When Scripture says, 'He will reward every man according to his works' (Matthew 16:27), do not imagine that works in themselves merit either hell or the Kingdom. On the contrary, Christ rewards each man according to whether his works are done with faith or without faith in Himself; and He is not a dealer bound by contract, but God our Creator and Redeemer.

-- Saint Mark the Ascetic

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The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 21
33.	Hear ye another parable. There was a man an householder, who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge round about it, and dug in it a press, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen; and went into a strange country.	Aliam parabolam audite : Homo erat paterfamilias, qui plantavit vineam, et sepem circumdedit ei, et fodit in ea torcular, et ædificavit turrim, et locavit eam agricolis, et peregre profectus est.	αλλην παραβολην ακουσατε ανθρωπος [τις] ην οικοδεσποτης οστις εφυτευσεν αμπελωνα και φραγμον αυτω περιεθηκεν και ωρυξεν εν αυτω ληνον και ωκοδομησεν πυργον και εξεδοτο αυτον γεωργοις και απεδημησεν
34.	And when the time of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits thereof.	Cum autem tempus fructuum appropinquasset, misit servos suos ad agricolas, ut acciperent fructus ejus.	οτε δε ηγγισεν ο καιρος των καρπων απεστειλεν τους δουλους αυτου προς τους γεωργους λαβειν τους καρπους αυτου
35.	And the husbandmen laying hands on his servants, beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.	Et agricolæ, apprehensis servis ejus, alium ceciderunt, alium occiderunt, alium vero lapidaverunt.	και λαβοντες οι γεωργοι τους δουλους αυτου ον μεν εδειραν ον δε απεκτειναν ον δε ελιθοβολησαν
36.	Again he sent other servants more than the former; and they did to them in like manner.	Iterum misit alios servos plures prioribus, et fecerunt illis similiter.	παλιν απεστειλεν αλλους δουλους πλειονας των πρωτων και εποιησαν αυτοις ωσαυτως
37.	And last of all he sent to them his son, saying: They will reverence my son.	Novissime autem misit ad eos filium suum, dicens : Verebuntur filium meum.	υστερον δε απεστειλεν προς αυτους τον υιον αυτου λεγων εντραπησονται τον υιον μου
38.	But the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.	Agricolæ autem videntes filium dixerunt intra se : Hic est hæres, venite, occidamus eum, et habebimus hæreditatem ejus.	οι δε γεωργοι ιδοντες τον υιον ειπον εν εαυτοις ουτος εστιν ο κληρονομος δευτε αποκτεινωμεν αυτον και κατασχωμεν την κληρονομιαν αυτου
39.	And taking him, they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.	Et apprehensum eum ejecerunt extra vineam, et occiderunt.	και λαβοντες αυτον εξεβαλον εξω του αμπελωνος και απεκτειναν
40.	When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen?	Cum ergo venerit dominus vineæ, quid faciet agricolis illis ?	οταν ουν ελθη ο κυριος του αμπελωνος τι ποιησει τοις γεωργοις εκεινοις
41.	They say to him: He will bring those evil men to an evil end; and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, that shall render him the fruit in due season.	Aiunt illi : Malos male perdet : et vineam suam locabit aliis agricolis, qui reddant ei fructum temporibus suis.	λεγουσιν αυτω κακους κακως απολεσει αυτους και τον αμπελωνα εκδωσεται αλλοις γεωργοις οιτινες αποδωσουσιν αυτω τους καρπους εν τοις καιροις αυτων
42.	Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes.	Dicit illis Jesus : Numquam legistis in Scripturis : Lapidem quem reprobaverunt ædificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli : a Domino factum est istud, et est mirabile in oculis nostris ?	λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους ουδεποτε ανεγνωτε εν ταις γραφαις λιθον ον απεδοκιμασαν οι οικοδομουντες ουτος εγενηθη εις κεφαλην γωνιας παρα κυριου εγενετο αυτη και εστιν θαυμαστη εν οφθαλμοις ημων
43.	Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof.	Ideo dico vobis, quia auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructus ejus.	δια τουτο λεγω υμιν οτι αρθησεται αφ υμων η βασιλεια του θεου και δοθησεται εθνει ποιουντι τους καρπους αυτης
44.	And whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.	Et qui ceciderit super lapidem istum, confringetur : super quem vero ceciderit, conteret eum.	και ο πεσων επι τον λιθον τουτον συνθλασθησεται εφ ον δ αν πεση λικμησει αυτον
45.	And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them.	Et cum audissent principes sacerdotum et pharisæi parabolas ejus, cognoverunt quod de ipsis diceret.	και ακουσαντες οι αρχιερεις και οι φαρισαιοι τας παραβολας αυτου εγνωσαν οτι περι αυτων λεγει
46.	And seeking to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes: because they held him as a prophet.	Et quærentes eum tenere, timuerunt turbas : quoniam sicut prophetam eum habebant.	και ζητουντες αυτον κρατησαι εφοβηθησαν τους οχλους επειδη ως προφητην αυτον ειχον

33. Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandman, and went into a far country:
34. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandman, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35. And the husbandman took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did to them likewise.
37. But last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38. But when the husbandman saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40. When the lord therefore of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?
41. They said to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
42. Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?
43. Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44. And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

CHRYS; The design of this further parable is to show that their guilt was heinous, and unworthy to be forgiven.

