Thursday, December 14 : Homily attributed to Saint Macarius of Egypt

Whoever wishes to come close to the Lord, be counted worthy of eternal life, become the dwelling place of Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit so as to bear the fruits of this Spirit… must firmly believe in the Lord, first of all, and then surrender unreservedly to his commandments… He must force himself to be humble before all…, as the Lord says: “Learn of me, for I am gentle and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls” (Mt 11,29). Similarly, he must train himself with all his might to be habitually merciful, gentle, compassionate and good, as the Lord says: “Be perfect and gentle as your heavenly Father is compassionate” (cf. Lk 6,36; Mt 5,48). And again: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14,15). And: “Do violence to yourselves, for it is the violent who take the Kingdom of heaven by storm”. And: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate” (Lk 13,24). In all things, he should take as his pattern the humility, conduct, gentleness and way of life of our Lord… Let him persevere in prayer, beg unceasingly for the Lord to come and live within him, revive him and give him the strength to keep all his commandments, and for the Savior himself to become the dwelling place of his soul. Then whatever he carries out by treating himself hard, without any inclination of nature, he will fulfil willingly because he will accustom himself completely to doing good, will keep the Lord in mind unceasingly and wait for him with great love. When our Lord sees such resolution…, he will take pity on him, deliver him from his enemies and from the sin that inhabits him, and will fill him with the Holy Spirit. Thus, from that time on, he will keep all the Lord’s commandments in complete truth, with neither force nor weariness – or rather, it will be the Lord himself who will fulfil his own commands within him and bring forth in all purity the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5,22).

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team