f
treasure in earthly vessels:
wisdom from the catholic tradition iii
St. Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 5 on the Prodigal Son (PL 52, 197)
“Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him”
The son returned to his father’s house and cried out: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers”… But the father ran to him, and ran from a long way off. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5,8).
The father ran… in the person of the Son when he descended from heaven through him and came to earth. “The Father who sent me is with me,” he says in the Gospel (cf. Jn 16,32). He flung his arms round him: he flung himself even on us when, in Christ, his whole divinity came down from heaven and made its home in our flesh.
And he embraced him. When? When “mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced” (Ps 85[84],11).
He made them give him the finest robe: that which Adam lost – the eternal glory of our immortality. He bestowed on him a ring for his finger: the ring of honor, his title of liberty, the special seal of the spirit, the sign of faith, the firstfruits of the heavenly wedding feast. Hear the apostle Paul: “I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2Cor 11,2). And he made them put sandals on his feet that our feet might be shod when we preach the good news of the Gospel, so that “the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace” (Is 52,7; Rom 10,15) might be blessed. And he had the fattened calf slaughtered… The calf is slaughtered at the father’s orders since Christ, God and Son of God, could not be put to death apart from the Father’s will. Listen again to the apostle Paul: “He did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all” (Rom 8,32).
St. Augustine from Sermon 62
“Lord, I am not worthy”
When the gospel was read, we heard Jesus praise our faith in an act of humility. When the Lord Jesus, you remember, promised he would go to the centurion’s house to heal his servant, the man replied, “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and he will be healed”. By calling himself unworthy, he showed he was worthy to have Christ enter, not within his walls, but within his heart…
There would, after all, have been no great benefit if the Lord Jesus had entered within his walls, and had not been in his bosom. Christ, the teacher of humility by both word and example had, you may remember, sat down in the house of a certain proud Pharisee called Simon (Lc 7,36f.). And though he was sitting in his house, there wasn’t anywhere in his heart where the Son of man might lay his head (Lk 9,58)… But into this centurion’s house he never entered, yet he took possession of his heart… So this man’s faith is discerned and praised in an act of humility. He said, “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof” and the Lord said, “Amen I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel”… The Lord had come to Israel according to the flesh, that is to the Jews, there first to seek the sheep that were lost (Lk 15,4)… We, as human beings, can assess the faith of human beings – from the outside; he, who could look inside, whom no one could deceive, bore witness to the faith of this man, and on hearing his humble words, he gave him a clean bill of health.
St. John Chrysostom from Homily on ``Pater, si possible est``
The cross reconciled us with God, made earth, heaven, caused human beings to mingle with angels, destroyed the citadel of death, broke the strength of the devil, freed the world from error, and founded churches. The cross was the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the joy of tbe Holy Spirit…
The cross is brighter than the sun, its rays are more brilliant. When the sun is darkened the cross shines forth, for the darkening of the sun does not mean it no longer exists, but that it is outshone by the splendor of the cross. The cross destroyed the bond that wa against us and opened the prison-house of death. The cross is the proof of God’s love, for: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save those who believe from perishing”.
The cross unlocked the gates of paradise, admitted the thief, and led to the kingdom of heaven the human race which, unworthy even of the earth, was on the point of being destroyed.
St. John Damascene from Homily on the Nativity of the virgin Mary, 1-2 (SC 80)
Come, you nations; come, all peoples of every race and language, every age and rank. Joyfully let us celebrate the nativity of the whole world’s joy! If even the pagans honor the birthday of their king…, what ought not we to do to honor that of the Mother of God, through whom all humanity has been transformed and the pain of Eve, our first mother, has been turned to joy? For Eve heard God’s sentence: “You will bring forth children in pain” (Gn 3,16), but Mary: “Rejoice, most highly favored… The Lord is with you” (Lk 1,28)…
Let all creation celebrate and sing the holy childbirth of a holy woman, for she has brought a lasting treasure into the world… Through her the creative Word of God has been united to the whole creation and we celebrate the ending of human barrenness, the ending of the sickness that kept us from possessing our good… Nature has given way to grace… As the Virgin Mother of God had to be born of barren Anna, so nature remained without fruit until grace had produced its own. It was to open the womb of its mother, she who would give birth to “The Firstborn of all creation” in whom “all things hold together” (Col 1,15,17).
blessed couple, Joachim and Anne! All creation owes you thanks; through you it has offered the Creator the best of all his gifts: a mother worthy of veneration, the only mother worthy of the one who created her.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta from No Greater Love
Contemplatives and ascetics of every age and every religion have always sought God in the silence and solitude of deserts, forests and mountains. Jesus himself lived for forty days in complete solitude, spending long hours in intimate converse with the Father in the silence of the night.
We, too, are called to withdraw into a deeper silence from time to time, alone with God. Being alone with him – not with our books, our thoughts, our memories, but in complete nakedness; remaining in his presence – silent, empty, motionless, waiting. We cannot find God in noise and restlessness. Look at nature: the trees, flowers, grasses all grow in silence; the stars, the moon, the sun all move in silence. The important thing is not what we are able say but what God says to us and what he speaks to others through us. In silence he listens to us; in silence he speaks to our souls; in silence we are granted the privilege of hearing his voice:
Silence of the eyes; Silence of the ears; Silence of our mouths; Silence of our minds. In the silence of the heart God will speak.
John Cassian from Conferences, I, 6-7
We see some people who disdain very great riches in this world-and not only large sums of gold and silver but also magnificent properties-being disturbed over a penknife, a stylus, a needle, or a pen… And when they have given away all their wealth for the sake of Christ’s love, but still retain the heart’s old affection for the littlest things and are always quickly irritated because of them, they become in every respect fruitless and barren, like those who do not have the love of which the Apostle speaks.
Foreseeing this in the Spirit, the blessed Apostle said: ‘If I gave all my goods to feed the poor and handed my body over to be burned, but I did not have love, it would profit me nothing.’ (1Co 13,3) Hence it is clearly proved that perfection is not immediately arrived at by being stripped and deprived of all one’s wealth or by giving up one’s honors, unless there is that love whose elements the Apostle describes, which consists in purity of heart alone.
For what else does it mean not to be envious, not to be boastful, not to be angry, not to do evil, not to seek the things that are one’s own, not to rejoice over iniquity, not to think evil and all the rest, (1Co 13,4-5) if not always to offer God a perfect and utterly clean heart and to keep it unsullied by any passion? For the sake of this, then, everything is to be done and desired.
St. Bernard from Sermons on the Song of Songs, 84
Let the soul remember that she was first sought, and first loved, and that it is because of this that she seeks and loves…
“I have sought,” says the Bride [of the Song of Songs], “him whom my soul loves” (3:1). This is what the kindness of him who goes before you urges you to do, he who both sought you first and loved you first. You would not be seeking him or loving him unless you had first been sought and loved.
You have been forestalled not only in one blessing but in two, in love and in seeking. The love is the cause of the seeking, and the seeking is the fruit of the love; and it is its guarantee. You are loved, so that you may not think that you are sought so as to be punished; you are sought, so that you may not complain that you are loved in vain. Both these sweet gifts of love make you bold and drive diffidence away, and they persuade you to return and move you to loving response. Hence comes the zeal, the ardor to “seek him whom your soul loves,” for you cannot seek unless you are sought and now that you are sought you cannot fail to seek.
Ludolph of Saxony from The Life of Jesus Christ, I, ch. 29, 9-11
“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Peter threw himself humbly at Jesus’ feet. Recognising his Lord in him, he said: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man and am not worthy to stay with you. Depart from me, for I am only a man and you are the God-man; I am sinful and you are holy; I am a servant, you the Master. Let distance separate you from me who am distanced from you by the weakness of my nature, the ugliness of my sins and the weakness of my strength…”
But the Lord comforted Peter by showing him the catch of fish that showed how he would become a fisher of men. “Do not be afraid,” he said to him, “Do not be frightened but believe and rejoice. For you are destined for an even greater catch; another kind of boat and another kind of net will be given you. Hitherto you have caught fish with your nets but from now on you will catch men with your words.
The word of God is like a fisherman’s bait. Just as the hook does not catch the fish until it has been taken by it, so the word of God does not capture a man for eternal life unless this word has first of all entered his thoughts. From now on it is men you will catch. ‘From now on’: that is to say, after all that has taken place, after the proof of your humility, you will be responsible for catching men. For humility has the force of attraction and it is good to know how not to boast in one’s own power if one is to have authority over others.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger `{`Pope Benedict XVI`}` from Retreat preached at the Vatican, 1983
The desert is a place of silence and solitude where we stand apart from the events of everyday. There we escape from noise and superficiality. The desert is the place of the absolute, of freedom, where our deepest needs confront us. It is not by chance that the desert is where monotheism is born. In this sense it is the home of grace where, emptied of all our concerns, we meet our Creator.
Great things have their beginning in the desert, in silence and poverty. We ourselves could not know how to take part in the mission of the Gospel without entering into this desert experience with its nakedness and hunger. The blessed hunger of which our Lord speaks in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5,6) could not come to birth out of the sufficiency of the well fed.
Let us not forget, either, that Jesus’ desert did not come to its term with the forty days following his baptism. His last and final desert would be that expressed in Psalm 22[21]: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It was from this desert that the waters of the life of the world would well up.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem from Baptismal Catechesis 13
The man at the eleventh hour One of the robbers crucified with Jesus cried out: “Lord, remember me ; it is to you I now turn… Remember not my works, for of these I am afraid. Every man has a feeling for his fellow-traveller; I am travelling with you towards death; remember me, your fellow-wayfarer. I do not say, Remember me now, but, “when You come in Your kingdom” (Lk 23,42).
What power, O robber, led you to the light? Who taught you to worship that despised man, your companion on the cross? O Light Eternal, which gives light to them that are in darkness! (Lk 1,79) “Take courage! Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” because “Today you have heard my voice, and have not hardened your heart”(Ps 95[94],8). Very speedily I passed sentence upon Adam… but you, who today have obeyed the faith, today is your salvation. By the tree Adam fell away; by the tree you are brought into paradise…
mighty and ineffable grace! The faithful Abraham had not yet entered, but the robber enters! Paul also wondered at this before you, saying, “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rom 5,20). They who had borne the heat of the day had not yet entered; and he of the eleventh hour entered. Let none murmur against the master of the house, for he says, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Am I not free to do as I wish with what is my own?” The robber has a will to work righteousness…I accept his faith… I, the shepherd, have “found the sheep that was lost”; I lay it on My shoulders (Lk 15,5); since he himself has said, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingdom.”
St. Francis de Sales from Homilies on the Gospel, 38
“Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage feast of the Lamb” (Rv 19,9)
You already understand the identity of this king who is father of a son who is also a king. Surely it is the one to whom the psalmist says: 0 God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the kings’s son (Ps 72[71],1)… The Father made a marriage feast for his Son by joining the Church to him through the mystery of his incarnation. The womb of the Virgin who bore him was the bridal chamber of this bridegroom, and so the psalmist says: He has set his tent in the sun, and he is like a bridegroom coming forth from his bridal chamber (Ps 19[18],5-6)…
And so he sent his servants to invite his friends to the marriage feast. He sent once, and he sent again, because first he made the prophets, and later the apostles, preachers of the Lord’s incarnation… Through the prophets he said that his only Son’s incarnation would come about, and he proclaimed through the apostles that it had. “But they paid no heed and went off, one to his farm, another to his business.” To go to your farm is to involve yourself excessively in earthly toil; to go to your business is to long for the gain brought by our worldly activity. Neither of you take any notice of the mystery of the mystery of the Lord’s incarnation and are unwilling to live in accordance with it… Sme, and this is a more serious matter, not only decline the gift of the One calling them but even persecute those who accept it… But the one who sees himself despised when he issues the invitations will not have the marriage feast of his son, the king, empty. He sends for others, because although God’s word is in danger from some, it will find a place to come to rest…
But you, my friends, since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy Church, as a result of God’s generosity, be careful lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your heart’s clothing.
St. Isaac the Syrian from Ascetical Discourses, 1st. series, no. 49
God’s providence, which is ever watchful to give each one of us what is for our good, has guided all things in our direction to lead us to humility. Since, if you take pride in the graces of providence, it will forsake you and you will fall back… Take note, then, that it belongs neither to you nor your virtue to resist evil inclinations, but that grace alone holds you in hand to keep you from being afraid… In time of testing groan and weep and call to mind your failings that you may be set free from pride and win humility. All the same, don’t despair. Humbly beg God to forgive you your sins. Even without works, humility wipes out many faults. Without it, on the other hand, works are useless – they even lead to many evils. Therefore, obtain by your humility forgiveness for your unrighteousness. What salt is to every food, humility is to every virtue; it can break the strength of numberless sins… If we possess it, it can make us children of God and lead us to God even without the help of good works. That is why, without it, our works are of no value, our virtues are vain, and vain, too, is all our effort.
St. Anselm from Proslogion, 25
Where there is such and so great a good as the Kingdom of God, how rich and great must be the joy! If man abounded in all these things, how great would be the joy of his heart, that needy heart, well-versed in, indeed overwhelmed by, suffering… But surely if another whom you loved in every way as yourself, had that same bliss, your joy would be double, for you would rejoice no less for him than for yourself. And if two or three or many more had this same blessedness, you would rejoice for each of them as much as you do for yourself, if you loved each one as your self.
So in that perfection of charity of countless blessed angels and men, where no one loves another any less than he loves himself, they will all rejoice for each other as they do for themselves. If the heart of man can scarcely hold the joy that comes to him from so great a good, how will it hold so many and such great joys? In so far as each one loves another, so he will rejoice in the other’s good; and as in that perfection of happiness, each one will love God incomparably more than he loves either himself or others, so he will rejoice more and more and without regard in the happiness of God.
St. Catherine of Genoa from On Free Will
God prompts man to rise up from his sins… The more swiftly a man acknowledges his wretchedness, the more swiftly, too, he humbles himself and abandons himself to God knowing that the work of converting him belongs to God alone. He becomes aware of it by degrees through the constant inspirations God sends him and, noticing this work and the benefits he gains from it, he says to himself: “It honestly seems to me that God has nothing else to do but take care of me. How sweet and loving God’s working is on our behalf!”…
Already in this life the service of God is truly to reign. When God frees man from the sin that holds him captive, he looses him from all bondage and sets him in true liberty. Otherwise man is always going from one desire to another without finding rest; the more he has the more he wants; seeking satisfaction for himself, he is never content. Indeed, whoever desires is possessed by that desire; he is sold over to the thing he loves; seeking his own liberty, offending God by following his own appetites, he endlessly becomes its slave.
Therefore consider what is the strength and power of our free will, which contains within itself two such opposed and contrary things: eternal life or eternal death. It cannot be forced by any creature if we do not want it to be; which is why, so much as in your power, you should ponder well and be careful what you do.
St. Peter Damian from Sermon 42: The Second for St. Bartholomew (PL 144, 726, 728 C-D)
The apostles are those precious pearls that St. John tells us he beheld in his Revelation and of which the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem are composed (Rv 21,21)… For indeed, when the apostles reflect the light of divinity through their signs or miracles, they open the way to the heavenly glory of Jerusalem to people who have been converted to faith in Christ. And whoever has been saved because of them enters life as one on a journey crosses over a threshold… It is of them, too, that the prophet says: “Who are these that fly along like clouds?” (Is 60,8). These clouds pour down water when they bedew the earth of our hearts with the rain of their instruction, making them fertile and apt to bear the seeds of good works.
Bartholomew, whose feast day is today, means in Aramaic nothing less than: son of a water-bearer. He is son of the God who raises the minds of his preachers to the contemplation of truths from on high in such a way that they can spread efficaciously and abundantly the rain of God’s word in our hearts. This is how they drink water at its source so that they can cause us to drink in our turn.
St. Gregory of Nyssa from homily 6 on the Beatitudes (PG 44, 1269)
Bodily health is one of the desirable things in human life; but it is blessed not only to know the principle of health, but to be healthy… The Lord Jesu does not say it is blessed to know something about God, but to have God present within oneself. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5,8). I do not think that if the eye of one’s soul has been purified, he is promised a direct vision of God; but perhaps this marvelous saying may suggest what the Word expresses more clearly…:
“The Kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17,21). By this we should learn that if a man’s heart has been purified from every creature and all unruly affections, he will see the Image of the Divine Nature in his own beauty…
There is in you, human beings, a desire to contemplate the true good… For He who made you did at the same time endow your nature with this wonderful quality. For God imprinted on it the likeness of the glories of His own Nature, as if moulding the form of a carving into wax. But evil… has rendered useless to you this wonderful thing that lies hidden under vile coverings.
If, therefore, you wash off by a good life the filth that has been stuck on your heart like plaster, the Divine Beauty will again shine forth in you. It is the same as happens in the case of iron. If freed from rust it will shine and glisten brightly in the sun. So it is also with the inner man, which the Lord calls the heart. When he has scraped off the rustlike dirt which dank decay has caused to appear on his form, he will once more recover the likeness of the archetype and be good.
St. Ambrose from the 12th Sermon on Psalm 118 (CSEL 62, 258)
You are happy indeed when Christ knocks at your door. As for the door – this is the faith that safeguards the whole house, provided it is firm. By this door Christ makes his entry and therefore the Church declares in the Song of Songs: “I hear my brother’s voice as he knocks at the door.”
Listen to him who is knocking; listen to him who seeks to enter: “Open to me, my sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is wet with dew, my locks with the moisture of the night” (Sg 5,2). Consider what time God the Word knocks at your door: it is when his head is covered with the moisture of nighttime. For he condescends to visit those undergoing trial and temptation in order that none, overcome by its difficulties, may give way. Thus his head is covered with dew, or moisture, when his body suffers.
Then is the time you should keep watch for fear that, when the Bridegroom comes, he may withdraw again on finding your house shut. Thus, if you sleep and your heart does not awake (Sg 5,2) he will go away before he has knocked; if your heart is awake he will knock and request that the door be opened to him. And so the door of our soul is at our disposal as also are the gates of which it is written: “Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in” (Ps 24[23],7).
St. Anthony of Padua from Sermons for Sundays and St.s's Days
“Behold, the bridegroom!”
A serious lack of harmony reigned between God and ourselves. The Son of God had to espouse our nature if he was to bring peace to the situation and restore good understanding… To this the Father gave his consent and sent his Son. He, in the nuptial bed of the Blessed Virgin, united our nature to his own. Such was the wedding the Father then made for his Son. John Damascene says that the Word of God took on everything God had placed in our nature: both body and rational soul. He took it all that all of me might be saved by his grace. Divinity stooped down even to this marriage; flesh could not have engaged in a marriage more glorious.
A wedding is celebrated again when the Holy Spirit’s grace comes down to work the sinful soul’s conversion. We read in the prophet Hosea: “I will go back to my first husband for then it will be better for me than it is now” (cf. Hos 2,9). And further on: “She shall call me ‘My husband’ and never again ‘My baal’. Then I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baals… I will make a covenant for them…” (vv.18-20). The souls’ husband is the Holy Spirit, by his grace. When his interior inspiration calls the soul to repentance then every enticement of vice is in vain. The pride that wants command, the greed and lust that consumes everything: this was the master that used to control and ravage the soul. Their very names have been removed from the repentant sinner’s mouth… When grace is poured into the soul and gives it light, God makes a covenant with sinners. He is reconciled with them… Then is celebrated the wedding of the bridegroom with his bride in the peace of a pure conscience.
Finally, a wedding is celebrated on the day of judgement when Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, comes. “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,” it is said; “go out to meet him.” Then he will take the Church, his Bride, with him.
“Come here,” says St. John in the Book of Revelation, “I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven” (21,9-10)… At the present time we are living in heaven only by faith and hope, but very soon the Church will celebrate her wedding with the Bridegroom: “Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rv 19,9).
Blessed Charles de Foucauld from Retreat, Holy Land, Lent 1898
Let those who are first always stand in the last place, through humility and in disposition of spirit, with an attitude of descent and service. Love of men, humility, the last place: in the last place so long as the divine will does not call you to another, since then you must obey. Obedience before all else; conformity to God’s will. In the first place be spiritually in the last, through humility: occupy it in the spirit of service, telling yourself that you are only there to serve others and lead them to salvation.
St. `{`Padre`}` Pio de Pietrelcina from Letters 3, 625 and 570 (CE 34)
So drop these useless apprehensions. Remember that it isn’t the Evil One’s suggestions that make up the fault but rather the consent we give to these suggestions. Only a will that is free is capable of good and evil. But when our wills groan beneath the trials imposed by the Tempter, and do not desire to do what he suggests, then not only is this not a fault but it is, rather, a virtue.
Guard against falling into agitation as you struggle against temptation because that only strengthens them. We have to deal with them with disdain and not concern ourselves about them. Turn your thoughts to Jesus crucified, his body laid in your arms, and say: “This is my hope, the source of my joy! I cleave to you with all my soul and will not let you go until you have made me secure.”
St. Amadeus of Lausanne from 4th Sermon on Mary (SC 72)
“May your hand be ready to help me!” (Ps 119[118],173). The Father’s beloved Son is he whom we call the hand of God, he through whom God created all things. This hand intervened when it took our flesh, not simply without injury to his mother, but still more, according to the prophet’s testimony, by taking on himself all our sicknesses and bearing our sufferings (Is 53,4).
Indeed, this hand laden with medicines and dressings has healed every ill. It has removed everything that leads to death and has raised people who were dead; it has broken the gates of hell, bound the strong one and stripped him of his weapons; it has opened heaven and poured out the Spirit of love into the hearts of its own. This hand sets prisoners free and gives light to the blind; it raises those who have fallen; it loves the just and protects the stranger; it welcomes the orphan and widow.
It snatches from temptation those in danger of giving way to it, restores with its comforting those who suffer; it gives joy back to the afflicted and shelters the weary in its shade; it writes for those desiring to meditate its Law and touches and blesses the hearts of those who pray, strengthening them in love by its touch; it makes them progress and persevere in their works. Finally, it leads them to their homeland; it brings them back to the Father.
For if it has become flesh it is so that it may draw man through a man, joining our flesh to his flesh so as lovingly to bring back to God, the almighty and invisible Father, the straying sheep. Because this sheep had fallen in the flesh by abandoning God, the mystery of this hand’s Incarnation had to guide it, to lift it up and lead it back to the Father (Lk 15,4f.).
St. Augustine from On the Spirit and the Letter, 28-30 (PL 44, 217f.)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill”
Grace, which was formerly veiled, so to speak, in the Old Testament, has been fully revealed in the Gospel of Christ by a harmonious disposition of the times, just as God usually disposes of everything with harmony…
But within this wonderful harmony we notice a great difference between the two ages. On Sinai the people did not dare draw near the place where the Lord was giving his Law; in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit comes down on all those assembled there while waiting for the fulfilment of the promise (Ex 19,23; Acts 2,1).
In the first instance the finger of God inscribed the laws on tablets of stone; but now it is in human hearts that he writes it (Ex 31,18; 2Cor 3,3). Formerly the Law was written without and brought fear to sinners; but now it has been given to them within to make them righteous…
Indeed, as the apostle Paul says, everything written on the stone tablets, “you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill…, you shall not covet, and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this saying: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfilment of the Law” (Rm 13,9f.; Lv 19,18)… This charity has been “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rm 5,5).
St. Francis de Sales from Sermon for Good Friday, March, 25, 1622
The first word our Lord spoke on the cross was a prayer for those who were crucifying him; thus he carried out what St. Paul wrote: “In the days of his flesh he offered prayer and sacrifice” (Heb 5,7).
It is true that those who were crucifying our divine Savior did not know him… for if they had known him they would not have crucified him (1Cor 2,8).
Therefore our Lord, seeing the ignorance and weakness of those torturing him, began to make excuses for them and offer this sacrifice to his heavenly Father for them – for prayer is a sacrifice…:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23,34).
How great was the flame of love burning in our sweet Savior’s heart, since amidst the strongest of his pains, at the time when the strength of his sufferings seemed to take from him even the ability to pray for himself, he came, through the strength of charity, to forget himself but not those he had created…
By this he wanted to make us understand the love he bore for us, a love that could not be lessened by any kind of suffering, and to teach us, too, what our hearts ought to be with regard to our neighbor…
Now, since this divine Lord had been occupying himself in asking forgiveness for us, it is absolutely certain that his request was granted. For his divine Father honored him too much to refuse him anything he asked.
St. John Chrtsostom from Homilies on Conversion, 3
The poor standing before the church are asking for an alms. How much should you give? It’s up to you to decide; I’m not going to fix a sum so as to avoid your having any embarrassment. Purchase according to your means. Do you have a coin? Buy the heavens! Not that heaven is on offer in the open market, but it is the goodness of the Lord that allows you to do so. Are you without a coin? Give a glass of cold water (Mt 10,42)…
We can purchase heaven and yet we fail to do so! For one loaf of bread that you give you gain paradise in return. Offer even items of small value and you will receive a treasure. Make a gift of transitory things and you will obtain immortality; give perishable goods and receive imperishable in exchange…
When it is a question of perishable goods you know well how to manifest a good deal of forethought, so why do you show such indifference when it’s a question of eternal life?…
We could also make a parallel between the water vessels found at the entrance of churches in which to cleanse your hands and the poor who sit outside the building so that you can cleanse your soul by their means. You have washed your hands in water; wash your soul in the same way by giving alms…
A widow, who had been reduced to extreme poverty, showed hospitality to Elijah (1Kgs 17,9f.): her own necessity did not prevent her from welcoming him joyfully. She then received many gifts as an indication of thanks, which symbolized the fruits of her gesture.
Perhaps this example may make you desire to welcome an Elijah. Why ask for Elijah? I set before you Elijah’s Lord and you do not show him hospitality… This is what Christ, the Lord of the universe, says: “Every time you did it for one of these least brothers of mine, you did it for me” (cf. Mt 25,40).
Origen from Commentary on St. John's Gospel, 10
The mystery of our resurrection is great indeed and extremely difficult to fathom. It is foretold in many texts of Scripture but, above all, in Ezekiel…: “The Spirit of the Lord set me down in a valley full of bones…; they were completely dry. The Lord said to me: ‘Son of man, can these bones come to life?’ ‘Lord God,’ I answered, ‘you alone know that!’ Then he said to me: ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’ (Ez 37,1-4)…
So what are those bones to which it is said: “Hear the word of the Lord”… if not the Body of Christ, of which the Lord said: “All my bones are racked” (Ps 22[21],15)… Just as the resurrection of Christ’s true and perfect body came about, so the members of Christ will one day… be reunited, bone to bone, ligament to ligament.
Anybody without this ligament will not come to “mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ’s body” (Eph 4,13). Then… “all the parts of the body, though many, will make one body” (1Cor 12,12)…
I tell you this with respect to the Temple – of which our Lord said: “Zeal for your house has consumed me” (Ps 69[68],10) – and to the Jews who asked him for a sign and with respect to his reply:…: “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” For everything that disavows reason and arises from business affairs must be cast out of this temple, which is the Body of Christ, so that in future this temple will not be a house of buyers and sellers any more.
Furthermore… after its destruction by those who turn away from God’s word, it is to be raised up again on the third day… Following Jesus’ purification, his disciples, having forsaken all senseless things and every sort of business, and as a consequence of their zeal for God’s Word present within them, will be “destroyed” so as to be “raised up again” by Jesus in three days… For three whole days are necessary for this rebuilding to be fulfilled.
Hence we can say that, on the one hand, the resurrection has taken place and, on the other, that it is still to come. In truth, “we have been buried with Christ” and “we shall be raised up with him” (cf. Rm 6,4)… “In Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one according to its proper order: Christ the firstfruits and then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ” (1Cor 15,22-23).
Blessed Pope John Paul II from Apostolic Exhortation ``Reconciliatio et paenitentia,`` 5-6
This prodigal son is man every human being: bewitched by the temptation to separate himself from his Father in order to lead his own independent existence; disappointed by the emptiness of the mirage which had fascinated him; alone, dishonored, exploited when he tries to build a world all for himself sorely tried, even in the depths of his own misery, by the desire to return to communion with his Father.
Like the father in the parable, God looks out for the return of his child, embraces him when he arrives and orders the banquet of the new meeting with which the reconciliation is celebrated…
But the parable also brings into the picture the elder brother, who refuses to take his place at the banquet. He rebukes his younger brother for his dissolute wanderings, and he rebukes his father for the welcome given to the prodigal son while he himself, a temperate and hard-working person, faithful to father and home, has never been allowed-he says to have a celebration with his friends. This is a sign that he does not understand the father’s goodness.
To the extent that this brother, too sure of himself and his own good qualities, jealous and haughty, full of bitterness and anger, is not converted and is not reconciled with his father and brother, the banquet is not yet fully the celebration of a reunion and rediscovery. Man every human being-is also this elder brother. Selfishness makes him jealous, hardens his heart, blinds him and shuts him off from other people and from God…
The parable of the prodigal son is above all the story of the inexpressible love of a Father… But when the parable evokes, in the figure of the elder son, the selfishness which divides the brothers, it also becomes the story of the human family…
It portrays the situation of the human family, divided by forms of selfishness. It throws light on the difficulty involved in satisfying the desire and longing for one reconciled and united family. It therefore reminds us of the need for a profound transformation of hearts through the rediscovery of the Father’s mercy and through victory over misunderstanding and over hostility among brothers and sisters.
St. Maximus of Turin from Sermon for the Feast of St. Cyprian
“The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel” says the prophet (Is 5,7). We ourselves are this house… and, since we are his Israel, we are the vineyard. So let us take good care that grapes of wrath (Rv 14,19) rather than sweetness, do not grow from our branches, so that no one may say to us: “I expected grapes but it yielded wild grapes” (Is 5,4).
What fruitless soil! The soil that should have presented its master with fruits of sweetness, pierced him with its sharp thorns. In the same way his enemies, who ought to have welcomed our Savior with all the devotion of their faith, crowned him with the thorns of his Passion. In their eyes this crown expressed insult and abuse, but in the Lord’s eyes it was the crown of virtue…
My brethren, take good care that no one says with regard to you: “He expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” (Is 5,2)… Let us take care that our evil deeds do not rub against our Lord’s head like thorns. There are thorns in the heart that have even wounded the word of God, as our Lord says in the gospel when he relates how the sower’s seed fell among thorns that grew and choked what had been sown (Mt 13,7)…
So take care that your vineyard does not bring forth thorns instead of grapes and your vintage produce vinegar instead of wine. Anyone who gathers in the grapes without sharing them with the poor is collecting vinegar instead of wine; and anyone who stores his harvests without sharing them with needy is not setting aside the fruit of almsgiving but the briers of greed.
St. Nerses Chnorhali from Jesus, Only Son of the Father, 624f. (SC 203)
Like the rich man who loved a life of pleasure
I, too, have loved pleasures that pass away
With this animal body of mine,
In the pleasures of that fool.
And from so many and such great blessings
That you have so freely given me
I have not paid back the tenth
From your own gifts.
But, out of everything under my roof,
Gathered from earth and sky and sea,
I believed your numberless blessings
To be my own possession.
Nothing of these have I given to the poor,
Nor set anything aside for his needs:
Neither food for the hungry
Nor covering for the naked body,
Neither shelter for the homeless
Nor abode for the foreign guest,
Nor visit to the sick
Nor even concern for the prisoner (Cf Mt 25,31f.).
I was not saddened for the sorrow
Of the one cast down by his burdens,
Nor shared the joy of the joyful
But burned with jealousy against him.
All of them were another Lazarus…
They lay outside at my gate…
Yet I, deaf to their appeal,
Never gave them the crumbs from my table…
The dogs of your Law outside
Comforted them, at least, with their tongues;
Yet I, who listened to your commandment,
Wounded the one who bore your likeness with my tongue (Mt 25,45)… Yet only grant me repentance here below
That I may make reparation for my sins…
That these tears may extinguish the blazing furnace
With its burning flames…
And, instead of acting like the merciless,
Set merciful compassion within me,
That, by showing mercy to the poor,
I may obtain your mercy.
Blessed Titus Brandsma from The Mysticism of Suffering
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem”
Jesus declared himself to be head of the mystical Body of which we are the members. He is the vine, we the branches (Jn 15,5). He stretched himself out on the winepress and began to tread it. Thus he gave us the wine by which we might, by drinking, live his life and share his sufferings.
“If anyone wishes to do my will, let him take up his cross daily. Whoever follows me has the light of life. I am the Way. I have given you an example that you also might do what I have done for you” (Lk 9,23; Jn 8,12; 14,6; 13,15).
And as his disciples themselves did not understand that his way was to be a way of suffering, he explained it to them, saying: “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and so enter into his glory?” (Lk 24,26).
Then the disciples’ hearts burned within them (v.32). God’s Word inflamed them. And when the Holy Spirit came down like a divine flame upon them to set them on fire (Acts 2), then they were happy to suffer scorn and persecution (Acts 5,41) since in this way they would become like him who had gone before them on the path of suffering. The prophets had already foretold this path of Christ’s suffering and the disciples finally understood that he had not avoided it.
From the crib to his agony on the cross, poverty and incomprehension had been his lot. He had spent his life teaching that God’s view of suffering, poverty and human incomprehension is different to the world’s foolish wisdom (1Cor 1,20)… In the cross is salvation. In the cross is victory. This is how God wanted it to be.
St. `{`Padre`}` Pio de Pietrelcina
“Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”
Do not cease to do acts of humility and love towards God and human beings. For God speaks to the person who keeps his heart humble before him, and God enriches him with his gifts.
If God has the sufferings of his Son in store for you and wants to let you touch with your finger your own weakness, it is better to make an act of humility than to lose courage. Let a prayer of surrender and hope rise up to God when your fragility causes you to fall, and thank the Lord for all the graces with which he enriches you.
John Tauler from First Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 1
It is a perilous and dangerous thing for someone to judge another; we should all take care to keep ourselves from this sin. For he who is the Truth has said: “It is with the measure you have measured that you will be repaid.” If you are abundantly merciful, you will find abundant mercy; if you show little, you will find little; if you have no mercy at all, you will not find any for yourself.
We are to feel and exercise this mercy within, in our deepest will, in such a way that we experience deep, sincere compassion for our neighbor wherever he is seen to suffer and ask God to comfort him with all our heart.
If you are able to help exteriorly with some advice or gift, by word or deed, you will do so far as you are able. If you are unable to do much, yet do something, whether it is an interior or exterior work of mercy: at the least, speak a good word. In this way you will fulfil what you owe and will find a merciful God.
Anastasius of Sinai from A Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration
Jesus manifested himself in glory on Mount Thabor, giving his disciples a divine revelation, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said: “So that you may not fall into disbelief as time goes by, now, at this moment, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in the glory of his Father” (Mt 16,28)… These are the miracles of our present feast… For it is this celebration, this feast of Christ, which has brought us together here today.
In order to penetrate into the heart of these awe-inspiring mysteries with the disciples whom our Lord chose, let us listen to the holy voice of God which summons us from on high…: “Come, shout aloud to the mountain of the Lord, on the day of the Lord, to the place of the Lord and in the house of your God.”
Let us give heed that, illumined by the vision, transformed and transported… we may invoke this light, saying: “How awesome is this place; this is nothing other than the house of God and the gate of heaven” (Gn 28,17).
There we must hasten like Jesus who is our leader and has gone before us into heaven. There, with him, may the eyes of our mind shine with his light and the features of our soul be made new; may we be transfigured with him and moulded to his image, ever becoming divine, being transformed in an ever greater degree of glory…
Let us run there, eager and joyful, and let us be enveloped in the cloud, like Moses and Elijah, or James and John. Be like Peter, rapt at the divine vision, transfigured by the glory of the transfiguration, lifted high above the things of this world. Let us leave the flesh and creation behind and turn to the Creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy said: “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” Yes indeed, Peter, it is good for us to be here with Jesus and to remain here for ever.
Blessed Titus Brandsma from Invitation to Heroism in Faith and Love
You have often heard it said that we are living through a marvellous time, a time of great men… It is easy to understand why people long for a strong and capable leader to arise… This kind of neo-paganism [Nazism] believes all nature to be an emanation of the divine…; it admires a race that is nobler and purer than any other… From this comes the cult of race and blood, the cult of its own people’s heroes.
By starting out from so mistaken an idea, this view of things can lead to capital errors. It is tragic to see how much enthusiasm, how many efforts are placed at the service of such an erroneous and baseless ideal! However, we can learn from our enemy.
We can learn from his deceitful philosophy how to purify and improve our own ideal; we can learn how to develop great love for this ideal; how to arouse immense enthusiasm and even a readiness to live and die for it; how to strengthen our hearts to incarnate it in ourselves and in others…
When we talk about the coming of the Kingdom and pray for its coming we are not thinking of a discrimination according to race or blood but of the brotherhood of all, for all men are our brothers – not excluding even those who hate and attack us – in a close bond with the one who causes the sun to rise on the good and on the wicked alike (Mt 5,45).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem from Catechesis before Baptism, 1, 5
This is now the time for confession. Confess your sins of word and deed, of night and day. Confess them at this “favorable time” and “day of salvation” (Is 49,8; 2Cor 6,2) and receive the heavenly treasure…
Leave the present behind and believe in what is to come. Have you passed so many years without ceasing in your empty works here below and can you not stop for forty days to occupy yourself with your final end? “Be still and know that I am God,” Scripture says (Ps 46[45],11). Give up your floods of useless words; do not lie nor listen to the liar but rather be ready for prayer. Show by self-denial the fervor of your heart; cleanse this organ that you may receive an even more abundant grace.
For the remission of sins is given equally to all but participation in the Holy Spirit is granted according to the measure of each one’s faith. If you take little trouble you will garner little; if you work hard your reward will be great. It is you yourself who are in the balance; watch out for your own interest.
If you have a grudge against someone else, forgive him. You have just received pardon for your own faults; it follows that you should also forgive the sinner, for how will you say to our Lord: “Take away my many sins” if you yourself have not even forgiven your fellow servant his few wrongs against you? (cf. Mt 18,23f).
St. John Chrysostom from Homilies on the Incomprehensibility of God, 5
Prayer is indeed a powerful weapon, an unfailing treasure, inexhaustible wealth, safe harbor from the storm, a reservoir of calm; prayer is the root, the source and the mother of good things without number… But the kind of prayer I am talking about is neither mediocre nor careless; it is fervent prayer, springing from the soul’s affliction and the spirit’s efforts.
This is the prayer that rises up to heaven… Hear what the sacred author says: “To the Lord in the hour of my distress I called and he answered me” (Ps 120[119],1). Whoever thus prays in their distress will, when their prayer is over, taste great joy in their souls…
By “prayer” I don’t mean that which is in the mouth only but that which wells up from the heart. As trees whose roots are deeply buried are neither broken nor rooted up, even if the wind unlooses against them a thousand buffets, because their roots are firmly embedded in the depths of the earth, so prayers that come from the depths of the heart, so rooted, rise up securely to heaven and are not turned aside by any thought of lack of assurance or merit. That is why the Psalmist says: “Out of the depths I cried to you, O Lord” (Ps 130[129],1)…
If the fact of telling people about your personal misfortunes and describing to them the trials that have assailed you brings some relief to your troubles, as though a refreshing breeze were breathing through the words, how much more, if your share your soul’s troubles with your Lord, will you find plentiful consolation and comfort! Indeed, people often find it hard to bear with those who come to them moaning and weeping; they turn them away and repulse them. But God does not act like this. To the contrary, he makes you come to him and draws you to himself. And even if you spend all day showing him your sorrows, he will only be even more disposed to love you and to grant your requests.
St. Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 37 (PL 52, 304-306)
The whole history of Jonah shows him to us as the perfect prefiguration of our Savior… Jonah went down to Joppa to board a ship for Tarsis…; our Lord came down from heaven to earth, divinity came down to humanity, majestic power to our lowliness…, to board the ship of his Church…
It was Jonah himself who made the decision to have himself thrown into the sea: “Pick me up and throw me into the sea”; thus he announced the Lord’s freely willed Passion. When the salvation of a great many depends on the death of one then that death is in the hands of that man who can freely withhold or, alternatively, hasten it to forestall the danger. The whole mystery of the Lord is prefigured here.
Death is no necessity for him; it results from his free choice. Hear him: “I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again: no one takes it from me” (Jn 10,18)…
See the great fish, a horrible and cruel image of hell. As it devours the prophet it feels the strength of the Creator… and fearfully offers the resting place of its belly to this traveller from on high… And after three days… it returns him to the light to give him to the pagans…
Such is the sign, the only sign, Christ consented to give the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 12,39) so as to make them understand that the glory they themselves hoped for from Christ would also be turned towards the gentiles: the Ninivites are the symbol of the nations who believed in him… O my brethren, what happiness this is for us! What was foretold and promised in symbol we venerate, see, possess face to face in all truth.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus from Autobiographical Manuscript C, 25 r°-v°
Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others…
However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. (Mt 18,19-20).
I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don’t succeed in fixing my mind on them.
For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of Heaven, since she is my Mother, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such a great aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an “Our Father” and then the angelic salutation; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta from Jesus, the Words to Be Spoken, 8th Month
Jesus says: “Whatever you do to the least of your brothers is in my name. When you receive a little child, you receive me. If, in my name, you give a glass of water you give it to me” (Mk 9,37 ; Mt 10,42). And to make sure that we understand what he is talking about he says that at the hour of death we are going to be judged only that way. “I was hungry, you gave me to eat. I was naked, you clothed me. I was homeless, you took me in.”
Hunger is not only for bread; hunger is for love. Nakedness is not only for a piece of clothing; nakedness is lack of human dignity, and also that beautiful virtue of purity, and lack of that respect for each other. Homelessness is not only being without a home made of bricks; homelessness is also being rejected, unwanted, unloved.
Origen from Commentary on the Song of Songs, 3, 27-33 (SC 376)
Mortal life is full of obstacles to stumble over, covered with the snares of deception… And because the enemy had spread out these snares everywhere and caught practically everyone in them, it was necessary that someone stronger should appear to master and break them and thus destroy the path of those who were following them. For this reason, before coming to unite himself with the Church as his bride, our Savior was also tempted by the devil… In this way he taught the Church that it is not by luxuriousness and pleasure but through many trials and temptations she must come to Christ.
Indeed, there was no one else who could have overcome these snares. “For all have sinned”, as it is written (Rm 3,23)… Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is the only one who “committed no sin” (1Pt 2,22). But the Father “made him to be sin for our sake” (2Cor 5,21) so that “in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin” (Rm 8,3). Thus Jesus walked into these snares but was not himself entangled in them.
More, when he had broken and destroyed them, he heartened the Church to the extent that, from now on, she would dare to crush obstacles underfoot, climb over the snares and say, in all happiness: “Our soul, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowlers. The snare has been broken and we have been saved” (Ps 124[123],7). However, he himself underwent death, yet voluntarily and not, as we do, bound by sin. For he is the only one to have been “free among the dead” (Ps 87,6 LXX). And because he was free among the dead he conquered “the one who had the power of death” (Heb 2,14) and “took prisoners captive” from him (Eph 4,8), those who were held in death.
It was not just that he himself was raised from the dead but, at the same time, he “brought to life those who were captives in death and seated them with him in the heavens” (Eph 2,5f.); “ascending on high, he took prisoners captive” (Eph 4,8).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem from Catechesis before Baptism, 1
You are catechumens, those who are preparing for baptism, disciples of the New Covenant and sharers in Christ’s mysteries. Already – now by your call and soon also by grace – you have been made “a new heart and a new spirit” (Ez 18,31) to the joy of the dwellers in heaven.
For if, according to the Gospel, the conversion of one sinner stirs up this joy (Lk 15,7), how much more will the salvation of so many souls not stir up the heavenly inhabitants to rejoicing?
You have undertaken a good, a most splendid journey: set yourselves to running the race of enthusiasm. The only Son of God is waiting ready to redeem you: “Come,” he says, “you who are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11,28).
You who labor under sin, bound with the shackles of your misdeeds, hear what the voice of one of the prophets says: “Wash, make yourselves clean, put away your misdeeds from before my eyes” (Is 1,16) that the choir of angels may cry to you: “Happy are they whose transgression is taken away, whose sin is remitted!” (Ps 32[31],1).
You who have come precisely to light the lamps of faith let your hands be diligent in guarding the flame so that he who, on our most holy hill of Golgotha, opened up paradise to the malefactor through faith (Lk 23,43) may grant you to sing the wedding song.
If there is anyone here who is a slave of sin, let him prepare himself by means of baptismal faith for the new birth that will make a free man of him, one of the children of adoption. Let him forsake the lamentable slavery of his sins to win the blessed slavery of the Lord… By faith acquire the first fruits of the Holy Spirit” (2Cor 5,5) so that you can be received into everlasting dwellings. Come to the sacrament that will seal you with a view to making you intimates of our Lord.
St. Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 50 (PL 52, 339)
“Child, your sins are forgiven.” By these words Christ wished to be acknowledged as God even while concealing himself from people’s eyes in the appearance of a man. He was likened to the prophets because of his demonstrations of power and his miracles, and yet it was due to him and to his own power that they, too, had worked their miracles.
To bestow forgiveness for sins is not in human power; it is the sign that distinguishes God. So it was in this way that Jesus began to reveal his divinity in human hearts – and this made the Pharisees mad with rage. They replied: “This man is blaspheming! Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Oh you Pharisee! You think yourself knowledgeable but you are only an ignoramus! You think you are honoring God but you fail to recognise him! You think you are bearing witness but you are bearing the blows! If God is truly he who forgives sins, why do you not admit to Christ’s divinity?
Since he is able to bestow forgiveness on a single sin therefore it is he who wipes out the sins of the whole world: “See the Lamb of God! This is he who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1,29). Listen to him so that you may be able to grasp his divinity, for he has entered into the depths of your being. Behold him: he has reached to the deep places of your thoughts. Understand the one who exposes the secret intentions of your heart.
Peter the Venerable from Sermon 1 for the Transfiguration (PL 189, 95)
“His face shone like the sun” (Mt 17,2)… Covered with the cloud of the flesh, today the light that enlightens every man (Jn 1,9) has shone forth. Today it gives glory to this same flesh, displaying its glorification to the apostles so that the apostles might make it known to the world.
As for you, O blessed City, you will enjoy the contemplation of this Sun forever when you “come down out of heaven, prepared by God as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21,2). Never again will this Sun set upon you; forever remaining itself, it will cause an eternal dawn to shine forth. Nevermore will this Sun be veiled with clouds but, shining forever, will give you the joy of a light that never sets.
Never again will this Sun blind your eyes: it will give you the strength to look upon it, enrapturing you with its divine glory… “There shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rev 21,4) able to darken the splendour God has given you, for, as was said to John: “The old order has passed away.”
This is the Sun of which the prophet speaks: “No longer shall the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night. The Lord shall be your light forever” (Is 60,19). This is the everlasting light that shines for you upon the face of the Lord. You hear the Lord’s voice, you behold his radiant face and you become as the sun. For we recognise a person by his face and to recognise him is the same as being illumined by him.
Here below you believe in the faith; there you will see. Here you grasp something with the mind; there you yourself will be grasped. Here you see “as in a mirror”; there you will see “face to face” (1Cor 13,12)… Then will be accomplished the prophet’s desire: “May he let his face shine upon us” (Ps 67[66],2)… You will be glad without end in that light; you will walk in that light without wearying. In that light you will see light eternal.
Pope Benedict XVI from Encyclical ``Deus caritas set,`` 5-6
The contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive… This is hardly man’s great “yes” to the body. On the contrary, he now considers his body and his sexuality as the purely material part of himself, to be used and exploited at will…
Christian faith, on the other hand, has always considered man a unity in duality, a reality in which spirit and matter compenetrate, and in which each is brought to a new nobility. True, eros tends to rise “in ecstasy” towards the Divine, to lead us beyond ourselves; yet for this very reason it calls for a path of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing.
Concretely, what does this path of ascent and purification entail? How might love be experienced so that it can fully realize its human and divine promise…? The word agape, as we have seen, becomes the typical expression for the biblical notion of love… This word expresses the experience of a love which involves a real discovery of the other…
Love now becomes concern and care for the other. No longer is it self-seeking, a sinking in the intoxication of happiness; instead it seeks the good of the beloved: it becomes renunciation and it is ready, and even willing, for sacrifice…
Love is indeed “ecstasy”, not in the sense of a moment of intoxication, but rather as a journey, an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and indeed the discovery of God: “Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it”… (Mt 10,39; 16,25; Mk 8,35; Lk 9,24; 17,33), as Jesus says throughout the Gospels.
In these words, Jesus portrays his own path, which leads through the Cross to the Resurrection: the path of the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and in this way bears much fruit (Jn 12,25). Starting from the depths of his own sacrifice and of the love that reaches fulfilment therein, he also portrays in these words the essence of love and indeed of human life itself.
Venantius Fortunatus Passiontide Hymn: Vexilla Regis
The Royal banners forward go,
The Cross shines forth in mystic glow,
Where he in flesh, our flesh who made,
Our sentence bore, our ransom paid.
Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
Life’s torrent rushing from his side,
To wash us in that precious flood,
Where mingled water flowed, and blood.
Fulfilled is all that David told
In true prophetic song of old,
The universal Lord is he,
Who reigns and triumphs from the tree.
Tree of beauty, Tree of light,
Tree with royal purple dight,
Elect on whose triumphal breast
Those holy limbs should find their rest!
On whose dear arms, so widely flung,
The weight of this world’s ransom hung,
The price of humankind to pay
And spoil the spoiler of his prey.
Cross, our one reliance, hail!
So may thy power with us prevail
To give new virtue to the saint,
And pardon to the penitent.
To Thee, eternal Three in One,
Let homage meet by all be done:
Whom by thy Cross thou dost restore,
Preserve and govern evermore.
St. Gertrude of Helfta from The Exercises, 6 (SC 127)
What will be my joy, my bliss, my ecstasy, when you disclose to me the beauty of your Godhead and my soul shall see you face to face?… Then, O my soul, “you shall see and abound; and you, my wondering heart, shall be enlarged, when this torrent of riches and delights shall be emptied out before you”; when the glory of the august Trinity, like “a mighty sea”, shall engulf you; when “the wealth of the nations” will come to you, whom “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (Is 60,5; 1Tm 6,15) has redeemed from the power of the enemy by the strength of his almighty arm; when the rushing flood of the divine mercy and love will cover you…
Then shall be given to you the cup of the vision of God and you shall be inebriated (Ps 23[22],5 Vg.) – this is the sublime, inebriating cup of the glory of the face of God. Then you shall quench your thirst at the “torrent of eternal delights” (Ps 36[35],9); and he who is the very source of light shall fill you with his fulness forever.
Then you shall see the heavens all filled with the glory of the God who dwells in them, and your eyes shall look upon that virgin star [Mary] which, the brightest next to God, fills heaven with the splendor of its pure lustre; you shall see all the wondrous works of God’s hands [the saints: Gn 2,7] and “the morning stars”, who always stand joyfully before the face of God and serve him [the angels: Jb 38,7; Tb 12,15].
Alas, alas, 0 God of my heart and my portion for ever (Ps 73[72],26): how long shall my soul languish after the presence of your dear face?… Be pleased to draw me quickly to yourself, O my God, the “source of life” (Ps 37[36],10), that I may drink from you eternal life. “Let your face shine on me” (Ps 31[30],17) without delay so that I may have the joy of seeing you face to face. Come quickly, show yourself to me, that I may rejoice in you in happiness everlasting.
St. John of the Cross from The Ascent of Mount Carmel, II, 3
Faith, the theologians say, is a certain and obscure habit of soul.! It is an obscure habit because it brings us to believe divinely revealed truths that transcend every natural light and infinitely exceed all human understanding. As a result the excessive light of faith bestowed on a soul is darkness for it; a brighter light will eclipse and suppress a dimmer one.
The sun so obscures all other lights that they do not seem to be lights at all when it is shining, and instead of affording vision to the eyes, it overwhelms, blinds, and deprives them of vision since its light is excessive and unproportioned to the visual faculty. Similarly, the light of faith in its abundance suppresses and overwhelms that of the intellect…
Another clearer example…: If those born blind were told about the nature of the colors white or yellow, they would understand absolutely nothing no matter how much instruction they received since they never saw these colors… Only the names of these colors would be grasped since the names are perceptible through hearing… Such is faith to the soul; it informs us of matters we have never seen or known… The light of natural knowledge does not show them to us… Yet we come to know it through hearing, by believing what faith teaches in blinding our natural light and bringing it in to submission.
St. Paul states: “Faith comes through hearing” (Rm 10:17). This amounts to saying that faith is not a knowledge derived from the senses but an assent of the soul to what enters through hearing…
Faith, manifestly, is a dark night for souls, but in this way it gives them light. The more darkness it brings on them, the more light it sheds. For by blinding it illumines them, according to those words of Isaiah: “If you do not believe, you will not understand” (cf. Is 7,9).
St. Teresa of Avila from The Book of her Life, ch. 25, 17
my Lord, how you are the true friend; and how powerful! When you desire you can love, and you never stop loving those who love you! All things praise you, Lord of the world! Oh, who will cry out for you, to tell everyone how faithful you are to your friends! All things fail; you, Lord of all, never fail!
Little it is, that which you allow the one who loves you to suffer! O my Lord! How delicately and smoothly and delightfully you treat them! Would that no one ever pause to love anyone but you!
