Leaving all to follow him

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:28-31.
Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first."


Commentary of the day : Thomas of Celano
Leaving all to follow him

For forty years, to use the analogy made by Saint Paul (1Cor 9,24), Clare had now run the race in the stadium of very great poverty. She was drawing close to the goal of her heavenly vocation and to the reward promised to the victor... Divine Providence hastened to fulfil what it had in mind for Clare: Christ desired to bring his little, poor one into his royal palace at the close of her pilgrimage. She, on her part, longed with all the impulse of her desire... to behold, reigning on high in his glory, the Christ whose poverty she had imitated on earth...

All her daughters had gathered around their mother's bed... Then, speaking to herself, Claire said to her soul: «Go in all safety; you have a good guide for the road. Go, for he who created you has also sanctified you. He has always kept you and loved you with tender love as a mother loves her child. Blessed are you, O Lord, who have created me!» One of the Sisters asked her to whom she was talking. Clare answered: «To my blessed soul.» Her guide for the journey was not far off. Indeed, turning towards one of her daughters, she said: «Do you see what I can see? - The King of glory!»...

Blessed be her departure from this vale of sorrow, a departure that was for her the entry into the life of blessedness! As a reward for her fasts here below she now knows the joy that reigns at the table of the saints. In exchange for her rags and ashes she has entered into possession of the blessedness of the heavenly Kingdom where she is clothed in the robe of eternal glory.

At that statement... he went away sad

 

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:17-27.
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.'"
He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."


Commentary of the day : Saint Basil
"At that statement...  he went away sad"

The incident of the rich young man and those like him makes me think of that of a traveler who, wanting to visit a certain town, arrives at the foot of the walls, finds an inn there, goes down to it and, discouraged by the short distance still to do, loses all the benefit of the difficulties of his journey and prevents himself from visiting the beauties of the town. Such are those who keep the commandments but can't bear the idea of losing their goods. I know many people who fast, pray, do penance, and practise all sorts of works of piety very well, but who don't spend a cent on the poor. What good are their other virtues to them?

These won't enter the Kingdom of heaven, for «it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven». Clear words, and their author does not lie, but rare are those who let themselves be touched by them. «How will we live when we are stripped of everything?» is what they exclaim. «What sort of life will we lead when everything has been sold and there is no longer any property?» Don't ask me what deep design underlies God's commandments. He who made our laws also knows the art of reconciling the impossible with the law.

Two Masters?

Matthew 6: 24 - 34
24	"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25	"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26	Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27	And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?
28	And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
29	yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30	But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
31	Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
32	For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33	But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
34	"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

If I love Jesus, I ought to resemble Him; If I love Jesus, I ought to love what He loves, what He does, what He prefers to all else: humility. How may we acquire this virtue? Neither logic or reflection will help us any; thinking nice thoughts about it or taking heroic resolutions would lead us to believe we had already acquired it, and we would content oueselves with that. We must examine our actions to see if we not sought our own interest in them. Let us repeat often, " Jesus, so humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine."
-- St. Peter Eymard

We tried to prevent him because he does not follow us

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 9:38-40.
John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.


Commentary of the day : Pius XII
"We tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

Let us imitate the breadth of love of Jesus himself. For the Church, the Bride of Christ, is one; and yet so vast is the love of the divine Spouse that it embraces in His Bride the whole human race without exception. Our Savior shed His Blood precisely in order that He might reconcile men to God through the Cross, and might constrain them to unite in one body, however widely they may differ in nationality and race. True love of the Church, therefore, requires not only that we should be mutually solicitous one for another as members (Rm 12,5), sharing in their suffering (1Co 12,26), but likewise that we should recognize in other men, although they are not yet joined to us in the body of the Church, our brothers in Christ according to the flesh, called, together with us, to the same eternal salvation.

