October 3, 2014
Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Jesus said to them,
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
Part 4: Christian Prayer (2558 - 2865)
Section 1: Prayer in the Christian Life (2558 - 2758)
Chapter 3: The Life of Prayer (2697 - 2758)
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The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer.
Article 1: Expressions of Prayer (2700 - 2724)
I. VOCAL PRAYER ⇡
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Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes flesh. Yet it is most important that the heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in prayer: "Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls."2
2.
St. John Chrysostom, Ecloga de oratione 2:PG 63,585.
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Vocal prayer is an essential element of the Christian life. To his disciples, drawn by their Master's silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal prayer, the Our Father. He not only prayed aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue but, as the Gospels show, he raised his voice to express his personal prayer, from exultant blessing of the Father to the agony of Gesthemani.3
3.
Cf. Mt 11:25-26; Mk 14:36.
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The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our feelings externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our supplication.
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This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.
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Because it is external and so thoroughly human, vocal prayer is the form of prayer most readily accessible to groups. Even interior prayer, however, cannot neglect vocal prayer. Prayer is internalized to the extent that we become aware of him "to whom we speak;"4 Thus vocal prayer becomes an initial form of contemplative prayer.
4.
St. Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection 26,9 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980),II,136.
II. MEDITATION ⇡
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Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. The required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season, writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of creation, and that of history the page on which the "today" of God is written.
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To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
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There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.5 But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.
5.
Cf. Mk 4:4-7, 15-19.
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Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.
The Word Among Us
Meditation: Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10, 13-14
26th Week in Ordinary Time
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)
What makes babies so delightful? Science suggests that a baby’s large, round eyes and chubby cheeks trigger an instinctual reaction in its parents. Almost automatically, we smile. We feel a drive to care for and protect the child, to hold him or her close and shower love on this innocent little person that God has entrusted to us. Toy makers use this knowledge to their advantage: for example, eighty-six-year-old Mickey Mouse has gotten “younger” through the years as his head and eyes were drawn bigger and his ears rounder to make him look more appealing.
Of course, this isn’t the whole story. We savor each stage of our children’s growth. We still beam with pride as our daughters become mothers, navigate morning sickness, and fall in love with their own children. We marvel as our sons tackle the challenges of fatherhood. Simply because they are our children, we feel an unbreakable bond, even when relations between us are strained.
If earthly parents can feel so connected to their children, imagine how much God delights in you—even when you aren’t particularly delighting in him! Think of Job in today’s first reading. After enduring disaster upon disaster, he has taken up his case against God. As Job sees it, God owes him an explanation for the way he has treated him, and he will not rest until God answers for himself. But God, ever the loving Father, patiently works to set Job straight. He loves this son of his no matter what, and he will not rest until Job is at peace.
Just as he was for Job, God is there for you. He is watching over you, showering you with love, and pouring out grace as you face the challenges of your life. Even if you can’t see him right now, a time will come, as it came for Job, when you will be able to look back and see that your heavenly Father has never left your side. You are his child, and he can’t help but smile every time he sees you. So try to relax in his gaze today and feel his delight in you.
“Lord, help me grasp your love for me. Father, I believe that you delight in me. By your Spirit, deepen my faith today.”
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5; Luke 10:13-16
13. Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
15. And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell.
16. He that hears you hears me; and he that despises you despises me; and he that despises me despises him that sent me.
AMBROSE; Our Lord warns us that they will meet with a heavier punishment who have refused to follow the Gospel than those who have chosen to break the law; saying, Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida!
THEOPHYL; Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, Tiberias also which John mentions, are cities of Galilee situated on the shore of the lake of Gennesaret, which is called by the Evangelists the sea of Galilee or Tiberias. Our Lord thus mourns over these cities which after such great miracles and wonders repented not, and are worse than the Gentiles who break through the law of nature only, seeing that after despising the written law, they feared not to despise also the Son of God and His glory.
Hence it follows, For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes, &c. By sackcloth, which is woven together from the hairs of goats, he signifies a sharp remembrance of previous sin. But by ashes, he hints at the consideration of death, by which we are reduced to dust. Again, by the sitting down, he implies the lowliness of our conscience. Now we have seen in this day the word of the Savior fulfilled, since Chorazin and Bethsaida, though our Lord was as present among them, believed not, and Tyre and Sidon were friendly both to David and Solomon, and afterwards believed in the disciples of Christ who preached the Gospel there.
CHRYS. Our Lord mourns over these cities for our example, because shedding tears and bitter lamentations over those who are insensible to grief, is no slight antidote, tending both to the correction of the insensible, and to the remedy and consolation of those who mourn over them. Again, He draws them over to what is good, not only by lamenting over them, but also by alarming them.
Hence it follows, But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, &c. This we ought also to listen to. For not upon them alone, but upon us also, He has passed sentence, if we receive not the guests who come to us, since He commanded them to shake off the very dust from their feet.
And in another place: Now when our Lord had done many mighty works in Capernaum, and had Himself dwelt there, it seemed to be exalted above the other cities, but through unbelief fell to destruction. Hence it follows, And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell; that, in fact, the judgment might be in proportion to the honor.
THEOPHYL; This sentence admits of two meanings: Either for this reason shall you be thrust down into hell, because you proudly resisted My preaching; that in truth she might be understood to have raised herself up to heaven by her pride. Or, because you are exalted to heaven by My dwelling in you, and by My miracles, halt you be beaten with more stripes, since even these you refused to believe.
And that no one should suppose that this interpretation applied only either to the cities or the persons who, seeing our Lord in the flesh despised Him, and not to all also those who now despise the words of the Gospel, He proceeds to add these words, He that hears you, hears me.
CYRIL; Whereby He teaches, that whatever is said by the holy Apostles must be received, since he who hears them hears Christ, and an inevitable punishment therefore hangs over heretics who neglect the words of the Apostles; for it follows, and he who despises you despises me.
THEOPHYL; That is, that every one indeed on hearing or despising the preaching of the Gospel might learn that he is not despising or hearing the mere individual preacher, but our Lord and Savior, nay the Father Himself; for it follows, And he that despises me, despises him that sent me. For the Master is heard in His disciple, the Father honored in His Son.
AUG. But if the word of God reaches to us also, and appoints us in the Apostles place, beware of despising us, lest that reach to Him which you have done to us.
THEOPHYL; It may also be understood as follows, He who despises you, despises me, that is, he who shows not mercy to one of the least of My brethren, neither shows it to Me. But he who despises me, (refusing to believe on the Son of God,) despises him that sent me. For I and my Father are one.
TIT. BOST. But at the same time He herein consoles His disciples, as if He said, Say not why are we about to suffer reproach. Let your speech be with moderation. I give you grace, upon Me your reproaches fall.
Catena Aurea Luke 10
