Prayer "For an End to Storms"

As disciples of old called upon Jesus for His help while on the waters of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41), we carry in prayer and offer whatever assistance possible to all our sisters and brothers in Texas.

SCRIPTURE

“He hushed the storm to silence, the waves of the sea were stilled!” Click for full Psalm.

COLLECT

(This prayer is taken from The Roman Missal, “Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, #37:  For an End to Storms”)

O God, to Whose commands
all the elements give obedience,
we humbly entreat You,
that the still of fearsome storms
may turn a powerful menace
into an occasion for us to praise You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God,
for ever and ever.

Eliakim and Peter - trusting that God will establish ...

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

“Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority” (Isaiah 22:18-20).”

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19.)

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

Admittedly Shebna, Eliakim and Hilkiah are not household names. Hopefully these names will not be too difficult for lectors to pronounce properly. But when you hear their names, what goes through your mind? Do you know them? Is it important to know them? While the simple answer to that question is “yes,” it is important to know why we need to know them and their story when it comes to following Jesus Christ. Time for a brief lesson in Old Testament History.

In the first 39 chapters of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, life is very uncertain for many of the Israelites, especially those living in what was known then as the Northern Kingdom. This area bordered Assyria (part of modern day Syria) and tensions ran high between the people of the Northern Kingdom and the people of Assyria. In the context of this uncertainly, the Prophet Isaiah called the people continuously to “trust in God.” It was hard. They could not eyeball God yet they could easily see (and hear!) the might of the Assyrian military machine. Some of Israel's leaders decided to take matters into their own hands and prepare for war and make alliances with others to help when war broke out. Enter Shebna.

Scholars are mixed as to what his exact job was in the empire. Minimally, it was some type of steward or treasury official in the government. No matter the position, Shebna was a powerful person in the empire who answered only to the king. There is some scholarship that suggests Shebna (whose name linguistically appears to be more Egyptian than Hebrew) was attempting an alliance with the Egyptians. Earlier in Isaiah 22, mention is made of a rather ambitious building campaign (including quite an ornate burial place for himself) that results in some type of scandal and betrayal of his master (an extremely serious offense in the Ancient Near Eastern world), though the Text is silent about the scandal's details. The Scripture is quite clear about the consequences of the scandal: “The LORD shall hurl you down headlong, mortal man! He shall grip you firmly and roll you up and toss you like a ball into an open land to perish there, you and the chariots you glory in, you disgrace to your master’s house (Isaiah 22:17-18).” In the portion of the chapter proclaimed this Sunday, we learn of Shebna's public humiliation and the loss of his government position to Eliakim (whose name, interestingly, means “God establishes”).

So what does Old Testament History 101 have to do with this Sunday's Word? The biblical mandate uttered by Isaiah, “trust in God,” is for the good of one's life and the lives of others. Disaster occurs time and time again in Isaiah when leaders, who ought to know better, decide to orchestrate the life of the kingdom based on their own agenda. This agenda, which attempts a ruse of concern for one’s subjects, is nothing more than a ploy for patrimony, power and perpetuity which increases the ego, hurling one deeper and deeper into the abyss of narcissism. Shebna thought he was smart in abandoning the covenant and the Word of God delivered by the prophet. He poured massive resources of Israel's life into shoring up defenses (which really were not all that sound, but apparently benefitted him) and building a marvelous mausoleum as a perpetual testimony to his life, which also backfired in the end. Failure to listen to the prophet results in a loss of profit on so many levels of life.

The ‘rocks’ of Caesarea Philippi including the entrance to a seemingly bottomless pit... in antiquity, rock formations near and on the entrance gave the appearance of foreboding jaws (gate) leading to the nether world. This was also the site of the ancient cult of the pagan god, Pan. Not far from here are the cool, fresh-water springs that combine and form southward flowing streams contributing to the Sea of Galilee. The day my Dad and I visited Hermon Springs was hot (temperature was estimated at 102°F) and very humid. Kneeing down and sipping the spring water was quite a treat.

