Words of the Word

Words of THE WORD
Ordinary Time Week 5: Sunday

Gospel excerpt:

“He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach (κηρύξω, keruxo) there also. For this purpose have I come.” (Mark 1:38)

Reflection:

Jesus is ‘with the word’ in the Synagogue. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law in her home. Jesus communes with His Father in the desert. Each of these actions of Jesus, occurring in a definitive place at a particular time, give insight to His mission and ministry in the created order and will unfold in intensity as His Public Ministry moves from the region of Galilee to Jerusalem where this King will be crucified. Yet, from His own lips, Jesus frames the purpose of His work “to preach.”

The Greek verb κηρύσσω (kerysso, ‘to cry aloud,’ ‘to announce’) has roots in the world of public Greek games. In that setting, image what it would take to be heard? The act of announcing, κηρύσσω, minimally required a powerful voice capable of being heard above the din of the crowd. Interestingly in the Greek world of antiquity, the person capable of κηρύσσω and doing it well became an important person in the community, occupying a prestigious social position. κηρύσσω is not so much about ‘screaming’ as it is about ‘being heard in the midst of other voices.’ While the New Testament certainly makes use of κηρύσσω in various passages, it is the action of κηρύσσω that is paramount, not the person doing the announcing, the basis of the Christian ministerial quip, ‘it is all about the Message, not the messenger.’ The point here is that κηρύσσω, especially in its original usage, is a very vibrant and dynamic word used to express the vitality of an essential message. We may be lulled into an image of preaching that is boring, monotone, blah-blah-blah, yada-yada-yada, but κηρύσσω says otherwise.

In antiquity, κηρύσσω was always a public act. “To announce” implied a person sounding a message and someone receiving the content of the announcement. Interestingly, depending upon how the listener was referenced in a given text, κηρύσσω was not just content but also the act of responding to the announcement by ‘coming close to the announcer’ or ‘being drawn together by the voice of the announcer.’ For this reason, κηρύσσω was also understood as a formal act. The announcer had to have some commission, some appointment, some recognition among the people he was competent in both the message’s content as well as delivery. Scholars note that while the content of κηρύσσω had to be accurate, it was not the same as a scholarly discourse or lesson. The content and delivery that is κηρύσσω suggests that this action is not so much about a depth of teaching but rather the delivery of a word – meaningful and authentic – that will focus the attention of listeners and draw them to the announcer.

Jesus’ Self-stated purpose — “to preach” and the meaning of what is involved in the act of κηρύσσω — offers great clarity for today’s preachers and those who must endure that preaching. Ideas and thoughts abound as to what a homily is and what the preacher must do. κηρύσσω suggests that preaching be directed to drawing people to the Person, Jesus — save the exegesis and particular study of the Text to the classroom.

Collect

Keep your family safe, O Lord,
with unfailing care,
that, relying solely
on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always
by your protection.
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

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Let us understand the workings of God’s grace

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 5: Sunday

An excerpt from: an explanation of Paul’s letter to the Galatians
by
Saint Augustine
(bishop)

Paul writes to the Galatians to make them understand that by God’s grace they are no longer under the law. When the Gospel was preached to them, there were some among them of Jewish origin known as circumcisers—though they called themselves Christians—who did not grasp the gift they had received. They still wanted to be under the burden of the law. Now God had imposed that burden on those who were slaves to sin and not on servants of justice. That is to say, God had given a just law to unjust men in order to show them their sin, not to take it away. For sin is taken away only by the gift of faith that works through love. The Galatians had already received this gift, but the circumcisers claimed that the Gospel would not save them unless they underwent circumcision and were willing to observe also the other traditional Jewish rites.

The Galatians, therefore, began to question Paul’s preaching of the Gospel because he did not require Gentiles to follow Jewish observances as other apostles had done. Even Peter had yielded to the scandalized protests of the circumcisers. He pretended to believe that the Gospel would not save the Gentiles unless they fulfilled the burden of the law. But Paul recalled him from such dissimulation, as is shown in this very same letter. A similar issue arises in Paul’s letter to the Romans, but with an evident difference. Through his letter to them Paul was able to resolve the strife and controversy that had developed between the Jewish and Gentile converts.

