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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 09-11-16, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 09-11-16 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 09/10/2016 8:29:20 PM PDT by Salvation

September 11, 2016

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ex 32:7-11, 13-14

The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
“I see how stiff-necked this people is, ” continued the LORD to Moses.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”

But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’”
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19

R. (Lk 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will rise and go to my father.

Reading 2 1 Tm 1:12-17

Beloved:
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 15:1-32

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 he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

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.’”

Or Lk 15:1-10

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 he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; lk15; ordinarytime; prayer
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Zenit.org

The Joy of Mercy

Lectio divina: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

September 9, 2016Sunday Readings
Light of candles into a church

Pixabay.com - Foto-Rabe

 

Roman Rite

Ex 32, 7-11.13-14; Ps 51; 1 Tim 1.12 -17; Lk 15.1 – 32

 

Ambrosian Rite

Is 5, 1-7; Ps 79; Gal 2.15 – 20; Mt 21.28 – 32

Second Sunday after the martyrdom of St. John the Precursor

 

1) The logic of mercy.

The reason why Jesus today tells three parables is explained by St. Luke at the beginning of chapter 15 of his Gospel: “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 he addressed these parables.“(See verses 1-3).

In the parable of the sheep lost and found, the shepherd does not interrupt his search until he finds it. It is a stubborn and persevering search and the shepherd is under no circumstances willing to abandon the sheep to its fate. In this story Christ presents a faithful, persevering and tenacious God. God’s heart has one big wish: that every man is not lost and that if he is, the tenacity of the Father consists in being always the Father for his children.

In the parable of the lost drachma it is described the joy of a poor woman who finds what is necessary for her living. To search for this the woman lights a lamp because, at that time, the houses were quite dark and without the light she could not locate her precious coin. When light reflected on the coin making it shine, then it was possible to find it. This teaches us that we can lose ourselves, but we must not stop to “shine” so that we can be found more easily.

In the parable of the lost son (better known as the prodigal son) we contemplate the Father who is faithful to his son and rejoices when he returns to his house, that is a place of forgiveness and celebration.

The Father forgives and hosts a party for this lost and unwise child, who, for the desire to have it all for himself, demanded and obtained “only” his part of inheritance and then dissipated it. The merciful Father not only welcomes again the son but restores his dignity of son (see Pope Francis, General Audience of August 30, 2016). The son receives more than it asks. Grieved for his sin, the young man returns to his father and asks to be received “only” as a servant. To a man who would be content with a servant’s heart, the father gives back a son’s heart.

The prodigal and lost son delivers his pain to the father and the father confirms a love to which the child previously and absurdly had rebelled.

We, too, with our sin reject the free love of God the Father. But when we return to Him converted by his merciful righteousness, we get a dress for the party, a ring and sandals.

To each of us who has converted, the Father says, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.” What was the first garment of Adam? He was naked. His dress was to be the image and likeness of God, that is, to be his son. This is our dress: being children next to the Father. Being his children is our dress, our dignity, our identity.

To each one of us, who returns contrite to the Father, are given the ring and the sandals that confirm that we are sons and not slaves. In fact, to give the ring with the emblem meant to give the seal that implied to have all the family assets and not just one part. The sandals were worn by free men, because slaves went barefoot

2) Justice and love: mercy.

I think it is useful to remember that the mercy of God is inconceivable to man, because it transcends his thoughts. Before comprehending it , I realized it thanks to this event. I was in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, for a course in German, and one day the teacher asked the students to talk about what each of us considered most characteristic of his Country. They knew I was coming from the Vatican so I had to speak of Vatican City. In the ten minutes I had been given, I spoke of the Vatican as a state “functional” because it allows the Holy Father to exercise his “function” as Head of the Universal Church at the service of truth and charity.

After me, came a young Ukrainian, who told the parable of the prodigal son. I was amazed at this choice, but I was even more surprised by the reaction of the four students of South Korea, who said: “It’s really a good story, but it is not human.” These young Asians had realized that the parable could not be the result of the human mind. Only a divine mind could conceive it, only a divine love could achieve it, only a restless human heart can search for it, and only a contrite human heart can receive it and practice it by the works of mercy.

In its essence, mercy expresses the bond of love that unites the Creator to the creature, the father to the son and the children among themselves.

The important thing is to live life as a persevering return to the house of the Father. A return through pain, sorrow and the conversion of heart which means a desire to change and a firm decision to improve our life.

Back to the house of the Father through the sacrament of reconciliation in which, by confessing our sins, we put again Jesus Christ on us and become again his brothers, members of God’s family.

This God, Father rich in mercy, not only waits “anxiously” that we return to Him, but is the first to come to us, repentant sinners. He reaches us while we are still running, embraces us with love and without reproaching our failures and covers us with grace and gifts.

Let’s not stop contemplating with wonder the “father of the prodigal son”, who” is faithful to his fatherhood, faithful to the love that has he always lavished on his son “(St. John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, IV, 6). This loyalty is expressed by the readiness of the hug and the joy of the feast.

