St.Ambrose
Readings:
Ephesians 3: 8-12
John 10: 11-16
Reflection:
Paul the Apostle recognises the great task he has given. “I, least of all the saints, have been given the special grace of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ”
Then in the gospel Jesus tells us of his pastoral task to the world as the “Good Shepherd” to bring us all together. How needed is this task for the present world.
Both these passages from scripture seem appropriate as the church celebrates the feast of Ambrose of Milan. He was a giant of the early centuries of the church. He was the popular choice of the people of Milan, chosen by acclamation as the people of Milan declared that it was God’s will that Ambrose should be the Bishop of Milan to deal with the Arian heresy that denied that Christ was divine. This was the era of the Council of Nicaea and the Emperor Constantine who was determined to hold the Church together beyond the various groups that divided it. Christians knew how to talk tough in those days and were willing to fight one another. So, from these struggles, we received the Nicene creed which saluted Jesus as both God and human like us.
Ambrose was a wise, gentle, literary man who preached with real power. He set people’s hearts and spirits alight. He was the one to whom the searching Augustine in north Africa came to find the direction of his life and to be baptised.
Some of Ambrose’s sayings have come down to us such as the following:
“No one heal himself by wounding another.”
“It’s easier to look wise than to talk wisely”,
“If you have 2 shirts in your closet, one belongs to you, and the other to the man who has no shirt.
“And now let the feet of our minds be stretched out. The Lord Jesus wills also to wash our feet, for He says, not to Peter alone, but to each of the faithful: If I wash not your feet you will have no part with Me. [John 13: 8]”
Fr. Kevin Dance CP is the vicar of the St.Brigid’s Retreat, Marrickville. He is very actively involved in ministries locally and at Passionist International where he served as the Executive Director for many years.