Day 243 · Christ First

Scripture

Psalms 67–70

Psalms 67

Exurgat Deus. The glorious establishment of the church of the New Testament, prefigured by the benefits bestowed on the people of Israel.

Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle for David himself.

Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face.

As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness.

Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name. Rejoice ye before him: but the wicked shall be troubled at his presence,

Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place:

God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that provoke, that dwell in sepulchres.

O God, when thou didst go forth in the sight of thy people, when thou didst pass through the desert:

The earth was moved, and the heavens dropped at the presence of the God of Sina, at the presence of the God of Israel.

Thou shalt set aside for thy inheritance a free rain, O God: and it was weakened, but thou hast made it perfect.

In it shall thy animals dwell; in thy sweetness, O God, thou hast provided for the poor.

The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings with great power.

The king of powers is of the beloved, of the beloved; and the beauty of the house shall divide spoils.

If you sleep among the midst of lots, you shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the hinder parts of her back with the paleness of gold.

When he that is in heaven appointeth kings over her, they shall be whited with snow in Selmon.

The mountain of God is a fat mountain. A curdled mountain, a fat mountain.

Why suspect, ye curdled mountains? A mountain in which God is well pleased to dwell: for there the Lord shall dwell unto the end.

The chariot of God is attended by ten thousands; thousands of them that rejoice: the Lord is among them in Sina, in the holy place.

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts in men. Yea for those also that do not believe, the dwelling of the Lord God.

Blessed be the Lord day by day: the God of our salvation will make our journey prosperous to us.

Our God is the God of salvation: and of the Lord, of the Lord are the issues from death.

But God shall break the heads of his enemies: the hairy crown of them that walk on in their sins.

The Lord said: I will turn them from Basan, I will turn them into the depth of the sea:

That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thy enemies; the tongue of thy dogs be red with the same.

They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God: of my king who is in his sanctuary.

Princes went before joined with singers, in the midst of young damsels playing on timbrels.

In the churches bless ye God the Lord, from the fountains of Israel.

There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind. The princes of Juda are their leaders: the princes of Zabulon, the princes of Nephthali.

Command thy strength, O God confirm, O God, what thou hast wrought in us.

From thy temple in Jerusalem, kings shall offer presents to thee.

Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, the congregation of bulls with the kine of the people; who seek to exclude them who are tried with silver. Scatter thou the nations that delight in wars:

Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God.

Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth: sing ye to the Lord: Sing ye to God,

Who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, to the east. Behold he will give to his voice the voice of power:

Give ye glory to God for Israel, his magnificence, and his power is in the clouds.

God is wonderful in his saints: the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength to his people. Blessed be God.

Psalms 68

Salvum me fac, Deus. Christ in his passion declareth the greatness of his sufferings, and the malice of his persecutors the Jews; and foretelleth their reprobation.

Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David.

Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul.

I stick fast in the mire of the deep and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me.

I have laboured with crying; my jaws are become hoarse, my eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God.

They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully persecuted me: then did I pay that which I took not away.

O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences are not hidden from thee:

Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, O Lord, the Lord of hosts. Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee, O God of Israel.

Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother.

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

And I covered my soul in fasting: and it was made a reproach to me.

And I made haircloth my garment: and I became a byword to them.

They that sat in the gate spoke against me: and they that drank wine made me their song.

But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord; for the time of thy good pleasure, O God. In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep water swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

And turn not away thy face from thy servant: for I am in trouble, hear me speedily.

Attend to my soul, and deliver it: save me because of my enemies.

Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and my shame.

In thy sight are all they that afflict me; my heart hath expected reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none.

And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Let their table become as a snare before them, and a recompense, and a stumblingblock.

Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and their back bend thou down always.

Pour out thy indignation upon them: and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

Let their habitation be made desolate: and let there be none to dwell in their tabernacles.

Because they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten; and they have added to the grief of my wounds.

Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come into thy justice.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the just let them not be written.

But I am poor and sorrowful: thy salvation, O God, hath set me up.

I will praise the name of God with a canticle: and I will magnify him with praise.

