We in the Catholic Church offer prayer petitions at each Mass. I always spend time before Mass writing the prayer petitions, giving them much thought. In our reading from the first letter to Timothy today, St Paul advises Timothy on our prayers of petition, that they be made for all people, but especially for king and those in authority, which would include our governing officials. Yes, those in authority need our prayers and best wishes for the challenging task they have at hand, for divine wisdom and guidance in the important decisions they have to make.
We also have a tradition in our Catholic faith of praying for the intercession of the community of saints, of uniting our prayers with their prayers. St John Chrysostom is the saint we celebrate today. He was Archbishop of the important city of Constantinople in the last half of the 4th century He was in the second group of Early Church fathers who were named to be Doctors of the Church. John was known for his great teaching and preaching abilities. In fact, the name assigned to him - “Chrysostom” - means “golden mouthed.” It was politics that brought him to the seat of Archbishop in Constantinople, but he was direct and honest in the way he preached to the people, not catering to the rich and influential of society, so he earned a beloved place in the hearts of the common people. John Chrysostom preached a Gospel that reached out to the poor in justice and integrity. In fact, he once said: “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find him in the chalice.” However, due to his outspokenness, he was sent into exile by the Emperor, where he died in 407.
John Chrysistom started his life as a monk, yet his gifts of preaching and teaching, as well as his declining health, brought him to serve the Church as a Bishop. He is remembered today more than 1,600 years after his death as one of the patriarchs of the Early Church.
A troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn most often comprised of only one stanza. In honor of St John Chrysostom on his feast day, I would like to quote a troparion from the Eastern Orthodox tradition written in honor of him:
John Chrysostom,
the grace which gleams from your mouth,
like a torch, has illumined the world,
has laid up treasures ungrudgingly for the world
and has manifested to us the loftiness of humility.
As you instruct us with your words,
dear Father John Chrysostom,
intercede with the Word, Christ our Lord,
for the salvation of our souls. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment