Let us run our race in faith and righteousness



Saint Polycarp of Smyrna
Bishop, Apostolic Church Father and Martyr

An excerpt from the Leter to the Philippains

Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time


I ask you all to respond to the call of righteousness and to practice boundless patience. Your own eyes have seen it not only in blessed Ignatius, Zosimus and Rufus, but in others from among you as well, to say nothing of Paul and the other apostles. Be assured that all these men did not run their race in vain. No, they ran it in faith and in righteousness and are now with the Lord in the place that they have earned, even as they were once with him in suffering. Their love was not for this present world; rather, it was for him who died for our sakes and, on account of us, was raised up again by God.

Be steadfast, then, and follow the Lord’s example, strong and unshaken in faith, loving the community as you love one another. United in the truth, show the Lord’s own gentleness in your dealings with one another, and look down on no one. If you can do good, do not put it off, because almsgiving frees one from death. Be subject to one another, and make sure that your behavior among the pagans is beyond reproach. Thus you will be praised for the good you have done, and the Lord will not be blasphemed because of you. But woe to that man on whose account the Lord’s name is blasphemed. Therefore, teach everyone to live soberly, just as you live yourselves.

I am greatly saddened on account of Valens who at one time was presbyter among you; he does not understand the position to which he was called. So I urge all of you to be chaste and honest, to avoid avarice and to refrain from every form of evil. If a man cannot control himself in these ways, how can he teach someone else to do so? If he does not avoid greed, he will be defiled by idolatrous practices and will be reckoned as one of the pagans who know nothing of the Lord’s judgment. Or, as Paul teaches: Do we not know that the holy ones will judge the world?

However, I have never seen of heard of anything of that sort among you, for whom blessed Paul labored and whom he commends at the beginning of his letter. For he boasted about you in all the churches which at that time were the only ones that had come to know God; we ourselves had not yet come to that knowledge.

Brothers, I am deeply sorry for Valens and for his wife; may the Lord grant them true repentance. As for yourselves, be self-controlled in this respect. Do not look upon such people as enemies, but invite them back as frail members who have gone astray, so that the entire body of which you are a part will be saved. In doing this you are contributing to your own spiritual development.



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

 






Righteousness: more than avoidance



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

“But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”



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

A bit of context may be helpful to appreciate more deeply St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timothy in this Sunday’s proclamation of God’s Word. From the New American Bible Revised Edition, 1 Timothy 6:11 states, “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness...” The clause, “flee these things” is omitted in the Proclamation. What are “these things?” In 1 Timothy 6:1-10, St. Paul addresses a number of concerns, not the least of which include heretical teaching, sinful attitudes and actions such as “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds” and a lack of “contentment” that fuels a “love for money” that becomes “root of all evils.” In the face of “these things,” St. Paul exhorts St. Timothy to 2 actions: flee and purse.

St. Paul’s call for a two-fold action, expresses an essential element of the Hebrew verb שׁוּב šuḇ (shuv). Often translated into English as return, the action of returning demands leaving, or expressed in another way: a turning from AND a turning to/towards. As important as the turning is, AND is essential - not just a turning from or a turning to, but rather both: from AND towards. This wisdom of the Hebrew Scriptures distills an insight expressed by the Aristotelian axiom (admittedly somewhat debated), ‘nature abhors a vacuum.’ Put simply, removing 1 reality requires consciously filling that newly formed emptiness with another reality. Failure to do so, results in some other element, normally some form of chaos (sin), filling the void.

In the catechesis St. Paul offers St. Timothy, grace initiated attitudes and works of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” are the conscious engagements that fill the void when one turns from “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction.” It is noble to desire the ridding of “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and even more praiseworthy to avoid these intentionally. Yet from the human side of daily living, one will fail miserably unless this riddance is approached from the perspective of grace and putting right or proper actions in their place.

Each response encouraged by St. Paul easily involves a lifetime of reflecting and executing as well as reflection to know what needs to be done in the light of grace and the actual doing initiated and sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that the list of essential activities sounded by St. Paul begins with righteousness (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē). The English word righteous certainly expresses praiseworthy behaviors generally summarized as an upright, moral way of living that keeps and observes legal stipulations. Without a doubt, this sense of righteousness truly is a good for individuals and society. Yet the biblical sense offers additional nuances, especially important and challenging for a disciple of Jesus.
Many times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), righteousness (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē) is the translation of צַדִּיק (ṣaddiyq). Saddiyq certainly expresses a morally upright manner of living. Yet it is an upright life lived in response to the Covenant. It is because of the commitment to the relational ideals of the Covenant that one chooses freely to live an upright life. Right or proper relational living with God, others, the true self and all creation is the Covenant’s basis for all righteous thoughts, words and deeds. All righteous choices elected by a person aim at intensifying the relational bonds of living.