ORIGEN; The householder is God, who in some parables is represented as a man. As it were a father condescending to the infant lisp of his little child, in order to instruct him.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; He is called man, by title, not by nature ; in a kind of likeness, not in verity. For the Son knowing that by occasion of His human name. He himself should be blasphemed as though he were mere man. Spoke therefore of the Invisible God the Father as man; He who by nature is Lord of Angels and men, but by goodness their Father.

JEROME; He has planted a vine of which Isaiah speaks, The vine of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel. And hedged it round about; i.e. either the wall of the city, or the guardianship of Angels.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Or, by the hedge understand the protection of the holy fathers, who were set as a wall around the people of Israel.

ORIGEN; Or, the hedge which God set round his people was His own Providence; and the winepress was the place of offerings.

JEROME; A winepress, that is to say, An altar; or those winepresses after which the three Psalms, the 8th, the 80th, and the 83rd are entitled, that is to say, the martyrs.

HILARY; Or, he set forth the Prophets as it were winepresses, into which an abundant measure of the Holy Spirit, as of new wine, might flow in a teeming stream.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Or, the winepress is the word of God, which tortures man when it contradicts his fleshly nature.

JEROME; And built a tower therein, that is, the Temple, of which it is said by Micah, And you, O cloudy tower of the daughter of Sion.

HILARY; Or, The tower is the eminence of the Law, which ascended from earth to heaven, and from which, as from a watch-tower, the coming of Christ might be spied. And let it out to husbandmen.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; When, that is, Priests and Levites were constituted by time Law, and undertook the direction of the people. And as an husbandman, through the offer to his Lord of his own stock, does not please him so much as by giving him the fruit of his own vineyard; so the Priest does not so much please God by his own righteousness, as by teaching the people of God holiness; for his own righteousness is but one, but that of the people manifold. And went into a far country.

JEROME; Not a change of place, for God, by whom all things are filled, cannot be absent from any place; but He seems to be absent from the vineyard, that he may leave the vine-dressers a freedom of acting.

CHRYS; Or, it applies to His long-suffering, in that he did not always bring down immediate punishment on their sins.

ORIGEN; Or, because God who had been with them in the cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire by night, never after showed Himself to them in like manner. In Isaiah the people of the Jews is called time vineyard, and the threats of the householder are against tire vineyard; but in the Gospel not the vineyard but the husbandmen are blamed. For perchance in the Gospel the vineyard is the kingdom of God, that is, the doctrine which is contained in holy Scripture; and a man's blameless life is the fruit of the vineyard. And the letter of Scripture is the hedge set round the vineyard, that the fruits which are hid in it should not be seen by those who are without.

The depth of the oracles of God is the winepress of the vineyard, into which such as have profited in the oracles of God pour out their studies like fruit. The tower built therein is the word concerning God Himself, and concerning Christ's dispensations. This vineyard He committed to husbandman, that is, to the people that was before us, both priests and laity, and went into a far country, by His departure giving opportunity to the husbandman. The time of the vintage drawing near may be taken of individuals, and of nations. The first season of life is in infancy, when the vineyard has nothing to show, but that it has in it the vital power. As soon as it comes to be able to speak, then is the time of putting forth buds. And as the child's soul progresses, so also does the vineyard, that is, the word of God; and after such progress the vineyard brings forth the ripe fruit of love, joy, peace, and the like. Moreover to the nation who received the Law by Moses, the time of fruit draws near.

RABAN; The season of fruit, He says, not of rent-paying, because this stiff-necked nation brings forth no fruit.

CHRYS; He calls the Prophets servants, who as the Lord's Priests offer the fruits of the people, and the proofs of their obedience in their works. But they showed their wickedness not only in refusing the fruits, but in having indignation against those that come to them, as it follows, And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

JEROME; Beat them, as Jeremiah, killed them, as Isaiah, stoned them, as Naboth and Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; At each step of their wickedness the mercy of God was increased, and at each step of the Divine mercy the wickedness of the Jews increased; thus there was a strife between human wickedness and Divine goodness.

HILARY; These more than the first who were sent, denote that time, when, after the preaching of single Prophets, a great number was sent forth together.

RABAN; Or, the first servants who were sent were the Lawgiver Moses himself, and Aaron the first Priest of God; whom, having beaten them with the scourge of their tongue, they sent away empty; by the other servants understand the company of the Prophets.

HILARY; By the Son sent at last, is denoted the advent of our Lord.

