Universalis

  In 374 the bishopric of Milan fell vacant and when Ambrose tried to pacify the conflict between the Catholics and Arians over the appointment of a new bishop, the people turned on him and demanded that he become the bishop himself. He was a layman and not yet baptized (at this time it was common for baptism to be delayed and for people to remain for years as catechumens), but that was no defence. Coerced by the people and by the emperor, he was baptized, ordained, and installed as bishop within a week, on 7 December 374.

  He immediately gave his money to the poor and his land to the Church and set about learning theology. He had the advantage of knowing Greek, which few people did at that time, and so he was able to read the Eastern theologians and philosophers as well as those of the West.

  He was assiduous in carrying out his office, acting with charity to all: a true shepherd and teacher of the faithful. He was unimpressed by status and when the Emperor Theodosius ordered the massacre of 7,000 people in Thessalonica, Ambrose forced him to do public penance. He defended the rights of the Church and attacked the Arian heresy with learning, firmness and gentleness. He also wrote a number of hymns which are still in use today.

  Ambrose was a key figure in the conversion of St Augustine to Catholicism, impressing Augustine (hitherto unimpressed by the Catholics he had met) by his intelligence and scholarship. He died on Holy Saturday, 4 April 397.

  Mi 7:14-15, 18-20

  The first reading from the prophet Micah is a prayer for forgiveness, an attestation of the loving mercy of God, one of the three prayers of hope added to the end of the prophecy. The opening lines suggest the circumstances of the return from the Exile, when the little community was huddled round Jerusalem, beset with enemies all round them and unable to enjoy the pasturelands all around the city – not unlike the Prodigal Son deprived of and yearning for his heritage.

  The prayer itself twice invokes the faithful love of God. This is an emblematic word describing the very nature of God. When Israel rebelled against God and worshipped the golden bull (insultingly described as a “golden calf”), Moses in his despair asked for a vision or experience of God himself. The glory of God passed before him, crying out the meaning of the name which had been revealed to him, “The Lord, the Lord, a God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and constancy” (Ex 34:6). This description of God’s unbreakable love and mercy, the undying love of a faithful close-knit family, echoes down the Scripture. In the close-knit family culture of Israel a family member knew that he or she would in the last analysis always have the other members of the family at hand to bail them out of whatever dire necessity struck. This was the faithful love which God promised to Abraham and to Jacob. God would tread down their faults to the bottom of the sea and delight in showing faithful love. This is the model of the love of the Forgiving Father.

  The Gospel reading of the day is Lk 15:1-3, 11-32.

  Action:

  Do something to help someone with a serious physical disability.