Saturday, September 7 : Saint Augustine

“May peace reign in your walls” (Ps 121[122],7). O Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity” (v.3), peace in your strength, peace in your love! For your strength is your love. Listen to the Song of Songs: “Love is strong as death” (8,6). What wonderful words, brethren !… Who can resist death ? People resist flames, floods, steel; they resist tyrants and kings; let death come and who can resist it? There is nothing stronger. Love alone can match up to its strength. It can be said that love is strong as death. Because love kills what we used to be to make us become what as yet we were not, it carries out in us a work of death. Saint Paul died this death. He said: “The world is crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal 6,14), and those to whom he said: “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3,3) died this death. Love is strong as death… let peace, therefore, be in your strength, Jerusalem ; let peace be in your love. And by this strength, love, peace “may prosperity be in your towers” (Ps 121[122],7), that is to say, on your heights… Profusion of delights, countless riches, this is the God who is one, this is he with whom all this city’s inhabitants hold communion. This is he who will be our abundance in the city of Jerusalem.
maronite readings – rosary,team