respect and trust, they will return the generosity of their parents, and will stand by them as true sons and daughters when their parents meet with hardship and the loneliness of old age.

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

Top

MEMORIAL: Saints Cyril (Monk) and Methodius (Bishop)

“He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”” (Mark 8:21.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s Gospel Proclamation, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“It was not to learn faith that they [the Pharisees] sought him, but to seize him.

Can you hear the intense displeasure in his voice? For nowhere else does he appear to have rebuked them so strongly. Why now? In order to cast out their prejudices about clean foods. For not everywhere is permissiveness a good thing. As he earlier had allowed them to speak freely, now he reproves them. He even reminds them of the specific numbers of loaves and of persons fed, both to bring them to recall the past, and to make them more attentive to the future.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 53.)

Collect

O God,
Who enlightened the Slavic peoples,
through the brothers
Saints Cyril and Methodius,
grant that our hearts
may grasp the words of Your teaching,
in true faith and right confession.
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 the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Top

ORDINARY TIME, Week 6: Monday

“He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”” (Mark 8:12.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s Gospel Proclamation, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“But for what sign from heaven were they asking? Maybe that he should hold back the sun, or curb the moon, or bring down thunderbolts, or change the direction of the wind, or something like that? In Pharaoh’s time there was an enemy from whom deliverance was needed. But for one who comes among friends, there should be no need of such signs.

No sign more impressed the crowds than the miracles of the loaves. Not only did they want to follow him, but also seemed ready to make him a king. In order to avoid all suspicion of usurping civil authority, he made a speedy exit after this wonderful work. He did not even leave on foot, lest they chase after him, but took off by boat.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 53.)

Collect

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

Top

MEMORIAL: Our Lady of Lourdes

“There were about four thousand people. He dismissed them...” (Mark 8:9.)

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

“From the lesser number of men [four thousand], less remains; from the greater number [five thousand], more is left over. Four thousand men — fewer certainly in number, but greater in faith. The one who is greater in faith eats more, and because he does, there is less left over! I wish that we, too, might eat more of the hardy bread of holy writ, so that there would be less left over for us to learn.” (Tractate on the Gospel of Mark, Homily 78.)

Collect

Grant us, O merciful God,
protection in our weakness,
that we, who keep the Memorial
of the Immaculate Mother of God,
may, with the help of her intercession,
rise up from our iniquities.
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 the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Top