Quinquagesima Sunday

A couple of weeks ago, we heard about the fall of Adam and Eve, resulting in us all having original sin on our souls. Then, 2 weeks ago, we heard about Noah and the Great Flood. This week we hear about Abraham, who was deemed to be worthy to carry on God's wishes, and to be our spiritual father. As the good Abbot says, 'We are forced to exclaim, with the holy fathers: "O true Christian, even before Christ had come on the earth! He had the spirit of the Gospel, before the Gospel was preached! He was an apostolic man before the apostles existed!" God tells him that He will bless them that bless him and curse them that curse him. I guess that we should do what he does, i.e. follow the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

We are to prepare for the coming Lenten season, which begins next Wednesday, even though the penitential season has been upon us for a few weeks already.


I'm going to let the Abbot tell us about this Sunday. Condensed, of course.

'How appropriate for this Sunday is the magnificent eulogy of Charity, here given by our apostle! This virtue, which comprises the love both of god and of our neighbor, is the light of our souls. Without charity we are in darkness, and all our works are profitless. The very power of working miracles cannot give hope of salvation, unless he who does them have charity. Unless we are in charity, the most heroic acts of other virtues are but one snare more for our sols. Let us beseech our Lord to give us this light. But let us not forget that, however richly He may bless us with it here below, the fullness of its brightness is reserved for when we are in heaven; and that the sunniest day we can have in this world, is but darkness when compared with the splendor of our eternal charity. Faith will then give place, for we shall be face to face with all Truth; hope will have no object, for we shall possess all good; charity alone will continue, and, for this reason, is greater than faith and hope, which must needs accompany her in this present life. This being the glorious destiny reserved for man when redeemed and enlightened by Jesus, is it to be wondered at that we should leave all things, in order to follow such a Master? What should surprise us, and what proves how degraded is our nature by sin, is to see Christians, who have been baptized in this faith and this hope, and have received the first-fruits of this love, indulging, during these days, in every sort of worldliness, which is only the more dangerous because it is fashionable. It would seen as though they were making it their occupation to extinguish within their souls the last ray of heavenly light, like men that had made a covenant with darkness. If there be charity within our souls, it will make us feel these offences that are committed against our God, and inspire us to pray to Him to have mercy on these poor blind sinners, for they are our brethren.'

As the blind man in today's Gospel asks of Jesus: "Lord, that I may see."