For St. Paul, opting not to choose “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” because such are disordered or violate a law is good. Yet the disciple of Jesus is motivated to turn from these and turn to Him. It is because each has been offered, generously and gratuitously, a life-giving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit that one flees “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and pursues the holiness of God the Father.



Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Peter Chrysologus’
Sermon 122  —




Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time



“... and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” (Luke 16:23.)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa (part 2 of the background of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is found here) offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“I said, “What are the fire, the gulf, or the other things which are mentioned, if they are not what they are said to be?”

“It seems to me,” she [Macrina] said, “that the Gospel wishes, through each of these details, to indicate some opinions concerning what we are seeking in connection with the soul. The patriarch says to the rich man, ‘You had your share of goods during your life in the flesh.’ He also says concerning the beggar, ‘This man fulfilled his duty by his experience of hardship during his life.’ By the gulf separating the one from the other, Scripture seems to me to set forth an important belief. This, in my opinion, is the gulf, which is not an earthly abyss, that the judgment between the two opposite choices of life creates. Once one has chosen the pleasure of this life and has not remedied this bad choice by a change of heart, he produces for himself a place empty of good hereafter. He digs this unavoidable necessity for himself like some deep and trackless pit.

“It seems to me that Scripture uses the ‘bosom of Abraham,’ in which the patient sufferer finds rest, as a symbol of the good state of the soul. This patriarch was the first person recorded to have chosen the hope of things to come in preference to the enjoyment of the moment. Deprived of everything he had in the beginning of his life, living among strangers, he searched for a future prosperity through present affliction. We use the word bosom when referring figuratively to a part of the outline of the sea. It seems to me that Scripture uses the word bosom as a symbol of the immeasurable goals toward which those who sail virtuously through life will come to when having departed from life. They anchor their souls in this good bosom as in a quiet harbor.”” (On the Soul and the Resurrection)



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,
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

 


Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week
in Ordinary Time



“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” (Luke 9:44.)

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

“The mystery of the passion may be seen also in another instance. According to the Mosaic law, two goats were offered. They were not different in any way from one another, but they were alike in size and appearance. Of these, one was called “the lord,” and the other was called “sent-away.” When the lot was cast for the one called “lord,” it was sacrificed. The other one was sent away from the sacrifice, and therefore had the name of “sent-away.” Who was signified by this? The Word, though he was God, was in our likeness and took the form of us sinners, as far as the nature of the flesh was concerned. The male or female goat was sacrificed for sins. Death was our desert, for we had fallen under the divine curse because of sin. When the Savior of all undertook the responsibility, he transferred to himself what was due to us and laid down his life, that we might be sent away from death and destruction.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 53)



Collect
O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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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The river whose streams
gladden the city of God



Saint Hilary of Poitiers
Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Discourse on Psalm 64

Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The river of God is brimming with water. You have provided their food, for this is your way of preparing them. There can be no doubt about the river referred to, for the prophet says: There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God; and in the gospel the Lord himself says: Streams of living water welling up to eternal life will flow from the heart of anyone who drinks the water I shall give him. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. The river of God is brimming with water; that is to say, we are inundated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and from that fountain of life the river of God pours into us in full flood.

We also have food prepared for us. And who is this food? It is he in whom we are prepared for life with God, for by receiving his holy body we receive a place in the communion of his holy body. This is what is meant by the words of the psalm: You have provided their food, for this is your way of preparing them. For as well as refreshing us now, that food also prepares us for the life to come.

We who have been reborn through the sacrament of baptism experience intense joy when we feel within us the first stirrings of the Holy Spirit. We begin to have an insight into the mysteries of faith, we are able to prophesy and to speak with wisdom. We become steadfast in hope and receive the gift of healing. Demons are made subject to our authority. These gifts enter us like a gentle rain, and once having done so, little by little, they bring forth fruit in abundance.

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

 






Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time



“He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.” (Luke 16:6.)

