Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-27-16

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-27-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

February 27, 2016

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

Reading 1 Mi 7:14-15, 18-20

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
from days of old.

Responsorial Psalm PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Verse Before the Gospel Lk 15:18

I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Gospel Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable.
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.’”

[Salvation]

February 2016

Pope's Intentions

Universal: Care for Creation --That we may take good care of creation -- a gift freely given -- cultivating and protecting it for future generations.

Evangelization: Asia -- That opportunities may increase for dialogue and encounter between the Christian faith and the peoples of Asia.

[Salvation]

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saturday of the Second week of Lent

Commentary of the day
Saint Romanos Melodios (?-c 560), composer of hymns
Hymn 28, The Prodigal Child

“We had to celebrate… This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life.”

       The older son said to his father in anger: “I constantly obeyed your orders, without disobeying a single one… and the prodigal one comes back to you, and you make more of him than of me!”

      The father had only just heard his son speak in this way, when he gently answered: “Listen to your father. You are with me, for you never distanced yourself from me; you did not separate yourself from the Church; you are always present at my side together with all my angels. But this one has come covered with shame, naked and with no beauty, crying: “Have mercy on me! I have sinned, Father, and as one who is guilty, I implore you. Accept me as a day laborer and feed me, for you love human beings, Lord and master of the ages.”

      “Your brother cried out: ‘Save me, holy Father!’… How could I not have mercy, not save my son who was moaning and sobbing? … Judge me, you who blame me… At all times, it is my joy to love human beings… They are my creatures: how could I not have mercy on them? How could I not have compassion when they repent? My entrails have brought forth this child on whom I had mercy, I who am the Lord and master of the ages.

      “Everything I have is yours, my son… The fortune you have has not been diminished by this, for I don’t take away from it when I give your brother gifts… I am the one and only creator of both of you, the one and only father who is good, loving and merciful. I honor you, my son, for you have always loved and served me. And on him I have compassion, for he is surrendering entirely to his repentance. So you should share the joy of all whom I have invited, I, the Lord and master of the ages.

      “Thus, my son, rejoice with all who have been invited to the banquet, and mingle your songs with those of all the angels, for your brother was lost and now he has been found again, he was dead and contrary to all expectations, he has risen.” The older son let himself be persuaded by these words, and he sang: “Everyone, cry out with joy! ‘Happy is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered.’ (Ps 32:1) I praise you, o friend of humankind, you who also saved my brother, you, the Lord and master of the ages.”

[Salvation]

'I ought to burn of love for God out of gratitude for the kindness that He has shown me.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Salvation]

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.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[annalex]

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 15
1.	NOW the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him.	Erant autem appropinquantes ei publicani, et peccatores ut audirent illum.	ησαν δε εγγιζοντες αυτω παντες οι τελωναι και οι αμαρτωλοι ακουειν αυτου
2.	And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.	Et murmurabant pharisæi, et scribæ, dicentes : Quia hic peccatores recipit, et manducat cum illis.	και διεγογγυζον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις λεγοντες οτι ουτος αμαρτωλους προσδεχεται και συνεσθιει αυτοις
3.	And he spoke to them this parable, saying:	Et ait ad illos parabolam istam dicens :	ειπεν δε προς αυτους την παραβολην ταυτην λεγων
[...]
11.	And he said: A certain man had two sons:	Ait autem : Homo quidam habuit duos filios :	ειπεν δε ανθρωπος τις ειχεν δυο υιους
12.	And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance.	et dixit adolescentior ex illis patri : Pater, da mihi portionem substantiæ, quæ me contingit. Et divisit illis substantiam.	και ειπεν ο νεωτερος αυτων τω πατρι πατερ δος μοι το επιβαλλον μερος της ουσιας και διειλεν αυτοις τον βιον
13.	And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously.	Et non post multos dies, congregatis omnibus, adolescentior filius peregre profectus est in regionem longinquam, et ibi dissipavit substantiam suam vivendo luxuriose.	και μετ ου πολλας ημερας συναγαγων απαντα ο νεωτερος υιος απεδημησεν εις χωραν μακραν και εκει διεσκορπισεν την ουσιαν αυτου ζων ασωτως
14.	And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want.	Et postquam omnia consummasset, facta est fames valida in regione illa, et ipse cœpit egere.	δαπανησαντος δε αυτου παντα εγενετο λιμος ισχυρος κατα την χωραν εκεινην και αυτος ηρξατο υστερεισθαι
15.	And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.	Et abiit, et adhæsit uni civium regionis illius : et misit illum in villam suam ut pasceret porcos.	και πορευθεις εκολληθη ενι των πολιτων της χωρας εκεινης και επεμψεν αυτον εις τους αγρους αυτου βοσκειν χοιρους
16.	And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him.	Et cupiebat implere ventrem suum de siliquis, quas porci manducabant : et nemo illi dabat.	και επεθυμει γεμισαι την κοιλιαν αυτου απο των κερατιων ων ησθιον οι χοιροι και ουδεις εδιδου αυτω
17.	And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger?	In se autem reversus, dixit : Quanti mercenarii in domo patris mei abundant panibus, ego autem hic fame pereo !	εις εαυτον δε ελθων ειπεν ποσοι μισθιοι του πατρος μου περισσευουσιν αρτων εγω δε λιμω απολλυμαι
18.	I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee:	surgam, et ibo ad patrem meum, et dicam ei : Pater, peccavi in cælum, et coram te :	αναστας πορευσομαι προς τον πατερα μου και ερω αυτω πατερ ημαρτον εις τον ουρανον και ενωπιον σου
19.	I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.	jam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus : fac me sicut unum de mercenariis tuis.	και ουκετι ειμι αξιος κληθηναι υιος σου ποιησον με ως ενα των μισθιων σου
20.	And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.	Et surgens venit ad patrem suum. Cum autem adhuc longe esset, vidit illum pater ipsius, et misericordia motus est, et accurrens cecidit super collum ejus, et osculatus est eum.	και αναστας ηλθεν προς τον πατερα αυτου ετι δε αυτου μακραν απεχοντος ειδεν αυτον ο πατηρ αυτου και εσπλαγχνισθη και δραμων επεπεσεν επι τον τραχηλον αυτου και κατεφιλησεν αυτον
21.	And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son.	Dixitque ei filius : Pater, peccavi in cælum, et coram te : jam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus.	ειπεν δε αυτω ο υιος πατερ ημαρτον εις τον ουρανον και ενωπιον σου και ουκετι ειμι αξιος κληθηναι υιος σου
22.	And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:	Dixit autem pater ad servos suos : Cito proferte stolam primam, et induite illum, et date annulum in manum ejus, et calceamenta in pedes ejus :	ειπεν δε ο πατηρ προς τους δουλους αυτου εξενεγκατε την στολην την πρωτην και ενδυσατε αυτον και δοτε δακτυλιον εις την χειρα αυτου και υποδηματα εις τους ποδας
23.	And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:	et adducite vitulum saginatum, et occidite, et manducemus, et epulemur :	και ενεγκαντες τον μοσχον τον σιτευτον θυσατε και φαγοντες ευφρανθωμεν
24.	Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.	quia hic filius meus mortuus erat, et revixit : perierat, et inventus est. Et cœperunt epulari.	οτι ουτος ο υιος μου νεκρος ην και ανεζησεν και απολωλως ην και ευρεθη και ηρξαντο ευφραινεσθαι
25.	Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing:	Erat autem filius ejus senior in agro : et cum veniret, et appropinquaret domui, audivit symphoniam et chorum :	ην δε ο υιος αυτου ο πρεσβυτερος εν αγρω και ως ερχομενος ηγγισεν τη οικια ηκουσεν συμφωνιας και χορων
26.	And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.	et vocavit unum de servis, et interrogavit quid hæc essent.	και προσκαλεσαμενος ενα των παιδων επυνθανετο τι ειη ταυτα
27.	And he said to him: Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe.	Isque dixit illi : Frater tuus venit, et occidit pater tuus vitulum saginatum, quia salvum illum recepit.	ο δε ειπεν αυτω οτι ο αδελφος σου ηκει και εθυσεν ο πατηρ σου τον μοσχον τον σιτευτον οτι υγιαινοντα αυτον απελαβεν
28.	And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him.	Indignatus est autem, et nolebat introire. Pater ergo illius egressus, cœpit rogare illum.	ωργισθη δε και ουκ ηθελεν εισελθειν ο ουν πατηρ αυτου εξελθων παρεκαλει αυτον
29.	And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends:	At ille respondens, dixit patri suo : Ecce tot annis servio tibi, et numquam mandatum tuum præterivi : et numquam dedisti mihi hædum ut cum amicis meis epularer.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν τω πατρι ιδου τοσαυτα ετη δουλευω σοι και ουδεποτε εντολην σου παρηλθον και εμοι ουδεποτε εδωκας εριφον ινα μετα των φιλων μου ευφρανθω
30.	But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.	Sed postquam filius tuus hic, qui devoravit substantiam suam cum meretricibus, venit, occidisti illi vitulum saginatum.	οτε δε ο υιος σου ουτος ο καταφαγων σου τον βιον μετα πορνων ηλθεν εθυσας αυτω τον μοσχον τον σιτευτον
31.	But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine.	At ipse dixit illi : Fili, tu semper mecum es, et omnia mea tua sunt :	ο δε ειπεν αυτω τεκνον συ παντοτε μετ εμου ει και παντα τα εμα σα εστιν
32.	But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.	epulari autem, et gaudere oportebat, quia frater tuus hic mortuus erat, et revixit ; perierat, et inventus est.	ευφρανθηναι δε και χαρηναι εδει οτι ο αδελφος σου ουτος νεκρος ην και ανεζησεν και απολωλως ην και ευρεθη

