Words of the Word

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week27-2013.

“The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Saint John Cassian offers the following insight on these verses from today's Gospel:

“To cling always to God and to the things of God—this must be our major effort, this must be the road that the heart follows unswervingly. Any diversion, however impressive, must be regarded as secondary, low-grade and certainly dangerous. Martha and Mary provide a most beautiful scriptural paradigm of this outlook and of this mode of activity. In looking after the Lord and his disciples, Martha did a very holy service. Mary, however, was intent on the spiritual teaching of Jesus, and she stayed by his feet, which she kissed and anointed with the oil of her good faith…. In saying “Mary chose the good portion,” he was saying nothing about Martha, and in no way was he giving the appearance of criticizing her. Still, by praising Mary he was saying that the other was a step below her. Again, by saying “it will not be taken away from her,” he was showing that Martha’s role could be taken away from her, since the service of the body can only last as long as the human being is there, whereas the zeal of Mary can never end. (Conference, 1)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week27-2013.

Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead …” (Luke 10:30)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on this parable from today's Gospel:

“One of the elders wanted to interpret the parable as follows. The man who was going down is Adam. Jerusalem is paradise, and Jericho is the world. The robbers are hostile powers. The priest is the law, the Levite is the prophets, and the Samaritan is Christ. The wounds are disobedience. The beast is the Lord’s body. The pandochium (that is, the stable), which accepts all who wish to enter, is the church. The two denarii mean the Father and the Son. The manager of the stable is the head of the church, to whom its care has been entrusted. The fact that the Samaritan promises he will return represents the Savior’s second coming … The Samaritan, “who took pity on the man who had fallen among thieves,” is truly a “guardian,” and a closer neighbor than the Law and the Prophets. He showed that he was the man’s neighbor more by deed than by word. According to the passage that says, “Be imitators of me, as I too am of Christ,” it is possible for us to imitate Christ and to pity those who “have fallen among thieves.” We can go to them, bind their wounds, pour in oil and wine, put them on our own animals, and bear their burdens. The Son of God encourages us to do things like this. He is speaking not so much to the teacher of the law as to us and to everyone when he says, “Go and do likewise.” If we do, we will receive eternal life in Christ Jesus, to whom is glory and power for ages of ages. Amen. (Homilies on the Gospel of Luke, 34)”

Today is the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Catholic News Agency provides a good summary of the history of this memorial.

One might also consider Blessed John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter On the Rosary of the Virgin Mary.

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord,
Your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the
Incarnation of Christ you Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
by his Passion and Cross be brought
to the glory of his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week27-2013.

“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“They ask, “Add faith to us.” They do not ask simply for faith, for perhaps you might imagine them to be without faith. They rather ask Christ for an addition to their faith and to be strengthened in faith. Faith partly depends on us and partly is the gift of the divine grace. The beginning of faith depends on us and our maintaining confidence and faith in God with all our power. The confirmation and strength necessary for this comes from the divine grace. For that reason, since all things are possible with God, the Lord says that all things are possible for him who believes. The power that comes to us through faith is of God. Knowing this, blessed Paul also says in the first epistle to the Corinthians, “For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, and to another faith in the same Spirit.” You see that he has placed faith also in the catalogue of spiritual graces. The disciples requested that they might receive this from the Savior, contributing also what was of themselves. By the descent upon them of the Holy Spirit, he granted it to them after the fulfillment of the dispensation. Before the resurrection, their faith was so feeble that they were liable even to the charge of being “little of faith.” (Commentary on Luke, Homilies 113-116)”

Almighty ever-living God,
Who in the abundance of Your kindness
surpass the merits and the desires
of those who entreat You,
pour out your mercy upon us
to pardon what conscience dreads and
to give what prayer does not dare to ask.
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 You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week26-2013.

“The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” (Luke 10:17)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“To rejoice only in the fact that they were able to work miracles and crush the herds of demons was possibly likely to produce in them the desire of arrogance. The neighbor and relative of this passion constantly is pride. Most usefully the Savior of all rebukes the first boasting and quickly cuts away the root that sprang up in them—the shameful love of glory. He was imitating good farmers who, when they see a thorn springing up in their parks or gardens, immediately tear it up with the blade of the pickax before it strikes its root deep. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 64)”

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Francis of Assisi 2013.

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

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“Christ gives those who love instruction the assurance that whatever is said concerning him by the holy apostles or evangelists is to be received necessarily without any doubt and to be crowned with the words of truth. He who hears them, hears Christ. For the blessed Paul also said, “You desire proof that Christ is speaking in me.” Christ himself somewhere also said to the holy disciples, “For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.” Christ speaks in them by the consubstantial Spirit. If it is true, and plainly it is, that they speak by Christ, how can they err? He affirms that he who does not hear them, does not hear Christ, and that he who rejects them rejects Christ, and with him the Father. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 63)"

Today is the memorial of Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi. On 27 January 2010, Pope Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday audience to reflections on his life and theology.

