20-21 WKs Ord Yr2

20th – 21th Weeks of Ordinary Time
Year II
Sunday
F IRST R EADING
From the book of Ecclesiastes Qo 1:1-18
The Vanity of all things
The words of the Preacher, a the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains for ever.
The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south, and goes round to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”?
It has been already, in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to happen among those who come after.
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my mind to seek and to search out
by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to the sons of men to
be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the Sun; and behold, all is vanity and a striving after
Wind.
What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be numbered.
I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and
my mind has had great experience wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my mind to know wisdom and
to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
RESPONSORY Qo 1:14, 5:14; 1 Tm 6:7

I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
— As man comes naked from his mother’s womb, naked he shall go; he shall take nothing away in his hand for his
toil.
We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it.
— As man comes naked from his mother’s womb, naked he shall go; he shall take nothing away in his hand for his
toil.
SECOND READING
From the chapters On Charity by Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot
(Centuria 1, cap. 1,4-5.16-17.23-24.26-28.30-40: PG 90, 962-967)
Without love everything is in vain
Charity is a right attitude of mind which prefers nothing to the knowledge of God. If a man possesses any strong
attachment to the things of this earth, he cannot possess ‘true charity’. For anyone who really loves God prefers to
know and experience God rather than his creatures. The whole set and longing of his mind is ever directed toward
him.
For God is far superior to all his creation, since every thing which exists has been made by God and for him. And
so, in deserting God, who is beyond compare, for the inferior works of creation, a man shows that he values God, the
author of creation, less than creation itself.
The Lord himself reminds us: Whoever loves me will keep my commandments (cf. Jn 14:15). And this is my
commandment: that you love one another (Jn 15:17). So the man who does not love his neighbor does not obey
God’s command. But one who does not obey his command cannot love God. A man is blessed if he can love all men
equally. Moreover, if he truly loves God, he must love his neighbor absolutely.
Such a man cannot hoard his wealth. Rather, like God himself, he generously gives from his own resources to each
man according to his needs,
Since he imitates God’s generosity, the only distinction he draws is the person’s need. He does not distinguish
between a good man and a bad one, a just man and one who is unjust. Yet his own goodness of will makes him prefer
the man who strives after virtue to the one who is depraved.
A charitable mind is not displayed simply in giving money; it is manifested still more by personal service as well as
by the communication of God’s word to others. In fact, if a man’s service toward his brothers is genuine and if he
really renounces worldly concerns, he is freed from selfish desires. For he now shares in God’s own knowledge and
love. Since he does possess God’s love, he does not experience weariness as he follows the Lord his God. Rather,
following the prophet Jeremiah, he withstands every type of reproach and hardship without even harboring an evil
thought toward any man.
For Jeremiah warns us: Do not say: We are the Lord’s temple. (cf. Jer 7:4) Neither should you say: “Faith alone in
our Lord Jesus Christ can save me.” By itself faith accomplishes nothing. For even the devils believe and shudder
(Jm 2:19). No, faith must be joined to an active love of God which is expressed in good works. The charitable man is
distinguished by sincere and long-suffering service to his fellow man: it also means using things aright.
RESPONSORY John 13:34; 1 John 2:10.3
I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.
— Whoever loves his brother lives in the light.
We can be sure that we know Christ, only if we keep his commandments.
— Whoever loves his brother lives in the light.
Monday
FIRST READING
From the book of Ecclesiastes Qo 2:1-3.12-26
The vanity of pleasures and of human wisdom
I said to myself, “Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said
of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine
—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons
of men to do under heaven during the few days of their life.
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Only
what he has already done. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man has his eyes in
his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I perceived that one fate comes to all of them. Then I said to myself,
“What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then have I been so very wise?” And I said to myself that this also is
vanity. For of the wise man as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will
have been long forgotten. How the wise man dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the
sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after
me; and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used
my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of
my labors under the sun, because sometimes a man who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave
all to be enjoyed by a man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil
and strain with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the
night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is
from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the man who pleases him
God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give
to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
RESPONSORY Qo 2:26; 1 Tm 6:10

To the man who pleases him God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of
gathering and heaping.
— This also is vanity and striving after wind.
Love of money is the root of all evils; through this craving some have wandered away from the faith and pierced
their hearts.
— This also is vanity and striving after wind.
SECOND READING
From a homily on Ecclesiastes by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop
(Hom. 5: PG 44,683-686)
Christ is our head, and the wise man keeps his eyes upon him
We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for he, as Paul teaches, is our head, and
there is in him no shadow of evil. Saint Paul himself and all who have reached the same heights of sanctity had their
eyes fixed on Christ, and so have all who live and move and have their being in him.
As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone
who has his eyes on Christ. The man who keeps his eyes upon the head and origin of the whole universe has them on
virtue in all its perfection; he has them on truth, on justice, on immortality and on everything else that is good, for
Christ is goodness itself.
The wise man, then, turns his eyes toward the One who is his head, but the fool gropes in darkness (Eccl 2:14). No
one who puts his lamp under a bed instead of on a lampstand will receive any light from it. People are often
considered blind and useless when they make the supreme Good their aim and give themselves up to the
contemplation of God, but Paul made a boast of this and proclaimed himself a fool for Christ’s sake. The reason he
said: We are fools for Christ’s sake (1 Cor 4:10) was that his mind was free from all earthly preoccupations. It was as
though he said, “We are blind to the life here below because our eyes are raised toward the One who is our head.”
And so, without board or lodging, he traveled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst.
When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a
pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One
who is his head and he asked: What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or
distress? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death? (Rom 8:35) In other words, “What can force me to
take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?”
He bids us follow his example: Seek the things that are above (cf. Col 3:1-2), he says, which is only another way
of saying: “Keep your eyes on Christ.”
RESPONSORY See Psalm 122:2; John 8:12
As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters,
— so our eyes are fixed on the Lord our God,
as we wait for him to have mercy on us.
I am the light of the world. No one who follows me will ever walk in darkness; but he will have the light of life.
Tuesday
FIRST READING
There is a time for every thing
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful
in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the
beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as
they live; also that it is God’s gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. I know
that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has made it so,
in order that men should fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and
God seeks what has been driven away.
Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of
righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has
appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men that God is
testing them to show them that they are but beasts. For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same;
as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is
vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes
upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should
enjoy his work, for that is his lot; who can bring him to see what will be after him?
RESPONSORY 1 Co 7:29,31; Qo 3:1

