St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Weekly Bulletin and Mass Intentions

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

By the Fathers of the Church

ST BASIL, BISHOP AND DOCTOR

On Envy

Again a man may be noted for his prudence, and held in honour through the word of God, because he is a teacher of divine truth. Be not envious of such a man, and never wish that as a teacher of the Holy Scriptures he should be silent; because, through the grace of the Spirit, he is praised by those who hear him. For the good he does is yours also, sent to you by means of your brother's gift of teaching: provided you receive it. But then, no one blocks up a gushing fountain, nor will anyone close his eyes to the sunlight, or envy those who enjoy it; rather, all pray that they too may enjoy these things. And so when the spiritual word is welling forth in the Church, or when some pious heart gushes forth like a fountain from the gift of the Spirit, why not give ear with joy? Why not receive these graces with thankfulness? But the applause of those who listen pierces you, and you would that no one might receive profit, no one receive praise. What excuse can there be for such things in the presence of the Judge of our hearts?

We must therefore suppose that the gifts of nature serve the good of the soul. He however who abounds in wealth and dominion, and in great understanding, and in health of body, and uses these gifts rightly is to be loved and respected, as holding certain endowments that serve the common life; provided he uses them in accord with right reason, so that he is liberal with his abundance to those in need, and has care for the weak in body; and looks upon what is over and above his own needs as belonging as much to whoever is in want as to himself He who is not of this mind is to be pitied rather than envied; in that he possesses greater opportunities for evil doing. For this is to perish from excess of planning and striving. For if wealth is a source of wrong, the rich man is to be pitied. If however it serves the ends of virtue, there is no ground for envy; since its common use is intended for the good of all; unless there is someone so engulfed in wickedness, that he envies himself even what is good. In a word, if in your mind you are uplifted above human things, and intent upon that good which is truly worthy of praise, you will be far from thinking that whoever possesses any perishable or earthly riches must be either happy or to be envied. It is impossible for a person who is of this mind, who does not look upon earthly things as precious, ever to feel envy.

And if you are eager for glory, and you wish to shine above others, and so cannot endure second place; for this also is an occasion of envy; then direct your ambition as though it were a stream of water towards the cultivation of virtue. Let the desire to enrich yourself be wholly absent from your mind, and the desire to be esteemed because of your worldly riches. For these things do not rest with you. But be just and temperate and prudent and courageous and patient in all that you suffer in serving God. For it is in this way you will save your soul; and the greater your virtues, the more you shall shine above others. For virtue does rest with us, and can be acquired by our loving efforts; while great riches, gifts of body, rank and dignity, are not in our power to acquire. If then virtue is a greater and more enduring possession, and held in greater honour by all men, it is this we should strive for. But it cannot be born in the soul, unless the soul is free of all violence of feeling; and free above all of envy.

You know how great an evil hypocrisy is? Well hypocrisy is the fruit of envy. For more than any other vice, envy begets duplicity. For while showing outwardly the appearance of friendship, it will cherish hate within the heart, and like rocks hidden in the sea, covered by shallow waters, of a sudden will bring disaster to the unwary. Therefore, if death comes to us from this source as from a spring, and brings with it the loss of every blessing, estrangement from God, the defeat of His laws, the undoing in a moment of all the good we have done throughout our life, then let us comply with the counsel of the Apostle, and let us not be made desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another (Gal. v. 26); but let us rather, be kind one to one another; let us be merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you (Eph. iv. 32), in Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom be there glory to the Father and to the Holy Ghost, throughout all ages and ages. Amen.

ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP AND DOCTOR

Moral Exhortation to Humility

ABRAHAM TO LOT: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee; for we are brethren; if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: If thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left (Gen. xiii. 8).

You now know how evil it is to take the first places, and to pay no attention to what is right and becoming? You have seen how good it is to be mild and reasonable, to yield the first place, and to take the lowest. And see how in the course of our instruction we have come to understand, that he who chooses the first place for himself derives no profit from it; but that he who chooses the lowest place, becomes daily more regarded and respected by all, and esteemed in all things.

And not to prolong our instruction on this point, this I would exhort you, that you become imitators of the blessed Patriarch, Abraham, and that you should never be desirous of the first places, but rather be mindful of the counsel of the blessed Paul, who bids us yield to one another in honour (Rom. xii. 10), and that, rising above ourselves, we should be eager for the lowest place; as Christ in today's Gospel has said; concluding: And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

What then can compare with this, that yielding first place to others, we come to enjoy a higher place; that esteeming others above ourselves, we come to the highest honour. I exhort you therefore: let us be eager, let us strive to imitate the humility of the Patriarch, to follow in his footsteps who, even before the law, gave such an example of holy wisdom to us who live under the Dispensation of grace. For it was true humility of spirit this illustrious man showed to one who was not only inferior to him in virtue, but also in age and all other respects. Consider how this venerable man yields to the other, who was the younger, the uncle to the son of his brother; he who had received such graces from God, to one who had nothing to show in his favour, and how that which he as a young man should say to his elder and to his uncle, this the patriarch says to the young man.