[annalex]

1. Then drew near to him all the Publicans and sinners for to hear him.
2. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them.
3. And he spoke this parable to them, saying,


AMBROSE; You had learnt by what went before not to be occupied by the business of this world, not to prefer transitory things to eternal. But because the frailty of man can not keep a firm step in so slippery a world, the good Physician has shown you a remedy even after falling; the merciful Judge has not denied the hope of pardon; hence it is added, Then drew near to him all the publicans.

GLOSS. That is, those who collect or farm the public taxes, and who make a business of following after worldly gain.

THEOPHYL. For this was His wont, for the sake whereof He had taken upon Him the flesh, to receive sinners as the physician those that are sick. But the Pharisees, the really guilty, returned murmurs for this act of mercy, as it follows, And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, &c.

GREG, From which we may gather, that true justice feels compassion, false justice scorn, although the just are wont rightly to repel sinners. But there is one act proceeding from the swelling of pride, another from the zeal for discipline. For the just, though without they spare not rebukes for the sake of discipline, within cherish sweetness from charity. In their own minds they set above themselves those whom they correct, whereby they keep both them under by discipline, and themselves by humility. But, on the contrary, they who from false justice are wont to pride themselves, despise all others, and never in mercy condescend to the weak; and thinking themselves not to be sinners, are so much the worse sinners. Of such were the Pharisees, who condemning our Lord because He received sinners, with parched hearts reviled the very fountain of mercy. But because they were so sick that they knew not of their sickness, to the end that they might know what they were, the heavenly Physician answers them with mild applications. For it follows, And he spoke this parable to them, saying What man of you having a hundred sheep, and if he lose one of them, does not go after it, &c. He gave a comparison which man might recognize in himself; though it referred to the Creator of men. For since a hundred is a perfect number, He Himself had a hundred sheep, seeing that He possessed the nature of the holy angels and men. Hence he adds, Having a hundred sheep.

11. And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fails to me. And he divided to them his living.
13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave to him.

AMBROSE; St. Luke has given three parables successively; the sheep which was lost and found, the piece of silver which was lost and found, the son who was dead and came to life again, in order that invited by a threefold remedy, we might heal our wounds. Christ as the Shepherd bears you on His own body, the Church as the woman seeks for thee, God as the Father receives you, the first, pity, the second, intercession, the third, reconciliation.

CHRYS. There is also in the above-mentioned parable a rule of distinction with reference to the characters or dispositions of the sinners. The father receives his penitent son, exercising the freedom of his will, so as to know from whence he had fallen; and the shepherd seeks for the sheep that wanders and knows not how to return, and carries it on his shoulders, comparing to an irrational animal the foolish man, who, taken by another's guile, had wandered like a sheep. This parable is then set forth as follows; But he said, A certain man had two sons. There are some who say of these two sons, that the elder is the angels, but the younger, man, who departed on a long journey, when he fell from heaven and paradise to earth; and they adapt what follows with reference to the fall or condition of Adam. This interpretation seems indeed a lenient one, but I know not if it be true. For the younger son came to repentance of his own accord, remembering the past plenty of his father's house, but the Lord coming called the race of man to repentance, because he saw that to return of their own accord to whence they had fallen had never been in their thoughts; and the elder son is vexed at the return and safety of his brother, whereas the Lord says, There is joy in heaven over one sinner repenting.

CYRIL; But some say that by the elder son is signified Israel according to the flesh, but by the other who left his father, the multitude of the Gentiles.

AUG. This man then having two sons is understood to be God having two nations, as if they were two roots of the human race; and the one composed of those who have remained in the worship of God, the other, of those who have ever deserted God to worship idols. From the very beginning then of the creation of mankind the elder son has reference to the worship of the one God, but the younger seeks that the part of the substance which fell to him should be given him by his father. Hence it follows, And the younger of them said to his father, Give me the portion of goods which falls to me; just as the soul delighted with its own power seeks that which belongs to it, to live, to understand, to remember, to excel in quickness of intellect, all which are the gifts of God, but it has received them in its own power by free will. Hence it follows, And he divided to them his substance.

THEOPHYL. The substance of man is the capacity of reason which is accompanied by free will, and in like manner whatever God has given us shall be accounted for our substance, as the heaven, the earth, and universal nature, the Law and the Prophets.

AMBROSE; Now you see that the Divine patrimony is given to them that seek; nor think it wrong in the father that he gave it to the younger, for no age is weak in the kingdom of God; faith is not weighed down by years. He at least counted himself sufficient who asked, And I wish he had not departed from his father, nor had the hindrance of age. For it follows, And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country.

CHRYS. The younger son set out into a distant country, not locally departing from God, who is every where present, but in heart. For the sinner flees from God that he may stand afar off.

AUG. Whoever wishes to be so like to God as to ascribe his strength to Him, let him not depart from Him, but rather cleave to Him that he may preserve the likeness and image in which he was made. But if he perversely wishes to imitate God, that as God has no one by whom He is governed, so should he desire to exercise his own power as to live under no rules, what remains for him but that having lost all heat he should grow cold and senseless, and, departing from truth, vanish away.

AUG. But that which is said to have taken place not many days after, namely, that gathering all together he set out abroad into a far country, which is forgetfulness of God, signifies that not long after the institution of the human race, the soul of man chose of its free will to take with it a certain power of its nature, and to desert Him by whom it was created, trusting in its own strength, which it wastes the more rapidly as it has abandoned Him who gave it. Hence it follows, And there wasted his substance in riotous living. But he calls a riotous or prodigal life one that loves to spend and lavish itself with outward show, while exhausting itself within, since every one follows those things which pass on to something else, and forsakes Him who is closest to himself. As it follows, And when he had spent all, there arose a great famine in that land. The famine is the want of the word of truth.

It follows, And he began to be in want. Fitly did he begin to be in want who abandoned the treasures of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, and the unfathomableness of the heavenly riches.

It follows, And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country.

AUG. One of the citizens of that country was a certain prince of the air belonging to the army of the devil, whose fields signify the manner of his power, concerning which it follows, And he sent him into the field to feed swine. The swine are the unclean spirits which are under him.

BEDE; But to feed swine is to work those things in which the unclean spirits delight. It follows, And he would have filled his belly with the husks which the swine did eat. The husk is a sort of bean, empty within, soft outside, by which the body is not refreshed, but filled, so that it rather loads than nourishes.

AUG. The husks then with which the swine were fed are the teaching of the world, which cries loudly of vanity; according to which in various prose and verse men repeat the praises of the idols, and fables belonging to the gods of the Gentiles, wherewith the devils are delighted. Hence when he would fain have filled himself, he wished to find therein something stable and upright which might relate to a happy life, and he could not; as it follows, And no one gave to him.

CYRIL; But since the Jews are frequently reproved in holy Scripture for their many crimes, how agree with this people the words of the elder son, saying, Lo, these many years do I serve you, neither transgressed at any time your commandment. This then is the meaning of the parable. The Pharisees and Scribes reproved Him because He received sinners; He set forth the parable in which He calls God the man who is the father of the two sons, (that is, the righteous and the sinners,) of whom the first degree is of the righteous who follow righteousness from the beginning, the second is of those men who are brought back by repentance to righteousness.

BASIL; Besides, it belongs more to the character of the aged to have an old man's mind and gravity, than his hairs, nor is he blamed who is young in age, but it is the young in habits who lives according to his passions.

TIT. BOST. The younger son then went away not yet matured in mind, and seeks from his father the part of his inheritance which fell to him, that in truth he might not serve of necessity. For we are rational animals endowed with free will.

CHRYS. Now the Scripture says, that the father divided equally between his two sons his substance, that is, the knowledge of good and evil, which is a true and everlasting possession to the soul that uses it well. The substance of reason which flows from God to men at their earliest birth, is given equally to all who come into this world, but after the intercourse that follows, each one is found to possess more or less of the substance; since one believing that which he has received to be from his father, preserves it as his patrimony, another abuses it as something that may be wasted away, by the liberty of his own possession. But the freedom of will is shown in that the father neither kept back the son who wished to depart, nor forced the other to go that desired to remain, lest he should seem rather the author of the evil that followed. But the youngest son went afar off, not by changing his place, but by turning aside his heart. Hence it follows, He took a journey into a far country.

AMBROSE; For what is more afar off than to depart from one's self, to be separate not by country but by habits. For he who severs himself from Christ is an exile from his country, and a citizen of this world. Fitly then does he waste his patrimony who departs from the Church.

TIT. BOST. Hence too was the prodigal denominated one who wasted his substance, that is, his right understanding, the teaching of chastity, the knowledge of the truth, the recollections of his father, the sense of creation.

AMBROSE; Now there came to pass in that country a famine not of food but of good works and virtues, which is the more wretched fast. For he who departs from the word of God is hungry, because man does not live on bread alone, but on every word of God. And he who departs from his treasures is in want. Therefore began he to be in want and to suffer hunger, because nothing satisfies a prodigal mind. He went away therefore, and attached himself to one of the citizens. For he who is attached, is in a snare. And that citizen seems to lee a prince of the world. Lastly, he is sent to his farm which he bought who excused himself from the kingdom.

BEDE; For to be sent to the farm is to be enthralled by the desire of worldly substance.

AMBROSE; But he feeds those swine into whom the devil sought to enter, living in filth and pollution.

THEOPHYL. There then he feeds, who surpassed others in vice, such as are panders, arch-robbers, arch-publicans, who teach others their abominable works.

CHRYS. Or he who is destitute of spiritual riches, as wisdom and understanding, is said to feed swine, that is, to nourish in his soul sordid and unclean thoughts, and he devours the material food of evil conversation, sweet indeed to him who lacks good works, because every work of carnal pleasure seems sweet to the depraved, while it inwardly unnerves and destroys the powers of the soul. Food of this kind, as being swines' food and hurtfully sweet, that is, the allurements of fleshly delights, the Scripture describes by the name of husks.

AMBROSE; But he desired to fill his belly with the husks. For the sensual care for nothing else but to fill their bellies.

THEOPHYL. To whom no one gives a sufficiency of evil; for he is afar from God who lives on such things, and the devils do their best that a satiety of evil should never come.

