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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Posted on 03/10/2014 10:04:46 PM PDT by Salvation
March 11, 2014
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Reading 1 Is 55:10-11
Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Gospel Mt 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
“If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Feast Day: March 11
Born: prior to 819, Córdoba, Spain
Died: March 11, 859
Major Shrine: Cathedral of Oviedo
St. Eulogius of Spain
Feast Day: March 11
Died: 859
St. Eulogius was the son of a Spanish Senator in Cordoba. His family was well-known and he received an excellent education. He also learned from the good example of his teachers.
Eulogius loved to read and study the Bible and his love for the Word of God grew with each passing day. He wanted to bring God's message to everyone. When he grew up, he became a priest and the head of a famous school.
At this time the Muslims had taken over Spain. They were against Christianity. At first they tried to make the people give up their faith. When the people refused to change their religion, they were put in prison. Some were even killed.
Eulogius and his bishop were put in prison along with many other Christians. In the prison, Eulogius read the Bible out loud to give confidence to the prisoners. As they listened, they no longer felt afraid to die for Jesus. During this time, St. Eulogius wrote a book "Exhortation to Martyrdom" that encouraged Christians to die rather than give up their holy faith.
The saint himself wanted to be a martyr and die for Jesus more than anything else. Instead, he was let out of prison. As soon as he was set free, St. Eulogius began to preach and he converted many. He even gave shelter to Saint Leocritia of Cordoba who the Muslims were looking for.
His earlier captors were so angry that they arrested him again. In front of the judge, he bravely declared that Jesus is God and preached the Gospel in court. Eulogius was condemned to death and offered his life for Jesus. He was scourged and beheaded and died in 859 at Cordoba in Spain.
Is this available in a hard copy booklet? I think for daily mass I’ve seen people with “This Day”, but I can’t seem to locate it. Thanks
Are you talking about the Daily Readings? Yes, get yourself a Daily Missal, maybe with Latin on one side and English on the other and learn to use it.
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What is the task of the Church?
The Church's task is to make the kingdom of God, which has already begun with Jesus, germinate and grow in all nations.
Wherever Jesus went, heaven touched earth: the kingdom of God was inaugurated, a kingdom of peace and justice. The Church serves this kingdom of God. She is not an end in herself. She must carry on what Jesus started. She should act as Jesus would act. She continues the sacred signs of Jesus (the sacraments). She hands on Jesus' words. That is why the Church, for all her weakness, is a formidable bit of heaven on earth.
Why is the Church more than an institution?
The Church is more than an institution because she is a mystery that is simultaneously human and divine.
True love does not blind a person but rather makes him see. With regard to the Church, this is precisely the case: Viewed from outside, the Church is only a historical institution with historical achievements, but also mistakes and even crimes - a Church of sinners. But that is not looking deep enough. After all, Christ became so involved with us sinners that he never abandons his Church, even if we were to betray him daily. This inseparable union of the human and the divine, this intertwining of sin and grace, is part of the mystery of the Church. Seen with the eyes of faith, the Church is therefore indestructibly holy. (YOUCAT questions 123-124).
Dig Deeper: CCC section (763-780) and other references here.
Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)
Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)
Chapter 3: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (683 - 1065)
Article 9: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" (748 - 975)
Paragraph 1: The Church in God's Plan (751 - 780)
II. THE CHURCH'S ORIGIN, FOUNDATION, AND MISSION ⇡
The Church — instituted by Christ Jesus ⇡
It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent.160 "The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in the scriptures."161 To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."162
160.
Cf. LG 3; AG 3.
161.
LG 5.
162.
LG 3.
"This Kingdom shines out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ."163 To welcome Jesus' word is to welcome "the Kingdom itself."164 The seed and beginning of the Kingdom are the "little flock" of those whom Jesus came to gather around him, the flock whose shepherd he is.165 They form Jesus' true family.166 To those whom he thus gathered around him, he taught a new "way of acting" and a prayer of their own.167
163.
LG 5.
164.
LG 5.
165.
Lk 12:32; cf. Mt 10:16; 26:31; Jn 10:1-21.
166.
