maronite readings

O Lord, what is it that you require of your servants? “Take my yoke upon you”, you say. And what sort of yoke is this? “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” Now who would not willingly bear a yoke that does not press down but gives strength; a burden that does not weigh heavily but refreshes? As you rightly added: “And you will find rest” (Mt 11,29). And what is this yoke of yours that does not tire but gives rest? It is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart.” What could be easier, better or more agreeable than to love the goodness, beauty and love that is most perfectly yours, O Lord my God? Do you not offer a reward to those who keep the com­mandments, which are “more desirable than a heap of gold and sweeter than honey from the comb”? (Ps 19[18],11) So in every way you offer a very ample reward, as James the apostle says: “The Lord has prepared the crown of life for those who love him” (1,12)… And Paul quotes these words from Isaiah: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor 2,9). That first and great commandment is not only profitable for the man who keeps it or for God who commands it: the other commandments of God also make perfect him who obeys them, improve him, instruct him and make him illustrious; in a word, they make him good and holy. If you understand this, realize that you have been created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation; this is your end, this is the object of your soul and the treasure of your heart. You will be blessed if you reach this goal, but miserable if you are cut off from it.
maronite readings – rosary,team

“I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness” (Jn 8,12). Yes, our Lord enlightens those who are blind. As for ourselves, my brethren, we have been enlightened even in this life by means of the ointment of faith. The Lord began by mixing his saliva with earth to spread it over the eyes of the man born blind (Jn 9,6). But we, too, are born blind, we who are sons of Adam, and we have need of the Saviour to enlighten us. He mixed his saliva with earth: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” (Jn 1,14)… We will see him face to face. “Now,” Saint Paul says, “we see him indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face,” (1Cor 13,12). And Saint John, too, says in his epistle: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,” (1Jn 3,2). See what a great promise has been held out to you; so if you love him, follow him. “I do love him,” you will say to me, “but by which path shall I follow him?”… Are you asking which way to take? First of all, listen to the Saviour say to you: “I am the Way.” And to where does this way lead? “I am the Truth and the Life,” (Jn 14,6)…You are not being told: Try hard to find the way that leads to truth and life. No; no one is saying that to you. Get up, you sluggard; the Way in person has come to find you. He is rousing you from your sleep if only you listen to his voice saying to you: “Rise and walk,” (Mt 9,5).
maronite readings – rosary,team

Rightly indeed can John the Baptist say of the Lord our Savior: “He must increase but I must decrease” (Jn 3,30). The statement is being fulfilled at this very moment: at Christ’s birth the days grow longer, at John’s they grow shorter… When the Savior appears it is clear that the day increases and it declines at the birth of the last of the prophet’s, for it is written: “The Law and the prophets lasted until John” (Lk 16,16). Inevitably the observance of the Law sank in shadow when the grace of the Gospel began to shine. The glory of the New Testament takes the place of the prophecy of the Old… The evangelist says with regard to our Lord Jesus Christ: “He was the true light who enlightens every man” (Jn 1,9)… It was when the duration of the night was extending over almost the whole of the day that our Lord’s coming suddenly cast all its brightness. If his birth cast out the darkness of humankind’s sins, his coming put an end to night and brought us light and day… Our Lord says that John is a lamp: “He was a burning and shining lamp” (Jn 5,35). But the light of a lamp pales when the sun shines: its flame dies down, overcome by an even more radiant light. What sensible person uses a lamp in full sunlight?… Who would still come for John’s baptism of repentance (Mk 1,4) when Jesus’ baptism brings salvation?

maronite readings – rosary,team

I urge you, in the grace in which you are clothed, to press on in your race and urge everyone to be saved. Assert your office with all the diligence of flesh and spirit. Give your attention to unity for there is nothing better. carry your brethren as the Lord also carries you. Patiently bear with them all in love, as indeed you do bear with them. Devote yourself to unceasing prayer. Ask for greater understanding than you have. Be watchful, possessing a wakeful spirit. Speak to each one individually concerning God’s way. “Bear the infirmities” (cf Mt 8,17) of each as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil, there is greater gain. If you only love the good disciples, this wins you no advantage. Rather, subdue by meekness the more annoying. Not every wound is cured by the same salve. Ease sharp pains with a hot compress. In everything “be wise as serpents” and always “harmless as doves”. You who are of flesh and spirit, humor those things visibly present before you but pray, too, that what is invisible may be manifested to you so that you may lack nothing and may abound in every spiritual gift. As pilots invoke the winds and tempest-tossed mariners call for haven, this season invites you to return to God. Be temperate, as God’s athlete. The prize is incorruption and life eternal… It is the part of a great athlete to suffer blows and to conquer. It is above all for God’s sake we ought to endure all things that He, too, may endure us. Become more zealous than you are. Consider the times. Look for Him who is above all times, who is timeless, invisible, but made visible for our sakes – He who, beyond the touch of our hands, beyond suffering, yet knew the Passion for our sakes and endured every suffering.
maronite readings – rosary,team

After love for our Lord, I would recommend to you that of the Church, his Bride. She is like a dove sitting on her nest and hatching the Bridegroom’s chicks. Always be thankful to God that you are a daughter of the Church, following that vast number of souls who have gone before us along this blessed way. Have a great deal of sympathy for all pastors, preachers and spiritual guides; they are to be found over all the earth… Pray for them to God, that in being saved themselves they may become fruitful in winning salvation for souls. Pray for the wicked as much as for the devout; pray for the Holy Father; pray for all the needs of the Church, both spiritual and temporal, since she is our mother. And offer a special prayer, too, for all those who work for the salvation of souls to the glory of the Father.

maronite readings – rosary,team