From: Luke 3:10-18
The Preaching of John the Baptist [Continued]
[10] And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?" [11] And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" [13] And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you." [14] Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."
[15] As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, [16] John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. [17] His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
[18] So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.
_________________________
Commentary:
12-13. With honesty and courage St John the Baptist lays bare each person's fault. The chief sin of tax collectors lay in their using their privileged position as collaborators of the Roman authorities to acquire personal wealth at the expense of the Jewish people: Rome specified how much Israel as a whole should yield by way of taxes; the tax collectors abused their position by extorting more than was necessary. Take the case of Zacchaeus, for example, who, after his conversion, admits that he acquired wealth unjustly and, under the influence of grace, promises our Lord to make generous restitution (cf. Lk 19:1-10).
The Baptist's preaching contains a norm of natural justice which the Church also preaches. Public position should be regarded, above all, as an opportunity to serve society, not to obtain personal gain at the expense of the common good and of that justice which people holding such positions are supposed to administer. Certainly, anyone who has fallen into the temptation of unjustly appropriating what belongs to another must not only confess his sin in the sacrament of Penance if he is to obtain pardon; he must also resolve to give back what is not his.
14. The Baptist requires of everyone - Pharisees, tax collectors, soldiers - a deep spiritual renewal in the very exercise of their job; they have to act justly and honourably. God asks all of us to sanctify ourselves in our work and in the circumstances in which we find ourselves: "Any honest and worthwhile work can be converted into a divine occupation. In God's service there are no second-class jobs; all of them are important" ([St.] J. Escriva, Conversations, 55).
15-17. Using expressive imagery, John announces Christian Baptism, proclaiming that he is not the Messiah; he, who is on his way, will come with the authority of supreme Judge that belongs to God, and with the dignity of the Messiah, who has no human equal.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Principles and Practices - December 13
DEPENDENT ON LOVE
A Christian ought to rejoice, not because of his good works and virtuous life, but because his life and goods are sweet solely for the love of God, and for no other reason whatever. A Christian, if he will make his rejoicing to God in moral goods, must keep in mind that the value of his good works, fasting, alms-giving, penances, and prayers, does not depend upon their number and nature, but on the love which moves him to perform them for God.
-St. John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
A Christian ought to rejoice, not because of his good works and virtuous life, but because his life and goods are sweet solely for the love of God, and for no other reason whatever. A Christian, if he will make his rejoicing to God in moral goods, must keep in mind that the value of his good works, fasting, alms-giving, penances, and prayers, does not depend upon their number and nature, but on the love which moves him to perform them for God.
-St. John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 12
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
No aspect of our blessed Lord's life is made so much of by the saints as His sufferings; and at the same time nothing is so neglected, or indeed contemned, by unbelievers and by wordly Christians. "All the Saints," says St. Alphonsus, "cherished a tender devotion toward Jesus Christ in His passion; this is the only means by which they sanctified themselves."
"He who desires," says St. Bonaventure, "to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the passion of Jesus."
"The first cause of the passion," says St. Thomas Aquinas, "was that He wished it to be known how much God loved man."
"Quaesivit nos infirmitate sua," says St. Augustine - "He would win us by His weakness."
Thus, meditation on the passion has been the grand occupation of all holy souls. We cannot make too much of the stupendous fact that Christ suffered - and suffered all His life - in every variety of pain and anguish beyond what it was possible for mere mortal men to suffer. Suffering in this exercise of her divine and austere mission, was waiting for Him when He set His foot upon the earth. She stood beside the crib at Bethlehem, and accompanied Him in the wanderings of His infancy. She dwelt within the walls of the holy house, cherished by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
When He went forth upon His Father's business, she trod the ways of Judea and Galilee by His side and led Him by the hand to toil, to contempt, to ingratitude, to cold, and hunger, and watching. She caused Him to feel the sorrows of His Mother. She let Him taste the bitterness of being disowned by the high and by the lowly, rejected by His own people, distrusted by the little children. She wrung from Him in the garden, that cry of anguish prophesied long before: "Save me, O God, for the waters have broken in even upon my soul!" (Ps. lxviii. 1).
She beckoned Him to the pretorium, and to the mockery and horror of the crowning with thorns. She laid the cross upon His bleeding shoulders, and went before Him on the road to Calvary. Then she stood still on the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense, where bitterness was to be supreme and sacrifice was to go up to the heavens; she stood still, and pointed to the cross and the nails; and He said: "Behold, I come!"
And when the cross had been lifted up, suffering, for yet three hours, lingered in the silence of the darkness; for yet three hours - and then her mission was at an end; and, as when a dark cloud breaks and the rains stream upon the earth, suffering, since that day, has fallen on men and women in every age and over all the world, and every drop has been full of the fragrance of the cross...[continued tomorrow]
-Bishop Hedley.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
No aspect of our blessed Lord's life is made so much of by the saints as His sufferings; and at the same time nothing is so neglected, or indeed contemned, by unbelievers and by wordly Christians. "All the Saints," says St. Alphonsus, "cherished a tender devotion toward Jesus Christ in His passion; this is the only means by which they sanctified themselves."
"He who desires," says St. Bonaventure, "to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the passion of Jesus."
"The first cause of the passion," says St. Thomas Aquinas, "was that He wished it to be known how much God loved man."
"Quaesivit nos infirmitate sua," says St. Augustine - "He would win us by His weakness."
Thus, meditation on the passion has been the grand occupation of all holy souls. We cannot make too much of the stupendous fact that Christ suffered - and suffered all His life - in every variety of pain and anguish beyond what it was possible for mere mortal men to suffer. Suffering in this exercise of her divine and austere mission, was waiting for Him when He set His foot upon the earth. She stood beside the crib at Bethlehem, and accompanied Him in the wanderings of His infancy. She dwelt within the walls of the holy house, cherished by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
When He went forth upon His Father's business, she trod the ways of Judea and Galilee by His side and led Him by the hand to toil, to contempt, to ingratitude, to cold, and hunger, and watching. She caused Him to feel the sorrows of His Mother. She let Him taste the bitterness of being disowned by the high and by the lowly, rejected by His own people, distrusted by the little children. She wrung from Him in the garden, that cry of anguish prophesied long before: "Save me, O God, for the waters have broken in even upon my soul!" (Ps. lxviii. 1).
She beckoned Him to the pretorium, and to the mockery and horror of the crowning with thorns. She laid the cross upon His bleeding shoulders, and went before Him on the road to Calvary. Then she stood still on the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense, where bitterness was to be supreme and sacrifice was to go up to the heavens; she stood still, and pointed to the cross and the nails; and He said: "Behold, I come!"
And when the cross had been lifted up, suffering, for yet three hours, lingered in the silence of the darkness; for yet three hours - and then her mission was at an end; and, as when a dark cloud breaks and the rains stream upon the earth, suffering, since that day, has fallen on men and women in every age and over all the world, and every drop has been full of the fragrance of the cross...[continued tomorrow]
-Bishop Hedley.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Friday, December 11, 2009
Gospel for December 12, Feast: Our Lady of Guadalupe
From: Luke 1:26-38
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end." [34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
__________________________
Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as `full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help--as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis', the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. `Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The `quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the `how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely[...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent `fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady--an __expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life--now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying--`Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27)--simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: `Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvellous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8:21)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end." [34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
__________________________
Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as `full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help--as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis', the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. `Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The `quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the `how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely[...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent `fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady--an __expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life--now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying--`Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27)--simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: `Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvellous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8:21)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Archbishop Raymond Burke Visits Thomas More College's Rome Campus
From yesterday:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPictures of the visit can be viewed here.