It seems, Lord, you try with rigor the person who loves you so that in extreme trial he might understand the greatest extreme of your love. O my God, who has the understanding, the learning, and the new words with which to extol your works as my soul understands them? All fails me, my Lord; but if you do not abandon me, I will not fail you…
I already have experience of the gain that comes from the way you rescue the one who trusts in you alone. While in [a] great affliction … these words alone were enough to take it away and bring me complete quiet: “Do not fear, daughter; for I am, and I will not abandon you; do not fear”… And behold, by these words alone, I was given calm together with fortitude, courage, security, quietude and light, so that in one moment I saw my soul transformed.
Odes of Solomon, 12
“His speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly” The Lord has filled me with words of truth,
that I may proclaim him.
And like the flowing of waters, truth flows from my mouth, and my lips declare his fruits.
And he has caused his knowledge to abound in me.
For the mouth of the Lord is the true word,
and the door of his light.
And the Most High has given his Word to his generations, (which are) the interpreters of his beauty,
and the narrators of his glory,
and the confessors of his thought,
and the preachers of his mind,
and the teachers of his works.
For the subtlety of the Word is inexpressible… for limitless is his path.
He never falls but remains standing,
and one cannot know his descent or his way… He is the light and dawning of thought.
And by him the generations spoke to one another, and those that were silent acquired speech.
And from him came love and harmony.
They spoke one to another whatever was theirs. And they were stimulated by the Word,
and knew him who made them,
because they were in harmony,
for the mouth of the Most High spoke to them… For the dwelling place of the Word is man,
and his truth is love.
Blessed are they who by means of him
have recognizedi everything,
and have known the Lord in his truth.
Hallelujah!
St. John Chrysostom from Homilies on St. Matthew's Gospel, 52, 2 (PG 58, 520)
When she came up to Jesus the Canaanite woman just said these words: “Have pity on me” (Mt 15,22) and her repeated cries drew a large crowd of people. It was a touching sight to see this woman crying out with such great feeling, a mother pleading on behalf of her daughter, a child who was so severely possessed…
She didn’t say: “Have pity on my daughter” but “Have pity on me”. “My daughter is not aware of her plight, but I, I experience sufferings in profusion; it makes me ill to see her in such a state; I am almost out of my mind at seeing her like this”…
Jesus answered her: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15,24). Now what did the Canaanite woman do when she heard these words? Did she lose heart? Not in the least! She urged him even more. This is not what we do when our prayers are not answered: we turn away in discouragement whereas we ought to be pleading even more insistently. Who, it is true, would not be discouraged by Jesus’ response? His silence would have been enough to take away all hope…
This woman, however, does not lose heart; to the contrary, she comes nearer to him and bows to the ground, saying: “Lord, help me (v.25)… If I am a little dog in this house then I am no longer a foreigner. I well know that food is necessary for children…, but it cannot be forbidden to give away crumbs. They should not be refused me… because I am a little dog who cannot be pushed aside.”
It was because he foresaw her answer that Christ delayed to grant her prayer… His replies were not intended to cause this woman pain but to reveal this hidden treasure.
St. Gregory of Nyssa from Homilies on the Beatitudes, 6
“Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God” (Mt 5,8). For no one doubts that a man becomes blessed if his heart is purified; but how any-one should cleanse it from its stains, this is what seems to oppose itself to the ascent to Heaven.
What then is the Jacob’s ladder? How can we find such a fiery chariot by which the prophet Elias was carried up to Heaven, and by which our heart, too, could be lifted up towards the mar-vels that are above, and shake off this earthly heaviness?… Virtue is hard for us to attain; even with much sweat and pain, zeal and fatigue, one can hardly establish it. This we are taught in many passages of the Divine Scriptures, when we are told that the way of the Kingdom is strait and passes through narrow paths, whereas the way that leads through a life of wickedness to perdition is broad and runs down-hill with ease (Mt 7,13-14).
Yet Scripture affirms that the higher life is not altogether impossible… How you can become pure, you may learn through almost the whole teaching of the Gospel. You need only peruse the precepts one by one to find clearly what it is that purifies the heart…
Therefore Christ does good to our nature by promising good things as well as by giving us the teaching that answers this purpose. But if the pursuit of goodness seem irksome to you, compare it with the opposite way of life, and you will find how much more painful it is to be wicked, that is, if you look not to the present but to what comes hereafter…
For those with sordid minds are altogether miserable, because they look at the face of the adversary. On the other hand the Divine character itself is impressed on the virtuous life…
Hence, as we have learned what is an evil life and what is a good one – for we have it in the power of our free will to choose either of these – let us flee from the form of the devil, let us lay aside the evil mask and put on again the Divine Image. Let us become clean of heart, so that we may become blessed when the Divine Image is formed in us through purity of life, in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
St. Augustine Discourses on the Psalms, Ps. 99, 5
Who created everything? Who created you yourself? What are all these creatures? What are you? And how are we to say who he is who created all this? To speak it your thought must conceive it…: so let your thought move towards him, draw close to him. If you want a close look at something, you draw close to it…
But God is not discerned except by the mind, he is not grasped except by the heart. And where is this heart with which one can see God? “Happy the pure in heart, they shall see God” (Mt 5,8)…
In one of the Psalms we read: “Come close to him and you will be enlightened” (Ps 34[33],6 Vg). To come close so as to be enlightened you must hate the darkness… You are a sinner, you must become righteous. But you won’t be able to receive righteousness if evil still gives you pleasure.
Destroy it within your heart and cleanse it; cast sin from your heart where He whom you desire to see desires to dwell. The human soul, our “inner self” (Eph 3,16), draws as close to God as it can: that inner self recreated in God’s image, which was created in God’s image (Gn 1,26) but fell away from God into unlikeness.
It is true that we don’t either draw nearer or fall away from God in space: you distance yourself from God if you no longer resemble him; if you come close to him then you do resemble him. Notice how our Lord wishes us to draw close to him: first of all he makes us like him so that we can be near him. He tells us: “Be like your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good.” Therefore, love your enemies (Mt 5,45.44).
To the extent that this love increases within you it will bring you back and reshape you in God’s likeness…; and the closer you come to this likeness by growing in love, the more you will begin to feel the presence of God. But who is it you are feeling? The One who is coming to you or the One to whom you are returning? He has never been far from you; it is you who fell away from him.
St. Teresa of Avila from The Way of Perfection, ch. 34
Now if, when Jesus went about in the world, the mere touch of his robes cured the sick, why doubt, if we have faith, that miracles will be worked while he is within us and that he will give what we ask of him since, in eucharistic communion, he is in our house? His Majesty is not accustomed to paying poorly for his lodging if the hospitality is good. If it pains you not to see him with your bodily eyes, con-sider that seeing him so is not fitting for us…
But our Lord reveals himself to those who he sees will benefit by his presence. Even though they fail to see him with their bodily eyes, he has many methods of showing himself to the soul, through great interior feelings and through other different ways. Be with him will-ingly; don’t lose so good an occasion for conversing with him as is the hour after having received Communion.
John Tauler from Sermon 15, for the Vigil of Palm Sunday
When the Son of God “raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, glorify your Son’” (Jn 17,1), he taught us by this action that we should raise on high all our senses, our hands, our faculties and our soul and pray in him, with him and through him. This was the most loving and holy deed the Son of God could have done here below: to worship his beloved Father.
However, this far surpasses any intellectual reasoning and we cannot in any way reach and understand it except in the Holy Spirit. St. Augustine and St. Anselm tell us concerning prayer that it is “a raising of the soul to God”…
For my part, I tell you only this: truly detach yourself from yourself and from all created things and raise your soul wholly to God above all creatures, into the deep abyss. There, immerse your spirit in God’s spirit in true abandonment…, in a real union with God…
Ask God there for everything he wants us to ask him, what you desire and what other people desire from you. And hold this as certain: what a tiny, little coin is with regard to a hundred thousand gold pieces, that is what all external prayer is with regard to this prayer, which is a real union with God, and with regard to this inflowing and fusion of the created spirit in the uncreated spirit of God…
If someone asks you for a prayer, it is a good thing to do so in an external way as you were asked and as you promised to do. But, as you do so, draw your soul to the heights and into this interior desert drive your whole flock as Moses did (Ex 3,1)… “True worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4,23).
In this interior prayer every practice, every formula, and all those kinds of prayer that, from Adam until now, have been offered and will yet be offered until the last day, are fulfilled. All of them are brought to perfection in a moment in this true and essential recollection.
Isaac the Syrian from Ascetical Discourses, 1st series, 60
Don’t just call God righteous. It isn’t with regard to what you do that he reveals his righteousness. If David calls him just and upright (cf. Ps 33[32],5), his Son has revealed to us that, to an even greater degree, he is good and kind: “He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Lk 6,35)…
In what does the justice of God consist? Isn’t it in the fact that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”? (Rm 5,8). And if God shows himself compassionate here below then let us believe he has been so from all eternity.
May the unjust thought that God does not show compassion be far from us! God’s own being does not change as beings change who die…; nothing is lacking nor added to what he has when he comes to us creatures. But the compassion God has from the beginning, he will continue to have for eternity…
As blessed Cyril says in his commentary on Genesis: worship God for love and not because of that unyielding name of justice we have placed on him. Love him as he should be loved: not for the reward he will give you but for what we have received, the world he created in order to offer it to us.
Who could give back anything to him in return for what he has done for us? What is there among all our works that we might bestow on him? Who induced him to create us in the beginning? And who is it who prays for us when we fall short in acknowledgment? O how wonderful is God’s compassion! How marvelous the grace of God, our creator!… Who can tell his glory?
St. Cyprian from Exhortation of Martyrdom, 13 (CSEL 3, 346)
John the Baptist, martyr for the truth
“The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us” (Rm 8,18). Who then does not labor in every way to arrive at such a glory as to become a friend of God, as to rejoice at once with Christ, as to re-ceive the divine rewards after earthly torments and punishments?
If it is glorious for the soldiers of this world to return to their fatherland triumphant after vanquishing the enemy, how much better and greater is the glory for one who, after over-coming the devil, returns triumphant to heaven, and after laying him low who had formerly deceived us, brings back the trophies of victory there whence Adam, the sinner, had been ejected?
To offer the Lord the most acceptable gift of an uncorrupted faith, an unshaken virtue of the mind, an illustrious praise of devotion?… To become co-heir of Christ, to be made equal to the angels, to rejoice with the patriarchs, with the apostles, with the prophets in the possession of the heavenly kingdom? What persecution can conquer these thoughts, what torments can overcome them?…
The lands are shut off in persecutions, heaven is open… How great a dignity and, how great a security it is to go forth hence happy, to go forth glorious in the midst of difficulties and affliction! For a moment to shut the eyes with which men and the world are seen; to open them immediately that God and Christ may be seen!…
If persecution should come upon such a soldier of God, virtue made ready for battle will not be able to be overcome him. Or if the summons should come beforehand, the faith which was prepared for martyr-dom will not be without its reward… In persecution God crowns loyal military service; in peace purity of conscience is crowned.
Adam of Perseigne from Sermon 4 for the Purification
He has come down in the cloud of his flesh that the weak and small might mount up to him. What a descent of mercy! “He inclined the heavens,” that is to say, the heights of his divinity, “and came down” by becoming present in the flesh, “with dark clouds under his feet” (Ps 18[17],10)…
A necessary darkness to turn us to light! The true light was hidden beneath the cloud of his flesh (cf. Ex 13,21) – a dark cloud by reason of its “likeness to sinful flesh” (Rm 8,3)… Since the true Light has made flesh his hiding place let us, who are beings of flesh, draw near to the Word made flesh… that we may learn to pass by degrees to the spiritual flesh.
Let us now draw near for today a new sun is shining even more than is its wont. Up till now he was enclosed in the narrowness of a crib in Bethlehem and was known by hardly anyone, but today, at Jerusalem, he is presented in front of a great number of people in the Temple of the Lord… Today the Sun breaks out to shine over the whole world…
If only my soul could burn with the desire that inflamed Simeon’s heart that I, too, might be worthy of becoming the bearer of so great a light! But unless the soul has first of all been purified from its sins it cannot go “to meet Christ on the clouds” of true freedom (1Thes 4,17)… Only then will it be able to rejoice in the true light with Simeon and, like him, to depart in peace.
St. José Maria Escrivia de Balaguer from Homily of March 19, 1963, in ``Christ is Passing By``
Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and he cared for him, giving him the best he had. Joseph took charge of this child as he had been commanded and turned Jesus into a workman, passing on his craft to him. That is why their neighbors in Nazareth, when they spoke of Jesus, called him, roughly speaking, a “carpenter” or “the son of a carpenter” (Mt 13,55)…
Jesus must have resembled Joseph in his traits of character and ways of working and talking. His realism, his powers of observation, his way of sitting at table and breaking bread, his attraction for explaining his teaching in a concrete way by taking his examples from everyday things, reflect what Jesus’ childhood and youth were like and therefore his relationship with Joseph. What depths there are in this mystery! This Jesus, who is a man, who speaks with the accent of a particular region of Israel, who resembles a workman named Joseph, is indeed the Son of God. And who can teach God anything? Nevertheless, he is truly man and his life is a normal one: first a child, then a young man who helps Joseph in the workshop, and finally a mature man in the fullness of age: “Jesus advanced in wisdom and grace before God and men” (Lk 2,52).
At the human level Joseph was Jesus’ master. Day by day he surrounded him with tender affection and cared for him with joyful self-denial. Is this not a very good reason for thinking this man to be just (Mt 1,19): this saintly patriarch in whom the Old Testament faith reaches its climax as a master of the interior life?
St. Thérèse of the Child of Jesus from Story of a Soul; Manuscript A, 75 v° – 76 r°
I should have spoken to you about the retreat preceding my Profession, dear Mother…;it was far from bringing me any consolations since the most absolute aridity and almost total abandonment were my lot. Jesus was sleeping as usual in my little boat; ah! I see very well how rarely souls allow him to sleep peacefully within them.
Jesus is so fatigued with always having to take the initiative and to attend to others that he hastens to take advantage of the repose I offer to him. He will undoubtedly awaken before my great eternal retreat, but instead of being troubled about it this only gives me extreme pleasure.
Really, I am far from being a saint, and what I have just said is proof of this; instead of rejoicing, for example, at my aridity, I should attribute it to my little fervor and lack of fidelity; I should be desolate for having slept (for seven years) during my hours of prayer and my thanksgivings after Holy Communion; well, I am not desolate.
I remember that little children are as pleasing to their parents when they are asleep as well as when they are wide awake; I remember, too, that when they perform operations, doctors put their patients to sleep. Finally, I remember that: “The Lord knows our weakness,” that “he is mindful that we are but dust” (Ps 103[102],14).
Just as all those that followed it, my Profession retreat was one of great aridity. God showed me clearly, however, without my perceiving it, the way to please him and to practice the most sublime virtues. I have frequently noticed that Jesus doesn’t want me to lay up provisions; he nourishes me at each moment with a totally new food; I find it within me without my knowing how it is there. I believe it is Jesus himself hidden in the depths of my poor little heart: he is giving me the grace of acting within me, making me think of all he desires me to do at the present moment.
St. Ambrose from Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel, 8, 179-182 (SC 52)
It was in a garden that Christ was both arrested and buried: he grew in this garden and there he was also brought back to life. Thus he became a tree… You too, then, should sow Christ in your garden…
With Christ grind the mustard seed, tread it down and sow faith. Faith is hard pressed when we believe in Christ crucified. Paul pressed faith hard when he said: “When I came to you proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1Cor 2,1-2)…
Now, we sow faith when we believe in the Lord’s Passion following the Gospel or the readings from the apostles and prophets. In a manner of speaking, we sow faith when we cover it with soil that has been dug over and broken up with the flesh of the Lord… For whoever has believed that the Son of God became man believes that he died for us and believes that he was raised for us. Therefore, I am sowing faith when I set the sepulchre of Christ in the middle of my garden.
Do you want to know that Christ is a seed and that it is he who is sown? “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies it bears much fruit” (Jn 12,24)… It is Christ himself who says so. So he is both a grain of wheat since he “fortifies the hearts of men” (Ps 104[103],15), and a mustard seed, since he warms men’s hearts…
He is a grain of wheat when it is a matter of his resurrection, since the Word of God and the proof of his resurrection nourish the soul, increase hope and strengthen love – for Christ is “the bread of God come down from heaven” (Jn 6,33). And he is a mustard seed because there is no more bitterness or harshness in speaking about the Passion of the Lord.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem from Catechesis before Baptism, 18, 23-25
The Church is called catholic (or universal) because she exists throughout the world, from end to end of the earth, and because she teaches universally, without fail, every doctrine we need to know concerning both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly realities.
Besides this she is called catholic because she submits all humanity, both leaders and subjects, learned and unlearned, to the true religion; because she tends and heals throughout the world every kind of sin committed by soul or body; and finally, because she possesses in herself every kind of virtue, in deed or word, whatever names they bear, and all the various sorts of spiritual gift.
This name ‘Church’ – which means ‘assembly’ – suits it perfectly since she assembles and gathers everyone together as the Lord commands in Leviticus: “Assemble the whole community at the entrance of the Meeting Tent” (Lv 8,3)… And in Deuteronomy. God says to Moses: “Assemble the people before me; I will have them hear my words” (Dt 4,10)… The Psalmist also says: “I will give you thanks in the vast assembly; in the mighty throng I will praise you” (Ps 35[34],18)… But subsequently the Savior instituted a second assembly from among the gentiles: our own holy Church, the church of Christians, concerning which he said to Peter: “Upon this rock I will build my Church and the power of death shall not prevail against it” (cf Mt 16,18)… When the first assembly that used to be in Judaea was destroyed, the churches of Christ were multiplied through all the earth.
It is of these that the Psalms speak when they say: “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints” (Ps 150[149],1)… And it was of the same holy, catholic Church that Paul writes to Timothy: “You should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth” (1Tim 3,15).
St. Fulgentius of Ruspe from A sermon attributed to, 59 Appendix (PL 65, 92)
Saul was sent on the road to Damascus to become blind since, if he was blinded, it was to see the real Way (Jn 14,6)… He lost his bodily sight but his heart was enlightened so that the true light might shine in the eyes of both his heart and his body… He was sent into his own interior to seek himself… He was straying in his own company, an unthinking traveller, and he did not find himself because, interiorly, he had lost his way.
Therefore he heard a voice saying to him…: “Turn aside from the way of Saul to find the faith of Paul. Take off the tunic of your blindness and clothe yourself with the Savior (cf. Gal 3,27)… In your flesh I have wanted to manifest the blindness of your heart that you might see what you did not see and might not be like those who “have eyes but see not and ears and hear not” (Ps 115[113],5-6). Let Saul return with his futile letters (Acts 22,5) that Paul might write his most necessary letters. Let the blind Saul vanish… that Paul might become the light of believers”…
Paul, who has transformed you in this way? “Would you like to know who has done this? The man people call Christ… He anointed my eyes and said to me: ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, wash and you will see.’ I went; I washed, and now I see (Jn 9,11). Why this surprise? Behold, he who created me has re-created me and with the same power with which he created me he has now healed me. I had sinned but he has cleansed me.”
Come along, then, Paul; leave old Saul behind; soon you will see Peter, too… Ananias, touch Saul and give us Paul; dismiss the persecutor far away from us, send out the preacher on his mission. The lambs will no longer be afraid, Christ’s sheep will be full of joy. O touch the wolf who used to pursue Christ so that now, with Peter, he may lead the sheep to pasture.
Isaac of Stella from Sermon 39, 2-6 (SC 207)
“It is by Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils”… It is the characteristic of evildoers, stirred by envy, to shut their eyes as much as they can to other people’s merits and when, overcome by the evidence, they cannot do so any longer, to depreciate or undervalue it. Thus, when the crowd rejoiced in devotion and marvelled at the sight of Christ’s works, the scribes and Pharisees either closed their eyes to what they knew to be true, or brought down what is great, or undervalued what is good.
Once, for example, feigning ignorance, they said to him who had worked so many wonderful signs: “What sign can you do that we may believe in you?” (Jn 6,30). In this case, unable to blatantly deny the facts, they wickedly depreciate them…, and they devalue them by saying: “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils”.
Now this, dear brethren, is the blasphemy against the Spirit that binds all those he has seized with the bonds of an eternal sin. This is not to say that it would be impossible for the repentant to gain forgiveness for it all if he “produces fruit as evidence of his repentance” (Lk 3,8). The only thing is that, crushed beneath such a weight of malice, he lacks the strength to reach out to that honorable repentance that is worthy of forgiveness…
He who, perceiving the proofs of grace and the Holy Spirit’s working in his brother…, is not afraid to undermine and calumniate and brashly ascribe to the evil spirit what he clearly knows to be of the Holy Spirit: such a one has been so forsaken by this Spirit of grace that he no longer desires the repentance that would obtain his pardon.
He is completely in the dark, blinded by his own malice. Indeed, what could be more serious than to dare, out of envy for the brother one had been commanded to love as oneself (Mt 19,19), to blaspheme God’s goodness… and insult his majesty by wanting to discredit a man?
St. Leo the Great from Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Lord, III (PL 54, 190)
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, who “for the great mercy wherewith He has loved us,” has had pity on us, and “when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life in Christ,” (Eph 2,5) that we might be in him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds (Col 3,9), and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh.
Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and since you have become a partner in the Divine na-ture (2Pt 1,4), refuse to return to the baseness you were in before. Remember whose is the head and body of which you are a member (Eph 4,15-16). Recollect that you were “rescued from the power of darkness and have been brought into God’s light and kingdom” (Col 1,13). By the mystery of baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6,19); do not put so great a guest to flight by evil deeds and so subject yourself once more to the devil’s thraldom, because you have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.
Blessed Pope John XXIII from Journal of a Soul
Jesus, divine food of the soul, this immense concourse turns to you. It wishes to give to its human and Christian vocation a new, vigorous power of interior virtue, and to be ready for sacrifice, of which you were such a wonderful pattern in word and example. You are our elder brother; you have trodden our path before us, O Christ Jesus, the path of every one of us; you have forgiven all our sins; you inspire us, each and all, to give a nobler, more convinced and more active witness of Christian life. Jesus, our “bread of life” (Jn 6,35) and the only substantial food for our souls, gather all peoples around your table. Your altar is divine reality on earth, the pledge of heavenly favours, the assurance of just understanding among peoples, and of peaceful rivalry in the true progress of civilization. Nourished by you and with you, O Jesus, men will be strong in faith, joyful in hope, and active in the many and varied expressions of charity.
Our wills will know how to overcome the snares of evil, the temptations of selfishness, the listlessness of sloth. And men who love and fear the Lord will hear arising from earth the first mysterious and sweet voices of the City of God, of which the wayfaring Church militant is the image. O Jesus, you guide us to fresh pastures and watch over us. Grant that we may see good things in the land of the living, (Ps 27 [26], 13).
St. Gertrude of Helfta from Exercises, 7 (SC 127)
At the hour of Terce you will place yourself in presence of the divine peace and of love…: O peace of God, you pass all understanding (Phil 4,7), you are unutterably sweet and fair and full of charms. Wherever you penetrate reigns untroubled security. You alone can stay the wrath of the sovereign king; you adorn with clemency the king’s throne; you illumine his glorious kingdom with pity and mercy.
Come, then, and take my cause in hand, the cause of a wretch most guilty and most forlorn… Already the creditor is at the door… if I speak with him, I am undone, for I have nothing with which to repay my debt. Sweetest Jesus, my peace, how long will you keep silent?…
Be pleased to speak on my behalf, uttering that word of love: “I myself will redeem her.” Most surely you yourself are the refuge of all the poor. You never pass by anyone without granting them healing. Oh, you have never let anyone who has sought refuge at your side leave you without being reconciled…
Be pleased, my love, my Jesus at this hour when you were scourged for my sake, crowned with thorns, pitifully drowned in suffering. You are my true king and, apart from you, I know none other. You made yourself the insult of the people, abject and repulsive like a leper (Is 53,3), so that the Jews refused to acknowledge you as their king (Jn 19,14-15).
By your grace, grant that I, at least, may acknowledge you as my king! O my God, give to me that innocent, so greatly beloved, my Jesus, who so fully “paid” for my sake “what he had not stolen” (Ps 69[68],5);give him to me to be my soul’s stay. May I receive him into my heart; may he console my spirit by the bitterness of his pains and Passion…
As for you, O peace of God: be the dear bond binding me to Jesus for ever. Be the support of my strength… that I may be but “one heart and soul” with Jesus (Acts 4,32)… Through you shall I be bound to my Jesus for ever.
St. Ambrose from Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel, 5, 11-13 (SC 45)
“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic: ‘Your sins are forgiven you’.” The Lord is great: for the sake of the former he forgives the latter; he answers the prayer of the first and pardons the sins of the second. O men, why is it that today your fellow traveller is unable to do anything for you when, with the Lord, his servant has the right to intervene and to receive?
You who judge, learn to pardon; and you who are ill, learn to beseech. If you have no hope of immediate pardon for grave sins, turn to intercessors, turn to the Church who will pray for you. Then, for her sake the Lord will grant you the pardon he could have denied you. We don’t ignore the historical truth of the paralytic’s cure, but, above all, we acknowledge the healing of his interior self, whose sins are forgiven…
The Lord wants to save sinners; he demonstrates his divinity by his knowledge of what is secret and by the wonders of his deeds. “Which is easier to say,” he asks: “‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Rise and walk’? Here he gives us a complete image of the resurrection since, in healing the wounds of soul and body…, the whole man is healed.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta from Letter of April 10, 1974 to her co-workers
The poor are thirsty for water but also for peace, truth and justice. The poor are naked and need clothing, but also need human dignity and compassion for those who sin. The poor have no shelter and need shelters made of bricks, but also of a joyful heart, compassionate and full of love. They are sick and need medical attention, but also a helping hand and welcoming smile.
The outcasts, those who are rejected, the unloved, prisoners, alcoholics, the dying, those who are alone and abandoned, the marginalized, the untouchables and lepers…, those in doubt and confusion, those who have not been touched by the light of Christ, those starving for the word and peace of God, sad and afflicted souls…, those who are a burden to society, who have lost all hope and faith in life, who have forgotten how to smile and no longer know what it means to receive a little human warmth, a gesture of love and friendship – all of them, they turn to us to receive a little bit of comfort. If we turn our backs on them, we turn our backs on Christ.
St. Vincent de Paul Instruction of August 16, 1656 to two Sisters who had been to Arras
It is a beautiful thing to read in the Gospel what is related about St. Peter’s mother-in- law. This good woman, being unwell with a debilitating fever, learned that our Lord was in Capharnaum, that he was working great miracles, healing the sick, casting out devils from those who were possessed and other wonderful things.
She knew that her kin was with the Son of God and was able to say to St. Peter: “My son, your master is a mighty man and has the power to free me from this illness.” Some time afterwards, behold our Lord came into her house where she was showing not the least impatience for her affliction: she made no complaint, did not implore her kin at all, not even our Lord, for she might well have said: “I know you have the power to heal all sorts of illnesses, Lord; take pity on me.” Nevertheless, she said nothing of all that and our Lord, seeing her indifference, commanded the fever to leave her and, at that instant, she was cured.
In all the unpleasant things that come to us, let us in no way put ourselves to trouble about them, let us abandon them all to Providence and let it suffice us that our Lord sees us and knows what we are enduring for love of him and to imitate the beautiful examples he has given us, especially in the Garden of Olives, when he accepted his chalice… For, even though he asked for it to pass, if that were possible, without his drinking it, he immediately added that his Father’s will be done (Mt 26,42).
Pope Benedict XVI from Homily of January 10, 2010
At the Jordan Jesus reveals himself with an extraordinary humility, reminiscent of the poverty and simplicity of the Child laid in the manger, and anticipates the sentiments with which, at the end of his days on earth, he will come to the point of washing the feet of the disciples and suffering the terrible humiliation of the Cross.
The Son of God, the One who is without sin, puts himself among sinners, demonstrates God’s closeness to the process of the human being’s conversion. Jesus takes upon his shoulders the burden of sin of the whole of humanity, he begins his mission by putting himself in our place, in the place of sinners, in the perspective of the Cross.
While absorbed in prayer he emerges from the water after his Baptism, the skies break open. It is the moment awaited by so many prophets: “O that you would rend the heavens and come down!”, Isaiah had prayed (64: 1). At that moment… this prayer is heard. Indeed, “The heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him”; and words were heard that had never been heard before: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” …
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come down among human people and reveal to us their love that saves. If it is the Angels who bring the shepherds the announcement of the Saviour’s birth, and the star that conveys it to the Magi who came from the East, now it is the Father’s voice that indicates the presence of his Son in the world to human beings and invites them to look to the Resurrection, to Christ’s victory over sin and death.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from 3rd Sermon for Epiphany (SC 166)
Thanks be to you, true Light, you that “enlighten every man coming into this world” (Jn 1,9), you who for this very purpose have come into this world as a man. Jerusalem has been enlightened, our mother (Gal 4,26), mother of all those who have deserved to be enlightened, so that she now shines upon all who are in the world. Thanks be to you, true Light, you who have become a lamp to enlighten Jerusalem and to make God’s word “a lamp for my feet” (Ps 118[117],105)…
For not only has it been enlightened: it has been “raised aloft on a candlestick”, one all of gold (Mt 5,15; Ex 25,31). The city sits on the mountain of mountains (cf. Mt 5,14)… so that its gospel may shine out far and wide, as far and as wide as the world’s empire spreads
God, you who give light to all nations, of you we will sing: “Behold the Lord will come and enlighten the eyes of his servants” (cf. Jude 14). Behold, you have come, my Light: “Enlighten my eyes, that I may never fall asleep in death” (Ps 13[12],4)… You have come, O Light of the faithful, and behold you have granted us today to rejoice at the enlightening of faith, that is, of our lamp. Grant us also to rejoice always at the enlightening of the darkness that remains to us…
This is the way in which you should advance, O faithful soul, in order that you may cast off the darkness of this world and arrive at your home country of eternal brightness, where “your darkness will be like midday” (Is 58,10) and “night will be lit up like day” (Ps 139[138],12).
Then indeed, then “you will see and be radiant, your heart will thrill and rejoice” (Is 60,5), when the whole earth is filled with the majesty of unbounded light and “his glory is seen in you” (Is 60,2)… “Come and let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (Is 2,5); as “children of light” let us walk “from brightness to brightness, as led by the Lord who is Spirit” (2Cor 3,18).
St. Ephrem from Commentary on the Diatessaron, 5, 6 (SC 121)
Why did our Lord change water into wine as his first sign? It was to show how God, who transforms nature into something else, also works his transformation in the womb of the Virgin. In the same way, as the crown of his miraculous deeds, Jesus opened a tomb to make known his freedom with regard to the death that is hungry to swallow up everything.
To both authenticate and confirm the twofold reversal of nature brought by his birth and his resurrection, Jesus changed water into wine without in any way altering the stone water-jars. This was the symbol of his own body, miraculously conceived and wonderfully created in a virgin without the working of a man… Contrary to their normal use, the jars… brought new wine into the world without ever repeating the same miracle again.
In the same way the Virgin conceived and brought Emmanuel into the world (Is 7,14) without afterwards conceiving again. The miracle of the stone water-jars was that what was small became great, sparseness was changed into superabundance, plain water into sweet wine… In Mary, on the other hand, the greatness and glory of the godhead changed its appearance to take on the aspect of weakness and humiliation. Those jars were used for the Jewish purifications; into them our Lord poured his teaching: he demonstrated that he came according to the Law and the prophets but with the purpose of changing them all through his teaching as the water became wine… “The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1,17).
The bridegroom who lived in Cana invited the Bridegroom from heaven, and the Lord, who was ready for that wedding, answered his invitation. Those seated at table invited him who sets worlds in his Kingdom, and he sent them a wedding gift able to delight them… They had no wine even of an ordinary sort; he poured a little from his own abundance for them. In return for their invitation he himself invited them to his own wedding.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons from Against the Heresies, Book 3, 22, 3; 23,1 (SC 211, 439 rev.)
Luke gives us a genealogy that goes from Our Lord’s birth to Adam, comprising seventy-two generations. In a certain sense he joins the end to the beginning and gives us to understand that our Lord is he who recapitulated in himself every nation spread abroad since the time of Adam, every human language and generation including that of Adam himself.
For the same reason Paul calls Adam “the type of the one who was to come” (Rm 5,14) since the Word, the Creator of the universe, had sketched beforehand in Adam the future history of the humanity in which the Son of God would clothe himself…
In becoming the Firstborn from the dead (Col 1,18) and receiving the Fathers of old into his bosom, our Lord caused them to be reborn into the life of God. He became the first, the principle of the living, since Adam had become the principle of the dead…
By beginning his genealogy with the Lord to make it go back to Adam Luke shows that it was not the forefathers who had given life to the Lord but, to the contrary, that it was he who caused them to be reborn into the Gospel of life. In the same way, the knot tied by the disobedience of Eve had been untied by the obedience of Mary, since what the virgin Eve had tied by her unbelief the Virgin Mary had untied by her faith. Thus it was indispensable that, by coming to meet the lost sheep (Mt 18,12), recapitulating such a great history, seeking out the work he himself had fashioned (Lk 19,10; Gn 2,7), the Lord should save the man made in his own image and likeness (Gn 1,26), namely Adam.
St. Nerses Chnorhali from Jesus, Only Son of the Father, 85-95 (SC 203)
“You will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending” Lord, you called Jacob, Isaac and Rebecca’s youngest son, your beloved; you changed his name to that of Israel (Gn 32,29). You revealed the future to him when you showed him the ladder reaching from earth to heaven: at its summit, God was standing, gazing on the world, and on the ladder angels ascended and descended… It was the symbol of a great mystery as men enlightened by the Spirit declared…
As for me, on the good side, I too am the youngest son. On the bad side, without doubt I am a mature man like the elder son Esau…: I have sold my wealth to satisfy my greed (Gn 25,33) and blotted out my name from the Book of Life where the first among the blessed are written in heaven (Ps 68,29).
I beseech you, O thou Light from on high, Prince of the fiery choirs. May the doors of heaven be opened for me too as they were opened in former times for Israel. Be pleased to make my fallen soul rise up by the ladder of light, the mysterious sign granted to men of their return from earth to heaven.
Through the wiles of the Evil One I have lost the scented unction of your Spirit; deign to anoint my head once more with your protecting right hand. I do not fight against you, O most powerful One, wrestling like Jacob (Gn 32,25), for I am nothing but weakness.
St. John Chrysostom from Homilies on the Gospel of John, 19
When he had stayed with Jesus and learned a great deal, Andrew did not keep these riches to himself but made haste to run to his brother and share with him the benefits he had gained…
Now note how Peter had a docile and obedient spirit from the beginning…, since he ran back without delay: “Andrew brought him to Jesus,” the evangelist says. Yet let no one accuse him of superficiality, as though he had blindly taken up his brother’s invitation. It is very likely that the latter had spoken to him in detail and at length. However, the evangelists suppress a great deal out of a concern for conciseness. In any case, it is not said that Peter believed on the spot but that his brother “led him to Jesus” so as to entrust him to him, so that Peter might be fully instructed by him. When John the Baptist said: “Behold the Lamb” and “He will baptize in Holy Spirit”, he entrusted Christ with the task of more clearly teaching this doctrine himself. Even more so did Andrew do the same, for he did not consider himself capable of explaining everything. He led his brother to the very source of light, and with such great haste and joy that he did not hesitate for an instant to go there.
St. Jerome from On Isaiah, ch. 11
“A shoot shall sprout from the stock of Jesse (David’s father) and from his roots abud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” (Is 11,1-2). This whole prophecy is about Christ…
The Jews interpret the shoot and the flower sprouting from the stock of Jesse as the Lord himself: for them, the shoot is a symbol of the royal scepter, the flower represents his beauty.
Where we Christians are concerned, in the shoot that issues from the stock of Jesse we see the holy Virgin Mary to whom none was united to make her fruitful. It is she whom the same prophet pointed to in an earlier passage: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (7,14). And in the flower we recognize our Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Songs: “I am the flower of the field and lily of the valleys” (Sg 2,1)…
Upon this flower that suddenly sprouts from the stock and root of Jesse through the Virgin Mary, the Spirit of the Lord comes to rest, for “it pleased God to make the whole fullness of the deity dwell in him bodily” (Col 2,9). Not in a partial way as it did on other saints but as we read in the Gospel of Matthew: “Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles” (Mt 12,18; Is 42,1).
We apply this prophecy to the Savior on whom the Spirit of the Lord rested, meaning that he made his eternal dwelling in him… As John the Baptist testifies, he descended to remain always upon him: “”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’”…
This Spirit is called “a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and of strength, a Spirit of knowledge, reverence and fear of the Lord” (Is 11,2)… He is the one and only source of all gifts.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from Sermon 5 for Advent
“Prepare the way of the Lord.” Brothers, even if you have advanced greatly on this way, you still have to prepare it, so that from the point where you have already arrived, you might always go forward, always stretched out towards what is beyond. Thus, since the way has been prepared for his coming, with every step that you take, the Lord will come to meet you, always new, always greater.
So the righteous person is right to pray thus: “Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them.” (Ps 119:33) And this way is called “the path of eternity” (Ps 139:24) … because the goodness of him towards whom we are advancing is unlimited.
That is why the wise and determined traveler, even though he has arrived at the goal, will think of beginning. “Giving no thought to what lies behind,” (Phil 3:13), he will tell himself every day: “Now I begin (Ps 76:11 Vulgata) …
May it please heaven that we who talk about advancing on this path might at least have set out! To my understanding, whoever has set out is already on the good way.
However, we must really begin, find “the way to an inhabited city” (Ps 107:4). For Truth says: “How few there are who find it!” (Mt 7:14) And many are those “who go astray in the desert.” (Ps 107:4) …
And you, Lord, have prepared a path for us, if we only agree to go on it… Through your Law, you have taught us the path of your will by saying: “This is the way; walk in it, when you would turn to the right or to the left.” (Isa 30:21) It is the path that the prophet had promised: “A highway will be there… No fools go astray on it.” (Isa 35:8)… I have never seen a fool going astray when following your path, Lord… But woe to you who are wise in your own sight (Isa 5:21).
Your wisdom has taken you away from the path of salvation and has not allowed you to follow the Savior’s folly… A desirable folly, which at the time of God’s judgment will be called wisdom and which does not let us go astray, away from his path.
St. Ephrem from Hymn 7 on the Virgin
Come, O Sages, let us wonder at the Virgin Mary, daughter of David, that flower of beauty who has given birth to this marvel. Let us wonder at the spring from which this stream has welled up, the ship laden with bounty bringing us the message of the Father.
In her most pure breast she has received and borne that great God who rules all creation, the God through whom peace now reigns on earth and in the heavens. She alone of all creatures has given birth without knowing man. Her soul was full of wonder and joyfully each day she gave glory to God for gifts that seemed incapable of joining in one: her virginal purity and her beloved child. Yes indeed, blessed is he who was born of her!…
She carried him and sang his praise in sweet songs…: “My son, your real place is to be raised up above all things but, because you willed it, you have found a place in me. The heavens are too narrow for your majesty, yet I, who am so small, am bearing you! Let Ezekiel come and see you on my lap; let him bow down and worship and acknowledge in you him whom he beheld seated on the chariot of the cherubim (cf. Ez 1).
Let him proclaim me blessed, thanks to him whom I bear!… Isaiah, you who proclaimed: ‘Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son’ (7,14), come and look on me, be glad with me… See how I have given birth while guarding intact the seal of my virginity. Behold Emmanuel who, in former times, was hidden from your sight… Come to me, O Sages, singers of the Spirit, prophets who, in your visions, received the revelation of hidden realities, laborers who, after sowing, slept in hope. Arise, leap for joy as you see the harvest of fruit. See in my arms the grain of life that gives bread to the hungry and satisfies the wretched. Rejoice with me: I have received the wheatsheaf of joy!”
St. Clement of Alexandria from Homily ``How can the rich man be saved?`` 37
Contemplate the mysteries of love and you will see “the Father’s heart” which only “the only Son has made known”, he who is God (Jn 1,18). God is love (1Jn 4,8) and, because of that love, he has allowed himself to be seen by us. In his inexpressible Being he is Father; in his compassion for us he has become our Mother. By loving, the Father is shown to be also feminine.
The overwhelming proof of this lies in him whom he begets from himself. And this Son, the fruit of his love, is love. Because of this love he himself has come down. Because of this love he has put on our humanity. Because of this love he has freely endured everything that arises from our human condition.
So, in placing himself on a level with our weakness, he has placed us, whom he loved, on a level with his own greatness in return. When he was about to offer himself in sacrifice and to give up his own self as the price of our redemption, he left us a new covenant: “My love I give you” (cf. Jn 13,34; 14,27). What love is this? What is its worth? He “laid down his life” for each one of us (1Jn 3,16), a life more precious than the whole world.
Pope Paul VI from Homily at Nazareth January 5, 1964
The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus – the school of the Gospel. The first lesson we learn here is to look, to listen, to meditate and penetrate the meaning – at once so deep and so mysterious – of this very simple, very humble and very beautiful manifestation of the Son of God. Perhaps we learn, even imperceptibly, the lesson of imitation…
How gladly would I become a child again, and go to school once more in this humble and sublime school of Nazareth: close to Mary, I wish I could make a fresh start at learning the true science of life and the higher wisdom of divine truths…
First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us, besieged as we are by so many uplifted voices, the general noise and uproar, in our seething and over-sensitized modern life. May the silence of Nazareth teach us recollection, inwardness, the disposition to listen to good inspirations and the teachings of true masters. May it teach us the need for and the value of preparation, of study, of meditation, of personal inner life, of the prayer which God alone sees in secret (Mt 6,6).
Next, there is a lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character. Let us learn from Nazareth that the formation received at home is gentle and irreplaceable. Let us learn me prime importance of the role of the family in the social order.
Finally, there is a lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the ‘Carpenter’s Son’ (Mt 13,55), in you I would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work; here I would restore the awareness of the nobility of work, and reaffirm that work cannot be an end in itself, but that its freedom and its excellence derive, over and above its economic worth, from the value of those for whose sake it is undertaken. And here at Nazareth I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their great pattern, their brother who is God. He is the prophet of all their just causes, Christ our Lord.
St. Cyprian from On Mortality, 2-3
“The kingdom of God is at hand” (Lk 21,31). The king-dom of God, beloved brethren, has begun to be at hand; the reward of life and the joy of eternal salvation and per-petual happiness and the possession of paradise once lost are now coming with the passing of the world; now the things of heaven are succeeding those of earth; great things, small, and eternal things, transitory. What place is there here for anxiety and worry?…
It is written that “the just man lives by faith” (Rm 1,17). If you are just and live by faith, if you truly believe in Jesus Christ, why do you, who are destined to be with Christ and secure in the promise of the Lord, not rejoice that you are called to Christ…?
Take the example of Simeon, the just man who was truly just, who with full faith kept the commandments of God: when the answer had been given him from heaven that he would not die before he had seen Christ, and when Christ as an infant had come into the temple with His mother, he knew in spirit that Christ was now born, concerning whom it had been foretold to him before, and on seeing him he knew that he himself would quickly die.
Happy, therefore, at the death that was now at hand and untroubled at the approaching summons, he took the child into his hands and, blessing God, he cried out and said: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”
Thus he proved surely and bore witness that the servants of God have peace, they have a free and tranquil repose when, on being released from the storms of this world, they have sought the harbor of our abode and eternal security… For that is our peace, that our sure tranquility, that our steadfast and firm and everlasting security.
St. Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 152 (PL 52, 604)
Where does this jealousy lead?… The crime committed today shows us. Fear of a rival to his earthly kingdom fills Herod with anxiety; he plots to suppress “the newborn King” (Mt 2,2), the eternal King; he fights against his Creator and puts innocent children to death… As for those children, what fault had they committed? Their tongues were dumb, their eyes had seen nothing, their ears heard nothing, their hands done nothing. They accepted death who had not known life…
Christ reads the future and knows the secrets of the heart; he weighs our thoughts and probes our intentions (cf. Ps 139[138]): why did he forsake them?… Why did the newborn heavenly King abandon these companions in innocence, forget the sentinels watching around his crib to such an extent that the foe who wanted to get at the King ravaged his whole army?
My brethren Christ did not forsake his soldiers but covered them with honor by granting them to conquer before they had lived and to carry away the prize without a fight… He wanted them to possess heaven rather than earth… He sent them before him as his heralds. He did not abandon them but saved those who went on ahead. He did not forget them…
Blessed are they who have exchanged their travail for repose, their pains for ease, their suffering for joy. They are alive! Yes, they are alive; they live indeed who have undergone death for Christ’s sake… Happy the tears their mothers shed for these infants: they have won them the grace of baptism… May he who deigned to rest in our stable be pleased to lead us also to the heavenly pastures.
Origen from Commentary on the Gospel of John, I, 21-25 (SC 120)
I think the four evangelists are crucial elements in the faith of the Church… and I think that the first shoot of the gospels lies… in the gospel of John who, in speaking of him of whom others gave the genealogy, begins with him who had none. Thus Matthew, writing for Jews awaiting the son of Abraham, and of David the son of Abraham, says: “The genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham” (1,1); and Mark, well aware of what he is writing, puts: “Beginning of the Gospel” (1,1). But we find the whole end of the Gospel in John; it is: “the Word that was in the beginning”, the Word of God (1,1). Luke, too, keeps the most important and perfect discourses concerning Jesus for him who leaned on Jesus’ breast (Jn 13,35).
None of them showed his divinity in so absolute a manner than John, who makes him say: “I am the light of the world”, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, “I am the resurrection”, “I am the door”, “I am the Good Shepherd” (8,12; 14,6; 11,25; 10,9.11) and, in the Apocalypse: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (22,13).
So we must dare to say that the Gospels are the firstfruits of Scripture as a whole and that, from among the Gospels, the first place belongs to John, whose meaning no one can grasp who has not leaned on Jesus’ breast and received, from Jesus, Mary for his mother (Jn 19,27)…
When Jesus said to his mother: “Behold, your son” and not, “Behold, this man is also your son”, it is as if he said to her: “Behold the son to whom you gave birth”. Indeed, whoever has reached perfection “is no longer alive, but Christ lives in him” (Gal 2,20)…
Do we still have to say what kind of intelligence is needed for us worthily to interpret the word laid in earthern treasures (cf. 2Cor 4,7) in plain language? in the letter that can be read by anyone at all? in the word that a word can make audible and that all who listen may hear? For, to interpret John’s gospel accurately, we must be able to say: “As for us, we have the mind of Christ so that we may understand the things freely given us by God” (1Cor 2,16.12).
St. John Chrysostom from Sermon for Good Friday
Let us imitate our Lord and pray for our enemies… He was crucified yet, at the same time, prayed to his Father for the sake of those who were crucifying him. But how could I possibly imitate our Lord, one might ask? If you want to, you can. If you weren’t able to do it how could he have said: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart”? (Mt 11,29)…
If you have difficulty in imitating our Lord, at least imitate him who is also his servant, his deacon. I would speak of Stephen. Just as Christ, in the midst of those crucifying him, without considering the cross, without considering his own predicament, pleaded with the Father on behalf of his tormentors (Lk 23,34), so his servant, surrounded by those who were stoning him, attacked by all, crushed beneath a hail of stones and without taking any account of the suffering they were causing him, said: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7,60).
Do you see how the Son spoke and how his servant prayed? The former said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” and the latter: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Moreover, to make us realise better the fervor with which he was praying, he did not just pray as he stood beneath the blows of the stones but he spoke on his knees with sincerity and compassion…
Christ said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. Stephen cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Paul, in his turn, said: “I offer up this sacrifice for my brethren, my kin according to race” (cf. Rm 9,3). Moses said: “If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written!” (Ex 32,32). David said: “May your hand fall on me and my kindred” (2Sam 24,17)…
What kind of forgiveness do we think we shall get if we ourselves do the opposite of what is asked of us and pray against our enemies, when the Lord himself, and his servants of both Old and New Testaments, direct us to pray on their behalf?
Pope Benedict XVI from Homily of December 24, 2005
In Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God himself, God from God, became man. To him the Father says: “You are my son” (Ps 2,7). God’s everlasting “today” has come down into the fleeting today of the world and lifted our momentary today into God’s eternal today.
God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can make himself vulnerable and come to us as a defenceless child, so that we can love him. God is so good that he can give up his divine splendour and come down to a stable, so that we might find him, so that his goodness might touch us, give itself to us and continue to work through us.
This is Christmas: “You are my son, this day I have begotten you”. God has become one of us, so that we can be with him and become like him. As a sign, he chose the Child lying in the manger: this is how God is. This is how we come to know him. And on every child shines something of the splendour of that “today”, of that closeness of God which we ought to love and to which we must yield – it shines on every child, even on those still unborn.
St. Bernard from First Sermon for Christmas Eve
“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Judah”… What announ cement could be sweeter?… Was its like ever heard before? or when did the world ever receive such tidings? “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Judah.” Such short words, telling of the Eternal Word abbre-viated for us! O word full of heavenly delights!… “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Judah.” O Nativity of spotless sanctity! O birth honorable for the world, birth pleasing and welcome to men because of the magnificence of the benefit it bestows; birth incomprehensible to the angels, by reason of the depth and sacredness of the mystery! (cf. Eph 3,10)…
“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Judah.” Awake, you who lie in the dust; awake and give praise! Behold, the Lord comes with salvation. Behold the Anointed of the Lord, his Christ; behold him who comes with glory… Happy the soul who is drawn to “run in the odor of his ointments” (Sg 1,4 LXX): she will see “his glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father” (Jn 1,14).
Take courage, you who were lost! Jesus comes to seek and save that which was lost. You sick, return to health: Christ comes to heal the contrite of heart with the unction of His mercy. Rejoice, all you who desire great things: the Son of God comes down to you that he may make you co-heirs of his Kingdom (Rm 8,17).
I beseech you, then, O Lord: heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved (Jer 7,14); glorify me, and I shall be glorious. Yes indeed: “bless the Lord my soul, and let all that is within me praise his holy Name” (Ps 103[102],1)… The Son of God became man to make men sons of God.
St. Maximus of Turin from Sermon 57, on the Birth of John the Baptist, 1 (PL 57, 647)
God predestined John the Baptist to come proclaiming the joy of humankind and the happiness of heaven. The world listened to the wonderful words that fell from his mouth announcing the presence of our Redeemer, the Lamb of God (Jn 1,29). When his parents had lost all hope of gaining an issue, the angel, messenger of so great a mystery, sent him to serve as a witness to the Lord even before he was born (Lk 1,41)…
He filled his mother’s womb with joy as she was bearing him… As we read in those words in the Gospel that Elizabeth spoke to Mary: “When I heard the words of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And how is it that I have this happiness that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Lk 1,43-44)…
Even as, in her old age, she was mourning that she had given no children to her husband, all at once she gave birth to a son who was also the messenger of eternal salvation for the whole world. And such a messenger that, even before his birth, he exercised the privilege of his future ministry when he poured out his prophetic spirit through his mother’s words.
Then, by the power of the name given to him beforehand by the angel, he opened his father’s mouth, which had been shut by his lack of faith (Lk 1,13.20) For when Zechariah became dumb it wasn’t to remain so but so as to divinely restrain the use of his speech and confirm by a heavenly sign that his son was a prophet.
Therefore the Gospel says of John: “This man was not the Light but he came to testify to it that all might believe through him” (cf. Jn 1,7-8). It is true that he who was worthy to bear testimony to the true Light was not the Light, but he was wholly in the light.
A Greek Homily of the 4th Century wrongly attributed to Gregory of Neocaesarea, called 'Thaumaturgos', 2 (PG 10, 1156)
Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… He has helped Israel his child (Lk 1,54 Gk.), remembering his mercy and the covenant he made with Abraham and his descendants for ever.” Do you observe how the Virgin surpasses the perfection of the patriarch and seals the covenant God made with Abraham when he said to him: “This is to be the covenant between me and you”? (Gn 17,11)…
It is the song of this prophecy that the holy Mother of God addressed to God when she said: “My soul magnifies the Lord…, for he who is Mighty has magnified me; holy is his name. In making me the mother of God he preserves my virginity. The full number of every generation is summed up within my womb, that they may be made holy in it. For he has blessed all ages, men and woman, young people, children, the old”…
“He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly”… The lowly, the gentile peoples hungry for righteousness (Mt 5,6), have been exalted. By making known their lowliness and hunger for God, and by begging for God’s word just as the Canaanite woman asked for crumbs (Mt 15,27), they have been satisfied with the riches concealed within the divine mysteries.
For Jesus Christ our God, son of the Virgin, has handed out to the gentiles the whole inheritance of divine favors. “He has raised up Israel his child”: not just any Israel, but his child, on whose exalted birth he bestows honor. This is why the Mother of God calls this people her child and her heir. God, who found this people worn out by the letter, wearied by the Law, calls it to his grace.
By giving this name to Israel he raises him up, “remembering his mercy, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.” These few words sum up the whole mystery of our salvation. Wanting to save humankind and seal the covenant established with our fathers, Jesus Christ then “inclined the heavens and came down” (Ps 18[17],10). Thus he manifested himself to us, putting himself within our reach so that we might see him, touch him and hear him speak.
Byzantine Liturgy from Acathist hymn to the Mother of God (7th c.)