God, in his and our house, is waiting for us, like the father of the parable, although we do not deserve it. The seriousness of our sin is not important. The important thing is that we, prodigal sons, feel the nostalgia of his home, open our hearts to God’s mercy, amazed by the faithful love of the Father, and rejoice in the divine gift of calling ourselves his children and being his children.

 

3) Virginity, tenderness, mercy.

Commenting this parable of the prodigal son, especially the phrase “When he was still far off, his father saw him, had compassion, ran, embraced and kissed him,” Pope Francis said: “How much affection!” And He added: “He saw him from a distance, it means that he was constantly waiting for him. He was waiting for him, tenderness is something beautiful. “With the word “tenderness “, the Holy Father does not intend an action based solely on emotion or feeling. Tenderness is to accept each other in the totality of what it is. A mother is tender not because gently caresses or kisses her baby, but every time she cares for him with tenderness, solicitude and the gentleness of God’s goodness. Already in the Old Testament the prophets, speaking of God, used a language that recalls the tenderness, intensity and totality of His love, manifested in creation and in the whole history of salvation and that has its culmination in the incarnation of the Son. God, however, always surpasses every human love, as the prophet Isaiah says: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you “(Is 49, 15)?

The consecrated Virgins in the world are faithful to their vocation when practice chastity as a love for God. In this love is included the love for neighbor that awaits for gestures of mercy and tenderness. With a humble life they go beyond appearances, and discreetly show the tenderness of God that each one of them carries in herself. In this world they follow the invitation “Let your life be a special witness of charity and a visible sign of the kingdom to come” (Ritual of the Consecration of Virgins). With this strong affection they radiate the dignity of being brides of the merciful Christ and testify that those who surrender to the love of God are in joy and peace. Coming close with tenderness and love to situations of suffering and weakness, these consecrated women “illuminate by example the value of the consecrated life so to make it shine the beauty and the holiness in the Church” (Pope Francis).


21 posted on 09/10/2016 9:16:43 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY LK 15:1-32
Cause a party
Fr. Matthew Zuberbueler

The mercy parables of St. Luke invite us to a party. Better said, the mercy parables of St. Luke invite us to celebrate. The first two celebrations might seem unusual. Most of us have never been to a Found My Lost Sheep Celebration. Fewer still have been invited next door to the neighbor lady’s Found My Lost Coin Party. When we read and pray these parables we focus on the recovery of something valuable that had been lost. The shepherd wants to have all of his sheep with him and makes great efforts to recover the missing one. The woman clearly values and needs her lost coin so she lights a lamp and sweeps the house until she finds it. The shepherd and the woman make a point to tell their friends and neighbors that the pain and difficulty of loss has passed, and each of them invites their friends and neighbors to share in their joy. In both cases Jesus points out that the joy they share is like the joy the angels share in Heaven when a sinner repents. In Heaven, of course, the joy is even greater. (Angels know how to celebrate and they know what to celebrate.)

Jesus told these two short parables when He was under scrutiny by the scribes and Pharisees for associating, even eating, with sinners. He came, after all, to reach and save sinners. His presence among us makes our sinfulness stand out more clearly. His mission is to save sinners. Part of that mission includes convincing us that we are all sinners in need of salvation. These two parables depict the shepherd and the woman searching, each one alone, for the lost sheep and missing coin. Why weren’t the neighbors part of the coin search? Would the shepherd welcome help? In fact, the approach Jesus takes in establishing the church shows that all of His disciples can be part of the search and rescue efforts He constantly undertakes. If we think about it, though, it seems clear that we value his mission most when we recognize our own need for it. When we know that He goes (and has gone) to great lengths for us we begin to understand something of our value to Him. In short, as recovering sinners we bring joy to the angels in heaven when we repent because it is then that they witness the love of God’s Heart being poured out upon us. When we learn to be at home with Him we begin to help Him bring others to the awareness that they’re lost too.

In the third of the three mercy parables, the long and famous Prodigal Son parable, we find important insights into the way things are in the Father’s house. The departure of the younger son breaks the father’s heart. We are familiar with the way he watches and waits, scanning the horizon with hope. We like to think of it and to pray about it. The parable doesn’t indicate the degree to which the other members of the household hoped for the younger son’s return. Only the older son’s perspective is given, and he resents his younger brother. The saddest thing is that he remains resentful even when his brother repents and returns. The rest of the household prepares the great celebration, in accord with the orders and the happiness of their master. The older son wants no part of the Lost Brother Returns Home Party. Instead he complains that he never got to party with his friends. He has a pity party because all along he has been unable to recognize his own sinfulness as an ungrateful, unloving, selfish son in his father’s house. In a way he has squandered his inheritance right under his father’s roof. Both brothers receive the benefit of the father’s constant love and attention. God the Father treats us the same way. The celebration begins when we recognize our need for Him and turn back to Him. It turns out that the reason Jesus’ enemies complained is, in fact, the reason for the party: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Cause a party: repent today.

Fr. Zuberbueler is pastor of St. Louis Church in Alexandria.

