Birth of ChristRobert Campin
oil on panel / 1425-30
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon
From the Book of Sirach
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
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Mass times in the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth: http://www.fwdioc.org
Picture from Art and the Bible: http://www.artbible.info/
2 comments:
I love Google. It led me first to Wikipedia, which was uncharacteristically unhelpful on the topic of books in the Douay Bible, so then I googled "Sirac" and read a statement by the USCCB [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops].
Thank you for expanding my world...
I agree it is enjoyable to research subjects unfamiliar to us.
Virtually all the Early Fathers considered the Sacred Text of the Hellinist Jews to be canonical, ie, what is commonly called the Apocrypha was a part of the Bible for the Alexandrian Jews.
If it is or isn't, the passage is sound advice.
Thanks.
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