First Reading — Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Basil of Caesarea
On 7:19
"The Lord sits enthroned over the flood." A flood is an overflow of water that causes all lying below it to disappear. It cleanses all that was previously filthy. Therefore he calls the grace of baptism a flood, so that the soul, being washed well of its sins and rid of the old person, is suitable henceforth as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Further, what is said in the twenty-first psalm agrees with this. For after he has said, "I have acknowledged my sin, and my injustice I have not concealed," and also, "For this shall every one that is holy pray to you," he then said, "And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come near him." Indeed, sin shall not come near to one who received baptism for the remission of his transgressions through water and the Spirit. Something akin to this is found in the prophecy of Micah: "Because he delights in mercy, he will turn again and have mercy on us. He will put away our iniquities and will cast them into the bottom of the sea."
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 85:2-4, 5-6, 7-8
Augustine of Hippo
On 84:2–3
For how did He turn away the captivity of Jacob? See, how that that setting free is spiritual, see how that it is done inwardly. "You have forgiven," he says, "the iniquity of Your people: You have covered all their sins" [Psalm 85:2]. Behold how He has turned away their captivity, in that He has remitted iniquity: iniquity held them captive; your iniquity forgiven, you are freed. Confess therefore that you are in captivity, that you may be worthy to be freed: for he that knows not of his enemy, how can he invoke the liberator? "You have covered all their sins." What is, "You have covered"? So as not to see them. How did You not see them? So as not to take vengeance on them. You were unwilling to see our sins: and therefore You saw them not, because You would not see them: "You have covered all their sins." "You have appeased all Your anger: You have turned Yourself from Your wrathful indignation" [Psalm 85:3].
On 84:4
And as these things are said of the future, though the sound of the words is past, it follows: "Turn us, O God of our salvation" [Psalm 85:4]. That which he had just related as if it were done, how prays he that it may be done, except because he wished to show that he had spoken as if of the past in prophecy? But that it was not yet done which he had said was done he shows by this, that he prays that it may be done: "Turn us, O God of our salvation, and turn away Your anger from us." Did you not say before: "You have appeased all Your anger, You have turned Yourself from Your wrathful indignation"? How then now do you say, "And turn away Your anger from us"? The Prophet answers: These things I speak of as done, because I see them about to be done: but because they are not yet done, I pray that they may come, which I have already seen.
On 84:5
"Be not angry with us for ever" (ver. 5). For by the anger of God we are subject to death, and by the anger of God we eat bread on this earth in want, and in the sweat of our face. This was Adam's sentence when he sinned: and that Adam was every one of us, for "in Adam all die;" the sentence passed on him hath taken effect after him on us. For we were not yet ourselves, but we were in Adam: therefore whatever happened to Adam himself took effect on us also, so that we should die: for we all were in him. ...So far as this the sin of thy father hurts thee not, if thou hast changed thyself, even as it would not hurt thy father if he had changed himself. But that which our stock hath received unto its subjection to death, it hath derived from Adam. What hath it so derived? That frailty of the flesh, this torture of pains, this house of poverty, this chain of death, and snares of temptations; all these things we carry about in this flesh; and this is the anger of God, because it is the vengeance of God. But because it was so to be, that we should be regenerated, and by believing should be made new, and all that mortality was to be removed in our resurrection, and the whole man was to be restored in newness; "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive;" seeing this the Prophet saith, "Be not angry with us for ever, nor stretch out Thy wrath from one generation to another." The first generation was mortal by Thy wrath: the second generation shall be immortal by Thy mercy....
On 84:6
But [the objector might continue], "It is by his own will that each person abandons God and is deservedly abandoned by God." Who would ever deny this? And the reason why we ask not to be brought into temptation is that this may not happen. And if we are heard, then this indeed does not happen, because God does not allow it to happen. For nothing happens except what God either does himself or permits to occur. Therefore, he has the power both to turn wills from evil to good and to turn them back when they are inclined toward a fall, as well as to direct their steps in ways that are pleasing to him. It is not in vain that we say to him, "You will turn us, O God, and bring us to life." It is not said in vain, "Do not suffer my feet to be moved." It is not said in vain, "Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire, to the wicked." Finally, not to increase the number of citations, since more may well occur to you, it is not said in vain, "Bring us not into temptation." For whoever is not brought into temptation is evidently not brought into the temptation of his own evil will, and he who is not brought into the temptation of his own evil will is certainly not brought into any temptation at all.