CHRYS; Wherefore then did He not send Him immediately? That from what they had done to the others they might accuse themselves, and putting away their madness they might reverence His Son when He came.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; He sent Him not as the bearer of a sentence of punishment against the guilty, but of an offer of repentance; He sent Him to put them to shame, not to punish them.

JEROME; But when He says, They will reverence my Son, He does not speak as in ignorance. For what is there that this householder (by whom in this place God is intended) knows not? But God is thus spoken of as being uncertain, in order that free-will may be reserved for man.

CHRYS; Or He speaks as declaring what ought to be; they ought to reverence Him; thus showing that their sin was great, and void of all excuse.

ORIGEN; Or we may suppose this fulfilled in the case of those Jews who, knowing Christ, believed in Him. But what follows, But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on the inheritance, was fulfilled in those who saw Christ, and knew Him to be the Son of God, yet crucified Him.

JEROME; Let us inquire of Arrius and Eunomius. See here the Father is said not to know somewhat. Whatever answer they make for the Father, let them understand the same of the Son, when He says that He knows not the day of the consummation of all things.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; But some say, that it was after His incarnation, that Christ was called a Son in right of His baptism like the other saints, whom the Lord refutes by this place, saying, I will send my Son. Therefore when He thus meditated sending His Son after the Prophets, He must have been already His Son. Further, if He had been His Son in the same way as all the saints to whom the word of God was sent, He ought to have called the Prophets also His sons, as He calls Christ, or to call Christ His servant, as He calls the Prophets.

RABAN; By what they say, This is the Son, He manifestly proves that the rulers of the Jews crucified the Son of God, not through ignorance, but through jealousy. For they understood that tit was He to whom the Father speaks by the Prophet, Ask of me, and I shall give you the heathen for your inheritance. The inheritance given to the Son is the holy Church; an inheritance not left Him by His Father when crying, but wonderfully purchased by His own death.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; After His entry into the Temple, and having cast out those who sold the animals for the sacrifices, then they took counsel to kill Him, Come, let us kill him. For they reasoned among themselves, It will happen that the people hereby shall disuse the practice of sacrificing, which pertains to our gain, and shall be content to offer the sacrifice of righteousness, which pertains to the glory of God; and so the nation shall no more be our possession, but shall become God's. But if we shall kill Him, then there being none to seek the fruit of righteousness from the people, the practice of offering sacrifice shall continue, and so this people shall become our possession; as it follows, And the inheritance shall be ours. These are the usual thoughts of all worldly Priests, who take no thought how the people shall live without sin, but look to how much is offered in the Church, and esteem that tile profit of their ministry.

RABAN; Or, The Jews endeavored by putting Him to death to seize upon the inheritance, when they strove to overthrow the faith which is through Him, and to substitute their own righteousness which is by the Law, and therewith to imbue the Gentiles. It follows, And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

HILARY; Christ was cast out of Jerusalem, as out of the vineyard, to His sentence of punishment.

ORIGEN; Or, what He says, And cast him out of the vineyard, seems to me to be this; As far as they were concerned they judged Him a stranger both to the vineyard, and the husbandmen When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?

JEROME; The Lord asks them not as though He did not know what they would answer, but that they might be condemned by their own answer.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; That their answer is true, comes not of any righteous judgment in them, but from the case itself; truth constrained them.

ORIGEN; Like Caiaphas so did they, not from themselves, prophesy against themselves, that the oracles of God were to be taken from them, and given to the Gentiles, who could bring forth fruit in due season.

GLOSS; Or, the Lord whom they killed, came immediately rising from the dead, and brought to an evil end those wicked husbandmen, and gave up His vineyard to other husbandmen, that is, to the Apostles.

AUG; Mark does not give this as their answer, but relates that the Lord after His question put to them, made this answer to Himself. But it may be easily explained, that their words are subjoined in such a way as to show that they spoke them, without putting in 'And they answered'. Or this answer is attributed to the Lord, because, what they said being true, might well be said to have been spoken by Him who is truth.

CHRYS; Or there is no contradiction, because both are right; they first made answer in these words, and then the Lord repeated them.

AUG; This troubles us more, how, it is that Luke not only does not relate this to have been their answer, but attributes to them a contrary answer. His words are, And when they heard it they said, God forbid. The only way that remains for understanding this is, therefore, that of the listening multitudes some answered as Matthew relates, and some as Luke. And let it perplex no one that Matthew says that the Chief Priests and elders of the people came to the Lord, and that he connects the whole of this discourse in one down to this parable of the vineyard, without interposing any other speaker.

For it may be supposed that He spoke all these things with the Chief Priests, but that Matthew for brevity's sake omitted what Luke mentions, namely, that this parable was spoken not to those only who asked Him concerning His authority, but to the populace, among whom were some who said, He shall destroy them, and give the vineyard to others. And at the same time this saying is lightly thought to have been the Lord's, either for its truth, or for the unity of His members with their head. And there were also those who said, God forbid, those namely, who perceived that He spoke this parable against them.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Otherwise: Luke has given the answer of their lips, Matthew that of their hearts. For some made answer openly contradicting Him, and saying, God forbid, but their consciences took it up with He shall miserably destroy these wicked men. For so when a man is detected in any wickedness, he excuses himself in words, but his conscience within pleads guilty.

CHRYS; Or otherwise: the Lord proposed this parable to them with this intent, that not understanding it they should give sentence against themselves; as was done by Nathan to David. Again, when they perceived the meaning of the things that had been said against them, they said, God forbid.

RABAN; Morally; a vineyard has been let out to each of us to dress, when the mystery of baptism was given us, to be cultivated by action. Servants one, two, and three are sent us when Law, Psalm, and Prophecy are read, after whose instructions we are to work well. He that is sent is beaten and cast out when the word is contemned, or, which is worse, is blasphemed. He kills (as far as in him lies) the heir, who tramples under foot the Son, and does despite to the Spirit of grace. The wicked husbandman is destroyed, and the vineyard is given to another, when the gift of grace which the proud has contemned is given to the lowly.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; When they seemed discontent, He brings forward Scripture testimony; as much as to say, If you understood not My parable, at least acknowledge this Scripture.

JEROME; The same things are treated under various figures; whom above He called laborers and husbandmen, He now calls builders.

CHRYS. Christ is the stone, the builders are the Jewish teachers who rejected Christ, saying, This man is not of God.

RABAN; But despite of their displeasure, the same stone furnished the head stone of the corner, for out of both nations He has joined by faith in Him as many as He would.

HILARY; He is become the head of the corner, because He is the union of both sides between the Law and the Gentiles.

CHRYS; And that they might know that nothing that had been done was against God's will, He adds, It is the Lord's doing.

ORIGEN; That is, the stone is the gift of God to the whole building, and is wonderful in our eyes, who can discern it with the eyes of the mind.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; As much as to say, How do you not understand in what building that stone is to be set, not in yours, seeing it is rejected, but in another; but if the building is to be other, your building will be rejected.

ORIGEN; By the kingdom of God, He means the mysteries of the kingdom of God, that is, the divine Scriptures, which the Lord committed, first to that former people who had the oracles of God, but secondly to the Gentiles who brought forth fruit. For the word of God is given to none but to him who brings fruit thereof, and the kingdom of God is given to none in whom sin reigns. Whence came it then that it was given to them from whom it was afterwards taken away? Remember that whatever is given is given of free gift. To whom then He let out the vineyard, He let it out not as to elect already, and believing; but to whom He gave it, He gave it with a sentence of election.

45. And when the Chief Priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them.
46. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

JEROME; Hard as were the hearts of the Jews in unbelief, they yet perceived that the Lord's sentence was directed against themselves.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Here is the difference between good and bad men. The good man when taken in a sin has sorrow because he has sinned, the bad man is grieved not because he has sinned, but because he is found out in his sin; and he not only does not repent, but is indignant with him that reproved him. Thus they being taken in their sins were stirred up to still greater wickedness; And they sought to lay hands on him, but feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet.

ORIGEN; One thing they know which is true concerning Him; they esteemed Him a Prophet, though not understanding His greatness in respect of His being the Son of God. But the rulers feared the multitude who thought thus of Him, and were ready to fight for Him; for they could not attain to the understanding which the multitude had, seeing they thought nothing worthy concerning Him. Further, know that there are two different kinds of desires to lay hands on Jesus. The desire of the rulers and Pharisees was one kind; another that of the Bride, I held him, and would not let him go; intending to try Him still further, as she said, I will get me up into the palm tree, I will lay hold of its height. All who think not rightly concerning His divinity, seek to lay hands on Jesus in order to put Him to death. Other words indeed expecting the word of Christ it is possible to seize and to hold, but the word of truth none can seize, that is, understand; none can hold it, that is, convict; nor separate it from the conviction of those that believe; nor do it to death, that is, destroy it.

PSEUDO-CHRYS; Every wicked man also, as far as his will is concerned, lays hands on God, and puts Him to death. For whoever tramples upon God's commandments, or murmurs against God, or raises a sullen look to heaven, would not he, if he had the power, lay hands on God, and kill Him, that he might sin without restraint?

RABAN; This, that they are afraid to lay hands on Jesus because of the multitudes, is daily acted in the Church, when any who is a brother only in name, is ashamed or afraid to assail the unity of faith and peace which he does not love, because of the good men with whom he lives.

Catena Aurea Matthew 21

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen

Speculum humanae salvationis.
Cologne, frater Nycolaus (scribe);
c. 1450
National Library of the Netherlands

Information: St. Colette of Corbie

Feast Day: February 7 or March 6

Born: 13 January 1381, at Corbie in Picardy, France

Died: 6 March 1447, Ghent

Canonized: 24 May 1807

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Colette

Feast Day: March 06
Born: 1380 : : Died: 1447

Nicollete Boilet was born at Corbie, Picardy, in France and was named in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra. Her loving parents, who were almost sixty years old when she was born, nicknamed her Colette from the time she was a baby.

