Altar of the Holy Name of Jesus, with the IHS monogram at the top, Lublin, Poland. |
Christmas Weekday before Epiphany
TUESDAY
Year I
Optional: Memorial: The Most
Holy Name of Jesus
Patristic Reading, Night Office,
First Reading
Colossians 3:5-16
Responsory
See Gal 3:27-28
All of us who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
+ We are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Y. There are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and
free, male and female. + We are all . . . .
From
a sermon by Saint Maximus of Turin
(Sermo 6, 1-3: CCL 23, 257-258)
(Sermo 6, 1-3: CCL 23, 257-258)
The Christmas mystery
Brothers and sisters, our hearts still
echo with the joy of the Lord's birth, and our continuing gladness creates in
us a sense of heavenly festivity. For, though the joyous day itself has passed,
the sanctification that joy brought is still with us. As the newborn Saviour
grows with each day that passes since his birth, so our faith in him grows
stronger. Time brings the Lord an increase in age, and us an increase in
salvation. It is for his own sake that the Lord grows in age; it is for our
sake, not his own that he grows in holiness - since the holiness of Christ is
eternal and perfect. He is said to grow in holiness because he causes our faith
to deepen. For though Christ after his birth is small in body, his
sovereignty is nonetheless divine.
Still then does the joy of the Lord's
feast thrill our being. It bids us cry out for very gladness and say what the
angels said at Christ's birth: Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace to men of good will.
Note carefully what the angels said.
They did not say "peace to men," that is, to all men without
restriction, but peace to men of good will, so that we might understand
Christ's peace to depend not on the simple fact of being human but on man's
will; not human wickedness but Christian goodness. Peace is not bestowed on
all, but on those who have been tested and found true. It is not given to be
scattered abroad, but proposed as a good to be chosen. The peace of Christ,
then, belongs to those who believe Christ to be the author of peace. It belongs
to those who do not experience within themselves the conflict of sin. It is
found in those w hose wills are not defiled by the blood offered to idols.
It is fitting that only an incorrupt
will should possess the Saviour whom an immaculate virgin bore. Indeed, just as
Mary carried him in her womb while remaining stainless, so our souls must be
pure if they are to retain him. Mary was a type of our souls. As Christ looked
for virginity in his mother, so he looks for integrity in our affections. A
soul that is virginal with regard to sin conceives and bears the Saviour when
it preaches him; it keeps him present when it observes his commandments. Faith
retains him once he has been conceived in us; the confession of faith sends him
forth once he is born; concern for him keeps him ours once he is grown.
Let us therefore rejoice at the feast of
him whose birth the singing angels proclaim, and the simple shepherds seek out,
and the pious magi adore! The grace-filled angels honour Christ as God, the
innocent shepherds seek him as Lamb, and the adoring magi worship him as
Priest. The veneration offered by the magi plainly shows Christ to be a priest;
indeed, their gifts manifest the whole mystery of Christ. For they offered, as
best they could, what they knew would be beautiful in Christ's eyes: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. The gold is for kingship, the myrrh for his
resurrection, and the frankincense for his propitiatory sacrifice. Gold
symbolizes power, myrrh incorruptibility. and frankincense priesthood.
Responsory
The true God, begotten of the Father, came down from heaven and
entered the Virgin's womb, so that we could see him in visible form, clothed in
the flesh and blood that came to us from our first parents. t And from that
virgin womb he came forth, God and man, light and life, creator of the world.
V. The Lord came forth like a bridegroom emerging from his bridal
chamber. t And from that ..
St. Maximus of Turin | |
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