Gospel for Today

Taking pity on our neighbor as God has had pity on us

2011-03-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18:21-35.
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, «Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?»
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."

Commentary of the day : Byzantine and Eastern liturgies for the Great Lent
Taking pity on our neighbor as God has had pity on us

O Lord and Master of my life,
give me not a spirit of sloth, vain curiosity,
lust for power and idle talk.
(Prostration)

But give to me, Thy servant,
a spirit of soberness, humility, patience and love.
(Prostration)

O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own faults
and not to condemn my brother:
for blessed art Thou to the ages of ages. Amen.
(Prostration. Then three times with a bow after each.)
O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
O God, cleanse me, a sinner.
O God, my Creator, save me
and for my many sins forgive me!

"Whoever humbles himself will be exalted"

2011-03-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 23:1-12.
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,
saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Commentary of the day : The Imitation of Christ
"Whoever humbles himself will be exalted"

Don't think it a matter of great importance whether So-and-so agrees with you or disagrees with you; act in such a way as to make sure, whatever you are doing, that God is on your side. As long as you have a clear conscience, God will keep you clear of harm ... Not a doubt of it, if you will make up your mind to suffer in silence, you will find that he comes to your aid; he knows just when and how to bring you deliverance; you have only to put yourself in his hands. How you are to get out of this or that difficulty, this or that embarrassing situation, is God's business, not yours.

After all, what harm can it do, other people knowing about your weaknesses and taxing you with them? Often it's the best possible thing for you; it helps to keep you humble.
If a man will only be humble about his own shortcomings, how little it takes to disarm ill-feeling, how little it costs to put things right!

It's humble people God protects and preserves, God loves and comforts; he stoops down and gives his grace lavishly, raising the humble man to heights of glory, as soon as neglect has done its work. Such a man he chooses for his confidant, beckons to him gently and calls him apart.
Only a humble man takes it calmly when he is put to the blush; what does it matter? It is God, not the world, that gives him countenance.
Never think that you have made any progress, till you have learned to regard all men as your betters.

Saint Joseph's vocation

2011-03-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1:16.18-21.24.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Commentary of the day : Saint José Maria Escriva de Balaguer
Saint Joseph's vocation

For Saint Joseph the life of Jesus was a continuous discovery of his own vocation... His first years were full of apparently contradictory events: glorification and flight, the royal presence of the magi and the poverty of the crib, the song of the angels and the silence of men. When the time came to present the child in the Temple, Joseph, who brought the poor offering of a pair of turtle doves, witnessed Simeon and Anna proclaim Jesus to be the Christ: «The Child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him,» Saint Luke says (2,33). And later on, when the Child remains in the Temple without either Mary or Joseph knowing about it, the same evangelist relates that «they were astonished» when they found him again three days later (2,48).

Joseph is taken aback, amazed. God reveals his designs to him little by little and he tries hard to grasp them. Like any soul who wants to follow Jesus closely, he discovers at once that it is not possible to move forward carelessly and that there is no place for mere routine. To stop on reaching a certain level and rest on one's laurels is not enough for God. He demands ever more from us and his ways are not our ways. Saint Joseph learned from Jesus, as no other has done, to open his soul and heart and keep on the watch to recognise God's wonderful works.

But if Joseph learned from Jesus to live divinely yet, if I may say so, at the human level it was he who taught many things to the Son of God... Joseph took care of this Child as he had been commanded to do and he turned Jesus into a workman by passing on his trade to him... At the human level, Joseph was Jesus' teacher. Every day he surrounded him with tender affection; he cared for him with joyful self-denial. Isn't this one good reason for considering this just man (Mt 1,19), this holy patriarch in whom the faith of the Old Testament is brought to fulfilment, to be a teacher of the interior life?

"At the preaching of Jonah they repented"

2011-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:29-32.
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus 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 John Chrysostom
"At the preaching of Jonah they repented"

Let us beware of losing all hope, but let us also avoid giving in too easily to carelessness... Despair hinders those who have fallen from getting up again and carelessness causes those who are standing to fall... If presumption casts us down from the heights of heaven, despair casts us into the infinite depths of evil, whereas a little hope is enough to hold us back...

This is how Nineveh was saved. However, the divine judgement pronounced against the Ninevites was of a nature to throw them into confusion since it did not say: «If you repent you will be saved» but simply: «Three more days and Nineveh will be destroyed» (Jon 3,4). Nevertheless, neither the Lord's threat, nor the prophet's preaching, nor even the severity of the judgement... caused their confidence to fail. God wants us to draw a lesson from this unconditional judgement,that taught by this example we may resist despair as much as passivity... Besides, divine good will does not only reveal itself in the forgiveness granted to the repentant Ninevites...: the respite granted them attests likewise to his unutterable goodness. Do you imagine that three days would have been enough to wipe out so much wickedness? God's good will is breaking out from behind these words and, besides, isn't it the principal worker of the whole city's salvation?

Let this example keep us from despairing. For the devil thinks of this form of weakness as his most successful weapon and, even when we sin, we could not give him greater pleasure than when we lose hope.

"Then they will fast"

2011-03-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:14-15.
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, «Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?»
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Commentary of the day : Pope Benedict XVI
"Then they will fast"

In the New Testament, Jesus brings to light the profound motive for fasting...: «man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God» (Mt 4,4). The true fast is thus directed to eating the «true food,» which is to do the Father's will (cf. Jn 4,34). If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord's command: «of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,» (Gn 2,17) the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy...
In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one's body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a «therapy» to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God...

Through fasting and praying, we allow Christ to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God. At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live. In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes: «If anyone has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him – how does the love of God abide in him?» (3,17). Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (Lk 10,29f.). By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving. From the beginning, this has been the hallmark of the Christian community.

The way to Christ's glory

2011-03-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:22-25.
Jesus said to his disciples: «The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.»
Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?

Commentary of the day : Saint Anastasius of Antioch
The way to Christ's glory

«Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes to be scourged, mocked and crucified» (cf. Mt 20,18). When he said this to his disciples Christ was making known those things that conformed to the predictions of the prophets, for they had foretold how his death would necessarily take place in Jerusalem.... We understand why God's Word, who under other circumstances was incapable of suffering, had to undergo the Passion, because humankind could not have been saved in any other way. He alone had known about it together with those to whom he had revealed it. Indeed, he knew everything that comes from the Father; this is how «the Spirit sees even to the depths of the divine mysteries» (cf. 1Cor 2,10).

«It was necessary for the Christ to suffer» (Lk 24,26): it was absolutely impossible that the Passion should not have happened, as he himself affirmed when he called «slow to believe» and «foolish» those who did not understand that the Christ had to suffer in this way to enter into his glory (Lk 24,25). For he came to save his people by forsaking «the glory he had with the Father before the world began» (Jn 17,5). This salvation consisted in the perfection to be fulfilled through his Passion and bestowed on the author of our life who, according to Saint Paul's teaching: «became the author our life when he attained perfection through his suffering» (cf. Heb 2,10).

Now we see how the glory of the only-begotten Son from which, for a while, he had been separated for our sake, was restored to him through the cross in the flesh he had assumed. Effectively, Saint John speaks of it in his gospel when he explains what that water was of which our Lord said that it would: «flow from within the believer's heart like rivers. He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit as yet because Jesus was not yet glorified» (Jn 7,38-39). What he called his glory was his death on the cross. Which is why, when our Lord prayed before undergoing crucifixion, he begged the Father to grant him that «glory he had with him before the foundation of the world».

Whose image is this?

2011-03-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12:13-17.
Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at."
They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's."
So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him.

Commentary of the day : Tertullian
«Whose image is this? »

At the beginning of the world all things were made by the Word of God «and without him nothing came to be» (Jn 1,3). Now man, too, had his existence from the Word of God because of the principle that there should be nothing without that Word. «Let us make man,» God said before he created him, and added, «with our hand» to express his pre-eminence so that he might not be compared to the rest of creation. «And God,» says Scripture, «formed man» (Gn 2,7)...

»And God formed man from the clay of the earth.» He now became man who was hitherto clay... That poor, paltry material, clay, found its way into the hands of God, happy enough at being merely touched by them. But why this honor? Was it that, without any further labor, the clay had instantly assumed its form at the touch of God? The truth is, a great matter was in progress out of which the creature under consideration was being fashioned. It is honoured whenever it experiences the hands of God, when it is touched by them, and pulled, and drawn out, and moulded into shape. Imagine God wholly absorbed in it: in his hand, his eye, his labor, his purpose, his wisdom, his providence and, above all, in his love, which was dictating the lineaments of this creature. For whatever was the form and expression given to the clay, Christ was in God's thoughts as one day to become man, because the Word, too, was to be both clay and flesh even as the earth was then.

This is the meaning of the Father's first words to his Son: «Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness» (Gn 1,26). God made man, the creature which he moulded and fashioned, in the image of God, in other words of Christ... Thus, that clay that was even then putting on the image of Christ who was to come in the flesh, was not only the work but the pledge and surety given by God.

He shouted all the louder

2011-03-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:46-52.
They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Commentary of the day : Saint Gregory the Great
« He shouted all the louder»

If anyone recognizes the darkness of his blindness... let him cry with his whole mind, let him say: «Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!» But let us hear what happened when the blind man was crying out: «And the people ahead rebuked him, that he should be silent» (Lk 18,39). What is meant by 'the people ahead' as Jesus comes if not the crowds of bodily desires and the uproar caused by our vices? Before Jesus comes into our hearts they disturb our thoughts by tempting us, and they thoroughly muddle the words in our hearts as we pray. We often wish to be converted to the Lord when we have committed some wrong. When we try to pray earnestly against the wrongs we have committed, images of our sins come into our hearts. They obscure our inner vision, they disturb our minds and overwhelm the sound of our petition...

But let us hear what the blind man, still unenlightened, did. «But he cried out all the more: 'Son of David, have mercy on me'»... In proportion to the tumult of our unspiritual thoughts must be our eagerness to persist in prayer... It is surely necessary that the more harshly our heart's voice is repressed, the more firmly it must persist to overcome the uproar of forbidden thoughts and break in on our Lord's gracious ears by its intrepid perseverance. I believe that everyone observes what I am saying in himself, and herself. When we turn our minds from this world to God, when we are converted to the work of prayer, what we once enjoyed doing we later endure in our prayer as demanding and burdensome. Holy desire only with difficulty banishes the recollection of them from our hearts... But when we persist ardently in our prayer, we fix Jesus to our hearts as he passes by. Hence: «But Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought to him» (v.40).

Leaving all to follow him

2011-02-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-02-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-11T19:21:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

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."
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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"

2011-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

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"

2011-02-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-02-03T16:47:00.000-08:00

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"

2011-02-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-01T18:45:00.000-08:00

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.

Arise!

2011-01-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5:21-43.
When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet
and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."
He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

Commentary of the day : Saint Jerome
« Arise»

«He took the child by the hand and said to her: 'Talitha koum', which means, 'Little girl...arise.'» «Since you have been born again, you are to be called 'little girl'. Little girl, arise for my sake: your healing does not come from you.» «And immediately the little girl arose and walked around.» May Jesus touch us, too, and at once we shall walk. We may well be paralysed, our deeds may be evil and we may be unable to walk, we may be lying on the bed of our sins... but if Jesus touches us then we shall immediately be healed. Peter's mother-in-law was suffering with fever: Jesus touched her hand and she arose and immediately served him (Mk 1,31)...

«They were utterly astounded, and he gave them strict orders that no one should know this.» Do you see now why he put the people out when he was going to work a miracle? He ordered, and not just ordered but strictly ordered, that no one should know of this. He ordered the three apostles and he ordered the parents, too, that no one should know. Our Lord ordered them all, but the little girl herself, she who had stood up, could not be silent.

«And he said she should be given something to eat»: so that her resurrection might not be thought to be a ghostly apparition. And he himself, after his resurrection, ate fish and a piece of honeycomb (Lk 24,42)... Lord, I beseech you, touch our hands as we, too, lie prostrate. Make us rise from our bed of sins and enable us to walk. And when we have walked, make them give us something to eat. We cannot eat when we are lying down; unless we are standing we shall not be able to receive the Body of Christ.

Go home to your family ...

2011-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5:1-20.
They came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"
(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")
He asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion is my name. There are many of us."
And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him, "Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Commentary of the day : Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
"The man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him... but he told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."