“The infant in my womb leaped for joy”
Bearing God within her womb, the Virgin hastened to Elizabeth, whose unborn child, knowing at once the salutation of Mary, rejoiced and, leaping up as if in song, cried out to the Mother of God :
Hail, vine whence springs a never-withering branch.
Hail, orchard of the fruit of life.
Hail, for thou tendest the Husbandman, friend of man (Sg 1,6).
Hail, for thou hast borne the Gardener who cultivates our life.
Hail, earth yielding a rich harvest of redemption.
Hail, table laden with mercy in abundance for the forgiveness of sins.
Hail, for through thee the fields of Eden flower again:
Hail, for thou makest ready a haven of peace for our souls.
Hail, acceptable incense of intercession to God (Gn 8,21).
Hail, propitiation for the whole world.
Hail, loving-kindness of God unto mortal man:
Hail, freedom of approach for mortals unto God.
Hail, Bride without bridegroom!
Tossed inwardly by a storm of doubts, prudent Joseph was troubled: knowing thee to be unwedded, O blameless Virgin, he feared a stolen union. But when he learnt that thy conceiving was from the Holy Spirit (Mt 1,20), he said: “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!”
The shepherds heard the angels glorify Christ’s coming in the flesh. Quickly they ran to the Shepherd and beheld him as a Lamb without spot that had been pastured in the womb of Mary; and they sang praises to her, saying:
Hail, Mother of the Lamb and of the Good Shepherd (Jn 1,29; 10,14). Hail, fold of the gathered sheep (Jn 10,16).
Hail, protection against rapacious wolves (v.12).
Hail, key to the door of Paradise.
Hail, for the heavens exult with the earth (Lk 2,14). Hail, for things on earth rejoice with the heavens. Hail, never-silent voice of the apostles.
Hail, unconquered courage of the victorious martyrs. Hail, firm foundation of the faith.
Hail, shining revelation of grace.
Hail, for through thee hell is stripped bare.
Hail, for through thee we are clothed in glory.
Hail, Bride without bridegroom!…
Seeing this strange birth, let us become strangers to the world, fixing our minds in heaven. To this end has the Most High God appeared on earth as a lowly man, because he wishes to draw heavenward all who cry aloud to Him: “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!”
Prudential Extract from a Christmas Hymn ``Quid rest quod arum circulum``
Brought to birth by a mother most pure,
Who gave birth to you not knowing man;
In both your natures show yourself, O Mediator.
Though born in time from the Father’s mouth,
Fathered by his word (Lk 1,38),
Even now you dwell in the Father’s breast (Jn 1,2)
Who are eternal Wisdom (1Cor 1,24).
You are the Wisdom who created all (Prv 8,27):
The heavens, the light, and all that is.
You are the mighty Word who made the world (Heb 1,3),
For the Word is God himself (Jn 1,2).
When he had set in order the course of ages
And fixed the laws of the universe,
This builder and Framer of the world
Remained in the Father’s breast.
But when time had covered
Thousands of years,
You came down to visit
This world so sinful for so long a time.
Christ could not bear the fall
Of peoples who were lost,
Nor allow his Father’s work
To descend into nothingness.
He put on a mortal body
That the resurrection of our flesh Might break the bonds of death
and bring us back to the Father… gracious Virgin, do you not sense how, Despite your sorrowful presentiments, This glorious childbearing
Increases the lustre of your virginity?
Your most pure womb contains the blessed fruit That fills all creatures with joy.
A new world will be born through you:
Dawn of a day that shines like gold.
St. Maximus of Turin from Sermon 5 (PL 57, 863)
It was prayer, not sexual desire, that brought about John’s conception. Elizabeth’s womb was already past the age of childbearing, her body had lost all hope of conceiving, yet, in spite of this state of hopelessness, the prayer of Zachariah permitted her aged body to bear fruit once more. It was grace, not nature, that conceived John. He could not but be a saint, this child whose birth resulted less from an embrace than from prayer.
However, we shouldn’t be surprised that John was worthy of so glorious a birth. The birth of Christ’s forerunner, of him who made straight his way, had to show some resemblance to that of the Lord our Savior. Thus, if our Lord was born of a virgin, John was conceived by and old and barren woman… And we do not wonder the less at Elizabeth for conceiving in her old age than Mary giving birth in virginity.
To my mind there is something symbolic in this: John represented the Old Testament; he was born of the blood, already cold, of an aged woman. Whereas Our Lord, who announced the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven, is offspring of vigorous youth. Mary, aware of her virginity, wonders at the child curled up in her womb; Elizabeth, aware of her age, blushes at her womb swollen by pregnancy; as the evangelist says: “She went into seclusion for five months”.
We are to admire, too, the fact that the same archangel, Gabriel, announced both births: he brought consolation to Zachariah, who remained incredulous; he came to Mary, whom he found believing (Lk 1,26f.). The first lost his voice for having doubted; the second, because she believed at once, conceived the Word, the Savior.
St. Bernard from Homily 4 on the ``Missus set,`` 8-9
You have heard, O Virgin, that you are to conceive and bring forth a Son, and that it will not be through the power of man but by the virtue of the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits your reply, for it is time that he should return to God who sent him.
We, too, are waiting, O Lady, for a word of mercy: we, who are groaning under the sentence of condemnation. See, the price of our salvation is offered to you; if you consent, we shall at once be delivered. By the Eternal Word of God were we all created, and behold we will all die. By your brief answer we shall be refreshed and recalled to life…
Hasten, then, O Lady, to give your answer; hasten to speak the word so longed for by all on earth, in limbo, and in heaven. Yes, the King and Lord of all things, who has “greatly desired your beauty” (Ps 45[44],12), desires as eagerly your word of consent by which He has purposed to save the world. He whom you pleased by your silence will be yet more pleased by your reply. Hark! He calls to you from heaven: “O most beautiful among women, let me hear your voice” (Sg 1,8; 2,14)…
Answer the angel quickly, then; yes, through the angel give your consent to your God. Answer one syllable, receive the Word; utter your own word and conceive that which is Divine. Speak the word that is transitory, and embrace the Word that is everlasting…
“Behold,” she says, “the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.”
St. Leo the Great from 3rd sermon on the Feast of the Nativity, 4-5 (SC 22)
The Incarnation of the Word only con-tributed to the doing of those things that were done: and the mystery of humankind’s salvation was never, even in the remotest age, at a standstill. What the apostles foretold, the prophets announced: nor were those things fulfilled too late which had always been believed. But the wisdom and good-ness of God made us all the more receptive of his call… as the foretelling of it had been ancient and oft-repeated.
And so it was no new counsel, no tardy pity whereby God took thought for us, but from the foundation ofl the world he ordained one and the same cause of Salvation for all. For the grace of God, by which the whole body of the saints is continually made righteous, was increased, not initiated, when Christ was born. And this mystery of God’s great love, with which the whole world is now filled, was so effectively pre- signified that those who believed the promise obtained no less than those who were the actual recipients.
And so, dearly beloved, since that loving-kindness is now manifest with which all the wealth of divine goodness has been showered on us, whose call to eternal life has been promoted, not only by the supportive example of those who went before us but by the visible and bodily appearance of Truth itself, we are bound to keep the day of our Lord’s nativity with a joy beyond this world…
By the illumination of the Holy Spirit consider who it was who received us into himself and whom we have received, since as the Lord Jesus became our flesh by being born, so we also became his body by being re-born… For God suggested to us the standard of his own gentleness and humility… Let us imitate his humility, then, to whose glory we would wish to be conformed. He himself will help us and lead us to what he has promised.
St. Maximus of Turin from Sermon 62, 261 (PL 57, 537)
When the whole universe was overshadowed by the darkness of the devil and sin’s gloom dominated the world, a new sun, Christ our Lord, willed in these last days, when night was nearly over, to shine forth the first rays of a new day.
But before this light appeared, that is to say before the “sun of righteousness” (Mal 3,20) arose, God had already announced it like a first gleam through his prophets: “I sent my prophets before the light” (Jr 7,25 Vg.). Later, Christ himself put forth his rays – that is to say, his apostles – to make his light shine out and fill the universe with his truth so that none might be lost in darkness…
But so as to finish doing our necessary tasks before the sun of this world arises, we mortals anticipate the light with our lamps. Likewise Christ the sun also has his lamp to precede his coming, as the prophet says: “I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed” (Ps 132[131],17).
And Our Lord shows us what this lamp is when he says with regard to John the Baptist: “He was a burning, shining light.” And John himself said, as though he were the feeble glimmering of a lantern being carried on ahead: “But one is coming who is stronger than I and I am not worthy to undo his sandal strap.
He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Lk 3,16). And at the same time, knowing that his light was to be eclipsed by the sun’s rays, he prophesied: “He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3,30). Indeed, just as the glow of a lantern fades away at the coming of the sun, so the baptism of repentance preached by John faded before the coming of the grace of Christ.
St. Ephrem from Commentary on the Diatessaron, 9, 7-13 (SC 121)
“Of all that are born of women, none is greater than John.”
Were all the saints – righteous, upright and wise – joined together and dwelling within a single man, they would not be able to equal John the Baptist… of whom it has been said that he surpasses by far all other men and belongs to the class of angels (Mk 1,2 Gk; Mal 3,1 Heb.).
“But the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he”… By what he has said concerning John’s greatness our Lord wanted to make known God’s immense generosity to us and his generosity towards his chosen ones. However great and famous John might be it is less than the least in the kingdom, as the apostle Paul said: “Our knowledge is in part… but when what is perfect has come, what is in part will pass away” (1Cor 13,9-10).
Yes, John is great – he who had the presentiment to say: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1,29) – but this greatness is no more than a tiny foretaste compared to the glory to be revealed to those who are found worthy. To put it another way: all great and wonderful things here below appear in all their smallness and insignificance compared to the blessedness above…
John was found worthy of the great gifts of this life: prophecy, priesthood (cf. Lk 1,5) and righteousness… John is greater than Moses and the prophets yet the old Law has need of the New Covenant since he who is greater than the prophets said to the Lord: “I need to be baptized by you” (Mt 3,14).
John is great, too, because his conception was announced by an angel, his birth was surrounded with miracles, he announced the One who bestows life, he baptized for the remission of sins… Moses led the people as far as the Jordan and the Law led humankind to the baptism of John. Yet if “of all that are born of women none is greater than John”, the Lord’s forerunner, how much greater must they be whose feet the Lord washed and into whom he breathed his Spirit? (Jn 13,4; 20,22).
Aphrahat from The Demonstrations, 6, 13
Our Lord bore witness that John is the greatest of the prophets, yet he received the Spirit according to a certain degree since John received a spirit like that of Elijah.
Just as Elijah went to dwell in solitude so God’s Spirit led John to dwell in the wilderness, mountains and caves. A raven flew to Elijah’s help by feeding him; John ate locusts. Elijah wore a leather belt and John wore a leather loincloth round his hips. Elijah was persecuted by Jezebel; Herodias persecuted John. Elijah rebuked Ahab; John rebuked Herod. Elijah divided the waters of the Jordan; John opened up baptism. Elijah’s double measure of spirit came to rest on Elisha; John placed his hands on our Lord, who then received the Spirit without measure (Jn 3,34). Elijah opened heaven and went up; John saw the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descending and resting on our Savior.
St. Gregory the Great from Homilies on the Gospel, 4
“I bap-tize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know.” John did not baptize with the Spirit, but with water, since he was unable to take away the sins of those being bap-tized. He washed their bodies with water, but not their hearts with pardon.
Why did one whose baptism did not forgive sins baptize, except that he was observing his vo-cation as forerunner? He whose birth foreshadowed a greater birth, by his baptizing foreshadowed the Lord who would truly baptize; he whose preaching made him the forerun-ner of Christ, by baptizing also became his forerunner, us-ing a symbol of the future sacrament.
With these other mysteries he makes known the mystery of our Redeemer, declaring that he has stood among men and not been known. The Lord appeared in a human body: he came as God in flesh, visible in his body, invisible in his majesty. He goes on to say about him: “He who comes after me was made before me” (Jn 1,15)…; he revealed the reason for this precedence when he said: “because he was before me.” He means, “Even though he was born after me, he surpasses me in that the time of his birth does not limit him. He who is born from his mother in time was begotten of his Father before time.”
John reveals the great humility and reverence he owes Christ by saying: “I am not worthy to undo the strap of his sandal.” It was the custom among the ancients that if someone was unwilling to take the wife he should be taking, he who should have come to her as bridegroom by right of relation-ship would undo his sandal.
How did Christ appear among men if not as the bridegroom of holy Church?… But since peo-ple considered John the Christ, a fact which he denied, he was right to declare his unworthiness to undo the strap of Christ’s sandal. It is as if he was saying…: “I am not unrightfully usurping for myself the name of bridegroom” (cf. Jn 3,29).
St. John Damascene from 1st Sermon on the Dormition
“Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb…” For all generations will call you blest, as you said (Lk 1:48). The daughters of Jerusalem, that is to say, the Church, saw you and proclaimed your happiness… For you are the royal throne near which the angels stood contemplating their Master and Creator, who was seated on it (Dan 7:9).
You have become the spiritual Eden, more sacred and more divine than the former one. The earthly Adam lived in the former; in you lives the Lord who came from heaven (1 Cor 15:47). Noah’s ark was a prefiguration of you; it saved the seed of the second creation, for you gave birth to Christ, the world’s salvation, who submerged sin and pacified the floods.
It was you whom the burning bush described ahead of time, whom the tables depicted, on which God wrote (Ex 31:18), which the ark of the covenant told about; it is you whom the golden urn, the candelabra… and Aaron’s staff that blossomed (Num 17:23) obviously prefigured…
I almost left out Jacob’s ladder. Just as Jacob saw heaven united with the earth by means of the two ends of the ladder, and the angels descending and ascending on it, and as the one who is really the strong and invincible one engaged in a symbolic struggle with him, thus you yourself became the mediator and ladder by which God came down to us and took upon himself the weakness of our substance, embracing it and closely uniting it to him.
St. Alphonsus Liguori from 1st Sermon for the Octave of Christmas
“O Fire ever burning,” let us say together with St. Augustine, “inflame our souls.” O incarnate Word, you became man to strike in our hearts the fire of divine love, how is it you should find in us such great ingratitude? You held nothing back to enable us to love you; you went as far as to sacrifice your blood and your life. What is the reason we humans remain unmoved by such great gifts? Is it because we know nothing about them? Not at all.
People understand and believe it is for love of them you came down from heaven to put on human flesh and take on the burden of their woes. They know it is for love of them you willed to lead a life of constant suffering and undergo a shameful death. How explain, after all this, their living in such absolute forgetfulness of your unequalled kindness? They love their family, they love their friends, they even love their livestock…; it is for you alone they are without love and without gratitude!
But what am I saying? In accusing others of ungratefulness, I condemn myself since my conduct in your regard is even worse than theirs. Nevertheless your mercy gives me courage. I know how long it has borne with me, to forgive me and set me on fire with your love if only I am willing to repent and love you.
Oh yes, my God, I want to repent…; I want to love you with all my heart. I well see how my heart… has abandoned you to love the things of this world, but I also see how, in spite of this betrayal, you yet claim it as your own. And so, with all the strength of my will, I consecrate it and offer it to you. Therefore, be pleased to inflame it wholly with your holy love and grant that from now on it may love no other thing but you… O my Jesus, I love you; I love you, my sovereign Good! I love you, sole love of my soul.
Mary, my mother, you are the “mother of noble loving” (Sir 24,24 Vg.): grant me the grace of loving my God. It is from you that I hope to gain it.
Eadmer from The Conception of Holy Mary
Mary, Our Lady, the Lord has made you his own mother, so establishing you as mistress and queen of all the world. It is for this reason he formed you by the working of his Spirit from the first moment of your conception in your mother’s womb. O Lady, this is what fills us with joy this day. And we ask you, most sweet Mary, prudent and noble queen, could we possibly set you alongside, or even below, other creatures?
True, the apostle of pure truth states that all men have sinned in Adam (Rm 5,12)… But when I consider the eminent quality of divine grace in you, I note how you are placed in an eminent way: apart from your son, you are above all other created things. And from this I conclude that, in your conception, you cannot have been bound by the same law of human nature as other human beings are. By the eminent grace granted to you, you remained completely free from stain of all sin. A singular grace and divine action unfathomable to the human mind!
Sin alone can distance humankind from God’s peace. To take away this sin and bring humankind back to God’s peace, the Son of God willed to become man but in such a way that nothing in him would in any way share in what was separating us from God. To realize this, it was fitting that his mother should be clean from all sin. For if not, how could our flesh have been so intimately united to supreme purity or man taken up into so great a union with God that all that belongs to God would belong to man and all that belongs to man belong to God?
Peter of Celle from 3rd Sermon of Advent
Lord, send us the Lamb, for it is the lamb, not the lion, we need (Rv 5,5-6). The lamb that does not grow angry and whose gentleness is never ruffled; the lamb that will give us its wool white as snow to warm what is cold in us and cover what is bare; the lamb that will give us its flesh to eat lest we perish on the way for lack of strength (Jn 6,51; Mt 15,32).
Send it full of wisdom for, in its divine prudence, it will overcome the spirit of pride; send it full of might, for it is said that “The Lord is mighty and valiant” (Ps 24[23],8); send it full of gentleness, for “it will descend like dew upon the fleece” (Ps 72[71],6 Vg.); send it like a sacrificial victim, for it is to be sold and sacrificed for our redemption (Mt 26,15; Jn 19,36; Ex 12,46); send it, not to destroy sinners, since it is coming “to call them and not the just” (Mt 9,13); finally, send it “worthy to receive power and honor, worthy to break open the seven seals of the bound scroll” (cf. Rv 4,11; 5,9), namely the inexpressible mystery of the incarnation.
St. Basil of Seleucia from Sermon 26, on the Good Shepherd (PG 85, 299)
Let us consider Christ, our shepherd; let us look at his love for us and his gentleness in leading us to pasture. He delights in the sheep around him even as he seeks for the ones that stray. Hills and forests are no obstacle to him; he runs into the valley of darkness, down to where the lost sheep is to be found.
When he finds it to be sick he does not cast it aside but heals it; taking it on his shoulders, he tends the weary sheep with his own weariness. His exhaustion makes him happy because he has found the lost sheep and this cures him of his suffering. “Which of you,” he says, “having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them does not leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness to go after the one that was lost until he finds it?”
The loss of a single sheep disturbs the happiness of the gathered flock but the joy of finding it again casts this sadness out: “When he finds it… he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep’” (lk 15,5-6). This is the reason why Christ – who is this shepherd – said: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10,11). “The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal” (Ex 34,16).
St. Gregory of Agrigente from On Ecclesiastes, book 10, 2 (PG 98, 1138)
“We have seen incredible things today”
Light is sweet and it is good to see the sun with these eyes of flesh…; that is why Moses said: “And God saw the light and he said that it was good” (Gn 1,4)…
But how good it is for us to reflect on the great, the true and unchanging light “that enlightens everyone coming into the world” (Jn 1,9), namely Christ, the world’s Savior and redeemer. Having disclosed himself before the eyes of the prophets, he became man and entered into the lowest depths of human existence.
It is of him that the prophet David spoke: “Chant praise to God’s name. Prepare a way for him who rises towards the west, whose name is the Lord; exult in his presence” (cf. Ps 68[67],5 Vg.). And Isaiah, too, cried out: “People who sit in darkness, behold this light. For you who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, a light will shine” (cf. 9,1)…
And so the light of the sun that is seen by these eyes of flesh makes known the spiritual Sun of Righteousness (Ml 3,20), the sweetest of all to rise on those who have the happiness of being taught by him and seeing him with their fleshly eyes when he dwelt among us like any ordinary man.
Nevertheless, he was not just an ordinary man in that he was born true God, able to give back sight to the blind, cause the lame to walk, enable the deaf to hear, cleanse lepers and restore the dead to life by his word (Lk 7,22).
Homily attributed to St. Gregory the Wonderworker from Sermons on the Holy Theophany, 4 (PG 10, 1181)
You are the radiance the Father’s glory, the perfect image of the perfect Father (Heb 1,3). You are the true light enlightening every person who comes into the world (Jn 1,9). You were in the world yet you have come to where you were already. You have become flesh, but you have not been changed into flesh. You have lived among us, appearing to your servants in the likeness of a servant (Jn 1,14; 14,23; Phil 2,7). You by your holy name have bridged heaven and earth, and do you come to me? You, so great, to such as I? King to herald, master to servant?…
I know the distance between the earth and the Creator, between the clay and the potter. I know how far I, a lamp lit by your grace, am outshone by you, the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 3,20; Jn 5,35). You are concealed by the pure cloud of your body, but I still recognize your sovereignty. I acknowledge my servile condition; I proclaim your greatness.
I admit your absolute authority, and my own lowly estate. “I am unworthy to undo the strap of your sandal”; how then could I dare to touch your immaculate head? How could I stretch out my hand over you, who “stretched out the heavens like a tent”, and “set the earth upon the waters” (Pss. 104[103],2; 136[135],6)?… Surely it is not for me to pray over you, for you are the one who receives the prayers even of those who have no knowledge of you.
St. Bernard from 7th Sermon for Advent
With all our hearts from now on we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this is nothing other than what we ought to do since he has come, not just to us, but for us. As for the Lord, he has no need of good things from us: the greatness of the grace he has shown us clearly manifests the depth of our need. We assess the gravity of a sickness by what it costs to heal it…
So we needed a Savior to come to us for the state in which we found ourselves rendered his presence indispensable. May the Savior come quickly, then! May he come to live in our midst by faith with all the wealth of his grace. May he come to draw us out of our blindness and free us from our infirmities, taking control of our weakness! If he is within us, who can lead us astray? If he is on our side, what can we not do in him who is our strength? (Phil 4,13). “If he is for us who can be against us?” (Rm 8,31).
Jesus Christ is an unfailing advocate who can neither be deceived not deceive; he is a powerful helper whose strength can never be spent… He is the very wisdom of God, the very strength of God (1Cor 1,24)… So let us all run together to such a Master; in every undertaking implore this aid; in the midst of our struggles entrust ourselves to so certain a defender. If he has come into the world already it is to live in our midst, with us and for us.
St. Augustine from Sermon 18 (PL 38, 128)
“Our God will come openly and will not keep silent” (Ps 50[49],3 Vg). The first coming of Christ the Lord, God’s Son and our God, was in obscurity; the second will be in sight of the whole world. When he came in obscurity no one recognized him but his own servants; when he comes openly he will be known by both good people and bad.
When he came in obscurity, it was to be judged; when he comes openly it will be to judge. He was silent at his trial, as the prophet foretold: “He was like a sheep led to the slaughter, like a lamb before his shearers. He did not open his mouth” (Is 53,7). But, “Our God will come openly; our God will come and will not keep silence”… Nowadays, good people and bad enjoy this world’s so-called happiness; good people and bad suffer from what are deemed this world’s misfortunes. Those whose lives are geared to the present rather than the future are impressed by the fact that this world’s blessings and sufferings fall to the lot of good and bad without distinction. If wealth is their ambition, they see it being enjoyed not only by decent folk, but also by people of the worst kind. If they are in dread of poverty and all the other miseries of this world, they also see that the good and the bad both suffer from them.
Therefore they say to themselves, “God does not see” (Ps 94[93],7); he does not care about human affairs, he exercises no control over them. On the contrary; he has sent us into the abyss of this world, and simply abandoned us to its sufferings. He shows no sign of his providence. Consequently, seeing no evidence of anyone being called to account, such people hold God’s commands in derision…
If God always gave sentence here and now, there would be nothing reserved for the Day of Judgment. That is why much is kept for that day. But in order to put the fear of God into those whose cases are deferred, and so convert them, some judgments are made here and now. For it is clear that God takes no pleasure in condemning. His desire is to save, and he bears patiently with evil people in order to make them good.
Blessed John Henry Newman from Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. 4, 22 ( ``Watching``)
Year passes after year silently; Christ’s coming is ever nearer than it was. O that, as He comes nearer earth, we may approach nearer heaven! O, my brethren, pray Him to give you the heart to seek Him in sincerity. Pray Him to make you in earnest… Pray Him to give you what Scripture calls “an honest and good heart,” or “a perfect heart” (Lk 8,15; Ps 101[100],2), and, without waiting, begin at once to obey Him with the best heart you have. Any obedience is better than none…
You have to seek His face (Ps 28[27],8); obedience is the only way of seeking Him. All your duties are obediences… To do what He bids is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to approach Him. Every act of obedience is an approach,—an approach to Him who is not far off, though He seems so, but close behind this visible screen of things which hides Him from us.
He is behind this material framework; earth and sky are but a veil going between Him and us; the day will come when He will rend that veil, and show Himself to us. And then, according as we have waited for Him, will He recompense us. If we have forgotten Him, He will not know us; but “blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching”(Lk 12,37)… May this be the portion of every one of us! It is hard to attain it; but it is woeful to fail. Life is short; death is certain; and the world to come is everlasting.
Byzantine Liturgy from Vespers for the 30th November
When you heard the voice of the Forerunner…, when the Word became flesh and brought the Gospel of salvation to earth, you stepped forward to follow him when you offered yourself to Him as his firstfruits, as a first gift to Him whom afterwards you would make known, and you pointed him out to your brother as our God (Jn 1,35-41): beseech him to save and enlighten our souls…
You abandon your fishing to fish for men with the line of preaching and the dragnet of faith. You rescued all peoples from the pit of error, O Andrew, brother of the leader of the choir of apostles, whose voice resounds to teach the whole wide world. O come, enlighten all those who celebrate the sweetness of your memory, all those whose lives are lost in darkness…
Andrew, the first to be called of your disciples, has shared your Passion, O Lord, and in death he also made himself one like you. With your cross he fished from the depths of ignorance those who were lost there from former times that he might bring them back to you. Therefore, Good Lord, we sing to you: by his intercession give peace to our souls…
Andrew, rejoice!, who everywhere declare the glory of our God like the eloquent heavens (Ps 19[18],2). You were the first to answer Christ’s call and became his close companion; imitating his kindness, you reflect his light on those who dwell in darkness. Therefore we celebrate your holy feast, singing: “Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message” (Ps 19[18],5).
St. Alphonsus Liguori from 3r Discourse for the Octave of Christmas
God has caused us to be born after the coming of Christ: what great thanks we owe him! For now redemption has been brought into effect by Jesus Christ, how much greater are the blessings we have received! Abraham, the patriarchs and prophets, all longed to see the Savior but they did not know this happiness. They wore out heaven, so to speak, with their sighs and pleas: “O heavens,”they cried, “like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop down the Just One!…
Send forth the Lamb, the Ruler of the land (Is 45,8; 16,1 Vg)… Then he will rule in our hearts and free us from the slavery in which we so wretchedly dwell. Show us, O Lord, your kindness and grant us your salvation (Ps 85[84],8).”Which is to say: “Make haste, most merciful God, and make your kindness rain down upon us by sending us the chief object of your promises, he who is to save us.”Such were the sighs, such the burning pleas of the saints before the coming of Christ and yet for four thousand years they were deprived the happiness of witnessing his birth.
This happiness was reserved for us, but what are we doing about it? What gain do we draw from it? Let us learn how to love this most loving Savior now that he is here and has freed us from the hands of our enemies, now that he has delivered us from eternal death at the price of his life… and has opened paradise, now that he has furnished us with so many sacraments and with such powerful help so that we can love and serve him in peace in this life and be happy for ever in the next…
my soul, how truly ungrateful you are if you do not love your God, this God who wanted to be shackled that you might be released from the chains of hell, weak to make you strong against your enemies, bowed down by suffering and sadness to wash your sins clean with his tears.
St. Bonaventure from On the Kingdom of the Gospel
The Kingdom of heaven is as broad as the breadth of endless charity. Although it is composed of individuals “of every language and people, of every tribe and nation” (Rv 5,9) yet none is found wanting because, to the contrary, it expands, and the glory of each is increased all the more. Which prompted St. Augustine to say that: “When many people share the same joy, the joy of each is all the greater because each one inflames the other.”
This breadth of the Kingdom is expressed in these words of Scripture: “Ask, and I shall give you the nations for your heritage” (Ps 2,8) and: “Many shall come from east and west and take their places with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven.” Neither the multitude of those who long for it, nor the multitude of those who now live, nor the multitude of those who possess it, nor the multitude of those arriving can restrict the space in this Kingdom nor compromise anyone.
But why should I trust or hope I shall possess God’s Kingdom? Because, or course, of the generosity of the God inviting me: “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Mt 6,33). Because of the truth that comforts me: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s will to give you the Kingdom” (Lk 12,32).
Because of the goodness and love that have redeemed me: “You are worthy, O Lord, to take the scroll and break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom of priests for God and they shall reign on earth” (Rv 5,9-10).
St. Aelred of Rielvaux from Sermon for Advent
Behold the time is now here for us, dearest brethren, when we are to “sing of kindness and judgement to the Lord” (Ps 101[100],1). This is the Lord’s Advent, the arrival of the Lord of all who comes and is to come (Rv 1,8). But how and where is he to come? How and where is he coming? Has he not said: “I fill the heaven and the earth?” (Jr 23,24).
How, then, is he who fills heaven and earth coming to heaven and earth? Listen to the Gospel: “He was in the world and world was made by him and the world did not know him” (Jn 1,10). Therefore he was both present and absent at the same time: present in that he was in the world; absent because the world did not know him… How could he who was not recognised not be far away, he in whom people did not believe, who was not feared, who was not loved?…
He comes, then, so that he who was not known might be recognized; he in whom no one believed might be believed; he who was not loved might be loved. He who was present according to his nature is coming in his mercy… Think on God a little and see what it means that he should transfer so great a might; how he humbles so great a power, weakens so great a strength, makes feeble so great a wisdom! Was this a requirement of justice towards us? Most certainly not!…
In truth, my Lord, not my righteousness but your mercy guided you; not your necessity but my need. As you have said: “My mercy is established in the heavens” (Ps 89[88],3). Rightly so, for our neediness abounds on earth. That is why “I shall sing for ever of your love, O Lord”, which you manifested at your coming.
When he showed himself humble in his humanity, powerful in his miracles, strong against the tyranny of the demons, gentle in his welcome of sinners: all these things came from his mercy, all came from his inmost goodness. That is why “I shall sing your love, O Lord” made known at your first coming. And rightly so, for “the earth is filled with the mercy of the Lord” (Ps 119[118],64).
St. Ephrem from Diatessaron, Final Prayer
O Mercy, sent and poured out over all human beings! In you, Lord, this mercy dwells, you who, in your compassion for all humankind, came out to meet them. Through your death you opened for them the treasures of your mercy… For your profound being is hidden from human sight but is traced in its least movements. Your work gives us an outline of their Author and creatures point us to their Creator (Wis 13:1; Rom 1:20) so we might touch him who shies away from intellectual seeking but who shows himself in his gifts. It is difficult to succeed in being present to him face to face, but it is easy to draw near to him.
Our thanksgiving is insufficient but we adore you in all things for your love of humankind. You distinguish each one of us by in the depths of our invisible being, we who are all basically connected by Adam’s one nature… We adore you who placed each one of us into this world, who entrusted to us everything that is here, and who will take us out of this world at an hour that we do not know. We adore you who placed speech into our mouths so that we might tell you our requests. Adam acclaims you, he who rests in peace, and we, his posterity, with him, for we all benefit from your grace. The winds praise you…, the earth praises you…, the seas praise you…, the trees praise you…, the plants and the flowers also bless you… May all things come together and unite their voice in praising you, competing with one another in thanksgiving for all your kindnesses and united in peace to bless you. May all things join together in raising up a work of praise for you.
It is for us to reach out towards you with all our will and it is for you to pour out on us a little of your abundance so that your truth might convert us and thus our weakness might disappear, in which, without your grace, we cannot reach you, Master of gifts.
Saint Bernard from Homilies on the Song of Songs, no. 84, 1.5
“Nightlong in my little bed I sought him whom my soul loves” (Sg 3:1). It is a great good to seek God; in my opinion the soul knows no greater blessing. It is the first of its gifts and the final stage in its progress. It is inferior to none, and it yields place to none. What could be superior to it, when nothing has a higher place? What could claim a higher place, when it is the consummation of all things? What virtue can be attributed to anyone who does not seek God? What boundary can be set for anyone who does seek him? The psalmist says: “Seek his face always” (Ps 104:4). Nor, I think, will a soul cease to seek him even when it has found him.
It is not with steps of the feet that God is sought but with the heart’s desire; and when the soul happily finds him its desire is not quenched but kinkled. Does the consummation of joy bring about the consuming of desire? Rather it is oil poured upon the flames. So it is. Joy will be fulfilled (Ps 15:11) but there will be no end to desire, and therefore no end to the search…
That every soul among you who is seeking God may know that she has been forestalled, and that she was found before she was sought… This is what you are urged to do by the goodness of him who anticipates you, who sought him, and loved you before you loved him (1Jn 4:10). You would not seek him or love him unless you had first been sought and loved. Not only in one blessing have you been forestalled but in two, being loved as well as being sought. For the love is the reason of the search, and the search is the fruit of the love, and its certain proof. You are loved so that you may not suppose you are sought to be punished. You are sought so that you may not complain you are loved in vain.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from No Greater Love
When Jesus came into the world, he loved it so much that he gave his life for it. He wanted to satisfy our hunger for God. And what did he do? He made himself the Bread of Life. He became small, fragile and defenseless for us. Bits of bread can be so small that even a baby can chew it, even a dying person can eat it. He became the Bread of Life to satisfy our hunger for God, our hunger for love.
I don’t think we could ever have loved God if Jesus had not become one of us. So that we might be able to love God, he became one of us in all things except sin. If we have been created in the image of God then we have been created to love, because God is love. In his passion Jesus taught us how to forgive out of love, how to forget out of humility. Find Jesus and you will find peace.
Origen from Homilies on Exodus, no.1, 5
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.
Baldwin of Ford from The Sacrament of the altar, 3, 2; SC 94
Moses said : “The rest of the sabbath day shall be sacred to the Lord.” The Lord loves rest; he loves to rest in us that thus we may rest in him. But there is, too, a rest of the times to come, of which it is written: “From now on, says the Spirit, let them find rest from all their labors.” And there is a rest of the present time of which the prophet says: “Cease to do evil.”
We come to the future rest by means of the six works of mercy enumerated in the Gospel in the place where it is said : « I was hungry and you gave me food », etc…. For “there are six days when work should be done”; then comes the night, that is death, “when no one can work”. After those six days comes the Sabbath day when every good work is completed. This is the rest of the soul.
(Biblical references: Ex 31,15; Rv 14,13; Is 1,16; Mt 25,35f; Lk 13,14; Jn 9,4)
Saint John-Paul II from Apostolic Letter ``Redemptionis anno``, April 1984
In addition to its renowned and magnificent monuments, Jerusalem has living communities of believing Christians, Jews and Muslims, whose presence is a pledge and a source of hope for the nations, which in all parts of the world look towards the Holy City as towards a spiritual patrimony and a sign of peace and of concord. Yes, as the homeland of the heart of all the spiritual descendants of Abraham who have a deep love for it, and as a place where, for the eyes of faith, God’s infinite transcendence and created things meet, Jerusalem is a symbol of gathering, of union and of peace for the whole human family. The Holy City thus includes a firm call for peace to all of humankind and in particular to all who adore the one great God, the merciful Father of all peoples. Alas! We have to admit that Jerusalem continues to be a reason for rivalry, violence and territorial claims.
This situation and these thoughts bring to our lips the words of the prophet: “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet. Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” (Isa 62:1) We think of the day, and we await it with impatience, when we shall all truly be “taught by God” (Jn 6:45), so that we might hear his message of reconciliation and peace. We think of the day when Jews, Christians, and Muslims will be able to share with one another in Jerusalem the greeting of peace, which Jesus addressed to his disciples after his resurrection: “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19)
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily on the 1st letter to the Corinthians, 4, 3; PG 61,34 (trans. breviary 24/08)
Saint Paul said: “The weakness of God is stronger than all men” (1Cor 1,25). It is clear from this too that the gospel is divine. For whence did it strike twelve unlettered men to attempt such great enterprises, men who were living in marshes, or rivers, in desert places, who had never perhaps gone into a city or the public square ? Whence did it strike them to array themselves against the whole world ? That they were cowardly and unmanly, he who has written about them shows, inasmuch as he does not even deprecate nor try to gloss over their failings. This in itself is a powerful proof of the truth. What then does this man say about them? That after the innumerable miracles they had seen Christ work, when he was taken prisoner some fled, while the one who remained, although he was head over the rest, denied him.
Here were men who failed to stand up to the Jews when Christ was alive. Yet when he died and was buried they arrayed themselves against the whole world… Would they not have said to themselves: “What is this? He had not strength to save himself, will he protect us?” He did not defend himself when he was alive; will he reach out his hand to us now he is dead? When he was alive he did not conquer a single nation—shall we convince the whole world by speaking his name?”… Hence it is clear that, if they had not seen him risen and received this mighty proof of his power, they would never have risked such a gamble.
Saint John-Paul II from Apostolic Letter ``Dies Domini``, §24-25
The day of the new creation: a comparison of the Christian Sunday with the Old Testament vision of the Sabbath prompted theological insights of great interest. In particular, there emerged the unique connection between the Resurrection and Creation. Christian thought spontaneously linked the Resurrection, which took place on “the first day of the week”, with the first day of that cosmic week (cf. Gn 1:15) in the Book of Genesis… This link invited an understanding of the Resurrection as the beginning of a new creation, the first fruits of which is the glorious Christ, “the first born of all creation” (Col 1:15) and “the first born from the dead” (Col 1:18).
In effect, Sunday is the day above all other days which summons Christians to remember the salvation which was given to them in baptism and which has made them new in Christ. “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2:12; cf. Rom 6:4-6). The liturgy underscores this baptismal dimension of Sunday, both in calling for the celebration of baptisms — as well as at the Easter Vigil — on the day of the week “when the Church commemorates the Lord’s Resurrection”, and in suggesting as an appropriate penitential rite at the start of Mass the sprinkling of holy water, which recalls the moment of Baptism in which all Christian life is born.
Saint Augustine from Unpublished Sermon on the Letter of St. James
God does not ask many things of you, for charity alone fulfills the whole Law. But that love is double: love of God and love of the neighbor… When God tells you to love your neighbor, he does not tell you to love him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Rather, he tells you to love your neighbor as yourself. Thus, love God with all that you are, because he is greater than you are; love your neighbor as yourself, because he is what you are…
Thus our love has three objects. But why are there only two commandments? I will tell you: God did not consider it necessary to commit you to loving yourself, since there is no one who doesn’t love himself. But many people lose themselves because they love themselves in a bad way. By telling you to love God with all that you are, God gave you a rule according to which you must love yourself. Without doubt you want to love yourself? So love God with all that you are. For it is in him that you will find yourself and avoid losing yourself in yourself… Therefore, the rule according to which you must love yourself is given to you: love the one who is greater than you and you will love yourself.
Julian of Norwich from Revelations of divine love, ch. 39 (trans. James Walsh, SJ)
Sin is the sharpest scourge that any chosen soul can be smitten with — a scourge which greatly afflicteth a man or woman, breaketh him in pieces and purgeth him of his self-love; to the extent that at times he thinketh himself fit for nothing but to sink into hell; until such time as, by the touching of the Holy Ghost, contrition overtaketh him and turneth his bitterness into hope in God’s mercy. Then his wounds begin to heal and his soul to revive as he is converted to the life of Holy Church. The Holy Ghost leadeth him to confession to reveal his sins willingly, nakedly and truly; with great sorrow and with great shame for having so befouled the fair image of God. Then he undertaketh the penance for all his sins enjoined by his confessor, who is instructed in Holy Church by the teaching of the Holy Ghost. This is a meekness that greatly pleaseth God.
Most preciously our good Lord keepeth us when it seemeth to us that we are well nigh forsaken and cast away for our sins. And because we see that we have deserved it, and because of the meekness that we get thereby, we are raised high in God’s sight, by his grace. Then also, when our Lord will, he visiteth us with his special grace, with such contrition and also with compassion and true longing to God that we are at once delivered of sins and pain, and lifted up to bliss, equal with the saints.
Pope Francis from Apostolic Exhortation « Evangelii Gaudium /The Joy of the Gospel» § 108-109 (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
Whenever we attempt to read the signs of the times it is helpful to listen to young people and the elderly. Both represent a source of hope for every people. The elderly bring with them memory and the wisdom of experience, which warns us not to foolishly repeat our past mistakes. Young people call us to renewed and expansive hope, for they represent new directions for humanity and open us up to the future, lest we cling to a nostalgia for structures and customs which are no longer life-giving in today’s world.
Challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope-filled commitment.
Saint Ambrose from Treatise on St. Luke's Gospel, 7, 131-132 (SC 52)
“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing”… The Lord desires to have us vigilant, always waiting for the Saviour’s coming… But as the gain is meagre and the merit weak when fear of pain is what prevents us from straying, and as love is what has the greater worth, the Lord himself…sets on fire our longing to win God when he says: “I have come to set the earth on fire.” Not the kind of fire that destroys, of course, but that which produces an upright will and perfects the golden vessels in the Lord’s house by consuming the chaff and the straw (1Cor 3,12f.), by devouring all this world’s veneer acquired through the taste for earthly pleasures and the perishable works of the flesh.
This was the heavenly fire that burned in the bones of the prophets, as Jeremiah declared: “It becomes like fire burning…in my bones,” (Jer 20,9). For there is a fire of the Lord of which it is said: “Fire goes before him,” (Ps 96,3). The Lord himself is a fire, it says: “which burns without being consumed,” (Ex 3,2). The fire of the Lord is light eternal; the lamps of believers are lit at this fire: “Gird your loins and light your lamps,” (Lk 12,35). It is because the days of our life are still night that a lamp is necessary. This is the fire which, according to the testimony of the disciples at Emmaus, the Lord himself set within them: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Lk 24,32). He gives us evident proof of this fire’s action, enlightening man’s inmost heart. That is why the Lord will come in fire (Is 66,15) so as to devour our faults at the resurrection, fulfil each one’s desires with his presence and cast his light over their merits and mysteries.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from 1st Sermon Advent, 2-3: SC 166 (trans. ©Cistercian publications Inc. 1970)
“I overflow with hope in your word” (Ps 118[119],81 Vg)… The soul does not have just a bare hope in God; it overflows with hope, hope mounting upon hope as trial comes upon trial, delay upon delay. I am absolutely sure that in the end “he will appear and will prove not to have deceived me”; so “in spite of the delay he imposes I shall go on waiting for him confidently, because he certainly will come and will not be later” (Hab 2,3 Vg) than the most timely day.
When will this timely day be? When the full number of all these brethren of ours has been reached (Rv 6,11) and the time of mercy set for penance is completed. Listen to Isaiah… tell us with what design the Lord puts off the judgment for a time: “The Lord delays so that he can be merciful towards you, and thus he will be honored for having spared you. The Lord is a God of judgment; blessed is everyone who waits for him” (30,18). So, if you are wise, give an eye to yourself and see how you are using this delay. If you are a sinner, do not be heedless but take the opportunity to repent. If you are holy the time is given you to progress in holiness, not to slip away from the faith. For if “the evil servant said in his heart: ‘My Lord’s coming is delayed,’ and began to behave brutally towards his subordinates, even indulging in feasting and carousals with drunken companions, it will be a day he did not know upon which the Lord of that servant will return and mark him out and give him a place among the hypocrites”…
This is the proper way of waiting for the Lord, keeping his troth. Even though we may miss the consolation of his presence we must not look about us adulterously but wait in suspense for his return. The Lord says this in the same prophet: “The people will wait in suspense for my return” (Hos 11,7 Vg). Fitting indeed it is that the people should be in suspense, as it were, between heaven and earth, unable as yet to grasp heavenly affairs but preferring even so not to have contact with those of earth.
John Tauler from Sermon 77, for the feast of a Confessor
These words mean : you are to be awake and vigilant because you do not know the hour when the Lord will come from the wedding… Because as soon as some feeling of pride, self-satisfaction or self-will enters a man, the Enemy is there cutting the precious bag of all his good works from him. Oh, children! How many of people like these will you see who have done great works… and thus gained great renown…, but presumption has stripped them of all… They will be placed after the poor and simple fellows whom no one values because of their outward appearance and work. Because they humbly take a lowly place these latter will be set above the others… So keep watch with vigilant soul and you will see the pure truth with open eyes…
“Let your loins be girded and your lamps alight.” Here there are three points to notice. First: the loins are to be girded like someone firmly bound with a rope so as to be led against his will… Second: you are to carry lighted lamps in your hands, which is to say, works of love. Your hands should never stop doing the true, ardent work of charity… Third: you should wait for the Lord when he returns from the wedding… : “The Lord will set them over all his goods; he will gird himself and will serve them.” This wedding from which the Lord comes takes place in the most interior part of the soul, in its depths where the noble image is found. O what intimate contact the soul has with God and God with it in this depth, and what a marvellous work God does there! What rejoicing and joy he finds there! It surpasses all feeling and thought and yet man knows nothing and feels nothing of it.
Blessed John Henry Newman from Sermon ``Watching,`` PPS, vol. 4, no. 22 passim
“Take heed, watch : for you do not know when the time will come” (Mk 13,33)… Let us then consider this most serious question, which concerns every one of us so nearly;—What it is to watch for Christ. He says, “Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh; at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch!” (v.35f)…
Many men indeed are open revilers of religion, or at least openly disobey its laws; but let us consider those who are of a more sober and conscientious cast of mind. They have a number of good qualities, and are in a certain sense and up to a certain point religious; but they do not watch… They do not understand that they are called to be strangers and pilgrims upon the earth (Heb 11,13), and that their worldly lot and worldly goods are a sort of accident of their existence, and that they really have no property… Now, it cannot surely be doubted that multitudes in the Church are such as I have been describing, and that they would not, could not, at once welcome our Lord on His coming…
It is a most affecting and solemn thought, that he has actually called our attention to this very danger… He warns his disciples of the danger of having their minds drawn off from the thought of him, by whatever cause; he warns them against all excitements, all allurements of this world; he solemnly warns them that the world will not be prepared for his coming, and tenderly intreats of them not to take their portion with the world. He warns them by the instance of the rich man whose soul was required, of the servant who ate and drank (Lk 12,45), and of the foolish virgins (Mt 25,2)… The bridal train is sweeping by,—Angels are there,—the just made perfect are there,—little children, and holy teachers, and white-robed saints, and martyrs washed in blood… : his Bride hath made herself ready (Rv 19,7). She has already attired herself, while we have been sleeping.
Saint Anthony of Padua from Sermons for Sundays and feasts of the saints
Just as this coin bears the image of Caesar, so our soul is in the image of the Blessed Trinity, as one of the psalms says: “The light of thy countenance has been imprinted upon us” (4,6 LXX)… Lord, the light of your countenance, that is to say the light of your grace that sets your image within us and makes us become like you, has been imprinted upon us, that is to say imprinted in our rational faculty, which is the highest power of our soul and receives this light as wax receives the mark of a seal. God’s countenance is our reason because, just as we recognize someone by his face, so we recognize God through the mirror of reason. However, this reason has been deformed by human sin since sin sets us against God. The grace of Christ has put our reason right. Hence, the apostle Paul says to the Ephesians: “Be renewed in your minds” (4,23). The light in question in this psalm is thus the grace that restores God’s image imprinted in our nature…
The whole Trinity has marked mankind with its likeness. With the memory it resembles the Father; with the understanding it resembles the Son; by love it resembles the Holy Spirit… From the beginning of creation man was made “in the image and likeness of God” (Gn 1,26). The image in his understanding of truth, the likeness in his love of virtue. The light on God’s countenance is thus the grace that justifies us and brings to light once again our created image. This light constitutes man’s whole good, his true good; it sets its mark on him just as the emperor’s image marked the coin. That is why the Lord adds: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”. It was as if he said: Just as you repay Caesar with his image so repay God with your soul, beautified and marked by the light of his countenance.
Saint John Chrysostom from 3rd Homily on the inscription to the Acts of the Apostles; PG 51, 87
The reading of holy Scripture is a spiritual meadow and paradise of pleasure, far more agreeable than the paradise of former times. God has not planted this paradise on earth but in the souls of the faithful. He has not set it in Eden nor in some precise location in the East (Gn 2,8), but has spread it all over the earth and displayed it to the ends of the inhabited world. And since you understand that he has spread out holy Scripture through all the inhabited world, listen to the prophet who says: “Their voice resounds through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 18,5; Rm 10,18)…
This paradise also has a source like the former one (Gn 2,6.10), a source from which innumerable rivers flow… Who says so ? God does, who made us the gift of all these rivers : « Whoever believes in me, » he says, « as Scripture says : rivers of water will flow from within him » (Jn 7,38)… This source has no equal, not only for its abundance but still more by its nature. In effect, these are not rivers of water but gifts of the Spirit. This source is shared amongst the souls of all the faithful yet it is not lessened. It is divided but not stanched… Wholly in all and wholly in each: these are indeed the gifts of the Spirit.
Do you want to know what the abundance of these rivers means ? Do you want to know the nature of these waters? How they differ from waters here below because they are superior and more splendid? To understand the abundance of the source listen again to Christ speaking to the Samaritan woman: “The water I shall give to one who believes will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4,14)… Would you like to know its nature as well? Use it! In fact it is of no use for life here below but for eternal life. So let us spend our time in this paradise: let us receive an invitation to drink from this source.
Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron from Spiritual Writings 11/08/1934
God is sending me the cross… May it be blessed, as Job says, « We accept good things from God and should we not accept evil?” (2,10). Everything comes to us from him, health and sickness, earthly goods, difficulties and misfortunes; everything, absolutely everything, is perfectly ordered. If at times the creature rebels against God’s design it commits a sin, for everything is necessary, everything is well done, and laughter is as necessary as tears. We can draw profit for our perfection from everything provided we see, in a spirit of faith, God’s work in it all and remain in the hands of the Father like little children. Because all by ourselves, where would we go?…
Obviously, I’m not trying to free myself from the feelings [my trials inspire in me]: but what God wants is to bring them to perfection in me. For this purpose he leads me hither and thither like a plaything, causing me to let go, just about everywhere, of pieces of my heart. God is great and accomplishes everything perfectly! How much he loves me, and how badly I repay him! His providence is infinite and we must entrust ourselves to it unconditionally.
Baldwin of Ford from The Sacrament of the altar, II, 1 (SC 93)
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3,16). This only Son “was offered”, not because his enemies overcame him but because “he surrendered himself” (cf. Is 53,12). “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end” (Jn 13,1). This “end” was the death he accepted on behalf of those whom he loved; this was the end of all perfection, the end of perfect love, for “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15,13).
This love of Christ was stronger in the death of Christ than his enemies’ hatred, for hatred could only do what love permitted it to do. Judas – or the enemies of Christ –delivered him up to death through wicked hatred. The Father delivered his Son, and the Son delivered himself to death through love (Rom 8,32; Gal 2,20). Love, however, is by no means guilty of betrayal; it is innocent even when Christ dies of it. Since love alone is able to carry out with impunity whatever it pleases. Only love can constrain God and, as it were, give him orders. This it was that caused him to descend from heaven and placed him on the cross; this it was that shed Christ’s blood for the remission of sins in an act that was as innocent as it was salutary. All our thanksgiving for the salvation of the world is thus owing to love. And it constrains us, with inescapable logic, to love Christ as much as people were able to hate him.
From Sayings of the Desert Fathers (4th-5th centuries), Systematic Collection, ch.9; SC 387
A brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest ; Abba Bessarion got up and went with him, saying : « I too am a sinner »…
A brother at Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which Abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to say to him: “Come, for everyone is waiting for you.” So he got up and went along with a basket that had holes in it, which he filled with sand and carried on his back. The others came out to meet him and said to him: “What is this, Father?” The old man said to them: “My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the sins of another.” When they heard that they said no more to the 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 peace here below and in the world to come, say at all times: Who am I? And judge no one.”
A brother questioned Abba Poemen saying: “If I see my brother committing a sin, is it right to conceal it?” The old man said to him: “At the very moment when we hide our brother’s fault, God hides our own. And at the moment we reveal our brother’s fault, God reveals ours too.”
Alphonsus Maria de Liguori from 6th Discourse for the Christmas Octave
Let us fully grasp this: our heart will belong wholly to God as soon as we hand over our whole will to him, as soon as we want only what he wants. For the rest, this God only wants our wellbeing and happiness. “For this is why Christ died… that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living,” says the apostle Paul. “Whether we live or die, then, we are the Lord’s” (Rm 14,9.8). Jesus willed to die for our sakes; what more could he have done to win our love and become the sole Lord of our heart? So now it is our turn to show before heaven and earth, by our life and by our death, that we are no longer our own but are entirely possessed by our God and by him alone.
How God longs to see a heart that is truly all his! With what intense love does he not love it? What signs of tenderness does he not lavish upon it even here below! What blessings, what happiness, what glory does he not prepare for it in heaven!…
O faithful souls! Let us go to meet Jesus: if he is happy enough to possess us then we, too, have the happiness of possessing him! This exchange is far more to our own advantage than to his. The Lord once said to the saint [of Avila]: “Teresa, until now you have not been wholly mine; but now that you are all for me, know that I am all for you”… God burns with an intense desire to be united with us but we have to be careful, too, to unite ourselves to God.
