Words of the Word

The marvel of the Incarnation

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Oration 45

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to birth had to be treated with honor, virginity had to receive new honor. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it.

He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first.

Holiness had to be brought to man by the humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might overcome the tyrant by force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself through the mediation of his Son. The Son arranged this for the honor of the Father, to whom the Son is clearly obedient in all things.

The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven.

Christ, the light of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom’s friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in preparation for the Spirit.
We need God to take our flesh and die, that we might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him.

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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Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

“He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men...” (Matthew 4:19.)

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

“And they left their nets, and followed him.” And yet John (the Evangelist) says that they were called in a different way. From this it is evident that this was a second call. One may conclude this from several evidences. For there it is said that they came to him when “John had not yet been thrown into prison”; but here it says after he was in confinement. And there Andrew calls Peter, but here Jesus calls both. On the one hand, John says, “Jesus saw Simon coming and said, ‘You are Simon, the Son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter.’” On the other hand, Matthew says that he was already called by that name, for he says, “Seeing Simon who was called Peter.” In the other instance, Andrew is seen coming into his house and hearing many things. But here, having heard one brief call, they both followed immediately. When they earlier had seen that John was in prison and that Jesus was withdrawing, it would not have been unnatural for them to return again to their own craft, fishing, having followed him at the beginning and then later having left him to fish. Accordingly, you now see that Jesus finds them actively fishing. But he neither resisted them at first when they desired to withdraw from him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did he let them go altogether. He gave way when they moved aside from him and came again to win them back. This, after all, is exactly what fishing is all about.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14.)

Collect

We humbly implore your majesty, O Lord,
that, just as the blessed Apostle Andrew
was for your Church a preacher and pastor,
so he may be for us
a constant intercessor before 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

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We have found the Messiah

Saint John Chrysostom

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Homily 19

Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother. Notice what Andrew said to him: We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ. Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. They reveal the zeal and concern of men preoccupied with this question from the very beginning. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce so great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, of loving kinship and sincere affection.

Notice, too, how, even from the beginning, Peter is docile and receptive in spirit. He hastens to Jesus without delay. He brought him to Jesus, says the evangelist. But Peter must not be condemned for his readiness to accept Andrew’s word without much weighing of it. It is probable that his brother had given him, and many others, a careful account of the event; the evangelists, in the interest of brevity, regularly summarize a lengthy narrative. Saint John does not say that Peter believed immediately, but that he brought him to Jesus. Andrew was to hand him over to Jesus, to learn everything for himself. There was also another disciple present, and he hastened with them for the same purpose.

When John the Baptist said: This is the Lamb, and he baptizes in the Spirit, he left the deeper understanding of these things to be received from Christ. All the more so would Andrew act in the same way, since he did not think himself able to give a complete explanation. He brought his brother to the very source of light, and Peter was so joyful and eager that he would not delay even for a moment.

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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Be watchful. Be alert. Be on the watch. Watch. Watch.

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“Be watchful (Βλέπετε, blepete)! Be alert (ἀγρυπνεῖτε, agrutneite)!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch (γρηγορῇ).
Watch (γρηγορεῖτε, gregoreite), therefore;
you do not know when the lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch (γρηγορεῖτε, gregoreite)!’”

(Mark 13:33-37)

First Sunday of Advent

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Be watchful.
Be alert.
Be on the watch.
Watch.
Watch.

It is hard to miss the verb “watch” in the first Gospel proclamation of Advent. Typical of Saint Mark, the Gospel is blunt, bold and to the point. With the exception of “to be on the watch,” all the verbs are plural, present imperatives. In other words, Jesus’ address is not to an individual but to His disciples. The force of the imperative, sounded in the present (underscoring that this is a work to be done now and immediately), conveys the command “must.” “You [plural] must be watchful, must be alert.” “You [plural] must watch, therefore, …” “I say to all: “you [plural] must watch.”

In addition to the noticeably forceful imperatives, the Evangelist employs 3 Greek verbs — βλέπω (blepo, to look at), ἀγρυπνέω (agrupneo, to be without sleep) and γρηγορεύω (gregoreuo, to keep awake) — in these 5 verses from chapter 13. Biblical Greek specialists note that these words, in varying degrees, have a ‘figurative’ meaning that speaks of a disposition the believer nurtures as she or he waits for the return of Jesus the Lord, γρηγορεύω (gregoreuo, to keep awake) more so. Another view of these verbs is that they have a ‘deeper meaning’ or salvific meaning in the context of Christian living. They express what the Church prays in every celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist following the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of Your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Being watchful, being alert and watching are done because Jesus will return and will return at a time unknown to us. But wait, we heard that message last Sunday, correct? We heard this message at daily Mass last week, correct? So what is uniquely ‘Adventy’ about “the Lord of the house” returning?

