Matthew 20:8-16

“And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: ‘Call the labourers 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 hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.’ But he answer 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 chosen.”

In the evening, the lord of the vineyard pays the workers: “Thou shalt pay him the price of his labour the same day, before the going down of the sun, because he is poor, and with it maintaineth his life” (Deuteronomy 24:15), and so Jesus does in the evening of one’s life and of this world, and through the angels will give to those who labored for love and give them their proper reward. Or, because Jesus is both the door and the shepherd: “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), it can be intimated that Jesus is both Lord and Steward, being supreme in majesty as Lord: “I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14), but directly interacting with His people as Steward and Servant: “Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many” (Matthew 20:28). Thus, it is Jesus who calls the laborers: “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (John 10:3), and gives the reward of love’s labor. To the last He gives the day’s reward, because they worked with all they had, that is, in giving their whole heart for love, even when called in the late hour of life. It is not in man’s power to live longer or shorter than the time he is given: “And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?” (Matthew 6:27), and to think on one’s glory in comparison to another is wasteful, when all are siblings in the family of God: “But let every one prove his own work, and so he shall have glory in himself only, and not in another. For every one shall bear his own burden” (Galatians 6:4-5), thus the one that zealously loved from his youth into old age and the one who lived a short life of grace that was filled with fire are both beautiful, and to be lauded in their own respects, rather than weighed against each other: “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35). Or, to bear the burden of the day is to be at war against temptation, weakness, and failure, and then see a young one in Christ living amidst the rose petals of blooming love, which rather than being an occasion of murmuring, should inspire the worker to reinvigorate their love and shine brightly alongside them: “Fulfil ye my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same love, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment” (Philippians 2:2). Thirdly, this can mean that all the great saints of the Old Testament, who labored heavily under the Law for righteousness and virtue look with jealousy on the fact that you can simply be in love and acquire greater riches than what they so rigorously pursued: “And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel” (Isaias 45:3). This, then, is a call into the love story rather than a dry obedience to the commandments: “O senseless Galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been set forth, crucified among you? …Are you so foolish that, whereas you began in the Spirit, you would now be made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3). The murmuring can also be that of envy, of seeing another flourishing while one labors in seemingly fruitless toil, not realizing that Jesus has promised nothing but the cross, and that one does not deserve salvation, visible success, or the slightest consolation in prayer, but that these are freely given by the Giver of divine gifts as He pleases, yet one should not despair in this cas: “Give praise, O thou barren, that bearest not: sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord” (Isaias 54:1), which means that the lowly, seemingly fruitless person with no office for the salvation of souls can bear more spiritual children by devoted, humble prayer even through periods of aridity and darkness than the one who is given the position to harvest abundantly: “The barren hath borne many: and she that had many children is weakened” (1 Kings 2:5). Another translation, rather than “penny” is “denarius,” which was a day’s wages that bore the image of the king, and so too should one realize they have the image of the King stamped upon them: “And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20), and what more could one desire than a union of love, heart, and mind with God Himself in one’s own being? Salvation is yours, Jesus is yours, the mysteries of the kingdom and any devotion you desire are all open to you, Theophila: “The king hath brought me into his storerooms” (Canticle 1:3), therefore drink them in with joy: “Drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved” (Canticle 5:1), not looking to what others are doing or comparing yourself to others, but rejoicing in what is given to you and immersing yourself in divine love: “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me” (Psalm 15:5). When someone looks with envy at the good things of another, the eye of love is not with them, but to look with joy on the love story of another is heavenly, especially when this is greatly benefitting the Church: “Rejoice with them that rejoice” (Romans 12:15). Finally, there can be a lesson that the Lord goes out in the morning of the lives of all, wishing to draw them into the love story from their very youth: “For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39), but always looks through the window of their life that they may open the door to Him: “Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices” (Canticle 2:9). Jesus concludes by saying that the first shall be last and the last first, because many fall into routine in the life of grace, or prefer aspects of the faith to a relationship of love with Jesus, and their beauty loses its luster. However, many that have been rescued from the depths of sin, not wanting a single blot to return to mar their beauty, work with greater diligence and zeal than those that have had the faith for their entire lives. You are always called to a deeper love, Theophila; do not wait to be hired, but do the greatest act of love you see in front of you, and immerse yourself in the beauty of God: “Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love” (Canticle 2:5), knowing that your efforts will not be without a lovely reward. Finally, that many are called and few are chosen means that many come to the faith and profess it in words, but who will live a life worthy of heavenly celebration? Ah, Theophila, the Lord desires great saints, ones that love Him intimately and show it in story-worthy lives, and to pray for this grace is a prayer He will not refuse: “For every one that asketh, receiveth” (Matthew 7:8). St. Maximilan Kolbe’s first rule of life was: “I must become a saint, and a great saint,” and is the rule offered to all that would choose to follow Jesus in love.

Matthew 20:1-7

“The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And having agreed with the labourers 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.’”

Jesus is the householder, who looks over His house, the heavens and the earth, and His family, which are all the things that are created. He hires laborers to go into the vineyard of love, which contains the vines of righteousness, and to love your neighbor is to work therein: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’” (Galatians 5:14). To work in the vineyard is to labor for the sake of the vineyard and receive the pay for one’s food, and so too are you called to work firstly to make God loved on earth, and then address the things necessary for yourself: “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The zealous worker shows to the Master the fruits of his work with joy: “She found about the measure of an ephi of barley, that is, three bushels: which she took up and returned into the city, and shewed it to her mother in law” (Ruth 2:17-18), whereas the one that has been lax is ashamed to go in for lunch when there has been nothing put forward in the vineyard: “If thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee” (Proverbs 6:11). Love is give and take, and love calls you into action, with your Beloved being grateful for the work you do. To laze about and do nothing invites correction rather than affection: “If any man will not work, neither let him eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10); to halfheartedly obey when love’s voice sends you into your labor is ugly work in the vineyard of love, but to joyfully plant flowers of love in all you do brightens the face of Christ, who loves to see you happy and in love: “The joyfulness of the heart, is the life of a man, and a never failing treasure of holiness: and the joy of a man is length of life” (Ecclesiasticus 30:23). The vineyard can also represent the Church, which is always in need of great saints to arise and tend her sails through prayer, man her oars by teaching and service, and steer her ship by guidance and leadership: “They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters: these have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep” (Psalm 106:23-24). Now, the day mentioned is the day of one’s life, which seems long within it as a workday does, but is a day in comparison with God’s existence and eternal rest: “One day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8), with the reward for all who truly love in life being salvation. There can be two looks at the hours of the day at which the workers are sent, because in one regard it can represent the ages of the world, in another it can be the season of life in which respective people come to know the love of Jesus and are inspired by this love to enter into their own respective love stories with Him: “Behold my beloved speaketh to me: ‘Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come” (Canticle 2:10). This second interpretation is then easily understood by the marketplace being the world, exchanging goods that are not the true good of divine love, and to stand in the ways of the world is to waste the time given to you: “See therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly: not as unwise, but as wise: redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). Or, to be in the marketplace is to be within the walls of the Church, but not fully invigorated with love, and therefore idling, one’s heart waiting to be sent. The third, sixth, and ninth hours can also refer to the ages of the Law, the kings, and the prophets, with those that served the Lord with right faith laboring in the vineyard. In the eleventh hour, the coming of the Lord in the flesh, proper faith is given to the Gentiles that they may know the one true God in true faith: “Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3), and live a life pleasing to Him: “If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love” (John 15:10). Now, to love is to avoid purgatory, though a plenary indulgence to soothe your soul from any anxiety is a wonderful thing, and so no matter the time when you fall in love with God, let love carry you to the end, and you will enter eternal beatitude triumphantly, shining as a victorious knight come to their King, Queen, and family to tell the stories of the battlefield: “Now when David returned, after he slew the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels of joy, and cornets” (1 Kings 18:6).

Matthew 19:27-30

“Then Peter answering, said to him: ‘Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?’ And Jesus said to them: ‘Amen I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first.’”

St. Peter sees the dejection of the young man, and turns in wonder at Jesus. Peter and Andrew had left comparably little, but to leave anything for the love of God is not seen as little in His eyes: “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and give him of the first of all thy fruits: and thy barns shall be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall run over with wine” (Proverbs 3:9). However, he had departed from a wife, a trade, everything that was familiar, and followed Jesus, and as a victorious athlete, asks what will be given to him for his sacrifice: “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Love is a two-way interaction, and those that give all for the sake of divine love will not be left empty handed, and Jesus says that those who saw Christ’s divinity through His humanity, like acknowledging the sun through a cloud, would come to an extraordinary reward. For the Apostles, it is given to be the new Patriarchs, but there is an interesting note to be considered in the twelve thrones. Judas Iscariot would not hold his preeminence and retain his throne: “Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life” (Apocalypse 2:10), and one can question if it was St. Matthias that took his place: “And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26) or St. Paul: “But I have laboured more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). However, this opening points more to the reality that Christians will reign and judge with Christ: “Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things of this world?” (1 Corinthians 6:3), similar to St. John referring to himself as the “beloved disciple,” that you may be able to put yourself in his shoes in his walk with Christ as His beloved disciple. Therefore, it points to all that have left everything for the sake of Christ, clutching only to His love rather than anything created, and they will be the ones whose love stories will have the preeminence in the kingdom of heaven. This can also refer to the division of the Christian people, and the different graces they receive from the Apostles: “And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: ‘Gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days” (Genesis 49:1), all of which make up one throne of Jesus: “And there was a rainbow round about the throne” (Apocalypse 4:3), denoting the variety of the saints’ expressions of love. While this heavenly reward is itself great, Jesus also realizes that fallen humanity struggles to be held up on future promises alone: “Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul: desire when it cometh is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12), and so gives a look at present rewards as well, but these are spiritual rewards. All are called to ecstatic union with God, but few reach it because few are willing to leave everything behind for the sake of love. To forsake all that is temporal and of the flesh will lead to a hundredfold reward in spiritual goods, in the treasures of the spiritual life: “Now if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to do and keep all his commandments, which I command thee this day, the Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth. And all these things blessings shall come upon thee and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). To leave behind even one’s family to focus entirely on the Church is to inherit a greater family of fathers, children, brothers, and sisters, who are bound not by blood but by divine love. To drink from the Savior’s wounded side daily in Holy Communion, to be adorned with graces upon graces, these are the gifts the Lord offers: “And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). This leaving behind is primarily in the case of pagan parents attempting to draw their children into idolatry, but it is a note that the love of Jesus and the bond of faith runs deeper even than blood: “He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Life on earth is supposed to be even more extraordinary than before the Fall due to the intensity of love one feels for God and for their brethren: “Every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7), and this is to receive a hundredfold in its fullest sense, this is to be a great saint. Now, some that walk the way of faith and virtue grow cold and fall away: “But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance” (Apocalypse 2:4-5), and these are the first that become last. However, some that come late to the heavenly word love intensely for their deliverance from evil, and hasten up the mountain to the Beloved: “And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2). It can also refer to those who seem lowliest and smallest in the world, but that walk with Jesus, and are therefore rich in love and spiritual loveliness, which is to truly be first.