Let us therefore show honour and respect, not alone to those that are older than us, but also to our equals. For it is no humility to do what you ought to do, or are compelled to do: that is not humility, but duty. It is true humility to give way to those who are seen to be less than us. And if we are truly wise, we shall consider no one as less than ourselves, but all men as our superiors.

And this I say to you, not because of what we are, immersed in so many sins, but even should anyone be conscious to himself of innumerable virtuous actions, he shall have no profit of his so many good works unless he looks upon himself as the lowest of men. For this is humility; when someone who has reason to be honoured, remains obscure and unknown, and holds himself modestly. For then he is uplifted to true honour, according to the promise of our Lord, Who said: Everyone that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Let us therefore, I beseech you, let us all be earnest in striving through humility to come to the summit of true glory, that we may receive from the Lord the reward of the just, and be worthy of the same ineffable blessings, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be there glory and honour, now and forever, throughout all ages. Amen.

Domingo Décimo Sexto después Pentecostés

Palabras de los Padres de la Iglesia

SAN BASILIO, OBISPO Y DOCTOR

Sobre la envidia

Puede ocurrir que un hombre destaque por su prudencia y sea honrado gracias a la palabra de Dios, por ser maestro de la verdad divina. No sientas envidia de tal hombre ni desees jamás que calle en su labor de enseñar las Sagradas Escrituras, pues, por la gracia del Espíritu, recibe el elogio de quienes le escuchan. El bien que él realiza es también tuyo, pues te llega a través del don de enseñanza de tu hermano, siempre y cuando tú lo acojas. Nadie obstruye una fuente caudalosa, ni cierra los ojos a la luz del sol, ni envidia a quienes la disfrutan; al contrario, todos anhelan gozar también de tales bienes. Así pues, cuando en la Iglesia brota la palabra espiritual, o cuando un corazón piadoso —impulsado por el don del Espíritu— mana como una fuente, ¿por qué no escuchar con alegría? ¿Por qué no recibir estas gracias con gratitud? Sin embargo, te hiere el aplauso de los oyentes y quisieras que nadie obtuviera provecho ni recibiera alabanza alguna. ¿Qué excusa puede haber para tal actitud ante el Juez de nuestros corazones?

Debemos considerar, por tanto, que los dones naturales sirven al bien del alma. Aquel que posee abundancia de riquezas y poder, gran entendimiento y salud corporal, y hace buen uso de estos dones, merece amor y respeto por poseer cualidades que sirven a la vida común; siempre que actúe conforme a la recta razón: siendo generoso con su abundancia hacia los necesitados, cuidando de los débiles y considerando que lo que excede sus propias necesidades pertenece tanto a quien carece de ello como a sí mismo. Quien no piensa así merece compasión más que envidia, pues posee mayores oportunidades para obrar el mal; corre el riesgo de perecer víctima de sus propios excesos y afanes. Si la riqueza es fuente de maldad, el rico merece compasión; pero si sirve a la virtud, no hay motivo para la envidia, ya que su uso común busca el bien de todos, a menos que alguien esté tan sumido en la maldad que envidie incluso el bien que él mismo posee. En una palabra: si tu mente se eleva por encima de las cosas humanas y se centra en aquel bien verdaderamente digno de alabanza, estarás muy lejos de pensar que quien posee riquezas perecederas o terrenales es feliz o digno de envidia. Es imposible que una persona con tal mentalidad —que no considera valiosas las cosas terrenales— sienta jamás envidia.

Y si anhelas la gloria y deseas destacar sobre los demás, sin soportar ocupar un segundo lugar —pues esto también es motivo de envidia—, entonces canaliza tu ambición, como si fuera un caudal de agua, hacia el cultivo de la virtud. Desterra de tu mente todo deseo de enriquecerte o de ser estimado por tus riquezas mundanas, ya que tales cosas no dependen de ti. Sé, en cambio, justo, templado, prudente, valiente y paciente en todo lo que sufras al servir a Dios. Pues así salvarás tu alma; y cuanto mayores sean tus virtudes, más resplandecerás sobre los demás. La virtud, en efecto, depende de nosotros y puede adquirirse mediante nuestros esfuerzos amorosos, mientras que las grandes riquezas, los dones corporales, el rango y la dignidad no están bajo nuestro control. Si la virtud es, pues, una posesión mayor y más duradera, y goza de mayor estima entre todos los hombres, es a ella a la que debemos aspirar. Pero no puede nacer en el alma a menos que esta esté libre de toda violencia pasional y, sobre todo, libre de envidia.