Because the Lord is returning, He commands all initially to “be watchful (Βλέπετε)” and “be alert (ἀγρυπνεῖτε).” βλέπω (blepo, to look at) while translated here “be watchful,” often indicates a type of ‘seeing’ that penetrates or gazes to the core of a given reality. When a person is the object, blepo is the ‘seeing to the heart,’ the motives or the agenda that drive our thoughts, words and actions. βλέπω (blepo) can also mean “to see” in the sense of “to contemplate.” In the Marcan Gospel, blepo is ‘how’ Jesus sees. His gaze penetrates the surface and gets to the ground of reality. Admittedly in Mark’s Gospel, when Jesus ‘blepoes’ He often does not like what He sees because He gazes upon a harden-heart.

In addition to the command “be watchful,” Jesus issues the command “be alert ἀγρυπνέω (agrupneo)!” Another way of translating this command: “You must not sleep!” (Interestingly, in the Letter to the Hebrews – building on Psalm 95 – we are permitted to rest (actually drawn into rest), though not sleep … but that is a thought for another day.) This command catches us off-guard in its bluntness. But when you stop to consider, the two initial commands complement each other. Intense gazing requires ‘eyes’ wide open, not shut as we do when sleeping. Not sleeping, i.e. awake, enables us to see reality about us. Seeing the world around us calls for attentiveness and vigilance, the third verb in the group: γρηγορεύω (gregoreuo). This verb expresses Jesus’ command: “Watch.” Often in the Gospels, this verb is paired with Jesus’ return at the end of the ages. Translated in Sunday’s Text as the command “watch,” γρηγορεύω (gregoreuo) has a long tradition of referring to spiritual attentiveness, most especially – as Patristic commentaries repeatedly point out – the attentiveness of the lover waiting the beloved as expressed in the Song of Songs.

Jesus’ 3 commands in this Sunday’s Gospel do help us grasp the uniqueness of His return in the context of Advent. When Sacred Scripture speaks of Jesus’ return, the Greek word παρουσία (parousia) is often used and has become a significant theological term synonymous with Jesus’ Second Coming. Yet among the Fathers of the Church, παρουσία (parousia) had another significance in their time: presence. While “we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ” we cannot afford to miss His presence NOW, especially His presence sacramentally, in the poor and where “2 or 3 gather” in His Name. As such, Advent becomes more than a Liturgical Season, it becomes a way of living energized by the grace ‘to gaze with attentive vigilance’ Jesus’ encountering presence among us. We recognize that much of our lives quite frankly can be considered ‘sleep walking,’ ‘sleep working,’ even ‘sleep praying’ and ‘sleep living.’ Advent, both as a season and a way of life, sounds an urgent command: no sleeping, eyes wide open, hearts attentive to gaze and to behold His presence now.

Preface I of Advent

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

For he assumed at his first coming
the lowliness of human flesh,
and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago,
and opened for us the way to eternal salvation,
that, when he comes again in glory and majesty
and all is at last made manifest,
we who watch for that day
may inherit the great promise
in which now we dare to hope.

And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim ...

Collect

Grant Your faithful,
we pray, Almighty God,
the resolve
to run forth to meet Your Christ
with righteous deeds at His coming,
so that, gathered at His right hand,
they may be worthy
to possess the heavenly Kingdom.
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

The First Sunday of Advent

“We have all become like something unclean, all our just deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our crimes carry us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:5)

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

“Here is what Isaiah deeply deplored by saying, “We all have fallen like leaves, and our sins have carried us off like the wind.” But the righteous are able, through innocence they have received, to ward off the charges of the present accusation, but they are not strong enough in their own strength to drive out the bonds of death that result. The Redeemer of the human race, who became the mediator of God and humanity through the flesh alone showed himself righteous among people, yet he received the punishment of blame without blame. He convicted humanity lest it get worse and stood before God lest he smite; he offered examples of innocence and took the punishment for evil.” (Morals on the Book of Job, 9)

Collect

Grant Your faithful, we pray, Almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet Your Christ
with righteous deeds at His coming,
so that, gathered at His right hand,
they may be worthy
to possess the heavenly Kingdom.
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

On the twofold coming of Christ

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Catechetical Instruction, Catechesis 15

First Sunday of Advent

We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.

In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.

At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he will address those who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind them: You did these things, and I was silent.

His first coming was to fulfill his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity. Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming.

Again he says of another coming: Look, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the day of his entry, or who will stand in his sight? Because he comes like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing.

These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The grace of God the Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.

That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.

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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Saturday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise...” (Luke 21:34.)

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

“But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare.” You heard the proclamation of the eternal King. You learned the deplorable end of “drunkenness” or “intoxication.” Imagine a skilled and wise physician who would say, “Beware, no one should drink too much from this or that herb. If he does, he will suddenly be destroyed.” I do not doubt that everyone would keep the prescriptions of the physician’s warning concerning his own health. Now the Lord, who is both the physician of souls and bodies, orders them to avoid as a deadly drink the herb “of drunkenness” and the vice “of intoxication” and also the care of worldly matters. I do not know if any one can say that he is not wounded, because these things consume him.