December 10, 2009
ARCHBISHOP RAYMOND BURKE VISITS THOMAS MORE COLLEGE’S ROME CAMPUS(ROME, ITALY)—For the second time this semester, the students of Thomas More College’s Rome program enjoyed the company of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. Effectively the Chief Justice of the Roman Catholic Church’s “Supreme Court,” Archbishop Burke is one of the highest ranking Americans in the Roman Curia, which governs the Church on behalf of the pope.
Archbishop Burke celebrated Mass in the College’s Rome campus chapel with students and staff on the Feast of Christ the King. His homily highlighted the importance of letting Christ reign as king in our lives and over society—and the practical steps Christians can take toward making this happen, principally by rediscovering devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thomas More College was formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart on October 16, 2009.
Archbishop Burke then joined the students in the dining hall maintained by the Maronite Catholic monks who host Thomas More College’s Rome program each year. During the three-course meal accompanied by local red wine, Archbishop Burke gave the students free rein to ask questions on a wide array of subjects, according to sophomore William Russell.
“He was very amiable and answered the questions with frankness and sincerity,” said Russell. “The topics ranged from the centrality of the family to the social effects of technology, mediocrity in America, and even the goodness of family farming. Burke is a native of Wisconsin and the son of a dairy farmer, so he has firm opinions on the subject.”
Sophomore Mary Monaghan recounts: “After Mass, when we discussed problems of the world over pistachios and peanuts, it was particularly encouraging to hear Archbishop Burke’s response to the issue of the breakdown of the family—which he cited as the source of most of the troubles in modern culture. He encouraged familial devotion to the Sacred Heart, and the importance of working together and eating together as a family. Though the atmosphere can become tense when dining with a renowned person, our lunch with Archbishop Burke was not like that. He listened to our opinions, too. It was a pleasure speaking with him.”
Over cups of espresso in the formal reception room after dinner, the prefect described the work of the Apostolic Signatura and answered students’ questions about the inner workings of the highest levels of governance in the Church.
Sophomore Benjamin Bible asked Archbishop Burke about his public statements concerning Catholic politicians who dissent from core truths of the Faith, such as the sanctity of life. The Archbishop gave a detailed explanation, which echoed the position he has consistently pronounced publically—that dissenting politicians should not receive or be offered Holy Communion.
The students and the prelate also discussed more global issues, including the recent intervention by the European Court of Human Rights into the Church/State relationship in Italy. In that case, the court decided to pull out the crucifixes which have traditionally been displayed in Italian classrooms. As the chief jurist for a very different international tribunal, Burke offered a well-informed and incisive critique of that court decision.
As the archbishop was preparing to depart, William Russell and Mary Monaghan (who are engaged to be married) asked him for their blessing, which Archbishop Burke cheerfully gave.
“The visit was a great success,” Russell said. “After an afternoon of worship, discussion, and feasting, we all left feeling renewed and refreshed.”
For most of the school’s history, each sophomore at Thomas More College has taken part in the school’s required Rome Semester to gain a first-hand experience of the capital of Christendom. Whether they’re touring ancient pagan temples, navigating the catacombs that hold the bones of saints, or learning the Christian import of masterworks by Bernini and Michaelangelo, students are guided by Thomas More College faculty to place each experience in the context of their broad, liberal arts education and the Catholic tradition.
The Rome semester makes intimate and immediate the school’s tight focus on the history and classic texts of the Western tradition. It pushes students to go beyond their textbooks and lectures to grow in their faith—as well as their understanding of the foundations of Western civilization and American democracy.
Thomas More College’s Rome program is housed in a monastery just miles from the Vatican, where students interact daily with a community of monks—seeing firsthand the mode of life that gave birth to medieval academic culture.
While in Rome, students also are given the opportunity to meet with high level Church officials. In addition to Archbishop Raymond Burke, Thomas More College’s Rome program students have attended Masses with Pope Benedict XVI and dined with Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Archbishop Burke has consistently praised Thomas More College for its fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this year, the archbishop wrote:
Both the liberal arts curriculum and the extracurricular activities at Thomas More College are outstanding for their fidelity to the Magisterium. The teaching at Thomas More College exemplifies the right relationship between faith and reason, which is always at the service of the truth. The faculty of the College are faithful in their teaching and example, and, therefore, are able to educate students in the way which prepares them to follow Christ, the Truth, in both their private and public life. At a time when some Catholic institutions of higher education are drifting from the Catholic faith, it is most heartening to know that Thomas More College continues to promote and defend vigorously the Catholic faith and its practice. To put it simply, Thomas More College is a gift for which all of us should be most grateful.
Dr. William Fahey, president of Thomas More College, said, “Thomas More College is deeply grateful to Archbishop Burke for taking time to visit our Rome campus, and for allowing our students to interact with him in such an intimate and personal setting. We look forward to his continued guidance and support as we seek to develop in our students a profound love for Truth.”
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a four-year undergraduate education which develops young people intellectually, ethically, and spiritually in the Catholic tradition and in faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas More College introduces its students to the central questions of the Western civilization – and to the Church’s response. It teaches the skills in reasoning, speaking, and writing that will allow its graduates to become faithful leaders according to the individual vocations which God has given them. In recent years, the College has allowed the strength of its curriculum to radiate out into several new initiatives, such as its Vatican Studies Center, Center for Faith and Culture (Oxford, England), and the Way of Beauty Program. Through the lectures, books, workshops and other programs hosted by these centers, Thomas More College is consistently seeking new and better ways of communicating perennial truths amid the confusion of contemporary society.
###
Contact: Charlie McKinney
Phone: (603) 880-8308, ext. 21
Mobile: (603) 913-5939
Email: cmckinney@ThomasMoreCollege.edu
EXCOMMUNICATE THEM ALL!!! NOW!!!
Another MAJOR PUBLIC SCANDAL requiring a PUBLIC REPUDIATION!!!
Bishops across this country need to do their duty to protect the faithful from the scandalous actions of these senatorial Death Peddlers!!! WHERE are our shepherds?
Fifteen Catholic Senators voted against Nelson AmendmentThese vile, morally bankrupt individuals support the wanton SLAUGHTER of the INNOCENT UNBORN!!!
Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2009 / 06:29 am (CNA).- A total of fifteen self-described Catholic Senators voted to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment, which would have significantly restricted abortion funding from the Senate health care bill.
The Amendment failed by a 54-45 vote on Tuesday. It was co-sponsored by Democrats Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania, who were joined by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Senator Nelson is a Methodist, Sen. Hatch is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Sen. Casey is a Catholic.
Besides Sen. Casey, Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware was the only other Catholic Democrat to vote against tabling the Nelson Amendment. Sen. Kaufman replaced Sen. Joseph Biden when he became the Vice-President of the United States.
The Catholic Democratic Senators who voted against the Nelson Amendment were Patrick Leahy of Vermont, John Kerry and Paul Kirk of Massachusetts, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington state, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Mark Begich of Alaska.
Bishops across this country need to do their duty to protect the faithful from the scandalous actions of these senatorial Death Peddlers!!! WHERE are our shepherds?