In the present letter Paul is writing to persons who were profoundly influenced and disturbed by the circumcisers. The Galatians had begun to believe them and to think that Paul had not preached rightly, since he had not ordered them to be circumcised. And so the Apostle begins by saying: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you to the glory of Christ, and turning to another gospel.

After this there comes a brief introduction to the point at issue. But remember in the very opening of the letter Paul had said that he was an apostle not from men nor by any man, a statement that does not appear in any other letter of his. He is making it quite clear that the circumcisers, for their part, are not from God but from men, and that his authority in preaching the Gospel must be considered equal to that of the other apostles. For he was called to be an apostle not from men nor by any man, but through God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

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

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— The Lord‘s Day —
Ordinary Time Week 5: Sunday

“Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her.” (Mark 1:30)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Can you imagine Jesus standing before your bed and you continue sleeping? It is absurd that you would remain in bed in his presence. Where is Jesus? He is already here offering himself to us. “In the middle,” he says, “among you he stands, whom you do not recognize.” “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” Faith beholds Jesus among us. If we are unable to seize his hand, let us prostrate ourselves at his feet. If we are unable to reach his head, let us wash his feet with our tears. Our repentance is the perfume of the Savior. See how costly is the compassion of the Savior. Our sins give off a terrible odor; they are rottenness. Nevertheless, if we repent of our sins, they will be transformed into perfume by the Lord. Therefore, let us ask the Lord to grasp our hand. “And at once,” he says, “the fever left her.” Immediately as her hand is grasped, the fever flees.” (Tractate on Mark‘s Gospel, 2)

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

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You shall be my witnesses

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 4: Friday

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions

From an account of the martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and his companions

The crosses were set in place. Father Pasio and Father Rodriguez took turns encouraging the victims. Their steadfast behavior was wonderful to see. The Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin gave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: “Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life.” Brother Francis Branco also thanked God in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our Father and Hail Mary.

Our brother, Paul Miki, saw himself standing now in the noblest pulpit he had ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a Japanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words: “As I come to this supreme moment of my life, I am sure none of you would suppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be saved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.”

Then he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their final struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces, and in Louis’ most of all. When a Christian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven, his hands, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on him.

Anthony, hanging at Louis’ side, looked toward heaven and called upon the holy names—“Jesus, Mary!” He began to sing a psalm: “Praise the Lord, you children!” (He learned it in catechism class in Nagasaki. They take care there to teach the children some psalms to help them learn their catechism.)

Others kept repeating “Jesus, Mary!” Their faces were serene. Some of them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives. In these and other ways they showed their readiness to die.

Then, according to Japanese custom, the four executioners began to unsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight, all the Christians cried out, “Jesus, Mary!” And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very skies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear, then a second blow. It was over in a very short time.

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

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— Saint Paul Miki and Companions —
Ordinary Time Week 4: Friday

“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:1-2)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“See how he enjoins them to preserve what they had; he does not add other things. He did not say, “Be loving as brothers,” but “Let brotherly love continue.” And again, he did not say, “Be hospitable,” as if they were not, but “Do not neglect to show hospitality,” for this neglect was likely to happen, due to their afflictions.

Therefore, he says, “Some have entertained angels unawares.” Do you see how great was the honor, how great the gain! What is “unawares”? They entertained them without knowing it. Therefore, the reward also was great, because he entertained them, not knowing that they were angels. If he had known it, it would have been nothing wonderful. Some say that he here alludes to Lot also.” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 33)

Collect

O God, strength of all the Saints,
who through the Cross were pleased to call
the Martyrs Saint Paul Miki and companions to life,
grant, we pray, that by their intercession
we may hold with courage even until death
to the faith that we profess.
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

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The gift of God, the source of all goodness

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 4: Thursday

Memorial of Saint Agatha

From a homily on Saint Agatha
Saint Methodius of Sicily (also, Constantinople)
(bishop)

My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. She achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory; she is well known now as well, for she continues to triumph through her divine miracles, which occur daily and continue to bring glory to her name.

