SEPTUAGESIMA
SUNDAY
By
the Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine
Why
is this Sunday called "Septuagesima"?
Because
in accordance with the words of the First Council of Orleans, some
pious Christian congregations in the earliest ages of the Church,
especially the clergy, began to fast seventy days before Easter, on
this Sunday, which was therefore called Septuagesima" - the
seventieth day. The same is the case with the Sundays following,
which are called Sexagesima, Quinquagesima , Quadragesima, because
some Christians commenced to fast sixty days, others fifty, others
forty days before Easter, until finally, to make it properly uniform,
Popes Gregory and Gelasius arranged that all Christians should fast
forty days before Easter, commencing with Ash-Wednesday.
Why,
from this day until Easter, does the Church omit in her service all
joyful canticles, alleluia’s, and the Gloria in excelsis etc?
Gradually
to prepare the minds of the faithful for the serious time of penance
and sorrow; to remind the sinner of the grievousness of his errors,
and to exhort him to penance. So the priest appears at the altar in
violet, the color of penance, and the front of the altar is covered
with a violet curtain. To arouse our sorrow for our sins, and show
the need of repentance, the Church in the name of all mankind at the
Introit cries with David: The groans of death surrounded me, the
sorrows of hell encompassed me: and in my affliction I called upon
the Lord, and he heard my voice from his holy temple. (Ps. XVII,
5-7.) I will love thee, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my
firmament, and my refuge, and my deliverer. (Fs. XVII. 2-3.) Glory be
to the Father, etc.
COLLECT:
O Lord, we beseech
Thee graciously hear the prayers of Thy people; that we who are
justly afflicted for our sins may, for the glory of Thy name,
mercifully be delivered. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ etc.
EPISTLE:
(I. Cor. IX. 24-27., to X. 1-5.) Brethren, know you not that they
that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So
run, that you may obtain. And every one that striveth for the
mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that
they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one. I
therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty; I so fight, not as one
beating the air; but I chastise my body, and bring it into
subjection; lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself
should become a castaway. For I would not have you ignorant,
brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed
through the sea: and all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud and in
the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the
same spiritual drink (and they drank of the spiritual rock that
followed them: and the rock was Christ); but with the most of them
God was not well pleased.
EXPLANATION:
Having exhorted us to penance in the Introit of the Mass, the Church
desires to indicate to us, by reading this epistle, the effort we
should make to reach the kingdom of heaven by the narrow path (Matt.
VII. 13.) of penance and mortification. This St. Paul illustrates by
three different examples. By the example of those who in a race run
to one point, or in a prize-fight practice and prepare themselves for
the victor's reward by the strongest exercise, and by the strictest
abstinence from everything that might weaken the physical powers. If
to win a laurel-crown that passes away, these will subject themselves
to the severest trials and deprivations, how much more should we, for
the sake of the heavenly crown of eternal happiness, abstain from
those improper desires, by which the soul is weakened, and practice
those holy virtues, such as prayer, love of God and our neighbor,
patience, to which the crown is promised! Next, by his own example,
bringing himself before them as one running a race, and fighting for
an eternal crown, but not as one running blindly not knowing whither,
or fighting as one who strikes not his antagonist, but the air; on
the contrary, with his eyes firmly fixed on the eternal crown,
certain to be his who lives by the precepts of the gospel, who
chastises his spirit and his body as a valiant champion, with a
strong hand, that is, by severest mortification, by fasting and
prayer. If St. Paul, notwithstanding the extraordinary graces which
he received, thought it necessary to chastise his body that he might
not be cast away, how does the sinner expect to be saved, living an
effeminate and luxurious life without penance and mortification? St.
Paul's third example is that of the Jews who all perished on their
journey to the Promised Land, even though God had granted them so
many graces; He shielded them from their enemies by a cloud which
served as a light to them at night, and a cooling shade by day; He
divided the waters of the sea, thus preparing for them a dry passage;
He caused manna to fall from heaven to be their food, and water to
gush from the rock for their drink. These temporal benefits which God
bestowed upon the Jews in the wilderness had a spiritual meaning; the
cloud and the sea was a figure of baptism which enlightens the soul,
tames the concupiscence of the flesh, and purifies from sin; the
manna was a type of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, the soul's
true bread from heaven; the water from the rock, the blood flowing
from Christ's wound in the side; and yet with all these temporal
benefits which God bestowed upon them, and with all the spiritual
graces they were to receive by faith from the coming Redeemer, of the
six hundred thousand men who left Egypt only two, Joshua and Caleb,
entered the Promised Land. Why? Because they were fickle, murmured
so, often against God, and desired the pleasures of the flesh. How
much, then, have we need to fear lest we be excluded from the true,
happy land, Heaven, if we do not continuously struggle for it, by
penance and mortification!