GLOSS. Or no one gave to him, because when the devil makes any one his own, he procures no further abundance for him, knowing him to be dead.

17. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18. I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you,
19. And am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants.
20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son.
22. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

GREG. NYSS.. The younger son had despised his father when first he departed, and had wasted his father's money. But when in course of time he was broken down by hardship, having become a hired servant, and eating the same food with the swine, he returned, chastened, to his father's house. Hence it is said, And when be came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, but I perish with hunger.

AMBROSE; He rightly returns to himself, because he departed from himself. For he who returns to God restores himself to himself, and he who departs from Christ rejects himself from himself.

AUG. But he returned to himself, when from those things which without unprofitably entice and seduce, he brought back his mind to the inward recesses of his conscience.

BASIL; There are three different distinct kinds of obedience. For either from fear of punishment we avoid evil and are servilely disposed; or looking to the gain of a reward we perform what is commanded, like to mercenaries; or we obey the law for the sake of good itself and our love to Him who gave it, and so savor of the mind of children.

AMBROSE; For the son who has the pledge of the Holy Spirit in his heart seeks not the gain of an earthly reward, but preserves the right of an heir. These are also good husbandmen, to whom the vineyard is let out. They abound not in husks, but bread.

AUG. But whence could he know this who had that great forgetfulness of God, which exists in all idolaters, unless it was the reflection of one returning to his right understanding, when the Gospel was preached. Already might such a soul see that many preach the truth, among whom there were some not led by the love of the truth itself, but the desire of getting worldly profit, who yet do not preach another Gospel like the heretics. Therefore are they rightly called mercenaries. For in the same house there are men who handle the same bread of the word, yet are not called to an eternal inheritance, but hire themselves for a temporal reward.

CHRYS. After that he had suffered in a foreign land all such things as the wicked deserve, constrained by the necessity of his misfortunes, that is, by hunger and want, he becomes sensible of what had been his ruin, who through fault of his own will had thrown himself from his father to strangers, from home to exile, from riches to want, from abundance and luxury to famine; and he significantly adds, But I am here perishing with hunger, As though he said; I am not a stranger, but the son of a good father, and the brother of an obedient son; I who am free and noble am become more wretched than the hired servants, sunk from the highest eminence of exalted rank, to the lowest degradations.

GREG. NYSS.. But he returned not to his former happiness before that coming to himself he had experienced the presence of overpowering bitterness, and resolved the words of repentance, which are added, I will arise.

AUG. For he was lying down. And I will go, for he was a long way off To my father, because he was under a master of swine But the other words are those of one meditating repentance in confession of sin, but not yet working it. For he does not now speak to his father, but promises that he will speak when he shall come. You must understand then that this "coming to the father" must now be taken for being established in the Church by faith, where there may yet be a lawful and effectual confession of sins. He says then that he will say to his father, Father.

AMBROSE; How merciful! He, though offended, disdains not to hear the name of Father. I have sinned; this is the first confession of sin to the Author of nature, the Ruler of mercy, the Judge of faith. But though God knows all things, He yet waits for the voice of your confession. For with the mouth confession is made to salvation, since he lightens the load of error, who himself throws the weight upon himself, and shuts out the hatred of accusation, who anticipates the accuser by confessing. In vain would you hide from Him whom nothing escapes; and you may safely discover what you know to be already known. Confess the rather that Christ may intercede for thee, the Church plead for you, the people weep over you: nor fear that you will not obtain; your Advocate promises pardon, your Patron favor, your Deliverer promises you the reconciliation of your Father's affection. But he adds, Against heaven and before you.

CHRYS. When he says, Before you, he shows that this father c must be understood as God. For God alone beholds all things, from Whom neither the simple thoughts of the heart can be hidden.

AUG. But whether was this sin against heaven, the same as that which is before you; so that he described by you name of heaven his father's supremacy. I have sinned against heaven, i.e. before the souls of the saints; but before you in the very sanctuary of my conscience.

CHRYS. Or by heaven in this place may be understood Christ. For he who sins against heaven, which although above us is yet a visible element, is the same as he who sins against man, whom the Son of God took into Himself for our salvation.

AMBROSE; Or by these words are signified the heavenly gifts of the Spirit impaired by the sin of the soul, or because from the bosom of his mother Jerusalem which is in heaven, he ought never to depart. But being cast down, he must by no means exalt himself. Hence he adds, I am no more worthy to be called your son. And that he might be raised up by the merit of his humility, he adds, Make me as one of your hired, servants.

BEDE; To the affection of a son, who doubts not that all things which are his father's are his, he by no means lays claim, but desires the condition of a hired servant, as now about to serve for a reward. But he admits that not even this could he deserve except by his father's approbation.

GREG. NYSS.. Now this prodigal son, the Holy Spirit has engraved upon our hearts, that we may be instructed how we ought to deplore the sins of our soul.

CHRYS. Who after that he said, I will go to my father, (which brought all good things,) tarried not, but took the whole journey; for it follows, And he arose, and came to his father. Let us do likewise, and not be wearied with the length of the way, for if we are willing, the return will become swift and easy, provided that we desert sin, which led us out from our father's house. But the father pities those who return. For it is added, And when he was yet afar off.

AUG. For before that he perceived God afar off, when he was yet piously seeking him, his father saw him. For the ungodly and proud, God is well said not to see, as not having them 'before his eyes. For men are not commonly said to be before the eyes of any one except those who are beloved.

CHRYS. Now the father perceiving his penitence did not wait to receive the words of his confession, but anticipates his supplication, and had compassion on him, as it is added, and was moved with pity.

GREG. NYSS.. His meditating confession so won his father to him, that he went out to meet him, and kissed his neck; for it follows, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. This signifies the yoke of reason imposed on the mouth of man by Evangelical tradition, which annulled the observance of the law.

CHRYS. For what else means it that he ran, but that we through the hindrance of our sins cannot by our own virtue reach to God. But because God is able to come to the weak, he fell on his neck. The mouth is kissed, as that from which has proceeded the confession of the penitent, springing from the heart, which the father gladly received.

AMBROSE; He runs then to meet you, because He hears you within meditating the secrets of your heart, and when you were yet afar off, He runs lest any one should stop Him. He embraces also, (for in the running there is foreknowledge, in the embrace mercy,) and as if by a certain impulse of paternal affection, falls upon your neck, that he may raise up him that is cast down, and bring back again to heaven him that was loaded with sins and bent down to the earth. I had rather then be a son than a sheep. For the sheep is found by the shepherd, the son is honored by the father.

