Words of the Word

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Wednesday-Week29-2013.

“That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.” (Luke 12:46-48)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“Now if those ignorant of the law are in a worse condition than those who know the law, how can this saying of our Lord in the Gospel be true? “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make ready or act according to his will shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know and did what deserved a beating shall receive a light beating.” You see that this passage shows clearly a person who knows sins more seriously than one who does not know. Yet we must not on this account take refuge in the darkness of ignorance so as to find there an excuse for our conduct. Not to know is one thing; unwillingness to know is another.” (On Grace and Free Will, 3)

Almighty ever-living God,
grant that we may always
conform our will to Yours and
serve Your majesty in sincerity of heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Tuesday-Week29-2013.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps …” (Luke 12:35)

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

“The girding of our loins signifies the readiness of the mind to work hard in every thing praiseworthy. Those who apply themselves to bodily labors and are engaged in strenuous toil have their loins girded. The lamp apparently represents the wakefulness of the mind and intellectual cheerfulness. We say that the human mind is awake when it repels any tendency to slumber off into that carelessness that often is the means of bringing it into subjection to every kind of wickedness. When sunk in stupor, the heavenly light within the mind is liable to be endangered, or even already is in danger from a violent and impetuous blast of wind. Christ commands us to be awake. To this, his disciple also arouses us by saying, “Be awake. Be watchful.” Further on, the very wise Paul also says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall give you light.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 92)”

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

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Monday-Week29-2013.

“And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods.” (Luke 12:18)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The redemption of a man’s soul is his riches.” This silly fool of a man did not have that kind of riches. Obviously he was not redeeming his soul by giving relief to the poor. He was hoarding perishable crops. I repeat, he was hoarding perishable crops, while he was on the point of perishing because he had handed out nothing to the Lord before whom he was due to appear. How will he know where to look, when at that trial he starts hearing the words “I was hungry and you did not give me to eat”? He was planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns. What he was stowing away in those barns was perhaps even then being stolen away by thieves. But if he stowed it away in the bellies of the poor, it would of course be digested on earth, but in heaven it would be kept all the more safely. The redemption of a man’s soul is his riches.” (Sermon 36)

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

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Sunday-Week29-2013.

“I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

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

“People sell the word of righteousness and make many abandon sound faith. They involve them in the inventions of devilish error. As Scripture says, they belch things out of their own hearts and not out of the mouth of the Lord. He foretold this saying, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” It did not escape his knowledge. How could it, since he is God, who knows all things? In his own words, he tells us that the love of many will grow cold. In the end times, some will depart from a correct and blameless faith. They will be going after seducing spirits and listening to the false words of people who have a seared conscience. Against these, we come near to God as faithful servants, begging him that their wickedness and their attempts against his glory may have no effect.” (Commentary on Luke, Homily 119)

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

Voices ever ancient, ever new. Saturday-Week28-2013. Canadian (North American) Martyrs

“When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say. (Luke 12:11-12).”

Saint Basil the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The Christian should not fear or be distressed in difficult circumstances and thus be distracted from trust in God. He should take courage as if the Lord were at hand directing his affairs and strengthening him against all his adversaries. It is as if the Holy Spirit were instructing him even as to the very replies he should make to his enemies. (The Morals, 63)”

Today is the feast of the Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests and Companions. The National Shrine to the Canadian Martyrs offers biographies on each of the Canadian Martyrs.

Blessed John Paul II visited Canada in 1984 and spoke about these martyrs when visiting the Shrine.

Here is an excerpt from the spiritual diaries of Saint John de Brebeuf, which is the Second Reading in today’s Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings.

O God,
Who chose to manifest the blessed hope
of your eternal Kingdom by the toil of
Saints John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues and
their companions and by the shedding of their blood,
graciously grant that through their intercession
the faith of Christians may be strengthened day by day.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.

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

VOICES EVER ANCIENT, EVER NEW. FRIDAY-WEEK28-2013. SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:3).”

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

“He says this to the seventy disciples whom he appointed and sent out in pairs before his face. Why did he send them two by two? Pairs of animals were sent into the ark, that is, the female with the male, according to number, unclean but cleansed by the sacrament of the church … Those animals are opposites, so that the one eats the other. A good shepherd does not know how to fear wolves for his flock, and therefore he sends those disciples not against a prey but to grace. The forethought of the good Shepherd prevents the wolves from harming the lambs. He sends lambs among wolves in order that the saying may be fulfilled, “Then wolves and lambs shall feed together.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7)”

Today is the feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist. A very good overview of this Gospel is posted in the New American Bible section of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Fr Felix Just SJ provides great resources for many aspects of theological study, including links to insights on prayer from the Gospels, particularly the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Perhaps today can also be an opportunity for some further study about the Sacred Scriptures found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church beginning at paragraph 50 and continuing through to paragraph 141. Also well worth prayerful study are two Church documents, Sancta Mater Ecclesiae (Instruction concerning the Historical Truth of the Gospels) and Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Vatican II).

Lord God,
Who chose Saint Luke
to reveal by his preaching and writings
the mystery of your love for the poor,
grant that those who already glory in your name,
may persevere as one heart and one soul and
that all nations may merit to see your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.

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

VOICES EVER ANCIENT, EVER NEW. WEDNESDAY-WEEK28-2013.

“Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3)

Origen of Alexandria offers the following insight on this Pauline verse:

“For this reason it is right for each person to examine his own conscience first and then debate the deeds of the person whom he is judging. If this were to happen, all desire for high ecclesiastical office would vanish from those appointed to it, if those who want to preside over the people were more concerned to judge themselves than to judge others. No one should imagine that he can escape the judgment of God, as the prophet also says: “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” These things apply most of all to those who preside over the judgment of the people. Scripture also says elsewhere that “judgment will begin at the house of God.” Therefore judgment begins with the children of God first of all, for God chastises everyone whom he accepts into the number of his children. Indeed, I think that even if it were possible, nobody should try to escape God’s judgment, for not to come to God’s judgment is not to come to improvement, to health or to a cure (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans).”

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