We have been called to love the world. And God loved the world so much that he gave Jesus to it (Jn 3,16). Today, he loves the world so much that he gives you and me to the world to be his love, his compassion and his presence through our lives of prayer, sacrifice and self-surrender. The response that God is waiting for from you is to become a contemplative, to be a contemplative.

Let us take Jesus at his word and we will be contemplatives at the heart of the world, because if we have faith then we are his permanent presence. In contemplation the soul draws directly from God's heart the graces that the active life has been entrusted to distribute. Our very existence is to be intimately bound to the living Christ within us. If we do not live in God's presence, we cannot keep going.

What is contemplation? It is to live the life of Jesus. That is how I understand it. To love Jesus; living his life at the heart of our own; living our own at the heart of his... Contemplation has nothing to do with shutting oneself up in a dark cupboard but in allowing Jesus to live his Passion, his love and his humility in us, to pray with us, to be with us and to make holy through us. Our lives and our contemplation are one. It's not a question of doing but of being. In fact it is about the complete happiness of our spirit through the Holy Spirit who breathes God's fullness into us and send us out into all creation as his own, personal message of love (Mk 16,15).

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted"

2011-01-29T22:52:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:1-12.
When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Commentary of the day : John Tauler
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted"

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain... he began to teach them, saying...» The mountain that Jesus climbed was his own happiness and essence in which he is one with his Father. He was followed by a great crowd, which is the crowd of saints whose feast we celebrate today. All of them followed him according to the vocation to which God called them. We are to imitate them in this, each of us paying attention to our own vocation before all else so as to be certain of that to which God calls us and thus following his call...

When he was on the mountain, Jesus opened his mouth to teach the eight beatitudes... «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.» In the first place comes the question of the virtue of spiritual poverty since this is the beginning and foundation of all perfection. Consider the question from all sides and it is always a matter of man's deepest self being stripped, detached, free, poor and released from every kind of self-interest if God is truly to accomplish his work within it. It must be set free from every kind of attachment for only then will God find himself at home there...

«Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land» for all eternity. Here we take another step forward since if, by means of genuine poverty we are set free from hindrances, with meekness we advance further into the very depths, casting out all bitterness, irritation and imprudence... For the meek nothing is bitter, as for those who are good everything for them is likewise good: all this comes from the goodness and purity of their innermost self... The meek inherit the land by remaining peaceful whatever happens. But if you don't behave like this then you will lose both virtue and peace at the same time and it might be said of you that you are a grumbler and to be compared to a barking dog.

«Blessed are they who mourn...» Who are these people who mourn? In a certain sense they are people who suffer, but in another sense they are those who mourn their sins. But God's worthy friends, who in every respect are the happiest of all, no longer mourn their sins... even though they are not without tears: they mourn the sins and faults of their neighbor... Thus it is that the true friends of God mourn because of the blindness and wretchedness of the sins of the world.

The grain that has fallen to the ground produces much fruit

2011-01-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 4:26-34.
He said,"This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come."
He said, "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Commentary of the day : Saint Chromatius of Aquilaea
The grain that has fallen to the ground produces much fruit (Jn 12,24)

Our Lord compared himself to a mustard seed, for although he was the God of glory and eternal majesty he became completely small in that he willed to be born of a virgin in the body of a child. Thus he was placed in the earth when his body was laid in the tomb but, when he had risen from the dead through his glorious resurrection, he grew great on earth until he became a tree in whose branches nest the birds of the air.

This tree stands for the Church, which Christ's death has raised up in glory. As for its branches, these must be understood as the apostles since, just as branches are the tree's natural adornment, so the apostles are the adornment of Christ's Church through the beauty of grace they have received. And on these branches, as we know, dwell the birds of the air. Allegorically speaking, the birds of the air designate ourselves who, coming to Christ's Church, perch on the teaching of the apostles like birds on the branch.

The lamp on its lampstand

2011-01-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 4:21-25.
He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear."
He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Commentary of the day : Paul VI
The lamp on its lampstand

Our appeal here is inspired by the fervor of the greatest preachers and evangelizers, whose lives were devoted to the apostolate... They have known how to overcome many obstacles to evangelization. Such obstacles are also present today, and we shall limit ourself to mentioning the lack of fervor. It is all the more serious because it comes from within. It is manifested in fatigue, disenchantment, compromise, lack of interest and above all lack of joy and hope. We exhort all those who have the task of evangelizing, by whatever title and at whatever level, always to nourish spiritual fervor...

Let us therefore preserve our fervor of spirit. Let us preserve the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow. May it mean for us- as it did for John the Baptist, for Peter and Paul, for the other apostles and for a multitude of splendid evangelizers all through the Church's history- an interior enthusiasm that nobody and nothing can quench. May it be the great joy of our consecrated lives. And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world.

Successors of the apostles

2011-01-26T04:15:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:1-9.
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'

Commentary of the day : Catechism of the Catholic Church
Timothy and Titus, successors of the apostles

The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth" (Vatican II: AA 2).

"Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ. In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate" (AA 3).

The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God,"380 already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. The kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in love" (Eph 1,4), will be gathered together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the Lamb," "the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." For "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rv 21,9-11.14).

He drives out demons

2011-01-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:22-30.
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Commentary of the day : Origen
« He drives out demons»

Acknowledge this: «a new king, a king of Egypt, has come to power» in you. He is the one who imposes forced labor on you and makes you produce bricks and mortar for him. He is the one who sets taskmasters and overseers over you, who forces you on to field work with whip and lash, constraining you to build his cities. It is he who urges you to traverse the world over, stirring up land and seas to satisfy his desires...

This king of Egypt knows well that war is at hand. He forsees the coming of him who can «strip his principalities and powers, bravely triumphing over them and nailing them to the wood of the cross»... He senses that the hour of the destruction of his people is near. And so he declares: «The people of Israel is more powerful than we ourselves!» Would that he could say the same of us and that we might know ourselves more powerful than he! In what way will he sense this? If I do not accept the evil thoughts and depraved lusts he arouses in me; if I repulse his «fire-tipped arrows with the shield of faith»; if, whenever he suggests something to my soul, I say to him, calling Christ my Lord to mind: «Get away, Satan. It is written: 'The Lord, your God, you shall worship and him alone shall you serve»...

For he comes, the Lord Jesus..., to bring to submission the «principalities, dominions and powers», to submit the children of Israel to the rage of their enemies..., to teach us once again to see God in spirit, to abandon Pharaoh's works, to leave the land of Egypt, to renounce the barbaric customs of the Egyptians, «to put away the old self with its works and put on the new self, created in God's way,» «being renewed day by day» in the image of him who created us, Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

2011-01-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4:12-23.
When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen."
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them,
and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

What a splendid catch of our Savior's! Wonder at the disciples' faith and obedience. As you know, fishing demands undisturbed concentration and yet, right in the middle of their work, they hear Jesus' call and don't hesitate for a moment. They don't say: «Let's go back home for a word with our relatives.» No, they leave everything and follow him as Elisha did with Elijah (1Kgs 19,20). This is the kind of obedience Christ asks of us: no hesitation even if apparently more urgent requirements are pressing us. That is why, when a young man who wanted to follow him asked whether he might go to bury his father, he didn't allow him to do so (Mt 8,21). To follow Jesus and obey his word is a duty that comes before all else.

Perhaps you will tell me that the promises he made them were very great? That is precisely why I admire them so much: even when they hadn't yet seen any miracles, they believed in that very great promise and forsook everything to follow him! It was because they believed that, by means of the same words with which they themselves had been caught, they could go fishing for others.

Jesus gives himself wholly : he gives his own self to eat

2011-01-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:20-21.
He came home. Again (the) crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

Commentary of the day : Saint Thomas Aquinas
Jesus gives himself wholly : he gives his own self to eat

The only-begotten Son of God, wishing to enable us to share in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that by becoming man he might make men gods. Moreover, he turned the whole of our nature, which he assumed, to our salvation. For he offered his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation; and he shed his blood for our ransom and our cleansing, so that we might be redeemed from wretched captivity and cleansed from all sins.

Now in order that we might always keep the memory of his great act of love, he left his body as food and his blood as drink, to be received by the faithful under the appearances of bread and wine... What could be more precious than this banquet? It is not the meat of calves or kids that is offered, as happened under the Old Law; at this meal Christ, the true God, is set before us for us to eat. What could be more wonderful than this sacrament?... No one is capable of expressing the delight of this sacrament, through which the sweetness of the Spirit is tasted at its source, and the memory is celebrated of that surpassing love which Christ showed in his Passion.

And so, in order to imprint the immensity of this love more deeply in the hearts of the faithful, at the Last Supper, when the Lord had celebrated the Pasch with his disciples and was about to pass from this world to his Father, he instituted this sacrament as a perpetual memorial of his Passion. It fulfilled the types of the Old Law; it was the greatest of the miracles he worked; and he left it as a unique consolation to those who were desolate at his departure.

The mystery of vocation

2011-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:13-19.
Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him.
He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach
and to have authority to drive out demons:
(he appointed the twelve:) Simon, whom he named Peter;
James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder;
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,
and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Commentary of the day : Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
The mystery of vocation

I'm going to be doing only one thing: I shall begin to sing what I must sing eternally: "The Mercies of the Lord!» (Ps 89[88],1)... Opening the Holy Gospels my eyes fell upon these words: "And going up a mountain, he called to him men of his own choosing, and they came to him." This is the mystery of my vocation, my whole life, and especially the mystery of the privileges Jesus showered upon my soul. He does not call those who are worthy but those whom he pleases or as St. Paul says: "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will show pity to whom he will show pity. So then, there is question not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God showing mercy" (Rm 9, 15-16).

I wondered for a long time why God has preferences, why all souls don't receive an equal amount of graces. I was surprised when I saw him shower his extraordinary favors on saints who had offended him, for instance, St. Paul and St. Augustine, and whom he forced, so to speak, to accept his graces. When reading the lives of the saints, I was puzzled at seeing how Our Lord was pleased to caress certain ones from the cradle to the grave, allowing no obstacle in their way... Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers he has created are beautiful... And so it is in the world of souls. He willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but he has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God's glances when he looks down at his feet. Perfection consists in doing his will, in being what he wills us to be.

"All those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him"

2011-01-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:7-12.
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

Commentary of the day : Saint Alphonsus Liguori
"All those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him"

«Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong; fear not...God himself will come to save you» (Is 35,4). This prophecy has come to pass; allow me, therefore, to shout aloud for joy: Rejoice, you sons of Adam! Rejoice! Cast aside all discouragement. When you see your weakness and inability to stand up to so many enemies: «Fear not! God himself will come to save you.» In what way has he come himself and saved you? By giving you the strength you need to confront and overcome everything that stands in the way of your salvation. And how has our Redeemer gained this strength for you? By making himself weak, strong and almighty though he was. He has taken our weakness on himself and granted us his strength...

God is all-powerful: «Lord,» cried Isaiah, «who could withstand the strength of your arm?»... Yet the wounds caused by sin to humankind have so weakened us that we were unable to resist our enemies. What, then, has the eternal Word, the Word of God, done? From being strong and powerful he made himself weak; he put on our bodily weakness to gain for us through his merits the strength of soul we need ...; he became a child...; and finally, at the end of his life, in the Garden of Olives, he was loaded with bonds from which he was unable to be set free... Are we weak? Let us put our trust in Jesus Christ and we will be able to do everything: «I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me» said the apostle Paul (Phil 4,13). I have the strength for everything, not by my own strength but by the strength won for me through my Redeemer's merits.

"Grieved at their hardness of heart"

2011-01-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:1-6.

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up here before us."
Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

Commentary of the day : Saint Faustina Kowalska
"Grieved at their hardness of heart"

O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. 0 Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable
graces upon the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood.

0 Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equalled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy, God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God's mercy will never be
exhausted (cf Mt 24,35). Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages.

The lord of the Sabbath

2011-01-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2:23-28.
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him,
At this the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"
He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?"
Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

Commentary of the day : Aphrahat
The lord of the Sabbath

The Lord asked the children of Israel through the mediation of his servant, Moses, to observe the Sabbath day, saying to them: «Six days you may labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God» (Ex 20,9-10)... And he admonished them: «You are to rest, both you and your servant and your maidservant, your ox and your ass.» He even added: «The hireling and alien are to rest also along with every beast that toils in your service» (cf. Ex 23,12)... The Sabbath has not been imposed as a test or choice between life and death, righteousness and sin, like those other commandments by which we live or die. No the Sabbath, in its time, was given to the people to the end that they might rest – both man and beast...

So now listen to what that Sabbath is that is pleasing to God. Isaiah tells us: «Give rest to the weary» (28,12), and elsewhere: «Those who keep the Sabbath free from profanation» are «those who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant» (56,2.4)... The Sabbath is of no benefit to evildoers, murderers or thieves. But those who choose what pleases God and keep their hands from evil: in them God dwells. He makes of them his dwelling in accordance with his word: «I will set my dwelling among you and walk in your midst» (Lv 26,11; 2Cor 6,16)... Let us too, then, faithfully keep God's Sabbath, that is to say the Sabbath that pleases his heart. Thus shall we enter into the great Sabbath, the Sabbath of heaven and earth when every creature will take its rest.

The Church, the Bride of Christ

2011-01-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2:18-22.
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, «Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?»
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

Commentary of the day : John-Paul II
The Church, the Bride of Christ

Of fundamental importance are the words of the Letter to the Ephesians: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish... 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'. This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church" (5:25-32; Gn 2,24)...

We find ourselves at the very heart of the Paschal Mystery, which completely reveals the spousal love of God. Christ is the Bridegroom because "he has given himself": his body has been "given", his blood has been "poured out" (cf. Lk 22:19-20). In this way "he loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1). The "sincere gift" contained in the Sacrifice of the Cross gives definitive prominence to the spousal meaning of God's love. As the Redeemer of the world, Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our Redemption. It is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and of the Bride. The Eucharist makes present and realizes anew in a sacramental manner the redemptive act of Christ, who "creates" the Church, his body. Christ is united with this "body" as the bridegroom with the bride. All this is contained in the Letter to the Ephesians. The perennial "unity of the two" that exists between man and woman from the very "beginning" is introduced into this "great mystery" of Christ and of the Church.

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"

2011-01-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1:29-34.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'
I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel."
John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.
I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.'
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

Commentary of the day : Saint Cyril of Alexandria
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"

«Raise a glad cry, you heavens: the Lord has shown mercy to Israel. Sound the trumpet, earth's foundations!... For the Lord has redeemed Jacob» (Is 44,23 LXX). From this passage of Isaiah we can easily determine that remission of sins, conversion and the redemption of humankind proclaimed by the prophets is to be fulfilled by Christ in the last days. Indeed, when God, the Lord, appeared to us and when he, the true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, the victim who is wholly pure, lived as man amongst earth's inhabitants, then what reason was there not for rejoicing among the heavenly powers and celestial spirits and for all the orders of angels! How they sang his birth according to the flesh: «Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace; favor to men!» (Lk 2,14).

If the Lord's word is true – and it is absolutely true – that there is «more joy in heaven among the holy angels over one sinner who repents» (cf. Lk 15,7), how could we doubt there to be joy and gladness among the spirits on high when Christ brings the whole earth back to knowledge of the truth, calls to conversion, justifies by faith, and causes light to shine out in holiness? ««Raise a glad cry, you heavens: the Lord has shown mercy» not only to Israel according to the flesh, but to an Israel understood according to the spirit. «Earth's foundations», that is to say, ministers consecrated to the preaching of the Gospel, have «sounded the trumpet». Their piercing voices have extended everywhere; like sacred trumpets, they have resounded far and wide. They have proclaimed our Savior's glory in every place; they have called to the knowledge of Christ among both Jews and pagans.

"The man got up and followed him"

2011-01-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2:13-17.
Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus heard this and said to them (that), "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
"The man got up and followed him"

Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.

When I shall have adhered to you with the whole of myself, I shall never have pain and toil, and my entire life will be full of you. You lift up the person whom you fill. But for the present, because I am not full of you, I am a burden to myself... Have mercy on me, Lord! There is a struggle between my regrets at my evil past and my memories of good joys, and which side has the victory I do not know. Alas, Lord have mercy upon me!, wretch that I am. See, I do not hide my wounds. You are the physician, I am the patient. You are pitiful, I am the object of pity.

My son, your sins are forgiven....

2011-01-13T17:39:00.000-08:00

"We must speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips."
-- St. Peter Claver

Mark 2: 1 - 12
1	And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
2	And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.
3	And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
4	And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.
5	And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."
6	Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
7	"Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8	And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts?
9	Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?
10	But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he said to the paralytic --
11	"I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home."
12	And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

About forgiveness:

If we really want to love
we must learn how to forgive

- Mother Teresa

"The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter"

2011-01-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1:40-45.
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, «If you wish, you can make me clean.»
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

Commentary of the day : Odes of Solomon
"The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter"

I raised my arms on high
on account of the grace of the Lord.
Because he cast off my chains from me,
and my Helper raised me according to his grace and his salvation.
And I stripped off darkness, and put on light.
And even I myself acquired members. In them there was no sickness
or affliction or suffering.
And abundantly helpful to me was the thought of the Lord, and his incorruptible fellowship.
And I was lifted up in the light, and I passed before his face.
And I was constantly near him, while praising and confessing him.
He caused my heart to overflow, and it was found in my mouth;
and it sprang forth unto my lips.
Then upon my face increased the exultation of the Lord and his praise.
Hallelujah.

I was rescued from my chains
and I fled unto you, O my God,
because you are the right hand of salvation and my Helper.
You have restrained those who rise up against me, and they did not appear again
because your face was with me,
which saved me by your grace.
But I was despised and rejected in the eyes of many,
and I was in their eyes like lead.
And I acquired strength from you, and help.
A lamp you set for me both on my right and on my left,
so that there might not be in me anything that is not light.
And I was covered with the covering of your spirit
and I removed from me my garments of skin (Gn 3,21),
because your right hand raised me,
and caused sickness to pass from me.
And I became mighty in your truth,
and holy in your righteousness.
And all my adversaries were afraid of me
and I became the Lord's by the name of the Lord.
And I was justified by his kindness,
and his rest is for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

"He went off to a deserted place, where he prayed"

2011-01-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1:29-39.
On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Commentary of the day : 5th century homily on prayer
"He went off to a deserted place, where he prayed"
Prayer, familiar intercourse with God, is our greatest good... Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, mediator between God and man. Through it the soul is raised to heaven and holds God inexpressibly in tight embrace. Like a child crying out to its mother, it expresses the eagerness of its desire. It gives voice to its deepest longings and receives in return gifts surpassing all visible nature. For prayer presents itself as a powerful ambassador, rejoicing and pacifying the soul.

When I speak of prayer you should not imagine it to be a question of words. It is a reaching out towards God, an indescribable love, not of human origin, of which the apostle Paul speaks when he says: «We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings» (Rm 8,26). If God grants someone such prayer as this, it becomes for him an everlasting source of wealth and a heavenly food that fills the soul. The one who has tasted it is seized with an eternal longing for our Lord like a devouring fire that sets his heart ablaze.

"Have you come to destroy us?"

2011-01-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1:21-28.
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Commentary of the day : Catechism of the Catholic Church
"Have you come to destroy us?"

«But deliver us from evil»: in this petition of the Lord's Prayer, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ. "A murderer from the beginning, . . . a liar and the father of lies," (Jn 8,44) Satan is "the deceiver of the whole world» (Rv 12,9). Through him sin and death entered the world and by his definitive defeat all creation will be "freed from the corruption of sin and death" (EP IV). Now "we know that anyone born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one" (1Jn 5,18-19)...

Victory over the "prince of this world" (Jn 14,30) was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is "cast out" (Jn 12,31). "He pursued the woman" but had no hold on her: the new Eve, "full of grace" of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death... "Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring" (Rv 12,13.17). Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: "Come, Lord Jesus," (Rv 22,17.20) since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One.

When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return By praying in this way, she anticipates in humility of faith the gathering together of everyone and everything in him who has "the keys of Death and Hades," who "is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rv 1,18.8).

"This is the time of fulfillment... Come after me"

2011-01-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1:14-20.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:
This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

Commentary of the day : Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross [Edith Stein]
"This is the time of fulfillment... Come after me"

The child in the crib is the King of kings and Lord of life and death. He utters his 'follow me' and whoever is not for him is against him (Lc 11,23). He also speaks for us and invites us to choose between light and darkness. Wherever that will lead us on this earth we do not know and should not ask beforehand. Only this do we know: that for those who love the Lord, all things work out for good (Rm 8,28). And in addition: that the paths which the Lord directs lead out beyond this earth.

«O wonderful exchange!» The Creator of mankind, by taking on a human body, imparts to us his divinity. I t is for this wondrous task that the Saviour came into this world. God became a Child of man so that the human race could become children of God. One of our race severed the bon~ of our divine adoption; one of us had to bind it up again and pay for the sin. No one from the ancient, sick and degenerate race could do it. A new, healthy and noble sprout had to be grafted. He became one of us; but even more than that: one with us. That is precisely the wonderful thing about the human race - that we are all one... He came to be a mysterious Body with us: he as head, we as members (Ep 5,23.30).

Let us place our hands in the hands of the divine Child; let us speak our 'yes' to his 'follow me'. Thus we shall be his and the path shall be open for his divine life to pass over upon us. It is still the darkness of faith, but it is no longer of this world: it is already a stance in the kingdom of God.

"With him I am well pleased"

2011-01-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 3:13-17.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?"
Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Commentary of the day : A sermon attributed to Saint Hippolytus of Rome
"With him I am well pleased"

Christ, the creator of all things, descended like the rain, made himself known as a spring, poured himself out like a river (Hos 6,3; Jn 4,14; 7,38) and yet see him being baptized in the Jordan... That unquenchable Spring, which causes life to spring up for all mankind and has no end, was concealed beneath mere transient waters. He who is everywhere present, who is nowhere absent, he whom the angels cannot grasp and who is invisible to mortals, came by his own will to be baptized...

«And behold the heavens opened and a voice said: 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'.» The Beloved one brings forth love and the immaterial light brings forth «inaccessible light» (1Tm 6,16). «This is my beloved Son»... As in Noah's ark a dove revealed God's love for the human race, so now it was in the form of a dove, as though with an olive branch in its beak, that the Spirit descended and rested on him to whom the Father would bear witness. He did so to make sure that the Father's voice would be recognized...: «The Lord's voice resounded over the waters. The God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders across many waters» (Ps 29[28],3). And what does he say? «This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.»... This is he who is called 'son of Joseph' and he is my only Son according to his divine being. «This is my beloved Son»: he is hungry but he feeds great crowds, he is weary but he comforts the weary. He has nowhere to lay his head but he bears all things in his hand; he suffers but he heals suffering. He is struck yet he grants liberty to the world; his side is wounded yet he restores Adam's side.

"He must increase; I must decrease"

2011-01-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 3:22-30.
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him."
John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said (that) I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease."

Commentary of the day : Duns Scotus Erigena
"He must increase; I must decrease"

«John was not the light but came to testify to the light» (Jn 1,8). The forerunner of the Light was not the Light. So why is he popularly known as a «burning lamp» (Jn 5,35) and «morning star»? He was indeed a burning and shining lamp, but the flame he burned with, the light with which he shone, was not his own. He was the morning star, but he did not draw his own light from himself: the grace of him of whom he was the forerunner burned and shone within him. He was not the light but he participated in the light and what shone in him and through him did not come from him...

No creature, in fact, whether endowed with reason or intellect, is light of its own accord in its own substance. It shares in the one, true Light, the substantial Light that is everywhere and in everything that our minds see shining.

"Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him"

2011-01-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5:12-16.
Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

Commentary of the day : Saint Bonaventure
"Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him"

One day while Francis was praying in a secluded spot, he became totally absorbed in God through his extreme fervor, Jesus Christ appeared to him fastened to the cross. Francis's «soul melted» (Sg 5:6) at the sight, and the memory of Christ's passion was so impressed on the innermost recesses of his heart that from that hour, whenever Christ's crucifixion came to his mind, he could scarcely contain his tears and sighs, as he later revealed to his companions when he was approaching the end of his life. Through this the man of God understood as addressed to himself the Gospel text: «If you wish to come after me, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me» (Mt 16:24).

From that time on he clothed himself with a spirit of poverty, a sense of humility and a feeling of intimate devotion. Formerly he used to be horrified not only by close dealing with lepers but by their very sight, even from a distance; but now he rendered humble service to the lepers with human concern and devoted kindness in order that he might completely despise himself, because of Christ crucified, who according to the text of the prophet was despised «as a leper» (Is 53:3).

