On the threshold of Advent

What comes to mind when you hear the word Advent? Perhaps the phrase “coming to” or “preparation” recalls homilies or lessons from the past. Perhaps Advent triggers a word of frustration: ugh! - Christmas is close and there is much to do in a short period of time. Seemingly, we blink and Advent is over, that is if we even entered into it with the Christmas crush.

In the prayer following the Lord’s Prayer at every Mass, the Church prays: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of Your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

1. Deliverance from every evil.
2. Peace in our days.
3. Freedom from sin.
4. Safe[ty] from all distress.

Might any of these four be a dream that you nurture deep within, wondering if any or all 4 will ever become a reality in your life? The world repeats and old message: there will always be evil in the world, peace will never come, we will always sin and we will have to find ways to medicate and to cope with distress in our lives. The repetitive and old message of pessimism and despair is real in the sense that anyone of us can give into its life-robbing power. The irony is that in the Face of Jesus Christ, these realities have no power; but WE give them power when we acknowledge their repetitive and old existence. Discovering the singular, unique newness Who is Jesus the Christ destroys evil, provides peace, gives freedom from sin and safety from distress.

Thus we come to the “work” of Advent. Yes, Advent as a way of life is a work, a work of responding to the new creation in our midst that is Jesus. Centuries ago, Saint Irenaeus wrote: “You must realize that He Who was promised has brought something totally new by giving us Himself.” Advent is a way of living life that proclaims boldly Jesus makes all things new (Revelation 21:5) and consequently there is no room for a repetitive, old message of evil, unrest, sin and distress. Allowing oneself to be found by Jesus Christ (in other words, not seeking after as if “I” must find Him) unleashes power that floods life with deliverance, peace, no sin and no distress.

ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIV: Saturday

“The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, Different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings.” (Daniel 7:24.)

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“These doctrines are not the fruit of ingenuity but are derived from the sacred Scriptures read in the church, particularly as gathered out of the prophecy of Daniel, in today’s selection, and according to the interpretation given by the archangel Gabriel, who spoke as follows, “the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall surpass all kingdoms.” Ecclesiastical commentators have traditionally taken this kingdom to be the Roman Empire. Further on Gabriel continues his interpreting and says, “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another king shall rise up after them, and he shall surpass in wickedness all who were before him” (not merely the ten kings, you note, but all kings that ever were) “and he shall subdue three kings” (clearly out of the ten that preceded him; and he had reduced three of the ten to powerlessness; it is equally clear that he will reign as the eighth king) “and he will speak great words against the Most High.” Antichrist is a blasphemer and flouter of all law. He will not succeed to the empire but will usurp it by means of sorcery.” (Catechetical Lectures, 15.)

Collect

Stir up the will of Your faithful,
we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring Your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies Your kindness bestows.
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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIV: Friday

“The first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings.* While I watched, the wings were plucked; it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet like a human being, and given a human mind.” (Daniel 7:4.)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verses from today’s First Reading:

“The kingdom of the Babylonians was not called a lion but a lioness, on account of its brutality and cruelty, or else because of its luxurious, lust-serving manner of life. For writers on the natural history of beasts assert that lionesses are fiercer than lions, especially if they are nursing their cubs, and constantly are passionate in their desire for sexual relations. And as for the fact that she possessed eagle’s wings, this indicates the pride of the all-powerful kingdom, the ruler of which declares in Isaiah, “Above the stars of heaven I will place my throne, and I shall be like unto the Most High.” Therefore he is told, “Though you are borne on high like an eagle, from there I will drag you down.” Moreover, just as the lion occupies kingly rank among beasts, so also the eagle among the birds. But it should also be said that the eagle enjoys a long span of life and that the kingdom of Assyrians had held sway for many generations. And as for the fact that the wings of the lioness or eagle were torn away, this signifies the other kingdoms over which it had ruled and soared about in the world.” (Commentary on Daniel, 7.)

Collect

Stir up the will of Your faithful,
we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring Your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies Your kindness bestows.
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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(In the United States of America) Thanksgiving Day

“I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus ...” (1 Corinthians 1:4.)

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

“Paul does not just give thanks for the Corinthians some of the time, nor only when they do good. He puts himself in the position of a father, who is thankful for his children all the time, whatever they may have done.” (Commentary on First Corinthians, 1)

Collect

Father all-powerful,
Your gifts of love are countless
and Your goodness infinite;
as we come before You on Thanksgiving Day
with gratitude for Your kindness,
open our hearts to have concern
for every man, woman, and child,
so that we may share Your gifts
in loving service.
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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If we are sheep, we overcome,if wolves, we are overcome

Saint John Chrysostom

(Bishop and Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Homily 33

ORDINARY TIME XXXIV: Thursday

As long as we are sheep, we overcome and, though surrounded by countless wolves, we emerge victorious; but if we turn into wolves, we are overcome, for we lose the shepherd’s help. He, after all, feeds the sheep not wolves, and will abandon you if you do not let him show his power in you.

What he says is this: “Do not be upset that, as I send you out among the wolves, I bid you be as sheep and doves. I could have managed things quite differently and sent you, not to suffer evil nor to yield like sheep to the wolves, but to be fiercer than lions. But the way I have chosen is right. It will bring you greater praise and at the same time manifest my power.” That is what he told Paul: My grace is enough for you, for in weakness my power is made perfect. “I intend,” he says, “to deal the same way with you.” For, when he says, I am sending you out like sheep, he implies: “But do not therefore lose heart, for I know and am certain that no one will be able to overcome you.”

The Lord, however, does want them to contribute something, lest everything seem to be the work of grace, and they seem to win their reward without deserving it. Therefore he adds: You must be clever as snakes and innocent as doves. But, they may object, what good is our cleverness amid so many dangers? How can we be clever when tossed about by so many waves? However great the cleverness of the sheep as he stands among the wolves—so many wolves!—what can it accomplish? However great the innocence of the dove, what good does it do him, with so many hawks swooping upon him? To all this I say: Cleverness and innocence admittedly do these irrational creatures no good, but they can help you greatly.

What cleverness is the Lord requiring here? The cleverness of a snake. A snake will surrender everything and will put up no great resistance even if its body is being cut in pieces, provided it can save its head. So you, the Lord is saying, must surrender everything but your faith: money, body, even life itself. For faith is the head and the root; keep that, and though you lose all else, you will get it back in abundance. The Lord therefore counseled the disciples to be not simply clever or innocent; rather he joined the two qualities so that they become a genuine virtue. He insisted on the cleverness of the snake so that deadly wounds might be avoided, and he insisted on the innocence of the dove so that revenge might not be taken on those who injure or lay traps for you. Cleverness is useless without innocence.

Do not believe that this precept is beyond you power. More than anyone else, the Lord knows the true natures of created things; he knows that moderation, not a fierce defense, beats back a fierce attack.

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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIV: Wednesday

“King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, with whom he drank.” (Daniel 5:1.)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verses from today’s First Reading:

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast for his one thousand nobles; and each one drank in the order of his age.” It should be known that this man was not the son of Nebuchadnezzar, as readers commonly imagine; but according to Berosus, who wrote the history of the Chaldeans, and also Josephus, who follows Berosus, after Nebuchadnezzar’s reign of forty-three years, a son named Evil-merodach succeeded to his throne. It was concerning this king that Jeremiah wrote that in the first year of his reign he raised the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and took him out of his prison. Josephus likewise reports that after the death of Evil-merodach, his son Neriglissar succeeded to his father’s throne; after whom in turn came his son Labosordach. On the latter’s death, his son, Belshazzar, obtained the kingdom, and it is of him that the Scripture now makes mention. After he had been killed by Darius, king of the Medes, who was the maternal uncle of Cyrus, king of the Persians, the empire of the Chaldeans was destroyed by Cyrus the Persian. It was these two kingdoms that Isaiah in chapter 21 addresses as a charioteer of a vehicle drawn by a camel and an ass. Indeed, Xenophon also writes the same thing in connection with the childhood of Cyrus the Great; likewise Pompeius Trogus and many others who have written up the history of the barbarians. Some authorities think that this Darius was the Astyages mentioned in the Greek writings, while others think it was Astyages’ son, and that he was called by the other name among the barbarians. “And each one of the princes who had been invited drank in the order of his own age.” Or else, as other translators have rendered it, “The king himself was drinking in the presence of all the princes whom he had invited.” (Commentary on Daniel, 5.)

Collect

Stir up the will of Your faithful,
we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring Your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies Your kindness bestows.
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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MEMORIAL Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac, Priestand Companions, Martyrs

“While you watched, a stone was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, and it struck its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.” (Daniel 2:34.)