Principles and Practices - December 12
MERCY AND JUSTICE
The mercy of which the Beatitude speaks, and upon which it utters a blessing, is the human counterpart of the mercy of God. It is a mercy penetrated with morality. A mercy aflame with the love of holiness, born of the love of the Holy One. However tender, pitiful, compassionate, toward the sinner, it is instinct with justice and the sense of the hatefulness of sin. It is strong on the side of God and right. It can stoop very low, to the most degraded, the most sin-bespattered, to those whom sin has trodden in the mire, but it stoops with pity to raise them. It sympathizes with the sinner, it never shows a particle of sympathy with sin. It keeps the lustre of its garments unstained while it walks through the haunts of vice and lives in an atmosphere hot and weighted with the fever of sin.
-Fiona McKay.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The mercy of which the Beatitude speaks, and upon which it utters a blessing, is the human counterpart of the mercy of God. It is a mercy penetrated with morality. A mercy aflame with the love of holiness, born of the love of the Holy One. However tender, pitiful, compassionate, toward the sinner, it is instinct with justice and the sense of the hatefulness of sin. It is strong on the side of God and right. It can stoop very low, to the most degraded, the most sin-bespattered, to those whom sin has trodden in the mire, but it stoops with pity to raise them. It sympathizes with the sinner, it never shows a particle of sympathy with sin. It keeps the lustre of its garments unstained while it walks through the haunts of vice and lives in an atmosphere hot and weighted with the fever of sin.
-Fiona McKay.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 11
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A DOUBTING HEART
Where are the swallows fled?
Frozen and dead,
Perchance upon some bleak and stormy shore.
O doubting heart!
Far over purple seas,
They wait in sunny ease,
The balmy southern breeze,
To bring them to their northern homes once more.
Why must the flowers die?
Prisoned they lie
In the cold tomb, heedless of tears or rain.
O doubting heart!
They only sleep below
The soft white ermine snow,
While winter winds shall blow,
To breathe and smile upon you soon again.
The sun has hid its rays
These many days;
Will dreary hours never leave the earth?
O doubting heart!
The stormy clouds on high
Veil the same sunny sky,
That soon (for spring is nigh)
Shall wake the summer into golden mirth.
Fair hope is dead, and light
Is quenched in night.
What sound can break the silence of despair?
O doubting heart!
The sky is overcast,
Yet stars shall rise at last,
Brighter for darkness past,
And angels' silver voices stir the air.
-Adelaide A. Procter.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A DOUBTING HEART
Where are the swallows fled?
Frozen and dead,
Perchance upon some bleak and stormy shore.
O doubting heart!
Far over purple seas,
They wait in sunny ease,
The balmy southern breeze,
To bring them to their northern homes once more.
Why must the flowers die?
Prisoned they lie
In the cold tomb, heedless of tears or rain.
O doubting heart!
They only sleep below
The soft white ermine snow,
While winter winds shall blow,
To breathe and smile upon you soon again.
The sun has hid its rays
These many days;
Will dreary hours never leave the earth?
O doubting heart!
The stormy clouds on high
Veil the same sunny sky,
That soon (for spring is nigh)
Shall wake the summer into golden mirth.
Fair hope is dead, and light
Is quenched in night.
What sound can break the silence of despair?
O doubting heart!
The sky is overcast,
Yet stars shall rise at last,
Brighter for darkness past,
And angels' silver voices stir the air.
-Adelaide A. Procter.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Gospel for Friday, 2nd Week of Advent
Optional Memorial: St Damasus I, Pope
From: Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus Reproaches People for their Unbelief
(Jesus spoke to the crowds), [16] "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates. [17] `We piped to you, and you did not dance, we wailed and you did not mourn.' [18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon'; [19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."
______________________
Commentary:
16-19. Making reference to a popular song or a child's game of His time, Jesus reproaches those who offer groundless excuses for not recognizing Him. From the beginning of human history the Lord has striven to attract all men to Himself: "What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" (Isaiah 5:4), and often He has been rejected: "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4).
Our Lord also condemns calumny: some people do try to justify their own behavior by seeing sin where there is only virtue. "When they find something which is quite obviously good," St. Gregory the Great says, "they pry into it to see if there is not also some badness hidden in it" ("Moralia", 6, 22). The Baptist's fasting they interpret as the work of the devil; whereas they accuse Jesus of being a glutton.
The evangelist has to report these calumnies and accusations spoken against our Lord; otherwise, we would have no notion of the extent of the malice of those who show such furious opposition to Him who went about doing good (Acts 10:38). On other occasions Jesus warned His disciples that they would be treated the same as He was (cf. John 15:20).
The works of Jesus and John the Baptist, each in their own way, lead to the accomplishment of God's plan for man's salvation: the fact that some people do not recognize Him does not prevent God's plan being carried into effect.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus Reproaches People for their Unbelief
(Jesus spoke to the crowds), [16] "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates. [17] `We piped to you, and you did not dance, we wailed and you did not mourn.' [18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon'; [19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."
______________________
Commentary:
16-19. Making reference to a popular song or a child's game of His time, Jesus reproaches those who offer groundless excuses for not recognizing Him. From the beginning of human history the Lord has striven to attract all men to Himself: "What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" (Isaiah 5:4), and often He has been rejected: "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4).
Our Lord also condemns calumny: some people do try to justify their own behavior by seeing sin where there is only virtue. "When they find something which is quite obviously good," St. Gregory the Great says, "they pry into it to see if there is not also some badness hidden in it" ("Moralia", 6, 22). The Baptist's fasting they interpret as the work of the devil; whereas they accuse Jesus of being a glutton.
The evangelist has to report these calumnies and accusations spoken against our Lord; otherwise, we would have no notion of the extent of the malice of those who show such furious opposition to Him who went about doing good (Acts 10:38). On other occasions Jesus warned His disciples that they would be treated the same as He was (cf. John 15:20).
The works of Jesus and John the Baptist, each in their own way, lead to the accomplishment of God's plan for man's salvation: the fact that some people do not recognize Him does not prevent God's plan being carried into effect.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - December 11
WHAT MEEKNESS IS
Consider what this meekness is which is entitled to this beatitude. Meekness is a virtue which restrains all anger and passion, suppresses the swellings of the heart under real or imaginary provocations or injuries; stills the tumult of the soul on all these occasions; keeps in all heat or violence of words; and allows no other than that truly Christian revenge of overcoming evil with good. Such was the practice of the Lamb of God, both in life and in death, and of whom it was written:
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Consider what this meekness is which is entitled to this beatitude. Meekness is a virtue which restrains all anger and passion, suppresses the swellings of the heart under real or imaginary provocations or injuries; stills the tumult of the soul on all these occasions; keeps in all heat or violence of words; and allows no other than that truly Christian revenge of overcoming evil with good. Such was the practice of the Lamb of God, both in life and in death, and of whom it was written:
'He shall not contend nor cry out, neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. The bruised reed: He shall not break, the smoking flax He shall not extinguish. He shall not be sad nor troublesome.'And
'when He was reviled, He did not revile; when He suffered He threatened not, but delivered Himself to him that judged unjustly.'-Bishop Challoner.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 10
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
{Part 3)
One day, St. Gertrude, in ascending a hill, fell. Meeting nothing to arrest the fall, she soon reached the bottom of the hill. Providence miraculously preserved her life, and she was not even injured. Her companions asked her whether she was not afraid she might have died without the last sacraments. "No," she replied. "I desire certainly to receive the last sacraments before death, but I desire more ardently that the will of God be accomplished. This is the best disposition in which to be found at the hour of death."