22 posted on 09/10/2016 9:53:09 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=86

Year C - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Rejoice with me.
Luke 15:1-32
1 NOW the publicans and sinners drew near him to listen to him.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receives sinners, and eats with them.
3 And he spoke to them this parable, saying:
4 What man of you that has a hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing:
6 And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost?
7 I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that does penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.
8 Or what woman having ten silver coins; if she loses one, does not light a candle, and sweeps the house, and seeks diligently until she finds it?
9 And when she has found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin which I had lost.
10 So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner who repents.
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 inheritance that belongs to me. And he divided unto them his inheritance.
13 And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his inheritance, living riotously.
14 And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.
16 And he desired to fill his stomach with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave anything to him.
17 And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, and I perish here with hunger?
18 I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you:
19 I am not worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants.
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.
21 And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, I am not now worthy to be called your son.
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:
23 And bring here the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be happy:
24 Because this, my son was dead, and has come to life again: was lost, and has been found. And they began to be happy.
25 Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and was close 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 has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore came out and began to entreat him.
29 And answering, he said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve you, and I have never transgressed your commandment, and yet you have never given me a kid to be happy with my friends:
30 But as soon as this, your son has come, who has devoured his inheritance with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf.
31 But he said to him: Son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours.
32 But it was fit that we should be merry and rejoice, for this your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus
he message to repent is my strongest message; to see a sinner coming back to grace gives me the greatest joy. Repentance is the result of my word, and the benefit of that new life is salvation. I was very happy amidst sinners because my conversation brought them to repentance. I was highly criticized for doing that, but let me assure you that my joy was great when someone gave up his or her sinful ways to follow me.

So my joy is even greater than that of the shepherd who loses his sheep and then finds it, or the woman who loses her valued coin and then finds it or the joy of the father of the prodigal son who welcomes his son back after he has repented.

I am the Saviour of the world and my greatest joy is to bring salvation to souls. Every one is of great value to me because everyone has cost me my life. I will insist throughout the life of every person to declare my love openly until the soul understands my call and falls in love with me. I am willing to forgive because this is the perfection of my merciful love. I don’t look at the sins of anyone, I look at a soul that is perishing and needs my healing love. My nature is to be merciful to all. No exception.

Come to me all of you who are overburdened with sin and guilt, let me heal your souls, let me renew you with the infinite healing power of my merciful love; let me restore you to peace, love and joy. Repent of all the sins of your past life, meditate on the damage that you have caused to your soul and on the insult you have given to your God, think that if I did not forgive you, you would be totally lost; see me suffering and shedding my blood for you, see me crucified for your sins and come to me for forgiveness. Say the words of the prodigal son, “Father, I have sinned against you and against the world, I don’t deserve to be called your son, forgive me” Those words will be sweet to my ears, I will look at the humility of your hearts, at the sorrow that you feel for your sins and I will grant you peace and inner healing that will let you live a life in keeping with repentance.

Pray for your brothers and sisters to come to me too, all of them need me. Give testimony of my Divine Mercy to everyone and encourage them to live a holy life. I have prepared a new world of joy for all those who are willing to contemplate my sufferings as a way of amending their lives. My sacrifice is the great offering of my love for you, come to the altar of my suffering and receive my love.
Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary


23 posted on 09/10/2016 9:56:11 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Archdiocese of Washington

Crazy! A Homily for the 24th Sunday of the Year

September 10, 2016

Blog-09-10

The three parables in today’s lengthy Gospel challenge conventional thinking. They describe people doing things that we most likely would not do. All three of them— especially the first two—seem crazy. Who would ever do what the shepherd of the lost sheep does or what the woman with the lost coin does? Probably no one. Likewise, the father in the Prodigal Son parable breaks all the rules of “tough love.” His forgiveness has an almost reckless quality to it. No father in Jesus’ time would ever have tolerated such insolence from his sons. So all three of these parables, on one level, are just plain crazy.

But that is one of the most fundamental points Jesus seems to be making here: The Heavenly Father’s love for us is just plain “crazy.” By that I do not mean that it is irrational, but that it stretches the limits of human thinking.

I also intend no irreverence in my use of the word. Please permit me a bit of hyperbole in trying to describe the astonishing quality of God’s love and mercy. Permit, too, my stepping away from the normal interpretation of these parables. The normal approach is to strive to make sense of the images through certain presumptions. But I wonder if that approach does not miss the truer intent of the Lord here: presenting God’s love for us as mysterious and to some degree unexplainable in human terms. Who really understands unlimited and unconditional love? Who can really grasp the depths of God’s mercy? His grace is “amazing” in that it goes completely beyond our ability to comprehend. It transcends human concepts. Thank God! If God were like us we’d all be in trouble; frankly, we’d all be in Hell.

Let’s look at each parable. (Today’s Gospel is too lengthy to reproduce in this post; you can read the entirety of it here: Luke 15.)

I. The Parable of the Lost Sheep – The Lord speaks of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for one that is lost. Would a shepherd do this? Probably not! The passage drips with irony, even absurdity. If he knew the lost sheep were nearby, a shepherd might venture over the next hill, but it would be more likely that he would cut his losses and stay with the ninety-nine. Some of us might even consider it irresponsible to leave the ninety-nine to search for the one.

