The 12 Disciples

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:12-19.

In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.


Commentary of the day
Vatican Council II
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church «Lumen gentium », § 24-25

"A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him"

Bishops, as successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord, to whom was given all power in heaven and on earth, the mission to teach all nations and to preach the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain to salvation by faith, baptism and the fulfillment of the commandments. To fulfill this mission, Christ the Lord promised the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and on Pentecost day sent the Spirit from heaven, by whose power they would be witnesses to Him before the nations and peoples and kings even to the ends of the earth. And that duty, which the Lord committed to the shepherds of His people, is a true service, which in sacred literature is significantly called "diakonia" or ministry...

Among the principal duties of bishops the preaching of the Gospel occupies an eminent place. For bishops are preachers of the faith, who lead new disciples to Christ, and they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice, and by the light of the Holy Spirit illustrate that faith. They bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock. Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent.
(Biblical references: Mt 28,18-20; Mc 16,15-16; Ac 1,8; 2,1s; 9,15; 1,17.25; Mt 13,52)

"It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13:18-21.


Then he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'"
Again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed (in) with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened."


Tuesday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time : Lc 13,18-21
Commentary of the day
Saint Maximus of Turin (?-c.420), Bishop
Sermon 26 (Migne 1996, p. 124)

"It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden"

With regard to the Gospel's words: «A man took it and sowed it in his garden», who do you think is this man who sowed the seed he had received like a mustard seed in his garden plot? I myself think it is he of whom the Gospel says: «Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council, from Arimathea»... He went to Pilate. He asked permission to take down the Lord's body and bury it. When permission was granted he placed it in the tomb he had prepared in his garden (cf. Lk 23,50-53). That is why Scripture says: «A man took it and buried it in his garden». In Joseph's garden there mingled the scent of many different flowers but such a seed as this had never yet been placed there. The spiritual garden of his soul was embalmed with the scent of his virtue but Christ's embalmed body had not yet occupied its place. When he buried the Savior in the memorial place of his garden, he received him even more deeply into the crevice of his heart.

She at once stood up straight and glorified God

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13:10-17.

He was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."
He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, "There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."
The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?"
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

Commentary of the day
Gregory of Narek (c.944-1010), Armenian monk and poet
Book of prayers, n°18 (SC 78, p. 123 rev.)

"She at once stood up straight and glorified God"

There was a time when I was not, and you created me.
I had not prayed yet you made me.
I had not yet come into the light yet you saw me.
I had not appeared yet you took pity on me.
I had not invoked you yet you cared for me.
I had not signalled yet you looked at me.
I had not craved your pardon yet you had mercy on me.
I had not breathed a word yet you heard me.
I had not sighed yet you listened.

Even though you knew what would now happen to me
you did not despise me.
Even after considering with your foreseeing gaze
the offences of the sinner that I am,
you nonetheless formed me.
And even now may I, whom you created,
whom you saved,
who have been the object of such care,
not be lost forever by the wounds of sins
aroused in me by the Accuser!...

Bound, paralyzed,
bent double like the afflicted woman,
my poor soul is unable to stand upright.
It cleaves to the earth beneath the weight of sin
because of Satan's heavy bonds...
Incline towards me, Merciful One,
poor fallen, thinking tree.
Make me flower again in beauty and splendor,
I who am withered and dry,
according to the divine words spoken by the holy prophet (Ez 17,22-24)...
You who alone are our Protector
deign to cast your glance at me
out of the concern of your inexpressible love...
and, out of nothing, you will create within me
light itself. (cf. Gn 1,3).

Servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:39-48.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
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. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

Commentary of the day
Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532), Bishop in North Africa
Sermon 1 ; CCL 91A, 889

« Servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries » (1Cor 4,1)

Our Lord spoke these words, recorded by the Gospel, to clarify the function of the servants he had set at the head of his people: «Who is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so». Who is that steward, my friends? Undoubtedly, it is Christ, who said to his disciples: «You call me 'teacher' and 'master', and rightly so, for indeed I am» (Jn 13,13). And what is that master's household? Surely the one that our Lord himself redeemed from the hands of the enemy and took to himself. This household is the holy and universal Church, spreading with remarkable fecundity throughout the world and priding itself on having been redeemed at the price of his blood...

