Catholic devotions for the 21st September
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Saint of the DayReading of the Martyrology
Dedication of the Month
Dedication of the Day
Rosary
Five Wounds Rosary in Latin
Seven Sorrows Rosary in English
Latin Monastic Office
Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict
Celebration of Mass
Reading from the School of Jesus Crucified
Feast of Saint Matthew
From the Golden Legend
This said Jerome.
Generosity
The second is his largess or his liberality. For anon he made to him a great feast in his house [Luke 5:29], the which was not great by apparel of meats, but it was much great only by reason of great desire, for he received with right great will and right great desire.
And also it was great by reason of service, for this feast was demonstrance of great mystery, which mystery the Gloss expoundeth upon St. Luke saying: "He that receiveth our Lord Jesu Christ in his house was fed withinforth plenteously of greater things than the other, that is to wit of delectations, of good manners, and of good delights."
And after he was great by reason of his enseignments, for he showed great teachings and doctrines. And this was of great mercy by desire, and not by sacrifice, as he said: Misericordiam volo et non sacrificium, etcetera [I will have mercy and not sacrifice, Matthew 9:13]. And also "they that be whole need no leech" [Matthew 9:12], and so it was great, for there was Jesu Christ and his disciples."
Humility
The third is humility which appeared to him in two things, first he showed him a publican. The other evangelists, as saith the gloss, because of shame, and for the honour of the evangelist, they set not their common name (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27) but as it is written: "The just is first accuser of himself." And Matthew named himself publican, first because that he showed that none converted ought not mistrust of health, like as he was made of a publican, an apostle and evangelist. Secondly, because he was patient in his injuries. For when the pharisees murmured that Jesu Christ was descended to a man, sinner, Matthew might have answered: Ye be more wicked and more sinful that ween ye be just and refuse the leech, for I may no more be said sinner that am gone to the leech of health and hide not my sin ne wound.
The Pre-eminence of His GospelThe fourth is the great solemnity of him in the church of his gospels. His gospels be ofter and more used in the church than the other evangelists, like as the psalms of David and the epistles of Paul be rehearsed before other scriptures, which be more ofter recited in the church.
And this is the reason that James witnesseth that there be three manner of sins, that is to wit: the sin of pride, of lechery, and of avarice. In the sin of pride sinned Saul, for Saul by the sin of pride persecuted the church over proudly. David sinned in the sin of lechery, for he made adultery, and for the adultery he slew Uriah, his true knight. And Matthew sinned in the sin of avarice, for for covetousness he meddled him of villainous gain. For he was in a port of the sea where he received the toll and custom of ships and merchandise.
And howbeit that they were sinners, yet always our Lord took their penance in gree and was pleased therewith, so that he pardoned them not only their sins, but multiplied in them his gifts of grace. For him that was a right cruel persecutor, he made a right true preacher, and him that had been adulterer and homicide, he made a prophet, and him that coveted so villainous gain, he made apostle and evangelist.
And therefore these foresaid three be oft recited that no man that would be converted should have despair of pardon when such that were in so great sin, he beholdeth to have been in so great grace.
ST. AMBROSE ON THE CONVERSION OF ST. MATTHEW
And it is to be considered that, after St. Ambrose, some things ought to be noted in the conversion of St. Matthew, that is to wit somewhat of the party of the leech, and some of the party of the sick to be healed.
The Part of the Physician
In the leech were three things, that is to wit, wisdom by which he knew the root of the malady, and the bounty by which he ministered the medicine, and the power by which he healed him so soon. Of these three saith St. Ambrose in the person of the said Matthew, "This master may take away the sorrow from my heart, and the dread of the soul which knoweth the things hid and privy." And this is as touching to the first. And as to the second, "I have found a leech that dwelleth in heaven and sheddeth in earth his medicine." And as to the third he said, "He may well heal my wounds that knoweth not his own."
The Part of the Sick Man
In this blessed sick man that was healed, that is to say St. Matthew, three things be to be considered, after St. Ambrose. He took away first his malady, he was always agreeable to his leech, and he was always clean and whole after he had received his health. Then he said, "Matthew, follow now thy leech merrily and gladly," and he joying said, "Now I am no publican, ne am not Levi, I have put away Levi sith I have received Christ and follow him," and this is to the first. And as to the second, "I hate my lineage and flee my life and follow only the Lord." And as to the third he said, "Who shall depart me from the charity of our Lord God which is in me? Tribulation or anguish or hunger?" As who saith: "Nothing."