Many scholars and Church Fathers make sense of this parable by appealing to possible shepherding practices of the first century. Some of the Fathers ponder that the ninty-nine are the angels and the Lord left them to pursue us, the one who strayed. Perhaps, but there is really nothing in the parable that suggests that. And while theories abound, I wonder if trying to explain the parable does not miss the point: God’s love is extravagant, personal, and puzzling. In the end, it would seem that God loves us for “no good reason.” He seems to love us even more when we stray. He intensifies His focus on the one who strays. To us this is not only crazy, it is dangerous—possibly enabling. God’s love for us is extravagant beyond what is humanly reasonable or explainable. Don’t try to figure it out. Don’t try to analyze it too much. Just be astonished; be amazed. Yes, this is crazy. That God loves us is crazy, unexplainable.

II. The Parable of the Lost Coin – A woman loses a drachma. It’s a small coin, worth perhaps one day’s wages for an agricultural worker. In modern terms it would equate to less than $100. Not an insignificant amount, but not a huge amount either. She sweeps the floor diligently looking for it. So far, her reaction seems reasonable. I’d probably look around a while for a missing “Benjamin”!

Things get crazy, though, when she finds it. She rejoices to such an extent that she spends most (if not all) of it on a party celebrating the found coin! Crazy!

But that is exactly the point. God doesn’t count the cost. He doesn’t weigh his love for us in terms of if it is “worth it.” Some of the Fathers and commentators try to explain the craziness by suggesting that perhaps the coin had sentimental value as part of her dowry or ceremonial head-dress of ten coins. But here too, the parable does not supply that fact, and over-analyzing and trying to explain or make sense of it may well miss the point.

This woman is crazy because God is “crazy.” His love for us is extravagant beyond what is humanly reasonable or explainable. Don’t try to figure it out. Don’t try to analyze it too much. Just be astonished; be amazed. Yes, this is crazy. That God loves us is crazy, unexplainable.

III. The Parable of the Prodigal Son – A young man, entitled by law to a third of his father’s estate, essentially tells his father to “drop dead.” He wants his inheritance now and the old man isn’t dying fast enough. Incredibly, the father gives it to him!

Crazy! The father is a nobleman (land owner) and could hand his son over for serious punishment for such dishonor. Inheritance in hand, the son leaves his father and goes off to “a distant land,” where he sinks so low that he ends up looking up to pigs. He comes to his senses and returns to his father, daring only to hope to become one of his father’s hired workers.

But then it gets even crazier! The father sees his son from a long way off (meaning that he was looking for him), and then does something a nobleman would never do: he runs. Running was considered beneath the dignity of a nobleman because it would imply that he was either a slave on an errand or a fugitive. Further, in order for a man to run in the ancient world, he first had to “hike up” his long flowing robe. Otherwise, his legs would get tangled up in the garment and he would likely trip and fall. For a nobleman to show his legs was considered an indignity.

Do you get the picture? This nobleman, this father, is debasing himself, humbling himself. He is running and his legs are showing. This is crazy! Do you know what this son has done? Does he deserve this humble love? No! The father is crazy!

Exactly! The heavenly Father is “crazy” too. He actually loves us and humbles Himself for us. He even sent His own Son for us. Do you and I understand what we have done? Do we deserve this? No! It’s crazy!

The second son is also a handful. When he hears of the party being given for his wayward brother he refuses to come in. Again, it would have been unthinkable in the ancient world for a son to refuse to come when summoned by his father. And what does the father do? He comes out and pleads with him to enter!

Again, it’s crazy! It’s unthinkable. No father in the ancient world would ever have permitted his son to speak to him in this way. The son basically calls him a slave-driver who issues orders; he refuses to enter the party that his father is hosting, saying that he’d rather celebrate with his friends than with his father. But (pay attention here) the goal in life is not celebrate with your friends; it is to celebrate with the Father in Heaven.

This father is crazy. He is crazy because God the Father is crazy. Do you know what it means to refuse to do what God says? And yet we do it every time we sin! Our heavenly Father should not have to tolerate this. He is God and we are His creatures. If He wanted to, He could squash us like bugs! But He does not. The father in this parable is almost “dangerously” merciful. Shouldn’t his sons be taught a lesson? Shouldn’t he punish them both for their insolence? All our human thinking kicks in when we hear this parable.

But God is God, not man. There are other Scriptures that speak of God’s punishments. But in the end, none of us get what we really deserve. Jesus’ point in the parable is that God is merciful and His love is crazy; it makes no human sense. His love for us is extravagant beyond what is humanly reasonable or explainable. Don’t try to figure it out. Don’t try to analyze it too much. Just be astonished; be amazed. Yes, this is crazy. That God loves us is crazy, unexplainable.

Crazy!

24 posted on 09/10/2016 10:08:38 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Video
25 posted on 09/10/2016 10:11:18 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Sunday Gospel Reflections

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Exodus 32:7-11,13-14 II: 1 Tm 1:12-17


Gospel
Lk 15:1-32

1 The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him,
2 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3 So to them he addressed this parable.
4 "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?
5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
8 "Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?
9 And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
10 In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
11 Then he said, "A man had two sons,
12 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.
13 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.
14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.
15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
17 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.
18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'
20 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.
21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'
22 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.
23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,
24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began.
25 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.
26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
27 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.'
28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 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.
30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'
31 He said to him, 'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.
32 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.'"