An excerpt ‘from a letter written to all the faithful’ (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.

While there are many aspects of life associated with Saint Francis such as his respect for Creation (his Canticle of the Creatures is grounded in Psalm 148), depiction of harmony with animals, universal saint - not to mention the many images of Saint Francis in bird baths, Saint Francis is first and foremost the poor man of Assisi who so opened himself to be passionately seized by Jesus Christ that he bore the Sacred Wounds of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Saint Francis’ life is the radical (meaning “at the roots”) living of the Gospel, captured in a prayer that summarizes the life of Il Poverello.

In the early days of his new life in Jesus Christ, Saint Francis spoke of words he received from the Crucified Jesus in a small dilapidated chapel of Saint Dennis (San Damiano). The words - “Go and rebuild my house!” - impelled Francis to go forth into the world living the renewing words and life of Jesus Christ (see Pope Pius XI’s On Saint Francis of Assisi).

With the prayers of Saint Francis, we pray today for Papa Francis, who travels to Assisi this day to pray for all peoples and to guide the renewal of the Church, the Body of Christ, in our time.

O God,
by whose gift Saint Francis
was conformed to Christ
in poverty and humility,
grant that, by walking in Francis' footsteps,
we may follow your Son, and,
through joyful charity, come to be united with you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week26-2013.

“Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals and greet no one along the way.” (Luke 10:4).”

Saint Cyril of Alexandria offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“When preaching to people everywhere the Word that he spoke and calling the inhabitants of the whole earth to salvation, he requires them to travel about without purse, bag or shoes. They are to travel rapidly from city to city and from place to place. Let no one say that the object of his teaching was to make the holy Apostles refuse the use of the ordinary articles of equipment. What good or what harm would it do them to have shoes on their feet or go without them? By this command, he does wish them to learn and to attempt to practice that they must lay all thought of their livelihood on him. They must call to mind the saint who said, “Cast your care on the Lord, and he will feed you.” He gives what is needful for life to the saints. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 62)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Guardian Angels 2013.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 18:10)

In commenting on this verse from today’s Gospel, Chromatius of Aquileia writes:

“For just as the Lord commands that unbelieving and treacherous persons who are a stumbling block to the body of the church should be cut off or plucked out, so he also warns us not to despise any of the little children, that is, humble people in the laity who simply and faithfully believe in the Son of God. For it is not right to despise anyone who believes in Christ. A believer is called not only a servant of God but also a son though the grace of adoption, to whom the kingdom of heaven and the company of the angels is promised. And rightly the Lord adds, “For I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” How much grace the Lord has toward each one believing in him he himself declares when he shows their angels always beholding the face of the Father who is in heaven. Great is the grace of the angels toward all who believe in Christ. Finally, the angels carry their prayers to heaven. Hence the word of Raphael to Tobias: “When you prayed along with your daughter-in-law Sara, I offered the memory of your prayer in the sight of God.” Around them there is also the strong guard of the angels; they help each of us to be free from the traps of the enemy. For a human in his weakness could not be safe amid so many forceful attacks of that enemy if he were not strengthened by the help of the angels. (Tractate on Matthew, 57)”

Today is the memorial of Memorial of the Guardian Angels. The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides an overview of teaching about the importance and mission of Angels in Salvation History.

A sermon by Saint Bernard On the Angels (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.

O God,
Who in your unfathomable providence
are pleased to send
Your holy Angels to guard us,
hear our supplication as we cry to You,
that we may always be defended
by their protection and
rejoice eternally in their company.
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 You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus 2013.

“When the days for his being taken up* were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem ...” (Luke 9:51)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“It says, “When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” This means that after he would endure his saving passion for us, the time would come when he should ascend to heaven and dwell with God the Father, so he determined to go to Jerusalem. This is, I think, the meaning of his “set his face.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 56)”

Today is the memorial of Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. On 6 April 2011, Pope Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday audience to reflections on her life and theology.

An excerpt from Saint Thérèse’s autobiography (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.

O God,
Who open your Kingdom
to those who are humble and to little ones,
lead us to follow trustingly
in the little way of Saint Therese,
so that through her intercession
we may see your eternal glory revealed.
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 You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Jerome 2013.

