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Arch Bishop Micheal Ralph Vendegna S.O.S.M.A.

Spiritual Reading


  • Monday 28 September 2020

    Monday of week 26 in Ordinary Time 
    or Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr 
    or Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs 


    Spiritual Reading

    Your Second Reading from the Office of Readings:


    Monday of week 26 in Ordinary Time

    From a letter of St Polycarp to the Philippians
    Let us arm ourself with justice

    Brethren, I am writing to you about righteousness, not of my own initiative but because you asked me. I am not able — no-one like me is able — to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who, when he was among you in the presence of the men of that time, taught accurately and steadfastly the word of truth, and also when he was absent wrote letters to you. Study those letters and you will be able to build yourselves up into the faith given you. Faith is the mother of us all, going forward with hope following and with love of God and Christ and neighbour leading the way. If a man is among these then he has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness, for he who has love is far from all sin.
    But the beginning of all evils is the love of money. Therefore, knowing that we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it, let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness, and let us first of all teach ourselves to walk in the commandment of the Lord. Next let us teach our wives to remain in the faith given to them, in love and purity, tenderly loving their husbands in all truth, and loving all others equally in all chastity, and to educate their children in the fear of God. Let us teach the widows to be discreet in the faith of the Lord, praying ceaselessly for all men, being far from all slander, evil speaking, false witness, love of money, and all evil, knowing that they are the altar of God, and that all offerings are tested, and that nothing escapes him: not reasoning, not thought, not the secret things of the heart.
    Knowing then that God is not mocked we ought to journey through life in a way that is worthy of his precepts and his glory. In the same way, the deacons must be blameless before his righteousness, being the servants of God and Christ and not of man — not slanderers, not double-tongued, not lovers of money, temperate in all things, compassionate, careful, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who was the servant of all. If we please him in this present world we shall receive from him the world which is to come; for he promised us to raise us from the dead. If we are worthy citizens of his community, we shall also reign with him, if only we have faith.


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    Other choices for today:

    Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr

    A statue, probably by Peter Parler, in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague.


    From the first old Slavic legend
    The throne of the king who judges the poor faithfully will be made firm for ever

    At the death of Vratislaus the people of Bohemia made his son Wenceslaus their king. He was by God’s grace a man of utmost faith. He was charitable to the poor, and he would clothe the naked, feed the hungry and offer hospitality to travellers according to the summons of the Gospel. He would not allow widows to be treated unjustly; he loved all his people, both rich and poor; he also provided for the servants of God, and he adorned many churches.
    The men of Bohemia, however, became arrogant and prevailed upon Boleslaus, his younger brother. They told him, “Your brother Wenceslaus is conspiring with his mother and his men to kill you.”
    On the feasts of the dedication of the churches in various cities, Wenceslaus was in the habit of paying them a visit. One Sunday he entered the city of Boleslaus on the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian, and after hearing Mass, he planned to return to Prague. But Boleslaus, with his wicked plan in mind, detained him with the words: “Why are you leaving, brother?” The next morning when they rang the bell for matins, Wenceslaus, on hearing the sound, said: “Praise to you, Lord; you have allowed me to live to this morning.” And so he rose and went to matins. Immediately Boleslaus followed him to the church door.
    Wenceslaus looked back at him and said: “Brother, you were a good subject to me yesterday.” But the devil had already blocked the ears of Boleslaus and perverted his heart. Drawing his sword Boleslaus replied: “And now I intend to be a better one!” With these words he struck his brother’s head with his sword. But Wenceslaus turned and said: “Brother, what are you trying to do?” And with that he seized Boleslaus and threw him to the ground. But one of Boleslaus’ counsellors ran up and stabbed Wenceslaus in the hand. With his hand wounded, he let go of his brother and took refuge in the church. But two evil men struck him down at the church door; and then another rushed up and ran him through with a sword. Thereupon Wenceslaus died with the words: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!


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    Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs

    A statue of St Lorenzo Ruiz at the 26 Martyrs Museum, Nagasaki.


    From a sermon by Pope John Paul II at the beatification of the martyrs of Nagasaki
    In shedding their blood they offered God a great act of worship and love

    According to his Gospel promise, Christ is truly acknowledging, in the presence of his Father in heaven, those faithful martyrs who acknowledged him before men.
    The hymn of glory to God which has just been sung by numberless voices is an echo of the Te Deum sung in the Church of Santo Domingo on the evening of December 27, 1637, when the news arrived of the martyrdom at Nagasaki of a group of six Christians. Among them were the head of the mission, Father Antonio González, a Spanish Dominican from León, and Lorenzo Ruiz, a married man with a family, born in Manila extra muros: in the suburb of Binondo. These witnesses had also in their turn sung psalms to the Lord of mercy and power, both while they were in prison and during their execution by the gallows and the pit, which lasted three days.
    Faith conquers the world. The preaching of this faith enlightens like the sun all who wish to attain the knowledge of truth. Indeed, although there are different languages in the world, the power of the Christian tradition is the same.
    The Lord Jesus by his blood truly redeemed his servants, gathered from every race, tongue, people and nation, to make them a royal priesthood for our God.
    The sixteen blessed martyrs, by the exercise of their priesthood – that of baptism or of Holy Orders – performed the greatest act of worship and love of God by the sacrifice of their blood united with Christ’s own Sacrifice of the Cross. In this way they imitated Christ the priest and victim in the most perfect way possible for human creatures. It was at the same time an act of the greatest possible love for their brethren, for whose sake we are all called to sacrifice ourselves, following the example of the Son of God who sacrificed himself for us.
    This is what Lorenzo Ruiz did. Guided by the Holy Spirit to an unexpected goal after an adventurous journey, he told the court that he was a Christian, and must die for God: “Had I many thousands of lives I would offer them all for him. Never shall I apostatise. You may kill me if that is what you want. To die for God – such is my will”.
    Here we have him summed up; here we have a description of his faith and the reason fοr his death. It was at this moment that this young father of a family professed and brought to completion the Christian catechesis that he had received in the Dominican Friars’ school in Binondo: a catechesis that cannot be other than Christ-centred, by reason both of the mystery it contains and the fact that it is Christ who teaches through the lips of his messenger.
    The example of Lorenzo Ruiz, the son of a Chinese father and Tagala mother, reminds us that everyone’s life and the whole of one’s life must be at Christ’s disposal.
    Christianity means daily giving, in response to the gift of Christ who came into the world so that all might have life and have it to the full.


    Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.

     

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