God's providence rules and guides all things. He has not flung this world of ours into space to take its chance; but all nature, from the highest to the lowest forms in it, is under His constant control, everything that happens being ordered for the divine glory abd the ultimate good of His faithful servants. "We know that to them that love God all things work together unto good" (Roman viii. 28). The sufferings of this life, no matter whence they come, bring home to us as nothing else can, the wretchedness of our fallen state, the gravity of sin, the worthlessness of earthly happiness, and so make us long for that better land "where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest" (Job, iii. 17). Moreover, by accepting these afflictions in atonement for our sins, we can purify our souls and shorten our purgation hereafter.
Lastly, it is only along the Way of the Cross that we can tread in our Master's footsteps and find Him in eternal joy. "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 21).
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
{Part 3)
One day, St. Gertrude, in ascending a hill, fell. Meeting nothing to arrest the fall, she soon reached the bottom of the hill. Providence miraculously preserved her life, and she was not even injured. Her companions asked her whether she was not afraid she might have died without the last sacraments. "No," she replied. "I desire certainly to receive the last sacraments before death, but I desire more ardently that the will of God be accomplished. This is the best disposition in which to be found at the hour of death."
God's providence rules and guides all things. He has not flung this world of ours into space to take its chance; but all nature, from the highest to the lowest forms in it, is under His constant control, everything that happens being ordered for the divine glory abd the ultimate good of His faithful servants. "We know that to them that love God all things work together unto good" (Roman viii. 28). The sufferings of this life, no matter whence they come, bring home to us as nothing else can, the wretchedness of our fallen state, the gravity of sin, the worthlessness of earthly happiness, and so make us long for that better land "where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest" (Job, iii. 17). Moreover, by accepting these afflictions in atonement for our sins, we can purify our souls and shorten our purgation hereafter.
Lastly, it is only along the Way of the Cross that we can tread in our Master's footsteps and find Him in eternal joy. "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 21).
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Gospel for Thursday, 2nd Week of Advent
From: Matthew 11:11-15
The Mission of John the Baptist. Jesus' Reply
(Jesus spoke to the crowds,) [11] "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. [12] From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. [13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; [14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
___________________
Commentary:
11. With John the Old Testament is brought to a close and we are on the threshold of the New. The Precursor had the honor of ushering Christ in, making Him known to men. God had assigned him the exalted mission of preparing His contemporaries to hear the Gospel. The Baptist's faithfulness is recognized and proclaimed by Jesus. The praise he received is a reward for his humility: John, realizing what his role was, had said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
St. John the Baptist was the greatest in the sense that he had received a mission unique and incomparable in the context of the Old Testament. However, in the Kingdom of Heaven (the New Testament) inaugurated by Christ, the divine gift of grace makes the least of those who faithfully receive it greater than the greatest in the earlier dispensation. Once the work of our redemption is accomplished, God's grace will also be extended to the just of the Old Alliance. Thus, the greatness of John the Baptist, the Precursor and the last of the prophets, will be enhanced by the dignity of being made a son of God.
12. "The Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence": once John the Baptist announces that the Christ is already come, the powers of Hell redouble their desperate assault, which continues right through the lifetime of the Church (cf. Ephesians 6:12). The situation described here seems to be this: the leaders of the Jewish people, and their blind followers, were waiting for the Kingdom of God the way people wait for a rightful legacy to come their way; but while they rest on the laurels of the rights and rewards they think their race entitles them to, others, the men of violence (literally, attackers) are taking it, as it were, by force, by fighting the enemies of the soul--the world, the flesh and the devil.
"This violence is not directed against others. It is a violence used to fight your own weaknesses and miseries, a fortitude, which prevents you from camouflaging your own infidelities, a boldness to own up to the faith even when the environment is hostile" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 82).
This is the attitude of those who fight their passions and do themselves violence, thereby attaining the Kingdom of Heaven and becoming one with Christ. As Clement of Alexandria puts it: "The Kingdom of Heaven does not belong to those who sleep and who indulge all their desires, but to those who fight against themselves" ("Quis Dives Salvetur", 21).
14. John the Baptist is Elijah, not in person, but by virtue of his mission (cf. Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:10-12).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Mission of John the Baptist. Jesus' Reply
(Jesus spoke to the crowds,) [11] "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. [12] From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. [13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; [14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
___________________
Commentary:
11. With John the Old Testament is brought to a close and we are on the threshold of the New. The Precursor had the honor of ushering Christ in, making Him known to men. God had assigned him the exalted mission of preparing His contemporaries to hear the Gospel. The Baptist's faithfulness is recognized and proclaimed by Jesus. The praise he received is a reward for his humility: John, realizing what his role was, had said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
St. John the Baptist was the greatest in the sense that he had received a mission unique and incomparable in the context of the Old Testament. However, in the Kingdom of Heaven (the New Testament) inaugurated by Christ, the divine gift of grace makes the least of those who faithfully receive it greater than the greatest in the earlier dispensation. Once the work of our redemption is accomplished, God's grace will also be extended to the just of the Old Alliance. Thus, the greatness of John the Baptist, the Precursor and the last of the prophets, will be enhanced by the dignity of being made a son of God.
12. "The Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence": once John the Baptist announces that the Christ is already come, the powers of Hell redouble their desperate assault, which continues right through the lifetime of the Church (cf. Ephesians 6:12). The situation described here seems to be this: the leaders of the Jewish people, and their blind followers, were waiting for the Kingdom of God the way people wait for a rightful legacy to come their way; but while they rest on the laurels of the rights and rewards they think their race entitles them to, others, the men of violence (literally, attackers) are taking it, as it were, by force, by fighting the enemies of the soul--the world, the flesh and the devil.
"This violence is not directed against others. It is a violence used to fight your own weaknesses and miseries, a fortitude, which prevents you from camouflaging your own infidelities, a boldness to own up to the faith even when the environment is hostile" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 82).
This is the attitude of those who fight their passions and do themselves violence, thereby attaining the Kingdom of Heaven and becoming one with Christ. As Clement of Alexandria puts it: "The Kingdom of Heaven does not belong to those who sleep and who indulge all their desires, but to those who fight against themselves" ("Quis Dives Salvetur", 21).
14. John the Baptist is Elijah, not in person, but by virtue of his mission (cf. Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:10-12).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - December 10
EARNEST HOPE MOVES GOD
That which moves and overcomes God is earnest hope; in order to attain to the union of love, the soul must journey in hope of God alone, for without it nothing will be obtained.
A living hope in God makes the soul so courageous and so earnest in the pursuit of the things of everlasting life, that it looks on this world - so indeed it is - as dry, weak, valueless, and dead, in comparison with that it hopes for hereafter.
The soul in hope strips itself of all trappings of this world, setting the heart upon nothing, hoping for nothing in it or of it, clad in the vesture of hope of everlasting life.
-St John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
That which moves and overcomes God is earnest hope; in order to attain to the union of love, the soul must journey in hope of God alone, for without it nothing will be obtained.
A living hope in God makes the soul so courageous and so earnest in the pursuit of the things of everlasting life, that it looks on this world - so indeed it is - as dry, weak, valueless, and dead, in comparison with that it hopes for hereafter.
The soul in hope strips itself of all trappings of this world, setting the heart upon nothing, hoping for nothing in it or of it, clad in the vesture of hope of everlasting life.