Colette's father was a carpenter at an abbey in Picardy. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a big help to her mother with the housework. Her parents noticed how their daughter liked to pray and her sensitive, loving nature.

When Colette was seventeen, both her parents died and the young woman was placed under the care of the abbot at the monastery where her father had worked. She asked for and received a hut built next to the abbey church, where she lived.

She spent her time praying and sacrificing for Jesus' Church. More and more people found out about this holy young woman. They went to see her and asked her advice about important problems. They knew that she was wise because she lived close to God. She received everybody with gentle kindness. After each visit, she would pray that her visitors would find peace of soul.

Colette was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis called the Secular Franciscan Order. She knew that the religious order of women who followed St. Francis' lifestyle are the Poor Clares. They are named after St. Clare, who as a follower of St. Francis started the order. During Colette's time, the Poor Clares strayed from their mission and needed to go back to the original purpose of their order.

St. Francis of Assisi appeared to Colette and asked her to make the necessary changes. She was surprised and afraid of such a difficult task. When she hesitated, she was struck blind for three days and mute for three more; she saw this as a sign, and trusting in God's grace traveled to the Poor Clare convents. As an example, she walked barefoot to Nice, dressed in a habit (gown worn by nuns) that was all patched up. She helped the nuns become more poor and prayerful.

The Poor Clares were inspired by St. Colette's life. She had a great devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. She also spent time frequently fasting and meditating on the passion and death of Jesus. She loved Jesus and her religious life very much.

Her prayer was, "We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation. Amen."

She was very fond of animals and took good care of them. Colette knew exactly when and where she was going to die. She died in one of her convents in Ghent, Flanders, in 1447 at the age of sixty-seven.

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Friday, March 6

Liturgical Color: Violet

Today the Church honors St. Sylvester of
Assisi. St. Sylvester was the first priest
ordained in the Franciscan order. Feeling
guilty about overcharging St. Francis for
stone to rebuild a church, he repented
and became a very holy priest.

Day 65 - Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Today's Reading: Matthew 21:18-22

18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 21 And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Today's Commentary:

A fig tree: A symbol of Old Covenant Israel (Jer 8:13; Hos 9:10). Jesus curses it because it is barren and has no figs (Mk 11:21). Symbolically, then, he announces God's curse on the unfaithful of Israeli.e., those who refuse him as the Messiah and lack the fruits of repentance (3:8-10; 21:41, 43). Israel's faithlessness is a negative example: the Church must learn from the nation's mistakes and pray instead with faith and confidence (21:21; 17:20; Jas 1:6).

Day 17

Lent Day 17 – Divine Light

by Fr. Robert Barron

One of the key visuals in the story of the Transfiguration is the divine light that radiates from Jesus. Matthew says, “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” Luke reports, “His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” And Mark says, “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”

This light seems to signal the beauty and radiance of a world beyond this one, a world rarely seen, only occasionally glimpsed, amidst the griminess and ordinariness of this world.

Is this beautiful and radiant world ever seen today? Let me share a few stories with you. When I was travelling recently, I met a man who, as a young man, met St. Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist. He was privileged to serve his Mass. During the elevation of the host, after the consecration, this man noticed something remarkable: there was a glow around the holy man’s hands. Years later when he heard reports of “auras” he said to himself, “That’s what I saw that day.”

Malcolm Muggeridge, the English journalist and convert to Catholicism, was filming Mother Teresa for a documentary. One day, the electricity was out, and he bemoaned the fact that he had to film her without lights, convinced that the day would be lost. However, when the film was developed, he noticed that the scenes were beautifully lit. To his surprise it appeared as though the light was coming from her.

Consider also the Shroud of Turin. There is scientific speculation that the marks on the shroud, the holy icon thought by many to be the burial shroud of Christ, were caused by a burst of radiant energy—light energy.

I’d like to leave you with one last thought: from the time of the earliest disciples, the holy followers of Jesus were pictured with halos above their heads. What is a halo if not the divine light breaking into our world today?

Catholic Spiritual Direction.com

On the Malice of Mortal Sin

March 6, 2015 by Dan Burke

ON THE MALICE OF MORTAL SIN

“I have brought up children and exalted them; but they have despised me.”
cf Isaiah 1:2