But who is the faithful and wise steward? The apostle Paul shows us when he says – speaking of himself and his companions – «One should regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy» (1Cor 4,1-2). And lest any of you should think that only the apostles became stewards or lest some lazy and unfaithful servant should abandon the spiritual combat and fall asleep, the holy apostle demonstrates that bishops are just as much stewards, too: «As God's steward», he says, «a bishop must be irreproachable» (Ti 1,7). Therefore we are servants of the householder, stewards of our Lord, and it is we who have received the measure of wheat to be distributed among you.

"Ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:35-38.

Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.

Commentary of the day
Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church
12th Sermon on Psalm 118 ; CSEL 62, 258

"Ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks"

God, the Word, stirs up the lazy and arouses the sleeper. For indeed, someone who comes knocking at the door is always wanting to come in. But it depends on us if he does not always enter or always remain. May your door be open to him who comes; open your soul, enlarge your spiritual capacities, that you may discover the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace and sweetness of grace. Expand your heart; run to meet the sun of that eternal light that «enlightens everyone» (Jn 1,9). It is certain that this true light shines for all, but if anyone shuts their windows then they themselves shut themselves off from this eternal light.

So even Christ remains outside if you shut the door of your soul. It is true that he could enter but he doesn't want to use force, he doesn't put those who refuse under pressure. Descended from the Virgin, born from her womb, he shines throughout the universe to give light to all. Those who long to receive the light that shines with an everlasting brightness open up to him. No night comes to intervene. Indeed, the sun we see each day gives way to night's darkness; but the Sun of justice (Mal 3,20) knows no setting for Wisdom is not overcome by evil.

«What shall I do? For I do not have space to store my harvest »

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:13-21.

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
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
and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"
But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."

Commentary of the day
Saint Basil (c.330-379), monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church
Sermon 6,on wealth; PG 31, 261f.

«What shall I do? For I do not have space to store my harvest »

«What shall I do?» There was a ready response to this: «I will satisfy hungry souls, open up my barns, call in everyone in need... I will speak out words of generosity: all you who are short of bread, come to me; each according to your needs, take your share of God's gifts flowing like a public fountain». Yet you, you foolish rich man, are very far from doing this! And why? Jealous of seeing others enjoy their wealth you give yourself up to wretched calculations: you are not anxious about how to distribute to each according to their need but how to take everything and deprive everyone else of the profit they might have drawn from it...

So then, my brethren, take care you don't experience the same fate as that man! If Scripture gives us this example it is so that we can avoid behaving in the same way. Imitate the earth: bear fruit and don't prove yourself worse than it, soulless as it is. It yields crops, not for its own pleasure but to serve you. To the contrary, all the fruit of the kindnesses you show will be gathered for yourself since the graces that arise from good works return to those who bestow them. You have given to the hungry and what you gave remains with you and even comes back to you with increase. As the grain of wheat that fell into the earth brings profit to the sower so the bread given to the hungry will bring you superabundant profit later on. May the end of all your labours be for you the commencement of your sowing in heaven.

"Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:1-7.

Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. He began to speak, first to his disciples, "Beware of the leaven--that is, the hypocrisy--of the Pharisees.
There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

Friday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time : Lc 12,1-7
Commentary of the day
Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), Jesuit
Abandonment to Divine Providence (trans.Algar Thorold)

"Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid"

When one is being led by night across fields, through an unknown roadless country by a guide who follows his own ideas without asking the way of anyone and without revealing his plans, what can one do but abandon oneself to his care? What is the use of trying to find out where one is, of asking the passers-by or of looking at the map? The intentions... of a guide who insists on our trusting him will be contrary to all that. He will take pleasure in confounding the soul's anxiety and suspicions. He demands a complete confidence in himself...

