O Holy Father John Chrysostom, you are a brilliant torch flooding the universe with light!

Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
1 Corinthians 7:35-31
Psalm 44:10-11, 13b-14, 15-16 (r. 10a)
Luke 6:20-26

A Preacher Unlike Any Other
Would that Saint John Chrysostom could stand here in my place today and preach with that golden-mouthed eloquence given him by the Holy Spirit! How would we respond to his preaching? Saint Chrysostom’s preaching disturbed the placid, inflamed the tepid, woke up the drowsy, exposed corruption, frightened the indifferent, unsettled the comfortable, and caused the pious to squirm. His preaching also inspired confidence in the Blood of Christ, gave hope to the hopeless, caused sinners to weep with sorrow for their faults, inspired the rich to give abundantly of their wealth, moved people to detachment from earthly goods, humbled the haughty, brought fornicators to chastity, converted swindlers to justice, and endowed the ignorant with the science of Jesus Christ.

Immersion in the Word of God
The secret of Saint John Chrysostom’s eloquence was his total immersion in the Word of God. Centuries later, Blessed Abbot Marmion would say that nothing imparts a penetrating unction to preaching as much as a continual reference to the Word of God. On this point the greatest preachers are of one mind: their task is to repeat the Word in other words, to deliver not their own wisdom, but the wisdom of God revealed in the “Word of the Cross” (1 Cor 1:18). Take to heart Saint Chrysostom’s admonition:

Listen carefully to me, I entreat you. . . . Procure books that will be medicines for the soul. . . . At least get a copy of the New Testament, the Apostle’s epistles, the Acts, the Gospels, for your constant teachers. If you encounter grief, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take from them comfort for your trouble, whether it be loss, or death, or bereavement over the loss of relations. Don’t simply dive into them. Swim in them. Keep them constantly in your mind. The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well.

The Cause of All Evils
The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well. Why does the Golden-Mouthed Doctor say this? Because he who fails to know the Scriptures well fails to know the mind and heart of Christ. He who knows not the mind and heart of Christ receives the Body and Blood of Christ with little fruit. It is the Word, the “Word of the Cross” (1 Cor 1:18), that prepares us for the Holy Sacrifice. It is the Word heard (lectio), repeated (meditatio), prayed (oratio), and held in the heart (contemplatio) that prepares the soul to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and prolongs the effects of Holy Communion in daily life.

The Word of the Cross and the Fruits of the Precious Blood
The intensity of our Eucharistic life is directly proportionate to our immersion in the Word of God. Ask Saint John Chrysostom today to pray that we may cleave to the “Word of the Cross” (1 Cor 1:18) and so experience the lasting fruits of the Precious Blood of Christ.