MEDITATIO

“Poverty” (it is said) “humbles a man.” (Prv 10,4, LXX) And again, Christ says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (Mt 5,3)… But will you hear the praises of poverty? Christ sought after it, and says, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Mt 8,20) And again he said to his disciples: “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor two coats.” (Mt 10,9f.) And his apostle Paul said: “As having nothing and yet possessing all things.” (2 Cor 6,10) And Peter said to him who was lame from his birth: “Silver and gold have I none.” (Acts 3,6)… Let no man therefore esteem poverty a cause of disgrace. For if poverty be a virtue, all the wealth of the world is not worth a straw or fleck of dust by comparison with it. If, then, we would enter the kingdom of heaven, let us love poverty. For, he says: “Sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven.” (Mt 19,21)… Whoever chooses poverty of his own accord is richer even than the king himself. For kings need many things and are in anxiety, but the poor man has enough of everything, and fears about nothing. Who then, tell me, is rich? He who is daily asking, and earnestly laboring to gather much together… or he who enjoys little as though it were great abundance?… For money enslaves. For it is said: “Gifts and presents blind the eyes of the wise” (Si 20,29)… Give away your possessions to the poor, then, follow Christ, and you shall be such as he is… You will hear on that day that blessed voice, saying: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

How long are we going to put off obeying Christ, who calls us into his heavenly Kingdom? Aren’t we going to purify ourselves? Won’t we resolve to forsake our customary way of life to follow the Gospel radically?… We claim to want the Kingdom of God yet without bothering to concern ourselves with the means of obtaining it. What is more, in the conceitedness of our souls, without taking the least trouble to obey the Lord’s commandments, we think ourselves worthy to receive the same reward as those who have resisted sin to the death! But how could anyone sit and sleep at home during the time of sowing and then gather sheaves by the armful at harvest? Who has ever brought in the grapes without having planted and tended the vine? Fruit is for those who have toiled; rewards and crowns for those who have conquered. Has anyone ever crowned an athlete who did not even strip to fight his opponent? And yet, not only must we win but we must also “fight according to the rules”, as the apostle Paul says, that is to say according to the commandments we have been given… God is good; but he is also just…: “The Lord loves justice and right” (Ps 32:5); that is why, “of kindness and judgement I will sing” (Ps 100:1)… See how wisely the Lord exercises kindness. He is not gracious without consideration, nor does he judge without mercy for, “gracious is the Lord and just” (Ps 115:5). So don’t underestimate God: his love for men should not become a pretext for negligence on our part.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team

You came here on the eve of the day when the church celebrates the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter in Rome. (…) Look at the pulpit from which the first pope spoke to the first Christians, like myself in this moment. It was there that he incited them to vigilance against the devil who, like a roaring lion, prowls around us and seeks who to devour (1p 5,8-9); It was there that he exhorted them to keep firmness in faith, so as not to be dragged into the errors of false prophets (2p 2,1; 3,17). This papal teaching continues in his successors, and will continue, immutable, through all time, because that is the mission that Christ Himself has given to the head of His church. To identify the universal and unwavering character of this teaching, the seat of spiritual primacy was, after a providential preparation, fixed in the city of Rome. God, according to the remark of our predecessor Saint Léon the Great, united the peoples by his Providence in a single empire, of which Rome was the capital, so that the light of truth, revealed for the salvation of all Peoples would spread more efficaciously to all of its members (Sermon LXXXII C, 3-5). Peter’s successors, mortal like all men, pass, more or less quickly. But the primacy of Peter will always remain, thanks to the special assistance which was promised to him when Jesus charged him to confirm his brothers in faith (Lk 22,32). Whatever the name, the face, the human origins of each pope; It is always Peter who lives in him, it is Peter who directs and governs, it is Peter especially who teaches and who spreads to the world the liberating light. A great sacred orator said that God established in Rome an eternal pulpit: “Peter will always live in his successors; and speak in his pulpit.”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team