The divine action is essentially good. it needs neither reform nor control. It commenced at the moment of the Creation and up to this moment it has brought forth novelties, its operations have no limits, its fecundity is never exhausted. This was done yesterday, something else is done today; the same action which is applied at all moments produces constantly new effects, and its manifestations will go on eternally

A blood for purification that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:47-54.

Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute'
in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."
When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

Commentary of the day
Severian of Gabala (?-c.408), Bishop in Syria
Sermon on Caïn and Abel

«A blood for purification that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel » (Heb 12,24)

Cain and Abel both appeared to worship God with exactly the same rites, but in reality they made their offerings with very different dispositions. Those of the elder only seemed like a gift whereas those of the younger bore witness to his reverence and piety. From this arose feelings of jealousy..., and so Abel was murdered (Gen 4,3f.)...

In holy Abel I find the image of Christ. For indeed, our Savior is the supremely Righteous One... But amongst all the men of the Old Covenant Abel was the prince of righteousness... Besides, our Savior himself placed Abel at the head of the line of all the righteous when he said to the Jews: «Amen, I tell you, the blood of all the righteous shed since the beginning of the world will be charged to this generation, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar»...

Here is a wonderful thing: because he was the first to fight for justice, Abel had the honor of being the first to suffer for his piety. He is a true prefiguration of Christ who was put to death for truth's sake. The blood of Abel foretold the blood of Christ: it cried out from the earth (Gen 4,10). Our Lord's blood cries out too; but the blood of Abel was a supplication, the blood of Christ the reconciliation of the world... That is why the apostle Paul, recalling both of them, confesses the superiority of Christ's blood. He writes: «We have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel» (Heb 12,22-24)... Yes, this blood speaks: it prays for sinners, intercedes for the world. The blood of Christ is truly for the purification of the world; the blood of Christ is our redemption.

Woe also to you ! You impose on people burdens hard to carry

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:42-46.

Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, "Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.

Commentary of the day
Sayings of the Desert Fathers (4th-5th centuries)
Systematic Collection, ch. 9 (SC 387, p. 427f.)

"Woe also to you ! You impose on people burdens hard to carry"

A brother who had sinned was dismissed from the church by the priest, and Abba Bessarion rose and went out with him, saying: «I, too, am a sinner»...

One of the brothers at Scete committed a sin. A council was held to which Abba Moses was called. But he refused to come. Then the priest sent someone to say to him: «Come; everyone is waiting for you». He stood up and came with a basket with a hole in it on his back which he filled with sand. And that is how he carried it. The others, coming out to meet him, said to him: «Father, what is this?» The old man said: «My sins are pouring out behind me and I do not see them, and am I coming today to judge the sins of another?» Hearing this they said nothing to that brother but forgave him.

Abba Joseph questioned Abba Poemen, saying: «Tell me how to become a monk». The old man said: «If you want to find rest in this life and in the world to come, say on every occasion: 'As for me, who am I? And judge no one'».

A brother questioned this same Abba Poemen, saying: «If I see a sin in my brother, is it better to hide it?» The old man said: «The moment we hide our brother's sin, God hides ours too; and the moment we reveal the sins of our brother, God also reveals ours».

Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:37-41.

After he had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

Commentary of the day
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), founder of the Missionary Sisters of Charity
Something Beautiful for God

2865

We shouldn't be satisfied by giving money. Money isn't enough because it can always be found. It's our hands the poor need if they are to be helped; it's our hearts they need to be loved. Christ's religion is a religion of love, contagious love.

People who propose a comfortable life for themselves undoubtedly have their reasons. Perhaps they have acquired it by their work. I'm not upset by it; only by waste, by those who throw in the garbage what could be useful to us. The difficulty is that very often the rich – or even those who are comfortably off – don't really know what being poor means. That's why we can forgive them because knowledge can only lead to love and love to service. It's because they don't know them that they aren't moved by them.

I try to give the poor through love what the wealthy are able to acquire by money. True, I would not touch a leper for a million, but I willingly care for him for love of God.