The appointed time has grown very short; let those who deal with the world live as though they had no dealings with
it.
— For the form of this world is passing away.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
— For the form of this world is passing away.
SECOND READING
From a homily on Ecclesiastes by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop
(Hom. 6)
Time to be born and time to die
There is a time to be born and a time to die (Eccl 3:2), says the author. The heavens granted that it would be
conceded also to me a right time of birth and an opportune moment of death.
We are in a certain sense fathers of ourselves when by our good intention and our own free choice we conceive and
give birth to ourselves and bring ourselves to the light. This we do as a result of receiving God into ourselves, when
we have been made children of God, children of the power, children of the Most High. On the other hand we also
turn ourselves into an abortion and make ourselves imperfect and sickly when there has not been produced in us, in
the Apostle’s words, ‘the image of Christ’. For the man of God must be whole and perfect.
If then it is clear how we are born in timely fashion, so also it is clear how we die in timely fashion, as every time
was for Saint Paul the right time for a good death. He proclaims this in his own writings, confirming it as it were by
an oath, when he says: Everyday I face death (1 Cor 15:34), and elsewhere: On your behalf we are afflicted by death
everyday (Rom 8:36). And we ourselves have the sentence of death in ourselves.
Indeed it is not in anyway obscure how Paul dies every day, who never lives to sin, who mortifies continually the
limbs of his flesh, and carrying in his body the dying of the body of Christ, who is always being crucified with Christ,
who never lives to himself, but has Christ living within himself – according to my judgment this is a timely death
which has produced true life. For, God says, I shall bring death and I shall give life (cf. Dt 32:39), which proves that
to die to sin and to be made alive to the spirit is truly the gift of God. As the word of God himself promised life as the
reward of death.
RESPONSORY Deuteronomy 32:39; Revelation 1:18
It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them
— from my hand there is no rescue.
I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.
— From my hand there is no rescue.
Wednesday
FIRST READING
From the book of Ecclesiastes Qo 5:9—6:8
The vanity of riches
But in all, a king is an advantage to a land with cultivated fields.
He who loves money will not be satisfied money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: also is vanity.
When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?
Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let him sleep.
There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those
riches were lost in a bad venture; and he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his
mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in
his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go; and what gain has he that he toiled for the wind,
and spent all his days in darkness and grief, in much vexation and sickness and resentment?
Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with
which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot. Every man also to
whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in
his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied
with joy in his heart.
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon men: a man to whom God gives wealth,
possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them,
but a stranger enjoys them; this is vanity; it is a sore affliction. If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many
years, so that the days of his years are many, but he does not enjoy life’s good things, and also has no burial, I say that
an untimely birth is better off than he. For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in dark ness its name is
covered; moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should
live a thousand years twice told, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?
All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the
fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?
RESPONSORY Pr 30:8; Ps 31:14-15

Remove me far from falsehood and lying;
— give me neither poverty nor riches, but the food that I need.
I trust in you, O Lord; my time is in your hand.
— Give me neither poverty nor riches, but the food that I need.
SECOND READING
From a commentary on Ecclesiastes by Saint Jerome, priest
(Hom. 5: PG 44,683-686)
Christ is our head, and the wise man keeps his eyes upon him
We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for he, as Paul teaches, is our head, and
there is in him no shadow of evil. Saint Paul himself and all who have reached the same heights of sanctity had their
eyes fixed on Christ, and so have all who live and move and have their being in him.
As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone
who has his eyes on Christ. The man who keeps his eyes upon the head and origin of the whole universe has them on
virtue in all its perfection; he has them on truth, on justice, on immortality and on everything else that is good, for
Christ is goodness itself.
The wise man, then, turns his eyes toward the One who is his head, but the fool gropes in darkness (Eccl 2:14). No
one who puts his lamp under a bed instead of on a lampstand will receive any light from it. People are often
considered blind and useless when they make the supreme Good their aim and give themselves up to the
contemplation of God, but Paul made a boast of this and proclaimed himself a fool for Christ’s sake. The reason he
said, We are fools for Christ’s sake (1 Cor 4:10) was that his mind was free from all earthly preoccupations. It was as
though he said, “We are blind to the life here below because our eyes are raised toward the One who is our head.”
And so, without board or lodging, he traveled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst.
When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a
pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One
who is his head and he asked: What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or
distress?’ Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death? (Rom 8:35) In other words, “What can force me to
take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?”
He bids us follow his example: Seek the things that are above (cf. Col 3:1-2), he says, which is only another way
of saying: “Keep your eyes on Christ.”
RESPONSORY See Psalm 122:2; John 8:12
As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters,
I am the light of the world. No one who follows me will ever walk in darkness; but he will have the light of life.
— So our eyes are fixed on the Lord our God,
Thursday
FIRST READING
Do not know more than what is necessary
A good name is better than precious ointment;
and the day of death, than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of all men,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the mind.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money;
and the advantage of knowledge is that
wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other,
so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
In my vain life I have seen everything; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a
wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil-doing. Be not righteous overmuch and do not make yourself overwise;
why should you destroy yourself? Be not wicked overmuch neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?
It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand; for he who fears God shall come
forth from them all.
Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Do not give heed to all the things that men say, lest you hear your servant cursing you; your heart knows that many
times you have yourself cursed others.
All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise”; but it was far from me. That which is, is far off, and deep,
very deep; who can find it out? I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of
things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness which is madness. And I found more bitter than death
the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters; he who pleases God escapes her, but the
sinner is taken by her. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,
which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman
among all these I have not found. Behold, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out
many devices.
RESPONSORY Pr 20:9; Qo 7:20; 1 Jn 1:8-9

