St. Luke - his symbol is an OX, derived from Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1) and sometimes explained by reference to sacrifice in the Temple in the early chapters of his Gospel.

Friday 17 October

  

SAINT LUKE
Evangelist
(Feast)

        St. Luke, a physician at Antioch, and a painter, became a convert of St. Paul, and afterwards his fellow-laborer. He is best known to us as the historian of the New Testament. Though not an eye-witness of our Lord's life, the Evangelist diligently gathered information from the lips of the apostles, and wrote, as he tells us, all things in order.

        The acts of the Apostles were written by this Evangelist as a sequel to his Gospel, bringing the history .of the Church down to the first imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. The humble historian never names himself, but by his occasional use of "we" for "they" we are able to detect his presence in the scenes which he describes. We thus find that he sailed with St. Paul and Silas from Troas to Macedonia; stayed behind apparently for seven years at Philippi, and, lastly, shared the shipwreck and perils of the memorable voyage to Rome.

        Here his own narrative ends, but from St. Paul's Epistles we learn that St. Luke was his faithful companion to the end. He died a martyr's death some time afterwards in Achaia.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

http://www.ibreviary.com/m/breviario.php READINGS

FIRST READINGFrom the Acts of the Apostles
9:27-31; 11:19-26The Church was filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit

Barnabas took Saul in charge and introduced him to the apostles. He explained to them how on his journey Saul had seen the Lord, who had conversed with him, and how Saul had been speaking out fearlessly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. Saul stayed with them moving freely about Jerusalem, and expressing himself quite openly in the name of the Lord. He even addressed the Greek-speaking Jews and debated with them. They for their part responded by trying to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, some of them took him down to Caesarea and sent him of to Tarsus. .....
RESPONSORY
Acts 12:24; 13:48, 52

The word of the Lord continued to increase and spread everywhere
– and all who were destined for eternal life believed in it.

The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
– And all who were destined for eternal life believed in it.
SECOND READING

St Greg Great - Typographically  

From a homily on the gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
(Hom 17, 1-3: PL 76, 1139 )

The Lord follows his preachers

Beloved brothers, our Lord and Saviour sometimes gives us instruction by words and sometimes by actions. His very deeds are our commands; and whenever he acts silently he is teaching us what we should do. For example, he sends his disciples out to preach two by two, because the precept of charity is twofold—love of God and of one’s neighbour.

The Lord sends his disciples out to preach in twos in order to teach us silently that whoever fails in charity toward his neighbour should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching. 

Rightly is it said that he sent them ahead of him into every city and place where he himself was to go. For the Lord follows after the preachers, because preaching goes ahead to prepare the way, and then when the words of exhortation have gone ahead and established truth in our minds, the Lord comes to live within us. To those who preach Isaiah says: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. And the psalmist tells them: Make a way for him who rises above the sunset. The Lord rises above the sunset because from that very place where he slept in death, he rose again and manifested a greater glory. He rises above the sunset because in his resurrection he trampled underfoot the death which he endured. Therefore, we make a way for him who rises above the sunset when we preach his glory to you, so that when he himself follows after us, he may illumine you with his love.

Let us listen now to his words as he sends his preachers forth: The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. That the harvest is good but the labourers are few cannot be said without a heavy heart, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Indeed, see how full the world is of priests, but yet in God’s harvest a true labourer is rarely to be found; although we have accepted the priestly office we do not fulfil its demands.

Think over, my beloved brothers, think over his words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may be able to labour worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge.

RESPONSORY
Cf Luke 1:3, 4; Acts 1:1

He carefully traced the whole story from the beginning and wrote his gospel
– so that we might understand
the truth of the teaching we had received.

He gave us a record concerning all that Jesus did and taught.
– So that we might understand
the truth of the teaching we had received.

 

Symbols of the Four Evangelists
compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.      http://catholic-resources.org/Art/Evangelists_Symbols.htm    Christian tradition has long connected the authors of the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) with the four "living creatures" that surround God's throne, as described in Rev 4:7, in the following pairs:

Matthew = Human/Angel	Mark = Lion	Luke = Ox	John = Eagle

(These four small stained glass windows were designed by artist Pat Haegar of San Jose, CA.)
(They are located near the altar of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Daly City, CA -- used here with permission.) However, various traditions about four heavenly creatures, are already found in several older biblical texts:

• Ezekiel 1:1-14 - vision of four heavenly creatures with four faces each:  human being, lion, ox, eagle.
• Ezekiel 10:1-22 - throne vision of cherubim with four faces each:  cherub, human being, lion, eagle.
• Daniel 7:1-8 - vision of four beasts representing four empires:  lion, bear, leopard, a terrible fourth beast with iron teeth and ten horns.