The Manner of Healing
And the manner of healing, as Ambrose saith, was treble. First, Jesu Christ bound him with bonds; secondly, he impressed in him charity; and thirdly, he cleansed him from all rottenness. And Ambrose saith in the person of Matthew: "I am bounden with the nails of faith, and good life of charity." Secondly, "I shall keep thy commandment as imprinted in me by charity." And as to the third: "Good Lord, come soon and open my wounds lest any noieful humour corrupt ne rot the hid passions, and wash them that be foul and cleanse them."
ST. BARNABAS FINDS THE GOSPEL WRITTEN IN ST. MATTHEW'S HAND
His gospel that he had written with his own hand, was found with the bones of St. Barnabas, the which gospel Barnabas bare with him, and laid them upon them that were sick, and anon they were healed by the merits of the martyr, and were founden in the year of our Lord five hundred.
The Reading from the Martyrology
September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
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Meditation of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri on the Third Sorrow
Of the Loss of Jesus in the Temple
The Apostle Saint James says that our perfection consists in the virtue of patience. “And patience hath a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.” Our Lord having, then, given us the blessed Virgin Mary as a model of perfection, it was necessary that she should be laden with sorrows, that in her we might admire heroic patience, and endeavour to imitate it.
The sorrow which we have this day to consider was one of the greatest that Mary had to endure in her life, the loss of her Son in the temple. He who is born blind feels but little the privation of the light of day; but he who has once enjoyed it, and loses it by becoming blind, indeed suffers much. Thus it is also with those unhappy souls who, blinded by the mire of this world, have but little knowledge of God: they suffer but little at not finding Him; but, on the other hand, he who, illumined by celestial light, has become worthy to find by love the sweet presence of the supreme good, O God, how bitterly does he grieve when he finds himself deprived of it!
Hence, let us see how much Mary must have suffered from this third sword of sorrow which pierced her heart, when, having lost her Jesus in Jerusalem for three days, she was deprived of His most sweet presence, accustomed as she was constantly to enjoy it.
St. Luke relates, in the second chapter of his Gospel, that the Blessed Virgin, with her spouse St. Joseph, and Jesus, was accustomed every year at the paschal solemnity to visit the temple. When her Son was twelve years of age, she went as usual, and Jesus remained in Jerusalem. Mary did not at once perceive it, thinking He was in company with others. When she reached Nazareth, she inquired for her Son; but not finding Him, she immediately returned to Jerusalem to seek for Him, and only found Him after three days.
Now let us imagine what anxiety this afflicted Mother must have experienced in those three days during which she was seeking everywhere for her Son, and inquiring for Him with the spouse in the Canticles: “Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?” But she could have no tidings of Him. O, with how far greater tenderness must Mary, overcome by fatigue, and having not yet found her beloved Son, have repeated those words of Ruben, concerning his brother Joseph: “The boy doth not appear; and whither shall I go?”
“My Jesus doth not appear, and I no longer know what to do to find Him; but where shall I go without my treasure?” Weeping continually, with how much truth did she repeat with David, during those three days, “My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?”
Wherefore Pelbart, with reason, says, that “during those nights the afflicted Mary did not sleep; she was constantly weeping, and entreating God that He would enable her to find her Son.”
I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and found him not. I will rise, and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not. The watchmen who keep the city, found me: Have you seen him, whom my soul loveth? – Canticles 3:1-2
Frequently, during that time, according to St. Bernard, she addressed her Son in the words of the spouse in the Canticles: “Show me where thou feedest, where thou liest in the mid-day, lest I begin to wander.” My Son, tell me where Thou art, that I may no longer wander, seeking Thee in vain.
There are some who assert, and not without reason, that this dolour was not only one of the greatest, but the greatest and most painful of all. For, in the first place, Mary, in her other dolours, had Jesus with her: she suffered when Saint Simeon prophesied to her in the temple; she suffered in the flight into Egypt; but still in company with Jesus; but in this dolour she suffered far from Jesus, not knowing where He was: “And the light of my eyes itself is not with me.”
