Christian Art | The Crucified Lord Jesus Expresses His Love For Saint Francis
Office Of Readings | Week 26, Monday, Ordinary Time | From The Letter Of Saint Polycarp To The Philippians | Let Us Be Armed With The Armour Of Integrity
‘Let us put on the armour of righteousness.’
Writing to the Philippians in the early second century, Saint Polycarp consciously places himself in continuity with Saint Paul, who had both preached in their city (Acts 16) and written to them decades earlier. His humility is striking: he openly acknowledges that he cannot rival the ‘wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul’, yet he exhorts the faithful to live according to the same gospel Paul proclaimed. In this way, Polycarp embodies the role of a bishop as both guardian of apostolic teaching and shepherd of souls.
Faith, Hope, And Love | Framework Of Righteousness
Polycarp summarises the Christian life in three virtues: ‘faith, the mother of us all, followed by hope, preceded by love.’ This triad echoes Paul’s teaching, especially in 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 Thessalonians 1:3, where faith, hope, and love are described as the essence of Christian existence. By calling faith ‘the mother’, Polycarp underlines its foundational role in giving birth to the life of grace. Hope naturally follows, sustaining believers on their journey. Yet it is love—placed before both—that he describes as the true guardian of righteousness: ‘Whoever has love is far from sin.’ Here Polycarp anticipates later Fathers, such as Augustine, who would stress that love is the fulfilment of the law.
Armour Of Righteousness | Biblical Imagery Of Spiritual Warfare
The image ‘putting on the armour of righteousness’ draws directly from Paul’s letters (cf. Ephesians 6:11–17; 2 Corinthians 6:7). For early Christians, life was understood as a spiritual battle against sin and the powers of darkness. To be armed with righteousness meant to live with integrity before God, protected by the virtues that enable perseverance. Polycarp’s exhortation would have resonated with a community conscious of persecution and temptation. In a society marked by Roman imperial cults and social pressures, righteousness was not merely private virtue but a public witness of loyalty to Christ.
Order Within The Household And The Church
Polycarp extends his teaching into practical exhortations for Christian households and Church ministries. Wives are urged to live in fidelity and chastity; widows are to be dedicated to prayer, avoiding gossip and greed; deacons are to be blameless, serving not men but Christ himself. These instructions echo Paul’s so-called ‘household codes’ in the pastoral epistles (e.g., Titus 2; 1 Timothy 3). Yet Polycarp gives them a distinctly spiritual depth: widows, he says, must remember that ‘they are God’s sacrificial altar’. This striking image conveys the early Christian understanding of consecrated life—where personal holiness itself becomes an offering to God.
Greed And Detachment
One of Polycarp’s strongest warnings concerns avarice: ‘the source of all evil is the desire to possess.’ This again reflects the apostolic tradition (cf. 1 Timothy 6:10). In a bustling Roman colony such as Philippi, economic life was integral to identity and status. Polycarp calls Christians to radical detachment: remembering that ‘we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it’. By rejecting greed and selfish ambition, the community could remain free for the service of God and neighbour.
Resurrection and hope of glory
Finally, Polycarp anchors his exhortations in the ultimate Christian hope: resurrection with Jesus Christ. Just as God raised Jesus, so too will he raise those who live according to his commandments. Polycarp links moral living and eschatological hope with striking clarity. The life to come is not a vague promise but a concrete reality, assured by Christ’s own rising from the dead. To ‘reign with him’ is the reward promised to those who persevere in faithfulness.
From The Letter Of Saint Polycarp To The Philippians | Let Us Be Armed With The Armour Of Integrity
It is not out of presumption that I write to you, my brothers, on what righteousness means, but rather because you asked me to do so. For neither I nor anyone like me can equal the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul. When he was in your city, he fully and courageously taught the men of that time the word of truth; when he was absent, he wrote you letters. By carefully studying these letters, you can strengthen yourselves in the faith that has been given to you. This faith is the mother of us all, followed by hope, preceded by love – love of God, of Christ, of our neighbor. Whoever lives within this framework has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness. For anyone who has love is far from sin.
Now the source of all evil is the desire to possess. Mindful that we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it, let us put on the armor of righteousness. We must begin by teaching ourselves how to walk in the commandment of the Lord. Then you should teach your wives to walk in the faith that has been handed down to them, in love and in chastity. They must love their husbands with complete fidelity, but they must cherish all others equally, and with self-control; they must raise their children in the discipline that comes from fear of God. We must teach widows to be discreet in all that concerns the faith of the Lord; they must pray without ceasing for all men, shunning all calumny, gossip, false witness, greed, in a word, every sort of evil. They must bear in mind that they are God’s sacrificial altar. He sees everything clearly, nothing escapes his vigilance, be it calculation, thought or some secret desire of the heart.
God, as we know, is not mocked. Let us walk in a way that is worthy of his commands and his purposes. Deacons, in the same way, must be blameless in the sight of his goodness, for they are servants of God and of Christ, not of men. They must avoid calumny, hypocritical talk and greed. Merciful and diligent, they must control all their desires, walking according to the truth of the Lord who became the servant of all. If we please him in this life, we shall receive the life to come; for he has promised us that he will raise us from the dead, and that, if we lead lives worthy of him, we shall reign along with him. This is what our faith tells us.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ,
you clothed yourself in humility and bore the burden of our sins.
Strengthen us to put on the armour of righteousness,
that our thoughts, words, and deeds may be pleasing in your sight.
