|
|
Post by Admin on Feb 26, 2018 9:21:03 GMT
MONDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT.
LESSON. (Dan. ix. 15 — 19.) In those days, Daniel prayed to the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, who hast brought forth thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name as at this day: we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, O Lord, against all thy justice: let thy wrath and thy indignation be turned away, I beseech thee, from thy city Jerusalem, and from thy holy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and thy people are a reproach to all that are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of thy servant and his prayers: and shew thy face upon thy sanctuary which is desolate, for thy own sake. Incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear: open thy eyes, and see our desolation, and the city upon which thy name is called: for it is not for our justifications that we present our prayers before thy face, but for the multitude of thy tender mercies. O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased: hearken and do: delay not for thy own sake, O my God: because thy name is invoked upon thy city, and upon thy people, O Lord our God.
EXPLANATION. Under the reign of king Joachim, the Jews with their king were led into the Babylonian captivity in punishment for their wickedness, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. Daniel, also, though a faithful follower of the divine law, was among the captives. On account of his wisdom he was raised to great dignities by king Nabuchodonosor, but he could not forget the destruction of the temple, of Jerusalem, and the sad condition of the Jews who were to remain seventy years in painful servitude before they could return to their own country. In this lesson the prophet prays to God for the speedy return of his people, and for the restoration of the city and temple; by which we are taught, at the same time, to entreat God for redemption from the servitude of sin, and for the restoration of the immaculate purity of our soul which is destroyed by sin. GOSPEL. (John viii, 21 — 29.) At that time. Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: I go, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come. The Jews therefore said: Will he kill himself, because he said: Whither I go, you cannot come? And he said to them: You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore I say to you, that you shall die in your sins; for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin. They said there fore to him: Who art thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you. Many things I have to speak and to judge of you; but he that sent me is true: and the things I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world. And they understood not that he called God his Father. Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things 1 speak: and he that sent me is with me, and he hath not left me alone: for I do always the things that please him. EXPLANATION. Christ here tells the Jews, who, out of hatred, intended to put Him to death, and were lying in wait for an opportunity to do so, that whither He was going, they could not come, that is, to His Father in heaven, because they were taken up with the riches and pleasures of this world only, and, therefore, did not believe, that He had come from heaven to redeem the world, and so they die in their sins. — Let us learn from this how necessary it is that we should despise the world, for the friendship of this world is the enmity of God,(Jam.iv. 4.) and he who is a friend of the world, loses his faith, and dies in his sins. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Feb 27, 2018 10:36:04 GMT
TUESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT LESSON. (iii Kings xvii. 8 — 16.) In those days, The word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go to Sarephta a city of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow-woman there to feed thee. He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow-woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And when she was going to fetch it, he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse: behold I am gathering two sticks , that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elias said to her: Fear not, but go, and do as thou hast said: but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me: and after make for thyself and thy son. For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth. She went and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.
EXPLANATION. In this lesson the Church calls our attention, to the example of the widow of Sarephta who was willing to share her last morsel with the prophet Elias, thereby proving how pleasing to God it is to be charitable to the poor, which virtue He rewards even in this world. "Almsgiving", says St.Chrysostom, "is the most profitable profession;" and St. John, Archbishop of Alexandria, who on account of his charity to the poor received the name of "Almgiver", often said: "The more I give to the poor, the more and the greater do I receive from God." Do likewise, and thou wilt find, that even now the hand of the Lord is not shortened. GOSPEL. (Matt, xxiii. i — 12.) At that time, Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying: the Scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders: but with a finger of their own they will not move them. And all their works they do for to be seen of men; for they make their phylacteries broad and enlarge their fringes. And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in in the synagogues, and salutations in the market-place, and to be called by men, Rabbi. But be not you called Rabbi; for one is your Master, and all you are brethren. And call none your father upon earth: for one is your Father, who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, Christ. He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself, shall be exalted.
EXPLANATION. Christ warns us against the hypocrisy and ambition of the Pharisees who, not seeing how miserable they were, sought only to be honored and praised. Flee from vain glory, ambition, and hypocrisy, for "all the virtues and excellent qualities of a man, if he is puffed with pride and vanity, have only the appearance of good without inward value," says St. Francis deSales, (Phil. hi. 4.) and St. Gregory says, “All that we do, is lost, if it is not founded on humility;" and St. Bernard, "Narrow is the door of heaven, and only the small can pass through," that is, only those who, like children, walk simply and humbly. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Feb 28, 2018 10:44:16 GMT
WEDNESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT.
