Words of the Word

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

“After this the Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom He sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit...” (Luke 10:1.)

In commenting on this verse from Gospel Proclamation, Eusebius of Caesarea writes:

“The names of the apostles of the Savior are clear to everyone from the Gospels, but no list of the seventy disciples is in circulation anywhere. Some have said, to be sure, that Barnabas was one of them, and the Acts of the Apostles and Paul writing to the Galatians have made special mention of him. They say Sosthenes was of these as well. Together with Paul, he wrote to the Corinthians. Tradition also holds that Matthias, who was listed among the apostles in place of Judas, and Joseph Justus, who was honored with him at the same casting of lots, were considered worthy of the same calling among the seventy. They say that Thaddaeus was also one of them, about whom I shall presently relate a story which has come down to us. On observation, you would find that the disciples of the Savior appear to have been more than the seventy. Paul says that after the resurrection from the dead Cephas saw him first, then the Twelve. After these saw him, he was seen by more than five hundred brothers all at once, some of whom he says had fallen asleep, although the majority were still alive at the time that this account was being composed by him.” (Ecclesiastical History, 1.)

Collect

O God,
Who gave the Priest Saint Jerome
a living and tender love
for Sacred Scripture,
grant that Your people
may be ever more fruitfully nourished
by Your Word
and find in It the fount of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ

Saint Jerome of Bethlehem

Priest and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Commentary on Isaiah

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: Search the Scriptures, and Seek and you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he said to the Jews: You erred, not knowing the Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

Therefore, I will imitate the head of a household who brings out of his storehouse things both new and old, and says to his spouse in the Song of Songs: I have kept for you things new and old, my beloved. In this way permit me to explain Isaiah, showing that he was not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle as well. For he says about himself and the other evangelists: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news, of those who announce peace. And God speaks to him as if he were an apostle: Whom shall I send, who will go to my people? And he answers: Here I am; send me.

No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of Scripture in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the Lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvelous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Savior of all men. I need say nothing about the natural sciences, ethics and logic. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. Of these mysteries the author himself testifies when he writes: You will be given a vision of all things, like words in a sealed scroll. When they give the writings to a wise man, they will say: Read this. And he will reply: I cannot, for it is sealed. And when the scroll is given to an uneducated man and he is told: Read this, he will reply: I do not know how to read.

Should this argument appear weak to anyone, let him listen to the Apostle: Let two or three prophets speak, and let others interpret; if, however, a revelation should come to one of those who are seated there, let the first one be quiet. How can they be silent, since it depends on the Spirit who speaks through his prophets whether they remain silent or speak? If they understood what they were saying, all things would be full of wisdom and knowledge. But it was not the air vibrating with the human voice that reached their ears, but rather it was God speaking within the soul of the prophets, just as another prophet says: It is an angel who spoke in me; and again, Crying out in our hearts, Abba, Father, and I shall listen to what the Lord God says within me.

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 Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

“Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back ...” (Revelation 12:7.)

Primasius of Hadrumetum comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“We must not think that the devil and his angels dared to fight in heaven, since he could not even tempt Job without God’s permission. Rather by “heaven” he quite manifestly indicates the church, where each one of the faithful constantly contends against spiritual evils. Therefore the apostle says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers and against the world rulers of this present darkness.”

And so he says here that Michael with his angels fights against the devil, because by praying according to the will of God for the church in this world and by granting her his aid, he is properly understood to be fighting for her. And so the apostle says, “Are not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” Indeed, the name of Michael himself is interpreted to mean “the helper of God,” and so this work is properly assigned to him. Also Daniel said that in the last distress [Michael] would come for the succor of the church: “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time such as has never been since the nations first began to be. And in that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.” The angels are said to be his by a certain manner of speaking, such as we read, “For their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

And so it speaks of those who by believing began to be citizens in Christ and thus are his angels, because they are regarded as protected by one guardian king and as made glad by one life-giving spirit. The devil and his angels are not only those who are similar to him in nature and will. They are also as men, who after being caught in his traps, became pursuers of such things. Indeed, because of the qualities of his will it is said about the devil, “An evil man has done this,” and about Judas, “[One of you] is a devil.” The devil is said to express himself by way of a twofold body. When he is conquered, he is said to be thrown out by those who have renounced him and have received faith in Christ and so no longer do his errors. Rather, in them “love [remains] from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.” Or, since the church is already separated from any admixture of evil and is glorified by the future blessedness, no place is given to the devil and to his angels to seduce the evil or to tempt the good. The psalm refers to him and says, “I passed by, and lo! he was not; and I sought him, but his place was not found.” (Commentary on the Aposcalypse, 12.)

