Words of the Word

You gave us life in the beginning;
give us new life

Saint Athansius of Alexandria

Bishop and Great Easter Father of the Church

An excerpt from his On the Incarnation of the Word, 10.

Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

God, the Word of the all-good Father, did not disregard the human race, his own creation, when it was sinking back into corruption, but rather by the offering of his own body he destroyed the death men had incurred, and by his teaching he corrected their negligence. So he restored by his power all that belongs to man’s estate.

Anyone can find confirmation of this from the Savior’s own disciples who spoke of him, for in their writings one reads: The charity of Christ constrains us as we judge that if one died on behalf of all, then all died; and he died for all in order that we may live no longer for ourselves but for him who died for us and rose from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ. And again: We see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone. Then the writer goes on to show why it had to be God the Word and no other who became man: Indeed it was fitting that in bringing many sons to glory, God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make perfect the one who leads them to salvation. By this he means that the task of bringing men back from the corruption into which they had fallen belonged to no other save God the Word who had made them in the beginning. Further, Scripture shows that the Word assumed a body for the purpose of offering it in sacrifice on behalf of other bodies like his own, for the writer continues: Since the children have blood and flesh in common, he likewise shared in them himself so that by his own death he might destroy the one who had power over death, that is, the devil, and might deliver those who all their life long were enslaved by fear of death.

For by the sacrifice of his own body he both put an end to the law that stood against us and made a new beginning of life for us by giving us the hope of resurrection. Hence Paul, the Christbearer, declares: As through a man came death, so through a man has come the resurrection of the dead. For as all died in Adam, so also in Christ all shall be made to live.

No longer, then, do we die as men condemned, but as men being raised even now, we await the general resurrection of all, which God, whose work and gift it is, will reveal at the appointed time.

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 old has passed away:
all things are made new

Saint Andrew of Crete

Bishop

An excerpt from his Oration 1

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The fulfillment of the law is Christ himself, who does not so much lead us away from the letter as lift us up to its spirit. For the law’s consummation was this, that the very lawgiver accomplished his work and changed letter into spirit, summing everything up in himself and, though subject to the law, living by grace. He subordinated the law, yet harmoniously united grace with it, not confusing the distinctive characteristics of the one with the other, but effecting the transition in a way most fitting for God. He changed whatever was burdensome, servile and oppressive to what is light and liberating, so that we should be enslaved no longer under the elemental spirits of the world, as the Apostle says, nor held fast as bondservants under the letter of the law.

This is the highest, all-embracing benefit that Christ has bestowed on us. This is the revelation of the mystery, this is the emptying out of the divine nature, the union of God and man, and the deification of the manhood that was assumed. This radiant and manifest coming of God to men most certainly needed a joyful prelude to introduce the great gift of salvation to us. The present festival, the birth of the Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the fore-ordained union of the Word with flesh. Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages.

Justly, then, do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are led toward the truth, and we are led away from our condition of slavery to the letter of the law. How can this be? Darkness yields before the coming of the light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom. But midway between the two stands today’s mystery, at the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality, and the old is replaced by the new. Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.

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-third Week in Ordinary Time

“And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said...” (Luke 6:20.)

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

“The phrase “lift up your eyes” occurs in many places in Scripture. By this expression, the divine Word admonishes us to exalt and lift up our thoughts. It invites us to elevate the insight that lies below in a rather sickly condition and is stooped and completely incapable of looking up. For instance, it is written in Isaiah, “Lift up your eyes on high and see. Who has made all these things known?”

The Savior too, when he is about to deliver the Beatitudes, lifts up his eyes to the disciples and says “blessed” are such and such.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John)

Collect

O God,
by Whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon Your sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
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 stages of contemplation

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Abbot and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from Sermon 5

Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Let us take our stand on secure ground, leaning with all our strength on Christ, the most solid rock, according to the words: He set my feet on a rock and guided my steps. Thus firmly established, let us begin to contemplate, to see what he is saying to us and what reply we ought to make to his charges.

The first stage of contemplation, my dear brothers, is constantly to consider what God wants, what is pleasing to him, and what is acceptable in his eyes. We all offend in many things; our strength cannot match the rectitude of God’s will, being neither one with it nor wholly in accord with it; let us then humble ourselves under the powerful hand of the most high God and be concerned to show ourselves unworthy before his merciful gaze, saying: Heal me, Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved. And again, Lord have mercy on me; heal my soul because I have sinned against you.

Once the eye of the soul has been purified by such considerations we no longer abide within our own spirit in a sense of sorrow, but abide rather in the Spirit of God with great delight. No longer do we consider what is the will of God for us, but rather what it is in itself. For our life is in his will. Thus we are convinced that what is according to his will is in every way more advantageous and fitting for us. And so, concerned as we are to preserve the life of our soul, we should be equally concerned, insofar as we can, not to deviate from his will.