LESSON. (Esther xiii. 8 — 17.) In those days, Mardochai besought the Lord, remembering all his works, and said: O Lord, Lord, almighty King, for all things are in thy power, and there is none that can resist thy will, if thou determine to save Israel. Thou hast made heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven. Thou art Lord of all, and there is none that can resist thy majesty. Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest that it was not out of pride and contempt, or any desire of glory, that I refused to worship the proud Aman, (for I would willingly and readily for the salvation of Israel have kissed even the steps of his feet,) but I feared lest I should transfer the honor of my God to a man, and lest I should adore any one except my God. And now O Lord, O King, O God of Abraham, have mercy on thy people, because our enemies resolve to destroy us, and extinguish thy inheritance. Despise not thy portion which thou hast redeemed for thyself out of Egypt. Hear my supplication, and be merciful to thy lot and inheritance, and turn our mourning into joy, that we may live and praise thy name O Lord, and shut not the mouths of them that sing to thee, O Lord our God.
EXPLANATION. Aman, one of the favorites of the Persian King Assuerus, aspired in his pride and conceit to divine honors. Mardochai, a Jew and foster-father of Queen Esther, refused them to him, because they are due only to God. In revenge Aman sought to destroy all the Jews, and bring Mardochai to the gallows, which he had already erected for him. In this strait Mardochai prayed to God, and his prayer was heard. Aman himself, when his evil intentions became known, was hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mardochai. — Consider the effect of Mardochai's prayer, and the truth that God ruins the proud, (Luke i. 52.) and that he who diggeth a pit for his neighbor, generally falls into it himself. GOSPEL. (Matt. xx. 17 — 28.) At that time, Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said to them: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified, and the third day he shall rise again. Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, adoring and asking some thing of him. Who said to her: What wilt thou? She saith to him: Say that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom. And Jesus answering, said: You know not what you ask. Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink? They say to him: We can. He saith to them: Of my chalice indeed you shall drink: but to sit on my right or left hand, is not mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is prepared by my Father. And the ten hearing it, were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them to him, and said: You know that the princes of the Gentiles lord it over them: and they that are the greater, exercise power upon them. It shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister: and he that will be first among you, shall be your servant; even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many.
EXPLANATION.I. For the last time the Saviour goes to Jerusalem, and, on His way, announces His death on the cross to the twelve apostles. Of this St. Chrysostom says: "The salvation of men is in the death of Christ, and there is nothing for which we should thank God more than for the death of His Son. Therefore Christ took the twelve apostles aside, and told them of the mystery of His death, that this precious treasure might be enclosed in the best hearts, that is, in the hearts of the apostles that they might give it to all men. II. To the ambitious request of the mother of James and John, Jesus replied, that they must indeed suffer, but to sit at His right hand He could not give. Of this St. Remigius and the venerable Bede write: "It is not suitable or me to give them the place at my right hand, because you are ambitious. This place is prepared for the humble. If you are humble, it is also ready for you." See how necessary is humility, for without it even martyrdom is not rewarded. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 1, 2018 10:46:53 GMT
THURSDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT. LESSON. (Jer. xvii. 5 — 10.) Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like tamarick in the desert, and he shall not see when good shall come: but he shall dwell in dryness in the desert, in a salt land, and not inhabited. Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence. And he shall be as a tree that is planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots towards moisture: and it shall not fear when the heat cometh. And the leaf thereof shall be green, and in the time of % drought it shall not be solicitous, neither shall it cease at any time to bring forth fruit. The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable: who can know it? I am the Lord that search the heart, and prove the reins: who give to every one according to his way, and according to the fruit of his devices, saith the Lord Almighty.
INSTRUCTION. There is a threefold curse of God upon him who confides in man, and not in God; namely, God, the angels, and saints abandon him; all divine grace and assistance in good works are withdrawn from him; all the merit of his work is taken away, and all his actions and undertakings will bring no good fruit. Never place your confidence, therefore, in miserable, fickle man, but in the omnipotent eternal God, and you will always receive assistance. GOSPEL. (Luke xvi. 19 — 31.) At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees: There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen: and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table and no one did give him: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off. And Lazarus in his bosom: and he cried and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that thou didst receive good things in thy life-time, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented: and besides all this, between us and you there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither. And he said: Then father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send him to my father's house; for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments. And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them. But he said: No, Father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance. And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.
EXPLANATION. Christ teaches in this parable that those who make bad use of earthly riches, and abuse them by vain luxuries, will be deprived of eternal good and punished with everlasting torments, while those, who following Christ's example, lead a poor, toilsome, but virtuous life, will be eternally rewarded. "It is difficult, even impossible," writes St. Jerome, "for those who enjoy riches here, to enjoy eternal ones in future; impossible for one here to fill his stomach, and in the next world his soul, passing over from earthly pleasures to heavenly joys, receiving honor on earth and honor also in heaven." |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2018 11:12:56 GMT
FRIDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT.
LESSON. (Gen. xxxvii. 6 — 22.) In those days, Joseph said to his brethren: Hear my dream which I dreamed: I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about bowed down before my sheaf. His brethren answered: Shalt thou be our king? or shall we be subject to thy dominion? Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred. He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshipping me. And when he had told this to his father, and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said: What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth? His brethren therefore envied him: but his father considered the thing with himself. And when his brethren abode in Sichem, feeding their father's flocks, Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered: I am ready: he said to him: Go, and see if. all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to Sichem: and a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked what he sought. But he answered: I seek my brethren, tell me where they feed the flocks. And the man said to him: They are departed from this place: for I heard them say: let us go to Dothain. And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain. And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him: and said one to another: Behold 'the dreamer cometh, come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit: and we will say: some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him. And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of their hands, and said: Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood: but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands harmless: now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of their hands, and to restore him to his father.
INSTRUCTION. This history shows us to what great crimes men may be led by envy. St. Cyprian' says: "envy is the root of all evil, the foundation of war, the seed of crime," and St. Chrysostom, "The envious are worse than wild beasts, and equal to the devils, even still worse than they; for the devils injure neither themselves nor their kind, while the envious honor not the ties of nature, nor spare even themselves." The Christian, therefore, should guard against nothing more than the snares of envy.
INSTRUCTION ON THE VICE OF ENVY, AND THE MEANS TO OVERCOME IT.
ENVY is either a pain, a kind of sadness because of another's prosperity, or joy at his misfortunes. He is envious who is inwardly disturbed, grieved, and sad, if his neighbor possesses more, is more honored, or gains more than he, or who rejoices if his neighbor is injured, if shame falls upon him, or if he loses his reputation. Envy is felt towards those who occupy a higher position, because the envious one cannot become their equal; towards those of inferior condition, because he fears they will become equal to him; and to his equals, because he possesses no more than they. Such was the envy of Saul towards David, of the Pharisees towards Christ. Envy is one of the most detestable of vices, because t is so frequently found on earth, and none other so destroys individual happiness, as well as the welfare of whole nations. Its consequences are often enmity, vengeance, murder. It at once opposes the love of our neighbor, and is there- fore hated by God. To exterminate the roots of this vice as soon as they germinate in the heart, it is well to consider often: I. That envious people are like the devil who is dissatisfied at our good works, and who feels the greatest pain on account of them, because of the eternal reward promised, and which he has lost, and can never regain. St. Augustine says: "0, that God would turn away the pest of envy from all Christian souls, for envy is a diabolical crime, the only one of which the devil is in an unforgiving manner properly guilty, because as a fallen spirit, he most furiously envies man who remains standing;" II. That nothing is gained by the vice, but the envious one embitters his own life; peace of heart abandons him, whether he sees his neighbor in prosperity or in adversity ; III. That the envious one loses the benefit of all his neighbor's good works, because he has no love for him, and is not in the state of grace; he becomes constantly poorer and more corrupt the more his neighbor increases in good works. This St. Gregory indicates, when he says: "Love, by its love, has a share in the good deeds of its neighbor, but envy turns them, by its hatred into so many heart-sores;" IV. That envy devours the heart, consumes the body, tortures the spirit and frightens away all joy from the soul. The Scriptures call envy the rottenness of the bones; (Prov. xiv. 30.) some Fathers of the Church call it the judge and executioner of man, because the envious person destroys himself by his own self-torments; finally, V. That envy is generally born of the mother of all sins: Pride. As a proud person cannot endure any one who stands higher than he, has more than he, or makes himself equal to him; so envy springs up in his heart towards those who excel him, who gain or possess more than he. Strive therefore, to practise the virtue of humility, and consider that God regards not the dignity, nor the wealth, or honor of man, but the humble, meek, and loving heart, which he makes still richer with His blessings.
