DAILY GOSPEL: 11/12/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Saturday of the Second week of Advent
Book of Sirach 48:1-4.9-11.
Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses.
You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies,
Psalms 80(79):2-3.15-16.18-19.
Shepherd of Israel, listen, guide of the flock of Joseph! From your throne upon the cherubim reveal yourself
to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Stir up your power, come to save us.
Turn again, LORD of hosts; look down from heaven and see; Attend to this vine,
the shoot your right hand has planted.
May your help be with the man at your right hand, with the one whom you once made strong.
Then we will not withdraw from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:9-13.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Then the disciples asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses.
You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies,
Psalms 80(79):2-3.15-16.18-19.
Shepherd of Israel, listen, guide of the flock of Joseph! From your throne upon the cherubim reveal yourself
to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Stir up your power, come to save us.
Turn again, LORD of hosts; look down from heaven and see; Attend to this vine,
the shoot your right hand has planted.
May your help be with the man at your right hand, with the one whom you once made strong.
Then we will not withdraw from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:9-13.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Then the disciples asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Mt 17,9-13
Saint Ephrem (c.306-373), Deacon in Syria, Doctor of the Church
Works, ed. Assemani, vol. 1, p. 486
Elijah on Mount Horeb
«Then the Lord passed by. A strong, heavy wind rent the mountains and crushed rocks before the Lord – but the Lord was not in the wind» (1Kgs 19,11). After the great storm there were earthquakes and lightening but Elijah understood that God was not in those either. These natural phenomena were intended to restrain the prophet's otherwise laudable zeal within the bounds of his responsibility, and to teach him that severity is to be tempered by mercy after the example shown by the signs of divine authority. According to their hidden meaning, the whirlwind that preceded God's coming, the earthquakes and fires stirred up by the wind, were signs foreshadowing universal judgement...
«And after there fire there was a tiny, whispering sound.» By means of this symbol God restrains Elijah's immoderate zeal. He wanted to tell him in this way: «Do you see how neither unbridled winds nor terrible earthquakes give me any pleasure, and I have no love for lightening or thunder: why don't you imitate the gentleness of your God? Why not relax a little this burning zeal so as to become more of a protector than an accuser of your people?» The tiny, whispering sound represents the joy of blessedness bestowed on the upright when, at the end of time, the fearful judgement is to be paid...
«When he heard the sound, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him: 'Elijah, why are you here?' He replied: 'I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant'»... The prophet stood at the entrance to the cave without daring to draw near to the God who was approaching, and he covered his face, thinking himself unworthy to see God... Nevertheless, he had before his eyes a sign of the divine clemency and, what must have touched him even more, personal experience of God's wonderful goodness in the words he spoke to him. Who would not be melted by consideration of so great a majesty and by so gentle a question: «Elijah, why are you here?»
«And after there fire there was a tiny, whispering sound.» By means of this symbol God restrains Elijah's immoderate zeal. He wanted to tell him in this way: «Do you see how neither unbridled winds nor terrible earthquakes give me any pleasure, and I have no love for lightening or thunder: why don't you imitate the gentleness of your God? Why not relax a little this burning zeal so as to become more of a protector than an accuser of your people?» The tiny, whispering sound represents the joy of blessedness bestowed on the upright when, at the end of time, the fearful judgement is to be paid...
«When he heard the sound, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him: 'Elijah, why are you here?' He replied: 'I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant'»... The prophet stood at the entrance to the cave without daring to draw near to the God who was approaching, and he covered his face, thinking himself unworthy to see God... Nevertheless, he had before his eyes a sign of the divine clemency and, what must have touched him even more, personal experience of God's wonderful goodness in the words he spoke to him. Who would not be melted by consideration of so great a majesty and by so gentle a question: «Elijah, why are you here?»
St. Damasus I, Pope († 384)
SAINT DAMASUS I
Pope
(† 384)
Pope
(† 384)
St. Damasus was born at Rome at the beginning of the fourth century. He was archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355, when Pope Liberius was banished to Berda, and followed him into exile, but afterward returned to Rome. On the death of Liberius our Saint was chosen to succeed him. Ursinus, a competitor for the high office, incited a revolt, but the holy Pope took only such action as was becoming to the common father of the faithful.
Having freed the Church of this new schism, he turned his attention to the extirpation of Arianism in the West and of Apollinarianism in the East, and for this purpose he convened several councils. He rebuilt the church of St. Laurence, which to this day is known as St. Laurence in Damaso; he made many valuable presents to this church, and settled upon it houses and lands in its vicinity. He likewise drained all the springs of the Vatican, which ran over the bodies that were buried there, and decorated the sepulchres of a great number of martyrs in the cemeteries, and adorned them with epitaphs in verse.
Having sat eighteen years and two months, he died on the 10th of December, in 384, being near fourscore years of age.
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