“and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“What kind of type and representation did he make the child he had taken? He made the child a representation of an innocent and humble life. The mind of a child is empty of fraud, and his heart is sincere. His thoughts are simple. He does not covet rank and does not know what is meant by one man being higher than another is … Christ brought forward the child as a pattern of simplicity and innocence, and set him by him. He showed him as in an object lesson, that he accepts and loves those who are like the child. He thinks they are worthy of standing at his side, as being like-minded with him and anxious to walk in his steps.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 54)”

Today is the memorial of Saint Jerome. On 7 November 2007 and 14 November 2007, Pope Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday audience to reflections on the life and theology of Saint Jerome.

An excerpt from his Commentary of Isaiah (which also appears in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) is presented here along with a brief biography.

O God,
Who gave the Priest Saint Jerome
a living and tender love for Sacred Scripture,
grant that your people
may be ever more fruitfully nourished
by your Word and find in it the fount of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week26-2013.

“Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Jerome writes:

“If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead.” “If you believed Moses, you would believe me also, for he wrote of me.” Do you now see what Abraham means? You do well to wait for him who will rise from the dead, but Moses and the prophets proclaim that he is the One who is going to rise from the dead. Christ, in fact, speaks in them. If you hear them, you will also hear him.” (On Lazarus and Dives, 86)

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week25-2013.

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

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“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,3 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)”

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Vincent de Paul 2013.

“Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Messiah of God.” (Luke 9:20)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“You see the skillfulness of the question. He did not at once say, “Who do you say that I am?” He refers to the rumor of those that were outside their company. Then, having rejected it and shown it unsound, he might bring them back to the true opinion. It happened that way. When the disciples had said, “Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, that some prophet of those in old time has risen up,” he said to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Oh! how full of meaning is that word you! He separates them from all others, that they may also avoid the opinions of others. In this way, they will not conceive an unworthy idea about him or entertain confused and wavering thoughts. Then they will not also imagine that John had risen again, or one of the prophets. “You,” he says, “who have been chosen,” who by my decree have been called to the apostleship, who are the witnesses of my miracles. Who do you say that I am?” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)”

Today is the memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul. Click here for a letter of Blessed John Paul II on the occasion of the 4th centenary of the priestly ordination of Saint Vincent de Paul. Click here to read an excerpt from Saint Vincent’s writings (today’s Second Reading from the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings) as well as a short biography.

O God,
Who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit,
we may love what he loved and
put into practice what he taught.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week25-2013.

“You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not become intoxicated; you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed; And the hired worker labors for a bag full of holes.” (Haggai 1:6).”

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

“Generally speaking, riches that are not under complete control are the citadels of evil. If the ordinary people look on them covetously, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, because they are letting themselves become contaminated by the things of this world and are living above themselves in self-indulgence. Those concerned for their salvation should take this as their first principle, that, although the whole of creation is ours to use, the universe is made for the sake of self-sufficiency, which anyone can acquire by a few things. They who rejoice in the holdings in their storehouses are foolish in their greed. “He that earned wages,” Scripture reminds us, “put them into a bag with holes.” Such is the man who gathers and stores up his harvest, for by not sharing his wealth with anyone he becomes worse off. (Christ the Educator, 2)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week25-2013

“He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic” (Luke 9:3).”

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

“This is a great vision. But if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet. Remove every chain of sin. Remove the chains of the world. Leave behind earthly sandals. Jesus sent the apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, so that they would not carry earthly things with them. The one who seeks to do good is praised not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet. The Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Therefore remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the gospel. (Flight from the World, 5)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week25-2013.

“He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 18:21)

In commenting on these verses from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“The present lesson teaches us that obedience and listening to God are the causes of every blessing. Some entered and spoke respectfully about Christ’s holy mother and his brothers. He answered in these words, “My mother and my brothers are they who hear the word of God and do it.” Now do not let any one imagine that Christ scorned the honor due to his mother or contemptuously disregarded the love owed to his brothers. He spoke the law by Moses and clearly said, “Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you.” How, I ask, could he have rejected the love due to brothers, who even commanded us to love not merely our brothers but also those who are enemies to us? He says, “Love your enemies.” What does Christ want to teach? His object is to exalt highly his love toward those who are willing to bow the neck to his commands. I will explain the way he does this. The greatest honors and the most complete affection are what we all owe to our mothers and brothers. If he says that they who hear his word and do it are his mother and brothers, is it not plain to every one that he bestows on those who follow him a love thorough and worthy of their acceptance? He would make them readily embrace the desire of yielding themselves to his words and of submitting their mind to his yoke, by means of a complete obedience. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 42)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Pius of Pietrelcina 2013.

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” (Luke 8:16)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:

“Scripture does not say this about a tangible lamp but about a comprehensible one. One does not “light” the lamp and conceal it “with a vessel” or put it “under a bed, but on the lamp stand” within himself. The vessels of the house are the powers of the soul. The bed is the body. “Those who go in” are those who hear the teacher … He calls the holy church a “lamp stand.” By its proclamation, the Word of God gives light to all who are in this world and illuminates those in the house with the rays of the truth, filling the minds of all with divine knowledge. (Fragments on Luke, 120)”

Today is the memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina. Click here for a biography of Padre Pio and here for Blessed Pope John Paul II’s homily on the occasion of Padre Pio’s canonization in 2002.