Thus having made some progress in our spiritual exercise under the guidance of the Spirit who searches the deep things of God, let us reflect how sweet is the Lord and how good he is in himself; in the words of the prophet let us pray to see God’s will; no longer shall we frequent our own hearts but his temple. At the same time we shall say: My soul is humbled within me, therefore I shall be mindful of you.

The whole of the spiritual life consists of these two elements. When we think of ourselves, we are perturbed and filled with a salutary sadness. And when we think of the Lord, we are revived to find consolation in the joy of the Holy Spirit. From the first we derive fear and humility, from the second hope and 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

Te Deum

You are God: we praise You;
You are the Lord; we acclaim You;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships You.

To You all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise You.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise You.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise You.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims You;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When You became man to set us free
You did not shun the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that You will come and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help Your people,
bought with the price of Your own blood,
and bring us with Your saints
to glory everlasting.

So ... Jesus teaches hate? What's that about?

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

“If anyone comes to me
without hating (μισέω [miséō]) his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry (βαστάζω [bastázō])
his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:26-27.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Beyond any shadow of doubt, Jesus’ words proclaimed this Sunday are more than challenging. They are direct, demanding and leave little wiggle room to drift beyond the literal sense of the Sacred Text: “If anyone comes to me without hating (μισέω [miséō] “to hate”) his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry (βαστάζω [bastázō] “to bear”) his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27) While ‘bearing one’s cross’ is challenging enough, “hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life” has us scratching our heads asking, “What does Jesus want?” After all, for the vast majority of people of good will, to hate is an action we were taught not to do by our Moms and Dads. Yet Jesus demands hating people that we love and depend upon the most.

Given the harshness of Jesus’ command, how do we take His words to heart and live them faithfully as His disciple? A tendency, admittedly not common, is to take Jesus’ words literally (Catholic hermeneutics [the way or science of interpreting] listens and reads Sacred Scripture by engaging the literal sense. Catholic biblical hermeneutics does not listen nor reads Sacred Scripture literally but engages the literal sense. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 109-119.) The difference between literally and the literal sense is night and day, and even that image that does not quite capture the distinction! The literal sense demands the background and context of the words, including the sense of the words as used at the time of Scripture’s writing and when uttered by Jesus. Literally approaches Scripture with no engagement of context as well as no concern for the sense of the words in their original oral and written meaning. Generally this results in one listening and reading Scripture from one's perspective and knowledge of the translated words as used in present culture. Thus, taking Jesus’ words literally to heart would seem to call for engendering hostility between oneself and mother, father, brother, sister, etc… For the vast majority of Christian, ‘something inside us’ suggests that Jesus is not promoting familial bitterness, enmity, ill will or resentment.

On the other hand, while one may not engage the words of Jesus literally, one might say words to effect, ‘Oh, Jesus – because He is so nice – doesn’t really mean to hate.’ The way of listening to the Word in this vein is like other difficult sayings of Jesus such as Mark 9:42-48. This approach, which may be more common, simply dismisses Jesus’ words with the rationale, ‘He can’t possibly want me to hate mother, father, brother, sister and myself…’ and then I forget about the words and move along living life as if everything is fine in terms of my commitment to and with Jesus. Dangerously though, dismissing the words of Jesus means dismissing the catechesis He presents to live as a child of the Kingdom of God. Our task, then, is to dive deeply into the Text – being guided always in the grace and light of Holy Spirit – to learn the sense of His words and, most importantly, live them in our lives.

μισέω [miséō], the Greek verb translated in the New American Bible Revised Edition as “to hate,” appears in the Old Testament, especially the Psalms as שָׂנֵא [śānē]. In many Psalms, שָׂנֵא [śānē] defines the difference between friend and foe, all and enemy: “See how many are my enemies, see how fiercely they hate me.” (Psalm 25:19) and “My enemies live and grow strong, those who hate me grow numerous fraudulently…” (Psalm 38:20) Other examples convey a slightly different message: “You hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 31:7) “You love justice and hate wrongdoing; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellow kings.” (Psalm 45: 8). These are but two examples of many that present clear, direct and forceful distinction between the things of God (justice, trust) and the realities that are not of God (worthless idols, wrongdoing). Again, the distinction is clear, direct and forceful. There is no missing the point that when it comes to living the Covenant, idols and wrongdoing have absolutely no place in the life of the believer; period end of discussion and no questions. That’s it! Furthermore, as the Australian biblical scholar Fr Byrne notes, μισέω [miséō] as a translation of the Hebrew שָׂנֵא [śānē], is idiomatic and as anyone learning a new language knows well, idioms can be difficult to understand initially and master. When we say, “I’m all tied up at work,” it does not mean that I am physically restrained with ropes or chains. Rather, the idiom conveys quickly and clearly that I am exceptionally busy. When “it is raining cats and dogs,” I do not mean that furry quadrupeds are falling from the sky. Rather, it means that it is a deluge outside. With vivid imagery, idioms help to express quickly the intensity of a given reality and do so quickly.

