Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine)

In this account of the miracle we must consider in one and the same Redeemer the separate operation of his divinity and of his humanity. And the error of Eutyches, who dared to teach that in Christ there is but one operation, must be wholly driven out from Christian lands. Who cannot see that the Lord, in having compassion on the multitude lest they faint from want of food or from the weariness of the long journey home, was moved by the compassion of human pity, but that feeding four thousand people from seven loaves and a few fish is a work of divine power? “And they collected seven baskets full of fragments.” That multitude who had just eaten and been filled did not carry away with them the remains of the loaves but left them to be gathered into baskets by the disciples, as before. And taken literally, this event teaches us to be content with what is necessary and never to look for anything more than that. Then the evangelist makes known to us the number of those who were satisfied: “Now those who ate were about four thousand, and he dismissed them.” Here let us consider that our Lord Jesus Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry since, to the contrary, he wants to give to everyone the nourishment of his grace. In a figurative sense there is this difference between this second miracle and the first multiplication of the five loaves and two fish: the first prefigures the letter of the Old Testament, which was as though full of the spiritual grace of the New, whereas the second represents the truth and grace of the New Testament fully communicated to the faithful. The multitude who, according to Saint Matthew’s testimony, wait three days for the healing of their sick (Mt 15), represent the elect in the faith of the holy Trinity who beg for the forgiveness of their sins with persevering prayer, or those who are converted to the Lord through their thoughts, words, and deeds.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

Such is the hidden kingdom of God; and, as it is now hidden, so in due season it shall be revealed. Men think that they are lords of the world, and may do as they will… At present, “all things,” to appearance, “continue as they were from the beginning of the creation;” and scoffers ask, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2Pt 3,4) but at the appointed time there will be a “manifestation of the sons of God,” and the hidden saints “shall shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Rm 8,19; Mt 13,43). When the Angels appeared to the shepherds, it was a sudden appearance… The night had before that seemed just like any other night; as the evening on which Jacob saw the vision seemed like any other evening (Gen 28,11). They were keeping watch over their sheep; they were watching the night as it passed. The stars moved on,—it was midnight. They had no idea of such a thing when the Angel appeared. Such are the power and virtue hidden in things which are seen, and at God’s will they are manifested… Who could conceive two or three months before, that it was possible that the face of nature, which then seemed so lifeless, should become so splendid and varied?… So it is with the coming of that Eternal Spring, for which all Christians are waiting. Come it will, though it delay; yet though it tarry, let us wait for it, “because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Heb 10,37). Therefore we say day by day, “Thy kingdom come;” which means: “O Lord, show Thyself; manifest Thyself; Thou that sittest between the cherubim, show Thyself; stir up Thy strength and come and help us” (Ps 79, 2-3). The earth that we see does not satisfy us; it is but a beginning; it is but a promise of something beyond it; even when it is gayest, with all its blossoms on, and shows most touchingly what lies hid in it, yet it is not enough. We know much more lies hid in it than we see… What we see is the outward shell of an eternal kingdom; and on that kingdom we fix the eyes of our faith.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

The Lord commands us in the Gospel: “Watch, be on your guard against all malice and greed” (cf. Lk 12:15). “Guard yourselves against the preoccupations of this world and the cares of this life” (cf. Mt 6:25; Lk 21:34). Therefore, none of the brothers, wherever he may be or wherever he goes, should in any way carry, receive, or have received either money or coins, whether for clothing or books or payment for any work-indeed, for no reason-unless it is for the evident need of the sick brothers; for we must not suppose that money or coins have any greater value than stones. And the devil would like to blind those who desire it or consider it better than stones. Therefore, let us who have left all things behind take care that we do not lose the kingdom of heaven for so little (cf. Mt 19:27; Mk 10:24.28). And if we were to find coins in any place, let us give them no more thought than the dust which we crush with our feet; for all this is “vanity of vanities, and all is vanity” (Eccl 1:2). All the brothers should strive to follow the humility and the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ (…). And they must rejoice when they live among people who are considered to be of little worth and who are looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside. And when it may be necessary, let them go for alms. And they should not be ashamed, but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living and all-powerful God (…) was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms, he and the Blessed Virgin, and His disciples.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

“God makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5,45). He shows his patience; he does not exercise as yet his almighty power. So you, too,… withhold yourself from provocation and don’t increase the uneasiness of those who sow trouble. Are you a friend of peace? Remain peaceful within yourself… Set aside quarrelling and turn to prayer. Don’t return insult for insult but pray for the other person. Would you like to speak to him against him? Speak to God on his behalf. I don’t say be silent, but find a convenient place and see the one you are speaking to in silence, by a cry from the heart. There, where your enemy cannot see you, in that very place show goodness on his behalf. To this adversary of peace, this friend of argument, you, who are a friend of peace, give answer: “Say whatever you like, whatever your enmity may be about, for you are my brother”… “No matter how much you hate and repel me: you are my brother! Recognise within yourself the mark of my Father. This is my Father’s word: you are a disputatious brother yet you are my brother, for you, too, say the same as I do: ‘Our Father in heaven.’ We pray to one Father so why are we not at one? I beg you, acknowledge what it is you say together with me and renounce what you do against me… We have only one voice before the Father; why should we not together have one peace?”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

Do you, the smallest of all, want to find life? Keep faith and humility in your heart and there you will find compassion, help and those words that God will speak in your heart as well as He who keeps you and dwells close to you, both secretly and visibly. Do you want to discover what life gives? Walk on the path of simplicity. Do not claim to know anything before God. Faith follows simplicity but presumption follows subtleties of knowledge and detours in its thinking; it draws us away from God. When you come before God in prayer, become very small in your thinking, like an ant… like a stuttering child. Do not say anything before him that you claim to know, but approach God with the heart of a child. Go before him to receive the solicitude with which fathers watch over their very small children. It has been said: “The Lord guards the little children.” The one who is like a little child can approach a snake and the snake will not harm him… In its innocence the body of the person who is like a little child is such that the hidden providence, which watches over its fragile members, covers it with an invisible garment so that nothing can harm it.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team