Friday, 14 December 2007

Daily Gospel
Friday of the Second week of Advent

St. John of the Cross, St. Venantius


Commentary of the day
Maximus of Turin : Answering God’s call to repent from the depths of our hearts

Reading

Is 48,17-19.
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the LORD,
your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you
should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a
river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like
its grains, Their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence.


Ps 1,1-2.3.4.6.
Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, Nor go the way of
sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers.
Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy; God's law they study day and
night.
They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit
in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.
But not the wicked! They are like chaff driven by the wind.
The LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads
to ruin.


Mt 11,16-19.
To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in
marketplaces and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but
you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed
by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom
is vindicated by her works."


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Maximus of Turin (?-c.420), Bishop
Sermon CC 61a; PL 57, 233

Answering God’s call to repent from the depths of our hearts

Even without my needing to speak to you about it, my brethren, the season
is enough to tell us that the anniversary of the Nativity of Christ our
Lord draws near. Creation itself is expressing the imminence of an event
that will restore everything for the better. It, too, looks forward to
seeing its darkness illumined by a ray of sun even more bright than usual.
This expectancy in creation of a renewal of its annual cycle invites us to
wait for the birth of the new sun that is Christ, who lights up the
darkness of our sins. The sun of justice (Mal 3,20), which is about to
appear in all its strength, will cast out the darkness of our sins, already
too long in continuance. He will not allow the course of our life to be
stifled by the shadows of existence; he wants to expand it by his
power. So, just as creation sheds its light more widely during this time of
solstice, let us also manifest our justice. Just as the light of this day
is the common good of both rich and poor, let our gifts be extended to
travellers and to the poor without reserve. At this time of the year the
world holds back the duration of darkness; so let us, too, withdraw the
shadows of our avarice… May all the ice in our hearts melt away; may the
seeds of justice grow, warmed by the Saviour’s rays. Therefore, brethren,
let us prepare ourselves to welcome the day of the Lord’s birth by clothing
ourselves in garments of shining whiteness. I am referring to those that
clothe the soul, not the body. The garment that clothes our body is only a
tunic of no value. But it is the body, that precious object, which clothes
the soul. The former is woven by human hands; the latter is the work of the
hands of God. This is why we must attend with the greatest care to
preserving God’s work from any spot… Let us purify our consciences from all
their stains before the Nativity of the Lord. Let us come before him, not
clothed in silk, but rather in works of merit… Let us begin, then, by
decorating our interior sanctuary.a




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