Contrast all this with Peter. He does no campaigning, not that he would have even known what was coming by responding to a simple question from the Master. He does no manipulating of the crowds, fellow disciples or even Jesus. Out-of-the-blue Jesus declares him “Rock!” and invests him with keys (an Old Testament image used to sum up all civil and religious authority exercised by leaders. In Judaism, the ‘power of the keys’ also referred to the Rabbi’s teaching authority) and solidifying his authority with the power to bind and to loose. As the “key of the house of David” was placed upon Eliakim's shoulders, so Peter is given the Keys of the Kingdom. Peter gets the keys and binding/loosing power precisely because God establishes this, not himself. Peter responds to Jesus’ question in such a way that it is clear Peter is open to the Father’s revelation. Peter, in this context, is an Eliakim. So long as the one called “Rock” lives his ‘Eliakim roots’ he will never become ‘Rocky.’ Peter will come to learn that much vigilance is required as the letter “y” can easily be appended to his stone name (next week’s lesson). A rock that provides a sure foundation can become unstable in the blink of an eye. Ask anyone who has lived through an earthquake. Similarly, life quickly becomes ‘rocky’ when “trust in the Lord” no longer grounds the foundation of life. The laws of physics are quite clear: nature abhors a vacuum. Something or someone is always waiting to pounce and fill a void. “Trust in God” keeps life filled with proper direction, energy and liveliness. Its absence results automatically in “trust in self” along with consequences that never builds-up but only tears-down. Gospel joy and peace await all who allow God to establish life even when times are humanly uncertain and rocky.

Collect

O God,
Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant Your people
to love what You command
and to desire what You promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
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

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

“One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”” (Revelation 21:9.)

Saint Bede the Venerable comments on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“He calls the church “bride” and “wife,” for while remaining herself pure and immaculate, she is always giving birth to spiritual sons for God. Or, [she is called “bride” and “wife”] because although she is now betrothed to God, she will at that time be led to the neverending wedding feast” (Explanation of the Apocalypse, 21.)

Collect

Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith,
by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew
clung wholeheartedly to Your Son,
and grant that
through the help of his prayers
Your Church may become for all the nations
the sacrament of salvation.
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

"It is a ghost ..." Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel excerpt

“Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost (φάντασμα [phantasma]),” they said, and they cried out in fear.” (Matthew 14:24-26)

Reflection

Scholars tell us that the "fourth watch of the night" is the period of time between 3 and 6 in the morning. This is a time of paradox. Around 3am, intense darkness engulfs all reality. On the Sea of Galilee, darkness is so intense that when you stretch out your arm, you cannot see your fingertips. Without light, it is easy to loose your bearings and wander off course. The heart pounds faster. Breathing quickens as fear of being lost takes hold of life. Add an unexpected storm that tosses a 30-foot fishing boat mercilessly at the whim of wind and waves and you have a recipe for disaster.

Yet as time drifts closer to the 6am hour, the other pole of the paradox dawns. Not only does light gradually transform darkness, it does so with colors that are rarely seen in the brightness of noonday sun. Color, born of light and water, take hold of life where there was once fear. The captivating prism of light transforms fear to calm and brings a touch of ‘the wow’ to both body and soul. Water, darkness and light all combine to signal hope: the gift of a new day with all of its surprises and blessings.

For a group of first-century Galilean fishermen, a particular day dawned like no other. In the midst of dealing with the wind and sea (traditional images of chaos in the Old Testament over which God alone has power to cause order [cosmos]), the unexpected sight of Jesus triggered fear. The Evangelist records the sight as a φάντασμα (phantasma) which is translated in the New American Bible as “ghost.” In the ancient world, people recognized that a phantasma could be real or imagined. However real or imaginative, the perceiver or the viewer had no control over the sight. This is an important dimension of the ancient meaning of phantasma as it contributes to the human experience of fear. When we are not in control of life, we often sense that as a threat and instinctively the flight/fight mechanism engages with the hope of survival. Later in the Christian era, phantasma's Greek root is part of a larger group of words that eventually means a “showing of God” - an epiphany or a theophany.