She is indeed a virgin, for she was born of the divine Word, God’s only Son, who also experienced death for our sake. John, a master of God’s word, speaks of this: He gave the power to become children of God to everyone who received him.

The woman who invites us to this banquet is both a wife and virgin. To use the analogy of Paul, she is the bride who has been betrothed to one husband, Christ. A true virgin, she wore the glow of pure conscience and the crimson of the Lamb’s blood for her cosmetics. Again and again she meditated on the death of her eager lover. For her, Christ’s death was recent, his blood was still moist. Her robe is the mark of her faithful witness to Christ. It bears the indelible marks of his crimson blood and the shining threads of her eloquence. She offers to all who come after her these treasures of her eloquent confession.

Agatha, the name of our saint, means “good.” She was truly good, for she lived as a child of God. She was also given as the gift of God, the source of all goodness to her bridegroom, Christ, and to us. For she grants us a share in her goodness.

What can give greater good than the Sovereign Good? Whom could anyone find more worthy of celebration with hymns of praise than Agatha?

Agatha, her goodness coincides with her name and way of life. She won a good name by her noble deeds, and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds. Agatha, her mere name wins all men over to her company. She teaches them by her example to hasten with her to the true Good. God alone.

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 Agatha —
Ordinary Time Week 4: Thursday

“No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“From the first, therefore, the Israelites were themselves the cause of God’s being manifested through the flesh. Let Moses speak with us, and “Let not God speak with us.” They who make comparisons elevate the one side more that they may show the other to be far greater. In this respect also our privileges are more gentle and more admirable. For they are great in a twofold respect, because, while they are glorious and greater, they are more accessible. This he says also in the epistle to the Corinthians, “with unveiled face,” and “not as Moses put a veil over his face.” They, he means, were not counted worthy as we are. For of what were they thought worthy? They saw “darkness, gloom”; they heard “a voice.” But you also have heard a voice, not through darkness but through flesh. You have not been disturbed, neither troubled, but you have stood and held discourse with the Mediator.

And in another way, by the “darkness” he shows the invisibleness. “And darkness,” it says, “was under his feet.” Then even Moses feared, but now no one. The Son is near to God, but not as Moses. There was a wilderness, here a city. “And to innumerable angels.” Here he shows the joy, the delight, in place of the “darkness” and “gloom” and “tempest.” “And to the assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all.” They did not draw near but stood afar off, even Moses, but “you have come near.” Here he makes them stand in awe by saying, “And to a judge who is God of all,” not of the Jews alone and the faithful, but even of the whole world. “And to the spirits of just men made perfect.” He means the souls of those who are approved.” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 32)

Collect

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha
implore your compassion for us,
O Lord, we pray,
for she found favor with you
by the courage of her martyrdom
and the merit of her chastity.
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 4: Wednesday

“So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.” (1 Hebrews 12:12-13)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Do not wonder if discipline, being itself hard, has sweet fruits; since in trees also the bark is almost destitute of all quality and rough, but the fruits are sweet. Why, after you have endured the painful, are you despondent as to the good? The distasteful things that you had to endure you endured. Do not then become despondent when you are rewarded. He speaks as to runners and boxers and warriors. Do you see how he arms them, how he encourages them? “Walk straight,” he says. Here he speaks with reference to their thoughts; that is to say, not doubting. For if the discipline be of love, if it begin from loving care, if it end with a good result (and this he proves both by facts and by words, and by all considerations), why are you dispirited? For such are they who despair, who are not strengthened by the hope of the future. “Walk straight,” he says, that your lameness may not be increased but brought back to its former condition. For he that runs when he is lame galls the sore place. Do you see that it is in our power to be thoroughly healed?” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 30)

Collect

Grant us, Lord our God,
that we may honor you with all our mind,
and love everyone in truth of heart.
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

In Christ are the firstfruits of the Resurrection

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 4: Tuesday

An excerpt from:
Against Heresies
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
(bishop, martyr and Father of the Church)

The Word of God became man, the Son of God became the Son of Man, in order to unite man with himself and make him, by adoption, a son of God. Only by being united to one who is himself immune could we be preserved from corruption and death, and how else could this union have been achieved if he had not first become what we are? How else could what is corruptible and mortal in us have been swallowed up in his incorruptibility and immortality, to enable us to receive adoptive sonship? Therefore, the Son of God, our Lord, the Word of the Father, is also the son of man; he became the son of a man by a human birth from Mary, a member of the human race.