It is true, unfortunately, especially today, that there are some who extol enmity, hatred and spite as if they enhanced the dignity and the worth of man. Let us, however, while we look with sorrow on the disastrous consequences of this teaching, follow our peaceful King who taught us to love not only those who are of a different nation or race, (Lk 10,33f.) but even our enemies (Lk 6,27f.). While our heart overflows with the sweetness of the teaching of Saint Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, we extol with him the length, and the breadth, and the height, and the depth of the charity of Christ (Eph 3,18) which neither diversity of race or customs can diminish, nor trackless wastes of the ocean weaken, nor wars, whether just or unjust, destroy.

You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16:13-19.
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."


Commentary of the day : Vatican Council II
"You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church"

Just as in the Gospel, the Lord so disposing, St. Peter and the other apostles constitute one apostolic college, so in a similar way the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are joined together. Indeed, the very ancient practice whereby bishops duly established in all parts of the world were in communion with one another and with the Bishop of Rome in a bond of unity, charity and peace, and also the councils assembled together, in which more profound issues were settled in common, the opinion of the many having been prudently considered, both of these factors are already an indication of the collegiate character and aspect of the Episcopal order; and the ecumenical councils held in the course of centuries are also manifest proof of that same character. And it is intimated also in the practice, introduced in ancient times, of summoning several bishops to take part in the elevation of the newly elected to the ministry of the high priesthood. Hence, one is constituted a member of the Episcopal body in virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the head and members of the body.

But the college or body of bishops has no authority unless it is understood together with the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter as its head. The pope's power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power. The order of bishops, which succeeds to the college of apostles and gives this apostolic body continued existence, is also the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church, provided we understand this body together with its head the Roman Pontiff and never without this head. This power can be exercised only with the consent of the Roman Pontiff. For our Lord placed Simon alone as the rock and the bearer of the keys of the Church, and made him shepherd of the whole flock;(Jn 21,15f.) it is evident, however, that the power of binding and loosing, which was given to Peter,(Mt 16,19) was granted also to the college of apostles, joined with their head.( Mt 18,18; 28,16-20) This college, insofar as it is composed of many, expresses the variety and universality of the People of God, but insofar as it is assembled under one head, it expresses the unity of the flock of Christ.

This is my beloved Son

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 9:2-13.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Then they asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
He told them, "Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."


Commentary of the day : An anonymous Syrian writer
« This is my beloved Son»

Jesus led Peter, James and John up the mountain and showed them his divine glory even before the resurrection. So that, when he rose from the dead in the glory of his divine nature, they would recognize that he hadn't received this glory as a reward for his suffering, as though he had need of it, but that it belonged to him before the ages began at his Father's side and with the Father. This is what he himself said as his freely accepted Passion drew near: «Glory me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began» (Jn 17,5). It was this glory of his divinity, mysteriously enclosed within his humanity, that he showed his disciples on the mountain. And these... saw two suns: one shining in the sky as usual and another that shone in an unaccustomed way; one casting light on the world from high in the firmament and another radiant for them alone in the countenance turned towards them...

Then Moses and Elijah appeared... and thanked him that their words, as those of all the other prophets, had been fulfilled by his coming. They offered him worship for the salvation he would accomplish for the sake of the whole world and for the fulfilment of the mystery they had been entrusted to foretell. Thus both apostles and prophets were filled with joy on that mountain. The prophets rejoiced to see his humanity, which they had not been able to know beforehand; the apostles rejoiced to see the glory of his divinity, which they had not yet known about, and hear the Father's voice bear witness to his Son. By it, and by the glory of his divinity shining from his body, they learned about his incarnation, which up to then had remained unknown to them.

Follow Me

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:34-38.9:1.
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
He also said to them, "Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come in power."

