Words of the Word

MEMORIAL

Saint
Alphonsus Liguori

“When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.” (Matthew 14:13.)

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

“They announced the death of the Baptist to the Savior. When Jesus heard this, he withdrew to a lonely place apart, but not, as some people think, for fear of death. He withdrew to spare his enemies from compounding one murder with another or to defer his death to the day of Passover on which a lamb is ritually offered up and doorposts are sprinkled with the blood of the faithful. Or else he withdrew in order to give us an example of avoiding the foolhardiness of those who betrayed him, because not everyone perseveres amid torments with the same constancy they had when they offered themselves to be tortured. For this reason in another place he gave this admonition: “When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.” It was also fitting that the Evangelist did not say “he fled to a lonely place” but “he withdrew,” so that he avoided his persecutors rather than feared them.” (Commentary on Matthew, 2.)

Collect

O God,
who constantly raise up
in your Church new examples
of virtue,
grant that we may follow
so closely in the footsteps
of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus
in his zeal for souls
as to attain the same rewards
that are his in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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

ORDINARY TIME

— The Lord’s Day —

Week 18: Sunday

Pondering Jesus’ victorious Word

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

(Luke 11:13-15.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

“Two imperatives – or if you prefer, commands – frame Jesus’ response to the plea seeking His resolution of a nasty family dispute over inheritance (sound familiar?): ὁράω (horao) and φυλάσσω (phulasso). ὁράω (horao, ‘see so as to discern’) and φυλάσσω (phulasso, ‘guarding in such a way that one is saved’) are verbs that denote necessary actions for anyone responding to Jesus’ call to be His disciple. Even before considering ‘what needs to be seen’ and ‘what needs to be guarded against’ it is imperative for a disciple of Jesus to know what is involved in ‘seeing’ and ‘guarding’ as a disciple.

There are a number of Greek verbs that are translated into English “to see” and the Sacred Scriptures employ a variety of these verbs throughout both Testaments. When it comes to “seeing” as expressed by the verb ὁράω (horao, translated here from the NABRE as “take care”), this is a deliberate action, often involving related actions of gazing, staring, and beholding. ὁράω (horao) is not an involuntary, momentary or mindless sight of a given reality. ὁράω (horao) involves a choice whereby one rivets attention on another person, place or object. While not excluding per se the eye itself and the various processes that occur when light falls upon cones and rods in the retina, ὁράω (horao) is more about intellectual and spiritual insight. Such intellectual or spiritual ‘seeing’ thus moves the beholder to knowing – and since the ‘seeing’ or ‘beholding’ is intense, one comes to knowledge that gets to the core of the person, place or object that is beheld. ὁράω (horao) is “to see” the essence of another person, place or object and consequently “know” (or “experience”) the other with more than just a superficial, passing glance. It is in this context that ὁράω (horao) can describe the act of discerning the true nature of another person, place or object in the created order. Recall Genesis 3 and the allure of the fruit: in terms of a passing glance, ‘the fruit looks good.’ To see beyond the surface, more than human biology and the physics of light are required. “Seeing” in the sense of ὁράω (horao) requires (especially in the case of discipleship) “listening and receiving the revelation of the Other.” This act informs ὁράω (horao) and properly directs the discerning process.

φυλάσσω (phulasso) - the other important verb in this Sunday’s reflection - translated here from the NABRE as “to guard,” also expresses a person’s attitude or disposition ‘to keep and to observe all that has been asked’ such as a Covenant or Divine Law. When used in situations to express ‘protecting life or possession,’ φυλάσσω (phulasso) also embodies elements of ‘being alert,’ ‘being vigilant’ and ‘being attentive.’ These important ‘mental’ aspects of “to guard / to protect” can be defensive (‘guarding against an enemy’) or offensive (‘protecting/treasuring the good I/others possess’). Yet in both cases, φυλάσσω (phulasso) is devoid of passivity. Whether the action is protecting or observing, one consciously chooses the action and keeps alert while observing all that has been asked or while protecting the goods in one’s possession.