Who can say, “I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin?”
— Surely there is not a man on earth who never sins.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive us.
— Surely there is not a man on earth who never sins.
SECOND READING
From an instruction by Saint Columban, abbot
(Instr. 1 de Fide, 3-5: Opera, Dublin, 1957, pp. 62-66)
The unfathomable depths’ of God
God is everywhere in his immensity, and everywhere close at hand. As he says of himself: I am a God close at
hand, not a God far off (cf. Jer 23:23). The God we seek is not one who dwells at a distance from us, for we have him
present with us, if only we are worthy. He dwells in us as the soul in the body, if only we are sound members of his, if
we are dead to sin. Then in very truth, he dwells in us, the one who said: I will dwell in them and walk among them (2
Cor 6;10).
If we are worthy of his presence with us, then in truth, we are made alive by him as his living members. As the
Apostle says: In him we live and move and have our being (Ac 17:28).
Who, I ask, will search out the Most High in his own being, for he is beyond words or understanding? Who will
penetrate the secrets of God? Who will boast that he knows the infinite God, who fills all things, yet encompasses all
things, who pervades all things, yet reaches beyond all things, who holds all things in his hand, yet escapes the grasp
of all things? No one has ever seen him as he is (cf. Jn 1:8). No one must then presume to search for the unsearchable
things of God: his nature, the manner of his existence, his selfhood. These are beyond telling, beyond scrutiny,
beyond investigation. With simplicity, but also with fortitude, only believe that this is how God is and this is how he
will be, for God is incapable of change.
Who then is God? He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God. Do not look for any further answers concerning
God. Those who want to understand the unfathomable depths of God must first consider the world of nature.
Knowledge of the Trinity is rightly compared with the depth of the sea. Wisdom asks: Who will find out what is so
very deep? (Eccl 7:24) As the depths of the sea are invisible to human sight, so the Godhead of the Trinity is found to
be beyond the grasp of human understanding. If anyone, I say, wants to know what he should believe he must not
imagine that he understands better through speech than through belief; the knowledge of God that he seeks will be all
the further off than it was before.
Seek then the highest wisdom, not by arguments in words but by the perfection of your life, not by speech but by
the faith that comes from simplicity of heart, not from the learned speculations of the unrighteous. If you search by
means of discussions for the God who cannot be defined in words, he will depart further from you (cf. Eccl 7:23)
than he was before. If you search for him by faith, wisdom will stand where wisdom lives, at the gates. Where
wisdom is, more bitter than death I find the woman who is a hunter’s trap, whose heart is a snare and whose hands
are prison bonds. He who is pleasing to God will escape her, but the sinner will be entrapped by her.
Behold, this have I found, says Qoheleth, adding one thing to another that I might discover the answer which my
soul still seeks and has not found: One man out of a thousand have I come upon, but a woman among them all I have
not found.
RESPONSORY Psalm 35:6-7; Romans 11:33
Lord, your love reaches to heaven and your faithfulness to the clouds.
— Your justice is like the mountains of God
and your judgments like the fathomless deep.
How deep are the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments!
— Your justice is like the mountains of God
and your judgments like the fathomless deep.
Friday
FIRST READING
Consolation of the wise man
He who obeys a command will meet no harm, and the mind of a wise man will know the time and way. For every
matter has its time and way, although man’s trouble lies heavy upon him. For he does not know what is to be, for who
can tell him how it will be? No man has power to retain the spirit, or authority over the day of death; there is no
discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. All this I observed while applying my
mind to all that is done under the sun, while man lords it over man to his hurt.
Then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city where they
had done such things. This also is vanity. Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of
the sons of men is fully set to do evil. Though a inner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his 1ife yet I know that
it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him; but it will not be well with the wicked, neither
will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
There is a vanity which takes place on earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the
deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that
this also is vanity. And I commend enjoyment, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and
enjoy himself, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of life which God gives him under the sun.
When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night
one’s eyes see sleep; then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun.
However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out; even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot
find it out.
But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God;
whether it is love or hate man does not know. Everything before them is vanity,” since one fate comes to all, to the
righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who
does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil
in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all; also the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in
their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a
living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have
no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and
they have no more for ever any share in all that is done under the sun.
Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already approved what
you do.
Let your garments be always white; let not oil be lacking on your head.
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun,
because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do
it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
RESPONSORY 1 Co 2:9-10; Qo 8:17