What does the sinner do when he commits mortal sin? He insults God, he dishonors him, he afflicts him. In the first place, mortal sin is an insult offered to God. The malice of an insult is, as St. Thomas says, estimated from the condition of the person who receives and of the person who offers the insult. It is sinful to offend a peasant; it is more criminal to insult a nobleman: but to treat a monarch with contempt and insolence, is a still greater crime. Who is God? “He is Lord of lords and king of kings” (Revelation 17:14). He is a Being of infinite majesty, before whom all the princes of the earth, and all the saints and angels, are less than an atom of sand. “As a drop of a bucket…as a little dust” (Isaiah 40:15). The prophet Hosea adds, that, compared with the greatness of God, all creatures are as insignificant as if they did not exist. “All nations,” [Isaiah] says, “are before him as if they had no being at all” (cf Isaiah 40:17). Such is God; and what is man? He is, according to St. Bernard, a heap of worms, the food of worms, by which he shall be soon devoured. “Saccus vermium, cibus vermium.” He is “miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Man is a miserable worm, that can do nothing; he is so blind that he knows nothing, and so poor and naked that he possesses nothing. And this miserable worm voluntarily insults a God! “Vile dust,” says the same St. Bernard, “dares to provoke such tremendous majesty.” The angelic doctor, then, had just reason to say that the sin of man contains, as it were, an infinite malice. “Peccatum habet quandam infinitatem malitiae ex infinitate divinae majestatis” (P. 3, q. 2, c. 2, ad. 2.). And St. Augustine calls sin “an infinite evil.” Hence, were all men and angels to offer themselves to death and annihilation, the oblation should not satisfy for a single sin. God punishes sin with the pains of hell; but all theologians teach that this chastisement is less than sin deserves.

And what punishment can be sufficient for a worm who assails his Lord? God is the Lord of all, because he has created all. “All things are in thy power. . . . Thou hast made heaven, and earth, and all things” (Esther 13:9, 10 [Esther 4:C:1, 2 NAB]). All creatures obey God, “The winds,” says St. Matthew, “and the sea obey him” (Matthew 8:27). “Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfill his will” (cf Psalm 148:8). But when man sins, what does he do? He says to God, Lord, I will not serve thee. “Thou hast broken my yoke; thou hast burst my bonds; thou saidst, I will not serve” (Jeremiah 2:20). The Lord says to him, Seek not revenge; take not that property which belongs to another; abstain from that unchaste gratification. But man answers, I will have revenge; I will take possession of that property; I will indulge in that forbidden pleasure. Like Pharaoh, when Moses, on the part of God, commanded him to allow the people to go into the desert, the sinner answers, “Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2). The sinner says the same–Lord, I know you not; I will do what I please. In a word, he insults the Lord to his face, and turns his back upon him. Mortal sin is precisely a turning away–from God. “Aversio ab incommutabili bono” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part I of Part II, q 24, art 4). Of this the Lord himself complains–“Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord thou art gone backward” (cf Jeremiah 15:6). You have, says God, been ungrateful to me; you have abandoned me; you have turned your back upon me; you “are gone backward.” God has declared that he hates sin. Hence he cannot but hate the sinner who commits it. “But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike” (Wisdom 14:9). In committing sin, man dares to declare himself the enemy of God, and to contend single-handed with the Lord. “He hath,” says Job, “strengthened himself against the Almighty” (cf Job 15:25). What would you say if you saw an insect attack an armed soldier? God is the Omnipotent Being who by a nod has “created heaven and earth out of nothing” (cf 2 Maccabees 7:28). And if he wish, he can, by another act of his will, destroy all creatures. “The Almighty Lord, who, at a beck, can utterly destroy…the whole world” (cf 2 Maccabees 8:18). In consenting to sin, the sinner stretches out his hand against the Lord. “He hath,” says Job, “stretched out his hand against God. He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck” (cf Job 15:26). He raises his neck, that is, he swells with pride, and runs to insult God; he arms himself with a fat neck, that is, with ignorance; for a fat neck is the symbol of ignorance, of that ignorance which makes the sinner say, What have I done? What great evil is that sin which I have committed? God is merciful–he pardons sinners. What an insult! What temerity! What blindness!

Affections and Prayers

Behold, O my God! At thy feet the rash and daring rebel, who has had the temerity and audacity to insult thee so often to thy very face, and to turn his back upon thee. Thou hast said, “Cry to me, and I will hear” (Jeremiah 33:3). Hell is too little for me; this I already know. But remember, O Lord, that I am more sorry for having offended thee, who art infinite goodness, than I would be for the loss of all my property and of my life. Ah, Lord, pardon me, and do not permit me ever to offend thee more. Thou hast waited for me that I may forever bless thy mercy and love thee. Yes, I bless thee, I love thee, and I hope, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that I shall never again be separated from thy love; thy love has rescued me from hell; it is by thy love that I am to be preserved from sin for the future. I thank thee, my Lord, for the light. and the desire thou dost give me to love thee forever. Ah! Take possession of my whole being–of my soul and body–of my powers and senses–of my will and liberty. “I am thine — save me.” Thou art my only good; thou art alone amiable; mayst thou also be my only love. Give me fervor in loving thee. I have offended thee grievously. Hence it is not enough for me to love thee; I wish to love thee ardently, in order to compensate the injuries I have done thee. From thee, who art omnipotent, I hope for this love. I also hope for it through thy prayers, O Mary, which art powerful before God.

Editor’s Note: This meditation is from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s “Preparation for Death” (1758).