Collect

O God,
Who dispose in a marvelous order
ministries both angelic and human,
graciously grant
that our life on earth may be defended
by those who watch over us
as they minister perpetually
to You in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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 word angel denotes a function rather than a nature

Saint Gregory the Great

Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from Homily 34

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.

And so it was that not merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages.

Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”

Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God, saying: I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High. He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.

So too Gabriel, who is called God’s strength, was sent to Mary. He came to announce the One who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers. Thus God’s strength announced the coming of the Lord of the heavenly powers, mighty in battle.

Raphael means, as I have said, God’s remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness. Thus, since he is to heal, he is rightly called God’s remedy.

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 Vincent de Paul, Priest

“An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest…” (Luke 9:46)

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

“The passion and lust of pride attacked some of the holy apostles. The mere argument about who of them was the greatest is the mark of an ambitious person, eager to stand at the head of the rest. Christ, who did not sleep, knows how to deliver. He saw this thought in the disciple’s mind, springing up, in the words of Scripture,1 like some bitter plant. He saw the weeds, the work of the wicked sower. Before it grew up tall, struck its root down deep, grew strong, and took possession of the heart, he tears up the evil by the very root.

In what way does the Physician of souls amputate pride’s passion? How does he deliver the beloved disciple from being the prey of the enemy and from a thing hateful to God and man? “He took a child,” it says, “and set it by him.” He made the event a means of benefiting both the holy apostles themselves and us their successors. This illness, as a rule, preys upon all those who are in any respect superior to other people.” (Commentary on Luke, Homuly 54)

Collect

O God,
Who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit,
we may love what he loved
and put into practice what he taught.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 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

Serving the poor is to be our first preference

Saint Vincent de Paul

Priest and Founder

An excerpt from a Writing by St Vincent de Paul

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest

Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.

Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

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

More than belonging ... its all about existing in Jesus

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

“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ
(ὅτι Χριστοῦ ἐστε, hoti Christou este),
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”

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

Driving out demons, giving a cup of water to drink, not losing one’s reward, putting a milestone around the neck as well as cutting off a hand and foot while plucking out an eye: quite an array of actions packed into a Sunday Gospel proclamation. Gruesome and barbaric certainly are understatements. It is hard to reconcile these action with a popular image of Jesus Who is often presented as being ‘a nice person’ Who ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly.’ Yet as these actions fall within what scholars consider the core of the Marcan Gospel and having heard two distinct Passion predictions over the past two weeks, it is safe to conclude that there is a vital point mining the depth of discipleship.

The initial action that speaks to the heart of discipleship and Kingdom living is service done in Jesus’ Name. Such service is impelled and animated by deepening levels of unconditional love. Service is not performed ‘to give back,’ ‘to do one’s part,’ ‘to feel good’ or to get anything in return. Service in the Name of Jesus sees a need and acts practically and immediately to satisfy that need. Jesus’ disciples are equipped not only to do this, but must do so. The fourth century saintly bishop of Nyssa, Gregory, put it this way in his Oration on Christian Perfection: “God never asks his servants to do what is impossible. The love and goodness of his Godhead is revealed as richly available. It is poured out like water upon all. God furnishes to each person according to his will the ability to do something good. None of those seeking to be saved will be lacking in this ability, given by the one who said: “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.” So what is the point of service and the gruesome actions?