Both verbs, ὁράω (horao) and φυλάσσω (phulasso), describe vital dimensions of activity pertinent to being Jesus’ disciple. Gazing that is informed by Divine Revelation to know a course of action and to then observe and protect the good entrusted to one are applicable across the spectrum of living Jesus’ life. In this Sunday’s Word, Jesus specifically applies these imperative actions to greed. As one of the capital sins (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sin (1849 and following) and capital sins (1866)), greed (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2535-2540) is the disordered attachment to anyone or anything. It is a block to authentic relational living with God, others, the true self and all creation. Greed is a desire that, while originally grounded in the natural instinct for what is necessary to survive, becomes disordered by an appetite to either attach oneself exclusively to an item(s) of the created order or to allow – consciously or unconsciously – the hunger for ‘more’ to grow insatiably. Greed ‘says’ to the human condition that this item or that item will bring complete happiness. Greed ‘says’ you NEED and MUST HAVE this item or that item to be fully alive and complete as a person. When that voice is heard as opposed to the Word of Revelation informing our vision, distorted sight is not the only problem a person faces. Fixation and an insatiable desire for ‘more’ drive life to the point that one locks on a particular item or the path to acquire ‘more beyond what is needed for living.’ Life is skewed dangerously and one is unable to be like Mary who chooses the better part to sit at the feet of Jesus. Greed further distorts life by making elements of the created order ends in themselves, ‘mini-gods’ that become an ‘all-or-nothing’ – ‘make it or break it’ in living life.

Seeing the created order properly and not permitting it to control our lives is the caution Jesus sounds. He does so because, in the words of Saint Augustine, “O Lord our God, You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” true joy and peace in life lies in attachment to the God and Father of us all, not what He has created.

ORDINARY TIME

Week 18: Sunday

“Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2.)

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:

“Vanity may be described as something which lacks existence but exists only in the utterance of this word. The reality behind the word is nonexistent; only the letters transmit a useless, empty sound. These meaningless sounds randomly strike the ear as in a game when we create names which lack meaning. This is one form of vanity. Another refers to persons who zealously accumulate objects with no goal in mind. For example, children’s sand buildings, the shooting at stars with arrows, trapping the wind and racing with one’s shadow while trying to reach its head. If we take another example, we see that they all fall under the term “vanity.” Often human custom calls vanity the looking towards a goal and the pursuit of something profitable; should a person do something contrary or foolish, he invests his energy to no avail. This is too is called vanity. [And] so “vanity of vanities” demonstrates the incomparable excess of vanity.” (Homilies on Ecclesiastes, 1.)

Reflections on "to see" and "to guard" from Sunday’s Mass (Ordinary Time, Week 18).

Collect

Draw near to Your servants, O Lord,
and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness,
that, for those who glory in
You as their Creator and guide,
You may restore what You have created
and keep safe what You have restored.
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

Hope of life is the beginning and end
of our faith

Apostolic Father of the Church

An excerpt from Letter of Barnabas, (Chapter 19)

ORDINARY TIME Week 18: Sunday

Consider now the way of light; any man who is bent on reaching his appointed goal must be very careful in all he does. Now these are the directions that have been given to us for this journey: love your Creator; reverence your Maker; give glory to him who redeemed you when you were dead; be single-minded but rich in spiritual treasure; avoid those who travel down death’s highway; hate whatever is displeasing to God; detest all hypocritical pretense; do not abandon God’s commandments. Do not put on airs, but be modest whatever you do; claim no credit for yourself. Plot no evil against your neighbor, and do not give pride an entrance into your heart.

Love your neighbor more than your own life. Do not kill an unborn child through abortion, nor destroy it after birth. Do not refrain from chastising son or daughter, but bring them up from childhood in the fear of the Lord. Do not set your heart on what belongs to your neighbor and do not give in to greed. Do not associate with the arrogant but cultivate those who are humble and virtuous.

Accept as a blessing whatever comes your way in the knowledge that nothing ever happens without God’s concurrence. Avoid duplicity in thought or in word, for such deception is a deadly snare.

Share with your neighbor whatever you have, and do not say of anything, this is mine. If you both share an imperishable treasure, how much more must you share what is perishable. Do not be hasty in speech; the mouth is a deadly snare. For your soul’s good, make every effort to live chastely. Do not hold out your hand for what you can get, only to withdraw it when it comes to giving. Cherish as the apple of your eye anyone who speaks to you of the word of the Lord.

Night and day you will bear in mind the hour of judgment; every day you will seek out the company of God’s faithful, either by preaching the word, earnestly exhorting them, ever considering how you can save souls by your eloquence, or else by working with your hands to make reparation for your past sins.

