From: Galatians 3:1-5
Justification By Faith
[1] O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ
was publicly portrayed as crucified? [2] Let me ask you only this: Did you receive
the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? [3] Are you so foolish?
Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? [4] Did you ex-
perience so many things in vain? — if it really is in vain. [5] Does he who supplies
the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by
hearing with faith?
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Commentary:
1-14. It is his love for the Galatians, rather than indignation at their behavior, that
causes the Apostle to call them “foolish”. His love causes him suffering because
they have forgotten that only Jesus, and not the Law, brings salvation. The Gala-
tians should know very well that they received justification without even having
heard mention of the Law, for the Holy Spirit came upon them prior to the arrival
of the people from Jerusalem (vv. 1-5). All they have to do is remember the cha-
risms which they received — the “so many things”, the “miracles”, which are
manifestations of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12-14).
Besides, there is the example of Abraham (vv. 6-9; cf. Rom 4). The Lord pro-
mised him that his descendants would be blessed; he established a covenant
with him and justified him not by the works of the Law, which had not yet been
promulgated, but through his faith. In the same way, all who have believed and
who will in the future believe in God as Abraham did will be his true descendants
and will also receive God’s blessing.
Finally, the Mosaic Law, far from bringing salvation, is rather a cause of spiritual
death, insofar as every precept involves a penalty if it is not obeyed (vv. 10-14; cf.
Rom 7:7-12). Our Lord freed us from the curse of the Law by voluntarily taking on
himself the punishment merited by man’s sin (cf. Is 53:4; Mt 8:17; Rom 3:21-26;
5:6-10). By reverting and submitting to the Law they would in effect be saying
that our Redeemer’s sacrifice was unnecessary and ineffective.
1. St Paul boasted that he preached Christ crucified, even though he fully rea-
lized that it was a stumbling-block to Jews and folly to pagans (cf. 1 Cor 1:23).
The mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ was in fact the
very essence of the Apostles’ teaching (cf. Acts 2:22-24; 3:13-15; etc.), for it
was these mysteries that contained all hope of eternal life and salvation. That
is why Paul adds that, for believers, Christ crucified, far from being folly, is the
power of God and the wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:24).
Paul had probably described our Lord’s Sacrifice with such force and effect that
it had been deeply engraved in their memory — and now these Judaizers, these
deceivers, were hypnotizing the naive Galatians and causing them to lose sight
of Christ: they had switched their attention from Christ on the Cross to the ac-
tions of the interlopers.
St Paul’s warning is an invitation to fix one’s gaze once more on that sign which,
as it were, sums up all Christianity — the image of Christ on the Cross, which
ever since apostolic times presides over altars and altarpieces, and places of
work and leisure.
2-5. St Paul reminds the Galatians that in Baptism they received the Holy Spirit
and his gifts. Since their Baptism, and not prior to it, they had experienced the
action of the Spirit who, although he is in all ages a source of joy in the Church,
was even more evident in the apostolic age in which the Galatians were living.
So, how did this life of the Spirit reach the Galatians — through faith in Christ
and through Baptism, or through the works of the Law? The Apostle poses the
question without providing an answer, surely because it is obvious that it came
through Christ. The Mosaic Law played no part at all. How, then, can they be
so foolish as to change the Gospel which Paul had preached to them?
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Luke 11:5-13
Effective Prayer
[5] And He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples), “Which of you who has a friend
will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; [6] for a
friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; [7]
and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my
children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything’? [8] I tell you,
though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet be-
cause of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs. [9] And I
tell you, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you. [10] For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. [11] What father among you, if
his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; [12] or if he asks
for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13] If you then, who are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
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Commentary:
5-10. One of the essential features of prayer is trusting perseverance. By this
simple example and others like it (cf. Luke 18:1-7) our Lord encourages us not
to desist in asking God to hear us. “Persevere in prayer. Persevere even when
your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”,
101).
9-10. Do you see the effectiveness of prayer when it is done properly? Are you
not convinced like me that, if we do not obtain what we ask God for, it is be-
cause we are not praying with faith, with a heart pure enough, with enough con-
fidence, or that we are not persevering in prayer the way we should? God has
never refused nor will ever refuse anything to those who ask for His graces in the
way they should. Prayer is the great recourse available to us to get out of sin, to
persevere in grace, to move God’s heart and to draw upon us all kinds of bles-
sing from Heaven, whether for the soul or to meet our temporal needs” (St. Jean-
Marie Vianney, “Selected Sermons”, Fifth Sunday after Easter).
11-13. Our Lord uses the example of human parenthood as a comparison to
stress again the wonderful fact that God is our Father, for God’s fatherhood is
the source of parenthood in Heaven and on earth (cf. Ephesians 3:15). “The God
of our faith is not a distant Being who contemplates indifferently the fate of men
— their desires, their struggles, their sufferings. He is a Father who loves His chil-
dren so much that He sends the Word, the Second Person of the Most Blessed
Trinity, so that by taking on the nature of man He may die to redeem us. He is
the loving Father who now leads us gently to Himself, through the action of the
Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, p.
84).