The Face of Jesus, Rembrandt

Put simply it has to do with a Person, a Divine Person: the Person Jesus the Christ. He is the fulcrum point upon which the edifying and grotesque actions balance. Driving out demons, mighty deeds and acts of service all flow from ‘belonging to Christ.’ The violent actions that leave us scratching our heads trying to make sense of their place in the Gospel are the heroic lengths one must employ to prevent ‘not belonging to Christ.’ Consider Jesus’ Words: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ (ὅτι Χριστοῦ ἐστε, hoti Christou este), amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” As far as this translation is concerned, the key is ‘belonging to Christ.’ ἐστε (este), translated here as belong is the Greek verb “to be, to exist.” Belong, while not an erroneous word to translate ἐστε, does seem a bit weak, especially how it is understood in contemporary culture. We as people belong to something or to some organization. To say that I or another belong to another person is somewhat awkward. ‘Belonging’ to Christ is not a decision I make on my own and then sign-up. I do not ‘join’ Jesus the way I join a civic, fraternal or sororal organization. While I certainly contribute something to those organizations, I also intend to receive something in return – AND – when that organization is no longer useful, I stop belonging.

We ought to consider rendering ἐστε as existing since it delivers a vastly different picture of the disciple’s relationship with Jesus. The disciple is essentially one “who exists because of Christ.” Who I am, what I do, etc… is all grounded in the reality that my existence as an individual and everyone else’s existence is because of Jesus Christ, period. That realization unleashes awe, reverence, treating the other as precious, treasuring life and creation since they exist because of Jesus. Consciousness of this and the consequent actions springing from this develop, grow and mature over time. Adrienne von Speyr wrote in Mark: Meditations on the Gospel of Mark, “The question is: Are there degrees in this belonging to the Lord? I think we must answer in the affirmative. There is a lukewarm belonging: one knows in some fashion who the Lord is, one has views about him that do not contradict his teaching but that do not give rise to a full surrender to him. It is this surrender that is decisive in belonging to the Lord. A person can probably consider himself to belong completely to the Lord in every state, insofar as this state is chosen in a will to serve, in a striving to give over everything he has to the Lord—not just a glass of water, but his whole life. The Lord himself acknowledges that the disciples belong to him who were particularly called and who, at least at the moment when they came, did not yet know for what they were giving their lives. He reckons it as merit to those who likewise acknowledge him if they possess enough belief and insight to acknowledge that the disciples belong to him and, therefore, are not afraid to offer them something in his name. They try to do this, like the disciples, in the Lord’s name.”

An ever deepening maturity, grounded in ‘existing because of Christ,’ demands zero toleration to the addiction of sin. While the intention of the Sacred Text is not a horrific, physical chopping of body parts, the Gospel is clear: there are times when each must employ downright heroic efforts to combat the ‘yes’ to sin that always weakens ‘existing because of Christ.’ Sin cannot be soft-pedaled. Sin cannot be described as a ‘necessary development task or issue.’ Sin cannot be rationalized. Sin must be acknowledged as the affirmation of self-existence, a solitary world of disconnected living in which relational living and love, built on the surrender of self to the Other and others, cannot exist let alone grow.

As horrific as sin is to ‘existing because of Christ,’ sin does not have the final word. The final word belongs to “God the Father of Mercies” – God the Father Who we acknowledge as Almighty precisely because of His limitless love in the forgiveness of our sins (today’s Collect). The only power sin has is power each of us gives it in our lives. Breaking its power begins with a human expression of sorrow – not just a spiritual or mental act asking for forgiveness; not just a ‘quickie prayer’ but a human expression – with our heart AND lips. The same Saint Gregory quoted above wrote to the flock of his day employing medical terminology as an analogy for Christian living. When it came to sin, he spoke clearly of the need to voice sorrow aloud to the priest or bishop because that was the way for sin to ‘get out’ just as the body vomits poison from the stomach (he also had some other graphic descriptions of the digestive system for expelling other sins from the body!) The point is that God our Father is waiting to forgive, desires to forgive and wants our word of sorrow – expressed humanly (soul AND body, heart AND lips) – so that the limitless mercy of His forgiveness can flood our lives (spiritually and bodily) and bring healing that each may live fully a life ‘existing because of Christ.’

“God the Fathers of mercies,

through the death and resurrection of His Son

has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the

Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.

Through the ministry of the Church may

God give you pardon and peace.

And I absolve you from your sins in the

Name of the Father,
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.”