Moreover, early Christian writers connected the four evangelists with the four living creatures in various combinations: 

Early Christian Author	Human/Angel	Lion	Ox	Eagle
St. Irenaeus of Lyons	Matthew	John	Luke	Mark
St. Augustine of Hippo	Mark	Matthew	Luke	John
Pseudo-Athanasius	Matthew	Luke	Mark	John
St. Jerome	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John

Click on the  authors'  names  above to read the full texts. The four "living creatures" (not to be confused with other "beasts" in the Book of Revelation) have captured the imaginations of Christian artists throughout the centuries. The following links are just some of the artistic depictions available on the Internet:

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The Symbols of all Four Evangelists together:
My Photos:

• Assisi: Basilica of San Francesco: symbols of the Four Evangelists surrounding the rosette window on the main façade
• Florence: Battistero di San Giovanni: symbols of the Four Evanglists on the doors of the Baptistery; others also outside the Orsanmichele  

The Transfiguration. HE AND i Gabrielle Bossis

  

      Tuesday, 6 August 2013     

It may be worth inscribing the Page Layout with paragraphs and picture.

"It's the direct route to Me. It passes through death and leads you into My arms."

COMMENT: Transfiguration Aug 6

 The older, http://nunraw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/comment-transfiguration-aug-6.html

COMMENT: Remembering feast of the Transfiguration   

FOUND LINK OF THE BOOK FOR ONLINE

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98805520/He-and-i-Gabrielle-Bossis

HE AND i Gabrielle Bossis 

-

1948  August 6

The Transfiguration.

 "Do you remember when you were little you said to Me, 'Be transfigured, be transfigured before my eyes, Lord.' You trusted Me.

Off you went to the mountain of solitude and you heard My voice.

You saw Me then in another way.

It was also love that transfigured Me before My apostles.

Always see love at the source of everything that comes from God.

There is love and there is hate - nothing else.

Two roots: God and the devil.

Man with his free will takes his choice of the fruit.

Be on the watch for the motive of your actions and remember that I am stretching out a helping hand.

And keep watch on your lower nature, the part that runs down your neighbour made in My image.

Give the kind of affection that comforts.

You know what I mean - the word, the glance.

I am in all ways of loving, just as Satan is in all ways of wounding.

You see the source? You see the fruit? Choose, and always be ready to choose Me.

This is what it is to be always in love.

It's the direct route to Me.

It passes through death and leads you into My arms."

The Wind and Fire of Pentecost by Fr. Edward o.p.

Dear Fr. Edward,

Thank you
for the breathing of this Pentecost.
Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)    
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk |

domdonald.org.uk 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Fr. Edward
To: Donald
Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013, 23:13
Subject: More lines

Dear Donald,

A poem for tomorrow and a poem for next Sunday!

Blessings from

fr Edward 

--
Father Edward Booth O.P.

Iceland.

The Wind and Fire of Pentecost

The wind and the fire were more than terrestrial:

they disturbed nothing, burnt nothing.

The wind was mighty but damaged the house not at all;

the fire did not burn those on whose heads it settled.

The fire was more firelike than fire

and the wind more windlike than wind.

For fire is dangerous when not limited

especially when its tongues come to dance in the grate,

and the wind shares more of the power of the Spirit than still air.

The fire's ultimate source was light itself:

it could burn, but here it illuminated powerfully mind and heart,

sealing those in Spirit on whom it appeared.

Wind needs a moveable object to show its power,

but this wind was rushing and powerful,

signifying the great force of its source,

yet it moved nothing.

How it had hovered, bird-like, protectively over creation:

merekapheth: protectingly, shieldingly,

transforming creation to homeliness -

all for its two viewers and their stock.

But they were too impatient, too self-aware  

when the Creator himself said,

"Do not experiment with what you contemplate;

possess it by knowledge and

savour it in your mind¨!

Real fire is warming, nature's wind is cooling:

elemental presences for

elemental people.

The angels had fire and invisible wind within themselves

marking the limits of allowed experience.

The pair wanted the warmth of the fire and the cool of the wind.

They wanted the fire as protection and warmth

for what it suggested of homeliness,

a place of rest and remission from their waking hours.