Thus weeping she then said, “Ah, the light of my eyes, my dear Jesus, is no longer with me; He is far from me, and I know not whither He is gone.” Origen says that through the love which this holy Mother bore her Son, “she suffered more in this loss of Jesus than any martyr ever suffered in the separation of his soul from his body.” Ah, too long indeed were those three days for Mary; they seemed three ages; they were all bitterness, for there was none to comfort her. And who can ever comfort me, she said with Jeremias, who can console me, since He who alone could do so is far from me and therefore my eyes can never weep enough: “Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down with water: because the Comforter . . . is far from me.” And with Tobias she repeated, “What manner of joy shall be to me who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven?”
In the second place, Mary, in all her other sorrows, well understood their cause, the redemption of the world, the Divine will; but in this she knew not the cause of the absence of her Son. “The sorrowful Mother,” says Lanspergius, “was grieved at the absence of Jesus, because, in her humility, she considered herself unworthy to remain longer with or to attend upon Him on earth, and have the charge of so great a treasure.” “And who knows,” perhaps she thought within herself “maybe I have not served Him as I ought; perhaps I have been guilty of some negligence, for which He has left me.” “They sought Him,” says Origen, “lest perchance He had entirely left them.”
It is certain that, to a soul which loves God, there can be no greater pain than the fear of having displeased Him. Therefore in this sorrow alone did Mary complain, lovingly expostulating with Jesus, after she had found Him: “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” By these words she had no idea of reproving Jesus, as heretics blasphemously assert, but only meant to express to Him the grief proceeding from the great love she bore Him, which she had experienced during His absence: “It was not a rebuke,” says Denis the Carthusian, “but a loving complaint.”
In fine, this sword so cruelly pierced the heart of the most holy Virgin, that the blessed Benvenuta, desiring one day to share the holy Mother’s pain in this dolour, and entreating her for this favour, Mary appeared to her with the Infant Jesus in her arms; but while Benvenuta was enjoying the sight of this most beautiful child, in a moment she was deprived of it. So great was her grief, that she had recourse to Mary, entreating her to mitigate it, that it might not cause her death. In three days the holy Virgin again appeared, and said: “Know, my daughter, that thy sorrow is only a small part of that which I endured when I lost my Son.”
This sorrow of Mary ought, in the first place, to serve as a consolation to those souls who are desolate, and no longer enjoy, as they once enjoyed, the sweet presence of their Lord. They may weep, but they should weep in peace, as Mary wept the absence of her Son; and let them take courage, and not fear that on this account they have lost the Divine favour; for God Himself assured Saint Teresa, that “no one is lost without knowing it; and that no one is deceived without wishing to be deceived.”
If our Lord withdraws Himself from the sight of a soul which loves Him, He does not, therefore, depart from the heart; He often conceals Himself from a soul, that she may seek Him with a more ardent desire and greater love. But whoever wishes to find Jesus, must seek Him, not amidst delights and the pleasures of the world, but amidst crosses and mortifications, as Mary sought Him: “we sought Thee sorrowing,” as Mary said to her Son. “I learn, then, from Mary,” says Origen, “to seek Jesus.”
Moreover, in this world she would seek no other good than Jesus. Job was not unhappy when he lost all that he possessed on earth; riches, children, health, and honours, and even descended from a throne to a dunghill; but because he had God with him, he was even then happy. Saint Augustine says, “he had lost what God had given him but he still had God Himself.”
Truly miserable and unhappy are those souls which have lost God. If Mary wept the absence of her Son for three days, how should sinners weep, who have lost divine grace, and to whom God says: “You are not my people, and I will not be yours.” For this is the effect of sin; it separates the soul from God: “Your iniquities have divided between you and your God.” Hence, if sinners possess all the riches of the earth, but have lost God, all, even in this world, becomes vanity and affliction to them, as Solomon confessed: “Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” But the greatest misfortune of these poor blind souls is, as St. Augustine observes, that “if they lose an ox, they do not fail to go in search of it; if they lose a sheep, they use all diligence to find it; if they lose a beast of burden, they cannot rest; but when they lose their God, who is the supreme good, they eat, drink, and repose.”
