Saturday 8 May 2021
Saturday of the 5th week of Eastertide
Spiritual Reading
Your Second Reading from the Office of Readings:
Saturday of the 5th week of Eastertide
From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, Bishop
The Easter alleluia
Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain.
Because there are these two periods of time – the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy – we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.
Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our head. The Lord’s passion depicts for us our present life of trial – shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die. The Lord’s resurrection and glorification show us the life that will be given to us in the future.
Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbour, “Praise the Lord!” and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions.
We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church; but when we go on our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God. But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God. You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God. If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent but your actions will cry aloud, and God will perceive your intentions; for as our ears hear each other’s voices, so do God’s ears hear our thoughts.
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In other parts of the world and other calendars:
Blessed Aloysius Rabatà, Priest
From the Canonical Process of Beatification of Aloysius Rabatà, priest
Pray for those that persecute you
I knew Brother Aloysius well and often conversed intimately with him when he was a member of the Carmelite community of Saint Michael in the town of Randazzo, where he was prior. He was a model of all virtues. He lived frugally on bread and water, and led the life of a real saint and exemplary religious. He shunned superfluous contacts and gave himself to honest work. Because of his virtuous life he came to be hated, and was persecuted by his fellow religious. These vexations and trials he bore with singular patience and he devoted himself unceasingly to his spiritual growth and to the good of the community. The austerity of his life showed in his emaciated appearance, his sunken eyes and his pallid features, through which, nonetheless, his goodness shone out. To visitors he appeared as a model of all that was good. One in particular who often came to see him has testified that he was so profoundly moved by his example and holy conversation as to dissolve in tears.
Though he was prior, Brother Aloysius shared in every task, even the humblest, being willing to go from door to door in Randazzo begging bread, grain or other such gifts to support the community and to help others in need. While he was on his begging rounds, other poor people would in turn ask alms from him, knowing they would never be refused.
Once, on Easter Sunday the community had meat for dinner, but he declined it, preferring his usual bread and water – I was told this by Brother Peter Cupani, a companion of Aloysius. He also recounted that once when Aloysius was collecting twigs and branches for firewood in the nearby fields and roadways, he was wounded in the forehead and suffered for a long time in consequence. Many people tried to find out from him who had dealt the blow, but he would never reveal it and always repeated with great patience, ‘I pray that God will pardon him, and will be glorified by what has happened.’
The street that led to the monastery of Saint Michael was dangerous and had a bad reputation. To put an end to those scandals and shameful deeds, Brother Aloysius managed to secure a nearby piece of land, thereby opening up a good wide street. Though others aided in the project, he with his own hands worked as hard as any. Whenever he needed anything for his monastery, all were willing to aid him, for they recalled his kindness and hospitality towards everyone.
After his death his body was enclosed in a casket and placed behind a grille under the altar of the church. Here many came with great piety and devotion to pray to him, especially those who were suffering from quartan fever, many of whom were cured. Quite a number of such cures were reported at the time, and the reports continue till the present day.
Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.