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:

“What is the stone but Christ? For of him Isaiah says, “And I am laying in Zion for a foundation, a costly stone, precious, elect” ; and Daniel likewise, “A stone was cut out but not by hand,” that is, Christ was born without a man.” (On the Baptism of Christ)

Collect

O God, source and origin of all fatherhood,
Who kept the Martyrs
Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions
faithful to the Cross of your Son,
even to the shedding of their blood,
grant, through their intercession,
that, spreading Your love
among our brothers and sisters,
we may be Your children
both in name and in truth.
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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIV: Monday

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency in all literature and wisdom, and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:17.)

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

“In regard to the prophets among the Jews, some of them were wise men before they became divinely inspired prophets, while others became wise by the illumination that their minds received when divinely inspired. They were selected by divine providence to receive the divine Spirit and to be the depositaries of his holy oracles, on the ground of their leading a life of almost unapproachable excellence, intrepid, noble, unmoved by danger or death.” (Against Celsus, 7)

Collect

Stir up the will of Your faithful,
we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring Your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies Your kindness bestows.
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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Each man’s profit matches his toil

Pope Saint Leo the Great

(Bishop of Rome and Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Sermon 92

ORDINARY TIME XXXIV: Monday

The Lord says: Unless your justice exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. How indeed can justice exceed, unless compassion rises above judgment? What is as right or as worthy as a creature, fashioned in the image and likeness of God, imitating his Creator who, by the remission of sins, brought about the reparation and sanctification of believers? With strict vengeance removed and the cessation of all punishment, the guilty man was restored to innocence, and the end of wickedness became the beginning of virtue. Can anything be more just than this?

This is how Christian justice can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, not by canceling out the law but by rejecting earthly wisdom. This is why, in giving his disciples a rule for fasting, the Lord said: Whenever you fast do not become sad like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces in order to seem to be fasting. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. What reward but that of human praise? Such a desire often puts on a mask of justice, for where there is no concern for conscience, untruthful reputation gives pleasure. The result is that concealed injustice enjoys a false reputation.

For the man who loves God it is sufficient to please the one he loves; and there is no greater recompense to be sought than the loving itself; for love is from God by the very fact that God himself is love. The good and chaste soul is so happy to be filled with him that it desires to take delight in nothing else. For what the Lord says is very true: Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. What is a man’s treasure but the heaping up of profits and the fruit of his toil? For whatever a man sows this too will he reap, and each man’s gain matches his toil; and where delight and enjoyment are found, there the heart’s desire is attached. Now there are many kinds of wealth and a variety of grounds for rejoicing; every man’s treasure is that which he desires. If it is based on earthly ambitions, its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched.

But those who enjoy the things that are above and eternal rather than earthly and perishable, possess an incorruptible, hidden store of which the prophet speaks: Our treasure and salvation have come, wisdom and instruction and piety from the Lord: these are the treasures of justice. Through these, with the help of God’s grace, even earthly possessions are transformed into heavenly blessings; it is a fact that many people use the wealth which is either rightfully left to them or otherwise acquired, as a tool of devotion. By distributing what might be superfluous to support the poor, they are amassing imperishable riches, so that what they have discreetly given cannot be subject to loss. They have properly placed those riches where their heart is; it is a most blessed thing to work to increase such riches rather than to fear that they may pass away.

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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SOLEMNITY Our Lord Jesus ChristKing of the Universe

“He received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14.)

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

“What, I ask, is more obvious than these words? “And all the peoples, tribes and tongues will serve him.” See how he embraced every nation of the world. See how he took the judge’s seat and power. Lest you should think that this is temporary, he says, “These things will not pass away, and his kingdom will not perish” but will stay and remain. But if you doubt, you can be persuaded by considering the matter. Do you see the equality of honor he has with the Father? Since the Son appeared after the Father, he says that the Son came with the clouds. But it is clear from the very clouds that he had existed before then, if indeed he came on them. “And honor was conferred on him,” namely, the power that he had. “And the peoples, tribes and tongues will serve him.” Indeed, he had dominion previously, but then he will take that dominion that he had obtained. For just as you understand the hair of the Father and the other aspects of the vision, so you must understand this part of the vision. When you hear “it was given” and other similar things, you will not think in human terms about the Son or think lowly of him. For though you saw an old man, you did not think that he was an old man, so also you must think about the other things. Do not seek crystal clarity among the prophets, where you will find instead shadows and riddles, just as you do not seek constant light in a thunderbolt. Instead, it suffices if light appears for just a bit.” (Commentary on Daniel, 7.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
Whose will is to restore all things
in Your beloved Son, the King of the universe,
grant, we pray,
that the whole creation, set free from slavery,
may render Your majesty service
and ceaselessly proclaim Your praise.
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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MEMORIAL Presentation of theBlessed Virgin Mary

“That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob...” (Luke 20:37.)