Cf. Mt 12:49.
167.
Cf. Mt 5-6.
The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter as their head.168 Representing the twelve tribes of Israel, they are the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem.169 The Twelve and the other disciples share in Christ's mission and his power, but also in his lot.170 By all his actions, Christ prepares and builds his Church.
168.
Cf. Mk 3:14-15.
169.
Cf. Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30; Rev 21:12-14.
170.
Cf. Mk 6:7; Lk 10:1-2; Mt 10:25; Jn 15:20.
The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. "The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus."171 "For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the 'wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.'"172 As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.173
171.
LG 3; cf. Jn 19:34.
172.
SC 5.
173.
Cf. St. Ambrose, In Luc. 2,85-89:PL 15,1666-1668.
The Church — revealed by the Holy Spirit ⇡
"When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church."174 Then "the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun."175 As the "convocation" of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them.176
174.
LG 4; cf. Jn 17:4.
175.
AG 4.
176.
Cf. Mt 28:19-20; AG 2; 5-6.
So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit "bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her."177 "Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom."178
177.
LG 4.
178.
LG 5.
The Church — perfected in glory ⇡
"The Church ... will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven,"179 at the time of Christ's glorious return. Until that day, "the Church progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations."180 Here below she knows that she is in exile far from the Lord, and longs for the full coming of the Kingdom, when she will "be united in glory with her king."181 The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials. Only then will "all the just from the time of Adam, 'from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect,' ... be gathered together in the universal Church in the Father's presence."182
179.
LG 48.
180.
St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 18,51:PL 41,614; cf. LG 8.
181.
LG 5; Cf. 6; 2 Cor 5:6.
182.
LG 2.
III. THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH ⇡
The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only "with the eyes of faith"183 that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.
183.
Roman Catechism I,10,20.
The Church — both visible and spiritual ⇡
"The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men."184 The Church is at the same time:
These dimensions together constitute "one complex reality which comes together from a human and a divine element":186 The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.187
O humility! O sublimity! Both tabernacle of cedar and sanctuary of God; earthly dwelling and celestial palace; house of clay and royal hall; body of death and temple of light; and at last both object of scorn to the proud and bride of Christ! She is black but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, for even if the labor and pain of her long exile may have discolored her, yet heaven's beauty has adorned her.188
184.
LG 8 § 1.
185.
LG 8.
186.
LG 8.
187.
SC 2; cf. Heb 13:14.
188.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, In Cant. Sermo 27:14:PL 183:920D.
The Church — mystery of men's union with God ⇡
It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God's plan: "to unite all things in him."189 St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church "a great mystery." Because she is united to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her turn.190 Contemplating this mystery in her, Paul exclaims: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."191
189.
190.
191.
In the Church this communion of men with God, in the "love [that] never ends," is the purpose which governs everything in her that is a sacramental means, tied to this passing world.192 "[The Church's] structure is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members. And holiness is measured according to the 'great mystery' in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the gift of the Bridegroom."193 Mary goes before us all in the holiness that is the Church's mystery as "the bride without spot or wrinkle."194 This is why the "Marian" dimension of the Church precedes the "Petrine."195
192.
1 Cor 13:8; cf. LG 48.
193.
John Paul II, MD 27.
194.
195.
Cf. John Paul II, MD 27.
The universal Sacrament of Salvation ⇡
The Greek word mysterion was translated into Latin by two terms: mysterium and sacramentum. In later usage the term sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation which was indicated by the term mysterium. In this sense, Christ himself is the mystery of salvation: "For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ."196 The saving work of his holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation, which is revealed and active in the Church's sacraments (which the Eastern Churches also call "the holy mysteries"). The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament."
196.
St. Augustine, Ep. 187,11,34:PL 33,846.
"The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament — a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men."197 The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God. Because men's communion with one another is rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, since she gathers men "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues";198 at the same time, the Church is the "sign and instrument" of the full realization of the unity yet to come.
197.
LG 1.
198.
As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all," "the universal sacrament of salvation," by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men."199 The Church "is the visible plan of God's love for humanity," because God desires "that the whole human race may become one People of God, form one Body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit."200
199.