The Lord himself has given us a sign here below and in the heights of heaven, a sign that man did not ask for because he never dreamt that such a thing would be possible. A virgin was with a child and she bore a son who is called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” He came down to the earth here below in search of the sheep that was lost, the sheep that was in fact his own creature, and then ascended into the heights of heaven to offer to the Father and entrust to his care the human race that he had found again. The Lord himself became the firstfruits of the resurrection of mankind, and when its time of punishment for disobedience is over, the rest of the body, to which the whole human race belongs, will rise from the grave as the head has done. By God’s aid it will grow and be strengthened in all its joints and ligaments, each member having its own proper place in the body. There are many rooms in the Father’s house because the body has many members.

God bore with man patiently when he fell because he foresaw the victory that would be his through the Word. Weakness allowed strength its full play, and so revealed God’s kindness and great power.

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 4: Tuesday

“... while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

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 First Reading:

“A fire that lies in wood hidden below the surface is often unobserved by the senses of those who see or even touch it but is manifest when it blazes up. So too, at his death (which he brought about at his will, who separated his soul from his body; who said to his own Father, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” who, as he says, “had power to lay it down and had power to take it again”) he — who, because he is the lord of glory, despised that which is shame among men — having concealed, as it were, the flame of his life in his bodily nature, by the dispensation of his death, kindled and inflamed it once more by the power of his own Godhead, fostering into life that which had been brought to death. Having infused with the infinity of his divine power that humble firstfruits of our nature, he made it also to be that which he himself was — making the servile form to be Lord, and the human born of Mary to be Christ, and him who was crucified through weakness to be life and power, and making all that is piously conceived to be in God the Word to be also in that which the Word assumed. Thus these attributes no longer seem to be in either nature by way of division, but the perishable nature, being, by its commixture with the divine, made anew in conformity with the nature that overwhelms it, participates in the power of the Godhead, as if one were to say that mixture makes a drop of vinegar mingled in the deep to be sea, by reason that the natural quality of this liquid does not continue in the infinity of that which overwhelms it. This is our doctrine.” (Against Eunomius, 5)

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

Feast of the
— Presentation of the Lord —

“Now I am sending my messenger — he will prepare the way before me; And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple; The messenger of the covenant whom you desire — see, he is coming! says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Second Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“Speaking further of Christ in the same vein, Malachi says, “Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come into the temple. Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him?” In this text he foretells both comings of Christ, the first and the second — the first where he says, “And presently the Lord shall come into his temple.” This refers to Christ’s body, of which he himself said in the Gospel, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”1 His second coming is foretold in these words: “‘Behold, he comes,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him?’” (City of God, 18)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
we humbly implore your majesty
that, just as your Only Begotten Son
was presented on this day in the Temple
in the substance of our flesh,
so, by your grace,
we may be presented to you with minds made pure.
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

—The Lord’s Day—
Ordinary Time Week 4: Sunday

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Second Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“Call to mind with me the time when Peter was praised and called blessed. Was it because he merely said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”? No, he who pronounced him blessed regarded not merely the sound of his words, but the affections of his heart. Compare that with the words of the demons who said almost the same thing: “We know who you are, the Son of God,” just as Peter had confessed him as “Son of God.” So what is the difference? Peter spoke in love, but the demons in fear. So tell us how faith is to be defined, if even the devils can believe and tremble? Only the faith that works by love is faith.” (Sermons on New Testament Lessons, 40)

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

— Saint John Bosco —
Ordinary Time Week 3: Saturday

“So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:12)