AUG. Or running he fell upon his neck; because the Father abandoned not His Only-Begotten Son, in whom He has ever been running after our distant wanderings. For God, was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. But to fall upon his neck is to lower to his embrace His own Arm, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. But to be comforted by the word of God's grace to the hope of pardon of our sins, this is to return after a long journey to obtain from a father the kiss of love. But already planted in the Church, he begins to confess his sins, nor says be all that he promised he would say. For it follows, And his son said to him, &c. He wishes that to be done by grace, of which he confesses himself unworthy by any merits of his own. He does not add what he had said, when meditating beforehand, Make me as one of your hired servants. For when he had not bread, he desired to be even a hired servant, which after the kiss of his father he now most nobly disdained.

CHRYS. The father does not direct his words to his son, but speaks to his steward, for he who repents, prays indeed, but receives no answer in word, yet beholds mercy effectual in operation. For it follows, But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him.

THEOPHYL. By the servants (or angels) you may understand administering spirits, or priests who by baptism and the word of teaching clothe the soul with Christ Himself. For as many of us as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ.

AUG. Or the best robe is the dignity which Adam lost; the servants who bring it are the preachers of reconciliation.

AMBROSE; Or the robe is the cloak of wisdom, by which the Apostle covers the nakedness of the body. But he received the best wisdom; for there is one wisdom which knew not the mystery. The ring is the seal of our unfeigned faith, and the impression of truth; concerning which it follows, And put a ring on his hand.

BEDE; That is, his working, that by works faith may shine forth, and by faith his works be strengthened.

AUG. Or the ring on the hand is a pledge of the Holy Spirit, because of the' participation of grace, which is well signified by the finger.

CHRYS. Or he orders the ring to be given, which is the symbol of the seal of salvation, or rather the badge of betrothment, and pledge of the nuptials with which Christ espouses His Church. Since the soul that recovers is united by this ring of faith to Christ.

AUG. But the shoes on the feet are the preparation for preaching the Gospel, in order not to touch earthly things.

CHRYS. Or he bids them put shoes on his feet, either for the sake of covering the soles of his feet that he may is walk firm along the slippery path of the world, or for the mortification of his members. For the course of our life is called in the Scriptures a foot, and a kind of mortification takes place in shoes; inasmuch as they are made of the skins of dead animals. He adds also, that the fatted calf must be frilled for the celebration of the feast. For it follows, And bring the fatted calf, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he calls a calf, because of the sacrifice of a body without spot; but he called it fatted, because it is rich and costly, inasmuch as it is sufficient for the salvation of the whole world. But the Father did not Himself sacrifice the calf, but gave it to be sacrificed to others. For the Father permitting, the Son consenting thereto by men was crucified.

AUG. Or, the fatted calf is our Lord Himself in the flesh loaded with insults. But in that the Father commands them to bring it, what else is this but that they preach Him, and by declaring Him cause to revive, yet unconsumed by hunger, the bowels of the hungry son? He also bids them kill Him, alluding to His death. For He is then killed to each man who believes Him slain. It follows, And let us eat.

AMBROSE; Rightly the flesh of the calf, because it is the priestly victim which was offered for sin. But he introduces him feasting, when he says, Be merry; to show that the food of the Father is our salvation; the joy of the Father the redemption of our sins.

CHRYS. For the father himself rejoices in the return of his son, and feasts on the calf, because the Creator, rejoicing in the acquisition of a believing people, feasts on the fruit of His mercy by the sacrifice of His Son. Hence it follows, For this my son was dead, and is alive again.

AMBROSE; He is dead who was. Therefore the Gentiles are not, the Christian is. Here however might be understood one individual of the human race; Adam was, and in him we all were. Adam perished, and in him we all have perished. Man shell is restored in that Man who has died. It might also seem to be spoken of one working repentance, because he dies not who has not at one time lived. And the Gentiles indeed when they have believed are made alive again by grace. But he who has fallen recovers by repentance.

THEOPHYL. As then with respect to the condition of his sins, he had been despaired of; so in regard to human nature, which is changeable and can be turned from vice to virtue, he is said to be lost. For it is less to be lost than to die. But every one who is recalled and turned from sin, partaking of the fatted calf, becomes an occasion of joy to his father and his servants, that is, the angels and priests. Hence it follows, And they all began to be merry.

AUG. Those banquets are now celebrated, the Church being enlarged and extended throughout the whole world. For that calf in our Lord's body and blood is both offered up to the Father, and feeds the whole house.

25. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27. And he said to him, your brother is come; and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.
28. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
29. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve you, neither transgressed I at any time your commandment: and yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30. But as soon as this your son was come, which has devoured your living with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf.
31. And he said to him, Son, you are ever with me, and all that I have is yours.
32. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

BEDE; While the Scribes and Pharisees were murmuring about His receiving sinners, our Savior put three parables to them successively. In the two first He hints at the joy He has with the angels in the salvation of penitents. But in the third He not only declares His own joy and that of His angels, but He also blames the murmurings of those who were envious. For He says, Now his elder son was in the field.

AUG. The elder son is the people of Israel, not indeed gone into a distant country, yet not in the house, but in the field, that is, in the paternal wealth of the Law and the Prophets, choosing to work earthly things. But coming from the field he began to draw nigh to the house, that is, the labor of his servile works being condemned by the same Scriptures, he was looking upon the liberty of the Church. Whence it follows; And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing; that is, men filled with the Holy Spirit, with harmonious voices preaching the Gospel.

It follows, And he called one of the servants, &c. that is, he takes one of the prophets to read, and as he searches in it, asks in a manner, why are those feasts celebrated in the Church at which he finds himself present? His Father's servant, the prophet, answers him.

For it follows; And he said to him, your brother is come, &c. As if he should say, your brother was in the farthest parts of the earth, but hence the greater rejoicing of those who sing a new song, because His praise is from the end of the earth; and for his sake who was afar off, was slain the Man who knows how to bear our infirmities, for they who have not been told of Him have seen Him.

AMBROSE; But the younger son, that is the Gentile people, is envied by Israel as the elder brother, the privilege of his father's blessing. Which the Jews did because Christ sat down to meat with the Gentiles, as it follows; And he was angry, and would not go in, &c.

AUG. He is angry even also now, and still is unwilling to enter. When then the fullness of the Gentiles shall have come in, His father will go out at the fit time that all Israel also may be saved, as it follows, therefore came his father out and entreated him. For there shall be at some time an open calling of the Jews to the salvation of the Gospel. Which manifestation of calling he calls the going out of the father to entreat the elder son. Next the answer of the elder son involves two questions; for it follows, And he answering said to his father, Lo these many years do I serve you, either transgressed I at any time your commandment. With respect to the commandment not transgressed, it at once occurs, that it was not spoken of every command, but of that most essential one, that is, that he was seen to worship no other God but one, the Creator of all. Nor is that son to be understood to represent all Israelites, but those who have never turned from God to idols. For although he might desire earthly things, yet sought he them from God alone, though in common with sinners. Hence it is said, I was as a beast before you, and I am always with you. But who is the kid which he never received to make merry upon? for it follows, You never gave me a kid, &c. Under the name of a kid the sinner may be signified.