Aphrahat from Demonstration 3, Concerning fasting (SC 349)
The children of Nineveh fasted with a pure fast when Jonah preached repentance to them. For thus it is written: “When they heard the preaching of Jonah they proclaimed a solemn fast and constant supplication, sitting on sackcloth and ashes. They took off their fine clothing and put on sackcloth instead. Infants were denied their mothers’ breasts; pasture, to beasts both small and great,” (cf Jon 3)…
And now here is what is written: “God saw their actions, how they turned from their evil way. Then he turned from them his anger and did not destroy them.” It does not say: “He saw their abstinence from bread and water, with sackcloth and ashes,” but: “how they turned from their evil way and from the wickedness of their works”… This indeed was a pure fast and it was accepted: the fast that the Ninevites fasted when they turned away from their evil ways and the greediness of their hands…
Because, my friend, when you fast, the best fast is always to abstain from wickedness. It is better than abstaining from bread and water, better than… “bowing the head like a reed and lying in sackcloth and ashes,” as Isaiah says (58,5). When, indeed, a man abstains from bread, water or whatever food it may be, if he covers himself with sackcloth and ashes and afflicts himself, he is loved, he is fine and acceptable. But that which is most acceptable is that he humbles himself, that he “releases the chains” of impiety and unties the bonds of deception. Then “his light breaks forth like the dawn and his vindication goes before him. He is like a watered garden; like a spring whose water never fails,” (Is 58, 8ff).
Saint Augustine from Sermon 90; PL 38
What is the wedding garment that the Gospel talks about? Most certainly, that garment is something that only the good have, those who are to participate in the feast… Could it be the sacraments? Baptism? Without baptism, no one comes to God, but some people receive baptism and do not come to God… Perhaps it is the altar or what a person receives at the altar? But in receiving the Lord’s body, some people eat and drink their own condemnation (1 Cor 11,29). So what is it? Fasting? The wicked also fast. Going to church often? The wicked go to church like the others…
So what is this wedding garment? The apostle Paul tells us: “What we are aiming at… is the love that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.” (1 Tim 1,5) That is the wedding garment. Paul is not talking about just any kind of love, for one can often see dishonest people loving others …, but one does not see among them this love “that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.” Now that is the love that is the wedding garment.
The apostle Paul said: “If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal… If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor 13,1-2) He said that even if he had all that, without Christ “I am nothing.”… How many good things are worthless because one good alone is lacking! If I am without love I may well give away all that I have, confess the name of Christ to the point of shedding my blood (v.3), it would be to no purpose, because I can act in that way for love of glory… “If I have not love, it is of no use.” That is the wedding garment. Examine yourselves: if you have it, then come to the Lord’s banquet with confidence.
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Poem ``Jesus, my beloved, remember!``; v. 1, 6-8
Remember the Father’s glory,
Remember the divine splendor
You left in exiling yourself on earth
To redeem all the poor sinners.
O Jesus! Humbling yourself to the Virgin Mary,
You veiled your infinite greatness and glory.
Ah! Your mother’s breast
Was your second heaven,
Remember…
Remember that on other shores
The golden stars and silver moon
On which I gaze in the cloudless sky
Delighted and charmed your Infant eyes.
With your little hand that caressed Mary
You upheld the world and gave it life,
And you thought of me,
Jesus, my little King,
Remember.
Remember that you worked in solitude
With your divine hands.
To live forgotten was your sweetest task.
You rejected human learning.
O You who with just one word could charm the world,
You took delight in hiding your profound wisdom.
You seemed unlearned,
O All-powerful Lord!
Remember.
Remember that you wandered as a Stranger on earth.
You, the Eternal Word,
You had nothing, no, not even a stone,
Not a shelter, like the birds of heaven.
O Jesus! come within me, come rest your Head,
Come, my soul is truly ready to receive you.
My Beloved Savior,
Rest in my heart.
It is Yours.
Saint Augustine from Meditations, ch. 18
The weight of our fragility makes us bend towards realities here below; the fire of your love, O Lord, raises us up and bears us towards realities above. We rise there by means of our heart’s impetus, singing the songs of ascent. We burn with your fire, the fire of your goodness, for it is this that transports us.
Where is it that you thus cause us to rise? To the peace of the heavenly Jerusalem. “I rejoiced when I heard them say: Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps 122[121],1). Nothing will bring us to it except the desire to remain there for ever. While we are in the body, we journey towards you. Here below we have no abiding city; we are constantly seeking our home in the city to come (Heb 13,14). May your grace guide me, O Lord, into the depths of my heart, there to sing of your love, my King and my God… And as I remember that heavenly Jerusalem my heart will rise up towards it: to Jerusalem my true homeland, Jerusalem my mother (Gal 4,26). You are its King, its light, its defender, its protector, its pastor; you are its unquenchable joy; your goodness is the source of all its inexpressible blessings… – you, my God and my divine mercy.
Saint Bernard from 11th Sermon on Psalm 90`{`91`}` ``Qui habitat`` 6, 10-11
“You will see angels ascending and descending above the Son of Man.” They ascend for themselves, they descend for us or, rather, they descend with us. Those blessed spirits ascend by means of the contemplation of God and descend to take care of us and keep us in all our ways (Ps 90[91],11). They ascend to God so as to enjoy his presence; they descend to us in obedience to his commands for he has commanded them to take care of us. However, in descending to us they are not deprived of the glory that is their happiness; they always see the Father’s face…
When they ascend to the contemplation of God they are seeking that truth by which, desiring, they are filled and which, possessing, they still desire. When they descend, they exercise mercy towards us since they keep us in all our ways. For those blessed spirits are God’s ministers sent to us to come to our aid (cf. Heb 1,14). And in this mission, it is not to God they render service but to us. In this they imitate the humility of the Son of God who did not come to be served but to serve and who lived amongst his disciples as though he had been their servant (Mt 20,28)…
God commanded his angels, not to draw you away from your path but to guard you carefully in it and lead you in God’s paths, those they follow themselves. How can that be, you ask? Certainly, the angels act in all purity, for love alone, but you, held back and chastened by the needs of your condition, at least lower yourself, condescend to your neighbor by giving an example of mercy towards him. Then, still in imitation of the angels, lift up your desire and, with all the fervor of your heart, strive to ascend to eternal truth.
Saint Celement from Homily ``How can the rich be saved?``, 39-40
The doors are open for all who sincerely and wholeheartedly return to God; indeed, the Father is most willing to welcome back a truly repentant son or daughter. The result of true repentance, however, is that you do not fall into the same faults again, but utterly uproot from your souls the sins for which you consider yourself worthy of death. When these have been destroyed God will again dwell within you, since Scripture says that for the Father and his angels in heaven the festal joy and gladness at the return of one repentant sinner is great beyond compare (Lk 15,10). That is why the Lord cried out: “It is love that I desire, not sacrifice,” (Hos 6,6; Mt 9,13). “I take no pleasure in the death of a wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion” (Ez 33,11). “Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be crimson red, they shall be white as wool” (Is 1,18).
Although only God has power to forgive sins and cancel transgressions, the Lord commands us also to forgive our repentant brothers and sisters every day. So if we who are evil know how to give good gifts (Mt 7,11), how much more generous must be “the Father of mercies” (2Cor 1,3), the good Father of all consolation, who is full of compassion and mercy, and whose nature it is to be patient and await our conversion! Genuine conversion, however, means ceasing to sin without any backward glances… By repenting we condemn our past misdeeds and beg forgiveness of the Father, the only one who can in his mercy undo what has been done, and wipe away our past sins with the dew of his Spirit.
Saint Thomas Aquinas from Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, ch.6
Some people draw glory from their knowledge, but the apostle Paul finds supreme knowledge in the cross. “No, he says, I desired to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ crucified” (1Cor 2,2). Is not the cross the fulfilment of the whole law and art of living well? To those who glory in their own power, Paul can answer that he draws matchless power from the cross: “The language of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1Cor 1,18). Do you draw glory from the freedom you have gained? Paul draws his from the cross: “Our old self was crucified with him… that we might no longer be in slavery to sin” (Rm 6,6).
Yet others draw their glory from being chosen as members of some famous group or other ; but as for us, through Christ’s cross we are invited to the congregation of heaven. “Reconciling all things, whether those on earth or those in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col 1,20). And finally, some people glory in the insignia of victory bestowed on the victorious, but the cross is the triumphal standard of Christ’s victory over demons: “He destroyed Principalities and Powers, making a public spectacle of them, leading them away in his triumphal procession” (Col 2,15)…
What is it that the apostle Paul wants to glory in above all else ? In that which can unite him to Christ. What he desires is to be with Christ.
Saint John Chrysostom from Sermon on the word ``cemetery`` and the Cross, for Good Friday, 2; PG 49, 396
Have you seen the wonderful victory? Have you seen the splendid deeds of the Cross? Shall I tell you something still more marvellous? Learn in what way the victory was gained, and you will be even more astonished. For by the very means by which the devil had conquered, by these Christ conquered him; and taking up the weapons with which he had fought, he defeated him. Listen to how it was done. A virgin, a tree and a death were the symbols of our defeat. The virgin was Eve: she had not yet known man; the tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the death was Adam’s penalty. But behold again a Virgin and a tree and a death, those symbols of defeat, become the symbols of his victory. For in place of Eve there is Mary; in place of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of the Cross; in place of the death of Adam, the death of Christ.
Do you see him defeated by the very things through which he had conquered ? At the foot of the tree the devil overcame Adam; at the foot of the tree Christ vanquished the devil. And that first tree sent men to Hades; this second one calls back even those who had already gone down there. Again, the former tree concealed man already despoiled and stripped; the second tree shows a naked victor on high for all to see…
The Cross did all these wonderful things for us; the Cross is a war memorial erected against the demons, a sword against sin, the sword with which Christ slew the serpent. The Cross is the Father’s will, the glory of the Only-begotten, the Spirit’s exultation, the beauty of the angels, the guardian of the Church. Saint Paul glories in the Cross (Gal 6,14); it is the rampart of the saints, it is the light of the whole world.
Saint Ambrose from Commentary on Saint Luke's Gospel, V, 89; SC 45
God’s mercy quickly allows itself to be moved by this mother’s tears. She is a widow; the suffering or death of her only son have crushed her… It seems to me that this widow, surrounded by a crowd of people, is more than just a simple woman deserving of her young and only son’s resurrection through her tears. She is the image itself of Holy Church who, by her tears, in the midst of the funeral procession and on the brink of the grave gains a restoration to life of the youthful people of the world… For at God’s word the dead are raised (Jn 5,28), they regain their speech and the mother recovers her son. He is called back from the tomb, snatched from the sepulchre.
What is this tomb of yours if not your evil behavior ? Your tomb is lack of faith… Christ sets you free from this sepulchre. If you listen to God’s word you will come out of the tomb. And if your sin is too serious for the tears of your repentance to cleanse it, may the tears of your mother the Church intercede on your behalf. She is, indeed, full of compassion and feels a wholly maternal spiritual sorrow when she sees her children dragged off to death by sin.
Saint Bernard from Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 38
The apostle Paul says that there are some who have no knowledge of God (1 Co 15,34). My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge of God are those who refuse to turn to him. I am certain that they refuse because they imagine this kindly disposed God to be harsh and severe, this merciful God to be callous and inflexible, this lovable God to be cruel and oppressive. So it is that wickedness plays false to itself, setting up for itself an image that does not represent God as he truly is.
What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That he will not pardon your sins? But with his own hands he has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But he knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2,7). That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps that angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins he is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20). Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But he knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32). What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? This is what I say: you do not know God, yet you will not believe our words. I should like you to believe those whom experience has taught.
Pope Francis from General Audience of 02/10/2013
The Church offers all the possibility of following a path of holiness, that is the path of the Christian: she brings us to encounter Jesus Christ in the Sacraments, especially in Confession and in the Eucharist; she communicates the Word of God to us, she lets us live in charity, in the love of God for all. Let us ask ourselves then, will we let ourselves be sanctified? Are we a Church that calls and welcomes sinners with open arms, that gives courage and hope, or are we a Church closed in on herself? Are we a Church where the love of God dwells, where one cares for the other, where one prays for the others?
A final question: what can I, a weak fragile sinner, do? God says to you: do not be afraid of holiness, do not be afraid to aim high, to let yourself be loved and purified by God, do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us be infected by the holiness of God. Every Christian is called to sanctity (Vatican II, LG nn. 39-42); and sanctity does not consist especially in doing extraordinary things, but in allowing God to act. It is the meeting of our weakness with the strength of his grace, it is having faith in his action that allows us to live in charity, to do everything with joy and humility, for the glory of God and as a service to our neighbour. There is a celebrated saying by the French writer Léon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life, said: “The only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint”.
Saint John-Paul II From Apostolic Letter ``Melieris dignitatem/ The Dignity of women`` § 31
“If you knew the gift of God” (Jn 4:10), Jesus says to the Samaritan woman during one of those remarkable conversations which show his great esteem for the dignity of women and for the vocation which enables them to share in his messianic mission… The Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the “mystery of woman” and for every woman – for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the “great works of God”, which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her. After all, was it not in and through her that the greatest event in human history – the incarnation of God himself – was accomplished?
Therefore the Church gives thanks for each and every woman: for mothers, for sisters, for wives; for women consecrated to God in virginity; for women dedicated to the many human beings who await the gratuitous love of another person; for women who watch over the human persons in the family, which is the fundamental sign of the human community; for women who work professionally, and who at times are burdened by a great social responsibility…
The Church gives thanks for all the manifestations of the feminine “genius” which have appeared in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations; she gives thanks for all the charisms which the Holy Spirit distributes to women in the history of the People of God… The Church asks at the same time that these invaluable “manifestations of the Spirit” (cf. 1 Cor 12:4ff)… may be attentively recognized and appreciated so that they may return for the common good of the Church and of humanity.
Saint Basil from Homily 6, on wealth; PG 31, 262f
You have been made a servant of the good God ; an administrator for your fellow servant. Do not imagine that all these fruits were prepared for your own stomach… Imitate the earth, O Man, and let you also bear fruit, as it does, so that you may not be lower than the senseless creation. It nourishes its fruits, not for its own delight, but to serve you. And you, whatever fruits of beneficence you do yield, you gather up for yourself; for the grace of good works and their reward is returned to the giver. Have you given something to a person in need; what you have given becomes yours, and is returned to you with an increase.
And as the wheat that falls to the earth brings increase to the one who has thrown it there, so the bread that you give to the hungry will later bring you a great gain. Therefore, let the end of your earthly tilling be the beginning of your heavenly sowing. “Sow for yourselves in justice” (Hos 10,12). Why then are you anxious? Why do you torment yourself, striving to shut up riches behind bricks and mortar? “A good name is better than many riches” (Prv 22,1).
Saint Ephrem from Diatessaron 15, 15-17 (SC 121, p. 273 rev.)
These men were all ready to work but “no one had hired them”; they were hard workers yet were made lazy through lack of both work and an employer. Then a voice hired them, a word set them going and, in their zeal, they did not fix on a wage for their work beforehand as the first comers had done. The master reckoned up their labours wisely and paid them as much as the others. Our Lord spoke this parable so that no one might say: “Since I was not called in my youth therefore I cannot be accepted.” He has shown that, no matter when they are converted, each one is welcomed… “He went out in the morning, at the third, the sixth, the ninth and the eleventh hour”: this can be understood of the beginning of his preaching and then of the course of his life up to the cross since it was at the “eleventh hour” when the thief entered into Paradise (Lk 23,43). Lest we call the thief to account for it, Our Lord emphasises his good will; if someone had hired him he would have worked: “No one has hired us.”
Whatever we give to God is far from worthy of him and what he gives to us is a great deal more than we are worth. We are hired for a task that matches our strength but offered a wage far greater than our work demands… He acts in the same way to both the first and the last comers: “each one received one gold coin” bearing the King’s image. This signifies the bread of life (Jn 6,35), which is the same for all; there is a single medicine of life for those who take it.
In the labour in the vineyard the master’s goodness is beyond reproach and nothing can be said against his uprightness. In his uprightness he gave as he had agreed and in his goodness he proved himself merciful as he desired to do. It was to teach us this that our Lord spoke this parable and he summed it all up in the words: “Do I not have the right to do what I wish in my own house?”
Saint John Chrysostom from Homilies on St. Matthew's Gospel, no. 15
“Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket.” Through these words, Jesus again encourages his disciples to lead an irreproachable life by advising them to watch over themselves constantly, because they are placed in the sight of all humankind like athletes in a stadium, who are seen by the whole world (1 Cor 4,9).
He told them: “Don’t say to yourselves: ‘Now we can stay here quietly sitting, we are hidden in a little corner of the world,’ for you will be visible to all humankind, like a city on top of a mountain (Mt 5,14), like a light in the house that has been placed on the lamp stand… I have lit the light of your torch, but it’s up to you to see it is kept going, not just to your personal advantage, but also in the interest of all who will see it and who through it will be led to the truth. The worst wickedness won’t put a shadow over your light if you live with the vigilance of those who are called to bring the whole world to good. So let your life correspond to the holiness of your ministry so that God’s grace may be proclaimed everywhere.”
Isaac of Stella from Sermon 51; PL 194, 1862
Rightly indeed does the Virgin Mary, who truly conceived the first born of all, hold first place in the congregation of the just. For Christ is « the firstborn of many brethren » (Rm 8,29)…And so in the divinely inspired scriptures, what is said in general of the Virgin Mother the Church, is said individually of the Virgin Mary; and what is said in the particular case of the Virgin Mother Mary, is rightly understood of the Virgin Mother Church universally; and when mention is made of either, it is to be understood almost indifferently and conjointly of both.
Every faithful soul, spouse of the Word of God, mother, daughter and sister of Christ is understood to be a virgin with her own form of fertility. This is said of the whole Church, more particularly of Mary and individually of the faithful soul by the Wisdom itself of God, the Father’s Word.
Therefore the text continues, “I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord” (Sir 24,12). The inheritance of the Lord universally is the Church, more particularly Mary, and individually every faithful soul. Christ abode for nine months in the tent of Mary’s womb; he abides until the consummation of the ages in the tent of the Church’s faith; he will abide for ever and ever in the knowledge and love of the faithful soul.
Pope Francis from Apostolic Exhortation ``Evangelii Gaudium /The Joy of the Gospel`` § 181-183
Our mandate is to “go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mk 16,15), for “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom 8,19). Here, “the creation” refers to every aspect of human life… The Church’s teachings concerning contingent situations are subject to new and further developments and can be open to discussion, yet we cannot help but be concrete… The Church’s pastors, taking into account the contributions of the different sciences, have the right to offer opinions on all that affects people’s lives, since the task of evangelization implies and demands the integral promotion of each human being.
It is no longer possible to claim that religion should be restricted to the private sphere and that it exists only to prepare souls for heaven. We know that God wants his children to be happy in this world too, even though they are called to fulfilment in eternity, for he has created all things “for our enjoyment” (1 Tim 6,17), the enjoyment of everyone. It follows that Christian conversion demands reviewing especially those areas and aspects of life “related to the social order and the pursuit of the common good” (St John Paul II).
Consequently, no one can demand that religion should be relegated to the inner sanctum of personal life, without influence on societal and national life, without concern for the soundness of civil institutions, without a right to offer an opinion on events affecting society. Who would claim to lock up in a church and silence the message of Saint Francis of Assisi or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta? They themselves would have found this unacceptable. An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it.
Saint Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 147; PL 52, 594-596
Like Herod, we wish to see Jesus
Love cannot accept not being able to see what it loves. Isn’t it true of all the saints that they gave little value to all they achieved so long as they could not see God?… Thus it was that Moses dared to say: “If I have found favour with you; do let me see your face” (cf. Ex 33,13.18). And the psalmist said: “Show us your face” (Ps 79[80],4). Isn’t this the reason why the pagans made idols for themselves? In the midst of error they saw with their eyes what they worshipped.
God knew mortals, then, to be tormented by the longing to see him. What he chose to make himself manifest was great upon earth and not the least in heaven. For that which God made like himself upon earth could not remain without honour in heaven: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” he said (Gen 1,26)… Let no one think, then, that God was mistaken in coming to men through a man. He took flesh among us that he might be seen by us.
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily on ``Father, if it is possible``; PG 51, 34-35
As his death drew near, the Savior exclaimed: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son” (Jn 17,1). Christ called the cross ‘glory’. How could he have sought to avoid it at one time when he longed for it at another? That the cross is glory we can learn from the Evangelist, who says: “The Holy Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn 7,39), by which he meant that grace had not yet been given because Christ had not yet gone forth to be crucified and so to end the hostility existing between God and the human race. For the cross reconciled us with God, made earth heaven, caused human beings to mingle with angels, destroyed the citadel of death, broke the strength of the devil, freed the world from error, and founded churches. The cross was the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the joy of the Holy Spirit. It was the boast of Paul, who said: “Let me boast of nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6,14).
Saint Patrick from Lorica ``St. Patrick's Breastplate`` (ch Eph 6,14)
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of Cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgement hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star-lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all who love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross `{`Edith Stein`}` from Poem ``Signum Crucis`` 16/11/1937
…Made man for love of men
He made a gift to the souls he has chosen
Of his human life in its fullness.
He who formed each human heart
Desires to make known one day
The secret meaning of each one’s being
By means of a new name that only the one who receives it understands (Rv 2,17).
He has united each chosen soul
In a mysterious and unique way.
Drawing from the fullness of his human life,
He makes a gift to us
Of the cross.
What is the cross ?
It is the sign of greatest shame.
Whoever comes into contact with it
Is rejected from among men.
People who acclaimed him before
Turn away from him with dread and know him no longer.
He has been handed over, defenceless, to his enemies.
Nothing remains for him on earth any more
Except suffering, anguish and death.
What is the cross ?
The sign pointing to heaven.
Far above the dust and mists here below
It reaches up high into pure light.
Therefore abandon what men may take away,
Open your hands, lean against the cross:
Then it will carry you
Into eternal light.
Raise your eyes to the cross :
It stretches out its wooden beams
Like a man opening wide his arms
To receive the whole world.
Come, all you who toil beneath the weight of the burden (Mt 11,28)
And you who have nothing but a cry, on the cross with him.
It is the image of the God who, being crucified, becomes pale.
It rises up from earth to heaven
Like the One who rose heavenward
And desires to bear all of us there together with himself.
Only embrace the cross and you possess him
Who is the Way, the Truth, the Life (Jn 14,6).
If you carry your cross, it will carry you;
It will be your bliss.
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross `{`Edith Stein`}` from The Prayer of the Church
Therefore, it is not a question of placing the inner prayer free of all traditional forms as “subjective” piety in contrast to the liturgy as the “objective” prayer of the church. All authentic prayer is prayer of the church. Through every sincere prayer something happens in the church, and it is the church itself that is praying therein, for it is the Holy Spirit living in the church that intercedes for every individual soul “with sighs too deep for words.” (Rom 8:26) This is exactly what “authentic” prayer is, for “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1Cor 12:3) What could the prayer of the church be, if not great lovers giving themselves to God who is love!
The unbounded loving surrender to God and God’s return gift, full and enduring union, this is the highest elevation of the heart attainable, the highest level of prayer. Souls who have attained it are truly the heart of the church, and in them lives Jesus’ high priestly love. Hidden with Christ in God, they can do nothing but radiate to other hearts the divine love that fills them and so participate in the perfection of all into unity in God, which was and is Jesus’ great desire.
Saint Francis of Assisi from Earlier Rule, §22
Let us pay attention, all my brothers, to what the Lord says: “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,” for our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose footprints we must follow (cf. 1Pt 2,21), called His betrayer “friend” (Mt 26,50) and gave Himself willingly to those who crucified Him. Our friends, then, are all those who unjustly afflict upon us trials and ordeals, shame and injuries, sorrows and torments, martyrdom and death. We must love them greatly for we will possess eternal life because of what they bring upon us.
Saint John-Mary Vianney from Selected sayings of the holy Curé d'Ars
If we were able to understand thoroughly all the blessings contained in holy communion, nothing more would be needed to satisfy the human heart.
Our Lord said: “Anything you ask the Father in my name, he will grant it you” (Jn 16:23b). But we should never have thought of asking God for his own Son! Yet what we should never have thought of, God has done. That which man could neither utter, nor imagine nor venture to desire, God, in his great Love, has spoken, conceived and executed.
Without the divine Eucharist there should not have been any happiness in this world, life would be unbearable. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive all our joy and gladness. God, wanting to give himself to us in the sacrament of his Love, has given us a desire so vast and great that he alone can satisfy it… Beside this beautiful sacrament we are like someone dying of thirst beside a river, yet it has only to bend its head!… Like someone who remains poor beside a treasure, it has only to hold out its hand!
If we were able to understand thoroughly all the blessings contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be needed to satisfy the human heart.
A Greek 4th century homily On the Holy Pasch, 9; PG 59, 743; SC 27
The Law given to Moses is a collection of various teachings and imperatives, a collection that is useful to everyone as regards what it is good to do in this life, and a mystical reflection of the customs of life in heaven: a torch and a lamp, a fire and a light, replicas of the lamps on high. The Law of Moses is the itinerary of piety, the rule for honest morals, the brake put on the first sin, the outline of the truth to come (Col 2:17)… The Law of Moses is a teacher for piety and a guide for righteousness, a light for the blind and a proof for the foolish, an educator for children and a mooring for the imprudent, a bridle for the stiff-necked, and a constraining yoke for the impatient.
The Law of Moses is Christ’s messenger, the precursor of Jesus, the herald and prophet of the great King, a school of wisdom, a necessary preparation and a universal teaching, a doctrine that came at its time and a temporary mystery. The Law of Moses is a symbolic and enigmatic summary of future grace, announcing in images the perfection of truth that is to come. Through the sacrifices, it announces the Victim; through the blood, the Blood; through the lamb, the Lamb; through the dove, the Dove; through the altar, the High Priest; through the Temple, the dwelling place of divinity; through the altar’s fire, the full “light of the world” (Jn 8:12) that comes down from on high.
Saint John-Paul II from Discourse to young people in the Netherlands, May 14, 1985
Dear young people, you tell me that you often think the Church is an institution that does nothing but promulgate rules and laws… And you conclude that there is a deep discrepancy between the joy that issues from the word of Christ and the feeling of oppression that the Church’s rigidity gives you… But the gospel shows us a very demanding Christ who invites to a radical conversion of heart, detachment from earthly goods, forgiveness of sins, love of enemies, patient acceptance of persecutions and even to the sacrifice of one’s own life out of love for neighbor. Where the particular area of sexuality is concerned, we know the firm position he took in defending the indissolubility of marriage and his condemnation even as regards the simple adultery committed in the heart. And could anyone not be impressed when faced with the precept to “tear out one’s eye” or to “cut off one’s hand” when those members are an occasion of “scandal”? …
Moral licentiousness does not make people happy. Similarly, the consumer society does not bring joy of heart. The human person is only fulfilled to the extent to which that person is able to accept the demands flowing from their dignity as beings created “in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:27). That is why, if the Church today says things that are not agreeable, it is because it feels obligated to do so, it does so out of a duty to fidelity…
Does this mean that it isn’t true the gospel message is a message of joy? On the contrary! It is absolutely true. And how is that possible? The answer can be found in one word, one single word, one short word, but its contents are as vast as the sea. And that word is love. It is perfectly possible to reconcile uncompromising precept with joy of heart. One who loves does not fear sacrifice but even seeks in sacrifice the most convincing proof of the authenticity of their love.
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily on Second Corinthians, 12, 4; PG 61, 486
Only Christians have a true sense of values; their joys and sorrows are not the same as other people’s. The sight of a wounded boxer wearing a victory crown would make someone ignorant of the games think only of the boxer’s wounds and how painful they must be. Such a person would know nothing of the happiness the crown gives. And it is the same when people see the things we suffer without knowing why we do so. It naturally seems to them to be suffering pure and simple. They see us struggling and facing danger, but beyond their vision are the rewards, the crowns of victory — all we hope to gain through the contest! As Paul said: “We possess nothing, and yet we have everything” (2Cor 6:10)…
We too, then, when we suffer anything for Christ’s sake, should do so not simply with courage, but even with joy. If we have to go hungry, let us be glad as if we were at a banquet. If we are insulted, let us be elated as though we had been showered with praises. If we lose all we possess, let us consider ourselves the gainers. If we provide for the poor, let us regard ourselves as the recipients… Above all remember that your struggles are for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Then you will easily rise above them, and live out your lifetime in happiness; for nothing brings more happiness than a good conscience.
Origen from Homilies on Numbers, nº 9,4 (SC 415, p. 239 rev.)
I should like to remind disciples of Christ of God’s goodness: let none among you allow yourselves to be shaken by the heretics if, in controversy, they say that the God of the Law is not good but just and that the Law of Moses does not teach goodness but justice. Let those detractors of both God and the Law take note of how Moses himself and Aaron fulfilled, as precursors, what the Gospel would later teach. Consider how Moses “loves his enemies and prays for those who persecute him” (Mt 5:44)…; see how, “falling prostrate”, they both pray for those who grumbled and wanted to kill them (Nb 17:10f.). Thus we find the Gospel powerfully present in the Law and should understand that the Gospels are supported on the foundation of the Law.
As for me, I do not apply the name ‘Old Testament’ to the Law when I consder it spiritually. The Law only becomes an ‘Old Testament’ for those unwilling to understand it according to the spirit. For them, it has necessarily become ‘old’ and has aged because it cannot preserve its strength. But for us who understand and expound it in spirit and according to the sense of the Gospel, it is always new. The two Testaments are one new Testament for us, not according to date but in the newness of their meaning.
Doesn’t the apostle John also think of it in this way when he says in his epistle: “Children, I give a new commandment to you, let us love one another”? (cf. 1Jn 2:8; 4:7; Jn 13:34). He knew that the commandment of love had long ago been given in the Law (1Jn 2:7f.; Lv 19:18). But since “love never fails” (1Cor 13:8)…, he asserts the perpetual newness of this precept that never grows old… For sinners, and for those who fail to keep the bond of charity, even the Gospels grow old. There can be no New Testament for anyone who does not “put away the old self and put on the new self, created in God’s way” (Eph 4:22.24).
Saint Leo the Great from 1st sermon for the Nativity of the Lord
A virgin is chosen from the royal house of David to bear within her a holy child, a son who is both divine and human… The Word who is God himself, the Son of God who, “in the beginning was with God… through whom all things came to be and without whom nothing came to be,” (cf. Jn 1:1-3), became man that he might deliver all men from everlasting death. He humbled himself to assuming the lowliness of our condition yet without diminishment to his majesty. Remaining what he was and assuming what he was not he united the true nature of a servant to the nature according to which he is equal to the Father. He bound these two natures together so tightly that his glory was unable to destroy the lower nature nor his union with the latter to debase the higher.
What properly belongs to each of these natures remains in its integrity and is bound together in a single person: humility is embraced by majesty, weakness by strength, mortality by eternity. To repay the debt of our condition, the nature that is beyond suffering is united to a nature capable of suffering; true God and true man come together in the unity of the one Lord Jesus. And so, as our healing requires, the one and only “mediator between God and the human race” (1Tm 2:5) could die as a result of human action but rise through the action of God…
Such, my well-beloved, is the birth proper to Christ, “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Cor 1:24). Through it he became one thing with our humanity while maintaining the pre-eminence due to his divinity. If he had not been true God, he would not have brought us the remedy. If he had not been true man, he would not have given us an example.
Saint Catherine of Siena from Dialogue, 23
Uproot the thorns of deadly sin and plant the virtues… rouse yourself to heartfelt contrition, contempt for sin, and love for virtue. Otherwise you will not have done your part to be fit to be joined as branches to the vine that is my only-begotten Son, who said, “I am the true vine and you are the branches. And my Father is the gardener.” (Jn 15, 1.5)
Indeed I am the gardener, for all that exists comes from me. With power and strength beyond imagining 1 govern the whole world: Not a thing is made or kept in order without me. I am the gardener, then, who planted the vine of my only-begotten Son in the earth of your humanity so that you, the branches, could be joined to the vine and bear fruit.
Saint Teresa of Avila from The Way of Perfection, chapter 27
Our Father who art in Heaven. O my Lord, how you do show yourself to be the Father of such a Son; and how your Son does show himself to be the Son of such a Father! May you be blessed forever and ever! This favor would not be so great, Lord, if it came at the end of the prayer. But at the beginning, you fill our hands and give a reward so large that it would easily fill the intellect and thus occupy the will in such a way one would be unable to speak a word.
Oh, daughters, how readily should perfect contemplation come at this point! Oh, how right it would be for the soul to enter within itself in order to rise the better above itself that this holy Son might make it understand the nature of the place where he says his Father dwells, which is in the heavens….
O Son of God and my Lord! How is it that you give so much all together in the first words? Since you humble yourself to such an extreme in joining with us in prayer… For you desire that he consider us his children …In being Father he must bear with us no matter how serious the offenses. If we return to him like the prodigal son, he has to pardon us. He has to console us in our trials. He has to sustain us in the way a father like this must. For, in effect, he must be better than all the fathers in the world because in him everything must be faultless. And after all this he must make us sharers and heirs with you…
My Jesus, you have spoken, as a favored son, for yourself and for us… Well, daughters… does it seem right to you now that even though we recite these first words vocally we should fail to let our intellects understand and our hearts break in pieces at seeing such love?
Saint Gregory Panamas from Sermon for the Sunday of All Saints; PG 151, 322-323
From the highest heaven, God offers the riches of his grace to all men. He is himself the source of salvation and of light, whence mercy and goodness flow eternally. But not all men make use of his strength and his grace in the perfect exercise of virtue and the realization of its marvels; only those do it who put their resolutions into practice and who prove their attachment to God through actions, those who have completely turned away from evil, who firmly adhere to God’s commandments and who fix the eyes of their spirit on Christ, the Sun of justice (Mal 3:20).
From the highest heaven, Christ offers the help of his arm to those who fight, and he exhorts them through these words of the Gospel: “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my father in heaven.” As a servant of God, every one of the saints acknowledges that, in this transitory life and before mortal men, he is for Christ; he does so during a short lapse of time and in the presence of a small number of men. Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ… will acknowledge us in the world of eternity, before God his Father, surrounded by the angels and the archangels and all the powers of heaven, in the presence of all men, from Adam to the end of time. For all will rise and will stand before Christ’s tribunal. Then, in the presence of all and visible to all, he will make known, he will glorify, and he will crown those who proved their faith to him until the end.
Byzantine Liturgy from Lucernarium of Great Vespers for the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist
On this day the great Forerunner comes into the world,
issuing from Elizabeth’s barren womb.
He is the greatest of the prophets;
none other has arisen like him,
for he is the lamp who comes directly before the greatest of lights
and the voice who goes before the Word.
To Christ he leads the Church, his bride,
and prepares a chosen people for the Lord,
purifying them by water in preparation for the Spirit.
From Zachary this young plant is born,
the most beautiful of the sons of the desert,
herald of repentance,
the one who purifies with water those who have strayed,
and who, as forerunner, bears the message of the resurrection
even to the dwelling of the dead
and intercedes for our souls.
From your mother’s womb, O blessed John,
you have been prophet and forerunner of Christ:
you leapt for joy on seeing the Queen
approaching the servant,
bearing before you Him whom, without mother, the Father conceives from all eternity.
O you, who were born from a barren woman and an aged man
according to the promise of the Lord:
beseech him to take pity on our souls.
(Biblical references : Mt 11,11; Jn 5,35; Mt 3,3; Jn 3,29; Lk 1,17; 3,16; Mk 6,28; Lk 1,40; 1,13)
Saint Gertrude of Helfta from Exercises, 7 (SC 127)
You who have done such great, such wonderful things for me that I am bound to your service for ever, how shall I repay you for so many benefits? What praises and thanksgivings could I offer you even if I poured them out a thousand times over? Who am I, poor creature that I am, compared to you, my overflowing redemption? And so I offer wholly to you the soul you have redeemed; with all the love of my heart I will do you homage. Oh yes! convey my life into yours; bear me away wholly into you; make me completely one with you.
O Love, your divine ardour has opened to me my Jesus’ most sweet heart. O heart, source of sweetness, overflowing with goodness; heart abounding in charity; heart from which kindness flows drop by drop; heart full of mercy… dearest heart, I beg you to absorb my heart wholly into you. Dearest Father of my heart, invite me to your life-giving feasts; pour for me your consoling wine… so that my spirit’s ruinous state may be filled with your divine charity and the abundance of your love may make up for the poverty and misery of my soul.
O heart, beloved above all other things…, have mercy on me. I beg that your love’s sweetness may give courage to my heart. Please let the bowels of your mercy stir in my favor since, alas!, my failures are without number, my merits non-existent. My Jesus, may the merits of your precious death, which alone had the power to acquit the whole world’s debt, restore all that I have done amiss…; let it draw me to you so powerfully that, completely transformed by the strength of your divine love, I may find grace in your sight… And grant me, O sweet Jesus, to love you, you alone, in everything and above everything, to bind me fervently to you, to hope in you, and to set no limit to that hope.
Saint Francis from Introduction to the devout life, III, 8
When the holy and illustrious patriarch Joseph sent back his brethren from Egypt to his father’s house, he gave them this sole advice: “Be not angry in the way” (Gn 45:24). I say the same to you: this wretched life is but a journey to the happy life to come. Let us not be angry with one another on the way, but rather let us march on with the band of our brethren and companions, meekly, peaceably, and lovingly. I say to you, absolutely and without exception, do not be angry at all, if it be possible. Admit no pretext whatsoever to open the gate of your heart to anger, for St. James tells us positively and without reservation: “The wrath of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.”(1:20)
We must indeed, constantly and courageously, but with meekness and compassion, resist evil and restrain the vices of those that are under our charge… We do not set so much value to the correction which proceeds from passion, even though it be accompanied with reason, as to that which proceeds from reason alone… If it can but once gain the night on us and if “the sun sets on our anger” (Eph 4:26), it turns into a hatred from which we have scarce any means to rid ourselves. It nourishes itself under a thousand false pretexts, for there was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust.
It is better, then, to attempt to find the way to live without anger, than to pretend to make a moderate and discreet use of it. When we find ourselves surprised into anger through our imperfections and frailty, it is better to drive it away speedily than to enter into a discussion with it.
The Imitation of Christ, Bk II, ch. 2 and 3
If people would only be humble about their 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 to heights of glory, as soon as neglect has done its work. Such a one he chooses for his confidant, beckons to him gently and calls him apart. Only a humble person takes it calmly when 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 as your betters.
Peace in your own soul first of all, then you can think about making peace between other people. Peaceable folk do more good than learned folk do. When someone is at the mercy of their own feelings, they misinterprets the most innocent actions, always ready to believe the worst; whereas the peaceable see good everywhere; at peace in themselves, they aren’t suspicious of others. It’s when you become discontented and unbalanced that your mind is torn by suspicions; there is no rest for you, no rest for those around you. You are always saying the wrong thing, and missing your chance of doing the right thing; you are jealous about your rights, and forget that you have duties. If you will begin by having a high standard yourself then you can afford to have a high standard for other people.
Saint John-Paul II from Speech in Paris on June 3, 1980
I have come to encourage you on the road of the Gospel. It is certainly a narrow road, but it is a regal road, one that is sure, tried by generations of Christians, taught by the saints… It is the road on which, like you, your brothers in the universal Church are trying to walk. This road does not lead to resignation, to renunciation or abandonment. It does not end up in a weakening of the moral sense, and it would wish that civil law itself help to raise up the human person. It does not seek to bury itself, to remain unnoticed; on the contrary, it demands the joyful audacity of the apostles. Thus, it banishes all faintheartedness, while being perfectly respectful towards those who do not share the same ideal…
The great Pope St. Leo said, “Christian, recognize your dignity!” And I, his unworthy successor, I tell you, my brothers and sisters: Recognize your dignity! Be proud of your faith, of the gift of the Spirit whom the Father has given you. I come among you as a poor man whose only wealth is faith, a pilgrim of the Gospel. Give to the Church and the world the example of your unfailing fidelity and your missionary zeal. I want my visit to you to be … a call to new energy before the many tasks presented to you.
Saint Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 147; PL 52, 594-596
No sooner had God seen the world overcome with fear than he set his love to work to call it back to himself, his grace to invite it and his affection to embrace it. At the time of the flood… he calls Noah to bring to birth a new world, encouraging him with words of sweetness, giving him his close confidence, instructing him with kindness concerning the present and consoling him by his grace concerning the future… He takes part in his labors and encloses within the ark the seed of the whole world so that love of his covenant might cast out all fear…
Then God calls Abraham out from amongst the nations, makes his name great and causes him to become father of believers. He goes with him on the way, protects him in a foreign land, loads him with wealth, honors him with victories, assures him of his promises, rescues him from injustice, comforts him in his hospitality and astonishes him with an unlooked for birth so that, drawn by the great sweetness of divine love, he might learn… to worship God with love and no longer in fear.
Later on, God consoles the fleeing Jacob in dreams. On his return he incites him to fight and, in the struggle, holds him tightly in his arms so that he might love the father of the combat and no longer fear him. Then he calls Moses and speaks to him with the love of a father to invite him to deliver his people.
Through all these events the flame of divine charity consumed men’s hearts… and they, their hearts wounded, began to desire to see God with the eyes of their flesh… Love cannot accept not to see what it loves. Did not all the saints consider of little worth everything they gained while they were not beholding God…? Let no one think, therefore, that God was mistaken in coming to men through a man. He took flesh amongst us that he might be seen by us.
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily 44 on Saint Matthew, 3-4
Now these things Christ said in the parable of the sower, manifesting that he discoursed to all without grudging. For as the sower makes no distinction in the land submitted to him, but simply and indifferently casts his seed; so Christ himself too makes no distinction between rich and poor, wise and unwise, slothful and diligent, brave and cowardly; but he discourses to all, fulfilling his allotted role even though he foreknows the end result. Thus it is to be in his power to say: “What ought I to have done, that I have not done?” (Is 5:4)…
But he speaks this parable as though anointing his disciples and to teach them that, even though there are more lost ones than there are those who receive the word, yet they should not despair. For this was the case even with their Lord and he, who fully foreknew that this was how it would be, neverthless did not desist from sowing.
But how can it be reasonable, someone says, to sow among the thorns, on the rock, along the wayside? So far as the seeds and the earth are concerned it cannot be reasonable at all! But as regards people’s souls and their instruction, it is extremely praiseworthy. For a farmer could indeed be reasonably blamed for doing such a thing, it being impossible for rock to become earth, or the wayside not to be a wayside, or thorns, thorns. But where rational beings are concerned it is not so. There is such a thing as rocky ground being changed and becoming rich land; and the wayside being no longer trampled on, nor lying open to all that pass by, but becoming a fertile field; and thorns being destroyed and the seed securely flourishing. For had it been impossible then this Sower would not have sown. And if the transformation did not take place in all, that is no fault of the Sower but of those who were unwilling to be changed, his task having been accomplished. And if they betrayed what they received from him then he, who demonstrates such love to them, is blameless.
Saint Caesarius of Arles from Sermons to the people, no. 7, 1 (cf SC 175, p.338f.)
May Christ help you, dearest brethren, always to welcome with an eager and thirsting heart the reading of God’s word; then your faithful obedience will fill you with spiritual joy. But if you wish Holy Scripture to bring you sweetness and the divine precepts to profit you as much as they should, then relax from your material preoccupations for a few hours. Read God’s words over again in your house, dedicate yourselves entirely to his mercy. Thus you will succeed in realizing within yourself what is written of the man who is blessed: “meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night” (Ps 1:2) and “Happy are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart” (Ps 118[119]:2).
Merchants don’t seek to make a profit on one single product but on several. Cultivators seek a better return by sowing different kinds of seed. You who look for spiritual gains don’t be satisfied just with listening to the sacred texts in church. Read them at home. When days are short, profit by the long evenings. Thus you will be able to gather spiritual grain into your heart’s storehouse and lay out in the treasure house of your souls the precious pearls of Scripture.
Saint Thomas Aquinas from Homily on the Creed
It is logical that the aim of all our desires, that is to say, eternal life, should be mentioned at the end of everything that has been given us to believe in the Creed with the words: “Eternal life. Amen.”… In eternal life, there is the union of man with God…, perfect praise…, and the perfect satisfaction of our desires, for there, every blessed person will possess even more than what he desired and hoped for. In this life, no one can fulfill his desire; nothing created can ever satisfy the human being’s desire. God alone satisfies, and that infinitely. That is why we only come to rest in God, as Saint Augustine says: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Since in the homeland, the saints will possess God perfectly, it is obvious that not only their desire will be satisfied, but that in addition it will overflow with glory. That is why the Lord said: “Come, share your master’s joy.” (Mt 25:21) And Saint Augustine said about that: “It is not all of joy that will enter into those who rejoice, but those who rejoice will enter entirely into joy.” In a Psalm we say: “I shall be satisfied when your glory is revealed,” (63:3), and in another one: “He will grant you your heart’s requests.” (Ps 37:4) … For if a person desires delights, that is where supreme and perfect delight will be found, for it will consist in the sovereign good, which is God himself: “Delights at your right hand forever.” (Ps 16:11)
Saint Augustine from Sermon 103, 1,2; PL 38, 613
Martha and Mary were sisters; they were close not only through ties of blood, but also through piety. Both of them were attached to the Lord, and with one heart they served him during the time of his life here below. Martha welcomed him as one normally welcomes a traveler. But it was a servant welcoming her Master, someone who is ill welcoming her Savior, a creature welcoming her Creator… For the Lord wanted to take the form of a servant so that it would be possible for servants to nourish him…
So here we have the Lord being welcomed like a guest. “To his own he came, yet his own did not accept him. Any who did accept him he empowered to become children of God.” (Jn 1:11-12) The servants who had been adopted in this way became his brothers, the captives who had been delivered in this way became his co-heirs. But let no one among you say: Blest are they who had the good fortune of welcoming Christ in their own house! Don’t feel pain, don’t lament for having been born during a period when you can no longer see the Lord in flesh and blood. He has not withdrawn his favor from you, he who said: “As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me.” (Mt 25:40)
Saint Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 99
A moment ago, Christ compared his kingdom to a mustard seed; now he defines it as yeast. First he told how a man had sown a tiny seed and a great tree came out of it, but now a woman buries a pinch of yeast to make all her dough rise. As the apostle Paul says most truly: “Woman is not independent of man or man of woman in the Lord” (!Cor 11:11)… In these parables the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, are led to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the burning taste of this mustard tree of the Gospel…
Eve had received the yeast of bad faith from the devil but now see how this woman receives the yeast of faith… Eve, through the yeast of death, had destroyed the entire dough of humanity in the person of Adam, but through the yeast of the resurrection, another woman will renew all humanity’s dough in the person of Christ. After Eve, who kneaded the bread of sorrow and sweat (Gn 3:19), this latter woman will bake the bread of life and salvation. Following her who, in Adam, became the mother of all the dead, this latter will be the true “mother of all the living” (Gn 3:20) in Christ. For if Christ willed to be born it was so that, in that humanity in which Eve had sowed death, Mary might restore life. Mary presents to us the perfect image of this yeast and suggests a parable of it when, in her womb, she receives the yeast of the Word from heaven and spreads it over human flesh in her virginal womb. What am I saying? Over a flesh that, within her virginal womb, is altogether heavenly and that she thus causes to rise.
Saint Hilary from The Trinity, XI, 39-40
“Then shall Christ hand over the Kingdom to his Father,” Saint Paul says (1Cor 15,24), not in the sense that he will yield up his power by handing the Kingdom over to him, but because we ourselves will be God’s Kingdom when we have been conformed to the glory of his body…, constituted Kingdom of God through the glorification of his body. It is we who he will hand over as Kingdom to the Father, as it is written in the Gospel: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25,34).
“Then shall the just shine out like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father”. For the Son will hand over to the Father as his Kingdom those he has invited into his Kingdom, those to whom he has promised the blessedness proper to this mystery in the words: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Mt 5,8)… See how those whom he hands over to his Father, as being his Kingdom, see God.
Our Lord himself made known to his apostles in what this Kingdom consists: “The Kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17,21). And if anyone wants to know who it is who hands over the Kingdom, let him hear: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being” (1Cor 15,20-21). All this concerns the mystery of the Body since Christ was the first to be raised from the dead… So it is for the development of the humanity that Christ assumed that “God will be all in all” (1Cor 15,28).
Saint John-Paul II from Redemptoris custos, 27
The communion of life between Joseph and Jesus leads us to consider once again the mystery of the Incarnation, precisely in reference to the humanity of Jesus as the efficacious instrument of his divinity for the purpose of sanctifying man: “By virtue of his divinity, Christ’s human actions were salvific for us, causing grace within us, either by merit or by a certain efficacy.”(St. Thomas of Aquino)
Among those actions, the gospel writers highlight those which have to do with the Paschal Mystery, but they also underscore the importance of physical contact with Jesus…The apostolic witness did not neglect the story of Jesus’ birth, his circumcision, his presentation in the Temple, his flight into Egypt and his hidden life in Nazareth. It recognized the “mystery” of grace present in each of these saving “acts,” in as much as they all share the same source of love: the divinity of Christ. If through Christ’s humanity this love shone on all mankind, the first beneficiaries were undoubtedly those whom the divine will had most intimately associated with itself: Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Joseph, his presumed father.
Why should the “fatherly” love of Joseph not have had an influence upon the “filial” love of Jesus? And vice versa why should the “filial” love of Jesus not have had an influence upon the “fatherly” love of Joseph, thus leading to a further deepening of their unique relationship? Those souls most sensitive to the impulses of divine love have rightly seen in Joseph a brilliant example of the interior life.
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus from Letter 145
The spouse of the Canticles says that… she arose to look for her Beloved in the city, but in vain; after having gone out of the city, she found him whom her soul loved! (Sg. 3,1-4). Jesus does not will that we find his adorable presence in repose; He hides Himself… Oh! what a melody for me is this silence of Jesus. He made Himself poor that we might be able to give Him love. He holds out His hand to us like a beggar so that on the radiant day of judgment when He will appear glory, He may have us hear those sweet words: “Come, blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I did not know where to lodge, and you gave me a home; I was in prison, sick, and you helped me,” (Mt 25,34-36). It was Jesus Himself who spoke these words; it is He who wants our love, who begs for it. He places Himself, so to speak, at our mercy; He does not want to take anything unless we give it to Him…
Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward.
To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, whose face was hidden,” (Is 53,3)… Jesus loves you with a love so great that, if you to see it, you would be in an ecstasy of happiness… but you do not see it, and you are suffering. Soon, Jesus “will stand up to save all the meek and humble of the earth!” (Ps 76[75], 10).
Saint Augustine from Sermon 78, 2-6
“Lord, how good that we are here!” Peter, tired of living in the midst of the crowd, had found solitude on the mountain, where his soul was nourished by Christ. Why leave this place to go to fatigue and suffering, since he was burning for God with a holy love and by that very fact was sanctifying his life? He wanted this happiness for himself, so much so that he added: “With your permission I will erect three booths here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”…
Peter wanted three tents. The answer that came from heaven showed that we have only one: the Word of God is the Christ, the Word of God is in the Law, the Word of God is in the prophets… The moment the cloud enveloped them all and formed, so to say, one single tent above them, a voice came out of it… The one whom the voice revealed is the one in whom the Law and the prophets glory: “This is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests. Listen to him.” For you listened to him in the prophets, you listened to him in the Law, and where did you not hear him? When they heard those words, the disciples fell to the ground.
In falling to the ground, the apostles symbolize our death…, but in raising them up, the Lord symbolizes the resurrection. And after the resurrection, of what use is the Law? Of what use is prophecy? From that moment, Elijah disappeared and Moses disappeared. What remains for you is: “In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1) The Word remains for you so that God might be all in all (1 Cor 15:28).
Come down, Peter. You wanted to rest on the mountain… Now the Lord himself is telling you: “Come down to labor and to serve in this world, to be looked down upon and crucified in this world.” Life came down to be put to death, the bread came down to endure hunger, the way came down to become tired on the path, the spring came down to endure thirst, and you refuse to suffer? Don’t seek your profit. Practice charity, proclaim the truth. Then you will reach immortality, and with it, you will find peace.
Vatican Council II from Gaudium et spes », § 39, 2-4
While we are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gain the whole world and lose himself,(Lk 9,25) the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age. Hence, while earthly progress must be carefully distinguished from the growth of Christ’s kingdom, to the extent that the former can contribute to the better ordering of human society, it is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God
For after we have obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on earth the values of human dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain, burnished and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: “a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.” On this earth that Kingdom is already present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full flower.
Saint Romanos Melodios from Hymn 24. ``The multiplication of the loaves`` (SC 114, p.117f.)
Seeing that day was speeding on towards its setting, the apostles of the Redeemer hastened to find him, calling: “Lord, day is almost over and all these people are faint with hunger but, as you know, this is a desert place. Send them away before nightfall so that they can buy bread in the villages. For these people here are not able to fast as we do; to us you have given the strength for it, for you are the heavenly bread of everlasting life.