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 96, 9

« Follow me» (Mt 9,9)

In this world, which is to say in the Church wholly following Christ, he says to all of us: «Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself». This command is not being directed to virgins but not married women, to widows but not wives, to monks but not husbands, to priests but not laity. It is the whole Church, the whole Body of Christ with all its members, differentiated and divided according to their proper functions, that is to follow Christ. May she wholly follow him, she who is one alone, the dove, the bride (Sg 6,9); may she follow him, she who has been redeemed and endowed with the blood of her Bridegroom. Virginal purity has its place here; the continence of widows has its place here; wedded chastity has its place here...

These members who have their place here should follow Christ, each according to their category, each according to their status, each after its fashion. Let them deny themselves, that is to say let them not rely on themselves. Let them carry their cross, that is to say bear for Christ's sake in the world all that the world inflicts on them. May they love him, he the only one who never deceives or is deceived, the only one who is not mistaken. May they love him because what he promises is true. Yet because he does not give it to us now our faith falters. Keep going, persevere, bear and accept this delay, and you have carried his cross.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:27-33.
Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Messiah."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."


Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
"You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Peter is considering Christ's suffering and death from a purely natural and human point of view, and this death seems to him to be unworthy of God, dishonorable for his glory. Christ reproves him as though to say: «But no! Suffering and death are not unworthy of me. Earthly opinions disturb and mislead your judgment. Throw off all human thoughts; listen to my words from the viewpoint of my Father's designs and you will understand that this death is the only one fitting to my glory. Do you believe it to be a matter of shame for me to suffer? Then know that not to fulfill the plan of salvation in this way is the will of the devil for me»...

So let no one be ashamed of the signs of our salvation, which are worthy of veneration and worship; Christ's cross is the source of all good. Through it we live, are regenerated and saved. Let us bear the cross, then, like a glorious crown. It sets its seal on everything that leads to salvation: when we are reborn by the waters of baptism, the cross is there; when we draw near to the holy table to receive the Body and Blood of our Savior, the cross is there; when we place our hands on the Lord's chosen ones, it is there. Whatever we do, there it stands for us as a sign of victory. That is why we place it in our houses, on our walls, on our doors; we make its sign on our forehead and on our breast; we carry it in our heart. For it is the symbol of our redemption, our liberation, and the infinite mercy of our Lord.

Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your Law

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:22-26.
When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, "Do you see anything?"
Looking up he replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."


Commentary of the day : Saint Jerome
« Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your Law» (Ps 119[118], 18)

Jesus put spittle on his eyes, placed his hands on him and asked him whether he could see anything. Knowledge always comes by degrees... It is only after a great deal of time and a long apprenticeship that we are able to attain perfect knowledge. First the impurities are removed, blindness goes, and thus light enters. The Lord's spittle is perfect teaching: to teach perfectly it comes from the Lord's mouth. The Lord's spittle, which comes forth, so to speak, from his substance, is understanding, just as the word coming forth from his mouth is a cure...

«I see people looking like trees and walking»: I still see the shadow but not yet the truth. The meaning of these words is: I can see something in the Law but as yet I don't perceive the blazing light of the Gospel... «Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly.» He could see, I say, everything that we can see: he saw the mystery of the Trinity and he saw all the holy mysteries contained in the Gospel... And we, too, see them since we believe in Christ, the true light.

The Law rooted in our hearts

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:17-37.
Jesus said to his disciples: «Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.'
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.'
But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.'
But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.


Commentary of the day : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
The Law rooted in our hearts

The Law contains natural prescriptions that already administer justice, and even before the gift of the Law to Moses, people observed these prescriptions and were justified by their faith and were pleasing to God. The Lord has not abolished those prescriptions but developed and fulfilled them as the following words testify: «You have heard that it was said: 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.» (Mt 5,27-28). And again: «It was said: ' You shall not kill.' But I say to you: whoever is angry with his brother without reason will be answerable to the court» (cf. Mt 5,21f.)... And so on. None of these prescriptions imply either the contradiction nor the abolition of those that preceded them, but their fulfilment and development. As the Lord himself says: «Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven» (Mt 5,20).

What does this development consist in? In the first place, no longer believing only in the Father but also in his Son who, from now on, has been manifested. For it is he who leads us to communion and union with God. Then, not in speaking only but in doing – for «they preach but do not practice» (Mt 23,3) – and in preserving ourselves not just from evil deeds but even from the desire of them. By teaching this he was not replacing the Law but fulfilling the Law and rooting the precepts of the Law more deeply within us...To ordain the abstention not only of acts forbidden by the Law but even of desire for them is not the actions of someone who contradicts and abolishes the Law; it is the action of someone who fulfils and extends it.

If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:1-10.
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, he summoned the disciples and said,
My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance."
His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?"
Still he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied.
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over--seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people. He dismissed them
and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.


Commentary of the day : Saint Ambrose
"If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way"

Lord Jesus, how well I know you have no wish to allow these people here with me to remain hungry but to feed them with the food you distribute, and so, strengthened with your food, they will have no fear of collapsing from hunger. I know, too, that you have no wish to send us away hungry, either... As you have said: you do not want them to collapse on the way, meaning to collapse in the byways of this life, before reaching the end of the road, before coming to the Father and understanding that you come from the Father...

Our Lord takes pity, then, so that none may collapse along the way... Just as he makes it rain on the just as well as the unjust (Mt 5,45) so he feeds the just as well as the unjust. Was it not thanks to the strength of the food that the holy prophet Elijah, when he was collapsing on the way, was able to walk for forty days? (1Kgs 19,8). It was an angel who gave that food to him but, in your case, it is Christ himself who feeds you. If you preserve the food you have received in this way then you will walk, not forty days and forty nights... but for forty years, from your departure from the borders of Egypt to your arrival in the land of plenty, the land where milk and honey flow (Ex 3,8)...

And so Christ shares out the foodstuffs and, there is no question, he wants to give it to all. He withholds it from no one for he provides for everyone. Nevertheless, when he breaks the loaves and gives them to the disciples, unless you hold out your hands to receive your portion, you will collapse along the way... This bread that Jesus breaks is the mystery of the Word of God: it increases as it is distributed. With only a few words Jesus has provided abundant nourishment for all peoples. He has given us his words as bread and, while we are tasting them, they increase in our mouths... Even as the crowds are eating, the pieces increase and become more numerous to such an extent that, in the end, the leftovers are even more plentiful than the loaves that were shared.

O that today you would hear his voice

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:31-37.
Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And (immediately) the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak."


Commentary of the day : Pope Benedict XVI
«O that today you would hear his voice » (Ps 95[94],7)

How can we distinguish God's voice from among the thousands of voices we hear each day in our world. I would say:  God speaks with us in many different ways. He speaks through others, through friends, parents, pastors, priests... He speaks by means of the events in our life, in which we are able to discern God's touch; he speaks also through nature, creation, and he speaks, naturally and above all, through his Word, in Sacred Scripture, read in the communion of the Church and read personally in conversation with God.

It is important to read Sacred Scripture in a very personal way, and really, as St Paul says (1Thes 2,13), not as a human word or a document from the past as we read Homer or Virgil, but as God's Word which is ever timely and speaks to me. It is important to learn to understand in a historical text, a text from the past, the living Word of God, that is, to enter into prayer and thus read Sacred Scripture as a conversation with God. St Augustine often says in his homilies:  I knocked on various occasions at the door of this Word until I could perceive what God himself was saying to me. It is of paramount importance to combine this very personal reading, this personal talk with God in which I search for what the Lord is saying to me, and in addition to this personal reading, reading it in the community is very important because the living subject of Sacred Scripture is the People of God, it is the Church.

A pure heart create for me, O God

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:14-23.
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."
)
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.
From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."