-St John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 9
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
(Part 2)
We deceive ourselves greatly if we think that union with God consists in ecstasies and spiritual consolations. It consists alone in thinking, saying, doing that which is in conformity to the will of God. This union is perfect when our will is detached from everything, attached but to God in such a manner that it breathes but His pure will. This is the true and essential union that I ardently desire, and continually ask of Our Lord.
-St. Teresa.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
(Part 2)
We deceive ourselves greatly if we think that union with God consists in ecstasies and spiritual consolations. It consists alone in thinking, saying, doing that which is in conformity to the will of God. This union is perfect when our will is detached from everything, attached but to God in such a manner that it breathes but His pure will. This is the true and essential union that I ardently desire, and continually ask of Our Lord.
-St. Teresa.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Gospel for Wednesday, 2nd Week of Advent
Optional Memorial: St Juan Diego (Cuauhtlatoatzin), Hermit
From: Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus Thanks His Father (Continuation)
(At that time Jesus declared,) [28] "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
____________
Commentary:
28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master--and those to whom He passes on His power--can soothe the sinner by telling him, "Your sins are forgiven" (Matthew 9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: "Jesus says now and always, `Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life" ("Homily on Corpus Christi", 13 June 1974).
"Come to Me": the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him, "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: "Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ's actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ's gives you wings. If you take a bird's wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies" (St. Augustine, "Sermon" 126).
"All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you" (St. John of the Cross, "Ascent of Mount Carmel", Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus Thanks His Father (Continuation)
(At that time Jesus declared,) [28] "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
____________
Commentary:
28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master--and those to whom He passes on His power--can soothe the sinner by telling him, "Your sins are forgiven" (Matthew 9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: "Jesus says now and always, `Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life" ("Homily on Corpus Christi", 13 June 1974).
"Come to Me": the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him, "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: "Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ's actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ's gives you wings. If you take a bird's wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies" (St. Augustine, "Sermon" 126).
"All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you" (St. John of the Cross, "Ascent of Mount Carmel", Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - December 9
THOUGHTS ON POVERTY
Ask some one of those who pant with an insatiable heart for earthly riches what is his opinion of those who sold all their goods and gave to the poor, and whether they did wisely or no. Doubtless he will reply that they did wisely. Ask him again why he does not himself practice what he approves in others. 'I cannot,' he will reply. Wherefore? Plainly because avarice is the mistress of his heart, and will not permit him; because he is not free; because the things which he seems to possess are not his; nor is he himself his own master.
-St. Bernard.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Ask some one of those who pant with an insatiable heart for earthly riches what is his opinion of those who sold all their goods and gave to the poor, and whether they did wisely or no. Doubtless he will reply that they did wisely. Ask him again why he does not himself practice what he approves in others. 'I cannot,' he will reply. Wherefore? Plainly because avarice is the mistress of his heart, and will not permit him; because he is not free; because the things which he seems to possess are not his; nor is he himself his own master.
-St. Bernard.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 8
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
God desires only that which is best for us, namely, our sanctification. "This is the will of God," says the Apostle, "your sanctification" (Thess. iv. 3). Let us take care, therefore, to subdue our own will, uniting it always to the will of God; and thus also let us endeavor to control our mind, reflecting that everything that God does is best for us.
Whoever does not act thus, will never find true peace. All the perfection which can be attained in the world, which is a place of purification, and consequently a place of troubles and afflictions, consists in suffering patiently those things which are opposed to our self-love; and, in order to suffer them with patience, there is no more efficacious means than a willingness to suffer them in order to do the will of God. "Submit thyself then to Him, and be at peace" (Job xxii. 21).
He that acquiesces with the divine will in everything, is always at peace; and nothing of all that happens to him can make him unhappy. "Whatever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad" (Prov. xii. 21). But why is the just man never miserable in any circumstances? Because he knows well, that whatever happens in the world, happens through the will of God.
-St. Alphonsus Liguori.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
God desires only that which is best for us, namely, our sanctification. "This is the will of God," says the Apostle, "your sanctification" (Thess. iv. 3). Let us take care, therefore, to subdue our own will, uniting it always to the will of God; and thus also let us endeavor to control our mind, reflecting that everything that God does is best for us.
Whoever does not act thus, will never find true peace. All the perfection which can be attained in the world, which is a place of purification, and consequently a place of troubles and afflictions, consists in suffering patiently those things which are opposed to our self-love; and, in order to suffer them with patience, there is no more efficacious means than a willingness to suffer them in order to do the will of God. "Submit thyself then to Him, and be at peace" (Job xxii. 21).
He that acquiesces with the divine will in everything, is always at peace; and nothing of all that happens to him can make him unhappy. "Whatever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad" (Prov. xii. 21). But why is the just man never miserable in any circumstances? Because he knows well, that whatever happens in the world, happens through the will of God.
-St. Alphonsus Liguori.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Meditation for December 8, The Immaculate Conception
Yesterday, I meditated on the fact that Mary is greater as child of God than as Mother of God. In other words, she is greater by the fullness of her state of grace than by her Divine Maternity; she is greater through the Holy Trinity's Presence within her soul than through the Word Incarnate whose Body was formed within her own.
But if no creature other than Mary can claim Divine Maternity, every soul in grace enjoys the Divine Sonship. That means that I too can possess what was greatest in Mary, for the Holy Trinity who lived in her through sanctifying grace dwells likewise in me.
This being true, how does Mary differ from me?
The difference is twofold and therein lies the privilege of the Immaculate Conception.
I came into the world without sanctifying grace; baptism had to impart this divine life to me. But Mary entered as a matter of course into human and divine life at one and the same time. Preserved as she was from original sin, she enjoyed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from the first moment of her existence.
Further, whereas in me this possession of the Holy Spirit is limited and reduced to the degree of sanctity God has destined for me, divine life in Mary was of incomparable fullness. Olier goes so far as to say that from the very first moment of her life, Mary enjoyed in her possession of grace more divine life than all the saints together ever had.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
But if no creature other than Mary can claim Divine Maternity, every soul in grace enjoys the Divine Sonship. That means that I too can possess what was greatest in Mary, for the Holy Trinity who lived in her through sanctifying grace dwells likewise in me.
This being true, how does Mary differ from me?
The difference is twofold and therein lies the privilege of the Immaculate Conception.
I came into the world without sanctifying grace; baptism had to impart this divine life to me. But Mary entered as a matter of course into human and divine life at one and the same time. Preserved as she was from original sin, she enjoyed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from the first moment of her existence.
Further, whereas in me this possession of the Holy Spirit is limited and reduced to the degree of sanctity God has destined for me, divine life in Mary was of incomparable fullness. Olier goes so far as to say that from the very first moment of her life, Mary enjoyed in her possession of grace more divine life than all the saints together ever had.
"Immaculate Mother, assist me that I may be filled with Divine Life to the degree God has planned for me. Let me put no obstacle to the divine invasion of God-life into my soul."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
December 8-The Immaculate Conception
"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she will crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." Genesis, 3:15.
In the early years of the seventeenth century the armies of Sweden threatened to overrun Austria. They won victory after victory. The Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand III, was desperate. In 1629 he decided to make a public appeal for the protection of the Blessed Virgin, toward whom he had a tender devotion.