“You are the great Savior of the world by nature and have taught us all understanding; by feeding these people with your words of truth you have directed humankind on the way of salvation by granting them knowledge of righteousness. Their souls have been spiritually nourished but now they need to take care of their bodies… Send them away because we are very anxious… You have taught your disciples to have compassion for all, for you are the heavenly bread of everlasting life…”
When Christ heard these words, he replied: “You are mistaken because you do not know that I am the world’s Creator. Yet I watch over the world; I well know what these people here have need of; I am well aware of the desert place and the setting sun but it is I who determined the sun’s course. I know the weariness of the crowd here and I know what I will do on its behalf. I myself will give satisfaction to its hunger for I am the heavenly bread of everlasting life…
“You may be thinking: ‘Who is going to feed this crowd in the desert?’ Well, my friends, you should know who I am: I am the one who fed Israel in the desert and gave them bread from heaven. I caused water to gush out of the rock in a dry land and, more still,obtained quails in profusion for them, for I am the heavenly bread of everlasting life…”
Increase the multitude of your mercies in us all, O Savior, and as you satisfied the multitude in the desert by your wisdom and nourished them by your power, so satisfy us all with your righteousness by strengthening us in our faith, O Lord. Feed us all, O Compassionate One, grant us your grace and forgiveness for our sins… for you alone are the Messiah, the only merciful One, O Heavenly Bread of everlasting life.
Saint Columbanus from Spiritual instructions 1, On faith, 3-5 (cf breviary, Thursday of week seven)
God is everywhere, utterly vast, and everywhere near at hand, according to his own witness of himself: “I am a God at hand and not a God afar off” (Jer 23:23). The God we are seeking is not one who dwells far away from us; we have him within us if we are worthy. For he resides in us like soul in body, if only we are sound members of him, if we are not dead in sins (cf 1Cor 6;15)… In that case, truly does he reside in us who said: “I will live in them and move among them” (Lev 26:11f.; 2Cor 6:16). Yet if we are worthy that he should be in us, then in truth we are quickened by him as his living members, as the apostle Paul says: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
But who shall explore his highest summit to the measure of this unutterable and incomprehensible being? Who shall examine the secret depths of God? Who shall dare to treat of the eternal source of the universe? Who shall boast of knowing the infinite God, who fills all and surrounds all, who enters into all and passes beyond all, who occupies all and escapes all? Whom “no one has ever seen” (Jn 1:18)? Therefore, let no one venture to seek out the unsearchable things of God, the nature, mode and cause of his existence. These are unutterable, undiscoverable, unsearchable. Only believe with simplicity and yet with firmness that God is and shall be even as he has been, since God is unchanging.
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross from Woman
The union of the soul with Christ differs from the union among people in the world: it is a rooting and growing in him, as we are told by the parable of the vine and the branches, which begins with baptism and is constantly strengthened and formed through the sacraments in diverse ways. However this real union with Christ implies the growth of a genuine community among all Christians. Thus the Church forms the mystical body of Christ. The body is a living body, and the spirit which gives the body life is Christ’s spirit, streaming from the head to all parts. The spirit which Christ radiates is the Holy Spirit; the Church is thus the temple of the Holy Spirit.
In spite of the real organic oneness of head and body, the Church stands by the side of Christ like an independent person. Christ lived prior to all time and all humanity as Son of the eternal Father. Humankind came into being by the act of creation before Christ assumed its nature and entered into it. By entering into creation, he brought his divine life into it. From himself he generated human nature anew in that, through his redemption, he made humanity receptive to grace… The original cell of all redeemed humanity is Mary, in whom first took place the purification and sanctification through Christ and impregnation by the Holy Spirit. Before the Son of Man was born of the Virgin, the Son of God conceived of this very virgin as one full of grace, and he created the Church in and with her. Thus the Church stands as a new creation beside him, although it is indissolubly bound to him.
Every soul purified through baptism and raised to the state of grace is thereby conceived through Christ and is born for his sake. Yet the soul is conceived and born through the Church… The Church is thus the mother of all the redeemed. But it is so because of its most intimate union with Christ, because it stands at his side as the Spouse of Christ and cooperates with him in his work, the redemption of humankind.
Saint Paulinas of Nola from Letter 38, 3-4.6' PL 61, 359
Achieving the mystery of his love, the Lord “took the form of a servant” and for us “deigned to humble himself even to the death of the cross” (Phil 2:8). He did this so that through the lowliness which all could see he might secretly achieve for us that hidden eminence amongst the dwellers of heaven. Only realize from what we first fell and you will become aware that by the design of God’s wisdom and love we are being refashioned for life. In Adam we fell through pride, and in Christ we are humbled so that we may dissolve the sin of that ancient crime by obedience to the opposite virtue. So we who by proud conduct have sinned, win approval by humble service.
Therefore let us rejoice and glory in him, who made us both his battle and his victory when he said: “Have confidence, for I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33)… He who is unconquered will fight for us and conquer in us. Then the prince of this darkness shall be cast out (cf. Jn 12:31). He is not, to be sure, expelled from the world, but from the individual, for when faith enters us we shut him out and provide a place for Christ…
Let orators keep their eloquence, philosophers their wisdom, rich men their wealth and kings their kingdoms. Christ is our glory, property and kingdom. Our wisdom lies in the “foolishness of our preaching,” our strength in the weakness of the flesh, our glory in the stumbling block of the cross (cf 1Cor .1:21f.).
Saint Ambrose from Commentary on the Psalm 48`{`49`}`, 14-15; CSEL 64, 368
What man’s blood has now the power to redeem him, when Christ shed his own blood for the redemption of all? Is there anyone’s blood comparable to the blood of Christ?… Christ who alone reconciled the world with God through his own blood? What greater victim is there, what superior sacrifice, what better advocate than he who was made the atonement .for the sins of all, and gave his life as our redemption?
Individual propitiation or redemption, therefore, is not to seek, because the price of all is the blood of Christ, by which the Lord Jesus redeemed us, who alone reconciled the Father. He labored to the end, since he took upon himself our labors, as he says: “Come to me, all you who labor, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11,28)… We give nothing in return for our salvation because we have been washed, once for all, through the blood of Christ. But that does not mean we are dispensed from working hard to keep the precepts of life or can throw aside the Lord’s commands. So long as we live we are striving and persevering so as to live eternally lest we die of death although already redeemed from death.
Saint Germanys of Constantinople from Homily 1 for the Formation of the Mother of God (PG 89, 346)
Living Temple of the most holy divinity of the Only-begotten Son, Mother of God, with thanksgiving I say over and over again that your assumption has in no way set you apart from ordinary christians. You live on without decay yet do not dwell far from this decaying world. Instead, you are close to those who call on you and those who seek you in faith will find you. It was indeed fitting that your soul should always remain strong and alive and your body be immortal. For indeed, how could the dissolution of the flesh reduce you to dust and ashes when it was you who delivered mankind from the destruction of death through the incarnation of your Son?…
Children watch out and long for their mothers, and mothers love to live with their children. In the same way, since you possessed a maternal love for your Son and your God in your heart, so you should naturally be able to return to his side and God, in his filial love for you, should very rightly allow you to share in his condition. Thus, dead to what has an end, you have transferred to the imperishable dwelling places of eternity where the God, whose life you will share from henceforth, has his home…
You were his bodily home and now it is he who has become, in return, the place of your rest. “Here is my resting place for ever”, he said (Ps 132[131],14). The resting place of which he speaks is the flesh with which he clothed himself when he had taken it from you, O Mother of God; the flesh in which (as we believe) he revealed himself in the present world and will reveal himself again in the world to come when he comes to judge the living and the dead. Since you are the dwelling of his eternal repose, he removed all corruption from you and took you along with himself since he wished to keep you in his presence and his love. That is why he grants you all you ask of him as to a mother anxious about her children. And everything you wish for, he carries out by his divine power, he who is blessed for ever and ever.
Saint Ambrose from On the duties of the clergy I, 84; II, 28; PL 16,84
When Saint Lawrence saw Bishop Sixtus being led to martyrdom, he started to weep. It was not his Bishop’s suffering that drew tears form his eyes but the fact that he was going to martyrdom without him. That was why he began shouting after him in these words: “Father, where are you going without your son? O holy priest, where are you going in such a hurry without your deacon? Yet you have never been accustomed to offer the sacrifice without a minister!… Test it out that you have chosen a good deacon: would you refuse to share the sacrifice of your blood with him to whom you have entrusted the administration of the Lord’s blood, with whom you share the sacraments?”…
Then Pope Sixtus replied to Lawrence: “I have not forgotten you, my son, nor am I forsaking you. But to you I am leaving even greater combats to undergo. I am old and can only bear a light struggle. But you are young and there remains an even more glorious triumph against the tyrant to be won by you. You will be coming shortly; dry your tears; you will follow me in three days …”
Three days later, Lawrence was arrested. He was asked to bring out the Church’s wealth and treasures. He promised to do so. The following day he returned with some poor people. He was asked where the treasures were that he had to bring. He showed the poor people, saying: “These are the Church’s treasures. What greater treasures could Christ have than those of whom he said: ‘Whatever you have done to one of these little ones, you have done to me’ (Mt 25,40)?” Lawrence showed forth those treasures and so he was the victor, for the persecutor had no desire to take them from him. But, in his fury, he caused him to be burned alive.
Origen from Commentary on St. Matthew's Gospel, 11,6; PG 13, 919
When we have stood firm during the long watches of the dark night that rules over our time of testing; after we have struggled as best we may…, then let us be assured that towards night’s close, “when the night is advanced and the day is at hand” (Rom 13,12), the Son of God will come to us, walking on the waves. When we see him appearing like this, we will be seized with doubt until at last we clearly understand that it is the Lord who has thus come among us. Still thinking we are seeing a ghost, we will cry out in fear, but at once he will say to us: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
It is possible that these reassuring words will cause a Peter aiming at perfection to rise up within us, who will get out of the boat, sure he has escaped the trial that was tossing him about. To begin with, his wish to meet up with Jesus will enable him to walk on the water. But since his faith is still shaky and he himself is unsure, he notices “how strong the wind was”, becomes frightened, and begins to sink. Still, he escapes this misfortune because he directs this great cry towards Jesus: “Lord, save me!” And scarcely has this other Peter finished saying “Lord, save me!” than the Word stretches out his hand to help him. He catches him just as he begins to drown, reproaching him for his little faith and doubt. However, take note that he did not say: “Unbelieving” but “man of little faith”, and that it is written: “Why did you doubt?”, which is to say: “It is true you have a little faith, but you let yourself be pulled in the opposite direction.” And immediately, Jesus and Peter will get into the boat again, the wind will die down, and the others in the boat will do him homage, saying: “Truly, you are the Son of God.” But only those disciples close to Jesus in the boat spoke such words as these.
Saint Thomas More from Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation
“Lord, increase our faith” (Lk 17,5). Let us consider, by Christ’s saying to them, that if we would not suffer the strength and fervor of our faith to wax lukewarm – or rather, key-cold – and lose its vigor by scattering our minds abroad about so many trifling things that we very seldom think of the matters of our faith, we should withdraw our thought from the respect and regard of all worldy fantasies, and so gather our faith together into a little narrow room.
And like the little grain of mustard seed… we should set it in the garden of our soul, all weeds being pulled out for the better feeding of our faith. Then shall it grow and… through the true belief of God’s word… we shall be well able to command a great mountain of tribulation to void from the place where it stood in our hearts, whereas with a very feeble faith and faint, we shall scarcely be able to remove a little hillock. And therefore, as for the first conclusion, since we must of necessity before any spiritual comfort presuppose the foundation of faith, and since no man can give us faith but only God, let us never cease to call upon God for it.
Saint Ephrem from Unpublished hymn
Someone who celebrates alone in the heart of the wilderness,
is a great assembly.
If two together celebrate among the rocks,
thousands and tens of thousands are present there.
If three are gathered together,
a fourth is among them.
If there are six or seven together,
twelve thousand thousand are assembled.
If they range themselves in rank,
they fill the firmament with prayer!
If they be crucified on the rock, marked with a cross of light,
the Church is constituted.
When they come together,
the Spirit hovers over their heads,
When they end their prayer
the Lord rises to serve his servants (Lk 12:37; Jn 13:4).
Saint Bede the Venerable from Homily on the Gospel I, 22
The Gospel shows us the Canaanite woman’s great faith, her patience, her perseverance and humility… This woman was gifted with a truly uncommon patience. After her first request, the Lord didn’t answer even with one word. In spite of that, far from ceasing to pray even for one moment, she implored the help of his kindness with greater insistence… Seeing the ardor of our faith and the tenacity of our perseverance in prayer, the Lord ends up by having pity on us and giving us what we desire.
The Canaanite woman’s daughter was “troubled by a demon.” Once the bad agitation of our thoughts has been driven out and the knots of our sins untied, serenity of spirit will return to us as well as the ability to act correctly… If, following the example of the Canaanite woman, we persevere in prayer with unshakeable firmness, our Creator’s grace will be present to us. It will correct all the errors in us, it will sanctify all that is impure, it will pacify all agitation. For the Lord is faithful and just. He will forgive our sins and will purify us from every stain if we cry to him with the attentive voice of our heart.
Saint Clare from 2nd Letter to Agnes of Prague, 3-14
I give thanks to the Giver of grace from whom, we believe, “every good and perfect gift” proceeds (Jas 1:17), because he has adorned you with such splendors of virtue and signed you with such marks of perfection that, since you have become such a diligent imitator of the Father of all perfection, his eyes do not see any imperfection in you. This is the perfection which will prompt the King himself to take you to himself in glory on a starry throne because you have despised the splendors of an earthly kingdom and considered of little value the offers of an imperial marriage. Instead, as someone zealous for the holiest poverty, in the spirit of great humility and the most ardent charity, you have held fast to the footprints of him to whom you have merited to be joined as a spouse.
But since I know that you are adorned with many virtues, I will spare my words and not weary you with needless speech, even though nothing seems needless to you if you can draw from it some consolation. But because “one thing alone is necessary” (Lk 10:42) I bear witness to that one thing and encourage you for love of him to whom you have offered yourself as a “holy and pleasing sacrifice” (Rm 12:1) that, like another Rachel, you always remember your resolution and be conscious of how you began. What you hold, may you always hold. What you do, may you always do and never abandon. But with swift pace, light step, and unswerving feet, so that even your steps stir up no dust, go forward securely, joyfully, and swiftly on the path of prudent happiness, believing nothing, agreeing with nothing which would dissuade you from this resolution or which would place a stumbling block for you on the way. Thus you may offer your vows to the Most High in the pursuit of that perfection to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.
Saint Gregory the Great from Homily 5 on the Gospel
You have heard, my brethren, that Peter and Andrew abandoned their nets to follow the Redeemer at the first sound of his voice (Mt 4,20)… Perhaps someone will say to himself under his breath: “What have those two fisherman abandoned to answer the Lord’s call? They had practically nothing.” But in this matter we should think of their disposition of heart rather than their fortune. The person who has not kept hold of anything for himself has left a good deal; the person who has forsaken everything has left a good deal, even if it is but small. As for ourselves, we passionately hold on to what we possess, and what we don’t have, we pursue with all our desire. Indeed, Peter and Andrew left a great deal since both forsook even the desire to possess. They forsook a great deal because, in giving up their goods, they also gave up their covetousness. In following the Lord they gave up everything they might have desired if they had not followed him.
Isaac the Syrian from Spiritual discourse 58, 1st Series
There is a humility that comes from the fear of God, and there is a humility that comes from God himself. There are persons who are humble because they fear God, and there are persons who are humble because they know joy. The first, those who are humble because they fear God, receive sweetnes in their body, a balance of the senses and a heart that is broken at all times. The others, those who are humble because they know joy, receive a great simplicity and a big heart that nothing holds back any longer.
Saint Hilary from Commentary on St. Matthew's Gospel, 16
The Lord had asked: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” To be sure, his bodily appearance made known the Son of Man but, in putting this question, he led people to understand that there was something else to be discerned over and above what could be seen… The object of the question was a mystery towards which the faith of the believer had to tend.
Peter’s confession was fully recompensed as he deserved for having seen the Son of God within the man. “Blessed” is he, indeed, and praised for having penetrated beyond merely human sight, not looking to that which comes of flesh and blood but beholding the Son of God revealed by his heavenly Father. He was accounted worthy to be the first to recognise what it was in Christ that was of God. What a foundation he had the good fortune to give to the Church, on the basis of his new name! He became the rock worthy of building up the Church so that it might break the laws of hell… and every prison-house of death. O blessed gatekeeper of heaven, to whom were given the keys of entry to eternity! His judgement on earth becomes authoritative beforehand in heaven in such a way that what has been bound or loosed on earth becomes so also in heaven.
Jesus also commands his disciples not to tell anyone he is the Christ since others, namely the Law and the prophets, must be the witnesses of his Spirit, while witness to the resurrection belongs to the apostles. And just as the blessedness of those who know Christ in the Spirit was made known, so also was made known the danger of misunderstanding his humility and Passion.
Saint Gregory the Great from Homilies on the Gospel, no. 11
We can apply these hourly periods to each individual person’s life. Morning is the childhood of our understanding. The third hour can be taken as our youth, because the sun is advancing on high as the impetuosity of age increases. The sixth hour is that of young adulthood, because when we reach our full strength it is as if the sun is in the center of the heavens. The ninth hour we take to be old age, because like the sun descending from its zenith, this age lacks the warmth of youth. The eleventh hour is the age that is called infirm or old… Since then one person is brought to a good life in childhood, another in youth, another in young adulthood, another in old age, another at the age of infirmity, it is as if workmen are being called to the vineyard at different hours.
Look at your conduct, my friends, and see if you are still God’s workmen. Let everyone reflect on what he is doing, and consider whether he is laboring in the Lord’s vineyard… One who has neglected to live for God up to the last period of his life has stood idle, as it were, up to the eleventh hour… “Why do you stand here all day idle?” meaning, “Even though you have not been willing to live for God in your childhood and young adulthood, at least come to your right mind in the final time of your life. Come to the ways of life”…
Did not the thief come at the eleventh hour? (Lk 23,39f.) He possessed nothing by the length of his life, but he had something, coming late though it did, by his punishment. He confessed God on the cross, and he gave forth his last breath almost as he spoke. The householder began paying the denarius beginning with the last, because he called the thief to the repose of paradise before he called Peter.
Lanspergius the Cathusian from Sermon for the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Opera omnia, vol. 2, p.514f
The death of Christ stands at the head of an innumerable crowd of believers. Through this same Lord Jesus’ power, and thanks to his goodness, the precious deaths of his martyrs and saints have given birth to a great multitude of christians. Indeed, never has the christian religion been wiped out by the persecution of tyrants or the indefensible murder of the innocent. Rather, it has drawn greater increase from them each time.
We have an example of this in Saint John, who baptised Christ and whose holy martyrdom we celebrate today. That faithless king, Herod, true to his oath, wanted to wipe out completely the memory of John from men’s minds. Yet not only was John not destroyed but men in their thousands, inflamed by his example, have welcomed death with joy for the sake of justice and truth… What Christian is there worthy of the name who does not venerate John today, he who baptised the Lord? All over the world Christians honor his memory, all generations proclaim him blessed and his virtues suffuse the Church with their perfume. John did not live for himself alone and he has not died for himself alone either.
Vatican Council II from Lumen gentium 31-33
The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel, they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer…
The lay apostolate… is a participation in the salvific mission of the Church itself. Through their baptism and confirmation all are commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord himself. Moreover, by the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, that charity toward God and man which is the soul of the apostolate is communicated and nourished. Now the laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus every layman, in virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself, “according to the measure of Christ’s bestowal” (Eph 4:7)…
Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church.
Saint Gregory Nazianzen from On holy baptism, Oratio 40, 46; PG 36, 425
The place before the great sanctuary in which you will stand immediatelly after your baptism symbolizes the glory of the world to come. The singing of psalms with which you will be received is a prelude to the hymns of heaven. The lamps you will light prefigure that great procession of lights in which we shall go to meet the Bridegroom with the bright lamps of faith, our souls radiant and pure.
Very careful shall we be not to fall asleep, in case the awaited One should arrive unexpectedly. Nor shall we come without the oil of good works, for fear of being excluded from the bridal chamber… Swiftly the Bridegroom will enter and the wise will go in with him, but the foolish will be shut out because when it was time to enter they were still busy preparing themselves. They will lament bitterly when they learn too late the penalty for their carelessness…
In another way, they resemble the guests who failed to attend the wedding feast a noble father gave for a noble bridegroom. One did not come because he had recently married, another because he had just bought a field, a third because he had bought a yoke of oxen… There is no place in heaven for the arrogant and careless, nor yet for one dressed in rags instead of a wedding garment, even though while on earth such a one may think himself fit for the resplendence of the world to come and, deceived by vain hopes, slip in among the faithful without their knowledge.
What will the next world be like? Once we are within the Bridegroom knows what he will teach the souls that have entered with him, and how he will be united with them. I believe that he will live with them and teach them yet higher and holier mysteries.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa from Homily 6 on the Beatitudes; PG 44, 1269
Bodily health is one of the desirable things in human life; but it is blessed not only to know the principle of health, but to be healthy… The Lord Jesu does not say it is blessed to know something about God, but to have God present within oneself. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5,8). I do not think that if the eye of one’s soul has been purified, he is promised a direct vision of God; but perhaps this marvelous saying may suggest what the Word expresses more clearly…: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17,21). By this we should learn that if a man’s heart has been purified from every creature and all unruly affections, he will see the Image of the Divine Nature in his own beauty…
There is in you, human beings, a desire to contemplate the true good… For He who made you did at the same time endow your nature with this wonderful quality. For God imprinted on it the likeness of the glories of His own Nature, as if moulding the form of a carving into wax. But evil… has rendered useless to you this wonderful thing that lies hidden under vile coverings. If, therefore, you wash off by a good life the filth that has been stuck on your heart like plaster, the Divine Beauty will again shine forth in you. It is the same as happens in the case of iron. If freed from rust it will shine and glisten brightly in the sun. So it is also with the inner man, which the Lord calls the heart. When he has scraped off the rustlike dirt which dank decay has caused to appear on his form, he will once more recover the likeness of the archetype and be good.
Saint Augustine from Sermon 96
When the Lord commits the person wanting to follow him to renounce himself, we think his commandment is difficult and hard to hear. But if the one who commands us also helps us to fulfil it, his commandment is neither difficult nor painful… And that other word the Lord spoke is also true: “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mt 11:30) For love sweetens what might be painful in the precepts. We all know what marvels love can accomplish… What rigors have people endured, what unworthy and intolerable living conditions have they borne so as to be able to possess the object of their love! …Why be surprised that someone who loves Christ and wants to follow him renounces himself in order to love him? For if the a person loses himself by loving himself, there is no doubt that he will find himself by renouncing himself…
Who would refuse to follow Christ to the dwelling place of perfect happiness, of supreme peace and of eternal tranquility? It is good to follow him there. But we have to know the way in order to arrive… The path seems to you to be covered with rough patches, it puts you off, you don’t want to follow Christ. Walk behind him! The path, which we have laid is rugged but it was made level when Christ walked upon it as he returned to heaven. So who would refuse to go forward towards glory?
Everyone likes to rise up in glory, but humility is the ladder that must be climbed in order to get there. Why do you lift up your foot higher than yourself? Do you want to fall down instead of go up? Begin with this ladder. It will make you go up already. The two disciples who said: “Lord, see to it that we sit, one at your right and the other at your left, when you come into your glory,” paid no attention to this degree of humility. They aimed for the summit and did not see the ladder. But the Lord showed them the ladder. So what did he answer? “Can you drink the cup I shall drink? (Mk 10:38) You who desire to reach the height of honors, can you drink the chalice of humility?” That is why he did not limit himself to saying in a general way: “May he renounce himself and follow me”, but rather, he added: “May he take up his cross and follow me.”
Epistle of Barnabas from § 18 &19
There are two ways of teaching and of power, the one of light and the other of darkness; and there is a great difference between the two ways. For on the one are stationed the light giving angels of God, on the other the angels of Satan…
This then is the way of light if anyone desiring to travel along the way to his appointed place wants to be zealous in his works. The knowledge, then, which is given to us whereby we may walk in it is as follows: you shall love the Lord who made you, fear Him who created you, glorify Him who redeemed you from death; you shall be simple in heart and rich in spirit; you shall not cleave to those who walk the way of death… You shall not exalt yourself but shall be humble minded in all things. You shall not assume glory to yourself. You shall not entertain wicked designs against your neighbor… You shall not stir up a difference with someone as reproof for a transgression. You shall be meek, you shall be quiet, you shall fear the words you have just heard. You shall not bear a grudge against your brother.
You shall not doubt whether a thing shall be or not be. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. You shall love your neighbor more than your own soul. You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor again shall you kill it when it is born… The accidents that befall you, you shall receive as good, knowing that nothing is done without God.
You shall allow your neighbor to share in all things and not say that anything is your own. For if you are fellow sharers in that which is imperishable, how much rather shall you be so with perishable things?… You shall utterly hate the Evil One. You shall judge righteously. You shall not make divisions but shall pacify people who contend with each other by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not take yourself to prayer with an evil conscience.
Diadochus of Photike from A century on knowledge, 78-80, in the Philocalia
Baptism, which is the bath of holiness, takes away the stain of our sins but does not as yet alter the dividedness of our wills nor prevent the evil spirits from fighting against us or engaging us in delusions…. But God’s grace has its dwelling in the depth of our soul, that is in the understanding. For it is said that “all glorious is the king’s daughter within” (Ps 45[44],14): she does not show herself to demons. That is why it is from the very depths of our hearts that we seem to feel the divine longing spring up as we fervently call God to mind. But then the evil spirits jump into our bodily senses and conceal themselves there, taking advantage of a relaxation of the flesh… Thus, according to the divine apostle Paul, our understanding always takes delight in the law of the Spirit (Rom 7,22) but our fleshly senses want to be carried away down the steep slopes of pleasure…
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not received it” (cf Jn 1,5)…: God’s Word, the true light, counted it fitting to make himself known to creation in his own flesh by lighting the light of knowledge within us in his immeasurable love for humankind. The spirit of the world did not accept God’s design, that is to say did not know it…; however, that wonderful theologian, John the evangelist, adds: “He is the true light enlightening everyone coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, and 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” (v.9-12). It was not Satan whom the evangelist says did not accept the true light since, from the beginning, the light was a stranger to him since it does not shine in him. But he rightly criticises those people who understand God’s power and wonders but, because of their darkened hearts, don’t want to approach the light of knowing him.
Saint Eucherius from In praise of the desert
Might we not reasonably suggest that the desert is a limitless temple for our God? Because undoubtedly, someone living in silence is going to take pleasure in solitary places. It is there that he often makes himself known to his saints; it is under cover of the solitude that he condescends to encounter people.
It was in the desert that Moses saw God, his face bathed in light… It was there that he was permitted to converse familiarly with the Lord; he exchanged speech with him; he conversed with the Lord of heaven just as people habitually converse with their fellows. It was there he received the staff that had power to work wonders and, after entering the desert as a shepherd of sheep, he left the desert as a shepherd of peoples (Ex 3; 33,11; 34).
Similarly, when the people of God were to be set free from Egypt and delivered from their earthly works, did they not make their way into a place apart and take refuge in the solitudes? Yes indeed, it was in the desert that it was to draw near to this God who snatched them out of their bondage… And the Lord made himself the leader of his people, guiding them across the desert. Day and night along the way he set a pillar, a burning flame or a shining cloud, as a sign from heaven… Thus the children of Israel, while living in the solitudes of the desert, attained the vision of God’s throne and heard his voice…
Must I add that they did not reach the land they desired until they had sojourned in the desert? That the people might one day enter into possession of a land where milk and honey flowed they had first to pass through dry and uncultivated places. It is always by means of camps in the desert that we make our way towards our true homeland. Let those who wish to see “the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps 27[26],13) dwell in an uninhabitable land. Let those who would become citizens of heaven become guests of the desert.
Saint Anthony of Padua from Sermons for Sundays and Saints' days
“At your word I will lower the nets.” It is at the command of divine grace and supernatural inspiration that the nets of preaching are to be spread out. Otherwise the preacher wastes his time in lowering the lines of his words. People’s faith is won, not by carefully composed speeches but the grace of a divine vocation… O fruitful humility! When those who so far haven’t caught a thing put their trust in Christ’s word, they catch a great number of fish…
“At your word I will lower the nets.” Whenever I lowered them on my own I wanted to keep what belongs to you for myself. It was myself I was preaching and not you; my words, not yours. That’s why I caught nothing. Or if I did catch something, it wasn’t fish but frogs, only good for croaking my own praise…
“At your word I will lower the nets.” Running out the net at the word of Jesus Christ means not attributing anything to oneself but all to him; it means practising what one preaches. Then a great number of fish will be caught.
Saint Aelred of Rielvaux from The Mirror of Charity
In spite of their marvels, none of the days of creation can be compared with the seventh day on which no work was done and God rested after completing his handiwork. “And on the seventh day,” the book of Genesis tells us, “God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done” (Gen 2,2). Here we are told the two requirements of the Sabbath: it must be a day, and at the same time there is to be rest. This seventh day, however, does not seem to me to be measured in time between sunrise and sunset, to be bright in the morning and dusk in the evening (cf. Gen 1,5)…
Listen to him who welcomes us into his rest: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11,28). This is the preparation for the Sabbath. As for the Sabbath itself, listen once more: “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (v.29). Here indeed is rest, calm and true Sabbath.
For this yoke does not weigh us down but unites; this burden lifts us up, it does not press on us. This yoke is charity and this burden, brotherly love. There we find rest; there we celebrate the Sabbath; there we are delivered from slavery… And if it happens that our weakness succumbs to some fault, the feasting of this Sabbath has no interruption, since “love covers a multitude of sins” (1Pt 4,8).
Saint John Damascene from Homily on the Nativity of the Virgin
Today a virginal gateway draws near: through her the God who is above all creatures will “come into the world” “bodily”, according to St Paul’s expression (Heb 1,6; Col 2,9). Today, from the stump of Jesse a shoot has sprouted (Is 11.1) from which will grow a flower for the world, united in its nature to the divinity. Today, from earthly nature a heaven has been created on earth by him who, in former times, made the firmament solid by separating it from the waters and setting it in the heights. But this heaven is more astonishing than the former, since he who in the first case created the sun has now himself arisen from this new heaven like a sun of justice (Mal 3,20)… Eternal light, begotten before the ages from eternal light, immaterial and incorporeal being, takes his body from this woman and, like a bridegroom, comes forth from his bridal chamber (Ps 18,6)…
Today, the “son of a carpenter” (Mt 13,55), the ever-active Word of the one who made all things through him, strong arm of God Most High… has made for himself a living ladder whose base is set on the earth and whose summit reaches the sky. Upon it God rests; this is what Jacob beheld in dream (Gn 28,12); by it God descended from his immovability or, rather, bent down in condescension and thus “appeared on earth and moved among men” (Bar 3,38). For these symbols represent his coming here below, his descent through pure grace, his earthly existence, the true knowledge he gave of himself to those on earth. The spiritual ladder, the Virgin, has been set on earth since she takes her origin from the earth, but her head has been raised to heaven… It is through her and the holy Spirit that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1,14). It is through her and the holy Spirit that the union of God with men is accomplished.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from No Greater Love
The other day, a man, a journalist, asked me a strange question. He asked me, “Even you, do you have to go to confession?” I said, “Yes, I go to confession every week.” And he said, “Then God must be very demanding if you have to go to confession.”
And I said, “Your own child sometimes does something wrong. What happens when your child comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I’m sorry’? What do you do? You put both of your arms around your child and kiss him. Why? Because that’s your way of telling him that you love him. God does the same thing. He loves you tenderly.” Even when we sin or make a mistake, let’s allow that to help us grow closer to God. Let’s tell Him humbly, “I know I shouldn’t have done this, but even this failure I offer to you.”
If we have sinned or made a mistake, let us go to Him and say, ”I’m sorry! I repent.” God is a forgiving Father. His mercy is greater than our sins. He will forgive us.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from 4th sermon on Epiphany
“My soul is disturbed, O God, mindful of its sins; therefore I will be mindful of you from the land of Jordan” (Ps 41[42]:7)—mindful, that is, of how you cleansed Naaman, the leper, in his humble descent. ”He went down,” Scripture says, “and washed seven times in the Jordan according to the bidding of the man of God, and he was cleansed” (2Kgs 5:14). You also, go down, O my soul, from the chariot of pride into the health-giving waters of the Jordan, which from its source in the house of David now flows through the whole world “to purify from sin and uncleanness” (Zac 13:1). This to be sure is the humility of repentance, which flowing at once from Christ’s gift and from his example, is now preached throughout the world and purifies the sins of all mankind… But our Jordan flows pure and the proud will not be able to hurt you if you submerge yourself wholly in it and are, as it were, buried together with Christ’s humility…
This humility truly re-baptizes us with no infringement of the sole baptism, for it does not repeat Christ’s death but renews the mortification and burial of sins and carries out in very truth what is represented in outward form by that baptism. This humility opens the heavens, restores the spirit of adoption. The Father recognizes his son, fashioned anew in the innocence and purity of a regenerate child. Hence Scripture does well to say of Naaman that his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child… Behold, brethren, we who have lost the grace of our first baptism… behold the true Jordan, that is the descent of the humble, in which we find that we may be devoutly re-baptized. All that is required is that we should not be reluctant to go down day by day more deeply… with Christ.
Saint Maximus of Turin from Homily 58, on the Easter Mystery; PL 57, 363
What a great and splendid gift God has given us, my brothers ! In his Easter mystery… Christ’s resurrection causes what used only recently to perish in sin to be reborn in the innocence of babes. Christ’s simplicity makes childhood his very own. A child is without rancor, does not know deceit, dares not strike. Thus this child who has become a Christian does not give way to anger when insulted, does not defend himself when stripped of everything, does not hit back if someone strikes him. The Lord even demands that we pray for our enemies, give up our tunics and cloaks to robbers, and turn the other cheek (Mt 5:39f).
This childhood in Christ goes beyond mere human childhood. The latter pays no attention to sin, the former repels it. The latter owes its innocence to its weakness, the former to its virtue. It is worthy of even more accolades: its hatred of evil comes from its will, not from its powerlessness… Certainly, we can encounter the wisdom of old age in a child and the innocence of the youth in aged persons. And love that is upright and true can mature the young: “For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time, nor can it be measured in terms of years, but by understanding” (Wsd 4:8). But to the apostles who were already of mature age, the Lord said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). He sends them back to the very beginning of their lives and encourages them to re-find their childhood so that these men, whose strength is already declining, should be reborn to innocence of heart. “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5).
Saint Ambrose from Commentary on Saint Luke's Gospel, V, 39 (SC 45, p. 197 rev.)
The same hand that Adam stretched out to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree was filled by the Lord with the sap of good deeds so that, dried up by sin, it might be healed by its good deeds. On this occasion Christ took to task those enemies of his who, by their false interpretations, violated the commands of the Law. They considered that people should even set aside good deeds on the Sabbath day, whereas the Law was foreshadowing in the present the outlines of the future when, without any doubt at all, it will be evil that will no longer be working, not good…
You heard, then, the Lord’s words: “Stretch out your hand.” Here is the cure for us all. And as for you who believe your hands are clean, beware lest avarice and sacrilege paralyse it. Keep on stretching it out: stretch it out towards the poor man who is begging you; stretch it out to assist a neighbor, to bring help to a widow, to rescue from injustice someone you see to be subjected to undeserved humiliation; stretch it out towards God for your sins. This is how our hands are stretched out; this is how they heal.
Saint Ambrose from Commentary on St Luke's gospel, 5, 42f.
Our Lord prays: not to plead on his own account but to gain something for me. Even though the Father has placed all things at the disposal of the Son, nevertheless the Son, in order to fulfil his condition as man completely, has thought it fitting to plead with the Father on our account since he is our advocate. Don’t insidiously prick up your ears, imagining that Christ asks out of weakness for what he is unable to carry out himself, he who is the author of all might! Master in obedience, Christ fashions us according to the precepts of virtue by his own example. It is said: “We have an advocate with the Father”: if he is advocate then he must intervene for my sins. So it is not through weakness but from goodness that he pleads. Do you want to know to what extent he can do all he wills? He is simultaneously advocate and judge; in the one dwells an obligation of compassion, in the other the honor of might. “And he spent all the night in prayer to God”: he sets you an example, he outlines a model for you to imitate.
What is it he has to do for you when, for your sake, Christ spends the night in prayer? What is it that it is fitting to do when you wish to undertake some work of devotion, when Christ, on the point of sending out his apostles, prayed alone? Besides, at no point, if I am not mistaken, do we find that he prayed with the apostles. Everywhere he prayed alone. This was because God’s intentions cannot be grasped by human desires and no one can share in the intimate thoughts of Christ. Do you wish to know, too, how it is indeed on my account and not for himself that he prayed? “He called his disciples and chose twelve of them” in order to send them out as sowers of the faith, to make known man’s help and salvation throughout the world.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from No Greater Love (1997)
One thing will always secure heaven for us: the acts of charity and kindness with which we have filled our lives. We will never know how much good just a simple smile can do. We tell people how forgiving, and understanding God is, but are we the living proof? Can they really see this kindness, this forgiveness, this understanding alive in us? Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other and have the courage to accept each other as we are. Do not be surprised or become preoccupied at each other’s failure; rather see and find the good in each other, for each one of us is created in the image of God.
Keep in mind that our community is not composed of those who are already saints, but of those who are trying to become saints. Therefore, let us be extremely patient with each other’s faults and failures. Use your tongue for the good of others, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. We have to possess before we can give. Those who have the mission of giving to others must grow first in the knowledge of God.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from 4th Sermon for the Assumption
When Jesus was going round towns and villages preaching the Gospel, Mary was his inseparable companion, clinging to his footsteps and hanging upon his words as he taught, so much so that neither the storm of persecution nor dread of punishment could deter her from following her Son and Master. “By the Lord’s cross there stood Mary, his Mother”. Truly a Mother, who did not abandon her Son even in the face of death. How could she be frightened of death, when “her love was as strong as death,” (Sg 8,6) or rather stronger than death? Truly she stood by Jesus’ cross, when at the same time the pain of the cross crucified her mind and as manifold a sword pierced her own sou1 (Lk 2,35) as she beheld the body of her Son pierced with wounds. Rightly therefore was she recognized as his Mother there and by his care entrusted to a suitable protector, in which both the mother’s unalloyed love for her Son and the Son’s kindness toward his Mother were proved to the utmost…
Loving her as he did Jesus “Loved her to the end” (Jn 13,1), so as not only to bring his life to an end for her but also to speak almost his last words for her benefit. As his last will and testament he committed to his beloved heir the care of his mother… The Church fell to peter, Mary to John. This bequest belonged to John not only by right of kinship but also because of the privilege love had bestowed and the witness his chastity bore… It was fitting that none other than the beloved of her Son should minister to the mother of the Lord… Providence also arranged very conveniently that he who was to write a Gospel should have intimate conferences with her who knew about them all, for she had taken note from the beginning of everything that happened to her Son and “treasured up all the words concerning him, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2,19).
Blessed Paul VI from Apostolic Exhortation ``On Christian Joy`` — May 9, 1975
But it is necessary here below to understand properly the secret of the unfathomable joy which dwells in Jesus and which is special to Him… If Jesus radiates such peace, such assurance, such happiness, such availability, it is by reason of the inexpressible love by which He knows that He is loved by His Father. When He is baptized on the banks of the Jordan, this love, which is present from the first moment of His Incarnation, is manifested: “You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.”(Lk 3:22) This certitude is inseparable from the consciousness of Jesus. It is a presence which never leaves Him all alone.(Jn 16:32) It is an intimate knowledge which fills Him: “…the Father knows me and I know the Father.”(Jn 10:15) It is an unceasing and total exchange: “All I have is yours and all you have is mine.”(Jn 17:10) “…You loved me before the foundation of the world.”(Jn 17:24) Here there is an uncommunicable relationship of love which is identified with His existence as the Son and which is the secret of the life of the Trinity: the Father is seen here as the one, who gives Himself to the Son, without reserve and without ceasing, in a burst of joyful generosity, and the Son is seen as He who gives Himself in the same way to the Father, in a burst of joyful gratitude, in the Holy Spirit.
And the disciples and all those who believe in Christ are called to share this joy. Jesus wishes them to have in themselves His joy in its fullness.(Jn 17:13) “I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.”(Jn 17:26)
This joy of living in God’s love begins here below. It is the joy of the kingdom of God. But it is granted on a steep road which requires a total confidence in the Father and in the Son, and a preference given to the kingdom. The message of Jesus promises above all joy—this demanding joy; and does it not begin with the beatitudes? “How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.”
Saint Basil from Prologue to the Great Rules
My brethren, don’t let us remain in carelessness and ease or lightly put off for tomorrow, or even later, a start to our work. “Now is the favorable time,” the apostle Paul says, “this is the day of salvation” (2Cor 6:2). The present moment is the time for repentance, later on will be that of reward; now is the time of perseverance, our day of comforting is yet to come. Now God is helping those who turn away from evil, later he will judge our deeds and words and thoughts. Today we are profiting from his patience; at the resurrection, when each of us receives according to our deeds, we shall know the justice of his judgments.
Oh, how much longer will we hold back from obeying Christ, who calls us into his heavenly Kingdom? Are we not going to purify ourselves? Won’t we firmly decide to forsake our customary way of life so as to follow the Gospel to the end?
Saint John-Paul II from Mulieris dignitatem, § 27 (Libreria editrice vaticana)
In the history of the Church, even from earliest times, there were side-by-side with men a number of women, for whom the response of the Bride to the Bridegroom’s redemptive love acquired full expressive force. First we see those women who had personally encountered Christ and followed him. After his departure, together with the Apostles, they “devoted themselves to prayer” in the Upper Room in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost. On that day the Holy Spirit spoke through “the sons and daughters” of the People of God (cf. Acts 2: 17; Jl 3,1)… These women, and others afterwards, played an active and important role in the life of the early Church, in building up from its foundations the first Christian community – and subsequent communities – through their own charisms and their varied service… Saint Paul speaks of their “hard work” for Christ, and this hard work indicates the various fields of the Church’s apostolic service, beginning with the “domestic Church”. For in the latter, “sincere faith” passes from the mother to her children and grandchildren, as was the case in the house of Timothy (cf. 2 Tim 1:5).
The same thing is repeated down the centuries, from one generation to the next, as the history of the Church demonstrates. By defending the dignity of women and their vocation, the Church has shown honour and gratitude for those women who – faithful to the Gospel – have shared in every age in the apostolic mission of the whole People of God. They are the holy martyrs, virgins, and mothers of families, who bravely bore witness to their faith and passed on the Church’s faith and tradition by bringing up their children in the spirit of the Gospel. In every age and in every country we find many “perfect” women (cf. Prov. 31:10) who, despite persecution, difficulties and discrimination, have shared in the Church’s mission… Even in the face of serious social discrimination, holy women have acted “freely”, strengthened by their union with Christ…
In our own days too the Church is constantly enriched by the witness of the many women who fulfil their vocation to holiness. Holy women are an incarnation of the feminine ideal; they are also a model for all Christians, a model of the “sequela Christi”, an example of how the Bride must respond with love to the love of the Bridegroom.
Saint Ambrose from Treatise on St. Luke's Gospel, 5, 89, 91-92 (cf. SC 45)
Even though signs of death have removed all hope of life, even though the bodies of the dead are lying beside the grave, yet, at God’s voice, corpses on the point of decay rise up and speak again. The son is restored to his mother; he is called back from the tomb and snatched out of it. What is this tomb? Your own! Your evil habits, your lack of faith: this is the tomb from which Christ delivers you, from which you come back to life if you hear the Word of God. Even if your sin is so grave that you are unable to wash it away yourself with the tears of your repentance, the Church, your mother, will weep for you, she who intercedes for each one of her children as a widowed mother for her only son. For she suffers with a sort of spiritual suffering that is natural to her when she sees her children dragged towards death by deadly sins…
So let her weep, this pious mother whom the crowd accompanies. May not merely a crowd but a very great crowd sympathize with this gentle mother. Then you will come back to life in your tomb; you will be delivered from it; the bearers will come to a stop; you will start to speak the words of the living; all will be astonished. The example of one will cure many and they will praise God for having granted such remedies for escaping death.
Saint John Chrysostom from Sermon no. 44 on St. Matthew's Gospel; PG 57, 467
If the seed dries up this is not due to the heat. Jesus did not say that it had dried up because of the heat but “for lack of roots”. If the Word is choked it is not due to the thorns but to those who allowed them to spring up unhindered. With a little bit of willpower you could stop them from growing, you could put your riches to good use. That is why our Savior does not talk about “the world” but about “the cares of the world”, not of “riches” but of “the lure of riches”. So don’t let us blame the things themselves but the perversion of our consciences…
You see, it isn’t the gardener, it isn’t the seed but it is the earth where it falls that provides the answer – namely, the dispositions of our hearts. And here, too, God’s goodness towards us is very great in that, far from demanding an identical measure of virtue, he welcomes the firstcomers, does not turn away those who come second and makes room for the third…
So first of all we have to listen attentively to the Word, then faithfully commit it to memory, then be courageous, then despise wealth and free ourselves from love of all worldly goods. And if Jesus puts attentiveness to the Word in first place and before every other condition it is because this is the essential one. “How believe without hearing?” (Rom 10,14). And we, too, unless we attend to what we are told, will not know what duties to carry out. Only after this comes courage and scorn for worldly goods. To profit by these lessons, let us strengthen ourselves by every means, be attentive to the Word, push our roots down deeply and throw off all worldly care.
Saint Augustine from Sermon 62
When the gospel was read, we heard Jesus praise our faith in an act of humility. When the Lord Jesus, you remember, promised he would go to the centurion’s house to heal his servant, the man replied, “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and he will be healed”. By calling himself unworthy, he showed he was worthy to have Christ enter, not within his walls, but within his heart…
There would, after all, have been no great benefit if the Lord Jesus had entered within his walls, and had not been in his bosom. Christ, the teacher of humility by both word and example had, you may remember, sat down in the house of a certain proud Pharisee called Simon (Lc 7,36f.). And though he was sitting in his house, there wasn’t anywhere in his heart where the Son of man might lay his head (Lk 9,58)… But into this centurion’s house he never entered, yet he took possession of his heart…
So this man’s faith is discerned and praised in an act of humility. He said, “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof” and the Lord said, “Amen I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel”… The Lord had come to Israel according to the flesh, that is to the Jews, there first to seek the sheep that were lost (Lk 15,4)… We, as human beings, can assess the faith of human beings – from the outside; he, who could look inside, whom no one could deceive, bore witness to the faith of this man, and on hearing his humble words, he gave him a clean bill of health.
Saint John-Paul II from Encyclical ``Dives in misericordia`` ch.7, §14
The Church must consider it one of her principal duties – at every stage of history and especially in our modern age – to proclaim and to introduce into life the mystery of mercy, supremely revealed in Jesus Christ. Not only for the Church herself as the community of believers but also in a certain sense for all humanity, this mystery is the source of a life different from the life which can be built by man, who is exposed to the oppressive forces of the threefold concupiscence active within him. It is precisely in the name of this mystery that Christ teaches us to forgive always. How often we repeat the words of the prayer which He Himself taught us, asking “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” (Mt 6,12) which means those who are guilty of something in our regard.
It is indeed difficult to express the profound value of the attitude which these words describe and inculcate. How many things these words say to every individual about others and also about himself. The consciousness of being trespassers against each other goes hand in hand with the call to fraternal solidarity, which St. Paul expressed in his concise exhortation to “forbear one another in love” (Eph 4,2). What a lesson of humility is to be found here with regard to man, with regard both to one’s neighbor and to oneself What a school of good will for daily living, in the various conditions of our existence!
Saint Ambrose from Commentary on St. Luke's gospel, I, 27 (trans. SC 45, p. 60)
Our Lord is only seen in this world when he wills. What is surprising about that? Even at the resurrection it was only given to those of pure heart to see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (Mt 5:8). How many persons who are blessed had he not already listed but even so he had not promised these the possibility of seeing God. So it those of pure heart will see God then certainly the others will not see him…; someone who has not wished to see God cannot see God.
For one doesn’t see God in a particular place but with a pure heart. The eyes of the body are not what seek God; he is not embraced with a look, nor reached by a touch, nor heard in conversation, nor recognized by his walk. One believes him absent and one sees him; he is present and one doesn’t see him. Besides this, the apostles themselves did not all see the Christ in him. That is why he said to them: “Have I been with you so long a time and still you do not know me?” (Jn 14:9). In effect, whoever has known “what is the length and the breadth, the height and the depth – the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding” (Eph 3:18-19), has also seen Christ, has also seen the Father. As for us, we do not know Christ according to the flesh (2Cor 5:16) but according to the Spirit. “The Spirit before our face, he is the Anointed of the Lord, the King” (cf. Lam 4:20). May he deign, in his mercy, to fill us with all the fullness of God that we may see him!
Saint Basil from Homily on humility, 5-6
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23,12)… Let us imitate our Lord, who descended from heaven down to the final humiliation and who, in return, was raised from the lowest place to those heights that were his. Let us discover everything our Lord has to teach us to lead us to humility.
When he was an infant we already behold him, not laid in a cradle but in a manger. Living in the house of a workman and a defenceless mother he submitted himself to his mother and her spouse. Letting himself be taught and listening to those of whom he had no need, he questioned yet in such a way that people were amazed at his questions. He submitted himself to John and the Master was baptised by his servant. Never did he resist those who stood up against him nor did he demonstrate his unconquerable power to set himself free from the hands of those who bound him, but he accepted all that was done to him as though he were helpless and, to the extent that seemed good to him, he gave to a passing might the power over him. He appeared before the high priest as one under accusation; led before the governor, he submitted to his judgement; and although he might have answered his accusers, he endured their accusations in silence. Covered with spittle by slaves and low fellows, he was finally handed over to death, a shameful death in men’s eyes. This is how his life as man unfolded from birth to death. But after such humiliation as this he caused his glory to burst forth… So let us imitate him so that we, too, may come to eternal glory.
Saint John of the Cross from Spiritual maxims (nos 168-9; 171-2; 176, trans. David Lewis)
The angels are our shepherds, because they carry not only our messages to God but also those of God to our souls, feeding them with sweet inspirations and divine communications. As good shepherds they protect us and defend us from wolves, which are the evil spirits.
Through the secret inspirations which the angels convey to the soul, they effect a deeper knowledge of God and make it love him the more, till they leave it wounded with love…
The light of God, which illumines angels, enlightening and setting them on fire with love as pure spirits disposed for that inflowing, ordinarily illumines people in darkness, pain and distress because of their impurity and weakness…
When a person has become spiritualized and refined in the fire of divine, purifying love, he is then within the union and inflowing of that loving illumination with the same sweetness as angels receive them…
Consider what utter vanity it is to rejoice in anything but in the service of God, how dangerous and how fatal. How ruinous it proved to those angels who rejoiced and were complacent in their own beauty and natural endowments; for this they fell, deformed, into the abyss.
Vatican Council II from Decree on the mission activity of the Church « Ad Gentes », § 1
Divinely sent to the nations of the world to be unto them “a universal sacrament of salvation,” the Church, driven by the inner necessity of her own catholicity, and obeying the mandate of her Founder (cf. Mark 16:16), strives ever to proclaim the Gospel to all men. The Apostles themselves, on whom the Church was founded, following in the footsteps of Christ, “preached the word of truth and begot churches.”(St Augustine) It is the duty of their successors to make this task endure “so that “the word of God may run and be glorified” (2 Thess. 3:1) and the kingdom of God be proclaimed and established throughout the world.
In the present state of affairs, out of which there is arising a new situation for mankind, the Church, being the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13-14), is more urgently called upon to save and renew every creature, that all things may be restored in Christ and all men may constitute one family in Him and one people of God.
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross `{`Edith Stein`}` from Woman's position within the Church
In spite of the real organic oneness of head and body, the Church stands by the side of Christ like an independent person. Christ lived prior to all time and all humanity as Son of the eternal Father. Humankind came into being by the act of creation before Christ assumed its nature and entered into it. By entering into creation, he brought his divine life into it. From himself, he generated human nature anew, in that, through his redemption, he made humanity receptive to His grace and fulfilled it by grace. The Church is that humanity newly created and redeemed through Christ.
The original cell of all redeemed humanity is Mary, in whom purification and sanctification through Christ, and impregnation by the Holy Spirit, first took place. Before the Son of Man was born of the Virgin, the Son of God conceived of this very virgin as one full of grace, and He created the Church in and with her.
Every soul purified through baptism and raised to the state of grace is thereby conceived through Christ and for his sake. Yet the soul is conceived in and born through the Church… The Church is thus the mother of all the redeemed. But it is so because of its most intimate union with Christ, and because it stands at his side as the Spouse of Christ and cooperates with him in his work, the redemption of humanity.
Sermon attributed to Saint Augustine from Cf. Discourse on Ps 139, 15; Treatises on St. John's Gospel, no. 57
“Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak” (Jas 1,19). Yes, brethren, I tell you frankly… I who frequently address you at your own request: it is undiluted joy for me when I take my place in the audience; my happiness is unalloyed when I listen rather than speak. Then it is that I savour the word in all confidence; my satisfaction is unthreatened by vainglory. When you sit on the solid rock of truth, how can you fear the precipice of pride? “I will give ear,” says the psalmist, “and you will fill me with joy and gladness” (cf Ps 50,10). So I am never more delighted than when I am listening: our position as hearers is what keeps us in an attitude of humility.
