Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine)

[On the feast of the Epiphany], moved (…) by the example of the blessed Magi, Gertrude rose up in the fervor of her spirit and prostrated herself with very humble devotion at the most holy feet of the Lord Jesus, worshiping in the name of all that is in the heaven, on earth and in the underworld (cf. Phil 2:10). And, failing to find a gift she might worthily offer him, she began to traverse the whole world in her anxious desire, seeking amongst every creature whether she could find one worthy of being offered to her only love. Running like this, hot and breathing heavily in the thirst of her ardent fervor, she found despicable things that any creature would have wisely rejected, unworthy of being offered to the praise and glory of the Savior. But she, eagerly seizing hold of them, tried hard to restore them to Him whom all created things should uniquely serve. Thus she drew into her heart, thanks to her fervent desire, all the pain, fear, grief and anguish that a creature might ever have borne, not for the glory of the Creator but through its own fault and weakness. And she offered them to the Lord like a precious myrrh. Secondly, she drew to herself all the feigned holiness and affected devotion of the hypocrites, Pharisees, heretics and those like them. And she offered it to God in the same way like a very sweet incense. Thirdly, she tried hard to draw into her heart all the feelings of human tenderness and unnatural, impure love of all creatures. And she offered it to the Lord as though it were precious gold. All these things, then, were gathered together in her heart. But the loving desire, like a blazing fire, with which she tried hard to make a complete homage to her beloved from them, cleansed them of all rust just as gold is purified in the furnace, and they appeared like a noble and wonderful gift for the Lord. The desire to please him in every way, as witnessed by these offerings, brought unsurpassable delights to the Lord, as though he had been treated with presents that were extraordinarily rare.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

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The name “Jesus” in Hebrew means “salvation” or “Savior”. It is a name that for the prophets referred to a very specific vocation. From whence came these words, sung with great desire to see him: “My heart will rejoice in your salvation and will be joyful because of his salvation; my soul pines for your salvation” (Ps 12[13]:6 ;34[35]:9 ;118[119]:81). “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord and exult in my saving God” (Hab 3:18). And especially: “O God, by your name save me” (Ps 53[54]:3). It is as though one were to say: “O you who are called ‘Savior’, by saving me manifest the glory of your name.” And so the name of the son born of the Virgin Mary is Jesus, according to the angel’s explanation: “He will save his people from their sins”… As for the word “Christ”, this designates priestly or royal status. Priests and kings were in fact “chrismated”, that is to say anointed with holy oil. By this means they became signs of him who, appearing in the world as true king and high priest, received the anointing of “the oil of gladness above your fellows” (Ps 44[45]:8). It is because of this anointing that he is called Christ and those who share in this same anointing, that of spiritual grace, are called Christians. May he grant through his name of Savior to save us from our sins! May he grant through his anointing as high priest to reconcile us with God the Father. Through his anointing as king may he give us the eternal kingdom of his Father.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

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The name of Jesus is a divine name that the Lord made known to Mary through the voice of the Archangel Gabriel: “You will give him the name Jesus” (Lk 1:31). A name that, for this reason, is called “above all names”, “the only name by which we can be saved” (Phil 2:9; Acts 4:12). This great name is compared to oil by the Holy Spirit: “Your name is oil poured out” (Sg 1:3). Why? Because, as Saint Bernard explains, just as oil is both light, food and medicine, so the name of Jesus is light for our minds, food for our hearts, medicine for our souls. Light for our minds: it was the brilliance of this name that enabled the world to pass from the shadows of idolatry to the light of faith. We were born in a land whose inhabitants were all pagans before the coming of the Lord. We should have been as they were if he had not come to enlighten us. So how should we not give thanks to Jesus Christ for the gift of faith! (…) Food for our hearts: this, too, is what the name of Jesus is. For it calls to our minds all the painful work Jesus accomplished to save us. This is how he comforts us in tribulation, strengthens us to walk along the way of salvation, revives our hope and inflames us with love for our God. And medicine for our souls: Jesus’ name makes them strong in the face of temptation and our enemies’ attacks. Do they hear this holy name? The powers of hell tremble and take to flight. This is what Saint Paul says: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld” (Phil 2:10). No one who is tempted will fall if he calls on Jesus, and so long as he calls he will persevere and be saved.
Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

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The psalmist says: “The Lord is great and worthy of praise” (96[95]:4). Who is this ‘Lord’ if not Jesus Christ, great and worthy of praise? You surely know he appeared as man; you know, too, that he was conceived in the womb of a woman; that he was born of that womb, nourished, cradled in her arms, circumcised, that an offering was made for him (Lk 2:24) and that he grew up. You also know that he was struck, covered with spittle, crowned with thorns, crucified, and that he died, pierced by a lance. You know well that he suffered all those things. Yes, “he is great and worthy of praise”. Guard yourselves from despising his littleness; understand his greatness. He became small because you were small: understand how great he is and you will become great along with him. This is how houses are built, how the solid walls of a building are raised. The stones brought to construct the building increase: you, too, increase, understanding how great Christ is and how he who appeared to be small is great, very great indeed… What can poor, human language say in praise of him who is so great? In saying “very” great it is trying to express what it feels and believes…, but it is as if it were saying: “Try to grasp in thought what I am unable to express in words, and yet you must know that whatever you may have grasped is only a fragment.” For how can any language translate something that surpasses all thought? “Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise!” May he be praised, then; may he be preached; may his glory be proclaimed and his dwelling place erected.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

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When one looks at the Immaculate Virgin one senses a need in one’s heart to come closer to her… People who love her and write about her pause to see who she is, even if they don’t know her at any depth. Who is she in relation to God the Father? He is her Creator, of course and she herself declares: “I am the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1,38). But who else is she? She is the one chosen by the eternal Father. One cannot conceive this; human words are not adequate to express it. The heavenly Father wanted his Son, the second Person of the Trinity, to have the Immaculate Virgin as his mother in time. She is truly the mother of the Son of God – how difficult this is to grasp! We have to be very united to the Mother of God to understand this mystery at greater depth. The Virgin Mary cannot be compared with other saints by the fact that she is the Mother of God’s Son, truly Mother of God… To be created by God, to be a child by adoption: these things can yet be understood. But really to be the Mother of God is something that exceeds all understanding… It is a truth of faith that the Immaculate one is actually the Mother of God and not just the mother of Jesus’ humanity. With regard to the Holy Spirit: she is his Bride. We can’t conceive this either! The Holy Spirit is united to the Immaculate Virgin to such an extent that He seems to make up a single being with her… In all these things our intellect is not sufficient since the Trinity is infinite. And even were we to have perfect knowledge, there is an infinite distance between what we know of the Blessed Trinity and what it is in reality. Later, in heaven, we shall get a much better idea of this mystery. Even after thousands and thousands of years this understanding will always remain limited to such an extent that eternity will be necessary to come to perfect understanding.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

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