ASPIRATION:
Assist me, O Jesus, with Thy grace that,
following St. Paul's example, I may be anxious, by the constant pious
practice of virtue and prayer, to arrive at perfection and to enter
heaven.
GOSPEL
(Matt. XX. 1-6.) At that time, Jesus spoke to
his disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is like to a
householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into
his vineyard. And having agreed with the laborers for a penny a day,
he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour,
he saw others Standing in the market place idle, and he said to them:
Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.
And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and
the ninth hour, and did in like manner. But about the eleventh hour,
he went out, and found others standing; and he saith to them: Why
stand you here all the day idle? They say to him: Because no man hath
hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard. And when
evening was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call
the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even
to the first. When therefore they were come that came about the
eleventh hour, they received every man a penny, But when the first
also came, they thought that they should receive more; and they also
received every man a penny. And receiving it, they murmured against
the master of the house, saying: These last have worked but one hour,
and thou hart made them equal to us that have borne the burden of the
day and the heats. But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do
thee no wrong; didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take what is
thine, and go thy way; I will also give to this last even as to thee.
Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Is thy eye evil,
because I am good? So shall the last be first, and the first last.
For many are called, but few are chosen.
In
this parable, what is to be understood by the householder, the
vineyard, laborers, and the penny?
The
householder represents God, who in different ages of the world, in
the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally, in the days of
Christ and the apostles, has sought to call men as workmen into His
vineyard, the true Church, that they might labor there industriously,
and receive the penny of eternal glory.
How
and when does God call people?
By
inward inspiration, by preachers, confessors, spiritual books, and
conversations, etc., in flourishing youth and in advanced age, which
periods of life may be understood by the different hours of the day.
What
is meant by working in the vineyard?
It
means laboring, fighting, suffering for God and His honor, for our
own and the salvation of others. As in a vineyard we spade, dig, root
out weeds, cut off all that is useless and noxious, manure, plant,
and bind up, so in the spiritual vineyard of our soul we must, by
frequent meditation on death and hell, by examination of conscience
dig up the evil inclinations by their roots, and by true repentance
eradicate the weeds of vice, and by mortification, especially by
prayer and fasting cut away concupiscence; by the recollection of our
sins we must humble ourselves, and amend our life; in place of the
bad habits we must plant the opposite virtues and bind our unsteady
will to the trellis of the fear of God and of His judgment, that we
may continue firm.
How
is a vice or bad habit to be rooted up?
A
great hatred of sin must be aroused; a fervent desire of destroying
sin must be produced in our hearts; the grace of God must be implored
without which nothing can be accomplished. It is useful also to read
some spiritual book which speaks against the vice. The Sacraments of
Penance and of holy Communion should often be received, and some
saint who in life had committed the same sin, and afterwards by the
grace of God conquered it, should be honored, as Mary Magdalen and
St. Augustine who each had the habit of impurity, but with the help
of God resisted and destroyed it in themselves; there should be
fasting, alms-deeds, or other good works, performed for the same
object, and it is of great importance, even necessary, that the
conscience should be carefully examined in this regard.
Who
are standing idle in the market place?
In
the market-place, that is the world, they are standing idle who,
however much business they attend to, do not work for God and for
their own salvation; for the only necessary employment is the service
of God and the working out of our salvation. There are three ways of
being idle: doing nothing whatever; doing evil; doing other things
than the duties of our position in life and its office require, or if
this work is done without a good intention, or not from the love of
God. This threefold idleness deprives us of our salvation, as the
servant loses his wages if he works not at all, or not according to
the will of his master. We are all servants of God, and none of us
can say with the laborers in the Vineyard that no man has employed
us; for God, when He created us, hired us at great wages, and we must
serve Him always as He cares for us at all times; and if, in the
gospel, the householder reproaches the workmen, whom no man had
hired, for their idleness, what will God one day say to those
Christians whom He has placed to work in His Vineyard, the Church, if
they have remained idle?
Why
do the last comers receive as much as those who worked all day ?
Because
God rewards not the time or length of the work, but the industry and
diligence with which it has been performed. It may indeed happen,
that many a one who has served God but for a short time, excels in
merits another who has lived long but has not labored as diligently.
(Wisd. IV. 8-13.)
What
is signified by the murmers of the first workmen when the wages were
paid?
