Wednesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
Aphrahat (?-c.345), monk and Bishop near Mosul, saint of the Orthodox churches
Demonstrations, no.4 (©Cistercian studies series, 101; SC 349, p. 292 rev.)
Wednesday, 09 February 2011
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Book of Genesis 2:5-9.15-17.
While as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground--
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."
Psalms 104(103):1-2.27-28.29-30.
Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent;
All of these look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give to them, they gather; when you open your hand, they are well filled.
When you hide your face, they are lost. When you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust from which they came.
When you send forth your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:14-23.
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."
)
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.
From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."
While as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground--
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."
Psalms 104(103):1-2.27-28.29-30.
Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent;
All of these look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give to them, they gather; when you open your hand, they are well filled.
When you hide your face, they are lost. When you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust from which they came.
When you send forth your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:14-23.
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."
)
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.
From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."
Mc 7,14-23
Aphrahat (?-c.345), monk and Bishop near Mosul, saint of the Orthodox churches
Demonstrations, no.4 (©Cistercian studies series, 101; SC 349, p. 292 rev.)
«A pure heart create for me, O God» (Ps 51[50],12)
Purity of heart constitutes prayer more than do all the prayers that are uttered out aloud, and silence united to a mind that is sincere! is better than the loud voice of someone crying out. My beloved, give me now your heart and your thought, and hear about the power of pure prayer; see how our righteous forefathers excelled in their prayer before God, and how it served them as a pure offering.
For it was through prayer that offerings were accepted, and it was prayer again that averted the Flood from Noah; prayer has healed barrenness, prayer has overthrown armies, prayer has revealed mysteries, prayer has divided the sea, prayer made a passage through the Jordan, it held back the sun, it made the moon stand still, it destroyed the unclean, it caused fire to descend. Prayer closed up the heaven, prayer raised up from the pit, rescued from the fire, and saved from the sea. The power of prayer is immense, like the power of pure fasting...
First of all, it was through Abe1's purity of heart that his offering was accept· able before God, while that of Cain was rejected (Gn 4,4f.)... It was from this that Abel knew that his offering had been accepted, and Cain that his had been rejected. And the fruits of Cain's heart later testified and showed that he was full of deceit, when he killed his brother: for what his mind had conceived, his hands brought to birth. But Abel's purity of heart constitutes his prayer.
For it was through prayer that offerings were accepted, and it was prayer again that averted the Flood from Noah; prayer has healed barrenness, prayer has overthrown armies, prayer has revealed mysteries, prayer has divided the sea, prayer made a passage through the Jordan, it held back the sun, it made the moon stand still, it destroyed the unclean, it caused fire to descend. Prayer closed up the heaven, prayer raised up from the pit, rescued from the fire, and saved from the sea. The power of prayer is immense, like the power of pure fasting...
First of all, it was through Abe1's purity of heart that his offering was accept· able before God, while that of Cain was rejected (Gn 4,4f.)... It was from this that Abel knew that his offering had been accepted, and Cain that his had been rejected. And the fruits of Cain's heart later testified and showed that he was full of deceit, when he killed his brother: for what his mind had conceived, his hands brought to birth. But Abel's purity of heart constitutes his prayer.
St. Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr (+ 249)
SAINT APOLLONIA
Virgin and martyr
and the Martyrs of Alexandria
(+ 249)
Virgin and martyr
and the Martyrs of Alexandria
(+ 249)
At Alexandria, in 249, the mob rose in savage fury against the Christians. Metras, an old man, perished first. His eyes were pierced with reeds, and he was stoned to death. A woman named Quinta was the next victim. She was led to a heathen temple and bidden worship. She replied by cursing the false god again and again, and she too was stoned to death. After this the houses of the Christians were sacked and plundered. They took the spoiling of their goods with all joy.
St. Apollonia, an aged virgin, was the most famous among the martyrs. Her teeth were beaten out; she was led outside the city, a huge fire was kindled, and she was told she must deny Christ, or else be burned alive. She was silent for a while, and then, moved by a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, she leaped into the fire and died in its flames.
The same courage showed itself the next year, when Decius became emperor, and the persecution grew till it seemed as if the very elect must fall away. The story of Dioscorus illustrates the courage of the Alexandrian Christians, and the esteem they had for martyrdom. He was a boy of fifteen. To the arguments of the judge he returned wise answers: he was proof against torture. His older companions were executed, but Dioscorus was spared on account of his tender years; yet the Christians could not bear to think that he had been deprived of the martyr's crown, except to receive it afterwards more gloriously. "Dioscorus," writes Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria at this time, "remains with us, reserved for some longer and greater combat."
There were indeed many Christians who came, pale and trembling, to offer the heathen sacrifices. But the judges themselves were struck with horror at the multitudes who rushed to martyrdom. Women triumphed over torture, till at last the judges were glad to execute them at once and put an end to the ignominy of their own defeat.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
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