MEDITATIO

Behold, O Christian soul, this is the power of thy salvation, this the cause of thy liberty, this the price of thy redemption. Thou wast a captive and in this wise wast thou redeemed. Thou wast a slave, and thus wast thou made free; an exile and thus brought home; lost and thus found; dead and thus raised up. Upon this, O man, let thy heart feed, this let it inwardly digest, sucking out the sweetness and relishing the goodness thereof, at such times as thy mouth receiveth the flesh and blood of Him, thy Redeemer. Make this thy daily bread and sustenance in this life, and thy provision for the way, for by this and by this alone shalt thou both abide in Christ and Christ in thee, and in the life to come shall He be thy full joy. But, O Lord, Thou that didst endure death that I might live, how shall I rejoice in my freedom, seeing it cometh but of the chains that bound Thee? how shall I take pleasure in my salvation, since it is wrought but by Thy sufferings? how shall I be glad of my life, which cometh only by Thy death? Shall I be glad of Thy sufferings and of their cruelty that did these things unto Thee? Or if I grieve for Thee, how shall I be glad of that for the sake whereof these things were done, and which would not be, had these things not been? But indeed their wickedness could have done nothing, except by Thy free sufferance, nor didst Thou suffer them except because of Thy goodness Therefore, thou poor silly man, leave their cruelty to the judgment of God, and consider what thou owest to Thy Saviour. Remember how it was with thee, and what was done for thee, and consider how worthy is He of thy love who did this for thee.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

Saint Paul states that “in these, the last days, God has spoken to us in his Son, whom he has established heir of all things.” (Heb 1:2) Now, doesn’t this sentence mean that the Father considered every person to form a part of Christ’s inheritance? It matches the prophecy of David: “Ask and I shall give you the nations as your heritage, that you may have dominion to the ends of the earth.” (Ps 2:8) Our Lord himself declares: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to myself.” (Jn 12:32) Does it not appear that the salvation of every person is promised? Elsewhere we find a prophecy about the Church: “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be laid low, the rugged places shall become a plain and the highland a broad valley.” (Is 40,4). Does it seem as though anyone has been forgotten or has not been chosen here as one of Christ’s subjects? And what should we think when we read: “All flesh shall come and bow low before me; they will worship me in Jerusalem, says the Lord” (cf. Is 66:23)… And so the term “people of God” is to be understood in all its fullness. No matter if the majority of people refuse or neglect the Savior’s grace, it is the whole that is indicated by the words “elect” and “predestined”… The apostle Paul also says: “We proclaim a crucified Jesus Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and folly for pagans… but the power and wisdom of God.” (1Cor 1:23-24) Would Christ be “the power and wisdom of God” in the eyes of the same people for whom he is “a stumbling block” and “folly”? In fact, since certain people are saved because of their faith while others are hardened in their unbelief, the apostle included both faithful and unfaithful under the general term of “chosen”. Thus he showed that those whom he counted as pagans had become strangers to God’s call even though they had heard the Gospel.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

The paschal mystery is fulfilled in the Lord’s body. But he had already foretold his own sufferings in the patriarchs, prophets and all his people; he had confirmed them with his seal in the Law and the prophets. This unheard of and magnificent future had been prepared long before; long prefigured, the Lord’s mystery has been made visible today, for both old and new is the mystery of the Lord… Do you wish to see, then, the mystery of the Lord? Consider Abel, put to death like him; Isaac, bound like him; Joseph, sold like him; Moses, publicly displayed like him; David, hunted down like him; the prophets who, like him, were mistreated in the name of Christ. Lastly, consider the lamb sacrificed in the land of Egypt, which struck Egypt and saved Israel by its blood. The mystery of the Lord was also announced through the voice of the prophets. Moses said to the people: “You will live in constant suspense and live in dread both night and day, never sure of your existence” (Dt 28:66). And David said: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples utter folly? The kings of the earth rise up and the princes conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed” (Ps 2:1-2). And Jeremiah: “I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter had not realized that they were hatching plots against me, saying: ‘…Let us cut him off from the land of the living so that his name will be spoken of no more’” (Jer 11:19). And Isaiah: “Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before its shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth… Who would have thought of his destiny/” (Is 53:7). Many other events have been foretold by numerous prophets regarding the Paschal mystery that is Christ… It was he who delivered us from service to the world as from the land of Egypt and who snatched us from slavery to the devil as from the hand of Pharaoh.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team