Words of the Word

— The Lord’s Day —
Ordinary Time Week 33: Sunday

“It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.” (Matthew 25:14)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“The man who is the landowner is actually the Creator and Lord of all. The Word compares the time the landowner spends away from home in the parable to either the ascension of Christ into heaven or at any rate to the unseen and invisible character of the divine nature. Now one must conceive of the property of God as those in each country and city who believe in him. He calls his servants those who according to the times Christ crowns with the glory of the priesthood. For the holy Paul writes, “No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God.” He hands over [his property] to those who are under him, to each giving a spiritual gift so that he might have character and aptitude. We think that this distribution of the talents is not supplied to the household servants in equal measure because each is quite different from the other in their understanding. Immediately they head out for their labors, he says, directly indicating to us here that apart from the procrastination of one they are fit to carry out the work of God. Surely those who are bound by fear and laziness will end up in the worst evils. For he buried, Jesus says, the talent given to him in the earth. He kept the gift hidden, making it unprofitable for others and useless for himself. For that very reason the talent is taken away from him and will be given to the one who is already rich. The Spirit has departed from such as these and the gift of the divine gifts. But to those who are industrious an even more lavish gift will be presented.” (Fragment 283)

Collect

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. 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

Ordinary Time Week 32: Saturday

“Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (Luke 18:1)

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

“He prays for those who pray and appeals with those who appeal. He does not, however, pray for servants who do not pray continuously through him. He will not be the Advocate with God for his own if they are not obedient to his instructions that they always should pray and not lose heart. It says, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they should always pray and not lose heart. In a certain city there was a judge, etc.” Who would hesitate a moment to be persuaded to pray if he believes that the mouth of Jesus cannot lie, when he says, “Ask, and it will be given you for everyone who asks, receives”? (On Prayer, 10)

Collect

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. 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

— Saint Frances Cabrini —
Ordinary Time Week 32: Thursday

“Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.” (Luke 17:22)

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

“Asked by the disciples when the kingdom of God would come, the Lord said, “The kingdom of God is within you,” through the truth of grace and not through the slavery of guilt. Let those that would be free be servants in the Lord. As we share in service, we also share in the kingdom. He said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” He would not say when it would come. He said there would be a day of judgment, so that he instilled in all terror of the judgment to come, and he did not add the guarantee of its postponement.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 8)

Saint Frances Cabrini

On 31 May 2000, Pope Saint John Paul II penned a letter, «To the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart on the 150th Anniversary of Mother Cabrini's Birth.»

In the letter, the saintly Holy Father wrote, “I joyfully join the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in thanking the Lord on the 150th anniversary of the birth of its foundress, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, and the 50th anniversary of her being proclaimed patroness of immigrants.” more ...

Collect

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.

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

— Saint Josaphat —
Ordinary Time Week 32: Wednesday

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

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, 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, «Homily 113»)

Collect

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.

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

— Saint Martin of Tours —
Ordinary Time Week 32: Tuesday

“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)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel reading:

“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.” (Homilies on Genesis, 31)

Collect

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.

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

— Pope Saint Leo the Great —
Ordinary Time Week 32: Monday

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3)

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

“If your brother sins against you, reprove him.” After the parable of the rich man who was tortured in punishment, how fittingly he added the command of showing mercy to those indeed who repent of their error, for fear that despair might not recall someone from guilt! He is truly moderate, so that pardon is not difficult or leniency lax, fearing that harsh reproof might cast someone down or conspiracy might invite guilt! He fittingly said, “If your brother sins against you,” for it is not an equal condition to sin against people and against God. The apostle, who is a true interpreter of the divine prophecy, says, “After the first admonition, avoid a person that is a heretic,” because unbelief is not on a par with minor transgression. Since error very often surprises someone through ignorance, he commands that it should be rebuked, so that stubbornness is shunned and a mistake is corrected.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 8)

Pope Saint Leo the Great

On 8 March 2008, Pope-emeritus Benedict devoted his weekly Wednesday General Audience to the life and theology of this great Western Father of the Church:

“Continuing our journey through the Fathers of the Church, true stars that shine in the distance, at our meeting today we encounter a Pope who in 1754 Benedict XIV proclaimed a Doctor of the Church: St Leo the Great. more ...

