Words of the Word

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Thursday-Week33-2013. Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it ...” (Luke 19:41)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on this Gospel verse:

“When our Lord and Savior approached Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept.… By his example, Jesus confirms all the Beatitudes that he speaks in the Gospel. By his own witness, he confirms what he teaches. “Blessed are the meek,” he says. He says something similar to this of himself: “Learn from me, for I am meek.” “Blessed are the peacemakers.” What other man brought as much peace as my Lord Jesus, who “is our peace,” who “dissolves hostility” and “destroys it in his own flesh”? “Blessed are those who suffer persecution because of justice.” No one suffered such persecution because of justice as did the Lord Jesus, who was crucified for our sins. The Lord therefore exhibited all the Beatitudes in himself. For the sake of this likeness, he wept, because of what he said, “Blessed are those who weep,” to lay the foundations for this beatitude as well. He wept for Jerusalem “and said, ‘If only you had known on that day what meant peace for you! But now it is hidden from your eyes,’” and the rest, to the point where he says, “Because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Homily on the Gospel of Luke, 38).”

As we venerate the glorious memory
of the most holy Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, O Lord,
through her intercession, that we, too,
may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace.
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.

Click here for a link to the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings Second Reading from Saint Augustine on this Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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. Wednesday-Week33-2013.

“Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.” (Luke 19:20-21)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“In the Gospel, you have heard both the reward of the good servants and the punishment of the bad. The fault of that servant who was reproved and severely punished was this and only this: that he would not put to use what he had received. He preserved it intact, but his master was looking for a profit from it. God is greedy for our salvation. If such condemnation befalls the servant who did not use what he had received, what should they who lose it expect? We therefore are dispensers. We expend, but you receive. We expect a profit on your part—living good lives—for that is the profit from our dispensing. Do not think that you are free from the obligation of dispensing. Of course, you cannot dispense your gifts as from this higher station of ours, but you can dispense them in whatever station you happen to be. When Christ is attacked, defend him. Give an answer to those who complain. Rebuke blasphemers, but keep yourselves far from any fellowship with them. If in this way you gain anyone, you are putting your gifts to use.” (Sermon 94)

Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God,
the constant gladness of being devoted to you,
for it is full and lasting happiness
to serve with constancy
the author of all that is good.
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. Tuesday-Week33-2013

“So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.” (Luke 19:4)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“Zacchaeus climbed away from the crowd and saw Jesus without the crowd getting in his way. The crowd laughs at the lowly, to people walking the way of humility, who leave the wrongs they suffer in God’s hands and do not insist on getting back at their enemies. The crowd laughs at the lowly and says, “You helpless, miserable clod, you cannot even stick up for yourself and get back what is your own.” The crowd gets in the way and prevents Jesus from being seen. The crowd boasts and crows when it is able to get back what it owns. It blocks the sight of the one who said as he hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” ... He ignored the crowd that was getting in his way. He instead climbed a sycamore tree, a tree of “silly fruit.” As the apostle says, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block indeed to the Jews, [now notice the sycamore] but folly to the Gentiles.” Finally, the wise people of this world laugh at us about the cross of Christ and say, “What sort of minds do you people have, who worship a crucified God?” What sort of minds do we have? They are certainly not your kind of mind. “The wisdom of this world is folly with God.” No, we do not have your kind of mind. You call our minds foolish. Say what you like, but for our part, let us climb the sycamore tree and see Jesus. The reason you cannot see Jesus is that you are ashamed to climb the sycamore tree. Let Zacchaeus grasp the sycamore tree, and let the humble person climb the cross. That is little enough, merely to climb it. We must not be ashamed of the cross of Christ, but we must fix it on our foreheads, where the seat of shame is. Above where all our blushes show is the place we must firmly fix that for which we should never blush. As for you, I rather think you make fun of the sycamore, and yet that is what has enabled me to see Jesus. You make fun of the sycamore, because you are just a person, but “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” (Sermon 174, 25)

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. Monday-Week33-2013.

“Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging ...” (Luke 18:35)

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

“In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, two men are depicted, but Luke depicts one. Matthew depicts it as Jesus was leaving Jericho, but Luke as he was approaching the city. Otherwise there is no difference. The image of the Gentile people is in this case one man who through the divine blessing received the clarity of his lost sight. It makes no difference whether the Gentile people received the healing through one or two blind men since, taking the origin from Ham and Japheth, sons of Noah, they set out the two authors of their race in two blind men.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 8)

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. Sunday-Week33-2013.