I know the joy experienced when these words are prayed over me as a penitent by a priest or bishop. I know also the joy of praying these words over people in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When was the last time you ‘heard’ these freeing words? God the Father of Mercies is calling you and there is a priest who can’t wait to pray them aloud over you as well that all may experience more deeply forgiveness and “existing because of Christ”!

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied but did not continue.” (Numbers 11:25.)

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

“This Spirit descended upon the seventy elders in Moses’ day. My object is to prove that he knew all things and worked according to his will. The seventy elders were chosen: “The Lord then came down in the cloud, and taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders.” It was not that the Spirit was divided, but his gifts were distributed according to the vessels and the capacity of the recipients. Now there were sixty-eight present, and they prophesied. Eldad and Medad were not present. To make it clear that it was not Moses who bestowed the gift but the Spirit who wrought, Eldad and Medad, who had been called but had not yet presented themselves, also prophesied.” (Catechetical Lecture, 16.)

Reflections on this Sunday's Gospel.

Collect

O God,
Who manifest Your almighty power
above all by pardoning and showing mercy,
bestow, we pray, Your grace abundantly upon us
and make those hastening to attain Your promises
heirs to the treasures of heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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 by grace that you are saved

Saint Polycarp of Smyrna

Bishop, Apostolic Church Father and Martyr

An excerpt from the Leter to the Philippains

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From Polycarp and his fellow presbyters to the pilgrim church of God at Philippi: May you have mercy and peace in abundance from Almighty God and Jesus Christ our Savior.

I rejoice with you greatly in the Lord Jesus Christ because you have assumed the pattern of true love and have rightly helped on their way those who were in chains. Such chains are becoming to the faithful; they are the rich crown of the chosen ones of our Lord and God. I am glad, too, that your deep-rooted faith, proclaimed of old, still abides and continues to bear fruit in the life-giving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. He, for our sins, did not refuse to go down to death, and God raised him up after destroying the pains of hell. With a glorious joy that no words can express you believe in Christ without seeing him. This is the joy in which many wish to share knowing that it is by grace that you are saved and not by works, for so God has willed through Jesus Christ.

So prepare yourselves for the struggle, serve the Lord in fear and truth. Put aside empty talk and popular errors; your faith must be in him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him a share in his own glory and a seat at his right hand. To him everything was made subject in heaven and on earth; all things obey him, who will come as judge of the living and the dead. All who refuse to believe must answer to God for the blood of his Son.

He who raised him from the dead will raise us too if we do his will and keep his commandments, loving what he loved, refraining from all wrongdoing, fraud, avarice, malice and slander. We must abstain from false witness, not returning evil for evil, nor curse for curse, nor blow for blow, nor denunciation for denunciation. Always remember the words of the Lord, who taught: Do not judge and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven; be merciful and you will find mercy; the amount you measure out to others will be the amount measured out to you. Blessed are the poor and those who suffer persecution, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

Reflections on this Sunday's Gospel.

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 Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” (Luke 9:44.)

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

“The mystery of the passion may be seen also in another instance. According to the Mosaic law, two goats were offered. They were not different in any way from one another, but they were alike in size and appearance. Of these, one was called “the lord,” and the other was called “sent-away.” When the lot was cast for the one called “lord,” it was sacrificed. The other one was sent away from the sacrifice, and therefore had the name of “sent-away.” Who was signified by this? The Word, though he was God, was in our likeness and took the form of us sinners, as far as the nature of the flesh was concerned. The male or female goat was sacrificed for sins. Death was our desert, for we had fallen under the divine curse because of sin. When the Savior of all undertook the responsibility, he transferred to himself what was due to us and laid down his life, that we might be sent away from death and destruction.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 53)

Collect

O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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 river whose streams gladden the city of God

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Discourse on Psalm 64

Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The river of God is brimming with water. You have provided their food, for this is your way of preparing them. There can be no doubt about the river referred to, for the prophet says: There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God; and in the gospel the Lord himself says: Streams of living water welling up to eternal life will flow from the heart of anyone who drinks the water I shall give him. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. The river of God is brimming with water; that is to say, we are inundated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and from that fountain of life the river of God pours into us in full flood.

We also have food prepared for us. And who is this food? It is he in whom we are prepared for life with God, for by receiving his holy body we receive a place in the communion of his holy body. This is what is meant by the words of the psalm: You have provided their food, for this is your way of preparing them. For as well as refreshing us now, that food also prepares us for the life to come.

We who have been reborn through the sacrament of baptism experience intense joy when we feel within us the first stirrings of the Holy Spirit. We begin to have an insight into the mysteries of faith, we are able to prophesy and to speak with wisdom. We become steadfast in hope and receive the gift of healing. Demons are made subject to our authority. These gifts enter us like a gentle rain, and once having done so, little by little, they bring forth fruit in abundance.

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 Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”...” (Luke 9:18.)

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

“Although the other apostles know, yet Peter answers for them all, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Thus he who manifested both the nature and the name, in whom is the sum of the virtues, encompassed all things. Do we also ask questions about the generation of God, when Paul has judged that he knows nothing, save Christ Jesus and him crucified, and Peter thought nothing else should be confessed, save that he is the Son of God? We also scrutinize when and how he was born and how great he is in the contemplation of human weakness. Paul knew that therein was a stumbling block of a question, rather than the increase of edification, and therefore he judged that he knew nothing but Christ Jesus. Peter knew that all things are in the Son of God, for the Father has given all things to the Son.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 6.)

Collect

O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of You and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping Your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

All good shepherds are one in the one shepherd

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from his On Pastors (Sermon 46), 29-30.

Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Christ is your shepherd and judge; he judges between his own sheep and other sheep. My sheep, he says, hear my voice and follow me. In this statement I find that all good shepherds are one in the one shepherd. It is not that good shepherds are lacking; they are there in the one shepherd. When we speak of “many” we refer to those who are divided from each other. Here only one is spoken of, because in this passage unity is commended. The reason why shepherds are not mentioned here but only one shepherd, is not because the Lord has failed to find anyone to whom to entrust his sheep; he entrusted the sheep to Peter because he had found Peter. Indeed, in the case of Peter he also commended the unity of the flock. There were many apostles, and yet to one only did he say: Feed my sheep. Do not imagine that there will be no more good shepherds, or that we shall find them lacking, or that the Lord’s mercy will not produce and establish them.

Certainly, if there are good sheep there are also good shepherds; good sheep give rise to good shepherds. But all good shepherds are one in the one good shepherd; they form a unity. If only they feed the sheep, Christ is feeding the sheep. The friends of the bridegroom do not speak with their own voice, but they take great joy in listening to the bridegroom’s voice. Christ himself is the shepherd when they act as shepherds. “I feed them,” he says, because his voice is in their voice, his love in their love.

When he entrusted his sheep to Peter as one person to another, Christ chose to make Peter one with himself. He wanted to entrust him with the sheep in such a way that he himself might be the head and Peter might represent the body, that is, the Church. As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be two in one flesh.

Accordingly, what does he say before he entrusts the sheep to Peter as to someone who is not separate from himself? Peter, do you love me? He answered: I love you. And again: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. And a third time: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. He receives an assurance of love in order to establish unity. Christ is the one shepherd who is one with the other shepherds, and in whom they themselves are one.

Shepherds are not mentioned, but they are not passed over. Shepherds have cause for pride, but if anyone boasts it should be in the Lord. This means that Christ should be the shepherd, that they should be shepherds for Christ, shepherds in Christ, not shepherds for themselves, apart from Christ. When the prophet said: I will feed my sheep, it was not because of a lack of shepherds, as though he were foretelling those evil times to come and saying: “I have no one to whom I can entrust my sheep.” At a time when Peter himself, and the apostles too, were alive in the body, Christ, the one in whom alone all are one, said this: I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold; I must bring them in as well, so that there may be one flock and one shepherd.

All shepherds should therefore be one in the one good shepherd. All should speak with the one voice of the one shepherd, so that the sheep may hear and follow their shepherd; not this or that shepherd, but the one shepherd. All should speak with one voice in Christ, not with different voices. Brethren, I beg all of you to say the same thing, and to have no dissensions among you. The sheep should hear this voice, a voice purified from all schism, freed from all heresy, and so follow their shepherd, who says: My sheep hear my voice and follow me.

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 Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

“Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead...” (Luke 9:7.)

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

“After the law has passed away, the food of the gospel begins to feed the hungry hearts of the people. It was fitting that those whom he had healed from the pain of wounds he freed from hunger with spiritual nourishment. Thus none receives the food of Christ unless he was first healed, and the calling first heals those who are called to the feast. If one was lame, he received the ability to walk, so that he came. If one lacked the sight of his eyes, he could indeed not enter the house of the Lord, unless his sight was restored.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 6.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God, Who,
by a singular grace, gave the Priest Saint Pius
a share in the Cross of Your Son and,
by means of his ministry, renewed the wonders of Your mercy,
grant that through his intercession
we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ, and
so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring Him

Saint Pius of Pietrelcina

Priest

An excerpt from Letter 1

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
(Saint Padre Pio)

Out of obedience I am obliged to manifest to you what happened to me on the evening of the 5th of this month of August 1918 and all day on the 6th.

I am quite unable to convey to you what occurred during this period of utter torment. While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th, I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boys to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared.

From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony. What can I tell you in answer to your questions regarding my crucifixion? My God! What embarrassment and humiliation I suffer by being obliged to explain what you have done to this wretched creature!

On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. All the internal and external senses and even the very faculties of my soul were immersed in indescribable stillness. Absolute silence surrounded and invaded me. I was suddenly filled with great peace and abandonment which effaced everything else and caused a lull in the turmoil. All this happened in a flash. While this was taking place I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of August 5th. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should die and really should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday.

Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation. The person of whom I spoke in a previous letter is none other than the one I mentioned having seen on August 5th. He continues his work incessantly, causing me extreme spiritual agony. There is a continual rumbling within me like the gushing of blood. My God! Your punishment is just and your judgment right, but grant me your mercy. Lord, with your Prophet I shall continue to repeat: O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not punish me in your rage! Dear Father, now that my whole interior state is known to you, do not refuse to send me a word of comfort in the midst of such severe and harsh suffering.

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 Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]…” (Luke 9:1-2)

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

“The grace bestowed upon the holy apostles is worthy of all admiration. But the bountifulness of the Giver surpasses all praise and admiration. He gives them, as I said, his own glory. They receive authority over the evil spirits. They reduce to nothing the pride of the devil that was so highly exalted and arrogant. They render ineffectual the demon’s wickedness. By the might and efficacy of the Holy Spirit, burning them as if they were on fire, they make the devil come forth with groans and weeping from those whom he had possessed.

He glorified his disciples, therefore, by giving them authority and power over the evil spirits and over sicknesses. Did he honor them without reason and make them famous without any logical cause? How can this be true? It was necessary, most necessary, that they should be able to work miracles, having been publicly appointed ministers of sacred proclamations. By means of their works, they then could convince men that they were the ministers of God and mediators of all beneath the heaven. The apostles then could invite them all to reconciliation and justification by faith and point out the way of salvation and of life that is this justification.” (Commentary on Luke, Homuly 47)

Collect

O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of You and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping Your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

Do whatever they tell you, but do not follow what they do

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from his On Pastors (Sermon 46), 20-21.

Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. But what are the shepherds to hear? Thus says the Lord God: Behold I myself am over the shepherds, and I will claim my sheep from their hands.

Hear and learn, you sheep of God. God calls for an accounting of his sheep from the wicked shepherds and inquires into the death of his sheep at their hands. For in another passage he speaks through the same prophet: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. You shall hear the word from my mouth and you shall point out the way to them in my name. When I say to the sinner: You shall die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man from his wicked way, because of his wickedness he shall die, but you shall be held responsible for his death. If, however, you warn the wicked man to turn away from his wickedness, and he fails to do so, he shall die in his iniquity, but you shall have saved your soul.

Dear brothers, what does this mean? Do you see how dangerous it is to keep silent? The sinner dies and rightly so; he dies in his wickedness and in his sin, for his failure to heed you has killed him. He could have found the Lord, the living shepherd who says: I live. But he was heedless; and the one appointed for this task, the watchman, did not warn him. The wicked one then justly suffers death and the watchman rightly suffers damnation. But the Lord says, if you say to the wicked man: You shall surely die, and if he fails to heed the sword of judgment with which I have threatened him, that sword will overtake and kill him, and he will die in his sin; but you will have saved your soul. Therefore it is our task not to keep silent, and it is your task, even if we ourselves are silent, to hear the words of the shepherd from the Scriptures.

