Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week22-2013.

“After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her.” (Luke 4:38)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Jerome writes:

“Now Simon’s mother-in-law was kept in her bed sick with a fever.” May Christ come to our house and enter in and by his command cure the fever of our sins. Each one of us is sick with a fever. When-ever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers as there are faults and vices. Let us beg the apostles to intercede for us with Jesus, that he may come to us and touch our hand. If he does so, at once our fever is gone. He is an excellent physician and truly the chief Physician. Moses is a physician. Isaiah is a physician. All the saints are physicians, but He is the chief Physician.” (Homilies on the Gospels, 75)

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In some areas of the world today (such as Holy Family University, Philadelphia PA), the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are celebrating the feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek.

From the Congregation’s website: “Sister Mary Stella CSFN, (Adela Mardosewicz) and her 10 companion sisters were executed by the Nazi regime on 1 August 1943 and buried in a common grave outside Nowogródek, then in Poland now part of Belarus.

In the wake of mass arrests the previous month in Nowogrodek, Sister Mary Stella and her companions prayed:

‘O God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us who are free from family obligations and spare those who have wives and children.’

Sr. Stella and her 10 companions were beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.”

O Most Blessed Trinity,
we praise and thank You
for the example of Blessed Mary Stella
and Her ten companions,
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth,
who by imitating Jesus Christ,
offered themselves as a sacrifice of love.
God of mercy and compassion,
through the merits of their martyrdom
and by their intercession,
grant us the grace we humbly ask…
(insert intention here)…
so that like them,
we may witness with our lives
to the presence of the Kingdom of God’s love
and extend it to the human family throughout the world.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Blessed Martyred Sisters of Nowogródek, pray for us.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saint Gregory the Great 2013.

“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Luke from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria writes:

“Even when the demons spoke the truth, for they spoke the truth when they said, “Thou are the Son of God,” the Lord himself silenced them and forbade them to speak. He did this to keep them from sowing their own wickedness in the midst of the truth. He also wished us to get used to never listening to them even though they seem to speak the truth..” (The Life of Saint Antony, 26)

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Today is the memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, one of the four great Western Fathers of the Church. In May 2008, Pope Benedict XVI devoted two General Audiences to reflect on the life and teaching of Saint Gregory: 28 May 2008 audience and 4 June 2008 audience.

One of Saint Gregory’s homilies on Ezekiel is presented in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

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,
one God, for ever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Labor Day-Week22-2013

“The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” (Genesis 2:15)

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following commentary on these verses taken from today’s Scripture (optional Readings for Labor Day):

“Although man was placed in paradise so as to work and guard it, that praiseworthy work was not toilsome. For the work in paradise is quite different from the work on the earth to which he was condemned after the sin. The addition “and to guard it” indicated the sort of work it was. For in the tranquility of the happy life, where there is no death, the only work is to guard what you possess.” (Two Books on Genesis Against the Manichaeans, 2)

Labor Day (USA). Monday-Week22-2013

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“May Your favor, O Lord, be upon us, and may You give success to the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

COLLECT

O God, Who through human labor
never cease to perfect and govern
the vast work of creation,
listen to the supplications of Your people
and grant that all men and women
may find work that befits their dignity,
joins them more closely to one another
and enables them to serve their neighbor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation (Genesis 1:26-2:3.”

REFLECTION

Today’s reflection is an excerpt from Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Labor). Click here for the text of the entire encyclical.

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God himself, his Creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ-the Jesus at whom many of his first listeners in Nazareth “were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? ... Is not this the carpenter?’” For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by his deeds the “gospel,” the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to him. Therefore this was also “the gospel of work.” because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth. And if we do not find in his words a special command to work-but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life - at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: he belongs to the “working world”, he has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said that he looks with love upon human work and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father. Is it not he who says: “My Father is the vinedresser,” and in various ways puts into his teaching the fundamental truth about work which is already expressed in the whole tradition of the Old Testament, beginning with the Book of Genesis?

On the basis of these illuminations emanating from the Source himself, the Church has always proclaimed what we find expressed in modern terms in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: “Just as human activity proceeds from man, so it is ordered towards man. For when a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside of himself and beyond himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be garnered ... Hence, the norm of human activity is this: that in accord with the divine plan and will, it should harmonize with the genuine good of the human race, and allow people as individuals and as members of society to pursue their total vocation and fulfill it.”

Such a vision of the values of human work, or in other words such a spirituality of work, fully explains what we read in the same section of the Council’s Pastoral Constitution with regard to the right meaning of progress: “A person is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that people do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about.” This teaching on the question of progress and development – a subject that dominates present day thought-can be understood only as the fruit of a tested spirituality of human work; and it is only on the basis of such a spirituality that it can be realized and put into practice. This is the teaching, and also the program, that has its roots in “the gospel of work.””

Voices ever ancient, every new. Sunday-Week22-2013.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Benedict of Nursia writes:

“The Scripture asserts that “everyone that exalts himself will be humbled, and he that humbles himself will be exalted.” If we want to attain to true humility and come quickly to the top of that heavenly ascent to which we can only mount by lowliness in this present life, we must ascend by good works. We must erect the mystical ladder of Jacob, where angels ascending and descending appeared to him. Ascent and descent mean that we go downward when we exalt ourselves and rise when we are humbled. The ladder represents our life in this world, which our Lord erects to heaven when our heart is humbled. The sides of the ladder represent our soul and body, sides between which God has placed several rungs of humility and discipline, whereby we are to ascend if we would answer his call.” (Rule of Benedict, 7)

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful. Week22c-2013.

Father in Heaven, as your sons and daughters we present these prayers to You born of confidence and humility.

1. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches us ‘to conduct our affairs with humility.’ Fill the Church – Your Son’s Body – with men and women who act as Jesus’ disciples, humbly seeking You and the salvation of one another, especially our family members. We humbly pray.

2. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father promises the Spirit-filled peace of Your Son. Pour forth that same peace upon our world. Bring peace to Syria. For the innocent victims of wars, crime, violence and hatred – We humbly pray.

3. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches us that “You have made a home for the poor.” In all levels of Church and parish planning and living, impel us to work to alleviate the burdens of the poor and all who suffer in any way. We humbly pray.

4. Your sacred Word Heavenly Father teaches that we have “approached Jesus, the Mediator of a new Covenant.” As many return to school this week, may learning equip all students with the Truth of Jesus that reverences life and serves the needs of the poor. We humbly pray.

5. For all the sick (especially …) [PAUSE] May all who have died (especially …) live eternally with You: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We pray …

Father,
all that is good comes from You.
Humbly we ask that You
graciously fill our hearts with love for You.
Increase our faith and by Your constant care,
protect the good You have given to us.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week21-2013

“After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.” (Matthew 25:19)

In commenting on this verse from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew from today’s Mass Readings, Origen of Alexandria writes:

“Notice too that the servants did not go to the master so they might be judged and receive their just deserts. Rather, “the master came to them” in due course. “After a long time” he came and “settled accounts with them” on everything they had done, compensating them for the gains of their good works and the losses of their sins. Settling “accounts” and scrutinizing everything, he dealt with each one individually. It behooves us, then, as those who by sinning have done evil and by doing good reaped a profit, to keep a guard on our hearts. In this way, when our Master comes to settle accounts with us, we may not be found to have done evil, even through idle words.” (Commentary on Matthew, 66)