Never hesitate to give, and when you do give, never grumble; then you will know the one who will repay you. Preserve the traditions you have received, adding nothing and taking nothing away. The evildoer will ever be hateful to you. Be fair in your judgments. Never stir dissension, but act as peacemaker and reconcile the quarrelsome. Confess your sins, and do not begin to pray with a guilty conscience.

Such then is the way of light.

Reflections on "to see" and "to guard" from Sunday’s Mass (Ordinary Time, Week 18).

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

MEMORIAL

Saint Peter Chrysologus
Bishop
Doctor of the Church

“and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” (Matthew 14:2.)

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

“The Jews had different opinions about the resurrection. Some of them were false. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or in the existence of angels. They believed those things that were written about them were only to be interpreted figuratively but had no reality in point of fact. Other Jewish views of the resurrection were true, such as were taught by the Pharisees about the resurrection of the dead — that they rise.

We must now therefore inquire about the opinion regarding the soul, which was mistakenly held by Herod and some from among the people. It ran something like this: John, who a little earlier had been slain by him, had risen from the dead after he had been beheaded. This person who had risen was the same person under a different name, one now called Jesus. Herod imagined that Jesus possessed the same powers that formerly worked in John. If the powers that worked in John had passed over to Jesus, Jesus was thus thought by some to actually be John the Baptist.

The return of Elijah fueled this idea. Here is the line of argument. It was the spirit and power of Elijah that had returned in John. “This is Elijah who is to come.” The spirit in Elijah possessed the power to go into John. So Herod thought that the powers John worked in baptism and teaching had a miraculous effect in Jesus, even though John did not do miracles. It may be said that something of this kind was the underlying thought of those who said that Elijah had appeared in Jesus or that one of the old prophets had risen.” (Commentary on Matthew, 10.)

Collect

O God,
who made the Bishop Saint Peter Chrysologus
an outstanding preacher of your incarnate Word,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may constantly ponder in our hearts
the mysteries of your salvation
and faithfully express them in what we do.
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 17: Sunday

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you...” (Luke 11:9.)

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

“He who believes that the mouth of Jesus cannot lie would hesitate a moment to be persuaded to pray, when he says, “Ask, and it will be given you … for everyone who asks, receives.” When we ask for the living bread, the good Father certainly gives him (and not the stone that his adversary wishes to give to Jesus and his disciples for food) to those who have received the Spirit of sonship from the Father.48 The Father gives a good gift, raining it down from heaven for those who ask him.” (On Prayer, 10.)

Collect

O God,
protector of those who hope in You,
without whom nothing has firm foundation,
nothing is holy,
bestow in abundance Your mercy upon us
and grant that, with You as our ruler and guide,
we may use the good things that pass
in such a way as to hold fast even now
to those that ever endure.
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 16: Monday

“But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39.)

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

“That generation was evil, on account of the influence that had come to be in it from the evil one. It was adulterous because it had left her natural husband — the word or law of truth — and had come to be wedded to a lie. The law which is “in the members” of our flesh wars against “the law of the mind.” It is an adulterer of the soul. Every opposing power, when it has intercourse with the soul unfaithfully — the soul that has as its bridegroom the Word of God — causes the soul to commit adultery.” (Fragment, 274.)

Collect

Show favor, O Lord, to Your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of Your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful
in keeping Your commands.
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 16: Sunday

“Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.” (Luke 10:38.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“The Lord had a body. And just as he deigned to assume a physical body for our sake, so also did he deign to be hungry and thirsty. As a result of the fact that he deigned to be hungry and thirsty, he condescended to be fed by those he himself enriched. He condescended to be received as a guest, not from need but from favor.

Martha was busy satisfying the needs of those who were hungry and thirsty. With deep concern, she prepared what the Holy of Holies and his saints would eat and drink in her house. It was an important but transitory work. It will not always be necessary to eat and drink, will it? When we cling to the most pure and perfect Goodness, serving will not be a necessity.” (Sermon 255)

Collect

Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful
in keeping your commands.
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

We should be Christians in deed,
as well as in name

Saint Ignatius of Antioch

(Bishop, Apostolic Father of the Church and Martyr)

An excerpt from The Letter to the Romans, 6.

ORDINARY TIME 10: Tuesday

Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the church at Magnesia on the Maeander, a church blessed with the grace of God the Father in Christ Jesus, our Saviour, in whom I salute you. I send you every good wish in God the Father and in Jesus Christ.