As
the Jews were the first who were called by God, Christ intended to
show that the Gentiles, who were called last, should one day receive
the heavenly reward, and that the Jews have no reason to murmur
because God acted not unjustly in fulfilling His promises "to
them, and at the same time calling others to the eternal reward. In
heaven envy, malevolence and murmuring will find no place. On the
contrary, the saints who have long served God wonder at His goodness
in converting sinners and those who have served Him but a short time,
for these also there will be the same penny, that is, the vision, the
enjoyment, and possession of God and His kingdom. Only in the
heavenly glory there will be a difference because the divine lips
have assured us that each one shall be rewarded according to his
works. The murmurs of the workmen and the answer of the householder
serve to teach us, that we should not murmur against the merciful
proceedings of God towards our neighbor, nor envy him; for envy and
jealousy are abominable, devilish vices, hated by God. By the envy of
the, devil, death came into the world. (Wisd. II. 24.) The envious
therefore, imitate Lucifer, but they hurt only themselves, because
they are consumed by their envy. "Envy," says St. Basil "is
an institution of the serpent, an invention of the devils, an
obstacle to piety, a road to hell, the depriver of the heavenly
kingdom.”
What
is meant by: The first. shall be last, and the last shall be first?
This
again is properly to be understood of the Jews; for they were the
first called, but will be the last in order, as in time, because they
responded not to Christ's invitation, received not His doctrine, and
will enter the Church only at the end of the world; while, on the
contrary, the Gentiles who where not called until after the Jews,
will be the first in number as in merit, because the greater part
responded and are still responding to the call. Christ, indeed,
called all the Jews, but few of them answered, therefore few were
chosen. Would that this might not. also come true with regard to
Christians whom God has also called, and whom He wishes to save. (I.
Tim. II. 4.) Alas! very few live in accordance with their vocation of
working in the vineyard of the Lord, and, consequently, do not
receive the penny of eternal bliss.
PRAYER:
O most benign God, who, out of pure grace, without any merit of ours,
hast called us, Thy unworthy servants, to the true faith, into the
vineyard of the holy Catholic Church, and dost require us to work in
it for the sanctification of our souls, grant, we beseech Thee, that
we may never be idle but be found always faithful workmen, and that
that which in past years we have failed to do, we may make up for in
future by greater zeal and persevering industry, and, the work being
done, may receive the promised reward in heaven, through Jesus
Christ, Thy Son our, Lord. Amen.
Saint
John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor
Saint
John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor
Saint John Chrysostom, born in Antioch
in 344, was endowed with a superior genius strengthened by a
brilliant education. In order to break with a world which admired and
courted him, in 374 he retired for six years to a neighboring
mountain, having found Christ through his friendship with Saint
Basil. After acquiring the art of Christian silence, he returned to
Antioch and there labored as a priest under the direction of its
bishop. His eloquence was such that the entire city, up to a hundred
thousand listeners, came to hear him, a young man not yet thirty
years old. He fled this popularity and adopted the monastic life for
fourteen years, until he was taken forcibly to Constantinople, to be
consecrated Patriarch of the imperial city in 398.
The effect of his sermons was
everywhere marvelous. He converted a large number of pagans and
heretics by his eloquence, then in its most brilliant luster, and
constantly exhorted his Catholic people to frequent the Holy
Sacrifice. In order to remove all excuse for absence he abbreviated
the long liturgy then in use. Saint Nilus relates that Saint John
Chrysostom, when the priest began the Holy Sacrifice, very often saw
many of the Blessed coming down from heaven in shining garments, eyes
intent, and bowed heads, in utter stillness and silence, assisting at
the consummation of the tremendous mystery.
Beloved as he was in Constantinople,
his denunciations of vice made him numerous enemies. In 403 these
procured his banishment; and although he was almost immediately
recalled, it was not more than a reprieve. In 404 he was banished to
Cucusus in the deserts of the Taurus mountains. His reply to the
hostile empress was: Chrysostom fears only one thing — not exile,
prison, poverty or death — but sin.
In 407, at sixty-three years old his
strength was waning, but his enemies were impatient and transported
him to Pytius on the Euxine, a rough journey of nearly 400 miles. He
was assiduously exposed to every hardship — cold, wet clothing, and
semi-starvation, but nothing could overcome his cheerfulness and his
consideration for others. On the journey his sickness increased, and
he was warned that his end was near. Thereupon, exchanging his
travel-stained clothes for white garments, he received Viaticum, and
with his customary words, Glory be to God for all things. Amen,
passed to Christ. He does not have the title of martyrdom, but
possesses all its merit and all its glory. He is the author of the
famous words characterizing Saint Paul, object of his admiration and
love: The heart of Paul was the Heart of Christ.
Little Pictorial Lives of
the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the
Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers:
New York, 1894); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by
Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 2