All of this - the “fourth watch of the night,” the paradox of time, the metaphor of water and wind for chaos and antiquity's meaning of phantasma - gives us much to ponder this Sunday as God’s Word is proclaimed. While the western mind may want to figure out and perhaps dismiss "walking on water" because it seems so disconnected from our lives, caution is strongly advised and needed. None of us can dismiss the reality of darkness, uncertainty and fear in our lives. We wish we would not have to experience it yet maturity demands that each acknowledges times of aimlessness, confusion, and perhaps even despair that cast gradually intensifying darkness on and in our lives. The same fear that gripped the fishermen in the boat grips us and we look for a way out to experience perhaps just a glimmer, if not the rich colors of life. Faith memories instinctively move us to call out “God, come to my assistance!” as Elijah and the fishermen did. The difficulty is that we often block the God working because “I” am in charge, “I” and in control. But we thereby run the risk of Jesus passing us by. We call out for help - AND - at the same time we want the revealing of God and Divine Help on our terms, not on the Lord's terms. It is the ever-present struggle in our lives to be in control, to hold not only the remote-control but the batteries as well.

Faith in the Person Jesus always requires letting go of the false self. The paradox is that when we put our hand in the hand of the Man from Galilee” life’s darkness is transformed bit by bit into dazzling colors enabling us to see, hear, speak and live as Galilee's famous Carpenter Who managed to teach fishermen a thing or two about life ... as Jesus continues to do today for us.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
whom, taught by the Holy Spirit,
we dare to call our Father,
bring, we pray,
to perfection in our hearts
the spirit of adoption
as your sons and daughters,
that we may merit to enter
into the inheritance
which you have promised.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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

Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before him ...” (Matthew 17:14.)

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

”If every disease and weakness which our Savior cured at that time among the people represents different symptoms in the soul, it stands to reason that by the paralytics are symbolized the palsied in soul, who keep it lying paralyzed in the body. By those who are blind are symbolized those who are blind in respect of things seen by the soul alone,1 and these are really blind. And by the deaf are symbolized those who are deaf in regard to the reception of the word of salvation. On the same principle it will be necessary that the matters regarding the epileptic should be investigated. This disease attacks those who suffer from it at considerable intervals, during which time he who suffers from it seems in no way to differ from the man in good health, at the season when the epilepsy is not working on him. You will find some souls that are often considered to be healthy suffering from symptoms like these in their chastity and the other virtues. But there comes a time when they are attacked by a kind of epilepsy, and then they seem to fall from their solid foundation and are seized by the deceits and other desires of this world.” (Commentary on Matthew, 13.)

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.

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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It is mercy that I want, not sacrifice

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from a Against Heresies, Book 4

Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

That they might be saved God demanded of these men of old not sacrifices and holocausts, but faith, obedience and righteousness. God expressed his will when he taught them in the words of Hosea: I desire mercy more than sacrifices, the knowledge of God more than holocausts. Our Lord’s warning to them was the same: If you had known what was meant by the words “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” you would never have condemned the guiltless. He bore witness that the prophets had spoken the truth; he also brought home to his listeners the folly of their own sin.

Moreover, he instructed his disciples to offer to God the first fruits of creation, not because God had any need, but so that they themselves should not be unproductive and ungrateful. This is why he took bread, a part of his creation, gave thanks and said: This is my body. In the same way he declared that the cup, an element of the same creation as ourselves, was his blood; he taught them that this was the new sacrifice of the new covenant. The Church has received this sacrifice from the apostles; throughout the world she offers to God, who feeds us, the first fruits of his own gifts, under the new covenant. It was foretold by Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, in the words: I take no pleasure in you, says the Lord Almighty, and no sacrifice will I accept from your hands. For, from the rising of the sun to its setting, the Gentiles glorify my name, and in every place incense and a spotless sacrifice are offered to my name; my name is great among the Gentiles, says the Lord Almighty.

