Saturday of the First week of Lent
Commentary of the day
Saint Ignatius of Antioch (?-c.110), Bishop and martyr
Letter to the Ephesians, 10-14
"Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you"
“Never cease praying” (1 Thess 5:17) for the others. We can hope for their repentance and that they will come to God. But at least may your example show them the way. Counter their anger with your gentleness; their arrogance with your humility; their blasphemies with your prayers; their errors with the firmness of your faith; their violence with your serenity, without seeking to do anything as they do. Through our kindness, let us show them that we are their brothers. Let us try to become “imitators of the Lord” (1 Thess 1:6). Who suffered injustice more than he? Who was stripped and rejected? May it be impossible to find the devil’s weeds among you (cf. Mt 13:25). In perfect purity and temperance of the flesh and the mind, remain in Jesus Christ.
The last times have come… Only in Christ do we enter into true life. Outside of him, nothing is worthwhile! ... Nothing surpasses peace; it triumphs over all the assaults from our enemies, whether they be heavenly or earthly… Today, it is no longer enough to profess our faith; we have to show to the end the strength with which it fills us.
-St. Augustine of Hippo