Homily for the
Commemoration of
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
March 18, 2022
Collect
Provincial House, New
Rochelle, N.Y.
Today’s Collect praises
God for wonderfully leading the Church to a deeper sense of the mysteries of
salvation thru the life and teachings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
He backed his orthodox faith by suffering exile 3 times at the hands of the Arians. He taught the faith clearly to the catechumens and neophytes of Jerusalem, leaving us a beautiful collection of catecheses on Baptism, the Eucharist, and Christian life—much of which has become instructive but pleasant reading in the breviary each year.
It’s quite in keeping with
Cyril’s mystagogy that we begin the Eucharist with a reference to the sacred
mysteries we’re about to celebrate, and that today’s Prayer over the Offerings
asks that God’s grace prepare us for the worthy celebration of these mysteries.
Immediately, the
“mysteries” are these sacramental rites by which God’s own life comes to our
altar, touches us, is consumed by us, and sanctifies us. A few weeks hence are the paschal mysteries
for which we’re preparing in the present season, asking that God’s grace make
us worthy to celebrate them—to celebrate the paschal mysteries not only in the
sacred triduum and its octave but also in the eternal Easter of our Risen Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment