From: Luke 13:22-30
The Narrow Gate
[22] He (Jesus) went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. [23] And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, [24] "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. [25] When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, 'I do not know where you are from.' [26] Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' [27] But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!" [28] There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. [29] And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. [30] And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
____________________
Commentary:
23-24. Everyone is called to form part of the Kingdom of God, for he "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4). "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience: those too may achieve eternal salvation. Nor shall divine providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life. Whatever good or truth is found among them is considered by the Church to be a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 16).
Certainly, only those who make a serious effort can reach the goal of salvation (cf. Lk 16:16; Mt 11:12). Our Lord tells us so by using the simile of the narrow gate. "A Christian's struggle must be unceasing, for interior life consists in beginning and beginning again. This prevents us from proudly thinking that we are perfect already. It is inevitable that we should meet difficulties on our way. If we did not come up against obstacles, we would not be creatures of flesh and blood. We will always have passions that pull us downwards; we will always have to defend ourselves against more or less self-defeating urges" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 75).
25-28. As at other times, Jesus describes eternal life by using the example of a banquet (cf., e.g., Lk 12:35ff; 14:15). Knowing the Lord and listening to his preaching is not enough for getting to heaven; what God judges is how we respond to the grace he gives us: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 7:21).
29-30. Generally speaking, the Jewish people regarded themselves as the sole beneficiaries of the messianic promises made by the prophets; but Jesus proclaims that salvation is open to everyone. The only condition he lays down is that men freely respond to God's merciful call. When Christ died on the cross the veil of the temple was torn in two (Lk 23:45 and par.), a sign of the end of the distinction between Jews and Gentiles. St Paul teaches: "For he [Christ] is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall [...] that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end" (Eph 2:14-16). Therefore, "all men are called to belong to the new people of God. This people therefore, whilst remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of God's will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the beginning and has decreed that all his children who were scattered should be finally gathered together as one" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 13).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 21
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 6. After His Ascension
Before leaving us, Our Lord promised that though in Heaven He would still be with us here below. His last words were, "My peace I leave you, My peace I give you, a peace that the world cannot give, a peace that surpasses all comprehension."
Fulfilling this promise, He has ever continued to give us proofs of His tender love. Not only does He protect His Church from her enemies, but He appears frequently to His Saints, manifesting the most intimate love for them.
We read in the life of St. Anthony how Jesus appeared to the Saint in the form of the Divine Child and most lovingly caressed him and allowed Anthony to caress Him in return.
His intimacy with St. Rose of Lima was perhaps more touching.
He appeared to her constantly, and when He delayed the hour of His visit, the Saint, who enjoyed the visible presence of her Guardian Angel, bade the Angel fly to Heaven and tell Jesus that her heart was burning with love and that she could wait no longer for His visit. The Divine Child with loving condescension came at once in answer to her message. He was wont to call her "Rose of My Heart."
St. Catherine of Siena was still more honored by Our Lord. He appeared to her frequently and recited the Divine Office with her. He took out her heart and replaced it by His Own Sacred Heart, that thenceforward she might love Him, not with her heart, but with with His Divine Heart.
Appearing to her on another occasion, in company of His Blessed Mother and the Saints, He made her His spouse and placed a ring on her finger, which she retained ever after.
"Catherine," He said, "think of Me and I will think of thee."
As a crowning favor, He gave her the marks of His Five Wounds on her hands and feet and side...
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 6. After His Ascension
Before leaving us, Our Lord promised that though in Heaven He would still be with us here below. His last words were, "My peace I leave you, My peace I give you, a peace that the world cannot give, a peace that surpasses all comprehension."
Fulfilling this promise, He has ever continued to give us proofs of His tender love. Not only does He protect His Church from her enemies, but He appears frequently to His Saints, manifesting the most intimate love for them.
We read in the life of St. Anthony how Jesus appeared to the Saint in the form of the Divine Child and most lovingly caressed him and allowed Anthony to caress Him in return.
His intimacy with St. Rose of Lima was perhaps more touching.
He appeared to her constantly, and when He delayed the hour of His visit, the Saint, who enjoyed the visible presence of her Guardian Angel, bade the Angel fly to Heaven and tell Jesus that her heart was burning with love and that she could wait no longer for His visit. The Divine Child with loving condescension came at once in answer to her message. He was wont to call her "Rose of My Heart."
St. Catherine of Siena was still more honored by Our Lord. He appeared to her frequently and recited the Divine Office with her. He took out her heart and replaced it by His Own Sacred Heart, that thenceforward she might love Him, not with her heart, but with with His Divine Heart.
Appearing to her on another occasion, in company of His Blessed Mother and the Saints, He made her His spouse and placed a ring on her finger, which she retained ever after.
"Catherine," He said, "think of Me and I will think of thee."
As a crowning favor, He gave her the marks of His Five Wounds on her hands and feet and side...
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Friday, August 20, 2010
Gospel for August 21, Memorial: St Pius X, Pope
Saturday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 23:1-12
Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees
[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; [3] so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, [7] and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10] Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
___________________________
Commentary:
1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Pharisees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordinary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices; in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous "woes", which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven--no one can escape condemnation to the flames--unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part (verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees have misled the people.
2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The scribes, who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function of educating the people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said to "sit on Moses' seat". Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Pharisees did have authority to teach the Law; but He warns the people and His disciples to be sure to distinguish the Law as read out and taught in the synagogues from the practical interpretations of the Law to be seen in their leaders' lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul--a Pharisee like his father before him--faced his former colleagues with exactly the same kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: "You then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, `The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:21-24).
5. "Phylacteries": belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scripture which the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads. To mark themselves out as more religiously observant than others, the Pharisees used to wear broader phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue stripes on the hems of cloaks; the Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader fringes.
8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6). As a teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. "The whole of Christ's life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles, His gestures, His prayer, His love for people, His special affection for the little and the poor, His acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world, and His resurrection are the actualization of His word and the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher.
"These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church and they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who reveals God to man and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sanctifies and guides, who lives, who speaks, rouses, moves, redresses, judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day on the path of history, the Teacher who comes and will come in glory" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 9).