Matthew 19:16-26

“And behold one came and said to him: ‘Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Who said to him: ‘Why askest thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him: ‘Which?’ And Jesus said; ‘Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honour thy father and thy mother: and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The young man saith to him: ‘All these have I kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible.’”

Jesus has, to this point, been doing much extolling of purity, both in bringing forward living for God alone and in the innocence of children, and so a young man comes forward in awe: “A certain man running up and kneeling before him” (Mark 10:17), asking what he can do to merit eternal life. Ah, what a confusion! For eternal life is not earned but given: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8), which then calls one into action: “And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: ‘Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first” (Matthew 20:8), and is then protected by avoiding sin and made beautiful through acts of love: “The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice. And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaias 33:5-6), for love is a gift that then grows like a rose bush or any other plant, blooming and becoming more beautiful as it is cared for and naturally grows. The young man could also see Jesus as a great teacher, and not as God, not fully understanding the mystery into which he was trying to place himself, but Jesus is happy to remedy the eager mind that does not possess the beauty of understanding: “Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge” (Proverbs 2:6), indicating that while saints are good, this is insofar as they participate in the true goodness, which is God’s love. Jesus is drawing the young man deeper into the mystery, to cling to the true good, which again, is God and His love. All the upright actions one can do are nothing in comparison with this perfect love: “All our justices as the rag of a menstruous woman” (Isaias 64:6), but Jesus invites you to try, and thus He mentions to keep the commandments, to seek actions, words, and thoughts of love rather than hate. Jesus sets out the most basic, simple commandments for the one that is little: “Whoever is a little one, let him come to me” (Proverbs 9:4). He saw that this man was zealous for the things of God, and so focused on the commandments of love of neighbor, and by loving others one climbs to the true love of God: “If any man say, ‘I love God,’ and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not?’ (1 John 4:20). These commandments do not lead to the fullness of the love story, but are what must be set aside to even begin writing it. These are also contained in the Law, whereas Jesus came to transcend the Law with the commandment of love: “Do we, then, destroy the law through faith? God forbid: but we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). Love ever seeks to be more one with the beloved, however, and the young man, not satisfied with this entry point, sought the perfection of love, with which Jesus was greatly pleased: “And Jesus looking on him, loved him” (Mark 10:21), and gives him the answer he sought: To sell all, not some: “Ananias, why hath Satan tempted thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the Holy Ghost, and by fraud keep part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3), and give to those in need: “He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord: and he will repay him” (Proverbs 19:17) from an abundance of love: “If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor… and have not love, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). To strip oneself of everything for love and run after the Beloved is a reckless, beautiful love: “We will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3), for in ridding yourself of temporal gifts to give, you focus on making the gift of yourself all the more splendid and beautiful, and this is to store up treasure in heaven. “If there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The love of our neighbour worketh no evil. Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:9-10), and so though the young man may have obeyed the law marvelously, he sat in a house full of good things and did not help those that were starving and filthy: “There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11); to sell all he had and give to the poor is a true test of the love of neighbor. Now, to have nothing is not an arbitrary stripping, for many that are poor are filled with vice, but rather when one rids themselves of all that is not God and seeks nothing but His love, this one will be drawn deep into the love story and clothed with the good things of the Lord: “I counsel to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments” (Apocalypse 3:18). To despise money in itself is nothing, but when all is left behind as a toy outgrown for the sake of clinging to Jesus and following His fragrance of love and imitating Him in all His ways, this is the beauty of poverty: “These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Apocalypse 14:4), and what it means to follow Him. The holy lily of grace, however, was planted in the thorny ground of this man’s heart: “He that received the seed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choketh up the word, and he becometh fruitless” (Matthew 13:22). The book of your love story, Theophila, is to be extraordinary: “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints: and they sung a new canticle” (Apocalypse 5:7-8), and to avoid mortal sin and “be a good person” is a bland love story. Thus, Jesus turns to His disciples and condemns those enslaved by riches, encouraging those that are poor for his sake to not be ashamed of their poverty, but see it as a gift, a weapon of salvation, a wall of security: “Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). It is not impossible to be rich and live the fulness of the love story, but it is certainly hard. It is said in the book of Isaiah that “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord” (Isaias 60:6), showing that when one that is wealthy uses their wealth to bring either material aid or other treasures forward to the service of God, and is wrapped in prayer, they can enter the narrow way that leads to the life of love. There was a gate in Jerusalem called the needle’s eye, which a camel could not enter but by shedding all burden, and so too by shedding all traces of sin and bowing in love before the Savior, one that is wealthy can enter this needle. However, these concessions are said with the realization that this is the harder path, with money and possessions being an incredible trap that occupies the mind, to which Wisdom replies: “Get wisdom, because it is better than gold: and purchase prudence, for it is more precious than silver” (Proverbs 16:16). The Apostles then ask who can be saved, for even among the poor are many that desire to be wealthy; grace alone can deliver from such a vice, for love is the greatest of all treasures: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field” (Matthew 13:44), thus should the one that is caught in the thorns of wealth pray often for the grace to navigate it in the arms of God.

Matthew 19:13-15

“Then were little children presented to him, that he should impose hands upon them and pray. And the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said to them: ‘Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such.’ And when he had imposed hands upon them, he departed from thence.”

The people, seeing Jesus’ love of purity and His mighty power over the forces of darkness, then bring their little ones to Him, that by His laying on of hands, they may be clothed with the armor of light: “Lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen” (Matthew 6:13). However, the human mind, due to concupiscence, ever leans to the negative and problem-solving, while being less inclined to rejoicing in and recalling the beautiful and good. This is why it is good, Theophila, in one’s examination of conscience at the end of the day, not to think primarily on your failures, but rather in where you saw God, giving thanks for His enduring presence in your life, for this brings joy to the heart, where to recall one’s sins weighs on the soul: “A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by grief of mind the spirit is cast down” (Proverbs 15:13). The Apostles, with this in mind, do not remember the beautiful teaching of Jesus, that He had said: “Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3), instead seeing the time spent blessing children as time poorly spent. In the vein of Jesus, there is a story of the Seraphic St. Bonaventure that, as minister general of the Franciscans and doctor of the University of Paris, some other brothers were scandalized when he took time to help a lowly friar with spiritual advice, whereupon he answered that as minister general, all others were his master, and he was the servant of all: “If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). Nothing done in love is a waste of time, Theophila, no act of love is too small or goes unnoticed, but your Father sees them all with a delighted smile and a warm heart: “The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his steps” (Proverbs 5:21). Jesus also answers that to children belongs the kingdom of heaven, because if the beautiful simplicity of children were to be cast aside, then who would be confident in going to Him? Secondly, the minds of children are so impressionable, that to be cold towards them may place a deep imprint of a lack of love, whereas the devotion and love that they experience in church can well inspire them in their journey to be a saint: “Let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Having many years but little love is not itself praiseworthy: “Three sorts my soul hateth, and I am greatly grieved at their life… an old man that is a fool, and doting” (Ecclesiasticus 25:3-4), whereas few years but great love is marvelous in the eye of the Lord: “For venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the number of years: but he understanding of a man is grey hairs. And a spotless life is old age” (Wisdom 4:8-9). The two together, however, of graceful innocence and a love well-cultivated through wisdom and life experience, this is a true treasure: “Old age is a crown of dignity, when it is found in the ways of justice” (Proverbs 16:31). There can also be a mystical interpretation here, that the little ones are those who grasp simple lessons of the faith with great joy and wonder: “I gave you milk to drink, not meat” (1 Corinthians 3:2), and should not be reviled for their simplicity because the one stronger in the faith has greater wisdom. Rather, it should be inspiring that a little one is learning with happiness the ways of God, like a child laughing with glee at taking a few steps, and is deserving of grace and blessing, that they may be inspired not simply to walk, but to run: “They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaias 40:31). Therefore, Theophila, love the little ones, both in age and spiritual maturity, that they may be warmed by the fire in your heart and run with you in the paths of love: “Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3).

Matthew 19:7-12

“They say to him: ‘Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away?’ He saith to them: ‘Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.’ His disciples say unto him: ‘If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry,’ Who said to them: ‘All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it.’”

St. John Chrysostom makes the point that to desire divorce is a sign of unchastity, and so the strict call to marital chastity is outstanding to the unchaste Pharisees, who do not have a solid retort but to run to Moses to try to cover their lack of knowledge of the truth: “As a lame man hath fair legs in vain: so a parable is unseemly in the mouth of fools” (Proverbs 26:7). Jesus, being the source of the commands of God, knows both the commands and their reason for being given at the time at which they were given, and thus answers that it was on account of the hardness of the hearts of Israel, who were given permission to divorce that they may not do greater evil to their wives: “If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favour in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house” (Deuteronomy 24:1), but this was simply concession to the extremely weak, and not the fulness of the commandment to love. Jesus is both clear and strong in His words here, but brings out the treasure of truth as a lovely balm: “Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old” (Matthew 13:52), that in the Garden, where there was no interference to love, the idea of divorce was ludicrous: “This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23), but when men would kill or abuse their wives for the sake of gaining someone younger and fairer, divorce would be preferable: “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). It was something tolerated, not commanded, and in no way befitted righteousness: “Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 44:8). Jesus then speaks with His own authority: “Never did man speak like this man” (John 7:46) that fornication alone truly severs the bond of marriage, for it destroys love as nothing else, thus does Wisdom say: “He that keepeth an adulteress, is foolish and wicked” (Proverbs 18:22). The bodily union between husband and wife is a physical reality that, as was said before, expresses a spiritual intertwining that is already present, and so by committing adultery, one shows in their body that their heart has already deserted the other. To dissuade the attempt to falsely accuse and to call His people to a higher state, Jesus then says that to marry while one divorced is still alive is adultery, for if one should leave a spouse due to adultery, they should fasten themselves to Him who is always faithful: “Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife” (1 Corinthians 7:27), who will repair their heart and hold it with a tenderness they then need. Now, after all of this, the disciples then speak that it is not expedient to marry, because a spouse may be found to be filled with bad habits, a disagreeable disposition, or simply unloving: “A diligent woman is a crown to her husband: and she that doth things worthy of confusion, is a rottenness in his bones” (Proverbs 12:4), and to tolerate these for the sake of love and the image of the Trinity in marriage is firmly held in the commandment to love: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife; and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband” (1 Corinthians 7:14), with adultery alone being sufficient reason to dissolve the marriage. Jesus sees this difficulty, and brings forth a new treasure, a commandment unthinkable to many, utter foolishness to the secular world and suppressed by those outside the Catholic Church, the vocation of divine love: “Let her marry to whom she will; only in the Lord. But more blessed shall she be, if she so remain, according to my counsel” (1 Corinthians 7:39-40). It is not a hidden mystery, a turn of fate, a question of if God permits it to remain celibate for the love of Jesus, but the one who ardently desires to be entirely His, He will give the grace to do so: “Ask, and it shall be given you” (Matthew 7:7); But the fruit of the Spirit is, love… continency, chastity. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23). Some fail in the battle to be continent, but this should not dissuade, for the Psalmist says: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee” (Psalm 90:7), ah, but Theophila, what a magnificent gem continence is! To be so upheld by divine love that one takes no other lover, this is a shining display of the power of grace: “And whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled. And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was” (Wisdom 8:20-21). Therefore, Jesus moves into the topic of eunuchs, who were servants in charge of the wives of kings, just as those who are continent in the Church are at the unhindered service of His beloved people: “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). There are some that were made so by men or themselves, in which there is no love, for even a righteous act without the will’s assent and the animation of love is nothing. Likewise, to be forced not to marry or to embrace celibacy for the sake of work, position, luxury, peace, or such worldly pleasure is loveless, but to do so for the love of Jesus is supernatural and transcends the natural vocation of marriage: “These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Apocalypse 14:4). When the Lord says, “He that can take it, let him take it,” it is a call to the fight: “Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return” (Judges 7:3). This is not to entangle one in discernment on if they can, but to realize that the celibate state is as magnificent as it is difficult; many are the chaste saints who were barraged by the devil, who sought to ruin the beauty of their spiritual marriage to the King: “While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof” (Canticle 1:11), which the enemy would seek to suppress through doubt and actions that are less than beautiful love. The soul that is consecrated is invited to a higher state, but more is expected of them, a more beautiful love is demanded, for their whole vocation is the love of Love: “ The unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit” (1 Corinthians 7:34), and they are expected to make themselves beautiful for Beauty Itself and by His standards: “Behold thou art fair, O my love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are as those of doves” (Canticle 1:14). Thus, to make oneself a eunuch is not in doing anything to one’s body, but taming both it and the soul that they may always be oriented to the greatest, most beautiful act of love that Jesus sets before them. The body, heart, and mind are thus all called to a state of divine love, the body that it may be entirely spiritual and used for the sake of God’s kingdom: “But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27); the mind, that it may be adorned with thoughts of the Beloved and the beauty of Christian life and thereby guard the heart: “Be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2); and the heart, that it may be given freely to the Beloved, and guarded from all else as a woman guards herself from despicable suitors: “With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it” (Proverbs 4:23); “My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up” (Canticle 4:12).

