Words of the Word

Christ gave His own body for the life of all men

Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 4

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

“I am dying for all men,” says the Lord. “I am dying to give them life through myself and to redeem the whole human race through my humanity. In my death, death itself will die and man’s fallen nature will rise again with me. I wanted to be like my brothers in every respect, so I became a man like you, a descendant of Abraham.” Understanding this well Saint Paul says: As the children of a family share the same flesh and blood, he too shared our human nature so that by his death he could destroy the power of the devil, the prince of death. Death itself and the prince of death could be destroyed only by Christ, who is above all, giving himself up as a ransom for all.

And so, speaking as a spotless victim offering himself for us to God the Father, Christ says in one of the psalms: You desired no sacrifices or offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sin offerings. Then I said, “Behold, I am coming.” He was crucified for all, desiring his one death for all to give all of us life in him. It was impossible for him to be conquered by death; nor could he who by his very nature is life be subject to corruption. Yet we know that Christ offered his flesh for the life of the world from his own prayer, Holy Father, protect them, and from his words, For their sake I consecrate myself. By saying that he consecrates himself he means that he offers himself to God as a spotless and sweet-smelling sacrifice. According to the law, anything offered upon the altar was consecrated and considered holy. So Christ gave his own body for the life of all, and makes it the channel through which life flows once more into us. How he does this I will explain to the best of my ability.

When the life-giving Word of God dwelt in human flesh, he changed it into that good thing which is distinctively his, namely, life; and by being wholly united to the flesh in a way beyond our comprehension, he gave it the life-giving power which he has by his very nature. Therefore, the body of Christ gives life to those who receive it. Its presence in mortal men expels death and drives away corruption because it contains within itself in his entirety the Word who totally abolishes corruption.

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

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

“He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4.)

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

“How can we show that he is there and that he is also here? Let Paul answer for us, who was previously Saul. First of all, the Lord’s own voice from heaven shows this: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Had Paul climbed up to heaven then? Had Paul even thrown a stone at heaven? It was Christians he was persecuting, them he was tying up, them he was dragging off to be put to death, them he was everywhere hunting out of their hiding places and never sparing when he found them. To him the Lord said, “Saul, Saul.” Where is he crying out from? Heaven. So he’s up above. “Why are you persecuting me?” So he’s down below.” (Sermon 122)

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who have come to know
the grace of the Lord’s Resurrection,
may, through the love of the Spirit,
ourselves rise to newness of life.
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

The cross of Christ gives life to the human race

Saint Ephrem the Syrian

Deacon and Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon on Our Lord

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Death trampled our Lord underfoot, but he in his turn treated death as a highroad for his own feet. He submitted to it, enduring it willingly, because by this means he would be able to destroy death in spite of itself. Death had its own way when our Lord went out from Jerusalem carrying his cross; but when by a loud cry from that cross he summoned the dead from the underworld, death was powerless to prevent it.

Death slew him by means of the body which he had assumed, but that same body proved to be the weapon with which he conquered death. Concealed beneath the cloak of his manhood, his godhead engaged death in combat; but in slaying our Lord, death itself was slain. It was able to kill natural human life, but was itself killed by the life that is above the nature of man.

Death could not devour our Lord unless he possessed a body, neither could hell swallow him up unless he bore our flesh; and so he came in search of a chariot in which to ride to the underworld. This chariot was the body which he received from the Virgin; in it he invaded death’s fortress, broke open its strongroom and scattered all its treasure.

At length he came upon Eve, the mother of all the living. She was that vineyard whose enclosure her own hands had enabled death to violate, so that she could taste its fruit; thus the mother of all the living became the source of death for every living creature. But in her stead Mary grew up, a new vine in place of the old. Christ, the new life, dwelt within her. When death, with its customary impudence, came foraging for her mortal fruit, it encountered its own destruction in the hidden life that fruit contained. All unsuspecting, it swallowed him up, and in so doing released life itself and set free a multitude of men.

He who was also the carpenter’s glorious son set up his cross above death’s all-consuming jaws, and led the human race into the dwelling place of life. Since a tree had brought about the downfall of mankind, it was upon a tree that mankind crossed over to the realm of life. Bitter was the branch that had once been grafted upon that ancient tree, but sweet the young shoot that has now been grafted in, the shoot in which we are meant to recognize the Lord whom no creature can resist.

We give glory to you, Lord, who raised up your cross to span the jaws of death like a bridge by which souls might pass from the region of the dead to the land of the living. We give glory to you who put on the body of a single mortal man and made it the source of life for every other mortal man. You are incontestably alive. Your murderers sowed your living body in the earth as farmers sow grain, but it sprang up and yielded an abundant harvest of men raised from the dead.

Come then, my brothers and sisters, let us offer our Lord the great and all-embracing sacrifice of our love, pouring out our treasury of hymns and prayers before him who offered his cross in sacrifice to God for the enrichment of us all.

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

Baptismal regeneration

Saint Justin of Rome
Martyr and Apologist

An excerpt from a First Apology in the Defense of Christians

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Through Christ we received new life and we consecrated ourselves to God. I will explain the way in which we did this. Those who believe what we teach is true and who give assurance of their ability to live according to that teaching are taught to ask God’s forgiveness for their sins by prayer and fasting and we pray and fast with them. We then lead them to a place where there is water and they are reborn in the same way as we were reborn; that is to say, they are washed in the water in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the whole universe, of our Savior Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. This is done because Christ said: Unless you are born again you will not enter the kingdom of heaven, and it is impossible for anyone, having once been born, to reenter his mother’s womb.

An explanation of how repentant sinners are to be freed from their sins is given through the prophet Isaiah in the words: Wash yourselves and be clean. Remove the evil from your souls; learn to do what is right. Be just to the orphan, vindicate the widow. Come, let us reason together, says the Lord. If your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as wool; if they are like crimson, I will make them white as snow. But if you do not heed me, you shall be devoured by the sword. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The apostles taught us the reason for this ceremony of ours. Our first birth took place without our knowledge or consent because our parents came together, and we grew up in the midst of wickedness. So if we were not to remain children of necessity and ignorance, we needed a new birth of which we ourselves would be conscious, and which would be the result of our own free choice. We needed, too, to have our sins forgiven. This is why the name of God, the Father and Lord of the whole universe, is pronounced in the water over anyone who chooses to be born again and who has repented of his sins. The person who leads the candidate for baptism to the font calls upon God by this name alone, for God so far surpasses our powers of description that no one can really give a name to him. Anyone who dares to say that he can must be hopelessly insane.

This baptism is called “illumination” because of the mental enlightenment that is experienced by those who learn these things. The person receiving this enlightenment is also baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets foretold everything concerning Jesus.

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

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

“Then they instigated some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” (Acts of the Apostles 6:11.)

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

“What madness! The men who overcame them by works — they expected to overcome these by words! It is just what they did in the case of Christ. And as always they sought refuge in words, because they were ashamed to seize them with no charge against them. And see how those who brought them to trial do not themselves bear witness (for they would have been refuted) but hire others, so that it might not appear to be an act of pure insult and abuse. The same pattern is visible here as in the case of Christ. Look at the power of the preaching. They were not only flogged but also stoned, but it still prevailed. They were not laymen but were persecuted from all sides by enemies who bore witness against them. But not only were their enemies bettered; they did not even have the power to resist, despite their great shamelessness. Thus it obtained by force a conviction against them, even though they fabricated many unpersuasive arguments, for as the saying goes, “He who casts out devils has a touch of the devil.” For the battle was not man’s but God’s against men.” (Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles, 15.)

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, putting off our old self with all its ways,
we may live as Christ did,
for through the healing paschal remedies
You have conformed us to His nature.
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

The contest of faith

Saint Cyprian of Carthage

Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from his Letter 58

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Dear brothers, the commands of the Gospel are nothing else than God’s lessons, the foundations on which to build up hope, the supports for strengthening faith, the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure. As they instruct the receptive minds of believers on earth, they lead safely to the kingdom of heaven.

As we do battle and fight in the contest of faith, God, his angels and Christ himself watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown with Christ as judge.

Dear brethren, let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle with uncorrupted minds, with a whole faith, and with devoted courage.

The blessed Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves: Put round you the belt of truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one; take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Let us take this armor and defend ourselves with these spiritual defenses from heaven, so that when the evil day comes we may be able to resist the threats of the devil, and fight back against him.

Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our breasts may be protected and kept safe from the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be shod in the teaching of the Gospel, and armored so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and crush it, it will not be able to bite us or trip us up.

Let us with fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.