ASPIRATION. O Jesus who wast made to suffer so much by the envy of the Phar isees, grant, that I may despise this vice, and always love my neighbor, thus imitating Thee who didst shed Thy blood for love of me. GOSPEL. (Matt. xxi. 33 — 46.) At that time, Jesus spoke to the multitude of the Jews, and to the chief priests this parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge round about it, and dug in it a press, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a strange country. And when the time of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits thereof. And the husbandmen, laying hands on his servants, beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the former: and they did to them in like manner. And last of all he sent to them his Son, saying: They will reverence my son. But the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance. And taking him they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say to him: He will bring those evil men to an evil end: and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, that shall render him the fruit in due season. Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone, which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this hath been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes: therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees; had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them. And seeking to lay hands on him they feared the multitudes: because they held him as a prophet.
EXPLANATION. The householder in this parable, is God; the vineyard is the Church before and after Christ; the hedge, the protection of God's providence and His angels; the wine-press is the word of God, which exhorts man to good; the tower, the earthly protection of superiors; the husbandmen are the priests, the kings, the judges, and the learned; the going away of the householder represents the invisibility of God; the time of the fruits, that is, of good works, should always be at hand, because we should always be serving God, and producing the fruit of good works; the servants are the prophets and apostles; the son, Christ Jesus whom the Jews crucified, and whom sinners and the enemies of Christianity still crucify. The kingdom of God was, therefore, taken away from the Jews, and will be taken from sinners and Christ's enemies, because they despise and persecute the Lord, and by their sins crucify Him anew. Woe to you, if you acknowledge not the truth, and if you bring not forth good fruits! |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 3, 2018 10:57:47 GMT
SATURDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT.
LESSON. (Gen. xxvii. 6 — 40.) In those days, Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him: Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die. Now therefore, my son, follow my counsel: and go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth: which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die. And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth: if my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think, I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing. And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said. He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats such as she knew his father liked. And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her: and the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck. And she gave him the savory meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked. Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou my son? And Jacob said: I am Esau thy first-born: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God that what I sought came quickly in my way: and Isaac said: Come hither, that 1 may feel thee my son , and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or no. He came near to his father, and when he had felt him. Isaac said: The voice indeed, is the voice of Jacob: but the hands, are the hands of Esau. And he knew him not. because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing- him, he said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am. Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk, he said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son. He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him. he said: Be- hold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed. God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine. And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother's children bow down be- fore thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings. Isaac- had scarce ended his words, when Jacob being now gone out abroad. Esau came, and brought in to his father meats made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son's venison: that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy first-born son Esau. Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly: and wondering beyond what can be believed, said: Who is he that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou earnest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed. Esau having heard his father's words, roared out with a great cry: and being in a consternation, said: Bless me also, my father. And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing. But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob: for he hath supplanted me lot his second time: my first birth-right he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing? Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son? And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry, Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above shall thy blessing be.
INSTRUCTION. The two sons of Isaac so esteemed their father's blessing, that one of them even strove to gain it by a fraud, and the other wept and lamented for losing it. Let us not disregard the blessing of our parents, because, as the Bible says, it builds houses for the children, while their curse uproots their foundations.(Ecclus. iii. 11.) If the Patriarch Jacob sinned by deceiving his father, we must bear in mind, that we are not to imagine ourselves secure, and that we should never let ourselves be led into even the smallest sin to gain any good however great. GOSPEL. (Luke xv. n — 32.) At that time, Jesus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees this parable: A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance. And not many days after, the younger son gathering all together, went abroad into a far country, and there wasted his substance living riotously. And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country, and he began to be in want. And he went, and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And returning to himself. he said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger? I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father. I have sinned against heaven, and before thee: 1 am not now worthy to be called thy son: make meas one of thy hired servants. And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way oft", his father saw him. and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him: Father. I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him. and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his eldest son was in the field; and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing: and he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said to him: Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe. And he was angry and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him. And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son is come who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine: but it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead , and is come to life again: he was lost and is found. EXPLANATION. This parable was spoken principally for the Pharisees, who reproached our Saviour for the love He bore publicans and sinners; at the same time it is a trustworthy testimony, for all sinners, to the willingness of God, the best Father, to receive at all times, and with most compassionate love, everyone, even the greatest sinner, who truly repents, forgiving and forgetting all his misdeeds. "The food of the Heavenly Father is our salvation," says St. Ambrose, "and His joy is our redemption from our sins." If you have sinned like the prodigal son, should not the unspeakable love and goodness of God move you to conversion? |
|
