A Reflection on Ecclus 44:1–15 and Matthew 19:27–29
Feria V infra Hebdomadam Sexagesimæ
In the spirit of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
As Holy Church advances through the sober violet of Septuagesima’s season, her voice turns our gaze both backward and forward—backward to the “men of renown” who have gone before us, and forward to the eternal reward promised to those who forsake all for Christ.
Today’s lessons unite these two movements: Sirach’s solemn praise of the just (Ecclus 44:1–15) and Our Lord’s promise to those who leave all things for His Name’s sake (Matt 19:27–29). The Church sets them before us in the memory of the Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary—men who truly became part of that noble company whom the Holy Ghost commands us to praise.
“Let Us Now Praise Men of Renown” (Ecclus 44:1)
The sacred author declares:
“Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation.”
Here we encounter a paradox. The world forgets its heroes quickly. Earthly fame withers like grass. Yet the just, though hidden, endure in the memory of God and in the veneration of His Church.
St. Augustine writes:
“The memory of the just is kept not by monuments of marble, but by the imitation of their virtues.” (Sermon 159)
The true monument of a saint is not stone but sanctity reproduced in other souls.
The Seven Holy Founders—noble Florentine merchants—abandoned wealth, status, and the esteem of their city. They withdrew first into solitude on Monte Senario, seeking only to serve the Sorrowful Virgin. In the eyes of the world, they disappeared. In the eyes of heaven, they entered into immortality.
Thus Sirach’s words apply with luminous clarity:
“Their wisdom declareth the people, and the church declareth their praise.”
The Church alone preserves the true history of mankind, for she remembers not the powerful, but the holy.
“Behold, We Have Left All Things” (Matt 19:27)
St. Peter’s question is bold, almost childlike:
“Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?”
St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, notes that Peter speaks not from avarice but from simplicity:
“He did not say this as seeking recompense, but desiring to learn the greatness of the promises.” (Homily 64 on Matthew)
The apostles had left boats and nets. The Seven Founders left commerce and comfort. Religious souls leave even lawful goods for a greater love.
Yet Our Lord does not rebuke Peter. Instead, He unveils a promise so vast it eclipses all earthly sacrifice:
“Every one that hath left house, or brethren… for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.”
St. Gregory the Great teaches:
“The hundredfold is found in this life, when for the love of God a man begins to possess many brethren in the faith, though he left but a few after the flesh.” (Homilies on the Gospels, II.36)
The religious who renounce family gain the universal family of the Church. Those who leave earthly inheritance receive God Himself as their portion.
The Seven Founders experienced this literally: united not by blood but by charity, they became true brethren in Christ, and spiritual fathers to multitudes yet unborn.
The Season of Sexagesima: A School of Renunciation
The liturgical context deepens the message. In Sexagesima, Holy Mother Church prepares us for Lent by reminding us that the Christian life is a pilgrimage marked by struggle, renunciation, and perseverance.
Sirach speaks of the just whose covenant remains firm. Our Lord speaks of reward after sacrifice. The Servite Founders embody both.
They were particularly devoted to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Their renunciation was not merely external; it was Marian and contemplative. They sought to stand beside the Mother beneath the Cross.
St. Bede the Venerable writes of those who leave all:
“He leaves all things who abandons not only possessions but also his own will.” (Commentary on the Gospels)
This is the deeper poverty. It is easier to leave coins than to leave self-love. The Founders, guided by Our Lady, embraced obedience, penance, and fraternity. In doing so, they entered into that “regeneration” of which Christ speaks—the renewal of all things in the Son of Man.
The Immortality of the Just
Sirach concludes:
“Their bodies are buried in peace.”
The Church often emphasizes this phrase in reference to founders and patriarchs. They died not in agitation but in consummation.
St. Augustine reflects:
“Peace is the tranquility of order.” (City of God, XIX.13)
The just die in peace because their lives were ordered toward God. Having left all, they lack nothing.
And what of us?
We may not be called to found an Order or withdraw to a mountain. But every Christian is summoned to some form of holy renunciation:
– to leave sin,
– to leave pride,
– to leave attachment to passing goods,
– to leave fear of the Cross.
In this way, we too may become part of that blessed lineage:
“Their seed shall continue for ever, and their glory shall not be forsaken.”
The saints are not merely figures of the past; they are seeds of eternity planted in the soil of time.
A Spiritual Resolution
In the spirit of the Seven Holy Founders, let us ask:
- What “nets” must I leave behind?
- What worldly securities hinder a more generous following of Christ?
- Am I willing to receive the hundredfold in God’s way, not mine?
As we approach Lent, let us entrust ourselves to the Sorrowful Virgin, whom the Servite Founders loved so ardently. Standing beside her at Calvary, we learn the secret of fruitful renunciation: to lose all in order to gain Him who is All.
Then, perhaps, one day it may be said of us—however hidden our lives:
“Their name liveth unto generation and generation.”
Not for our glory, but for His.