Homily
for the Memorial of
St.
Peter Chrysologus
July
30, 2026
Collect
Christian
Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.
St. Peter Chrysologus (School of Guercino)
The
collect for the memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus praises God for making this
early 5th-century bishop of Ravenna “an outstanding preacher of your incarnate
Word,” playing on the saint’s nickname, “golden word," which is what chrysologus means. He preached so eloquently of Christ, the Word
made flesh that he’s considered a doctor of the Church.
Our
prayer was that by St. Peter’s intercession we might “constantly ponder in our
hearts the mysteries of your salvation,” i.e., what God has done to save us
thru the Word made flesh. The
incarnation of the Son of God is the 1st mystery of how God saves us from our
sins and their consequences.
Jesus
has advised us that our actions follow from our thoughts, i.e., from our
hearts. “A good person out of the store
of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of
evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke
6:45). So, pondering the divine
mysteries is the 1st step in our becoming like, speaking like, and acting like
followers of Jesus. Prayer, reading the
Scriptures, meditation, and sitting with the Lord are where we begin our positive
response to God’s love revealed to us in the Incarnate Word. Doing that, we imitate our mother Mary, who reflected
on everything in her heart (Luke 2:19).
The Immaculate Conception
(Velasquez)
Pondering
isn’t enuf. We pray also that we may
“faithfully express [the mysteries] in what we do.” We have to put God’s love into action—in our
speech and our deeds. We know that, of
course, but knowing and doing aren’t the same.
So we plead for God’s help in speaking and doing what we know in our
hearts, that we eloquently represent the Incarnate Word.
Such
prayer God wants to hear and answer. “Ask
and it will be given to you; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt
7:7).
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