Open my eyes, Lord, that I may see. – The wonders of your law. READINGS First reading From the book of Sirach 42:15 – 43:12 All creation gives praise to God Now will I recall God’s works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God’s word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them. As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all his works; Yet even God’s holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the Lord, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory. He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets. No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him. Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same, With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him! How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision! The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor? The clear vault of the sky shines forth like heaven itself, a vision of glory. The orb of the sun, resplendent at its rising: what a wonderful work of the Most High! At noon it seethes the surface of the earth, and who can bear its fiery heat? Like a blazing furnace of solid metal, it sets the mountains aflame with its rays; By its fiery darts the land is consumed; the eyes are dazzled by its light. Great indeed is the Lord who made it, at whose orders it urges on its steeds. The moon, too, that marks the changing times, governing the seasons, their lasting sign, By which we know the feast days and fixed dates, this light-giver which wanes in its course: As its name says, each month it renews itself; how wondrous in this change! The beauty, the glory, of the heavens are the stars that adorn with their sparkling the heights of God, At whose command they keep their place and never relax in their vigils. A weapon against the flood waters stored on high, lighting up the firmament by its brilliance, Behold the rainbow! Then bless its Maker, for majestic indeed is its splendor; It spans the heavens with its glory, this bow bent by the mighty hand of God. RESPONSORY Revelation 4:11; see Esther 13:10-11 You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, – for you created all things, and only through your will they were created and have being. You created everything that is, heaven and earth, and all that the heavens hold within their span; – For you created all things, and only through your will they were created and have being. Second reading From a Discourse Against the Pagans by Saint Athanasius, bishop The Word of the Father gives order, direction and unity to creation By his own wisdom and Word, who is our Lord and Savior Christ, the all-holy Father (whose excellence far exceeds that of any creature), like a skillful steersman guides to safety all creation, regulating and keeping it in being, as he judges right. It is right that creation should exist as he has made it and as we see it happening, because this is his will, which no one would deny. For if the movement of the universe were irrational, and the world rolled on in random fashion, one would be justified in disbelieving what we say. But if the world is founded on reason, wisdom and science, and is filled with orderly beauty, then it must owe its origin and order to none other than the Word of God. He is God, the living and creative God of the universe, the Word of the good God, who is God in his own right. The Word is different from all created things: he is the unique Word belonging only to the good Father. This is the Word that created this whole world and enlightens it by his loving wisdom. He who is the good Word of the good Father produced the order in all creation, joining opposites together, and forming from them one harmonious sound. He is God, one and only-begotten, who proceeds in goodness from the Father as from the fountain of goodness, and gives order, direction and unity to creation. By his eternal Word the Father created all things and implanted a nature in his creatures. He did not want to see them tossed about at the mercy of their own natures, and so be reduced to nothingness. But in his goodness he governs and sustains the whole of nature by his Word (who is himself also God), so that under the guidance, providence and ordering of that Word, the whole of nature might remain stable and coherent in his light. Nature was to share in the Father’s Word, whose reality is true, and be helped by him to exist, for without him it would cease to be. For unless the Word, who is the very image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, kept it in existence it could not exist. For whatever exists, whether visible or invisible, remains in existence through him and in him, and he is also the head of the Church, as we are taught by the ministers of truth in their sacred writings. The almighty and most holy Word of the Father pervades the whole of reality, everywhere unfolding his power and shining on all things visible and invisible. He sustains it all and binds it together in himself. He leaves nothing devoid of his power but gives life and keeps it in being throughout all of creation and in each individual creature. RESPONSORY See Proverbs 8:22-30 In the beginning, before he made the earth, before he hollowed out the deep, before he touched the waters and made them flow, – before the mountains were settled into place, the Lord created me. When he established the heavens, I was there like a master craftsman working at his side. – Before the mountains were settled into place, the Lord created me.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:21:34 +0000
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