Lord, if Thou seest that this is expedient, and approvest of it as profitable to me, then grant that I may use it to Thy honour. But if Thou knowest that it will be hurtful to me, and not expedient for the salvation of my soul, take away from me such a desire.
-Bk. III, ch. xv.
_______________
O my Jesus! I love Thee, I love my Mother the Church, and bear in mind that the least act of pure love is more profitable to her than all other works put together. But am I sure that I have pure love in my heart? Are my boundless desires mere daydreams and folly? If this be so, then enlighten my mind, for I only seek the truth. If my hopes are rash, then take them from me, for they are a veritable martyrdom. Nevertheless, should my soul never attain to the sublime heights for which it yearns, this martyrdom, this folly, will have been even sweeter than the bliss of Heaven, unless, by a miracle, Thou didst take away the memory of my earthly hopes.
Jesus! Jesus! if the desire of love be so unutterably sweet, what must it be to possess and enjoy it for all eternity ?
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thoughts and Counsels - March 11
Control thy senses, guard thy mouth, bridle thy tongue, subjugate thy heart, bear all provocation with charity, and thou shalt perfectly fulfil the will of God.
-Bl. Henry Suso
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-Bl. Henry Suso
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for March 11, The Height of Indignity
Regarding the scene of the crowning with thorns, the Bavarian stigmatist, Theresa Neumann, gives a detail which, if it is exact, is of such a revolting nature that one scarcely dare mention it. Of course, regarding all private revelations of the same kind, nothing need be believed...but if it is true, what horror!
While Our Lord submitted to the outrages of His tormentors during the crowning with thorns, each time He opened His parched lips to breathe more deeply, the drunken brutes made sport of spitting into His mouth.
Is it possible! The gall of the Crucifixion is honey in comparison with this! Nothing could be more foul.
O Mary, when you kissed the lips of your little Jesus, did you foresee this horror? When you gave Him your milk to appease His childish thirst, could you even guess at this ignominy of Ignominies?
And if I shudder in merely thinking of this infamous deed and feel indescribable disgust, You, O my Jesus, You who have truly lived through the scene, what must have been Your anguish! This was indeed the dregs of the chalice You had to drink.
Oh, how I understand Your disgust and how I pity You! If, only, I were able to love You as much as You were offended, but my will is not attuned to my compassion, for after I have left chapel I find myself as cowardly as ever.
I must have compassion, oh! yes, and deep compassion, but more than that, I must make compensation. I must bring You a love equal to Your loathing for sin.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
While Our Lord submitted to the outrages of His tormentors during the crowning with thorns, each time He opened His parched lips to breathe more deeply, the drunken brutes made sport of spitting into His mouth.
Is it possible! The gall of the Crucifixion is honey in comparison with this! Nothing could be more foul.
O Mary, when you kissed the lips of your little Jesus, did you foresee this horror? When you gave Him your milk to appease His childish thirst, could you even guess at this ignominy of Ignominies?
And if I shudder in merely thinking of this infamous deed and feel indescribable disgust, You, O my Jesus, You who have truly lived through the scene, what must have been Your anguish! This was indeed the dregs of the chalice You had to drink.
Oh, how I understand Your disgust and how I pity You! If, only, I were able to love You as much as You were offended, but my will is not attuned to my compassion, for after I have left chapel I find myself as cowardly as ever.
I must have compassion, oh! yes, and deep compassion, but more than that, I must make compensation. I must bring You a love equal to Your loathing for sin.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for Monday, 5th Week of Lent
Old Calendar: The Forty Holy Martyrs
John 8:1-11
Different Opinions About Jesus (Continuation)
[1] But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
The Adulterous Woman
[2] Early in the morning He came again to the temple; all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. [3] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst [4] they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. [5] Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" [6] This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. [7] And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." [8] And once more He bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. [9] But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. [10] Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" [11] She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."
_______________
Commentary:
1-11. This passage is absent from many ancient codexes, but it was in the Vulgate when the Magisterium, at the Council of Trent, defined the canon of Sacred Scripture. Therefore, the Church regards it as canonical and inspired, and has used it and continues to use it in the liturgy. It is also included in the New Vulgate, in the same position as it occupied before.
St. Augustine said that the reason doubts were raised about the passage was that it showed Jesus to be so merciful that some rigorists thought it would lead to a relaxation of moral rules--and therefore many copyists suppressed it from their manuscripts (cf. "De Coniugiis Adulterinis", 2, 6).
In commenting on the episode of the woman caught in adultery Fray Luis de Granada gives these general considerations on the mercy of Christ: "Your feelings, your deeds and your words should be akin to these, if you desire to be a beautiful likeness of the Lord. And therefore the Apostle is not content with telling us to be merciful; he tells us, as God's sons, to put on `the bowels of mercy' (cf. Colossians 3:12). Imagine, then, what the world would be like if everyone arrayed themselves in this way.
"All this is said to help us understand to some degree the great abundance of the goodness and compassion of our Savior, which shine forth so clearly in these actions of His, for [...] in this life we cannot know God in Himself; we can know Him only through His actions. [...] But it should also be pointed out that we should never act in such a way in view of God's mercy, that we forget about His justice; nor should we attend to His justice forgetting about His mercy; for hope should have in it an element of fear, and fear an element of hope" ("Life of Jesus Christ", 13, 4).
