Leave-taking of the Feast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple; Our Holy Father and Priest-Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome (101); Peter, Bishop of Alexandria (312)
1 Timothy 1:18-20; 2:8-15; Luke 15:1-10
Nativity Fast. Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read 1 Timothy 1:18-20
The older one gets the more it is evident how fragile our fallen human condition really is. It is a wonder and a mystery that we continue to exist—or rather it’s a miracle. We are constantly pounded by storms of instability, corruption and our life constantly hangs in the balance. Not only do the tumultuous storms of life beset us, but also does an invisible foe seek to wage war against us on the seas of this life. This is the state that we find ourselves in our fallen humanity.
St. John Chrysostom teaches that faith, which is the mother of virtue, equips us with what we need to journey through this life. He says, “those without faith are like people trying to cross the sea without a ship. They are able to swim for a while by using hands and feet, but when they have gone farther out they are soon swamped by the waves.” (Homilies on John 33.1). Faith gives us hope in things yet not seen. It becomes a guiding star, which fills us with spiritual knowledge. It fills us with a purpose to continue the journey in a meaningful way and connects us to each other. It gives us a glimmer of insight into what awaits us at the end and strengthens us in the struggle. This is why it is so precious and why we ought to strive to steer far from anything that may cause a spiritual shipwreck. Let us take the advice of the 4th-century monk Vincent of Lerins, “Conversely, it is proper for Catholics to guard the ‘deposit,’ handed down by the holy fathers, to condemn profane novelties, and, as the apostle said, ‘before and now I say again; let him be anathema if anyone preaches to you a Gospel besides that which you have received” (Commonitories, 24).