He ordered the building of a giant column in the city square of Vienna. It was decorated with numerous emblems, all representing some phase of the Immaculate Conception. At each of the four corners of the foundation he directed that angels in armor be placed, treading the dragon under their feet, showing how our Spotless Mother won the victory over original sin and all sin. On the summit of the column stood a statue of the Mother of God, her foot on the head of the satanic serpent. At the base of the imposing pillar were carved the words:
The devout emperor marched in the procession, attended by his son Ferdinand IV, who was king of Bohemia and Hungary, by his daughter Marianna, who was queen of Spain, by representatives of many countries, by all the nobility, by religious communities and by the secular clergy. An immense crowd followed as the pious parade made its way to the foot of the column. There the emperor repeated aloud and with all the fervor of his soul the words inscribed in stone, the words inscribed in their hearts, the words consecrating and dedicating himself and his kingdom and his people to the Immaculate Mother of God.
How pleasing this dedication was to Mary is seen in the sudden and striking assistance she sent to those who honored her Immaculate Conception. Motherlike she hurried to help. A few days after this magnificent demonstration the emperor met the enemy at Eger, close to the invaders' camp. With one blow he stopped the oncoming Swedes and forced them to sign a complete and lasting treaty of peace. His empire was saved.
Austria, or any other nation, never had more invaders than America has today. True, we do have friends. But those who plot our downfall are so great and numerous, so secret and satanic, that every true American must awaken to threatening enemies from within and without. There is no cause for hysteria, but there is need to realize that certain forces, foreign to the spirit of America, are working to wreck our glorious nation.
There was, for instance, a godless government called the Soviet, which openly admitted its purpose to envelop us within its Iron Curtain. Agents of that Red regime were (are) working in all classes and professions and in many departments of our government, to bring about the overthrow of all that we Americans hold sacred.
How long it takes some people to wake up! For decades the Catholic Church has been warning the world about Atheistic Communism. Only when war was waged in helpless Korea did some eyes and minds open.
Knowingly and unknowingly thousands of so-called Americans are working against our government. Our schools are honeycombed with teachers who are against God, the very foundation of our nation.
Another group who profess to believe in God are openly and secretly working against God's Church, the Catholic Church, the most patriotic and powerful force for true Americanism in the land. In college classrooms, in church pulpits, in secret societies, in telephone, back-fence, club, and Internet gossip there is ceaseless sniping at the beliefs and practices of a spiritual organization which stands and fights for every basic principle of the United States.
In this army invading America we see the greedy capitalist and the merciless money-changer who give ground to the charge of capitalist cruelty. Thank God, not all managers and owners are lined up with them. And we see the Marxists and the socialists who wish to rob the working man and his family of the fruits of his hard work.
The invaders include racketeers and fomenters of violence, race hatred and bigotry, printers and peddlers of pornography and impurity, producers and patrons of immoral movies, sellers and buyers and users of artificial birth control, the abortion industry engaged in infanticide with its supporters in government and even, God forbid, in the Church.
We witness evil and insidious forces within government heaping burden upon burden on Americans all while wasting tax dollars on non-essential or questionable government programs. We see the attack coming from those who wish to pervert and destroy the morals of society with the push to legitimize the deadly sins of homosexuality, adultery, contraception, and other sexually perverse acts.
In that army we see Blanshards and Oxnams, so-called converted Catholics and Witnesses of Jehovah, all tearing away at the nation's foundations.
Who can stop such invaders? Who can save our soil from such traitors?
All the policemen in the world, including our FBI and our military can not repulse such attackers.
Like King Ferdinand and the people of Austria, we Americans will appeal to one who has been victorious before, one who has won the greatest victory of all time, the victory over sin.
On December 8 we publicly and lovingly dedicate ourselves again to the Immaculate Virgin and Mother. Ask her help in halting the enemies of the country which chose her as patroness under the title of the Immaculate Conception.
May Mary Immaculate, the victorious Virgin, win another victory for us.
Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Feasts of Our Lady
by Msgr. Arthur Tonne
In the early years of the seventeenth century the armies of Sweden threatened to overrun Austria. They won victory after victory. The Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand III, was desperate. In 1629 he decided to make a public appeal for the protection of the Blessed Virgin, toward whom he had a tender devotion.
He ordered the building of a giant column in the city square of Vienna. It was decorated with numerous emblems, all representing some phase of the Immaculate Conception. At each of the four corners of the foundation he directed that angels in armor be placed, treading the dragon under their feet, showing how our Spotless Mother won the victory over original sin and all sin. On the summit of the column stood a statue of the Mother of God, her foot on the head of the satanic serpent. At the base of the imposing pillar were carved the words:
"TO THE MOST HIGH AND GOOD GOD, LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, FROM WHOM KINGS HOLD THEIR THRONES.Never in the history of the land was there a more solemn celebration than that which marked the dedication of this splendid shaft. It gave triumphant testimony to their love of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
"TO THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD, CONCEIVED WITHOUT STAIN OF ORIGINAL SIN, BY WHOM PRINCES COMMAND, WHO HAS THIS DAY BEEN CHOSEN BY PARTICULAR DEVOTION AS PATRONESS OF AUSTRIA, THE EMPEROR FERDINAND III ENTRUSTS AND CONSECRATES ALL HIS POSSESSIONS, HIS PERSON, HIS CHILDREN, HIS PEOPLE, HIS ARMIES, HIS DOMAINS; AND IN PERPETUAL MEMORY OF THIS, HIS DEVOTION, HE HAS ERECTED THIS STATUE."
The devout emperor marched in the procession, attended by his son Ferdinand IV, who was king of Bohemia and Hungary, by his daughter Marianna, who was queen of Spain, by representatives of many countries, by all the nobility, by religious communities and by the secular clergy. An immense crowd followed as the pious parade made its way to the foot of the column. There the emperor repeated aloud and with all the fervor of his soul the words inscribed in stone, the words inscribed in their hearts, the words consecrating and dedicating himself and his kingdom and his people to the Immaculate Mother of God.
How pleasing this dedication was to Mary is seen in the sudden and striking assistance she sent to those who honored her Immaculate Conception. Motherlike she hurried to help. A few days after this magnificent demonstration the emperor met the enemy at Eger, close to the invaders' camp. With one blow he stopped the oncoming Swedes and forced them to sign a complete and lasting treaty of peace. His empire was saved.
Austria, or any other nation, never had more invaders than America has today. True, we do have friends. But those who plot our downfall are so great and numerous, so secret and satanic, that every true American must awaken to threatening enemies from within and without. There is no cause for hysteria, but there is need to realize that certain forces, foreign to the spirit of America, are working to wreck our glorious nation.
There was, for instance, a godless government called the Soviet, which openly admitted its purpose to envelop us within its Iron Curtain. Agents of that Red regime were (are) working in all classes and professions and in many departments of our government, to bring about the overthrow of all that we Americans hold sacred.
How long it takes some people to wake up! For decades the Catholic Church has been warning the world about Atheistic Communism. Only when war was waged in helpless Korea did some eyes and minds open.
Knowingly and unknowingly thousands of so-called Americans are working against our government. Our schools are honeycombed with teachers who are against God, the very foundation of our nation.
Another group who profess to believe in God are openly and secretly working against God's Church, the Catholic Church, the most patriotic and powerful force for true Americanism in the land. In college classrooms, in church pulpits, in secret societies, in telephone, back-fence, club, and Internet gossip there is ceaseless sniping at the beliefs and practices of a spiritual organization which stands and fights for every basic principle of the United States.
In this army invading America we see the greedy capitalist and the merciless money-changer who give ground to the charge of capitalist cruelty. Thank God, not all managers and owners are lined up with them. And we see the Marxists and the socialists who wish to rob the working man and his family of the fruits of his hard work.