Let us wear on our head the helmet of the spirit, to defend our ears against the proclamations of death, to defend our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, to defend our foreheads so that God’s sign may be kept intact, and to defend our mouths so that our tongues may proclaim victoriously the name of Christ their Lord.

Let us arm our right hand with the sword of the spirit so that it may courageously refuse the daily sacrifices, and let the hand—mindful of the eucharist—that took hold of the body of the Lord embrace the Lord himself, and so gain from the Lord the future prize of a heavenly crown.

Dear brethren, have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, will not tremble at the thought of battle, but will be ready to receive the crown of victory.

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

What is Jesus asking? What is Peter hearing?

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

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love (ἀγαπᾷς, agapas)
me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love (φιλῶ, philo) you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love (ἀγαπᾷς, agapas) me?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love (φιλῶ, philo) you.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
Jesus said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love (φιλεῖς, phileis) me?”
Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time,
“Do you love (φιλεῖς, phileis) me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything;
you know that I love (φιλῶ, philo) you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.””

(John 21:15-19.)

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

What a question to ask after breakfast, “do you love me more than these?” As the account is presented, Simon Peter wastes no time in responding immediately to Jesus’ question with an emphatic, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Throughout the ages, many understand this dialogue as an act of mercy that Jesus extends to Peter: 3 times he denied Jesus, 3 times now he professes his love for Jesus. In Sermon 224, Saint Augustine notes: “Christ rose again in the flesh, and Peter rose in the spirit because, when Christ died in his passion, Peter died by his denial. Christ the Lord was raised from the dead, and out of his love he raised Peter. He questioned him about the love he was confessing and entrusted him with his sheep. After all, what benefit could Peter confer on Christ by the mere fact of his loving Christ? If Christ loves you, it is to your advantage, not Christ’s. And if you love Christ, it is to your advantage, not Christ’s. And yet Christ the Lord wanted to indicate how people ought to show that they love Christ. And he made it plain enough by entrusting him with his sheep. “Do you love me?” “I do.” “Feed my sheep.” All this once, all this a second time, all this a third time. Peter made no other reply than that he loved him. The Lord asked no other question but whether he loved him. When Peter answered, our Lord did nothing else but entrust his sheep to him.”

Looking at the Greek text of this event, it is quite interesting to note the use of the verbs ἀγαπάω (agapao) and φιλέω (phileo). In the Gospel according to Saint John, the verb ἀγαπάω is used to express Jesus’ love as unconditional, self-sacrificing, self-surrendering total gift of Self culminating in the Cross. φιλέω is the Greek verb that expresses love as the bond shared and experienced by friends. Thus as far as the Text is concerned, Jesus asks Peter in the first and second question, ‘do you love me with an unconditional, self-sacrificing, self-surrendering love?’ Peter’s response to both of those questions is, ‘Yes Lord, I love You as a friend.’ Jesus’ question to Peter a third time is different, ‘do you love me as a friend?’ Peter responds for a third time, ‘Yes Lord, I love you as a friend.’

Many centrist scripture scholars view the Evangelist’s use of verbs ἀγαπάω and φιλέω synonymously. Fr Raymond Brown, for example, in his magisterial work on the Gospel of John contends that as far as Peter is concerned, he is ‘hearing’ Jesus ask him the same question 3 times, regardless of the distinction of the Greek verbs. A number of scholars note Peter’s “distress” at being asked a third time the ‘same’ question, supporting the view that Peter ‘hears’ the same question 3 times.

But an Irish Dominican, Fr Thomas Brodie OP, contends that attention ought to be paid to the distinction of verbs. The Sacred Text in its original, canonical Greek does employ notably different verbs that are all translated into English as love. One might ponder whether or not Peter, at this point in his life (a point that Brodie contends that the questioning is actually referring to the ages or stages of Peter's life), was ready and able ‘to hear’ let alone fully receive ἀγαπάω? Perhaps where he was at that time in his life, φιλέω was not only what he ‘heard,’ but what he was capable of doing. When one examines other dialogues in the same Gospel, a similar pattern emerges. Nicodemus, for example, comes to Jesus “in the night,” an important Johannine image against the Light Who is Jesus. Jesus takes Nicodemus where he is at in life and we learn at the end of the Gospel, he assists in the care of Jesus’ burial. The woman of Samaria is another similar case. As Jesus met her at the well, He ‘met’ her where she was on the journey only to emerge at the end of the account as an evangelizer! In time, Peter does respond to Jesus with love that is ἀγαπάω ... and it is a lesson that is both comforting and challenging for each of us as Jesus’ present disciples to know that He certainly meets us where we are in life - and - He will never leave us where He found us.

