Sunday

**All Bible Verses are from the Douay Rheims translation, perhaps the most accurate.

Psalm 1 — the happiness of the just and evil state of the wicked

1:1. Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:

1:2. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.

1:3. And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its Suit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

1:4. Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth.

1:5. Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.

1:6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

Prayer:  Lord, I have cried to Thee, hearken unto me. Hearken unto me, O Lord. Lord, I have cried to Thee, hearken unto me.  Attend to the voice of my prayer, when I cry unto Thee. Hearken unto me, O Lord. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.  Hearken unto me, O Lord.
*Psalm 140 (141)

Monday
Commentary from the Ancient Christian Commentary Psalm 1

OVERVIEW: The first psalm is foundational to understanding the whole book of Psalms (BASIL). It
presents the crown of blessedness that will be bestowed on the one who wins the prize in
Christ (AMBROSE), a blessedness that is none other than a participation in true being (GREGORY OF
NYSSA), true goodness, which is God (BASIL).
The blessed man in this psalm is first of all Christ (AUGUSTINE), from whom blessedness
comes (EUSEBIUS). We extend its meaning to refer also to those who are saved by Christ
(JEROME), who conform themselves to Christ (HILARY OF POITIERS), whether men or women (BASIL).
The soul of the one who is blessed does not experience the threefold inner movement of sin
(BASIL, JEROME), a deepening corruption (EUSEBIUS) that then influences others (JEROME), a
pattern that replicates the fall of Adam in the individual soul (CASSIODORUS). Such are given over
to vain musings (ORIGEN) because they reject God (HILARY OF POITIERS), following the devil
(DIDYMUS) and their own natural instincts (HILARY OF POITIERS). The end result is a lasting
persistence in evil (BASIL), complicity with worldly powers (CLEMENT

CHRYSOSTOM: Even as chaff lies exposed to the gusts of wind and is
easily caught up and swept along, so is also the sinner driven about by every temptation; for
while a sinner is at war with himself and bears the warfare about with him, what hope of safety
does he possess; betrayed as he is at home, carrying with him that conscience that is a
constant enemy? HOMILIES CONCERNING THE STATUES

 

Prayer:   Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

 

Tuesday

Psalm 2 pt 1  — The vain efforts of persecutors against Christ and his church.

2:1. Why have the Gentiles raged, and the prople devised vain things?

2:2. The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.

2:3. Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.

2:4. He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them.

2:5. Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his rage.

2:6. But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.

 

Prayer:   Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer.

 

Wednesday
Commentary on Psalm 2
OVERVIEW: The second psalm begins carrying over the theme from the end of the first psalm
(THEODORET). In fact, the first psalm can be taken as the inscription of the second psalm
(GREGORY OF NYSSA), which speaks of the folly and ignorance of all nations joined in opposition to
Christ (THEODORET, EUSEBIUS). By opposing Christ, they also oppose the Father (ORIGEN). But the
saints understand the future victory of Christ, which understanding constitutes the Lord’s
laughter (AUGUSTINE). The anger of God is manifested in the human perception of the
wrongness of sin, in the darkening of the mind of the sinner (AUGUSTINE) and in the retribution
that justly falls on the sinner (CASSIODORUS). However, we must remember that God’s wrath is
conditional on repentance (ORIGEN).

AUGUSTINE: The Lord God’s anger and rage should
not be thought of as any disturbance in his mind but as the power by which he most justly
punishes, for the whole creation is subjected to him and at his service.…God’s anger is the
emotion that occurs in the mind of someone who knows God’s law, when it sees that same law
being transgressed by a sinner. Through this emotion in the souls of the just many things are
avenged. God’s anger could also reasonably be interpreted as the very darkening of the mind
that befalls those who transgress God’s law. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS

 

Prayer:  Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray : O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant we beg Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
*Regina Coeli

 

Thursday
Psalm 2

2:7. The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

2:8. Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

2:9. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

2:10. And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.

2:11. Serve ye the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling.

2:12. Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.

2:13. When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.

Prayer:   Jesus Prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have Mercy on me a sinner.

Friday
Commentary Ps 2 part 2

The Father refers the nations to Christ (JEROME), who, as the Word of God, the Creator, was
sovereign already over them (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA), but as human, had received it by
election (THEODORET). Some believe that the Father’s address to the Son indicates that
incarnation (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, THEODORET). Others believe that it signifies eternal generation
(ORIGEN, AUGUSTINE, CASSIODORUS), and yet others see a reference to his birth in those who come
to know God (METHODIUS).
The Father’s invitation to the Son to ask for the nations applies to the economy of the Son
(AUGUSTINE) and signifies our salvation (LEO, DIDYMUS), both Jews and Gentiles (THEODORET). He
breaks them in order to reform them (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA), destroying the “old man”
(AUGUSTINE), making them into an inheritance (ORIGEN). The kings of the earth are instructed to
serve the Lord (AUGUSTINE). We all are admonished to fear him at all times (EVAGRIUS) through
devotion, not coercion (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA), even in the choice of entertainment
(APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS). This is the key to holiness (PETER CHRYSOLOGUS).

THEODORET OF CYR: To be sure, God the Word had the name
“only-begotten Son” before the ages as connatural with his condition, yet while still possessing
the title of the Son as God, he also receives it as human being. Hence in the present psalm he
added the words [of this verse]. Now no one who believes the teaching of the divine Spirit
would apply this verse to the divinity of Christ the Lord. In fact, let us listen in this regard to the
God of all speaking through David, “From the womb before the morning star I begot you.” 1
7 So
as man he both receives this verse and hears what follows. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS

Prayer:    Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my soul and my body. Do thou thyself
bless me, have mercy upon me, and grant me life eternal. Amen.

 

Saturday
“When you bear your cross, It is then that you will feel an indescribable delight, a wonderful inner peace and joy such as you have never experienced before, and at the same time you will feel an influx of spiritual strength; prayer will become easier and your faith stronger.”
(St Innocent of Alaska, excerpt from his writings)

Prayer:  Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.  Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
*Memorare