AMBROSE; The Jew requires a kid, the Christian a lamb, and therefore is Barabbas released to them, to us a lamb is sacrificed. Which thing also is seen in the kid, because the Jews have lost the ancient rite of sacrifice. Or they who seek for a kid wait for Antichrist.

AUG. But I do not see the object of this interpretation, for it is very absurd for him to whom it is afterwards said, You are ever with me, to have wished for this from his father, i.e. to believe in Antichrist. Nor altogether can we rightly understand any of the Jews who are to believe in Antichrist to be that son.

And how could he feast upon that kid which is Antichrist who did not believe in him? But if to feast upon the slain kid, is the same as to rejoice at the destruction of Antichrist, how does the son whom the father did not entertain say that this was never given him, seeing that all the sons will rejoice at his destruction? His complaint then is, that the Lord Himself was denied him to feast upon, because he deems Him a sinner. For since He is a kid to that nation which regards Him as a violator and profaner of the Sabbath, it was not meet that they should be made merry at his banquet. But his words with my friends are understood according to the relation of the chiefs with the people, or of the people of Jerusalem with the other nations of Judea.

JEROME; Or he says, You never gave me a kid, that is, no blood of prophet or priest has delivered us from the Roman power.

AMBROSE; Now the shameless son is like to the Pharisee justifying himself. Because he had kept the law in the letter, he wickedly accused his brother for having wasted his father's substance with harlots. For it follows, But as soon as this your son is come, who has devoured your living, &c.

AUG. The harlots are the superstitions of the Gentiles, with whom he wastes his substance, who having left the true marriage of the true God, goes a whoring after evil spirits from foul desire.

JEROME; Now in that which he says, You have killed for him the fatted calf, he confesses that Christ has come, but envy has no wish to be saved.

AUG. But the father does not rebuke him as a liar, but commending his steadfastness with him invites him to the perfection of a better and happier rejoicing. Hence it follows, But he said to him, Son, you are ever with me.

JEROME; Or after having said, "This is boasting, not truth," the father does not agree with him, but restrains him in another way, saying, You are with me, by the law under which you are bound; not as though he had not sinned, but because God continually drew him back by chastening. Nor is it wonderful that he lies to his father who hates his brother.

AMBROSE; But the kind father was still desirous to save him, saying, You are ever with me, either as a Jew in the law, or as the righteous man in communion with Him.

AUG. But what means he that he adds, And all that I have is yours, as if they were not his brother's also? But it is thus that all things are looked at by perfect and immortal children, that each is the possession of all, and all of each. For as desire obtains nothing without want, so charity nothing with w ant. But how all things? Must then God be supposed to have subjected the angels also to the possession of such a son? If you so take possession as that the possessor of a thing is its lord, certainly not all things. For we shall not be the lords, but the companions of angels. Again, if possession is thus understood, how do we rightly say that our souls possess truth? I see no reason why we may not truly and properly say so. For we do not so speak as to call our souls the mistresses of truth. Or if by the term possession we are hindered from this sense, let that also be set aside. For the father says not, "You possess all things," but All that I have is yours, still not as if you were its lord. For that which is our property may be either food for our families, or ornament, or something of the kind. And surely, when he can rightly call his father his own, I do not see why he may not also rightly call his own what belongs to his father, only in different ways. For when we shall have obtained that blessedness, the higher things will be ours to look upon, equal things ours to have fellowship with, the lower things ours to rule. Let then the elder brother join most safely in the rejoicing.

AMBROSE; For if he ceases to envy, he will feel all things to be his, either as the Jew possessing the sacraments of the Old Testament, or as a baptized person those of the New also.

THEOPHYL. Or to take the whole differently; the character of the son who seems to complain is put for all those who are offended at the sudden advances and salvation of the perfect, as David introduces one who took offense at the peace of sinners.

TIT. BOST. The elder son then as a husbandmen was engaged in husbandry, digging not the land, but the field of the soul, and planting trees of salvation, that is to say, the virtues.

THEOPHYL. Or he was in the field, that is, in the world, pampering his own flesh, that he might be filled with bread, and sowing in tears that he might reap in joy, but when he found what was being done, he was unwilling to enter into the common joy.

CHRYS. But it is asked, whether one who grieves at the prosperity of others is affected by the passion of envy. We must answer, that no Saint grieves at such things; but rather looks upon the good things of others as his own. Now we must not take every thing contained in the parable literally, but bringing out the weaning which the author had in view, search for nothing farther. This parable then was written to the end that sinners should not despair of returning, knowing that they shall obtain great things. Therefore he introduces others so troubled at these good things as to be consumed with envy, but those who return, treated with such great honor as to become themselves an object of envy to others.

THEOPHYL. Or by this parable our Lord reproves the will of the Pharisees, whom according to the argument he terms just, as if to say, Let it be that you are truly just, having transgressed none of the commandments, must we then for this reason refuse to admit those who turn away from their iniquities?

JEROME; Or, in another way, all justice in comparison of the justice of God is injustice. Therefore Paul says, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? and hence were the Apostles moved with anger at the request of the sons of Zebedee.

CYRIL; We also ourselves sometimes; for some live a most excellent and perfect life, another ofttime even in his old age is converted to God, or perhaps when just about to close his last day, through God's mercy washes away his guilt. But this mercy some men reject from restless timidity of mind, not counting upon the will of our Savior, who rejoices in the salvation of those who are perishing.

THEOPHYL. The son then says to the father, For nothing I left a life of sorrow, ever harassed by sinners who were my enemies, and never have you for my sake ordered a kid to be slain, (that is, a sinner who persecuted me,) that I might enjoy myself for a little. Such a kid was Ahab to Elijah, who said, Lord, they have killed your prophets.

AMBROSE; Or else, This brother is described so as to be said to come from the farm, that is, engaged in worldly occupations, so ignorant of the things of the Spirit of God, as at last to complain that a kid had never been slain for him. For not for envy, but for the pardon of the world, was the Lamb sacrificed. The envious seeks a kid, the innocent a lamb, to be sacrificed for it. Therefore also is he called the elder, because a man soon grows old through envy. Therefore too he stands without, because his malice excludes him; therefore could he not hear the dancing and music, that is, not the wanton fascinations of the stage, but the harmonious song of a people, resounding with the sweet pleasantness of joy for a sinner saved. For they who seem to themselves righteous are angry when pardon is granted to one confessing his sins. Who are you that speak against your Lord, that he should not, for example, forgive a fault, when you pardon whom you will? But we ought to favor forgiving sin after repentance, lest while grudging pardon to another, we ourselves obtain it not from our Lord. Let us not envy those who return from a distant country, seeing that we ourselves also were afar off.