The Third Sunday of Easter

“I looked again and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They were countless in number...” (Revelation 5:11.)

Caesarius of Arles comments on this verse from the Second Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“This is not said of his Godhead, in which are all the treasuries of wisdom, so that he should receive [wisdom]. Rather, this is said of his assumed manhood, that is, concerning his body, which is the church. Or, it might be said of his martyrs who were slain for his name. For the church receives all things in her Head, as the Scriptures say, “He has given us all things with him.” The Lamb himself receives, as he said in the Gospel, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” However, he receives [this authority] according to his humanity, not according to his divinity.” (Exposition on the Apocalypse, 5.)

Reflection on Jesus’ thrice question to Peter.

Collect

May your people exult for ever, O God,
in renewed youthfulness of spirit,
so that, rejoicing now
in the restored glory of our adoption,
we may look forward in confident hope
to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection.
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 Second Week of Easter

“Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task ...” (Acts 6:3.)

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

“Now when Matthias was to be presented, it was said, “It must be someone who has been with us the whole time.”4 But not so here, since this was different. No longer did they put it to the lot, and although they could have made the choice themselves, moved as they were by the Spirit, they wanted the testimony of the people. Determining the number, ordaining the chosen and other such business rested with them, but the choice itself they entrusted to the people, so as not to give the appearance of showing favor. For even God entrusted it to Moses to choose as elders the men he knew.” (Homilies On the Acts of the Apostles, 14.)

Collect

O God,
Who willed that through the paschal mysteries
the gates of mercy
should stand open for your faithful,
look upon us and have mercy,
that as we follow, by your gift,
the way you desire for us,
so may we never stray from the paths of life.
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

God’s plan of salvation

Second Vatican Council

An excerpt from Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7-8.

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

In his desire that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, God spoke in former times to our forefathers through the prophets, on many occasions and in different ways. Then, in the fullness of time he sent his Son, the Word made man, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted as the physician of body and spirit and the mediator between God and men. In the unity of the person of the Word, his human nature was the instrument of our salvation. Thus in Christ there has come to be the perfect atonement that reconciles us with God, and we have been given the power to offer the fullness of divine worship.

This work of man’s redemption and God’s perfect glory was foreshadowed by God’s mighty deeds among the people of the Old Covenant. It was brought to fulfillment by Christ the Lord, especially through the paschal mystery of his blessed passion, resurrection from the dead and ascension in glory: by dying he destroyed our death, and by rising again he restored our life. From his side, as he lay asleep on the cross, was born that wonderful sacrament which is the Church in its entirety.

As Christ was sent by the Father, so in his turn he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. They were sent to preach the Gospel to every creature, proclaiming that we had been set free from the power of Satan and from death by the death and resurrection of God’s Son, and brought into the kingdom of the Father. They were sent also to bring into effect this saving work that they proclaimed, by means of the sacrifice and sacraments that are the pivot of the whole life of the liturgy.

So, by baptism men are brought within the paschal mystery. Dead with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ, they receive the Spirit that makes them God’s adopted children, crying out: Abba, Father; and so they become the true adorers that the Father seeks.

In the same way, whenever they eat the supper of the Lord they proclaim his death until he comes. So, on the very day of Pentecost, on which the Church was manifested to the world, those who received the word of Peter were baptized. They remained steadfast in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

From that time onward the Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery, by reading what was written about him in every part of Scripture, by celebrating the Eucharist in which the victory and triumph of his death are shown forth, and also by giving thanks to God for the inexpressible gift he has given in Christ Jesus, to the praise of God’s glory.

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 Saints Philip and James, Apostles

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ...” (John 14:9.)

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

“In the church, I know of only one image, that is, the image of the unseen God. God has said about this image, “Let us make man [humankind] in our image.” Of this image it is written that Christ is the “effulgence of the glory and impress of his hypostasis.” In that image, I perceive the Father as the Lord Jesus himself has said, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” For this image is not separated from the Father, which indeed has taught me the unity of the Trinity, saying, “I and the Father are one,” and again, “All things whatever the Father has are mine.” [In this image, also perceive] the Holy Spirit, seeing that the Spirit is Christ’s and has received of Christ, as it is written, “He shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you.” (Sermon Against Auxentius, 32.)

