Occurring Scripture for the
Hour of Matins
Pentecost
Sunday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
John
John 14:23-31
At that time Jesus said unto His
disciples: "If any one loves me, he will keep My word, and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him.
He that loves Me not, keeps not My words. And the word which you have heard,
is not Mine; but the Father's who sent Me. These things have I spoken
to you, abiding with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost,
Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and
bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, do
I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.
You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you
loved Me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the
Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes to
pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe. I will not now
speak many things with you. For the prince of this world comes, and in Me he
has not any thing. But that the world may know, that I love the
Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us
go hence."
An Homily of Pope Saint Gregory the
Great
XXX on the Gospels
Dearly beloved brethren, our best way
will be to run briefly through the words which have been read from the Holy
Gospel, and thereafter rest for a while quietly gazing upon the solemn
subject of this great Festival. This is the day whereon "suddenly there came
a sound from heaven," and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles, and,
for fleshly minds, gave them minds wherein the love of God was shed abroad
and, while without "there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of
fire, and it sat upon each of them," within, their hearts were enkindled.
While they received the visible presence of God in the form of fire, the
flames of His love enwrapped them. The Holy Ghost Himself is love whence it
is that John says "God is love." Whoever therefore loves God with all his
soul, already has obtained Him Whom he loves for no man is able to love God,
if He have not gained Him Whom he loves.
Lesson ii
But, behold, now, if I shall ask any
one of you whether he loves God, he will answer with all boldness and
quietness of spirit "I do love Him." But at the very beginning of this day's
Lesson from the Gospel, you have heard what the Truth said: "If a man love
Me, he will keep My word." The test, then, of love, is whether it is showed
by works. Hence the same John has said in his Epistle: "If a man say, I love
God, and keeps not His commandments, He is a liar." (1 John 2:4). Then do we
indeed love God, and keep His commandments, if we deny ourselves the
gratification of our appetites. Whosoever still wanders after unlawful
desires, such a one plainly does not love God, for he says, No, to that
which God wills.
Lesson iii
"And My Father will love him, and We
will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." O my dearly beloved
brethren, think what a dignity is that, to have God abiding as a guest in
our heart. Surely if some rich man or some powerful friend were to
come into our house, we would hasten to have our whole house cleaned, lest,
perchance, when he came in, he should see aught to displease his eye. So let
him that would make his mind an abode for God, cleanse it from all the filth
of works of iniquity. Behold, again, what said the Truth: "We will come unto
him, and make Our abode with him." There are some hearts unto which God
comes, but makes not His abode there. With a certain pricking they feel His
Presence, but in time of temptation they forget that which has pricked them
and so they turn again to work unrighteousness, even as though they had
never repented.
Let us pray:
O God, Who on this day did teach the hearts of Thy faithful
people, by the sending to them the Light of Thine Holy Spirit, grant us by
the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to find
joy in His holy comfort. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Monday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
John
John 3:16-21
At that time Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son; that whoever
believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For
God did not send his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the
world may be saved by Him. He that believes in Him is not judged. But
he that does not believe, is already judged: because he believes not in the
Name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment:
because the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than the Light: for their works were evil. For every one that does
evil hates the Light, and comes not to the Light, so that his works may not
be reproved. But he that does truth, comes to the Light, that his
works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.
An Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop
Twelfth Tract on John
The physicians try their best to heal
the sick. He is his own destroyer who will not follow the orders of the
physician. Into the world came the Savior. Why is He called the Savior of
the world but because He came "into the world not to condemn the world, but
that the world through Him might be saved"? If thou will not be saved
through Him, thou wilt be condemned by thine own self. And why do I say
that thou will be condemned? Because it is written "He that believes
in Him is not condemned." What then can thou hope that He will say of "him
that believeth not," but that He will be condemned And indeed He doth say
farther " He that believeth not is already condemned." He is already
condemned, though the condemnation may not yet be openly pronounced.
Lesson ii
He is already condemned, for "the Lord
knows them that are His" (2 Timothy 2:19). He knows them for whom is laid up
the crown, and likewise them that are reserved unto the fire. His eye sees
in the field of the world the distinction of the wheat and of the the tares;
what is crop and what is cockle. "He that does not believe is already
condemned." And why " Because he has not believed in the Name of the
Only-begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation: that Light has come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their
deeds were evil." " Because their deeds were evil " but, my brethren, is
there one man of whom God finds that his works are good No, not one. God
finds all works to be (in themselves) bad. How then do we hear that there
are some who do truth, and come to the Light? For these words come
later: "But he that does truth, comes to the light."
