Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom,
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 441
Lectionary: 441
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
to Timothy, my true child in faith:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
to Timothy, my true child in faith:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 16:1B-2A AND 5, 7-8,
11
R.(see 5) You are
my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R.You are my inheritance, O Lord.
AlleluiaSEE JN 17:17B, 17A
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, please go here.
Meditation:
"Do you not see the log in your own eye?"
: Are you clear-sighted,
especially in your perception of sin and the need for each of one of us to see
ourselves correctly as God sees us - with our faults,weaknesses, and strengths?
Jesus' two parables about poor vision allude to the proverb: Without
vision the people perish! (Proverbs 29:18) What can we learn from the
illustration of a blind guide and a bad eye (the log in the
eye)? A bad eye left untreated and a blind guide can
cause a lot of trouble that will only end in misery and disaster for us! We can
only help and teach others what we have learned and received from wise
teachers and guides. And how can we help others overcome their faults if we are
blinded by our own faults and misperceptions? We are all in need of a physician
who can help us overcome the blind spots and failing of own sins, weaknesses,
and ignorance.
Overcoming
blind spots in our own lives
The Gospel of Luke was written by a disciple who was trained as a physician. Luke, with keen insight, portrays Jesus as the good physician and shepherd of souls who seeks out those who desire healing, pardon, and restoration of body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came to free us from the worst oppression possible - slavery to sin, fear, and condemnation. Like a gentle and skillful doctor, the Lord Jesus exposes the cancer of sin, evil, and oppression in our lives so we can be set free and restored to wholeness. A key step to healing and restoration requires that we first submit to the physician who can heal us. The Lord Jesus is our great Physician because he heals the whole person - soul and body, mind and heart - and restores us to abundant life both now and for the age to come in his everlasting kingdom.
The Gospel of Luke was written by a disciple who was trained as a physician. Luke, with keen insight, portrays Jesus as the good physician and shepherd of souls who seeks out those who desire healing, pardon, and restoration of body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came to free us from the worst oppression possible - slavery to sin, fear, and condemnation. Like a gentle and skillful doctor, the Lord Jesus exposes the cancer of sin, evil, and oppression in our lives so we can be set free and restored to wholeness. A key step to healing and restoration requires that we first submit to the physician who can heal us. The Lord Jesus is our great Physician because he heals the whole person - soul and body, mind and heart - and restores us to abundant life both now and for the age to come in his everlasting kingdom.
Thinking
the best of others
The Lord Jesus wants to heal and restore us to wholeness, not only for our own sake alone. He also wants us to be his instruments of healing, pardon, and restoration for others as well. What can hinder us from helping others draw near to Jesus the divine Physician? The Rabbis taught: "He who judges his neighbor favorably will be judged favorably by God." How easy it is to misjudge others and how difficult it is to be impartial in giving good judgment. Our judgment of others is usually "off the mark" because we can't see inside the other person, or we don't have access to all the facts, or we are swayed by instinct and unreasoning reactions to people. It is easier to find fault in others than in oneself. A critical and judgmental spirit crushes rather than heals, oppresses rather than restores, repels rather than attracts. "Thinking the best of other people" is necessary if we wish to grow in love. And kindliness in judgment is nothing less that a sacred duty.
The Lord Jesus wants to heal and restore us to wholeness, not only for our own sake alone. He also wants us to be his instruments of healing, pardon, and restoration for others as well. What can hinder us from helping others draw near to Jesus the divine Physician? The Rabbis taught: "He who judges his neighbor favorably will be judged favorably by God." How easy it is to misjudge others and how difficult it is to be impartial in giving good judgment. Our judgment of others is usually "off the mark" because we can't see inside the other person, or we don't have access to all the facts, or we are swayed by instinct and unreasoning reactions to people. It is easier to find fault in others than in oneself. A critical and judgmental spirit crushes rather than heals, oppresses rather than restores, repels rather than attracts. "Thinking the best of other people" is necessary if we wish to grow in love. And kindliness in judgment is nothing less that a sacred duty.
What
you give to others will return to you
Jesus states a heavenly principle we can stake our lives on: what you give to others (and how you treat others) will return to you (Mark 4:24). The Lord knows our faults and he sees all, even the imperfections and sins of the heart which we cannot recognize in ourselves. Like a gentle father and a skillful doctor he patiently draws us to his seat of mercy and removes the cancer of sin which inhabits our hearts. Do you trust in God's mercy and grace? Ask the Lord to flood your heart with his loving-kindness and mercy that you may only have room for charity, forbearance, and kindness towards your neighbor.