Collect

O God, who gladden us each year
with the feast day of the Apostles
Philip and James,
grant us, through their prayers,
a share in the Passion and Resurrection
of your Only Begotten Son,
so that we may merit to behold
You for eternity.
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 Saints Philip and James, Apostles

“After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6.)

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

“He appeared to Cephas; and after that to the twelve.” So if you disbelieve one witness, you have twelve witnesses. “Then he was seen by more than five hundred people at once” — if they disbelieve the twelve, then listen to the five hundred. “After that he was seen by James,” his own brother and the first overseer of this [Jerusalem] diocese. Since so noteworthy a bishop was privileged to see the risen Christ, along with the other disciples, do not disbelieve. But you may say that his brother was a biased witness. So then he continues: “He was seen by me.” But who am I? I am Paul, his enemy! “I was formerly a persecutor” but now preach the good news of the resurrection.” (Catechetical Lectures, 14.)

Collect

O God, Who gladden us each year
with the feast day
of the Apostles Philip and James,
grant us, through their prayers,
a share in the Passion and Resurrection
of Your Only Begotten Son,
so that we may merit
to behold you for eternity.
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

The preaching of the apostles

Priest and Ancient Christian Writer

An excerpt from his On the Prescription of Heretics

Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself declared what he was, what he had been, how he was carrying out his Father’s will, what obligations he demanded of men. This he did during his earthly life, either publicly to the crowds or privately to his disciples. Twelve of these he picked out to be his special companions, appointed to teach the nations.

One of them fell from his place. The remaining eleven were commanded by Christ, as he was leaving the earth to return to the Father after his resurrection, to go and teach the nations and to baptize them into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The apostles cast lots and added Matthias to their number, in place of Judas, as the twelfth apostle. The authority for this action is to be found in a prophetic psalm of David. After receiving the power of the Holy Spirit which had been promised to them, so that they could work miracles and proclaim the truth, they first bore witness to their faith in Jesus Christ and established churches throughout Judea. They then went out into the whole world and proclaimed to the nations the same doctrinal faith.

They set up churches in every city. Other churches received from them a living transplant of faith and the seed of doctrine, and through this daily process of transplanting they became churches. They therefore qualify as apostolic churches by being the offspring of churches that are apostolic.

Every family has to be traced back to its origins. That is why we can say that all these great churches constitute that one original Church of the apostles; for it is from them that they all come. They are all primitive, all apostolic, because they are all one. They bear witness to this unity by the peace in which they all live, the brotherhood which is their name, the fellowship to which they are pledged. The principle on which these associations are based is common tradition by which they share the same sacramental bond.

The only way in which we can prove what the apostles taught—that is to say, what Christ revealed to them — is through those same churches. They were founded by the apostles themselves, who first preached to them by what is called the living voice and later by means of letters.

The Lord had said clearly in former times: I have many more things to tell you, but you cannot endure them now. But he went on to say: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into the whole truth. Thus Christ shows us that the apostles had full knowledge of the truth, for he had promised that they would receive the whole truth through the Spirit of truth. His promise was certainly fulfilled, since the Acts of the Apostles prove that the Holy Spirit came down on them.

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 of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Father of the Church

“The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree...” (Acts 5:30.)

In commenting on this verse from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“It was not with defiance that the apostles answered them, for they were teachers. And yet who, backed by an entire city and enjoying such grace, would not have spoken and uttered something big? But not these men. For they were not angered, but they pitied and wept over them and looked for a way to free them from their error and anger. No longer did they say to them, “You must judge,” but they declared, “He whom God raised, this man we proclaim.” It is by the will of God that these things are done, he says. They did not say, “Did we not say to you even then, that ‘we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard’?” For they do not lust after honor. He repeats the same things: the cross, the resurrection. And they do not say why he was crucified—that it was for our sakes, but they hint at this, though not yet openly, because they wish to frighten them for a while. And yet what kind of rhetoric is this? No rhetoric at all, but always the passion, the resurrection, the ascension and the wherefore.” (Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles, 13.)

Collect

Almighty, ever-living God,
Who raised up the Bishop Saint Athanasius
as an outstanding champion
of Your Son’s divinity,
mercifully grant, that,
rejoicing in his teaching and protection,
we may never cease to grow
in knowledge and love of 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. 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

A prayer on the Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker

God our Father,

You gave to us the just-man Saint Joseph,

who was completely obedient

to the call of the Holy Spirit,

by being spouse to the

Virgin Mother of God

and watching like a father over Jesus,

Your Only Begotten Son.