13. The Holy Spirit is God’s best gift to us, the great promise Christ gives His di-
sciples (cf. John 5:26), the divine fire which descends on the Apostles at Pente-
cost, filling them with fortitude and freedom to proclaim Christ’s message (Acts
2). “The profound reality which we see in the texts of Holy Scripture is not a re-
membrance from the past, from some golden age of the Church which has since
been buried in history. Despite the weaknesses and the sins of every one of us,
it is the reality of today’s Church and the Church in all times. ‘I will pray to the
Father,’ our Lord told His disciples, ‘and He will give you another Counsellor to
be with you for ever.’ Jesus has kept His promise. He has risen from the dead
and, in union with the eternal Father, He sends us the Holy Spirit to sanctify us
and to give us life” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 12).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Oct 11, Office of Readings for Thursday of the 27th week of Ordinary Time
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 357
Psalter: Thursday, Week III, 1025
Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings
Office of Readings for Thursday in Ordinary Time
God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest,
Beneath thy contemplation sink heart and voice oppressed.
I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there,
What radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.
They stand, those halls of Zion, all jubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel, and all the martyr throng;
The Prince is ever in them, the daylight is serene.
The pastures of the blessed are decked in glorious sheen.
There is the throne of David, and there, from care released,
The shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast;
And they, who with their Leader, have conquered in the fight,
Forever and forever are clad in robes of white.
O sweet and blessed country, the home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessed country, that eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest,
Who art, with God the Father, and Spirit, ever blessed.
“Jerusalem the Golden” by Rupert Gough, Malcolm Archer, Wells Cathedral Choir; Words: Bernard of Morlaix, 1146 (Urbs Sion aurea); translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale, 1858; Music: Alexander Ewing, 1853
“Jerusalem the Golden” Performed by Rupert Gough, Malcolm Archer, Wells Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Look on us, Lord, and see how we are despised.
Psalm 89
Lament for the fall of David’s dynasty
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior born of the house of David his servant (Luke 1:69).
IV
And yet you have rejected and spurned
and are angry with the one you have anointed.
You have broken your covenant with your servant
and dishonored his crown in the dust.
You have broken down all his walls
and reduced his fortresses to ruins.
He is despoiled by all who pass by:
he has become the taunt of his neighbors.
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
You have made his sword give way,
you have not upheld him in battle.
You have brought his glory to an end;
you have hurled his throne to the ground.
You have cut short the years of his youth;
you have heaped disgrace upon him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Look on us, Lord, and see how we are despised.
Ant. 2 I am the root and stock of David; I am the morning star.
V
How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
How long will your anger burn like a fire?
Remember, Lord, the shortness of my life
and how frail you have made the sons of men.
What man can live and never see death?
Who can save himself from the grasp of the grave?
Where are your mercies of the past, O Lord,
which you have sworn in your faithfulness to David?
Remember, Lord, how your servant is taunted,
how I have to bear all the insults of the peoples.
Thus your enemies taunt me, O Lord,
mocking your anointed at every step.
Blessed be the Lord for ever. Amen, amen!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, God of mercy and fidelity, you made a new and lasting pact with men and sealed it in the blood of your Son. Forgive the folly of our disloyalty and make us keep your commandments, so that in your new covenant we may be witnesses and heralds of your faithfulness and love on earth, and sharers of your glory in heaven.
Ant. I am the root and stock of David; I am the morning star.
Ant. 3 Our years wither away like grass, but you, Lord God, are eternal.
Psalm 90
May we live in the radiance of God
There is no time with God: a thousand years, a single day: it is all one (2 Peter 3:8).
O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.
Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end.
You turn men back into dust
and say: “Go back, sons of men.”
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.
You sweep men away like a dream,
like grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades.
So we are destroyed in your anger,
struck with terror in your fury.
Our guilt lies open before you;
our secrets in the light of your face.
All our days pass away in your anger.
Our life is over like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years
or eighty for those who are strong.
And most of these are emptiness and pain.
They pass swiftly and we are gone.
Who understands the power of your anger
and fears the strength of your fury?
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction
for the years when we knew misfortune.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favor of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands,
give success to the work of our hands.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm-prayer
Eternal Father, you give us life despite our guilt and even add days and years to our lives in order to bring us wisdom. Make us love and obey you, so that the works of our hands may always display what your hands have done, until the day we gaze upon the beauty of your face.
Ant. Our years wither away like grass, but you, Lord God, are eternal.
Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.
In you is the source of life.
– In your light we see light itself.
READINGS
First reading
From the first letter of the apostle Paul to Timothy
5:3-25
Concerning widows and elders
Honor the claims of widows who are real widows—that is, who are alone and bereft. If a widow has any children or grandchildren, let these learn that piety begins at home and that they should fittingly support their parents and grandparents; this is the way God wants it to be. The real widow, left destitute, is one who has set her hope on God and continues night and day in supplications and prayers. A widow who gives herself up to selfish indulgence, however, leads a life of living death.
Make the following rules about widows, so that no one may incur blame. If anyone does not provide for his own relatives and especially for members of his immediate family, he has denied the faith; he is worse than an unbeliever.