Matthew 19:1-6

“And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these words, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan. And great multitudes followed him: and he healed them there. And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, saying: ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?’ Who answering, said to them: ‘Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female?’ And he said: ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.’”

Jesus, His passion drawing near, then reenters Judea, staying in the borders until the proper time. Many ran in His footsteps, clinging to the Beloved: “I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him: and I will not let him go” (Canticle 3:4), and He answers their love with His own acts of love. He has a beautiful balance between teaching and action, backing up His words of love with acts of love, that He may do as He teaches and show the great benefit of His words: “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore my soul hath sought them” (Psalm 118:129). He did this beyond the Jordan to show that spiritual healing takes place after baptism, for baptism is the birth into new life, that one may love in freedom and truth: “Purifying your souls in the obedience of love, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly: being born again not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God who liveth and remaineth for ever” (1 Peter 1:22-23). This healing then brings others to the same fountain, as a man restored to health exuberantly recommends a good doctor to those that are seeking improved health: “The skill of the physician shall lift up his head, and in the sight of great men he shall be praised” (Ecclesiasticus 38:3), and so for the one seeking love and affection, the Christian can point to Christ: “If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink” (John 7:37). However, this was lost on the Pharisees, whose hearts were hardened by His love and miracles, and come to Him with an attempted snare: “Sinners have laid a snare for me: but I have not erred from thy precepts” (Psalm 118:110). While the Pharisees were attempting to wield the Law as a weapon rather than as a treasure, they do it without understanding the commandments of love, but Jesus meets them on their level and uses it properly: “And from his mouth came out a sharp two edged sword” (Apocalypse 1:16), in turn looking at the magnificence of the bond of love, the greatest example of what God wants with His people. Eros is not a sexual inclination, but an infatuation with the other, who lives in the mind of the lover and roams in their heart freely, and the joining of two that feel this way to each other and the children that proceed is both a representation of the Trinity and the ideal relationship of God with your soul, where you become a sort of prisoner of love: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love” (Canticle 5:8). The joining of the two by bodily union is a physical expression of a spiritual reality that is already present, that in their hearts they are already interwoven: “So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself” (Ephesians 5:28), and so in your relationship with Jesus are you called to let Him reside in your mind and heart with beautiful freedom: “Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth” (Colossians 3:2), for He always thinks about you: “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of affliction, to give you an end and patience” (Jeremias 29:11). In leaving the closest affections, those of one’s family, for the sake of eros, there is a magnificent symbol of the love you should have for Jesus, that, rather than suppressing other loves, it is like the sun, so bright and fiery that all the others simply cannot stand out in its light: “He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he, as a bridegroom coming out of his bride chamber, hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way” (Psalm 18:6). While volumes have been written on this by much greater authors, still one note is that when the love between a man and a woman is held as something flimsy and dispensable, it gives the impression that the love of God is something similar, when in reality the unbreakable bond of love between a couple is supposed to be a glimpse into the unbreakable bond of love between God and His beloved: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies” (Canticle 6:2), and just as the two become one flesh, inseparable, by marital union, so too does the Trinity live in your heart, that you are one with God by nature of your state of grace, the two becoming one in you. Consider, Theophila, that Jesus descended from heaven and His Father to become one with you; He left the joys of heaven for the struggles of life and the horrors of the Cross, because to endure these things with you is greater than happiness without you; this is the nature of eros. Finally, because it is wretched to harm one’s flesh: “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28), to remove the bond between a couple woven together in love, soul, body, and sacrament is gravely contrary to love. Thus, what God has drawn together, both in marriage and in His intimacy with you, hold onto this with the utmost affection and vigilance: “Happy is the husband of a good wife: for the number of his years is double” (Ecclesiasticus 26:1).

Matthew 18:21-35

“Then came Peter unto him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus saith to him: ‘I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest.’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.’”

St. Peter thought he had given a long leash to his neighbor, as seven offenses against someone that are all forgiven does showcase much patience and mercy, but Jesus goes vastly beyond this, showing how far love goes: “If heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?” (3 Kings 8:27). Seven indicates perfection, or completeness, so seventy times seven indicates what is endless and perfect, that merciful love may never be withdrawn, but always extended, inhibited by nothing: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end” (Psalm 144:3). Now, when Jesus says “seventy times,” this is not idly said, for this is the number of completion multiplied by the number ten, which is indicative of the Ten Commandments, and so even if your neighbor should do all that is contrary to love against you, still you are called to love and forgive: “Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32), just as David was kind to Saul even when the latter sought to kill him: “Moreover see and know, O my father, the hem of thy robe in my hand, that when I cut off the hem of thy robe, I would not put out my hand against thee” (1 Kings 24:12), and so even if someone is openly hostile to you, you are called to love them. Jesus then shows this in a parable, showing that He is not handing off an impossible commandment, or asking something that He does not Himself do. The king in the parable can represent both the Father and the Son, for all sin is an action against true love, thus being an offense against God: “He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is love” (1 John 4:8), while every sin of turning away from Jesus is a sin against Him, and to use His presence in your soul poorly is to soil the garment of your state of grace: “Wherefore casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness” (James 1:21), which is action displeasing to your Heavenly Spouse, who would see you magnificent in being joined with Him: “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee” (Canticle 4:7). However, in focusing solely on Jesus, note that He takes account of your entire life: “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne” (Apocalypse 5:7), the book being the story of your life. If you think about what you have done against perfect love, be it in grave, blatant action against God or even in neglected acts of charity, you have accrued a great debt. The term ten thousand indicates a thousand crimes against each of the prescriptions of the commandments; it is a look at all possible sin that can be done under the law: “And behold a talent of lead was carried, and behold a woman sitting in the midst of the vessel. And he said: ‘This is wickedness’” (Zacharias 5:7-8). Now, under one’s own power there is not the strength to pay the debt, that is, to rise again and have God’s favor upon them; though He is desirous of all to come to Him, when someone is lost to sin, their connection of love is absent and in tatters. The folly and pleasures to which one holds the Lord then commands to be taken away, not out of cruelty, but in being free from such things and forced to listen to themselves, the loving angel may prick their conscience to make them seek forgiveness: “For thy arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong upon me” (Psalm 37:3). God is infinite love, however, and all sin is but a single blot of ink being dropped into an ocean of love when forgiveness is earnestly sought. St. John Chrysostom makes an excellent point that the servant had only sought time to try to pay, whereupon the King forgave the entire debt: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Psalm 31:1). The servant came to know his debt, that he may appreciate just how much he was forgiven, and so too a general confession, accounting for sin in every nook and cranny of your whole life, lets merciful love into all of these places: “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall” (Canticle 2:14), that love may anoint all that was not love: “Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee” (Canticle 1:2). Think, Theophila, of how extraordinary is the debt you accrued, but only for the sake that you may know the infinite love that throws it all into the furnace of love: “Thou shalt know therefore this day that the Lord thy God himself will pass over before thee, a devouring and consuming fire, to destroy and extirpate and bring them to nothing before thy face quickly, as he hath spoken to thee” (Deuteronomy 9:3). While two people are on level ground, God gives being, life, reason, and all the good things in life, with the greatest gift being His Son: “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16), all from an abundance of love, and therefore the respect one should have towards God is greater than the respect for one’s parents: “Honour thy father, in work and word, and all patience” (Ecclesiasticus 3:9). It could also mean that the ten thousand talents represent grave sin, a hundred pence representing venial sin, both of which are debts to God that God is eager to forgive, to restore the loveliness of your soul: “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremias 31:34). Or, this can mean that simply due to always being in God’s presence and so comparatively little in the presence of a certain individual, the number of faults against love of God is far greater than what another can do to you. What, Theophila, will you do with the magnificent freedom God has given you? Will you use it to love radically and always, or mistreat the privilege of being the dwelling place of God? “He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is not scandal in him. But he that hateth his brother, is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth; because the darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:10-11). It is painful to see another harboring wrath, for their love story with God is clogged in these times, but you can always pray out of love for them, that they may repent of holding a barb in their heart and this is what is meant by the others seeing the wicked servant and turning to the king. Now, when the ungrateful servant came before the king with a massive debt, he was not called wicked or pitiful or anything of the sort, but the king was merciful with him. However, in holding a grudge, the king calls him wicked: “Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God? He hath no mercy on a man like himself, and doth he entreat for his own sins?” (Ecclesiasticus 28:3-4). Loving kindness is the primary medicine with which sin should be corrected, but fear of punishment is, while the lowest of means, is still a means to bringing one to righteousness. There is an interesting note, that the king was angry with the servant in his lack of forgiveness; there was no anger in the great debt, but love and compassion: “And seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them: because they were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), but to receive mercy and not give it in turn is to court punishment and indignation: “But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God” (Romans 2:5). To be cast into the fire until the debt is paid is an elusive term, for in truth one cannot pay the debt they owe to God’s love in sinning against it, and so it is a look into an eternal punishment. It is a departure from the footsteps of the Father to withhold merciful love, who is merciful love, and without His sanctuary, one runs into the territory of demons: “But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he should not hear” (Isaias 59:2). The Lord adds to forgive “from the heart,” that your soul may not be stuck with bitterness and ugliness, but be pure white, a reflecting image of Jesus, brilliant, lovely, and love-filled: “How beautiful art thou, and how comely, my dearest, in delights!” (Canticle 7:6). Your heart is to be a sanctuary for your Beloved, that He may walk around freely with you at His side: “My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies” (Canticle 6:1), not grasping onto resentment towards another. Therefore, purge out what is bitter through the sweetness of affection, that your life may be one of unceasing love.