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 First Reading:

“Let [the one who is waiting for the Lord’s second coming] therefore wait for that time then which is, necessarily, in the same time frame as the development of humanity. For even while Abraham and the patriarchs desired to see the promised better things, they did not stop seeking the heavenly country. This is what the apostle says when he declares that even now they are in a condition of hoping for that grace: “God having provided some better thing for us,” according to the words of Paul, “that they without us should not be made perfect.” If those then, who by faith alone and by hope saw the good things “afar off ” and “embraced them”—if they bear the delay as the apostle bears witness, and if they place the certainty that they will enjoy the things for which they hoped in the fact that they “judged him faithful who has promised,” what should the rest of us do who perhaps do not have a grasp of that better hope from the character of our own lives?

Even the prophet’s soul fainted with desire, and in his psalm he confesses this passionate love, saying that his “soul has a desire and longing to be in the courts of the Lord.” [He still has this desire] even if he has to be demoted to a place amongst the lowest, since it is a greater and more desirable thing to be last there than to be first among the ungodly tents of this life. Nevertheless he was patient during the delay, considering, indeed, the life there blessed, and accounting a brief participation in it more desirable than “thousands”[of days] of time. For, he says, “one day in your courts is better than thousands.” And yet, he did not become dejected at the necessary dispensation concerning existing things. He thought it was sufficient bliss for a person to have those good things even by way of hope. This is why he says at the end of the psalm, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that hopes in you.” (On the Making of Man, 22)

Collect

O God,
who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco
as a father and teacher of the young,
grant, we pray,
that, aflame with the same fire of love,
we may seek out souls and serve you alone.
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 3: Friday

“You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you had a better and lasting possession.” (1 Hebrews 10:34)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“I cannot say, he says, that you suffered these things indeed and were grieved, but you even rejoiced exceedingly. He expressed this by saying, “You became partners with those so treated,” and he brings forward the apostles themselves. Not only, he means, were you not ashamed of your own sufferings, but you even shared with others who were suffering the same things. This too is the language of one who is encouraging them. He said not, “Bear my afflictions, share with me,” but respect your own.

You had compassion on those who were bound.” You see that he is speaking concerning himself and the rest who were in prison. Thus you did not account “bonds” to be bonds, but you stood as noble wrestlers. For not only did you need no consolation in your own distresses, but you even became a consolation to others.” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 21)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions
according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
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

Oridinary Time Week 3: Thursday
Mass of Installation of
Bishop Christopher J Coyne SLD
Tenth Bishop of Burlington, Vermont

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.” (Luke 4:14)

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

“First of all, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days.” When Jesus was being tempted by the devil, the word spirit is put down twice without any qualification since the Lord still had to struggle against him. See what is written about the Spirit emphatically and carefully, after he had fought and had overcame the three temptations that Scripture mentions. The passage says, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” “Power” has been added, because he had trodden down the dragon and conquered the tempter in hand-to-hand combat. So “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to the land of Galilee, and reports about him went out to the whole surrounding region. He was teaching in their synagogues, and was glorified by all.” (Homilies on the Gospel of Luke, 32)

Collect

O God,
who in the power of the Holy Spirit
have sent your Word to announce
good news to the poor, grant that,
with eyes fixed upon him,
we may ever live in sincere charity,
made heralds and witnesses of his Gospel in all the world.
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 Thomas Aquinas —
Ordinary Time Week 3: Wednesday

“... now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.” (Hebrews 10:13)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“Do not then, having heard that he is a priest, suppose that he is always executing the priest’s office. For he executed it once and thenceforward “sat down.” Lest you suppose that he is standing on high and is a minister, he shows that the matter is part of a dispensation or economy. For as he became a servant, so also he became a priest and a minister. But as, after becoming a servant, he did not continue a servant, so also, having become a minister, he did not continue a minister. For it belongs not to a minister to sit but to stand.” (On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 13)