I was delighted to hear of your love of God, so well-ordered and devout, and so I decided to address you in the faith of Jesus Christ. Honored as I am with a name of the greatest splendour, though I am still in chains I sing with the praises of the churches, and pray that they be united with the flesh and the spirit of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal life; a union in faith and love, to which nothing must be preferred; and above all a union with Jesus and the Father, for if in him we endure all the power of the prince of this world, and escape unharmed, we shall make our way to God.

I have had the honor of seeing you in the person of Damas your bishop, a man of God, and in the persons of your worthy presbyters, Bassus and Apollonius, and my fellow-servant, the deacon Zotion; may I continue to take delight in him for he is obedient to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbyters as to the law of Jesus Christ.

Now it hardly becomes you to presume on your bishop’s youth, but rather, having regard to the power of God the Father, to show him every mark of respect. This, I understand, is what your holy presbyters do, not taking advantage of his youthful condition but deferring to him with the prudence which comes from God, or rather not to him but to the Father of Jesus Christ, to the bishop of all. So then, for the honor of him who loves us, it is proper to obey without hypocrisy; for a man does not so much deceive the bishop he can see as try to deceive the bishop he cannot see. In such a case he has to reckon not with a man, but with God who knows the secrets of the heart.

We should then really live as Christians and not merely have the name; for many invoke the bishop’s name but do everything apart from him. Such men, I think, do not have a good conscience, for they do not assemble lawfully as commanded.

All things have an end, and two things, life and death, are side by side set before us, and each man will go to his own place. Just as there are two coinages, one of God and the other of the world, each with its own image, so unbelievers bear the image of this world, and those who have faith with love bear the image of God the Father through Jesus Christ. Unless we are ready through his power to die in the likeness of his passion, his life is not in us.

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 15: Saturday

“When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them...” (Matthew 12:15.)

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

To the extent that one draws near to Jesus, one does not hold counsel, for no counselor of evil things draws near to Jesus. But when others go out, departing from Jesus, they hold counsel to destroy Jesus, to destroy the Light, the good Way, the Life, the Treasure, the Pearl, Love itself and Peace. If anyone destroys these, he is called a “son of destruction.” But “Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there.” He had no reason to remain around the sons of destruction. They sought to destroy him, but we, who were not seeking, have found him. This recalls the words of the prophet: “I am found by those who do not seek for me; I have been made manifest to those who were not asking after me.” For he came “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” who had forgotten their own Shepherd. So Jesus withdraws, not fearing their judgment but to dispel evil. And, lest anyone should suppose that it was through fear that he had withdrawn, Jesus healed everyone, displaying his almighty power. But, as one who does what is fitting, without pride, he sent them away, telling them not to publicize this.” (Fragment, 252.)

Collect

O God,
Who show the light of your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they profess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary
to the name of Christ
and to strive after all that does it honor.
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

MEMORIAL

Saint Bonaventure

“... how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat?” (Matthew 12:4.)

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

“To put down the chicanery of the Pharisees it is recorded in ancient history that David was fleeing from Saul and came to Nob. Having been received by Ahimelech the priest, he asked him for food. Since Ahimelech had no common bread at hand, he gave David some holy bread, which only priests and Levites could lawfully eat. The priest asked whether the young men had kept themselves from women, and he received the answer “since yesterday and the day before.” He did not hesitate to give the bread, having thought it better, remembering that the prophet says, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” In view of the danger of hunger, Ahimelech judged it better to help people than to offer sacrifice to God. The slain victim pleasing to God is the salvation of humankind. If David is holy and the priest Ahimelech is not offensive to you, but they have broken both commandments of the law with a probable excuse — in this case, hunger — why do you not find acceptable the same hunger in the apostles that you find acceptable in others? However, in this there is a great difference: the disciples plucked grain on the sabbath, whereas David ate the levitical bread. Note that neither David nor his young men accepted the loaves of the presence until they replied that they had kept themselves from women.” (Commentary on Matthew, 2.)