Example
In the Annual Letters of the Society of Jesus, it is related that in India a young man was leaving his room with the intention of committing a sin, when he heard a voice saying: “Stop! where art thou going?” He turned round, and saw an image in relief, representing our Lady of Sorrows, who, drawing out the sword which was in her breast, said: “Take this dagger and pierce my heart, rather than wound my Son by committing such a sin.” On hearing these words, the youth prostrated himself on the ground, and bursting into tears, with deep sorrow, asked and obtained pardon from God and our Blessed Lady.
Prayer
O Blessed Virgin, why dost thou afflict thyself, seeking for thy lost Son? Is it that thou knowest not where He is? Knowest thou not that He is in thy heart? Art thou ignorant that He feeds amongst lilies? Thou thyself hast said it: “My Beloved to me, and I to Him, who feedeth among the lilies.” These, thy thoughts and affections, which are all humble, pure, and holy, are all lilies which invite thy Divine Spouse to dwell in thee.
Ah, Mary, dost thou sigh after Jesus, thou who lovest none but Jesus? Leave sighs to me, and to so many sinners who love Him not, and who have lost Him by offending Him. My most amiable Mother, if through my fault thy Son is not yet returned to my soul, do thou obtain for me that I may find Him. I well know that He is found by those who seek Him: “The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him.” But do thou make me seek Him as I ought. Thou art the gate through which all find Jesus; through thee I also hope to find Him. Amen.
Holy Hour
On Thursdays, many Catholics make "Holy Hour," that is, they spend an hour in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as an aspect of devotion to the Sacred Heart. On the fifteen consecutive Thursdays before the May 22, many Catholics make the "Fifteen Thursdays of St. Rita" devotion, which can be read about off the page about The Feast of St. Rita of Cascia.
The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary are prayed on Thursday
The Rosary in Latin
Chaplet of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ in Latin
Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady in English
Latin Monastic Office for today from Le Barroux in France Texts also provided
The Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict for September 21
62 Non velle dici sanctum antequam sit, sed prius esse quod verius dicatur.
63 Praecepta Dei factis cotidie adimplere,
64 castitatem amare,
65 nullum odire,
66 zelum non habere,
67 invidiam non exercere,
68 contentionem non amare,
69 elationem fugere.
70 Et seniores venerare,
71 iuniores diligere.
72 In Christi amore pro inimicis orare;
73 cum discordante ante solis occasum in pacem redire.
74 Et Dei misericordia numquam desperare.
75 Ecce haec sunt instrumenta artis spiritalis.
74 Et Dei misericordia numquam desperare.
75 Ecce haec sunt instrumenta artis spiritalis.
76 Quae cum fuerint a nobis die noctuque incessabiliter adimpleta et in die iudicii reconsignata, illa mercis nobis a Domino reconpensabitur quam ipse promisit:
77 Quod oculus non vidit nec auris audivit, quae praeparavit Deus his qui diligunt illum.
78 Officina vero ubi haec omnia diligenter operemur claustra sunt monasterii et stabilitas in congregatione.
Chapter 4 What are the instruments of good works
62 Not to wish to be called holy before one is so; but first to be holy, so as to be truly called so.
62 Not to wish to be called holy before one is so; but first to be holy, so as to be truly called so.
63 To daily fulfil in one’s actions the precepts of God;
64 to love chastity;
65 to hate no one;
66 not to have jealousy,
67 not to act out of envy,
68 not to love contention,
69 to flee from conceit.
70 To reverence the seniors
71 and to love the juniors.
72 In the love of Christ to pray for enemies;
73 to make peace with opponents before the setting of the sun.
74 And never to despair of the mercy of God.
75 Behold, these are the instruments of the spiritual art.
74 And never to despair of the mercy of God.
75 Behold, these are the instruments of the spiritual art.
76 If we employ them night and day without ceasing and on the Day of Judgement return them, then these will be the wages by which the Lord will recompense us, as he promised:
77 What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, the Lord has prepared for those who love him (1Cor 2:9).
78 For the workshop in which we diligently use all these instruments is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.
Today's Celebration of the Mass
May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts
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