Gracious Father,

charge once again Saint Joseph,

to watch over us as he watched over

Mary and Your Son, Jesus:

to know Your Will,

to be given the grace to carry it out faithfully, and

the wisdom to respond to Your love for us.

Saint Joseph,

guard and protect us from all that keeps us

from following more closely

Jesus

in the unfolding mysteries

of the Father’s plan for our salvation
and the salvation of the world.

As in all things,

we make this prayer through

our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena - Monday of the Second Week of Easter

“Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” (John 3:4.)

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus reflects on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“We are a compound of both body and soul. The one part is visible, the other invisible. In the same way, our cleansing also is twofold, that is, by water and the Spirit. The one is received visibly in the body, the other concurs with it invisibly and apart from the body. The one that comes to the aid of our first birth makes us new instead of old and like God instead of what we now are. It recasts us without fire and creates us anew without breaking us up. For the virtue of baptism is to be understood as a covenant with God for a second life and a purer conversation.” (On Holy Baptism [Theological Oration 40])

Collect

O God,
Who set Saint Catherine of Siena
on fire with divine love
in her contemplation of the Lord’s Passion
and her service of Your Church,
grant, through her intercession,
that Your people,
participating in the mystery of Christ,
may ever exult in the revelation of His glory.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who have been renewed by paschal remedies,
transcending the likeness of our earthly parentage,
may be transformed in the image of our heavenly maker.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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

The spiritual Passover

Pseudo-Chrysostom

Ancient Christian Writer

An excerpt from his Easter Homily

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

The Passover we celebrate brings salvation to the whole human race beginning with the first man, who together with all the others is saved and given life.

In an imperfect and transitory way, the types and images of the past prefigured the perfect and eternal reality which has now been revealed. The presence of what is represented makes the symbol obsolete: when the king appears in person no one pays reverence to his statue.

How far the symbol falls short of the reality is seen from the fact that the symbolic Passover celebrated the brief life of the firstborn of the Jews, whereas the real Passover celebrates the eternal life of all mankind. It is a small gain to escape death for a short time, only to die soon afterward; it is a very different thing to escape death altogether as we do through the sacrifice of Christ, our Passover.

Correctly understood, its very name shows why this is our greatest feast. It is called the Passover because, when he was striking down the firstborn, the destroying angel passed over the houses of the Hebrews, but it is even more true to say that he passes over us, for he does so once and for all when we are raised up by Christ to eternal life.

If we think only of the true Passover and ask why it is that the time of the Passover and the salvation of the firstborn is taken to be the beginning of the year, the answer must surely be that the sacrifice of the true Passover is for us the beginning of eternal life. Because it revolves in cycles and never comes to an end, the year is a symbol of eternity.

Christ, the sacrifice that was offered up for us, is the father of the world to come. He puts an end to our former life, and through the regenerating waters of baptism in which we imitate his death and resurrection, he gives us the beginning of a new life. The knowledge that Christ is the Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us should make us regard the moment of his immolation as the beginning of our own lives. As far as we are concerned, Christ’s immolation on our behalf takes place when we become aware of this grace and understand the life conferred on us by this sacrifice. Having once understood it, we should enter upon this new life with all eagerness and never return to the old one, which is now at an end. As Scripture says: We have died to sin—how then can we continue to live in it?

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

Easter Sunday — The Resurrection of the Lord

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1.)

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

“But he who keeps the commandments not in perfect love, but in dread of future torment and in fear of punishments is indeed also himself a son of Abraham; he too receives gifts, that is, the reward of his work … nevertheless he is inferior to that person who is perfected not in slavish fear, but in the freedom of love. “Leaving the word of the first principles of Christ,” he is borne to perfection. “Seeking the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, not the things that are on the earth,” he “looks not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” In the divine Scriptures he does not follow “the letter which kills” but “the spirit which quickens.” From those things he will doubtless be one who does not receive “the spirit of bondage again in fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father.” (Homilies on Genesis, 7.)

Collect

O God,
Who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal
brought by Your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
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

A timeless prayer: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom”

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

“Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ (ὁ χριστός, ho Christos)?
Save (σῶσον, soson) Yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
“Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this Man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said,
“Jesus, remember (μνήσθητι, mnesthsti) me
when You come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”

(Luke 23:39-43.)