Collect

O God,
Who made Saint Thomas Aquinas
outstanding in his zeal for holiness
and his study of sacred doctrine,
grant us, we pray,
that we may understand what he taught
and imitate what he accomplished.
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 3: Tuesday

“Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,* and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year.” (Hebrews 10:1)

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

“The way which seems right to us for understanding the Scriptures and the investigation of their meaning, we consider to be the following: we are instructed by Scripture itself regarding the ideas that we ought to form of it. In the Proverbs of Solomon we find just such instruction for the examination of holy Scripture. “For your part,” he says, “describe these things to yourself in a threefold manner in counsel and knowledge, that you may answer words of truth to those who question you.” Each one, then, ought to describe in his own mind, in a threefold manner, the understanding of the divine letters, that is, so that the simple may be edified, so to speak, by the very body of Scripture; for that is what we call the common and historical meaning. But if some have begun to make considerable progress and are able to see something more than that, they may be edified by the very soul of Scripture. And those who are perfect and resemble those of whom the apostle says, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect, but not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are doomed to pass away. But we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, which God has decreed before the ages for our glorification.” Such people may be edified by the spiritual law which has a shadow of the good things to come, edified as if by the Spirit. For just as man is said to consist of body, and soul and spirit, so also does sacred Scripture, which has been granted by God’s gracious dispensation for the salvation of man.” (On First Principles, 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

— Saints Timothy and Titus —
Ordinary Time Week 3: Monday

“For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.” (II Timothy 1:6)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“For it requires much zeal to stir up the gift of God. As fire requires fuel, so grace requires our alacrity, that it may be ever fervent. For it is in our power to kindle or extinguish this grace. For by sloth and carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive. For it is in you indeed, but you must render it more vehement, that is, fill it with confidence, with joy and delight. Stand manfully.” (Homilies on II Timothy, 1)

Collect

O God,
Who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus
with apostolic virtues,
grant, through the intercession of them both,
that, living justly and devoutly in this present age,
we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland.
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

Christ is present to his Church

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 3: Sunday

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Vatican Council II

Christ is always present to his Church, especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister (it is the same Christ who formerly offered himself on the cross that now offers by the ministry of priests) and most of all under the eucharistic species. He is present in the sacraments by his power, in such a way that when someone baptizes, Christ himself baptizes. He is present in his word, for it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he himself promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.

Indeed, in this great work which gives perfect glory to God and brings holiness to men, Christ is always joining in partnership with himself his beloved Bride, the Church, which calls upon its Lord and through him gives worship to the eternal Father.

It is therefore right to see the liturgy as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ, in which through signs addressed to the senses man’s sanctification is signified and, in a way proper to each of these signs, made effective, and in which public worship is celebrated in its fullness by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the head and by his members.

Accordingly, every liturgical celebration, as an activity of Christ the priest and of his body, which is the Church, is a sacred action of a pre-eminent kind. No other action of the Church equals its title to power or its degree of effectiveness.

In the liturgy on earth we are given a foretaste and share in the liturgy of heaven, celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem, the goal of our pilgrimage, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, as minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With the whole company of heaven we sing a hymn of praise to the Lord; as we reverence the memory of the saints, we hope to have some part with them, and to share in their fellowship; we wait for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until he, who is our life, appears, and we appear with him in glory.

By an apostolic tradition taking its origin from the very day of Christ’s resurrection, the Church celebrates the paschal mystery every eighth day, the day that is rightly called the Lord’s day. On Sunday the Christian faithful ought to gather together, so that by listening to the word of God and sharing in the Eucharist they may recall the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God who has given them a new birth with a lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Lord’s day is therefore the first and greatest festival, one to be set before the loving devotion of the faithful and impressed upon it, so that it may be also a day of joy and of freedom from work. Other celebrations must not take precedence over it, unless they are truly of the greatest importance, since it is the foundation and the kernel of the whole liturgical year.

