"He must increase; I must decrease"

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"

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»

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"

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

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”

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

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.