«The Spirit of the Lord is upon me»

2011-01-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4:14-22.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read
and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"

Commentary of the day : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
«The Spirit of the Lord is upon me»

«The Spirit of the lord God is upon me, because the lord has anointed me» (Is 61,1). It was of the Spirit that the Lord was speaking when he said: «For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you» (Mt 10,20). And in the same way, when he gave his disciples power to bring people to be born again in God, he said to them: «Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit» (Mt 28,19). For he had indeed promised through the prophets to pour out his Spirit in the last days on his servants and handmaids that they, too, might prophesy (cf. Jl 3,1-2).

For this reason the Spirit came down upon the Son of God become Son of Man: by this means he became used to living among humankind, resting on men and women, dwelling within the work of God's hands. In them he accomplished the Father's will and renewed them by enabling them to pass from their former mode of life to new life in Christ.

"About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea"

2011-01-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:45-52.
Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were (completely) astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

Commentary of the day : Blessed John Henry Newman
"About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea"

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on.
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Jesus took the loaves... and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke them , and gave them to (his) disciples

2011-01-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:34-44.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?"
He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out they said, "Five loaves and two fish."
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to (his) disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate (of the loaves) were five thousand men.

Commentary of the day : Pope Benedict XVI
"Jesus took the loaves... and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke them , and gave them to (his) disciples"

"Without Sunday we cannot live" - takes us back to the year 304, when the Emperor Diocletian forbade Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures, from gathering on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist and from building places in which to hold their assemblies. In Abitene, a small village in present-day Tunisia, 49 Christians were taken by surprise one Sunday while they were celebrating the Eucharist... They were arrested and taken to be interrogated... There they replied to the charges: "Sine dominico non possumus": that is, we cannot live without joining together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and not to succumb.

In taking flesh, the Son of God could become Bread and thus be the nourishment of his people, of us, journeying on in this world towards the promised land of Heaven. We need this Bread to face the fatigue and weariness of our journey. Sunday, the Lord's Day, is a favourable opportunity to draw strength from him, the Lord of life. The Sunday precept is not, therefore, an externally imposed duty, a burden on our shoulders. On the contrary, taking part in the Celebration, being nourished by the Eucharistic Bread and experiencing the communion of their brothers and sisters in Christ is a need for Christians, it is a joy; Christians can thus replenish the energy they need to continue on the journey we must make every week.

“I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God”

2011-01-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4:12-17.23-25.
When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen."
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
“I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God”

Christ was manifested to all, not at his birth but at his baptism. Before then, few knew him; almost no one knew he existed or who he was. John the Baptist said: “There is one among you who you do not recognise,” (Jn 1,26). John himself shared the same ignorance of Christ up until his baptism: “I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me: ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit”…

Indeed, what is the reason John gives for the Lord’s baptism? It was, he said, so that he might be made known to all. Saint Paul says the same thing: “John baptised with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,” (Ac 19,4). This is why Jesus receives baptism from John. To have gone from house to house presenting Christ and saying he was the Son of God would have made John’s testimony extremely difficult; to have led him to the synagogue and designated him as the Saviour would have made his testimony hardly credible. But that, in the midst of a large crowd gathered on the banks of the Jordan, Jesus should have received this testimony clearly expressed from heaven above and that the Holy Spirit should have descended on him in the form of a dove: this indeed confirmed John’s testimony without any shadow of doubt.

“I myself did not know him,” John said. Who made him known to you, then? “He who sent me to baptise.” And what did he say to you? “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Thus, it is the Holy Spirit who reveals to all he whose wonders John had proclaimed, by coming down to designate him, so to speak, with the touch of his wing.

Gold, incense and myrrh

2011-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2:1-12.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:
'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Commentary of the day : Saint Bruno of Segni
Gold, incense and myrrh

Guided by the star, the wise men from the East, having arrived in Bethlehem, entered the house in which the blessed Virgin Mother was staying with her child. They opened their treasures, and offered the Lord three - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - thereby acknowledging him as Lord, true man, and true king.

Holy Church also offers these same gifts to her Savior every day without ceasing. She offers him frankincense by acknowledging and believing him the true Lord and Creator of all. She offers him myrrh when she affirms that he assumed the substance of our flesh, in which he willed to suffer and to die for our salvation. And she offers him gold by believing without doubt that he reigns eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit...

Alternatively, the offering of these gifts may be taken in a mystical sense. Heavenly wisdom is symbolized by gold, according to the verse of Solomon, which says: «A priceless treasure lies in the mouth of the sage» (cf. Prv 21,20)... By frankincense pure prayer is to be understood, as the psalmist says: «Let my prayer rise like incense in your sight, O Lord» (Ps 141[140],2). For when our prayer is pure, it yields a purer fragrance to the Lord than the smoke of burning incense, and just as such smoke rises upward, so does our prayer ascend to the Lord. Myrrh can be taken as the mortification of our flesh. Thus, we offer the Lord gold when we shine in his sight with the light of heavenly wisdom... We offer him frankincense when we send up pure prayer before him, and myrrh when, «mortifying our flesh with its vices and passions» (Gal 5,24) by self-control, we carry the cross behind Jesus.

Begotten from the Father before all ages..., he was incarnate from the Virgin Mary

2010-12-30T17:46:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1:1-18.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'"
From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.

Commentary of the day : Saint Maximus of Turin
«Begotten from the Father before all ages..., he was incarnate from the Virgin Mary » (Creed of Constantinople)

We read, dearest brethren, that there are two births in Christ: both are the expression of a divine power that completely outstrips us. On the one hand, God generates his Son out of his own self; on the other, a virgin has conceived him by God's intervention... On the one hand, he is born to create life, and on the other to take away death. In the former, he is born of his Father; in the latter, he is brought into the world by human beings. By his generation from the Father he is at human origins; by his human birth he sets humanity free. Both of these kinds of birth are, properly speaking, inexpressible and at the same time inseparable...

In teaching that there are two births in Christ we do not intend to say that the Son of God is born twice over, but we are affirming the twofold nature in one and the same Son of God. On the one hand, what already existed is born; on the other, what did not as yet exist is brought forth. The blessed evangelist John affirms this in these words: «In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God» and again: «The Word was made flesh.»

Thus God who was with God came forth from him and the flesh of God that did not belong to God is fruit of a woman. So the Word became flesh, not in such a way that God was incorporated into man, but so that man might be gloriously raised up to God. That is why God was not born twice but by means of these two kinds of birth – namely, that of God and that of man – the only Son of the Father desired to be both God and man in a single person. «Who, then, can tell his birth?» (Is 53,8 Vg.).

She spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem

2010-12-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:36-40.
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 : Saint Bernard
"She spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem"

O Root of Jesse, who stand as a sign to the peoples (Is 11: 10), «how many kings and prophets wanted to see you and did not» (Lk 10:24)? Simeon is the happiest of them all because by God's mercy he was still bearing fruit in old age. For he rejoiced to think that he would see the sign so long desired. He saw it and was glad (Lk 8:56). When he had received the kiss of peace he departed in peace, but first he proclaimed aloud that Jesus was born, a sign that would be rejected (Lk 2:25-34). And so it was. The sign of peace arose and was rejected, by those who hate peace (Ps 119:7). For what is peace to men of goodwill (Lk 2:14) is a stone to make men stumble, a rock for the wicked to fall over (l Pt 2:8). "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him" (Mt 2:3). He came to his own and his own did not receive him (Jn 1:11). Happy those shepherds keeping watch at night who were found worthy to be shown the sign of this vision (Lk 23:8)!

For even at that time he was hiding himself from the wise and prudent and revealing himself to the simple (Mt 11:25; Lk 10:21)... The angel said to the shepherds, "This is a sign for you" (Lk 2: 12), you who are humble, you who are obedient, you who are not haughty (Rom 12: 16), you who are keeping vigil and meditating on God's law day and night (Ps 1:2). "This is a sign for you," he said. What is this sign? The sign the angels promised, the sign the people asked for, the sign the prophets foretold, the Lord Jesus has now made, and he shows it to you...

This is your sign.What is it a sign of? Indulgence, grace, peace, «the peace which will have no end» (Is 9:7). It is this sign: "You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Lk 2: 12). But this baby is God himself, reconciling the world to himself in him (2 Cor 5: 19)... He is the kiss of God, the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1Tm 2,5), who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end.

"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace"

2010-12-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:22-35.
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."

Commentary of the day : Saint Ignatius of Antioch
"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace"

Now I begin to be a disciple. May nothing of things visible or invisible seek to impede me that I may attain to Jesus Christ... Even if the most cruel tortures afflict me, may they only aid me in attaining to Jesus Christ. The furthest bounds of the universe, and the kingdoms of this world shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die for the sake of Jesus Christ than to reign over the boundaries of the earth. Him I seek Who died for us. Him I desire, Who rose [for our sakes].

My travail-pains are upon me... Suffer me to receive pure light. When I reach there then shall I be a man indeed. Suffer me to be an imitator of the passion of my God... My Love has been crucified, and there is not within me any fire of earthly desire, but only water that lives and speaks in me, and says from within me, 'Come hither to the Father.' I have no pleasure in the food of corruption nor in the pleasures of this material life. I desire God's bread, which is the flesh of Christ, Who is of the seed of David, and for drink I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.

Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

2010-12-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2:13-18.
When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my son."
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.

Commentary of the day : Eusebius the Gallican
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" (Mt 2,2)

Herod, the traitor king, having been deceived by the magi, sent his henchmen to Bethlehem and the surrounding countryside to kill the children of two years old and under... But you have gained nothing by it, you cruel and arrogant barbarian! You can make martyrs but you cannot find Christ. This unhappy tyrant thought that the Lord our Savior's coming would topple him from his royal throne. But it was not so. Christ did not come to take over another's glory but to make a gift to us of his own. He did not come to take hold of an earthly kingdom but to bestow the Kingdom of heaven. He did not come to steal honors but to endure injuries and abuse. He did not come to prepare his sacred head for a jewelled diadem but for a crown of thorns. He did not come to take his seat gloriously above sceptres but to be mocked and crucified.

At the Lord's birth «Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him» (Mt 2,3). What is there to wonder at if impiousness is disturbed by the birth of goodness? Here is an armed man afraid of him who is laid in a manger; a proud king trembles before the lowly one; he who is clothed in purple fears the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes... He pretended he wanted to worship him whom he sought to have killed (Mt 2,8). But Truth is not afraid of the traps of the liar... Treachery cannot discover Christ, since not by cruelty but by faith is God to be sought, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

The disciple who had« fully assured understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God

2010-12-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20:2-8.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

Commentary of the day : Rupert of Deutz
The disciple who had« fully assured understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God » (Col 2,3)

In proportion to that grace that caused Jesus to love him and allowed him to lean on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper (Jn 13,23), John abundantly received understanding and wisdom [gifts of the Spirit] (Is 11,2) – understanding to grasp the Scriptures; wisdom to compose his own books with wonderful skill. In actual fact he did not receive this gift from the exact moment he leaned on the Lord's breast, even if he could afterwards draw from that heart «in which lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge» (Col 2,3). When it says that, on entering the tomb, «he saw and he believed», it recognises that «they did not yet know the Scripture» and that «Jesus had to rise from the dead» (Jn 20,9). Like the other apostles, John received his full measure at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and when grace was given to each one «according to the measure of Christ's gift» (Eph 4,7)...

Our Lord Jesus loved this disciple more that all the others... and opened the secrets of heaven to him... to make of him the author of that deep mystery of which no one can speak by himself: the mystery of the Word of God, the Word made flesh. However, even if he loved him, yet it was not to him that Jesus said: «You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church» (Mt 16,18)... While loving all his disciples and especially Peter with a love in spirit and soul, our Lord loved John with a heart's love... According to the order of apostolate, Simon Peter was given the first place and «the keys of the kingdom of heaven» (Mt 16,19). But John obtained a different inheritance: the spirit of understanding, «a treasure of joy and gladness « (Sir 15,6).

"Those who sought the child's life"

2010-12-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2:13-15.19-23.
When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my son."
When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."
He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazorean."

