Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Other saints: St Alexander of Alexandria (250 - 328)
Kenya, Southern Africa
Alexander played an important role in the growth of the catechetical school at Alexandria. When he was made bishop, he continued in his efforts to educate the faithful in the faith. He encountered serious challenges especially from Arius, a priest who was teaching that Jesus was only human and not divine. Alexander called bishops together to deal with Arius, who remained incorrigible in his position even after being excommunicated. Alexander died in 328, at the age of seventy-eight.
About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings:
Second Reading: Saint Asterius of Amasea (c.350 - c.410)
Asterius was made Bishop of Amasea between 380 and 390 AD, after having been a lawyer. He was born in Cappadocia and probably died in Amasea in modern Turkey, then in Pontus. Little is known about him, but his lively and vigorous sermons paint a clear picture of the life of the period.
Liturgical colour: violet
Violet is a dark colour, ‘the gloomy cast of the mortified, denoting affliction and melancholy’. Liturgically, it is the colour of Advent and Lent, the seasons of penance and preparation.