On 84:6
But against this error, why do we not instead listen to these words: "Who has first given to him, and what recompense shall be made to him? For of him, and by him and in him are all things." And therefore, that very beginning of our faith—from whom is it if not from him? For it is not the case that, with this excepted, all other things are from him, but "of him, and by him and in him are all things." But who would say that he who has already begun to believe does not merit anything from him in whom he has believed? From which it results that other divine gifts are said to be added in recompense to him who already has merit, and hence that God's grace is given according to our merits—a statement that Pelagius, when it was raised in objection to him, himself condemned, so that he might not be condemned. Therefore, whoever wishes in every way to avoid this condemnable opinion, let him understand that the apostle spoke truly when he said, "It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for him." Both of these he shows to be the gifts of God, because both he says are given. He does not say, "to believe in him more fully and perfectly," but "to believe in him." Nor does he say that he himself had obtained mercy in order to be more faithful, but to be faithful, because he knew that he had not first given the beginning of his faith to God, and had its increase returned to him by God, but had been made faithful by God, by whom he was also made an apostle. For the beginning of his faith is recorded in Scripture, and the account is very well known, for it is read in our churches on a solemn occasion. Thus, he felt an aversion to the faith to which he was laying waste and, being vehemently adverse toward it, he was suddenly converted to it by a more powerful grace, converted by him to whom, as the one who would do it, the prophet said, "You will turn and bring us to life." Thus, not only from one who refused to believe did he become a willing believer, but even from a persecutor he came to suffer persecution in defense of that faith that he had persecuted. For it was given him by Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.
On 84:6
"Why," they say, "does he not teach everyone?" If we reply that those whom he does not teach are not willing to learn, we shall be given this answer: "And what happens to that which is said to him, 'You will turn, O God, and bring us to life' "? Or if God does not make people willing who are not willing, why does the church, in accordance with the Lord's commandment, pray for its persecutors? For in this sense also the blessed Cyprian wanted it to be understood when we say, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," that is just as for those who have already believed and are in a sense "heaven," so too for those who do not believe and for this reason are still "earth." What then do we pray for those who do not will to believe, except that God shall work in them that they will? Certainly, the apostle spoke of the Jews when he said, "Brothers, the good will of my heart indeed, and my prayer to God, is for their salvation." What does he pray for those who do not believe, except that they may believe? For in no other way do they obtain salvation. Therefore if the faith of those who pray precedes the grace of God, then does the faith of those for whom we pray that they might believe precede the grace of God? Not at all, since this is the very thing that is sought for them, that to those who do not believe, that is, those who do not have faith, faith itself be given. Therefore, when the gospel is preached, some believe and some do not, but those who believe, when they hear the voice of the preacher from without, hear from the Father and learn within, while those who do not believe hear the external word but inwardly do not hear nor learn. That is to say, to the former it is given to believe, to the later it is not given.
On 84:6–7
"O God, You shall turn us again, and make us alive" [Psalm 85:6]. Not as if we ourselves of our own accord, without Your mercy, turn unto You, and then You shall make us alive: but so that not only our being made alive is from You, but our very conversion, that we may be made alive. "And Your people shall rejoice in You." To their own evil they shall rejoice in themselves: to their own good they shall rejoice in You. For when they wished to have joy of themselves, they found in themselves woe: but now because God is all our joy, he that will rejoice securely, let him rejoice in Him who cannot perish. For why, my brethren, will you rejoice in silver? Either your silver perishes, or thou: and no one knows which first: yet this is certain, that both shall perish; which first, is uncertain. For neither can man remain here always, nor can silver remain here always: so too gold, so garments, so houses, so money, so broad lands, so, lastly, this light itself. Be not thou willing then to rejoice in these: but rejoice in that light which has no setting: rejoice in that dawn which no yesterday precedes, which no tomorrow follows. What light is that? "I," says He, "am the Light of the world." [John 8:12] He who says unto you, "I am the Light of the world," calls you to Himself. When He calls you, He converts you: when He converts you, He heals you: when He has healed you, you shall see your Converter, unto whom it is said, "Show us Your mercy, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation" [Psalm 85:7]: Your salvation, that is, Your Christ. Happy is he unto whom God shows His mercy. He it is who cannot indulge in pride, unto whom God shows His mercy. For by showing him His salvation He persuades him that whatever good man has, he has not but from Him who is all our good. And when a man has seen that whatever good he has he has not from himself, but from his God; he sees that everything which is praised in him is of the mercy of God, not of his own deserving; and seeing this, he is not proud; not being proud, he is not lifted up; not lifting himself up, he falls not; not falling, he stands; standing, he clings fast; clinging fast, he abides; abiding, he enjoys, and rejoices in the Lord his God. He who made him shall be unto him a delight: and his delight no one spoils, no one interrupts, no one takes away....Therefore, what says John in his Epistle? "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be." [1 John 3:2] Who would not rejoice, if suddenly while he was wandering abroad, ignorant of his descent, suffering want, and in a state of misery and toil, it were announced, You are the son of a senator: your father enjoys an ample patrimony on your family estate; I bid you return to your father: how would he rejoice, if this were said to him by some one whose promise he could trust? One whom we can trust, an Apostle of Christ, has come and said to us, You have a father, you have a country, you have an inheritance. Who is that father? "Beloved, we are the sons of God." [1 John 3:2] ...Therefore He promised us to show Himself unto us. Think, my brethren, what His beauty is. All those beautiful things which you see, which you love, He made. If these are beautiful, what is He Himself? If these are great, how great is He? Therefore from these things which we love here, let us the more long for Him: and despising these things, let us love Him: that by that very love we may by faith purify our hearts, and His vision, when it comes, may find our heart purified. The light which shall be shown unto us ought to find us whole: this is the work of faith now. This is what we have spoken here: "And grant us Your salvation:" grant us Your Christ, that we may know Your Christ, see Your Christ; not as the Jews saw Him and crucified Him, but as the Angels see Him, and rejoice.