Lesson iii
But the Lord said [of those, who are
condemned already, because they believe not in Him] "They loved darkness
rather than Light." And here He makes the great point [of difference between
such, and them that do the truth.] There are many who have loved their sins,
there are many who have confessed their sins, and he that confessed and
denounces his sin, is working already with God. God denounces thy sins, and
if thou denounce them likewise, then thou join thyself with God in His act.
The man and the sinner are two different things. God made the man, and the
man made the sinner. Put away thy work, and God will save His. It behooves
thee to hate, in thyself, thine own work, and to love God's work. When thine
own works begin to displease thee, then is it that thou begin to do well,
because thou denounce thine own evil works. The first thing to do, if thou
would do good works, is to acknowledge thine evil ones.
Let us pray:
O God, Who didst give Thine Holy Spirit unto Thine Apostles,
grant unto thy people the effectual fruit of their Godly supplications, and
as Thou hast given them faith, give them also peace. Through the same Lord
Jesus Christ.
Tuesday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
John
John 10:1-10
At that time: Jesus said to the
Pharisees: "Amen, amen I say to you: He that enters not by the door
into the sheepfold, but climbs up another way, is a thief and a robber.
But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him
the porter opens, and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep
by name, and leads them out. And when he has let out his own sheep, he
goes before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
But a stranger they do not follow, rather they fly from him, because they
know not the voice of strangers." This proverb Jesus spoke to them.
But they understood not what he spoke to them. Jesus therefore said to
them again: "Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All
others, as many as may be, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them
not. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and
he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures. The thief comes
for nothing other than to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that
they may have life, and may have it more abundantly."
An Homily of Saint
Augustine, Bishop
Tract VL on John.
In the words of the Gospel which are
read today, the Lord has spoken unto us in parables, concerning His flock,
and the Door whereby entry is made into their fold. The Pagans may therefore
say, "We live good lives," but if they enter not in the Door, what does it
profit them of which they boast? Good life is profitable to a man if it
leads to life everlasting, but if he does not have life everlasting, what
shall his good life profit him? Neither indeed can it be truly said that
they live good lives, who are either so blinded as not to know, or so puffed
up as to despise, the end of a good life. And no man can have a true and
certain hope of life everlasting, unless he knows the true Life, Which is
Christ, and enter in by that Door into the sheepfold.
Lesson ii
There are many such, who try to
persuade men to live good lives but not to be Christians. These are they who
would fain "climb up some other way," "to kill and to destroy," and are not
as the Good Shepherd, Who has come to keep and to save. There have been
philosophers who have treated many subtle questions of right and wrong, who
have been the authors of many distinctions and definitions, who have
completed many exceedingly clever arguments, who have filled many books, and
have proclaimed their own wisdom with braying trumpets. These dared to say
to men: "Follow us, embrace our school of thought, and you will find the
secret of an happy life." But these were not of them who enter in by the
Door, who came not to steal, nor to kill, nor to destroy.
Lesson iii
Concerning these, what shall I say?
Behold, the Pharisees themselves read of Christ, and therefore talked of
Christ they looked for His coming, and when He came, they knew Him not. They
boasted that they themselves were among the Seers, that is, of the wise
ones, and they denied Christ, and entered not in by the Door. Therefore
they, if they led any away, led them away only to kill and to destroy, not
to free them. So much for them. Now let us see if all they who boast the
name of Christian enter in by the Door. Some there are, and their number
cannot be reckoned, who not only boast that they themselves are among the
Seers, but would fain appear as though their hearts were enlightened by
Christ but they are heretics.
Let us pray O Lord, we beseech thee, that thy Holy Spirit
may dwell in us in great power, mercifully cleansing our hearts, and
shielding us from all harmful things. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ.
Ember Wednesday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
John
John 6:44-52
At that time Jesus said unto the
multitudes of the Jews: "No man can come to me, unless the Father, who has
sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day. It is
written in the prophets: 'And they shall all be taught of God' (cf. Isaias
54:13). Every one that has heard of the Father, and has learned, comes to
me. Not that any man has seen the Father; but he who is of God, he has
seen the Father. Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me,
hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did
eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which comes
down from heaven; if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the
living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this
bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh,
for the life of the world."
An Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop
Tract XXVI on John.
Think not that thou are drawn against
thy will. The soul is drawn, not willingly only, but lovingly. Neither must
we be afraid lest men who are great weighers of words, and very far from
understanding the things of God, should catch us up upon this Gospel
doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, and should say to us "How can my faith be
willing if am drawn"? I answer: Thou art not drawn as touching thy
will, but by pleasure. And, now, what is being drawn by pleasure? "Delight
thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart"
(Psalm 36:4). There is pleasure in that heart to which the Bread that came
down from heaven is sweet. The poet is allowed to say His special pleasure
draws each, but pleasure, which so draws, is not a necessity, not a bond,
but a delight. How much more strongly, may we say that men are drawn to
Christ, who delight in truth, who delight in blessedness, who delight in
righteousness, who delight in life everlasting, since truth and blessedness,
and righteousness and everlasting life are all to be found in Christ?
Or have the bodily senses pleasure, and the spiritual senses none? If the
spiritual sense have no pleasures, wherefore is it written: "And the
children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. They
shall be abundantly satisfied with the plenty of Thy house, and Thou shall
make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain
of life, and in Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 35:8-10).
Lesson ii
Give me a lover, and he will catch my
meaning; give me a longer, give me an hungerer, give me a wanderer in this
desert, a thirst and gasping for the fountains of the eternal Fatherland
give me such a one, and he will catch my meaning. If I talk to some cold
creature, he will not. Such cold creatures were they of whom it is written:
"The Jews then murmured at Him because He said, I am the Bread Which came
down from heaven. . And they said Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose
father and Mother we know How is it then that He saith, I came down from
heaven Jesus therefore answered and said unto them Murmur not among
yourselves. No man can come to Me, except the Father, Which hath sent Me,
draw him." (John 6:41-44). But why does Christ speak of them whom the Father
draws, since He Himself draws? Why was it His will to say "No man can
come to Me except the Father draw him"? If we are to be drawn, let us
be drawn by Him to Whom one that loved much said: "Draw me, we will run
after the savor of thy good ointments" (Canticles 1:3). But let us consider,
my brethren, what He meant, and understand it as well as we can. The Father
draws to the Son those who believe in the Son, because they are persuaded
that He has God as His Father. God the Father begets to Himself a coequal
Son; and whosoever is persuaded, and realizes unto himself by faith, and
thinks, that He in Whom he believes is equal to the Father, him the Father
is drawing unto the Son.
Lesson iii
Arius, who believed that the Son was
made, was not one of them whom the Father draws since whoever believes not
that the Father is a Father by the begetting of a coequal Son, such a one
knows not the Father. What say thou, O Arius? What say thou, O heretic? What
is thy profession? What is Christ? "He is not," says Arius, "Himself
True God." Then, O Arius, the Father has not drawn thee. Thou have not
understood His dignity as a Father, to Whom thou deny His Son. Thou deny the
existence of the Son of God, the Father draws thee not, and thou art not
drawn to the Son, since the Son of whom thou speak is another son, [existing
only in thine imagination,] and not the really existent Son. Photinus said
Christ is a mere man, and not God at all. He who uttered those words was not
one of them whom the Father draws. But whom has the Father drawn The
Father drew him who said: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God
(Matthew 16: 16). Show a sheep a green bough, and thou draw him. Let a boy
see some nuts, and he is drawn by them. As they run, they are drawn, drawn
by taste, drawn without bodily hurt, drawn by a line bound to their heart.
If, then, among earthly things, such as be sweet and pleasant draw such as
love them, as soon as they see them, so that it is truth to say, His special
pleasure draws each, doth not that Christ, Whom the Father hath revealed,
draw? What stronger object of love can a soul have than the Truth?
Let us pray O Lord, we beseech Thee,
that the Comforter, Who proceeds from Thee, may enlighten our minds, and
lead us into all truth, even as thy Son has promised unto us. Who lives and
reigns with Thee in the unity of the same Holy Ghost ...
Thursday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
Luke
Luke 9: 1-6).