Often in the Old Testament, the Hebrew שָׂנֵא [śānē] is understood as the opposite of אָהֵב ʾaheb. Usually, אָהֵב ʾaheb is translated into English as “to love,” love in the sense of being an ally, friend or having affection for another person. As such, both śānē and ʾaheb are fundamentally choices between opposites. śānē in this sense does not carry the present English sense of animosity, estrangement or rancor. It is simply a choice, albeit a clear, direct and forceful one, that I choose not to have affection for you, that I do not opt to have you as an ally or friend. The choice, however (and most importantly in the Biblical world), does not involve any stoking of hostility or resentment, just a decision for how one will live in relationship with others in a clear, direct and forceful way.

For Jesus, the challenge ‘to hate’ mother, father, brother, sister and oneself is all about a choice: a choice for being a disciple that must be clear, direct, forceful – and – may I add here, conscious and intentional. It has nothing to do with animosity, estrangement, hostility or rancor. Being a disciple of Jesus is NOT about an aimless, mindless nor heartless living of life, occasionally popping in and out of Church when I feel like it and/or trying to be a nice person. These are certainly good virtues for civil society and our world would be a much better place if there was more genuine niceness (emphasis on the word genuine). But Jesus demands more of His disciples, plain and simple. He demands a conscious and intentional decision for Him, done with the entirety of our being – body, mind and soul – to clearly, directly and forcefully choose Him first and foremost AND the consequent changes in life that must be made to make Him first and foremost. Vital, good and necessary relationships – spousal, parental, child, etc… - are lived by opting always for His spousal way of living, His parental way of living and His way of being of child, His way of being myself.

Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Basil the Great’s Concerning Baptism —

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

“If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26.)

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

“The Lord gives the signal for us to stand guard in camp and to build the tower from which we may recognize and ward off the enemy of our eternal life. The heavenly trumpet of Christ urges the soldier to battle, and his mother holds him back.

What does she say or what argument does she give? Perhaps is it those ten months when you lay in her womb and the pangs of birth and the burden of rearing you? You must kill this with the sword of salvation. You must destroy this in your mother that you may find her in life eternal. Remember, you must hate this in her if you love her, if you are a recruit of Christ and have laid the foundations of the tower. Passers by may not say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” That is earthly affection. It still has the ring of the “old man.” Christian warfare invites us to destroy this earthly affection both in ourselves and in our relatives. Of course, no one should be ungrateful to his parents or mock the list of their services to him, since by them he was brought into this life, cherished and fed. A man should always pay his family duty, but let these things keep their place where higher duties do not call.

Mother church is also the mother of your mother. She conceived you both in Christ. Know that her Spouse took human flesh that you might not be attached to fleshly things. Know that all the things for which your mother scolds you were undertaken by the eternal Word that you might not be subject to the weakness of flesh. Ponder his humiliations, scourging and death, even the death of the cross.” (Letter 243)

Collect

O God,
by Whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon Your sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
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.

Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Basil the Great’s Concerning Baptism —

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 Gregory the Great, Pope and Great Western Father of the Church

“Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath…” (Luke 6:2.)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

““Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” Our Lord had instructed them in advance and trained them in the truth of the just, so that whenever he dispensed from the law fully, they would not be alarmed. His Father had also dispensed from sabbaths to show that the sabbath was of his own making. He was also continuing to dispense from it that he might show that these were discerning remedies, proposed by the skilled physician for the pain which stretches from the sole of the foot to the head.” (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron, 5.)

Collect

O God,
Who care for Your people with gentleness
and rule them in love,
through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory,
endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom
those to whom You have given authority to govern,
that the flourishing of a holy flock
may become the eternal joy of the shepherds.
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

For Christ's love I do not spare myself in speaking of Him

Saint Gregory the Great

Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from a Homily on Ezekiel

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Great Western Father of the Church

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Note that a man whom the Lord sends forth as a preacher is called a watchman. A watchman always stands on a height so that he can see from afar what is coming. Anyone appointed to be a watchman for the people must stand on a height for all his life to help them by his foresight.

How hard it is for me to say this, for by these very words I denounce myself. I cannot preach with any competence, and yet insofar as I do succeed, still I myself do not live my life according to my own preaching.

I do not deny my responsibility; I recognize that I am slothful and negligent, but perhaps the acknowledgment of my fault will win me pardon from my just judge. Indeed when I was in the monastery I could curb my idle talk and usually be absorbed in my prayers. Since I assumed the burden of pastoral care, my mind can no longer be collected; it is concerned with so many matters.

I am forced to consider the affairs of the Church and of the monasteries. I must weigh the lives and acts of individuals. I am responsible for the concerns of our citizens. I must worry about the invasions of roving bands of barbarians, and beware of the wolves who lie in wait for my flock. I must become an administrator lest the religious go in want. I must put up with certain robbers without losing patience and at times I must deal with them in all charity.