LG 9 § 2,48 § 2; GS 45 § 1.
200.
Paul VI, June 22, 1973; AG 7 § 2; cf. LG 17.
IN BRIEF ⇡
The word "Church" means "convocation." It designates the assembly of those whom God's Word "convokes," i.e., gathers together to form the People of God, and who themselves, nourished with the Body of Christ, become the Body of Christ.
The Church is both the means and the goal of God's plan: prefigured in creation, prepared for in the Old Covenant, founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. She will be perfected in the glory of heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed of the earth (cf. Rev 14:4).
The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet formed of two components, human and divine. That is her mystery, which only faith can accept.
The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men.
Tuesday, March 11
Liturgical Color: Violet
Lenten abstinence was very strict in the
early Church. In the 400’s AD, a type of
bread was baked using only flour, water
and salt. Monks would shape strips of
dough into the outline of folded arms in
prayer. Today they're called pretzels.
Daily Readings for:March 11, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you. 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.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
PRAYERS
o Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph
o The Marian Prayer of St. Sophronius (A.D. 560-638)
LIBRARY
o The History of the Latin Vulgate | John E. Steinmeuller D.D., S.Scr.L.
o The Last Ancient Patriarch of Jerusalem: Saint Sophronius | Robert Saffern
· Lent: March 11th
· Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Old Calendar: St. Eulogius, priest & martyr (Hist); St. Sophronius (Hist)
Historically today is the feast of the martyred priest, St. Eulogius of Cordoba, Spain, who was slain by the Moors. A noted scholar of Scripture, Eulogius was arrested in 850 after writing Exhortation of Martyrdom for two young virgin martyrs, Flora and Mary, who were beheaded after refusing to abjure the faith. Released after a time Eulogius ws named archbishop of Cordoba or Toledo. Before he could be consecrated, he aided Leocritia, a young Moorish woman who had converted to Christianity. They were caught and beheaded. Eulogius also wrote The Memorial of the Saints and an Apologia.
It is also historically the feast of St. Sophronius a simple monk who pursued a life of prayer and sacrifice first in the desert of Egypt, then near the Jordan River, then finally in the Holy City of Jerusalem. He was ultimately chosen to be bishop and Patriarch of Jerusalem in the early 7th century. He valiantly defended the true and full humanity of Christ in the face of the heresy of Monothelitism, which denied that Jesus had a human as well as a divine will. The year before his death in 638, he witnessed the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims under the Caliph Omar. Several of his sermons and poems have survived till this day. St. Sophronius is known as one of the Fathers of the Church.
St. Eulogius
St. Eulogius was of a senatorian family of Cordova, at that time the capital of the Moors in Spain. Our Saint was educated among the clergy of the Church of St. Zoilus, a martyr who suffered with nineteen others under Diocletian. Here he distinguished himself, by his virtue and learning, and, being made priest, was placed at the head of the chief ecclesiastical school at Cordova. He joined assiduous watching, fasting, and prayer to his studies, and his humility, mildness, and charity gained him the affection and respect of every one.
During the persecution raised against the Christians in the year 850, St. Eulogius was thrown into prison and there wrote his Exhortation to Martyrdom, addressed to the virgins Flora and Mary, who were beheaded the 24th of November, 851. Six days after their death Eulogius was set at liberty. In the year 852 several others suffered the like martyrdom. St. Eulogius encouraged all these martyrs to their triumphs, and was the support of that distressed flock.
The Archbishop of Toledo dying in 858. St. Eulogius was elected to succeed him; but there was some obstacle that hindered him from being consecrated, though he did not outlive his election two months.
A virgin, by name Leocritia, of a noble family among the Moors, had been instructed from her infancy in the Christian religion by one of her relatives, and privately baptized. Her father and mother used her very ill, and scourged her day and night to compel her to renounce the Faith. Having made her condition known to St. Eulogius and his sister Anulona, intimating that she desired to go where she might freely exercise her religion, they secretly procured her the means of getting away, and concealed her for some time among faithful friends.