Matthew 18:15-20

“But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Without tending, a rose bush grows out of control and stops being beautiful: “The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come” (Canticle 2:12), and without correction, one cannot make the flowers of their love bloom in a shapely manner: “He that loveth correction, loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is foolish” (Proverbs 12:1), and here Jesus points out that to prune our fellow Christians with great love is a necessary act of mercy: “It is better to be rebuked by a wise man, than to be deceived by the flattery of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:6). When your neighbor sins against you, they are harming their own soul, and merciful love seeks to put a stop to such self-destruction: “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee” (Proverbs 9:8), for you will have led them from a snare into what is beautiful: “My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare” (Psalm 24:15). Forgive first, that there be no bitterness in your heart, then go with a warm heart and present the correction as medicine laced with sugar, adorn fraternal correction with love, and it will be welcomed rather than spurned: “By what doth a young man correct his way? By observing thy words” (Psalm 118:9). It is not a call to accuse, mock, or demand restitution, for Wisdom says: “The learning of a man is known by patience: and his glory is to pass over wrongs” (Proverbs 19:11) by throwing them into the furnace of merciful love that the Holy Spirit has ignited in his heart, but to go with love and wisdom and help the one at fault out of a fall: “If one fall he shall be supported by the other: woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:10). It is glorious to consider yourself uninjured, that your love may not be impeded: “Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19), but to publish a fault before others will harden the heart of the offender, and drive a wedge between the two of you. If you rebuke someone without concern for the state of their soul, you do it for your own sake, but if you seek to bandage a wound and succeed, you gain your neighbor and thereby the treasure of a soul unbound: “My brethren, if any of you err from the truth, and one convert him: he must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). However, if there is a refusal to be pruned, such as a child wrangling their way out of the hands of a doctor, then the Lord calls for one or two helpers that can help apply the medicine of love and truth, rather than turning to disdain and hate: “Brethren, and if a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness” (Galatians 6:1). A crafty and loving physician, when faced with a difficult illness, does not fold in his efforts to cure the disease, but sets to more intense work and calls in aid, that the meeting of multiple minds may yield an extraordinary new fruit, and by being met with a net of truth and wisdom, they may be brought in to the shores of goodness: “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find” (John 21:6). However, without this, and in the case of a fault that is grave and especially if it is seen by others, Jesus says to go to a priest or a leader of the Church, and without this, to no longer be numbered among the Catholic family. However, this is not to neglect their salvation, for love in line with God desires the salvation of all: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4), but to be in greater horror at their behavior than that of those outside the Church, for they bear the name of Christ and thereby tarnish His image: “And there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 9:27). Thus should there be an attempt to amend the Catholic that is lost in sin, that their temple may be radiant and golden: “And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold” (3 Kings 6:22), not corrupted, pitiful, and hideous to those that look on: “And they have turned the ornament of their jewels into pride, and have made of it the images of their abominations, and idols: therefore I have made it an uncleanness to them” (Ezechiel 7:19), for all that are in the Church represent the Church, and thus their every word and action should be laced with Christian dignity: “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). It is a call to adorn the life of love with true splendor, with the true goods of human life, such as wisdom, virtue, kindness, joy, and peace: “And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit thereof, and the best things thereof” (Jeremias 2:7), and to raise those around you to seeking such wonders as well. Now, if one were to be exiled from the Church and declare an anathema on the one that excommunicated him in turn, this would be simply confusing, but Jesus in His wisdom gives branches of authority, that whomever those with this authority leave entangled in sin due to obstinance will have the authority to do so: “If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22), but to receive the merciful love of God is to be loosed and freed. Or, this can mean that to hold one as a foreigner with just cause is to bind, but to correct fruitfully is to loosen from the bonds of sin, that they may be free to follow the good, true, and beautiful, that is, to live the life of true love. Jesus then concludes this discourse with the emphasis on sharing spiritual goods, for treasures, even those of the soul, are not found to be stored away and perched upon like a dragon, but lavishly shared: “God said to him: ‘Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?’ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God” (Luke 12:20-21). Jesus had been exhorting His people to unity, to bring back those that were straying, and cut off those that were resilient in staying astray, that His people may be one: “Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), and now rewards those that worship, pray, and live together in the bond of love. When two are gathered in His name, that is, not merely in love for each other, but out of abundance of love for God are in communion, doing good to and with each other for His sake, He is there with them. It is a call to harmony, for if the voices are not in harmony, or if one is trying to sing a part not agreeable to him, the whole song will sound incorrect, but when His people are gathered in unity of love, doctrine, and desire, that is, the love of God: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31), sweet songs arise to God. It is said of Saints Francis and Clare that their conversations about God were so fiery and filled with love that some would think the building would be aflame, when in reality their mutual love of God brought forth this brilliance. Finally, this can be a return to the harmony of the soul, for where one’s mind, heart, and desires are all anointed with love and racing to the same object, which is God, glory comes: “He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? And he shall not take pleasure in his goods” (Ecclesiasticus 14:5); “A cheerful and good heart is always feasting: for his banquets are prepared with diligence” (Ecclesiasticus 30:27). From this, when your will is aligned with the love of God, and you are in harmony with yourself, you will attain immense treasures by prayer, for you aren’t asking according to desire, but according to love.

Matthew 18:10-14

“See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it be so that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”

While one should seek to heal with love those who are wrapped in sin, yet not at the cost of one’s own spiritual health and beauty, the Lord here sets in place that service and spiritual friendships should be cultivated and preferred: “But be continually with a holy man, whomsoever thou shalt know to observe the fear of God” (Ecclesiasticus 37:15), for while the spiritually dead need ministering to: “How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent” (Romans 10:14-15), the Catholic Church is your family: “Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). Thus, it is a call to be gentle, careful, shining example to those that are little in their spiritual maturity: “Now we that are stronger, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1), familiar friends with the spiritually strong: “A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality: and they that fear the Lord, shall find him. He that feareth God, shall likewise have good friendship: because according to him shall his friend be” (Ecclesiasticus 6:16-17), and, while ministering in kindness to those that are not, realize that the medicine of your love and the truth may be bitter on the tongue of the sick: “By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut” (Matthew 13:14-15). Friendship can wrap around any commonality, but the deepest friendships are those built on Christ, for in these there is a mutual pursuit of true human flourishing: “A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure” (Ecclesiasticus 6:14), with the bond being a true source of strength for your soul: “And Jonathan the son of Saul arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hands in God” (1 Kings 23:16). Now, when Jesus mentions that the little ones should not be despised, this can have three interpretations: The first is children, which are beautiful treasures, the second is the spiritually immature that need patience and good example, the third is what the Church Fathers call the perfect, those who are little in the eyes of the world, yet rich in love and spiritual goods: “With me are riches and glory, glorious riches and justice. For my fruit is better than gold and the precious stone, and my blossoms than choice silver. I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of judgment” (Proverbs 8:18-20), all of which are dear to God and are your true family, co-members of your mystical body, and should be treated with love as such: “For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church: because we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:29-30). All of these are more in tune with the voices of their angel guardians than those that are not pursuing Christ in truth, for the voice of peace that plays the heartstrings of the faithful are the angels of God, whereas what seem like sweet harmonies on the hearts of those that are not on the way are the voices of fallen angels. While an angel guardian is given to every soul at birth, many despise the voice of this angel: “Behold this nation hath… despised to hearken to my voice” (Judges 2:20), but when they can take the loving invitations of the will of God and peacefully place them in the soul, this is harmony with one’s angel: “Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him. But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee” (Exodus 23:20-22). Now, the spiritual nature of angels means that even in their ministering to you and others, they do not lose the joys of the sight of God, and so you are called to imitate them by having a place in your heart of the love of Jesus, no matter what your activity: “Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). The angels also carry the prayers of the faithful to God: “And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God” (Apocalypse 8:3), and to despise, offend and revile one whose every prayer is pleasing to God and lovingly handed off as letters written to Him through their messenger angel is nothing short of perilous: “Therefore, he that despiseth these things, despieth not man, but God, who also hath given his holy Spirit in us” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). When Jesus then says that the Son of Man came to save what is lost, by this He means the entirety of the human race, for all creation works in its own harmony, with Psalm 103 being the greatest hymn of praise for this: “May the glory of the Lord endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works” (Psalm 103:31), but mankind, by the influence of the serpent, fell out of this harmony. Now, when you have unmade yourself through sin or error, call upon Him that made you to remake you: “Behold, I make all things new” (Apocalypse 21:5), and let Him craft you into something magnificent: “And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay: and thou art our maker, and we all are the works of thy hands” (Isaias 64:8). This in turn is explained with a parable, that there were the ninety-nine sheep that represent angels; for if every individual has a guardian angel, and there be nine choirs of angels that, in addition to guardians, fulfill many other offices, the number of them must be terrifyingly great, but Jesus stepped down in love from this heavenly kingdom to seek out His lost little ones: “Shall I not spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that know not how to distinguish between their right hand and their left” (Jonas 4:11). When He says there is greater rejoicing for the finding of the sheep, this shows that love was expressed in greater fashion through mankind’s redemption than in the creation of angels. It can also refer to the incredible joy in heaven over the repentance of even one sinful person, for many that are habituated in righteousness are secure and can often fall into routine, whereas the heart struck to the core with contrition pours out affection and thanksgiving in any way they can: “And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that he sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and standing behind at his feet, she began to wash his feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment” (Luke 7:37-38). By striving to make up for time spent far from His love, they draw all the closer, that they may not be lost again to the darkness and by their placement in the furnace of merciful love, burn all the hotter: “Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?” (Canticle 8:5). Finally, this can mean that there are many who, filled with virtue and truth, do not cultivate a relationship of love with Jesus, and so He goes to the lowly and outcast who just wants to be loved, to provide for their need, and the love that then radiates from them inspires the righteous to aim even higher, moving past themselves and the mind into the reaches of the heart: “For thy breasts are better than wine” (Canticle 1:1), wine often symbolizing excellent doctrine. The Father loves all His children, for each person is a magnificent piece of art that He wants to see make the world a more beautiful place, but in their rejecting His love, they lead themselves to ugliness and destruction: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire” (Apocalypse 20:15).