No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.
— God has revealed this to us through the Spirit, who searches everything—even the depths of God.
Man cannot find out all the work of God under the sun.
— God has revealed this to us through the Spirit, who searches everything—even the depths of God.
SECOND READING
From a commentary on Ecclesiastes by Saint Gregory of Agrigentum, bishop
(In Eccles. VIII, 6: PC 98, 1071-1074)
I will rejoice in the Lord
Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your
works (Eccl 9:7). If we want to explain this sentence in an obvious and ordinary way, we rightly assert that it appears
as a just exhortation by which Ecclesiastes admonishes us to embrace a simple rule of life dedicated to sincere faith in
God and joyfully eat bread and drink wine in peace of mind; not to slip into evil conversations, nor wander into
roundabout paths; but rather to dwell always on good things and, insofar as we can, benevolently and kindly come to
the aid of the poor and needy. We must abandon ourselves precisely to those sentiments and actions in which God
himself takes delight.
However, the anagogical explanation brings us to a higher knowledge and teaches us to consider the celestial and
mystical bread which has come down from heaven and brought life to the world; and with a right heart to drink the
spiritual wine, namely, what issued from the side of the true vine immediately at the moment of his saving passion.
Concerning these, the gospel of our salvation says: Taking bread and giving thanks, Jesus said to his disciples and
apostles: Take this and eat it: this is my body, which is sacrificed for you in remission of sins. Similarly, he took the
cup and said: All of you must drink from it, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out on behalf
of many for the forgiveness of sins (cf. Mt 26:26-28). Hence, those who eat this bread and drink this mystical wine
really rejoice and exult and can exclaim in a loud voice: You put gladness into my heart (Ps 4:8).
Furthermore, I believe that even in the Book of Proverbs the Wisdom of God subsisting in himself, namely,
Christ our Savior, referred to this bread and wine when he said: Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have
mixed (Pr 9:5), indicating the mystical participation in the Word. Indeed, those to whom these words are to be
applied, because of their merits, at all times present their vestments as works of light no less resplendent than the light
itself, as the Lord says in the gospels: Your light must shine before all so that they may see goodness in your acts and
give praise to your heavenly Father (Mt 5:16). In this way, oil may perpetually be poured out over their heads, that is,
the Spirit of truth, who protects and preserves them from any sinful offense.
RESPONSORY Psalm 15:8-9.5
With the Lord at my right, I shall never be shaken
— therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices.
The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup.
— Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices.
Saturday
FIRST READING
Sayings on old age
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun.
For if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be
many. All that comes is vanity
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth-walk in the ways of
your heart and the sight f your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Remove vexation from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw nigh, when
you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and
the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the
grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street
are shut; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song
are brought low; they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the
grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the
streets; before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the
wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity
of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging proverbs
with great care. The Preacher sought to find pleasing words, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings which are given by one
Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a
weariness of the flesh.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of
man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
RESPONSORY Pr 31:17-18; Ps 46:6

Upon you, O Lord, I have leaned from my birth; my mouth is continually filled with your praise.
— Do not cast me off in my old age.
In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand pleasure forever.
— Do not cast me off in my old age.
SECOND READING
From a commentary on Ecclesiastes by Saint Gregory of Agrigentum, bishop
(In Eccles. X, 2: PG 98, 1138-1139)
The source of happiness
For if light were to fail, the world would no longer be the world, and life would be lifeless; that is why Moses, the
Lord’s seer said: God saw how good the light was (cf. Gn 1:3-4).
It is good for us to meditate on the great, true, and eternal light which gives light to every person (Jn 1:9), that is,
Christ the Savior and Liberator of the world! After revealing himself to the gaze of the prophets, he became man and
tasted the very depths of the human condition.
It is about him that the prophet David says: Sing to God, chant praise to his name, extol him who rides upon the
clouds, whose name is the Lord; exult before him (Ps 67:5). And Isaiah adds his great voice to this: People seated in
darkness, look at this light. Upon you who dwell in the land of gloom, a light will shine.
Indeed, this light is sweet, and this sun of glory is good for the eyes that look upon him (cf. Eccl 11:7). At the time
of his divine incarnation he said: I am the light of the world. No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he
shall possess the light of life (Jn 8:12). And again: The judgment of condemnation is this: the light came into the
world (Jn 3:19).
In this way, therefore, the light of the sun seen by our eyes of flesh announced the spiritual Sun of justice, who was
the most sweet sun that had risen for those who at that time had the good fortune to be instructed by him and to see
him face to face with their eyes of flesh while he dwelt among men as an ordinary man.
But all the time he was not only an ordinary man but was born true God capable of giving sight to the blind, letting
the lame walk, enabling the deaf to hear, and bringing the dead to life by means of a single word.
But even now there is nothing more pleasant than to fix on him our spiritual eyes in contemplation and the vision
of his prodigious and divine beauty; there is nothing more pleasant than to be enlightened and adorned by this
participation and this communion in the light, to have the heart rendered milder, to have the soul sanctified, and to be
filled with divine joy all the days of this life. This is the meaning of this word from Ecclesiastes: However many years
a man may live, he enjoys them all (cf. Eccl 6:3). For in truth this Sun of justice is, for all who look upon him, the
source of happiness, according to this prophecy of David: The just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and
rejoice (Ps 67:4); and again: Exult, you just, in the Lord (Ps 32:1).
RESPONSORY Psalm 33:4.6; See Colossians 1:12-13
Magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together
— Look to God that you may be radiant with joy.
God has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness.
— Look to God that you may be radiant with joy.
21th Week
Sunday
FIRST READING
From the letter of the apostle Paul to Titus Tt 1:1-16
The mission of Titus. The duties and services of the Priest.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the
truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago and at the
proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by command of God our
Savior;
To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I
directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the
charge of debauchery and not being insubordinate. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be
arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, master of
himself, upright, holy, and self-controlled; he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give
instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it. For there are many insubordinate men,
empty talkers and deceivers, especially the circumcision party; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole
families by teaching for base gain what they have no right to teach. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said,
“Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they
may be sound in the faith, instead of giving heed to Jewish myths or to commands of men who reject the truth. To the
pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are
corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any
good deed.
RESPONSORY Ep 3:8,12; Rm 1:5