But the matter was at length discovered, and they were all brought before the cadi, who threatened to have Eulogius scourged to death. The Saint told him that his torments would be of no avail, for he would never change his religion. Whereupon the cadi gave orders that he should be carried to the palace and be presented before the king's council. Eulogius began boldly to propose the truths of the Gospel to them. But, to prevent their hearing him, the council condemned him immediately to lose his head. As they were leading him to execution, one of the guards gave him a blow on the face, for having spoken against Mahomet; he turned the other cheek, and patiently received a second.
He received the stroke of death with great cheerfulness, on the 11th of March, 859. St. Leocritia was beheaded four days after him, and her body thrown into the river Guadalquivir, but taken out by the Christians.
Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
St. Sophronius
Patriarch St. Sophronius of Jerusalem was called the Sophist because of his knowledge of Greek. He was an ardent opponent of monothelitism. Many of his writings, including the Florilegium and the Life of St. John the Almsgiver, are no longer extant. He wrote an encomium on John of Cyrus and composed 23 anacreontic odes on the feasts of the church. His Christmas homily of 634 suggests that the Saracens held Bethlehem at that time. (Historians had dated the event later). The Orthodox remember St. Sophronius chiefly as the author of the life of St. Mary of Egypt. Sophronius was born in Damascus around 560. He and his friend John Moschus became ascetics together while they were in their late teens or early twenties. Some say they lived near the Jordan; some say they lived in Egypt. In 605, Sophronius fled to Alexandria in the wake of Persian invaders, and when the Persians invaded Alexandria in 616, he fled to Rome. In 619, he returned to Palestine and lived in the Theodosius monastery in Jerusalem. When Patriarch Cyrus of Alexandria began to preach monothelitism, St. Sophronius traveled to that city to argue against him; in 633, when Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople began to preach monothelitism, St. Sophronius traveled to that city to argue against him. Neither visit was successful. After Sophronius was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem in 634, he wrote the Synodical Letter to teach the two wills of Christ. In 637, the Muslims captured Jerusalem; St. Sophronius died a year later of grief at the fall of his city.
Things to Do:
At Rome, the Station is in the church of St. Anastasia, where, formerly, the Mass of the Aurora on Christmas Day was celebrated. The first church was built in the late 3rd or early 4th century, and was one of the first parish churches of ancient Rome. It was given by a woman called Anastasia and called titulus Anastasiae after her. Later, it was dedicated to a martyr of the same name.
1st Week of Lent
This is how you are to pray. (Matthew 6:9)
Excerpts from St. Francis of Assisi’s reflections on the Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father … who art in heaven, in the angels and the saints, giving them light to know you since you, Lord, are light; setting them afire to love you, since you, Lord, are love; dwelling in them and giving them fullness of joy; since you, Lord, are the supreme, eternal good, and all good comes from you.
“Hallowed be thy name. May we grow to know you better and better and so appreciate the extent of your favors, the scope of your promises, the sublimity of your majesty, and the profundity of your judgments.
“Thy kingdom come, so that you may reign in us by your grace, and bring us to your kingdom, where we shall see you clearly, love you perfectly, and, happy in your company, enjoy you forever.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, so that we may love you with all our heart, by always having you in mind; with all our soul, by always longing for you; with all of our mind, by determining to seek your glory in everything; and with all our strength, of body and soul, by lovingly serving you alone. May we love our neighbors as ourselves and encourage them all to love you, by bearing our share in the joys and sorrows of others, while giving offense to no one.
“Give us this day our daily bread, your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may remember and appreciate how much he loved us, and everything he said and did and suffered.
“And forgive us our trespasses, in your immeasurable mercy, by virtue of the passion of your Son, and through the intercession of Mary and all your saints.
“As we forgive those who trespass against us, and if we do not forgive perfectly, Lord, make us forgive perfectly, so that for love of you, we may really forgive our enemies and fervently pray to you for them, returning to no one evil for evil, by trying to serve you in everyone.
“And lead us not into temptation, be it hidden or obvious, sudden or persistent.
“But deliver us from evil, past, present or future. Amen.”
“Jesus, thank you for teaching me to pray!”
Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19
Daily Marriage Tip for March 11, 2014:
“Then God delivered all these commandments.” (Exodus 20:1) Which commandment is most difficult for you? Are you too lenient or harsh on yourself? Sometimes a spouse can be a window into your soul, knowing you even better than you know yourself. Do you dare ask for his/her opinion?
You are the light of the world
Tuesday, 11 March 2014 20:08
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent: The Collect
Réspice, Dómine, famíliam tuam:
et præsta; ut apud te mens nostra tuo desidério fúlgeat,
quæ se carnis maceratióne castígat.
The Marquess of Bute translates:
Look down, O Lord, on this thy family,
and grant that our minds, which, by the chastening of the body, we seek to purify,
may ever more and more shine in thy sight by desire of thee.
The pew edition of the Old English Missal gives:
O Lord, look down upon thy family: and vouchsafe;
that whereas our minds are now chastened by the mortifying of the flesh,
they may shine in thy sight with longing after thee.
And this is how I, with a certain liberty, paraphrase the text for personal prayer:
Turn thy gaze, O Lord, upon thy family,
and grant that we, with chastened minds and hearts of flesh,
may be as lamps set ablaze in Thy sight
both by the flame of Thy desire for us and by the desire for Thee
that Thou hast Thyself enkindled in our hearts.
Maceration
We ask in today’s Collect that our inward selves (mens nostra), being chastened (i.e., made chaste) by the maceration of the flesh, may glow with desire for God. Maceration is a word that conjures up all sorts of unsavoury images; one thinks of half–starved cave dwellers flagellating themselves or rolling in briars. Maceration is, in fact, that by which something is tenderised or softened. While we may think of our flesh as soft and yielding, it is, in fact, hard and resistant to the grace of Christ. The hard, stony heart must become a heart of flesh. It must be tenderized by compunction and penitence, that is, by immersion in the Word of God, and in the Blood and the Water that ever flow from the pierced Heart of Jesus.
When Hearts Grow Hard in Sin
Habitual sin or vice makes one hard — not strong, not resilient — but hard and brittle. There is nearly always a hardness in the gaze of those in the grip of vice. The cold, stony–eyed gaze of hardened sinners is a terrible thing to see. There is a deadness in the eyes of people inured to habitual sin. This is the portrait of sin: deadness in the eyes, hardness in the heart.
The Tenderised Hearts of the Saints
The saints are those who have macerated, that is, tenderised their hearts by steeping in the merciful love of God. Nothing more effectively macerates the heart than long hours of adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. A heart steeped in the love of God is more easily inclined to choose what Saint Benedict calls (in Chapter IV of the Holy Rule) the instruments of good works. Whereas the heart grown hard in sin becomes ever more bent earthward in its desires, the heart made tender by immersion in the love of Christ rises more and more easily upward, towards the things of heaven.
You must be heavenly-minded, not earthly-minded; you have undergone death, and your life is hidden away now with Christ in God. Christ is your life, and when he is made manifest, you too will be made manifest in glory with him. You must deaden, then, those passions in you which belong to earth, fornication and impurity, lust and evil desire, and that love of money which is an idolatry. These are what bring down God’s vengeance on the unbelievers, and such was your own behaviour, too, while you lived among them. Now it is your turn to have done with it all, resentment, anger, spite, insults, foul-mouthed utterance; 9 and do not tell lies at one another’s expense. You must be quit of the old self, and the habits that went with it; you must be clothed in the new self, that is being refitted all the time for closer knowledge, so that the image of the God who created it is its pattern. (Colossians 3:2–10).
Aglow with Desire
The macerated heart becomes tender to the touch of God, and is easily moved by the Holy Ghost. In this way, the heart begins — as the Collect says — to glow with the desire of God. There is a richness in the Latin text that is not readily apparent in English. Ut apud te mens nostra tuo desiderio fulgeat. The heart begins to glow, first of all, with the flame of God’s desire for man. This is the great life–changing realisation that makes saints of sinners: God desires me, God desires to unite Himself to my lowliness. Out of this realisation of God’s desire for union with the soul, the soul, brought near to God, begins to burn and to glow with desire for Him.