The invaders include racketeers and fomenters of violence, race hatred and bigotry, printers and peddlers of pornography and impurity, producers and patrons of immoral movies, sellers and buyers and users of artificial birth control, the abortion industry engaged in infanticide with its supporters in government and even, God forbid, in the Church.
We witness evil and insidious forces within government heaping burden upon burden on Americans all while wasting tax dollars on non-essential or questionable government programs. We see the attack coming from those who wish to pervert and destroy the morals of society with the push to legitimize the deadly sins of homosexuality, adultery, contraception, and other sexually perverse acts.
In that army we see Blanshards and Oxnams, so-called converted Catholics and Witnesses of Jehovah, all tearing away at the nation's foundations.
Who can stop such invaders? Who can save our soil from such traitors?
All the policemen in the world, including our FBI and our military can not repulse such attackers.
Like King Ferdinand and the people of Austria, we Americans will appeal to one who has been victorious before, one who has won the greatest victory of all time, the victory over sin.
On December 8 we publicly and lovingly dedicate ourselves again to the Immaculate Virgin and Mother. Ask her help in halting the enemies of the country which chose her as patroness under the title of the Immaculate Conception.
May Mary Immaculate, the victorious Virgin, win another victory for us.
Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Feasts of Our Lady
by Msgr. Arthur Tonne
Monday, December 07, 2009
Gospel for December 8, Solemnity: The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary
From: Luke 1:26-38
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end." [34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
_______________________
Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as `full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help--as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis', the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. `Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The `quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the `how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely[...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent `fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady--an expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life--now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying--`Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27)--simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: `Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvellous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8:21)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end." [34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. _______________________
Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as `full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help--as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis', the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. `Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The `quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the `how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely[...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent `fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady--an expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life--now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying--`Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27)--simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: `Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvellous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8:21)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - December 8
THOUGHTS ON PEACE
A lasting peace can only be made on the principles of justice and truth. And a war in the cause of justice is better than a peace patched up at the cost of principle. Peace is not the only thing worth having in life, either in one's own heart or in one's relations with one's own family, or with the world. Indeed, I doubt if anyone ever attained in his own heart that peace of God which passeth all understanding, till he had fought many a battle with himself and brought his rebellious nature under the dominion of conscience.
-Fr. Maturin.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
A lasting peace can only be made on the principles of justice and truth. And a war in the cause of justice is better than a peace patched up at the cost of principle. Peace is not the only thing worth having in life, either in one's own heart or in one's relations with one's own family, or with the world. Indeed, I doubt if anyone ever attained in his own heart that peace of God which passeth all understanding, till he had fought many a battle with himself and brought his rebellious nature under the dominion of conscience.
-Fr. Maturin.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 7
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ROCKS IN THE SEA
Blessed is the man whom God correcteth: refuse not therefore the chastising of the Lord. For He woundeth and cureth: He striketh and His hands shall heal.
-Job v. 17, 18.
Have you ever noticed rocks in the sea, beaten by the tempest? A furious wave dashes against the rock, another and yet another does likewise, yet the rock is unmoved. But look at it after the storm has subsided, and you will see that the flood has but served to wash and purify it of the defilement it had contracted during the calm.
Hereafter I wish you to be as a rock. A wave dashes against you? Silence! It assails you ten, a hundred, a thousand times? Silence! Say, at most, in the midst of the storm, "My Father, my Father, I am all Thine! O sweet will of God, I adore thee!"
God usually deprives His servants, for a time, of all consolation, that they may learn to serve Him through pure love, and become truly faithful servants. He deprives them of spiritual delights, even on the most solemn occasions, to test their faith and fidelity. "Sursum corda," then; let us lift up our hearts and generously serve our great God and Our Lord Jesus in faith and pure love.
The best way to acquire that peace which is born of the love of God, the inexhaustible Source of all irtues, is to accept all tribulations, whether spiritual or temporal, as coming directly from the paternal hand of God; to look upon all unpleasant events as very costly gifts presented to us by our heavenly Father; to repeat often the sacred words of our Saviour: "Yea, Father, for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight" (Matt. xi. 26).
-St. Paul of the Cross: Passion Flowers.
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ROCKS IN THE SEA
Blessed is the man whom God correcteth: refuse not therefore the chastising of the Lord. For He woundeth and cureth: He striketh and His hands shall heal.
-Job v. 17, 18.
Have you ever noticed rocks in the sea, beaten by the tempest? A furious wave dashes against the rock, another and yet another does likewise, yet the rock is unmoved. But look at it after the storm has subsided, and you will see that the flood has but served to wash and purify it of the defilement it had contracted during the calm.
Hereafter I wish you to be as a rock. A wave dashes against you? Silence! It assails you ten, a hundred, a thousand times? Silence! Say, at most, in the midst of the storm, "My Father, my Father, I am all Thine! O sweet will of God, I adore thee!"
God usually deprives His servants, for a time, of all consolation, that they may learn to serve Him through pure love, and become truly faithful servants. He deprives them of spiritual delights, even on the most solemn occasions, to test their faith and fidelity. "Sursum corda," then; let us lift up our hearts and generously serve our great God and Our Lord Jesus in faith and pure love.
The best way to acquire that peace which is born of the love of God, the inexhaustible Source of all irtues, is to accept all tribulations, whether spiritual or temporal, as coming directly from the paternal hand of God; to look upon all unpleasant events as very costly gifts presented to us by our heavenly Father; to repeat often the sacred words of our Saviour: "Yea, Father, for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight" (Matt. xi. 26).
-St. Paul of the Cross: Passion Flowers.
PRAYER____________________
Lord, merge my will in Yours. May it accept with love the bitter and sweet of life. Possess my intellect, that I may think of You, aspire to You, be guided by You on my journey through life.
No matter how long the years may be, let no murmur escape my lips, no unkind thought take shelter in my heart, no self-seeking lurk within my soul. With a smile upon my lips and a song of joy within my heart, may I walk courageously with You, my hidden Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Gosepl for Dec 7, Memorial: St Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor
Monday, 2nd Week in Advent
From: Luke 5:17-26
The Cure of the Paralytic in Capernaum
[17] On one of those days, as He (Jesus) was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. [18] And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; [19] but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. [20] And when He saw their faith He said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." [21] And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" [22] When Jesus perceived their questionings, He answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? [23] Which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, `Rise and walk'? [24] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the man who was paralyzed--"I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home." [25] And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. [26] And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
_________________________
Commentary:
17. A little earlier, beside the lake, Jesus addressed His teaching to crowds (verses 1ff). Here His audience includes some of the most educated Jews. Christ desired not only to teach but also to cure everyone--spiritually and, sometimes, physically, as He will soon do in the case of the paralytic. The evangelist's observation at the end of this verse reminds us that our Lord is ever-ready to use His omnipotence for our good: "I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil', God declared through the prophet Jeremiah (29:11). The liturgy applies these words to Jesus, for in Him we are clearly shown that God does love us in this way. He did not come to condemn us, to accuse us of meanness and smallness. He came to save us, pardon us, excuse us, bring us peace and joy." ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 165). On this occasion also Jesus wanted to benefit His listeners, even though some of them would not receive this divine gift
because they were not well-disposed.