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ.
— Through our faith in him we have boldness and confidence of access.
We have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the
nations.
— Through our faith in him we have boldness and confidence of access.
SECOND READING
From the Pastoral Guide by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
(Lib. 2, 4: PL, 30-31)
Let the pastor be discreetly silent, and to the point when he speaks
A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service. Otherwise he may
say what he told not or be silent when he should speak. Indiscreet speech may lead men into error and an imprudent
silence may leave in error those who could have been taught. Pastors who lack foresight hesitate to say openly what is
right because they fear losing the favor of men. As the voice of truth tells us, such leaders are not zealous pastors who
protect their flocks, rather they are like mercenaries who flee by taking refuge in silence when the wolf appears.
The Lord reproaches them through the prophet: They are dumb dogs that cannot bark (Is 56:10). On another
occasion he complains: You did not advance against the foe or set up a wall in front of the house of Israel, so that you
might stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord (Ez 13:5). To advance against the foe involves a bold resistance to the
powers of this world in defense of the flock. To stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord means to oppose the wicked
enemy out of the love for what is right.
When a pastor has been afraid to assert what is right, has he not turned his back and fled by remaining silent?
Whereas if he intervenes on behalf of the flock, he sets up a wall against the enemy in front of the house of Israel.
Therefore, the Lord again says to his unfaithful people: Your prophets saw false and foolish visions and did not point
out your wickedness, that you might repent of your sins (Lam 2:14). The name of prophet is sometimes given in the
sacred writings to teachers who both declare the present to be fleeting and reveal what is to come. The word of God
accuses them of seeing false visions because they are afraid to reproach men for their faults and thereby lull the
evildoer with an empty promise of safety. Because they fear reproach, they keep silent and fail to point out the
sinner’s wrongdoing.
The word of reproach is a key that unlocks a door, because reproach reveals a fault of which the evildoer is himself
often unaware. That is why Paul says of the bishop: He must be able to encourage men in sound doctrine and refute
those who oppose it (Tt 1:9). For the same reason God tells us through Malachi: The lips of the priest are to preserve
knowledge, and men shall look to him for the law, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts (Ml 2:7). Finally, that is
also the reason why the Lord warns us through Isaiah: Cry out and be not still; raise your voice in a trumpet call (Is
58:7).
Anyone ordained a priest undertakes the task of preaching, so that with a loud cry he may go on ahead of the
terrible judge who follows. If, then, a priest does not know how to preach, what kind of cry can such a dumb herald
utter? It was to being this home that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues on the first pastors, for he
causes those whom he has filled, to speak out spontaneously.
RESPONSORY Psalm 50:15.16-17
I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you
— My tongue will praise your healing power.
Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
— My tongue will praise your healing power.
Monday
FIRST READING
From the letter of the apostle Paul to Titus Tt 2:1—3:2
Exhortation to the faithful
But as for you, teach what befits sound doctrine. Bid the older men be temperate, serious, sensible, sound in faith,
in love, and in steadfastness. Bid the older women likewise to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to
drink; they are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be
sensible, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be discredited.
Likewise urge the younger men to control themselves. Show yourself in all respects a model of good deeds, and in
your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured, so that an opponent may be put to
shame, having nothing evil to say of us. Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every
respect; they are not to talk back, nor to pilfer, but to show entire and true fidelity, so that in everything they may
adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly
passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify
for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for
any honest work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show
perfect courtesy toward all men.
RESPONSORY Tt 2:12-13; Ep 5:15-16
Renouncing irreligion and worldly passions, we live sober, upright and godly lives in this world,
— awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time.
— Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
SECOND READING
From a treatise on Cain and Abel by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Lib. 1,9,34.38-39: CSEL 32, 369.371-372)
Pray especially for the whole body of the Church
Offer God a sacrifice of praise and fulfill your vows to the Most High (Ps 49:14). If you praise God you offer
your vow and fulfill the promise you have made. So the Samaritan leper, healed by the Lord’s word of command,
gained greater credit than the other nine; he alone returned to Christ, praising God and giving thanks. Jesus said of
him: There was no one to come back and thank God except this foreigner. He tells him: Stand up and go on your
way, for your faith has made you whole (Lk 17:18-19).
The Lord Jesus, in his divine wisdom, taught you about the goodness of the Father, who knows how to give
good things, so that you might ask for the things that are good from Goodness itself. He urges you to pray earnestly
and frequently, not offering long and wearisome prayers, but praying often, and with perseverance. Lengthy prayers
are usually filled with empty words, while neglect of prayer results in indifference to prayer.
Again, Christ urges you, when you ask forgiveness for yourself, to be especially generous to others, so that your
actions may commend your prayer. The Apostle, too, teaches you how to pray: you must avoid anger and con-
tentiousness, so that your prayer may be serene and wholesome. He tells you also that every place is a place of prayer
(cf. 1 Tm 2:8), though our Savior says: Go into your room (Mt 6:6).
But by “room” you must understand, not a room enclosed by walls that imprison your body, but the room that is
within you, the room where you hide your thoughts, where you keep your affections. This room of prayer is always
with you, wherever you are, and it is always a secret room, where only God can see you.
You are told to pray especially for the people, that is, for the whole body, for all its members, the family of your
mother the Church; the badge of membership in this body is love for each other. If you pray only for yourself, you
pray for yourself alone. If each one prays for himself, he receives less from God’s goodness than the one who prays
on behalf of others. But as it is, because each prays for all, all are in fact praying for each one.
To conclude, if you pray only for yourself, you will be praying, as we said, for yourself alone. But if you pray for
all, all will pray for you, for you are included in all. In this way there is a great recompense; through the prayers of
each individual, the intercession of the whole people is gained for each individual. There is here no pride, but an
increase of humility and a richer harvest from prayer.
Hear, O God, my cry for help; listen to my prayer.
— From the ends of the earth I call to you.
You, my God, have received my vows
and given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
— From the ends of the earth I call to you.
Tuesday
FIRST READING
From the letter of the apostle Paul to Titus Tt 3:3-15
The bath of regeneration
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our
days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving kindness of God
our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus
Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. The saying is
sure.
I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to
good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and
quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once
or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned.
When I send Ar'temas or Tych'icus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicop'olis, for I have decided to spend
the winter there. Do your best to speed Ze'nas the lawyer and Apol'los on their way; see that they lack nothing. And
let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful.
All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
RESPONSORY Ps 103:13-14; Tt 3:5

As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him;
— for he knows our frame.
He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy.
— For he knows our frame.
SECOND READING
From a homily of the ninth century
(Disc. 4, 2-7)
No one must despair because of the greatness of his sins
Brothers, you have often heard spoken of two men, Adam and Christ: the first is the old, the second is new.
Therefore he who is old is wicked, because he imitates the one who in paradise was proud and disobedient. He who is
good is new, because he follows the one who said: Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart (Mt 11:29) and
of whom the Apostle affirms that he made himself obedient unto death (Phil 2:8).
Now because our time is called new, we exhort those who are old and live badly, to become new by converting to
good. We incite those who are already new because of their good works, to try to renew themselves in this new time
with better works. He who, for example is new because of chastity, having cast away vices, should renew himself
renouncing also to evil desires.
So also he who is humble, obedient, merciful and patient, must renew himself, praying and everyday making
progress in those virtues, according to what is written: They will go from virtue to virtue (Ps 83:8).
None of you, my dearest, is secure only because of the fact that he has been baptised: As not all those who run in
the stadium win the prize (cf. 1 Cor 9:24), but only he who arrives first, so also not all those who have faith will save
themselves, but only those who persevere in the good work that has been initiated. And as every combatant is
temperate in everything (1 Cor 9:25), so also you have to abstain from all the vices in order to defeat the devil, your
persecutor. By means of the faith you have been called by the Lord in his vineyard, that is in the unity of the Holy
Church: live and behave in a way that you can receive the prize, that is the beatitude of the kingdom freely given by
God.
No one must despair because of the greatness of his sins, saying: My sins are many, in which I have persevered up
to old age and up to decay; in a way that I cannot obtain forgiveness, in so much as it has been they who have
abandoned me and not I who have left them. May it not be that he despairs of the mercy of God, because some have
been called in the vineyard of the Lord during the first hour, others at the third, others yet again at the sixth; others
than at the ninth and in the end others at the eleventh hour. That is: some have been attracted to the service of God
right from their infancy, others during adolescence, others during their youth, others during their old age and finally
others in the time of decay.
And as no one, in whatever age he finds himself, should despair of being able to convert, so also no one must feel
himself secure only because of the fact of having faith, but above all he must fear what has been written: Many are
called, but few are elected (Mt 22:14). We know that we have been called through faith, but we ignore if we are
elected. Therefore every one should be all the more humble, in so much as we do not know if we have been elected or
not.
May the almighty God concede that you are not among the number of those who pass the Red Sea with dry feet,
who eat the manna in the desert and who quench their thirst of the spiritual drink and then die in that same desert
because of their grumbling; but that you may be numbered among those who enter into the promised land and,
working faithfully in the vineyard of the Church, are found worthy of receiving the reward of the eternal beatitudes;
in a way that you can, together with Christ your head, of whom you are members, reign for all eternity. Amen.
RESPONSORY See Esther 14:3.19; Tobit 3:13; Judith 6:15
Besides you I have no other hope O Lord, God of Israel.
— You, who even in anger use mercy,
and in the time of tribulation forgive sins.
Lord, God of heaven and earth, look at our humiliation.
— You, who even in anger use mercy,
and in the time of tribulation forgive sins.
Wednesday
FIRST READING
From the first letter of the apostle Paul to Timothy 1st Tm 1:1-20
The mission of Timothy. Paul minister of the gospel
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to
teach any different doctrine, nor to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies which promote
speculations rather than the divine training a that is in faith; whereas the aim of our charge is love that issues from a
pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into
vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without under standing either what they are saying or the things
about which they make assertions.
Now we know that the law is good, if any one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for
the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of
fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and
whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I
have been entrusted.
I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing
me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had
acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I
am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you,
that inspired by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience,
certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith, among them Hymenae'us and Alexander, whom I have delivered
to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
RESPONSORY I Tm 1:14-15; Rm 3:23

The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
— Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
— Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
SECOND READING
From a letter to Amphilochus by Saint Basil the Great, bishop
(Let 161, 1-2)
Act energetically like an expert pilot
Blessed be God who from age to age chooses them that please him, distinguishes vessels of election, and uses them
for the ministry of the Saints. Though you were trying to flee, as you confess, not from me, but from the calling you
expected through me, He has netted you in the sure meshes of grace, and has brought you into the midst of Pisidia to
catch men for the Lord, and draw the devil’s prey from the deep into the light. You, too, may say as the blessed David
said, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence.” Such is the wonderful work of
our loving Master. “Asses are lost” that there may be a king of Israel. David, however, being an Israelite was granted
to Israel; but the land which has nursed you and brought you to such a height of virtue, possesses you no longer, and
sees her neighbor beautified by her own adornment. But all believers in Christ are one people; all Christ’s people,
although He is hailed from many regions, are one Church; and so our country is glad and rejoices at the dispensation
of the Lord, and instead of thinking that she is one man the poorer, considers that through one man she has become
possessed of all the Churches. Only may the Lord grant me both to see you in person, and, so long as I am parted
from you, to hear of your progress in the gospel, and of the good order of your Churches.
Act as a man, then, and be strong, and walk before the people whom the Most High has entrusted to your hand.
Like a skillful pilot, rise in mind above every wave lifted by heretical blasts; keep the boat from being whelmed by
the salt and bitter billows of false doctrine; and wait for the calm to be made by the Lord so soon as there shall have
been found a voice worthy of rousing him to rebuke the winds and the sea.
If you wish to visit me, now hurried by long sickness towards the inevitable end, do not wait for an opportunity, or
for a word from me. You know that to a father’s heart every time is suitable to embrace a well-loved son, and that
affection is stronger than words. Do not lament over a responsibility transcending your strength. If you had been
destined to bear the burden unaided, it would have been not merely heavy; it would have been intolerable. But if the
Lord shares the load with you, cast all your care upon the Lord (Ps 54:23) and he himself will act.
Only be exhorted ever to give heed lest you be carried away by wicked customs. Rather change all previous evil
ways into good by the help of the wisdom given you by God. For Christ has sent you not to follow others, but
yourself to take the lead of all who are being saved. I charge you to pray for me, that, if I am still in this life, I may be
permitted to see you with your Church. If, however, it is ordained that I now depart, may I see all of you hereafter
with the Lord, your Church blooming like a vine with good works, and yourself like a wise husbandman and good
servant giving food in due season to his fellow-servants and receiving the reward of a wise and trusty steward. All
who are with me salute your reverence. May you be strong and joyful in the Lord. May you be preserved glorious in
the graces of the Spirit and of wisdom.
RESPONSORY Ephesians 6:10-11; See Job 7:1
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
— Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
Man’s life on earth is a drudgery.
— Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
Thursday
FIRST READING
Exhortation to prayer
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and
all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is
good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a
preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; also that women
should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly
attire but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion. Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness.
I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve;
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet woman will be saved
through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.
RESPONSORY I Tm 2:5-6; Heb 2:17

