Monday, October 16 : Saint Maximus the Confessor

Some of the brethren think that they are excluded from the Holy Spirit’s gifts of grace. Because they neglect to practise the commandments they do not know that he who has an unadulterated faith in Christ has within him the sum total of all the divine gifts. Since through our laziness we are far from having an active love for Him – a love which shows us the divine treasures within us — we naturally think that we are excluded from these gifts. If, as St Paul says: “Christ dwells in our hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17), and “all the treasures of wisdom and spiritual knowledge are hidden in Him” (Col 2:3), then all the treasures of wisdom and spiritual knowledge are hidden in our hearts. They are revealed to the heart in proportion to our purification by means of the commandments. This is the treasure hidden in the field of your heart, which you have not yet found because of your laziness. Had you found it, you would have sold everything and bought that field. But now you have abandoned that field and give all your attention to the land nearby, where there is nothing but thorns and thistles. It is for this reason that the Savior says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8): for He is hidden in the hearts of those who believe in Him. They shall see Him and the riches that are in Him when they have purified themselves through love and self-control. And the greater their purity, the more they will see.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team