Monday, December 26 : Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Brethren, let us celebrate today the coming of our King, let us go before him since he is also our God… Let us lift up our hearts to God and not quench our spirits, let us light our lamps with joy and change the clothing of our souls. Let us take palms in our hands like victors and, like the common people, acclaim him with the crowd. With the children let us sing with a childlike heart: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”… On this very day he enters Jerusalem; the cross is made ready once more, Adam’s bond is obliterated; once more paradise is opened and the thief is taken in; once more the Church makes festival… He is not coming accompanied by the invisible powers of heaven and legions of angels; nor is he seated on a throne lifted high and raised up, overshadowed by the wings of seraphim, with a chariot of fire and beings with numerous eyes, making everything shake with terrifying displays and the sound of trumpets. He comes concealed in human nature. It is a coming of goodness, not justice; of pardon, not reprisal. He appears, not in his Father’s glory but in his mother’s humility. Zechariah, the prophet, foretold this coming in former times; he summoned all creation to rejoice…: “Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion!” It was the very word the Archangel Gabriel had declared to the Virgin: “Rejoice!…”, the same message, too, that our Savior announced to the holy women after his resurrection: “Rejoice”… “Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king is coming to you; a just savior is he, meek and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass”… What does that mean? He does not come in splendor like every other king. He comes in the condition of a servant, of a loving bridegroom, a most gentle lamb, a dewdrop on the fleece, a sheep led to the slaughter, an innocent lamb taken to sacrifice… Today the children of the Hebrews run before him, offering their olive branches to him who is merciful and, with joy, welcoming death’s conqueror with palms. “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team