Jesus states a heavenly principle we can stake our lives on: what you give to others (and how you treat others) will return to you (Mark 4:24). The Lord knows our faults and he sees all, even the imperfections and sins of the heart which we cannot recognize in ourselves. Like a gentle father and a skillful doctor he patiently draws us to his seat of mercy and removes the cancer of sin which inhabits our hearts. Do you trust in God's mercy and grace? Ask the Lord to flood your heart with his loving-kindness and mercy that you may only have room for charity, forbearance, and kindness towards your neighbor.
"O
Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes,
recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise
rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build
rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at
their worst. This we ask for thy name's sake." (Prayer of William Barclay,
20th century)
A
Daily Quote for Lent: Seeing
the speck in anothers eye, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The
word hypocrite is aptly employed here (Luke 6:42, Matthew 7:5), since the
denouncing of evils is best viewed as a matter only for upright persons of
goodwill. When the wicked engage in it, they are like impersonators, masqueraders,
hiding their real selves behind a mask, while they portray anothers character
through the mask. The word hypocrites in fact signifies pretenders. Hence we
ought especially to avoid that meddlesome class of pretenders who under the
pretense of seeking advice undertake the censure of all kinds of vices. They
are often moved by hatred and malice. Rather, whenever necessity compels one to
reprove or rebuke another, we ought to proceed with godly discernment and
caution. First of all, let us consider whether the other fault is such as we
ourselves have never had or whether it is one that we have overcome. Then, if
we have never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could
have had it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our
common frailty, in order that mercy, not hatred, may lead us to the giving of
correction and admonition. In this way, whether the admonition occasions the
amendment or the worsening of the one for whose sake we are offering it (for
the result cannot be foreseen), we ourselves shall be made safe through
singleness of eye. But if on reflection we find that we ourselves have the same
fault as the one we are about to reprove, let us neither correct nor rebuke
that one. Rather, let us bemoan the fault ourselves and induce that person to a
similar concern, without asking him to submit to our correction." (excerpt
from Sermon on the Mount 2.19.64)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, LUKE 6:39-42
(1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14; Psalm 16)
KEY VERSE: "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?" (v. 41).
TO KNOW: Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies (v. 27-36) and to be forgiving, non-judgmental and generous toward others (v. 37-38). His disciples must be clear-sighted in their understanding of the gospel. They would be hypocrites if they criticized the mistakes of others and were blind to their own faults. A blind person would be unable to guide another blind person along the path as both might stumble and fall. The disciples could not lead others unless they were able to see their own defects and limitations. Then they would be compassionate and, when others failed, could help them overcome their wrongdoings. When these future leaders of the Church were fully trained, they would resemble their teacher, Jesus.
TO LOVE: Am I quick to point out the mistakes of others that I make myself?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, open my eyes to my own faults so that I will not be judgmental of another's shortcomings.
(1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14; Psalm 16)
KEY VERSE: "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?" (v. 41).
TO KNOW: Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies (v. 27-36) and to be forgiving, non-judgmental and generous toward others (v. 37-38). His disciples must be clear-sighted in their understanding of the gospel. They would be hypocrites if they criticized the mistakes of others and were blind to their own faults. A blind person would be unable to guide another blind person along the path as both might stumble and fall. The disciples could not lead others unless they were able to see their own defects and limitations. Then they would be compassionate and, when others failed, could help them overcome their wrongdoings. When these future leaders of the Church were fully trained, they would resemble their teacher, Jesus.
TO LOVE: Am I quick to point out the mistakes of others that I make myself?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, open my eyes to my own faults so that I will not be judgmental of another's shortcomings.
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the
Church
St. John Chrysostom was one of the most famous orators of his day. Because of his eloquent sermons, he earned the title "Chrysostom" (golden mouthed). John explained the Scriptures with clarity. They were always to the point and sometimes went on for hours. John was made a reluctant bishop of Constantinople in 398, a move that involved him in imperial politics. He criticized the rich for not sharing their wealth; fought to reform the clergy; revised the Greek Liturgy; prevented the sale of ecclesiastical offices (simony); called for fidelity in marriage; and encouraged practices of justice and charity. St. John Chrysostom is one of the Greek Fathers of the Church. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 451.
