Daily Gospel for Sunday, 2 March 2014
"Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You
have the words of eternal life." John 6:68
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
Saint(s) of the day:
SAINT SIMPLICIUS
Pope
(+ 483)
Saint Simplicius was the ornament of the Roman clergy under Sts.
Leo and Hilarius, and succeeded the latter in the pontificate in 468. He was
raised by God to corn fort and support his Church amidst the greatest storms.
All the provinces of the Western Empire, out of Italy, were fallen into the
hands of barbarians.
The emperors for many years were rather shadows of power than
sovereigns, and, in the eighth year of the pontificate of Simplicius, Rome itself
fell a prey to foreigners. Italy, by oppressions and the ravages of barbarians,
was left almost a desert without inhabitants; and the imperial armies consisted
chiefly of barbarians, hired under the name of auxiliaries. These soon saw that
their masters were in their power. The Heruli demanded one third of the lands
of Italy, and upon refusal chose for their leader Odoacer, one of the lowest
extraction, but a resolute and intrepid man, who was proclaimed king of Rome in
476. He put to death Orestes, who was regent of the empire for his son
Augustulus, whom the senate had advanced to the imperial throne. Odoacer spared
the life of Augustulus, appointed him a salary of six thousand pounds of gold,
and permitted him to live at full liberty near Naples.
Pope Simplicius was wholly taken up in comforting and relieving
the afflicted, and in sowing the seeds of the Catholic faith among the
barbarians.
The East gave his zeal no less employment and concern. Peter
Cnapheus, a violent Eutychian, was made by the heretics Patriarch of Antioch;
and Peter Mengus, one of the most profligate men, that of Alexandria. Acacius,
the Patriarch of Constantinople, received the sentence of St. Simplicius
against Cnapheus, but supported Mongus against him and the Catholic Church, and
was a notorious changeling, double-dealer, and artful hypocrite, who often made
religion serve his own private ends. St. Simplicius at length discovered his
artifices, and redoubled his zeal to maintain the holy faith, which he saw betrayed
on every side, whilst the patriarchal sees of Alexandria and Antioch were
occupied by furious wolves, and there was not one Catholic king in the whole
world. The emperor measured everything by his passions and human views.
St. Simplicius, having sat fifteen years, eleven months, and six
days, went to receive the reward of his labors in 483. He was buried in St.
Peter's on the 2d of March.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saint Chad
Feastday: March 2
Patron of Mercia; Lichfield; of astronomers
634 - 672
Irish archbishop and brother of St. Cedd, also called Ceadda. He
was trained by St. Aidan in Lindisfarne and in England. He also spent time with
St. Egbert in Ireland. Made the archbishop of York by King Oswy, Chad was
disciplined by Theodore, the newly arrived archbishop of Canterbury, in 669.
Chad accepted Theodores charges of impropriety with such humility and grace
that Theodore regularized his consecration and appointed him the bishop of
Mercia. He established a see at Lichfield. His relics are enshrined in
Birmingham. In liturgical art he is depicted as a bishop, holding a church.
Blessed Charles the Good
Feastday: March 2
1083 - 1127
In 1086, St. Canute, King of Denmark and father of Blessed
Charles the Good, was slain in St. Alban's Church, Odence. Charles who was only
a few years old was taken by his mother to the court of Robert, Count of
Flanders, his maternal grandfather. When he grew up, he became a knight and
accompanied Robert in a crusade to the Holy Land where he distinguished
himself; on their return, Charles also fought against the English with his
uncle. On Robert's death, his son Baldwin succeeded him and designated Charles
as the heir. At the same time, he arranged for Charles' marriage to the
daughter of the Count of Clermont. During Baldwin's rule, Charles was closely
associated with him, and the people came to have a high regard for his wise and
beneficent ways as well as his personal holiness. At Baldwin's death, in 1119,
the people made his cousin their ruler.
Charles ruled his people with wisdom, diligence, and compassion; he made
sure that times of truce were respected and fought against black marketeers who
horded food and were waiting to sell it at astronomical prices to the people.
This encouraged their undying wrath and one day in 1127 as Charles was praying
in the Church of St. Donatian they set upon him and killed him.Blessed Charles
the Good feast day is March 2nd.
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
Isaiah 49: 14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
and the Lord has
forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yes, these may forget,
yet I will not forget you!
Psalm 62: 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress—
I will never be
greatly shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man,
would all of you throw
him down,
Like a leaning wall,
like a tottering fence?
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be shaken.
7 With God is my salvation and my honor.
The rock of my
strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Pour out your heart
before him.
God is a refuge for
us.
Selah.
9 Surely men of low degree are just a breath,
and men of high degree
are a lie.
In the balances they will go up.
They are together
lighter than a breath
1 Corinthians 4: So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants,
and stewards of God’s mysteries. 2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards,
that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I
should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self.
4 For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who
judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the
Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and
reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6: 24 “No
one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other;
or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both
God and Mammon. 25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what
you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will
wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 See the
birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than
they?
27 “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment[a] to his
lifespan? 28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, 29 yet I tell you
that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 But if
God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’,
‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ 32 For the Gentiles
seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. 33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all
these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore don’t be anxious for
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is
sufficient.
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 6:27 literally, cubit
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
Commentary of the Day:
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop
of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Baptismal catechesis, no.8, 19-25 ; SC 50 (trans. ©Friends of
Henry Ashworth alt.)
"Is not life more than food"
If spiritual things hold first place in our lives, material
needs will cause us no concern, for God in his goodness will give them to us in
abundance. On the other hand, if we devote ourselves entirely to earthly
pursuits and neglect our spiritual life, concern for what this life has to
offer will lead us to neglect our souls... I urge you, therefore, let us not
overturn the established order. We know that our Master is good, so let us
commit everything to him and not be taken up with the cares of this life...
“Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things even before you ask
him” (Mt 6,32.8).
Jesus wishes us, then, to be free from every anxiety regarding
temporal affairs, and to have all possible leisure for the things of the
Spirit. He says: "Your part is to seek spiritual blessings, and I myself
will provide amply for your material needs. Look at the birds in the sky. They
neither sow nor reap nor gather crops into barns, and yet your Father feeds
them." In other words, "If I take such care of irrational birds as to
supply them with all they need without plowing or sowing, I will take much
greater care of you who are endowed with reason, if only you make up your minds
to put spiritual things before temporal ones. If I made these creatures for
your sake, as well as the whole of creation, and if I take such care of them,
of what great care will I not deem you worthy - you for whom I created all of
this?"
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