Tuesday, May 9 : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

It was not because he needed our help that the Father has commanded us to follow the Word: it was to ensure our salvation. For to follow the Savior is to have part in his salvation just as to follow the light is to have part in the light. When people stand in the light it is not they who cause the light to shine but they are the ones who are illuminated and made radiant by the light. Far from contributing anything in the least to the light, it is they who gain from it and are illuminated by it. The same applies to service offered to God: it does not give God anything since God has no need of people’s service. But to those who serve and follow him, God promises life, an imperishable existence and eternal glory… If God, who is good and merciful, asks for our service, it is to be able to grant his blessings to those who persevere in his service. For if God has no need of anything, yet man needs communion with God. The glory of man is perseverance in the service of God. That is why our Lord said to his apostles: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you” (Jn 15,16)… And again he said: “I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory” (Jn 17,24)… Of these, God said in Isaiah: “From the East I will bring back your descendants, from the West I will gather you… Bring back my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth: everyone who is named as mine, whom I created for my glory” (Is 43,5-7).

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team