Their spiritual progeny returned at Pentecost

to make the world homely under the Spirit and found the Earth not too cold:

"See it, regard it; it will always remain with you ... !"

The protection of fire and its ambiance returned with the freshness of Spirit

from deep sources as soul-meant and indifferent.

Oh, keep those eyes sharp!

Put your skin in the wind -

to stimulate the blood vessels without ordering the times

but more to keep mind and senses awake to their Source.

Do not seek to possess them

but savour their presence,

and be savoured yourselves

from the great range of gifts

accompanying the Messiah

both manly-wise and womanly-wise.

Accept those gifts to play on your mind and heart

and ascend to the peak of a new Creation:

the gifts of the Lord are given without repentance! (Rom 11,29)

Fr. Edward O.P.

Stykkishólmur

For the Eve of Pentecost 2013

Apostle Thomas 3 July Feast

Saint Thomas: "My Lord and my God"

From a sermon by Ronald A. Knox
(Pastoral Sermons, pages 402-403)

Thomas, as we know from his record, was loyal to a fault; had been the first to suggest that they should all go and die with their Master. But he was one of those people who will always ask the inconvenient question. He has been chosen to be an eyewitness, vouching personally for every event in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. And he was not an eyewitness of this appearance in the upper room; it will not do. How can they be certain it was really their Master they saw? What tests did they make? Until I have seen the mark of the nails on his hands, until I have put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, you will never make me believe.

That it was all providentially ordained, one apostle being absent, and that one Thomas, with his bulldog way of looking at things, is beyond question. "Our faith," says Saint Gregory, "owes more to the faithlessness of Thomas than to the faith-fullness of all the other apostles put together." Because Thomas doubted, our Lord appeared a second time in the upper room; because Thomas doubted, they were privileged to see, and to touch if they would, the indelible scars of Calvary. What our own eyes have seen of him, what it was that met our gaze, and the touch of our hands - so John wrote, long afterwards, with that unforgettable scene for his inspiration. In a moment, the verdict of the jury became unanimous; Thomas could cry out: My Lord and my God! with the rest. Only, there is a postscript. You have learned to believe, Thomas, because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen, and believe all the same.

For our sakes, it was a good thing that Thomas doubted. But for himself, he had come short of the ideal, he had missed an opportunity; surely we are meant to see that. In however insignificant a degree, he was at fault. He had all the record of our Lord's life and teaching in front of him; he had the unanimous testimony of those others, his tried companions in arms, and yet ... some pride, some wilful obstinacy, some chagrin, perhaps, at having been left out when this experience was granted to the rest, made him withhold his assent. "I will not believe"; mysteriously, it is possible to withhold your assent by an act of the will. He ought to have capitulated.

Our Lord doesn't complain. Our Lord wasn't like us; he didn't go about after his resurrection finding fault and saying "I told you so"; he looked forward to the future. He looked down the centuries at people like you and me, who had no chance of seeing him in his incarnate state, and yet do manage to cry out, My Lord and my God; and he said, "What lucky people you are!" When he started out on his ministry, you remember, he gave us the eight beatitudes, Blessed are the patient, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers, and so on. And now, when he is just going to leave us for heaven, he pronounces a last beatitude, Blessed are those who haven't seen, and believe all the same.

Our Lord, as we know, was fond of paradox; and this congratulation of his does seem rather unexpected. Earlier on, he said to his apostles, There have been many prophets and just men who have longed to see what you see, and never saw it; we un­derstand well enough what he means by saying, Blessed are your eyes in that connection. To see our Lord in the flesh, to hear his gracious accents, to feel the touch of his hand - what an opportunity it was that they had, and we have missed! But that is not his last word on the subject. He singles out people like you and me for a special congratulation; because we have not seen? No, because, not having seen, we believe.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Press opinions of

THE PASTORAL SERMONS OF RONALD A. KNOX

"Of the quality of the sermons it is unnecessary -as it would, indeed, be impertinent-to speak. We can only express our great satisfaction that although the living voice which gave such added meaning to this material is now silent, the abiding message has become so easily accessible. Even to read them is to savour a rich delight."

-Thomas Corbishley, S.]., in the Catholic Herald

"A faithful impression of the range of his preaching, so biblically rooted, so free from the temptation of mere moralising ... this collection does justice to the distinguished mind and generous heart of a priest who offered all his gifts to God."

-Illtud Evans, O.P., in The Tablet