Commentary of the day : Saint Alphonsus Liguori
"Those who sought the child's life"

An angel appeared in a dream to Joseph and warned him that Herod was seeking the Child Jesus' life: «Get up,» he said, «take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt». Jesus had hardly been born before he was being persecuted to the death... Joseph obeyed the angel's voice without delay and warned his holy wife. He took such poor tools as he could carry so that he might have the wherewithal to carry on his work in Egypt and have something with which to maintain his little family. Mary, for her part, gathered together in a bundle the necessary linen for her divine son; then, going to the cradle where he was lying, she went down on her knees, kissed the feet of her beloved child and, weeping tears of tenderness, said to him: «Oh my son and my God, you have come into the world to save humankind yet you have scarcely been born and they seek to kill you!» Then she took him in her arms and, as they wept, the holy couple shut the door and set out through the night...

Beloved Jesus, you are the king of heaven and now I see you in the likeness of a child, wandering in exile. Tell me: who are you looking for? I am moved with compassion when I see your poverty and humiliation. But what distresses me even more deeply is the complete ingratitude with which I see you being treated by the very ones you came to save. You weep, and I weep too for being one of those who have despised and persecuted you. Yet know that I would now prefer your grace to all the kingdoms of the world.

Forgive me all the harm I have caused you. On the journey of this life to eternity let me carry you in my heart following Mary's example, who bore you in her arms during the flight to Egypt. Beloved Redeemer, I have often cast you out of my soul but now I trust you have repossessed it. I beseech you, bind it closely to yourself with the sweet bonds of your love.

He has looked on the lowliness of his handmaid

2010-12-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:46-56.
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Commentary of the day : Ludolph of Saxony
« He has looked on the lowliness of his handmaid» (Lk 1,48)

Our Lord's conception was prefigured by the burning bush that burned but was not consumed (Ex 3,2) just as Mary conceived her divine son but did not lose her virginity. The same Lord who dwelt within the burning bush, dwelt also in Mary's womb. And just as he came down into that bush to deliver the Jews by leading them out of Egypt, so he came down into Mary to redeem us by drawing us out of hell.

God's choice of Mary among all women to clothe himself in flesh was prefigured by Gideon's fleece (Jg 6,36f.). For just as the fleece alone was covered with dew from heaven while all the ground round about remained dry, so too Mary alone was filled with that divine dew of which no other creature in all the world had been found worthy... The Virgin Mary is the fleece of which Jesus Christ fashioned a garment for himself. Gideon's fleece received the dew from heaven without being damaged and Mary conceived the Man-God without alteration to her virginity...

O Jesus, Son of the living God who, by the will of the heavenly Father and with the Holy Spirit's cooperation, came forth from your Father's side as the secret river from the Paradise of delights; you who, visiting the recesses of our valleys and seeing the humility of your servant, came down into the womb of the virgin where, by an ineffable conception, you put on your mortal flesh. I beseech you, O merciful Jesus, through the merits of this Virgin, your mother, to cover me, your unworthy servant, with your grace that I may burn with desire for you, may conceive you in my heart through this love, and by the aid of this same grace may produce the health giving fruits of good works. Amen.

"You shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

2010-12-18T17:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1:18-24.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Commentary of the day : Saint Bede the Venerable
"You shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

«Behold,» says the prophet Isaiah, «a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, a name which means God-with-us.» (7,14) The name 'God-with-us,' given to our Savior by the prophet, signifies that two natures are united in his one person. Before time began he was God, born of the Father, but in the fullness of time he became Emmanuel, God-with-us, in the womb of his mother, because when «the Word was made flesh and lived among us» (Jn 1,14) he deigned to unite our frail human nature to his own person. Without ceasing to be what he had always been, he began in a wonderful fashion to be what we are, assuming our nature in such a way that he did not lose his own...

And so, Scripture says: «Mary gave birth to her firstborn son... and she named him Jesus.» (Lc 2,7.21). Jesus, then, is the name of the Virgin's son. According to the angel's explanation, it means one who is to save his people from their sins. In doing so he will also deliver them from any defilement of mind and body they have incurred on account of their sins.

But the title "Christ" implies a priestly or royal dignity. In the Old Testament it was given to both priests and kings on account of the anointing with chrism or holy oil which they received. They prefigured the true king and high priest who, on coming into this world, «was anointed with the oil of gladness above all his peers» (Ps 45[44], 8). From this anointing or chrismation he received the name of Christ, and those who share in the anointing which he himself bestows, that is the grace of the Spirit, are called Christians. May Jesus Christ fulfill his saving task by saving us from our sins; may he discharge his priestly office by reconciling us to God the Father, and may he exercise his royal power by admitting us to his Father's kingdom,

"Mary the mother of Jesus was betrothed to Joseph"

2010-12-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1:18-25.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

Commentary of the day : Saint Peter Chrysologus
"Mary the mother of Jesus was betrothed to Joseph"

His mother, Mary, was betrothed.» It should have been enough to say: Mary was betrothed. What can a betrothed mother mean? If she is a mother then she isn't betrothed; if she is betrothed then she isn't yet a mother! «His mother, Mary, was betrothed»: betrothed by virginity, mother by fecundity. This was a mother without experience of a man but who yet experienced motherhood. How could she not be a mother before she had conceived who, after giving birth, remains both virgin and mother? When was she not a mother, she who is about to conceive him who set in motion the time that gives things their beginning?...

Why was the mystery of heavenly innocence given to a betrothed girl and not to a virgin who was still free? Why did a fiancé's jealousy put his betrothed in peril? Why should such great virtue appear to be sin or salvation to be eternal danger?... What mystery exercises us in all this, my brethren? There is not a stroke, a letter, a syllable, a word, a name, a person in all the Gospel that is empty of divine significance. A betrothed girl was chosen that the Church, Christ's betrothed, might also be signified according to the word of the prophet Hosea: «I will betroth you to me in right and justice, in love and mercy; I will betroth you in fidelity» (2,21-22). That is why John said: «The one who has the bride is the Bridegroom» (Jn 3,29). And Saint Paul: «I betrothed you to one Spouse to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ» (2Cor 11,2). O Church, true spouse, who through the virginal birth [of baptism] conceives a new childhood from Christ!

"What did you go out to the desert to see?"

2010-12-15T17:49:00.001-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7:24-30.
When the messengers of John had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What did you go out to the desert to see--a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom scripture says: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.'
I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

Commentary of the day : Venerable Charles de Foucauld
"What did you go out to the desert to see?"

One has to pass through the desert, spending time there, if one is to receive the grace of God. It is there that we empty ourselves, getting rid of everything that is not God, and completely emptying this little house of our souls to leave all the room to God alone. The Hebrews travelled through the desert, Moses lived there before he received his mission, Saint Paul and Saint John Chrysostom were also made ready in the desert... It is a time of grace, a period during which all souls who want to bear fruit necessarily have to pass. They need this silence, recollection and forgetfulness of all created things in the midst of which God establishes his reign and forms a spirit of interiority within them: life in intimacy with God, conversation of the soul with God in faith, hope and love. Later on the soul will produce fruit in precisely the measure to which this interior man has been formed within it (Eph 3,16)...

We can only give what we have and it is in solitude, in that life alone with God alone, that profound recollection of the soul who forgets all else to live alone in union with God, that God gives himself wholly to the one who is thus given wholly to him. Give yourselves wholly to him alone... and he will give himself wholly to you... Look at Saint Paul, Saint Benedict, Saint Patrick, Saint Gregory the Great and so many others – what long periods of recollection and silence they spent! Go higher: look at Saint John the Baptist, look at our Lord. Our Lord had no need of it but he wanted to set us an example.

"Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me

2010-12-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7:18-23.
At that time, John summoned two of his disciples
and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"
When the men came to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?'"
At that time he cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind.
And he said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

Commentary of the day : Saint Hilary
"Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

When he sent his disciples to Jesus, John was concerned about their ignorance, not his own. For he himself had announced that one would be coming for the forgiveness of sins. But that they might know he had not preached anything else, he sent his disciples to witness his works so that they might give authority to his proclamation and no other Christ might be expected than he to whom his works bore testimony.

And as the Lord revealed himself wholly through his miraculous deeds, giving sight to the blind, enabling the lame to walk, healing lepers, giving hearing to the death, speech to the dumb, life to the dead, teaching the poor, he said: «Happy are those who are not scandalized on my account». Now had there already been on Christ's part any action that might have caused scandal to John? By no means. For he remained effectively within his own sphere of teaching and action. But we need to look at the implications and specific character of what the Lord says: that the Good News is welcomed by those who are poor. It concerns those who are to lose their lives, take up their cross and follow him (Lk 14,27), who will become lowly of heart and for whom the Kingdom of heaven has been prepared (Mt 11,29; 25,34). And because all these forms of suffering would meet in the Lord and his cross would be a scandal to many, he declared happy those whose faith would not undergo temptation on account of his cross, death and burial.

John testified to the truth...; he was a burning and shining lamp

2010-12-13T16:38:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21:28-32.
What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

Commentary of the day : Blessed Guerric of Igny
« John testified to the truth...; he was a burning and shining lamp» (Jn 5,33.35)

To me certainly the birth of the world's Lamp brings fresh joy, for it enabled me to recognize the true Light shining in the darkness but not mastered by the darkness... We can wonder at your holiness, O John, most holy among the saints, but we cannot imitate it. It is altogether necessary that, as you hasten to prepare for the Lord a perfect people out of publicans and sinners, you should speak to them more accommodatingly than you live and define the measure of perfection not in accordance with your own rule of life but in accordance with the possibilities of the common run of men.

"Bring forth worthy fruits of repentance, "he says. Our boast, brethren, is that we speak more perfectly than we live; whereas John, though living on a higher level than men can even understand, speaks to them in accordance with what they can take in. "Bring forth worthy fruits of repentance," he says. "l speak to you humanely because of the weakness of your nature. If there is no room in you as yet for the plenitude of all good things, at least be truly sorry for all your evils. If you are unable as yet to bring forth the fruits of perfect justice, let this be your perfection for the moment, to bring forth worthy fruits of repentance.»

It is I who need to be baptized by you!

2010-12-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21:23-27.
When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them in reply, "I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John's baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?" They discussed this among themselves and said, "If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet."
So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." He himself said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
« Jesus came to John to be baptized by him... John said to him: ' It is I who need to be baptized by you!'» (Mt 3,13-14)

«Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it» (Mt 13,17). Indeed, those holy ones, filled with the Spirit of God that they might foretell Christ's coming, ardently longed to rejoice in his presence on earth if that were possible. That was the reason why God held back from taking Simeon from this world: he wanted him to behold the one by whom the world was made under the form of a newborn infant (Lk 2,25f.)... Simeon did see him then, but beneath appearance of a child. John, on the other hand, saw him when he was already teaching and selecting his disciples. Where? Beside the river Jordan...

Here is where we see a symbol and foreshadowing of baptism in Jesus Christ: in the baptism of preparation that opened up the way for him according to these words of John: «Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths» (Mt 3,3). The Lord himself desired to be baptised by his servant to teach those who receive baptism in their Lord what grace it is they are receiving. Thus it was here that he began his rule, as though to fulfil this prophecy: «He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth» (Ps 72[71],8). Beside the river where this lordship of Christ began, John saw the Savior. He saw him, recognised him, and bore witness to him. John humbled himself before the divine greatness that his humility might be worthy of being raised up by that same greatness. He declared himself to be the friend of the Bridegroom (Jn 3,29). What sort of friend? Is this a friend who walks shoulder to shoulder with his companion? How far from his thought! At what sort of distance did he view himself? «I am not worthy,» he said, «to loosen the strap of his sandals» (Mk 1,7).

The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he

2010-12-11T18:40:00.001-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:2-11.
When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him
with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'
Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Commentary of the day : A sermon attributed to Saint Hippolytus of Rome
"Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he"

Let us honor the compassion of a God who has come to save, not to judge, the world. John, the Lord's forerunner, who had previously been unaware of this mystery, as soon as he learned that Jesus was truly the Lord, cried out to those who came to be baptised: «Brood of vipers (Mt 3,6), why look to me so insistently? I am not the Christ; I am a servant, not the Master, a mere subject, not the king. I am a sheep, not the shepherd, a man not a God. When I came into the world I cured my mother's barrenness but her virginity was not made fruitful by me. I was drawn from below, I did not come down from on high. I bound my father's tongue (Lk 1,20), I did not exercise divine grace... I am lowly and small but after me comes he who was before me (Jn 1,30). He comes afterwards in time but beforehand he was in the inaccessible and inexpressible light of the divinity. 'He who is stronger than I is coming and I am not worthy to take off his sandals: he will baptise you in Spirit and fire' (Mt 3,11). I am beneath him but he is free. I am subject to sin but he destroys sin. I am a teacher of the Law but he brings with him the light of grace. I preach as a slave but he legislates as a master. The earth is my bed, the heavens are his. I baptise with the baptism of repentance but he give us the grace of adoption. 'He will baptise you in Spirit and in fire.' Why do you honor me? I am not the Christ.»