1. We know that on a number of occasions our Lord withdrew to the Mount of Olives to pray (cf. John 18:2; Luke 22:39). This place was to the east of Jerusalem; the Kidron Valley (cf. John 18:1) divided it from the hill on which the temple was built. It had from ancient times been a place of prayer: David went there to adore God during the difficult period when Absalom was in revolt (2 Samuel 15:32), and there the prophet Ezekiel contemplated the glory of Yahweh entering the temple (Ezekiel 43:1-4). At the foot of the hill there was a garden, called Gethsemane or "the place of the oil-press", an enclosed plot containing a plantation of olive trees. Christian tradition has treated this place with great respect and has maintained it as a place of prayer. Towards the end of the fourth century a church was built there, on whose remains the present church was built. There are still some ancient olive trees growing there which could well derive from those of our Lord's time.
6. The question put by the scribes and Pharisees has a catch: our Lord had often shown understanding to people they considered sinners; they come to Him now with this case to see if He will be equally indulgent--which will allow them to accuse Him of infringing a very clear precept of the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:10).
7. Jesus' reply refers to the way stoning was carried out: those who witnessed the crime had to throw the first stones, and then others joined in, to erase the slur on the people which the crime implied (cf. Deuteronomy 17:7). The question put to Jesus was couched in legal terms; He raises it to the moral plane (the basis and justification of the legal plane), appealing to the people's conscience. He does not violate the law, St. Augustine says, and at the same time He does not want to lose what He is seeking--for He has come to save that which was lost: "His answer is so full of justice, gentleness and truth. [...] O true answer of Wisdom. You have heard: Keep the Law, let the woman be stoned. But how can sinners keep the Law and punish this woman? Let each of them look inside himself and enter the tribunal of his heart and conscience; there he will discover that he is a sinner. Let this woman be punished, but not by sinners; let the Law be applied, but not by its transgressors" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 33, 5).
11. "The two of them were left on their own, the wretched woman and Mercy. But the Lord, having smitten them with the dart of justice, does not even deign to watch them go but turns His gaze away from them and once more writes on the ground with His finger. But when the woman was left alone and they had all gone, He lifted up His eyes to the woman. We have already heard the voice of justice; let us now hear the voice of gentleness. I think that the woman was the more terrified when she heard the Lord say, `Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,' [...] fearing now that she would be punished by Him, in whom no sin could be found. But He, who had driven away her adversaries with the tongue of justice, now looking at her with the eyes of gentleness asks her, `Has no one condemned you?' She replies, `No one, Lord.' And He says, `Neither do I condemn you; I who perhaps you feared would punish you, because in Me you have found no sin.' Lord, can it be that You favor sinners? Assuredly not. See what follows" `Go and sin no more.' Therefore the Lord also condemned sin, but not the woman' (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 33, 5-6).
Jesus, who is the Just One, does not condemn the woman; whereas these people are sinners, yet they pass sentence of death. God's infinite mercy should move us always to have compassion on those who commit sins, because we ourselves are sinners and in need of God's forgiveness.
___________________________
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.
John 8:1-11
Different Opinions About Jesus (Continuation)
[1] But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
The Adulterous Woman
[2] Early in the morning He came again to the temple; all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. [3] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst [4] they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. [5] Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" [6] This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. [7] And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." [8] And once more He bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. [9] But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. [10] Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" [11] She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."
_______________
Commentary:
1-11. This passage is absent from many ancient codexes, but it was in the Vulgate when the Magisterium, at the Council of Trent, defined the canon of Sacred Scripture. Therefore, the Church regards it as canonical and inspired, and has used it and continues to use it in the liturgy. It is also included in the New Vulgate, in the same position as it occupied before.
St. Augustine said that the reason doubts were raised about the passage was that it showed Jesus to be so merciful that some rigorists thought it would lead to a relaxation of moral rules--and therefore many copyists suppressed it from their manuscripts (cf. "De Coniugiis Adulterinis", 2, 6).
In commenting on the episode of the woman caught in adultery Fray Luis de Granada gives these general considerations on the mercy of Christ: "Your feelings, your deeds and your words should be akin to these, if you desire to be a beautiful likeness of the Lord. And therefore the Apostle is not content with telling us to be merciful; he tells us, as God's sons, to put on `the bowels of mercy' (cf. Colossians 3:12). Imagine, then, what the world would be like if everyone arrayed themselves in this way.
"All this is said to help us understand to some degree the great abundance of the goodness and compassion of our Savior, which shine forth so clearly in these actions of His, for [...] in this life we cannot know God in Himself; we can know Him only through His actions. [...] But it should also be pointed out that we should never act in such a way in view of God's mercy, that we forget about His justice; nor should we attend to His justice forgetting about His mercy; for hope should have in it an element of fear, and fear an element of hope" ("Life of Jesus Christ", 13, 4).
1. We know that on a number of occasions our Lord withdrew to the Mount of Olives to pray (cf. John 18:2; Luke 22:39). This place was to the east of Jerusalem; the Kidron Valley (cf. John 18:1) divided it from the hill on which the temple was built. It had from ancient times been a place of prayer: David went there to adore God during the difficult period when Absalom was in revolt (2 Samuel 15:32), and there the prophet Ezekiel contemplated the glory of Yahweh entering the temple (Ezekiel 43:1-4). At the foot of the hill there was a garden, called Gethsemane or "the place of the oil-press", an enclosed plot containing a plantation of olive trees. Christian tradition has treated this place with great respect and has maintained it as a place of prayer. Towards the end of the fourth century a church was built there, on whose remains the present church was built. There are still some ancient olive trees growing there which could well derive from those of our Lord's time.
6. The question put by the scribes and Pharisees has a catch: our Lord had often shown understanding to people they considered sinners; they come to Him now with this case to see if He will be equally indulgent--which will allow them to accuse Him of infringing a very clear precept of the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:10).