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

“The Savior also demonstrated the great ignorance of the Sadducees by bringing forward their own leader Moses, who was clearly acquainted with the resurrection of the dead. He set God before us saying in the bush, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Of whom is he God, if, according to their argument, these have ceased to live? He is the God of the living. They certainly will rise when his almighty right hand brings them and all that are on the earth there.

For people not to believe that this will happen is worthy perhaps of the ignorance of the Sadducees, but it is altogether unworthy of those who love Christ. We believe in him who says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He will raise the dead suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, and at the last trumpet. It shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For Christ our common Savior will transfer us into incorruption, glory and to an incorruptible life.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 136)

Collect

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. 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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIII: Thursday

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

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

“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.” (Homilies on the Gospel of Luke, 38)

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

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A prayer to the Good Shepherd

Saint Gregory of Nyssa

(Bishop and Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Commentary on the Song of Songs, chapter 2

ORDINARY TIME XXXIII: THURSDAY

Where do you pasture your sheep, O good Shepherd, you who carry on your shoulders the whole flock? For it is but one sheep, this entire human race whom you lift onto your shoulders. Show me the place where there are green pastures, let me know restful waters, lead me out to nourishing grass and call me by name so that I can hear your voice, for I am your own sheep. And through that voice calling me, give me eternal life.

Tell me, you whom my soul loves. This is how I address you, because your true name is above all other names; it is unutterable and incomprehensible to all rational creatures. And so the name I use for you is simply the statement of my soul’s love for you, and this is an apt name for making your goodness known. Very dark though I am, how could I not love you who so loved me, that you laid down your life for the sheep you tend? No greater love can be conceived than this, that you should purchase my salvation at the cost of your life.

Show me, then says the bride, where you tend your sheep, so that I may find the saving pasture and be filled with heavenly nourishment. For whoever does not eat this food cannot enter eternal life. Let me run to you, the spring, and drink the divine draught that you cause to pour forth for the thirsty, offering water from your side opened by the spear. Whoever drinks of this becomes a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.

If you feed me thus, then you will surely make me lie down at noonday, and I shall at once sleep in peace, resting in a light that knows no shadow. Indeed, there is no shadow at noon, for the sun shines directly over that summit where you make those you tend lie down, and take your children with you to your bed. No one is judged worthy of this noonday rest who is not a child of light and of the day. But if anyone makes himself equally distant from the shadows of daybreak and those of nightfall, that is, from the origin of evil and its conclusion, the sun of righteousness makes him lie down at noontide.

Show me, then, says the bride, how I should lie down; show me the path to this noonday repose, lest my ignorance of your truth cause me to stray from your good guidance and consort with flocks which are strangers to yours.

Thus speaks the bride, anxious about the beauty God has given her, and seeking to learn how her comeliness may continue for 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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIII: Wednesday

“While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately.” (Luke 19:11.)

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

“The scope of the parable briefly represents the whole meaning of the dispensation that was for us and of the mystery of Christ from the beginning even to the end. The Word, being God, became man. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, because of this he is also called a servant. He is and was free born, because the Father unspeakably begot him. He is also God, transcending all in nature and in glory and surpassing the things of our estate, or rather even the whole creation, by his incomparable fullness.

By nature God, he is said to have received from the Father the name that is above every name when he became man. We might then believe in him as God and the King of all, even in the flesh that was united to him.