11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists that every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should be exercised as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge personal vanity or greed. "He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant".
12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple of Christ. Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone who is to follow Him. The verbs "will be humbled", "will be exalted" have "God" as their active agent. Along the same lines, St. James preaches that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). And in the "Magnificat", the Blessed Virgin explains that the Lord "has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree [the humble]" (Luke 1:52).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 23:1-12
Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees
[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; [3] so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, [7] and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10] Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
___________________________
Commentary:
1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Pharisees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordinary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices; in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous "woes", which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven--no one can escape condemnation to the flames--unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part (verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees have misled the people.
2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The scribes, who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function of educating the people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said to "sit on Moses' seat". Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Pharisees did have authority to teach the Law; but He warns the people and His disciples to be sure to distinguish the Law as read out and taught in the synagogues from the practical interpretations of the Law to be seen in their leaders' lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul--a Pharisee like his father before him--faced his former colleagues with exactly the same kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: "You then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, `The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:21-24).
5. "Phylacteries": belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scripture which the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads. To mark themselves out as more religiously observant than others, the Pharisees used to wear broader phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue stripes on the hems of cloaks; the Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader fringes.
8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6). As a teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. "The whole of Christ's life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles, His gestures, His prayer, His love for people, His special affection for the little and the poor, His acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world, and His resurrection are the actualization of His word and the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher.
"These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church and they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who reveals God to man and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sanctifies and guides, who lives, who speaks, rouses, moves, redresses, judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day on the path of history, the Teacher who comes and will come in glory" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 9).
11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists that every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should be exercised as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge personal vanity or greed. "He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant".
12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple of Christ. Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone who is to follow Him. The verbs "will be humbled", "will be exalted" have "God" as their active agent. Along the same lines, St. James preaches that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). And in the "Magnificat", the Blessed Virgin explains that the Lord "has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree [the humble]" (Luke 1:52).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 20
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 5. The Passion
What the Saints say
a) The Saints say that five minutes' prayer in honor of the Passion is of greater value than many hours spent in other devotions.
b) St. Alphonsus says that all the Saints became Saints by devotion to the Passion and that there was no saint who had not a great love of the Passion.
c) Devotion to the Passion gives intense pleasure to Our Lord. Want of devotion to the Passion wounds His Sacred Heart most deeply.
d) Our Lord said to St. Bernard, "I will remit all the venial sins and I will no more think of the mortal sins of those who honor the grievous wound on My right shoulder, which caused Me unutterable pain when bearing My heavy Cross to Calvary: We honor this wound by saying the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary.
e) Our Lord promised St. Gertrude that He would protect, most especially in the Judgment, those who make loving reparation to Him for the insults, outrages and blasphemies heaped on Him in His Passion. This we can do by offering to Our Lord all the offenses, slights and humiliations we may have to bear.
f) Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: "Those who thank Me for the awful thirst I endured in My Passion I will reward as if they had assuaged My thirst on the Cross."
"And those who thank Me for having been nailed to the Cross for love of them I will reward as if they had taken Me down from the Cross."
We can do this by saying the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary.
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 5. The Passion
What the Saints say
a) The Saints say that five minutes' prayer in honor of the Passion is of greater value than many hours spent in other devotions.
b) St. Alphonsus says that all the Saints became Saints by devotion to the Passion and that there was no saint who had not a great love of the Passion.
c) Devotion to the Passion gives intense pleasure to Our Lord. Want of devotion to the Passion wounds His Sacred Heart most deeply.
d) Our Lord said to St. Bernard, "I will remit all the venial sins and I will no more think of the mortal sins of those who honor the grievous wound on My right shoulder, which caused Me unutterable pain when bearing My heavy Cross to Calvary: We honor this wound by saying the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary.
e) Our Lord promised St. Gertrude that He would protect, most especially in the Judgment, those who make loving reparation to Him for the insults, outrages and blasphemies heaped on Him in His Passion. This we can do by offering to Our Lord all the offenses, slights and humiliations we may have to bear.
f) Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: "Those who thank Me for the awful thirst I endured in My Passion I will reward as if they had assuaged My thirst on the Cross."
"And those who thank Me for having been nailed to the Cross for love of them I will reward as if they had taken Me down from the Cross."
We can do this by saying the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary.
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Gospel for August 20, Memorial: St Bernard, Abbot and Doctor
Friday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment of All
[34] But when the Pharisees heard that He (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, to test Him. [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" [37] And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
__________________________
Commentary:
34-40. In reply to the question, our Lord points out that the whole law can be condensed into two commandments: the first and more important consists in unconditional love of God; the second is a consequence and result of the first, because when man is loved, St. Thomas says, God is loved, for man is the image of God (cf. "Commentary on St. Matthew", 22:4).
A person who genuinely loves God also loves his fellows because he realizes that they are his brothers and sisters, children of the same Father, redeemed by the same blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: "this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also" (1 John 4:21). However, if we love man for man's sake without reference to God, this love will become an obstacle in the way of keeping the first commandment, and then it is no longer genuine love of our neighbor. But love of our neighbor for God's sake is clear proof that we love God: "If anyone says, `I love God', but hates his brother, he is a liar" (1 John 4:20).
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself": here our Lord establishes as the guideline for our love of neighbor the love each of us has for himself; both love of others and love of self are based on love of God. Hence, in some cases it can happen that God requires us to put our neighbor's need before our own; in others, not: it depends on what value, in the light of God's love, needs to be put on the spiritual and material factors involved.
Obviously spiritual goods take absolute precedence over material ones, even over life itself. Therefore, spiritual goods, be they our own or our neighbor's, must be the first to be safeguarded. If the spiritual good in question is the supreme one of the salvation of the soul, no one is justified in putting his own soul into certain danger of being condemned in order to save another, because given human freedom we can never be absolutely sure what personal choice another person may make: this is the situation in the parable (cf. Matthew 25:1-13), where the wise virgins refuse to give oil to the foolish ones; similarly St. Paul says that he would wish himself to be rejected if that could save his brothers (cf. Romans 9:3)--an unreal theoretical situation. However, what is quite clear is that we have to do all we can to save our brothers, conscious that, if someone helps to bring a sinner back to the Way, he will save himself from eternal death and cover a multitude of his own sins (James 5:20). From all this we can deduce that self-love of the right kind, based on God's love for man, necessarily involves forgetting oneself in order to love God and our neighbor for God.