7. Jesus' reply refers to the way stoning was carried out: those who witnessed the crime had to throw the first stones, and then others joined in, to erase the slur on the people which the crime implied (cf. Deuteronomy 17:7). The question put to Jesus was couched in legal terms; He raises it to the moral plane (the basis and justification of the legal plane), appealing to the people's conscience. He does not violate the law, St. Augustine says, and at the same time He does not want to lose what He is seeking--for He has come to save that which was lost: "His answer is so full of justice, gentleness and truth. [...] O true answer of Wisdom. You have heard: Keep the Law, let the woman be stoned. But how can sinners keep the Law and punish this woman? Let each of them look inside himself and enter the tribunal of his heart and conscience; there he will discover that he is a sinner. Let this woman be punished, but not by sinners; let the Law be applied, but not by its transgressors" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 33, 5).
11. "The two of them were left on their own, the wretched woman and Mercy. But the Lord, having smitten them with the dart of justice, does not even deign to watch them go but turns His gaze away from them and once more writes on the ground with His finger. But when the woman was left alone and they had all gone, He lifted up His eyes to the woman. We have already heard the voice of justice; let us now hear the voice of gentleness. I think that the woman was the more terrified when she heard the Lord say, `Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,' [...] fearing now that she would be punished by Him, in whom no sin could be found. But He, who had driven away her adversaries with the tongue of justice, now looking at her with the eyes of gentleness asks her, `Has no one condemned you?' She replies, `No one, Lord.' And He says, `Neither do I condemn you; I who perhaps you feared would punish you, because in Me you have found no sin.' Lord, can it be that You favor sinners? Assuredly not. See what follows" `Go and sin no more.' Therefore the Lord also condemned sin, but not the woman' (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 33, 5-6).
Jesus, who is the Just One, does not condemn the woman; whereas these people are sinners, yet they pass sentence of death. God's infinite mercy should move us always to have compassion on those who commit sins, because we ourselves are sinners and in need of God's forgiveness.
___________________________
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.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Just for Today, March 10
Oh! the lukewarmness and negligence of our state; that we so quickly fall away from our former fervour; and are now even weary of living, through sloth and tepidity.
-Bk. I, ch. xviii.
_______________
Oh! how little God is loved on earth, even by those consecrated to Him! No, God is not much loved.
-Novissima Verba
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. I, ch. xviii.
_______________
Oh! how little God is loved on earth, even by those consecrated to Him! No, God is not much loved.
-Novissima Verba
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - March 10
We should consider our departed brethren as living members of Jesus Christ, animated by His grace, and certain of participating one day of His glory. We should therefore love, serve, and assist them as far as is in our power.
-St. Vincent de Paul
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Vincent de Paul
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for March 10, Jesus Is Spat Upon
If only that were all! But no!
Isaias in describing the action of the soldiers during the Passion puts on the lips of Jesus these words: I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that pluck them; I have not turned away my face from them that rebuke me, and spit upon me. (Isaias 50,6.) The act of spitting, "this blasphemous kiss," as someone has said, is the most repellent expression of scorn and disgust; to endure it all silently, that is complete abnegation, absolute abandonment.
A few hours ago in the garden, Jesus spoke three little words, "I am He," and all fell to the ground on their faces. These tormentors deserved to have their faces in dust and mud, but that the face of Jesus be spattered with the filthy spittle of a drunken good-for-nothing!
He did not turn away His face.... But when He receives full in the face the insults of men, the very ones He loved most, His chosen ones, when He is besmirched by my own spittle, isn't it true that He ought to turn away His face? Truly, it is too much. And I hear Him murmur, "Ought I to expect that? How my fondest hopes have been shattered!"
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Isaias in describing the action of the soldiers during the Passion puts on the lips of Jesus these words: I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that pluck them; I have not turned away my face from them that rebuke me, and spit upon me. (Isaias 50,6.) The act of spitting, "this blasphemous kiss," as someone has said, is the most repellent expression of scorn and disgust; to endure it all silently, that is complete abnegation, absolute abandonment.
A few hours ago in the garden, Jesus spoke three little words, "I am He," and all fell to the ground on their faces. These tormentors deserved to have their faces in dust and mud, but that the face of Jesus be spattered with the filthy spittle of a drunken good-for-nothing!
He did not turn away His face.... But when He receives full in the face the insults of men, the very ones He loved most, His chosen ones, when He is besmirched by my own spittle, isn't it true that He ought to turn away His face? Truly, it is too much. And I hear Him murmur, "Ought I to expect that? How my fondest hopes have been shattered!"
"No, my Savior, in spite of my misery, or rather on account of my misery, do not turn away Your Face. Give me a soul like in spirit to Veronica's, that I may wipe away all the spittle from Your adorable Face."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Lent
John 11:1-45
The Raising of Lazarus
[1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, who brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to Him (Jesus), saying, "Lord, he whom You love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it He said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when He heard that he was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. [7] Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." [8] The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10] But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." [11] Thus He spoke, and then He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." [12] The disciples said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
[17] Now when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him, while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world."
[28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to Him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. [31] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; [34] and He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
[38] Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. [42] I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." [43] When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go.
[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.
__________________
Commentary:
1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles. The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus' power over death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25 and paragraph) and of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12).
The Evangelist first sets the scene (verses 1-16); then he gives Jesus' conversation with Lazarus' sisters (verses 17-37); finally, he reports the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (verses 38-45). Bethany was only about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem (verse 18). On the days prior to His passion, Jesus often visited this family, to which He was very attached. St. John records Jesus' affection (verses 3, 5, 36) by describing His emotion and sorrow at the death of His friend.
By raising Lazarus our Lord shows His divine power over death and thereby gives proof of His divinity, in order to confirm His disciples' faith and reveal Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews, but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body. Martha believed in it (cf. verse 24).
Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a sign of our future resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ, by His glorious resurrection through He is the "first-born from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), is also the cause and model of our resurrection. In this His resurrection is different from that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead will never die again" (Romans 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly life, later to die again.
