Saturday, September 24 : A homily attributed to Saint John Chrysostom
Let all who are pious and every lover of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast! Let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord! (Mt 25:23) Let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward (Mt 20:1f). Let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first… yes, he has pity on the last and serves the first; he rewards the one and is generous to the other… Come, all of you: enter into the joy of your Lord! You the first and you the last… rich and poor… sober and weaklings,… you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: come to it, all of you (Mt 22:4). The fatted calf is served: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness. Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed for all; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed death who was gripped by it; he has despoiled Hades who descended into its kingdom… When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: “The netherworld was put to confusion when it encountered you” (cf 14:9). Hades is full of bitterness…, because it has been destroyed; it is angered because it has been reduced to naught… It seized a body, and lo! it discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the Invisible. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? (1Cor 15:55) Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
maronite readings – rosary,team