37-38. The commandment of love is the most important commandment because by obeying it man attains his own perfection (cf. Colossians 3:14). "The more a soul loves," St. John of the Cross writes, "the more perfect is it in that which it loves; therefore this soul that is now perfect is wholly love, if it may thus be expressed, and all its actions are love and it employs all its faculties and possessions in loving, giving all that it has, like the wise merchant, for this treasure of love which it has found hidden in God [...]. For, even as the bee extracts from all plants the honey that is in them, and has no use for them for aught else save for that purpose, even so the soul with great facility extracts the sweetness of love that is in all the things that pass through it; it loves God in each of them, whether pleasant or unpleasant; and being, as it is, informed and protected by love, it has neither feeling nor taste nor knowledge of such things, for, as we have said, the soul knows naught but love, and its pleasure in all things and occupations is ever, as we have said, the delight of the love of God" ("Spiritual Canticle", Stanza 27, 8).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment of All
[34] But when the Pharisees heard that He (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, to test Him. [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" [37] And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
__________________________
Commentary:
34-40. In reply to the question, our Lord points out that the whole law can be condensed into two commandments: the first and more important consists in unconditional love of God; the second is a consequence and result of the first, because when man is loved, St. Thomas says, God is loved, for man is the image of God (cf. "Commentary on St. Matthew", 22:4).
A person who genuinely loves God also loves his fellows because he realizes that they are his brothers and sisters, children of the same Father, redeemed by the same blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: "this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also" (1 John 4:21). However, if we love man for man's sake without reference to God, this love will become an obstacle in the way of keeping the first commandment, and then it is no longer genuine love of our neighbor. But love of our neighbor for God's sake is clear proof that we love God: "If anyone says, `I love God', but hates his brother, he is a liar" (1 John 4:20).
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself": here our Lord establishes as the guideline for our love of neighbor the love each of us has for himself; both love of others and love of self are based on love of God. Hence, in some cases it can happen that God requires us to put our neighbor's need before our own; in others, not: it depends on what value, in the light of God's love, needs to be put on the spiritual and material factors involved.
Obviously spiritual goods take absolute precedence over material ones, even over life itself. Therefore, spiritual goods, be they our own or our neighbor's, must be the first to be safeguarded. If the spiritual good in question is the supreme one of the salvation of the soul, no one is justified in putting his own soul into certain danger of being condemned in order to save another, because given human freedom we can never be absolutely sure what personal choice another person may make: this is the situation in the parable (cf. Matthew 25:1-13), where the wise virgins refuse to give oil to the foolish ones; similarly St. Paul says that he would wish himself to be rejected if that could save his brothers (cf. Romans 9:3)--an unreal theoretical situation. However, what is quite clear is that we have to do all we can to save our brothers, conscious that, if someone helps to bring a sinner back to the Way, he will save himself from eternal death and cover a multitude of his own sins (James 5:20). From all this we can deduce that self-love of the right kind, based on God's love for man, necessarily involves forgetting oneself in order to love God and our neighbor for God.
37-38. The commandment of love is the most important commandment because by obeying it man attains his own perfection (cf. Colossians 3:14). "The more a soul loves," St. John of the Cross writes, "the more perfect is it in that which it loves; therefore this soul that is now perfect is wholly love, if it may thus be expressed, and all its actions are love and it employs all its faculties and possessions in loving, giving all that it has, like the wise merchant, for this treasure of love which it has found hidden in God [...]. For, even as the bee extracts from all plants the honey that is in them, and has no use for them for aught else save for that purpose, even so the soul with great facility extracts the sweetness of love that is in all the things that pass through it; it loves God in each of them, whether pleasant or unpleasant; and being, as it is, informed and protected by love, it has neither feeling nor taste nor knowledge of such things, for, as we have said, the soul knows naught but love, and its pleasure in all things and occupations is ever, as we have said, the delight of the love of God" ("Spiritual Canticle", Stanza 27, 8).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 19
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 5. The Passion
What must we do?
Clearly, we must love and honor the Passion. The following are very easy ways of doing so. We honor the Passion:
1. By making the Sign of the Cross.
We make the Sign of the Cross very often; let us make it slowly and reverently. Made reverently, it gives great honor to God. Made hastily, it insults God and is a kind of parody of the Passion.
Let us remember that each time we make the Sign of the Cross, a) We offer the Passion and death of Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father, b) We thank Our Lord for dying for us on the Cross, c) We offer the infinite merits of the Passion for our own souls and for the salvation of the world.
Each time we make the Sign of the Cross this way, we console the Heart of Jesus; we obtain pardon for our sins; we help to save the world from great evils.
2. By repeating often the Holy Name of Jesus.
Because St. Paul tells us that Jesus merited His Name by His Passion and death. Therefore, when we say Jesus, we should have the intention of offering the Passion and death of Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father in union with all the Masses being said all over the world.
3. By kissing our crucifix, especially after our morning and evening prayers, and before and after saying the Rosary.
4. By saying the Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, asking Our Lady to give us a great love for the Passion. We thus honor the Passion of Our Lord and the Dolors of Our Lady.
5. By making the Way of the Cross.
The 14 Stations bring vividly before our minds the sufferings of our Saviour.
6. An excellent and most meritorious way of honoring the Passion is by offering all our sufferings, pains and troubles in union with the sufferings of Our Lord.
This gives our sufferings an indescribable value and obtains for us strength and patience to bear them patiently.
It is so easy to say: "All for Thee, Dear Jesus, Who hast suffered so much for me."
7. By studying the Passion, that is, by reading some books on the Passion.
8. Hearing and offering Mass is the best of all means of honoring the Passion because the Mass is the Passion. It has the same value and brings us the same graces as the Sacrifice of Calvary did.