2. There are a number of women in the Gospels who are called Mary. The Mary here is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus (v. 2), the woman who later anointed our Lord, again in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper (cf. John 12:1-8; Mark 14:3): the indefinite or aorist "(she) anointed" expresses an action which occurred prior to the time of writing, but the anointing took place after the resurrection of Lazarus.
Were Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the "sinful" woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Galilee (cf. Luke 7:36) one, two or three women? Although sometimes it is argued that they are one and the same, it seems more likely that they were all different people. Firstly, we must distinguish the Galilee anointing (Luke 7:36) by the "sinner" from the Bethany anointing done by Lazarus' sister (John 12:1): because of the time they took place and particular details reported, they are clearly distinct (cf. note on John 12:1). Besides the Gospels give us no positive indication that Mary of Bethany was the same person as the "sinner" of Galilee. Nor are there strong grounds for identifying Mary Magdalene and the "sinner", whose name is not given; Mary Magdalene appears among the women who follow Jesus in Galilee as the woman out of whom seven demons were cast (cf. Luke 8:2), and Luke presents her in his account as someone new: no information is given which could link her with either of the two other women.
Nor can Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene be identified, for John differentiates between the two: he never calls Lazarus' sister Mary Magdalene, nor does he in any way link the latter (who stays beside the Cross--John 19:25--and who goes to the tomb and sees the risen Lord) with Mary of Bethany.
The reason why Mary of Bethany has sometimes been confused with Mary Magdalene is due (1) to identification of the latter with the "sinner" of Galilee through connecting Magdalene's possession of the devil with the sinfulness of the woman who did the anointing in Galilee; and (2) to confusing the two anointings, which would make Lazarus' sister the "sinner" who does the first anointing. This was how the three women were made out to be one, but there are no grounds for that interpretation. The best-grounded and most common interpretation offered by exegetes is that they are three distinct women.
4. The glory which Christ speaks of here, St. Augustine says, "was no gain to Jesus; it was only for our good. Therefore, Jesus says that this illness is not unto death, because the particular death was not for death but rather for a miracle, which being wrought men should believe in Christ and thereby avoid the true death" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 6).
8-10. Stoning was the form of capital punishment applying to blasphemy (cf. Leviticus 24:16). We have seen that people tried to stone Jesus at least twice: first, when He proclaimed that He was the Son of God and that He existed from eternity (by saying that He "was" before Abraham lived)--John 8:58-59; second, when He revealed that He and the Father were one (cf. John 10:3-31).
These attempts by the Jewish authorities failed because Jesus' 'hour' had not yet arrived--that is, the time laid down by His Father for His death and resurrection. When the Crucifixion comes, it will the hour of His enemies and of "the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). But until that moment it is daytime, and our Lord can walk without His life being in danger.
16. Thomas' words reminds us of the Apostles saying at the Last Supper that they would be ready to die for their Master (cf. Matthew 26:31-35). We have seen how the Apostles stayed loyal when many disciples left our Lord after His discourse on the Bread of Life (John 6:67-71), and how they remained faithful to Him despite their personal weaknesses. But when, after Judas Iscariot's betrayal, Jesus lets Himself be arrested without offering resistance--in fact, forbidding the use of weapons (cf. John 18:11)--they become disconcerted and run away. Only St. John will stay faithful in Jesus' hour of greatest need.
18. Fifteen stadia, in Greek measurement: three kilometers (two miles).
21-22. According to St. Augustine, Martha's request is a good example of confident prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who knows better than we what we need. Therefore, "she did not say, But now I ask You to raise my brother to life again. [...] All she said was, I know that You can do it; if you will, do it; it is for you to judge whether to do it, not for me to presume" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 13). The same can be said of Mary's words, which St. John repeats at verse 32.
24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives of Himself, and which St. John faithfully passes on to us (cf. John 10:9; 14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Resurrection because by His victory over death He is the cause of the resurrection of all men. The miracle He works in raising Lazarus is a sign of Christ's power to give life to people. And so, by faith in Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is sure that he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:23; Colossians 1;18). Therefore, for the believer death is not the end; it is simply the step to eternal life, a change of dwelling-place, as one of the Roman Missal's Prefaces of Christian Death puts it: "Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in Heaven".
By saying that He is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life which begins beyond the grave, but also to the supernatural life which grace brings to the soul of man when he is still a wayfarer on this earth.
"This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in Jesus Christ, His eternal and only Son, who 'when the time had fully come' (Galatians 4:4), became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary, is the final fulfillment of man's vocation. It is in a way the fulfillment of the 'destiny' that God has prepared for him from eternity. This 'divine destiny' is advancing, in spite of all the enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of 'human destiny' in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body, beyond that goal we see Christ. 'I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me...shall never die.' In Jesus Christ, who was crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, 'our hope of resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immortality' ("Roman Missal", Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man, through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible creation the necessity to which matter is subject" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 18).
33-36. This passage gives an opportunity to reflect on the depth and tenderness of Jesus' feelings. If the physical death of His friend can move Him to tears, what will He not feel over the spiritual death of a sinner who has brought about his eternal condemnation? "Christ wept: let man also weep for himself. For why did Christ weep, but to teach men to weep" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 19). We also should weep--but for our sins, to help us return to the life of grace through conversion and repentance. We should appreciate our Lord's tears: He is praying for us, who are sinners: "Jesus is your friend. The Friend. With a human heart, like yours. With loving eyes that wept for Lazarus.
"And He loves you as much as He loved Lazarus" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 422).