St. John Chrysostom was one of the most famous orators of his day. Because of his eloquent sermons, he earned the title "Chrysostom" (golden mouthed). John explained the Scriptures with clarity. They were always to the point and sometimes went on for hours. John was made a reluctant bishop of Constantinople in 398, a move that involved him in imperial politics. He criticized the rich for not sharing their wealth; fought to reform the clergy; revised the Greek Liturgy; prevented the sale of ecclesiastical offices (simony); called for fidelity in marriage; and encouraged practices of justice and charity. St. John Chrysostom is one of the Greek Fathers of the Church. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 451.
Friday 13 September 2019
St John Chrysostom. Day of penance
1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14. Psalm 15(16):1-2, 5, 7-8, 11. Luke 6:39-42.
You are my inheritance, O Lord – Psalm 15(16):1-2, 5, 7-8, 11
‘First take the log out of your own eye’
1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14. Psalm 15(16):1-2, 5, 7-8, 11. Luke 6:39-42.
You are my inheritance, O Lord – Psalm 15(16):1-2, 5, 7-8, 11
‘First take the log out of your own eye’
Jesus is teaching honesty and integrity in today’s gospel. We
are much more comfortable to pick apart others’ characters and perceived flaws
than to stop and look within ourselves. We are challenged by Jesus, however, to
look within first, and to model our lives on him—to become like the teacher.
This was the kind of internal change Paul experienced also.
Once confronted by the presence of Christ and the truth of his message,
Paul’s entire life journey was changed. In his writing to Timothy, Paul
expressed gratefulness for God’s transforming mercy and affirmed Timothy in his
own faith journey.
How often do we allow God to transform us? Are we willing to
change our plans if God asks something different of us? Do we look beyond
ourselves with eyes ready to affirm others? Today let us face the truth of our
own flaws and ask to receive God’s mercy.
Saint John Chrysostom
Saint of the Day for September 13
(c. 349 – September 14, 407)
Saint John Chrysostom’s Story
The ambiguity and intrigue surrounding John, the great preacher
(his name means “golden-mouthed”) from Antioch, are characteristic of the life
of any great man in a capital city. Brought to Constantinople after a dozen
years of priestly service in Syria, John found himself the reluctant victim of
an imperial ruse to make him bishop in the greatest city of the empire.
Ascetic, unimposing but dignified, and troubled by stomach ailments from his
desert days as a monk, John became a bishop under the cloud of imperial
politics.
If his body was weak, his tongue was powerful. The content of
his sermons, his exegesis of Scripture, were never without a point. Sometimes
the point stung the high and mighty. Some sermons lasted up to two hours.
His lifestyle at the imperial court was not appreciated by many
courtiers. He offered a modest table to episcopal sycophants hanging around for
imperial and ecclesiastical favors. John deplored the court protocol that
accorded him precedence before the highest state officials. He would not be a
kept man.
His zeal led him to decisive action. Bishops who bribed their
way into office were deposed. Many of his sermons called for concrete steps to
share wealth with the poor. The rich did not appreciate hearing from John that
private property existed because of Adam’s fall from grace any more than
married men liked to hear that they were bound to marital fidelity just as much
as their wives were. When it came to justice and charity, John acknowledged no
double standards.
Aloof, energetic, outspoken, especially when he became excited
in the pulpit, John was a sure target for criticism and personal trouble. He
was accused of gorging himself secretly on rich wines and fine foods. His
faithfulness as spiritual director to the rich widow, Olympia, provoked much
gossip attempting to prove him a hypocrite where wealth and chastity were
concerned. His actions taken against unworthy bishops in Asia Minor were viewed
by other ecclesiastics as a greedy, uncanonical extension of his authority.
Theophilus, archbishop of Alexandria, and Empress Eudoxia were
determined to discredit John. Theophilus feared the growth in importance of the
Bishop of Constantinople and took occasion to charge John with fostering
heresy. Theophilus and other angered bishops were supported by Eudoxia. The
empress resented his sermons contrasting gospel values with the excesses of
imperial court life. Whether intended or not, sermons mentioning the lurid Jezebel
and impious Herodias were associated with the empress, who finally did manage
to have John exiled. He died in exile in 407.
Reflection
John Chrysostom’s preaching, by word and example, exemplifies
the role of the prophet to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the
comfortable. For his honesty and courage, he paid the price of a turbulent
ministry as bishop, personal vilification, and exile.