Interesting Details
One Main Point

Jesus uses three different images to portray the compassion and love of God. Nothing and no one is insignificant to God.


Reflections
  1. When, or in what area of life, do I feel worthless, inconsequential, helpless, or defeated? What does God say to me and the second son then?
  2. Have I felt being treated unjustly, and not wanting to consider the offender my brother or sister? What does God say to me and the older son then?
  3. Different people have different problems, but God loves, consoles, and helps each one. Do I experience this unconditional love as I go through different phases of life?

26 posted on 09/10/2016 10:16:39 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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'The love of God is a jealous love. One atom of irregular affection for creatures suffices to ruin everything.'

St. Paul of the Cross

27 posted on 09/10/2016 10:18:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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The Angelus 

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

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

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

Hail Mary . . . 

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

Hail Mary . . . 


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

Let us pray: 

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

Amen. 


"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). 


28 posted on 09/10/2016 10:18:38 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Information: Sts. Protus and Hyacinth

Feast Day: September 11

Born: 3rd century AD

Died: mid 3rd century AD, Rome

Major Shrine: San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, as well as the chapel of the Propaganda College. Both in Rome.

29 posted on 09/11/2016 8:16:01 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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30 posted on 09/11/2016 8:19:30 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
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
4 What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? Quis ex vobis homo, qui habet centum oves, et si perdiderit unam ex illis, nonne dimittit nonaginta novem in deserto, et vadit ad illam quæ perierat, donec inveniat eam ? τις ανθρωπος εξ υμων εχων εκατον προβατα και απολεσας εν εξ αυτων ου καταλειπει τα ενενηκοντα εννεα εν τη ερημω και πορευεται επι το απολωλος εως ευρη αυτο
5 And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: Et cum invenerit eam, imponit in humeros suos gaudens : και ευρων επιτιθησιν επι τους ωμους εαυτου χαιρων
6 And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? et veniens domum convocat amicos et vicinos, dicens illis : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam, quæ perierat. και ελθων εις τον οικον συγκαλει τους φιλους και τους γειτονας λεγων αυτοις συγχαρητε μοι οτι ευρον το προβατον μου το απολωλος
7 I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Dico vobis quod ita gaudium erit in cælo super uno peccatore pœnitentiam agente, quam super nonaginta novem justis, qui non indigent pœnitentia. λεγω υμιν οτι ουτως χαρα εσται εν τω ουρανω επι ενι αμαρτωλω μετανοουντι η επι ενενηκοντα εννεα δικαιοις οιτινες ου χρειαν εχουσιν μετανοιας
8 Or what woman having ten groats; if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? Aut quæ mulier habens drachmas decem, si perdiderit drachmam unam, nonne accendit lucernam, et everrit domum, et quærit diligenter, donec inveniat ? η τις γυνη δραχμας εχουσα δεκα εαν απολεση δραχμην μιαν ουχι απτει λυχνον και σαροι την οικιαν και ζητει επιμελως εως οτου ευρη
9 And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. Et cum invenerit convocat amicas et vicinas, dicens : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni drachmam quam perdideram. και ευρουσα συγκαλειται τας φιλας και τας γειτονας λεγουσα συγχαρητε μοι οτι ευρον την δραχμην ην απωλεσα
10 So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance. Ita, dico vobis, gaudium erit coram angelis Dei super uno peccatore pœnitentiam agente. ουτως λεγω υμιν χαρα γινεται ενωπιον των αγγελων του θεου επι ενι αμαρτωλω μετανοουντι
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

31 posted on 09/11/2016 8:46:58 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: 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,
4. What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7. I say to you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

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.

CYRIL; We may hence understand the extent of our Savior's kingdom. For He says there are a hundred sheep, bringing to a perfect sum the number of rational creatures subject to Him. For the number hundred is perfect, being composed of ten decades. But out of these one has wandered, namely, the race of man which inhabits earth.

AMBROSE; Rich then is that Shepherd of whom we all are a hundredth part; and hence it follows, And if he lose one of them, does he not leave &c.

GREG. One sheep then perished when man by sinning left the pastures of life. But in the wilderness the ninety and nine remained, because the number of the rational creatures, that is to say of Angels and men who were formed to see God, was lessened when man perished; and hence it follows, Does he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, because in truth he left the companies of the Angels in heaven. But man then forsook heaven when he sinned. And that the whole body of the sheep might be perfectly made up again in heaven, the lost man was sought for on earth; as it follows, And go after that &c.

CYRIL; But was He then angry with the rest, and moved by kindness only to one? By no means. For they are in safety, the right hand of the Most Mighty being their defense. It behoved Him rather to pity the perishing, that the remaining number might not seem imperfect. For the one being brought back, the hundred regains its own proper form.

AUG. Or He spoke of those ninety and nine whom He left in the wilderness, signifying the proud, who bear solitude as it were in their mind, in that they wish to appear themselves alone, to whom unity is wanting for perfection. For when a man is torn from unity, it is by pride; since desiring to be his own master, he follows not that One which is God, but to that One God ordains all who are reconciled by repentance, which is obtained by humility.

GREG. NYSS.. But when the shepherd had found the sheep, he did not punish it, he did not get it to the flock by driving it, but by placing it upon his shoulder, and carrying it gently, he united it to his flock. Hence it follows, And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing.

GREG. He placed the sheep upon his shoulders, for faking man's nature upon Him he bore our sins. But having found the sheep, he returns home; for our Shepherd having restored man, returns to his heavenly kingdom. And hence it follows, And coming he collects together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. By his friends and neighbors He means the companies of Angels, who are His friends because they are keeping His will in their own steadfastness; they are also His neighbors, because by their own constant waiting upon Him they enjoy the brightness of His sight.

THEOPHYL. The heavenly powers thus are called sheep, because every created nature as compared with God is as the beasts, but inasmuch as it is rational, they are called friends and neighbors.

GREG. And we must observe that He says not, "Rejoice with the sheep that is found," but with me, because truly our life is His joy, and when we are brought home to heaven we fill up the festivity of His joy.

AMBROSE; Now the angels, inasmuch as they are intelligent beings, do not unreasonably rejoice at the redemption of men, as it follows, I say to you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance. Let this serve as an incentive to goodness, for a man to believe that his conversion will be pleasing to the assembled angels, whose favor he ought to court, or whose displeasure to fear.

GREG. But he allows there is more joy in heaven over the converted sinner, than over the just who remain steadfast; for the latter for the most part, not feeling themselves oppressed by the weight of their sins, stand indeed in the way of righteousness, but still do not anxiously sigh after the heavenly country, frequently being slow to perform good works, from their confidence in themselves that they have committed no grievous sins. But, on the other hand, sometimes those who remember certain iniquities that they have committed, being pricked to the heart, from their very grief grow inflamed towards the love of God; and because they consider they have wandered from God, make up for their former losses by the succeeding gains. Greater then is the joy in heaven, just as the leader in battle loves that soldier more who having turned from flight, bravely pursues the enemy, than him who never turned his back and never did a brave act. So the husbandman rather loves that land which after bearing thorns yields abundant fruit, than that which never had thorns, and never gave him a plentiful crop. But in the mean time we must be aware that there are v very many just men in whose life there is so much joy, that no penitence of sinners however great can in any way be preferred to them. Whence we may gather what great joy it causes to God when the just man humbly mourns, if it produces joy in heaven when the unrighteous by his repentance condemns the evil that he has done.

8. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9. And when she has found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.

CHRYS. By the preceding parable, in which the race of mankind was spoken of as a wandering sheep, we were shown to be the creatures of the most high God, who has made us, and not we ourselves, and we are the sheep of his pasture. But now is added a second parable, in which the race of man is compared to a piece of silver which was lost, by which he shows that we were made according to the royal likeness and image, that is to say, of the most high God. For the piece of silver is a coin having the impress of the king's image, as it is said, Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one, &c.

GREG. He who is signified by the shepherd, is also by the woman. For it is God Himself, God and the wisdom of God, but the Lord has formed the nature of angels and men to know Him, and has created them after His likeness. The woman then had ten pieces of silver, because there are nine orders of angels, but that the number of the elect might be filled up, man the tenth was created.

AUG. Or by the nine pieces of silver, as by the ninety and nine sheep, He represents those who trusting in themselves, prefer themselves to sinners returning to salvation. For there is one wanting to nine to make it ten, and to ninety-nine to make it a hundred. To that One He ordains all who are reconciled by repentance.

GREG. And because there is an image impressed on the piece of silver, the woman lost the piece of silver when man (who was created after the image of God) by sinning departed from the likeness of his Creator. And this is what is added, y she lose one piece, does she not light a candle. The women lighted a candle because the wisdom of God appeared in man. For the candle is a light in an earthen vessel, but the light in an earthen vessel is the Godhead in the flesh. But the candle being lit, it follows, And disturbs the house. Because verily no sooner had his Divinity shone forth through the flesh, than all our consciences were appalled. Which word of disturbance differs not from that which is read in other manuscripts, sweeps, because the corrupt mind if it be not first overthrown through fear, is not cleansed from its habitual faults. But when the house is broken up, the piece of silver is found, for it follows, And seeks diligently till she find it; for truly when the conscience of man is disturbed, the likeness of the Creator is restored in man.

GREG. NAZ. But the piece of silver being found, He makes the heavenly powers partakers of the joy whom He made the ministers of His dispensation, and so it follows, And when she had found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors.

GREG. For the heavenly powers are nigh to Divine wisdom, inasmuch as they approach Him through the grace of continual vision.

THEOPHYL. Either they are friends as performing His will, but neighbors as being spiritual; or perhaps His friends are all the heavenly powers, but His neighbors those that come near to Him, as Thrones, Cherubims, and Seraphims.