But what name is glorified among the Gentiles if not that of our Lord, through whom glory is given both to the Father and to man. And since this name belongs to his own Son, who became man by the Fathers’ will, the Father calls this name his own. If a king were to paint a picture of his son, he could claim it as his own on two counts: because it is his son’s picture, and because he himself made it. In the same way, the Father declares that the name of Jesus Christ, which is glorified in the Church throughout the world, is his own, because it is his Son’s name and because he wrote it to save mankind.

And so, since the Son’s name belongs to the Father and since the Church makes its offerings through Jesus Christ to almighty God, for these two reasons the prophet is right when he says: In every place incense and a pure sacrifice are offered to my name. In the book of Revelation, John speaks of incense as the prayer of the saints.

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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Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44.)

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

“Now a man who comes to the field, whether to the Scriptures or to the Christ who is formed both from things manifest and from things hidden, finds the hidden treasure of wisdom whether in Christ or in the Scriptures. For, going round to visit the field and searching the Scriptures and seeking to understand the Christ, he finds the treasure in it. Having found it, he hides it, thinking that it is not without danger to reveal to everybody the secret meanings of the Scriptures or the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. And, having hidden it, he goes away. Now he is focused on the heavy labor of devising how he shall buy the field, or the Scriptures, that he may make them his own possession, receiving from the people of God the oracles of God with which the Jews were first entrusted. But when one taught by Christ has bought the field, the kingdom of God, according to another parable, is like a vineyard that is “taken from” the first and given to other nations bringing forth its fruits. The one who bought the field in faith, as the fruit of his having sold all else that he had, no longer was keeping anything that was formerly his. For they would be a distracting source of evil to him.

And you will give the same application, if the field containing the hidden treasure is Christ. Those who give up all things and follow him have, as it were in another way, sold their possessions. Thus by having sold and surrendered them and having received in their place a noble resolution from God their helper, they may purchase, at great cost worthy of the field, the field containing the hidden treasure.” (Commentary on Matthew, 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

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The Church as the assembly of the people of God

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from the Catecheses, 18.

Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

The Church is called Catholic or universal because it has spread throughout the entire world, from one end of the earth to the other. Again, it is called Catholic because it teaches fully and unfailingly all the doctrines which ought to be brought to men’s knowledge, whether concerned with visible or invisible things, with the realities of heaven or the things of earth. Another reason for the name Catholic is that the Church brings under religious obedience all classes of men, rulers and subjects, learned and unlettered. Finally, it deserves the title Catholic because it heals and cures unrestrictedly every type of sin that can be committed in soul or in body, and because it possesses within itself every kind of virtue that can be named, whether exercised in actions or in words or in some kind of spiritual charism.

It is most aptly called a church, which means an “assembly of those called out,” because it “calls out” all men and gathers them together, just as the Lord says in Leviticus: Assemble all the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting. It is worth noting also that the word “assemble” is used for the first time in the Scriptures at this moment when the Lord appoints Aaron high priest. So in Deuteronomy God says to Moses: Assemble the people before me and let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me. There is a further mention of the assembly in the passage about the tablets of the Law: And on them were written all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly; it is as though he had said, even more clearly, “on the day when you were called out by God and gathered together.” So too the psalmist says: I will give thanks to you in the great assembly, O Lord; in the mighty throng I will praise you.

Long ago the psalmist sang: Bless God in the assembly; bless the Lord, you who are Israel’s sons. But now the Savior has built a second holy assembly, our Christian Church, from the Gentiles. It was of this that he spoke to Peter: On this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

Now that the single church which was in Judea has been rejected, the churches of Christ are already multiplying throughout the world, and of them it is said in the psalms: Sing a new song to the Lord, let his praise be sung in the assembly of the saints. Taking up the same theme the prophet says to the Jews: I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts; and immediately he adds: For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is glorified among the nations. Of this holy Catholic Church Paul writes to Timothy: That you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

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 necessity of a silent heart ...