Matthew 18:6-9

“But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh. And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”

“I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live: and that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him” (Deuteronomy 30:19). While the previous verses looked at the beauty of the happy life and the draw to a loving relationship with the Father, Jesus also warns against the perils of sin, of committing adultery against the Divine Bridegroom: “That because the rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce” (Jeremias 3:8). First, Jesus looks at scandalizing a little one of the faith, someone that is fresh and feeble, whose heart is not secure in being loved. He discusses this because the Apostles were called to be the exemplars of His doctrine, and if they were contending amongst themselves about preeminence, then those that were weaker in faith would either be offended or imitate them: “Seek not of the Lord a pre-eminence, nor of the king the seat of honour” (Ecclesiasticus 7:4). It is a call to look at the young and impressionable Christians, both in age and in spiritual maturity, and that in doing something that scandalizes them, pushing them away from the divine love story, the Lover of their souls is justifiably outraged. When Jesus says that it is better that a millstone be hung around the neck than to intrude with ugliness on His honeymoon with another, this is because it was a method of execution reserved to the greatest criminals, for to scandalize another not only stains the soul with sin, but also impedes the love blooming between God and the other person: “Judge this rather, that you put not a stumblingblock or a scandal in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:13). It is not only a rejection of the Divine Lover, which itself reaches for eternal punishment, but one that reaches into another’s love and puts an obstacle there as well, showing that, for this, the punishment is all the greater: “How much more, do you think he deserveth worse punishments, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God” (Hebrews 10:29). There can also be a mystical meaning, that great minds that have wandered into non-Catholic doctrines in their leisure and led people in their wake would have had less atrocious love stories if they had simply been weighed down with the desires of pleasure and wallowed in these, rather than corrupting the souls of others: “Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication: so thou hast also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites” (Apocalypse 2:14), which is representative of all foreign doctrines: “Be not led away with various and strange doctrines” (Hebrews 13:9). Jesus then says, “woe to the world because of scandals,” but the Apostles had left the world: “Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee” (Luke 18:28), and let themselves be carried above human nature into the divine: “I have said: You are gods and all of you sons of the most high” (Psalm 81:6). Here it is of note that love transforms the lover into the beloved, and so to love Jesus in spirit and truth is to be transformed into Him: “If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17), whereas to love the world and the things thereof is to become more like them and subservient to them. Those that love the things in the world, be it themselves, money, pleasure, power, or delights of the eyes, bring about the scandals that come about in the world: “For the desire of money is the root of all evils” (1 Timothy 6:10); “For the beginning of fornication is the devising of idols: and the invention of them is the corruption of life” (Wisdom 14:12). In this life people with these desires will always be present, which then brings about the suffering in the world, but these become a tool for love, that those that love may either alleviate the suffering, or hold the hand of the one in trial, that love may carry them through: “That they also, who are approved, may be made manifest among you” (1 Corinthians 11:19). They also show the infinite merciful love of God, who sees His children falling into sin, error, and scandal, and rise more attentive than before, now armed with experience: “A man that hath much experience, shall think of many things: and he that hath learned many things, shall shew forth understanding” (Ecclesiasticus 34:9), and greater insight into the patient love of God: “The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth pateintly for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). Now, the enemy seeks to scandalize and ruin every man possible, for St. Catherine of Siena says that to contemplate his hatred and the effects thereof is one of the punishments of Hell, and there are some that are willing instruments of this, but it is a greater evil to give offense than to receive it, for bearing with such things with heroic love only exhibits its beauty all the more, whereas to cause scandal or offend another, in the long run, only serves to mar the beauty of one’s soul: “That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done” (Ezechiel 16:54). In your case, Theophila, you are called to watch, to guard the purity of your soul’s mirror image of Christ with great care, and any blot on this image is an action against your divine Spouse. You can be brought low by family, friends, hobbies, and spiritualities that all seem as necessary as limbs, but when they render you less than shining and magnificent in your beauty: “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” (Canticle 6:9), they need amputation, especially if a believer would be scandalized by this. Nothing is as important as maintaining the love between you and Jesus, Theophila, and in knowing yourself, you know what makes you beautiful and what doesn’t, therefore knowing where you should set your feet: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths” (Psalm 118:105), and all that would inhibit this, discard as a woman would a hideous garment, that you may put on the beautiful garments of virtue: “Put on the garments of thy glory, O Jerusalem” (Isaias 52:1), which are attained by setting your hands to work in acts of love: “My hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh” (Canticle 5:5), words of kindness: “Well ordered words are as a honeycomb: sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24), and holy leisure: “The wisdom of a scribe cometh by his time of leisure” (Ecclesiasticus 38:25). With these, the beauty of your love will be accentuated by garments of goodness, rendering you captivating to your Beloved: “Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Canticle 4:9).

Matthew 18:1-5

“At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: ‘Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said: ‘Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.’”

St. Peter, over the last few chapters, has received a particular eminence, and seems to be the favorite amongst the Apostles, and so they come to Jesus asking in what true greatness lies in His eyes. When there is a question that arises, it is the duty of the bishops and Church leaders to go to Jesus with one heart, and when there is a question in your heart, Theophila, you need only go to the great ones that have come before: “In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days prudence. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding” (Job 12:12-13), for you need not start from the beginning, as the Church has been blooming and stretching out her branches for centuries, and so you can reach all the higher on the shoulders of those that have come before: “Thy stature is like to a palm tree” (Canticle 7:7). The more you come to know your Beloved, the more you will love Him, and so going to Him with any question, either by prayer, reading the Scriptures, or looking through the writings of the Doctors of the Church, or even better, a combination of the three, you only draw closer to Him: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). Now, Jesus does not want one to try to separate from the flock, to strive in ambition and lose the bond of love and communion: “For the body also is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14), and He shows this and many other lessons by presenting them a child, rid of passion, filled with innocence, with no inhibition to acts of love, relying entirely on the one that looks after them and trusting in their goodness, and tells His Apostles to be like unto this child. It is a call to be childlike in these aspects, not in behavior, relying on the Father’s goodness like a precious child, while being wise in all manner of goodness: “I would have you to be wise in good, and simple in evil” (Romans 16:19). You are called to leave the cloak of evil deeds far behind, not even giving them a thought, that you may instead focus on painting the masterpiece of a well-cultivated love: “’Be of good comfort: arise, he calleth thee.’ Who casting off his garment leaped up, and came to him” (Mark 10:49-50). Children delightfully speak the truth in all things: “Putting away lying, speak ye the truth every man with his neighbour” (Ephesians 4:25), don’t harbor coldness but are free and joyful: “Then the children are free” (Matthew 17:25), when they’re injured are healed by a kiss and then happily go back to their activities: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth” (Canticle 1:1), do not look at others as objects or irritations but as someone with whom they can share the things they enjoy: “Doth a candle come into be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick?” (Mark 4:21), and believe the things said to them: “Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Therefore, Jesus calls them to be converted from this ambition they felt and simply have the joy of children at play together. It is said in the wisdom of the Desert Fathers that one monk asked an elder why things ran smoothly in times past whereas they had seemed to grind to a halt in their time, and the elder replied that in times past, all the members of the community built each other up, warming each other with the beauty of love, whereas in the time in which they were speaking, there was much bitterness: “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamour, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32), for one kind word from you may entirely rejuvenate the heart of another, inspiring them to keep going and bear their cross with a reinvigorated joy. St. Francis de Sales once encountered a nun attempting to attain love through humility, wherein he responded that he sought to attain humility through love, for love is given to you freely and need not be earned: “[Your Father] maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), and by attempting to make every person you encounter leave more loved and happier than when you found them, giving to all who ask of you, you will be brought exceedingly low, singing songs of joy the whole time: “Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise” (Psalm 32:3). Now, when someone receives you for the goodness that radiates from you, seeing your love and your life and wanting to join with you in your mission of love, they are not receiving you, but Christ in you, for the Divine Sculptor has made you into a beautiful lamp: “As the potter’s clay is in his hand, to fashion and order it” (Ecclesiasticus 33:13) and put His light inside: “If we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Therefore, it is a call to let the Most Holy Trinity adorn you with magnificence and many spiritual gifts: “God is able to make all grace abound in you; that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8), many of which are returns to childlike innocence, while retaining the beautiful things you have cultivated in your life, that what is naturally good in you may be adorned with what is supernatural: “Thy neck as jewels. We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver” (Canticle 1:9-10). Let these things then shine, letting nothing inhibit your love of God and others, but put flowers of love in all things you do and every word you say, that you may walk with glee in the footsteps of your Father as His little child: “Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God” (1 John 3:2).

Matthew 17:21-26

“And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again.’ And they were troubled exceedingly. And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: ‘Doth not your master pay the didrachmas?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: ‘What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? Of their own children, or of strangers?’ And he said: ‘Of strangers.’ Jesus said to him: ‘Then the children are free. But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.’”

Jesus speaks to His disciples, having iterated before that He would suffer and die, but here expanding that He would be betrayed: “But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar” (Psalm 54:14), but mixes the bitter with the sweet, that they may not be swollen with gladness when good things to come to them and lose their vigilance, but that they may not despair when the bitter is put forward: “Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities of poverty in the day of riches” (Ecclesiasticus 18:25). The words of the resurrection slipped through their ears without being grasped, but rather they stuck fast to the words of betrayal and death, for any hurt concerning a loved one, let alone a betrayal unto death, is grave news, and in their distress they did not cling to the hopeful words that followed. His death, however, is entirely out of submission, for He made Himself the lowest of the low for the sake of loving those who are in low places: “He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). What follows is an example of this humility and self-lowering, when Jesus is called upon to pay the temple tax, which was seen in multiple places in Israel’s history: “And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming, half a sicle according to the standard of the temple” (Exodus 30:13); “Why hast thou not taken care to oblige the Levites to bring in out of Juda and Jerusalem the money that was appointed by Moses the servant of the Lord for all the multitude of Israel to bring into the tabernacle of the testimony?” (2 Paralipomenon 24:6); “And we made ordinances for ourselves, to give the third part of a sicle every year for the work of the house of our God” (2 Esdras 10:32). It was a call to keep strong and clean the true soul of the people, which was the temple: “This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries round about her” (Ezechiel 5:5), and support those that ministered in the temple. While those that collected the tax were to collect from Jesus, they were too awed by His renown to approach Him, and so they go to His vicar, St. Peter, and ask courteously whether or not Jesus pays this tax. A Gloss says that Peter’s response is an affirming that Jesus does not pay the temple tax, and he then goes to Jesus to inform Him that those that sought this tribute were demanding it. Jesus then gives St. Peter a question regarding the kingdom of God, for kings of the earth do not tax their children, but rather give good things to their children, while taxing others. Likewise, God does not tax His children and demand tithes of them, but gives to them from an abundance of love: “If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11), with the hope that mutual love will call those enriched by the sacraments and the teaching they receive to provide for the material needs of those that give them spiritual gifts: “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things?” (1 Corinthians 9:11). Now, Jesus was preeminently a king’s son, both being of the lineage of David: “’What think you of Christ? Whose son is he?’ They say to him: ‘David’s’” (Matthew 22:42), and the only Son of the Father: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), and as no father demands a tax of his beloved son, Jesus is free from the temple tax, just as all those baptized in Christ are. However, Jesus, having become man in Israel, bends His neck to those collecting the tax, that they may not be scandalized, which many Christians imitated in certain senses, that by acquiescing to certain aspects of the Law, they may, out of an abundance of love, gain those that lived under the Law: “And I became to the Jews, a Jew, that I might gain the Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20). For the sake of not turning away even those that seek tax collections, Jesus gives, knowing that the Father will always provide. His poverty was so great that He did not even possess what was necessary for the temple tax, the modern equivalent of about $15, because His reward was love alone, and anything less than love and eternal joy is something paltry to receive in turn for love’s sweet demands: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me” (Matthew 19:21). Jesus’ wisdom here is precise and adept, that He should first prove that He and His people are exempt from such taxes, before bidding them to pay, showing that one should, without forsaking the truth: “For thy soul be not ashamed to say the truth” (Ecclesiasticus 4:24) or sinning: “He that loveth iniquity, hateth his own soul” (Psalm 10:5), avoid scandalizing one’s neighbors: “Now when you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat scandalize my brother, I will never eat flesh, lest I should scandalize my brother” (1 Corinthians 8:12-13), for hurting the soul of another is contrary to love. Then, when Jesus says to St. Peter to take up the first fish and therein find a stater, which would pay the temple tax for the two of them, this is taken literally, but has a mystical significance. By saying “first,” this is a time when that implies there will be more than one, and that St. Peter would bring many fish onto the heavenly shores: “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, one hundred and fifty-three” (John 21:11), with those to follow having the greater treasures of truth in their mouths. Or, this can mean that the hook of reason and the bait of love is cast into the sea of the world, one is drawn out by such beauty, with what used to be of value both materially and in the things on which one speaks suddenly losing their import, with all that was of value being given to the benefit of the Church and the fish then set free, for “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) to love in truth: “I was exceeding glad, that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as writing a new commandment to thee, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another” (2 John 1:4-5).