With my mind divided and torn to pieces by so many problems, how can I meditate or preach wholeheartedly without neglecting the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel? Moreover, in my position I must often communicate with worldly men. At times I let my tongue run, for if I am always severe in my judgments, the worldly will avoid me, and I can never attack them as I would. As a result I often listen patiently to chatter. And because I too am weak, I find myself drawn little by little into idle conversation, and I begin to talk freely about matters which once I would have avoided. What once I found tedious I now enjoy.

So who am I to be a watchman, for I do not stand on the mountain of action but lie down in the valley of weakness? Truly the all-powerful Creator and Redeemer of mankind can give me in spite of my weaknesses a higher life and effective speech; because I love him, I do not spare myself in speaking of him.

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

Friday of the Twenty-second Week
in Ordinary Time

“And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” (Luke 5:33.)

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

“But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them.” Which are these days in which Christ is taken from us, especially when he himself has said, “I shall be with you, even to the end of the world,” when he has said, “I will not leave you orphans”? For it is certain that if he were to leave us, we could not be saved. None can take Christ from you, unless you take yourself away. Your boasting will not take you away, nor arrogance, nor may you presume on the law for yourself. “For he came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” The righteous are those who do not strike him who strikes them, who love their enemy. If we do not endure thus, the opposite is found. “I came not to call the righteous.” Christ does not call those who say they are righteous, for not knowing God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Therefore the usurpers of righteousness are not called to grace. For if grace comes from penitence, surely one who scorns penitence renounces grace. Those who make themselves out to be holy will be wounded. The Bridegroom is taken from them. Neither Caiaphas nor Pilate took Christ from us. We cannot fast, because we have Christ, and we feast on the body and blood of Christ. For how does he who does not hunger seem to fast? How does he who does not thirst seem to fast? Then, how can he who drinks Christ thirst when he himself said, “Whosoever shall drink of the water that I will give him shall be thirsty no more”? Then what follows will declare the saying to concern the fasting of the spirit.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5.)

Collect

God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of Your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
you may nurture in us what is good
and, by Your watchful care,
keep safe what You have nurtured.
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

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Pope Saint Leo the Great

Bishop of Rome and Father of the Church

An excerpt from a Sermon on the Beatitudes

Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

It cannot be doubted that the poor can more easily attain the blessing of humility than those who are rich. In the case of the poor, the lack of worldly goods is often accompanied by a quiet gentleness, whereas the rich are more prone to arrogance. Nevertheless, many wealthy people are disposed to use their abundance not to swell their own pride but to perform works of benevolence. They consider their greatest gain what they spend to alleviate the distress of others.

This virtue is open to all men, no matter what their class or condition, because all can be equal in their willingness to give, however unequal they may be in earthly fortune. Indeed, their inequality in regard to worldly means is unimportant, provided they are found equal in spiritual possessions. Blessed, therefore, is that poverty which is not trapped by the love of temporal things and does not seek to be enriched by worldly wealth, but desires rather to grow rich in heavenly goods.

The apostles were the first after the Lord himself to provide us with an example of this generous poverty, when they all equally left their belongings at the call of the heavenly master. By an immediate conversion they were turned from the catching of fish to become fishers of men, and by their own example they won many others to the imitation of their own faith. In these first sons of the Church there was but one heart and one soul among all who believed. Abandoning all their worldly property and possessions in their dedicated poverty, they were enriched with eternal goods, and in accordance with the apostolic preaching, they rejoiced to have nothing of this world and to possess all things with Christ.

Therefore, when the apostle Peter was on his way up to the temple and was asked for alms by the lame man, he replied: Silver and gold I have not; but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk. What is more sublime than this humility? And what could be richer than this poverty? Though Peter cannot assist with money, he can confer gifts of nature. With a word Peter brought healing to the man who had been lame from birth; he who did not give a coin with the emperor’s image refashioned the image of Jesus in this man.

And by the riches of this treasure, not only did he help the man who recovered the power to walk, but also five thousand others who believed the preaching of the apostle because of this miraculous cure. Thus Peter, who in his poverty had no money to give to the beggar, bestowed such a bounty of divine grace that in restoring to health the feet of one man, he healed the hearts of many thousands of believers. He had found all of them lame; but he made them leap for joy in Christ.

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 lesson learned at the Table
vital for living the Kingdom of God

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

“Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled (ταπεινωθήσεται, tapeinothesetai),
but the one who humbles (ταπεινῶν, tapeinon)
himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:10-11.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Jesus is once again, as far the Evangelist Saint Luke is concerned, in one of His favorite locales for meeting people: the table. Throughout the Gospel according to Saint Luke, the table, the banquet and the meal are cherished places and events for encountering people and drawing them more closely to His way of living, the Kingdom of God. Jesus not only enjoys their company and the fare set before Him and others, the table also becomes the venue for Jesus to evangelize and to catechize. Always aware of His surroundings and situation, Jesus’ evangelizing and catechizing activities build on the unfolding of day-to-day living and in this Sunday’s episode table manners and behavior at a banquet form the bedrock for an indispensable attitude and action for the Christian disciple: humility.