“Jesus taught us how to pray, and He also told us to learn from Him to be meek and humble of heart. Neither of these can we do unless we know what silence is. Both humility and prayer grow from an ear, mind, and tongue that have lived in silence with God, for in the silence of the heart God speaks.” By differentiating between exterior silence and interior silence, we see that although exterior silence promotes interior silence, silence of speech, gesture, or activity finds its full meaning in the search for God. This search is truly possible only in a silent heart...” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta, No Greater Love).

Silence and mortification ...

“After our first efforts, however, we may also notice that silence does not entirely belong to us. For once we have passed through the door of prayer, we discover an agitated crowd of thoughts, feelings, and aversions that we have great difficulty in quieting. These noisy, stubborn multitudes bog down our soul. We can decide to pray and realize that it is impossible to remain concentrated on our interior life. We are distracted by a thousand disturbing things. The interior racket makes all silence impossible. The slightest of passions that has troubled our heart before a prayer can ruin that moment of silence. Noise triumphs, and silence flees. How can we come to master our own interior silence? The only answer lies in asceticism, self-renunciation, and humility. If man does not mortify himself, if he stays as he is, he remains outside of God...” (Robert Cardinal Sarah, The Power of Silence).

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.” (Matthew 13:1.)

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

When Jesus then is with the multitudes, he is not in his house, for the multitudes are outside of the house, and it is an act that springs from his love of humanity to leave the house and to go away to those who are not able to come to him.” (Commentary on Matthew, 10.)

Collect

O Lord, God of our Fathers,
who bestowed on
Saints Joachim and Anne this grace,
that of them should be born
the Mother of your incarnate Son,
grant, through the prayers of both,
that we may attain the salvation
you have promised to your people.
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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Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” (Matthew 12:40.)

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

“The Savior pointed out that Jonah the prophet, who having been tossed into the sea was caught in the belly of the whale and emerged on the third day, prefigured the Son of Man who would suffer and rise on the third day. The Jewish people were censured in comparison with the Ninevites, for the Ninevites, to whom Jonah the prophet had been sent by way of reproof, placated God’s wrath by repenting and gained his mercy. “And behold,” he said, “something greater than Jonah is here,” the Lord Jesus implying himself. The Ninevites heard the servant and amended their ways; the Jews heard the Lord and not only did they not amend their ways but moreover they killed him.” (Sermon 72)

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.

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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Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27.)

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

“The Father entrusts. The Son receives. What is entrusted? All things have been entrusted to the Son, but this does not mean cosmically heaven and earth and the elements and the rest of nature which God himself made and established. Rather, it refers personally to the people who have access to the Father through the Son and who were formerly rebellious but afterward began to know God.” (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

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Water does not sanctify without the Holy Spirit

Saint Ambrose of Milan

Bishop and Great Latin Father of the Church

An excerpt from his treatise, On the Mysteries

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

You were told before not to believe only what you saw. This was to prevent you from saying: Is this the great mystery that eye has not seen nor ear heard nor man’s heart conceived? I see the water I used to see every day; does this water in which I have often bathed without being sanctified really have the power to sanctify me? Learn from this that water does not sanctify without the Holy Spirit.

You have read that the three witnesses of baptism—the water, the blood and the Spirit—are one. This means that if you take away one of these the sacrament of baptism is not conferred. What is water without the cross of Christ? Only an ordinary element without sacramental effect. Again, without water there is no sacrament of rebirth. Unless a man is born again of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The catechumen believes in the cross of the Lord with which he too is signed, but unless he is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot receive the forgiveness of sins or the gift of spiritual grace.

The Syrian Naaman bathed seven times under the old law, but you were baptized in the name of the Trinity. You proclaimed your faith in the Father—recall what you did—and the Son and the Spirit. Mark the sequence of events. In proclaiming this faith you died to the world, you rose again to God, and, as though buried to sin, you were reborn to eternal life. Believe, then, that the water is not without effect.