Saint John Chrysostom is the Patron Saint of:
Orators
Preachers
Speakers
Preachers
Speakers
Lectio Divina: Luke 6:39-42
Lectio Divina
Friday, September 13, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
You redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
You redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable: "Can a blind person
guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to
the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the
wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me
remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam
in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel gives us some of the passages of the discourse
which Jesus pronounced on the plain after having spent the night in prayer (Lk
6:12) and after He had called the twelve to be His apostles (Lk 6:13-14). Many
of the sayings in this discourse had already been pronounced on other
occasions, but Luke, imitating Matthew, puts them together in this Sermon on
the Plain.
• Luke 6:39: The parable of the blind man who guides another blind man. Jesus tells a parable to the disciples: “Can a blind man guide another blind man? Will not both of them fall into a hole?” A parable of one line, quite similar to the warnings which, in Matthew’s Gospel, are addressed to the Pharisees: “Alas for you, blind guides!” (Mt 23:16-17,19,24,26) Here in the context of the Gospel of Luke, this parable is addressed to the animators of the communities who consider themselves the masters of truth, superior to others and because of this, they are blind guides.
• Luke 6:40: Disciple – Master. “The disciple is not greater than the teacher, but the well prepared disciple will be like the teacher” Jesus is the Master, not the professor. The professor in class teaches different subjects, but does not live with the pupils. The Master or Lord does not teach lessons; he lives with the pupils. His subject matter is himself, his life witness, his way of living the things that he teaches. Living together with the Master, the Lord has three aspects: (1) the Master is the model or example to be imitated (cf. Jn 13:13-15). (2) The disciple not only contemplates and imitates, he commits himself to the same destiny of the Master, with his temptations (Lk 22:28), his persecution (Mt 10:24-25), his death (Jn 11:16); (3) He not only imitates the model, he not only assumes the commitment, but arrives at identifying himself with Him: “I live, but it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2:20). This third aspect is the mystical dimension of the following of Jesus, fruit of the action of the Spirit.
• Luke 6:41-42: The splinter in the brother’s eye. “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own? How can you say to your brother: ‘Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye, when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye”. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew treats the same theme and explains a bit better the parable of the splinter in the eye. Jesus asks for a creative attitude which will make us capable of going and encountering others without judging them, without preconceptions and rationalizing, but accepting the brother (Mt 7:1-5). This total openness toward others considering them as brothers/sisters will arise in us only when we are capable of relating to God with total trust as His children (Mt 7:7-11).
• Luke 6:39: The parable of the blind man who guides another blind man. Jesus tells a parable to the disciples: “Can a blind man guide another blind man? Will not both of them fall into a hole?” A parable of one line, quite similar to the warnings which, in Matthew’s Gospel, are addressed to the Pharisees: “Alas for you, blind guides!” (Mt 23:16-17,19,24,26) Here in the context of the Gospel of Luke, this parable is addressed to the animators of the communities who consider themselves the masters of truth, superior to others and because of this, they are blind guides.
• Luke 6:40: Disciple – Master. “The disciple is not greater than the teacher, but the well prepared disciple will be like the teacher” Jesus is the Master, not the professor. The professor in class teaches different subjects, but does not live with the pupils. The Master or Lord does not teach lessons; he lives with the pupils. His subject matter is himself, his life witness, his way of living the things that he teaches. Living together with the Master, the Lord has three aspects: (1) the Master is the model or example to be imitated (cf. Jn 13:13-15). (2) The disciple not only contemplates and imitates, he commits himself to the same destiny of the Master, with his temptations (Lk 22:28), his persecution (Mt 10:24-25), his death (Jn 11:16); (3) He not only imitates the model, he not only assumes the commitment, but arrives at identifying himself with Him: “I live, but it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2:20). This third aspect is the mystical dimension of the following of Jesus, fruit of the action of the Spirit.
• Luke 6:41-42: The splinter in the brother’s eye. “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own? How can you say to your brother: ‘Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye, when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye”. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew treats the same theme and explains a bit better the parable of the splinter in the eye. Jesus asks for a creative attitude which will make us capable of going and encountering others without judging them, without preconceptions and rationalizing, but accepting the brother (Mt 7:1-5). This total openness toward others considering them as brothers/sisters will arise in us only when we are capable of relating to God with total trust as His children (Mt 7:7-11).
4) Personal questions
• Splinter and log in the eye. How do I relate with others at
home and in my family, in work and with my colleagues, in community and with
the brothers and sisters?
• Master and disciple. How am I a disciple of Jesus?
• Master and disciple. How am I a disciple of Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, how blessed are those who live in Your house;
they shall praise You continually.
Blessed those who find their strength in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (Ps 84:4-5)
they shall praise You continually.
Blessed those who find their strength in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (Ps 84:4-5)
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