On 84:8
"I will hearken" (ver. 8). The Prophet spoke: God spoke within in him, and the world made a noise without. Therefore, retiring for a little from the noise of the world, and turning himself back upon himself, and from himself upon Him whose voice he heard within; sealing up his ears, as it were, against the tumultuous disquietude of this life, and against the soul weighed down by the corruptible body, and against the imagination, that through the earthly tabernacle pressing down, thinketh on many things, he saith, "I will hearken what the Lord God speaketh in me;" and he heard, what? "For He shall speak peace unto His people." The voice of Christ, then, the voice of God, is peace: it calleth unto peace. Ho! it saith, whosoever are not yet in peace, love ye peace: for what can ye find better from Me than peace? What is peace? Where there is no war. What is this, where there is no war? Where there is no contradiction, where there is no resistance, nothing to oppose. Consider if we are yet there: consider if there is not now a conflict with the devil, if all the saints and faithful ones wrestle not with the prince of demons. And how do they wrestle with him whom they see not? They wrestle with their own desires, by which he suggests unto them sins: and by not consenting to what he suggests, though they are not conquered, yet they fight. Therefore there is not yet peace where there is fighting. ...Whatever we provide for our refreshment, there again we find weariness. Art thou hungry? one asks thee: thou answerest, I am. He places food before thee for thy refreshment; continue thou to use it, for thou hadst need of it; yet in continuing that which thou needest for refreshment, therein findest thou weariness. By long sitting thou wast tired; thou risest and refreshest thyself by walking; continue that relief, and by much walking thou art wearied; again thou wouldest sit down. Find me anything by which thou art refreshed, wherein if thou continue thou dost not again become weary. What peace then is that which men have here, opposed by so many troubles, desires, wants, wearinesses? This is no true, no perfect peace. What will be perfect peace? "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." ...Persevere in eating much; this itself will kill thee: persevere in fasting much, by this thou wilt die: sit continually, being resolved not to rise up, by this thou wilt die: be always walking so as never to take rest, by this thou wilt die; watch continually, taking no sleep, by this thou wilt die; sleep continually, never watching, thus too thou wilt die. When therefore death shall be swallowed up in victory, these things shall no longer be: there will be full and eternal peace. We shall be in a City, of which, brethren, when I speak I find it hard to leave off, especially when offences wax common. Who would not long for that City whence no friend goeth out, whither no enemy entereth, where is no tempter, no seditious person, no one dividing God's people, no one wearying the Church in the service of the devil; since the prince himself of all such is cast into eternal fire, and with him those who consent unto him, and who have no will to retire from him? There shall be peace made pure in the sons of God, all loving one another, seeing one another full of God, since God shall be all in all. We shall have God as our common object of vision, God as our common possession, God as our common peace. For whatever there is which He now giveth unto us, He Himself shall be unto us instead of His gifts; this will be full and perfect peace. This He speaketh unto His people: this it was which he would hearken unto who said, "I will hearken what the Lord God will say unto me: for He shall speak peace unto His people, and to His saints, and unto those who turn their hearts unto Him." Lo, my brethren, do ye wish that unto you should belong that peace which God uttereth? Turn your heart unto Him: not unto me, or unto that one, or unto any man. For whatever man would turn unto himself the hearts of men, he falleth with them. Which is better, that thou fall with him unto whom thou turnest thyself, or that thou stand with Him with whom thou turnest thyself? Our joy, our peace, our rest, the end of all troubles, is none but God: blessed are "they that turn their hearts unto Him."
Gospel — Matthew 12:46-50
Hilary of Poitiers
On 12:46
Because He had spoken all the aforesaid things in the power of His Father’s majesty, therefore the Evangelist proceeds to tell what answer He made to one that told Him that His mother and His brethren waited for Him without; While he yet spake unto the people, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to see him.
On 12:46
And He cannot be held to have thought meanly of His mother, seeing that in His passion He evinced the most extreme carefulness for her.
On 12:46
Although they had like the rest power to come in, yet they abstain from all approach to Him, for he came unto his own, and his own received him not. (John 1:11.)