Death of St. Colette

www.saintecolettedecorbie.fr

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:March 06, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, purifying us by the sacred practice of penance, you may lead us in sincerity of heart to attain the holy things to come. 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

o Basic French Bread

o Cassoulet

ACTIVITIES

o Lenten Practices for Children

o Precious Coins: Mortification and Self-Denial

PRAYERS

o Prayer for the Second Week of Lent

o Lent Table Blessing 2

o The Chaplet of St. Colette

· Lent: March 6th

· Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Old Calendar: Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas, martyrs; St. Colette, virgin & religious (Hist)

"If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20)." The need to make reparation is a vital, inescapable urge of a free person. His very nature cries out for order and peace. His reason tells him that where an order has been violated, the order must be repaired; and the higher the order, the greater must be the reparation. To be free at all, is to accept the responsibility for atonement. Sin is a violation of God's order. Sin demands reparation — the reparation of personal penance, personal prayer, personal charity to all. Part of our atonement to God is made by serving our fellow men. — Daily Missal of the Mystical Body

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas. Their feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on March 7. Historically today is the feast of St. Colette, who revived the Franciscan spirit among the Poor Clares. Her reform spread throughout France, Savoy, Germany and Flanders, many convents being restored and seventeen new ones founded by her. She helped St. Vincent Ferrer in the work of healing the papal schism.

Stational Church

St. Colette
Born in 1380, Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra. Her loving parents nicknamed her Colette from the time she was a baby. Colette's father was a carpenter at an abbey in Picardy. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a big help to her mother with the housework. Her parents noticed the child's liking for prayer and her sensitive, loving nature.

When Colette was seventeen, both her parents died. The young woman was placed under the care of the abbot at the monastery where her father had worked. She asked for and received a hut built next to the abbey church. Colette lived there. She spent her time praying and sacrificing for Jesus' Church. More and more people found out about this holy young woman. They went to see her and asked her advice about important problems. They knew that she was wise because she lived close to God. She received everybody with gentle kindness. After each visit, she would pray that her visitors would find peace of soul. Colette was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. She knew that the religious order of women who followed St. Francis' lifestyle are the Poor Clares. They are named after St. Clare, their foundress, who was a follower of St. Francis. During Colette's time, the Poor Clares needed to go back to the original purpose of their order. St. Francis of Assisi appeared to Colette and asked her to reform the Poor Clares. She must have been surprised and afraid of such a difficult task. But she trusted in God's grace. Colette traveled to the Poor Clare convents. She helped the nuns become more poor and prayerful.

The Poor Clares were inspired by St. Colette's life. She had a great devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. She also spent time frequently meditating on the passion and death of Jesus. She loved Jesus and her religious vocation very much.

Colette knew exactly when and where she was going to die. She died in one of her convents in Ghent, Flanders, in 1447. She was sixty-seven. Colette was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius VI in 1807.

Excerpted from Holy Spirit Interactive

Things to Do:

See the Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community for more information.

The Station for today is in the church of St. Vitalis, martyr, the father of the two illustrious Milanese martyrs, Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. It was built about 400, and consecrated by Pope Innocent I in 401/2. The dedication to St. Vitalis and his family was given in 412. The church has been rebuilt several times, of which the most comprehensive rebuilding was that of Pope Sixtus IV before the 1475 Jubilee. It was then granted to Clerics Regular.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28

2nd Week of Lent

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons. (Genesis 37:3)

What a recipe for trouble! A father has twelve sons but unapologetically favors one over the others. As a result, let’s just say the golden boy, Joseph, doesn’t have self-esteem issues. To make matters worse, his dreams only reinforce his special status—and he enthusiastically shares them with his brothers. It’s no wonder their jealousy leads them to the brink of killing him!

It’s a good thing that this story is in our Bible. It shows us that God can take jealousy, pride, and family dysfunction and bring something good from them. Resentment, lying, murderous thoughts, bitterness? It’s no problem; he can redeem it all and use it to bring about his plan. Look at what he did for Joseph and his family. From his slavery in Egypt, which his brothers engineered, Joseph was able to save his family from famine and reconcile with his brothers.

So don’t despair if you see problems in your family. No one is perfect. There’s no denying the fact that sin is corrosive and can devastate relationships and deeply wound people. But don’t ever forget that sin doesn’t have the last word; God does! Even when you can’t see how everything will work out, even when the pain is real, you can still trust that God can go above and beyond. Think about Joseph all those years in slavery, in prison, learning to wait for God’s plan to come to full flowering.

Be careful not to lose your perspective, either. Just as Joseph learned that God would work everything out for good if he stayed true to the Lord, the Spirit wants to teach you the same thing. God can see where things are heading and how they will all work out, even when it doesn’t make sense to you right now. You can trust him to love you every step of the way, right into the fullness of life that he has in store for you.

Keep these truths in the forefront of your mind. Proclaim them to yourself often. Let Jesus fill you with hope and trust in him. He has your family in the palm of his hand!

“Lord, I trust you with my family. I believe you can do great things with us. May we bring glory to you!”