41-42. Through His sacred humanity Jesus is expressing Himself as the natural Son of God, that is, He is the metaphysical Son of God, not adopted like the rest of men. This is the source of Jesus' feelings, which helps us to understand that when He says "Father" He is speaking with a unique and indescribable intensity. When the Gospels let us see Jesus praying, they always show Him beginning with the invocation "Father" (cf. note on Luke 11:1-2), which reflects His singular trust and love (cf. Matthew 11:25 and par.). These sentiments should also in some way find a place in our prayer, for through Baptism we are joined to Christ and in Him we became children of God (cf. John 1:12; Romans 6:1-11; 8:14-17), and so we should always pray in a spirit of sonship and gratitude for the many good things our Father God has given us.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, which really is an extraordinary miracle, is a proof that Jesus is the Son of God, sent into the world by His Father. And so it is, that when Lazarus is brought back to life, people's faith in Jesus is increased--the disciples' (verse 15), Martha's and Mary's (verses 26, 40) and that of the people at large (36, 45).
43. Jesus calls Lazarus by name. Although he is really dead, he has not thereby lost his personal identity: dead people continue to exist, but they have a different mode of existence, because they have changed from mortal life to eternal life. This is why Jesus states that God "is not God of the dead, but of the living", for to Him all are alive (cf. Matthew 22:32; Luke 20:38).
This passage can be applied to the spiritual resurrection of the soul who has sinned and recovers grace. God wants us to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4); therefore we should never lose heart; we should always desire and hope to reach this goal: "Never despair. Lazarus was dead and decaying: ' Iam foetet, quatriduanus enim est". By now he will smell; this is the fourth day", says Martha to Jesus.
"If you hear God's inspiration and follow it--'Lazare, veni foras!: Lazarus, come out!'--and you will return to Life" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 719).
44. The Jews prepared the body for burial by washing it and anointing it with aromatic ointments to delay decomposition and counteract offensive odors; they then wrapped the body in linen cloths and bandages, covering the head with a napkin--a method very like the Egyptians', but not entirely extending to full embalming, which involved removing certain internal organs.
Lazarus' tomb would have consisted of a subterranean chamber linked to the surface by steps, with the entrance blocked by a slab. Lazarus was moved out to the entrance by a supernatural force. As happened in the case of the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5;42-43), due to their astonishment no one moved until our Lord's words broke the atmosphere of silence and terror which had been created.
St. Augustine sees in the raising of Lazarus a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance: in the same way as Lazarus comes out of the tomb, "when you confess, you come forth. For what does 'come forth' mean if not emerging from what is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God's doing; He calls you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man came out still bound, so you go to Confession still guilty. In order that his sins be loosed, the Lord said this to His ministers: 'Unbind him and let him go'. What you will lose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (St. Augustine "In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 24). Christian art has used this comparison from very early on; in the catacombs we find some one hundred and fifty representations of the raising of Lazarus, symbolizing thereby the gift of the life of grace which comes through the priest, who in effect repeats the words to the sinner: "Lazarus, come out."
___________________________
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 Raising of Lazarus
[1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, who brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to Him (Jesus), saying, "Lord, he whom You love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it He said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when He heard that he was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. [7] Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." [8] The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10] But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." [11] Thus He spoke, and then He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." [12] The disciples said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
[17] Now when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him, while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world."
[28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to Him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. [31] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; [34] and He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
[38] Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. [42] I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." [43] When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go.
[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.
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Commentary:
1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles. The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus' power over death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25 and paragraph) and of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12).
The Evangelist first sets the scene (verses 1-16); then he gives Jesus' conversation with Lazarus' sisters (verses 17-37); finally, he reports the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (verses 38-45). Bethany was only about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem (verse 18). On the days prior to His passion, Jesus often visited this family, to which He was very attached. St. John records Jesus' affection (verses 3, 5, 36) by describing His emotion and sorrow at the death of His friend.
By raising Lazarus our Lord shows His divine power over death and thereby gives proof of His divinity, in order to confirm His disciples' faith and reveal Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews, but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body. Martha believed in it (cf. verse 24).
Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a sign of our future resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ, by His glorious resurrection through He is the "first-born from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), is also the cause and model of our resurrection. In this His resurrection is different from that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead will never die again" (Romans 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly life, later to die again.
2. There are a number of women in the Gospels who are called Mary. The Mary here is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus (v. 2), the woman who later anointed our Lord, again in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper (cf. John 12:1-8; Mark 14:3): the indefinite or aorist "(she) anointed" expresses an action which occurred prior to the time of writing, but the anointing took place after the resurrection of Lazarus.
Were Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the "sinful" woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Galilee (cf. Luke 7:36) one, two or three women? Although sometimes it is argued that they are one and the same, it seems more likely that they were all different people. Firstly, we must distinguish the Galilee anointing (Luke 7:36) by the "sinner" from the Bethany anointing done by Lazarus' sister (John 12:1): because of the time they took place and particular details reported, they are clearly distinct (cf. note on John 12:1). Besides the Gospels give us no positive indication that Mary of Bethany was the same person as the "sinner" of Galilee. Nor are there strong grounds for identifying Mary Magdalene and the "sinner", whose name is not given; Mary Magdalene appears among the women who follow Jesus in Galilee as the woman out of whom seven demons were cast (cf. Luke 8:2), and Luke presents her in his account as someone new: no information is given which could link her with either of the two other women.
Nor can Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene be identified, for John differentiates between the two: he never calls Lazarus' sister Mary Magdalene, nor does he in any way link the latter (who stays beside the Cross--John 19:25--and who goes to the tomb and sees the risen Lord) with Mary of Bethany.
The reason why Mary of Bethany has sometimes been confused with Mary Magdalene is due (1) to identification of the latter with the "sinner" of Galilee through connecting Magdalene's possession of the devil with the sinfulness of the woman who did the anointing in Galilee; and (2) to confusing the two anointings, which would make Lazarus' sister the "sinner" who does the first anointing. This was how the three women were made out to be one, but there are no grounds for that interpretation. The best-grounded and most common interpretation offered by exegetes is that they are three distinct women.