Matthew 17:14-20

“And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: ‘Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to thy deisciples, and they could not cure him.’ Then Jesus answered and said: ‘O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me.’ And Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said: ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ Jesus said to them: ‘Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Remove from hence hither,’ and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.’”

St. Peter, longing to grasp the sweetness of time with the Lord, is then drawn by love’s demands back out to the people, for love does not seek one’s own, but the good of others: “See ye that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all that seek out the truth” (Ecclesiasticus 24:47). Those that can climb to the highest mountains of love and wisdom: “Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love” (Canticle 2:5) are called to give to those who cannot so ascend the fruits of their contemplation, thus does the Psalm say: “Let the mountains receive peace for the people” (Psalm 71:3) by providing the knowledge that soothes the soul. A man then comes forward, imploring Jesus’ aid for his son, because the man points to a mental disorder, while Jesus later removes an unclean spirit. Now, illnesses of the mind are indeed illnesses, but demons can wreak havoc in places where the brain is not operating ideally: “And the servants of Saul said to him: ‘Behold now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee” (1 Kings 16:15), and even through the tortures the boy and those with unhealthy minds endure, Providence upholds them, keeping them from greater evils, as the boy would have been outright killed if God had not restrained the evil spirit: “When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover thee: when thou shalt walk in the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and the flames shall not burn in thee: For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour” (Isaias 43:2-3). Jesus then responds to the man and those present as a physician whose patient is not following the prescriptions given to them, and that in having the gift of the love of God and not walking in harmony with it, but in either going one’s own way or expecting God’s love to be as fragile as what one sees in fallen humanity, there is a weakness of faith: “For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:9). Jesus is looking here to hand on His presence to His people, that He may work through them by the Holy Spirit: “For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God” (Romans 8:16), and in this they must be strong in faith, and willing to do as He does, and love as He loves: “Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2), with the confidence that it shall be done: “I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13); “Behold I command thee, take courage, and be strong. Fear not and be not dismayed: because the Lord thy God is with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to” (Josue 1:9). After this admonition, Jesus rebukes the demon out of love for the boy, showing that all sin and evil, which defile the temple of human nature, should be met with verve: “And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew” (John 2:15), but all people treated with the utmost love: “Love edifieth” (1 Corinthians 8:1). There can also be a metaphorical meaning here, that the guardian angels that watch over people lost to their passions, represented by the fire, and who drown themselves in worldly affairs and pleasures, bring them to receive the grace of Christ, the words of spiritual men not making the imprint the angel longs to see. Angels are lifelong companions, and know the best way to reach the heart of the one they tend to, and thus can be called a father to the soul that is overseen, and this angel rejoices with their companions on seeing light break through: “So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance” (Luke 15:10). The Apostles then, out of confusion, ask Jesus as to why they could not fulfill the duty and power that was given to them: “And having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out” (Matthew 10:1). Jesus says this is because of their unbelief, as their faith had grown stagnant in being separated from Him for a time: “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). While Saints Peter, James, and John were immersed in the divine goodness, the others wither, as they were away from their hearts’ desire: “You shall be as an oak with the leaves falling off, and as a garden without water. And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as a spark: and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench it” (Isaias 1:30-31), and so is the soul that neglects time with Jesus in Mass, adoration, the Scriptures, and mental prayer, because without receiving His love in prayer, you simply cannot do the works of mercy that it you are called to do. Faith is then compared to a mustard seed, because matters of faith are looked on with contempt as something juvenile and foolish by men who are themselves without wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7), but when this faith falls into the good soil of a loving heart, it grows into a great tree, filled with mercy, virtue, and wisdom to give shade and fruit to all that would come to it: “He shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season” (Psalm 1:3). The littleness that comes with faith, of being a child of the Father, can “move mountains,” which is on the surface a great, though unnecessary, work, can be interpreted spiritually, such as moving a nest of demons that resembles a mountain crawling with them from a soul: “My name is Legion, for we are many” (Mark 5:9), or great obstacles to one’s love story such as pride or sloth, which block the smooth passage to the King’s Heart: “Every mountain and hill shall be made low” (Isaias 40:4); “The king hath brought me into his storerooms” (Canticle 1:3). However, the greatest obstacles to love are removed by prayer and fasting, with these too being the greatest weapons against the ancient serpent. Fasting itself endues great lightness of soul, for St. Maximus the Confessor’s ideal of asceticism is to simply remove all that hinders constant meditation on divine things: “Let thy thoughts be upon the precepts of God, and meditate continually on his commandments” (Ecclesiasticus 6:37), and when the soul is weighed down with much meat, it has difficulty working through such things, with wandering after various delights hindering the exercise of wisdom entirely. However, more important than fasting is prayer, for vocal prayers such as the Divine Office or the rosary are the greatest swords to be drawn against the enemy: “Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Kings 18:7); “By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). However, in addition to this is the need to encounter Jesus in mental prayer and reading the Scriptures, for every warrior needs time to eat, drink, and be cared for, rather than incessantly fighting: “And the land rested from wars” (Josue 11:23); “Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go” (3 Kings 19:7). However, with these wings of fasting, vocal prayer, and mental prayer, your flight will be lighter than the wind and your life will become angelic: “Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face” from vanities and gluttony by fasting, “and with two they covered his feet” by letting prayer guard one’s walk of life “and with two they flew” (Isaias 6:2) by mental prayer and sacred reading into the heart of the Beloved by coming to know Him, love Him, and know of His love for you. With these weapons in your armament, your love of neighbor will proceed naturally and beautifully, as your life will be upheld by prayer and not slowed by pleasures, so you can instead live on love: “I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart” (Psalm 118:32).

Matthew 17:10-13

“And his disciples asked him, saying: ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elias must come first?’ But he answering, said to them: ‘Elias indeed shall come, and restore all things. But I say to you, that Elias is already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they had a mind. So also the Son of man shall suffer from them.’ Then the disciples understood, that he had spoken to them of John the Baptist.”

Amongst those that studied the Law, there was inspiration from the prophet Malachi that Elijah would return to earth and come before Christ to bring harmony to Israel: “Behold, I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers: lest I come, and strike the earth with anathema” (Malachias 4:5-6); Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works… Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob” (Ecclesiasticus 48:4-10). The disciples then wonder at this, given that they just saw Elijah on the mountain, but he then departed, instead of remaining to be a herald of Jesus’ glory. The scribes also would have held to this teaching, saying that if Jesus was the Christ, then Elijah would have come to bring this harmony to God’s people, and this was a proof in their minds against Jesus: “These things they thought, and were deceived: for their own malice blinded them” (Wisdom 2:21). What Jesus answers then seems contradictory to those who thought that Jesus was come to lead Israel as a glorious earthly king like David: “And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: ‘Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest’” (Matthew 21:9). To the one that has been taught things divine: “These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of Daivd; he that openeth and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth” (Apocalypse 3:7), this then makes sense, for it refers to Christ’s second coming, before which Elijah will come in his proper person, to teach the Jews and turn their hearts to the fathers that are the Apostles: “And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth” (Apocalypse 11:3). This is because love flourishes in harmony rather than discord, because though discord gives an opportunity for charity to be practiced, this is akin to tuning an instrument before it is played, to bring the one note that is out of tune into harmony with the others, be this in one’s family, social group, or self: “Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings” (Psalm 32:2), which is both literal and figurative, with the latter indicating the uprightness of the heart and the harmony of those that sing God’s praises together. The greatest artwork one can make is in the beauty of their life, which is a masterpiece that expresses in a cultivated fashion the elegance of true love: “All the glory of the king’s daughter is within in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties” (Psalm 44:14), and the ministries of both John the Baptist at Christ’s first coming and the coming of Elijah before the second bring about a blank canvas on which this portrait can be painted. Therefore, they come in the same spirit, to bring the unjust to repentance: “And the people asked him, saying: ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answering, said to them: ‘He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner’” (Luke 3:10-11), before Christ brings them into the divine romance: “My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch” (Canticle 5:4). The Pharisees, scribes, and Romans, however, did not heed St. John the Baptist’s call to justice and the call to spiritual beauty, instead beheading him: “And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison” (Matthew 14:10). Now, while Herod and Herodias, representing Rome, beheaded John, the religious leaders consented to it, harboring resentment for his piercing words: “Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee form the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7), and Jesus then prophesies about His coming death, that Herod, Pilate, the Pharisees, scribes, and Romans would all consent and collaborate to crucifying Him, a sign that “All have sinned, and do need the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and showing how universally rejected both Jesus and a love of righteousness are: “Hear this, ye princes of the house of Jacob, and ye judges of the house of Israel: you that abhor judgment, and pervert all that is right” (Micheas 3:9), therefore you are called to be the one that consoles His Sacred Heart: “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him” (Luke 22:43) through a deep, caring love of Him that manifests in powerful emotions, spontaneous acts of love, a beautifully upright life, and care for others through what one has, which is indicated by Mary at Jesus’ feet: “And standing behind at his feet, she began to wash his feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment” for the tears represent the heart that feels strongly, the wiping of the feet with the hair is tending to Christ’s members with what one has, the ointment that is fragrant being the beauty of one’s virtue, and the kisses the little acts of love that enkindle the fire of love. Happy, Theophila, is the one that possesses the goodness indicated by St. John the Baptist, but happier still is the one that, not forsaking this goodness, understands the romance in the Song of Songs and loves God in such a manner, for such a soul is hard to find: “Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her” (Proverbs 31:10); “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her” (Canticle 6:7-8).