I have said that he will take the sheep from the bad shepherds and give them to shepherds who are good. Let us consider whether he does so. I see him taking the sheep from the bad shepherds, when he says: Behold, I myself am over the shepherds, and I will claim my sheep from their hands; and I will turn away from them so that they may not pasture my sheep and the shepherds shall no longer give pasture. For when I say: “Let them pasture my sheep,” they give pasture to themselves and not to my sheep. Therefore I will turn away from them so that they may not pasture my sheep.

How does the Lord turn away from them to keep them from pasturing his sheep? Do whatever they tell you, but do not follow what they do. It is as if he said: “The words they say are mine, but their deeds are their own.” If you do not follow the example of the bad shepherds, they are not giving you pasture. But if you do what they say, it is I who am feeding 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

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9.)

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

“Why did Jesus not call Matthew at the same time as he called Peter and John and the rest? He came to each one at a particular time when he knew that they would respond to him. He came at a different time to call Matthew when he was assured that Matthew would surrender to his call. Similarly, he called Paul at a different time when he was vulnerable, after the resurrection, something like a hunter going after his quarry. For he who is acquainted with our inmost hearts and knows the secrets of our minds knows when each one of us is ready to respond fully. Therefore he did not call them all together at the beginning, when Matthew was still in a hardened condition. Rather, only after countless miracles, after his fame was spread abroad, did he call Matthew. He knew Matthew had been softened for full responsiveness.

We may admire, incidentally, the self-effacing temperament of Matthew, for we note how he does not disguise his own former life. In his account he freely adds his own name and his own bad profession, while the other Gospel writers had generously protected him under another name.1 But why did Matthew himself indicate precisely that he was “sitting at the tax office”? To point to the power of the One who called him, underscoring that he was being actively drawn away from the midst of the very evils in which he was presently engaged and that he had not already abandoned his wicked business as a tax gatherer.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 30.)

Collect

O God, Who with untold mercy
were pleased to choose as an Apostle
Saint Matthew, the tax collector,
grant that,
sustained by his example and intercession,
we may merit to hold firm in following You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

Jesus saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him

Priest and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt his Homily 21

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him: Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense, but more significantly with his merciful understanding of men.

He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me. This following meant imitating the pattern of his life—not just walking after him. Saint John tells us: Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him. Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men whose leader had, on Matthew’s assessment, no riches at all. Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps. In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of heaven in his gift.

As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon. Notice also the happy and true anticipation of his future status as apostle and teacher of the nations. No sooner was he converted than Matthew drew after him a whole crowd of sinners along the same road to salvation. He took up his appointed duties while still taking his first steps in the faith, and from that hour he fulfilled his obligation and thus grew in merit.

To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at his house, we must realize that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart which he provided through faith and love. Our Savior attests to this: Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were, when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done. Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we with him. He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is delighted by such a pleasing banquet.

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 Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

“Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on these verses from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“What fear, therefore, can the saints now feel, if that which seemed to be hard proves rather joyous to them that bear it.

Even though one has wealth and abundance of possessions, yet what profit has he from them when he has lost himself? Treasures profit not the wicked, but the fashion of this world passes away; and like clouds those pleasures recede, and riches fly away from those that possess them. But righteousness delivers from death.

He also begets in them fear as well, in that he says that he shall descend from heaven, not in his former lowliness and humiliation, like unto us, but in the glory of his Father; even in godlike and transcendent glory, with the holy angels keeping guard around him. Most miserable, therefore, and ruinous would it be to be condemned of cowardice and indolence when the Judge has descended from above and the angelic ranks stand at his side. But great and most blessed and a foretaste of final blessedness it is to be able to rejoice in labors already accomplished and await the recompense of past toils. For such as these shall be praised, Christ himself saying unto them, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” May we also be deemed worthy of these rewards by the grace and lovingkindness of Christ the Savior of us all. ” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 50)

Collect

O God, Who have been pleased to increase
Your adopted children in all the world,
and who made the blood of the Martyrs
Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and his companions
a most fruitful seed of Christians,
grant that we may be defended
by their help and profit always from their example.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

Love and perseverance are the crown of faith

Saint Andrew Kim Taegŏn

Priest and Martyr

An excerpt from the Final Exhortation

Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

My brothers and sisters, my dearest friends, think again and again on this: God has ruled over all things in heaven and on earth from the beginning of time: then reflect on why and for what purpose he chose each one of us to be created in his own image and likeness.

