👑Last of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, Saint Edward distinguished himself not by arms, but by a profound piety and a just and peaceful reign. His life was marked by extraordinary charity towards the poor and a tireless zeal for the faith, culminating in the construction of Westminster Abbey, a monument to his devotion. He ruled as one who serves, detached from royal pomp and with his heart set on the Kingdom of Heaven, being an example of sanctity on the throne.
📜Epistle (Ecclus 31:8-11)
Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. Who is he, and we will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life. Who hath been tried thereby, and found perfect, he shall have eternal glory: he that could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed; and could do evil things, and hath not done them: Therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and all the church of the saints shall declare his alms.
✝️Gospel (Luke 12:35-40)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister unto them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Be you then also ready: for at an hour when you think not, the Son of man will come.
🤔Reflections
💡“Let your loins be girt” signifies the control of concupiscence; “burning lamps,” the good works that shine forth. Thus, the faithful servant, like Saint Edward, does not surrender to the sleep of negligence, but governs his actions and enlightens the world with charity, awaiting not with fear, but with love, the coming of his Lord, who will find him not idle, but reigning for Him. (Saint Augustine, Sermon 60 on the New Testament).
💖True blessedness is not in possessing gold, but in not being possessed by it. He who, like King Saint Edward, “could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed,” using his riches not for himself but for the poor, secures his goods in the heavenly treasury. His eternal glory is the testimony that his heart never strayed to avarice, and the assembly of the saints praises not his earthly power, but his alms. (Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews).
⚖️Temporal power finds its legitimacy and perfection when it submits to the reign of Christ. A ruler like Saint Edward concretely demonstrates that civil authority must be exercised as a service to promote virtue and peace, preparing subjects for the eternal kingdom. By governing with justice and charity, he recognized that all sovereignty on earth is a participation in the sovereignty of Christ the King, making his kingdom a reflection of the divine order. (Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas).
✍️See English version of the critical articles here.
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