Being converted by God's repeated call

2010-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:16-19.
To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works."

Commentary of the day : Blessed John Henry Newman
Being converted by God's repeated call

O my Lord Jesus, whose love for me has been so great as to bring Thee down from heaven to save me, teach me, dear Lord, my sin—teach me its heinousness—teach me truly to repent of it—and pardon it in Thy great mercy! I beg Thee, O my dear Saviour, to recover me! Thy grace alone can do it. I cannot save myself. I cannot recover my lost ground. I cannot turn to Thee, I cannot please Thee, or save my soul without Thee. I shall go from bad to worse, I shall fall from Thee entirely, I shall quite harden myself against my neglect of duty, if I rely on my own strength. I shall make myself my centre instead of making Thee. I shall worship some idol of my own framing instead of Thee, the only true God and my Maker, unless Thou hinder it by Thy grace. O my dear Lord, hear me! I have lived long enough in this undecided, wavering, unsatisfactory state. I wish to be Thy good servant. I wish to sin no more. Be gracious to me, and enable me to be what I know I ought to be.

"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence"

2010-12-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:11-15.
Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.

Commentary of the day : Blessed Guerric of Igny
"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence"

Someone wrestled with Jacob until morning perseveringly... and Jacob said to him: «I will not let you go unless you bless me» (Gn 32,25.27)... So to you, my brethren, we say, you whose set purpose is to win heaven by force, you who have come together to wrestle with the angel who guards the way to the tree of life, to you we say: it is wholly necessary that you should wrestle perseveringly and without remission, not only until the thigh... is deprived of its vigor but also until the body is mortified. But your toil will be able to achieve this only by the touch of God's strength and through his bounty...

Do you not seem to yourself to be wrestling with an angel, or rather with God himself, when day by day he resists your impatient prayers?... You cry to him and he does not listen to you; you wish to approach him and he repels you. You make a decision and the opposite happens; and so, in every way, he sets himself against you with unrelenting hand. O Mercy, you conceal yourself and pretend to be unrelenting! With what loving-kindness you fight against those for whom you fight. For although you «hide these things in your heart», I know that you «love those who love you» and that «the abundance of your sweetness which you hide away for those who fear you is immense» (Jb 10,13; Pr 8,17; Ps 31[30],20).

Do not despair then, persevere, happy soul that has begun to wrestle with God; he loves to suffer violence from you, he desires to be overcome by you. For when he is angry and stretches forth his hand to strike, he seeks, as he himself confesses, a man like Moses to resist him... For if his anger is implacable and his sentence unbending, Jeremiah, who had attempted to resist, will weep and say: "You were the stronger and did prevail" (20,7).

"Hail, favored one!"

2010-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:26-38.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Commentary of the day : Saint Epiphanius of Salamis
"Hail, favored one!"

How can I speak? What praises could I possibly make of the holy and glorious Virgin? She surpasses all other beings except for God himself. She is by nature more beautiful than the cherubim and seraphim and the whole angelic host. No language, whether of heaven or earth or even of the angels, is enough to praise her. Blessed Virgin, spotless dove, heavenly bride..., temple and throne of the Godhead! Christ, the sun that shines resplendently in heaven and on earth, belongs to you. You are the luminous cloud that brought Christ down to earth, he who is the bright streak of lightening who shines across the world.

Rejoice, full of grace, gate of heaven! It was of you the author of the Songs of Songs speaks... when he cries aloud: «A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed» (4,12)... Holy Mother of God, spotless ewe: you gave birth to Christ the Lamb, the Word made flesh in you... How amazing a wonder in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun (Rv 12,1), carrying the light in her arms!... How amazing a wonder in the heavens: the Lord of angels become the Virgin's child. Angels judged Eve; now they fill Mary with glory since it was she raised Eve from her fall and brought Adam, expelled from Paradise, into heaven.

Vast is the grace given to this holy Virgin. Hence Gabriel first addresses her with this greeting: «Hail, full of grace», resplendent as the heaven. «Hail, full of grace», Virgin adorned with countless virtues... «Hail, full of grace», you quench our thirst at the sweetness of the everlasting stream. Hail, holy and immaculate Mother, you conceived the Christ who existed before you. Hail, royal purple, you clothed the king of heaven and earth. Hail, O sealed book, you enabled the world to read the Word, the Father's Son.

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

2010-12-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 3:1-12.
In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
(and) saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'"
John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Commentary of the day : Origen
"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

John the Baptist said: «Every valley shall be filled» (Lk 3,5) but it was not John who filled every valley, it was our Lord and Savior... «And the winding roads shall be made straight.» Every one of us was going astray..., and it was Christ's coming, fulfilled within our very souls, that straightened all that was crooked... Nothing was so resistant as you were. Consider your former unruly desires, your fits of anger and other evil tendencies, as to whether they have disappeared. You will realize that nothing was so resistant as you were or, in an even more expressive phrase, that nothing was so brought low. Your behavior was low, your words and deeds were low.

But my Lord Jesus came: he smoothed down your roughness, he changed all that muddle into roads that joined up, to create a way without obstacles within you, well articulated and swept clean so that God our Father could walk in you and Christ the Lord could make his home in you and say: «My Father and I will come to him and make our dwelling within him» (Jn 14,23).

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand"

2010-12-03T20:58:00.001-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:35-38.10:1.5-8.
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.

Commentary of the day : Saint Cyprian
"The kingdom of heaven is at hand"

«Thy kingdom come» (Mt 6,10). We seek also that God's kingdom be manifested to us, just as we ask that his name be sanctified in us. For when does God not reign, or when does that begin in him that both always was and does not cease to be? We petition that our kingdom come which was promised us by God, which was acquired by Christ's blood and passion, so that we who formerly served in the world may afterwards reign with Christ as Lord, as he himself promises and says: «Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world» (Mt 25,34).

Indeed, most beloved brethren, even Christ himself can be the kingdom of God whom we daily desire to come, whose coming we wish to be quickly presented to us. For since he himself is «the resurrection» (Jn 11,25), because in him we rise again, so too the kingdom of God can be understood as himself, because in him we are to reign.

Human blindness

2010-12-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:27-31.
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (him), crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

Commentary of the day : Saint Symeon the New Theologian
Human blindness

[Christ speaks:]
When I created Adam, I allowed him to see me
and thus be established in the dignity of the angels...
With his bodily eyes he beheld my whole creation
but with those of the mind
he looked on the face of me, his Creator.
He contemplated my glory
and spoke with me constantly.
But when, in defiance of my command,
he tasted of the tree,
then he became blind
and fell into the darkness of death...

But I took pity on him and came down from on high.
I who am completely invisible
Shared the visibility of his flesh,
And having received from the flesh a beginning, having become man,
I was seen by all.
So why did I readily take on all this?
Because this was the real reason
For which I had created Adam: to see me.
When he had been blinded
And, following him, all his descendants as well,
I could not bear that I myself should remain
In divine glory and abandon those...
I had created with my own hands.
But I became in everything like all men,
Bodily with those who are body,
And freely joined myself to them.
Now you see what my wish to be seen by men is like...
So how can you say I am hiding from you,
Not letting myself be seen?
In truth I shine out, but you, you fail to look at me.

Building a house

2010-12-01T16:51:00.001-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 7:21.24-27.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
Building a house

The psalmist says: «The Lord is great and worthy of praise» (96[95],4). Who is this 'Lord' if not Jesus Christ, great and worthy of praise? You surely know he appeared as man; you know, too, that he was conceived in the womb of a woman; that he was born of that womb, nourished, cradled in her arms, circumcised, that an offering was made for him (Lk 2,24) and that he grew up. You also know that he was struck, covered with spittle, crowned with thorns, crucified, and that he died, pierced by a lance. You know well that he suffered all those things. Yes, «he is great and worthy of praise». Guard yourselves from despising his littleness; understand his greatness. He became small because you were small: understand how great he is and you will become great along with him. This is how houses are built, how the solid walls of a building are raised. The stones brought to construct the building increase: you, too, increase, understanding how great Christ is and how he who appeared to be small is great, very great indeed...

What can poor, human language say in praise of him who is so great? In saying «very» great it is trying to express what it feels and believes..., but it is as if it were saying: «Try to grasp in thought what I am unable to express in words, and yet you must know that whatever you may have grasped is only a fragment.» For how can any language translate something that surpasses all thought? «Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise!» May he be praised, then; may he be preached; may his glory be proclaimed and his dwelling place erected

So too may thy Church be gathered together from the corners of the world into thy kingdom

2010-11-30T15:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 15:29-37.
Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over--seven baskets full.

Commentary of the day : Didache
« So too may thy Church be gathered together from the corners of the world into thy kingdom »

With regard to the Eucharist, this is the way you should celebrate it. First of all with regard to the cup: "We give thanks to thee, our Father, for the holy vine of thy Child David, which thou didst make known to us through Jesus thy Child. To thee be glory forever." On the morsel of bread: "We thank thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge thou has made known to us through thy Child Jesus. To thee be glory forever. As this bread was scattered on the mountains and yet was gathered and made one, so too may thy Church be gathered together from the corners of the world into thy kingdom, for thine is the glory and power through Christ Jesus forever." No one however should partake or drink of Eucharist except those that have been baptized in the name of the Lord...

And after you are filled, make your thanksgiving thus: «Holy Father, we thank thee for thy holy name, which thou hast made to dwell within our hearts, and for the knowledge, faith, and immortality, which thou has revealed to us through thy Child Jesus. To thee be glory forever. Almighty Lord, thou didst create all things for the sake of thy name: thou gavest food and drink to men for their pleasure, that they might thank thee; but thou has blest us with spiritual food and drink and with eternal life through thy Child Jesus.»

First to be called, first to bear witness

2010-11-29T17:55:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4:18-22.
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them,
and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
First to be called, first to bear witness

How good and how pleasant it is, brethren dwelling in unity» (Ps 131[132],1)... Andrew, having stayed with Jesus (Jn 1,39) and learned what he did, would not keep the treasure for himself but made haste and ran quickly to his brother, Simon Peter, to share with him the good things he had received ... Observe what he says to his brother: «We have found the Messiah, (which is translated 'Anointed')» (Jn 1,41). Do you see what fruit he learned in so short a time? This proves both the authority of the Teacher who has taught his disciples and also their keenness to know it right from the beginning.

Andrew's haste, and his eagerness to share such good news at once, suggests a soul burning to see the fulfilment of so many prophecies concerning the Messiah. It shows true brotherly friendship, deep affection and a simple nature, full of sincerity, that he should share his spiritual riches in this way... «We have found the Messiah» he says. Not 'a messiah' – just any messiah – but 'the Messiah', the very one we have been waiting for.

Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham

2010-11-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 8:5-11.
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him,
saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,

Commentary of the day : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
"Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham... at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven"

''Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Jacob... I will put my laws in their minds and will write them in their hearts» (Jr 31,31f.)... And that these promises were going to be inherited by the calling of the Gentiles, in whom also the New Covenant was opened, Isaiah says in this way, "Thus says the God of Israel, In that day man shall be confident in his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, and they shall not be confident in altars nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers have made..." (Is 17,7f.). For most manifestly these things are said with regard to those who forsake idols and believe in God, our Maker, through the Holy One of Israel; and the Holy One of Israel is Christ...

And that he was going to be manifested to us - for the Son of God became the Son of man - and to be found amongst us who before had no knowledge of him, the Word himself says in Isaiah, thus: "I became manifest to those that sought me not; I was found by those that asked not for me. I said, Behold, I am here, to a nation that called not upon my name» (65,1). And that this race was going to be a holy people, was announced in the Twelve Prophets by Hosea in this way: "I shall call those who were Not my People, My People, and she who was Not Beloved I shall call Beloved... and they shall all be called 'sons of the living God'» (Rm 9,25-26; Hos 2,25; cf 1,9). That is what was also said by John the Baptist: «God is able from stones to raise up children to Abraham." (Mt 3,9). For our hearts, drawn out from stony services by faith, see God and become children of Abraham, who was made righteous by faith.