O God, thou art my God;
how eager my quest for thee, body athirst and soul longing for thee,
like some parched wilderness, where stream is none!
So in the holy place, I contemplate thee,
ready for the revelation of thy greatness, thy glory. (Psalm 62:2–3)
The Monastery: A Lighthouse
A monastery is a kind of lighthouse glowing in the dark of night; separated from the world. It points to heaven, and beams its brightness to souls adrift on stormy seas. Should its monks become hard–hearted and resistant to the flames of Divine Love, a monastery becomes a narrow prison, cold, forbidding, dark, and useless to Christ and to the Church. Come, Holy Ghost! Come, living Flame of Love! Rekindle the lights that have gone out. Make strong and clear those that are flickering. As for those that are burning brightly, cause them to send out beams holy desire, so that many souls may find a safe harbour in Thy presence.
You are the light of the world; a city cannot be hidden if it is built on a mountain-top. A lamp is not lighted to be put away under a bushel measure; it is put on the lamp-stand, to give light to all the people of the house; and your light must shine so brightly before men that they can see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14–16
| Master, Teach Us to Pray | ||
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Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
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Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." Introductory Prayer: Lord, I am aware that you know what is best for me, and that is why I believe in you. You are more interested in my spiritual well-being than I am, and that is why I trust in you. You always give me your loving forgiveness in spite of my sins, and that is why I love you. Petition: Lord, teach me how to pray. 1. Prayer is the Fruit of Silence: Some people like to talk. They demand to be listened to, but they don’t have the same interest in listening. However, you usually can’t listen if you aren’t used to silence. St. Theresa of Calcutta once wrote that prayer is the fruit of silence. Jesus wants us to understand that prayer is more about listening than about talking. When you are with someone who knows much about a topic that interests you, you limit yourself to asking questions and dedicate yourself to listening. Jesus is the revealer of God the Father. That means our main interest in prayer should be asking Jesus, our Lord, about his Father and then dedicating ourselves to listening. 2. God is Our Loving Father: Jesus tells us that God the Father knows what we need before we ask him. Still, we should ask, because in asking we become aware that we have needs that only God our Father can grant us. We learn to ask God what we most need for our salvation. That is why Jesus taught us the “Our Father.” Praying the “Our Father” reminds us that he is the father of all, and therefore every human person is truly our brother. In praying the “Our Father,” we essentially ask for three things: that God have the first place in our lives, that he give us our material and spiritual sustenance, and that he grant us his forgiveness. 3. Forgive in Order to Be Forgiven: Jesus emphasizes the importance of forgiveness. As the First Letter of John reminds us, we are all sinners (cf. 1:8). One of the essential characteristics of Christian life is seeking to encounter Christ’s loving mercy. We can really experience it only when we put it into practice ourselves. We can admire a person who parachutes off a plane, but we won’t understand the experience until we skydive ourselves. We grasp the true meaning of mercy when we forgive others. Our mercy will not be the same as Christ’s: He never sinned, and therefore he forgives us even though we don’t deserve it. If Christ has forgiven us, how can we dare not to forgive others? Conversation with Christ: Lord, I thank you for teaching me to pray to the Father. I don’t always pray as much as I should. Please help me to pray more and better. Please help me to want with all my heart to give God the first place in my life, preferring his will to mine. Help me to treat others as I would like them to treat me, forgiving them when they offend me. Resolution: I will dedicate a specific time to prayer each day. |
| Matthew | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Matthew 6 |
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| 7. | And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. | Orantes autem, nolite multum loqui, sicut ethnici, putant enim quod in multiloquio suo exaudiantur. | προσευχομενοι δε μη βαττολογησητε ωσπερ οι εθνικοι δοκουσιν γαρ οτι εν τη πολυλογια αυτων εισακουσθησονται |
| 8. | Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. | Nolite ergo assimilari eis : scit enim Pater vester, quid opus sit vobis, antequam petatis eum. | μη ουν ομοιωθητε αυτοις οιδεν γαρ ο πατηρ υμων ων χρειαν εχετε προ του υμας αιτησαι αυτον |
| 9. | Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | Sic ergo vos orabitis : Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. | ουτως ουν προσευχεσθε υμεις πατερ ημων ο εν τοις ουρανοις αγιασθητω το ονομα σου |
