Feast of St. Ambrose of Milan, Bishop (340-397)

On the day of his consecration as Bishop, December 7th 

From the daily readings of For All the Saints: A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Volume I (p. 23):

"The patriarchs also live, for God could not be called the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, except the dead were living; for He is not the God of the dead but of the living.  And we, too, shall live if we be willing to copy the deeds and habits of our predecessors.  We marvel at the rewards of the patriarchs—let us copy their faithfulness; we tell of their grace—let us follow their obedience; let us not, enticed by material appetite, fall into the snares of the world...The patriarchs exchanged their homeland for another soil—let us exchange earth for heaven; they changed in earthly habitation—let us change in spirit.  To them Wisdom showed the heavens illuminated with stars [Genesis 15:5]; let that same Wisdom enlighten the eyes of our heart."     St. Ambrose, On Belief in the Resurrection