Wednesday, January 4 : Saint Cyprian

If in holy Scripture Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, there is no hour when Christians should not adore God frequently and constantly, so that we who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and true Day, should be persevering throughout the whole day in our petitions and prayer. And when, in the course of time the revolving night returns, there can be no harm from the nocturnal shades for those who pray, because to the sons of light (1Thes 5:5) even in the night there is day. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when does he not have sun and day to whom Christ is Sun and Day? Let us, therefore, who are always in Christ who is in the light, not cease praying even in the night. In this way the widow Anna, always petitioning and watching without a break, persevered in prayer, as it is written in the Gospel: “She did not leave the temple, serving with fasting and prayer night and day.”… Let no sloth or carelessness prevent us from praying. Let us who, by God’s mercy have been recreated spiritually and reborn in the Spirit, imitate what we are destined to be. We are to inhabit a kingdom where there will be no more light, where the day will shine without setting, therefore let us be just as alert at night as in the day. Destined to pray and give thanks to God in heaven, let us not cease here also to pray and to give thanks.

maronite readings – rosary,team