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, just as we celebrate the heavenly birthday
of the Bishop Saint Bonaventure,
we may benefit from his great learning
and constantly imitate the ardor of his charity
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

MEMORIAL

Saint Kateri
Tekakwitha

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“You are to “take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” You are not learning from me how to refashion the fabric of the world, nor to create all things visible and invisible, nor to work miracles and raise the dead. Rather, you are simply learning of me: “that I am meek and lowly in heart.” If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin with the lowest foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will dig the foundation. The building in the course of its erection rises up high, but he who digs its foundation must first go down very low. So then, you see even a building is low before it is high and the tower is raised only after humiliation.” (Sermon 69)

Collect

O God,
Who desired the Virgin
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
to flower among Native Americans
in a life of innocence,
grant, through her intercession,
that when all are gathered into your Church
from every nation, tribe and tongue,
they may magnify you
in a single canticle of 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

Instruction on the postbaptismal rites

Saint Ambrose of Milan

(Bishop and Great Latin Father of the Church)

An excerpt from On the Mysteries

ORDINARY TIME Week 15: Thursday

After this you went up to the priest. Consider what followed. Was it not what David spoke of when he said: Like oil on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron? This is the oil spoken of also by Solomon: Your name is oil poured out, so that the maidens loved you and attracted you. How many souls, reborn today, have loved you, Lord Jesus, and have said: Draw us after you; we shall make haste to follow you, in the fragrance of your garments, to breathe the fragrance of resurrection.

Understand why this is done: Because the eyes of the wise man are in his head. The oil flows down on the beard, that is, on the grace of youth; it flows on Aaron’s beard, in order to make you a chosen race, a race of priests, bought at a great price. We are all anointed with spiritual grace to share in God’s kingdom and in priesthood.

Then you received white garments as a sign that you had cast off the clothing of sin and put on the chaste covering of innocence, as the psalmist prophesied: You will sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed, you will wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow. One who is baptized is seen to be made clean in terms of the law and of the Gospel. In terms of the law, because Moses used a bunch of hyssop to sprinkle the blood of the lamb; in terms of the Gospel, because Christ’s garments were white as snow when in the Gospel he revealed the glory of his resurrection. The sinner who is forgiven is made whiter than snow. The Lord promised the same through Isaiah: If your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.

Wearing the garments given her in the rebirth by water, the Church says, in the words of the song of Songs: I am black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem. Black because of the frailty of humanity, beautiful through grace; black because she is made up of sinners, beautiful through the sacrament of faith. When they see these garments the daughters of Jerusalem cry out in wonder: Who is this who comes up, all in white? She was black, how is she suddenly made white?

When Christ sees his Church clothed in white—for her sake he himself had put on filthy clothing, as you may read in the prophecy of Zechariah—when he sees the soul washed clean by the waters of rebirth, he cries out: How beautiful you are, my beloved, how beautiful you are; your eyes are like the eyes of a dove, for it was in the likeness of a dove that the Holy Spirit came down from heaven.

Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you received. God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come, as you learned in the reading from the Apostle.

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 15: Tuesday

“Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented.” (Matthew 11:20.)

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

“Our Savior laments Chorazin and Bethsaida, cities of Galilee, because after such great miracles and acts of goodness they did not repent. Even Tyre and Sidon, cities that surrendered to idolatry and other vices, are preferred to them. Tyre and Sidon are preferred for the reason that although they trampled down the law, still Chorazin and Bethsaida, after they transgressed natural and written law, cared little for the miracles that were performed among them. If we ask where it is written that our Lord performed miracles in Chorazin and Bethsaida, we read above: “And he went around to all the towns and villages, curing every infirmity” and the rest. Thus among the other towns and villages it must be judged that the Lord performed miracles in Chorazin and Bethsaida as well.” (Commentary on Matthew, 2.)

Collect

O God,
Who show the light of your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they profess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary
to the name of Christ
and to strive after all that does it honor.
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

All this was a sign of what was to come

Saint Ambrose of Milan

(Bishop and Great Latin Father of the Church)

An excerpt from On the Mysteries

ORDINARY TIME Week 15: Tuesday

The Apostle teaches you that our fathers were all covered by the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Further, Moses in his canticle says: You sent your spirit, and the sea overwhelmed them. You observe that in this crossing by the Hebrews there was already a symbol of holy baptism. The Egyptian perished; the Hebrew escaped. What else is the daily lesson of this sacrament than that guilt is drowned, and error destroyed, while goodness and innocence pass over unharmed?