There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
— who gave himself as a ransom for all.
He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest.
— Who gave himself as a ransom for all.
SECOND READING
From a homily on the First Letter to Timothy by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
(Hom 6, 1-2)
Each one of our prayers contains a thanksgiving
The priest is like a universal father. He needs therefore to take care of everyone, like God of whom is also a priest;
for this Paul says: I recommend you first of all that he makes prayers and intercessions (1 Tm 2:1). From this are
derived two good things: the hate that we have against the others is dissolved, because no one can hate the one for
whom he prays; and they themselves become better, both because they pray for them, and because the scope of that
prayer is that it puts aside their resentment against us. Nothing in fact helps teaching so much as loving and being
loved.
Think what a great thing it would be that those who lay down traps, who scourge, who beat, who kill, could know
that the victims of this violence offer ardent prayers to God for those who commit these acts against them!
Do you not see how the Apostle wants that the Christian is superior to all? As it happens with children that, even if
the small baby who is carried in the arms hits the face of his father, the paternal affection truly does not diminish
because of this, so also us, even if we are beaten by those others, we must not be unkind to them.
What does this mean? First of all (1 Tm 2:1). It means: a daily practice. And those who are being initiated know
that every day we pray, morning and evening, and that we raise up intercessions for the entire world, for the kings and
men of government.
Look at what he says and how, to render acceptable the exhortation, he adds the advantage that follows it: So that
we can pass, he says, a calm and peaceful life (1Tm 2:2). In other words, from the well being of these comes our
peace: so also in the letter to the Romans, exhorting the faithful to obey the civil authorities, he says: Not only because
of fear of punishment, but also for reasons of conscience (Rom13:5). Petitions, he says, intercessions, prayers and
thanksgivings (1 Tm 2:1). Yes, certainly, we need to thank God also for the goods conceded to the others: for
example; because he makes his sun rise on the wicked and on the good and he makes the rain fall on the just and on
the unjust (Mt 5:45). Do you see how he unites us and holds us together, not only with the prayer, but also with
thanksgiving? In fact what forces us to give thanks to God for the goods of our neighbor, pushes us to love also the
neighbor and to be well disposed towards him. Because, if we need to give thanks for those who are near, much more
should we do it for those who draw near to us openly or in a hidden way, voluntarily or against their wishes, and also
for those who seem to desire damage to us: in fact God gives everything for our good.
Therefore our every prayer should contain a thanksgiving. That if we have been ordered to pray not only for the
faithful but also for the unfaithful, imagine what a great evil it would be to pray against the brothers!
My mouth shall be filled with your praise every day.
— Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me.
My lips will shout for joy as I sing your praise; my soul, too.
— Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me.
Friday
FIRST READING
The ministers of the Church
The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be above
reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent
but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children
submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he
care for God’s Church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the
condemnation of the devil; moreover he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the
snare of the devil.
Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for gain; they must
hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then if they prove themselves
blameless let them serve as deacons. The women likewise must be serious, no slanderers, but temperate, faithful in
all things. Let deacons be the husband of one wife, and let them manage their children and their households well; for
those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith which is
in Christ Jesus.
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how
one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the
truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
RESPONSORY Ac 20:28; 1 Co 4:2