Then calling together the twelve
apostles, He gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure
diseases. And He sent
them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And He said
to them: Take nothing for your journey; neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread,
nor money; neither have two coats. And whatever house you enter, abide there, and depart not from thence. And whosoever will not
receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your
feet, for a testimony against them. and going out, they went about through the towns,
preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
An Homily of Saint Ambrose, Bishop
Book VI on Luke 9
We learn from the commandments of the Gospel what manner of men they ought
to be who preach the glad tidings of the kingdom of God "Take nothing for
your journey neither staves nor scrip, neither bread neither money." Thus
let the Apostle destitute of earthly help, and rich in faith, deem
himself able to do all the more, as he needs all the less. Those who please
may also put upon these words a spiritual interpretation in that a man may
be said to put away the encumbrances of the body, not only by abdicating
power, and casting away riches, but also by denying the very body itself its
pleasures. The first general commandment given to the Apostles concerning
their manners was to be bringers of peace, (cf. Matthew 10:12-13), and to be no gadders about, but keepers of the laws of guests. To wander from house to
house, and to abuse the rights of hospitality, are things alien to a
preacher of the kingdom of heaven.
Lesson ii
But as the kindness of hospitality is to be met
with courtesy, so also is it said " Whosoever will not receive you, when ye
go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet, for a testimony
against them." By this is taught that hospitality merits a good
reward, since not only do we bring peace to such as receive us, but also, if
they be shadowed by some earthly vanities, these defects are taken away,
where enter the feet of them that bear the glad tidings of Apostolic
preaching. It is well written in Matthew 10:11 "Into whatsoever city or
town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy and there abide till ye go
thence" thus avoiding any possible need of going from house to house. But no
such selection is commanded to him that gives hospitality, lest his
hospitality itself should be lessened, while he picks his guests.
Lesson iii
This passage, taken according to the
plain meaning, is a sacred commandment touching the religious duty of
hospitality, but its heavenly words likewise hint at a mystery. When the
house is chosen, it is asked if the master thereof be worthy. Let us see if
this be not perchance a figure of the Church, and her Master, Christ. What
worthier house can the Apostolic preacher enter, than the Holy Church? Or
what host is more to be preferred before all others, than Christ, Whose
custom it is to
wash the feet of His guests, indeed, Who suffers not that any whom He
receives into His house should dwell there with foul feet, but, defiled as
they are by their former wanderings, deigns to change them into new
and clean living men. He Alone is He, from Whose house no man ought ever to go
forth, nor change His roof for any other shelter, for unto Him it is well
said "Lord, to whom shall we go Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we
believe" (John 6:69).
Let us pray O God, Who on this day did teach the hearts
of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thine Holy
Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things,
and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation. Through the same Lord Jesus
Christ.
Ember Friday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
Luke
Luke 5: 17-26
It came to pass on a certain day, as He
sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting
by, that were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem:
and the power of the Lord was to heal them. And behold, men brought a
man in a bed, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and
to lay him before Him. And when they could not find a way to bring him
in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down
through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus. Whose
faith when He saw, He said: "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." And the
scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: "Who is this who speaks
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" And when Jesus knew
their thoughts, answering, he said to them: "What is it you think in your
hearts? Which is easier to say, 'Thy sins are forgiven thee'; or to
say, 'Arise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins, (He said to the man sick of the palsy,) 'I
say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.'" And
immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay; and
he went away to his own house, glorifying God. And all were
astonished; and they glorified God. And they were filled with fear, saying:
"We have seen wonderful things today."
An Homily of Saint Ambrose, Bishop
Book V on Luke 5
"And, behold, men brought in a bed a
man which was taken with a palsy." The healing of this paralytic was not
idle, nor its fruits limited to himself. The Lord healed him, before he
could ask, not because of the entreaties of others, but for example's sake.
He gave a pattern to be followed, and sought not the intercession of prayer.
In the presence of the Pharisees and doctors of the law, which had come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and
Jerusalem, many sick folk were healed, but among them is specially described
the healing of this paralytic. First of all, as we have before said, every
sick man ought to engage his friends to offer up prayers for his recovery,
that so the tottering framework of this our life, and the distorted feet of
our works, may be righted by the healing power of the word from heaven.