Be vigilant and pray that you have the strength... to stand before the Son of Man

2010-11-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 24:37-44.
For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

Commentary of the day : Saint Aelred of Rielvaux
"Be vigilant and pray that you have the strength... to stand before the Son of Man" (Lk 21,36)

This season of Advent represents the two comings of the Lord: in the first place, the sweetest coming of «the fairest of the children of men» (Ps 45[44],3) of the «Desired of all nations» (Hg 2,8 Vg), of that Son of God who has visibly manifested his long-awaited presence in the flesh to the world, so ardently desired by all our holy forefathers. This is the coming whereby he came into the world to save sinners. But this season also calls to mind the coming we are waiting for with certain hope and should often remember with tears: that which will take place when the same Lord appears manifestly in his glory...: that is to say, on the day of judgement when he will come openly to judge. The first coming was known only to few, but in the second he will manifest himself to the just and to sinners, as the prophet declares: «And all flesh shall see the salvation of God» (Is 40,5; Lk 3,6)...

So let us follow the example of those holy forefathers, dearest brethren; let us relive their desire and kindle our minds with love and desire for Christ. As you know well, the celebration of this season was instituted to renew that desire within us that the fathers of old had for the first coming of the Lord and so that, through their example, we might also learn to long for his return. Think of all the good our Lord accomplished for our sakes at his first coming. How much more will he not accomplish when he comes again! This thought will make us love all the more his former coming and all the more desire his return...

If we would experience peace at his future coming, let us strive to welcome his former coming with faith and love. Let us remain faithfully in those works he made known to us and taught us then. Let us nurture love for our Lord in our hearts and, through love, desire, so that when the Desired of the nations comes we may look on him in all confidence.

"Be vigilant at all times"

2010-11-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:34-36.
Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise
like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."

Commentary of the day : Catechism of the Catholic Church
"Be vigilant at all times"

According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church (1Cor 7,26) and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority" (Acts 2,7). This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment...

Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh (2Thes 2,3f.; 2Jn v.7)...

The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven (Rv 21,25). God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"

2010-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:29-33.
He taught them a lesson. "Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Commentary of the day : Origen
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"

«Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well: let your fountain be yours alone» (Prv 5,15.17). Try, then, you who are listening to me, to possess a cistern and fountain of your own in such a way that, when you take up the book of the scriptures, you too will discover some sort of interpretation from your own guide. Yes, following what you have learned in the Church, you too must try to drink from the fountain of your spirit. Deep within yourself lies «living water» (Jn 4,10). There lie the inexhaustible canals, the swollen rivers of Scripture's spiritual sense - insofar as they have not become blocked with earth and sediment. If that should be so, then what you have to do is to dig out and clean, that is to say chase away your spirit's lassitude and shake up the heaviness of your heart...

Therefore, purify your spirit that one day you may drink from your own fountain and draw living water from your own well. Because if you have taken God's word to yourself, if you have received living water from Jesus, and if you have received it with faith, if will become in you «water springing up to eternal life» (Jn 4,14).

Christ will come again in glory

2010-11-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:20-28.
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city,
for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand."

Commentary of the day : Catechism of the Catholic Church
Christ will come again in glory

"Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living" (Rm 14,9). Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in God's power and authority. Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in heaven and on earth. He is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (Ep 1,20-22), for the Father "has put all things under his feet." Christ is Lord of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all creation are "set forth" and transcendently fulfilled (Ep 1,10).

As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body (Ep 1,22). Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his mission, Christ dwells on earth in his Church... "The kingdom of Christ (is) already present in mystery", "on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom" (Vatican II : LG 3; 5). Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfilment. We are already at "the last hour" (1Jn 2,18)...

Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" (Lk 21,27) by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him," (1Co 15,28), until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God" (LG 48; Rm 8,19.22). That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Maranatha! "Our Lord, come!" (1Co 16,22 ; Rv 22,17.20).

"By your perseverance you will secure your lives"

2010-11-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:12-19.
Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
"By your perseverance you will secure your lives"

Do you want to come to that life where you will be sheltered from error forever? Who does not want this?... We all desire life and truth but how are we to attain it? What path are we to follow? Certainly, we have not reached the end of the journey yet we can already see it..., we yearn for life and truth. Christ is both one and the other. What is the way to it? «I am the way,» he says. To what will we come? «I am the truth and the life» (Jn 14,6).

This is what the martyrs loved; this is why they looked beyond the love of present goods that pass away. Don't be astonished at their bravery: in them love overcame suffering... Let us walk in their footsteps, our eyes fixed on him who is both their Leader and ours. If we would come to so great a happiness, let us not be afraid of treading difficult paths. He who has promised is true; he is faithful; he could not deceive us... Why fear the hard road of suffering and tribulation? Our Savior in person has trodden it.

You answer: «But that was him, the Savior!» Know that the apostles passed that way too. Now you're going to say: «But they were apostles!» Yes, I know. But don't forget that a great many people like yourself have trodden it in their turn..., women have trodden it, too... children, even young girls have gone that way. How could the road that so many passers-by have levelled still be too hard?

Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away

2010-11-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:5-11.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said,
All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.
Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end."
Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

Commentary of the day : Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
« Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away » (Mt 24,35)

Our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven at the end of the world, on the last day. For the world will end and this created world will be renewed. For since corruption, theft, adultery and all kinds of sins cover the earth, and «bloodshed follows bloodshed over the land» (Hos 4,2), therefore this world will pass away and another, more lovely, will be established so that this wonderful dwelling place may not remain full of injustice...

Hear what Isaiah says: «The heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll and the stars fall like the leaves of a fig tree» (cf. Is 34,4). And the Gospel also says: «The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky» (Mt 24,29). So let us not be dismayed as though we were the only ones who must die. The stars will also die and yet perhaps they will be brought to life again. The Lord will roll away the sky, not to destroy it but to restore it to life more lovely than before. Listen to the prophet David speaking: «Of old you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish but you remain. They will all grow old like a garment; like clothing you change them and they will be changed» (Ps 102[101], 26-28)... Listen, too, to our Lord speaking: «Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away» (Mt 24,35), for the authority of created things does not equal that of their Master's words.

"This poor widow put in more than all the rest"

2010-11-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:1-4.
When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

Commentary of the day : Saint Ambrose
"This poor widow put in more than all the rest"

In Saint Luke's gospel, our Lord teaches us how necessary it is to be merciful and generous to the poor without being held back by thoughts about our own poverty. For generosity is not assessed according to the abundance of one's inheritance but according to one's disposition towards giving. That is why the Lord's words call all to esteem the most that widow of whom it is said: «This widow has given more than all.» In the moral sense our Lord is teaching everyone that we shouldn't let ourselves be prevented from doing good because of the shame of poverty and that the wealthy have no reason to be proud because they appear to give more than the poor. One small coin drawn from little capital weighs more heavily than a large amount taken from an abundance. We don't calculate what was given but what remains. And no one has given more than she who has kept nothing for herself...

However, in the mystical sense, the woman who placed two, small coins in the treasury is not to be forgotten. Great indeed is that woman who was worthy to be preferred before everyone else according to the divine judgement! Might it not be she who has drawn the two Testaments out of her faith for the help of all humankind? Therefore no one has done more than she, and no one has been able to equal the greatness of her gift, since she joined faith to mercy. And you, too, whoever you are..., don't hesitate to bring to the treasury two coins, full of faith and grace.

Behold your King

2010-11-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 23:35-43.
The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God."
Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine
they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."
Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Commentary of the day : Saint Gregory of Nyssa
« Pilate said:...: 'Behold your king' » (Jn 19,14)

Blessed be God! Let us celebrate the only-begotten Son, the Creator of heaven, who has risen again after descending to the depths of hell and who now covers the whole earth with rays of light. Let us celebrate the burial of the only Son and his resurrection as victor, the whole world's joy and life of all peoples...

All of this was won for us when the Creator was raised from the dead, casting off its humiliation and transfiguring what was perishable into imperishable in his divine splendor. And what is the humiliation he has cast aside? Isaiah tells us: «Without beauty, without majesty we saw him; no looks to attract our eyes, he was despised by men» (Is 53,2-3). When was he without majesty, then? When he bore the wood of the cross on his shoulders as the trophy of his victory over the devil. When a crown of thorns was placed on his head – he who crowns his faithful ones. When they clothed in purple him who clothes with immortality those who are reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. When they nailed the lord of life and death to the cross...

But he who was without majesty was transfigured in light, and the joy of the world awoke in his mortal body... «The Lord is king, he has clothed himself in beauty!» (Ps 93[92],1). What sort of beauty has he put on? Incorruptibility, immortality, the gathering of the apostles, the crown of the Church... Paul is witness to this; let us listen to him: «It was fitting that what is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility and what is mortal must clothe itself with immortality» (1Cor 15,53). The psalmist also says: «Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O Lord; your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations» (Ps 93[92],2; 145,13). And again: «The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad» (Ps 97[96],1). To him be the glory and power, amen!

"He is not God of the dead, but of the living"

2010-11-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 20:27-40.
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him,
saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'
Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second
and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes said in reply, "Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Commentary of the day : Vatican Council II
"He is not God of the dead, but of the living"

It is in the face of death that the riddle a human existence grows most acute. Not only is man tormented by pain and by the advancing deterioration of his body, but even more so by a dread of perpetual extinction. He rightly follows the intuition of his heart when he abhors and repudiates the utter ruin and total disappearance of his own person. He rebels against death because he bears in himself an eternal seed which cannot be reduced to sheer matter. All the endeavors of technology, though useful in the extreme, cannot calm his anxiety; for prolongation of biological life is unable to satisfy that desire for higher life which is inescapably lodged in his breast.

Although the mystery of death utterly beggars the imagination, the Church has been taught by divine revelation and firmly teaches that man has been created by God for a blissful purpose beyond the reach of earthly misery. In addition, that bodily death from which man would have been immune had he not sinned will be vanquished, according to the Christian faith, when man who was ruined by his own doing is restored to wholeness by an almighty and merciful Saviour. For God has called man and still calls him so that with his entire being he might be joined to Him in an endless sharing of a divine life beyond all corruption. Christ won this victory when He rose to life, for by His death He freed man from death. Hence to every thoughtful man a solidly established faith provides the answer to his anxiety about what the future holds for him. At the same time faith gives him the power to be united in Christ with his loved ones who have already been snatched away by death; faith arouses the hope that they have found true life with God.

"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer'"

2010-11-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:45-48.
Then Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things,
saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'"
And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

Commentary of the day : Saint Ignatius of Antioch
"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer'"

I have therefore hastened to exhort you to set yourselves in harmony with the mind of God. For even Jesus Christ, our inseparable Life, is the Mind of the Father, as also the bishops, established in the furthest quarters, are in the mind of Jesus Christ. Hence it is fitting for you to set yourselves in harmony with the mind of the bishop, as indeed you do. For your noble presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted to the bishop, as the strings to a harp. And thus by means of your accord and harmonious love Jesus Christ is sung. Form yourselves one and all into a choir, that blending in concord, taking the key-note of God, you may sing in unison with one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father...

You are stones of the temple, prepared beforehand for a building of God the Father, being raised to the heights by the engine of Jesus Christ, which is the Cross, using as your rope the Holy Spirit. Your faith is the windlass, and love is the way which leads up to God. So then, you are all companions in festal procession along the way, bearing your God and shrine, bearing Christ and your holy treasures, fully arrayed in the commandments of Jesus Christ. And in your rejoicings I too have a part...: I rejoice with you that you love nothing pertaining to the outward life, but God only.

"If this day, Jerusalem, you only knew what makes for peace!"

2010-11-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:41-44.
As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,
saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
"If this day, Jerusalem, you only knew what makes for peace!"

«I rejoiced because they said to me, 'We will go up to the house of the Lord.' And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem» (Ps 122[121],1-2). What Jerusalem is this? On earth there is a city of this name but it is a mere shadow of that other Jerusalem. What kind of happiness is there in standing in a Jerusalem here below unable to stand of itself but which fell to the ground in ruins?... It is not of the Jerusalem here below that someone speaks who has such great love, such great longing, such great desire to come to the Jerusalem, «our mother», of which Saint Paul says that it is «eternal in the heavens» (Gal 4,26; 2Cor 5,1)...

