Saint Pius X, Pope
on Friday of week 20 in Ordinary Time
First Reading
Ezekiel 37:1–14
The hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, a valley full of bones. He made me walk up and down among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the ground the whole length of the valley; and they were quite dried up.
He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘You know, Lord.’ He said, ‘Prophesy over these bones. Say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this to these bones: I am now going to make the breath enter you, and you will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will learn that I am the Lord.”’
I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a sound of clattering; and the bones joined together. I looked, and saw that they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, but there was no breath in them.
He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead; let them live!”’ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.
Then he said, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” So prophesy. Say to them, “The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.”’
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 106(107):2–9
Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
or
Alleluia.
Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed,
whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe
and gathered from far-off lands,
from east and west, north and south.
Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
or
Alleluia.
Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.
Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.
Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
or
Alleluia.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress
and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.
Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
or
Alleluia.
Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men:
for he satisfies the thirsty soul;
he fills the hungry with good things.
Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
or
Alleluia.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Teach me your paths, my God,
and lead me in your truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew 22:34–40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’
Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’
Reflection
Ezekiel is not shown a battlefield where life has only recently been lost. The valley is filled with bones that are already dry. Every natural sign of recovery has disappeared. This is how the people of Israel understand their condition: “Our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” Their exile has become more than a political disaster. They have begun to believe that their covenantal life with God has ended.
When God asks Ezekiel whether the bones can live, the prophet does not offer easy confidence or surrender to despair. He answers, “You know, Lord.” It is a remarkably honest response. Ezekiel cannot see a human path back to life, but he refuses to make his limited sight the measure of God’s power.
The restoration unfolds in stages. The bones join together, sinews and flesh appear, and skin covers them; yet they remain without breath. An outwardly complete body is not necessarily alive. Only when the breath enters them do they stand. The vision recalls creation, when God formed the human being from the earth and breathed life into him. It also anticipates the gift of the Holy Spirit, who does not merely improve our circumstances but gives divine life from within. The Catechism describes the Holy Spirit as “the Lord, the giver of life” and the one through whom the Father raises the dead (CCC 703–706; 989–990).
This makes the psalm more than a general expression of gratitude. The redeemed have been scattered, hungry, thirsty and unable to find a place where they can dwell. Their rescue begins when they cry to the Lord in their distress. God gathers them from every direction, leads them along the right way and satisfies what they could not satisfy for themselves.
Both readings describe people who have lost not only security but direction. The dry bones cannot move, and the wanderers cannot find their way home. God answers both forms of helplessness: he gives breath to the dead and a path to the lost. Christian hope does not deny the valley or pretend that hunger is already fullness. It trusts that neither death nor disorientation places us beyond the reach of God’s faithful love. This hope is rooted in Christ’s resurrection and directed towards our own (CCC 1817–1821; 994–1004).
The Gospel reveals the form that restored life must take. When asked to identify the greatest commandment, Jesus refuses to separate devotion to God from responsibility towards another person. We must love God with the whole heart, soul and mind; and we must love our neighbour as ourselves. These are not competing demands. Love of neighbour is one of the places where love of God becomes concrete.
Jesus says that the Law and the Prophets “hang” on these two commandments. Everything else must be understood through them. Religious knowledge, discipline and observance may provide structure, but without love they resemble the bodies in Ezekiel’s valley before the breath arrives: assembled, recognisable and still not fully alive.
The love Jesus commands is more demanding than affection. It involves the whole person and therefore enters our decisions, priorities, speech and use of time. Love of God cannot remain a private feeling, while love of neighbour cannot be reduced to approving of people from a safe distance. The Catechism teaches that charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves for love of God (CCC 1822–1829).
There are times when our spiritual lives resemble Ezekiel’s first stage of restoration. The pieces may be in place: prayer, Mass, knowledge and familiar language. Yet something remains breathless. Today’s readings do not tell us to manufacture spiritual life by trying harder. They direct us first towards God, who gives his Spirit, and then towards the neighbour in whom that new life must become visible.
The valley of dry bones and the two commandments belong together. God restores life not so that we may simply stand again, but so that we may love. The clearest sign that his breath is active within us is not religious appearance alone, but an undivided love of God that changes how we encounter the person beside us.
One line to carry today:
God breathes life into what is dead so that love can become active again.
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