There is a greater than Solomon here

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:29-32.

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.


Commentary of the day
Saint Gregory de Nyssa (c.335-395), monk and Bishop
Homily 1 on the Song of Songs (Migne 1992, p.40 rev.)

« There is a greater than Solomon here»

In the sacred text of the Song of Songs we shall find the soul clothed, in a sense, in the garment of a bride to prepare it for a pure and spiritual marriage with God that has nothing to do with the body. For He, «who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth» (I Tim. 2,4), shows us in this book the most perfect and glorious path of salvation, I mean, by way of love. For some are saved by fear, as for example, when we break off from sin because we have our eyes on the threatened punishment of Hell. There are others, too who live lives of virtue because of the rewards promised to the good; and these possess their goal not by charity but by their hope of reward.

But he who runs in spirit to reach perfection, casts out fear. For this is the attitude of a
slave, who does not stay with his master out of love... He loves with his «whole heart and soul and strength» (Mk 12,30) not the creatures that come from God but he who is the source of all good. This disposition should be in the souls of all of us, according to the words of Solomon...

Do you suppose I'm referring to Solomon, Bathsheba's son, who offered a thousand oxen on the mountain and who sinned by following the advice of the foreign woman? I am not. No, I am thinking of another Solomon who was also born of the seed of David according to the flesh, whose name was «peace». [the name 'Solomon' means «man of peace» (1 Ch 22,9)]. He is the true King of Israel, the builder of God's Temple, the possessor of universal knowledge. His wisdom is measureless; more, his essence is wisdom and truth; his name and his thoughts are perfectly divine, wholly sublime. Solomon was used by him as an instrument and he is the one who, through his voice, speaks to us first in Proverbs, then in Ecclesiastes, then in the Song of Songs. Thus he presents methodically and in order for our reflection the means of making progress towards perfection.

The field of spiritual combat

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:15-26.

Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.'
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."

Commentary of the day
Saint [Padre] Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968), Capuchin
CE 33

The field of spiritual combat

At every moment of life the human soul is the field of combat between God and Satan. So it is essential that the soul allows free access to the Lord so that he can strengthen it on every side and with all kinds of weapons. Thus his light will be able to enlighten it so as to fight better against the darkness of error. Clothed with Christ (Gal 3,27), with his truth and righteousness, protected by the shield of faith and the word of God, it will overcome its enemies however strong they may be (Eph 6,13f.). Even so, however, to be clothed with Christ we must die to ourselves.

Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:5-13.

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"


Commentary of the day : Saint Hilary
"Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find"

"Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find"

How well I know, O God, all-powerful Father, that to offer myself to you in such a way that everything within me... speaks of you is the chief object of my life. You have granted me the gift of speech and it can bring me no greater reward than the honor of serving you and showing the world that ignores it and the heretic who denies it who you are, O Father of God's only Son. Yes, that is indeed my only wish! However, I am in great need of begging for the help of your mercy so that you may swell the sails of my faith, spread out for you, with the breath of your Spirit and may prompt me to preach everywhere your holy name. For it is was not in vain that you made this promise: «Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you».

Poor, we beg for what we lack. We will zealously apply ourselves to studying your prophets and apostles. We will knock at all the doors our minds find closed. But you alone can answer our prayer...; you alone can open this door we are knocking at. You will give encouragement to difficult beginnings, affirm our progress, and call us to share in the Spirit who guided your prophets and apostles. In this way we won't give their words a meaning different to the one they intended.

So grant us true understanding of the words, the light of intelligence, beauty of expression and faith in the truth. Grant us to speak what we believe...: that there is only one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.

Teach us to pray

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:1-4.

He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."