To the contrary, if we speak, … we need to have a certain restraint. Even if I don’t give in to pride, I’m always afraid I might do. If I listen, on the other hand, no one can take my joy away from me (Jn 16,22) since no one witnesses it. This is truly the joy of the bridegroom, of whom Saint John says: “he stands and listens” (Jn 3,29). He stands because he listens. The first man, too, was standing because he was listening to God; as soon as he listened to the serpent, he fell. The friend of the bridegroom, then, is “overcome with joy at the Bridegroom’s voice”. What makes him joyful is not his own voice as preacher and prophet but the voice of the Bridegroom himself.
Saint Augustine from Sermon on Psalm 64
There are two cities: one is called Babylon, the other Jerusalem. Babylon means ‘confusion’; Jerusalem means ‘vision of peace’. Look well at the city of confusion if you would better understand the vision of peace. Bear with the first; sigh for the second.
What allows us to distinguish between these two cities? Can we, even now, separate one from the other? Each is interpenetrated with the other and, ever since the dawn of man, they have accompanied each other thus towards time’s ending. Jerusalem was born along with Abel; Babylon with Cain… These two material towns were built only later but, symbolically, they represent those two immaterial cities whose origins go back to the beginning of time and must endure here below until the end of the ages. Then the Lord will separate them when he sets some at his right hand and others at his left (Mt 25,33)…
However, there is something that, even now, distinguishes the citizens of Jerusalem from the citizens of Babylon: that is their two loves. Love of God is what constitutes Jerusalem; love of the world, Babylon. Ask who you love and you will know who you are. If you find yourself to be a citizen of Babylon, uproot covetousness from your heart and plant charity within yourself. If you find yourself to be a citizen of Jerusalem, endure your captivity patiently and hope for your liberation. Indeed, many of the citizens of our holy mother Jerusalem (Gal 4,26) were first of all prisoners of Bablyon…
How can we awaken within ourselves a love for our homeland, Jerusalem, whose memory we have lost in the tediousness of exile? The Father himself, by means of his letters which are the Holy Scriptures, writes to us and rekindles within us even here below a longing to return .
Origen from Homilies on Ezekiel I, 7 (see SC 352, pp. 71-73 rev.)
Angels descend on those who are to be saved: “Angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (Jn 1:51) and, “angels came and ministered to him” (Mt 4:11). Now, the angels descended because Christ had first descended. They feared to descend before the Lord of “all things in heaven” (Col 1:16) had commanded. But when they saw the Prince of the heavenly host dwell on earth, then, by that way which had been opened up, they set out after their Lord, obeying the will of him who has appointed them as guardians of those who believe in his name.
Yesterday you were under the control of the demon, today you are under angels: “Beware that you not despise one of these little ones” who are the Church, says the Lord, “because in truth I tell you, their angels always see the face of my Father in heaven”. The angels are dedicated to your salvation, they have declared themselves to be at the service of the Son of God, and they say to each other: “If he has descended bodily, if he has clothed himself in a garment of mortality, if he has endured the cross and has died for us all, why are we resting? why sparing ourselves from trouble? Come on, all of you, come down from heaven!” That is why, when Christ was born, there was “a multitude of the heavenly host praising and glorifying God” (Lk 2:13).
Saint John-Paul II from Encyclical ``Dominum et vivificantem``, § 20-21
“Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said: ‘I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.'” Jesus rejoices at the fatherhood of God: he rejoices because it has been given to him to reveal this fatherhood; he rejoices, finally, as at a particular outpouring of this divine fatherhood on the “little ones.” And the evangelist describes all this as “rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.”…
That which during the theophany at the Jordan (Lk 3:22) came so to speak “from outside,” from on high, here comes “from within,” that is to say from the depths of who Jesus is. It is another revelation of the Father and the Son, united in the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks only of the fatherhood of God and of his own sonship;he does not speak directly of the Spirit who is Love and thereby the union of the Father and the Son. Nonetheless what he says of the Father and of himself-the Son-flows from that fullness of the Spirit which is in him, which fills his heart, pervades his own “I,” inspires and enlivens his action from the depths. Hence that rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. The union of Christ with the Holy Spirit, a union of which he is perfectly aware, is expressed in that rejoicing, which in a certain way renders perceptible its hidden source. Thus there is a particular manifestation and rejoicing which is proper to the Son of Man, the Christ-Messiah, whose humanity belongs to the person of the Son of God, substantially one with the Holy Spirit in divinity.
In the magnificent confession of the fatherhood of God, Jesus of Nazareth also manifests himself, his divine “I”- for he is the Son “of the same substance,” and therefore “no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son,” that Son who “for us and for our salvation” (Creed) became man by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin whose name was Mary.
Hugh of Saint Victor from Treatise on the sacraments of Christian faith, II, 1-2; PL 176, 415
Just as man’s breath passes through the head and goes down into the members to give them life, so the Holy Spirit enters into Christians through Christ. Christ is the head; Christians are the members. There is only one head but many members: one body made up of its head and members. And in this one body there is a single Spirit, who is in the head in his fullness and in the members by participation. Therefore, if there is only one body then there is only one Spirit. Anyone who is not in the body cannot be given life by the Spirit, according to the words of Scripture: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rm 8,9). For anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ is not a member of Christ.
Nothing that has a share in the body is dead; nothing of what is separated from the body is living. It is by faith that we become its members; it is by love that we are given life. By faith we receive unity; by charity we receive life. The sacrament of baptism unites us; the Body and Blood of Christ give us life. Through baptism we become members of the body; through the Body of Christ we have a share in his life.
Benedict XVI from Message for the World Mission Day 2006
Unless the mission is oriented by charity, that is, unless it springs from a profound act of divine love, it risks being reduced to mere philanthropic and social activity. In fact, God’s love for every person constitutes the heart of the experience and proclamation of the Gospel, and those who welcome it in turn become its witnesses. God’s love, which gives life to the world, is the love that was given to us in Jesus, the Word of salvation, perfect icon of the Heavenly Father’s mercy.
The saving message can be summed up well, therefore, in the words of John the Evangelist: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (I Jn 4: 9). It was after his Resurrection that Jesus gave the Apostles the mandate to proclaim the news of this love, and the Apostles, inwardly transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, began to bear witness to the Lord who had died and was risen. Ever since, the Church has continued this same mission, which is an indispensable and ongoing commitment for all believers.
Saint Augustine from Sermon 104; PL 38, 616
You already know, I believe, that these two women, both of whom were dear to our Lord, both worthy of his love, and both his disciples…, these two women, then, are an image of two forms of life: the life of this world and the life of the world to come; the life of work and the life of rest; the life of care and life in blessedness; life in time and life in eternity.
Two forms of life: let us reflect on them at greater length. Consider what this life here is composed of: I am not referring to a blameworthy life…, a life of debauchery and impiousness; no, what I’m talking about is a life of work, burdened by trials, troubles and temptations, of a life without blame, the life that was very much like that of Martha… Evil was wholly absent from this house, with Martha as with Mary – and if there had been any, our Lord’s arrival would have dispersed it. And so, two women lived there, both of whom welcomed the Lord, two admirable, upright lives, one composed of work, the other of rest… One was a life of work but free from compromise, the hazard of a life devoted to action; the other was free from indolence, the hazard of a life of rest. There we have two lives and the very source of life…
Martha’s life is our own world; Mary’s life, the world we are waiting for. Let us live this one in uprightness so that we may gain the other in its fullness. What do we already possess of that life there?… At this moment, precisely, we are leading the life to come to a certain extent: you have gathered together, away from matters of business, apart from family cares, and are present there to listen. When you act like this, then you resemble Mary. And that’s easier for you than for me who have to speak! What I’m saying, however, I’m drawing from Christ and this food is Christ’s food. For he is the bread shared by all of us and, for this reason, I’m living in communion with you.
Symeon the New Theologian from Hymns, no. 29 (see SC 174, p.315f.)
Where did you come from? How did you find your way in, I mean,
to the interior of my cell, locked on every side?
How strange it is,
surpassing word or thought.
But that suddenly
you should wholly enter me,
that you should shine out,
letting yourself be seen in luminous form
like the moon when it is full:
this leaves me without any thought at all,
speechless, my God!
I know well that you are he
who came to illuminate
those who are sitting in darkness (Lk 1:79)
and I am stupefied,
I become deprived of sense and words
to see a strange wonder
surpassing all creation, nature, word…
How is it that God is outside the universe
by his essence and nature,
power and glory,
yet also dwells everywhere and in all things
but especially in the saints?
How is it he sets up his tent within them
in a perceptible and substantial way,
he who is totally beyond substance?
How is he contained in their inmost parts
who himself contains all creation?
How does he shine in their hearts,
fleshly and material?
How is it he exists within this person,
how is he outside all things
and himself fills all things?
How is it that, night and day,
he shines without being seen?
Tell me. Is it that man’s mind
can conceive all these mysteries
or be able to express them?
Certainly not! Neither an angel
nor an archangel could explain them to you;
they would be incapable of expressing these things with words.
It is God’s Spirit, then, who alone understands these mysteries
because he is divine
and who knows them because only he
shares the nature, majesty and eternity
with the Son and the Father.
Therefore it is to those for whom this Spirit brightly shines
and to whom he will be lavishly united
that he will manifest in inexpressible manner
all these things…
It is like a blind man: if he should see
he will first of all see the light
and then, too, all creation in the light, oh wonder!
So whoever has been enlightened
by the Holy Spirit in his soul
at once enters into communion with the light
and beholds the light –
God’s light, God in truth
who likewise shows him everything
or, rather, everything God decides,
everything he desires and wishes.
He grants to those he enlightens with his illumination
to see whatever is to be found in the divine light.
A homily wrongly attributed to Saint John Chrysostom. no. 6 on prayer, (cf. PG 64, 461)
The highest of all goods is prayer, a familiar conversation with God. Prayer is a relationship with God and union with him. Just as our bodily eyes are lit up at the sight of light, so the soul that is directed towards God is illumined by his indescribable light. Prayer is not the consequence of our exterior posture but comes from the heart. It is not circumscribed by fixed times or moments but is a continuous activity, by night as much as by day. Don’t let us be satisfied by turning our thoughts to God when we apply ourselves specifically to prayer, but also when absorbed in other occupations – such as caring for the poor or some other concern to do with good and useful work – it matters that we include in these the desire and remembrance of God so as to offer a sweet food to the Lord of the universe, seasoned with the salt of love for God. We can draw great profit from this all our life long if we set aside a good part of our time to it.
Prayer is the light of the soul, the true knowledge of God, the mediator between God and men. Through it the soul rises heavenwards and grasps our Lord in an indescribable embrace. Like a nursling for its mother, it cries to God in tears, thirsty for divine milk. It expresses its deepest desires and accepts gifts surpassing all that are to be seen in the natural world. Prayer, in which we respectfully come before God, is joy to the heart, rest to the soul.
Saint Pio of Pietralcina ``Padre Pio: from CE 33
At every moment of life the human soul is the field of combat between God and Satan. So it is essential that the soul allows free access to the Lord so that he can strengthen it on every side and with all kinds of weapons. Thus his light will be able to enlighten it so as to fight better against the darkness of error. Clothed with Christ (Gal 3:27), with his truth and righteousness, protected by the shield of faith and the word of God, it will overcome its enemies however strong they may be (Eph 6:13f.). Even so, however, to be clothed with Christ we must die to ourselves.
Attributed to Saint Romanos Melodios from Hymn ``Ninevah`` ; SC 99
You foresaw the despair of Nineveh, you turned away the threat already made and your mercy, Lord, overcame your anger. Today, too, have pity on your people and your city. With your mighty hand turn back our enemies through the intercession of the Mother of God, receiving our repentance.
The hospital of repentance is open to every moral sickness, so come on, let us make haste towards it and there acquire strength for our souls. It was in repentance that the sinful woman recovered health, Peter was delivered from his denial, David brought his heart’s affliction to an end; it was in repentance that the Ninevites were healed (Lk 7:50; 11:30; 22:62; 2Sam 12:13). Let us not delay, then; arise, let us show our wounds to our Savior and allow him to treat them. For he surpasses all our hopes in the welcome he offers our repentance.
No fees are ever demanded from those who come to him since they could not make a gift equal in value to the cure. Freely their health has been restored yet they have given what they could: tears instead of gifts since, for this Liberator, these are precious objects of love and desire. The sinful woman, Peter, David, the Ninevites, all these bear witness to it, for it was only bearing with them their lamentations that they made their way to the Liberator’s feet and he received their repentance.
Tears are often stronger than God himself, if we might put it like this, and truly put pressure on him. For he who is all Mercy joyfully lets himself be bound by tears or, at least, by the tears of the spirit (cf. 2Cor 7:10)… So let us weep from our hearts just as the Ninivites, thanks to their contrition, opened heaven and were seen by the Liberator, who received their repentance.
Saint Ignatius Loyola from Spiritual Exercises, 2nd Week, 12th Day
The three ways of humility. The first way of humility is necessary for salvation. It consists in my subjecting and abasing myself as far as I can, so that I always obey the law of God our Lord, at least to this extent: even if men were to offer to make me Lord of the entire creation, even were my life threatened, I should yet not think of breaking any commandment, divine or human…
The second way of humility is more perfect than the first. It means that I so submit myself that I neither seek nor desire to be rich rather than poor, I do not try to be well thought of rather than disregarded, I do not want to live many years rather than few, where the service of our Lord God and my own salvation are equally promoted…
The third way of humility is the most perfect. Supposing that I have attained to the first two ways, and granted an equal measure of praise and glory to God, I desire to be poor along with Christ in poverty rather than rich, to be insulted along with Christ so grossly insulted, rather than to be thought well of: I would rather be thought a helpless fool for the sake of Christ who was so treated, rather than to be thought “wise and prudent” in the world’s eyes (Mt 11,25).
The Roman Missal from Good Friday Reproaches
My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me! (Mi 6:3).
O my people, drawn astray by bitterness,
Hard of heart, remember!,
The Lord has set you free.
Is such great love to meet with no reply?
Great love of God, the crucified?
I, before the dawn of time,
Prepared your day;
And you renounce the only Life
That gives unclouded joy:
My people, answer me!
I burst your bonds of slavery,
Drowned your enemies in the sea;
Yet you hand me over to the foe,
You prepare a Pasch for me:
My people, answer me!
I went with you on your journey,
With a cloud I guided you;
In your night you cover me,
Know no more my glory’s way:
My people, answer me!
I sent out to you my prophets
Who in your exile cried aloud;
But you would not return,
You were deaf to my appeal:
My people, answer me!
Saint Augustine from Sermon 90, 5-6 (cf. PL 38-39, 561-563)
What is this wedding garment or nuptial robe? The apostle Paul says: “The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1Tm 1:5). Here is the nuptial robe! It’s not a question of any kind of love since we often see people with a bad conscience loving one another. People who abandon themselves to robbery and evil, who attract to themselves the love of actors, charioteers and gladiators, generally love amongst themselves but not with the charity that arises from a pure heart, a good conscience and unfeigned faith. Now it is this latter kind of charity that represents the nuptial robe.
So, you who haven’t yet done so, put on your wedding garment. You have already entered the banqueting hall, you are about to approach the Lord’s table, but as yet you do not have a wedding garment in the bridegroom’s honor: you are still looking for your own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. The wedding garment is worn in honor of the nuptial union, that is to say, of the Bridegroom and the Bride. The Bridegroom, you know: he is Jesus Christ; the Bride: she is the Church (Eph 5:32). Show respect to the one who is wed and also to him who weds her.
Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem from Homily for the Annunciation, 2; PG 87, 3, 3241
“Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” (Lk 1:28) Could anything transcend the joy that is yours, O Virgin Mary? Could anything surpass this grace?… Truly, you are “blessed among women” (Lk 1:42), for you have changed the condemnation of Eve into a blessing. Because of you, and through you, Adam, who was hitherto cast down and condemned, received a blessing.
Truly, “you are blessed among women”, for through you the blessing of the Father came to mankind and reprieved them from the age-old sentence.
Truly, “you are blessed among women”, because through you your ancestors found salvation. You were to give birth to the Savior who would win for them God’s salvation.
Truly, “you are blessed among women”, for without the seed of man you bore the fruit that gives a blessing to the whole earth and frees it from being condemned to produce only thorns.
Truly, “you are blessed among women”, for though you are a woman like any other woman you will in actual fact become the mother of God. If the one to be born of you is in truth God incarnate, you rightly deserve to be called ‘she who gave birth to God’, inasmuch as you truly do give birth to God.
Acts of the martyrs Carpus, Papylus and Agathonice
In the time of the Emperor Decius, Optimus was proconsul at Pergamum. There were brought before him the blessed Carpus, bishop of Gados, and the deacon Papylus of Thyatira, witnesses of Christ. The proconsul said to Carpus:
-What is your name?
– My first and most distinctive name is that of Christian, but if you want my name in the world, it is Carpus.
– You are surely aware of the emperors’ decrees regarding the obligation of venerating the gods who govern all things. And so I suggest that you come forward and offer sacrifice.
– I am a Christian and I venerate Christ the Son of God who has come in these latter times for our redemption, and has delivered us from the deceits of the Devil. I will not sacrifice to such idols as these.
– Sacrifice to the gods as the Emperor decrees.
– May the gods be destroyed, who have not made heaven and earth.
– You must offer sacrifice. These are the emperor’s orders.
– The living do not offer sacrifice to the dead.
– Do the gods seem dead to you?’
– Yes, and learn why this is so. They look like men, but they are unfeeling. Deprive them of your veneration, and, since they are unfeeling, they will be defiled by dogs and crows.
– You must sacrifice. Have pity on yourself.
– I do have pity on myself, choosing as 1 do the better part.
After this exchange, the proconsul ordered him to be hung up… and scraped with claws.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Then the proconsul turned to Pamfilus to interrogate him.
– Are you a magistrate?
– No, I am not.
– What are you then? Tell me.
– I am a citizen.
– Do you have children?
– Many, indeed.
But when he said this, someone in the crowd shouted out: ‘He means he has children in virtue of the faith of the Christians.
– Why do you lie saying that you have children?
– Would you like to understand that I do not lie but that I am telling the truth? I have children in the Lord in every town and city.
– Will you sacrifice? Or what have you to say?
– I have served God from my youth and I have never offered sacrifice to idols. Rather, I immolate myself to the living and true God, who has power over all flesh. But you will hear nothing further from me.
He too was hung up and scraped. Three pairs of torturers were employed but Papylus did not utter a sound. Like a noble athlete he received the angry onslaught of his adversary in great silence…
The proconsul ordered them to be burnt alive… In the amphitheatre the bystanders saw that Carpus smiled. Amazed they said to him: ‘What are you laughing at?’
And the blessed one said: ‘I saw the glory of the Lord and I was happy. Besides I am now rid of you and have no share in your sins.’
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There was a woman named Agathonice standing there who saw the glory of the Lord, as Carpus said he had seen it. Realizing that this was a call from heaven, she raised her voice at once: ‘Here is a meal that has been prepared for me… I am christian. I have never sacrifice to demons, but to God alone. If I am worthy, I shall eagerly desire to follow the footsteps of my teachers.’ The proconsul said to her: ‘Sacrifice, lest I sentence you to a similar death.’
– Do what you will. But this is what I have come for, and this is what I am prepared for, to die for Christ’s name.
And when she was led to the spot, Agathonice removed her clothing and threw herself joyfully upon the stake. But when the crowd saw how beautiful she was, they lamented, saying: ‘It is a terrible sentence; these are unjust decrees.’ As soon as she was touched by the fire she shouted aloud three times: ‘Lord, Lord, Lord, assist me! For you are my refuge.’ These were her final words.
Isaac the Syrian from Ascetical discourses, 1st series, no. 2
Do violence to yourself (cf Mt 11:12), strive to copy Christ’s humility so that the fire he has cast into you may burn ever brighter: the fire with which all this-worldly compulsions, which destroy the new man and defile the dwellings of our holy and mighty Lord, are consumed. For I affirm, along with Saint Paul, that “we are the temple of God” (2Cor 6:16). So let us purify his temple “as he himself is pure” (1Jn 3:3) so that he may have a desire to dwell there; let us make it holy as he himself is holy (1Pt 1:16) and adorn it with every good and worthy deed.
Let us fill the temple of the dwelling place of his will as with incense: by pure prayer, the heartfelt prayer that is impossible to obtain if we give ourselves up to the constant compulsions of this world. Then will the cloud of his glory overshadow your soul and the light of his greatness shine in your hearts (cf 1Kgs 8:10). All who dwell in God’s house will be filled with joy and rejoice. But the insolent and ignoble will shrivel under the Holy Spirit’s flame.
Origen from Contra Celsus I, 62 (cf SC 132, p. 247f)
If Jesus had chosen intellectuals (according to popular opinion) so as to make of them the administrators of his teaching, persons with the ability to grasp and express the ideas beloved by the crowds, he would have been suspected of having preached in accordance with the methods of those philosophers who have an academy, and the divine nature of his teaching would not have been manifested clearly. Both his doctrine and his preaching would have consisted in “the wisdom of human eloquence” (1Cor 1:17)… and our faith, similar to that which one accords to the teaching of secular philosophers, would have rested “on human wisdom [and not] on the power of God” (1Cor 2:5). But when we see ordinary, unlettered fishermen and tax collectors so bold as to discuss faith in Jesus Christ with the Jews and to preach it with success to the rest of the world, how could we not seek out the origin of this power of persuasion? How could we not acknowledge that the words of Jesus: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19) has been realized in his apostles by divine power?
Paul also demonstrates this power when he writes: “my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and the power of God” (1Cor 2:4)… This is what the prophets had already said when they foretold the preaching of the Gospel: “The Lord gives the word to the bearers of glad tidings” that “swiftly may run his word” (Pss 68[67]:12; 147:15). And true enough, we see that “the voice” of Jesus’s apostles “resounds through all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 19[18]:5; Rom 10:18). Hence those who hear the word of God proclaimed with power are themselves filled with power. They demonstrate it by their behavior and their fight for the truth even to death.
Saint John XXIII from Address for the opening of the Second Vatican Council
In the daily exercise of our apostolic ministry, we are often offended when we learn what certain people are saying, who are filled with religious zeal yet lack correct judgment and level-headedness in their way of seeing things. They see only ruins and calamities in society’s present situation. They are used to saying that our day and age has worsened profoundly in comparison with past centuries. They behave as if history, which is the teacher of life, had nothing to teach them and as if at the time of past Councils, everything had been perfect where Christian doctrine, customs and the Church’s just freedom were concerned.
It seems to us that we must state our complete disagreement with these prophets of doom, who always announce catastrophes as though the world were near its end.
In the present course of events when society seems to be at a turning point, it is better to acknowledge the mysterious plans of divine Providence which, through the succession of times and the work of human beings, and most of the time against all expectations, reach their goal and arrange everything with wisdom for the good of the Church, even events that are in opposition to it.
Saint John Chrysostom from Sermon 77 on St. Matthew
“At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Jesus says this to them so that the disciples would stay awake and always be ready. If he tells them he will come when they are not expecting him this is because he wants to make them practice virtue zealously, without relaxing. It is as though he were saying to them: “If people knew when they were going to die, they would be completely ready for the day”… But the end of our life is a secret hidden from us all…
This is why the Lord expects two qualities of his steward: that he should be faithful, lest he attribute to himself anything that belongs to his master, and that he should be wise, so that he might suitably administer everything put in his charge. So we ought to have these two qualities if we are to be ready at the Master’s coming… Because this is what happens due to our not knowing the day we shall meet him: we say to ourselves: “My master is delayed in coming.” The faithful and wise steward has no such thoughts. Wretch! using the excuse that your Master is late, do you imagine he won’t come at all? His coming is certain. Then why don’t you stay on your guard? No, the Lord is not slow in coming; this lateness is purely in the imagination of the wicked servant.
Saint Bruno of Segni from Commentary on the Gospel according to Luke, 2:14
“You spread a table before me in the sight of my foes” (Ps 23[22]:5)… What more could we desire? Why would we choose the places of honor? Whatever place we occupy, we have everything in abundance and lack nothing. But you who want to have the place of honor, whoever you might be, go and sit in the lowest place. Do not let your knowledge make your head swell with pride; do not allow yourself to be exalted by means of your reputation. Instead, the greater you are, the more you must humble yourself in everything and “you will find favor with God” (Lk 1:30), so much so that at the favorable time he will say to you: “My friend, come up higher,” and “this will win you the esteem of your fellow guests.”
Most certainly, so far as it depended on him, Moses occupied the lowest place. When the Lord wanted to send him to the children of Israel and invited him to come higher, he answered: “If you please, Lord, send someone else, for I am slow of speech.” (Ex 4:13.10) It is as though he had said: “I am not worthy of such a high function.” Saul also considered himself to be a man of humble condition when the Lord made him king. And in the same way, Jeremiah, afraid to go up to the place of honor, said: “Ah, Lord God! I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” (1:6) It is thus through humility, not pride, through the virtues, not money that we must seek to occupy the place of honor.
Catechism of the Catholic Church §345-349
The sabbath – the end of the work of the six days:
The sacred text says that “on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done”, that the “heavens and the earth were finished”, and that God “rested” on this day and sanctified and blessed it (Gn 2,13). These inspired words are rich in profitable instruction.
In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God’s covenant. For his part man must remain faithful to this foundation, and respect the laws which the Creator has written into it.
Creation was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation. As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over “the work of God”, that is, solemn worship. This indicates the right order of human concerns.
The sabbath is at the heart of Israel’s law. To keep the commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in his work of creation.
The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendour of which surpasses that of the first creation.
Saint Cyprian from Treatise on death, PL4, 596f.
We should not weep for those brothers of ours whom the Lord’s call has drawn away from this world since we know that they are not lost but have set out before us: they have left us, like travellers or navigators, so that they might go ahead of us. We should envy them, then, rather than weep for them and should not clothe ourselves in black when they are clothed above in robes of white. Do not let us give the pagans an opportunity for very rightly reproaching us for lamenting over those whom we assert to be alive before God, as though they were wiped out or lost. We betray our hope and our faith if what we say appears to be deception and lies. There is no use in protesting one’s courage in words and destroying its veracity in deeds.
When we die, we pass through death to immortality and eternal life cannot be bestowed unless we depart from this world. This is not an ending but a passing. At the completion of our temporal journey comes our passing into eternity. Who would not hurry towards so great a good? Who would not long to be changed and transformed into the image of Christ?
Heaven is our homeland… A great number of our dear ones are waiting for us there, a huge crowd of parents, brothers, sons are longing for us… Let us hurry to come to them, let us ardently desire to be with them speedily and to be speedily with Christ.
Saint Gregory the Great from Homily 14 on the Gospel; PL 76, 1129
In the Gospel, Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life,” (Jn 10,27). A little earlier on he had said: “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture,” (v.9). For we come in through faith but go out in faith towards the vision face to face. Passing from belief to contemplation, we will find pasture for our eternal repose.
The Lord’s sheep are those, therefore, who gain access to these pastures, for whoever follows him in simplicity of heart receives grass that is always green as his food. What are the pastures for these sheep if not the profound joy of a paradise ever green? The pasture of the elect is the face of God, present and beheld in contemplation: a vision without shadows. The soul fills itself with this food of life forever.
In these pastures those who have escaped the nets of worldly desires are satisfied eternally. There, the choirs of angels are singing; there, the heavenly host come together. There, there is a welcome feast for those who return after the hardships of their sad sojourn abroad. There are to be found the choir of prophets with their piercing eyes, the twelve apostolic judges, the victorious army of innumerable martyrs whose joy is all the greater insofar as they were cruelly tormented here below. In that place the steadfastness of the confessors of the faith is comforted by receiving its reward. There are to be found those faithful men whose strength of soul could not be softened by the pleasures of this world; those holy women who overcame both their own frailty and this world; the children who, through the way they lived, were raised far above their years; the elderly, whom age did not weaken here below and whose strength for the task did not desert them. Beloved brethren, let us go in search of those pastures where we shall become happy in the company of so many saints.
Origen from Commentary on the Song of Songs, prologue 2, 26-31 (cf SC 375, p. 111)
It is written: “Let us love one another, for love is of God,” (1Jn 4:7) and a little later: “God is love” (v.8). In saying this, he shows both that God himself is love and that whoever is of God is also love. But who is of God except the one who says: “I came forth from God and have come into the world”? (Jn 16:28) If God the Father is love then the Son is also love…; the Father and the Son are one and the same in every respect. Fittingly, then, is Christ called Love just as He is called Wisdom and Power and Justice and Word and Truth…
And because God is love and the Son likewise, who is of God, is love, he requires in us something like Himself; so that through this love, this charity which is in Christ Jesus, we may be united to God as it were in a sort of blood relationship through this name of charity; even as Paul, who was already united to Him, said: “Who shall separate us from love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?” (Rom 8:39).
This charity, however, reckons all as neighbors. So on that account the Savior rebuked someone, who thought that the obligation to behave neighborly did not apply to a righteous soul with regard to one who was sunk in wickedness; and for that same reason he made up the parable which tells how a certain man fell among robbers as he was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He blames the priest and the Levite, who passed by when they saw he was half-dead, but he approves the Samaritan who showed mercy. And by means of the reply of the man who questioned him, he said: “Go and do likewise”. By nature, indeed, we are all neighbors of each other; but by the works of charity those who are able to do good make themselves neighbors of those who cannot. Therefore our Savior became neighbor to us and did not pass us by when we were lying “half-dead” because of the “wounds” inflicted on us by robbers.
Saint Anselm from Letter 112, to Hugh the Hermit, Opera omnia, 3, p. 245
Since to reign in heaven is nothing other than to cleave to God and all the saints through love with single-minded will, such that all together express one and the same power: love God more than yourself and you will already begin to lay hold of what you desire to possess perfectly in heaven. Make your peace with both God and with others – at least, unless these latter separate themselves from God – and already you will begin to reign together with God and the saints. Because, to the extent that you bring yourself into harmony with the will of both God and men, God and the saints will be in harmony with your will. And so, if you wish to become a king in heaven, love God and love others as you ought and you will be worthy of becoming what you desire.
However, you won’t be able to possess this love perfectly until you empty your heart of every other love… Indeed, that is why those who fill their hearts with love for God and neighbor have no other will but that of God – or of some other person provided it is not contrary to God. That is why they are faithful to prayer and to conversing about and keeping heaven in mind. For it is their happiness to desire God and to speak of him whom they love, to hear him spoken about and to bear him in mind. That too, is why they rejoice with those who are joyful and weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15), they have compassion for the unfortunate and give to the poor, for they love others as themselves… Yes indeed, this is how “the whole Law and the prophets” depend on these two commandments of love.
Saint Bonaventure from On the perfect life, ch. VIII, §2-4
If you have a few virtues, the sources of good works, or rather, because you are rich in virtue, persevere in the practice of them, always make progress and, through them, lead the combat for Christ until death so that on the last day, at the end of your life, you will receive the crown of glory and honor as payment and reward for your labor. This is why Jesus Christ your only love tells you in the Apocalypse: “Remain faithful to death and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10). This crown is nothing other than the reward of life eternal, the possession of which should enkindle all Christians with desire. So arise, friend of God, bride of Christ, dove of the eternal King: come, hasten to the wedding feast of the Son of God for the whole court of heaven is awaiting you, “everything is ready” (cf. Mt 22:4; Lk 14:17b).
A gracious and noble servant is ready to serve you; a costly and delicious meal is made ready to restore you; a gentle and friendly company is ready to share your joy, Arise, then, and make haste!
Run to this wedding feast for a servant of great beauty is ready to serve you. This servant is the company of angels. What am I saying? It is the Son of the eternal God himself! Doesn’t he present himself as such in the holy Gospel? “Truly I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table and, standing before them, will serve them” (cf. Lk 12:37). Oh how great will be the glory of the poor and despised when they are served by the Son of God, the sovereign King, and by the whole united host of the heavenly Kingdom!
A costly and delicious food has also been prepared with which to feed you. The Son of God himself will set the table with his own hands. As he says in the holy Gospel: “As for me, I am preparing a kingdom for you just as my Father has prepared one for me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Lk 22:29-30a).Oh how sweet and delicious is the food that God in his goodness has prepared for the poor! Oh, happy are they who are to eat of this bread in Heaven, prepared in the Virgin’s womb by the fire of the Holy Spirit! “Whoever eats this bread they will live forever” (Jn 6:58b). The heavenly King feeds and restores his elect with this bread, this food, as it is written in the Book of Wisdom: “You nourished your people with the food of angels” (Wsd 16:20).
Saint Hilary from Commentary on Saint Matthew's gospel, 6, 4-5 (cf. PL 9, 952-953)
The Lord warns us that flattering words and sweet promises should be judged by the fruits they produce. We have to value someone, therefore, not by how they present themselves in speech but as they really are in their deeds. Often enough, beneath an outward show of a lamb a ravening wolf is concealed (Mt 7:15). And just as thorns do not produce grapes nor thistles produce figs…, even so, Jesus says, genuinely good works do not consist in fine words such as these. Each one should be judged according to their fruits (vv. 16-18).
No indeed, a service that was limited to fine words would not suffice to obtain the Kingdom of heaven. It is not those who say “Lord, Lord” who will inherit it (v. 21)… What sense would a holiness be that was limited to the invocation of a name? For the Kingdom of heaven is to be found in obedience to God’s will…
We ought, then, to put something of our own into it if we want to attain eternal blessedness. We have to give something out of our own resources: desire good, avoid evil and obey the divine precepts with all our hearts. An attitude such as this will make us worthy of being acknowledged as one of his own by God. Therefore, let us conform our actions to his will instead of taking pride in his power. For he will resist and reject those who have themselves turned away from him by the injustice of their deeds.
Saint Augustine from Discourse on Psalm 121 `{`122`}`
Love has great power; it is our strength. If we have no love then nothing else is of any use to us. “If I speak in human and angelic tongues,” the apostle Paul says: “but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (1Cor 13:1). And then listen to this tremendous statement: “If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over to be burnt, but do not have love, I am nothing” (v.3). Even if love is all you have, even if you cannot give to the poor, love. Were you to give no more than a cup of cold water (Mt 10:42), it would be worth the same reward as Zacchaeus had, having distributed half his possessions (Lk 19:8). How is this? One gives but little, the other much and do their gestures have the same value? Indeed yes – their wherewithal is unequal but their love is equal…
The Psalmist says: “We will go into the house of the Lord” (Ps 122[121]:4). It is up to us to see whether we are going there. Not our feet but our hearts are what take us there. See whether we are on the way; let each one ask himself: What are you doing for the poor believer, for the brother who is homeless or the beggar who holds out his hand? Check whether your heart is closed… “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (v.6). What does the peace of Jerusalem consist in? “Prosperity for those who love you” (Vulg). The psalmist addresses Jerusalem: “Those who love you will prosper” – prosperity after deprivation. Wretchedness here below, prosperity above; weakness here, strength there; those who are poor here are rich there. And where do their riches come from? From the fact that here they gave away the possessions they had received for a time from God they will receive there what God gives them for all eternity.
My brethren, here below the rich are those who are poor; it is good that the rich man discovers his own poverty. Does he think himself satisfied? This is to be puffed up, not full. Let him recognise his own emptiness so as to be capable of satisfaction. What does he have? Gold. What does he still lack? Eternal life. Let him take good note of what he has and recognise what he lacks. Brothers, let him give away what he possesses so as to receive what he has not.
Symeon the New Theologian from Hymn 17
I will show you clearly that you must receive the whole Kingdom of Heaven here below if you also want to enter into it after your death. Listen to God speaking to you in parables: “To what shall I compare the reign of God? Listen well. It is like mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and in truth, it became a large tree.” That seed is the Kingdom of Heaven, it is the grace of the divine Spirit, and the garden is the heart of each human being, where the one who has received the seed conceals the Spirit in the depths of his being, in his most inward parts, so that no one might see it. And he watches over it with all his care so that it might grow, so that it might become a tree that rises up towards heaven.
So if you say, “It is not here below that all who have fervently desired the Kingdom will receive it, but after death,” you are overthrowing the words of our Savior God. And if you don’t take the seed, that mustard seed, as he said, if you don’t sow it in your garden, you will remain completely sterile. At what other moment will you receive the seed if not now?
The Master says: “Here below, receive the deposit; here below, receive the seal. Light your lamp already here below. If you are sensible, I will become the pearl for you here below (Mt 13:45); here below, I am your wheat and like a mustard seed. Here below, I become leaven for you and I make your dough rise. Here below, I am for you like water and I become a soothing fire. Here below, I become your garment and your food and all your drink, if you desire this.” That is what the Master says. “Thus, if already here below, you acknowledge me as such, you will possess me there as well in an ineffable way, and I will become everything for you.”
Saint Gregory the Great from Homilies on the Gospel, no. 31
“Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spiri” … “She was bent over and was quite unable to look upwards.” Every sinner who thinks about the things of earth and fails to seek those of heavenly things is unable to look upwards. When he follows his lower desires his heart is bent double and he is always looking at what he is continually thinking about. Turn into your hearts, dearly beloved. Look at what you are turning over in your thoughts at all hours. One person thinks about public honors, another about money, another about the acquisition of property. All these are inferior things. When your heart is involved with such things it is bent out of its upright condition. Since it is not rising toward heavenly desires, it resembles the woman who was bent over and unable to look upwards…
The psalmist spoke figuratively of the human race m regard to our bent condition: “I was bent over and humbled all sides” (Ps 38[37]:7. Contemplative man was indeed created to behold the heavenly light. Because his sins deserved it, he was cast out to endure the darkness of his heart. Because he had no desire for things on high, he stretched out to things below… If a human being who had lost his heavenly contemplation were to think only of his physical necessities he would be bent over and humbled, but not on all sides. When it is not only necessity that casts him down… but forbidden pleasures bring him low as well, he is not just bent over but “bent over on all sides”.
Saint John-Mary Vianney from Pensées choisies du Saint curé d'Ars
The world passes and we pass with it. Kings, emperors, all pass away. We rush into the eternity from which we nevermore return. It is a question of only one thing: to save our poor souls. The saints were not attached to earthly possessions; they were thinking only of heavenly ones. Worldly people, on the other hand, are only thinking of the present moment.
We must act like kings. When they are going to be dethroned they send their treasures on ahead of them and those treasures await them. In the same way good Christians send on all their good works to the entrance to heaven (…).
Earth is a bridge for crossing the water; it only serves to support our feet… We are in this world but not of this world since every day we say: “Our Father who art in heaven…” Therefore we must wait for our reward when we are “at home” in the Father’s house.
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi from Sermon for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, 2-5; Opera omnia 8, 335
“Therefore give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” We are to give back to each their due. Now this is a saying that is truly full of wisdom and heavenly understanding because it teaches us that there are two sorts of power, one earthly and human, the other heavenly and divine… It teaches us that we are bound in this way to a twofold form of obedience, one to human laws and the other to divine… We are to pay Caesar with the coin bearing the image and inscription of Caesar and God with what has received the seal and image of the divine likeness: “The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us” (Ps 4:7 Vg.).
We have been created in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:26). You are a man, O Christian. So you are the money in the divine treasure-chest, a coin bearing the image and inscription of the divine emperor. From now on if I ask with Christ: “Whose image and inscription are these?”, you reply: “God’s”. And I answer: “So why do you not give back to God what is his?”
If we truly want to be God’s image then we must resemble Christ, since he is the image of God’s goodness and “the very imprint of his being” (Heb 1:3). And God “predestined those he foreknew to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rm 8,29). Christ truly gave back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. He observed in the most perfect way possible the precepts contained in the two tablets of the divine law “becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). Thus he was adorned in the highest degree with all virtues, both manifest and concealed.
Saint Gregory from Homily 14 on the Gospel; PL 76, 1129
In the Gospel, Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life,” (Jn 10,27). A little earlier on he had said: “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture,” (v.9). For we come in through faith but go out in faith towards the vision face to face. Passing from belief to contemplation, we will find pasture for our eternal repose.
The Lord’s sheep are those, therefore, who gain access to these pastures, for whoever follows him in simplicity of heart receives grass that is always green as his food. What are the pastures for these sheep if not the profound joy of a paradise ever green? The pasture of the elect is the face of God, present and beheld in contemplation: a vision without shadows. The soul fills itself with this food of life forever.
In these pastures those who have escaped the nets of worldly desires are satisfied eternally. There, the choirs of angels are singing; there, the heavenly host come together. There, there is a welcome feast for those who return after the hardships of their sad sojourn abroad. There are to be found the choir of prophets with their piercing eyes, the twelve apostolic judges, the victorious army of innumerable martyrs whose joy is all the greater insofar as they were cruelly tormented here below. In that place the steadfastness of the confessors of the faith is comforted by receiving its reward. There are to be found those faithful men whose strength of soul could not be softened by the pleasures of this world; those holy women who overcame both their own frailty and this world; the children who, through the way they lived, were raised far above their years; the elderly, whom age did not weaken here below and whose strength for the task did not desert them. Beloved brethren, let us go in search of those pastures where we shall become happy in the company of so many saints.
Lanspergius the Carthusian from Sermon on the dedication of a church; Opera omnia 1, 702f.
The dedication we are celebrating today concerns, in reality, three houses. The first is the material sanctuary… Certainly, we are to pray everywhere and there is nowhere where one cannot pray. Nevertheless it is very fitting to have consecrated a particular place to God where all of us, we christians who make up this community, can meet, praise and pray to God together and thus more readily obtain what we ask for as a result of this common prayer, as it is written: «If two or three of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father» (Mt 18:19)…
The second house of God is the people, the holy community who find their unity in this church, that is to say you who are guided, taught and fed by the one shepherd or bishop. It is God’s spiritual dwelling of which our church, this material house of God, is the sign. Christ built this spiritual temple for himself… It is a dwelling formed of God’s elect, past, present and to come, gathered through their unity of faith and love in this one church, daughter of the universal Church and, in addition, one thing with the universal Church. When it is considered separately from the other, particular churches, then it is only one unit of the Church, as are all the other churches. Yet, taken altogether, these churches make up the one, universal Church, mother of all the churches… When we celebrate the dedication of our church, we are doing nothing else than reminding ourselves, in the midst of our thanksgiving, hymns and praise, in the goodness God has shown in calling this small group of people to know him…
The third house of God is each holy soul dedicated to God, consecrated to him by baptism, who has become the temple of the Holy Spirit and the God’s dwelling place… When you celebrate the dedication of this third house, you are simply recalling the favor you received from God when he chose you so that he might come to live in you by his grace.
Saint Gregory the Great from Morals on Job, 34
To want to place one’s hope and trust in passing things is to want to set one’s foundations in running water! Everything passes, God abides. To be attached to what is transitory is to cut oneself off from what endures. For who, carried away by the angry whirling of a rapid, can stand firm in that roiling flood? So if you want to avoid being carried away by the current then flee from all that flows away. Otherwise, the object of our love will make us end up doing exactly what we wanted to avoid. Whoever attaches himself to transitory things will surely be dragged along to wherever the things he is clinging to are drifting.
So the first thing we must do is to keep ourselves from loving material goods; the second is not to put our trust in such of those goods as are entrusted for our use and not our enjoyment. The soul who is attached to goods that only pass away very soon loses its own stability. The current of this present life carries off whoever it bears, and it is a foolish delusion, for whoever this current carries, to try to stand upright in it.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld from Letter of 15/07/1916
Love does not consist in feeling that one loves but in wanting to love. When we want to love then we love; when we want to love more than anything, we love more than anything. If we chance to give way to temptation this is because our love is too weak, not because it does not exist. Then we must weep like Saint Peter, repent like Saint Peter…, but also like him, say three times over: “I love you; I love you; you know that, in spite of my weaknesses and sins, I love you” (cf. Jn 21:15f.).
As for the love that Jesus has for us, he has proved it to us sufficiently for us to believe in it without feeling it. To feel that we love him and he loves us would be heaven, but heaven, except at rare moments and with rare exceptions, is not for this world.
Let us frequently recount the twofold history of the graces God has given us personally since our birth and of our infidelities. There we will find… reason for losing ourselves in a boundless trust in his love. He loves us because he is good, not because we are good – don’t mothers love their wayward children? And we will find something with which to bury ourselves in humility and self-mistrust. Let us try to reclaim our sins by loving our neighbor and by the good we have done to our neighbor. Charity towards our neighbor, attempts to do good to others, are an excellent remedy for counteracting temptation. This is to move from mere defense to counter-attack.
Saint Augustine from Sermon 93
The ten virgins all wanted to go out to meet the bridegroom. What does “going out to meet the bridegroom” mean? It is to go out with their heart, it is to live in expectation of his coming. But he delayed his coming, and “they all fell asleep.” … What do those words mean: “they all fell asleep”? There is a sleep that no one can escape. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “We would have you be clear about those who sleep in death” (1 Thess 4:13), that is to say, those who have died… Thus they have all fallen asleep. Do you think the sensible virgin can escape death? No, whether they be sensible or foolish, they all have to pass by way of the sleep of death…
“At midnight someone shouted.” What does that mean? It happens at the time when no one is thinking of it, when no one is expecting it… He will come at the time when you are least thinking of it. Why will he come like that? Because he says: “The exact time is not yours to know. The Father has reserved that to himself.” (Acts 1:7) The apostle Paul says: “The day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.” (1 Thess 5:2) So keep watch during the night so as not to be surprised by the thief. For whether you want it or not, the sleep of death will necessarily come.
However, it will only come when a cry is heard at midnight. What is that cry if not the one about which the apostle Paul said: “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor 15:52) After the cry that will resound at midnight: “The groom is here”, what will happen? “They all got up.”
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from A Simple Path
Do not worry about why problems exist in the world – just respond to people’s needs. Some say to me that if we give charity to others it’ll diminish the responsibility of government towards the needy and the poor. I don’t concern myself with this, because governments do not usually offer love. I just do what I can do: the rest is not my business.
God has been so good to us: works of love are always a means of becoming closer to God. Look at what Jesus did in His life on earth! He spent it just doing good (Acts 10,38). I remind the sisters that three years of Jesus’s life were spent healing the sick and the lepers, children and other people; and that’s exactly what we’re doing, preaching the Gospel through our actions.
It is a privilege for us to serve, and it’s a real, wholehearted service that we try and give. We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop.
Life of St. Francis of Assisi from § 43
Two years before his death the blessed Francis was already ill, suffering especially from his eyes… He had been fifty days or more without being able to stand the sunlight by day nor the brightness of the fire by night. He remained continually in his cell, in the gloom at the interior of the house… One night, while he was thinking about all the trials he was enduring, he felt sorry for himself and said interiorly: “Lord, help me in my infirmities so that I can have the strength to bear them patiently!” And suddenly, in his mind, he heard a voice: “Tell me, brother: if you were to be given a great and precious treasure in return for your sufferings and trials…, would you not rejoice?… Be joyful and happy in the midst of your infirmities and trials: from now on live in as much peace as if you were already sharing my Kingdom.”
The next day he said to his companions…: “God has given me such grace and blessing that, in his pity, he has deigned to assure me – me, his poor, unworthy servant still living here below – that I shall share in his Kingdom. Therefore, for his glory, for my own consolation and the edification of my neighbour, I should like to compose a new “Praise of the Lord” for his creatures. Every day these serve our needs; without them we should not be able to live, and humankind greatly offends the Creator with them. Every day, too, we fail to acknowledge so great a blessing by not praising the Creator and Dispenser of all these gifts as we should…”.
These “Praises of the Lord”, which begin with: “Most high, most powerful and good Lord”, he called the “Canticle of Brother Sun”. For indeed, it is the most beautiful of all creatures, that which, more than any other, we might compare to God. And he said: “At sunrise everyone ought to praise God for having created this star that gives light to our eyes by day; in the evening, everyone should praise God for that other creature, our brother Fire, who enables our eyes to see clearly in the darkness. We are all like blind men and it is through these two creatures that God gives us light. That is why we ought to praise most particularly their glorious Creator for these creatures and for those others that serve us each day.”
Saint John Cassian from Conferences, no. 1
In my opinion it would be unworthy of us to withdraw even for a moment from the contemplation of Christ. When we have lost sight of him even briefly, let us turn our mind’s regard back to him, directing the eyes of our heart as by a very straight line. For everything lies in the soul’s inner sanctuary. There, after the devil has been expelled and the vices no longer reign at all, the kingdom of God can be established in us, as the evangelist says: “The kingdom of God will not come with observation…. For amen I say to you that the kingdom of God is within you.”
But within us there can be nothing else than knowledge or ignorance of the truth, and the love of either the vices or the virtues, by which we make ready a kingdom in our hearts either for the devil or for Christ.
The apostle Paul also describes the characteristics of this kingdom when he says: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Thus, if the kingdom of God is within us, and the kingdom of God is itself righteousness and peace and joy, then whoever abides in these things is undoubtedly in the kingdom of God… Let us lift up the eyes of our soul to that kingdom, which is endless joy.
Saint Faustina Kowalska from Diary, § 1230 (from 'Divine Mercy in my soul', 2003)
O day of eternity, O day so long desired,
With thirst and longing, my eyes search you out.
Soon love will tear the veil asunder,
And you will be my salvation.
O day most beautiful, moment incomparable,
When for the first time I shall see my God,
The Bridegroom of my soul and Lord of lords,
And fear will not restrain my soul.
O day most solemn, O day of brightness,
When the soul will know God in His omnipotence
And drown totally in His love,
Knowing the miseries of exile are o’er.
O happy day, O blessed day,
When my heart will burn for You with fire eternal,
For even now I feel Your presence, though through the veil.
Through life and death, O Jesus, You are my rapture and delight.
O day. of which I dreamed through all my life,
Waiting long for You, 0 God,
For it is You alone whom I desire.
You are the one and only of my heart; all else is naught.
O day of delight, day of eternal bliss,
God of great majesty, my beloved Spouse,
You know that nothing will satisfy a virgin heart.
On your tender Heart I rest my brow.
Saint John Climacus from The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of man with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world and brings about reconciliation withGod; it is a bridge over temptations, a wall against afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, future gladness, boundless activity, the source of graces, invisible progress, food of the soul, the enlightening of the mind, an axe for despair, the annulling of sorrow, the reduction of anger, the mirror of progress, the realization of success, a proof of one’s spiritual condition, a revelation of the future, a sign of glory.
Have great courage, and you will have God himself for your teacher inprayer. Just as it is impossible to learn to see by word of mouth becauseseeing depends on one’s own natural sight, so it is impossible to realize thebeauty of prayer from the teaching at others. Prayer is learned by praying andit has a Teacher all its own: God, who teaches knowledge and grants the prayerof him who prays and blesses the years of the just.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from A Simple Path
Do not worry about why problems exist in the world – just respond to people’s needs. Some say to me that if we give charity to others it’ll diminish the responsibility of government towards the needy and the poor. I don’t concern myself with this, because governments do not usually offer love. I just do what I can do: the rest is not my business.
God has been so good to us: works of love are always a means of becoming closer to God. Look at what Jesus did in His life on earth! He spent it just doing good (Acts 10,38). I remind the sisters that three years of Jesus’s life were spent healing the sick and the lepers, children and other people; and that’s exactly what we’re doing, preaching the Gospel through our actions.
It is a privilege for us to serve, and it’s a real, wholehearted service that we try and give. We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop.
Saint Basil from Greater Monastic Rules; Q. 8
Our Lord Jesus Christ said to all on many occasions and while giving many demonstrations of it: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me,” (cf Lk 9,23) and again: “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Thus, he seems to demand of us the most entire renunciation… “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be,” he says elsewhere (Mt 6,21). So if we keep back for ourselves any earthly goods or any perishable supplies, our minds will remain sunk in them as though in mud. Then, inevitably, our souls will become unable to contemplate God and will be unmoved by desire for the splendours of heaven and for the good things promised us. We shall only be able to acquire those good things if we ask for them unceasingly, with a burning desire that will, besides, make easy the effort needed to gain them.
To renounce ourselves means to undo the bonds that bind us to this earthly, passing life and free ourselves from human contingencies so that we may become more equal to walking along the way that leads to God. It is to free ourselves from all hindrances so as to possess and use the goods that are “far more precious than gold and silver,” (Ps 119 [118], 72). And, to sum up, to renounce oneself is to lift the human heart into the life of heaven so as to be able to say: “Our citizenship is in heaven,” (Phil 3,20). Above all, it is to begin to grow like Christ, who for our sake became poor although he was rich (2 Cor 8,9). We need to become like him if we want to live according to the Gospel.
Saint Bernard from Selected sermons, no. 42: The Five Purchases
The Word of the Father, only-begotten Son of God, Sun of justice (Mal 3:20), is the great merchant who has brought us the price of our redemption. It is a truly precious exchange that we can never value sufficiently when a King, son of the King most high, has become the coin, the gold has paid our dues, the just man is given for the sinner. Truly unmerited mercy, perfectly disinterested love, astonishing goodness…, it is a completely disproportionate purchase in which the Son of God is delivered up for the servant, the Creator is put to death for the one he has created, the Lord is condemned for his slave.
O Christ, these are your works, you who descended from heaven’s brightness into our hellish darkness to bring light to our gloomy prison. You came down from the right hand of the divine majesty into our human misery to redeem the human race, who descended from the Father’s glory to death on the cross to triumph over death and its author. You are the only one and there is no other but you who could have been drawn to redeem us through your own goodness…
Let all the merchants of Teman (Bar 3:23) withdraw from this place…: it is not they but Israel [your] beloved that [you have] chosen, you who hide these mysteries from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to those babes and humble servants of yours (Lk 10:21)… O Lord, I willingly embrace this purchase since it concerns me! I remember all the things you have done, you who desire that I should keep them alive… Therefore I shall profit by this talent you have loaned me until your return and will stand before you with great joy. God grant I may then hear these sweet words: “Well done, good servant! Enter the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21).
