She at once stood up straight and glorified God

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

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

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

"She at once stood up straight and glorified God"

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

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

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

Servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries

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

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

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

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

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

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

"Ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks"

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

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

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

"Ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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