In this world of perils and hardship, if we did not recognize the Lord as our Creator, there would be no benefit either in being born or in our continued existence. We have come into this world by God’s grace; by that same grace we have received baptism, entrance into the Church and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name alone and not in fact? We would have come into the world for nothing, we would have entered the Church for nothing, and we would have betrayed even God and his grace. It would be better never to have been born than to receive the grace of God and then to sin against him.

Look at the farmer who cultivates his rice fields. In season he plows, then fertilizes the earth; never counting the cost, he labors under the sun to nurture the seed he has planted. When harvest time comes and the rice crop is abundant, forgetting his labor and sweat, he rejoices with an exultant heart. But if the crop is sparse and there is nothing but straw and husks, the farmer broods over his toil and sweat and turns his back on that field with a disgust that is all the greater the harder he has toiled.

The Lord is like a farmer and we are the field of rice that he fertilizes with his grace and by the mystery of the incarnation and the redemption irrigates with his blood, in order that we will grow and reach maturity. When harvest time comes, the day of judgment, those who have grown to maturity in the grace of God will find the joy of adopted children in the kingdom of heaven; those who have not grown to maturity will become God’s enemies, and, even though they were once his children, they will be punished according to their deeds for all eternity.

Dearest brothers and sisters: when he was in the world, the Lord Jesus bore countless sorrows and by his own passion and death founded the Church; now he gives it increase through the sufferings of the faithful. No matter how fiercely the powers of this world oppress and oppose the Church, they will never bring it down. Ever since his ascension and from the time of the apostles to the present, the Lord Jesus has made his Church grow even in the midst of tribulation.

For the last fifty or sixty years, ever since the coming of the Church to our own land of Korea, the faithful have suffered persecution over and over again. Persecution still rages and as a result many who are friends in the household of the faith, myself among them, have been thrown into prison and like you are experiencing severe distress. Because we have become the one Body, should not our hearts be grieved for the members who are suffering? Because of the human ties that bind us, should we not feel deeply the pain of our separation?

But, as the Scriptures say, God numbers the very hairs on our head and in his all-embracing providence he has care over us all. Persecution, therefore, can only be regarded as the command of the Lord or as a prize he gives or as a punishment he permits.

Hold fast, then, to the will of God and with all your heart fight the good fight under the leadership of Jesus; conquer again the diabolical power of this world that Christ has already vanquished.

I beg you not to fail in your love for one another, but to support one another and to stand fast until the Lord mercifully delivers us from our trials.

There are twenty of us in this place and by God’s grace we are so far all well. If any of us is executed, I ask you not to forget our families. I have many things to say, yet how can pen and paper capture what I feel? I end this letter. As we are all near the final ordeal, I urge you to remain steadfast in faith, so that at last we will all reach heaven and there rejoice together. I embrace you all in love.

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

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.” (Wisdom 2:20.)

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

“My Lord Jesus Christ, when he assumed the flesh of the Virgin for our salvation, was surely glorified, because “he came to seek what was lost,” though he was not “glorified gloriously.” In fact, it is said precisely of him, “We saw him, and he had neither beauty nor splendor, and his face was more to be despised than all the sons of mortals.” He was glorified also when he went to the cross and suffered death. Do you know why he was glorified? He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you.” For him, therefore, even the passion of the cross was glory. This glory was not glorious, however, but humble. Finally, it is said of him, “He humbled himself even to death, death on a cross,” and of this also the prophet had foretold, “Let us condemn him to a shameful death.” But Isaiah also says of him, “He bore his judgment in humiliation.” Thus in all these events the Lord was glorified, but humbly, so to speak. He was not “glorified gloriously.” (Homilies on Exodus, 6.)

Collect

O God,
Who founded all the commands
of Your sacred Law
upon love of You and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping Your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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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