Word of the week Vaiy

The sermon “Word for the Week of Vay” was delivered by St. Ambrose of Milan on the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The speech begins with a repetition of the Gospel read that day. The saint draws attention to the fact that the Savior entered Jerusalem on the day when the Jews were choosing the Passover lamb. Christ is the true Lamb, “Who was to be crucified at the heel.” Just as those who met Christ then spread their clothes before Him and cut palm branches, so now we must imitate them in a spiritual way. The donkey is a righteous soul in which the Lord arouses aversion from the world and love for the heavenly fatherland. To lay out clothes means to pacify the body with abstinence. The branches of the trees are the virtues of the saints, which we must imitate: the obedience of Abraham, the chastity of Joseph, the humility of David, etc. It is necessary to try to defeat the devil with a virtuous life, “for it is in vain that he holds date branches in his hands, whom the devil overcomes with flattery.” At the end of his speech, St. Ambrose calls for worthwhile preparation for Easter and the reception of the Holy Mysteries: “He will desecrate Easter who harbors hatred, even against one person; because such a one through communion will not live with Peter, but will die with Judas.” The year the sermon was preached is unknown. Now you have gathered to church with great, contrary to usual, zeal, and with joy you carry tree branches in your hands. Since, without knowing the purpose and meaning of what you are doing, you will be left without benefit, then I consider it necessary to repeat the Gospel read today. It said that our Savior, entering Jerusalem, five days before His suffering, mounted a donkey on the Mount of Olives, and that the people, hearing about His procession, came out to meet Him with date branches, and when they began to approach the foot of the mountain, those accompanying Him began to praise God with joy. After this, until the evening of Thursday, when the Lord was betrayed after supper, He taught the people every day in the church, and spent the nights on the Mount of Olives. Here, first of all, it is necessary to note the day on which Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. It was the tenth day of the month on which the Passover lamb was chosen, which the Israelites slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the month (Ex. 12:3-6); consequently, Christ, the true lamb, who was to receive the crucifixion at the heel, entered Jerusalem on the day on which the representative lamb was chosen. Further, the Holy Church, this tender mother of ours, commands us, following the example of those who met Jesus Christ then, to spread clothes along His path and cut tree branches - only in a spiritual way. Nowadays every righteous soul replaces the donkey; on it the Lord now enters Jerusalem when, dwelling in our souls, arouses in them aversion from the world and love for the heavenly fatherland. You spread your clothes along the way before the Lord when, preparing the way for Him to come to you, you pacify your bodies with abstinence; and you will receive branches from trees if, having loved the virtues of the saints, you prepare the way for the Lord to come to you; for what else were Abraham, Joseph, David, and other righteous people, if not fruitful trees of the Church of God? Therefore, if you want to achieve eternal salvation, then learn obedience from Abraham, chastity from Joseph, humility from David; and since the date is a sign of victory, then we will correctly hold date branches in our hands when, singing songs of victory, we try to defeat the devil with a virtuous life; because it is in vain that he holds date branches in his hands, whom the devil overcomes with flattery. Finally, know that just as we do bad things when we do not proclaim to you the mysteries of our Savior, so you also do bad things if you do not respect them properly. Therefore, the closer the Easter holiday approaches, the more you try to prepare yourself by cleansing yourself from hatred, envy, slander, blasphemy and quarrels, so that you can celebrate the day of the Lord worthily. Therefore forgive those who have sinned against you, so that the Lord may forgive you your sins. He will desecrate Easter who harbors hatred against at least one person; because such a one through communion will not come to life with Peter, but will die with Judas, from which may He who created and redeemed you, our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who lives forever and ever, deliver you. Amen. You might be interested in: