A Eucharistic Examen



The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ has added and vital significance this year as the Church in the United States begins a three year period of Eucharistic Revival. These years will focus in a particular way on the gracious, unique, preeminent and singular way in which Jesus invites each person into communion with Him and in the power of Holy Spirit, to be drawn more deeply into relational living with God our Father. So, where do we begin?

Recent history gives evidence of a number of concerns when it comes to life in our times. Tragic and horrific Church scandals have harmed countless people of all ages, particularly the young. Many people's confidence and trust in the Church has waned if not been crushed. War, terrorism, violence - nationally and globally - have broken the spirits of many. Political, social and ecclesial divisiveness together with economic turbulence and climate concerns have robbed many of a sense of peace and filled many hearts with anxiety. Each day seems to bring about more bad news that numbs the heart and perhaps asks, is there any hope? Christianity has always responded with an emphatic YES, a yes that consists in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, risen and alive Who offers all people a connection with Him and a way of living that will create a peace that cannot be humanly engineered or fabricated; a peace that is transformative and eternal. The challenge, however, is to know that this Proclamation is not magic. Jesus is not a Pollyanna. Proclaiming and then the necessary response of living Jesus is not waving a spiritually magic wand and poof, all is well. It does not work that way. When Jesus originally sounded the Good News of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14-15), He commanded two responses: trust (believing) and conversion (metanoia), period. It was this believing and willingness to change that led so many to listen to Jesus' words and eventually be fed by Him (see Scriptures for this Sunday). Perhaps this approach to Jesus and His Good News, trust and conversion, is a great place to start for this Sunday’s Solemnity and the start of Eucharistic Revival.

In the midst of meetings, committees, plans, programs, etc. that may surround this period of Eucharistic Revival, it is essential to recall these words of Jesus as His Public Ministry unfolded: trust and conversion. ‘Education’ and other human activities do have a place in Christian living but they can never usurp the primacy of being in communion with Jesus Who blesses believers with the Gift of Holy Spirit to be drawn to God our Father (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 426). The Fathers of the Church preferred catechesis as the term to describe being formed as a disciple of Jesus, not education and certainly not a program. True, catechesis involves imparting knowledge about Jesus but this knowledge is always in service of trust and conversion, never an end in itself. Historically, the Church battled numerous movements that viewed religious knowledge as the source of salvation and only provided information about Jesus. All these movements, most notably Gnosticism, were deemed heretical by the Church. Gnosticism contended that salvation was the product one’s work to obtain secret knowledge. Once that knowledge was obtained (whatever the knowledge was), one was saved. Saint Irenaeus, one of the more famous defenders of the Church against Gnosticism, taught that Christianity is not about acquiring secret knowledge but fundamentally relational, grounded in the very relational living of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Hence, it would seem opportune to examine ‘where we’re at’ as a disciple of Jesus Who blesses us with an invitation to live His life. When Jesus directed us at His Last Supper to “do this in memory of Me” (Luke 22:19), He taught us how to connect with Him in a most intimate and relational way. While involving a dimension of recall, remembrance in Hebrew (zakar) is all about relational living: re-connect, re-join, re-establish. Perhaps the following examen sparked by a Eucharistic hymn of old, Ave verum corpus, may help us to be drawn by the Lord's Grace into a deeper encounter with Him in His Most Holy Body and Blood. Even though historians debate the author, (some say Saint Thomas Aquinas, others Pope Innocent III, IV or perhaps even V), the text offers some points for reflections appropriate for today’s Solemnity.




“Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine,” - Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary: Jesus is a real Person, period. He is not a myth. He is not a fictitious person of an imaginary story. Even before pondering His Presence in the Most Holy Eucharist, we have to ask ourselves, ‘do I (and we as a community of faith) believe that Jesus Christ is a real Divine Person Who once lived among us at a particular time and in a particular place with both divine and human natures (the Mystery of the Incarnation)?’ Do I believe this Person preached and lived a new way of life called the Kingdom of God that called one to daily conversion and belief? Do I adore and worship Him as the God-man, the High Priest Who, in the words from Hebrews “cleanses our consciences from dead works to worship the living God?” Do I live Sunday as the Lord’s Day? Do my actions, attitudes and attire at Mass give evidence that I am in the presence of the Living Lord of life? Do I arrive early enough to prepare for Mass - and - do I stay after Mass for a few moments of thanksgiving?

“Vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,” - Who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man: Jesus’ message of Kingdom living cost Him His human life as an innocent victim. His life among us was eminently self-less. Do I (and we as a community of faith) live sacrificially or is life on my terms? Do I project and live an attitude of entitlement? Do I charitably serve the needs of others as Jesus did in His ministry? Do I give preference in my life for the poor or is life about my time and my possessions?

“Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine,” - Whose pierced side overflowed with water and blood: Even in death, Jesus gives life and blesses us with His Presence: water (the Gift of Baptism) and blood (the Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist). How often have I considered the ‘price’ Jesus paid for our salvation? Do I recognize and reverence His Presence sacramentally and in the people around me by avoiding gossip, slander, lies, character assassination and being a busybody, prying into everyone else’s business except my own?

“Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.” - Be for us a foretaste in the test of death: Jesus teaches with His life that there is more to life than what we see around us. The goodness of life in the here-and-now is temporary. We live fully in the present knowing that our lives are being drawn to an eternity of life and love, or as Hebrews states, “the promised eternal inheritance.” Hence, do I live with a view towards the eternity of life with Father, Son and Holy Spirit – OR – do “I want it all, and I want it now?” Do I assist others in helping them to live Jesus’ life? Am I a source of encouragement that builds up the Body of Christ in unity or do I harm the Body of Christ through my negativity, pessimism, divisiveness and taking delight in the errors or misfortunate of others?

In the end, this Solemn Day reminds us that the Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, similar to last week's celebration of the Most Holy Trinity, is not a thing to be figured out, but a Person Who calls us as His Body to be in communion with Him as we joyfully, charitably and selflessly serve His Father in the power of the Holy Spirit and one another.


Reflection on the Gospel proclaimed this Sunday (John 6:51-58)






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

 






From prohibition to command: the vaccine that strengthens and transforms death to life



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

“Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats (φάγῃ, phage) this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat (φαγεῖν, phagein)?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on (τρώγων, trogon) me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) this bread will live forever.””


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


After much teaching and debating with the crowd, Jesus sounds a clear, blunt and forceful command that carries an equally clear admonition: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” In an unambiguous way, Jesus commands the very eating of His Flesh and the drinking of His Blood, actions that would have been abhorrent to the Jewish crowd of the first century as well as an offense to the sensibilities of many people then and now. So why does Jesus of Nazareth, Himself a devout and faithful Jew, command a non-kosher and rather barbaric action? A response (emphasis on A) lies in the very creation of humanity expressed in Genesis.

In the Creation Account, we learn via the dialog between Eve and the Serpent that humanity lives within boundaries, a characteristic of all created reality. Humanity, for example, is not given carte blanche to eat anything in the Garden: a particular tree is not to be touched and its fruit is not to be eaten. Boundaries are placed on what humanity can and cannot consume in the Garden. While Eve may not know the exact reason why the fruit is prohibited, she knows that the fruit is forbidden.

[As a brief aside, this food prohibition is not whimsical nor capricious on the part of God nor are any of the episodes of this Sacred Account of the Beginnings to be declared casually ‘just a story’ that can be dismissed because ‘we know better.’ We don’t. There is much bound to the tree, the fruit and the entire Garden experience that is crucial for grasping what it means to be created in the “image and likeness of God.” Being created “in the image and likeness of God” has implications not only for the rest of Creation, but for the relationship of God of humanity.]

So long as humanity listened to the voice of God alone and went about the work entrusted to them, Genesis contends that Divine Harmony - Original Justice - flourished. But when humanity choose to listen to another and to grasp (as opposed to receiving graciously) for that which Divinity forbade, life took a noticeable turn, to say the least and the relationship that humanity enjoyed with God changed utterly. That which was forbidden (for our own good) was not only grasped and taken but even more so, consumed. Eve, Adam, and the whole of humanity were filled with shame and alienated from the Loving God because the command “Do not eat!” was ignored.

