MEDITATIO

The upright and righteous and good and wise fear not nor tremble at death, because of the great hope that is before them. They at every time are mindful of death, their exodus, and of the last day in which the children of Adam shall be born. Paul, the apostle said:— But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin, and thus death came to all the children of Adam”(Rm 5:14.12) …Thus, death came to all people from Moses until the world shall end. Yet Moses preached that its kingdom is made void; death hoped that he would bind fast all people and would be king over them for ever…, but when the Holy One called Moses from the bush he said thus to him: “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob” (Ex 3,6). When death heard this utterance, he trembled and feared and was terrified and knew… that God is king of the dead and of the living, and that it is appointed to the children of Adam to come forth from his darkness. And observe that our Redeemer Jesus also, when he repeated this utterance to the Sadducees, thus said: “He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive” (Lk 20:38)… When Jesus, the slayer of death, came, and clothed himself in a body from the seed of Adam, and was crucified and tasted death. When death perceived that he had come down unto him, he was shaken from his place, and he closed his gates. Then Christ burst his gates, and entered into him, and began to despoil all his possessions. But when the dead saw light in the darkness, they lifted up their heads from the bondage of death, and looked forth, and saw the splendour of the Messiah King … And death saw that his darkness was beginning to be done away, and some of the righteous who were sleeping arose to ascend with him, then he made known to him that when he shall come in the fulness of time, he will bring forth all the prisoners from his power, and they shall go forth to see the light.

maronite readings – rosary,team

O Lord, since you are true God you knew about Lazarus’s sleep and had made it known to your disciples… Since you are true man, who nevertheless are without limit, you came to Bethany. True man, you wept upon Lazarus; true God, you raised, by your will, this man who had been dead for four days. O Lord, have mercy on me too; my sins are numerous. I beg you, come, pull me out of the abyss of evil. It is to you that I cry; listen to my prayer, God of my salvation. After weeping for your friend, in your compassion you put an end to Martha’s tears, and through your voluntary Passion you wipe away the tears from all faces (Is 25:8). “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our Fathers” (Ezr 7:27). You, the guardian of life, cried out to the dead man as if he were sleeping. With a word you tore open the belly of hell and raised him who then began to sing: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my Fathers”. Raise me up too, I who am strangled by the ties of my sins, and I will then sing to you: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our Fathers”… In her gratitude, Mary brings you, O Lord, a pound of costly perfumed oil as a due for her brother (Jn 12:3) and she sings to you forever and ever.  As mortal you pray the Father, as God you awaken Lazarus. This is why we sing to you, O Christ, forever and ever… You awaken Lazarus, a man dead for four days, you raise him from his tomb, making of him a true witness of your resurrection on the third day. You walk, you weep, you talk, O my Savior, showing us your human nature; but by raising Lazarus you reveal to us your divine nature. In such an unparallelled way as this, O Lord my Saviour, by your two natures and with sovereign power you accomplished my salvation.

maronite readings – rosary,team

I render glory to Jesus Christ the God who has given you such wisdom. For I have perceived that you are firmly settled in unwavering faith, being nailed, as it were, to the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in flesh and spirit, and firmly planted in love in the blood of Christ, being fully convinced as touching our Lord that he is truly “of the race of David after the flesh,” (Rm 1,3) and Son of God after the divine will and power, truly born of a virgin, baptized by John, that “all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him,” (Mt 3,15), truly nailed for us in the flesh under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch. And it is from the fruit of his Cross, even of his most blessed Passion, that we must live. For through his resurrection he “raised us up as an ensign” (Is 5,26) to the ages, for his saints and believers, whether among Jews or Gentiles, in one body of his Church (Eph 2,16). For all these sufferings he endured for our sakes that we might be saved. And he truly suffered, as also he truly raised himself up. Nor is it the case, as some unbelievers affirm, that he suffered in semblance… For I know and believe that he was in the flesh even after the resurrection. And when he came to Peter and those who were with him, he said to them, “Take, handle me and see that I am not a spirit without body.” And straightway they touched him and believed, being united with his flesh and spirit. Therefore also they despised death, and were found to rise above death. Moreover after his resurrection Jesus ate with them and drank with them, as living in the flesh, although spiritu­ally united with the Father. Now these things I urge upon you, beloved, knowing that this, too, is your profession of faith.

maronite readings – rosary,team