Ember Week: Mutual Enrichment

 

WEDNESDAY IN EMBER WEEK

The reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

At that time the- angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And go forth.

Homily of St. Ambrose, Bishop

The divine mysteries are truly hidden, nor can any man easily Know the counsel of God, according to the saying of the prophet; nevertheless, from other acts and mandates of the Lord our Savior we are able to understand that it was of even more deliberate design that she who was espoused to a man was especially chosen to give birth to our Lord. But why was she not made pregnant before she was espoused? Perhaps it was lest it be said that she had conceived in adultery.

And the angel being come in." Study the virgin in her manners; study her in her modest reserve; study her in her conversation; study her in this mystery. It is proper for virgins to tremble and to be afraid at every approach of a man, to fear all conversations with a man. Let women strive to imitate this example of self-respect. She is alone in her chamber; only the angel shall find her whom no man shall behold; she, alone without companion, alone without witness, is saluted by the angel so that she be not dishonored by any shameful greeting.

For the mystery of such a great message was not to be uttered by the mouth of a man, but of an angel. It is first heard today: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." It is both heard and believed. To conclude—"Behold the handmaid of the Lord," she says, "be it done unto me according to thy word." See her humility; behold her devotion. She, who is chosen as Mother of God, calls herself "the handmaid of the Lord," nor is she suddenly elated by the promise.

 

FRIDAY IN EMBER WEEK

The reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

At that time Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town of Juda. And so forth.

Homily of St. Ambrose, Bishop

All who ask to be believed are expected to give reasons why they should be believed. Therefore, when the angel had announced what should come to pass, he made known to the Virgin Mary, as a reason for believing in him, that an aged and sterile woman had conceived. This he did to assure her that whatever was pleasing to God was algo possible. When Mary heard this, she set out for the hill country, not because she did not believe the announcement, or was incredulous of the *messenger, or doubted the example of Elizabeth, but cheerfully, as if to fulfill a vow; with devotion, as to a religious duty, in haste for very joy. Whither, indeed, if not to greater heights, should she who was now full of God make her way with haste? The grace of the Holy Spirit knows no languid efforts.

Do you also, O holy women, learn what attention you ought to bestow on your kinsfolk when they are with child. The virgin modesty of Mary did not hold her back from mixing with the crowd, though till then she had lived alone in strictest privacy; nor did the roughness of the mountain ways abate her zeal, nor the length of the journey keep her back from doing a kindness. The Virgin get out in haste into the hill country, a Virgin mindful of her duty, unmindful of mishaps, urged on by affection, heedless bf the delicacy of her sex, leaving her home behind her. Learn, O virgins, not to run about to the houses of strangers, not to loiter in the streets, not to spend time talking with others in public. Mary, who moved quietly about her own home, in haste only on the public roads, abode three months with her kinswoman.

You have learned, O virgins, the modesty of Mary; learn algo her humility. She went as a relative to her relative, the younger to the elder; and not only did she come, but she first saluted Elizabeth. For the more chaste a virgin is, the more humble she should be. She will know how to submit to her elders. She who professes chastity should be mistress of humility. For humility is the root of piety, and the very rule of its teaching. It is to be noted, that the superior comes to the inferior, that the inferior may be assisted, Mary comes to Elizabeth, Christ to John.

 

The reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea. And so forth.

Homily of St. Gregory, Pope

The ruler of the Roman Empire and the kings of Judea having been named, mention is made of the time when the precursor of our Redeemer took up his office of preaching. For because he came to preach Him who was to redeem some of the Jews and many of the Gentiles, the time of his preaching is designated by naming the ruler of the Gentiles and the princes of the Jews. That the Gentile world was to be chosen and that the Jews were to be rejected for their sin of infidelity is shown by the description of the earthly dominion—for in the Roman Empire one man is shown to be ruler and in the kingdom of Judea several ruled by reason of its four-fold division.

By the voice of our Redeemer, it is declared: "Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation." It is plain, therefore, that Judea had come to the end of her rule, she who lay divided among so many kings. Likewise, it is fittingly shown not only what kings were in power, but also what priests; and because John the Baptist would preach Him who wag to be at once King and Priest, the Evangelist Luke pointed out the period of his preaching through reference to the government and the priesthood.

"And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins." It is clear to All who read that John not only preached the baptism of penance, but that he also gave it to certain ones; nevertheless, he was not able to bestow his own baptism for the remission of sins. For the remission of sins is granted to us in the baptism of Christ alone. Consequently, it must be noted that it is said: “Preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins for, because he could not bestow it, he was preaching the baptism which absolved sing, go that, as he preceded the Incarnate Word of the Father by the word of his preaching, go by his baptism through which sins could not be loosed, he preceded the baptism of penance by which sins are absolved.