Commentary of the day : Aphrahat
«A pure heart create for me, O God» (Ps 51[50],12)

Purity of heart constitutes prayer more than do all the prayers that are uttered out aloud, and silence united to a mind that is sincere! is better than the loud voice of someone crying out. My beloved, give me now your heart and your thought, and hear about the power of pure prayer; see how our righteous forefathers excelled in their prayer before God, and how it served them as a pure offering.

For it was through prayer that offerings were accepted, and it was prayer again that averted the Flood from Noah; prayer has healed barrenness, prayer has overthrown armies, prayer has revealed mysteries, prayer has divided the sea, prayer made a passage through the Jordan, it held back the sun, it made the moon stand still, it destroyed the unclean, it caused fire to descend. Prayer closed up the heaven, prayer raised up from the pit, rescued from the fire, and saved from the sea. The power of prayer is immense, like the power of pure fasting...

First of all, it was through Abe1's purity of heart that his offering was accept· able before God, while that of Cain was rejected (Gn 4,4f.)... It was from this that Abel knew that his offering had been accepted, and Cain that his had been rejected. And the fruits of Cain's heart later testified and showed that he was full of deceit, when he killed his brother: for what his mind had conceived, his hands brought to birth. But Abel's purity of heart constitutes his prayer.

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:1-13.
Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles (and beds).)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.'
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother shall die.'
Yet you say, 'If a person says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."


Commentary of the day : Saint Teresa of Avila
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me"

Well, let us imagine that within us is an extremely rich palace, built entirely of gold and precious stones; in sum, built for a lord such as this. Imagine, too, as is indeed so, that you have a part to play in order for the palace to be so beautiful; for there is no edifice as beautiful as is a soul pure and full of virtues. The greater the virtues the more resplendent the jewels. Imagine, also, that in this palace dwells this mighty King who has been gracious enough to become your Father; and that He is seated upon an extremely valuable throne, which is your heart...

You will laugh at me, perhaps, and say that what I'm explaining is very clear, and you'll be right; for me, though, it was obscure for some time. I understood well that I had a soul. But what this soul deserved and who dwelt within it I did not understand because I had covered my eyes with the vanities of the world. For, in my opinion, if I had understood as I do now that in this little palace of my soul dwelt so great a King, I would not have left Him alone so often. I would have remained with Him at times and striven more so as not to be so unclean. But what a marvelous thing, that He who would fill a thousand worlds and many more with His grandeur would enclose Himself in something so small!

"As many as touched the tassel on his cloak were healed"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:53-56.
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.


Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
"As many as touched the tassel on his cloak were healed"

Everyone wants to be happy; there is no one who doesn't - and so strongly do they do so that they want it more than anything else. Even more: whatever they want in addition, they only want for this reason. People pursue different enthusiasms, one this and another that; there are, too, many ways of earning one's living in the world: each one chooses their profession and practices it. But whether someone is occupied in one form of life or another, all act in this life to be happy. So what is it about this life able to give a happiness that all would like but none have? Let us see...

If I were to ask anyone: «Do you want to live?», none would be tempted to answer: «No, I don't»... In the same way, if I were to ask: «Do you want to live in good health?», none would answer: «No, I don't.» Good health is a precious blessing in the eyes of the rich, and for the poor it is often the only blessing they have... All alike agree in loving life and health. But can someone who enjoys life and health be content with that?...

A rich young man asked the Lord: «Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?» (Mk 10,17). He feared to die and was constrained to die... He knew that a life of sorrow and misery is no kind of life and one ought rather to call it by the name of death... Eternal life alone can be happy. Health and life here below give no assurance of it, you have too much fear of losing it: call it «always fearing» not «always living»... If our lives are not eternal, if they do not eternally satisfy our desires, they cannot be happy ones, they are no longer even a life... When we enter the life to come we shall be certain of remaining there for ever. We shall have the certainty of eternally possessing true life without any fear because we shall be in the Kingdom of which it is said: «And his kingdom will have no end» (Lk 1,33).