It is lamentable to see how few Catholics hear Mass with this intention. During Mass many do not even think of the Passion. The Mass is not an imitation of Calvary; it is the same Sacrifice as Calvary, though in an unbloody manner.
These are all very easy ways of honoring the Passion....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 5. The Passion
What must we do?
Clearly, we must love and honor the Passion. The following are very easy ways of doing so. We honor the Passion:
1. By making the Sign of the Cross.
We make the Sign of the Cross very often; let us make it slowly and reverently. Made reverently, it gives great honor to God. Made hastily, it insults God and is a kind of parody of the Passion.
Let us remember that each time we make the Sign of the Cross, a) We offer the Passion and death of Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father, b) We thank Our Lord for dying for us on the Cross, c) We offer the infinite merits of the Passion for our own souls and for the salvation of the world.
Each time we make the Sign of the Cross this way, we console the Heart of Jesus; we obtain pardon for our sins; we help to save the world from great evils.
2. By repeating often the Holy Name of Jesus.
Because St. Paul tells us that Jesus merited His Name by His Passion and death. Therefore, when we say Jesus, we should have the intention of offering the Passion and death of Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father in union with all the Masses being said all over the world.
3. By kissing our crucifix, especially after our morning and evening prayers, and before and after saying the Rosary.
4. By saying the Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, asking Our Lady to give us a great love for the Passion. We thus honor the Passion of Our Lord and the Dolors of Our Lady.
5. By making the Way of the Cross.
The 14 Stations bring vividly before our minds the sufferings of our Saviour.
6. An excellent and most meritorious way of honoring the Passion is by offering all our sufferings, pains and troubles in union with the sufferings of Our Lord.
This gives our sufferings an indescribable value and obtains for us strength and patience to bear them patiently.
It is so easy to say: "All for Thee, Dear Jesus, Who hast suffered so much for me."
7. By studying the Passion, that is, by reading some books on the Passion.
8. Hearing and offering Mass is the best of all means of honoring the Passion because the Mass is the Passion. It has the same value and brings us the same graces as the Sacrifice of Calvary did.
It is lamentable to see how few Catholics hear Mass with this intention. During Mass many do not even think of the Passion. The Mass is not an imitation of Calvary; it is the same Sacrifice as Calvary, though in an unbloody manner.
These are all very easy ways of honoring the Passion....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Gospel for Thursday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: St John Eudes, Priest
From: Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Marriage Feast
[1] And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2] "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, [3] and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. [4] Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' [5] But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6] while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. [7] The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. [9] Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' [10] And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
[11] "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; [12] and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. [13] Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' [14] For many are called, but few are chosen."
______________________
Commentary:
1-14. In this parable Jesus reveals how intensely God the Father desires the salvation of all men--the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven --and the mysterious malice that lies in willingly rejecting the invitation to attend, a malice so vicious that it merits eternal punishment. No human arguments make any sense that go against God's call to conversion and acceptance of faith and its consequences.
The Fathers see in the first invitees the Jewish people: in salvation history God addresses himself first to the Israelites and then to all the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).
Indifference and hostility cause the Israelites to reject God's loving call and therefore to suffer condemnation. But the Gentiles also need to respond faithfully to the call they have received; otherwise they will suffer the fate of being cast "into outer darkness".
"The marriage", says St Gregory the Great ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 36) "is the wedding of Christ and his Church, and the garment is the virtue of charity: a person who goes into the feast without a wedding garment is someone who believes in the Church but does not have charity."
The wedding garment signifies the dispositions a person needs for entering the Kingdom of heaven. Even though he belongs to the Church, if he does not have these dispositions he will be condemned on the day when God judges all mankind. These dispositions essentially mean responding to grace.
13. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the doctrine of the "last things", one aspect of which is covered in this verse. Referring to the eschatological dimension of the Church, the Council recalls our Lord's warning about being on the watch against the wiles of the devil, in order to resist in the evil day (cf. Eph 6:13). "Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and not, like the wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mt 25:26), be ordered to depart into the eternal fire (cf. Mt 25:41), into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth'" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).
14. These words in no way conflict with God's will that all should be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). In his love for men, Christ patiently seeks the conversion of every single soul, going as far as to die on the cross (cf. Mt 23:37; Lk 15:4-7). St Paul teaches this when he says that Christ loved us and "gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). Each of us can assert with the Apostle that Christ "loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). However, God in his infinite wisdom respects man's freedom: man is free to reject grace (cf. Mt 7:13-14).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Marriage Feast
[1] And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2] "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, [3] and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. [4] Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' [5] But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6] while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. [7] The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. [9] Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' [10] And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
[11] "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; [12] and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. [13] Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' [14] For many are called, but few are chosen."
______________________
Commentary:
1-14. In this parable Jesus reveals how intensely God the Father desires the salvation of all men--the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven --and the mysterious malice that lies in willingly rejecting the invitation to attend, a malice so vicious that it merits eternal punishment. No human arguments make any sense that go against God's call to conversion and acceptance of faith and its consequences.
The Fathers see in the first invitees the Jewish people: in salvation history God addresses himself first to the Israelites and then to all the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).
Indifference and hostility cause the Israelites to reject God's loving call and therefore to suffer condemnation. But the Gentiles also need to respond faithfully to the call they have received; otherwise they will suffer the fate of being cast "into outer darkness".
"The marriage", says St Gregory the Great ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 36) "is the wedding of Christ and his Church, and the garment is the virtue of charity: a person who goes into the feast without a wedding garment is someone who believes in the Church but does not have charity."
The wedding garment signifies the dispositions a person needs for entering the Kingdom of heaven. Even though he belongs to the Church, if he does not have these dispositions he will be condemned on the day when God judges all mankind. These dispositions essentially mean responding to grace.
13. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the doctrine of the "last things", one aspect of which is covered in this verse. Referring to the eschatological dimension of the Church, the Council recalls our Lord's warning about being on the watch against the wiles of the devil, in order to resist in the evil day (cf. Eph 6:13). "Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and not, like the wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mt 25:26), be ordered to depart into the eternal fire (cf. Mt 25:41), into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth'" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).
