Saturday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Commentary on St. Matthew, 10,23
"He was moved with pity for them"
Jesus, God’s Word, was in Judaea. Following the news of the prophet John the Baptist’s murder, he went by boat - symbol of his body - to a desert place apart. In this desert place Jesus was “apart” because his word was set aside there and his teaching went against the customs and traditions of the gentiles. But then the crowds from the gentile territories, hearing that he who is the Word of God had come to dwell in their desert…, came to follow him, leaving their towns behind, that is to say each of them abandoning the superstitious customs of their native land and adhering to Christ’s law… Jesus had come out to meet them since they were unable to come to him, mingling with “those outside” (Mk 4,11) he led them within.
This crowd of those outside that he went to meet is very great. Shedding the light of his presence upon it, he looked round at it and, seeing what sort of people were surrounding him, he found them even more worthy of compassion. He who is beyond suffering insofar as he is God, suffers on account of his love for the people. His bowels were moved with feeling. And he is not just moved but he heals them of all their ills, he delivers them from evil.
-St. Ignatius de Loyola