Witnesses to the truth.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:14-29.
King Herod heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him."
Others were saying, "He is Elijah"; still others, "He is a prophet like any of the prophets."
But when Herod learned of it, he said, "It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up."
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."
He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."
She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."
The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.


Commentary of the day : Vatican Council II
Witnesses to the truth

If Christ bore witness to the truth, he refused to impose the truth by force on those who spoke against it. Not by force of blows does His rule assert its claims. It is established by witnessing to the truth and by hearing the truth, and it extends its dominion by the love whereby Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws all men to Himself (Jn 12,32).

Taught by the word and example of Christ, the Apostles followed the same way...  Not by the use of coercion or of devices unworthy of the Gospel, but by the power, above all, of the word of God. Steadfastly they proclaimed to all the plan of God our Savior, "who wills that all men should be saved and come to the acknowledgment of the truth" (1 Tm 2:4). At the same time, however, they showed respect for those of weaker stuff, even though they were in error, and thus they made it plain that "each one of us is to render to God an account of himself" (Rm 14:12), and for that reason is bound to obey his conscience...
With a firm faith they held that the Gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Therefore they rejected all "purely human weapons»: they followed the example of the gentleness and respectfulness of Christ and they preached the word of God in the full confidence that there was resident in this word itself a divine power able to destroy all the forces arrayed against God... As the Master, so too the Apostles recognized legitimate civil authority... At the same time, however, they did not hesitate to speak out against governing powers which set themselves in opposition to the holy will of God: "It is necessary to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). This is the way along which the martyrs and other faithful have walked through all ages and over all the earth.

"No money in their belts"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:7-13.
He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick--no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.


Commentary of the day : Saint Francis of Assisi
"No money in their belts"

The Lord commands us in the Gospel: «Watch, be on your guard against all malice and greed» (cf. Lk 12:15). «Guard yourselves against the preoccupations of this world and the cares of this life» (cf. Mt 6,25; Lk 21:34). Therefore, none of the brothers, wherever he may be or wherever he goes, should in any way carry, receive, or have received either money or coins, whether for clothing or books or payment for any work-indeed, for no reason-unless it is for the evident need of the sick brothers; for we must not suppose that money or coins have any greater value than stones. And the devil would like to blind those who desire it or consider it better than stones. Therefore, let us who have left all things behind take care that we do not lose the kingdom of heaven for so little (cf. Mt 19:27; Mk 10,24.28). And if we were to find coins in any place, let us give them no more thought than the dust which we crush with our feet; for all this is «vanity of vanities, and all is vanity» (Eccl 1:2).

All the brothers should strive to follow the humility and the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ... And they must rejoice when they live among people who are considered to be of little worth and who are looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside. And when it may be necessary, let them go for alms. And they should not be ashamed, but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living and all-powerful God... was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms, he and the Blessed Virgin, and His disciples

Go in Peace

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:22-40.
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,"
and to offer the sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel."
The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.


Commentary of the day : Origen
«Go in peace»

A woman touched the tassel on Jesus' cloak and she was cured.» (cf. Mt 9,20). If this woman gained so many benefits from touching the border of his cloak, what are we to think of Simeon who «took the child in his arms» and, holding him, gave himself up to rejoicing as he perceived that he was carrying the child who had come to «proclaim liberty to captives» (Lk 4,18) and that he himself was about to be set free from the constraints of the body? He recognized that no one could release someone from the prison-house of the body in hope of the life to come except he whom he held in his arms. And it was to him that he spoke, saying: «Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace. For so long as I was not holding Christ, so long as I was not cradling him in my arms, I was held fast and unable to escape from my bonds».

Moreover, not Simeon alone but the whole human race is to be understood by these words. If anyone leaves this world, if anyone is set free from prison and the place of captivity to gain the royal throne, he should take Jesus in his hands and wrap his arms around him; he should draw him wholly to his heart. Then, leaping for joy, he will be able to go wherever he wills.