14. These words in no way conflict with God's will that all should be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). In his love for men, Christ patiently seeks the conversion of every single soul, going as far as to die on the cross (cf. Mt 23:37; Lk 15:4-7). St Paul teaches this when he says that Christ loved us and "gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). Each of us can assert with the Apostle that Christ "loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). However, God in his infinite wisdom respects man's freedom: man is free to reject grace (cf. Mt 7:13-14).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 18
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 5. The Passion
We now come to a subject that even the pen of a Saint cannot sufficiently describe, viz., the sufferings and death of our Sweet Lord.
Who could have imagined the possibility of God suffering, despised, crucified?
He could have saved us by one word, as He had created us. Why then did He subject Himself to such awful humiliations, such agonies of pain, to that most ignominious of deaths, meted out to only the greatest malefactors, crucified between two thieves, mocked and blasphemed by His enemies!
One drop of His Precious Blood would have saved a thousand worlds.
Why then did Our Sweet Lord suffer such pain and degradation?
Simply to prove the infinite sincerity of His love for us. And we careless, insensible, thoughtless, blind remain unmoved at the sight of all He did for us.
We look on our crucifix and feel no pity for our Crucified Lord. We look on the Stations of the Cross and feel no answering sorrow stir our hearts.
He did all that God could do to constrain our love, but our coldness, our incredible blindness nullifies all that His Divine Love did to gain our affection.
Worse still: "By our sins," the Apostle tells us, "we crucify again the Son of God and make a mockery of Him."
The Jews had been waiting and praying for the coming of Our Lord for 4,000 years. The Prophets, one after another, foretold the principal facts of His life. He Himself then came and worked astounding miracles to prove that He was God.
But at the sight of His sufferings, the Jews were scandalized; they could not believe that God could suffer.
The Gentiles, although they saw the wonders He wrought, were no less incredulous. They called it madness to say that God would submit to such outrages.
We know and believe that He is God, that He suffered and died for each one of us, yet we are more guilty than the Jews and the Gentiles, for we remain hard and ungrateful at the sight of all that Jesus has done for us.
Why do not our hearts burn with love of Him? Because we do not trouble to think on the Passion, we do not ponder on it, we do not love it....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 5. The Passion
We now come to a subject that even the pen of a Saint cannot sufficiently describe, viz., the sufferings and death of our Sweet Lord.
Who could have imagined the possibility of God suffering, despised, crucified?
He could have saved us by one word, as He had created us. Why then did He subject Himself to such awful humiliations, such agonies of pain, to that most ignominious of deaths, meted out to only the greatest malefactors, crucified between two thieves, mocked and blasphemed by His enemies!
One drop of His Precious Blood would have saved a thousand worlds.
Why then did Our Sweet Lord suffer such pain and degradation?
Simply to prove the infinite sincerity of His love for us. And we careless, insensible, thoughtless, blind remain unmoved at the sight of all He did for us.
We look on our crucifix and feel no pity for our Crucified Lord. We look on the Stations of the Cross and feel no answering sorrow stir our hearts.
He did all that God could do to constrain our love, but our coldness, our incredible blindness nullifies all that His Divine Love did to gain our affection.
Worse still: "By our sins," the Apostle tells us, "we crucify again the Son of God and make a mockery of Him."
The Jews had been waiting and praying for the coming of Our Lord for 4,000 years. The Prophets, one after another, foretold the principal facts of His life. He Himself then came and worked astounding miracles to prove that He was God.
But at the sight of His sufferings, the Jews were scandalized; they could not believe that God could suffer.
The Gentiles, although they saw the wonders He wrought, were no less incredulous. They called it madness to say that God would submit to such outrages.
We know and believe that He is God, that He suffered and died for each one of us, yet we are more guilty than the Jews and the Gentiles, for we remain hard and ungrateful at the sight of all that Jesus has done for us.
Why do not our hearts burn with love of Him? Because we do not trouble to think on the Passion, we do not ponder on it, we do not love it....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Gospel for Wednesday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard
[1] "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; [4] and to them he said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. [5] Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. [6] And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, `Why do you stand here idle all day?' [7] They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You go into the vineyard too.' [8] And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, `Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' [9] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [10] Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. [11] And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, [12] saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' [13] But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? [16] So the last will be first, and the first last."
__________________
Commentary:
1-16. This parable is addressed to the Jewish people, whom God called at an early hour, centuries ago. Now the Gentiles are also being called--with an equal right to form part of the new people of God, the Church. In both cases it is a matter of a gratuitous, unmerited, invitation; therefore, those who were the "first" to receive the call have no grounds for complaining when God calls the "last" and gives them the same reward--membership of His people. At first sight the laborers of the first hour seem to have a genuine grievance--because they do not realize that to have a job in the Lord's vineyard is a divine gift. Jesus leaves us in no doubt that although He calls us to follow different ways, all receive the same reward--Heaven.
2. "Denarius": a silver coin bearing an image of Caesar Augustus (Matthew 22:19-21).
3. The Jewish method of calculating time was different from ours. They divided the whole day into eight parts, four night parts (called "watches") and four day parts (called "hours")--the first, third, sixth and ninth hour.
The first hour began at sunrise and ended around nine o'clock; the third ran to twelve noon; the sixth to three in the afternoon; and the ninth from three to sunset. This meant that the first and ninth hours varied in length, decreasing in autumn and winter and increasing in spring and summer and the reverse happening with the first and fourth watches.
Sometimes intermediate hours were counted--as for example in verse 6 which refers to the eleventh hour, the short period just before sunset, the end of the working day.
16. The Vulgate, other translations and a good many Greek codexes add: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (cf. Matthew 22:14).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard
[1] "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; [4] and to them he said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. [5] Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. [6] And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, `Why do you stand here idle all day?' [7] They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You go into the vineyard too.' [8] And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, `Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' [9] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [10] Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. [11] And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, [12] saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' [13] But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? [16] So the last will be first, and the first last."
__________________
Commentary:
1-16. This parable is addressed to the Jewish people, whom God called at an early hour, centuries ago. Now the Gentiles are also being called--with an equal right to form part of the new people of God, the Church. In both cases it is a matter of a gratuitous, unmerited, invitation; therefore, those who were the "first" to receive the call have no grounds for complaining when God calls the "last" and gives them the same reward--membership of His people. At first sight the laborers of the first hour seem to have a genuine grievance--because they do not realize that to have a job in the Lord's vineyard is a divine gift. Jesus leaves us in no doubt that although He calls us to follow different ways, all receive the same reward--Heaven.
2. "Denarius": a silver coin bearing an image of Caesar Augustus (Matthew 22:19-21).
3. The Jewish method of calculating time was different from ours. They divided the whole day into eight parts, four night parts (called "watches") and four day parts (called "hours")--the first, third, sixth and ninth hour.
The first hour began at sunrise and ended around nine o'clock; the third ran to twelve noon; the sixth to three in the afternoon; and the ninth from three to sunset. This meant that the first and ninth hours varied in length, decreasing in autumn and winter and increasing in spring and summer and the reverse happening with the first and fourth watches.
Sometimes intermediate hours were counted--as for example in verse 6 which refers to the eleventh hour, the short period just before sunset, the end of the working day.
16. The Vulgate, other translations and a good many Greek codexes add: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (cf. Matthew 22:14).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 17
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 4. God's Greatest Proof of Love
...God's especial love was shown to Sinners
...How lovingly He defended Magdalen who, in the house of the proud Pharisee, kissed His feet and washed them with her tears and wiped them with her beautiful hair.
And the Pharisee who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man, if he were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner.
And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it.
A certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?
Simon answering, said: I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And Jesus said to him: Thou hast judged rightly.
And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hair hath wiped them.
Thou gavest me no kiss, but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but she with ointments hath anointed my feet.
Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much.
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.
Our Many Sins, Our Faults, Our Weakness
_______________________________
Seeing then God's infinite goodness and mercy for even the greatest sinners, let us banish our foolish fears and doubts. No matter how weak we are, God's grace will make us strong. Let us have boundless confidence in God's mercy!
Nothing pleases Him more than to pardon us, to purify us, to give us His friendship.
Bear ever in mind His Divine assurance, "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow."
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 4. God's Greatest Proof of Love
...God's especial love was shown to Sinners
...How lovingly He defended Magdalen who, in the house of the proud Pharisee, kissed His feet and washed them with her tears and wiped them with her beautiful hair.
And the Pharisee who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man, if he were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner.
And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it.
A certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?
Simon answering, said: I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And Jesus said to him: Thou hast judged rightly.
And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hair hath wiped them.
Thou gavest me no kiss, but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but she with ointments hath anointed my feet.
Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much.
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.
Our Many Sins, Our Faults, Our Weakness
_______________________________
Seeing then God's infinite goodness and mercy for even the greatest sinners, let us banish our foolish fears and doubts. No matter how weak we are, God's grace will make us strong. Let us have boundless confidence in God's mercy!
Nothing pleases Him more than to pardon us, to purify us, to give us His friendship.
Bear ever in mind His Divine assurance, "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow."
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Monday, August 16, 2010
Gospel for Tuesday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 19:23-30
Christian Poverty and Renunciation
[23] Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [24] Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." [25] When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" [26] But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." [27] Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?" [28] Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man shall sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. [30] But many that are first will be last, and the last first."
_____________________________
Commentary:
24-26. By drawing this comparison Jesus shows that it is simply not possible for people who put their hearts on worldly things to obtain a share in the Kingdom of God.
"With God all things are possible": that is, with God's grace man can be brave and generous enough to use wealth to promote the service of God and man. This is why St. Matthew, in Chapter 5, specifies that the poor "in spirit" are blessed (Matthew 5:3).
28. "In the new world", in the "regeneration": a reference to the renewal of all things which will take place when Jesus Christ comes to judge the living and the dead. The resurrection of the body will be an integral part of this renewal.
The ancient people of God, Israel, was made up of twelve tribes. The new people of God, the Church, to which all men are called, is founded by Jesus Christ on the Twelve Apostles under the primacy of Peter.
29. These graphic remarks should not be explained away. They mean that love for Jesus Christ and His Gospel should come before everything else. What our Lord says here should not be interpreted as conflicting with the will of God Himself, the creator and sanctifier of family bonds.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Christian Poverty and Renunciation
[23] Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [24] Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." [25] When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" [26] But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." [27] Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?" [28] Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man shall sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. [30] But many that are first will be last, and the last first."
_____________________________
Commentary:
24-26. By drawing this comparison Jesus shows that it is simply not possible for people who put their hearts on worldly things to obtain a share in the Kingdom of God.
"With God all things are possible": that is, with God's grace man can be brave and generous enough to use wealth to promote the service of God and man. This is why St. Matthew, in Chapter 5, specifies that the poor "in spirit" are blessed (Matthew 5:3).
28. "In the new world", in the "regeneration": a reference to the renewal of all things which will take place when Jesus Christ comes to judge the living and the dead. The resurrection of the body will be an integral part of this renewal.
The ancient people of God, Israel, was made up of twelve tribes. The new people of God, the Church, to which all men are called, is founded by Jesus Christ on the Twelve Apostles under the primacy of Peter.
29. These graphic remarks should not be explained away. They mean that love for Jesus Christ and His Gospel should come before everything else. What our Lord says here should not be interpreted as conflicting with the will of God Himself, the creator and sanctifier of family bonds.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 16
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 4. God's Greatest Proof of Love
God's especial love was shown to Sinners
The common fear that presents itself to most minds is that we are weak and sinful, full of faults and defects. How then can we be saints?
Our Lord, answering this objection, tells us that He came on Earth, not for the just, but for sinners. He showed His friendship for sinners so clearly that His enemies in derision called Him "the friend of sinners."
He tells us, "There shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance." (Lk. 15:7).
He assures us that if our sins are as red as scarlet He will make them as white as snow. This He is doing every day. He chose for His Apostles sinners, rude, weak men. St. Peter denied Him; St. Thomas refused to believe in His Resurrection; all, with the exception of John, abandoned Him in His Passion. St. Paul was a fierce persecutor of the Church and sought to destroy His work.
