[Officium]
středy v třetím týdnu doby Svatopostní

[Lectio1]
Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
!Matt 15:1-20
At that time, scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying: Why do thy disciples trangress the tradition of the ancients? And so on.
_
Homily by St. Jerome, Priest (at Bethlehem.)
!Bk. ii Comm. on Matth. xv
The stupidity of the Pharisees and Scribes is something extraordinary. They rebuke the Son of God because He doth not observe the traditions and commandments of men for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. It behoveth us to cleanse, not the hands of the body, but the hands of the soul, namely, our works, that we may do the commandments of God. But He answered and said unto them Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? He meeteth here their false accusation by a true. “How,” saith He, “do ye, who pass over the commandments of God, in order to keep to the traditions of men, hold that My disciples are to be rebuked, because they deem the tradition of the elders of little moment in comparison with the doing of what they know to be the Laws of God?”

[Lectio2]
Now God commanded, saying: Honour thy father and mother; and: He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say: Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother: It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. The word ‘honour’ is used in Scripture, not so much in the sense of paying salutations and services, as in that of giving alms and gifts. Honour widows, saith the Apostle, which are widows indeed. (1 Tim. v. 3.) And here ‘honour’ signifieth support. So again, (17, 18): Let the Priests that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture saith: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn” and “The labourer is worthy of his reward.”

[Lectio3]
The Lord being mindful of the helplessness, or age, or poverty of parents, had commanded their children to honour them even by giving them the necessaries of life. The Scribes and Pharisees, scrupling not to make of none effect this most benign law, and bringing in ungodliness under the very form of godliness, taught, for the benefit of unnatural children, that if any one vowed to God, Who is our very Father in heaven, whatsoever he was bound to give to his parents, the duty of discharging his debt to his heavenly Father ought to come before that which he owed to his earthly father; or, at least, that parents in such case incurred the guilt of sacrilege by taking for themselves what they knew had been made a gift to God. And so parents were left unsuccoured, and the offerings of such children, under pretence of being given to God and His temple, became the gain of the Priests.

[Ant 2]
Slyšte a poznejte * tradice, které nám dal Pán.

[Oratio 2]
Uděl nám, prosíme, Pane; abychom spásnými posty poučeni, se dokázali zříkat škodlivých nešvarů, a tím snáze dosáhli tvého slitování.
$Per Dominum

[Ant 3]
Nemytýma rukama * jíst, to neznečišťuje člověka.

[Oratio 3]
Uděl nám, prosíme, všemohoucí Bože; abychom, když hledáme milost tvé ochrany, osvobozeni ode všeho zlého, sloužili tobě s upřímnou myslí.
$Per Dominum