Friday 5 November 2021
Friday of week 31 in Ordinary Time
Spiritual Reading
Your Second Reading from the Office of Readings:
Friday of week 31 in Ordinary Time
From a sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen
It is a holy thought to pray for the dead
What is man, that you are mindful of him? What is this new mystery surrounding me? I am both small and great, both lowly and exalted, mortal and immortal, earthly and heavenly. I am to be buried with Christ and to rise again with him, to become a co-heir with him, a son of God, and indeed God himself.
This is what the great mystery means for us; this is why God became man and became poor for our sake: it was to raise up our flesh, to recover the divine image, to re-create mankind, so that all of us might become one in Christ who perfectly became in us everything that he is himself. So we are no longer to be male and female, barbarian and Scythian, slave and free – distinctions deriving from the flesh – but are to bear within ourselves only the seal of God, by whom and for whom we were created. We are to be so formed and moulded by him that we are recognised as belonging to his one family.
If only we could be what we hope to be, by the great kindness of our generous God! He asks so little and gives so much, in this life and in the next, to those who love him sincerely. In a spirit of hope and out of love for him, let us then bear and endure all things and give thanks for everything that befalls us, since even reason can often recognise these things as weapons to win salvation. And meanwhile let us commend to God our own souls and the souls of those who, being more ready for it, have reached the place of rest before us although they walked the same road as we do.
Lord and Creator of all, and especially of your creature man, you are the God and Father and ruler of your children; you are the Lord of life and death, you are the guardian and benefactor of our souls. You fashion and transform all things in their due season through your creative Word, as you know to be best in your deep wisdom and providence. Receive now those who have gone ahead of us in our journey from this life.
And receive us too at the proper time, when you have guided us in our bodily life as long as may be for our profit. Receive us prepared indeed by fear of you, but not troubled, not shrinking back on that day of death or uprooted by force like those who are lovers of the world and the flesh. Instead, may we set out eagerly for that everlasting and blessed life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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In other parts of the world and other calendars:
Blessed Frances d'Amboise, Religious
From the Exhortations of Bl Frances d'Amboise to her nuns
How trials bring strength
Whatever the troubles and difficulties that weigh you down, bear them all patiently and keep in mind that these are the things which constitute your cross. Offer your help to the Lord and carry the cross with him in gladness of heart. There is always something to be endured, and if you refuse one cross, be sure that you will meet with another, and maybe a heavier one. If we trust in God and rely on his help, we shall overcome the allurements of vice. We must never let our efforts flag nor our steps grow weary, but must keep our hearts under steady discipline.
Consider the afflictions and great trials which the holy Fathers endured in the desert. And yet the interior trials they suffered were far more intense than the physical penances they inflicted on their own bodies. One who is never tried acquires little virtue. Accept then whatever God wills to send, for any suffering he permits is entirely for our good. Christ assures us in the Gospel, “Who wishes to follow me must deny himself. He must be forgetful of self; he must regard himself as nothing; he must despise himself and desire to be despised by others.”
This attitude derives from Our Lord’s command that we are to take up his cross and follow him. We are to accept sufferings of mind and body for love of him, just as he bore his sufferings for love of us. It is true that the Jews lifted the cross from our Saviour’s shoulders, but this was out of concern lest he die from blows and exhaustion before reaching the place where he was to be crucified. And when they laid the weight on Simon’s shoulders he submitted most unwillingly, even though aware that he was not destined to die on the cross he carried. Christ, by contrast, willingly and gladly carried his cross and died upon it, breathing forth his soul at last into his Father’s hands. Let us follow him and imitate all he did.
You have various afflictions which constitute your cross. Bear them willingly to the very end, when you will finally yield your soul to God. Give him praise and thanks for calling you to his service. Scorn no-one, for it is God’s will that you love each one of your neighbours as you do those of your own community. Strive to curb all unruly instincts within you. To this end try one remedy today and another tomorrow, so that gradually you will subdue your unruly impulses, and when the Lord sees your good will and your perseverance, he will give you the support of his grace, enabling you to sustain to the end the burdens of religious life. Through his love nothing will be too difficult for you to bear.
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.