GREG. NYSS.. Or else; this I suppose is what our Lord sets before us in the search after the lost piece of silver, that no advantage attaches to us from the external virtues which He calls pieces of silver, although all of them be ours, as long as that one is lacking to the widowed soul, by which in truth it obtains the brightness of the Divine image. Wherefore He first bids us light a candle, that is to say, the divine word which brings hidden things to light, or perhaps the torch of repentance. But in his own house, that is, in himself and his own conscience, must a man seer; for the lost piece of silver, that is, the royal image, which is not entirely defaced, but is hid under the dirt, which signifies its corruption of the flesh, and this being diligently wiped away, that is, washed out by a well-spent life, that which was sought for shines forth. Therefore ought she who has found it to rejoice, and to call to partake of her joy the neighbors, (that is, the companion virtues,) reason, desire, and anger, and whatever powers are observed round the soul, which she teaches to rejoice in the Lord. Then concluding the parable, He adds, There is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repents.

GREG. To work repentance is to mourn over past sins, and not to commit things to be mourned over. For he who weeps over some things so as yet to commit others, still knows not how to work repentance, or is a hypocrite; he must also reflect that by so doing he satisfies not his Creator, since he who had done what was forbidden, must cut off himself even from what is lawful, and so should blame himself in the least things who remembers that he has offended in the greatest.

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
32 posted on 09/11/2016 8:47:52 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Frans Francken II

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

33 posted on 09/11/2016 8:48:22 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All

Sunday

September 11, 2016

A Time for Peace & Mutual Respect

“We must never allow September 11th to become a time for protest and division. Instead, this day must remain a time for promoting peace and mutual respect.” – Cardinal Timothy Dolan


Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, & receives the impossible.”


34 posted on 09/11/2016 3:11:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Sunday, September 11

Liturgical Color: Green

The Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius Loyola was published in
Rome on this day in 1548.
Written by the devout saint for
retreats, the exercises are still
used by many to increase their
personal piety and discern their
vocation.

35 posted on 09/11/2016 4:14:42 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: September 11th

Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

September 11, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you With all our heart. 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)

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Prayers (2)

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Library (3)

Old Calendar: Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

"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."

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.


Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14. During the forty days that Moses spent on top of Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments the people melted their gold and made a small effigy of the Egyptian bull, a golden calf. They declared this to be their god who brought them out of Egypt. They had returned to paganism and idolatry. God decided to punish them, but because of the intercession of Moses He stayed His hand and forgave them.

The second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy 1:12-17. The Apostle wrote two letters to Timothy, advising and encouraging him to continue his great work for Christ. This First Epistle was written in 65 or 66 A.D. from Macedonia. St. Paul spent his Christian life regretting his sinful past and wondering at the infinite mercy of Christ, the Son of God, who not only forgave all his past sins but showered His graces on him so abundantly. He realized that his past crimes against Christ, whom he judged as an impostor who was perverting the Chosen People of God, and also his persecution of the Jewish converts to Christ, were caused by his own pride. Yet he blames himself for the ignorance which caused this pharisaical pride in him, while Christ on the other hand excused him because of this ignorance. The conclusion he rightly draws from this is that there is no sinner so wicked but can be forgiven, and will be forgiven, if only he listens to the call of Christ.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 15:1-32. The lesson that these stories, made up by our Lord himself, has for us is clearly a lesson of hope and confidence in the infinite mercy of God in His dealings with us. We are all sinners in one way or another. We have all gone astray, got lost like the sheep and the coin in those stories, sometime or other. What is worse, we are all capable of going astray from God again at any moment. If we had only the justice of God to deal with we might well despair, our chances of reaching heaven would be slight indeed.

We are dealing, however, with a God of infinite mercy, who loves us with a love we cannot grasp or understand. All this infinite mercy of God is there for our benefit as long as we have the breath of life in us in this world. The whole of the Old Testament is full of examples and proofs of this mercy of God for man. It is in the New Testament, however, which begins with that almost incredible act of divine mercy, the Incarnation, that the infinite mercy of God for all mankind is seen in its fullness. The coming of the Son of God on earth in our human nature, His teaching, His sufferings and death, His resurrection were all accomplished for us, so that we could rise glorious from the dead and share the joys of heaven, to which we have no claim whatever, except the merciful goodness and generosity of God.

God does not need us to make his existence happy. He is all-powerful, all-perfect, all-happy in himself. Because He is a God of love, a God of infinite generosity, He wants to give us a share in His happiness. At times one must wonder how any man who knows of God's generosity and of what that generosity has led Him to do for us, could ever think of abandoning that loving God, or get lost in futile earthly folly. Yet that does happen when we sin grievously.

God does not cast us out forever as sinners unworthy of His gifts. Instead, He foresees such folly on our part, and has left us lessons of encouragement, as in today's parables, and set up in the Church ways and means to carry on His work of mercy for weak, mortal men. During His life on earth, Christ dealt mostly with sinners—he said he came to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He told the Pharisees that it was the sick who needed a doctor, not those who were well. The Pharisees in their pride thought they were not sick but they were, and He was only too ready to heal them too if only they would let Him.

He spent his days then among sinners, the tax-gatherers, the robbers, the adulterers, the usurers. The twelve special friends He chose from amongst His followers had more than their share of human failings.