And it shall please God better than a young calf, that bringeth forth horns and hoofs.

Let the poor see and rejoice: seek ye God, and your soul shall live.

For the Lord hath heard the poor: and hath not despised his prisoners.

Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every thing that creepeth therein.

For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built up. And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by inheritance.

And the seed of his servants shall possess it; and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Psalms 69

Deus in adjutorium. A prayer in persecution.

Unto the end, a psalm for David, to bring to remembrance that the Lord saved him.

O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul:

Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire evils to me: Let them be presently turned away blushing for shame that say to me: ’Tis well, ’tis well.

Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; and let such as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnified.

But I am needy and poor; O God, help me. Thou art my helper and my deliverer: O lord, make no delay.

Psalms 70

In te, Domine. A prayer for perseverance.

A psalm for David. Of the sons of Jonadab, and the former captives. In thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to confusion:

Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. Incline thy ear unto me, and save me.

Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength: that thou mayst make me safe. For thou art my firmament and my refuge.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner, and out of the hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust.

For thou art my patience, O Lord: my hope, O Lord, from my youth.

By thee have I been confirmed from the womb: from my mother’s womb thou art my protector. Of thee I shall continually sing:

I am become unto many as a wonder, but thou art a strong helper.

Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory; thy greatness all the day long.

Cast me not off in the time of old age: when my strength shall fail, do not thou forsake me.

For my enemies have spoken against me; and they that watched my soul have consulted together,

Saying: God hath forsaken him: pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.

O God, be not thou far from me: O my God, make haste to my help.

Let them be confounded and come to nothing that detract my soul; let them be covered with confusion and shame that seek my hurt.

But I will always hope; and will add to all thy praise.

My mouth shall shew forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day long. Because I have not known learning,

I will enter into the powers of the Lord: O Lord, I will be mindful of thy justice alone.

Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth: and till now I will declare thy wonderful works.

And unto old age and grey hairs: O God, forsake me not, Until I shew forth thy arm to all the generation that is to come: Thy power,

And thy justice, O God, even to the highest great things thou hast done: O God, who is like to thee?

How great troubles hast thou shewn me, many and grievous: and turning thou hast brought me to life, and hast brought me back again from the depths of the earth:

Thou hast multiplied thy magnificence; and turning to me thou hast comforted me.

For I will also confess to thee thy truth with the instruments of psaltery: O God, I will sing to thee with the harp, thou holy one of Israel.

My lips shall greatly rejoice, when I shall sing to thee; and my soul which thou hast redeemed.

Yea and my tongue shall meditate on thy justice all the day; when they shall be confounded and put to shame that seek evils to me.