Matthew 17:5-9

“And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.’ And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, ‘Arise, and fear not.’ And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying; ‘Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.’”

While God appeared on Sinai in a dark cloud: “Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever” (Exodus 19:9), at that time being more threatening to those who needed a strong voice of authority, but in the cloud of brightness being a glorious Father to those who were already walking the way of justice. This can also refer to the essence of truth and love manifested by God in Jesus: “For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), that overshadows the Gospel, the Law, and the Prophets, being a light of glory that makes them all radiant and understandable. The Father then speaks to St. Peter, wishing Him to understand the truth to a deeper level, that housing Moses and Elijah is not necessary, but to make a tabernacle for the Son alone, for He is the Son, the others are but servants, and so too are you called to house Jesus in the sanctuary of your heart, as all servants of the Lord are: “My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up” (Canticle 4:12). This glory of the Father unveiled then gives testimony to the glory of the Son, but if the Son is loved, then there is nothing to fear, for the mighty One is a loved one rather than an enemy: “Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). Now, two that love in perfect harmony are one unit, acting with one and the same will for one and the same reason, and with the Son is the Father well pleased, for the Father loves all, but is not well pleased with all, for they do not do the will of the Father: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). With the Son is the Father perfectly well-pleased, “Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:36), always doing, with care, the greatest and most beautiful act of love that He sees. Because this included being crucified out of love for the redemption of captives, the Father exhorts St. Peter here not to speak against it. Jesus is the one to be heard: “Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), obeyed: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3), and imitated: “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). It is a call to follow the shining light of the Gospel first and foremost, with the saints, the Law, and the Prophets all pointing to the merciful love that He brings to your life: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things that were concerning him” (Luke 24:27), with all else only receiving light by this love. Being overwhelmed by glory, and realizing they had done wrong by trying to steer the divine plan away from Calvary, the Apostles fall on their faces in adoration: “And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead” (Apocalypse 1:17), a proof of sanctity, for the wicked fall back, repulsed by true love’s voice: “That they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken” (Isaias 28:13); “As soon therefore as he had said to them: ‘I am he;’ they went backward, and fell to the ground” (John 18:6), whereas the righteous fall on their faces, abasing themselves before the one loved: “Abram fell flat on his face” (Genesis 17:3). Jesus then touches them gently, letting them not remain overwhelmed, for “He that is a searcher of majesty, shall be overwhelmed by glory” (Proverbs 25:27), showing that He became man that rather than trying to raise one’s mind to the very essence of Love and Beauty, an impossible task for the human mind without aid from heaven, one may simply love the man Jesus: “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” (John 10:9), to whom the Law and Prophets point, thus the shadow of them both dissipate in the Gospel, as evidenced by no one being present but Jesus. In this is evidenced the need to know Jesus in His humanity rather than pursuing the sight of His divinity, for while the ecstasies of the saints seem enticing, but they are not necessary for a beautiful spiritual life. Rather, it is in familiar converse with the Beloved that love arises, letting yourself be yourself in His presence, and letting Him do the same with you: “I speak to him mouth to mouth: and plainly, and not by riddles and figure doth he see the Lord” (Numbers 12:7). Finally, if His full glory was known among the people, they would try to impede the way of the cross, just as St. Peter did: “Jesus therefore, when he knew they would come to take him by force, and make him king, fled again into the mountain himself alone” (John 6:15), or be deeply scandalized when He was crucified. Therefore, Jesus tells His disciples to keep what they had seen secret, only publishing what they had seen when they had been anointed by the Holy Spirit: “We saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14); “We were eyewitnesses of his greatness” (2 Peter 1:16).

Matthew 17:1-4

“And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.’’

The desire to see the glory of the kingdom was sparked in the twelve, but Jesus, after a period of waiting, took Saints Peter, James, and John up the mountain to see His glory, thus representing that there are many wonderful actions and attributes one can cultivate, but it is faith, hope, and love that come to the sight of God: “And now there remain faith, hope, and love, these three: but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Six days after the word was spoken to them, they go with Jesus, because six days after the Father by the Word spoke creation into being, the world was made: “And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31), and so the one that hears the word of love from God and sees the beauty in what He has made and then looks to the source of this beauty comes to see true Beauty, which is His love: “A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi” (Canticle 1:13) and His truth: “For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome wisdom” (Wisdom 7:29-30). St. Matthew without any bitterness relates that these three were taken up, knowing that he is loved, and loves his brethren, and thus each is content with their place in the divine love story: “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me. The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places: for my inheritance is goodly to me” (Psalm 15:5-6). Comparisons are odious and mire one’s love, for a woman that looks at the beauty of other women, worrying if they are more enticing to her husband than she, is insecure in her relationship with her husband, but the one that trusts her spouse with her heart totally knows that he will never turn from her: “And I will espouse thee to me for ever” (Osee 2:19). He relates that they were taken up a high mountain, showing that to contemplate God, you must climb up the mountain of love, not remaining at the base of the mountain in pleasures: “Take heed you go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount dying he shall die” (Exodus 19:12) or midway in spiritual goods such as learning or glory: “And he said to Moses: ‘Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off. Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall not come nigh: neither shall the people come up with him’” (Exodus 24:1-2), but doing all things with love for the sake of the Beloved: “And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses, entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain” (Exodus 24:17-18); “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24). It is by this path that one climbs into the deepest reaches of the Gospel, letting it shine by way of beautiful thoughts, words, and actions: “How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou! Thy eyes” of the understanding “are doves’ eyes, besides what is hid within. Thy hair” of thoughts “is as flocks of goats, which come up from mount Galaad. Thy teeth” which represent words in the mouth “as flocks of sheep, that are shorn, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them” (Canticle 4:1-2); “Thy two breasts,” acts of love of God and others, “like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies” (Canticle 4:5). It is by this path that the words of the Gospel shine brightly as the sun as a source of love and illuminate all else with their truth: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth” (John 16:13), guiding your heart in how to love and your hands in how to display this love: “Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm” (Canticle 8:6). Another meaning can be that Christ shines through you, you being the precious, shining robe of glory that is near to His heart: “And being turned, I saw… one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle” (Apocalypse 1:12-13), and so when you have climbed the mountain of love to its peak, the purity of your love is white and radiant, not hampered by vice but cleansed through virtuous love: “I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt be clothed with all these as with an ornament, and as a bride thou shalt put them about thee” (Isaias 49:18). There are many reasons why Elijah and Moses were with Jesus, such as showing that while the people thought He was Elijah or a prophet, Elijah, the chief of the prophets, comes to give way to Him, that one zealous for the uprightness of love may kneel before Love Himself. Or, because He was charged with breaking the Law and blaspheming, the giver of the Law and the one most zealous for the glory of God: “With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts” (3 Kings 19:10), they may show that He fulfilled all that they strove for, which is love: “’Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.’ This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to this: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). While there are other meanings, it is also representative that the wisdom of Christ, the wisdom of the art of love, can be found in the Law and the Prophets, to the one with an eye that can see, letting all Scripture teach one how to love: “He afflicted thee with want, and gave thee manna for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew: to shew that not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3). St. Peter, immersed in the glory of love, deeply consoled, mentions setting up tents on the mountaintop, for there, wrapped in the comforts of true love, Jesus would be far from the afflictions of Jerusalem. Forgetting all other things and safe from what could hurt the Lord, the prince of the Apostles never wanted to leave, just as the sweetness of contemplation and being in the Lord’s presence makes one desire to stay hidden with Christ, whereas He exhorts: “Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house” (Matthew 5:15); “Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is not seen: what profit is there in them both? Better is he that hideth his folly, than the man that hideth his wisdom” (Ecclesiasticus 20:32-33). To drink from the stream of love and truth is necessary: “You shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour’s fountains” (Isaias 12:3), but then it is sharing the bread of love with those that hunger: “Deal thy bread to the hungry” (Isaias 58:7); that is the Christian call: “My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Matthew 16:24-28

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.’”

Jesus then turns to His disciples, for they needed to hear the true nature of love. St. Augustine defines love not as a rush of excitement or passion, but what remains when these things settle: “A great and strong wind before the Lord overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air” (3 Kings 19:11-12). Love is not the feeling of love, but the intertwined nature of the two that love, says the Doctor of Grace, and the losing of self in the other and for the sake of the other requires death to one’s self, sacrifice, and suffering: “I die daily, I protest by your glory, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Do you expect, Theophila, to become love incarnate just as Jesus was without denying yourself for the sake of the other constantly? Out of love for Jesus, you are called to make your soul captivatingly beautiful in His eyes: “Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Canticle 4:9), and He gives you throughout the Scriptures a full account of what is pleasing to Him: “I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my meditation” (Psalm 118:174); “For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). Out of love for others, which stems from the love of God, you are called to set aside yourself at all times to make them leave your presence happier and more loved than when you found them: “Let your speech be always in grace seasoned with salt: that you may know how you ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6). It is interesting that Jesus does not lay a burden here, but an invitation, “if any man will come after me.” It is an invitation to you, Theophila, to grasp perfect love, knowing that you are called to walk hand in hand with your Beloved through rose bushes, which are both beautiful and painful, just as love is: “Many waters” of tribulation “cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Canticle 8:7). There are three “states” of humanity, that of original goodness, that of fallen sinfulness, and that of redeemed love, and by putting aside yourself and your sins for the sake of love, you do not merely climb out of fallenness or even grasp again what was good, but surpass the state of Adam and Eve to become love, just as Jesus was: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences” (Romans 13:14). You deny yourself of what is pleasurable, attention-getting, or self-inflating for the sake of what is beautiful and truly good, that you may grow in loveliness throughout your spiritual wedding on earth: “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee” (Canticle 4:7). It is not simply in bringing your body under the control of your reason: “I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27), but also letting your every word and action be oriented to love and beauty, leaving flowers on every heart you see and every situation you encounter: “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:37), letting your love for God be your constant guide, even if this means a shameful, painful death, for love will die for the sake of the beloved before renouncing love. To take up one’s cross, which may be either abstinence that nothing may have mastery over you: “All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12), or to experience the wound of compassion for another, is not sufficient, because all people suffer, with many doing it bravely. It is rather in following Jesus, doing all things with love for God and others, that gives the cross meaning, rather than arbitrarily afflicting oneself: “Afflict not thyself in thy own counsel” (Ecclesiasticus 30:22). Because the cross can be a heavy weight, He notes that whoever will lose his life for love’s sake shall find it. One exists for the sake of their greatest love, and if this is pleasure, money, work, or even another person that passes away, it is a love built on sand, for all these things wither and change, whereas God is unchanging: “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Living for oneself is saving one’s own life, closed up in one’s own ego, but living for the sake of God and others is to find the true life, a life lived on love: “Let all your things be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14), which is lived in giving oneself away. Therefore, to gain all things in the world, yet lose the love that matters is no life at all: “Learn not according to the ways of the Gentiles: and be not afraid of the signs of heaven, which the heathens fear: for the laws of the people are vain” (Jeremias 10:2-3), for love is the most fundamental need of the human person, and without it, all else is bitterness and ugliness: “For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity” (Acts 8:23). Then Jesus mentions, “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” because the human soul far surpasses all worldly treasures in value: “Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, the topaz, and the jasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and the carbuncle, and the emerald: gold the work of thy beauty” (Ezechiel 28:13), and therefore could only be redeemed by something even more precious: “You were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers: but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled” (1 Peter 1:18-19). The call to take up the cross is then assuaged by the promise that Jesus would come in glory, the full glory of what the words “I Love You” entail, to those that love Him, with angels attending to those that are laboring for love, that they may help those that labor to be made like unto Jesus, that having lived the love of Jesus on earth, they may enter the eternity of love that is heaven as if they were already there: “For lo, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Thus, He comes to judge all according to their works and the love with which they were done, because it is not the work alone that Jesus seeks: “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience… But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Apocalypse 2:2-4), but rather actions of love done with love. This also is meant to be a soothing balm to the Apostles, that they may not despair of the Lord’s death, but know that He would come in the glory of the Father to reward those that loved Him. Those that would not taste death until they saw the kingdom were the three that were to go with Him to Mount Tabor and see His glory, or it can refer to seeing the Church flourish, which is the glory of what divine love can do. This can also mean that those who live to understand Christ’s merciful love will then be able to move into the Old Testament and see the divine love story, letting love lead them by the hand into the Historical, Prophetic, and Wisdom literature and enjoy the majesty that these contain, which those that have a cursory understanding of God and His ways have much more difficulty comprehending. Love, however, pervades all of Sacred Scripture, and the Divine Bridegroom is eager to speak to you through them, that you may know His unfathomable love for you: “Behold my beloved speaketh to me” (Canticle 2:10).

