Sunday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time

We pray through Ordinary Time with the Morning Offering and a powerful reading from Saint Ambrose that ties baptism to real conversion. We reflect on the sacraments as living mysteries that open our ears, demand a clear renunciation of evil, and fix our gaze on Christ. 
• opening prayers and doxology in the name of the Trinity 
• Morning Offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary for sin and intentions 
• Saint Ambrose on why the mysteries are taught with reverence 
• Ephphatha and the call to be opened to eternal life 
• baptismal questions and answers as a public renunciation of evil 
• turning toward the east as a sign of turning to Christ 
• mercy through the baptism of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit 
• closing prayer for truth, fidelity, and a life that honours Christ 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple Lab and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Opening Prayer And Praise

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Sunday, in the fifteenth week of ordinary time. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Morning Offering Through Mary

SPEAKER_00 0:26

O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular, for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Saint Ambrose On Sacred Mysteries

SPEAKER_00 0:48

From the beginning of the Treatise on the Mysteries by Saint Ambrose, Bishop. We gave a daily instruction on right conduct when the readings were taken from the history of the patriarchs or the maxims of Proverbs. These readings were intended to instruct and train you so that you might grow accustomed to the ways of our forefathers, entering into their paths and walking in their footsteps in obedience to God's commands. Now the season reminds us that we must speak of the mysteries, setting forth the meaning of the sacraments. If we had thought fit to teach these things to those not yet initiated through baptism, we should be considered traitors

Baptism Promises And Renouncing Evil

SPEAKER_00 1:25

rather than teachers. Then, too, the light of the mysteries is of itself more effective where people do not know what to expect than where some instruction has been given beforehand. Open then your ears. Enjoy the fragrance of eternal life, breathed on you by means of the sacraments. We explained this to you as we celebrated the mystery of the opening, when we said Ephetah, that is, be opened. Everyone who was to come for the grace of baptism had to understand what he was to be asked, and must remember what he was to answer. The mystery was celebrated by Christ when he healed the man who was deaf and dumb, in the gospel which we proclaim to you. After this, the Holy of Holies was opened up for you. You entered into the sacred place of regeneration. Recall what you were asked, remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world and its dissipation and sensuality. Your words are recorded not on a monument to the dead, but in the book of the living. There you saw the Levite, you saw the priest, you saw the high priest. Do not consider their outward

Mercy And Renewal By The Spirit

SPEAKER_00 2:34

form but the grace given by their ministries. You spoke in the presence of angels, as it is written, The lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek the law from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty. There is no room for deception, no room for denial. He is an angel whose message is the kingdom of Christ and eternal life. You must judge him, not by his appearance, but by his office. Remember what he handed on to you, weigh up his value, and so acknowledge his standing. You entered to confront your enemy, for you intended to renounce him to his face. You turn toward the east, for one who renounces the devil turns toward Christ and fixes his gaze directly on him. We were once foolish, disobedient, and misled. We then lived in malice and envy, hateful ourselves, we hated one another. Because of his mercy, God has saved us through the baptism of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. All our lives were once ruled by physical desires, and by nature we deserved God's anger. Because of his mercy, God has saved us through the baptism of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Closing Devotions And Blessing

SPEAKER_00 3:54

O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path. Give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ, and to strive after all that does it honor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Join The Cristeros Community

SPEAKER_00 4:38

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple Lab and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.