Collect

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. 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

Feast of the
— Dedication of the Lateran Basilica —
in Rome

“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)

History

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.

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 with the property eventually passing 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).”

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 31: Saturday

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel reading:

“You know that many high standing people renege on repayment of a loan. They are either resistant with a bad attitude or unable to pay because of poverty, as it often happens. In the case of the Lord of all, there is no room for thinking this. On the contrary, the loan is proof against loss. He guarantees to return in good time one hundred percent of what was deposited, and he keeps life everlasting in reserve for us. In the future, what excuse will we have if we are negligent and fail to gain a hundredfold in place of the little we have, the future in place of the present, the eternal in place of the temporary? What excuse will we have if we heedlessly lock our money behind doors and barricades, and we prefer to leave it lying idle? Instead, we should make it available to the needy now, so that in the future we may count on support from them. Remember that Scripture says, “Make friends with ill-gotten gains so that, when you go down in the world, they may welcome you into their eternal dwellings.” (Homilies on Genesis, 3)

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 31: Friday

“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 16:7)

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

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

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 31: Thursday

“So to them he addressed this parable...” (Luke 15:3)

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

“St. Luke did not idly present three parables in a row. By the parables of the sheep that strayed and was found, the coin which was lost and was found, and the son who was dead and came to life, we may cure our wounds, being encouraged by a threefold remedy. “A threefold cord will not be broken.” Who are the father, the shepherd and the woman? They are God the Father, Christ and the church. Christ carries you on his body, he who took your sins on himself. The church seeks, and the Father receives. The shepherd carries. The mother searches. The father clothes. First mercy comes, then intercession, and third reconciliation. Each complements the other. The Savior rescues, the church intercedes, and the Creator reconciles. The mercy of the divine act is the same, but the grace differs according to our merits. The weary sheep is recalled by the shepherd, the coin which was lost is found, the son retraces his steps to his father and returns, guilty of error but totally repentant.”

Let us rejoice that the sheep that had strayed in Adam is lifted on Christ. The shoulders of Christ are the arms of the cross. There, I laid down my sins. I rested on the neck of that noble yoke. The sheep is one in kind, not in appearance, because “we are all one body” but many members. It is written, “You are the body of Christ, and members individually.” “The Son of man came to seek and save what was lost.” He sought all, because “as in Adam all men die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 7)

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 31: Wednesday

“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 (part 2 of the background of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is found here) 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)

Collect

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

— Election Day (USA) —
4 November 2014

As citizens in the United States of America vote today in midterm elections, may the Lord’s blessing be upon our land and indeed the entire world.

SCRIPTURE

“His help is near for those who fear Him and His glory will dwell in our land. Psalm 85” Click for full Psalm.

COLLECT

(This prayer is taken from The Roman Missal, “Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, #21: For the Nation or State”)

O God,
Who arrange all things according
to a wonderful design,
graciously receive the prayers
we pour out to You for our country,
that, through the wisdom of its leaders and
the integrity of its citizens,
harmony and justice may be assured
and lasting prosperity come with peace.
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.

— Saint Charles Borromeo —
Ordinary Time Week 31: Tuesday

“But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’” (Luke 14:18)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

““They began,” it says, “all of them at once to make excuse,” that is, as with one purpose, without any delay, they made excuse…. By senselessly giving themselves up to these earthly matters, they cannot see things spiritual. Conquered by the love of the flesh, they are far from holiness. They are covetous and greedy after wealth. They seek things that are below but make no account in the slightest degree of the hopes that are stored up with God. It would be far better to gain the joys of paradise instead of earthly fields and temporary furrows.” (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 104»)

Collect

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. 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

Ordinary Time Week 31: Monday

“Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.” (Luke 14:12)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

““When,” he says, “a man more honorable than you comes, he that invited you and him will say, ‘Give this man place.’” Oh, what great shame is there in having to do this! It is like a theft, so to speak, and the restitution of the stolen goods. He must restore what he has seized because he had no right to take it. The modest and praiseworthy person, who without fear of blame might have claimed the dignity of sitting among the foremost, does not seek it. He yields to others what might be called his own, that he may not even seem to be overcome by empty pride. Such a one shall receive honor as his due. He says, “He shall hear him who invited him say, ‘Come up here.’”