The paralytic at the pool was waiting for someone. Who was this if not the Lord Jesus, born of a virgin? At his coming it is not a question of a shadow healing an individual, but Truth himself healing the universe. He is the one whose coming was expected, the one of whom God the Father spoke when he said to John the Baptist: He on whom you see the Spirit coming down from heaven and resting, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. He is the one witnessed to by John: I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven as a dove and resting on him. Why did the Spirit come down as a dove if not to let you see and understand that the dove sent out by holy Noah from the ark was a figure of this dove? In this way you were to recognize a type of this sacrament.

Is there any room left for doubt? The Father speaks clearly in the Gospel: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; the Son too, above whom the Holy Spirit showed himself in the form of a dove; and also the Holy Spirit, who came down as a dove. David too speaks clearly: The voice of the Lord is above the waters; the God of glory has thundered; the Lord is above the many waters. Again, Scripture bears witness for you that fire came down from heaven in answer to Gideon’s prayers, and that when Elijah prayed, God sent fire which consumed the sacrifice.

Do not consider the merits of individuals but the office of the priests. If you do look at merits, consider the merits of Peter and also of Paul in the same way as you consider the merits of Elijah; they have handed on to us this sacrament which they received from the Lord Jesus. Visible fire was sent upon them to give them faith; in us who believe an invisible fire is at work. That visible fire was a sign, our invisible fire is for our instruction. Believe then that the Lord Jesus is present when he is invoked by the prayers of the priests. He said: Where two or three are gathered, there I am also. How much more does he give his loving presence where the Church is, where the sacraments are!

You went down into the water. Remember what you said: I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not: I believe in a greater, a lesser and a least. You are committed by this spoken understanding of yours to believe the same of the Son as of the Father, and the same of the Holy Spirit as of the Son, with this one exception: you proclaim that you must believe in the cross of the Lord Jesus alone.

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

 

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Fifteen Sunday in Ordinary Time

“And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.” (Matthew 13:4)

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

“Let us look, as from a broader perspective, at what it means to be on the road. In a way, every road is hardened and foolish on account of the fact that it lies beneath everyone’s feet. No kind of seed finds there enough depth of soil for a covering. Instead, it lies on the surface and is ready to be snatched up by the birds that come by. Therefore those who have in themselves a mind hardened and, as it were, packed tight do not receive the divine seed but become a well-trodden way for the unclean spirits. These are what is here meant by “the birds of the heaven.” But “heaven” we understand to mean this air, in which the spirits of wickedness move about, by whom, again, the good seed is snatched up and destroyed. Then what are those upon the rock? They are those people who do not take much care of the faith they have in themselves. They have not set their minds to understand the touchstone of the mystery. The reverence these people have toward God is shallow and rootless. It is in times of ease and fair weather that they practice Christianity, when it involves none of the painful trials of winter. They will not preserve their faith in this way, if in times of tumultuous persecution their soul is not prepared for the struggle.” (Fragment 168)

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

Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John ...” (Matthew 10:2.)

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

“The order in which the apostles were divided and the distinction of each one were given by him who plumbs the depths of the heart. The first to be recorded is Simon called Peter (to distinguish him from the other Simon, who is called the Cananaean from the village of Cana in Galilee, where the Lord turned the water into wine). He also calls James the son of Zebedee because he is followed by another James, the son of Alphaeus. And he associates the apostles by pairs. He joins Peter and Andrew as brothers not so much in the flesh as in the spirit; James and John, who left behind their natural father and followed the true Father; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican. The other Evangelists, in listing the names, put Matthew first and then Thomas; nor do they mention the name publican, lest in recalling his former way of life they seem to insult the Evangelist. But Matthew, as we said before, places himself after Thomas and calls himself a publican so that “where sin abounded, grace has abounded even more.”