Catechism

An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Lesson 19, Question 223

223 Q. Which are the chief corporal works of mercy?

A. The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead.
"Ransom the captive"—that is, chiefly those who while teaching or defending the true religion in pagan lands are taken prisoners by the enemies of our faith. You have perhaps heard of the Crusades or read about them in your history. Now let me briefly tell you what they were and why they were commenced. About the year 570, that is, about thirteen hundred years ago, when the Christian religion was spread over nearly the whole world, a man named Mahomet was born in Arabia. He pretended to be a great prophet sent from God, and gathered many followers about him. He told them his religion must be spread by the sword. He plundered cities and towns, and divided the spoils with his followers. He told them that all who died fighting for him would certainly go to Heaven. In a short time his followers became very numerous; for his religion was an easy and profitable one, allowing them to commit sin without fear of punishment, and giving them share of his plunder. Many others not influenced by these motives joined his religion for fear of being put to death. His followers were afterwards called by the general name of Saracens. They took possession of the Holy Land, of the City of Jerusalem, of the tomb of Our Lord, and of every spot rendered dear to Christians by Our Saviour's life and labors there. They persecuted the Christians who went to visit the Holy Land, and put many of them to death. When the news of these dreadful crimes reached Europe, the Christian kings and princes, at the request of the Pope, raised large armies and set out for the East to war against the Saracens and recover the Holy Land. Eight of these expeditions, or Crusades, as they are called, went out during two hundred years, that is, from 1095 to 1272. Those who took part in them are called Crusaders, from the word cross, because every soldier wore a red cross upon his shoulder.
Some of these expeditions were successful, and some were not; but, on the whole, they prevented the Saracens from coming to Europe and taking possession of it. Many of the Christian soldiers and many of the pilgrims who visited the Holy Land were taken prisoners by the Saracens and held, threatened with death, till the Christians in Europe paid large sums of money as a ransom for their liberty. To free these captives was a great act of charity, and is one of the corporal works of mercy. Ransom means to pay money for another's freedom. Even now there are sometimes captives in pagan lands.
A pilgrim is one who goes on a journey to visit some holy place for the purpose of thus honoring God. He would not be a pilgrim if he went merely through curiosity. He must go with the holy intention of making his visit an act of worship. In our time pilgrimages to the Holy Land, to Rome, and other places are quite frequent. "To harbor"—that is, to give one who has no home a place of rest. A harbor is an inlet of the ocean where ships can rest and be out of danger; so we can also call the home or place of rest given to the homeless a harbor. "Sick," especially the sick poor and those who have no friends. "To bury" those who are strangers and have no friends. All Christians are bound to perform these works of mercy in one way or another. We have been relieved to some extent of doing the work ourselves by the establishment of institutions where these things are attended to by communities of holy men or women called religious. They take charge of asylums for the orphans, homes for the aged and poor, hospitals for the sick, etc., while many devote themselves to teaching in colleges, academies, and schools. But if these good religious do the work for us, we are obliged on our part to give them the means to carry it on. Therefore we should contribute according to our means to charitable institutions, and indeed to all institutions that promote the glory of God and the good of our religion. To explain more fully, religious are self-sacrificing men and women who, wishing to follow the evangelical counsels, dedicate their lives to the service of God. They live together in communities approved by the Church, under the rule and guidance of their superiors. Their day is divided between prayer, labor, and good works, more time being given to one or other of these according to the special end or aim of the community. The houses in which they live are called convents or monasteries, and the societies of which they are members are called religious orders, communities, or congregations. In some of these religious communities of men all the members are priests, in others some are priests and some are brothers, and in others still all are brothers. Priests belonging to the religious orders are called the regular clergy, to distinguish them from the secular clergy or priests who live and labor in the parishes to which they are assigned by their bishops. Sisters and nuns mean almost the same thing, but we generally call those nuns who live under a more severe rule and never leave the boundaries of their convent. In like manner friars, monks, and brothers lead almost the same kind of life, except that the monks practice greater penances and live under stricter rules. A hermit is a holy man who lives alone in some desert or lonely place, and spends his life in prayer and mortification. In the early ages of the Church there were many of these hermits, or Fathers of the desert, but now religious live together in communities.
The members of religious orders of men or women take three vows, namely, of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These orders were founded by holy persons for some special work approved of by the Church. Thus the Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic, and their special work was to preach the Gospel and convert heretics or persons who had fallen away from the Faith. The Jesuit Fathers were organized by St. Ignatius Loyola, and their work is chiefly teaching in colleges, and giving retreats and missions. So also have the Redemptorists, Franciscans, Passionists, etc., their special works, chiefly the giving of missions. In a word, every community, of either men or women, must perform the particular work for which it was instituted.
But why, you will ask, are there different religious orders? In the first place, all persons are not fitted for the same kind of work: some can teach, others cannot; some can bear the fatigue of nursing the sick, and others cannot. Secondly, when Our Lord was on earth He performed every good work and practiced every virtue perfectly. He fasted, prayed, helped the needy, comforted the sorrowful, healed the sick, taught the ignorant, defended the oppressed, admonished sinners, etc. It would be impossible for any one community to imitate Our Lord in all His works, so each community takes one or more particular works of Our Lord, and tries to imitate Him as perfectly as possible in these at least. Some communities devote their time to prayer; others attend the sick; others teach, etc.; and thus when all unite their different works the combined result is a more perfect imitation of Our Lord's life upon earth.