Lesson ii
To lift our minds to heaven, even
though they are dulled by sickness, we need "stretcher bearers." With
their aid and good example the mind is apt to follow their example. With
the help of such friends he can be brought and laid on the ground before the
Feet of Jesus, and seem worthy of a glance from the Lord for the Lord looks upon such as lie lowly before Him, "for
He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden" (Luke 1:48). "And when He saw their faith, He said unto him
Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Great is the Lord, Who, for the sake of
some, forgives the sins of others; Who tries some; and pardons the
wanderings of others. Why should thy colleague, O man, be inadequate for
thee, if God's servant has won power to intercede, and even a right to obtain, with God?
Lesson iii
O Thou that judge, learn to forgive. Thou
that art sick, learn to pray. If thou doubt of the pardon of thy sins, because of
their grievousness, get to the Church, that she may pray for thee, and
that the Lord, at her behest, may grant to her petitions what He
refuses to thine. And although we are bound to accept this history as one of
fact, and to believe that the body of the paralytic was healed yet remember
thou also his inward cure, unto whom his sins were forgiven. The Jews said:
"Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And in these words they confessed the
Godhead of Him Who forgave the sins of the paralytic, and themselves
condemned their own unbelief in Him Whose work they acknowledged, but Whose
Person they denied.
Let us pray.
O most merciful God, we beseech Thee to grant
unto Thy Church that, as she is gathered by the Holy
Ghost, seh may never be troubled by then assaults of her enemies. Through the
same Lord Jesus Christ.
Ember Saturday
Lesson i
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
Luke
Luke 4:38-44
At that time Jesus rose up
out of the synagogue, and went into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother
was taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her. And
standing over her, He commanded the fever, and it left her. And immediately
rising, she ministered to them. And when the sun was down, all they
that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to Him. But He laying
His hands on every one of them, healed them. And devils went out from
many, crying out and saying: "Thou art the Son of God." And rebuking them He
suffered them not to speak, for they knew that He was Christ. And when
it was day, going out He went into a desert place, and the multitudes sought
Him, and came unto Him: and they stayed Him that He should not depart from
them. To whom He said: "To other cities also I must preach the kingdom
of God: for therefore am I sent." And he was preaching in the
synagogues of Galilee.
An Homily of Saint Ambrose, Bishop
Book IV on Luke 4
Observe how long-suffering is the Lord our Redeemer! Neither moved to
anger against them, nor sickened at their guilt, nor outraged by their
attacks, did He leave the Jews' country. Rather, forgetting their iniquity, and
mindful only of His mercy, He strove to soften their hard and unbelieving
hearts, sometimes by His teaching, and sometimes by freeing some of them,
and sometimes by healing them. Saint Luke does well to tell us first of the man
who was delivered from an unclean spirit, and then of the healing of a
woman. The Lord indeed came to heal both sexes, but that must be healed
first which was created first, and then she whose first sin arose rather
from fickleness of heart than from perversity.
Lesson ii
That the Lord began to heal on the Sabbath-day showed how the new creation
begins where the old
creation left off. It shows, moreover, that the Son of God, "Who is come not
to destroy the law but to fulfill the law" (cf. Matthew 5:17), is not under the law, but above
the law. Neither was it by the law, but by the Word, that the world was
created, as it is written "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens
made" (Psalm 32:6).
The law, then, is not destroyed, but fulfilled, in the Redemption of fallen
man. Whence also the Apostle said: "Put off, concerning the former
conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:
22-24).
Lesson iii
It was well that He began to heal on the
Sabbath, that He might show Himself to be the Creator, weaving in one with
another of His works, and continuing that which He had already begun, even
as a workman, being to repair a house, begins not to take down that which is
old from the foundations, but from the roof. Thus the Lord begins to lay to
His hand again, in that place where last He lifted it; then He begins with
lesser things, that He may go on to the greater. Even men are able to
deliver other men from evil spirits, though only with the word of God;
to command the dead to rise again is for God's power alone. Perhaps, also,
this woman, the mother-in-law of Simon and Andrew, was a figure of our own nature,
stricken down with the great fever of sin, and burning with unlawful lusts
after various objects. Nor would I say that the passion which rages in the
mind is a lesser fire than that fever which burns the body. Covetousness,
and lust, and uncleanness, and vain desires, and strivings, and anger; these
be our fevers.
Let us pray.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, mercifully to pour
into our hearts Thy Holy Spirit, Whose Wisdom has created us, and Whose Providence
governs us. Through the same Lord Jesus
Christ.