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

As the term synoptic expresses, there are certainly notable similarities among Mark, Matthew and Luke. From the start of His Public Ministry through His Passion, Death and Resurrection Mark, Matthew and Luke present the deeds and words of Jesus through the lens of a single or ‘one eye.’ The ‘other eye’ though sees differences among the 3 Evangelists that set each apart from one another and these differences can help offer a particular insight or two that draw each of us more deeply into the heart of the Paschal Mystery, more deeply into the very life of Jesus.

Saint Luke records the words and deeds of Jesus as a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem marked by moving moments of table fellowship, offering all who come to His table hospitality that nourishes and sustains body and soul while reconciling one to His Father and one another. When encountering Jesus at the table, “enemies speak to each other again, adversaries join hands and peoples seek to meet together.” In addition, at His table “hatred is overcome by love, revenge gives way to forgiveness and discord is changed to mutual respect (Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation II).” Even on the threshold of breathing His last breath, Jesus continuously offers His unique hospitality that reconciles each person with and to His Father as the ‘Good Thief’ marvelously discovered.

The irony of the episode is that the ‘other’ crucified man asks a question that gets to the heart of faith: “Are You not the Christ?” At face value the question is ambiguous, devoid of any attitude or disposition. It is the “rebuke” of the ‘Good Thief’ that colors the question and initiates a conversation that extends the promise of Paradise, ultimate act of hospitality. Saint Leo comments in Sermon 53: “Until now, one [thief] was the equal in all things of his companion. He was a robber on the roads and always a danger to the safety of people. Deserving the cross, he suddenly becomes a confessor of Christ…. “Remember me, Lord, when you enter into your kingdom.” … Then came the gift in which faith itself received a response. Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” This promise surpasses the human condition, because it did not come so much from the wood of a cross as from a throne of power. From that height, he gives a reward to faith. There he abolishes the debt of human transgression, because the “form of God” did not separate itself from the “form of a servant.” Even in the middle of this punishment, both the inviolable divinity and the suffering human nature preserved its own character and its own oneness.”

“In the middle of this punishment,” the plea “remember me?” The direct word of the ‘other thief’ appears on target: “Save yourself and us!” His word to Jesus is an imperative: short, blunt and to the point. σώζω (sozo), the Greek verb that means “to save,” “to deliver from danger to safety” or “to protect,” is the basis for the biblical experience of “salvation.” Is not the request for “salvation” a proper one, especially on the lips of a sinner seeking reconciliation from Jesus? Absolutely. But it seems (and ‘seems’ is extremely important here because human language can never express a limit to the Father’s mercy) that the ‘other thief’ has missed the point. He literally wants to be delivered from danger: suffering and death that will come from crucifixion. The ‘Good Thief’ wants to be “remembered,” a request that may sound odd to the western ear.

Steeped within the rich experience of Israel’s covenant relationship with God, “remembering” is a crucial response to the Covenant. zakar (זָכַר) is the Hebrew verb translated into English as “to remember.” For the Israelites, the act of “remembering” was far more than a neurological event of recalling a fact. zakar expresses “remembering” in the sense of ‘re-connecting,’ ‘re-joining,’ re-establishing.’ More than mental activity, zakar involves the whole person – body and soul – being ‘re-membered’ to a body. In a rather graphic way, zakar is the re-attaching of limbs that have been severed from the body. Once attached, the limbs ‘come to life’ and serve the needs of the whole. The ‘Good Thief’ is making the proper request – ‘graft me onto You, Jesus Who are the Christ.’ Even more remarkable is the additional meaning conveyed by the Greek verb μιμνήσκω (mimnesko). Translated here as “remember,” the Greek verb μιμνήσκω (mimnesko) not only reflects the Old Testament sense of zakar, it is also related to another Greek verb, very important in Johannine theology: μένω (meno). μένω (meno), meaning “to remain,” and expressing ‘abiding presence.’

Thus the Good Thief’s request is more than ‘spot-on,’ it expresses the very essence of Jesus’ ministry. His was and continues to be a work to ‘re-connect’ each of us with His Father in a way that the Divine Persons continuously abide within each person, animating and infusing each of us with such a life and love that our only way of living is gracious, charitable service to Our Lord and to one another. Eyes riveted on Jesus Christ crucified during this sacred time of Holy Week puts all of life in a proper perspective. With all that Jesus did for each one of us, how can I and we not sing and live, “Jesus – remember me when You come into Your Kingdom!”