Out of love, the Creator sounded the ‘first Gospel (known by the Fathers of the Church as the Protoevangelium, [Genesis 3:15])’ and promised healing. The rupture, grave in and of itself, became inextricably bound to our nature because we not only touched but consumed a reality that severely damaged our capacity to relate genuinely and authentically to God, others, the true self and all creation. Healing, promised by God and implicitly desired by humanity, needed to be applied to the root of the ailment which in this case involved listening to another instead of the One Creator (cf Dt 6:4-9, the great prayer of Israel known as the Shema), touching and ingesting a toxin that radically altered the privileged relationship that humanity enjoyed with God. As the healing work began to unfold, the Divine Word drew humanity step by step into a closer relationship (Abraham, for example) and fed humanity in such a way to grow more selfless (covenant meals of hospitality, for example) and free (Passover Meal, for example).

“In the fullness of time …” as Saint Paul pens, God the Father sends Jesus His Son, the Word to bring this healing to fulfillment. Throughout His Public Ministry, Jesus calls humanity to listen to what He has heard from His Father. He often touches humanity to bring about healing of body and soul and in the episode proclaimed this weekend, He commands the very consumption of Himself to combat the ingested toxin of the Garden.

But what kind of eating does Jesus mean? It is an important question because the Evangelist John employs two distinct Greek verbs in this Sunday’s proclamation - and both of them are translated into English as “to eat.” In the first part of this Sunday’s pericope, the Greek verb φάγω (phago) is used. φάγω (phago) refers to a physical act of eating and it is the verb used to translate the Hebrew אָכַל (ʾakal) that appears in Genesis 3. אָכַל (ʾakal), while its primary meaning and principle usage is the physical act of ‘food into mouth,’ it can refer – on occasion – to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating’ that is akin to ‘taking in a lesson or a message.’ The Greek φάγω (phago) functions in a similar way. Most of the time, φάγω (phago) refers to the physical act of eating but on occasion can refer to a metaphoric, poetic or idiomatic ‘eating,’ such as the saying in the American usage of English, ‘I could eat my words.’

But then there is matter of the other verb in Greek that is translated into English “to eat,” the Greek verb τρώγω (trogo). In antiquity this verb not only referred to the action of eating but also how one ate: gnawing and chewing … and the gnawing and chewing were often accompanied by guttural sounds and monosyllabic grunts and groans. In other words, τρώγω (trogo) describes an exceptionally graphic action, often used to depict how animals and barbarians ate - not the way our moms and dads taught us to eat and behave at the supper table! τρώγω (trogo) functions here TO REMOVE any hint or suggestion that Jesus is speaking about a metaphoric, poetic or solely spiritual eating. The action is physical. The action is also quite messy – AND – it points directly to the Cross. The only way that anyone can consume the flesh and blood of a living being is for that living being to be dead. Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a specific way - τρώγω (trogo) - is a declaration of giving Himself completely in fidelity to the Father’s Will that results in His Sacrifice on the Cross that we may live fully.

Thus the “do not eat” of Genesis is replaced by Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a very particular way: τρώγω (trogo). Biblically, this is a significant Sacred Text in the Church’s teaching of Jesus’ Real Presence. At the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Hippo some 1600 years ago, Saint Augustine addressed the newly Baptized and Confirmed prior to the reception of Holy Communion for the first time, “Become Who you consume.” In the Garden, our nature ingested a poison; our nature welcomed sin into our very being – not just into our spiritual nature, our physical nature as well. We are in need of an antidote for the ingested poison, spiritually and physically (sacramentally). No wonder that Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Gregory of Nyssa referred to the Holy Eucharist as a Sacred Drug! Saint Ignatius wrote of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality” and Saint Gregory wrote of the Eucharist as the antidote for poison of sin swirling around in our souls and bodies, provided we use the Sacred Medicine properly.

Graciously coming before our Lord, receiving (not taking) with hearts open to His Real Presence is our healing and our strength for the journey - a vaccination that we can receive no where else and from no one else.


A Eucharistic Examen - appropriate pondering for today's Solemnity.






Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ



“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51.)


Saint Clement of Alexandria offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gosepl Proclamation:

“God elaborates on a suitable and wholesome new diet for the newly-formed and newborn babe. He says it consists of the one who nourishes and who is the Father of all that are generated and regenerated—just as manna, the celestial food of angels, flowed down from heaven on the ancient Hebrews. But when our kind and loving Father rained down the Word, he himself became spiritual nourishment to the good. This is a truly amazing mystery, because this is the kind of diet the Lord administers: he offers his flesh and pours out his blood so that nothing is lacking for his children’s growth. This is almost too much to take in! And then we are to throw out the old and carnal corruption, our old diet, receiving in exchange a totally new diet — Christ himself as we ingest him for him to remain hidden there. Then, with our Savior enshrined in our souls, as it were, we can correct the affections of our flesh.” (Christ the Educator, 1.)



Collect
O God, Who in this wonderful Sacrament
have left us a memorial of Your Passion,
grant us, we pray,
so to revere the sacred mysteries
of Your Body and Blood
that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of Your redemption.
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 Ninth Week in Ordinary Time



“Prayer with fasting is good. Almsgiving with righteousness is better than wealth with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold ...” (Tobit 12:8)

Saint Gaudentius of Brescia  offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Frist Reading:

“It is written that fasting with almsgiving is a good thing. It was necessary to do both, to mitigate the Lord’s indignation. Perhaps you cannot fast, and you cannot because you do not want to — at least give food to someone who is hungry. You who cannot stand to fast for three hours past the usual hour can certainly understand what someone would suffer who unwillingly goes hungry because of his poverty. Your cruelty forces him to fast, you who, fattened by sumptuous banquets, do not think to relieve the poor person’s hunger with even a little food. You point to the possibility of famine, you pretend to be in need, you complain of unfavorable circumstances. You beg more shamefully than that poor person — indeed, you behave toward God like an ingrate with your false complaining. But what if there was a famine? Would you perhaps be the only one to feel it, and not that poor person? How is it that every day you lay out new silver, beautify your houses with marble, buy silk garments, trade necklaces adorned with gold and gems? It is shameful to mention and painful even to think of the number of peasants who, living on the lands of people who live in the luxury we have described, have died of hunger or been supported by the alms of the church.” (Sermons, 13.)



Collect
O God,
Whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech you,
all that might harm us
and grant all that works for our good.
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. 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 way to come to true life



Saint Thomas Aquinas
Priest and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Exposition on John

Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Christ himself is the way, and therefore he says: I am the way. This certainly is eminently right for through him we have access to the Father. Since this way is not separate from its end, but joined to it, he adds the truth and the life; thus he is himself at once both the way and the goal. In his human nature he is the way, and in his divine nature he is the goal. Therefore, speaking as man he says: I am the way; and speaking as God he adds: the truth and the life. These two words are an apt description of this goal.

For this goal is the object of human desire, and a man desires two things above all. In the first place he wants to know the truth, which is peculiar to him; and secondly he wants to continue to exist, which is common to all things. Christ is the way by which we come to know truth, though he is also that truth: Lead me, O Lord, in truth, and I shall enter into your way. Christ is also the way to come to life, though he is also that life: You have made known the ways of life.

Therefore, he designated the end of this way by truth and life, about which we have spoken above with reference to Christ. First, he himself is life, for life was in him; then, he is truth, because he was the light of men, and light is truth.

If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because he himself is the way: This is the way; walk in it. And Augustine says: Make man your way and you shall arrive at God. It is better to limp along the way than stride along off the way. For a man who limps along the way, even if he only makes slow progress, comes to the end of the way; but one who is off the way, the more quickly he runs, the further away is he from his goal.

If you are looking for a goal, hold fast to Christ, because he himself is the truth, where we desire to be. My mouth shall reflect on the truth. If you are looking for a resting place, hold fast to Christ, because he himself is the life. Whoever finds me finds life, and receives salvation from the Lord.