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

“What the Gospel of “the unjust steward” says is also an image of this matter. He says to the debtor [of one hundred measures of wheat], “Take your bill, sit down, and write eighty,” and the other things that are related. You see that he said to each man, “Take your bill.” It is evident from this that the documents of sin are ours, but God writes documents of justice. The apostle says, “For you are an epistle written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart.” You have in yourselves documents of God and documents of the Holy Spirit. If you transgress, you yourself write in yourselves the handwriting of sin. Notice that at any time when you have approached the cross of Christ and the grace of baptism, your handwriting is fastened to the cross and blotted out in the fountain of baptism. Do not rewrite later what has been blotted out or repair what has been destroyed. Preserve only the documents of God in yourself. Let only the scripture of the Holy Spirit remain in you.” (Homilies on Genesis, 13)



Collect
O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of You and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping Your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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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Incline my heart to your decrees



Optional Memorial — 17 September

Saint Robert Bellarmine
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his On the Ascent of the Mind to God

Sweet Lord, you are meek and merciful. Who would not give himself wholeheartedly to your service, if he began to taste even a little of your fatherly rule? What command, Lord, do you give your servants? Take my yoke upon you, you say. And what is this yoke of yours like? My yoke, you say, is easy and my burden light. Who would not be glad to bear a yoke that does not press hard but caresses? Who would not be glad for a burden that does not weigh heavy but refreshes? And so you were right to add: And you will find rest for your souls. And what is this yoke of yours that does not weary, but gives rest? It is, of course, that first and greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. What is easier, sweeter, more pleasant, than to love goodness, beauty and love, the fullness of which you are, O Lord, my God?

Is it not true that you promise those who keep your commandments a reward more desirable than great wealth and sweeter than honey? You promise a most abundant reward, for as your apostle James says: The Lord has prepared a crown of life for those who love him. What is this crown of life? It is surely a greater good than we can conceive of or desire, as Saint Paul says, quoting Isaiah: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him.

Truly then the recompense is great for those who keep your commandments. That first and greatest commandment helps the man who obeys, not the God who commands. In addition, the other commandments of God perfect the man who obeys them. They provide him with what he needs. They instruct and enlighten him and make him good and blessed. If you are wise, then, know that you have been created for the glory of God and your own eternal salvation. This is your goal; this is the center of your life; this is the treasure of your heart. If you reach this goal, you will find happiness. If you fail to reach it, you will find misery.

May you consider truly good whatever leads to your goal and truly evil whatever makes you fall away from it. Prosperity and adversity, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, honors and humiliations, life and death, in the mind of the wise man, are not to be sought for their own sake, nor avoided for their own sake. But if they contribute to the glory of God and your eternal happiness, then they are good and should be sought. If they detract from this, they are evil and must be avoided.


Scriptures for the Optional Memorial


Collect
O God,
Who adorned the Bishop Saint Robert Bellarmine
with wonderful learning and virtue
to vindicate the faith of your Church,
grant, through his intercession,
that in the integrity of that same faith
Your people may always find joy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

 





Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time



“Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.” (Luke 8:6.)

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

“If we hear “the word” and from this hearing our earth “immediately” produces vegetation that “withers” before it comes to maturity or fruit, our earth will be called “rocky.” Those things that are said should press forward in our ears with deeper roots so that they both “bear fruit” of works and contain the seeds of future works. Then each one on our earth will truly bear fruit in accordance with its potential, “some a hundred fold,” some “sixty,” others “thirty.” We also considered it is necessary to admonish you that our fruit does not have “darnel” or “tares.” This is so that it is not “beside the way” but sown in the way that says, “I am the way,” so that the birds of heaven may not eat our fruits or our vine.” (Homilies on Genesis, 1)



Collect
Look upon us, O God,
Creator and ruler of all things,
and, that we may feel the working of Your mercy,
grant that we may serve You with all our heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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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Offer the bandage of consolation



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

An excerpt from a sermon On Pastors (Sermon 46)

Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture says: God chastises every son whom he acknowledges. But the bad shepherd says: “Perhaps I will be exempt.” If he is exempt from the suffering of his chastisements, then he is not numbered among God’s sons. You will say: “Does God indeed punish every son?” Yes, every one, just as he chastised his only Son. His only Son, born of the substance of the Father, equal to the Father in the form of God, the Word through whom all things were made, he could not be chastised. For this reason he was clothed with flesh so that he might know chastisement. God punishes his only Son who is without sin; does he then leave unpunished an adopted son who is with sin? The Apostle says that we have been called to adoption. We have been adopted as sons, that we might be co-heirs with the only Son, and also that we might be his inheritance: Ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance. Christ gave us the example by his own sufferings.

But clearly one who is weak must neither be deceived with false hope nor broken by fear. Otherwise he may fail when temptations come. Say to him: Prepare your soul for temptation. Perhaps he is starting to falter, to tremble with fear, perhaps he is unwilling to approach. You have another passage of Scripture for him: God is faithful. He does not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Make that promise while preaching about the sufferings to come, and you will strengthen the man who is weak. When someone is held back because of excessive fear, promise him God’s mercy. It is not that temptations will be lacking, but that God will not permit anyone to be tempted beyond what he can bear. In this manner you will be binding up the broken one.

When they hear of the trials that are coming, some men arm themselves more and, so to speak, are eager to drain the cup. The ordinary medicine of the faithful seems to them but a small thing; for their part they seek the glorious death of the martyrs. Others hear of the temptations to come, and when they do arrive, as arrive they must, they become broken and lame. Yet it is right that such things befall the Christian, and no one esteems them except the one who desires to be a true Christian.

Offer the bandage of consolation, bind up what has been broken. Say this: “Do not be afraid. God in whom you have believed does not abandon you in temptations. God is faithful. He does not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. It is not I who say this, but the Apostle, and he says further: Are you willing to accept his trial, the trial of Christ who speaks in me? When you hear this you are hearing it from Christ himself, you are hearing it from the shepherd who gives pasture to Israel. For of him it was said: You will give us tears to drink in measure. The Apostle says: He does not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. This is also what the prophet intends by adding the words: in measure. God rebukes but also encourages, he brings fear and he brings consolation, he strikes and he heals. Do not reject 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

 


Repenting - more than a casual “I’m sorry”



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

“I tell you,
in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.”



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

Jesus narrates what has come to be known as some of His famous parables. Even the parable of the «Compassionate Father» (also known as «The Prodigal Son») appears in many literature anthologies and is hailed as one of the greatest short stories of all time. Regardless of familiarity or fame, Jesus’ words are directed to a way of living forming all to receive His gift of salvation.

Interestingly, Jesus sounds the parables as a response to the Pharisees’ “complain[ing]” that “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The Greek verb translated “to complain” conveys a stronger action of grumbling because of dashed hopes or strong disagreement. In other words, the Pharisees view sin, somewhat correctly, as a rupture in relational living. Sin breaks living with God, others, the true self and all creation. Where Jesus and the Pharisees clash is that Jesus offers a remedy for the rupture: repentance (μετάνοια, metanoia). Because of the grace offered by Jesus, non-relational living does not have to be permanent. Such is the gift of repentance (μετάνοια, metanoia) continuously offered by Jesus. Repentance (μετάνοια, metanoia), however, is more than a nano second thought of sorrow, contrition or guilt. Repentance (μετάνοια, metanoia) is more than a mindless or heartless utterance, “I sorry.”

μετάνοια is a compound of the Greek prefix μέτα (meta, “beyond”) and the Greek noun νόος (noos, “mind”). Literally, μετάνοια is “beyond the mind” suggesting an action “from the heart.” This is the way of living that the Divine Lawgiver had in mind when the Decalogue was offered to the Chosen People. The 10 prescriptions of the Covenant were not intended to be a mindless checklist of do’s and don’ts that ‘earned points with God,’ but the plan for living true peace and happiness grounded by grace in the core of one’s being that restores, through Divine intervention and human cooperation, right and proper relational living with God, others, the true self and all creation.

As important as “from the heart” is in exploring the depth of μετάνοια, the Jesuit philosopher-theologian, Bernard Lonergan in his work, «Method in Theology» pondered some of necessary facets to the biblical action and work of μετάνοια (metanoia). With gratitude for Fr Lonergan’s insights as well as some additional wisdom from the Fathers of the Church, perhaps μετάνοια (metanoia) can be described as follows:

μετάνοια (metanoia) is a Grace initiated and sustained response to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God that is a radical transformation actively engaging all dimensions and levels of human living. μετάνοια (metanoia) consciously acknowledges that life is an interlocking and interdependent series of changes and developments expressive of relational living with God, others, the true self and all of creation. μετάνοια further involves transforming apprehensions (how one sees the world), sensitizing conscience and moral criteria (values) all as a continuous straining forward to receive the ‘call up’ from God the Father in Christ Jesus Our Lord through the Grace of the Holy Spirit.
Yes there is much to ponder in the description of what seems is to be simple act of repentance. Yet the affects and effects of Original Sin often limit what we think needs to be done in terms of repenting … if I just change this or change that – I will be fine, I will be done. The truth is that this side of the grave the work of μετάνοια (metanoia) is never done. It involves the ‘work’ of letting oneself be found. As the Lord’s Grace leads us onward and upward, μετάνοια (metanoia) is an affirmation not only of transformation that needs to occur, but more so the discovery of abundant riches of the Father’s loving mercy poured into our lives as Gift.



Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Ambrose’s
Exposition of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke  —




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