You are taught that our fathers were covered by the cloud, a cloud of blessing that cooled the fire of bodily passions. A cloud of blessing: it is with a cloud of blessing that the Holy Spirit overshadows those whom he comes to visit. The Holy Spirit came at last upon the Virgin Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her, when she conceived for all mankind him who is redemption. This great miracle was prefigured through Moses. If then the Spirit was prefigured, is he not now present in truth, for Scripture tells you that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ?

Marah was a spring of bitter water. When Moses threw wood into it, its water became sweet. Water, you see, is of no avail for future salvation without the proclamation of the Lord’s cross. But when it has been consecrated through the saving mystery of the cross, it is then ready for use in the laver of the Spirit and in the cup of salvation. Therefore, as Moses in his role of prophet threw wood into the spring of Marah, so also the priest sends out into the fountain of baptism the proclamation of the Lord’s cross and the water becomes sweet, ready for the giving of grace.

Do not then believe only what the eyes of your body tell you. What is not seen is here more truly seen, for what is seen belongs to time but what is not seen belongs to eternity. What is not comprehended by the eyes but is seen by the mind and the soul is seen in a truer and deeper sense.

Finally, learn from the readings we have gone through from the books of the Kings. Naaman was a Syrian; he was a leper, and could not be healed by anyone. Then a girl from among the captives said that there was a prophet in Israel who could cleanse him from the disease of leprosy. Taking gold and silver, we are told, he went to see the king of Israel. The king, on learning the reason for his coming, rent his garments, saying that it was really to find an excuse against him, for what he was being asked was beyond the power of a king.

Elisha, however, told the king to send the Syrian to him, and he would learn that there was a God in Israel. When he came, Elisha ordered him to bathe seven times in the river Jordan. Then Naaman began to reflect that the rivers of his own country had better waters, and that he had often bathed in them, and never been cleansed of his leprosy. This gave him pause, and he refused to obey the prophet’s instructions. But on the advice and persuasion of his servants he yielded and bathed, and was instantly made clean. He realized then that it is not waters that make clean but grace.

Here was a man who doubted before being made whole. You are already made whole, and so ought not to have any doubt.

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

MEMORIAL

Saint Benedict

“... and one’s enemies will be those of his household.” (Matthew 10:36.)

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

“He had said previously, “What I tell you in the dark, declare in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” He now explains what follows after this proclamation. The whole world is divided against itself for the sake of faith in Christ. Every house contains both unbelievers and believers. And a necessary conflict has been sent to break an evil peace. It is written in Genesis that God did a similar thing to the rebellious people who streamed out of the east and rushed to build a tower, by which they meant to reach the heights of heaven. God divided their languages.19 For this same reason David prays in the psalm, “O God, scatter the peoples who delight in war.” (Commentary on Matthew, 1.)

Collect

O God,
Who made the Abbot Saint Benedict
an outstanding master
in the school of divine service,
grant, we pray,
that, putting nothing before love of you,
we may hasten with a loving heart
in the way of your commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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

ORDINARY TIME

— The Lord’s Day —

Week 15: Sunday

Pondering Jesus’ victorious Word

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“ ... The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

(Luke 10:36-36.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

And now for something completely different; well, maybe not ‘completely different.’ Fret not, Sousa’s Liberty Bell will not start nor will you see a squashing Monty Python foot on your screen. But there is a facet of this Sunday’s Gospel that is worth considering from a different perspective.

No doubt many in Church this Sunday will be quite familiar with the Parable popularly known as the “Good Samaritan.” The Parable is synonymous with the moral imperative of assisting those in any need whatsoever. Enshrined for the ages as the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, these actions are not optional for the Christian, or any person for that matter. It is a message that is sounded loud and clear in this Parable. Parables, though, are quite rich in meaning when it comes to the reality of the Kingdom of God (click to read an earlier post on Parables) and as powerful as apparent lessons are from the Text, there is always more.

The rich meaning that Parables embody was not lost on the Fathers of the Church. In probing the salvific meaning of the Sacred Text the use of the Spiritual Senses of Scripture enabled them to see deep connections between Text and life (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 115-119). Among the many who offered commentary on this Sunday’s Parable, Saint Ambrose of Milan presents some interesting insights worth pondering.