Drunkenness is therefore destructive in all things. It is the only thing that weakens the soul together with the body. According to the apostle, it can happen that when the body “is weak,” then the spirit is “much stronger,” and when “the exterior person is destroyed, the interior person is renewed.” In the illness of drunkenness, the body and the soul are destroyed at the same time. The spirit is corrupted equally with the flesh. All the members are weakened: the feet and the hands. The tongue is loosened. Darkness covers the eyes. Forgetfulness covers the mind so that one does not know himself nor does he perceive he is a person. Drunkenness of the body has that shamefulness.” (Homilies on Leviticus, 7.)

Collect

Stir up the will of Your faithful,
we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring Your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies Your kindness bestows.
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 sing alleluia to the good God Who delivers us from evil

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 256

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we still live in anxiety, so that we may sing it one day in heaven in full security. Why do we now live in anxiety? Can you expect me not to feel anxious when I read: Is not man’s life on earth a time of trial? Can you expect me not to feel anxious when the words still ring in my ears: watch and pray that you will not be put to the test? Can you expect me not to feel anxious when there are so many temptations here below that prayer itself reminds us of them, when we say: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us? Every day we make our petitions, every day we sin. Do you want me to feel secure when I am daily asking pardon for my sins, and requesting help in time of trial? Because of my past sins I pray: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and then because of the perils still before me, I immediately go on to add: Lead us not into temptation. How can all be well with people who are crying out with me: Deliver us from evil? And yet, brothers, while we are still in the midst of this evil, let us sing alleluia to the good God who delivers us from evil.

Even here amidst trials and temptations let us, let all men, sing alleluia. God is faithful, says holy Scripture, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. So let us sing alleluia, even here on earth. Man is still a debtor, but God is faithful. Scripture does not say that he will not allow you to be tried, but that he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. Whatever the trial, he will see you through it safely, and so enable you to endure. You have entered upon a time of trial but you will come to no harm—God’s help will bring you through it safely. You are like a piece of pottery, shaped by instruction, red by tribulation. When you are put into the oven therefore, keep your thoughts on the time when you will be taken out again; for God is faithful, and he will guard both your going in and your coming out.

But in the next life, when this body of ours has become immortal and incorruptible, then all trials will be over. Your body is indeed dead, and why? Because of sin. Nevertheless, your spirit lives, because you have been justi ed. Are we to leave our dead bodies behind then? By no means. Listen to the words of holy Scripture: If the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead dwells within you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your own mortal bodies. At present your body receives its life from the soul, but then it will receive it from the Spirit.

O the happiness of the heavenly alleluia, sung in security, in fear of no adversity! We shall have no enemies in heaven, we shall never lose a friend. God’s praises are sung both there and here, but here they are sung in anxiety, there, in security; here they are sung by those destined to die, there, by those destined to live for ever; here they are sung in hope, there, in hope’s ful llment; here they are sung by wayfarers, there, by those living in their own country.

So, then, my brothers, let us sing now, not in order to enjoy a life of leisure, but in order to lighten our labors. You should sing as wayfarers do — sing, but continue your journey. Do not be lazy, but sing to make your journey more enjoyable. Sing, but keep going. What do I mean by keep going? Keep on making progress. is progress, however, must be in virtue; for there are some, the Apostle warns, whose only progress is in vice. If you make progress, you will be continuing your journey, but be sure that your progress is in virtue, true faith and right living. Sing then, but keep going.

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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Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

“... in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31.)

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

“You see him in the clouds. I certainly do not think that Christ will come in the darkness of mist and the chill of rain. The clouds are visible11 and surely cover the heaven in foggy cold. How has he set his tabernacle in the sun if his coming brings the rain? Some clouds suitably cover the radiance of the heavenly mystery. Some clouds grow moist with the dew of spiritual grace. Consider the cloud in the Old Testament. “He spoke to them,” it says, “in a pillar of cloud.” He comes in a calm cloud in the Song of Songs, shining with the joy of a bridegroom. He also comes in a swift light cloud, incarnate of the Virgin. The prophet saw him as a cloud coming from the east. He fittingly said, “a light cloud,” that earthly vices would not weigh down. See the cloud upon which the Holy Spirit came and the power of the Most High overshadowed. When Christ will appear in the clouds, the tribes of the earth will grieve over themselves.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 10.)

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

Let us banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it

Saint Cyprian of Carthage

Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Our obligation is to do God’s will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will! Why then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ.

The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it instead of following Christ, who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away, but the man who has done the will of God shall live for ever. Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it. That will show people that we really live our faith.

We ought never to forget, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that heavenly kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

There, is the glorious band of apostles, there the exultant assembly of prophets, there the innumerable host of martyrs, crowned for their glorious victory in combat and in death. There in triumph are the virgins who subdued their passions by the strength of continence. There the merciful are rewarded, those who fulfilled the demands of justice by providing for the poor. In obedience to the Lord’s command, they turned their earthly patrimony into heavenly treasure.

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently.

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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