Saint Pacian of Barcelona from Sermon on baptism, 6; PL 13, 1093
We die no more. For even if we are dissolved in this earthly life, we will live in Christ, as he himself has assured us: “Whoever believes in me, even if he die, shall live” (Jn 11:25). In a word, we are assured, on God’s word, that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints of God live. For God says concerning them: “Now he is not the God of the dead, but the living, for all live to him”. And the apostle Paul says of himself: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I desire to depart and to be with Christ” (Phil 1:21-23)…
This, dearly beloved, is the burden of our faith: “If with this life only in view we have had hope in Christ, we are of all men the most to be pitied” (1Cor 15:19). Earthly life, as you yourselves see, for beasts, domestic animals, and the birds of the air is of the same span or longer than ours. What is special to man is what Christ has given him through his Spirit—that is, life everlasting, on condition, however, that we sin no more. For just as death is the penalty of sin and virtue the way to avoid it, so life is conserved by virtue and lost by vice. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rm 6:23).
Origen from Homily 38 on Luke's Gospel, PG13, 1896-1898
When our Lord and Saviour was close to Jerusalem and in sight of her, he wept over her: “Ah! 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”… Someone will perhaps say: “The meaning of these words is clear; in fact they have come to pass where Jerusalem is concerned; the Roman army laid siege to her and brought her to ruin so that she was wiped out and the time will come when she will no longer have one stone upon another.”
I don’t deny it; Jerusalem was destroyed because of her blindness. Yet I put you the question: didn’t those tears have more to do with our own Jerusalem? For we ourselves are the Jerusalem over which Jesus wept – we who think ourselves to have such penetrating sight. If, having been instructed in the mysteries of the truth, having received the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church…, one of us should sin, he will give rise to lamentations and weeping since we weep, not over any of the pagans, but over someone who, having been a member of Jerusalem, has ceased to be so.
Tears are shed over our Jerusalem since, because of her sins, “enemies surround her”, namely opposing forces, evil spirits. They will raise a palisade around her, lay siege to her and “will not leave one stone upon another”. This is what happens when, after a long period of continence and many years of chastity, a man succumbs, overcome by the flesh… This, then, is the Jerusalem over which tears are shed.
The Roman Missal: Preface for the feast of the dedication of a church
It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere
to give you thanks,
Lord, Holy Father,
almighty and eternal God.
For in your benevolence
you are pleased
to dwell in this house of prayer
in order to perfect us as the temple
of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 3:16),
supported by the perpetual help of your grace
and resplendent with the glory
of a life acceptable to you.
Year by year you sanctify
the Church, the Bride of Christ,
foreshadowed in visible buildings,
so that, rejoicing as the mother
of countless children,
she may be given her place
in your heavenly glory.
And so, with all the Angels and Saints,
we praise you as without end
we acclaim: Holy! Holy! Holy!…
Saint John-Mary Vianney from Pensées choisies du saint Curé d'Ars
My children, the Word of God is no small thing! Our Lord’s first words to his Apostles were these: “Go and teach” so that we might understand that teaching comes before everything else. What enabled us to know our religion? The teaching we heard. What gave us fear of sin, caused us to perceive the beauty of virtue, stirred up in us the desire for heaven? Teaching.
My children, why are we so blind and ignorant? Because we don’t give any importance to the Word of God. With an educated person there is always a resource. That person may well stray into all sorts of bad ways, it may still be hoped they will return to the Good God sooner or later, even though not until the hour of death. Whereas someone uninstructed in their religion is like a sick person in their last agony; they know neither the enormity of sin, nor the beauty of their soul, nor the worth of virtue. They are led on from sin to sin. An educated person always has two guides going ahead of it: counsel and obedience.
Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem from Sermon for the Feast of the Purification, PG 87c, 3291
Let us go to meet Christ, all we who fervently honour and venerate his mystery; let us make our way towards him with all our hearts. Let everyone without exception take part in this encounter and let all bring their lights along with them. If our candles give off such brightness it is first of all to demonstrate the divine radiance of he who comes, he who makes the whole world resplendent and bathes it in an everlasting light, scattering the darkness of evil. But it is also, and above all, to show with what brightness of soul we ourselves should go to meet Christ. Indeed, just as the Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, bore the true light in her arms to meet “those who lay in darkness” (cf Is 9:1; Lk 1:79), so let us, lit up by their rays and carrying in our hands a light that all can see, make haste to encounter Christ.
It is clear this mystery is our own, since “the light came into the world” (Jn 1:9) and shone upon it when it was bathed in shadows and since “the daybreak from on high has visited us” (Lk 1:78)… So let us run together; let us all go to this encounter with God… May we all be illuminated by it, my brethren; may we all be made radiant by it. May none of us remain outside this light like a stranger, nor any one of us insist on staying plunged in the dark. Let us rather go forward into the brightness; let us go radiantly to meet him and receive, together with the aged Simeon, this glorious and everlasting light. Together with him let us rejoice with all our hearts and sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of lights (Jas 1:17), who has sent true brightness to us to draw us out of darkness and make us radiant.
God’s salvation, “which he has prepared in sight of all the peoples” and manifested for our glory as the new Israel, behold! we, too, “have seen it” (Lk 2:30f.) in our turn, thanks to Christ. And all at once we were set free from the night of our sins just as Simeon, when he saw the Christ, was set free from the bonds of this present life.
Saint Bernard from Sermon 1 for Advent, 7-8
How greatly God, who seeks us, condescends, and what great dignity is given to the human being thus sought!… “What is man, that you make much of him, or pay him any heed?” (Job 7:17) I would really like to know why God wanted to come to us himself and why it wasn’t rather we who went to him. For our interest is at stake. The rich are not in the habit of going to the poor, even when they intend to do them good. It would have been proper for us to go to Jesus. But a double obstacle was preventing us from doing so: our eyes were blind and he dwells in inaccessible light; we were lying paralyzed on our pallet, unable to reach God’s greatness. That is why our good Savior and doctor of our souls came down from his height and tempered the brilliance of his glory for our sick eyes. He clothed himself as if with a lantern; I mean with the luminous body he took to himself and that was pure of all blemish.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria from Commentary on the gospel of John, 12:1
Our Lord Jesus Christ ordained the disciples to be guides and teachers of the world, and to be “stewards of God’s mysteries” (1Cor 4:1). He also bade them… like lights to illuminate and give light, not merely to the Jewish people… but everywhere under the sun and to peoples scattered over all the earth (cf. Mt 5:14)…
For if he desired to send out his disciples even as the Father had sent him (Jn 20:21), was it not necessary for those who were destined to imitate his mission to ascertain what it was that the Father sent the Son to do? In various ways, then, he expounded the character of his mission. And on one occasion he said: “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:32); and again: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:38); and yet once more: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17).
By saying that he is sending them as the Father has sent him, therefore, he summarized in a few words the character of the apostles’ mission. In this way they would know that they were bound to call sinners to repentance, to heal the sick, whether of body or soul, and in all their dealings as stewards not by any means to follow their own will but the will of him who sent them and, finally, to save the world insofar as it received the teachings of the Lord.
Aphrahat from Expositions, no. 13, 1-2.13 (cf SC 359, p. 589f.)
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.
Isaac the Syrian from Ascetical discources, 1st series no.20
I wish to open my mouth, my brethren, to speak to you concerning the exalted subject of humility. And I am overcome with fear like a man who realizes he has to speak about God in the language of his own thoughts. For humility is the adornment of the Godhead. By becoming man the Word invested himself with it. With it he lived bodily among us. And whoever is girded with it has become in truth like the One who came down from his high dwelling place and clothed his greatness and glory with humility so that creation should not be consumed at the sight of him. For creation would have been unable to look at him if he had not taken humility upon himself and so lived in its company. There would have been no encounter with him. Creation would not have heard the words of his mouth…
That is why, when creation sees a man clothed in the likeness of its Master, it reveres and honors him like the Master it saw, clothed in humility, living in its midst. Indeed, what creature is there that is not moved at the sight of the humble? Yet, so long as the glory of humility was not revealed to all in Christ, this sight so full of holiness was rejected. Now, however, his greatness has been disclosed to the eyes of the world. It has been granted to creation to receive the vision of its Creator through the mediation of a humble man. Hence the humble are not despised by anybody, not even by the enemies of the truth. Because of it, anyone who has learned humility is honored as though he wore purple and the crown.
Saint Bede the Venerable from Commentary on Saint Mark's gospel, 2 ; CCL 120, 510
“The apostles returned to Jesus and reported to him everything they had done and taught.” The apostles were not alone… there were other of Jesus’s disciple and disciples of John the Baptist also… Jesus said to them: “Come away to some place where you can be alone by yourselves and rest awhile.” To enable us to understand how necessary it was to give the disciples some rest, the evangelist continued: “For many were coming and going and they had no time even to eat.” The great happiness of those days can be seen from the hard work of those who taught and the enthusiasm of those who learned.
If only in our time a concourse of faithful listeners would again press round the ministers of the word, not allowing them time to attend to their physical needs!… For those whom the word of faith and the saving ministry is demanded in season and out of season have an incentive to meditate upon heavenly things so as not to contradict what they teach by what they do.
“So they got into the boat and went away by themselves to a deserted spot”… The people followed them. They showed how concerned they were for their salvation by the effort they made in going along the deserted road, not on donkeys or in carts of various kinds, but on foot. In return Jesus welcomed those weary, ignorant, sick, and hungry people, instructing, healing and feeding them as a kindly savior and physician, and so letting them know how pleased he is by believers’ devotion to him.
Saint Augustine from On holy virginity, ch. 5
Those who dedicate themselves completely to the Lord should not worry that, by keeping their virginity like Mary, they will be unable to become mothers in the flesh… He who is the fruit of one holy Virgin alone is the glory and honor of all other holy virgins since, like Mary, they are mothers of Christ so long as they do the will of his Father. Mary’s glory and happiness at being the mother of Christ burst forth above all in the words of the Lord: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister and my mother”. In this way he points to the spiritual parenthood joining him to the people he has redeemed. His brothers and sisters are the holy men and women who are inheritors together with him of his heavenly inheritance (Rm 8:17).
His mother is the whole Church since it is she who, by God’s grace, gives birth to Christ’s members, that is to say those who are faithful to him. Again, his mother is every holy soul who does the Father’s will and whose fruitful charity is made known in those to whom she gives birth for him, “until he has been formed in them” (cf Gal 4:19)…
From among all women Mary is the only one who is at the same time both virgin and mother, not only in spirit but also in her body. According to the spirit she is mother… of the members of Christ, namely ourselves, because by her charity she cooperated in bringing forth into the Church the faithful who are members of this divine leader, our head (Eph 4:15-16) whose mother according to the flesh she truly is. For it was necessary that our leader be born according to the flesh of a virgin to teach us that his members are to be born according to the spirit of another virgin, the Church. Therefore Mary is the only woman to be mother and virgin at the same time in both spirit and body. But the whole Church is spiritually also mother of Christ and virgin of Christ in the saints who are to inherit the Kingdom of God.
Saint Hilary from Preface to the 'Treatise on the mysteries'
The whole work contained in the holy books announces by word, reveals by deeds and sets forth by examples, the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord who, sent by the Father, became man by being born of a virgin through the action of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, throughout the whole course of creation, it is he who, by means of true and manifest prefigurations, begets, washes, sanctifies, chooses, sets apart or redeems the Church in the patriarchs: through Adam’s sleep, Noah’s flood, Abraham’s justification, Isaac’s birth, Jacob’s servitude. In a word, through the whole unfolding of time, all the prophecies, those demonstrations of God’s secret plan, were given to us in his kindness so that we might know his coming incarnation…
In every person, every period, every deed, the prophecies in their entirety display as though in a mirror the image of his coming, his preaching, his Passion, his resurrection and our gathering together in one Church… Starting from Adam, the point of departure for our knowledge of humankind, from the beginning of the world we find announced in numerous prefigurations everything that has received its complete fulfilment in the Lord.
The letter to Diognetus from Ch 8
God, the Lord and maker of all things, who created the world and set it in order, not only loved man but was also patient with him. Thus he has always been, and is, and always will be kind, good, free from anger, truthful; indeed, he and he alone is good. He devised a plan, a great and wonderful plan, and shared it only with his Son. As long as he kept this secret and preserved his own wise counsel, he seemed to be neglecting us, to have no concern for us. But when, through his beloved Son, he revealed and made public what he had prepared from the very beginning, he gave us all at once gifts such as we could never have dreamt of: even the sight and knowledge of himself.
After God had made all his plans in consultation with his Son, he waited until a later time, allowing us to follow our own whim, to be swept along by unruly passions, led astray by pleasure and desire. Not that he was pleased by our sins: he only tolerated them. Not that he approved of that time of sin: he was planning this era of holiness. When we had been shown to be undeserving of life, his goodness consisted in making us worthy of it. When we had made it clear that we could not enter God’s kingdom by our own power, we were enabled to do so by the power of God… He did not show hatred for us or reject us or take vengeance; instead, he was patient with us.
Saint Peter Chrysologus from Sermon 99
Let us give the deep meaning of this parable.
The woman who took some yeast is the Church; the yeast which she took is the revelation of heavenly doctrine; the three measures with which she mixed the yeast are the Law, the Prophets and the Gospels, where the divine meaning mixes itself and hides itself under symbolic terms, to be understood by the believer but escape those who do not believe. As for these words “until the whole batch was leavened”, they relate to what the apostle Paul says: “Now we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away” (1Co 13:9). The knowledge of God is now in the dough: it spreads to the senses, it inflates hearts, strengthens our minds, and like all instruction, widens them, lifts them and opens them up to the dimensions of heavenly wisdom. Everything will soon be leavened. When? at the advent of Christ. |
Saint Caesarius of Arles from Sermons to the people, no. 6 passim ; SC 175
My beloved brethren, when we expound to you something of value for your souls, let no one attempt to excuse themselves by saying: “I haven’t time to read and so I can’t get to know God’s commandments or keep them”… Let us cut ourselves off from empty gossiping and sarcastic wit… and then see whether we don’t have enough time to give to the reading of Holy Scripture… When the nights get longer is there anyone needing to sleep so much that he cannot read in person, or listen to someone else reading, Scripture?… For the light of the soul and its eternal nourishment are nothing other than the Word of God, without which our hearts can neither live nor see…
Care of our souls is just like tilling the soil. Just as, on cultivated land, we pull up here and root out there so as to sow good seed, so must we do in our soul: pull up what is evil and plant what is good; root out what is harmful and transplant what is of value; dig out pride by the root and plant humility; throw away avarice and keep mercy; disdain impurity and love chastity…
Indeed, you all know how land is cultivated. First of all you pull out the weeds and throw away the stones, then you work the ground itself. You do it again a second time, a third time, and finally… you sow. Oh, let it be like this in our souls! First of all let us uproot the weeds, that is to say our evil thoughts; then take out the stones, in other words all our malice and obstinacy. Finally, let us work our hearts with the plow of the Gospel and the plowshare of the cross. Let us break it by repentance, turn over the soil with almsgiving and, with charity, prepare it for the seed of Our Lord… that it may joyfully receive the seed of the divine word and bring forth fruit, not just thirty but sixty and a hundredfold.
Saint Hilary from Commentary on Saint Matthew's Gospel, 14, 11; PL 9, 999 (cf. SC 258, p. 23)
The disciples say that they have only five loaves and two fish. The five loaves signified that they were still subject to the five books of the Law and the two fish that they were fed by the teachings of the prophets and John the Baptist… This was what the apostles had to offer to begin with since this was the point they were at; and it was from this point that the preaching of the Gospel began…
Our Lord took the loaves and the fish. He raised his eyes to heaven, said the blessing and broke them. He gave thanks to the Father because the Good News was being changed into food after centuries of the Law and the prophets… The loaves were then given to the apostles: it was at their hands that the gifts of divine grace were to be handed out. Then the people were fed with the five loaves and two fish and, when those who were invited were satisfied, the leftovers of bread and fish were so plentiful that twelve baskets were filled with them. What this means is that the crowd was filled with God’s word coming from the teaching of the Law and the prophets. But it is an abundance of divine power, kept aside for the gentiles, that overflows after the provision of the food that lasts forever. It comes to its full complement, that of the number twelve, the same as the number of the apostles. Now, it happens that the number of those who ate is the same as that of those who would come to believe: five thousand men (Mt 14:21; Acts 4:4).
Julian of Vézelay from Sermon 17 (SC 193, p. 373)
“It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” The woman took up his words and said: “Yes, Lord!” As though she were saying:… “As for me, I’m only asking for a little crumb off the table and from the hand of the generous master who ‘gives food to all flesh’ (Ps 136[135]:25). You treat the Jews to a meal like sons and that’s why I’m begging you not to refuse a tiny crumb to your little Canaanite dog!”
Jesus said to her: “Oh woman, great is your faith!” He reproaches Peter for his little faith (Mt 14,31); as for this woman, he admires her for the greatness of hers. And she really does have great faith since she proclaims that the Word made flesh is the son of David and, certain of divine power, trusts in his ability to restore her absent daughter to health – and this by one act of his will.
And you too, if your faith is great and if it is that living faith by which the righteous live (Rom 1:17) and not a dead faith from which the soul, that is to say charity, is lacking: you, too, will not only obtain the complete healing of your daughter, that is to say your soul, but will have the power to move mountains (cf. Mt 17:20).
Saint John Damascene from Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration; PG 96, 545
In former times, the smoke and tempest, darkness and fire on Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16f.) revealed God’s extraordinary condescension, which showed that he who gave the Law was inaccessible… and that the Creator is made known by his works. But now everything is filled with light and radiance. For the architect and Lord of all things has come from the bosom of his Father. He has not left his own domain, namely his seat in the Father’s breast, but has descended to be with us slaves. He has assumed the condition of a slave and become man in both nature and expression (Phil 2:7) so that the God who is incomprehensible to man might become comprehensible. Through and in himself he manifests the splendor of the divine nature.
Formerly, God united man with his own grace. When he breathed the spirit of life into the man newly formed from the dust, when he gave him all the best things he had, he honored him with his own image and likeness (Gn 1:27). He gave him Eden as his home and made him near brother to the angels. But since we obscured and obliterated the divine image beneath the mud of our uncontrolled desires, the Compassionate One entered into a second form of communion with us, even more certain and exceptional than the first. While still remaining in the heights of his divinity he yet accepted what is beneath him, creating human nature within himself. He mingled the archetype with its image and today reveals his own beauty within it.
His face shone like the sun for he is identified in his divinity with immaterial light; hence he has become the Sun of justice (Mal 3:20). But his clothing became white as snow since it takes on this glory superficially, not by union, nor by relation, nor by nature. And “a cloud covered them with its shadow”, thus making available to the senses the shining radiance of the Spirit.
Isaac the Syrian from Ascetical Discourses, 1st. series, no. 62
Those whose hearts are set firm on the hope of faith lack for nothing, whatever it may be. Having nothing yet they possess all, as it is written: “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive” and “The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all” (Mt 21:22; Phil 4:5-6).
The intellect is always looking for a way that will let it keep hold of what it has gained. But faith says: “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it” (127[126],1). It is never the case that someone who prays in faith lives merely by intellectual knowledge. That kind of knowledge praises fearfulness. A wise man has said: “He is blessed who is afraid in his heart.” But what does faith say? “Whoever is afraid in his heart starts to sink.” And again: “You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you received a spirit of adoption” giving you the freedom of faith and hope in God (cf. Rm 8:15-24).
Doubt always follows fear…; fear and doubt manifest themselves in a seeking after causes and scrutinizing of facts, for the mind never finds its satisfaction. The soul is often exposed to unexpected events, difficulties, stumbling-blocks without number that place it in peril. But neither the mind nor the various styles of wisdom can give it any help whatsoever. Faith, to the contrary, is never overcome by any of these difficulties… Do you see the weakness of knowledge and the strength of faith?… Faith says: “Nothing is impossible to one who has faith. For all things are possible to God” (Mk 9:23; 10:27). O ineffable riches! O sea bearing such wealth on its waves in the wondrous treasures with which it overflows through the power of faith!
Saint John-Mary Vianney from The Spirit of the Curé d'Ars in his Catechetical instructions, Sermons and Conversations
In today’s gospel, my friends, we see that when the owner of the field had sowed his seed in good soil, the enemy came while he was sleeping and sowed weeds in it. What this means is that God created Man good and perfect but the enemy came and sowed sin. This was Adam’s downfall, a terrible fall that opened the door to sin in the human heart.
Are you saying that we must pull out the weeds? “But no,” the Lord replies, “for fear that in pulling up the weeds you pull up the good seed as well. Wait until harvest.” This is how the human heart must remain until the end: a mixture of good and bad, vice and virtue, light and darkness, good seed and weeds. God did not wish to destroy this mix and refashion a nature in us where there would be nothing but good seed. He wants us to fight, to strive to prevent the weeds from taking over. The devil comes to sow temptation across our path, but we are able to overcome it by grace, we can smother the weeds.
Three things are absolutely necessary against temptations: prayer to enlighten us, the sacraments to strengthen us, and vigilance to preserve us. Happy are souls that are tempted! It is when the devil discerns that a soul is tending towards union with God that he redoubles his rage.
Byzantine Liturgy from Troparion and kathisma of matins of 29/08
“The memory of the just is praised” (Pr 10:7), but thou art well pleased, O Forerunner, with the testimony of the Lord. For thou has verily been shown forth as more honored than the prophets (Mt 11:9), since thou wast counted worthy to baptize in the stream him whom they foretold. Therefore, having mightily contended and suffered for the truth, with joy thou has preached also to those in hell the good things of God made manifest in the flesh, who takes away the sin of the world (1Tm 3:16; Jn 1:29) and grants us great mercy.
By the will of God hast thou come forth from the womb of a barren woman; thou hast broken the bonds of thy father’s tongue (Lk 1:7.64); thou hast shown us the Sun who enlightens thee, O thou, the star of morning. In the desert hast thou preached to the people of their Creator, of the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. In thy zeal hast thou rebuked the king and thy glorious head was severed, O thou, illustrious Forerunner, truly worthy of our songs. Intercede with Christ our God that he might grant forgiveness for all their sins to those who, with heartfelt devotion, celebrate thy holy memory.
Saint Bonaventure from Life of Saint Francis, Legenda major, ch. 7
Among the gifts of grace which Francis received from God the generous Giver, he merited as a special privilege to grow in the riches of simplicity through his love of the highest poverty. The holy man saw that poverty was the close companion of the Son of God, and now that it was rejected by the whole world, he was eager to espouse it in everlasting love. For the sake of poverty he not only left his father and “mother, but also gave away everything he had. No one was so greedy for gold as he was for poverty; nor was anyone so anxious to guard his treasure as he was in guarding this pearl of the Gospel.
In this especially would his sight be offended if he saw in the friars anything which did not accord completely with poverty. Indeed, from the beginning of his religious life until his death, his only riches were a tunic, a cord and underclothes; and with this much he was content. He used to frequently call to mind with tears the poverty of Jesus Christ and his mother, claiming that it was the queen of the virtues because it shone forth so preeminently in the King of kings (1Tm 6:15) and in the Queen, his mother.
When the friars asked him at a gathering what virtue does more to make one a friend of Christ, he replied as if opening the hidden depths of his heart: “Know, brothers, that poverty is the special way to salvation, as the stimulus of humility and the root of perfection, whose fruit is manifold but hidden. This is the Gospel’s treasure “hidden in a field” (Mt 13:44); to buy this we should sell everything, and in comparison to this we should spurn everything we cannot sell.”
Saint Hilary from On the Trinity, 12, 52-53
So long as I enjoy that breath of life granted to me by you, Holy Father, Almighty God, I will proclaim you as God eternal, but also as Father eternal. Never will I set myself up as judge of your almighty power and mysteries; never will I set my limited understanding before the true appreciation of your infinity; never will I claim you to have existed beforehand without your Wisdom, Power and Word, God the Only-Begotten, my Lord Jesus Christ. For even though human language is weak and imperfect when it speaks of you, this will not inhibit my mind to the point of reducing my faith to silence for lack of words able to express the mystery of your being…
Already, among the realities of nature, there are many things of whose cause we have no knowledge without, nevertheless, being ignorant of their effects. And when, where our nature is concerned, we have no idea what to say about them, our faith is embued with adoration. If I behold the movement of the stars…, the ebb and flow of the sea…, the life-force hidden in the tiniest seed…, my ignorance helps me to contemplate you. For if I do not understand the nature placed at my service, I discern your goodness from the mere fact that it is there to serve me. I perceive that I do not even understand myself, but I wonder at you all the more… You have given me intellect, life and human feeling, the source of so many joys, yet I do not begin to understand how I began to be…
So it is through failing to understand what surrounds me that I grasp what you are, and it is through perceiving what you are that I come to adore you. That is why, in what concerns your mysteries, my incomprehension lessens not a bit my faith in your omnipotence… Your eternal Son’s birth exceeds even the idea of eternity; it is prior to the times everlasting. Before any other thing that exists, he was Son proceeding from you, O God and Father. He is true God… You have never existed without him… Before ever time was, you are the eternal Father of your Sole Begotten One.
Benedict XVI from Encyclical « Spe Salvi », 45-46
With death, our life-choice becomes definitive – our life stands before the judge. Our choice, which in the course of an entire life takes on a certain shape, can have a variety of forms. There can be people who have totally destroyed their desire for truth and readiness to love, people for whom everything has become a lie, people who have lived for hatred and have suppressed all love within themselves. This is a terrifying thought, but alarming profiles of this type can be seen in certain figures of our own history. In such people all would be beyond remedy and the destruction of good would be irrevocable: this is what we mean by the word “Hell”.
On the other hand there can be people who are utterly pure, completely permeated by God, and thus fully open to their neighbors—people for whom communion with God even now gives direction to their entire being and whose journey towards God only brings to fulfillment what they already are.
Yet we know from experiences that neither case is normal in human life. For the great majority of people—we may suppose—there remains in the depths of their being an ultimate interior openness to truth, to love, to God. In the concrete choices of life, however, it is covered over by ever new compromises with evil—much filth covers purity, but the thirst for purity remains and it still constantly re-emerges from all that is base and remains present in the soul. What happens to such individuals when they appear before the Judge? Will all the impurity they have amassed through life suddenly cease to matter? What else might occur? Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, gives us an idea of the differing impact of God’s judgment according to each person’s particular circumstances…: “If any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (3:12-15).
Saint Clement of Alexandria from Pedagogue, I, 53-56; SC 70
Scripture calls all of us “children” and, when we begin to follow Christ, we receive the name of “little children” (Mt 18:3; Jn 21:5)… So who is our instructor and tutor, the tutor that we have when we are small? He is called Jesus. He calls himself “shepherd” by name, referring to himself as “the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11). He makes a comparison between shepherds guiding their sheep and himself, the tutor who guides small children, the shepherd full of concern for the lambs which, in their simplicity, he compares with the sheep. “They will all be one flock,” he says, “because there will be one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). Therefore our tutor is, of course, the Word of God because he leads us to salvation. As he clearly declared through the mouth of the prophet Hosea: “I am your teacher” (5:2 LXX).
As for his instruction, that is the religious formation by which he teaches us how to serve God, forming us in the knowledge of the truth and leading us straight to heaven… Pilots guide their ships with the intention of bringing their passengers safely to harbor; in the same way our tutor, in the care he bears towards us, points God’s children towards the way of life leading to salvation… Thus he who leads us is our holy God, Jesus, God’s Word, all humanity’s guide. God himself leads us in his love for us… The Holy Spirit said of him during the Exodus: “He found him in the wilderness, a wasteland of howling desert. He shielded him and cared for him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, so he spread his wings to receive him and bore him up on his pinions. The Lord alone was his leader” (Dt 32:10-12).
Saint Ambrose from Letter to Orontian, 35.4 to 6, 13; PL 16, 1078
The apostle Paul says that creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God (RM 8:19). This creation is now subjected to futility not by its own will but in hope, because it takes hope in Christ… Because creation will be liberated from the slavery of corruption to be taken up into the liberty of the sons of God, so that when the future glory is revealed there will be but one liberty for both creation and the sons of God. But now, in truth, whilst this revelation is in daily expectation, the whole creation groans as it awaits the glory of our adoption and redemption…
The meaning is plain enough: they who have the first-fruits of the Spirit groan in expectation of their adoption as sons (v.9f). Now, that adoption is the redemption of a whole body. That will come about when he sees face to face, as an adopted son of God, the divine and eternal goodness. Even so is the adoption of sons in the Church of the Lord, when the Spirit cries out, “Abba! Father!” (v.15). But that redemption will be perfect when all who are graced to see the face of God rise again in incorruptibility, honour and glory. Then indeed human nature will judge that it is redeemed. That is why the Apostle Paul makes his boast when he says, “In this hope we are saved” (v.24). Hope saves, as also does faith, of which it is said: “Your faith has saved you” (Mk 5:34).
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem from Baptismal Catechesis 5, 10-11; PG 33, 518 (cf Breviary Wk 31, Wednesday)
The word “faith” has one syllable but two meanings. First of all it is concerned with doctrine and it denotes the assent of the soul to some truth. Faith in this sense brings blessing and salvation to the soul, as the Lord said: “He who hears my word and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life.” (Jn 5:24)…
The word “faith” has a second meaning: it is a particular gift and grace of Christ. “To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing” (1Cor 12:8-9). Faith in the sense of a particular divine grace conferred by the Spirit is not, then, primarily concerned with doctrine but with giving a person powers quite beyond their natural capability. Whoever has this faith will say to a mountain: “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and anyone who can in fact say these words through faith and “believes without hesitation that they will come to pass,” (Mk 11:23) receives this particular grace. It is to this kind of faith that the Lord’s words refer: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed.” Now a mustard seed is small in size but its energy thrusts it upwards with the force of fire. Small are its roots, great the spread of its boughs, and once it is fully grown the birds of the air find shelter in its branches (Mt 13:32). So too, in a flash, faith can produce the most wonderful effects in the soul.
Enlightened by faith the soul gazes at the glory of God so far as human nature allows and, even before the consummation of all things, ranging beyond the boundaries of the universe it has a vision of the judgment and of God making good the rewards he promised. As far as it depends on you then, cherish this gift of faith that leads you to God and you will then receive the higher gift which no effort of yours can reach, no power of yours attain.
Saint Augustine from Sermon 305
Dear brothers, your faith recognizes this seed fallen into the earth that death has multiplied. Your faith recognizes it because it dwells in your hearts. No christian hesitates to believe what Christ said to himself. But when this seed died and multiplied, many seeds were scattered on the earth. Saint Laurence is one of them, and today we celebrate the day when he was sown. We see what a tremendous harvest has sprung up from all those seeds scattered over all the earth and the sight fills us with joy, provided only that we ourselves belong to God’s grain store, by his grace.
For not everything that is harvested goes into the grain store. The same necessary and fruitful rain causes both good seed and straw to grow but we don’t store both of them in the barn. Now is the time for us to choose…Listen to me, you holy seed, for I have no doubt that it is here in abundance… Listen to me or, rather, listen to him in me who was first called a good seed. Do not love your life in this world. If you truly love yourselves do not thus love your life, and then you will save your life… “Whoever loves his life in this world will lose it.” It is the good seed who said that: the seed thrown into the ground who died that he might bear much fruit. Listen to him because as he speaks so has he done. He both teaches us and shows us the way by example.
Christ wasn’t attached to the life of this world. He came into the world to be stripped of himself, to give his life and take it up again when he willed…He, the true man, is true God, a sinless man that he might take away the sin of the world, clothed with power so great that he could truly say: “I have power to lay down my life and power to take it up again. No one can take it from me; it is I who lay it down and I who take it up again” (Jn 10,18).
Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1440-1443
Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Only God forgives sin (Mk 2,7). Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, “The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mk 2,10) and exercises this divine power: “Your sins are forgiven” (v.5; Lk 7,48). Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name (Jn 20,21). Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the “ministry of reconciliation” (2Cor 5,18). The apostle is sent out “on behalf of Christ” with “God making his appeal” through him and pleading: “Be reconciled to God” (v.20).
During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table (Mk 2,16), a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God (cf. Lk 15; 19,9).
Saint Bernard from 1st sermon for the Assumption
Today the Virgin Mary rises gloriously to heaven. She completes the happiness of angels and saints. For it was she whose simple word of greeting made the child in his mother’s womb leap for joy (Lk 1:44). What, then, must have been the rejoicing of the angels and saints when they found themselves able to hear her voice, see her face, and rejoice in her blessed presence! And what a great feast her glorious Assumption is for us, beloved brethren, what reason for happiness and cause for joy today! Mary’s presence brightens the whole world, so greatly do the heavens shine, lightened by the brilliance of the most holy Virgin. Therefore it is altogether fitting that the heavens resound with thanksgiving and praise.
Yet isn’t it also right that, just as heaven rejoices in Mary’s presence, we of the this world should mourn her absence? Not at all. Let us not weep since we have no lasting city here below (Heb 13:14) but seek that to which the Virgin Mary has come today. If even now we are registered among that city’s inhabitants then it is fitting that we should call it to mind today…, share its joy, participate in the rejoicing that gladdens God’s city today; for today it falls like dew upon our earth. Yes, she, our queen, has gone before us and has been received with so great a glory that we, her humble servants, may trustfully follow our sovereign, crying [with the Bride of the Song of Songs]: “Draw us! We will run to the sweet scent of your perfumes!” (cf. Sg 1:3-4). Pilgrims on earth, we have sent our advocate before us…, the mother of mercy who will successfully plead our salvation
Saint John-Paul II from Encyclical `` Dives in misericordia `` ch. 7 §14
Paul VI more than once indicated the civilization of love” as the goal towards which all efforts in the cultural and social fields as well as in the economic and political fields should tend. it must be added that this good will never be reached if in our thinking and acting concerning the vast and complex spheres of human society we stop at the criterion of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Ex 21:24; Mt 5:38) and do not try to transform it in its essence, by complementing it with another spirit. Certainly, the Second Vatican Council also leads us in this direction, when it speaks repeatedly of the need to make the world more human,(GS 40) and says that the realization of this task is precisely the mission of the Church in the modern world. Society can become ever more human only if we introduce into the many-sided setting of interpersonal and social relationships, not merely justice, but also that “merciful love” which constitutes the messianic message of the Gospel.
Society can become “ever more human” only when we introduce into all the mutual relationships which form its moral aspect the moment of forgiveness, which is so much of the essence of the Gospel. Forgiveness demonstrates the presence in the world of the love which is more powerful than sin. Forgiveness is also the fundamental condition for reconciliation, not only in the relationship of God with man, but also in relationships between people. A world from which forgiveness was eliminated would be nothing but a world of cold and unfeeling justice, in the name of which each person would claim his or her own rights vis-a- vis others…
For this reason, the Church must consider it one of her principal duties-at every stage of history and especially in our modern age-to proclaim and to introduce into life the mystery of mercy, supremely revealed in Jesus Christ.
The Roman Missal from Rite of marriage : Nuptial blessing 5
Lord our God,
creator of the universe and all living things,
you made man and woman in your own likeness (Gn 1:27)
and gave them loving hearts
with which to participate in your work of love.
You willed that in this church today
the lives of your servants, N. and N., should be united,
and now you will that they may make their home together,
may seek to love each other more and more each day
and follow Christ’s example in his love for others
even to death on the cross.
Bless, strengthen and protect the love of these newlyweds;
may their love sustain their fidelity to each other,
bringing them happiness and enabling them to find in Christ
the joy of complete self-giving to the one they love.
May their love, like yours, O Lord,
become a source of life;
may it make them ever attentive to the needs of their neighbors;
and may their home be open to all in need.
Supported by their love, and the love of Christ,
may they play an active part
in building up a more just and fraternal world
and thus be faithful to their human and christian vocation.
Amen.
Saint Vincent de Paul from Addresses to the Daughters of Charity, 7/12/1643 (Conference of the 7th December 1643)
God takes as much delight, my daughters, in seeing the service you offer to children as he does in their little babblings and even in their little cries and tears. Each one of those cries touches God’s heart with confusion. And you too, my dear Sisters, when you comfort them when they cry, giving them the attention they need for love of God and in honor of Our Lord’s childhood, aren’t you pleasing God? And isn’t God honored by the cries and wailings of these little ones? So take heart, my daughters! Love caring for these infants through whose mouths God receives perfect praise. It isn’t just me who says so, Sisters, but the prophet: “In the mouths of infants at the breast is your perfect praise.” Oh my daughters, so it is true since Holy Scripture says so.
See how fortunate you are to care for these little ones who give God perfect praise and in whom God’s goodness takes such great pleasure, a pleasure that is, in a certain sense, just like that of mothers who have no greater consolation than to view the little acts of their children. They admire everything and love everything. In the same way that God, who is their father, takes great pleasure in all their little doings.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus from Autobiographical Manuscript A, 45 v°- 46 v°
On that night of light [ Christmas, at fourteen years of age] began the third period of my life, the most beautiful and the most filled with graces from heaven… I could say to Him like His apostles: “Master, I fished all night and caught nothing.” More merciful to me than He was to His disciples, Jesus took the net Himself, cast it, and drew it in filled with fish. He made me a fisher of souls. I experienced a great desire to work for the conversion of sinners. The cry of Jesus on the Cross sounded continually in my heart: “I thirst!” These words ignited within me an unknown and very living fire. I wanted to give my Beloved to drink and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls…
To awaken my zeal God showed me my desires were pleasing to Him. I heard talk of a great criminal just condemned to death for some horrible crimes; everything pointed to the fact that he would die impenitent. I wanted at all costs to prevent him from falling into hell… I felt in the depths of my heart certain that our desires would be granted, but to obtain courage to pray for sinners I told God I was sure he would pardon the poor, unfortunate Pranzini; that I’d believe this even if he went to his death without any signs of repentance or without having gone to confession. I was absolutely confident in the mercy of Jesus. But I was begging him for a “sign” of repentance only for my own simple consolation. My prayer was answered to the letter!…
After this unique grace my desire to save souls grows each day, and I seemed to hear Jesus say what he said to the Samaritan woman: “Give me to drink!” It was a true interchange of love: to souls I was giving the blood of Jesus; to Jesus I was giving these same souls, refreshed by the divine dew. I slaked his thirst and the more I gave him to drink, the more the thirst of my poor, little soul increased, and it was this ardent thirst he was giving me as the most delightful drink of his love.
Catechism of the Catholic Church § 2402-2405
The universal destination and the private ownership of goods: In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits (Gn 1:26-29). The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. the appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men. The right to private property… does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. the universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.
“In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself” (Vatican II, GS 69). The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family. Goods of production… oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor.
Saint Bernard from Sermons on the Song of Songs, no.84, 3
Every soul among you which is seeking God must know that he has gone before and sought you before you sought him… “All night long in my little bed I sought him whom my soul loves” (Sg 3:1). The soul seeks the Word, but she has first been sought by the Word… Our soul is no different from a wandering spirit which does not return if she is left to herself. Hear a fugitive and a wanderer who grieves and pleads, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant” (Ps 119[118]:176). 0 man, do you wish to return? But if it is a matter of will, why do you plead?… It is clear that the soul wishes to return but cannot; she is a wandering spirit which does not return… For where does she get this will? Unless I am mistaken, it is from the visitation of the Word who has already sought her. That seeking has not been in vain, because it has made the will active, without which there can be no return.
But it is not enough to be sought once. The weakness of the soul is great and great is the difficulty of the return… “For the will is in me,” says Paul, “but I have no power to do good” (Rom 7:18). What does the soul, in the Psalm we quoted ask? Nothing but to be sought, for he would not seek unless he was sought, and he would not seek if he had been satisfied with the seeking.
Baldwin of Ford from Tractate 6, on Hebrews 4:12; PL 204, 451-453
God is living and effective, more piercing than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12). What greatness of power, what wealth of wisdom in the Word of God is shown by these words of the Apostle to those that seek Christ, who is himself the word, the power, and the wisdom of God. In the beginning, this word was with God, coeternal with him (Jn 1:1); in his time he was revealed to the prophets, proclaimed by them, and received humbly in the faith of his believing people…
That Word of God is living, and the Father granted to him that he should have life in himself as the Father has life in himself (Jn 5:26). On this account, he is not only living but he is life, as he says of himself: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:16). Because he is life, he lives in such a way that he is able to give life, for “as the Father raises up the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he will” (Jn 5:21). He gives life when he calls Lazarus from the tomb and says: “Come forth!” (Jn 11:43). When this word is proclaimed, the voice of him who proclaims it gives to the voice which is heard outwardly the voice of power which is heard inwardly, and it is by this voice that life is given to the dead and, by awakening faith, raises up true children to Abraham (Mt 3:9). This word, therefore, is living in the heart of the Father, living in the mouth of him who proclaims it, and living in the heart of him who believes and loves it.
Faustinus of Rome from Treatise on the Trinity
Our Savior became Christ, or Messiah, in his incarnation and he remains true king and true priest… Among the Israelites, priests and kings received anointing with oil…: they were called “anointed ones” or ‘christs’. Whereas our Savior, who really is the Christ, was consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit…
We know this to be true from the Savior himself. When he took the book of Isaiah, he opened it and he read there: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me,” then he declared that this prophecy had now been fulfilled for those who heard it. Peter as well, the prince of the apostles, has taught us that this holy oil, this chrism, through which the Lord revealed himself as Christ, is the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the power of God. In the Acts of the Apostles, when he spoke to the centurion, that man full of faith and compassion, he said: “This began in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. Wherever he went he accomplished miracles and wonders and delivered all those who had fallen into the power of the devil,” (10:37f).
So you see, Peter said the same thing: this Jesus, in his incarnation, received the anointing that “consecrated him with the Holy Spirit and power.” This is why Jesus himself, in his incarnation, has been made Christ, he whom the anointing of the Holy Spirit has made king and priest for ever.
Saint Anthony of Padua from Sermons for Sundays and saints days
A serious lack of harmony reigned between God and ourselves. The Son of God had to espouse our nature if he was to bring peace to the situation and restore good understanding… To this the Father gave his consent and sent his Son. He, in the nuptial bed of the Blessed Virgin, united our nature to his own. Such was the wedding the Father then made for his Son. John Damascene says that the Word of God took on everything God had placed in our nature: both body and rational soul. He took it all that all of me might be saved by his grace. Divinity stooped down even to this marriage; flesh could not have engaged in a marriage more glorious.
A wedding is celebrated again when the Holy Spirit’s grace comes down to work the sinful soul’s conversion. We read in the prophet Hosea: “I will go back to my first husband for then it will be better for me than it is now” (cf. Hos 2:9). And further on: “She shall call me ‘My husband’ and never again ‘My baal’. Then I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baals… I will make a covenant for them…” (vv.18-20). The souls’ husband is the Holy Spirit, by his grace. When his interior inspiration calls the soul to repentance then every enticement of vice is in vain. The pride that wants command, the greed and lust that consumes everything: this was the master that used to control and ravage the soul. Their very names have been removed from the repentant sinner’s mouth… When grace is poured into the soul and gives it light, God makes a covenant with sinners. He is reconciled with them… Then is celebrated the wedding of the bridegroom with his bride in the peace of a pure conscience.
Finally, a wedding is celebrated on the day of judgement when Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, comes. “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,” it is said; “go out to meet him.” Then he will take the Church, his Bride, with him. “Come here,” says Saint John in the Book of Revelation, “I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven” (21:9-10)… At the present time we are living in heaven only by faith and hope, but very soon the Church will celebrate her wedding with the Bridegroom: “Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rv 19:9).
Saint Clement of Alexandria from The Instructor, II, 9
We must sleep in such a way as to be easily awakened. For Scripture says, “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.” (Lk 12:35-36). For a sleeping man is of no more use than a dead man. Therefore we ought often to get up at night and bless God.
Blessed are those who watch for him, and so make themselves like the angels, whom we call “watchers”. A man asleep is worth nothing, no more than if he were dead. But whoever has the light keeps watch and “darkness does not overcome him” (Jn 1:5) neither sleep. Whoever has been illumined is therefore wakened to God and such a person is alive, “for what came to be in him was life.” (Jn 1:4) “Happy the man,” says Wisdom,”who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways, happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts” (Pr 8:34).
Therefore, “let us sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober” as Scripture says. “For those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night,” that is, in the darkness of ignorance. “But since we are of the day, let us be sober.” (1Th 5:6-8) “For all of you are children of the light, and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.” (1Th 5:5).
Byzantine Liturgy from Ode and stichera for Matins of John the Forerunner
Prophet born of a prophet (Lk 1:67), the Lord’s baptizer, you were the “voice crying in the desert: Repent!” (Mt 3:2) who rebuked Herod for his impious lewdness, Therefore you hastened to proclaim the Kingdom of God to those help captive among the dead…
Forerunner and prophet, baptizer and martyr and, as voice to the Word, his messenger, his torch: O greatest of the prophets by God’s own testimony (Mt 11:9), intercede with the Lord to save from trial and misfortune all those who lovingly celebrate your shining memory…
O come, all you peoples, let us celebrate this prophet and martyr, the baptizer of our Savior: he it was who, as an angel in the flesh (Mt 1:2 Gk), reprimanded Herod for his sinful relationship, condemning his wrongful deed. But because of a dance and an oath, they struck off the venerable head of the one who proclaims the gospel of the resurrection from the dead and who unceasingly prays for our soul’s salvation before the Lord.
O come, all you faithful, let us celebrate this prophet and martyr, the baptizer of our Savior: fleeing into the desert, it was there he found rest, feeding on locusts and wild honey. He rebuked the king who broke the law. And he warns us cowardly ones, saying: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Saint Augustine from Commentary on the 1st letter of Saint John, VI, 3; SC 75
“Little children, this is how we know we are of the truth, when we love in action and truth, not only in words and speech, and assure our heart in his presence” (1Jn 3:18-19). What does “in his presence” mean? Where he himself sees. Hence, the Lord himself says in the gospel, “Beware of practicing your righteousness in the presence of men, in order to be seen by them; otlierwise you will not have a reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 6:1)… You are before God. Question your heart: see what you have done and what you have been yearning for there—your salvation or the windy praise of men. Look within, for a person cannot judge one whom he cannot see. If we are assuring our heart, let us assure it in his presence.
“Because is our heart thinks badly” — that is, if it accuses us within, because we aren’t acting with the spirit with which we should be acting —“God is greater than our heart, and he knows all things” (v.20). You hide your heart from man: hide it from God if you can. How will you hide it from him to whom it was said by a certain sinner in fear and confession: “Where shall 1 go from your spirit, and where shed! I flee from your face?”… For where does God not exist? “If,” he said, “I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to hell, you are present” (Ps 139[138]:7-8). Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from him, flee to him. Flee to him by confessing, not from him by hiding, for you cannot hide, but you can confess. Tell him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7), and let there be nursed in you the love that alone leads to life.
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus from Poem 52: ``Abandonment is the sweet fruit of love``
There is on this earth
A marvelous Tree,
Its root, O mystery!
Is in Heaven…
In its shade
Never could anything cause pain.
One can rest there
Without fearing the storm.
Love is the name
Of this ineffable Tree,
And its delectable fruit
Is called Abandonment.
Even in this life this fruit
Gives me happiness.
My soul delights
In its divine fragrance.
It seems a treasure.
Putting it to my mouth,
It is sweeter still.
It gives me in this world
An ocean of peace.
In this deep peace
I rest forever…
Abandonment alone brings me
Into your arms, O Jesus.
It alone makes me live
The life of the Elect.
Saint John Cassian from Conferences no. 15, 7
“Come,” said Christ to his apostles, “and learn from me” — not, to be sure, how to cast out demons with heavenly power, nor how to cleanse lepers, nor how to enlighten the blind, nor how to raise the dead… But you, he says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:28-29). For this can be learned and practiced by everyone in general, whereas the works of signs and mighty deeds are neither always necessary and appropriate for everyone, nor are they bestowed on everyone.
Humility, then, is the teacher of all the virtues; it is the most firm foundation of the heavenly edifice; it is the Savior’s own magnificent gift. For a person may perform without danger of pride all the miracles that Christ worked if he strains after the meek Lord not because of his exalted signs but because of his patience and humility. But a person who itches to command unclean spirits, to bestow the gift of health on the sick, or to show some wondrous sign to the people is far from Christ even though he invokes the name of Christ in his displays, because by reason of his proud mind he does not follow the Teacher of humility.
Even when he was returning to his Father he prepared what I might call his testament, and he left this to his disciples: “A new commandment I give you,” he said, “that you love one another; as I have loved you, you must also love one another.” And immediately he added: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35). He did not say: If you also perform signs and mighty deeds, but: “If you have love for one another.” Certainly no one can observe this but the gentle and the humble.
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily 3 on First Corinthians
“May you all speak the same thing, let there be no divisions among you.” (1 Co 1:10). St. Paul says this because divided bodies of Christians cannot become separate entities, each entire within itself, but rather the One Body which originally existed perishes. If each church were a separate body, there might be many of them; but they are one body and divisions destroy it… After having dealt sharply with them by using the word “schism,” Paul softens and soothes them, saying, “May you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Do not suppose,” he adds, “that I mean harmony only in words, but harmony of one mind and one heart.”
There is also such a thing as harmony of opinions, where there is not yet harmony deed and action; for instance when, though we have the same faith, but are not joined together in love. Such was the case at Corinth at that time, some choosing one leader, and some another. For this reason Paul says it is necessary to agree both in “mind” and in “judgment.” For it was not from differences in faith that the schisms arose, but from human contentiousness. “It has been declared to me that there are contentions among you… Is Christ divided?” (1 Co 1:13).
Saint Pius X from Encyclical ``E supremi apostolatus``
“No one,” the Apostle admonishes us, ” can lay other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Cor 3:11). It is Christ alone “whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world” (Jn 10:36), “the splendor of the Father and the image of His substance” (Heb 1:3), true God and true man: without whom nobody can know God with the knowledge for salvation, “neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him” (Mt 11:27). Hence it follows that to restore all things in Christ and to lead men back to submission to God is one and the same aim. To this, then, it behoves Us to devote Our care – to lead back mankind under the dominion of Christ; this done, We shall have brought it back to God. When We say “to God” We do not mean to that inert being heedless of all things human which the dream of certain philosophers has imagined, but to the true and living God, one in nature, triple in person, Creator of the world, most wise Ordainer of all things, Lawgiver most just, who punishes the wicked and has reward in store for virtue.
Now the way to reach Christ is not hard to find: it is the Church. Rightly does Chrysostom inculcate: “The Church is thy hope, the Church is thy salvation, the Church is thy refuge.” It was for this that Christ founded it, gaining it at the price of His blood, and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it at the same time an inexhaustible treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of men. You see, then, Venerable Brethren, the duty that has been imposed upon Us…:? To form Christ in those who are destined from the duty of their vocation to form Him in others… It is the same mission… as that which Paul proclaimed in these tender words: “My little children, of whom I am in labor again until Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19). But how will they be able to perform this duty if they be not first clothed with Christ themselves? and so clothed with Christ as to be able to say with the Apostle: “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). “For me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus from Poem: ``Jesus, my beloved, remember!``; vv. 1, 6-8
Remember the Father’s glory,
Remember the divine splendor
You left in exiling yourself on earth
To redeem all the poor sinners.
O Jesus! Humbling yourself to the Virgin Mary,
You veiled your infinite greatness and glory.
Ah! Your mother’s breast
Was your second heaven,
Remember…
Remember that on other shores
The golden stars and silver moon
On which I gaze in the cloudless sky
Delighted and charmed your Infant eyes.
With your little hand that caressed Mary
You upheld the world and gave it life,
And you thought of me,
Jesus, my little King,
Remember.
Remember that you worked in solitude
With your divine hands.
To live forgotten was your sweetest task.
You rejected human learning.
O You who with just one word could charm the world,
You took delight in hiding your profound wisdom.
You seemed unlearned,
O All-powerful Lord!
Remember.
Remember that you wandered as a Stranger on earth.
You, the Eternal Word,
You had nothing, no, not even a stone,
Not a shelter, like the birds of heaven.
O Jesus! come within me, come rest your Head,
Come, my soul is truly read to receive you,
My Beloved Savior,
Rest in my heart.
It is Yours.
Homily attributed to Saint Ephrem the Syrian
From now on, through the cross, all shadows have been dispelled and the truth arises, as the apostle John says: “The old order has passed away; all things are new” (Rv 21:4-5). Death has been stripped of prey, hell’s captives liberated; man is set free; the Lord reigns; creation rejoices. The cross is victorious and all nations, races, languages and peoples (Rv 7:9) come to adore him. Together, in the cross we find our joy, exclaiming with blessed Paul: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14). The cross gives light to the whole universe; it casts out darkness and gathers nations together in charity into one Church, one faith, one baptism, from West and East, from the North and from the seas. It stands at the very center of the world, set up on Calvary.
Armed with the cross, the Apostles go out to preach and gather together in adoration of it the whole universe, treading under foot every hostile power. Through it the martyrs have bravely confessed the faith, fearless of tyrants’ cunning. Having taken it upon themselves, monks have joyfully made solitude their home.