4. The glory which Christ speaks of here, St. Augustine says, "was no gain to Jesus; it was only for our good. Therefore, Jesus says that this illness is not unto death, because the particular death was not for death but rather for a miracle, which being wrought men should believe in Christ and thereby avoid the true death" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 6).
8-10. Stoning was the form of capital punishment applying to blasphemy (cf. Leviticus 24:16). We have seen that people tried to stone Jesus at least twice: first, when He proclaimed that He was the Son of God and that He existed from eternity (by saying that He "was" before Abraham lived)--John 8:58-59; second, when He revealed that He and the Father were one (cf. John 10:3-31).
These attempts by the Jewish authorities failed because Jesus' 'hour' had not yet arrived--that is, the time laid down by His Father for His death and resurrection. When the Crucifixion comes, it will the hour of His enemies and of "the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). But until that moment it is daytime, and our Lord can walk without His life being in danger.
16. Thomas' words reminds us of the Apostles saying at the Last Supper that they would be ready to die for their Master (cf. Matthew 26:31-35). We have seen how the Apostles stayed loyal when many disciples left our Lord after His discourse on the Bread of Life (John 6:67-71), and how they remained faithful to Him despite their personal weaknesses. But when, after Judas Iscariot's betrayal, Jesus lets Himself be arrested without offering resistance--in fact, forbidding the use of weapons (cf. John 18:11)--they become disconcerted and run away. Only St. John will stay faithful in Jesus' hour of greatest need.
18. Fifteen stadia, in Greek measurement: three kilometers (two miles).
21-22. According to St. Augustine, Martha's request is a good example of confident prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who knows better than we what we need. Therefore, "she did not say, But now I ask You to raise my brother to life again. [...] All she said was, I know that You can do it; if you will, do it; it is for you to judge whether to do it, not for me to presume" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 13). The same can be said of Mary's words, which St. John repeats at verse 32.
24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives of Himself, and which St. John faithfully passes on to us (cf. John 10:9; 14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Resurrection because by His victory over death He is the cause of the resurrection of all men. The miracle He works in raising Lazarus is a sign of Christ's power to give life to people. And so, by faith in Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is sure that he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:23; Colossians 1;18). Therefore, for the believer death is not the end; it is simply the step to eternal life, a change of dwelling-place, as one of the Roman Missal's Prefaces of Christian Death puts it: "Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in Heaven".
By saying that He is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life which begins beyond the grave, but also to the supernatural life which grace brings to the soul of man when he is still a wayfarer on this earth.
"This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in Jesus Christ, His eternal and only Son, who 'when the time had fully come' (Galatians 4:4), became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary, is the final fulfillment of man's vocation. It is in a way the fulfillment of the 'destiny' that God has prepared for him from eternity. This 'divine destiny' is advancing, in spite of all the enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of 'human destiny' in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body, beyond that goal we see Christ. 'I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me...shall never die.' In Jesus Christ, who was crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, 'our hope of resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immortality' ("Roman Missal", Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man, through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible creation the necessity to which matter is subject" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 18).
33-36. This passage gives an opportunity to reflect on the depth and tenderness of Jesus' feelings. If the physical death of His friend can move Him to tears, what will He not feel over the spiritual death of a sinner who has brought about his eternal condemnation? "Christ wept: let man also weep for himself. For why did Christ weep, but to teach men to weep" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 19). We also should weep--but for our sins, to help us return to the life of grace through conversion and repentance. We should appreciate our Lord's tears: He is praying for us, who are sinners: "Jesus is your friend. The Friend. With a human heart, like yours. With loving eyes that wept for Lazarus.
"And He loves you as much as He loved Lazarus" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 422).
41-42. Through His sacred humanity Jesus is expressing Himself as the natural Son of God, that is, He is the metaphysical Son of God, not adopted like the rest of men. This is the source of Jesus' feelings, which helps us to understand that when He says "Father" He is speaking with a unique and indescribable intensity. When the Gospels let us see Jesus praying, they always show Him beginning with the invocation "Father" (cf. note on Luke 11:1-2), which reflects His singular trust and love (cf. Matthew 11:25 and par.). These sentiments should also in some way find a place in our prayer, for through Baptism we are joined to Christ and in Him we became children of God (cf. John 1:12; Romans 6:1-11; 8:14-17), and so we should always pray in a spirit of sonship and gratitude for the many good things our Father God has given us.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, which really is an extraordinary miracle, is a proof that Jesus is the Son of God, sent into the world by His Father. And so it is, that when Lazarus is brought back to life, people's faith in Jesus is increased--the disciples' (verse 15), Martha's and Mary's (verses 26, 40) and that of the people at large (36, 45).
43. Jesus calls Lazarus by name. Although he is really dead, he has not thereby lost his personal identity: dead people continue to exist, but they have a different mode of existence, because they have changed from mortal life to eternal life. This is why Jesus states that God "is not God of the dead, but of the living", for to Him all are alive (cf. Matthew 22:32; Luke 20:38).
This passage can be applied to the spiritual resurrection of the soul who has sinned and recovers grace. God wants us to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4); therefore we should never lose heart; we should always desire and hope to reach this goal: "Never despair. Lazarus was dead and decaying: ' Iam foetet, quatriduanus enim est". By now he will smell; this is the fourth day", says Martha to Jesus.
"If you hear God's inspiration and follow it--'Lazare, veni foras!: Lazarus, come out!'--and you will return to Life" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 719).