When he had endured the passion on the cross for our sakes and had abolished death by the resurrection of his body from the dead, he ascended to the Father and became like a man journeying to a far country. Heaven is a different country from earth, and he ascended so that he might receive a kingdom for himself. How does he who reigns over all with the Father ascend to him to receive a kingdom? The Father also gives this to the Son according to his becoming man. When he ascended into heaven, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,1 waiting until his enemies are put under his feet.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 128)

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

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The heart of the just manwill rejoice in the Lord

Saint Augustine of Hippo

(Bishop and Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Sermon 21

ORDINARY TIME XXXIII: WEDNESDAY

The just man will rejoice in the Lord and put his hope in him; the hearts of all good men will be filled with joy. We must surely have sung these words with our hearts as well as with our voices. Indeed, the tongue of the Christian expresses his deepest feelings when it addresses such words to God. The just man will rejoice, not in the world, but in the Lord. Light has dawned for the just, Scripture says in another place, and joy for the upright of heart. Were you wondering what reason he has for joy? Here you are told: The just man will rejoice in the Lord. Another text runs: Delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

What are we instructed to do then, and what are we enabled to do? To rejoice in the Lord. But who can rejoice in something he does not see? Am I suggesting that we see the Lord then? No, but we have been promised that we shall see him. Now, as long as we are in the body, we walk by faith, for we are absent from the Lord. We walk by faith, and not by sight. When will it be by sight? Beloved, says John, we are now the sons of God; what we shall be has not yet been revealed, but we know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. When this prophecy is fulfilled, then it will be by sight.

That will be the great joy, the supreme joy, joy in all its fullness. Then we shall no longer drink the milk of hope, but we shall feed on the reality itself. Nevertheless, even now, before that vision comes to us, or before we come to that vision, let us rejoice in the Lord; for it is no small reason for rejoicing to have a hope that will some day be fulfilled.

Therefore, since the hope we now have inspires love, the just man rejoices, Scripture says, in the Lord; but because he does not yet see, it immediately goes on to say, and hopes in him.

Yet already we have the first fruits of the Spirit, and have we not also other reasons for rejoicing? For we are drawing near to the one we love, and not only are we drawing near—we even have some slight feeling and taste of the banquet we shall one day eagerly eat and drink.

But how can we rejoice in the Lord if he is far from us? Pray God he may not be far. If he is, that is your doing. Love, and he will draw near; love, and he will dwell within you. The Lord is at hand; have no anxiety. Are you puzzled to know how it is that he will be with you if you love? God is love.

“What do you mean by love?” you will ask me. It is that which enables us to be loving. What do we love? A good that words cannot describe, a good that is for ever giving, a good that is the Creator of all good. Delight in him from whom you have received everything that delights you. But in that I do not include sin, for sin is the one thing that you do not receive from him. With that one exception, everything you have comes from him.

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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MEMORIAL Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

“[Zacchaeus] was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature..” (Luke 18:43.)

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

“Come and let us see what was the method of Zacchaeus’s conversion. He desired to see Jesus and therefore climbed into a sycamore tree, and so a seed of salvation sprouted within him. Christ saw this with the eyes of deity. Looking up, he also saw Zacchaeus with the eyes of humanity, and since it was his purpose for all to be saved, he extends his gentleness to him. To encourage him, he says, “Come down quickly.” Zacchaeus searched to see Christ, but the multitude prevented him, not so much that of the people but of his sins. He was short of stature, not merely in a bodily point of view but also spiritually. He could not see him unless he were raised up from the earth and climbed into the sycamore, by which Christ was about to pass. The story contains a puzzle. In no other way can a person see Christ and believe in him except by climbing up into the sycamore, by making foolish his earthly members of fornication, uncleanness, etc.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 127)

Collect

O God,
by Whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
recognized and revered Christ in the poor,
grant, through her intercession,
that we may serve with unfailing charity
the needy and those afflicted.
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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ORDINARY TIME Week XXXIII: Monday

“He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.” (Luke 18:43.)

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

“With supreme authority, he said, “Receive your sight.” The expression is wonderful, worthy of God and transcending the bounds of human nature! Which of the holy prophets ever spoke like this or used words of so great authority? Observe that he did not ask of another the power to restore vision to him who was deprived of sight. He did not perform the divine miracle as the effect of prayer to God but rather attributed it to his own power. By his almighty will, Christ did whatever he would. “Receive,” he said, “your sight.” The word was light to him that was blind, because it was the word of him who is the true Light.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 126)

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

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He who overcomes shall not be harmed by the second death

Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe

(Bishop)

An excerpt from Treatise on Forgiveness

ORDINARY TIME XXXIII: MONDAY

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye as the final trumpet sounds, for the trumpet shall indeed sound, the dead shall rise incorruptible and we shall be changed. In saying “we,” Paul is indicating that the gift of that future change will also be given to those who during their time on earth are united to him and his companions by upright lives within the communion of the Church. He hints at the nature of the change when he says: This corruptible body must put on incorruptibility, this mortal body immortality. In order, then, that men may obtain the transformation which is the reward of the just, they must first undergo here on earth a change which is God’s free gift. Those who in this life have been changed from evil to good are promised that future change as a reward.