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 3: Sunday

“When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.” (Jonah 3:10)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“They applied fasting to their wounds. Yes, they even applied extreme fasting — lying prostrate on the ground, putting on sackcloth and ashes, and lamentations. More importantly, they chose a change of life. Let us then see which of these things made them whole. And how shall we know? If we come to the physician, if we seek after him earnestly, he will not hide it from us but will even eagerly disclose it. Rather, in order that no one may be ignorant or have need to ask, he has even set down in writing the medicine that restores sinners. What then is this? “God,” he said, “saw that they turned every one from his evil way, and he repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them.” He did not say simply that he saw their fasting and sackcloth and ashes, but their behavior. I say this not to question fasting (God forbid!) but to exhort you that with fasting you do that which is better than fasting, the abstaining from all evil.” (Homilies on II Corinthians, 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

Devotion must be practiced in different ways

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Ordinary Time Week 2: Saturday

— Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales —

Introduction to the Devout Life
Saint Francis de Sales
(bishop and Doctor of the Church)

When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station and his calling.

I say that devotion must be practiced in different ways by the nobleman and by the working man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the practice of devotion must be adapted to the strength, to the occupation and to the duties of each one in particular.

Tell me, please, my Philothea, whether it is proper for a bishop to want to lead a solitary life like a Carthusian; or for married people to be no more concerned than a Capuchin about increasing their income; or for a working man to spend his whole day in church like a religious; or on the other hand for a religious to be constantly exposed like a bishop to all the events and circumstances that bear on the needs of our neighbor. Is not this sort of devotion ridiculous, unorganized and intolerable? Yet this absurd error occurs very frequently, but in no way does true devotion, my Philothea, destroy anything at all. On the contrary, it perfects and fulfills all things. In fact if it ever works against, or is inimical to, anyone’s legitimate station and calling, then it is very definitely false devotion.

The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. True devotion does still better. Not only does it not injure any sort of calling or occupation, it even embellishes and enhances it.

Moreover, just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its color, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.

It is therefore an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of princes, from family households. I acknowledge, my dear Philothea, that the type of devotion which is purely contemplative, monastic and religious can certainly not be exercised in these sorts of stations and occupations, but besides this threefold type of devotion, there are many others fit for perfecting those who live in a secular state.

Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.

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 Francis de Sales —
Ordinary Time Week 2: Saturday

“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation...” (Hebrews 9:11)

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

“It ought to be observed that the priest uses certain clothes while he is in the ministry of sacrifices and other clothes when he goes out to the people. Paul, the wisest of the high priests and the most knowledgeable of the priests, used to do this. When he was in the assembly of the perfect or, as it were, placed in the “Holy of Holies,” having put on the robe of perfection, he used to say, “Among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” But nevertheless, after all these things, “going out to the people,” he changes his robe and puts on another one, greatly inferior to that one. And what does he say? “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” You see, therefore, how this most learned priest, when he is among the perfect ones as in “the Holy of Holies,” uses one robe of doctrine. But when “he goes out” to those who are not capable, he changes the robe of the word and teaches lesser things. And he gives to some “milk” to drink as “children,” to others he gives “solid food,” of course, for those who, insofar as they are able, “have their faculties trained to distinguish good from evil.” Thus, Paul knew how to change robes and to use one with the people, another in the ministry of the sanctuary.

But the high priest of high priests, and the priest of priests, is our Lord and Savior, about whom the apostle said, “He is a high priest of the good things that have come.” Hear how first he did these things and so left them for his disciples to imitate. The Gospel refers to this, saying, “In parables he spoke to the crowds, and without parables he did not speak to them. But separately he explained them to his disciples.” You see how he taught that the high priest ought to use certain garments when he went out “to the crowds” and others when he ministered to the experienced and “perfect” in the sanctuary. So we must choose and do, lest Jesus find us so unprepared and bound to the cares of the world that he speaks to us as to the crowds “in parables,” that, “seeing, we may not see, and, hearing, we may not hear.” Rather, let us be worthy to be found among those to whom he says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.” (Homilies on Leviticus, 4)

Collect

O God,
Who for the salvation of souls
willed that the Bishop Saint Francis de Sales
become all things to all,
graciously grant that, following his example,
we may always display the gentleness of your charity
in the service of our neighbor.
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