“... but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” (Luke 21:18)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“We should have no doubt that our mortal flesh also will rise again at the end of the world. This is the Christian faith. This is the Catholic faith. This is the apostolic faith. Believe Christ when he says, “Not a hair of your head shall perish.” Putting aside all unbelief, consider how valuable you are. How can our Redeemer despise any person when he cannot despise a hair of that person’s head? How are we going to doubt that he intends to give eternal life to our soul and body? He took on a soul and body in which to die for us, which he laid down for us when he died and which he took up again that we might not fear death.” (Sermon 214)

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-Week32-2013.

“I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

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

“People sell the word of righteousness and make many abandon sound faith. They involve them in the inventions of devilish error. As Scripture says, they belch things out of their own hearts and not out of the mouth of the Lord. He foretold this saying, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” It did not escape his knowledge. How could it, since he is God, who knows all things? In his own words, he tells us that the love of many will grow cold. In the end times, some will depart from a correct and blameless faith. They will be going after seducing spirits and listening to the false words of people who have a seared conscience. Against these, we come near to God as faithful servants, begging him that their wickedness and their attempts against his glory may have no effect.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 119)

Almighty and merciful God,
graciously keep from us all adversity,
so that, unhindered in mind and body alike,
we may pursue in freedom of heart
the things that are yours.
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. Friday-Week32-2013.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“In the days of Noah this preaching to them was futile because they did not believe when the patience of God waited for them for many years in which the ark was built. Its building was in a sense a kind of preaching. In the same way today, their imitators do not believe. They are shut up in the darkness of ignorance. They are like in a prison, looking in vain on the church being built throughout the whole world. Judgment threatens them as did the flood in which all the unbelievers perished. The Lord says, “As in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of man. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Since this signified a future event, the flood also signified baptism for believers and death for unbelievers. There is also a symbol in what was spoken and not done, where it is written about the stone that signifies Christ. Two effects were foretold. It is a stumbling block for unbelievers and a building for believers.” (Letter 164)

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. Thursday-Week32-2013.

“Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed ...” (Luke 17:20)

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

“These miserable men ask in mockery, “When will the kingdom of God come?” This is like saying, “Before this kingdom of which you speak comes, cross and death will seize you.” What does Christ reply? He again displays his long-suffering and incomparable love to humanity. Reviled, he does not revile again. Suffering, he does not threaten. He does not harshly scold them, but because of their wickedness, he does not stoop to give them an answer to their question. He says only what is for the benefit of all people: that the kingdom of God does not come by watching. “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” He says, “Do not ask about the times in which the season of the kingdom of heaven will again arise and come. Rather, be eager that you may be found worthy of it. It is within you. That is, it depends on your own wills and is in your own power, whether or not you receive it. Everyone that has attained to justification by means of faith in Christ and decorated by every virtue is counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 117)

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. Wednesday-Week32-2013. Saint Frances Cabrini (USA)

“And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14)

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

“Why did he not say, “I will, be cleansed,” as he did in the case of another leper, instead of commanding them to show themselves to the priests? It was because the law gave directions to this effect to those who were delivered from leprosy. It commanded them to show themselves to the priests and to offer a sacrifice for their cleansing. He commanded them to go as being already healed so that they might bear witness to the priests, the rulers of the Jews and always envious of his glory. They testified that wonderfully and beyond their hope, they had been delivered from their misfortune by Christ’s willing that they should be healed. He did not heal them first but sent them to the priests, because the priests knew the marks of leprosy and of its healing.” (Commentary on Luke, Homilies 113-116)

God our Father,
Who called Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
from Italy to serve the immigrants of America,
by her example, teach us to have concern
for the stranger, the sick, and all those in need,
and by her prayers help us to see
Christ in all the men and women we meet.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here for some biographical data on Saint Frances Cabrini and here for today’s Second Reading from the Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings.

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. Tuesday-Week32-2013. Saint Josaphat.