To be on the church’s roll of widows, a widow should be not less than sixty years of age. She must have been married only once. Her good character will be attested to by her good deeds. Has she brought up children? Has she been hospitable to strangers? Has she washed the feet of Christian visitors? Has she given help to those in distress? In a word, has she been eager to do every possible good work?
Refuse to enroll the younger widows, for when their passions estrange them from Christ they will want to marry. This will bring them condemnation for breaking their first pledge. Besides, they learn to be ladies of leisure, who go about from house to house—becoming not only time-wasters but gossips and busybodies as well, talking about things they ought not. That is why I should like to see the younger ones marry, have children, keep house, and in general give our enemies no occasion to speak ill of us. Already, some have turned away to follow Satan. If a woman church member has relatives who are widows, she must assist them. She should not let them become a burden to the church, which ought to be free to give help to the widows who are really in need.
Presbyters who do well as leaders deserve to be paid double, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. The Scripture says, “You shall not put a muzzle on an ox when he is threshing the grain,” and also, “The worker deserves his wages.”
Pay no attention to an accusation against a presbyter unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. The ones who do commit sin, however, are to be publicly reprimanded, so that the rest may fear to offend. I charge you before God, Christ Jesus, and the chosen angels: apply these rules without prejudice, act with complete impartiality! Never lay hands hastily on anyone, or you may be sharing in the misdeeds of others. Keep yourself pure.
Stop drinking water only. Take a little wine for the good of your stomach, and because of your frequent illnesses.
Some men’s sins are flagrant and cry out for judgment now, while other men’s sins will appear only later. Similarly, some good deeds stand out clearly as such; even inconspicuous ones cannot be hidden forever.
RESPONSORY Philippians 1:27; 2:4, 5
Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, and with one mind and one spirit work together for the faith.
– Do not look to your own interests, but consider those of others.
In your attitude toward one another, be of the same mind as Christ.
– Do not look to your own interests, but consider those of others.
Second reading
From a letter to the Philadelphians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
One bishop with the presbyters and deacons
Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the church of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ located at Philadelphia in the province of Asia. You have found mercy and have been strengthened in the peace of God; you are now filled with gladness because of the passion of our Lord, and by his mercy you are made believers in his resurrection. I greet you in the blood of Jesus Christ. You are my abiding and unshakable joy, especially if your members remain united with the bishop and with his presbyters and deacons, all appointed in accordance with the mind of Christ who by his own will has strengthened them in the firmness which the Spirit gives.
I know that this bishop has obtained his ministry, which serves the community, neither by his own efforts, nor from men nor even out of vainglory, but from the love of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am deeply impressed by his gentleness, and by his silence he is more effective than the empty talkers. He is in harmony with the commandments as is a lute with its strings. I call him blessed, then, for his sentiments toward God, since I know these to be virtuous and perfect, and for his stability and calm, in which he imitates the gentleness of the living God.
As sons of the light of truth, flee divisions and evil doctrines; where your shepherd is, follow him as his flock.
For all who belong to God and Jesus Christ are with the bishop; all who repent and return to the unity of the Church will also belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ. Do not be deceived, my brothers. If anyone follows a schismatic, he will not obtain the inheritance of God’s kingdom; if anyone lives by an alien teaching, he does not assent to the passion of the Lord.
Be careful, therefore, to take part only in the one Eucharist; for there is only one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us with his blood, one altar and one bishop with the presbyters and deacons, who are his fellow servants. Then, whatever you do, you will do according to God.
My brothers, I overflow with love for you and with a joyous heart I make you strong – although it is not so much I but Jesus Christ. Although imprisoned for his sake, I fear more because of my imperfection. But your prayers will perfect me in the eyes of God so that I might yet receive the inheritance promised me by the merciful God. I seek refuge in the person of Christ through the Gospels and I appeal to the true ministry of the Church through the apostles.
RESPONSORY Ephesians 2:20,22,21
You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
– In him you are being built into a temple, where God in the spirit shall dwell.
Through him the whole structure is fitted together
and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
– In him you are being built into a temple, where God in the spirit shall dwell.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Almighty ever-living God,
who in the abundance of your kindness
surpass the merits and the desires
of those who entreat you,
pour out your mercy upon us
to pardon what conscience dreads
and to give what prayer does not dare to ask.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)
Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.
The following is the longer version of the vital prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 after his startling vision as to the future of the Church. This prayer was dedicated for the Feast of St. Michael 1448 years from the date of the election of the first Leo - Pope Saint Leo the Great. Everyone is familiar with the first prayer below which was mandated by His Holiness as part of the Leonine Prayers after Low Mass. After Vatican II, in legion with the devil Giovanni Montini outlawed this necessary prayer and then one wonders how "the smoke of satan" got into the sanctuary? The conciliarists wanted to make sure the words in bold below would never see the light of day again for in it Leo foretold what would happen: The shepherd would be struck, the sheep scattered. Below are both the short and longer versions of this poignant prayer which should never be forgotten.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, O heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.Look down upon me, O good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; the while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me, calling to mind the words which David Thy prophet said of Thee, my good Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."
PRAYERS AFTER 