Take care of the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you guardians,
— to feed the Church of the Lord, which he obtained with his own blood.
It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
— To feed the Church of the Lord, which he obtained with his own blood.
S ECOND R EADING
From the beginning of a letter to the Trallians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
(Cap. 1, 1-3, 2; 4, 1-2; 6, 1; 7, 1-8, 1: Funk 1,203-209)
I wish to forewarn you, for you are my dearest children
Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the holy church at Tralles in the province of Asia, dear to God the
Father of Jesus Christ, elect and worthy of God, enjoying peace in body and in the Spirit through the
passion of Jesus Christ, who is our hope through our resurrection when we rise to him. In the manner of the
apostles, I too send greetings to you with the fullness of grace and extend my every best wish.
Reports of your splendid character have reached me; how you are beyond reproach and ever unshaken in
your patient endurance—qualities that you have not acquired but are yours by nature. My informant was
your own bishop Polybius, who by the will of God and Jesus Christ visited me here in Smyrna. He so fully
entered into my joy at being in chains for Christ, that I came to see your whole community embodied in
him. Moreover, when I learned from him of your God-given kindliness toward me, I broke out in words of
praise for God. It is on him, I discovered, that you pattern your lives.
Your submission to your bishop, who is in the place of Jesus Christ, shows me that you are not living as
men usually do but in the manner of Jesus himself, who died for us that you might escape death by belief in
his death. Thus one thing is necessary, and you already observe it, that you do nothing without your bishop;
indeed, be subject to the clergy as well, seeing in them the apostles of Jesus Christ our hope, for if we live
in him we shall be found in him. Deacons, too, who are ministers of the mysteries of Jesus should in all
things be pleasing to all men: For they are not mere servants with food and drink, but emis saries of God’s
Church; hence they should guard themselves against anything deserving reproach as they would against
fire.
Similarly, all should respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, just as all should regard the bishop as the image
of the Father, and the clergy as God’s senate and the college of the apostles. Without these three orders you
cannot begin to speak of a church. I am confident that you share my feelings in this matter, for I have had
an example of your love in the person of your bishop who is with me now. His whole bearing is a great
lesson, and his very gentleness wields a mighty influence.
By God’s grace there are many things I understand, but 1 keep well within my limitations for fear that
boasting should be my undoing. At the moment, then, I must be more apprehensive than ever and pay no
attention at all to those who flatter me; their praise is as a scourge. For though I have a fierce desire to
suffer martyrdom, I know not whether I am worthy of it. Most people are unaware of my passionate
longing, but it assails me with increasing intensity. My present need, then, is for that humility by which the
prince of this world is overthrown.
And so I strongly urge you, not I so much as the love of Jesus Christ, to be nourished exclusively on
Christian fare, abstaining from the alien food that is heresy. And this you will do if you are neither arrogant
nor cut off from God, from Jesus Christ, and from the bishop and the teachings of the apostles. Whoever is
within the sanctuary is pure; but whoever is not is unclean. That is to say, whoever acts apart from the
bishop and the clergy and the deacons is not pure in his conscience. In writing this, it is not that I am aware
of anything of the sort among you; I only wish to forewarn you, for you are my dearest children.
R ESPONSORY Ephesians 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 3:11
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through a peace that binds you together. There is but
one body, one Spirit,
just as you were called to the one hope when you were called. .
— There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
No one can lay a foundation other than the one which bas been laid, that is, Christ Jesus.
— There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Saturday
FIRST READING
From the first letter of the apostle Paul to Timothy 1st Tm 4:1—5:2
On False Teachers.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin
abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is
consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
If you put these instructions before the brethren, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words
of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths.
Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds
promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this
end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of
those who believe.
Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and
conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Till I come, attend to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do
not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you.
Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Take heed to yourself and to your
teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as you would a father; treat younger men like brothers, 2 older women
like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity.
RESPONSORY 1 Tm 4:8,10; 2 Co 4:9

Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and the life to come.
— We toil and strive because we have our hope set on the living God.
We are persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
— We toil and strive because we have our hope set on the living God.
SECOND READING
From a Letter to the Trallians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
(Cap. 8, 1-9,2; 11,1-13,3: Funk 1,209-211)
Renew yourselves in the faith that is the body of Christ
and in the love that is his blood
Make yourselves gentle, and be born again in the faith which is the body of the Lord and in the love which is the
blood of Jesus Christ. No one must bear a grudge against his neighbor. Never give the pagans the slightest pretext, so
that the great majority who serve God will not be mocked because of the folly of a few. Woe to him on account of
whose folly my name is blasphemed (cf. Is 52:5).
So turn a deaf ear to the talk of anyone whose language has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Descended from
David, he was truly born of Mary, he really ate and drank. He was really persecuted under Pontius Pilate, and truly
died by crucifixion, while heavenly and earthly beings and those under the earth looked on. He truly rose from the
dead, being raised by his Father. Those who believe in him will be raised like him by the Father. We shall rise again
in Christ without whom we do not have true life.
Avoid, then, those poisonous growths that bear deadly fruit; the mere taste of them is sudden death. Such growths
are not of the Father’s planting; if they were they would be recognized as branches of the cross, their fruit would be
imperishable. The cross of Christ’s passion is his invitation to you who are the members of his body. The head cannot
come to life without the members, since God, the very ground of unity, has foretold such a union.
I send you greetings from Smyrna and from all God’s churches which are here with me. They have been a com fort
to me in every way, both physically and spiritually. The chains which I wear for the sake of Jesus Christ, praying all
the time that I may come to God, are my plea. Continue to live together in that harmony of yours and persevere in
prayer together. It is fitting that everyone, and especially the presbyters, should comfort the bishop and thereby honor
the Father and Jesus Christ, and his apostles.
I beg you, if you love me, listen to me, so that this letter of mine may not witness against you. And pray for me,
too, lest I be found unfit, for in God’s mercy I need your love to make me worthy of the destiny that is mine.
The communities of Smyrna and Ephesus send greetings. In all your prayers remember the church in Syria. I am
unworthy to claim membership in it being the least of them all. And now, farewell in Jesus Christ. Be submissive to
your bishop, as you would to God’s command, and also to the clergy. As individuals, love one another with
undivided affection. My life is being sacrificed for you, not only at this moment, but also when I shall come before
God. Though I am still in danger, God the Father, through Jesus Christ, is my pledge that my prayer and yours will be
heard. My desire is that, through him, you may be found without fault.
RESPONSORY See 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15; Sirach 15:13
Through the Gospel God has called you
to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— Therefore, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions you have been taught.
The Lord hates all that is vile,
and those who fear him show no love for it either.
— Therefore, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions you have been taught.

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20th – 21th Weeks of Ordinary Time

RESPONSORY Qo 1:14, 5:14; 1 Tm 6:7

RESPONSORY Qo 2:26; 1 Tm 6:10

RESPONSORY 1 Co 7:29,31; Qo 3:1

RESPONSORY Pr 30:8; Ps 31:14-15

RESPONSORY Pr 20:9; Qo 7:20; 1 Jn 1:8-9

RESPONSORY 1 Co 2:9-10; Qo 8:17

RESPONSORY Pr 31:17-18; Ps 46:6

RESPONSORY Ep 3:8,12; Rm 1:5

RESPONSORY Ps 103:13-14; Tt 3:5

RESPONSORY I Tm 1:14-15; Rm 3:23

RESPONSORY I Tm 2:5-6; Heb 2:17

RESPONSORY Ac 20:28; 1 Co 4:2

RESPONSORY 1 Tm 4:8,10; 2 Co 4:9

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