Almighty ever-living God,
Who, by a singular grace,
gave the Priest Saint Pius
a share in the Cross of your Son and,
by means of his ministry,
renewed the wonders of your mercy,
grant that through his intercession
we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ,
and so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection.
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 You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week25-2013.

“He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ … ‘Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’” (Luke 16:5&7)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on these verses from today's Gospel:

“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. (Homily on Genesis, 13)

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Matthew 2013.

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Why did Jesus not call Matthew at the same time as he called Peter and John and the rest? He came to each one at a particular time when he knew that they would respond to him. He came at a different time to call Matthew when he was assured that Matthew would surrender to his call. Similarly, he called Paul at a different time when he was vulnerable, after the resurrection, something like a hunter going after his quarry. For he who is acquainted with our inmost hearts and knows the secrets of our minds knows when each one of us is ready to respond fully. Therefore he did not call them all together at the beginning, when Matthew was still in a hardened condition. Rather, only after countless miracles, after his fame was spread abroad, did he call Matthew. He knew Matthew had been softened for full responsiveness.

We may admire, incidentally, the self-effacing temperament of Matthew, for we note how he does not disguise his own former life. In his account he freely adds his own name and his own bad profession, while the other Gospel writers had generously protected him under another name. But why did Matthew himself indicate precisely that he was “sitting at the tax office?” To point to the power of the One who called him, underscoring that he was being actively drawn away from the midst of the very evils in which he was presently engaged and that he had not already abandoned his wicked business as a tax gatherer. (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 30 )”

O God,
Who with untold mercy
were pleased to choose as an Apostle
Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that,
sustained by his example and intercession,
we may merit to hold firm in following 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.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Friday-Week24-2013.

“Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5)

In commenting on this verse from the First Letter of Paul to Timothy from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Augustine writes:

“He, then, is happy who has everything he wants but does not want what is not proper…. But, when men have attained that welfare for themselves and for those whom they love, shall we be able to say that they are now happy? They have something which it is proper to wish for, but if they have nothing else, either greater or better or more to their advantage and personal distinction, they are still far from happiness…. Certainly it is proper for them to wish for these things, not for the sake of the things themselves but for another reason, namely, that they may do good by providing for the welfare of those who live under them, but it is not proper to covet them out of the empty pride of self-esteem or useless ostentation or hurtful vanity. (Letters, 1305)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week24-2013.

“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.” (Luke 7:44)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Peter Chrysologus writes:

“With her hands of good works, she holds the feet of those who preach his kingdom. She washes them with tears of charity, kisses them with praising lips, and pours out the whole ointment of mercy, until he will turn her. This means that he will come back to her and say to Simon, to the Pharisees, to those who deny, to the nation of the Jews, “I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet.” When will he speak these words? He will speak them when he will come in the majesty of his Father and separate the righteous from the unrighteous like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. He will say, “I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in.” This is equivalent to saying, “But this woman, while she was bathing my feet, anointing them and kissing them, did to the servants what you did not do for the Master.” She did for the feet what you refused to the Head. She expended upon the lowliest members what you refused to your Creator. Then he will say to the church, “Your sins, many as they are, are forgiven you because you have loved much. (Sermon 95)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week24-2013

“They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’” (Luke 7:32)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“The prophet’s words will apply to us, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil. Who call bitter sweet and sweet bitter. Who put light for darkness, and darkness for light.” This was the character of the Israelites and especially of those who were their chiefs, the scribes, namely, and Pharisees. Christ said about them, “To what shall I liken the men of this generation? (Commentary on Luke, Homily 39)”

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week24-2013.

“When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”” (Luke 7:13)

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

“Although there is grave sin that you cannot wash away yourself with the tears of your penitence, let the mother of the church weep for you. She who intercedes for all as a widowed mother for only sons is she who suffers with the spiritual grief of nature when she perceives her children urged on to death by mortal sins. We are heart of her heart, for there is also a spiritual heart that Paul has, saying, “Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.” We are the heart of the church, since we are members of his Body, of his flesh and of his bones. Let the pious mother grieve, let the crowd, too, help. Let not only the crowd but also a multitude feel pity for a good parent. Already at the funeral you will arise, already will you be released from the sepulcher; the attendants at your funeral will stand still, you will begin to speak words of life, all will be afraid; for very many are corrected by the example of one. They will praise God, who has bestowed upon us such great help for the avoidance of death.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5)

Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!