DAILY GOSPEL for Monday, 23 February 2014

DAILY GOSPEL for Monday, 23 February 2014
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Monday of the First week of Lent
Saints of the day:

SAINT POLYCARP 
Bishop, Martyr
(+ 167)

St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of St. John. He wrote to the Philippians, exhorting them to mutual love and to hatred of heresy. When the apostate Marcion met St. Polycarp at Rome, he asked the aged Saint if he knew him. "Yes," St. Polycarp answered, "I know you for the first-born of Satan." These were the words of a Saint most loving and most charitable, and specially noted for his compassion to sinners. He hated heresy, because he loved God and man so much.

In 167, persecution broke out in Smyrna. When Polycarp heard that his pursuers were at the door, he said, "The will of God be done; " and meeting them, he begged to be left alone for a little time, which he spentin prayer for "the Catholic Church throughout the world."

He was brought to Smyrna early on Holy Saturday; and, as he entered, a voice was heard from heaven, "Polycarp, be strong." When the proconsul besought him to curse Christ and go free, Polycarp answered, "Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never did me wrong; how can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?" When he threatened him with fire, Polycarp told him this fire of his lasted but a little, while the fire prepared for the wicked lasted forever. At the stake he thanked God aloud for letting him drink of Christ's chalice. The fire was lighted, but it did him no hurt; so he was stabbed to the heart, and his dead body was burnt. "Then," say the writers of his acts, "we took up the bones, more precious than the richest jewels or gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, at which may God grant us to assemble with joy to celebrate the birthday of the martyr to his life in heaven!"

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

SAINT SERENUS Gardener and Martyr
(+ 307)

Serenus was by birth a Grecian. He quitted estate, friends, and country to serve God its celibacy, penance, and prayer. With this design he bought a garden in Sirmium in Pannonia, which he cultivated with his own hands, and lived on the fruits and herbs it produced.

One day there came thither a woman, with her two daughters. Serenus, seeing them come up, advised them to withdraw, and to conduct themselves in future as decency required in persons of their sex and condition. The woman, stung at our Saint's charitable remonstrance, retired in confusion, but resolved on revenging the supposed affront. She accordingly wrote to her husband that Serenus had insulted her.

He, on receiving her letter, went to the emperor to demand justice, whereupon the emperor gave him a letter to the governor of the province to enable him to obtain satisfaction. The governor ordered Serenus to be immediately brought before him. Serenus, on hearing the charge, answered, "I remember that, some time ago, a lady came into my garden at an unseasonable hour, and I own I took the liberty to tell her it was against decency for one of her sex and quality to be abroad at such an hour." This plea of Serenus having put the officer to the blush for his wife's conduct, he dropped his prosecution.

But the governor, suspecting by this answer that Serenus might be a Christian, began to question him, saying, "Who are you, and what is your religion?" Serenus, without hesitating one moment, answered, "I am a Christian. It seemed a while ago as if God rejected me as a stone unfit to enter His building, but He has the goodness to take me now to be placed in it; I am ready to suffer all things for His name, that I may have a part in His kingdom with His Saints" The governor, hearing this burst into rage and said, "Since you sought to elude by flight the emperor's edicts, and have positively refused to sacrifice to the gods, I condemn you for these crimes to lose your head."

The sentence was no sooner pronounced than the Saint was carried off and beheaded, on the 23d of February, in 307.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Monday of the First week of Lent
Book of Leviticus 19:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You people are to be holy because I, Adonai your God, am holy.

11 “‘Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other. 12 Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai. 13 Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.

14 “‘Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am Adonai.

(RY: v, LY: ii) 15 “‘Do not be unjust in judging — show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.

16 “‘Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake; I am Adonai.

17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. 18 Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.

Psalms 19:8 (7) The Torah of Adonai is perfect,

restoring the inner person.

The instruction of Adonai is sure,

making wise the thoughtless.

9 (8) The precepts of Adonai are right,

rejoicing the heart.

The mitzvah of Adonai is pure,

enlightening the eyes.

10 (9) The fear of Adonai is clean,

enduring forever.

The rulings of Adonai are true,

they are righteous altogether,

15 (14) May the words of my mouth

and the thoughts of my heart

be acceptable in your presence,

Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. 33 The ‘sheep’ he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats’ at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, 36 I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’

41 “Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, ‘Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?’ 45 And he will answer them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!’ 46 They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life.”

Monday of the First week of Lent

Commentary of the day:
Saint Gregory Nazianzen (330-390), Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 14, on Love for the Poor, 27, 28, 39-40 ; PG 35, 891f (cf Breviary 3rd Saturday of Lent)
"You did it for me"
Do you suppose that charity is not an obligation but voluntary ? That it is not a law but merely a counsel? I should like it to be so, too, and would gladly think so. But God’s left hand gives me cause for alarm, the place where he has set the goats to whom he addresses his reproaches, not because they stole, plundered, committed adultery or perpetrated other such faults, but because they did not honor Christ in the person of his poor.
If you are willing to listen to me, then, O servants of Christ, his brothers and co-heirs, I say that we should visit Christ while there is an opportunity, take care of him and feed him. We should clothe Christ and welcome him. We should honor him, not only at our table, like some; not only with ointments, like Mary Magdalene; not only with a sepulchre, like Joseph of Arimathea; nor with things which have to do with his burial, like Nicodemus… nor finally with gold, incense and myrrh, like the Magi.
But, as the Lord of all “desires mercy and not sacrifice” (Mt 9,13), and as compassion is better than tens of thousands of fat rams, let us offer him this mercy through the needy and those who are at present cast down to the ground. Let us do this so that, when we depart hence, they may “welcome us into the eternal habitations” (Lk 16,9), in the same Christ our Lord, to whom be glory for ever.
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