Upon entering the banquet space, Jesus directs: “... go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (ταπεινωθήσεται, tapeinothesetai), but the one who humbles (ταπεινῶν, tapeinon) himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:10-11) ταπεινός (tapeinos) is the Greek word that is translated into English as the word humility. In the world of Greek antiquity, ταπεινός (tapeinos) generally expressed conditions deemed unfavorable by many people. Admittedly ταπεινός (tapeinos) evolved in meaning to include human characteristics such as modesty and unpretentiousness. Yet throughout early Greek culture, ταπεινός (tapeinos) described people in the bottom socio-economic caste living a difficult, arduous and miserable life. Additionally, ταπεινός (tapeinos) also characterized peoples who were oppressed and were accounted as nothing among society’s power brokers. From the vantage point of a linguistic history, one could see a potential link between the ancient use of ταπεινός (tapeinos) and the Christian virtue of humility, but such involves a deeper dive into the Biblical world.

In Christian theological study, there is guiding principle that advises, ‘while the language, culture and context is Greek, the theology is Jewish.’ This is manifest in various facets of early Sacramental theology as well as Scripture. For many in early Christianity who did not have a Jewish background, the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint (often abbreviated by the Roman numeral LXX because of the 70 elders who composed the translation) was their point of contact with the Hebrew Scriptures. As is the case even among modern languages today, it is often a challenge to capture all the nuances of meaning when translating from one language to another. Such appears to be the case with the Greek word ταπεινός (tapeinos).

Throughout the pages of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, ταπεινός (tapeinos) appears frequently, especially in the Torah (first five Books of the Bible) and Psalms. ταπεινός (tapeinos) often is used interchangeably for the Hebrew ^ani and dakh. For example, “You win justice for the orphaned and oppressed (Greek tapeino Hebrew dakh); no one on earth will cause terror again.” (Psalm 10:18) and “For humble people (Greek tapeinon Hebrew ^ani) you save; haughty eyes you bring low.” (Psalm 18:28) While this is not intended as an exhaustive study, the use of 2 distinct Hebrew words (^ani and dakh) (there are also a few more!) translated by the 1 Greek word ταπεινός (tapeinos) used in the Gospels invites further reflection to capture Jesus’ catechesis for Kingdom living.

The Hebrew word dakh expresses the reality of being oppressed, being afflicted and consequently living a miserable life - often through no fault of one’s own. While elements of dakh can be implied in ^ani, ^ani conveys more precisely a known state of need. In the Ancient Near Eastern world, land (especially land that is wide, broad and spacious) provided for the minimal necessities for living: water, food and shelter or protection. People living in the land and era of the Ancient Near East, knew the pressing demand of access to water, food, shelter or protection. Not having any one of these could result in death, and a somewhat slow and painful death. Knowing and acknowledging one’s need, drove one to choose and to seek assistance from another and this assistance meant life.

Scholars contend that ^ani lies at the base of Gospel ταπεινός (tapeinos) primarily because ^ani implies that one must know and then choose to accept one’s existence as contingent or dependent upon another. This is the reality expressed in Genesis in the creation of humanity. Humanity, brought into being with the ‘stuff of the universe,’ is dependent upon the breath of the Creator to become a living being in the Creator’s image and likeness. The source of humanity’s place in the Universe is not of humanity’s crafting: it is a God-given gift. As such, humanity - who is born of dust or clay (Latin, humus the root of the English word humility) - freely opts or chooses an attitude of contingency upon God the Father. In so doing, Gospel humility is the “poverty of spirit” that Jesus declares blessed. The blessedness of life is not because of a miserable lack of essentials but rather a freely chosen joy-filled vision and consequent range of actions that rejoices in a conscious dependence upon Other and others as one simultaneously living a life of loving service to meet the needs of one’s fellow human beings.

Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Cyril of Alexandria Homily 102 from his Commentary on the Gospel of Luke —

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.” (Luke 14:1.)

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

“First, Christ cures the man with dropsy. The abundant flow of the flesh had oppressed the functions of his soul and had quenched the glow of his spirit. Then, Christ teaches humility. At the feast, Christ gently opposes the longing for a better seat, so that the humanity of persuasion excludes the harshness of coercion, reason promotes the effect of persuasion, and correction chastises pride. He joins humanity to this, as if at the next threshold. The boundaries of the Lord’s saying differentiated this, if it is conferred on the poor and the weak. There is a greedy disposition in those who would be rewarded for hospitality.” (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 7.)

Collect

God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of Your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
You may nurture in us what is good
and, by Your watchful care,
keep safe what You have nurtured.
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

Memorial of Saint Monica

“Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 24:28-29.)

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

“If someone should wish to peruse Scripture elsewhere to hear from his Master the word faithful, I believe Abraham is a good instance: “Abraham believed God; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Then there is the man who heard from his master the words “faithful servant.” Without doubt his faith was reckoned as righteousness to him, like the faith of him who was faithful in little things, so that every mystery of the resurrection and the administration of godly affairs may be entrusted to him. Everything in this life, by the way, consists of little things.