Simon the Cananaean is the one whom another Evangelist calls the Zealot. In fact, Cana interpreted means “zeal.” Church history relates that the apostle Thaddaeus was sent to Edessa, Abgarum in the region of Osroene. The person whom Luke the Evangelist calls Jude the brother of James, elsewhere called Lebbaeus, which interpreted means “little heart,” is believed to have been referred to by three names. Simon Peter and the sons of Zebedee (called sons of thunder) were named for their strength of mind and great faith. Judas Iscariot took his name either from his hometown or from the tribe of Issachar. By a certain prophecy he was born in condemnation of himself, for Issachar interpreted means “reward,” as to signify the price of the traitor.” (Commentary on Matthew, 1.)

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

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Seek the good of all, not personal advantage

Saint Clement of Rome

Apostolic Father, Bishop of Rome and Martyr

An excerpt from his Letter to the Corinthians

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The command has been written: Cling to the saints, for those who cling to them will be sanctified. There is a passage in Scripture as well which states: With the innocent man you will be innocent, and with the chosen one you will be chosen also; likewise with the perverse you will deal perversely. Devote yourselves, then, to the innocent and the just; they are God’s chosen ones. Why are there strife and passion, schisms and even war among you? Do we not possess the same Spirit of grace which was given to us and the same calling in Christ? Why do we tear apart and divide the body of Christ? Why do we revolt against our own body? Why do we reach such a degree of insanity that we forget that we are members of one another? Do not forget the words of Jesus our Lord: Woe to that man; it would be better for him if he had not been born rather than scandalize one of my chosen ones. Indeed it would be better for him to have a great millstone round his neck and to be drowned in the sea than that he lead astray one of my chosen ones. Your division has led many astray, has made many doubt, has made many despair, and has brought grief upon us all. And still your rebellion continues.

Pick up the letter of blessed Paul the apostle. What did he write to you at the beginning of his ministry? Even then you had developed factions. So Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote to you concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos. But that division involved you in less sin because you were supporting apostles of high reputation and a person approved by them.

We should put an end to this division immediately. Let us fall down before our master and implore his mercy with our tears. Then he will be reconciled to us and restore us to the practice of brotherly love that befits us. For this is the gate of justice that leads to life, as it is written: Open to me the gates of justice. When I have entered there, I shall praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter through it. There are many gates which stand open, but the gate of justice is the gateway of Christ. All who enter through this gate are blessed, pursuing their way in holiness and justice, performing all their tasks without discord. A person may be faithful; he may have the power to utter hidden mysteries; he may be discriminating in the evaluation of what is said and pure in his actions. But the greater he seems to be, the more humbly he ought to act, and the more zealous he should be for the common good rather than his own interest.

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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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves...” (Matthew 11:29.)

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 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

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Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

“Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:17.)

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

“Even though Jesus seems to make virtually the same point a second time, it is hardly redundant. For in the second time around he prevents anyone from concluding, “The evil tree bears evil fruit, but it also bears good fruit, so as to make it difficult to recognize an evil tree, because the crop is of two kinds.” No. Jesus says, “This is not so. For the evil tree bears only evil fruits and would never bear good fruits. So also it is the same way with the opposite kind of tree.”

What then? Is there no such thing as a good person who becomes corrupt? Or a corrupt person who becomes good? Isn’t life full of many examples of such reversals? But the Messiah is not saying that the evil person is incapable of changing or that the good person will never fail in anything. But he is saying that so long as a person is living in a degenerate way, he will not be able to generate good fruit. For he may indeed change to virtue, being evil, but while continuing in wickedness, he will not bear good fruit.

What then? Did not David, even though good, bear evil fruit? No, because he did not bear evil fruit while remaining good but while being changed. For if indeed he had remained continually good as he had been, he would not have produced the bad fruit. For it surely was not while abiding in the habits of excellence that he had the audacity to do the very things that he had the audacity to do.” (The Gospel of Matthew: Homily, 23.)

Collect

O God,
Who called the Bishop Saint Irenaeus
to confirm true doctrine and
the peace of the Church,
grant, we pray, through his intercession,
that, being renewed in faith and charity,
we may always be intent
on fostering unity and concord.
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 of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Father of the Church

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces...” (Matthew 7:6.)

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

“Now in this precept we are forbidden to give a holy thing to dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We must diligently seek to determine the gravity of these words: holy, pearls, dogs and swine. A holy thing is whatever it would be impious to profane or tear apart. Even a fruitless attempt to do so makes one already guilty of such impiety, though the holy thing may by its very nature remain inviolable and indestructible. Pearls signify all spiritual things that are worthy of being highly prized. Because these things lie hidden in secret, it is as though they were being drawn up from the deep. Because they are found in the wrappings of allegories, it is as though they were contained within shells that have been opened. It is clear therefore that one and the same thing can be called both a holy thing and a pearl. It can be called a holy thing because it ought not to be destroyed and a pearl because it ought not to be despised. One tries to destroy what one does not wish to leave intact. One despises what is deemed worthless, as if beneath him. Hence, whatever is despised is said to be trampled under foot.

You know that dogs rush madly to tear apart whatever they attack, leaving nothing intact. Hence the Lord says, “Do not give to dogs what is holy.” For although the holy thing itself cannot be shattered or destroyed but remains intact and unharmed, what must be considered is the desire of those who resist the truth with the utmost violence and bitterness. They do everything in their power to destroy what is holy, as if its destruction were possible. Although swine — unlike dogs — do not attack by biting, they befoul a thing by trampling all over it. Therefore “do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and attack you.” Thus we may rightly understand that these words (dogs and swine) are now used to designate respectively those who assail the truth and those who resist it.

By saying “lest they turn and tear you apart” Jesus does not say, “Lest they tear apart the pearls themselves.” For by trampling on the pearls even when they turn around to hear something further, they lacerate the one who cast the pearls they have already trampled upon. Of course, it would not be easy to find anything that would please one who would trample on pearls. Who could please one who despises divine truth revealed at such great cost? But I do not see how anyone who tries to teach such people will not themselves be torn apart by indignation and disgust, for both dogs and swine are unclean animals. Therefore we must be careful not to reveal anything to one who cannot bear it, for it is better that one make a search for what is concealed than assail or despise what is revealed. Indeed, it is only through hatred or contempt that people refuse to accept truths of manifest importance. Hence for one reason some are called dogs, and for the other reason some are called swine.” (Sermon on the Mount, 2.)

Collect

O God,
Who made the Bishop
Saint Cyril of Alexandria
an invincible champion
of the divine motherhood
of the most Blessed Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, that we,
who believe she is truly the Mother of God,
may be saved through the
Incarnation of 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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Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

“You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5.)

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

“The word hypocrite is aptly employed here, since the denouncing of evils is best viewed as a matter only for upright persons of goodwill. When the wicked engage in it, they are like impersonators, masqueraders, hiding their real selves behind a mask, while they portray another’s character through the mask. The word hypocrites in fact signifies pretenders. Hence we ought especially to avoid that meddlesome class of pretenders who under the pretense of seeking advice undertake the censure of all kinds of vices. They are often moved by hatred and malice.

Rather, whenever necessity compels one to reprove or rebuke another, we ought to proceed with godly discernment and caution. First of all, let us consider whether the other fault is such as we ourselves have never had or whether it is one that we have overcome. Then, if we have never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could have had it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our common frailty, in order that mercy, not hatred, may lead us to the giving of correction and admonition. In this way, whether the admonition occasions the amendment or the worsening of the one for whose sake we are offering it (for the result cannot be foreseen), we ourselves shall be made safe through singleness of eye. But if on reflection we find that we ourselves have the same fault as the one we are about to reprove, let us neither correct nor rebuke that one. Rather, let us bemoan the fault ourselves and induce that person to a similar concern, without asking him to submit to our correction.” (Sermon on the Mount, 2.)

Collect

Grant, O Lord,
that we may always revere
and love Your holy name,
for You never deprive of Your guidance
those You set firm
on the foundation of Your love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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

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Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves...” (Matthew 11:29.)

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 in the Heart of Your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of Your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying Him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
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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