In his Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, Saint Ambrose comments on the two coins given by the Samaritan to the Innkeeper: “What are those two coins, unless perhaps the two Testaments that contain revealed within them the image of the eternal King, at the price of whose wounds we are healed. Precious blood redeemed us, that we may avoid the sores of final death (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.80).” For Ambrose, Jesus acts as the Samaritan who picks up the one who fell among robbers, robbers being the Evil One and his minions. As humans, we sadly choose erroneous and dangerous paths to travel (even in Jesus’ day, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was hazardous. The road itself was narrow: on one-side thieves and bandits hid in rock crevices waiting to pounce on unsuspecting travelers. As for the other side of this narrow road, one could easily slip off the road and plunge hundreds of feet into a valley of jagged rocks.) Despite our poor choices, the Samaritan (Jesus) rescues us, brings us to the Inn (Church) and pays the price for our healing (His life-giving death and resurrection). Jesus further equips us with the two coins of Scripture’s Testaments: the Old and the New, given to form humanity to choose always life’s proper road and to assist one another along the way because of our relationship to the One God and Father of us all.

ORDINARY TIME

Week 15: Sunday

“No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth* and in your heart, to do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:29.)

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

The “kingdom of God,” according to the word of our Lord and Savior, “comes not with observation”; and “neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there” — but “the kingdom of God is within us” (for “the Word is very nigh unto” us, “in our mouth and in our heart”). So it is clear that he who prays for the coming of the kingdom of God rightly prays that the kingdom of God might be established and bear fruit and be perfected in himself.” (On Prayer, 25.)

Collect

O God,
Who show the light of your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they profess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary
to the name of Christ
and to strive after all that does it honor.
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

Catechesis on the Rites preceding Baptism

Saint Ambrose of Milan

(Bishop and Great Latin Father of the Church)

An excerpt from On the Mysteries

ORDINARY TIME Week 15: Sunday

We gave a daily instruction on right conduct when the readings were taken from the history of the patriarchs or the maxims of Proverbs. These readings were intended to instruct and train you, so that you might grow accustomed to the ways of our forefathers, entering into their paths and walking in their footsteps, in obedience to God’s commands.

Now the season reminds us that we must speak of the mysteries, setting forth the meaning of the sacraments. If we had thought fit to teach these things to those not yet initiated through baptism, we should be considered traitors rather than teachers. Then, too, the light of the mysteries is of itself more effective where people do not know what to expect than where some instruction has been given beforehand.

Open then your ears. Enjoy the fragrance of eternal life, breathed on you by means of the sacraments. We explained this to you as we celebrated the mystery of “the opening” when we said: Effetha, that is, be opened. Everyone who was to come for the grace of baptism had to understand what he was to be asked, and must remember what he was to answer. This mystery was celebrated by Christ when he healed the man who was deaf and dumb, in the Gospel which we proclaimed to you.

After this, the holy of holies was opened up for you; you entered into the sacred place of regeneration. Recall what you were asked; remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world and its dissipation and sensuality. Your words are recorded, not on a monument to the dead but in the book of the living.

There you saw the levite, you saw the priest, you saw the high priest. Do not consider their outward form but the grace given by their ministries. You spoke in the presence of angels, as it is written: The lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek the law from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord almighty. There is no room for deception, no room for denial. He is an angel whose message is the kingdom of Christ and eternal life. You must judge him, not by his appearance but by his office. Remember what he handed on to you, weigh up his value, and so acknowledge his standing.

You entered to confront your enemy, for you intended to renounce him to his face. You turned toward the east, for one who renounces the devil turns toward Christ and fixes his gaze directly on 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

ORDINARY TIME

Week 14: Saturday

“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” (Matthew 10:29.)

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

In this passage, Jesus demonstrates his foresight in all things. The word without refers not to will but to foreknowledge. Some things happen because of his direct will, but some happen merely with his approval and consent. And so on the literal level, he is showing the subtlety of his foresight and his previous knowledge of events.

On the spiritual level, however, a sparrow falls to the ground when it looks at what is below it and falls to earth, ensnared by the vices of the flesh, given up “to dishonorable passions.” It loses its freedom together with its honor. For a sparrow is either borne always upward, or else it comes to rest by alighting on mountains or hills (the hills are metaphors for Scripture). And such a person is one who has been raised aloft by the Word but has his mind on earthly concerns.” (Fragment, 212.)