Let us note also where that good and faithful servant is going who was faithful in the little things of this life. “Enter into the joy of your master,” he is told. Every delight and every joy will be there when those who weep here below will be merry hereafter and those who righteously mourn will receive a worthy consolation. He says this in effect both to the one “who had received the five talents” and to the one “who had received the two.” He says, “Enter.” Know what it is to approach me and to pass from this world to the next. Notice also that the master said to the second servant what he said to the first: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.”

I wonder also, since the same words were said to both servants, whether by chance the one who had less ability and exercised it fully would be regarded less by God than the one who had more ability. I wonder if this is in fulfillment of what was said elsewhere: “He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.”

Such is indicated also concerning the commandment of love for God or for one’s neighbor, according to the words “You shall love the Lord your God with all your whole heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”45 Without doubt, when someone has loved God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, he has the same reward of love as the person with a bigger heart or with a more gifted soul or with greater ability. This alone is required: At whatever level one has received a gift from God, one should use it for God’s glory.

It seems to me that “he who had received the one talent” was indeed among the believers, even though he was not among those who acted boldly in faith. He is among those who scatter their energies in trying to do everything but have nothing to show for it.46 Perhaps their behavior in other respects is not blameworthy. What they received they guard carefully, but they do not add to it, nor do they trade or faithfully transact with it. For that reason, the word does not bear any fruit in them, nor did anyone else gain from it. They even seem to be the type of people who fear God. They often see God as harsh and hard and implacable.” (Commentary on Matthew, 67.)

Collect

O God,
Who console the sorrowful
and Who mercifully accepted
the motherly tears of Saint Monica
for the conversion of her son Augustine,
grant us, through the intercession of them both,
that we may bitterly regret our sins
and find the grace of Your pardon.
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

Let us gain eternal wisdom

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from The Confessions

Memorial of Saint Monica

The day was now approaching when my mother Monica would depart from this life; you know that day, Lord, though we did not. She and I happened to be standing by ourselves at a window that overlooked the garden in the courtyard of the house. At the time we were in Ostia on the Tiber. And so the two of us, all alone, were enjoying a very pleasant conversation, forgetting the past and pushing on to what is ahead. We were asking one another in the presence of the Truth—for you are the Truth—what it would be like to share the eternal life enjoyed by the saints, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, which has not even entered into the heart of man. We desired with all our hearts to drink from the streams of your heavenly fountain, the fountain of life.

That was the substance of our talk, though not the exact words. But you know, O Lord, that in the course of our conversation that day, the world and its pleasures lost all their attraction for us. My mother said, “Son, as far as I am concerned, nothing in this life now gives me any pleasure. I do not know why I am still here, since I have no further hopes in this world. I did have one reason for wanting to live a little longer: to see you become a Catholic Christian before I died. God has lavished his gifts on me in that respect, for I know that you have even renounced earthly happiness to be his servant. So what am I doing here?”

I do not really remember how I answered her. Shortly, within five days or thereabouts, she fell sick with a fever. Then one day during the course of her illness she became unconscious and for a while she was unaware of her surroundings. My brother and I rushed to her side, but she regained consciousness quickly. She looked at us as we stood there and asked in a puzzled voice: “Where was I?”

We were overwhelmed with grief, but she held her gaze steadily upon us, and spoke further: “Here you shall bury your mother.” I remained silent as I held back my tears. However, my brother haltingly expressed his hope that she might not die in a strange country but in her own land, since her end would be happier there. When she heard this, her face was filled with anxiety, and she reproached him with a glance because he had entertained such earthly thoughts. Then she looked at me and spoke: “Look what he is saying.” Thereupon she said to both of us, “Bury my body wherever you will; let not care of it cause you any concern. One thing only I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.” Once our mother had expressed this desire as best she could, she fell silent as the pain of her illness increased.

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 just king rules the Earth

Optional Memorial — 25 August

Saint Louis IX of France

An excerpt from A Spiritual Testament to his Son

My dearest son, my first instruction is that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your strength. Without this there is no salvation. Keep yourself, my son, from everything that you know displeases God, that is to say, from every mortal sin. You should permit yourself to be tormented by every kind of martyrdom before you would allow yourself to commit a mortal sin.

If the Lord has permitted you to have some trial, bear it willingly and with gratitude, considering that it has happened for your good and that perhaps you well deserved it. If the Lord bestows upon you any kind of prosperity, thank him humbly and see that you become no worse for it, either through vain pride or anything else, because you ought not to oppose God or offend him in the matter of his gifts.

Listen to the divine office with pleasure and devotion. As long as you are in church, be careful not to let your eyes wander and not to speak empty words, but pray to the Lord devoutly, either aloud or with the interior prayer of the heart.

