15th in Ord Time Friday 19 July 2013
Night Office.
Second Reading
From a Sermon on Psalm 51 by Saint Gregory the Great
Second Reading
From a Sermon on Psalm 51 by Saint Gregory the Great
Welcoming Christ the Physician
Have mercy on me, O God, in your great kindness.
Let us imagine a man seriously injured and gasping for his last draughts of life-giving air. Lying naked on a rubbish heap, he points to his still unbandaged wounds; he longs for a doctor to come, and in his distress begs for pity. Sin is the soul's wound. You who are wounded, recognize in your hearts who your physician is and uncover to him the wounds of your sins. May he who knows every secret thought hear the groaning of your hearts. Let your suffering reach him, so that to you also it may be said: The Lord has taken away your sin. Cry out with David - see how he speaks: Have mercy on me, O God, in your great kindness. It is as if he were saying: I am in peril from a great wound which no physician can heal, unless the omnipotent physician comes to my aid. No wound is beyond his power of healing; he heals without asking a fee, he restores health by a mere word. I should despair of my wound did I not rely on the Almighty. Have mercy on me, O God, in your great kindness.
Lord Jesus, I pray that you may be moved to pity and come to me. I have gone down from Jerusalem to Jericho, descended from the heights to the depths, from health to sickness. I have fallen into the hands of the angels of darkness who have not only stripped me of my garment of spiritual grace but have also wounded me and left me half-dead. Bind up the wounds of my sins by making me believe that they can be healed, for if I despair of healing they will become worse. Apply the oil of forgiveness to them and pour in the wine of compunction. If you place me on your beast, you will be raising the poor from the dust, the needy from the rubbish heap. For it is you who have carried our sins, who have paid back what you did not take. If you lead me to the inn of your Church you will nourish me with your Body and Blood. If you take care of me I shall not transgress your commandments nor fall prey to the rage of wild beasts. I need your protection as long as I bear this corruptible flesh. So listen to me, Samaritan, listen to me who am stripped and wounded, weeping and groaning, as I call upon you and cry out with David: "Have mercy on me, O God, in your great kindness."
Saint Gregory the Great
-Saint Gregory the Great (604) was one of the most important popes and influential writers of the Middle Ages.
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