Collect

O God,
Who in the abasement of Your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill Your faithful with holy joy,
for on those You have rescued
from slavery to sin
You bestow eternal gladness.
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

Jesus Christ, the true Solomon

Saint Augustine of Hippo

(Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church)

An excerpt from a Discourse on the Psalms

ORDINARY TIME: Week 14, Saturday

The temple that Solomon built to the Lord was a type and figure of the future Church as well as of the body of the Lord. For this reason Christ says in the Gospel: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. For just as Solomon built the ancient temple, so the true Solomon, the true peacemaker, our Lord Jesus Christ, built a temple for himself. Now Solomon means peacemaker; Jesus, however, is the true peacemaker, of whom Saint Paul says: He is our peace, uniting the two into one. The true peacemaker brought together in himself two walls coming from different angles and himself became the cornerstone. One wall was formed of the circumcised believers and the other of the uncircumcised gentiles who had faith. And of these two peoples he made one Church, with himself as the cornerstone and, therefore, the true peacemaker.

And so when Solomon the king of Israel, the son of David and Bathsheba, built his temple, he acted as a figure of Christ, the true Solomon and peacemaker. But I do not think it was Solomon of old, the type of Christ, who really built God’s dwelling. As the beginning of the psalm tells us: Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have the builders labored on it. Thus it is the Lord who builds the house; it is the Lord Jesus who builds his own dwelling. Many may toil on its building, but unless he builds it, in vain have the builders labored on it.

And who are those who labor on it? All those who preach God’s word in the Church, who are ministers of his sacraments. All of us now rush, work and build, and before us other men rushed, worked and built; still, unless the Lord build the house, in vain have the builders labored on it. The apostles, and Paul specifically, saw some of them fail, and said: You observe the days, the years, the months and the seasons; I fear that I may have toiled for you to no purpose. For realizing that he was the result of the Lord’s building from within, he was sorrowful because he had toiled for them to no avail. Hence, we are the ones who speak from without, but he builds from within. We notice the fact that you are listening, but he alone knows what you are thinking, for he sees our thoughts. He is the one who builds, admonishes, instills fear, opens the mind, and bends the perceptions to the act of belief. Yet we too, his ministers, labor, and are as it were his workmen.

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

Whether they like it or not,
those who are outside the Church
are our brothers

Saint Augustine of Hippo

(Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Discourse on Psalm 32

ORDINARY TIME: Week 14, Tuesday

We entreat you, brothers, as earnestly as we are able, to have charity, not only for one another, but also for those who are outside the Church. Of these some are still pagans, who have not yet made an act of faith in Christ. Others are separated, insofar as they are joined with us in professing faith in Christ, our head, but are yet divided from the unity of his body. My friends, we must grieve over these as over our brothers; and they will only cease to be so when they no longer say our Father.

The prophet refers to some men saying: When they say to you: You are not our brothers, you are to tell them: You are our brothers. Consider whom he intended by these words. Were they the pagans? Hardly; for nowhere either in Scripture or in our traditional manner of speaking do we find them called our brothers. Nor could it refer to the Jews, who do not believe in Christ. Read Saint Paul and you will see that when he speaks of “brothers,” without any qualification, he refers always to Christians. For example, he says: Why do you judge your brother or why do you despise your brother? And again: You perform iniquity and common fraud, and this against your brothers.

Those then who tell us: You are not our brothers, are saying that we are pagans. That is why they want to baptize us again, claiming that we do not have what they can give. Hence their error of denying that we are their brothers. Why then did the prophet tell us: Say to them: You are our brothers? It is because we acknowledge in them that which we do not repeat. By not recognizing our baptism, they deny that we are their brothers; on the other hand, when we do not repeat their baptism but acknowledge it to be our own, we are saying to them: You are our brothers.

If they say, “Why do you seek us? What do you want of us?” we should reply: You are our brothers. They may say, “Leave us alone. We have nothing to do with you.” But we have everything to do with you, for we are one in our belief in Christ; and so we should be in one body, under one head.

And so, dear brothers, we entreat you on their behalf, in the name of the very source of our love, by whose milk we are nourished, and whose bread is our strength, in the name of Christ our Lord and his gentle love. For it is time now for us to show them great love and abundant compassion by praying to God for them. May he one day give them a clear mind to repent and to realize that they have nothing now but the sickness of their hatred, and the stronger they think they are, the weaker they become. We entreat you then to pray for them, for they are weak, given to the wisdom of the flesh, to fleshly and carnal things, but yet they are our brothers. They celebrate the same sacraments as we, not indeed with us, but still the same. They respond with the same Amen, not with us, but still the same. And so pour out your hearts for them in prayer to God.

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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