Sunday

1 Peter 4: Christ’s mortal nature, then, has been crucified, and you must
arm yourselves with the same intention; he whose mortal
nature has been crucified is quit, now, of sin. The rest of your
mortal Hfe must be ordered by God’s will, not by human appetites.
Time enough has been spent already in doing what the heathen
would have you do, following a course of incontinence, passion,
drunkenness, revelling, carousal, and shameful idolatry. They are
surprised that you do not rush headlong into the same welter of
debauch, and call you ill names accordingly; they will have to
answer for it before him who is all in readiness to pass sentence
on the living and the dead. That is why dead men, too, had the
gospel message brought to them; though their mortal natures had
paid the penalty in men’s eyes, in the sight of God their spirits
were to live on.

Prayer:  Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

Monday
Navarre Catholic commentary on 1 Peter 4The Apostle continues his exposition, possibly following the pattern of baptismal instruction. Christians have to identify with Christ, dead and risen: they have died with him, to rise with him (cf. Rom 6:3); their lives can no longer be the way they were before Baptism, even if the change of lifestyle results in their being misunderstood and reviled. They should remember that they will in due course appear before the Judge of the living and the dead, Jesus Christ.

This new mode of behaviour has led to opposition from pagans, who cannot understand why they have given up the vices they previously indulged in. Some of the sins mentioned (sins not common among Jews), and the reference to abuse by Gentiles, suggest that the letter was originally written to Christian converts from paganism. The reaction of the pagans to their behaviour, constituting as it does a moral reproach for their sinful lives, is nothing new: Why did Cain kill Abel, St John asks himself, and he replies, “Because his deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 Jn 3:12). This type of reaction is always liable to occur.

Prayer:   I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
From St. Patrick’s ‘Breastplate’

Tuesday

1 Peter 4: The end of all things is close at hand; live wisely, and keep your
senses awake to greet the hours of prayer. Above all things, preserve
constant charity among yourselves; charity draws the veil
over a multitude of sins. Make one another free of what is yours
ungrudgingly, sharing with all whatever gift each of you has re-
ceived, as befits the stewards of a God so rich in graces. One of
you preaches, let him remember that it is God’s message he is
uttering; another distributes relief, let him remember that it is God
who supplies him the opportunity; that so, in all you do, God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ; to him be the glory and the
power through endless ages, Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ…Glory forever.

Wednesday

Navarre Commentary:  “The gospel was preached even to the dead”: it is not easy to work out what this means; it may be an allusion to our Lord descending into the bosom of Abraham (cf. 3:19-20). However, St Peter is possibly referring to Christians who have already died without seeing, in this life, the final victory of Christ: the preaching they heard, and their lives according to the Gospel (which brought them insults from their contemporaries), have not been in vain.

In either case, St Peter would be referring to those who remained faithful to God, whose life seemed folly to people without supernatural outlook. This passage is evocative of the following text from the Book of Wisdom: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality” (Wis 3:1-4).  

Prayer:  With the Saints, give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.
*Kontakion of the Departed

 

Thursday
Navarre Commentary:

Because the End is imminent (cf. 4:5), St Peter urges them to practise prayer and charity, Christ’s “new commandment” (cf. Jn 13:34-35), and also hospitality, which was highly valued among the Semites and encouraged among Christians (cf., e.g., Rom 12:13; 1 Tim 3:2; 5:10).

This readiness to make available to others the gifts one has received from God, will cause God to be glorified in everything through Jesus Christ (v. 11). The passage ends with a doxology or hymn in praise of Christ (possibly as a formula used in early liturgy and familiar to the first Christians). 

 

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.

Friday
1 Peter 4: 12 Do not be surprised, beloved, that this fiery ordeal should have
befallen you, to test your quality; there is nothing strange in what
13 is happening to you. Rather rejoice, when you share in some measure
the sufferings of Christ; so joy will be yours, and triumph,
14 when his glory is revealed. Your lot will be a blessed one, if you
are reproached for the name of Christ; it means that the virtue of
God’s honour and glory and power, it means that his own Spirit,
15 is resting upon you. Let it not be said that any of you underwent
punishment for murder, or theft, or slander, or infringing other
16 men’s rights; but, if a man is punished for being a Christian, he
has no need to be ashamed of it; let him bear that name, and give
17 glory to God. The time is ripe for judgement to begin, and to
begin with God’s own household; and if our turn comes first, what
will be its issue for those who refuse credence to God’s message?
18 If the just man wins salvation only with difficulty, what will be the
19 plight of the godless, of the sinner? Why then, let those who suflFer
in fulfilment of God’s will commend their souls, all innocent, into
his hands; he created them, and he will not fail them.

Prayer:
We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great  glory.

 

Saturday
Navarre Commentary: The Church teaches that perfect love for God wins pardon for sins, but it stresses that that love includes a desire to receive the sacrament of Penance, for one cannot love God without wanting to do what he has laid down…

The Christian receives various gifts from God, that is, charisms or graces given mainly for the benefit of others: they should not be kept for oneself but used for the purpose for which they were intended.  St Peter now returns to the main theme of this part of the letter (3:13 – 4:19)—the trials Christians unjustly suffer on account of being followers of Christ (cf. 1:6-7; 2:18-25; 3:13-17). They should not be surprised or ashamed by this; rather, it should make them happy and lead them to glorify God, for if they share in Christ’s suffering it means they will also share in his exaltation.

Prayer:  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,  grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord,  Amen.