Wednesday, March 15 : Saint Clement of Alexandria

We have the ten commandments Moses gave… and everything recommended to us by the reading of the holy books, of which this has been communicated by Isaiah : “Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord.” (Is 1,16f.)… But we have, too, the law of God’s Word, the words of encouragement, not written on tablets of stone by the finger of the Lord (Ex 24,12) but on the human heart (2Cor 3,3)… These two laws were used by the Word for the instruction of humanity, first by the mouth of Moses and then by that of the apostles… However, we need a teacher to explain these holy words… ; he is the one who will teach us about the words of God. The school is our Church; our only Teacher is the Bridegroom, the good will of a good Father, original wisdom, holiness and knowledge. “He is the expiation for our sins,” Saint John says (1Jn 2,2); it is he who heals our bodies and souls, our whole person; he, Jesus, is “the expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. The way that we may be sure we know him is to keep his commandments” (vv.2-3)… “Whoever claims to abide in him ought to live just as he lived” (v.6). We who are pupils of this blessed instruction are bringing the Church’s beautiful appearance to completion and running towards this kindly mother like little children. Let us listen to the Word of God and give glory to the happy disposition that guides us by means of this Teacher and sanctifies us as God’s children. We will be citizens of heaven if we are pupils of this Teacher on earth. There above we shall understand everything he has taught us concerning the Father.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team