Therefore hold fast to Christ if you wish to be safe. You will not be able to go astray, because he is the way. He who remains with him does not wander in trackless places; he is on the right way. Moreover he cannot be deceived, because he is the truth, and he teaches every truth. And he says: For this I was born and for this I have come, to bear witness to the truth. Nor can he be disturbed, because he is both life and the giver of life. For he says: I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.



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

 







Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time



“David himself calls him ‘Lord’; so how is he his son?” [The] great crowd heard this with delight.” (Mark 12:37.)

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

“For that through which Mary had been made was not dying, but that which was made from Mary was dying. The eternity of [his] divinity was not dying, but the weakness of [his] flesh was dying. Therefore he made that reply, distinguishing in the faith of believers the one who came from the one through whom he came. For he, God and Lord of heaven and earth, came through a woman as his mother. In regard to the fact that he was Lord of the world, Lord of heaven and earth, he was also, of course, Lord of Mary; and in regard to the fact that he was creator of the world, creator of heaven and earth, he was also the creator of Mary. But insofar as it was said, “made of a woman, made under the law,” he was the son of Mary. He was the Lord of Mary, he was the son of Mary; he was the creator of Mary, he was created from Mary. Do not be amazed that he is both son and Lord. For as he was [the son] of Mary, so, also, he was said to be the son of David; indeed the son of David precisely because the son of Mary. Hear the apostle speaking clearly: “who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.” Hear that he was also the Lord of David; and let David himself say this: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand.’” And Jesus himself proposed this to the Jews, and by it refuted them. Therefore just as he was both the son and the Lord of David, the son of David according to the flesh, the Lord of David according to [his] divinity, so he was the son of Mary according to the flesh and the Lord of Mary according to [his] majesty. Because, therefore, she was not the mother of [his] divinity and what she sought would be a miracle through [his] divinity, he answered her, “What is it to me and to you, woman?” But that you may not think that I am denying you as my mother, “My hour has not yet come.” For there shall I acknowledge you when the weakness of which you are the mother has begun to hang on the cross.” (Tractate on John, 8.)



Collect
O God,
Whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech You,
all that might harm us and
grant all that works for our good.
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. 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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The Lord sees our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts



Baldwin of Canterbury
Bishop
An excerpt from Tractate 6

Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time


The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. Without a doubt, every one of them is known to him, while we know only those which he lets us read by the grace of discernment. The spirit of man does not know all that is in man, nor all of the thoughts which he has, willingly or unwillingly. Man does not always perceive his thoughts as they really are. Having clouded vision, he does not discern them clearly with his mind’s eye.

Often under the guise of devotion a suggestion occurs to our mind—coming from our own thoughts or from another person or from the tempter—and in God’s eyes we do not deserve any reward for our virtue. For there are certain imitations of true virtues as also of vices which play tricks with the heart and bedazzle the mind’s vision. As a result, the appearance of goodness often seems to be in something which is evil, and equally the appearance of evil seems to be in something good. This is part of our wretchedness and ignorance, causing us anguish and anxiety.

It has been written: There are paths which seem to man to be right, but which in the end lead him to hell. To avoid this peril, Saint John gives us these words of advice: Test the spirits to see if they are from God. Now no one can test the spirits to see if they are from God unless God has given him discernment of spirits to enable him to investigate spiritual thoughts, inclinations and intentions with honest and true judgment. Discernment is the mother of all the virtues; everyone needs it either to guide the lives of others or to direct and reform his own life.

In the sphere of action, a right thought is one ruled by the will of God, and intentions are holy when directed single-mindedly toward him. In a word, we could see clearly through any action of ours, or into our entire lives, if we had a simple eye. A simple eye is an eye, and it is simple. This means that we see by right thinking what is to be done, and by our good intention we carry it out with simple honesty, because deceitful action is wrong. Right thinking does not permit mistakes; a good intention rules out pretence. This then is true discernment, a combination of right thinking and good intention.

Therefore, we must do all our actions in the light of discernment as if in God and in his presence.