Be kindhearted to the poor, the unfortunate and the afflicted. Give them as much help and consolation as you can. Thank God for all the benefits he has bestowed upon you, that you may be worthy to receive greater. Be just to your subjects, swaying neither to right nor left, but holding the line of justice. Always side with the poor rather that with the rich, until you are certain of the truth. See that all your subjects live in justice and peace, but especially those who have ecclesiastical rank and who belong to religious orders.

Be devout and obedient to our mother the Church of Rome and the Supreme Pontiff as your spiritual father. Work to remove all sin from your land, particularly blasphemies and heresies.

In conclusion, dearest son, I give you every blessing that a loving father can give a son. May the three Persons of the Holy Trinity and all the saints protect you from every evil. And may the Lord give you the grace to do his will so that he may be served and honored through you, that in the next life we may together come to see him, love him and praise him unceasingly. Amen.

Scriptures for the Optional Memorial

Collect

O God,
Who brought Saint Louis
from the cares of earthly rule
to the glory of a heavenly realm,
grant, we pray, through his intercession,
that, by fulfilling our duties on earth,
we may seek out Your eternal Kingdom.
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

Let us try to cling to Christ
and please him alone

Optional Memorial — 25 August

Saint Joseph Calasanz

An excerpt from his Writings

Everyone knows the great merit and dignity attached to that holy ministry in which young boys, especially the poor, receive instruction for the purpose of attaining eternal life. This ministry is directed to the well-being of body and soul; at the same time that it shapes behavior it also fosters devotion and Christian doctrine. In doing this it performs for the young boys the very same service as their guardian angels.

Moreover the strongest support is provided not only to protect the young from evil, but also to rouse them and attract them more easily and gently to the performance of good works. Whatever the type of condition, it is well known that when the young are given this help the change for the better is so great that it becomes impossible to distinguish those who are educated from those who are not. Like the twigs of plants the young are easily influenced, as long as someone works to change their souls. But if they are allowed to grow hard, we know well that the possibility of one day bending them diminishes a great deal and is sometimes utterly lost.

All who belong to the society of men, and especially all Christians, praise those who increase the human dignity of young boys, especially poor boys by giving them a proper education Above all, parents are happy that their children are led through straight paths. civil leaders rejoice to gain upright subjects and good citizens. The Church is especially joyful that others who love Christ and proclaim the Gospel are added to its following.

All who undertake to teach must be endowed with deep love, the greatest patience, and, most of all, profound humility. They must perform their work with earnest zeal. Then, through their humble prayers, the Lord will find them worthy to become fellow workers with him in the cause of truth. He will console them in the fulfillment of this most noble duty, and, finally, will enrich them with the gift of heaven.

As Scripture says: Those who instruct many in justice will shine as stars for all eternity. They will attain this more easily if they make a covenant of perpetual obedience and strive to cling to Christ and please him alone, because, in his words: What you did to one of the least of my brethren, you did for me.

Scriptures for the Optional Memorial

Collect

O God,
Who adorned the Priest Saint Joseph Calasanz
with such charity and patience
that he labored tirelessly
to educate children and
endow them with every virtue,
grant, we pray, that we,
who venerate him as a teacher of wisdom,
may constantly imitate him,
for he was a co-worker of your truth.
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

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

“Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” (John 1:48.)

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

“Now Jacob had been called in Scripture a man without guile. Jacob himself, as you know, was surnamed Israel. That is why in the Gospel, when the Lord saw Nathanael, he said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.” And that Israelite, not yet knowing who was speaking to him, replied, “How do you know me?” And the Lord said to him, “While you were under the fig tree I saw you,” as though to say, “While you were under the shadow of sin, I predestined you.” And Nathanael, remembering he had been under the fig tree where the Lord had not been, recognized the divinity in him and answered, “You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.” Though he was under the fig tree, he did not become a withered fig tree; he acknowledged Christ. And the Lord said to him, “Because I said, While you were under the fig tree I saw you, is that why you believe? You shall see greater things than that.”

What are these greater things? “Amen, I tell you.” Because that man is an Israelite in whom there is no guile, look back to Jacob, in whom there is no guile, and recollect, when Jesus tells you, the stone at his head, the vision in his sleep, the stairs from earth to heaven, the beings coming down and going up; and then see what the Lord says to the Israelite without guile: “You shall see heaven opened”—listen, guileless Nathanael, to what guileless Jacob saw—“and angels going up and coming down”—to whom?—“to the Son of man.”” (Sermon 89)

Collect

Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith,
by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew
clung wholeheartedly to Your Son,
and grant that
through the help of his prayers
Your Church may become for all the nations
the sacrament of salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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 weakness of God is stronger than men

Saint John Chrysostom

Bishop and Great Eastern Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Homily on First Letter to the Corinthians

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world. Their discourse was not of unimportant matters but of God and true religion, of the Gospel way of life and future judgment, yet it turned plain, uneducated men into philosophers. How the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and his weakness stronger than men!