Yet these weak and sinful men He made so strong that they glorified in suffering for Him. In the face of every danger and difficulty they divided the whole world between them, as mighty conquerors, destroying paganism with all its horrors arid implanting in its place Christian civilization.
How touching was His pardon of the poor woman taken in the commission of adultery. The Jews sought to force Jesus to condemn her to a cruel death, which was the penalty established by the law for the crime that she had committed.
Covered with shame they pushed her forward before Our Lord and denounced her.
Our Blessed Saviour said to her accusers: "Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone at her."
Full of confusion, they slunk away.
Then Jesus said to the sinner: "Woman, has anyone condemned thee?" She replied, "No, Lord."
"Neither shall I. Go in peace. Sin no more."
She left His presence overflowing with love for Him.
This is what He says to us each time we go to Confession, but alas, we are not so grateful as she was!...
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 4. God's Greatest Proof of Love
God's especial love was shown to Sinners
The common fear that presents itself to most minds is that we are weak and sinful, full of faults and defects. How then can we be saints?
Our Lord, answering this objection, tells us that He came on Earth, not for the just, but for sinners. He showed His friendship for sinners so clearly that His enemies in derision called Him "the friend of sinners."
He tells us, "There shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance." (Lk. 15:7).
He assures us that if our sins are as red as scarlet He will make them as white as snow. This He is doing every day. He chose for His Apostles sinners, rude, weak men. St. Peter denied Him; St. Thomas refused to believe in His Resurrection; all, with the exception of John, abandoned Him in His Passion. St. Paul was a fierce persecutor of the Church and sought to destroy His work.
Yet these weak and sinful men He made so strong that they glorified in suffering for Him. In the face of every danger and difficulty they divided the whole world between them, as mighty conquerors, destroying paganism with all its horrors arid implanting in its place Christian civilization.
How touching was His pardon of the poor woman taken in the commission of adultery. The Jews sought to force Jesus to condemn her to a cruel death, which was the penalty established by the law for the crime that she had committed.
Covered with shame they pushed her forward before Our Lord and denounced her.
Our Blessed Saviour said to her accusers: "Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone at her."
Full of confusion, they slunk away.
Then Jesus said to the sinner: "Woman, has anyone condemned thee?" She replied, "No, Lord."
"Neither shall I. Go in peace. Sin no more."
She left His presence overflowing with love for Him.
This is what He says to us each time we go to Confession, but alas, we are not so grateful as she was!...
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Gospel for Monday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 19:16-22
The Rich Young Man
[16] And behold, one man came up to Him (Jesus), saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" [17] And He said to him, "Why do you ask Me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." [18] He said to Him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, [19] Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [20] The young man said to Him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" [21] Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." [22] When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
______________________
Commentary:
17. The Vulgate and other translations, supported by a good many Greek codexes, fill this verse out by saying, "One alone is good, God."
20-22. "What do I still lack?" The young man kept the commandments that were necessary for salvation. But there is more. This is why our Lord replies, "if you would be perfect..." that is to say, if you want to acquire what is still lacking to you. Jesus is giving him an additional calling, "Come, follow Me": He is showing that He wants him to follow Him more closely, and therefore He requires, as He does others (cf. Matthew 4:19-22), to give up anything that might hinder his full dedication to the Kingdom of God.
The scene ends rather pathetically: the young man goes away sad. His attachment to his property prevails over Jesus' affectionate invitation. Here is sadness of the kind that stems from cowardice, from failure to respond to God's calling with personal commitment.
In reporting this episode, the evangelists are actually giving us a case-study which describes a situation and formulates a law, a case-study of specific divine vocation to devote oneself to God's service and the service of all men.
This young man has become a symbol of the kind of Christian whose mediocrity and shortsightedness prevent him from turning his life into a generous, fruitful self-giving to the service of God and neighbor.
What would this young man have become, had be been generous enough to respond to God's call? A great apostle, surely.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Rich Young Man
[16] And behold, one man came up to Him (Jesus), saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" [17] And He said to him, "Why do you ask Me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." [18] He said to Him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, [19] Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [20] The young man said to Him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" [21] Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." [22] When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
______________________
Commentary:
17. The Vulgate and other translations, supported by a good many Greek codexes, fill this verse out by saying, "One alone is good, God."
20-22. "What do I still lack?" The young man kept the commandments that were necessary for salvation. But there is more. This is why our Lord replies, "if you would be perfect..." that is to say, if you want to acquire what is still lacking to you. Jesus is giving him an additional calling, "Come, follow Me": He is showing that He wants him to follow Him more closely, and therefore He requires, as He does others (cf. Matthew 4:19-22), to give up anything that might hinder his full dedication to the Kingdom of God.
The scene ends rather pathetically: the young man goes away sad. His attachment to his property prevails over Jesus' affectionate invitation. Here is sadness of the kind that stems from cowardice, from failure to respond to God's calling with personal commitment.
In reporting this episode, the evangelists are actually giving us a case-study which describes a situation and formulates a law, a case-study of specific divine vocation to devote oneself to God's service and the service of all men.
This young man has become a symbol of the kind of Christian whose mediocrity and shortsightedness prevent him from turning his life into a generous, fruitful self-giving to the service of God and neighbor.
What would this young man have become, had be been generous enough to respond to God's call? A great apostle, surely.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
An Easy Way to Become a Saint - August 15
Continued from yesterday...
Chapter 4. God's Great4est Proof of Love
The Incarnation
God, as St. Paul tells us, has poured out all the treasures of His infinite love for us in the mystery of the Incarnation. "What could I do for My vineyard that I have not done." Even God could do no more, could give no greater, no clearer, no proof of love more manifest than by becoming man for us.
He, the Omnipotent Creator, the God Whom the Angels adore in Heaven, became a little babe, passed nine months in His Mother's womb, was born in a stable between two animals, lived for 30 years a hidden life, poor, humble and despised.
This was followed by three years of public life in which He did all that God could do to win our love.
Finally, He suffered a most ignominious and cruel death. Yet all these Divine efforts to make us love Him are nullified by our incredible lack of appreciation.