Matthew 16:21-23

“From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee.’ Who turning, said to Peter: ‘Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.’”

Jesus then unveils the consummation of the love story, the crucifixion and the resurrection that He would suffer for love, but keeps this only to His closest intimates. To proclaim His majesty before He was crucified would have been a lofty ask for those that only knew him tangentially. To plant, root up, and plant once again would till the soil too heavily: “But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord: thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard” (Leviticus 25:4), and so the Lord tell His Apostles not to proclaim this to those who could not receive it. In this prophecy, the Lord says that He will go to the earthly Jerusalem to open the heavenly Jerusalem to His beloved: “And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Apocalypse 21:2). He voluntarily suffers at the hands of the elders of the city that He may welcome with joy those who would receive His love and thus live forever, the hands of God and the hands of His people working together in love. Then He was to rise again, “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18), that He, with His beloved, may rear spiritual children to bring new life to the world, raising people to spiritual life, which is seen in a fuller way in the resurrection at the end of days. St. Peter, fresh from divine inspiration, loses sight of the divinity he proclaimed, doubting the perfection of the words Jesus said: “Every word of God is fire tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him” (Proverbs 30:5). It is commonly said that St. Peter, God bless him, had too hot a zeal, for when lovers freshly find each other, their actions can, rather than transcending reason, be simply irrational: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love” (Canticle 5:8), for there is a difference between a wildfire that consumes a broad territory in reckless fashion and a white-hot flame that is concentrated in a blowtorch, used in a welder’s hands to cut through what is hard and fasten together what is separated, and the latter is prudent love: “If thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to prudence: if thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure: then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). He then goes to Jesus, not conceiving that the Son of God could be put to death, and out of sheer affection says that it will not come to pass. While Jesus welcomes the love, the ignorance He refutes with a sharp rebuff: “Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct?” (Hebrews 12:7). Now, this excess of affection from the prince of the Apostles was not a suggestion of the devil, because whatever is done in love is welcomed by the God of love, but without the revelation of God’s truth, he speaks entirely from his own understanding: “Lean not upon thy own prudence” (Proverbs 3:5), showing that no matter how zealous one may be, without the guiding hand of truth it is “adverse” to the divine plan and human nature, as the name “Satan” means “adversary.” Many think that the rebuff of Peter and the devil in the desert are the same, whereas in the desert Jesus says, “Begone, Satan” (Matthew 4:10), to be away from Him into everlasting punishment, whereas to St. Peter He says, “Get behind me,” to follow Him in the paths of love, even to death: “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not” (John 21:18), not stepping out in front and hindering God’s action by one’s own impulses, and this leads to a lesson that, in the zealous, loving pursuit of God, even what seems good may be contrary to God’s action. The temptations are less to sin and more to what isn’t fitting for you, and the Lord provides a defense for this: “My son, do thou nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when thou hast done” (Ecclesiasticus 32:24), for “The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?” (Jeremias 17:9), and to go to a wise spiritual director, one’s spiritual friends that know you, or both provides a beautiful security in your decision making: “Designs are brought to nothing where there is no counsel: but where there are many counsellors, they are established” (Proverbs 15:22). There can also be a look into the true nature of love here, because love and the cross are intimately united, whereas love without toil and sacrifice is better known as lust. Thus, the Lord turns to Peter, who is blessed in receiving correction from the Divine Master: “Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise” (Apocalypse 3:19), and shows that the Apostle is lacking in his understanding of what love is and what it looks like, which he will come to know in time. Lastly, Jesus and anyone deeply immersed in His love are simply never offended. In both, love runs too deep, and so what is against them is seen with compassion. However, to the soul that is united to Him, they know their nothingness, and so no praise brings them up, but they also know how loved they are, and so no insult or scandal brings them down, and this is humility: “Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). But in putting a block before divine action, St. Peter is made a scandal, for anything that inhibits divine love, though seen with compassion: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?” (2 Corinthians 11:29), inhibits the Divine Lover from doing His work of love.

Matthew 16:17-20

“And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.’ Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.”

St. Peter, not resisting the Holy Spirit, “Extinguish not the spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), but letting love act freely, proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus calls Him blessed, because what the senses could not perceive was gifted by God. This is why Jesus calls him Simon Bar-Jonah, because though his father’s name is John, “Barjonas” means “son of a dove,” indicating that Simon is born in faith and love: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). It was not by great wisdom that St. Peter gleaned this knowledge of Christ, but love and grace opened this beautiful mystery to him: “Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration” (James 1:17). Seeing Jesus in truth by the gift of the Father, he becomes the first to acknowledge the divinity of Christ, for though there are admissions that He is the Son of God before this: “Nathanael answered him, and said: ‘Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel” (John 1:49); “And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: ‘Indeed thou art the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33), in these instances, He was thought to be chief among men: “I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of days: and they present him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him” (Daniel 7:13-14), whereas Peter knows in truth that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father, having a likeness to the Father that is transcendently closer than a person to their earthly father. While this may be a rich insight, it applies to you, Theophila, in that God desires to unveil the depth of the mysteries of His love to you: “That being rooted and founded in love, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: to know also the love of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19), which is built by an ever greater familiarity with Him, as is seen here. Jesus then gives Simon a new name, making him the chief patriarch of the new covenant, just as Abram was named Abraham and became the father of faith: “Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). The gift of a new name is a joyous occasion throughout the Scriptures, representing triumph and something beautiful to come: “To him that overcometh, I will give the hidden manna, and will give him a white counter, and in the counter, a new name written, which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it” (Apocalypse 2:17), and so it is in this instance, that with a bold faith and true confession, St. Peter should be the shepherd of the Church. The Catholic Church, built upon this rock and shepherded by Simon Peter and the spiritual fathers that succeeded him, is thus declared to never be separated from the love and faith of Jesus, for despite fallen humanity’s best efforts, with sin and departures from within: “They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us” (1 John 2:19), and heresy and persecution without: “And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse: erring, and driving into error” (2 Timothy 3:12-13), she has never fallen. Thus, to hold fastidiously to her teaching on how to believe and instructions on how to live is to walk the safest possible path: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). This can also mean that a sincere confession of faith in God’s love in truth will be secure against the gates of hell, for love closes the gates of all that is not the love of God and neighbor: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5), preventing slips into pride, sensuality, and vanity: “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). However, returning to the Church, there is a great familial security in the lineage of tradition and the boundaries of the magisterium, because even in crises such as when half of the bishops of the world were Arian, when Martin Luther led flocks astray like a terrible wind: “And when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts: and they came up over the whole land of Egypt: and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians innumerable” (Exodus 10:13-14), or the wave of modernism that Pope St. Pius X decried, there is stability in the truth, which does not fail or fall away, but remains steadfast in the heart of the Church. False teaching always splinters, for it is built on sand and cannot withstand the storms of man’s natural desire for truth: “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof” (Matthew 7:27), but the teaching of the Catholic Church remains unified and pure, and so you can wrap yourself in her doctrines as a comfortable blanket and focus on your love story, going ever deeper into the mystery while safeguarded by truth: “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” (John 10:9). Then, because of the zeal of St. Peter’s confession, Jesus gives him the “keys of the kingdom of heaven,” which are a symbol of teaching authority and the gift of discernment, that he and other lovers of God may know the aroma of truth and the foul odor of error: “Thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus” (Canticle 7:4), which is a beautiful gift and a tall ask, because “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48), because with a high understanding of Jesus comes a high responsibility to do or say the greatest, most beautiful, most graceful, and most just act or word of love that one sees at all times: “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips: therefore hath God blessed thee for ever” (Psalm 44:3), which is what is indicated by one’s “hands [being] turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths” (Canticle 5:14) and one lips being “as a scarlet lace” (Canticle 4:3). The keys of the kingdom can also refer to the sincerity of the pursuit of spiritual beauty, otherwise known as virtue, for in desiring to make your soul beautiful to God: “Some saying of the temple, that it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts” (Luke 21:5), you possess the key to attain it, for the graces of the sacraments and prayer will give you the grace to be adorned with the beauty you seek: “Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove’s, thy neck as jewels. We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver” (Canticle 1:9-10); “He set in order love in me” (Canticle 2:4). Now, with this teaching authority comes the binding and loosing of sin, which is seen in the entirety of the Catholic priesthood in the sacrament of confession, but there is a preeminent placement on St. Peter, that all may know that Jesus built the Church on the chair of Peter, and whoever is separated from this chair is separated from the Church, and thereby the family of God and the life of grace, for “sin [is] present at the door” (Genesis 4:7), and without the graces contained in the sacraments of the Eucharist and penance, one cannot be saved by grace: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8), and therefore, to have one’s sins loosed by Christ’s merciful love in the confessional on a regular, monthly or even weekly, basis is a necessity. Man, being made for love, is thereby made for unity and community, being one but communal like the Trinity, and this is fulfilled in the unified community that is the Catholic Church, with the spiritual family never being without a father: “As you know in what manner, entreating and comforting you, (as a father doth his children,) we testified to every one of you, that you would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12), and thus the papacy is seen to be a beautiful necessity, that the community of love may have one head, that the bond of unity may not be broken. Finally, Jesus tells them not to proclaim that He was Jesus the Christ, because those that heard the message were not ready to hear that He was the cornerstone that He would come to be, for this was to take place after His resurrection, when the love story was complete: “It is consummated” (John 19:30).