44. The Jews prepared the body for burial by washing it and anointing it with aromatic ointments to delay decomposition and counteract offensive odors; they then wrapped the body in linen cloths and bandages, covering the head with a napkin--a method very like the Egyptians', but not entirely extending to full embalming, which involved removing certain internal organs.
Lazarus' tomb would have consisted of a subterranean chamber linked to the surface by steps, with the entrance blocked by a slab. Lazarus was moved out to the entrance by a supernatural force. As happened in the case of the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5;42-43), due to their astonishment no one moved until our Lord's words broke the atmosphere of silence and terror which had been created.
St. Augustine sees in the raising of Lazarus a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance: in the same way as Lazarus comes out of the tomb, "when you confess, you come forth. For what does 'come forth' mean if not emerging from what is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God's doing; He calls you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man came out still bound, so you go to Confession still guilty. In order that his sins be loosed, the Lord said this to His ministers: 'Unbind him and let him go'. What you will lose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (St. Augustine "In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 24). Christian art has used this comparison from very early on; in the catacombs we find some one hundred and fifty representations of the raising of Lazarus, symbolizing thereby the gift of the life of grace which comes through the priest, who in effect repeats the words to the sinner: "Lazarus, come out."
___________________________
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.
2nd Reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent
From: Romans 8:8-11
Life in the Spirit
[8] "And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9] "But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you."
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Commentary:
1-13. After original sin man is pulled in two different directions: either he seeks God above all things and contends, with God's grace, against the inclinations of his own concupiscence; or else he lets himself be overwhelmed by the disordered passions of the flesh. The former lifestyle is "life in the Spirit", the latter, life "according to the flesh". "There are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 200).
Sanctifying grace is the source of life "according to the Spirit". It is not a matter of simply being in the state of grace or of performing a number of regular pious practices. Life according to the Spirit--spiritual or supernatural life--means a living-according-to-God which influences everything a Christian does: he is constantly trying to bring his thoughts, yearnings, desires and actions into line with what God is asking of him; in everything he does he tries to follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
Life according to the flesh, on the other hand, has its source in the triple concupiscence which is a consequence of original sin--"all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 Jn 2:16). In this present life it is not possible to kill concupiscence at its root: it is forever producing new growths. The Christian is freed from original sin through Baptism (chap. 6); the coming of Christ has set aside the ritualistic precepts of the Mosaic Law (chap. 7); but his life in Jesus Christ is threatened by concupiscence even after Baptism, which places him under the Law of the Spirit. "We need to submit to the spirit, to wholeheartedly commit ourselves and strive to keep the flesh in its place. By so doing our flesh will become spiritual again. Otherwise, if we give in to the easy life, this will lower our soul to the level of the flesh and make it carnal again" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Rom", 13).
10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently hopes in his future resurrection; Christ himself lives in him (cf. Gal 2:20; 1 Cor 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a consequence of original sin (cf. Rom 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, concupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after baptism; it is something which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all commentators interpret the expression "your bodies are dead because of sin" as referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as "already dead".
St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Christian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him. If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the wrath of God, rejection of his laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our Guest. And he adds: "But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking? With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses him, one vies for honor with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death" ("Hom. on Rom.", 13).
___________________________
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.
Life in the Spirit
[8] "And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9] "But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you."
______________
Commentary:
1-13. After original sin man is pulled in two different directions: either he seeks God above all things and contends, with God's grace, against the inclinations of his own concupiscence; or else he lets himself be overwhelmed by the disordered passions of the flesh. The former lifestyle is "life in the Spirit", the latter, life "according to the flesh". "There are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 200).
Sanctifying grace is the source of life "according to the Spirit". It is not a matter of simply being in the state of grace or of performing a number of regular pious practices. Life according to the Spirit--spiritual or supernatural life--means a living-according-to-God which influences everything a Christian does: he is constantly trying to bring his thoughts, yearnings, desires and actions into line with what God is asking of him; in everything he does he tries to follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
Life according to the flesh, on the other hand, has its source in the triple concupiscence which is a consequence of original sin--"all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 Jn 2:16). In this present life it is not possible to kill concupiscence at its root: it is forever producing new growths. The Christian is freed from original sin through Baptism (chap. 6); the coming of Christ has set aside the ritualistic precepts of the Mosaic Law (chap. 7); but his life in Jesus Christ is threatened by concupiscence even after Baptism, which places him under the Law of the Spirit. "We need to submit to the spirit, to wholeheartedly commit ourselves and strive to keep the flesh in its place. By so doing our flesh will become spiritual again. Otherwise, if we give in to the easy life, this will lower our soul to the level of the flesh and make it carnal again" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Rom", 13).
10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently hopes in his future resurrection; Christ himself lives in him (cf. Gal 2:20; 1 Cor 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a consequence of original sin (cf. Rom 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, concupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after baptism; it is something which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all commentators interpret the expression "your bodies are dead because of sin" as referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as "already dead".
St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Christian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him. If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the wrath of God, rejection of his laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our Guest. And he adds: "But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking? With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses him, one vies for honor with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death" ("Hom. on Rom.", 13).
___________________________
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.
1st Reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent
From: Ezekiel 37:12-14
The dry bones
[12] [“]Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open their graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. [13] And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14] And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, says the Lord.”
____________
Commentary:
This remarkable vision of the bones being brought back to life sets the scene for the climax of the resurgence of Israel, the unification of the two kingdoms (cf. 37: 15-28). The dramatic contrast drawn here between death and life, bones and spirit, shows that the revitalization that God will bring about goes much further than material reconstruction or simply a return to the promised land; it implies, rather, a new beginning, both personal and social.