Psalm 105:16-21
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for March 6, 2015:

A pediatrician asked a new mom when she and her husband were going to have a date that week. The doctor said, “I’m serious. Unless you agree to have a weekly date, you can find another pediatrician. Your child is more likely to thrive if your marriage is strong.”

Regnum Christi

The Gift of Life

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

March 6, 2015. Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ´they will respect my son.´ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ´This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.´ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: ´The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes´? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, though I cannot see you with my eyes, I believe you are present to me now, in my innermost being, and that you know me far better than I know myself. I also know that you love me much more than I love my own self. Thank you for loving and watching over me, though I don’t deserve your love. In return, I offer you my sorrow for my sins and my hopes to love you more each day.

Petition: Sanctify me in my work, Lord. May it bring me closer to you.

1. God Entrusts Us with What He Values: It’s one thing to purchase an already functional property. It’s quite another thing to purchase a rundown property and fix it up yourself. Once tidied up, the latter is worth much more to you. It has become the fruit of your sweat and blood. It is not simply a possession; it is a part of you. In today’s Gospel, the landowner purchased the land and did the work himself to set up the vineyard before he handed it over to the tenants. When he entrusted it to them, he was not simply looking for a profit, but for someone to manage his vineyard. He valued it greatly, greatly enough to risk the life of his son. Christ has established his vineyard—the Church—and put it into our hands. Christ pays us the compliment of entrusting us with his work, with what he values. He not only gives us a job to do, but mysteriously puts the eternal salvation of other souls in our hands.

2. He Is Patient with Our Failures: The landowner did not stay around to supervise the tenants tightly. He did not even lay down rules or specify methods of cultivation. The master left the tenants to do their job as they saw fit. God is not a tyrannical taskmaster. He knows that laboring in his vineyard is hard work. At harvest time the master sent messenger after messenger. He did not become irate or condemn the tenants after one messenger had been abused and another mistreated. Rather, he sends them his son: he does everything possible to bear with their egotism and inspire them with his understanding and generosity.

3. God Is Equally Repulsed by Our Inactivity as with Our Iniquity: “Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15). The graver sin for the Pharisees was not what they decided, but rather their selfish and blind sterility in choosing not to decide. When Christ levies the sentence against the Pharisees, he does not say, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that respects life” (as serious as this is); rather, he chides them for not producing fruit. Note that the sentence is essentially equally severe: the one offense takes life, the other refuses to give it.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, your hands knew human labor, and you sanctified your life and the lives of those around you through your toil. Help me to see the virtue you teach. Help me to return all my talents to you by the work of my hands and mind. I want to be your working apostle.

Resolution: I will accomplish today an apostolic task that I have been putting off.

Homily of the Day

March 6, 2015

The Cornerstone

Jesus Christ is the cornerstone that the builders rejected. And even today, the world still rejects him. We may say that this is not true, but when we think about what society is saying and preaching, we realize that, indeed, it is teaching the opposite of Christian values.

The world says that the more earthly success we achieve, the more we gain in value as individuals. We don’t need God to reach the pinnacle of power, it is just through our own hard work and luck and stepping on others’ toes. As humans we have the freedom of choice to decide what is right and what is wrong, but if we value God we will look to

Him for what is right and wrong, and to rely on Him to take care of our needs. To be a Christian is to put God first in our lives. This means continuously seeking His righteousness and totally relying on Him. We value God when we acknowledge that He knows better than we do on what we need in our lives.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 2

<< Friday, March 6, 2015 >>

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28
View Readings

Psalm 105:16-21

Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Similar Reflections

LET'S EAT RIGHT

"They took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. Then they sat down to their meal." —Genesis 37:24-25

The hardness of the human heart is fully portrayed in today's readings. The brothers of Joseph moved quickly and easily from cold-blooded plotting of their brother's death, to throwing him in the cistern to die, to sitting down to eat their dinner. It's no different today, as an abortionist and his attendants can murder multiple babies in a day's work, and then head out to a restaurant to enjoy their supper.

Sadly, this even happens in the Church. Catholic politicians, newscasters, and voters repeatedly cast their ballots and opinions for death, and then sit down in the pew at Sunday Mass for the eucharistic meal. Couples contracept and chemically abort their children and then sit down in the pews to eat the eucharistic meal.

St. Paul commented on partaking in the Eucharist unworthily. He stated: "Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!...This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Cor 11:22, 27-28). Otherwise, we put "a judgment on" ourselves and make ourselves "sick and infirm" (1 Cor 10:29-30).

"Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent!" (Rv 3:19)

Prayer: Father, I repent and accept Your offer to make things right (Is 1:18). Cleanse me of my sins and make me holy.

Promise: "The Stone Which the builders rejected has become the Keystone of the structure." —Mt 21:42

Praise: Sharon could not walk without a scooter for over a year. Jesus healed her legs at a healing service. She could not see to drive. Jesus healed her eyes a few months later, and now she can read perfectly and drive. She witnesses to His power to all.