19-20. Our Lord is touched when He sees these friends of the paralytic putting their faith into practice: they had gone up onto the roof, taken off some of the tiles and lowered the bed down in front of Jesus. Friendship and faith combine in obtaining a miraculous cure. The paralytic himself had a like faith: he let himself be carried around, brought up onto the roof and so forth. Seeing such solid faith Jesus gives them even more than they expect: He cures the man's body and, what is much more, cures his soul. Perhaps He does this, as St. Bede suggests (cf. "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc."), to show two things: that the illness was a form of punishment for his sins and therefore the paralytic could only get up once these sins had been forgiven; and that others' faith and prayer can move God to work miracles.
In some way, the paralytic symbolizes everyone whose sins prevent him from reaching God. For example, St. Ambrose says: "How great is the Lord who on account of the merits of some pardon others, and while praising the former absolves the latter!...] Therefore, let you, who judge, learn to pardon; you, who are ill, learn to beg for forgiveness. And if the gravity of your sins causes you to doubt the possibility of being forgiven, have recourse to intercessors, have recourse to the Church, who will pray for you, and the Lord will grant you, out of love for her, what He might have refused you" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
Apostolic work should be motivated by desire to help people find Jesus Christ. Among other things it calls for daring--as we see in the friends of the paralytic; and it also needs the intercession of the saints, whose help we seek because we feel God will pay more attention to them than to us sinners.
24. Our Lord is going to perform a public miracle to prove that He is endowed with invisible, spiritual power. Christ, the only Son of the Father, has power to forgive sins because He is God, and He uses this power on our behalf as our Mediator and Redeemer (Luke 22:20; John 20:17-18, 28: 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus used this power personally when He was on earth and after ascending into Heaven He still uses it, through the Apostles and their successors.
A sinner is like a paralytic in God's presence. The Lord is going to free him of his paralysis, forgiving him his sins and enabling him to walk by giving him grace once more. In the sacrament of Penance, if Jesus Christ, "sees us cold, unwilling, rigid perhaps with the stiffness of a dying interior life, His tears will be our life: `I say to you, My friend, arise and walk,' (cf. John 11:43; Luke 5:24), leave that narrow life which is no life at all" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 193).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Luke 5:17-26
The Cure of the Paralytic in Capernaum
[17] On one of those days, as He (Jesus) was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. [18] And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; [19] but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. [20] And when He saw their faith He said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." [21] And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" [22] When Jesus perceived their questionings, He answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? [23] Which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, `Rise and walk'? [24] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the man who was paralyzed--"I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home." [25] And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. [26] And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
_________________________
Commentary:
17. A little earlier, beside the lake, Jesus addressed His teaching to crowds (verses 1ff). Here His audience includes some of the most educated Jews. Christ desired not only to teach but also to cure everyone--spiritually and, sometimes, physically, as He will soon do in the case of the paralytic. The evangelist's observation at the end of this verse reminds us that our Lord is ever-ready to use His omnipotence for our good: "I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil', God declared through the prophet Jeremiah (29:11). The liturgy applies these words to Jesus, for in Him we are clearly shown that God does love us in this way. He did not come to condemn us, to accuse us of meanness and smallness. He came to save us, pardon us, excuse us, bring us peace and joy." ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 165). On this occasion also Jesus wanted to benefit His listeners, even though some of them would not receive this divine gift
because they were not well-disposed.
19-20. Our Lord is touched when He sees these friends of the paralytic putting their faith into practice: they had gone up onto the roof, taken off some of the tiles and lowered the bed down in front of Jesus. Friendship and faith combine in obtaining a miraculous cure. The paralytic himself had a like faith: he let himself be carried around, brought up onto the roof and so forth. Seeing such solid faith Jesus gives them even more than they expect: He cures the man's body and, what is much more, cures his soul. Perhaps He does this, as St. Bede suggests (cf. "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc."), to show two things: that the illness was a form of punishment for his sins and therefore the paralytic could only get up once these sins had been forgiven; and that others' faith and prayer can move God to work miracles.
In some way, the paralytic symbolizes everyone whose sins prevent him from reaching God. For example, St. Ambrose says: "How great is the Lord who on account of the merits of some pardon others, and while praising the former absolves the latter!...] Therefore, let you, who judge, learn to pardon; you, who are ill, learn to beg for forgiveness. And if the gravity of your sins causes you to doubt the possibility of being forgiven, have recourse to intercessors, have recourse to the Church, who will pray for you, and the Lord will grant you, out of love for her, what He might have refused you" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
Apostolic work should be motivated by desire to help people find Jesus Christ. Among other things it calls for daring--as we see in the friends of the paralytic; and it also needs the intercession of the saints, whose help we seek because we feel God will pay more attention to them than to us sinners.
24. Our Lord is going to perform a public miracle to prove that He is endowed with invisible, spiritual power. Christ, the only Son of the Father, has power to forgive sins because He is God, and He uses this power on our behalf as our Mediator and Redeemer (Luke 22:20; John 20:17-18, 28: 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus used this power personally when He was on earth and after ascending into Heaven He still uses it, through the Apostles and their successors.
A sinner is like a paralytic in God's presence. The Lord is going to free him of his paralysis, forgiving him his sins and enabling him to walk by giving him grace once more. In the sacrament of Penance, if Jesus Christ, "sees us cold, unwilling, rigid perhaps with the stiffness of a dying interior life, His tears will be our life: `I say to you, My friend, arise and walk,' (cf. John 11:43; Luke 5:24), leave that narrow life which is no life at all" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 193).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - December 7
A GREAT EVIL
What is the cause of anaemia, nervousness, and mental enervation? Whence the incapacity to concentrate ourselves on any serious work? Whence the indifference about religion and the fearful ignorance about all questions concerning our eternal salvation? This is an important matter, perhaps the most important of all with regard to education; for all the good efforts of parents are useless and only lost labour, if they cannot protect their children from enervating self-indulgence.
-S. Von Oer, O.S.B.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
What is the cause of anaemia, nervousness, and mental enervation? Whence the incapacity to concentrate ourselves on any serious work? Whence the indifference about religion and the fearful ignorance about all questions concerning our eternal salvation? This is an important matter, perhaps the most important of all with regard to education; for all the good efforts of parents are useless and only lost labour, if they cannot protect their children from enervating self-indulgence.
-S. Von Oer, O.S.B.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - December 6
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
VIA CRUCIS
The path of life is rough and stony. Sharp flints and hidden thorns are thickly strewn upon its surface, wounding our weary feet as we toil ever onward and upward toward our heavenly home.
Does our courage fail, do our hearts grow faint? Do our aching eyes look sadly upon that broad and tempting way, so bright, so pleasant, so attractive to our senses - but which we know would lead us on to destruction?
Then, turn to Christ as He hangs upon the cruel gibbet with outstretched arms and bleeding hands. Passio Christi, conforta me. Passion of Christ strengthen me, for the way is long and weary; comfort me as I fight my way along the path of life safely to the haven of Thy Sacred Heart; comfort me in that last dread hour of summons to Thy feet.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
VIA CRUCIS
The path of life is rough and stony. Sharp flints and hidden thorns are thickly strewn upon its surface, wounding our weary feet as we toil ever onward and upward toward our heavenly home.
Does our courage fail, do our hearts grow faint? Do our aching eyes look sadly upon that broad and tempting way, so bright, so pleasant, so attractive to our senses - but which we know would lead us on to destruction?
Then, turn to Christ as He hangs upon the cruel gibbet with outstretched arms and bleeding hands. Passio Christi, conforta me. Passion of Christ strengthen me, for the way is long and weary; comfort me as I fight my way along the path of life safely to the haven of Thy Sacred Heart; comfort me in that last dread hour of summons to Thy feet.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See