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

“Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; I form you and set you as a covenant for the people, to restore the land and allot the devastated heritages ...” (Isaiah 49:8.)

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

“God says through the prophet, “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” What other time, then, is more acceptable than when for piety toward God in Christ we are led under guard in procession before the world, celebrating a triumph rather than being led in triumph? For the martyrs in Christ disarm the principalities and powers with him, and they share his triumph as fellows of his sufferings, becoming in this way also fellows of the courageous deeds wrought in his sufferings.7 These deeds include triumphing over principalities and powers, which in a short time you will see conquered and put to shame. What other day is so much a day of salvation as the one when we gain such deliverance from them?” (Exhortation to Martyrdom)

Collect

O God, who reward the merits of the just
and offer pardon to sinners who do penance,
have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you,
that the admission of our guilt
may serve to obtain your pardon for our sins.
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

The mercy of God to the penitent

Saint Maximus the Confessor
Abbot

An excerpt from his Letter 11

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

God’s will is to save us, and nothing pleases him more than our coming back to him with true repentance. The heralds of truth and the ministers of divine grace have told us this from the beginning, repeating it in every age. Indeed, God’s desire for our salvation is the primary and pre-eminent sign of his infinite goodness. It was precisely in order to show that there is nothing closer to God’s heart that the divine Word of God the Father, with untold condescension, lived among us in the flesh, and did, suffered, and said all that was necessary to reconcile us to God the Father, when we were at enmity with him, and to restore us to the life of blessedness from which we had been exiled. He healed our physical infirmities by miracles; he freed us from our sins, many and grievous as they were, by suffering and dying, taking them upon himself as if he were answerable for them, sinless though he was. He also taught us in many different ways that we should wish to imitate him by our own kindness and genuine love for one another.

So it was that Christ proclaimed that he had come to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous, and that it was not the healthy who required a doctor, but the sick. He declared that he had come to look for the sheep that was lost, and that it was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel that he had been sent. Speaking more obscurely in the parable of the silver coin, he tells us that the purpose of his coming was to reclaim the royal image, which had been coated with the filth of sin. You can be sure there is joy in heaven, he said, over one sinner who repents.

To give the same lesson he revived the man who, having fallen into the hands of the brigands, had been left stripped and half-dead from his wounds; he poured wine and oil on the wounds, bandaged them, placed the man on his own mule and brought him to an inn, where he left sufficient money to have him cared for, and promised to repay any further expense on his return.

Again, he told of how that Father, who is goodness itself, was moved with pity for his profligate son who returned and made amends by repentance; how he embraced him, dressed him once more in the fine garments that befitted his own dignity, and did not reproach him for any of his sins.

So too, when he found wandering in the mountains and hills the one sheep that had strayed from God’s flock of a hundred, he brought it back to the fold, but he did not exhaust it by driving it ahead of him. Instead, he placed it on his own shoulders and so, compassionately, he restored it safely to the flock.

So also he cried out: Come to me, all you that toil and are heavy of heart. Accept my yoke, he said, by which he meant his commands, or rather, the whole way of life that he taught us in the Gospel. He then speaks of a burden, but that is only because repentance seems difficult. In fact, however, my yoke is easy, he assures us, and my burden is light.

Then again he instructs us in divine justice and goodness, telling us to be like our heavenly Father, holy, perfect and merciful. Forgive, he says, and you will be forgiven. Behave toward other people as you would wish them to behave toward you.

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

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

“But they did not listen to me, nor did they pay attention. They walked in the stubbornness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.” (Jeremiah 7:24.)

Tertullian of Carthage comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people; and you will walk in all my ways, which I have commanded you.” This was God’s invitation. “But,” it says, “they did not listen, nor inclined their ear.” This was Israel’s refusal. “They departed, and walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart.” I have bought a field, I have purchased oxen, I have married a wife. So again he adds: “I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early even before daylight” — this would be the Holy Spirit who calls to those who are feasting — “Yet my people did not listen to me, nor inclined their ear, but stiffened their neck.” (Against Marcion, 4.)

Collect

We implore Your majesty most humbly,
O Lord,
that, as the feast of our salvation
draws ever closer,
so we may press forward
all the more eagerly
towards the worthy celebration
of the Paschal Mystery.
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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