When Christ returns this cross will first appear in heaven, the Great King’s precious scepter, living, true and holy. “Then,” says the Lord, “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven” (Mt 24:30). We will see it escorted by angels, illuminating the earth from one end of the universe to the other, brighter than the sun, proclaiming the Day of the Lord.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta from No Greater Love
Perhaps in an apartment or house next to yours there lives a blind man who would welcome a visit from you to read the newspaper to him. Perhaps there is a family that is in need of something of small importance to you, something as simple as looking after their child for half an hour. There are so many little things that are so small that a lot of people forget them.
Don’t think have to be a simpleton to do the cooking. Don’t think that sitting, standing, coming and going, and all that you do is not important to God.
God does not ask you how many books you’ve read, how many miracles you’ve done. He asks you if you did your best for his sake. Can you say in all sincerity: “I did my best”? Even if the best should be a failure, it must be our best. If you’re really in love with Christ, no matter how unimportant your work is, it will be better done, from your heart. Your work will bear witness to your love. You can wear yourself out at your work, you can even kill yourself at it, but until it is mixed with love, it is of no value.
Blessed Guerric of Igny from Sermon for All Saints, 6-7; SC 202
When our Lord was proclaiming the blessedness of the poor he was correct in saying that the kingdom of heaven is theirs, not that it will be theirs… How near must they be to the kingdom of God if they already possess and carry within their hearts their own King. To serve this King is to reign… Worldly men may quarrel among themselves about the allotment of the inheritance that they expect in this life; “Lord, it is you who are my portion and my cup” (Ps 16[15]:5). Let them fight among themselves and see which of them needs the most pity; for my part, I envy them none of those things for which they are struggling. My soul and I, “we shall take our delight in the Lord” (Ps 104[103]:34).
O wonderful Inheritance of the poor! O blessed Possession of those who possess nothing! You provide us not only with all that we need; you overflow, giving all glory; you abound, giving to all happiness and joy, like “the measure in a man’s lap, overflowing on every side” (cf. Lk 6:38)…
O you poor…let your souls glory in their humility and scorn all the lofty dignities of the world… The world of eternity stands ready for you, and would you prefer the world of fleeting things, things with no more substance than dreams?… How wretched are they who… by the practice of blessed poverty, have become honorable in the sight of heaven, remarkable in the sight of the world, and to include all, terrible in the sight of hell, but who have subsequently become so blinded that they have come to look upon their poverty as misery and their humility as cowardice. In their desire to become rich they have but fallen into the snares of temptation held out to them by the devil when they were lords of all creation!… But to you, brethren, who look upon your poverty as a friend, and find your pleasure in humility of spirit, to you Truth unchangeable gives the certainty of possessing the kingdom of heaven. He declares it belongs to you and he guards it safe, laid up in readiness for you.
Saint Ambrose On the gospel of Saint Luke, 5, 41 (SC 45)
“At that time Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” Not all those who pray climb the mountain…, but those who pray well, who rise up above the goods of earth to higher goods, climb onto the summit of watchfulness and love from on high. Those who worry about worldly riches or honours do not climb the mountain; no one who covets another’s lands climbs the mountain. Those who seek God go up it and those who go up beg the Lord’s aid for their journey. All great and noble souls climb the mountain for it is not to the first comer alone that the prophet says: “Go up onto a high mountain, you who announce glad tidings to Sion. Cry out at the top of your voice, you who bring good news to Jerusalem,” (Is 40:9). Not by physical exploits but by high-minded actions will you scale this mountain. Follow Christ…; search the Gospel: you will find that only his disciples climbed up the mountain with the Lord.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria from Commentary on St, Luke's Gospel, 22
How could humankind, which remained riveted to the earth and subject to death, gain entry to immortality once more? Its flesh had to become assimilated to the life-giving force in God. Now, God the Father’s life-giving force is his Word, his only Son, and so it was he whom God sent as Savior and Redeemer…
If you put a breadcrumb into oil, water or wine, it at once soaks up their properties. If you place iron into contact with fire it will shortly become full of the fire’s energy and, even though by nature it is only iron, will take on the appearance of fire. In the same way, then, God’s life-giving Word, by uniting himself to the flesh he assumed, caused it to become life giving.
Did he not say: “Whoever believes in me has eternal life, I am the bread of life.” And again: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh… Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” So then, by eating the flesh of Christ, the Savior of us all, and drinking his blood we have life in ourselves, we become one with him, we remain in him and he in us.
Therefore it is for him to enter within us through the Holy Spirit in a way fitting to God and to mingle with our body, after a fashion, through the holy flesh and precious blood we receive under the forms of bread and wine as our life-giving blessing. Indeed…, God has exercised his condescension towards our weakness and placed all his life-force into the elements of bread and wine, which are thus endowed with the spirit of his own life. So believe in it without hesitation for our Lord himself has clearly said: “This is my body” and “This is my blood”.
Epistle of Barnabas from §15
It is written about the Sabbath also in the Ten Words which God uttered to Moses face to face on Mount Sinai, “Treat the Sabbath of the Lord as holy with clean hands and a pure heart.” And in another place he says, “If my sons keep the Sabbath, I will let my mercy rest upon them” (cf Ex 20:8; Ps 24[23]:4) He mentions the Sabbath at the beginning of the creation: “And in six days God made the works of his hands, and ended on the seventh day, and he rested on it and made it holy” (Gn 2:2-3). Observe, children, what “he ended in six days” means. This is what it means, that… the Lord will bring all things to an end;… all things will be brought to an end. “And he rested the seventh day” means this: when his Son comes and destroys the time of the lawless one, and judges the ungodly and changes the sun and moon and stars, then he will rest gloriously on the seventh day.
Further he says, “You shall treat it as holy, with clean hands and a pure heart.” If, then, anyone can now, by being pure in heart, treat as holy the day God declared holy, we are entirely deceived. Observe that we will find true rest and treat it as holy only when we shall be able to do so having ourselves been made upright and had the promise fulfilled, when there is no more disobedience, but all things have been made new by the Lord. Then we shall be able to treat it as holy, after we have first been made holy ourselves.
Saint Vincent de Paul from Conferences to the Daughters of Charity, 7/12/1643 (Conference of the 7th. December 1643; rev.)
My daughters, what place do those of you who take care of the children hold with regard to these little ones? In a certain sense you are their good angels. So then, my daughters! Would you be ashamed to find yourselves beside these poor children when their good angels consider themselves fortunate to stand there continually! If they see God, that is where they are; if they glorify him, it is from these children’s side; if they hear his commands, there, too, is where they are . They are the ones who give the glory to God that these little ones offer with their little cries and babblings. And they think themselves honored to show them these services. O daughters, treat them in the same way since you are, along with their glorious spirits, entrusted to the care of these children.
Hermas from The Shepherd, 10th precept (SC 35)
When an indecisive man fails in some business or other, sadness fills his soul, grieving the Holy Spirit and casting it out… Drive away sadness from your heart, then, and do not quench the Holy Spirit who dwells in you (I Thes 5:19) lest he summon you before God about it and abandon you. For the Holy Spirit, placed in your flesh, cannot bear either sadness or care.
Put on gladness and take your delight in it. This is what gives pleasure to God; this is what he favourably accepts. For a joyful man acts and thinks aright and treads sadness underfoot. The sad man, on the other hand, is always doing wrong . In the first place he does wrong by grieving the Holy Spirit who has been given to man in joy; then, he acts impiously by not praying to the Lord and praising him. For the prayer of a sad man has no strength to rise to the altar of God… As vinegar mixed with wine causes it to lose its taste, so sadness mixed with the Holy Spirit weakens the efficacy of prayer. So purify your heart from this pernicious sadness and you will live for God, as will all those who have stripped away sadness and clothed themselves with joy.
Saint Andrew of Crete from Homily 1 for the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God; PG 97, 805
We are no longer to be enslaved by the elemental spirits of the world, as the apostle Paul says, or held in the yoke of slavery to the letter of the law (Col 2:8 ; Rom 7:6). This is the summary of the benefits of Christ for us; this is the unveiling of the mystery; this is nature made new: God is made man, and human nature assumed by God is deified. But so radiant, so glorious a visitation of God to us needed some prelude of joy to introduce to us the great gift of salvation. The present feast is such: the prelude is the birth of the Mother of God, and the concluding act is the union which is destined between the Word and human nature.
A virgin is now born…, and is made ready to be mother of God, the king of all for ever… A double gain will be ours: we shall be led to the truth and we shall be led away from a life of slavery to the letter of the law. How will this be? Clearly, inasmuch as the shadow yields to the presence of the light, and grace introduces freedom in place of the letter. The present feast stands on the border between these: it joins us to the truth instead of signs and figures, and it brings in the new in place of the old.
Let the whole creation therefore sing praise and dance and unite to celebrate the glories of this day. Today let there be one common feast of those in heaven and those on earth. Let everything that is, in the world and above the world, join together in rejoicing. For today a shrine is built for the Creator of the universe. The creature is newly made ready as a divine dwelling for the Creator.
Saint Augustine from Homilies on the First Episode of Saint John, I,2
“We have seen,” he says, “and we are witnesses.” Where did they see? In a manifestation. What does that mean, “in a manifestation”? In the sun -that is, in this light. But how could he who made the sun be seen in the sun if not for the fact that “he pitched his tent in the sun and, like a bridegroom coming forth from his marriage bed, rejoiced like a giant to run his course” (Ps 19:4-5)? He who made the sun was before the sun, he was before the morning star, before all the stars, before all the angels. He is the true creator, because “everything was made through him, and apart from him nothing was made” (Jn 1,3). Thus he would be seen by the fleshly eyes that see the sun. He pitched his tent itself in the sun-that is, he showed his flesh in the manifestation of this light. And the marriage bed of that bridegroom was the Virgin’s womb.
For in that virginal womb two things were joined, a bridegroom and a bride, the bridegroom being the Word and the bride being flesh. For it is written, “And they shall be two in one flesh” (Gn 2:24 Vg), and the Lord says in the gospel, “Therefore they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mt 19:6). Isaiah also notes very well that these two are themselves one, for he speaks in the person of Christ and says, “He set a wreath upon me like a bridegroom, and like a bride he adorned me with an ornament” (Is 61:10). One person appears to be speaking, and he has made himself a bridegroom and has made himself a bride, because they aren’t two but one flesh, for “the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us,” (Jn 1:14) The Church is joined to that flesh, and Christ becomes the whole, head and body (Eph 1:22).
Saint Pio of Pietralcina from Letter 3, 698
When faced with temptations, be a strong woman and fight with the Lord’s help. If you fall into sin, don’t remain there, discouraged and worn out. Humble yourself, but without losing courage; lower yourself, but without degrading yourself; shed tears of sincere contrition to wash away your imperfections and your faults, but without losing confidence in God’s mercy, which will always be greater than your ingratitude. Make a resolution to correct yourself, but without being self-confident, for you must find your strength in God alone. Finally, sincerely acknowledge that if God were not your armor and your shield, your imprudence would have led you to commit all kinds of sins.
Don’t be surprised at your weakness. Rather, accept yourself as you are. Blush because of your infidelity towards God, but trust him and abandon yourself quietly to him, like a small child in its mother’s arms.
Saint Anthony of Padua from Sermons
Someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks different languages (Acts 3:4). These different languages are differing testimonies to Christ, such as humility, poverty, patience and obedience. We speak them when, in practicing them ourselves, we show them to others. The word is alive when it is our actions that speak. Please, I beg you, let words be silenced and actions speak! We are full of words but empty of deeds, and because of this the Lord curses us just as he cursed the fig tree on which he found no fruit but only leaves (Mk 11:13f.). Saint Gregory says that: “The Law has been made known to the preacher so that he might practice what he preaches.” A person who spoils his teaching by his deeds is wasting his time spreading knowledge of the law.
But the apostles spoke according to the Spirit’s gift. Happy are those who speak according to the Spirit’s gift and not according to their own feelings… So let us speak as the Spirit gives us utterance. Let us humbly and devoutly ask him to shed his grace within us.
Saint Peter Damian from Sermon 42, 2nd for Saint Bartholomew; PL 144, 726
The apostles’ glory is so indistinguishable and so bonded together by the cement of so many graces that in celebrating the feast of one of them the common greatness of all is called to our interior attention. For they share together the same authority of supreme judge, the same honorable rank, and they hold the same power to bind and loose (Mt 19:28; 18:18). They are those precious pearls that Saint John tells us he beheld in the Book of Revelation out of which are constructed the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv 21:21.14)… And indeed, whenever the apostles beam divine light through their signs or miracles, they open up the heavenly glory of Jerusalem to all those peoples who have been converted to the christian faith…
Of them, too, the prophet says: “Who are these who fly along like clouds?” (Is 60:8)… God raises the minds of his preachers to contemplation of truths on high… so that they can abundantly pour down the rain of God’s word into our hearts. Thus they drink water from the spring so as to give drink to us too. Saint Bartholomew drew from the fulness of this spring when the Holy Spirit came upon him, as on the other apostles, in the form of tongues of fire (Acts 2:3).
Perhaps, hearing of fire, you don’t see its relationship to water? But listen to how our Lord calls “water” the Holy Spirit who came down like fire on the apostles: “Let anyone who thirsts,” he says, “come to me and drink”. And he adds: “Whoever believes in me – as scripture says – ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him’.” And the evangelist explains: “He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive” (Jn 7:37-39). The Psalmist, too, says to believers: “They feast on the rich food of your house; from your delightful stream you give them drink. For with you is the fountain of life” (Ps 35[36]:10)
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily 64
“You also go to my vineyard.” My brethren, you may perhaps ask why all these labroers were not sent into the Lord’s vineyard at the same time? I reply that God’s intention was to call them all at once. But they hadn’t wanted to come as soon as they were called at the first hour and this was the cause of their refusal. That was why God himself went to call each one individually… at the moment when he thought they might turn back and respond to his invitation.
This si what the apostle Paul clearly notes with regard to himself: “When it pleased God, he set me apart in my mother’s womb,” (cf Gal 1:15). When was it that it pleased God if not when he saw that Paul would surrender to his call? To be sure, God would have liked to have called him at the beginning of his life, but because Paul would not have responded to his voice, God opted not to call him until he saw that he would respond. In the same way, God did not call the good thief until the last moment even though he could have done so earlier if he had foreseen that the man would have surrendered to his call.
And so if the laborers of the parable say that no one hired them, we must remember God’s patience… He himself demonstrates well enough that, for his part, he had done all he could to make it possible for all to come to him from the very first hour of the day. Thus Jesus’s parable makes us see that people give themselves to God at very different times. And God desires before all else to prevent those who were called first from despising the last.
Saint Nerses Chnorhali from Jesus. the Father's beloved Son, §683-687 ; SC 203
Your servants’ call has invited me, even me!,
to the divine wedding prepared for you,
O beloved Son, by the Father,
that I may rejoice in ineffable joy here below
in the mystery of the altar
and may rejoice in the heavenly city (RV 21:2f.)
in days to come
in eternal, inexpressible and unchanging rejoicing.
But because I no longer wear the splendid garment
worthy of the wedding hall;
because I have soiled
by the dark sins of my soul
the garment given at baptism’s sacred fount
O impenetrable Master…,
clothe me again anew with your own self (cf. Gal 3:27)
and restore to its former splendor
my sullied original robe.
Since I do not hear your voice, Lord,
speak the word “friend” with accents worthy of compassion
and may I never be thrown down, as was that one,
into the pit for ever.
Saint John-Paul II from Encyclical « Ecclesia de Eucharistia » 15
The sacramental re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice, crowned by the resurrection, in the Mass involves a most special presence which – in the words of Paul VI – “is called ‘real’ not as a way of excluding all other types of presence as if they were ‘not real’, but because it is a presence in the fullest sense: a substantial presence whereby Christ, the God-Man, is wholly and entirely present”. This sets forth once more the perennially valid teaching of the Council of Trent: “the consecration of the bread and wine effects the change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. And the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called this change transubstantiation”. Truly the Eucharist is a mysterium fidei, a mystery which surpasses our understanding and can only be received in faith, as is often brought out in the catechesis of the Church Fathers regarding this divine sacrament: “Do not see – Saint Cyril of Jerusalem exhorts – in the bread and wine merely natural elements, because the Lord has expressly said that they are his body and his blood: faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest otherwise”.
Before this mystery of love, human reason fully experiences its limitations. One understands how, down the centuries, this truth has stimulated theology to strive to understand it ever more deeply. These are praiseworthy efforts, which are all the more helpful and insightful to the extent that they are able to join critical thinking to the “living faith” of the Church… There remains the boundary indicated by Paul VI: “Every theological explanation… must firmly maintain that in objective reality, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the consecration, so that the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus from that moment on are really before us under the sacramental species of bread and wine”.
Julian of Norwich from Revelations of divine love, ch. 55
Christ is our way (Jn 14:6), safely leading us in his laws, and Christ in his body mightily bears us up into heaven. For I saw that Christ, having us all in him who shall be saved by him, honorably presents his Father in heaven with us, which present his Father most thankfully receives and courteously gives to his Son Jesus Christ. This gift and operation is joy to the Father and bliss to the Son and delight to the Holy Spirit. Of everything which is our duty, it is the greatest delight to our Lord that we rejoice in this joy which the blessed Trinity has over our salvation…
Despite all our feelings of woe or of well-being, God wants us to understand and to believe that we are more truly in heaven than on earth. Our faith comes from the natural love of our soul, and from the clear light of our reason, and from the steadfast memory which we have from God in our first creation. And when our soul is breathed into our body, at which time we are made sensual, at once mercy and grace begin to work, having care of us and protecting us with pity and love, in which operation the Holy Spirit forms in our faith the hope that we shall return up above to our substance, into the power of Christ, increased and fulfilled through the Holy Spirit… For in the same instant and place in which our soul is made sensual, in that same instant and place exists the city of God, ordained for him from without beginning (Heb 11:16; Rv 21:2-3). He comes into this city and will never depart from it, for God is never out of the soul, in which he will dwell blessedly without end.
Saint Bonaventure from On holiess of life, ch. 3
Poverty is another of the virtues necessary if we would be perfectly holy. Our Lord bears witness to this in the Gospel of Saint Matthew: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ was so poor at birth that he had neither shelter, nor clothing, nor food. Instead of a house he had to be content with a stable. A few wretched rags did duty for his clothes. For food he had milk from the Virgin’s breast… All his life long, Jesus Christ Our Lord was an example of poverty. Let me tell you how poor the Son of God and King of Angels was while he lived in this world. He was so poor that oftentimes he did not know which way to turn for lodging. Frequently, he and his apostles were compelled to wander out of the city and sleep where they could… Added to the poverty of his birth and life was the poverty of the death of the King of Angels. All you who have taken the vow of poverty, stop and consider for a moment how poor the Lord of all was made for your sakes. Look at his poverty as he dies. His executioners stripped and robbed him of everything he possessed. He was robbed of his clothes, I repeat, when the executioners “divided his garments among them, and for cast lots for his robe” (Mt 27:35) He was robbed of body and soul when, as he succumbed to his most bitter sufferings, his soul was separated from his body in the pangs of death. His persecutors deprived and robbed him of his divine glory when they refused to glorify him as God and instead treated him as a common criminal. “They have stripped me of my glory,” according to Job’s complaint (Jb 19:9).
O good Jesus, so rich towards us all, who can worthily realize, tell, or write of that marvelous heavenly glory which you promised to give to your poor? The practice of voluntary poverty earns the reward of the beatific vision and the right to enter into the palace of the Power of God and a place in the eternal dwellings. They have a right to enter God’s brilliantly illuminated mansions, and they become citizens of the city built and fashioned by God. O my God, with your own blessed mouth you have promised them this eternal reward! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).
The Kingdom of Heaven, O my Lord Jesus Christ, is nothing else than you yourself, who are the King of kings and Lord of lords. As reward, as the price of their labor, as a complete and perfect joy, you will give them the possession of yourself. They will rejoice in possessing you. They will find their delight in you. They will, at last, find in you their complete satisfaction. Amen!
Lanspergius the Carthusian from Sermon for the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Opera omnia, t.2
John did not live for himself alone, nor did he die for himself alone. How many there were, burdened with sin, who were led to conversion by his hard and austere life. How many who were strengthened to bear their own trials by his undeserved death. And what about us? From where does the opportunity come to offer faithful thanks to God today if not from the the remembrance of Saint John, put to death for righteousness’ sake, that is to say, for Christ?…
Yes indeed, John the Baptist sacrificed his life with all his heart here below for love of Christ. He chose to despise the commands of a tyrant rather than those of God. His example teaches us that nothing should be dearer to us than the will of God. Pleasing other people is of little value, indeed, it often causes great harm… Therefore let us die to our sins and anxieties with all God’s friends, tread underfoot our misguided self-will and be careful to allow fervent love for Christ to grow within us.
Saint Francis de Sales from Treatise on the love of GOd, 5, 7
The true lover’s delight is centred on his beloved: that is why St Paul treated everything else as “refuse” compared with the high privilege of knowing his Saviour (Phil 3,8). That is why the bride in the Song of Songs thinks only of her beloved: “All mine, my true love, and I all his… Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” (2,16; 3,3)…
That illustrious lover, Mary Magdalene, encountered angels at the tomb; surely they addressed her angelically (gently, I mean), anxious to allay her sorrow. Utterly disconsolate as she was, however, she could take no comfort from their kindly greeting, their shining garments, their heavenly bearing, or the wondrous beauty of their features; still weeping, “They have carried away my Lord,” she said, “and I cannot tell where they have taken him.” Turning round, she saw her sweet Savior; but he looked like a gardener, so she was not interested. Loving thoughts of her Master’s death filled her heart; what need had she of flowers, of gardeners? Cross, nails and thorns occupied her thoughts; she was looking for her crucified lover. “If it is you, sir,” she said to the gardener, “if it is you who have carried off my beloved Lord’s body, tell me quickly where you have put him, and I will take him away.”
But no sooner did he breathe her name than her grief dissolved into delight: “Rabboni,” she said, “Master!”… To magnify her royal lover still further, the soul must have eyes only for him; in other words, with an ever-growing, anxiously eager attentiveness the soul must study all the details of his beauty, his perfections, must keep on discovering motives for finding ever-increasing gratification in the ineffable Beauty with which it is in love.
Saint Ephrem from Sermons on the Mother of God, 2, 93-145
Contemplate Mary, my beloved, see how Gabriel went into her house and her questioning: “How can this be?” The Holy Spirit’s servant gave her this answer: “Nothing is impossible for God; for him, all is easy.” Consider how she believed the word she had heard and said: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.” From that moment the Lord descended in a way known to him alone; he bestirred himself and came according to his good pleasure; he entered her without her feeling it and she opened herself to him without experiencing any suffering. She bore within herself, as a child, him by whom the world was filled. He descended to become the model that would renew Adam’s ancient image.
And so when God’s birth is proclaimed to you, keep silent. Let Gabriel’s word be held in your mind for nothing is impossible to this glorious Majesty, who humbled himself for us and was born of our humanity. Today Mary became God’s heaven for us in that the sublime Divinity came down and placed his dwelling within her. God assumed smallness in her – yet without diminishing his nature – to make us great. In her, God spun a garment with which to save us. All the words of the prophets and just ones were fulfilled in her. From her arose the light that drove away the shadows of paganism.
Mary’s titles are numberless…: she is the palace in which the mighty King of kings abode, yet he did not cast her out when he came because it was from her that he took flesh and was born. She is the new heaven in which dwelt the King of kings; in her Christ arose and from her rose up to enlighten creation, formed and fashioned in his image. She is the stock of the vine that bore the grape; she yielded a fruit greater than nature, and he, although other than her in his nature, ripened in color on being born of her. She is the spring from which living waters sprang up for the thirsty and all those who drank them yielded fruit a hundredfold.
Melito of Sardis from Paschal Homily (passim)
The sacrifice of the lamb, the Passover rite and the letter of the Law have reached their term in Jesus Christ, in view of whom everything in the ancient Law took place – and even more so in the new dispensation. For the Law became the Word; from being old it became new (…); the commandments have been transformed into grace and the foreshadowing into truth; the lamb has become the son, the sheep has become man, and man has become God. (…)
God though he was, the Lord put on our humanity; he suffered for him who was suffering, was bound for him who was captive, was judged for the guilty, was buried for him who was buried. He was raised from the dead and cried out in a loud voice: “If anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together” (Is 50,8). It is I who delivered the condemned man; I who restored life to the dead; I who raised up those in the grave. “Who disputes my right?” It is I, he says, I who am the Christ, I who destroyed death, who triumphed over the enemy, who bound the mighty enemy and carried off man to the heights of heaven; it is I, he says, who am the Christ.
Come along then, every human family, full of sin as you are, and receive the forgiveness of your sins. For I myself am your forgiveness, I am the Passover of salvation, the Lamb slain for your sakes, your redemption, life and resurrection; I am your light, your salvation and your king. It is I who lead you to the heights of heaven, I who will raise you up; it is I who will bring you to see the Father who is from all eternity; it is I who will raise you up by my all-powerful hand
Saint John-Mary Vianney from Selected thoughts of the Curé d'Ars
There is nothing so beautiful as a soul that is pure. If we understood this, we would be incapable of losing our purity. A pure soul is like a beautiful pearl. So long as it is concealed in a shell at the bottom of the sea no one thinks of admiring it. But if you display it in the sun then this pearl shines and draws people’s eyes. Purity comes from heaven: we have to ask God for it. If we ask for it we shall get it. We must take great care not to lose it. It closes our hearts to pride, sensuality and every other passion.
Children, we cannot understand the power that a pure soul has over the Good God: it gets all it wants. Before God a pure soul is like a child before its mother: it caresses her and hugs her and its mother returns its caresses and embraces.
To preserve our purity there are three things: the Presence of God, prayer and the sacraments.
Saint Athanasius from Letters to Serapion, no. 1, 19; PG 26, 373; SC 15 (SC p. 115 rev.)
Fools! (…), how is it that you can’t stop your prying investigations into the Trinity or be content to believe it exists since you have for your guide the apostle who wrote: “Anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6). (…) So let no one put unnecessary questions to himself but be content with learning what is contained in Scripture. (…)
Scripture tells us that the Father is both source and light: “They have forsaken me, the source of living waters” (Jer 2:13); “You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom” (Ba 3:12) and, according to John, “God is light” (1Jn 1:5). Now the Son is called a river in relation to the source for, according to the psalm, “the river of God is full of water” (Ps 65[64]:10). And in relation to the light he is called splendor when Paul says that he is “the refulgence of his glory and the very imprint of his being” (Heb 1:3). Thus the Father is light, the Son its refulgence… and, in the Son, it is by the Spirit that we are illuminated. “May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation,” says Paul, “resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened” (Eph 1:17-18). But when we are enlightened it is Christ who enlightens us in him, for Scripture says: “He was the true light who enlightens everyone coming into the world” (Jn 1:9). Moreover, since the Father is source and the Son is called river we are said to drink of the Spirit: “We were all given to drink of one Spirit” (1Cor 12:13). But, refreshed by the Spirit, we drink Christ since: “They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ” (1Cor 10:4). (…)
God alone is wise and the Son his wisdom, for “Christ is the power and the wisdom of God” (Rm 16:27; 1 Cor 1:24). So it is in receiving the Spirit of wisdom that we possess the Son and gain wisdom in him. (…) The Son is life. He said: “I am the Life” (Jn 14:6). But it is said that we are brought to life by the Spirit, as Paul wrote: “The one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in us” (Rm 8:11). But when we have been brought to life by the Spirit then Christ will be our life (…) “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
When such a correspondence and unity exists in the Holy Trinity, who can separate either the Son from the Father or the Spirit from the Son or the Father? (…) God’s mystery is not communicated to our minds by demonstrative arguments but by faith and reverent prayer.
Saint Teresa of Avila from Poem ``Vivo sin vivir en mí``
I live without living in myself,
And in such a way, I hope,
I die because I do not die.
Since I die of love,
Living apart from love,
I live now in the Lord,
Who has desired me for himself.
He inscribed on my heart
When I gave it to him:
I die because I do not die…
Ah, how bitter a life
When the Lord is not enjoyed!
While love is sweet,
Long awaiting is not.
O God, take away this burden
Heavier than steel,
I die because I do not die.
Only with that surety
I will die, do I live,
Because in dying
My hope in living is assured.
Death, bringing life,
Do not tarry; I await you,
I die because I do not die.
See how love is strong (Sg 8:6).
Life, do not trouble me.
See how all that remains
Is in losing you to gain.
Come now, sweet death,
Come, dying, swiftly.
I die because I do not die.
That life from above,
That is true life,
Until this life dies,
Life is not enjoyed.
Death, be not aloof;
In dying first, may life be,
I die because I do not die.
Life, what can I give
To my God living in me,
If not to lose you,
Thus to merit him?
In dying I want to reach
Him alone whom I seek:
I die because I do not die.
Saint Ambrose from Sermon on Psalm 36`{`35`}`:4-5
Be mindful of the mystery of Christ! Born from the Virgin’s womb, both Servant and Lord: Servant to set to work, Lord to command so that he might plant a Kingdom for God in people’s hearts. Twofold in origin but one in nature, he is not one thing when he comes from the Father, another when he comes from the Virgin. He is the very same, the one born of the Father before all ages and who has taken flesh of the Virgin in the course of time. And that is why he is named both Servant and Lord: Servant with respect to us but, due to the unity of the divine substance, God from God, Principle from Principle, Son equal in all things to the Father who is his equal. For the Father has not begotten a Son different to himself – the Son of whom he asserted: “In him I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17) (…)
In every respect the Servant preserves his titles of dignity. God is great and the Servant is also great: when he came in the flesh he did not lose this “greatness that has no limit” (Ps 145[144]:3) (…) “Though he was in the form of God he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6-7) (…) Therefore, as Son of God he is equal to God; he took the form of a slave by becoming incarnate; he whose greatness has no limit “tasted death” (Heb 2:9) (…)
How good is the condition of the Servant who has set us all free! Yes, how good it is! It won for him “the name which is above all other names”! How good that humility is! It was through it that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11).
Julian of Norwich from Revelations of divine love, ch. 31
Thus shall the spiritual thirst of Christ be quenched. This is his thirst: his love and longing for us that goes on enduring until we see the Day of Judgement. For of us who are to be saved and be Christ’s joy and bliss some are alive now, while others- are ‘yet unborn; and so it will go on until that Day. His thirst and loving longing is to have us all, integrated in him, to his great enjoyment. At least, so I see it (…)
Because he is God he is ‘supreme blessedness, and never has been nor ever shall be other. His eternal blessedness can neither be increased nor diminished (…) Because he is human – this too is known by the creed, and by the revelations – it was shown that he, though God, suffered pain, passion, and death, for love of us and to bring us to blessedness (…) Since Christ is our Head, he must be both glorious and impassible. But since he is also the Body in which all his members are joined (Eph 1:23), he is not yet fully either of these. Therefore the same desire and thirst that he had upon the cross (Jn 19:28) – and this desire, longing, and thirst was with him from the very first, I fancy he has still, and shall continue to have until the last soul to be saved has arrived at its blessedness.
For just as there is in God the quality of sympathy and pity, so too in him is there that of thirst and longing. And in virtue of this longing which is in Christ we in turn long for him too. No soul comes to heaven without it. This quality of longing and thirst springs from God’s eternal goodness just as pity does (…); and this thirst will persist in him as long as we are in need, drawing us up to his blessedness.
Benedict XVI from General Audience of 03/05/2006
The apostolic Tradition is not a collection of things or words, like a box of dead things. Tradition is the river of new life that flows from the origins, from Christ down to us, and makes us participate in God’s history with humanity. This topic of Tradition (…) is of great importance for the life of the Church. The Second Vatican Council pointed out in this regard that Tradition is primarily apostolic in its origins: “God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be transmitted to all generations. Therefore, Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the Most High God is summed up (2 Cor 1:20; and 3:16-4, 6), commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel and communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline” (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation ‘Dei Verbum’, n. 7). The Council noted further that this was faithfully done “by the Apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit” The Council adds that there were “other men associated with the Apostles, who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing”.
As heads of the eschatological Israel, and likewise as Twelve, the number of the tribes of the Chosen People, the Apostles continued the “gathering” begun by the Lord and did so first and foremost by transmitting faithfully the gift received, the Good News of the Kingdom that came to people in Jesus Christ. Their number not only expresses continuity with the holy root, the Israel of the twelve tribes, but also the universal destination of their ministry, which brought salvation to the very ends of the earth. This can be understood from the symbolic value that the numbers have in the Semitic world: twelve results from the multiplication of three, a perfect number, and four, a number that refers to the four cardinal points, hence, to the whole world.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld from § 190, Psalm 95
How good you are, O my God, to call all nations to salvation. (…) And not just all the nations in general through your apostles and their successors, but each person individually and at every moment through the unceasing action of your grace! And not just to salvation and to heaven but to the “first place” in heaven, for you are always “knocking at the door of each soul” by your grace, and it depends on every soul, by accepting a grace at whatever moment, in staying faithful to it, to receive immediately afterwards an even greater grace and thus to see grace grow, increasing in it moment by moment, and soon taking on immense developments if it is faithful in constantly receiving it.
Let us remain faithful to grace with constancy, from no matter which point of our life, and in a short while it will become in us like the mustard seed, a tree in which the birds of heaven come to rest which, through the communion of saints, by the application of their merits, the power of their prayers and examples, will bring great glory to God, not only through himself but while helping towards the sanctification of many others! Oh! my God! what a destiny you make of us for all! Every soul may become a sun, a great tree, “the first in the kingdom of God”; every soul can receive torrents of grace. You unendingly offer all this to each of us: for this it is enough to be constantly faithful to grace from no matter which moment of our life. Oh may the present moment be that blessed instant for me!
Saint Robert Bellarmine from The Ascent of the Mind to God, 1
O Lord, what is it that you require of your servants? “Take my yoke upon you”, you say. And what sort of yoke is this? “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” Now who would not willingly bear a yoke that does not press down but gives strength; a burden that does not weigh heavily but refreshes? As you rightly added: “And you will find rest” (Mt 11:29). And what is this yoke of yours that does not tire but gives rest? It is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart.” What could be easier, better or more agreeable than to love the goodness, beauty and love that is most perfectly yours, O Lord my God?
Do you not offer a reward to those who keep the commandments, which are “more desirable than a heap of gold and sweeter than honey from the comb”? (Ps 19[18]:11) So in every way you offer a very ample reward, as James the apostle says: “The Lord has prepared the crown of life for those who love him” (Jas 1:12) (…) And Paul quotes these words from Isaiah: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor 2:9).
That first and great commandment is not only profitable for the man who keeps it or for God who commands it: the other commandments of God also make perfect him who obeys them, improve him, instruct him and make him illustrious; in a word, they make him good and holy. If you understand this, realize that you have been created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation; this is your end, this is the object of your soul and the treasure of your heart. You will be blessed if you reach this goal, but miserable if you are cut off from it.
Saint Claude la Colombriére from Christian reflections
The subject of our fear should not be the small number of the elect but the sins that hold us back from not being of this number. You won’t at all be condemned because you have been reproved but because you have lived badly. (…) We should fear, always fear, but with the fear that produces wisdom not that which leads us to slacken and despair.
It is so difficult to hold people’s spirits at an even temperament. Sometimes they do not fear enough, sometimes they fear at just the wrong moment. They go so far as to fear extravagantly that their misfortune comes from God, who is the source of all their good, who desires their salvation. Everything he has done has been unable to persuade them that he wishes nothing so much as to save them. Yet it is an article of faith that God wishes to save all of us and that we can all be saved if we want to.
We see the door of heaven, and if we do not see it God would be unreasonable to command us to enter it. In addition, we see very well what it is that enters through this door and what we have to do to enter. Whose responsibility is it, then, that we do not enter? God’s or ours?
Saint John-Paul II from Apostolic Letter: Novo millennio Ineunte, para. 55-56, 06/01/2001
In the climate of increased cultural and religious pluralism which is expected to mark the society of the new millennium, it is obvious that this dialogue will be especially important in establishing a sure basis for peace and warding off the dread spectre of those wars of religion which have so often bloodied human history. The name of the one God must become increasingly what it is: a name of peace and a summons to peace.
Dialogue, however, cannot be based on religious indifferentism, and we Christians are in duty bound, while engaging in dialogue, to bear clear witness to the hope that is within us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) (…) This missionary duty, moreover, does not prevent us from approaching dialogue with an attitude of profound willingness to listen. We know in fact that, in the presence of the mystery of grace, infinitely full of possibilities and implications for human life and history, the Church herself will never cease putting questions, trusting in the help of the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth (cf. Jn 14:17), whose task it is to guide her “into all the truth” (Jn 16:13).
This is a fundamental principle not only for the endless theological investigation of Christian truth, but also for Christian dialogue with other philosophies, cultures and religions. In the common experience of humanity, for all its contradictions, the Spirit of God, who “blows where he wills” (Jn 3:8), not infrequently reveals signs of his presence, which help Christ’s followers to understand more deeply the message which they bear. Was it not with this humble and trust-filled openness that the Second Vatican Council sought to read “the signs of the times”? (Gaudium et spes, §4) Even as she engages in an active and watchful discernment aimed at understanding the “genuine signs of the presence or the purpose of God”, the Church acknowledges that she has not only given, but has also “received from the history and from the development of the human race”. This attitude of openness, combined with careful discernment, was adopted by the Council also in relation to other religions.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe from Conferences of 02/1992, 20/06/1937, and 02/10/1938
Everything we are about to do, even if it were a supremely heroic action destroying the foundations of all evil on earth, that act will have no value except to the extent with which our will accords with the will of the Immaculate and, through her, with the will of God (…) It is love in all its profundity (beyond feelings, even though that is also beautiful) that must transform us, through the Immaculate, in God. It should consume us and, through us, set fire to the world and destroy and burn all the evil it finds there. This is the fire of which the Savior said: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and what how I wish that it were already burning!” (Lk 12:49).
Consumed by this fire of divine love (I repeat, it is not a question here of sweet tears or of feelings, but of the will, even in the midst of disgust and antipathy), we will set the whole world ablaze! Love never rests but spreads like fire that burns everything. And all of us human beings should tend towards being set alight by this fire of love and that it may burn all souls that are and will be in the world. This is the ideal towards which we should tend. We must remember the words of Jesus: “I have come to set the earth on fire” (Lk 12:49). On our part we should do all we can to make this fire light up more and more every day.
Saint John Henry Newman from Sermon ``Watching``; PPS, t. 4, n° 22
Our Savior gave this warning when He was leaving this world,—leaving it, that is, as far as His visible presence is concerned. He looked forward to the many hundred years which were to pass before He came again. He knew His own purpose and His Father’s purpose gradually to leave the world to itself, gradually to withdraw from it the tokens of His gracious presence. He contemplated, as contemplating all things, the neglect of Him which would spread even among his professed followers (…) He foresaw the state of the world and the Church, as we see it this day, when His prolonged absence has made it practically thought, that He never will come back in visible presence.
Today, He mercifully whispers into our ears, not to trust in what we see, not to share in that general unbelief, not to be carried away by the world, but to “take heed, watch and pray,” (Lk 21:34.36) and look out for His coming. Surely this gracious warning should be ever in our thoughts, being so precise, so solemn, so earnest.
Our Savior foretold His first coming, yet He took His Church by surprise when He came; much more will He come suddenly the second time, and overtake men, now that He has not measured out the interval before it, as then He did, but left our watchfulness to the keeping of faith and love (…) We are not simply to believe, but to watch; not simply to love, but to watch; not simply to obey, but to watch; to watch for what? for that great event, Christ’s coming (…) we seem to see a special duty enjoined on us (…): most of us have a general idea what is meant by believing, fearing, loving, and obeying; but perhaps we do not contemplate or apprehend what is meant by “watching”.
Saint Ambrose from 12th Sermon on Psalm 118; CSEL 62, 258
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.
Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin and his companions (AD 163)
All the saints were arrested and brought before the urban prefect at Rome, a man named Rusticus. After they had been arraigned, the prefect said to Justin: (…) “What are the doctrines that you practise ?”
“I have tried to become acquainted”, said Justin, “with all doctrines. But I have committed myself to the true doctrines of the Christians (…)”
“What belief do you mean?”
Justin said: “The belief that we piously hold regarding the God the Christians, whom alone we hold to be the craftsman of the ole world from the beginning, and also regarding Jesus Christ, child of God, who was also foretold by the prophets as one who was to come down to mankind as a herald of salvation and teacher of good doctrines. What I say is insignificant when measured against his godhead; but I acknowledge the power of prophecy (…), for you must know that in earlier times the prophets foretold his coming among men.”
Rusticus the prefect said: “Tell me, where do you meet, where do you gather together your disciples?”
Justin said: “I have been living above the baths of a certain Martinus, son of Timothy (…) Anyone who wished could come to my abode and I would impart to him the words of truth.”
“You do admit, then, that you are a Christian?”
“Yes, I am”.
To Chariton the prefect Rusticus said: “Chariton, are you a Christian, too?”
“I am,” said Chariton, “by God’s command” (…)
“And what are you Evelpistus?”
“I too am a Christian. I have been freed by Christ and I share in the same hope by the favor of Christ” (…)
“Did Justin convert you to Christianity?”
“I have long been a Christian and ever shall be (…) I listened gladly to the teaching of Justin, but my Christianity I received from my parents.” (…)
Paeon arose and spoke: “I am a Christian also.”
The prefect Rusticus said to Liberian: “And what have you to say? Are you a Christian, and do you also refuse to be pious?”
Liberian said: “Yes, I too am a Christian. I believe in the one, true God and worship him.”
The prefect turned to Justin: “You are said to be learned, and you think you know the true doctrine. Now listen: if you are scourged and beheaded, do you suppose that you will ascend to heaven (…) to receive certain worthy rewards?”
“I have confidence that if I endure all this I shall possess his mansions. Indeed, I know that for all those who lead a just life there awaits the divine gift even to the consummation of the whole world (…) I do not think it, but I have accurate knowledge of it; I am fully convinced of it.”
Benedict XVI from Encyclical ``Spe Salvi``, 27
Anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished” (cf. Jn 13:1; 19:30).
Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await “eternal life”—the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life. Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (Jn 10:10), has also explained to us what “life” means: “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live”.
Saint Gregory of Narek from Book of prayers, no. 77; SC 78
With a fear mingled with joy I consider it desirable to say something here about the sufferings you endured for my sake, O God of us all!
Standing before the tribunal of men you yourself had created
in a nature that was my own
you said nothing, you who give us speech;
you did not speak aloud, you who create the tongue;
you did not shout out, you who shake the earth (…)
You did not give up to shame
the one who gave you up to the terrors of death;
you showed no resistance when you were bound
and when you were struck you were not outraged.
When they spat on you, you did not swear back
and when they struck you with the fist
you did not tremble.
When they taunted you, you were not angered,
and when they hit you your face did not change (…)
Far from giving you a moment of respite,
O source of life,
they at once prepared for carrying
the instrument of death.
You accepted it graciously,
took it gently,
hoisted it patiently.
You took upon yourself like a criminal
the tree of sorrow!
Blessed Columba Marmion from Good Zeal (Christ the Ideal of the Monk)
Forms of zeal, taking the appearance of good, are to be met with. There is, for example, the zeal of the Pharisee, strict observers of the outward law. This bitter zeal (…) has its source, not in the love of God and of our neighbor, but in pride. Those who are tainted with it are filled with inordinate esteem for their own perfections; they do not conceive of any other ideal than their own; they want to bend everyone to their own way of seeing and doing; hence arise dissensions. This zeal tends to hatred.
See with what acrimony the Pharisees, moved by this zeal, pursue the Lord Jesus, putting insidious questions to him, setting snares to entrap him, seeking not to know the truth but to find Christ in fault. See how they press him, how they try to induce him to condemn the woman taken in adultery: “Now Moses in the Law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest Thou?” (Jn 8:5). (…) See, too, how they reproach him for healing on the Sabbath day (Lk 6:7); how they complain of the disciples for rubbing the ears of corn in their hands on the day of rest (Mt 12:2); how they are scandalized at seeing the Divine Master sit down at dinner with the sinners and publicans (Mt 9:2). These are so many manifestation of this bitter zeal into which hypocrisy so often enters.
Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron from Spiritual writings, 04/03/1938
God is in the unfettered heart, in the silence of prayer, the willing sacrifice to suffering in the rejection of the world and its creatures. God is in the Cross, and as long as we do not love the Cross we shall not see him, we shall not feel him. Let those who are only concerned with making a noise, keep silent!
Ah Lord, how happy I am in my retreat! How much I love you in my solitude! How much I would like to offer you what I haven’t got, for I have already given you all! Ask me, Lord, but what have I to give you? My body – it is yours already; my soul – Lord, for whom shall it crave but you, longing for you to take it once and for all. My heart, it is at the feet of Mary, shedding tears of love, of love for you only. My will? Perhaps, Lord, I want what you don’t wish? Tell me, tell me, Lord, what is your will and I will place mine at your side. I love everything that you send me and everything that you command of me, health as much as sickness, to be here as much as to be there, to be one thing as much as another; my life, take it, Lord, when you will. How could we not be happy like this?
If the world and mankind only knew (…) But they won’t know, they’re much too occupied with their affairs, their hearts are full of things which are not God. The world lives very much for earthly ends; people give themselves up to the illusions of this life in which all is vanity, and so they can’t find that real happiness which is the love of God. Perhaps they will come to understand, but to experience that happiness they must live it. And there are very few, even among Religious, who surrender themselves to take up his cross (Mt 16:24). Lord, the things that you permit! Your wisdom will know the reason for this; take me by the hand and suffer not my feet to slip, for if you don’t do this, who will help me? And “if you don’t build” (Ps 127[126]:1) (…) Ah Lord, how I love you! When will it be, Lord?
Saint Bernard from Sermon for Advent (trans. cf breviary 1st Thursday of Advent)
Listen to Christ himself: “If a man loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him” (Jn 14:23). I have read elsewhere, “The man who fears the Lord will do good” (Sir 15:1). But it is my opinion that more was said of the one who loves, namely that: “He will keep my words”. Where, then, are they to be kept? Without any doubt they are to be kept in the heart, as the prophet says: “I have kept your words in my heart, lest I sin against you” (Ps 119[118]:11). How are we to keep the word in our hearts? Is it sufficient to learn it by heart or keep it in mind? The apostle Paul has this to say about those who keep it like that: “Knowledge inflates pride” (1 Cor 8:1) and forgetfulness quickly wipes out what we have committed to memory.
Keep the word of God in the same way as you would preserve food (…) since this word is the “bread of life” (Jn 6:35), the real food of the soul (…). Keep the word of God in that way for “blessed are they who keep it”. Let it pierce deep into your inmost soul and penetrate your feelings and actions. Eat well and your soul will delight and grow. Do not forget to eat your bread or your heart will wither, but let your soul feast richly. If you keep the word of God in this way, without a doubt you will be kept by it. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great prophet who will renew Jerusalem will come and “he will make everything new” (Acts 3:22; Jl 4:1; Rev 21:5).
John of Karpathos from One Hundred Texts for the encouragement of the monks in India, nos. 45, 82
In one place it is said that the Father “will give good things to those that ask him” (Mt 7:11), elsewhere, that he will “give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him” (Lk 11:13).
From this we learn that those who pray to God with steadfast faith in these promises receive not only remission of sins but also heavenly gifts of grace. The Lord promised these “good things” not to the righteous but to sinners, saying: “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him?” (Lk 11:13). Ask then, unremittingly and without doubting, however poor your efforts to gain holiness, however weak your strength, you will receive great gifts, far beyond anything that you deserve. (…)
Struggle to preserve unimpaired the light that shines within your intellect. If passion begins to dominate you when you look at things, this means that the Lord has left you in darkness; he has dropped the reins with which he was guiding you (cf. Jb 30:11) and the light of your eyes is gone from you (cf. Ps 37[38]:10 LXX). Yet even if this happens, do not despair or give up but pray to God with the words of David: “O send out thy light and thy truth” to me in my gloom, “for thou art the salvation of my countenance and my God” (cf. Ps 42[43]:3, 5 LXX).
For “thou shalt send forth thy Spirit and they shall be created; and thou shalt renew the face of the earth” (Cf. Ps 103[104]:30 LXX).
Saint Gregory of Nyssa from Sermons on the Song of Songs, no.14
“Who is my neighbor?” In answer the Word explained, in the form of a story, God’s entire economy of salvation. He told of man’s descent from heaven, the robbers’ ambush, the stripping of the garment of immortality, the wounds of sin, the progress of death over half of man’s nature while his soul remained immortal. Then came the passage of the Law that brought no help—neither the priest nor the Levite tended the wounds of the man who fell among robbers—for “it was impossible for the blood of goats and oxen to remove man’s sin” (Heb 10:4). And then he came, clothed in our human nature as the first-fruits of the mass in which there was a portion of every race, Jewish, Samaritan, Greek — all mankind. With his body (that is, the beast of the story) he proceeded to the place of man’s disaster, healed his wounds and set him upon his own beast. He created for him the inn of his loving providence, in which all those who labor and are burdened can find rest (Mt 11,28) (…)
“Whoever abides in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56) (…) Whoever finds shelter in Christ’s mercy accepts two denarii from him, one of which signifies the love of God with one’s whole heart, and the other the love of one’s neighbor as oneself, according to the lawyer’s reply (Mk 12:30f). But “not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rm 2:13). Hence we must not merely accept these two coins (…) but we must by our own good deeds cooperate in the fulfilment of these two commandments. And so the Lord says to the inn-keeper that whatever he does in caring for the wounded man will be made up to him at the Lord’s second coming according to the measure of his devotion.
Saint John Chrysostom from Homily 11 on the Second Letter to the Corinthians, 4-5
“Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:18) Saint Paul thus brings out the greatness of the apostles by showing us the ministry that was entrusted to them, and at the same time he shows us the love with which God loved us. After people refused to listen to him who had been sent to them, God did not let his anger burst forth, he did not reject them. He persisted in calling them himself and through the apostles. Who would not marvel at so much solicitude?
They killed the Son who had come to reconcile them, who was the only Son and of the same nature as the Father. The Father did not turn away from the murderers, he did not say: “I sent them my Son, and they, not satisfied with not having listened to him, put him to death and crucified him. So now it is only just that I abandon them.” He did the opposite. And after Christ had left earth, it is we, his ministers, who have the responsibility to replace him. “He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. I mean that God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s transgressions against them.”
What love! going beyond all words and intelligence! Who was it had been insulted? God himself! And who takes the first step towards reconciliation? He himself (…) If God had wanted to make us give an account, we would truly be lost since “all died” (2 Cor 5:14). But in spite of our many sins he did not strike with his vengeance but he even reconciled us to himself. Not satisfied with taking away our debt, he even considered it to be nothing. In the same way, we have to forgive our enemies if we ourselves want to obtain this generous forgiveness: “He has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”
Saint John Henry Newman from Meditations and Devotions: Part III, 2, 2, ``Our Lord refuses sympathy``
Sympathy may be called an eternal law, for it is signified or rather transcendentally and archetypically fulfilled in the ineffable mutual love of the Divine Trinity. God, though infinitely One, has ever been Three. He ever has rejoiced in His Son and His Spirit, and they in Him (…). When, for our sakes, the Son came on earth and took our flesh, for thirty years He lived with Mary and Joseph and thus formed a shadow of the Heavenly Trinity on earth. (…)
For in truth it was fitting that He who was to be the true High Priest, should thus, while He exercised His office for the whole race of man, be free from all human ties, and sympathies of the flesh (…) So, in the old time, Melchizedek is described as without father or mother (Heb 7:3) (…) In like manner our Lord said to Mary, “What is between Me and thee?” (Jn 2:4). It was the setting apart of the sacrifice, the first ritual step of the Great Act which was to be solemnly performed for the salvation of the world (…). Nor did He, as time went on, give up Mary and Joseph only. There still remained to Him invisible attendants and friends, and He had their sympathy, but them He at length gave up also.
From the time of His birth we may suppose He held communion with the spirits of the Old Fathers, who had prepared His coming and prophesied of it. On one occasion He was seen all through the night, conversing with Moses and Elias, and that conversation was about His Passion. What a field of thought is thus opened to us, of which we know how little. When He passed whole nights in prayer (…) Who could support and (so to say) re-invigorate the Divine Lord better than that “praiseworthy number” of Prophets of which He was the fulfilment and antitype? Then He might talk with Abraham who saw His day (Jn 8:56), or (…) David and Jeremias; or with those who spoke most of Him, as Isaias and Daniel. And here was a fund of great sympathy. When He came up to Jerusalem to suffer, He might be met in spirit by all the holy priests, who had offered sacrifices in shadow of Him.
Catechism of the Catholic Church § 333-336
From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels (…) Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: “Glory to God in the highest!” (Lk 2:14). They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them (…) Again, it is the angels who “evangelize” (Lk 2:10) by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement.
In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels. In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God, (Is 6:6). She invokes their assistance in the funeral liturgy’s “In Paradisum deducant te angeli” (“May the angels lead you into Paradise”). Moreover, in the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels.
From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life,” (St Basil). Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
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“The Cherubic Hymn” (from the Offertory of the Divine liturgy of St John Chrysostom):
We who, in this mystery, praise Thee with all the saints and every creature in heaven and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, now lay aside all worldly cares to receive the King of all things, invisibly escorted by the armies of the angels, Alleluia!