| 10. | Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | Adveniat regnum tuum ; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. | ελθετω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης |
| 11. | Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. | Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie, | τον αρτον ημων τον επιουσιον δος ημιν σημερον |
| 12. | And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. | et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. | και αφες ημιν τα οφειληματα ημων ως και ημεις αφιεμεν τοις οφειλεταις ημων |
| 13. | And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen. | Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. | και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις πειρασμον αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου οτι σου εστιν η βασιλεια και η δυναμις και η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην |
| 14. | For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. | Si enim dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum : dimittet et vobis Pater vester cælestis delicta vestra. | εαν γαρ αφητε τοις ανθρωποις τα παραπτωματα αυτων αφησει και υμιν ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος |
| 15. | But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences. | Si autem non dimiseritis hominibus : nec Pater vester dimittet vobis peccata vestra. | εαν δε μη αφητε τοις ανθρωποις τα παραπτωματα αυτων ουδε ο πατηρ υμων αφησει τα παραπτωματα υμων |
(*) Verse 13 ends in the original "οτι σου εστιν η βασιλεια και η δυναμις και η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην" -- "for Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory in the ages, amen".
March 11, 2014
In the first reading, Isaiah likens the Word of God to the rain which comes down from heaven and waters the earth. We know how much the soil needs rain to make plants grow and to keep it fertile. It is the same for us whose thirsting souls need the Word of God to give us life and direction. We need our daily dose of the Word of God from Sacred Scriptures and listen to people talk to us about Jesus. This is the spiritual food that truly nourishes us and will bear fruit in us if properly taken and constantly received with love and obedience to God.
The gospel talks about the Lord’s Prayer. The Word of God we receive every day should make us aware of the holiness of God and make us desire that His kingdom be established here on earth as quickly as possible. We understand that as Christians we belong to heaven, and therefore, let us pray that God’s reign be firmly established in the hearts of men which is full of confusion, lawlessness, deceit, worldliness and immorality. Then we ask God to provide us our daily bread, which is not only our immediate material needs but also the daily guidance and inspiration to be faithful to God’s commands.
One of these commands is to forgive those who sin against us. We do this by loving them, by understanding them, by helping them to correct their attitudes and behavior. “To err is human, to forgive divine.” So we need divine help to forgive others. Lastly, we ask God our Father to save us from the evil one, and that is Satan. Satan is among us constantly tempting us to go against God’s commands. We implore God’s help to fight against his suggestions and resist him by being solid in our faith.
March 11, 2014
In the first reading, Isaiah likens the Word of God to the rain which comes down from heaven and waters the earth. We know how much the soil needs rain to make plants grow and to keep it fertile. It is the same for us whose thirsting souls need the Word of God to give us life and direction. We need our daily dose of the Word of God from Sacred Scriptures and listen to people talk to us about Jesus. This is the spiritual food that truly nourishes us and will bear fruit in us if properly taken and constantly received with love and obedience to God.
The gospel talks about the Lord’s Prayer. The Word of God we receive every day should make us aware of the holiness of God and make us desire that His kingdom be established here on earth as quickly as possible. We understand that as Christians we belong to heaven, and therefore, let us pray that God’s reign be firmly established in the hearts of men which is full of confusion, lawlessness, deceit, worldliness and immorality. Then we ask God to provide us our daily bread, which is not only our immediate material needs but also the daily guidance and inspiration to be faithful to God’s commands.
One of these commands is to forgive those who sin against us. We do this by loving them, by understanding them, by helping them to correct their attitudes and behavior. “To err is human, to forgive divine.” So we need divine help to forgive others. Lastly, we ask God our Father to save us from the evil one, and that is Satan. Satan is among us constantly tempting us to go against God’s commands. We implore God’s help to fight against his suggestions and resist him by being solid in our faith.
Language: English | Español
All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2
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