Through justification and the spiritual resurrection, grace now effects in them an initial change that is God’s gift. Later on, through the bodily resurrection, the transformation of the just will be brought to completion, and they will experience a perfect, abiding, unchangeable glorification. The purpose of this change wrought in them by the gifts of both justification and glorification is that they may abide in an eternal, changeless state of joy.

Here on earth they are changed by the first resurrection, in which they are enlightened and converted, thus passing from death to life, sinfulness to holiness, unbelief to faith, and evil actions to holy life. For this reason the second death has no power over them. It is of such men that the Book of Revelation says: Happy the man who shares in the first resurrection; over such as he the second death has no power. Elsewhere the same book says: He who overcomes shall not be harmed by the second death. As the first resurrection consists of the conversion of the heart, the second death consists of unending torment.

Let everyone, therefore, who does not wish to be condemned to the endless punishment of the second death now hasten to share in the first resurrection. For if any during this life are changed out of fear of God and pass from an evil life to a good one, they pass from death to life and later they shall be transformed from a shameful state to a glorious one.

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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ORDINARY TIME — The Lord’s Day — Sunday of Week XXXIII

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; Some to everlasting life, others to reproach and everlasting disgrace.” (Daniel 12:2.)

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

“Nor is there any real contradiction between John’s “all who are in the tombs” and Daniel’s “many” in place of “all.” As an illustration of this, notice how, in one place, God said to Abraham, “I have made you the father of many nations” and in another, “In your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” (City of God, 20)

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

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O God, merciful and strong,

who crush wars and cast down the proud,

be pleased to banish violence swiftly from our midst

and to wipe away all tears,

so that we may all truly deserve to be called your children.

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.

Or:

O God, author and lover of peace,

to know you is to live, to serve you is to reign;

defend against every attack those who cry to you,

so that we, who trust in your protection,

may not fear the weapons of any foe.

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.

(From Roman Missal, “In Time of War or Civil Disturbance”)

ORDINARY TIME Week XXXII: Saturday

“Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them realize from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.” (Wisdom 13:4.)

Rabanus Maurus comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“It says that at midnight, almighty God made his word descend from heaven, from the royal throne, like a ruthless champion in the middle of the land of slaughter, to powerfully carry out the judgment of death on the godless. What is the word of the Lord if not the Son of God, of whom John says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” through whom everything was made? Elsewhere he is called the arm of God, as Isaiah says, “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” He is also called the right hand of the Lord, in that he is the power that brings into effect the divine power. It must be understood, then, that this word, in virtue of the evangelical ministry, carried out at that time the judgment on the firstborn of the Egyptians and then consecrated the firstborn of the Israelites to himself. He now saves the multitude of believers through the waters of baptism, at the same time destroying the huge army of spiritual enemies.” (On Ecclesiasticus, 3)

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.

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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MEMORIAL Saint Frances Cabrini

“Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them realize from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.” (Wisdom 13:4.)

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

“The prophet says, “I will be filled with the revelation of his glory.” We can sing of the glory that awaits us, of the goods that will accompany it, of the splendor with which it will shine, but we are incapable of expressing all of this in words. Paul explains the reason for this when he writes, “Those things that eye has not seen, that ear has not heard and that have never entered the heart of human beings, God has prepared for those who love him.” These many eternal, heavenly gifts have been prepared by the almighty Lord for his faithful, holy people throughout the world. But who is God, who has arranged all these things for us? Of him we say only that we do not know how to measure or express or understand him, that he is beyond all, outside of all, above all. He surpasses all his creatures; he is beyond his works, above all of them. I could try to express his greatness, but he is greater, or his beauty, but he is more beautiful. He is sweeter than every sweetness, brighter than every splendor, more just than all justice, stronger than all strength, gentler than all gentleness. Reason does not admit of the creature claiming equality with its Creator, nor that something produced is put on the level of the one who produced it. Precisely thus we read in the prophet, “The one who made powerful things is more powerful than they are. And the one who made beautiful things is more beautiful than they.” (Sermon 384)

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

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