Sirach Ch 12:1-3; Ch 13:25-26; 14:1-27(First Friday of Lent)
If you do good, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds.
Do good to the devout, and you will be repaid— if not by them, certainly by the Most High.
No good comes to one who persists in evil or to one who does not give alms.
The heart changes the countenance, either for good or for evil.
The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
Happy are those who do not blunder with their lips, and need not suffer remorse for sin. Happy are those whose hearts do not condemn them, and who have not given up their hope.
Riches are inappropriate for a small-minded person; and of what use is wealth to a miser? What he denies himself he collects for others; and others will live in luxury on his goods. If one is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? He will not enjoy his own riches. No one is worse than one who is grudging to himself; this is the punishment for his meanness. If ever he does good, it is by mistake; and in the end he reveals his meanness. The miser is an evil person; he turns away and disregards people. The eye of the greedy person is not satisfied with his share; greedy injustice withers the soul. A miser begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.
My child, treat yourself well, according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord. Remember that death does not tarry, and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you. Do good to friends before you die, and reach out and give to them as much as you can. Do not deprive yourself of a day’s enjoyment; do not let your share of desired good pass by you. Will you not leave the fruit of your labours to another, and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot? Give, and take, and indulge yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury. All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, ‘You must die!’ Like abundant leaves on a spreading tree that sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born. Every work decays and ceases to exist, and the one who made it will pass away with it.
Happy is the person who meditates on wisdom and reasons intelligently,
who reflects in his heart on her ways and ponders her secrets, pursuing her like a hunter, and lying in wait on her paths; who peers through her windows and listens at her doors; who camps near her house and fastens his tent-peg to her walls; who pitches his tent near her, and so occupies an excellent lodging-place; who places his children under her shelter, and lodges under her boughs; who is sheltered by her from the heat, and dwells in the midst of her glory.
Commentary
For those who love God, practising his commandments is an easy and enjoyable task, since our love for him lightens the struggle and makes it welcome. It is for that reason that the devil strives by every means to drive out the fear of the Lord from our souls, and to destroy our love for him with unlawful pleasure and treacherous delights. It is why he does his best to catch the soul off its guard and without its spiritual armour, and so to destroy our labours, offering us earthly in place of heavenly glory, and confusing our vision of true beauty with its deceptive image. For if he finds the guards careless, he is quick to seize the opportunity to appear to the field of virtue, and amidst the growing corn to sow his own weeds, that is, slander, arrogance, vainglory, desire for honour, quarrelling, and all the other products of evil. Therefore we must be vigilant and keep watch for our enemy on all sides, so that whatever shameless device he uses against us we may drive him off before he lays hands on our souls.
You must often remember that story of how Abel and Cain offered sacrifice to the Lord, Abel with some of his firstborn sheep and their fat, Cain with fruits of the earth, but no first fruits. And God observed Abel’s sacrifice, as Scripture tells us, but the gifts of Cain he ignored. What then is the moral of the story? It teaches us that God accepts whatever we offer him in fear and faith, but has no use for the costliest gift offered without love. The very reason why Abraham received Melchizedek’s blessing is that he offered the priest of God the first fruits and the richest spoils. Now the richest spoils and the first fruits that we ourselves possess are our souls and minds; and thus we are commanded to make no trivial sacrifice of praise and prayer to God, nor to offer the Lord any chance gift but what is best in our souls, or rather to dedicate to God our entire souls with all possible love and desire. So continually nourished by the grace of the Spirit and taking to ourselves the power that comes from Christ, we shall run with ease the race of salvation and make the struggle for righteousness carefree and joyous. For God himself will help us to toil with zeal, and will accomplish his righteous works through us.(St. Gregory of Nyssa)
Musica Selection
Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth,
Lord of justice, Lord of mercy;
walk beside us down the years
till we see you in your glory.
Striving to attain the heights,
turning in a new direction,
entering a lonely place,
welcoming a friend or stranger.
I am here, I am with you. I have called:
do you hear me?
Silver is of passing worth,
gold is not of constant value,
jewels sparkle for a while;
what you long for is not lasting.
Rulers govern under me
with my insight and my wisdom.
Those who know me know my love,
those who seek me find their answer.
God the Father and the Son,
Holy Spirit coeternal.
Glory be ascribed to you,
now and to the end of ages.
Words by Michael Hampel (based on Proverbs 8)
Collect
Lord, prepare your people fittingly for the celebration of Easter, that the bodily penance we have solemnly begun may work to the good of our souls. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.