“So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” (Luke 17:10)

In commenting upon this verse from today’s Mass Readings, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“He said, “When you have done everything, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants,’” to warn them in his wish that they keep themselves at great distance from that destructive passion. Dearly beloved, see how the person with his mouth open for human glory and performing the works of virtue on that account has no benefit from it. Despite practicing every example of virtue, if he seems to give himself credit for it, he ends up empty-handed and bereaved of everything.” (Homily on Genesis, 31)

Stir up in your Church,
we pray, O Lord,
the Spirit that filled Saint Josaphat
as he laid down his life for the sheep,
so that through his intercession
we, too, may be strengthened
by the same Spirit and
not be afraid to lay down our life for others.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here for some biographical data on Saint Josaphat as well as today’s “Second Reading” from the Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings.

Continue praying for all who are suffering the results of Super Typhoon Haiyan and now an earthquake. Consider offering a gift to help with relief services.

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. Monday-Week32-2013. Saint Martin of Tours. Veterans' Day (USA).

“And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” (Luke 17:4)

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

“He says, “If he who sins against you repents and acknowledges his fault, you shall forgive him not only once, but very many times.” We … must rather imitate those whose business it is to heal our bodily diseases and who do not care for a sick person once only or twice, but just as often as he happens to become ill. Let us remember that we also are liable to infirmities and overpowered by our passions. This being the case, we pray that those who have the duty to rebuke us and who have the authority to punish us may show themselves forgiving and kind to us. It is our duty, having a common feeling for our mutual infirmities, to bear one another’s burdens, so we will fulfill the law of Christ. Observe also that in the Gospel according to Matthew, Peter makes the inquiry, “How often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” The Lord then tells the apostles, “Although he sins seven times in the day,” that is, frequently, “and will acknowledge his fault, you shall forgive him.” (Commentary on Luke, Homilies 113-116)

O God,
Who are glorified in the Bishop Saint Martin
both by his life and death, make new,
we pray, the wonders of your grace
in our hearts, that neither death nor life
may separate us from your love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here for some biographical data on Saint Martin of Tours as well as today’s Second Reading from the Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings.

Veterans’ Day is observed today in the United States of America. Click here for further information and prayer resources.

Continue praying for all who are suffering the results of Super Typhoon Haiyan. On this feast of ‘Martin the Charitable,’ consider offering a gift to help with relief services.

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-Week32-2013.

“We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do.” (II Thessalonians 3:4)

Saint Maximus of Turin offers the following insight on this verse from today's Pauline proclamation:

“Through the operation of these millstones — the new and the old covenants — the holy church, then, acts with unceasing care so as to draw out the fine flour of a clean heart from hidden thoughts, once the roughness of sins has been scattered, and to produce spiritual food from their kernels when they have been cleansed by the heavenly commandments. The apostle Paul says about this food, “I gave you milk to drink, not food,” and again, “Solid food is for the perfect, who have their faculties trained by habit,” and so forth. Purifying our hearts from all that is human, the faithful soul strives to offer God as it were the finest wheat, as holy David says, “A broken spirit is a sacrifice to God.” The gospel rushes forward with such speed, however, that only the wise know of its movement. About this speed the blessed Paul says with understanding, “May the word of God speed on and be made glorious in us.” But in the eyes of the foolish the gospel seems to stand still, I say, because they neglect its commands, for they do not believe that what has been written will come to pass.” (Sermon 20)

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-Week31-2013. The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.

“He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.” (John 2:14)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Nevertheless, in order to seek the mystery of the deed in the figurative meaning, who are they who sell the oxen? Who are they who sell the sheep and doves? They are those who seek their own interests in the church rather than those of Jesus Christ. Those who have no desire for redemption have everything for sale. They do not want to be bought; they want to sell. Yet surely it is for their good that they be redeemed by the blood of Christ so that they may attain the peace of Christ. For what profit is there in acquiring anything temporal or transitory in this world — whether it be money, or gorging oneself on food or achieving high honors from your fellow human beings? Are not all things smoke and wind? Do not all things pass on in a moment? And woe to those who want to hang on to passing things, for they pass with them! ... My brothers, those who seek such things sell them. For Simon [Magus] too wanted to buy the Holy Spirit for that very reason — because he wanted to sell the Holy Spirit — and he thought that the apostles were the kind of merchants that the Lord drove out of the temple with a scourge. But he was the one who was actually such a merchant, wanting to buy what he might sell. He was of those who sell doves. For the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. Therefore, brothers, who are those who sell doves — who are they except those who say, “We give the Holy Spirit”? Why do they say this and at what price do they sell? At the price of their own honor. They receive for a time bishops’ seats as their price, that they may seem to sell doves. Let them beware of the scourge of ropes. The dove is not for sale; it is given gratis, for it is called grace.” (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 10)