Commentary of the day

5th century homily wrongly attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, no.6 on prayer; PG 64, 461

«Teach us to pray»

The highest good of all is prayer, a familiar conversation with God. Prayer is a relationship with God and union with him. Just as our bodily eyes are lit up at the sight of light, so the soul that is directed towards God is illumined by his indescribable light. Prayer is not the consequence of our exterior posture but comes from the heart. It is not circumscribed by fixed times or moments but is a continuous activity, by night as much as by day. Don't let us be satisfied by turning our thoughts to God when we apply ourselves specifically to prayer, but also when absorbed in other occupations – such as caring for the poor or some other concern to do with good and useful work – it matters that we include in these the desire and remembrance of God so as to offer a sweet food to the Lord of the universe, seasoned with the salt of love for God. We can draw great profit from this all our life long if we set aside a good part of our time to it.


Prayer is the light of the soul, the true knowledge of God, the mediator between God and men. Through it the soul rises heavenwards and grasps our Lord in an indescribable embrace. Like a nursling for its mother, it cries to God in tears, thirsty for divine milk. It expresses it profound desires and accepts gifts surpassing all to be seen in the natural world. Prayer, in which we respectfully come before God, is joy to the heart, rest to the soul.

Two women, two images of our life

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:38-42.
As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 104 ; PL 38, 616

Two women, two images of our life

You already know, I believe, that these two women, both of whom were dear to our Lord, both worthy of his love, and both his disciples..., these two women, then, are an image of two forms of life: the life of this world and the life of the world to come; the life of work and the life of rest; the life of care and life in blessedness; life in time and life in eternity.

Two forms of life: let us reflect on them at greater length. Consider what this life here is composed of: I am not referring to a blameworthy life..., a life of debauchery and impiousness; no, what I'm talking about is a life of work, burdened by trials, troubles and temptations, of a life without blame, the life that was very much like that of Martha... Evil was wholly absent from this house, with Martha as with Mary - and if there had been any, our Lord's arrival would have dispersed it. And so, two women lived there, both of whom welcomed the Lord, two admirable, upright lives, one composed of work, the other of rest... One was a life of work but free from compromise, the hazard of a life devoted to action; the other was free from indolence, the hazard of a life of rest. There we have two lives and the very source of life...

Martha's life is our own world; Mary's life, the world we are waiting for. Let us live this one in uprightness so that we may gain the other in its fullness. What do we already possess of that life there?... At this moment, precisely, we are leading the life to come to a certain extent: you have gathered together, away from matters of business, apart from family cares, and are present there to listen. When you act like this, then you resemble Mary. And that's easier for you than for me who have to speak! What I'm saying, however, I'm drawing from Christ and this food is Christ's food. For he is the bread shared by all of us and, for this reason, I'm living in communion with you.

Christ, The Good Samaritan

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:25-37.
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Homilies on Saint Luke's Gospel, 34, 3.7-9; GCS 9, 201-202.204-205. (©Friends of Henry Ashworth)

Christ, the Good Samaritan

To interpret the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the elders used to say that the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho was Adam. He said Jerusalem was paradise, Jericho was the world, and the brigands were enemy powers. The priest was the law, the levite the prophets, and the Samaritan Christ. Adam's wounds were his disobedience, the animal that carried him was the body of the Lord... and the promised return of the Samaritan, according to this interpeter, was a figure of the Second Coming of the Savior...

This Samaritan bore our sins and suffered on our behalf; he carried the half dead man to the inn which takes in everyone, denying no one its help; in other words, to the Church. To this inn Jesus invites all when he says: «Come to me, all who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you new strength» After bringing in the man half dead the Samaritan did not immediately depart, but remained and dressed his wounds by night as well as by day, showing his concern and doing everything he could for him... This guardian of souls «who showed mercy to the man who fell into the hands of brigands» was a better neighbor to him than were either the law or the prophets, and he proved this more by deeds than by words.

Now the saying: «be imitators of me as I am of Christ» makes it clear that we can imitate Christ by showing mercy to those who have «fallen into the hands of brigands». We can go to them, bandage their wounds after pouring in oil and wine, place them on our own mount, and bear their burdens. And so the Son of God exhorts us to do these things, in words addressed not only to the teacher of the law but to all of us: «Go and do likewise.»