«O Jerusalem, may your peace be in your strength» (Ps 122[121],7). That is to say, may your peace be in your love, for your love is your strength. Hear the Song of Songs: «Love is strong as death» (8,6)... And indeed, love destroys what we have been so that we might become, through a sort of death, what we were not... This was the sort of death that was working in him who said: «The world is crucified to me and I to the world» (Gal 6,14). It was of this death that the same apostle was speaking when he said: «You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God» (Col 3,3). Yes, «love is strong as death». If love is strong then it is powerful; it has great strength; it is strength itself... So may your peace be in your strength, O Jerusalem. May your peace be in your love.

The gift of God, the freedom of man

2010-11-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:11-28.
While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately.
So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.'
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.'
He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.'
Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.'
And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.'
Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.

Commentary of the day : Origen
The gift of God, the freedom of man

What have we to offer God? Faith and love. That is where we find what God asks of us, as it is written: «And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul» (Dt 10,12). These are the offerings and these the gifts we should make to the Lord. And if we are to offer him these gifts with all our heart, then first of all we must get to know him. We must have drunk of the knowledge of his goodness from the deep waters of his well...

People who deny that salvation lay within the power of the man's freedom should be ashamed on hearing these words! Would God ask something from him if he wasn't capable of responding to God's demand and giving him what he owed? For there is God's gift but also man's contribution. For example, it was well within the man's power that one gold coin should make ten or five more; but that the man should possess that gold coin with which to produce ten more in the first place belonged to God. Once he had given to God the ten gold coins he had made, the man received a new sort of gift: not money this time, but the power and sovereignty over ten cities.

In the same way, God asked Abraham to make an offering of his son, Isaac, on the mountain he would show him. And Abraham, without hesitation, offered his only son: he laid him on the altar and drew out his knife to slay him. But at once a voice restrained him and a ram was given him to be sacrificed in his son's place (Gn 22). So you see: what we offer God depends on us; but this offering is asked of us so that, in making our gift, we might witness to our love for God and faith in him.

«I must stay at your house today»

2010-11-15T19:13:00.001-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:1-10.
He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Commentary of the day : John-Paul II
«I must stay at your house today»

To me it seems that what takes place between Jesus and the «chief tax collector» of Jericho resembles in a number of ways the celebration of the sacrament of mercy... Every encounter of the priest with someone wanting to go to confession... can become, through the surprising grace of God, that «place» near the sycamore tree where Christ looked up at Zacchaeus. How deeply Christ's gaze penetrated the Jericho publican's soul is impossible for us to judge. But we do know that that same gaze looks upon each of our penitents. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation the priest is an agent of a supernatural encounter with laws of its own, an encounter which we have only to respect and facilitate.

For Zacchaeus, it must have been an stunning experience to hear himself called by his name, a name which many of his townsmen spoke with contempt. Now he hears it spoken in a tone of tenderness, expressing not just trust but familiarity, insistent friendship. Yes, Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus like an old friend, forgotten maybe, but a friend who has nonetheless remained faithful, and who enters with the gentle force of affection into the life and into the home of his re-discovered friend: «Make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today» Luke's account is remarkable for the tone of the language: everything is so personal, so tactful, so affectionate! Not only is the text filled with humanity; it suggests insistence, an urgency to which Jesus gives voice as the one offering the definitive revelation of God's mercy.

Have pity on me!

2010-11-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18:35-43.
Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
He shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!"
The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!"
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
What do you want me to do for you? He replied, "Lord, please let me see."
Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you."
He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

Commentary of the day : Saint José Maria Escriva de Balaguer
"The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more"

When he heard the noise being made by the crowd, the blind man asked what was happening. Someone replied: 'It's Jesus of Nazareth!' His soul was immediately fired with such intense faith in Christ that he started to shout: «Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!» And you who have come to a standstill by the roadside of life, short as it is, wouldn't you, too, like to shout aloud? You who are lacking in lights, who stand in need of new graces if you are to commit yourself to seeking holiness. Don't you feel a pressing need to shout: «Jesus, son of David, have pity on me»? It's a wonderful prayer, brief and full of fervor, to be repeated frequently!

I advise you to take time to meditate slowly over the moments preceding this miracle so as to engrave deeply on your mind this clear thought: what a difference there is between the merciful Heart of Jesus and our own, poor hearts! This is a thought that will always assist you, especially in times of trial or temptation, at times, too, when you must respond generously to the humble demands of daily life, at times of heroism. For «many rebuked that blind man to make him be quiet.» And you, too, when you became aware that Jesus was passing close by you, your heart beat fast and you began to shout out in the grip of a profound agitation. But then your friends, your habits, your comforts, your environment advised you to be silent, not to shout: «Why call Jesus? Don't disturb him!»

As for that unfortunate blind man, he paid no attention. To the contrary, he cried out all the more: «Son of David, have pity on me!» And the Lord, who had heard him to begin with, left him to persevere in his prayer. So it is with you. Jesus is instantly aware of our soul's cry, but he waits. He wants us to be completely convinced of our need of him. He wants us to beseech him persistently like that blind man by the roadside. As Saint John Chrysostom says: «Imitate him. Even if God doesn't grant what we ask of him for the moment, even if the crowd tries to turn us away from our prayer, don't stop begging.»

The coming of Christ

2010-11-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:5-19.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said,
All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.
Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end."
Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

Commentary of the day : Saint Ambrose
The coming of Christ

Not one stone will remain upon another: all shall be destroyed.» These words were true of the Temple built by Solomon... for everything built by human hands either wears away or disintegrates or is overthrown by violence or destroyed by fire... But there is also a temple within every one of us that crumbles whenever faith is lacking and most especially if, in Christ's name, one falsely tries to gain possession of interior convictions. Perhaps this is the most helpful interpretation where we are concerned. Indeed, what is the point of my knowing the day of judgement? Being aware of so many sins, what is the point of knowing the Savior will one day come if he has not come into my soul, is not recalled to my mind, if Christ does not live in me, if Christ does not speak in me? So it is to me Christ must come and it is for my sake his coming must take place.

The Lord's second coming takes place as the world draws to a close, when we are able to say: «The world is crucified to me and I to the world» (Gal 6,14)... To the one to whom the world is dead, Christ is everlasting; to such a one the temple is spiritual, the Law spiritual, even the Passover is spiritual... And so, for that person wisdom's presence has come to pass, along with virtue and justice and the presence of the resurrection, for Christ indeed died once for the sins of the people in order daily to redeem the sins of the people.

"But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

2010-11-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18:1-8.
Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said,
There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?
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?"

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
"But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

What more powerful incentive to prayer could be proposed to us than the parable of the unjust judge? An unprincipled man, without fear of God or regard for other people, that judge nevertheless ended by granting the widow's petition. No kindly sentiment moved him to do so; he was rather worn down by her pestering. Now if a man can grant a request even when it is odious to him to be asked, how can we be refused by the one who urges us to ask? Having persuaded us, therefore, by a comparison of opposites that «we ought always to pray and never lose heart,» the Lord goes on to put the question: «Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find faith on earth?»

Where there is no faith, there is no prayer. Who would pray for something he did not believe in? So when the blessed Apostle exhorts us to pray he begins by declaring: «Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.» But to show that faith is the source of prayer and the stream will not flow if its springs are dried up, he continues: «But how can people call on him in whom they do not believe?» (Rom 10,13-14). We must believe, then, in order to pray; and we must ask God that the faith enabling us to pray may not fail. Faith gives rise to prayer, and this prayer obtains an increase of faith.

"As it was in the days of Noah"

2010-11-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17:26-37.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left."

They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."

Commentary of the day : Saint Romanos Melodios
"As it was in the days of Noah"

Noah, the wise... went into the ark at God's orders together with his sons and their wives, a mere eight souls in all. With constant groans this servant prayed thus: «Let me not perish with sinners, my Savior, for already I see chaos swamping creation and the elements shaken with fear... The clouds are ready, the sky stormy, angels run before your wrath.» At these words, God shut the ark and sealed it as his faithful one cried out: «Save mankind from wrath, O redeemer of the world, may you protect us with your love.»

Then, from the heights of heaven, the judge gives the order: immediately the floodgates open, pouring down rain and hail in torrents from one end of the world to the other; fear causes the springs of the abyss to gush forth, flooding the earth in every quarter... Such were the results of God's anger because humankind had persisted in its hardness of heart instead of hastening to cry out to him with faith: «Save all humankind from wrath in the love you have for us, O Redeemer of the world»...

Then the choir of angels cried out, seeing carnal men destroyed: «Now let the just possess the length and breadth of the earth!» For the Creator delights to behold those made in his own image (Gn 1,26); this is why he set aside his saints to save them. Noah... released the dove and in the evening it returned, bearing an olive branch in its beak, symbolically announcing God's mercy. Then Noah came out of the ark as from the tomb, according to the command he had received..., not, as formerly, like Adam, who had eaten of the tree that brings death, for Noah had brought forth the fruits of repentance, saying: «Save all humankind from wrath in the love you have for us, O Redeemer of the world.»

Corruption and wickedness have perished; the man of upright heart is victorious by his faith for he has found grace... Then the just man (Gn 6,9) offers an unblemished sacrifice to the Lord... The Creator, smelling the sweet-smelling odor, declares: «Nevermore will the world perish in a flood, even should all men lead a life of wickedness. Today I will make with them a binding covenant. I will show my bow as a sign to all the dwellers on earth, that thus they may call upon my name: «Save all humankind from wrath in the love you have for us, O Redeemer of the world.»

"He returned, glorifying God"

2010-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17:11-19.
As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met (him). They stood at a distance from him
and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

Commentary of the day : Saint Francis of Assisi
"He returned, glorifying God"

All-powerful, most holy, most high and supreme God, Holy and just Father,
Lord, King of heaven and earth
we thank You for Yourself for through Your holy will and through Your only Son with the Holy Spirit
You have created all things spiritual and corporal and, having made us in Your own image and likeness, You placed us in paradise.
And through our own fault we have fallen.

And we thank You
for as through Your Son You created us
so also, through Your holy love with which You loved us, You brought about His birth
as true God and true man
by the glorious, ever-virgin, most blessed, holy Mary and You willed to redeem us captives
through His cross and blood and death.

And we thank You
for Your Son Himself will come again in the glory of His majesty
to send the wicked ones
who have not done penance and who have not known You into the eternal fire,
and to say to all those who have known You and have adored You
and have served You in penance:
"Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom,
which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world" (Mt 25,34).

And because all of us wretches and sinners
are not worthy to pronounce Your name,
we humbly ask that
our Lord Jesus Christ Your beloved Son
in whom You were well pleased
together with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, give You thanks
as it pleases You and Him for everything,
[He] Who always satisfies You in everything
through Whom You have done such great things for us.
Alleluia!

Feast of the Dedication of a cathedral, feast of the Church

2010-11-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 2:13-22.
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

Commentary of the day : Blessed John Henry Newman
Feast of the Dedication of a cathedral, feast of the Church

Is a Cathedral the offspring of a random thought, a thing to will and to accomplish at our pleasure?... Surely the Churches which we inherit are not the purchase of wealth nor the creation of genius, they are the fruits of martyrdom. They come of high deeds and sufferings, as long before their very building as we are after it. Their foundations are laid very deep, even in the preaching of Apostles, and the confession of Saints, and the first victories of the Gospel in our land. All that is so noble in their architecture, all that captivates the eye and makes its way to the heart, is not a human imagination, but a divine gift, a moral result, a spiritual work.

The Cross is ever planted in hazard and suffering, and is watered with tears and blood. No where does it take root and bear fruit, except its preaching be with self-denial. It is easy, indeed, for the ruling powers to make a decree, and set religion on high, and extend its range, and herald its name; but they cannot plant it, they can but impose it. The Church alone can plant the Church. The Church alone can found her sees, and inclose herself within walls. None but saintly men, mortified men, preachers of righteousness, and confessors for the truth, can create a home for the truth in any land.

Thus the Temples of God are withal the monuments of His Saints... Their simplicity, grandeur, solidity, elevation, grace, and exuberance of ornament, do but bring to remembrance the patience and purity, the courage, meekness, and great charity, the heavenly affections, the activity in well-doing, the faith and resignation, of men who themselves did but worship in mountains, and in deserts, and in caves and dens of the earth. They laboured, but not in vain, for other men entered into their labours; (cf. Jn 4,38) and, as if by natural consequence, at length their word prospered after them, and made itself a home, even these sacred palaces in which it has so long dwelt... O happy they who, in a sorrowful time, avail themselves of this bond of communion with the saints of old and with the universal Church!... Happy they, who when they enter within their holy limits, enter in heart into the court of Heaven!