If any one among you wants to be set above others, let him win it by the decree of heaven and be crowned by those honors that God bestows. Let him surpass the many by having the testimony of glorious virtues. The rule of virtue is a lowly mind that does not love boasting. It is humility. The blessed Paul also counted this worthy of all esteem. He writes to those who eagerly desire saintly pursuits, “Love humility.” (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 101»)

Collect

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

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me...” (John 6:47)

Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse from today’s Gospel reading:

“When he says, “All that the Father gives me shall come to me,” he touches on their unbelief, showing that whoever does not believe on him transgresses the will of the Father. He covertly shows that unbelievers are not only at variance with him but also with the Father. For if this is [the Son’s] will, and if this is the reason he came, that is, that he might save the entire world, then those who do not believe transgress his will. When, therefore, he says, the Father guides someone, there is nothing that hinders that person from coming to [Jesus]. And Paul says that [the Son] delivers them up to the Father. Now just as the Father, when he gives, does not take from himself, so neither does the Son take from himself when he gives up. The Son is said to give up to the Father because we are brought to the Father by him. And at the same time, we read that it was the Father “by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son,” that is, by the will of the Father. Faith in me, he intimates here, is no ordinary thing or one that comes from human reason, but [it] needs a revelation from above. And this he establishes throughout his discourse, showing that this faith requires a noble sort of soul, and one drawn on by God. The expression “that the Father gives me” shows that it is no accident whether a person believes or not. It shows that belief is not the work of human reasoning but requires a revelation from on high and a mind devout enough to receive the revelation. “Whoever then,” our Lord says, “comes to me, shall be saved,” meaning they shall be greatly cared for. For to save such as these I took up flesh and the form of a servant.” (Homilies on the Gospel of John, 45)

Collect

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. 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

— Solemnity: All Saints —

“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 an ancient work known as the Incomplete Work on Matthew, an anonymous Ancient Christian Writer (ACW) offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“Wasn’t he able to teach right there where the people were? He went up on the mountain for two specific reasons. First, that he might fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, “Go up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings.” Next, that he might show the mystery of love. For his ascent signifies the height of virtue. He therefore went up the mountain to show us that whoever teaches and whoever hears God’s way of justice must stand on the height of spiritual virtues. The one who teaches must himself be an example of his words, so he may teach more by his works than his words, as the apostle says to Timothy: “Set the believers an example.” The one who walks in the valley of earthly life, however, treads on obscure pathways and speaks high-flown words: He does not teach anyone but chastens himself. For no one can stand in the valley and speak from a mountain. Speak from where you take your stand. Take your stand from where you are speaking.” (Incomplete Work on Matthew, «Homily 9»)

Preface

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

For today by Your gift we celebrate
the festival of your city,
the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother,
where the great array
of our brothers and sisters
already gives you eternal praise.
Towards her, we eagerly hasten,
as pilgrims advancing by faith,
rejoicing in the glory
bestowed upon those exalted members
of the Church through whom you give us,
in our frailty, both strength and good example.

And so, we glorify You
with the multitude of Saints and Angels,
as with one voice of praise we acclaim.

Collect

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.