On this day in 324, lands and buildings that originally belonged to the Roman Laterani family were formally dedicated as the Cathedral Church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I. The during the reign of Emperor Nero, the Laterani family lost the property to the Emperor when a family member was accused of some unknown impropriety against Nero. From the the time of Nero to the early years of the fourth century, the ‘ownership history’ is somewhat sketchy as the property eventually passes to Constantine's wife, Fausta. What is clear is that with the Edict of Toleration, the Roman Empire's relationship with the Church changed dramatically. Not only were bishops appointed civil magistrates by the emperor, Constantine also began an aggressive 'renovation' project taking existing Roman buildings and permitting the bishops to use them for places of worship and ecclesiastical gatherings/meetings. New buildings were also constructed during this time and dedicated as Churches to signal the Church’s clear visible presence in the Empire. Robin Jensen notes that this ‘church building campaign’ “symbolized the beginning of Christianity’s transition from a minority community adapting what it had available and expressing itself in familiar terms, to a powerful, wealthy and dominant segment of the population, now able to determine the forms and styles by which it expressed its own cultural identity. The imposing scale and potential grandeur of the basilica design well suited the gradually more elaborate liturgy, even as it reflected the changed social and political status of the church and became a definitive and monumental symbol of the church’s new self-understanding and cultural integration (Christianity: Origins to Constantine, page 585).”

O God,
Who from living and chosen stones
prepare an eternal dwelling for Your majesty,
increase in your Church
the spirit of grace you have bestowed,
so that by new growth your faithful people
may build up the heavenly Jerusalem.
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. Friday-Week31-2013.

“He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 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 16:5-6)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on these Gospel verses:

“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).”

Almighty and merciful God,
by whose gift Your faithful offer
You right and praiseworthy service,
grant, we pray, that we may hasten
without stumbling to receive
the things you have promised.
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-Week31-2013.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8)

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

“The price of the soul is faith. Faith is the lost drachma that the woman in the Gospel seeks diligently. We read that she lit a candle and swept her house. After finding it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, inviting them to rejoice with her because she has found the drachma that she had lost. The damage to the soul is great if one has lost the faith or the grace that he has gained for himself at the price of faith. Light your lamp. “Your lamp is your eye,” that is, the interior eye of the soul. Light the lamp that feeds on the oil of the spirit and shines throughout your whole house. Search for the drachma, the redemption of your soul. If a person loses this, he is troubled, and if he finds it, he rejoices.” (Letter 20)

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. Wednesday-Week31-2013

“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” (Luke 14:28)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The Gospel somewhere says that a person who begins to build a tower but stops with the foundations and never completes it is ridiculous. What do we learn from this parable? We learn that we should work to bring every aspiration to a conclusion, completing the work of God by an elaborate building up of his commandments. One stone does not make a complete tower, nor does one commandment bring the perfection of the soul to its desired measure. It is necessary to both erect the foundation and, as the apostle says, “to lay upon it a foundation of gold and precious stones.” That is what the products of the commandments are called by the prophet when he says, “I have loved your commandment more than gold and much precious stone.” (On Virginity, 18)”

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. Tuesday-Week31-2013.

“The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.” (Luke 14:23)

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

“He turned to the Gentiles from the careless scorn of the rich. He invites both good and evil to enter in order to strengthen the good and change the disposition of the wicked for the better. The saying that was read today is fulfilled, “Then wolves and lambs will feed together.” He summons the poor, the maimed and the blind. By this, he shows us either that handicaps do not exclude us from the kingdom of heaven and whoever lacks the enticements of sinning rarely offends, or that the Lord’s mercy forgives the weakness of sinners. Whoever glories in the Lord glories as one redeemed from reproach not by works but by faith. He sends them into the highways, because wisdom sings aloud in passages. He sends them to the streets, because he sent them to sinners, so that they should come from the broad paths to the narrow way that leads to life. He sends them to the highways and hedges. They, who are not busied with any desires for present things, hurry to the future on the path of good will. Like a hedge that separates the wild from the cultivated and wards off the attacks of wild beasts, they can distinguish between good and evil and extend a rampart of faith against the temptations of spiritual wickedness.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7)”

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. Monday-Week31-2013. St Charles Borromeo.

“Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind ...” (Luke 14:13)

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Where are the hundredfold rewards in this age for the dinners offered to the poor? These things will be during the times of the kingdom, on the seventh day that is sanctified when God rested from all his works that he made. This is the true sabbath of the just, in which they will have no earthly work to do, but will have a table prepared before them by God, who will feed them with all kinds of delicacies.” (Against Heresies, 5)

Today is the feast of Saint Charles Borromeo. Pope Saint Pius X wrote an encyclical, On Saint Charles, 26 May 1910. An excerpt from Saint Charles’ writing on prayer appears as the Second Reading in today’s Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours.

On this day, kindly remember in your prayers the seminarians, faculty and staff of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, PA. Archbishop Charles Chaput will celebrate Mass at the Seminary today and admit a number of seminarians as Candidates for the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord,
the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed and,
by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
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-Week31-2013.

“So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.” (Luke 19:4)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on these verses from today’s Gospel:

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. All Souls 2013.

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” (John 6:37)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“This is the reason why he does not cast out those who come to him. “For I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me.” The soul departed from God because it was proud. . . . Pride casts us out, humility restores us ... When a physician in the treatment of a disease cures certain outward symptoms but not the cause that produces them, his cure is only temporary. So long as the cause remains, the disease may return ... That the cause then of all diseases, that is, pride, might be eradicated, the Son of God humbled himself. Why are you proud, O man? The Son of God humbled himself for you. It might shame you, perhaps, to imitate a humble man; but imitate at least a humble God ... And this is the proof of his humility: “I came not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me.” Pride does its own will; humility does the will of God. For this very reason, therefore, I will not cast out the one who comes to me, because I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. I came to teach humility by being humble myself. Whoever comes to me is made a member of me. Such a person is necessarily humble, because he will not do his own will but the will of God; and therefore [this person] is not cast out. He was cast out, as proud ... But he will not cast us out because we are members of the one who desired to be our head by teaching us humility.” (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 25)

Listen kindly to our prayers, O Lord,
and, as our faith in your Son,
raised from the dead, is deepened,
so may our hope of resurrection
for Your departed servants also find new strength.
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.

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

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. ALL SAINTS 2013.

“When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.” (Matthew 5:1)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Gospel, Saint Jerome of Bethlehem writes:

“The Lord went up the mountain that he might bring the crowds with him to higher things. The crowds were unable to go up, however, and he was followed by the disciples to whom he spoke, not standing but sitting together. For they were unable to understand this brilliant man in his majesty. Many of the simple believers literally believed that he taught the Beatitudes and other things on the Mount of Olives, but this is not really true. From the events that went before and followed, the place in Galilee has been shown to be what we believe is either Mount Tabor or some other high mountain. After he finished speaking, the Evangelist says, “Now when he had entered Capernaum.”” (Commentary on Matthew, 1)

Almighty ever-living God,
by whose gift we venerate in one celebration
the merits of all the Saints,
bestow on us, we pray,
through the prayers of so many intercessors,
an abundance of the reconciliation
with You for which we earnestly long.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to 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-Week30-2013.

“Behold, your house will be abandoned. [But] I tell you, you will not see me until [the time comes when] you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 13:35)

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

““And I tell you,” he says, “you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.’” What does this mean? The Lord withdrew from Jerusalem and left as unworthy of his presence those who said, “Get away from here.” And after he had walked about Judea and saved many and performed miracles which no words can adequately describe, he returned again to Jerusalem. It was then that he sat upon a colt of a donkey, while vast multitudes and young children, holding up branches of palm trees, went before him, praising him and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Having left them, therefore, as being unworthy, he says that when the time of his passion has arrived, he will then barely be seen by them. Then again he went up to Jerusalem and entered amidst praises, and at that very time endured his saving passion in our behalf, that by suffering he might save and renew to incorruption the inhabitants of the earth. God the Father has saved us by Christ. ” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 100)”

Almighty ever-living God,
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what you promise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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