Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige Deacon Richard Vehige

On Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Judges (8: 22-23, 30-32; 9: 1-15, 19-20) entitled “The people of God attempt to find a king”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr.
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).
In the Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, phrase by phrase, giving a revealing, beautiful and profound vision of the traditional prayer.
Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who did not have the true spirit of faith. When the Decian persecution began, many Christians easily abandoned the Church. It was their reinstatement that caused the great controversies of the third century, and helped the Church progress in its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.

On Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Judges (6: 33-40; 7: 1-8, 16-22a) entitled “Gideon conquers with a smaller army”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr.
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).
In the Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, phrase by phrase, giving a revealing, beautiful and profound vision of the traditional prayer.
Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who did not have the true spirit of faith. When the Decian persecution began, many Christians easily abandoned the Church. It was their reinstatement that caused the great controversies of the third century, and helped the Church progress in its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.

On Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Judges (6: 1-6, 11-24a) entitled “The call of Gideon”. Our treasure for today, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr.
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).
In the Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, phrase by phrase, giving a revealing, beautiful and profound vision of the traditional prayer.
Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.

On Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Judges (4: 1-24) entitled “Deborah and Barak”. Our treasure for today, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr.
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).
In the Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, phrase by phrase, giving a revealing, beautiful and profound vision of the traditional prayer.
Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.

On the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Judges (2: 6----3:4) entitled “Israel in the time of judges”. Our treasure for today, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr.
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).
In the Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, phrase by phrase, giving a revealing, beautiful and profound vision of the traditional prayer.
Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who did not have the true spirit of faith. When the Decian persecution began, many Christians easily abandoned the Church. It was their reinstatement that caused the great controversies of the third century, and helped the Church progress in its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.
 

On Saturday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the beginning of the book of Joshua (24: 1-7, 13-28), entitled “The renewal of the covenant in the promised land”. Our treasure for today, which follows, is from the Explanations of the Psalms by Saint Ambrose, bishop.
The Book of Joshua presents a narrative of the way Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, making it the land of Israel. This process is swift and inexorable, and is followed by an orderly division and disposition of the land among the twelve tribes, with a concluding ceremony of covenant renewal.
The theological message of the book is unmistakable. God has been faithful to the promise of the land. If Israel relies totally on the Lord for victory; if Israel is united as a people; if the law of herem is kept and no one grows rich from victory in war—then and only then will Israel possess the land.
The Israelites are led by Joshua, the successor of Moses, and the book is at pains to show not only how Joshua carries on the work of Moses but how the “conquest” of Canaan is continuous with the exodus from Egypt. This is seen in the repeated insistence that, as the Lord was with Moses, so he is with Joshua; and, especially, in the crossing of the Jordan River, which is patterned after the crossing of the Red Sea.
The Psalms are a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers that make up the third and final section of the biblical canon, known as the Writings. They were written by many different authors over time, including King David, Solomon, Moses, and other worship leaders. The psalms are often set to music, but not always, and express the emotions of the individual poet to or about God. 
Saint Ambrose was a fourth century, theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan, Italy. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, firstly promoting Roman Christianity against Arianism and paganism.
 Saint Ambrose is a Doctor of the Church. He is celebrated for his scholarship, service to the unfortunate, oratory skills, leadership of the people, and defense of the Church.