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

 





Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time



“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, and who walk in his ways.” (Psalm 128, 1)

In commenting on this verse from today’s Psalm, Cassiodorus writes:

“When he says, “Blessed are all who fear the Lord,” he shows that they are not blessed who fear with troubled mind the dangers of the world when temporal property is lost. For those dangers make people wretched when they torment them with groundless fear. They have no advantage, but rather a dimunition. They do not know an ascent, but rather destruction. In contrast, the fear of the Lord descends from love, is born of charity and is begotten of sweetness. A pious fear comforts the fearful and refreshes the afflicted, and does not know how to lack joy unless such fruit of fear has been put aside. About this fear it is written, “Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” How advantageous fear is, if children are taught by it! What sort of learning there is which is given with sweet affection!” (Explanation of the Psalms)



Collect
O God,
Whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech you,
all that might harm us
and grant all that works for our good.
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. 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 Church moves forward like the advancing dawn



Saint Gregory the Great
Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from Moral Reflections on Job, Book 29.

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Since the daybreak or the dawn is changed gradually from darkness into light, the Church, which comprises the elect, is fittingly styled daybreak or dawn. While she is being led from the night of infidelity to the light of faith, she is opened gradually to the splendor of heavenly brightness, just as dawn yields to the day after darkness. The Song of Songs says aptly: Who is this who moves forward like the advancing dawn? Holy Church, inasmuch as she keeps searching for the rewards of eternal life, has been called the dawn. While she turns her back on the darkness of sins, she begins to shine with the light of righteousness.

This reference to the dawn conjures up a still more subtle consideration. The dawn intimates that the night is over; it does not yet proclaim the full light of day. While it dispels the darkness and welcomes the light, it holds both of them, the one mixed with the other, as it were. Are not all of us who follow the truth in this life daybreak and dawn? While we do some things which already belong to the light, we are not free from the remnants of darkness. In Scripture the Prophet says to God: No living being will be justified in your sight. Scripture also says: In many ways all of us give offense.

When he writes, the night is passed. Paul does not add, the day is come, but rather, the day is at hand. Since he argues that after the night has passed, the day as yet is not come but is rather at hand, he shows that the period before full daylight and after darkness is without doubt the dawn, and that he himself is living in that period.

It will be fully day for the Church of the elect when she is no longer darkened by the shadow of sin. It will be fully day for her when she shines with the perfect brilliance of interior light. This dawn is aptly shown to be an ongoing process when Scripture says: And you showed the dawn its place. A thing which is shown its place is certainly called from one place to another. What is the place of the dawn but the perfect clearness of eternal vision? When the dawn has been brought there, it will retain nothing belonging to the darkness of night. When the Psalmist writes: My soul thirsts for the living God; when shall I go and see the face of God?, does he not refer to the effort made by the dawn to reach its place? Paul was hastening to the place which he knew the dawn would reach when he said he wished to die and to be with Christ. He expressed the same idea when he said: For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.


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

 





Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time



“Then sad at heart, I groaned and wept aloud. With sobs I began to pray: ...” (Tobit 3:1.)

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

“Regarding the second kind of prayer, see Daniel: “And Azarias standing up prayed in this manner and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire he said.” And Tobias: “And I began to pray with tears, saying, You are just, O Lord, and all your works are just and all your ways mercy and truth. And your judgments are true and just forever.” And since the passage in Daniel has been obelized on the ground that it is not found in the Hebrew text, and those of the circumcision reject the book of Tobias as not being canonical, I shall quote the words of Anna from the first book of Kings: “And she prayed the Lord, shedding many tears. And she made a vow, saying, O Lord of hosts, if you will look down on the affliction of your servant,” and so on. And in Habakkuk: “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet with song. O Lord, I have heard your voice and was afraid. O Lord, I reflected on your works and was astonished. In the midst of two animals you will be known; in the approach of the years you will be recognized.” The example just given illustrates very well the definition of prayer inasmuch as he who offers it unites it with praise of God. And again, in the book of Jonah: “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the fish. And he said, I cried out of my affliction to the Lord my God, and he heard me. Out of the belly of hell you heard the screams of my voice. And you have thrown me into the deep in the heart of the sea, and a flood has surrounded me.” (On Prayer, 14.)



Collect
O God,
Whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech You,
all that might harm us
and grant all that works for our good.
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. 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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