"He returned, glorifying God"

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

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!

"If your brother sins... forgive him"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17:1-6.
He said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.


Commentary of the day : Asterius of Amasea
"If your brother sins... forgive him"

O you who are hard-hearted, incapable of gentleness, learn of your Creator's goodness and do not be bitter judges and arbitrators of your fellow servants as you wait for the coming of him who will disclose the hidden places of the heart and will himself, the all-powerful Lord, determine each one's place in the world to come. Don't assign severe judgements that you may not be judged in the same way and rent by the words of your own mouth as if by sharp teeth. For it is against this kind of crime that these words of the Gospel seem to warn us: «Do not judge and you will not be judged» (Lk 6,37). In saying this he is not doing away with discernment and wisdom; what he is referring to as judgement is over-severe condemnation. So far as possible, then, lighten the weight of your measure if you don't want your actions to weigh too heavy on the scales when our lives are weighed as on a balance at God's judgment... Never refuse to show mercy that you may not be denied forgiveness when you are in need of it yourself.

Fill the earth and subdue it.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16:1-8.
Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.'
The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'
Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.'
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.


Commentary of the day : Vatican Council II
"Fill the earth and subdue it" (Gn 1,28)

Man, created to God's image, received a mandate to subject to himself the earth and all it contains, and to govern the world with justice and holiness; a mandate to relate himself and the totality of things to Him Who was to be acknowledged as the Lord and Creator of all. Thus, by the subjection of all things to man, the name of God would be wonderful in all the earth.

This mandate concerns the whole of everyday activity as well. For while providing the substance of life for themselves and their families, men and women are performing their activities in a way which appropriately benefits society. They can justly consider that by their labor they are unfolding the Creator's work, consulting the advantages of their brother men, and are contributing by their personal industry to the realization in history of the divine plan.

Thus, far from thinking that works produced by man's own talent and energy are in opposition to God's power, and that the rational creature exists as a kind of rival to the Creator, Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's grace and the flowering of His own mysterious design.

The Lost Sheep

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 15:1-10.
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So to them he addressed this parable.
What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents."


Commentary of the day : Isaac of Stella
"Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep"

"Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep"

When the time of mercy had come (Ps 102[101],14) the Good Shepherd came down from his Father's side... as had been promised from all eternity. He came in search of the one sheep that had been lost. Promised to her from all eternity, he was sent to her in time; for her sake he was born and handed over, eternally predestined for her. She is unique, drawn from both Jews and Gentiles..., present among all peoples; she is one in her mystery, many in persons, many through the flesh according to nature, one through the Spirit according to grace - in short, one single sheep yet a crowd without number...

As for those whom this shepherd acknowledges as his own: «No one can snatch them out of his hands» (Jn 10,28). For true strength cannot be forced, wisdom cannot be deceived, charity cannot be destroyed, That is why he speaks with assurance, saying...: «I have lost none, Father, of all those you have given me» (Jn 18,9)...

He was sent as truth for the misled, way for the straying, life for the dead, wisdom for the foolish, medicine for the sick, ransom for captives and food for the starving. For all those, we might say, he was sent to «the lost sheep of the house of Israel» (Mt 15,24) that they might be lost no more. He was sent like the spirit into a rigid body so that, at his coming, its members might become warm again and quicken with a new, supernatural and divine life: this is the first resurrection (Rv 20,5). Thus he himself can say: «The hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear it will live» (Jn 5,25). And so he can say of his sheep: «They will hear my voice and follow me» (Jn 10,4-5).

Who but God alone can forgive sins?

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:1-8.
He entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" --he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.


Commentary of the day : Isaac of Stella
«Who but God alone can forgive sins?" (Mk 2:7)
The prerogative of receiving the confession of sin and the power to forgive sin are two things that belong properly to God alone. We must confess our sins to him and look to him for forgiveness. Since only he has the power to forgive sins, it is to him that we must make our confession. But when the Almighty, the Most High, wedded a bride who was weak and of low estate, he made that maid-servant a queen. He took her from her place behind him, at these feet, and enthroned her at his side. She had been born from his side, and therefore he betrothed her to himself (Gn 2:22; Jn 19:34). And as all that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son because by nature they are one (Jn 17:20), so also the bridegroom gave all he had to the bride and he shared in all that was hers. He made her one both with himself and with the Father...

      And so the bridegroom is one with the Father and one with the bride. Whatever he found in his bride alien to her own nature he took from her and nailed to his cross when he bore her sins and destroyed them on the tree. He received from her and clothed himself in what was hers by nature and gave her what belonged to him as God... Thus, sharing as he did in the bride's weakness, the bridegroom made his own her cries of distress, and gave his bride all that was his. Therefore, she too has the prerogative of receiving the confession of sin and the power to forgive sin, which is the reason for the command, «Go, show yourself to the priest.» (Mk 1:44)

"To give his life as a ransom for many"

My Gospel Blog beginning today composes of Gospel Theme Song, The Gospel and The Reflection. Stay Holy and Faithful readers....

Theme song for today's Gospel:

click here to download this beautiful song....


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:32-45.
They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him.
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles
who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


Commentary of the day : Saint Alphonsus Liguori
"To give his life as a ransom for many"

A God who serves, who sweeps the house and gives himself to the most onerous work – a single one of these reflections should be enough to fill us with love! When our Savior began preaching his Gospel he made himself «the servant of all», himself asserting that «he had not come to be served, but to serve». It was as though he had said he wanted to be servant to everyone. And Saint Bernard says that, at the end of his life, he was not satisfied «with having taken the condition of a servant that he might place himself at our service but he wanted to take on the appearance of an unworthy slave and be struck and undergo the punishment due to us by reason of our sins.»