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

Ordinary Time Week 30: Friday

“Then he said to them, “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” (Luke 14:5)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“As they were silent from ill will, Christ refutes their unrelenting shamelessness by the convincing arguments that he uses. “Whose son of you,” he says, “or whose ox shall fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw him out on the sabbath day?” If the law forbids showing mercy on the sabbath, why do you take compassion on that which has fallen into the pit? The God of all does not cease to be kind. He is good and loving to people.” (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 101»)

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 30: Thursday

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!” (Luke 13:34)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“He shows that Jerusalem is guilty of the blood of many saints, declaring that it is not possible for a prophet to perish away from it. From this it follows that its people were about to fall from being members of God’s spiritual family, that they were about to be rejected from the hope of the saints and entirely deprived of the inheritance of those blessings which are in store for those who have been saved by faith. He showed them that they were forgetful of God’s gifts, and stubborn, and slothful to everything that might have profited them, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken.” He taught them through the most wise Moses, and ordained for them the law to direct them in their conduct, and to be their ruler and guide in a life worthy of admiration. Though this law was but as yet in shadows, it nevertheless possessed the type of the true worship. He admonished them by the holy prophets. He would have had them under his wings, that is, under the protection of his power, but they lost the valuable blessings by being disposed to evil, ungrateful and scornful.” (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 100»)

Collect

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

Ordinary Time Week 30: Wednesday

“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Luke 13:24)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“I now consider it my duty to mention why the door to life is narrow. Whoever would enter must first before everything else possess an upright and uncorrupted faith and then a spotless morality, in which there is no possibility of blame, according to the measure of human righteousness. One who has attained to this in mind and spiritual strength will enter easily by the narrow door and run along the narrow way.”

Wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.” What are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency toward carnal lust and a shameful and pleasure-loving life. It is luxurious feasts, parties, banquets and unrestricted inclinations to everything that is condemned by the law and displeasing to God. A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him. (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 99»)

Collect

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

— Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles —
Ordinary Time Week 30: Tuesday

“In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

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

“So the Lord prays, not to entreat for himself but to intercede for me. Although the Father placed all things in the power of his Son, yet the Son, in order to fulfill the form of a man, thinks that the Father must be entreated for us, because he is our Advocate. If he is an Advocate, he must intercede on account of my sins. It says, “He passed the whole night in prayer.” A model is given to you. A form is prescribed which you must imitate. Unless I am mistaken, it is nowhere found that he prayed with the apostles. Everywhere he entreats alone, for human prayers do not grasp the counsels of God, nor can anyone share with Christ in the inward mysteries.”

It says, “He called unto him his disciples, and he chose twelve of them,” whom he appointed sowers of the faith, to spread the help of human salvation throughout the world. At the same time, observe the heavenly counsel. He chose not wise men, nor rich men, nor nobles, but fishermen and tax collectors, whom he would direct, lest they seem to have seduced some by wisdom, or bought them with riches, or attracted them to their own grace with the authority of power and nobility. He did this so that the reasoning of truth, not the grace of disputation, should prevail. (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5)

Collect

O God, who by the blessed Apostles
have brought us to acknowledge your name,
graciously grant,
through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude,
that the Church may constantly grow
by increase of the peoples who believe in 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 the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Ordinary Time Week 30: Monday

When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” (Luke 13:12)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel, writes:

“The incarnation of the Word and his assumption of human nature took place for the overthrow of death, destruction and the envy harbored against us by the wicked Serpent, who was the first cause of evil. This plainly is proved to us by facts themselves. He set free the daughter of Abraham from her protracted sickness, calling out and saying, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” A speech most worthy of God, and full of supernatural power! With the royal inclination of his will, he drives away the disease. He also lays his hands upon her. It says that she immediately was made straight. It is now also possible to see that his holy flesh bore in it the power and activity of God. It was his own flesh, and not that of some other Son beside him, distinct and separate from him, as some most impiously imagine.” (Commentary on Luke, «Homily 96»)

Collect

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

— The Lord’s Day —
Ordinary Time Week 30: Sunday

“He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)

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

“However, now as He responds, He says, “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole mind.” This is the greatest and the first commandment. His statement contains something necessary for us to know, since it is the greatest. The others — even to the least of them — are inferior to it. Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love.” (Commentary on Matthew, 4)

Collect

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