In what way is it stronger? It made its way throughout the world and overcame all men; countless men sought to eradicate the very name of the Crucified, but that name flourished and grew ever mightier. Its enemies lost out and perished; the living who waged a war on a dead man proved helpless. Therefore, when a Greek tells me I am dead, he shows only that he is foolish indeed, for I, whom he thinks a fool, turn out to be wiser than those reputed wise. So too, in calling me weak, he but shows that he is weaker still. For the good deeds which tax-collectors and fishermen were able to accomplish by God’s grace, the philosophers, the rulers, the countless multitudes cannot even imagine.

Paul had this in mind when he said: The weakness of God is stronger than men. That the preaching of these men was indeed divine is brought home to us in the same way. For how otherwise could twelve uneducated men, who lived on lakes and rivers and wastelands, get the idea for such an immense enterprise? How could men who perhaps had never been in a city or a public square think of setting out to do battle with the whole world? That they were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed he turned these into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him!

How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead—if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: “What is this? He could not save himself but he will protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead he will extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?” Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them?

It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much.

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

Let us know the love of Christ
which surpasses all understanding

Optional Memorial — 23 August

Saint Rose of Lima

An excerpt from A Letter to the doctor, Castillo

Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.”

When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: “Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from his own lips: We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions. We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul.”

That same force strongly urged me to proclaim the beauty of divine grace. It pressed me so that my breath came slow and forced me to sweat and pant. I felt as if my soul could no longer be kept in the prison of the body, but that it had burst its chains and was free and alone and was going very swiftly through the whole world saying:

“If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! Without doubt they would devote all their care and concern to winning for themselves pains and afflictions. All men throughout the world would seek trouble, infirmities and torments, instead of good fortune, in order to attain the unfathomable treasure of grace. This is the reward and the final gain of patience. No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men.”

Scriptures for the Optional Memorial

Collect

O God,
You set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with Your love,
so that, secluded from the world
in the austerity of a life of penance,
she might give herself to You alone;
grant, we pray, that through her intercession,
we may tread the paths of life on earth
and drink at the stream of Your delights 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

Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week
in Ordinary Time

“... not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a spirit, or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand...” (II Thessalonians 2:2.)

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

“Therefore, not to know the times is something different from moral decay and the love of vice. For when the apostle Paul said, “Don’t be easily shaken in your mind nor be frightened, neither by word nor by epistle as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand,” he obviously did not want them to believe those who thought the coming of the Lord was already at hand. Neither, moreover, did he want them to be like the wicked servant and say, “My Lord will not be coming for a long time,” and deliver themselves over to destruction by pride and immoral behavior. Thus, Paul’s desire that they should not listen to false rumors about the imminent approach of the last day was consistent with his wish that they should await the coming of their Lord fully prepared and ready for the journey, with lamps burning.” (Letter 199)

Collect

O God,
Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant Your people to love
what You command and
to desire what You promise, that,
amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that Place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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

Five paths of repentance

Saint John Chrysostom

(Bishop and Father of the Church)

An excerpt from Homilia de diabolo tentatore

Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Would you like me to list also the paths of repentance? They are numerous and quite varied, and all lead to heaven.

A first path of repentance is the condemnation of your own sins: Be the first to admit your sins and you will be justified. For this reason, too, the prophet wrote: I said: I will accuse myself of my sins to the Lord, and you forgave the wickedness of my heart. Therefore, you too should condemn your own sins; that will be enough reason for the Lord to forgive you, for a man who condemns his own sins is slower to commit them again. Rouse your conscience to accuse you within your own house, lest it become your accuser before the judgment seat of the Lord.

That, then, is one very good path of repentance. Another and no less valuable one is to put out of our minds the harm done us by our enemies, in order to master our anger, and to forgive our fellow servants’ sins against us. Then our own sins against the Lord will be forgiven us. Thus you have another way to atone for sin: For if you forgive your debtors, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

Do you want to know of a third path? It consists of prayer that is fervent, careful and comes from the heart.

If you want to hear of a fourth, I will mention almsgiving, whose power is great and far-reaching. If, moreover, a man lives a modest, humble life, that, no less than the other things I have mentioned, takes sin away. Proof of this is the tax-collector who had no good deeds to mention, but offered his humility instead and was relieved of a heavy burden of sins.

Thus I have shown you five paths of repentance: condemnation of your sins, forgiveness of our neighbor’s sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility.

Do not be idle, then, but walk daily in all these paths; they are easy, and you cannot plead your poverty. For, though you live out your life amid great need, you can always set aside your wrath, be humble, pray diligently and condemn your own sins; poverty is no hindrance. Poverty is not an obstacle to our carrying out the Lord’s bidding, even when it comes to that path of repentance which involves giving money (almsgiving, I mean). The widow proved that when she put her two mites into the box!

Now that we have learned how to heal these wounds of ours, let us apply the cures. Then, when we have regained genuine health, we can approach the holy table with confidence, go gloriously to meet Christ, the king of glory, and attain the eternal blessings through the grace, mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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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