See how our Lord, as an obedient servant to all, undergoes the sentence of Pilate, unjust as it is, and yields to his executioners... In this way has this God so loved us that, out of love for us, he wanted to obey like a slave even to death and die a death that was both painful and humiliating: the torture of the cross (Phil 2,8).


Yet in all this he obeyed, not as God but as man, as the slave whose condition he had assumed. There are holy men who have surrendered themselves as slaves in order to redeem a poor man and have won the world's admiration by this heroic act of charity. But what sort of charity is this compared with that of the Redeemer? Being God; desiring to redeem us from the slavery due to us to the devil and death, he made himself as slave, allowing himself to be bound and nailed to the cross. «That the servant might become lord,» Saint Augustine says, «God willed to make himself a servant.»

They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17:11-19.
And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.


Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
«They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.»

Listen everybody, Jews and Gentiles... Listen, all the kingdoms of the earth! I am not preventing you from ruling over this world, «my kingdom is not of this world.» (Jn 18:36) So don't be afraid with that senseless fear which seized Herod when my birth was announced to him... «No,» the Savior says, «my kingdom is not of this world.» All of you, come to a kingdom, which is not of this world; come by faith. May you not be made cruel by fear. It is true that the Son of God, speaking of the Father, says in a prophecy: «Through him, I was established as king on Zion, his holy mountain.» (Ps 2:6) But that Zion and that mountain are not of this world.

And what is his kingdom? It is they who believe in him, those to whom he says: «You are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.» But he nevertheless wants them to be in the world; he prays to his Father: «I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one.» For he did not say: «My kingdom is not in this world,» but rather: «It is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over.» (Jn 18:36)

For his kingdom really is here on earth until the end of the world and up until the harvest the weeds are mingled with the good seed (Mt 13:24f.)... His kingdom is not from here, for he is like a traveler in this world. To those over whom he reigns, he says: «You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.» (Jn 15:19) So they did belong to this world when they were not yet his kingdom, and they belonged to the prince of this world (Jn 12:3)... All who are born of Adam's sinful race belong to this world; all who were reborn in Jesus Christ belong to his kingdom and no longer belong to this world. For «God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.» (Col 1:13)

The light of the world

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8:12-20.
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.
Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified.
I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me."
So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.


Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
The light of the world

Monday of the Fifth week of Lent : Jn 8,12-20

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermons on St John's Gospel, no. 34

The light of the world

It would seem to me that the Lord's words: «I am the light of the world» are clear enough for those with eyes that enable them to have a share in that light. But those who only have bodily eyes are astonished to hear it said by our Lord Jesus Christ: «I am the light of the world.» There may even be those who say: «Would Christ be the sun that determines the day by its rising and setting?»... No, Christ is not that. The Lord is not the created sun but him by whom the sun was created. For «all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be» (Jn 1,3). Therefore he is the light who created the light we see. Let us love this light, understand it, desire it, that led by it we may in due course attain it and may live in it so as never to die...

So you see, my brethren, you see, if you have eyes that see spiritual things, what kind of light this is of which the Lord says: «Whoever follows me does not walk in darkness.» Follow that sun and let us see whether or not you walk in darkness. Behold how he arises and comes towards you. Following his course he makes his way westwards; but you on your part, must walk towards the rising sun, the Christ.

The Widow of Zarephath

Monday of the Third week of Lent

2nd book of Kings 5:1-15.
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife.
"If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria," she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
"Go," said the king of Aram. "I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy."
When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: "Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!"
When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: "Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel."
Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
The prophet sent him the message: "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean."
But Naaman went away angry, saying, "I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?" With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant."

Psalms 42:2.3.43:3.4.
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My being thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and see the face of God?
Send your light and fidelity, that they may be my guide And bring me to your holy mountain, to the place of your dwelling,
That I may come to the altar of God, to God, my joy, my delight. Then I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4:24-30.
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
The Widow of Zarephath

The Widow of Zarephath

The poor widow had gone out to look for two blocks of wood to bake some bread: it is at this time that Elijah meets her. This woman is the symbol of the Church; because a cross is made of two pieces of wood, the woman, who was destined to die, searches for something by which to live eternally. There is a hidden mystery in this...Elijah tells her: “Go, feed me first with your poverty, and you will not run out of your goods”. What a blessed poverty! If the widow received here on earth such retribution, what a reward may she hope to receive in the life to come!

I insist on this point: let us not expect to harvest the fruit of our sowing now, at the time we sow. Here on earth, we sow with difficulty what will be the harvest of our good works, but only later on will we gather the fruits of this with joy, according to what is said: “Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, Will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves” (Ps 125,6). Actually Elijah's act towards this woman was not her reward, but only a symbol of it. For if this widow would have been rewarded here on earth for having fed the man of God, what a miserable sowing, what a poor crop! She received just a temporal good: a jar of flour that did not go empty and a jug of oil that did not run dry till the day the Lord watered the earth with his rain. This sign that was given to her by God for a few days was therefore the symbol of the future life where our reward could not be lessened. Our flour will be God himself! As the flour of this woman did not run out in these days, we will not be deprived of God for all the rest of eternity...Sow with faith and your harvest will surely come; it will come later on, but when it will come, you will reap it endlessly.