Let us try to repair this hateful ingratitude by carefully pondering on the touching events in Our Lord's life. Let us try to rouse ourselves from this fatal lethargy, this insane want of appreciation of God's mercies and love.
We cannot say in truth that we have not seen God, for He became man expressly to show Himself to us. He remained on Earth 33 years that we might know Him as He is, that we might see for ourselves His infinite goodness, sweetness and love and thus be drawn and compelled to love Him in return. We are in one way more privileged than the Angels themselves, for God never became an Angel, He never took the Angelic Nature, He never raised it up to the dignity of the Godhead, as He did our human nature.
He remained on Earth 33 years, and His life can be summarized in these few words: "He went about doing good to all." He consoled the sorrowful and cured the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf and the dumb. He cleansed the poor lepers and brought them back to their homes, from which they had been driven. He raised the dead to life. What a story of love!
The multitudes thronged around Him, gazing on His Divine Face in raptures of joy, listening spell-bound to His words. One poor woman, speaking for all, cried out: "Blessed is the womb that bore Thee and the breasts that gave Thee suck!"
What an outburst of admiration! With good reason God's priests repeat every day in their Divine Office these beautiful words.
The crowds followed Him for long hours, even for entire days at a time, listening to Him, loving Him, charmed by His unceasing proofs of love and pity.
Seeing a poor widow weeping bitterly over her dead son, He was filled with pity and raised the boy to life and gave him back to his sorrowing mother.
He assisted at a wedding feast, and when the wine went short, He worked His first miracle and turned water into wine, lest the young couple might suffer shame!
How tenderly He showed His love for Peter, asking him three times, "Lovest thou me more than these? . . . Lovest thou me?" (Jn. 21:15, 16, 17).
At the Last Supper He allowed John to recline his head on His Divine Bosom. What ineffable love! John never did anything that pleased Jesus so much. What, indeed, could be more affectionate, more tender!
He loved to visit Martha and Mary in their home at Bethania, and when their brother Lazarus died, He, the Son of God, wept over His dear friend. Seeing the sorrow of Martha and Magdalen, He raised their brother to life, though he had been dead for four days.
All His life was one long series of these wonderful proofs of affection and love. The more we read the wonderful story of Jesus, the more we must love Him. We read stories of great men, of heroes, of heroines of charity and feel thrilled at what they have done, wishing only that we could do likewise.
What romance, what human story recounts the touching incidents that we meet with in every page of the Gospels.
Why do we not read every day these divinely inspired pages. Why not meditate on the countless proofs of love our sweet Lord has given us? Though we do not live in the time of Christ, though we do not look on His Divine countenance, we have the fullest, clearest chronicle of all He said and did.
If we only read these pages, we will not complain that we do not see our Dear Lord....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
Chapter 4. God's Great4est Proof of Love
The Incarnation
God, as St. Paul tells us, has poured out all the treasures of His infinite love for us in the mystery of the Incarnation. "What could I do for My vineyard that I have not done." Even God could do no more, could give no greater, no clearer, no proof of love more manifest than by becoming man for us.
He, the Omnipotent Creator, the God Whom the Angels adore in Heaven, became a little babe, passed nine months in His Mother's womb, was born in a stable between two animals, lived for 30 years a hidden life, poor, humble and despised.
This was followed by three years of public life in which He did all that God could do to win our love.
Finally, He suffered a most ignominious and cruel death. Yet all these Divine efforts to make us love Him are nullified by our incredible lack of appreciation.
Let us try to repair this hateful ingratitude by carefully pondering on the touching events in Our Lord's life. Let us try to rouse ourselves from this fatal lethargy, this insane want of appreciation of God's mercies and love.
We cannot say in truth that we have not seen God, for He became man expressly to show Himself to us. He remained on Earth 33 years that we might know Him as He is, that we might see for ourselves His infinite goodness, sweetness and love and thus be drawn and compelled to love Him in return. We are in one way more privileged than the Angels themselves, for God never became an Angel, He never took the Angelic Nature, He never raised it up to the dignity of the Godhead, as He did our human nature.
He remained on Earth 33 years, and His life can be summarized in these few words: "He went about doing good to all." He consoled the sorrowful and cured the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf and the dumb. He cleansed the poor lepers and brought them back to their homes, from which they had been driven. He raised the dead to life. What a story of love!
The multitudes thronged around Him, gazing on His Divine Face in raptures of joy, listening spell-bound to His words. One poor woman, speaking for all, cried out: "Blessed is the womb that bore Thee and the breasts that gave Thee suck!"
What an outburst of admiration! With good reason God's priests repeat every day in their Divine Office these beautiful words.
The crowds followed Him for long hours, even for entire days at a time, listening to Him, loving Him, charmed by His unceasing proofs of love and pity.
Seeing a poor widow weeping bitterly over her dead son, He was filled with pity and raised the boy to life and gave him back to his sorrowing mother.
He assisted at a wedding feast, and when the wine went short, He worked His first miracle and turned water into wine, lest the young couple might suffer shame!
How tenderly He showed His love for Peter, asking him three times, "Lovest thou me more than these? . . . Lovest thou me?" (Jn. 21:15, 16, 17).
At the Last Supper He allowed John to recline his head on His Divine Bosom. What ineffable love! John never did anything that pleased Jesus so much. What, indeed, could be more affectionate, more tender!
He loved to visit Martha and Mary in their home at Bethania, and when their brother Lazarus died, He, the Son of God, wept over His dear friend. Seeing the sorrow of Martha and Magdalen, He raised their brother to life, though he had been dead for four days.
All His life was one long series of these wonderful proofs of affection and love. The more we read the wonderful story of Jesus, the more we must love Him. We read stories of great men, of heroes, of heroines of charity and feel thrilled at what they have done, wishing only that we could do likewise.
What romance, what human story recounts the touching incidents that we meet with in every page of the Gospels.
Why do we not read every day these divinely inspired pages. Why not meditate on the countless proofs of love our sweet Lord has given us? Though we do not live in the time of Christ, though we do not look on His Divine countenance, we have the fullest, clearest chronicle of all He said and did.
If we only read these pages, we will not complain that we do not see our Dear Lord....
[Continued tomorrow]
_________________________
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949
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