We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree. With this knowledge and conviction, which any true Christian must have, of the infinite mercy of God, no sinner need ever, and should never, despair. No sinner was ever lost and no sinner will ever be lost, because of his sins. Sinners are lost only because they will not trust and believe in God's mercy and turn to Him to ask for pardon.

Not a day passes but our merciful Father sends out and calls to us His erring children to return to our Father's household. Today, one of those calls is in the very words of the parables you have heard. There may be another call for the sinners amongst us. There may not. Heed this one and the other call will not be necessary. Turn to God today with a truly contrite heart. God will do the rest.

— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.

36 posted on 09/11/2016 4:19:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 15:1-32

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This man welcomes sinners. (Luke 15:2)

Fifteen years ago today, we saw the twin towers at the World Trade Center fall, the Pentagon burst into flames, and an airliner crash into a field in Pennsylvania. The scenes were both heartbreaking and horrifying. And yet as terrible, sinful, and evil as this attack was (or any attack like it), it is important that we keep in mind Paul’s words in today’s second reading: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” and because of his sacrificial act, everyone who repents will be “mercifully treated” (1 Timothy 1:15, 16).

Sometimes, it’s next to impossible to forgive someone, especially in those situations in which a horrible sin has been committed. But one look at the Gospel tells us that God’s entire relationship with us is based on love and mercy and forgiveness, whether it is forgiveness for the “big sins” of the prodigal son or the “minor sins” committed by his brother.

All of the parables in today’s Gospel illustrate just how far God will go to seek and save the lost. It’s safe to say that people who can execute something as horrendous as a massive terror attack have lost their way. Yet God loves them; he longs to bring them into his kingdom. He yearns for them to turn away from their sins and find the mercy that is open to everyone.

Closer to home, we may be struggling to forgive someone who has hurt us. It could be a devastating wound or a minor snub. But no matter how much or how little it hurts, God asks us to try our best to forgive.

So try to imitate your heavenly Father today. Make a list of the relationships in your life that may be wounded or broken, and ask him for the grace to forgive. If you can’t forgive all at once, ask him for the grace to take one step closer to mercy. Every step counts!

“Father, help me to let go of my hurts and my resentments. Help me to bring peace and reconciliation where there is hurt and division.”

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
1 Timothy 1:12-17

37 posted on 09/11/2016 4:22:56 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
A Christian Pilgrim

LET JESUS FIND YOU, AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF

10 Sep

LET JESUS FIND YOU, AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF

(Biblical reflection on the 24th Ordinary Sunday [Year C] – 11 September 2016) 

Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-32 or Luke 15:1-10 (shorter version) 

First Reading: Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; Psalms: Psalm 51:3-4,12-13,17,19; Second Reading: 1Timothy 1:12-17; Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-32 [Shorter version: Luke 15:1-10] 

domba-yang-hilang-luk-15

The Scripture Text:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to her Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So He told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1-10 RSV) 

In response to His critics’ complaints, Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to go in search of just one sheep that had gone astray. He then compared Himself to a woman searching carefully for one lost coin even though she still had the other nine coins.

Where some people faulted Jesus for spending so much time with the “lost” of His generation, Jesus made it clear that this was God’s way. Nothing brings Jesus more joy than “finding” someone who has lost her or his way and bringing that person back into the Father’s loving embrace.

stdas0736

We tend to think of conversion stories mainly in terms of what the person does who has been found. What decisions did she or he make? How did she or he turn from sin and turn back to Jesus? But if we factor in these two parables, we can see that an equally important dimension to conversion is Jesus’ own independent activity in seeking us out and winning us over.

As we (you and I) pray about these parables, we must ask ourselves, “How often do I let myself be ‘found’ by Jesus?” Even if we have had a prior, dramatic conversion experience – perhaps in our youth or as a young adult – Jesus is still seeking each of us out. He wants to convert us to Him more and more.

This belief is at the heart of the Church’s teaching on the “universal call to holiness”, and it shows itself in many ways. For instance, when a Benedictine professes final vows, she or he includes a vow called conversation morum – that is, conversion of life in an ongoing way. Each of us is called to such ongoing “searching” and “being found” as we grow in the life that Jesus has for us.

Here is a concrete suggestion to help you embrace this conversion process more fully. Take a moment to close your eyes, and try to visualize Jesus coming toward you, looking for you. See Him stretching out His arms and smiling warmly as He finds you. Then, let Him embrace you. With all your heart, try to respond to Jesus by telling Him whatever is on your mind. And listen, too, to whatever He wants to tell you. Let Jesus find you, and you will find yourself!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for searching for me and bringing me back to You. I love You, Lord! You are my Savior and my Shepherd. Amen.


38 posted on 09/11/2016 4:27:39 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
A Christian Pilgrim

Slideshow of the Gospel

39 posted on 09/11/2016 4:32:24 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for September 11, 2016:

“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” (Lk 15:6) Every family has its “lost sheep.” Pray today for estranged loved ones to make their way back to the fold, and for the charity to rejoice at their every step closer to God.

40 posted on 09/11/2016 4:35:43 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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