Keep us free from greed and pride,
and deepen in us faith, hope, and love.
As you were raised in glory,
raise us also on the last day,
that we may reign with you for ever.
Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Armour of righteousness – A biblical image (cf. Ephesians 6:11–17) for the virtues and graces that protect Christians in their spiritual struggle against sin and temptation.
Faith, hope, and love – The three theological virtues. Faith is trust in God’s promises, hope is confidence in his future salvation, and love (charity) is the highest virtue, directing us to God and neighbour.
Household codes – Instructions found in the New Testament and early Christian writings that guide the moral and spiritual life of family members (wives, husbands, children, widows) and church officers (such as deacons).
Widows as God’s sacrificial altar – Polycarp’s striking phrase, suggesting that the prayer and holiness of widows are an offering to God, comparable to sacrifices in the Temple.
Greed (avarice) – Described here as ‘the source of all evil’, meaning an excessive desire to possess wealth or material goods, which leads the heart away from God.
Resurrection – The Christian hope that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, so too his followers will be raised to eternal life and share in his reign.
Yesterday, we heard in the Gospel of Jesus’ most merciful response to the woman who came to him begging forgiveness for her sins. Today we learn more about Jesus’ relationships with women. Given the understandings of the time, this Gospel account of the women in Jesus’ life is surprising and also inspiring. Luke’s Gospel has been considered the Gospel of women. In these Bible verses, we find the women who followed Jesus, as disciples, to be accounted as equivalent to the men [ … ]
Christian Art | Parousia | Second Coming | Lamb Of God, You Take Away The Sins Of The World Luke 17: 26-37 (Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word) Early Christian thought about the Parousia – the second coming – was largely influenced by the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Saint Paul. In the early Christian community, expectation of Christ’s return was strong, and many Christians believed that it would happen in their lifetime. This belief is evident in the New Testament, where the authors express a sense of urgency in their writings and encourage their readers to be prepared for Christ’s imminent return. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, the idea of the Parousia became more complex and nuanced. Theological debates arose around the nature of Christ’s return and the events that would precede it. Some theologians, such as Origen and Augustine, saw the Parousia as a spiritual event that was already happening in the Church. Others, such as the Montanists and the millenarians, believed in a literal, physical return of Christ and the establishment of a new, earthly Kingdom. In the Middle Ages, the Parousia was often associated with apocalypticism and the idea of a final, cataclysmic battle between good and evil – the last battle. The idea of the Antichrist, who would precede Christ’s return, became a popular theme in Christian literature, and the book of Revelation (Apocalypse – meaning to reveal, to uncover) was interpreted as a prophetic guide to the end of the world. Biblical Basis For The Parousia | The Second Coming The concept of the Parousia, or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is central to Christian eschatology and is supported by numerous biblical passages in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, there are numerous passages that refer to the coming of a Messiah who will restore Israel and bring about the final judgment. For example, in Daniel 7:13-14, it is written: ‘I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ This passage describes a divine figure who comes in the clouds and is given dominion over all nations. In the New Testament, the Parousia is described in greater detail, particularly in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Saint Paul. Jesus speaks of his return in many passages, including Matthew 24:30-31, where Jesus says: ‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ Here, Jesus describes his return in power and glory, accompanied by angels who gather Jesus’ elect from all over the world. In Saint Paul’s letters, the Parousia is also described in detail. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Saint Paul writes: ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’ This passage describes a resurrection of the dead and the gathering of believers to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. The language and imagery used to describe the Parousia are often dramatic and apocalyptic in nature. The Parousia is often described as a time of judgment, when the righteous will be separated from the wicked, and God’s justice will be fully revealed. The imagery of clouds, trumpets, and angels is used to depict the power and glory of Christ’s return. Theological Interpretations Of The Parousia | Jesus’ Second Coming The concept of the Parousia has been interpreted in a variety of ways throughout Christian history. Dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a theological framework that emerged in the 19th Century and has since become popular among some evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. Dispensationalists believe that history is divided into distinct periods or ‘dispensations’, each of which is marked by a particular mode of divine revelation and a specific plan of salvation. According to dispensationalist theology, the Parousia will be preceded by a period of tribulation, during which the Antichrist will establish a one-world government and the Jews will be restored to their homeland. The Parousia itself will involve a physical, visible return of Christ, who will establish a thousand-year reign on earth before the final judgment. Preterism Preterism is a theological interpretation of the Parousia that holds that many of the prophecies in the New Testament, particularly those in the book of Revelation, were fulfilled in the first century AD. According to this view, the Parousia occurred in a spiritual sense when Christ ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to empower the Church. Preterists argue that the tribulation and other end-time events predicted in the New Testament were fulfilled in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Postmillennialism Postmillennialism is a theological view that holds that the Parousia will occur after a period of history in which the Church will gradually bring about the kingdom of God on earth. According to this view, the Church will spread the gospel throughout the world, and social, political, and economic conditions will gradually improve. Eventually, Christ will return to a world that has been largely transformed by the Gospel. Amillennialism […]
Saint Augustine reflects on Ezekiel 34, where God condemns unfaithful shepherds who exploit the flock for their own benefit while neglecting their pastoral duties. The text distinguishes between the shepherds’ concern for themselves and their neglect of the sheep. The imagery of consuming milk and wearing wool symbolises the material benefits that leaders receive from their communities. These are not illegitimate in themselves, as Paul’s writings indicate, but they become corrupt when they are detached from genuine pastoral care [ … ]