Catena Aurea Luke 15

[annalex]

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Frans Francken II

1633
Oil on wood, 61 x 86 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

[Salvation]

Information: St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Day: February 27

Born: March 1, 1838, Assisi, Italy

Died: February 27, 1862, Gran Sasso, Italy

Canonized: 1920, Rome, Italy by Pope Benedict XV

Major Shrine: San Gabriele, Teramo, Abruzzi

Patron of: Students, Youth, Clerics, Seminarians, Abruzzi

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Day: February 27
Born: 1838 : : Died: 1862

This lovable saint was born at Assisi in Italy. He received the name Francis at Baptism, in honor of the great St. Francis of Assisi. His mother died when he was only four years old. Francis' father hired a governess to raise his thirteen children.

Francis Possenti grew to be very handsome and likable. He was often the most popular person at a party. He loved to have fun and enjoyed hunting and attending the theater. But there was another side to him, too. Even while having good times, he was sometimes bored. He couldn't explain why.

He seemed to feel in his heart a strong desire for God and the deeper things of life. Twice he became so sick he nearly died. Each time he promised Our Lady that if she would help cure him, he would become a priest. He got better both times, but he did not keep his promise.

One day, he saw a picture of the Sorrowful Mother that was being carried in a procession. It seemed that the Blessed Mother was looking straight at him. At the same time, he heard a voice in his heart telling him, "Francis, the world is not for you anymore."

That did it. At the age of eighteen, Francis entered the Passionist monastery and took the name Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. The Passionists were preachers of the Passion of Jesus.

Gabriel's great loves became the Holy Eucharist and Mary, the Sorrowful Mother. He loved to spend time thinking about the passion of Jesus and how much the Lord had suffered for him. His great devotion to Mary also caused him to think deeply about her sorrows over the suffering of Jesus.

Gabriel learned to practice two virtues in a special way: humility and obedience. His special trademark was joy. He was always happy and spread that happiness to those around him.

After only four years in the Passionist order, Gabriel died of tuberculosis on February 27, 1862 at Abruzzi in Italy. After his death many miracles took place when people prayed to him.

Message of Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother: Love Mary!... She is loveable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity.

[Salvation]

Saturday

February 27, 2016

The Heart of the Gospel

“How many days do I spend dreaming, planning, preparing all the ways I think I can build up God’s Kingdom, while I am literally forgetting to love the person right in front of me? Forgetting to serve in the most basic ways those whom God has placed in my life today? To do the “small things with great love” as Mother Teresa reminds us? When I forget to do this, I miss the boat. I miss living the heart of the Gospel in my own life.” ~ Kara Klein, “You Have Called Me to Be Faithful”

Visit the Catholic Mom website to read of all of Kara’s posting.

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Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “Offer to babysit someone’s kids for free tonight.”

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, February 27

Liturgical Color: Violet

Today the Church honors St.
Anne Line. St. Anne lived in
England during a time of great
Catholic persecution. She
allowed Catholics to gather at
her house for Mass. St. Anne
was arrested for harboring
priests and hanged on this day
in 1601.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Lent: February 27th

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

MASS READINGS

February 27, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who grant us by glorious healing remedies while still on earth to be partakers of the things of heaven, guide us, we pray, through this present life and bring us to that light in which you dwell. 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.

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Recipes (1)

• English Eggs and Bacon

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Activities (6)

• Description of Ember Days
• Ember Days
• Explanation of Ember Days
• Fun Pretzel Project
• In the Home: Ember Days
• Rabbits, Ember Days and First Fruits

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Prayers (5)

• Prayer for the First Week of Lent
• Lent Table Blessing 1
• Collect for the Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
• Ember Day Prayers
• Brief Meditations on the Church Year: Spring or Lent Ember Days

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Library (1)

• A Strong Sense of the Privilege and Duty of Living in Assisi | Pope Benedict XVI

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, confessor; St. Leander of Seville, bishop (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows who was born in Assisi on March 1, 1838, the eleventh child of Sante Possenti and Agnes Frisciotti. His father Sante was a distinguished Italian lawyer. The boy was given the name of the city's illustrious patron, St. Francis, at baptism.

Stational Church

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St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
On Ascension Day, 1920, Pope Benedict XV bestowed the honors of sainthood on a youth who is rightly called the Aloysius of the 19th century. He was Francis Possenti, known in religion as Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother.

Born in Assisi, March 1, 1838, he was given the name of the city's illustrious patron, St. Francis, at baptism. As a student in neighboring Spoleto, he led a good though rather worldly kind of life until God drew him closer to Himself through an illness. The decisive step was taken while seeing the highly honored miraculous picture of our Lady in Spoleto borne about in solemn procession. As his eyes followed our Blessed Mother, Francis felt the fire of divine love rising in his heart and almost at once made the resolve to join the Passionists, a religious congregation dedicated to the veneration of and meditation on the passion of Jesus Christ (1856).

After overcoming many difficulties, he carried out his resolution and received the religious name, Gabriel of the Mother of Sorrows. Even as a novice, he was regarded as a model of perfect holiness both within and beyond the cloister.

Saint Gabriel did not stand out from his community in any extraordinary way — his heroism lay in his obedient attitude. He conformed himself to his community in complete humility. Little is known of his life - only that he was blessed with an excellent memory and other gifts that made him an outstanding student. He also had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ and the Sorrows of Mary. Pius X and Leo XIII especially desired that he be the patron saint of young people and novices in religious orders, as their model in the interior life. He died in the year 1862.

Saint Gabriel Possenti wrote: "Love Mary!... She is loveable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity."

Patron: Abruzzi region of Italy; Catholic Action; clerics; students; young people in general.

Things to Do:

• For more information about this Passionist saint visit: here, EWTN and the Passionist nuns.

• For prayers to St. Gabriel visit here.

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St. Leander of Seville
St. Leander was born of an illustrious family at Carthagena in Spain. He was the eldest of five brothers, several of whom are numbered among the Saints. He entered into a monastery very young, where he lived many years and attained to an eminent degree of virtue and sacred learning.

These qualities occasioned his being promoted to the see of Seville; but his change of condition made little or no alteration in his method of life, though it brought on him a great increase of care and solicitude.

Spain at that time was in possession of the Visigoths. These Goths, being infected with Arianism, established this heresy wherever they came; so that when St. Leander was made bishop it had reigned in Spain a hundred years. This was his great affliction; however, by his prayers to God, and by his most zealous and unwearied endeavors, he became the happy instrument of the conversion of that nation to the Catholic faith. Having converted, among others, Hermenegild, the king's eldest son and heir apparent, Leander was banished by King Leovigild. This pious prince was put to death by his unnatural father, the year following, for refusing to receive Communion from the hands of an Arian bishop. But, touched with remorse not long after, the king recalled our Saint; and falling sick and finding himself past hopes of recovery, he sent for St. Leander, and recommended to him his son Recared. This son, by listening to St. Leander, soon became a Catholic, and finally converted the whole nation of the Visigoths. He was no less successful with respect to the Suevi, a people of Spain, whom his father Leovigild had perverted.

St. Leander was no less zealous in the reformation of manners than in restoring the purity of faith; and he planted the seeds of that zeal and fervor which afterwards produced so many martyrs and Saints.

This holy doctor of Spain died about the year 596, on the 27th of February, as Mabillon proves from his epitaph.

The Church of Seville has been a metropolitan see ever since the third century. The cathedral is the most magnificent, both as to structure and ornament, of any in all Spain.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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The Station is in the church of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, two celebrated martyrs of Rome under the persecution of Diocletian. Their relics were brought to the church in 1256, and the church was restored the same year on order from Pope Alexander IV.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Then the celebration began. (Luke 15:24)

We’ve all been there. Feeling far from God, we try to numb ourselves on the husks of movies or television, computer games, food, drink, or a thousand other things. But we remain unsatisfied, hungry for something more. Maybe a few of us have squandered our inheritance as dramatically as the younger son in this parable. Still, to most of us, “Father, I have sinned against you” is a well-known refrain. We have only to come to our senses and run to the Father, who awaits us, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Don’t ever hesitate out of shame or fear of reprimand. The father in the parable doesn’t see his son’s return as a “teachable moment,” a time to underscore the perversity of what he has done. He doesn’t comment on his son’s pitiful actions and condition or pay them any particular attention. No, he turns his thoughts away from his son’s sins and begins issuing orders to the family servants: “Quickly, bring a robe . . . a ring . . . sandals.” This homecoming is worth far more of his attention than his son’s departure and dissipation. Joyfully the father shouts, “Let’s celebrate!”

Will God the Father do any less for you? Whenever you return to God from your “long way off,” he is there, arms wide open to welcome you, ready to celebrate your homecoming (Luke 15:20). He continually and joyfully anticipates the chance to be merciful and gracious to you. No lectures, no scathing rebukes, just mercy and joy. The Father meets your repentance with the garment of righteousness, which Jesus has secured for you by his death on the cross. He restores your ability, as his child, to stand with dignity and honor. And he offers shoes for your feet, that you might walk in his peace every day.

So receive what the Father offers you this Lent, and let the celebration begin! God’s love for you is beyond compare. Nothing can satisfy the longing of your heart as completely as he does. Let him wrap you in his arms today. Let him rejoice over you and fit you with his robe, ring, and sandals. Relax into his peace and his overarching delight in you.

“Father, thank you for the robe, the ring, and the sandals you offer me as I turn to you today.”

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for February 27, 2016:

Humor is often the best medicine. Learning to laugh and not taking ourselves too seriously can make life more enjoyable for us and our family.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

The Prodigal Father

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

February 27, 2016 -Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

 

Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them he addressed this parable. Then he said, "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ´Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.´ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ´How many of my father´s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."´ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ´Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.´ But his father ordered his servants, ´Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.´ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ´Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.´ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ´Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.´ He said to him, ´My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.´"

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 hope to love you more each day.

Petition: Jesus, guide me to a complete rejection of sin in my life.

1. Love: The Double-Edged Sword - Place yourself in the father´s shoes. He loves his sons, sacrifices himself for them, and has tremendous hope and fatherly pride in them. He intensely wants them to be happy and seeks what´s best for them. Above all, he wants them to respond to his love for them with the same generosity, the same intensity of self-giving. There is nothing more painful for a lover than unanswered, ignored or scorned love. Imagine how much God loves us: he sends his only begotten Son into the world, to become man––with all the limitations and suffering this entails––to die on a cross, in our place, because of our sins.
   

2. Forgetting to Count Your Blessings: The minute the son begins to think about himself and turn his attention away from the father´s love is the minute he begins to have problems that will lead to spiritual and material bankruptcy. Asking for his inheritance was tantamount to wishing his father´s death, since an inheritance is bestowed only after the death of one’s parents. How many times have I asked God to die by choosing my own will over his? Self-centeredness leads to ingratitude: forgetting that I have received everything from God through no merit of my own and that it will all return to him. Self-centeredness also leads to trying to find happiness anywhere except the one place it truly is found: God.
   

3. A Rude Awakening: Anytime we turn away from the love and grace of God and turn to sin, we lose our senses and leave God for a “distant country.” God´s will is our home, even if on the surface it may seem unpleasant. Sin blinds the intellect and weakens the will. Its every moment is a point of departure. But—every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. We can turn back to God right now. He is with us right here, right now, pouring out his grace. He ardently longs for us to respond to him, just as the father in the parable must have longed for the return of his son. I can stand up. I can return to my Father. I can bury my past in Christ. I can go to him for forgiveness.
   

Conversation with Christ: Heavenly Father, I clearly see the many times I have said “No” to you and chosen myself. I give thanks for having such a patient and forgiving father as you. I am sorry for my lack of love for you. Now I reject sin once more and turn back to you, confident of your mercy and forgiveness.

Resolution: I will say a heartfelt act of contrition, relishing God´s love and mercy for me.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 2

<< Saturday, February 27, 2016 >>

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
View Readings

Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Similar Reflections

GOD'S HEART FOR THE LOST

"We had to celebrate and rejoice! This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost, and is found." —Luke 15:32

There is "more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent" (Lk 15:7). We rejoice over a sinner's repentance because this is so important to Jesus and, therefore, to us.

"You can depend on this as worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tm 1:15). Jesus so wants sinners to return to Him that He died on the cross to make this possible. Jesus will leave ninety-nine sheep in the desert and go in search of the one lost sheep (Lk 15:4). Jesus has done and will do almost anything to lead sinners to repentance.

As Jesus' followers, we Christians should be preoccupied with leading sinners to repent. The Lord even gives us extra incentive to do this by promising: "Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins" (Jas 5:20).

To lead someone to repentance we must:

• repent ourselves. "Remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly to take the speck from your brother's eye" (Mt 7:5).
• intercede. Some demons do "not leave but by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21 NAB).
• "profess the truth in love" (Eph 4:15). Love people enough to tell them they and you need to repent.

Lead someone back to Jesus and make heaven rejoice.

Prayer: Father, this Lent, may I lead some of Your children back to You.

Promise: He "will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt." —Mi 7:19

Praise: Anthony invited a co-worker to Confession.

[Salvation]