The vision itself (vv. 2-10) takes place on an immense plain (cf. 3:22-23) and it addresses the exiles’ profound concern about their future: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost” (v. 11). It is one of Ezekiel’s most famous and most commented-on visions because it is very vivid and easy to understand. The prophet himself explains it as having to do with the destruction-restoration of Israel (vv. 11-14), though the Fathers of the Church see in it veiled references to the resurrection of the dead: “The Creator will revive our mortal bodies here on earth; he promises resurrection, the opening of sepulchers and tombs, and the gift of immortality […]. And in all this, we see that he alone is God, who can do all things, the good Father who from his endless bounty will give life to the lifeless” (St Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, 5, 15, 1). St Jerome writes in similar terms: “The image of the resurrection would not have been used to describe the restoration of the people of Israel if the future resurrection of the dead had not been foreseen, because no one can be led to draw a conclusion from an idea that has no basis is reality” (Commentarii in Ezechielem, 27, 1ff.
“I will put my Spirit within you” (v. 14). The spirit of the Lord is, at least, the power of God (cf. Gen 2:7) performing an act of creation. It is also the principle of life causing man to “become a living being” (Gen 2:7); and, certainly, it is the prin- ciple of supernatural life. The same God that created all things can revitalize his demoralized people in Babylon and can allow humankind to partake of his own life. This promise, like others found in the prophets (cf. 11:19; Jer 31:31-34; Joel 3:1-5) will find its complete fulfillment at Pentecost, when the Spirit descends on the apostles: “According to these promises, at the ‘end time’ the Lord’s Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 715).
___________________________
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 dry bones
[12] [“]Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open their graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. [13] And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14] And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, says the Lord.”
____________
Commentary:
This remarkable vision of the bones being brought back to life sets the scene for the climax of the resurgence of Israel, the unification of the two kingdoms (cf. 37: 15-28). The dramatic contrast drawn here between death and life, bones and spirit, shows that the revitalization that God will bring about goes much further than material reconstruction or simply a return to the promised land; it implies, rather, a new beginning, both personal and social.
The vision itself (vv. 2-10) takes place on an immense plain (cf. 3:22-23) and it addresses the exiles’ profound concern about their future: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost” (v. 11). It is one of Ezekiel’s most famous and most commented-on visions because it is very vivid and easy to understand. The prophet himself explains it as having to do with the destruction-restoration of Israel (vv. 11-14), though the Fathers of the Church see in it veiled references to the resurrection of the dead: “The Creator will revive our mortal bodies here on earth; he promises resurrection, the opening of sepulchers and tombs, and the gift of immortality […]. And in all this, we see that he alone is God, who can do all things, the good Father who from his endless bounty will give life to the lifeless” (St Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, 5, 15, 1). St Jerome writes in similar terms: “The image of the resurrection would not have been used to describe the restoration of the people of Israel if the future resurrection of the dead had not been foreseen, because no one can be led to draw a conclusion from an idea that has no basis is reality” (Commentarii in Ezechielem, 27, 1ff.
“I will put my Spirit within you” (v. 14). The spirit of the Lord is, at least, the power of God (cf. Gen 2:7) performing an act of creation. It is also the principle of life causing man to “become a living being” (Gen 2:7); and, certainly, it is the prin- ciple of supernatural life. The same God that created all things can revitalize his demoralized people in Babylon and can allow humankind to partake of his own life. This promise, like others found in the prophets (cf. 11:19; Jer 31:31-34; Joel 3:1-5) will find its complete fulfillment at Pentecost, when the Spirit descends on the apostles: “According to these promises, at the ‘end time’ the Lord’s Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 715).
___________________________
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, March 08, 2008
Just for Today, March 9
Seek true peace, not upon earth, but in heaven; not in men, nor in other things created, but in God alone.
-Bk. III. ch. xxxv.
This is the principal comfort of a faithful soul, so long as she sojourns afar from Thee in this mortal body, being mindful often of her God, to receive her Beloved with a devout mind.
-Bk. IV, ch. iii.
_______________
Above the curtain of the clouds
Are skies serenely blue,
And thither, like the lark, I rise
Where no care can pursue,
So near, so near to Heaven's gate!
Then to the earth return,
Where to the hidden Fruit of Love
With longing eyes I turn.
-Poems
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. III. ch. xxxv.
This is the principal comfort of a faithful soul, so long as she sojourns afar from Thee in this mortal body, being mindful often of her God, to receive her Beloved with a devout mind.
-Bk. IV, ch. iii.
_______________
Above the curtain of the clouds
Are skies serenely blue,
And thither, like the lark, I rise
Where no care can pursue,
So near, so near to Heaven's gate!
Then to the earth return,
Where to the hidden Fruit of Love
With longing eyes I turn.
-Poems
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - March 9
Take care that the worldling does not pursue with greater zeal and anxiety the perishable goods of this world than you do the eternal.
-St. Ignatius
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Ignatius
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for March 9, Jesus Is Struck
Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the equal of His Father, the splendor of His Glory.
Jesus, the reflection of the pure, noble countenance of Mary, Jesus whose Adorable Face will be for all time the object of fervent contemplation.
Jesus, struck by the vulgar hand of a sneering brute whose only object in striking the Innocent One is to gain the good graces of a vile judge....This hand...this cheek...this blow! The Master of all....The last of the servants!
But Jesus sees beyond the figure of the man who raises his hand. As St. Jane de Chantal said: "The blow came from above." Beyond the hand of this servant, Jesus recognized and adored the hand of His Father. Are there no other blows but those given on the cheek? Certain shameful actions, certain preferences for creatures, are these not insults--not merely to the face of Christ but to His own adorable Person?
I have been chosen, by an inconceivable predilection, in preference to so many others, and how many times have I failed to love, turning my back on the invitation of the Good Master, forgetting to respond to His many attentions with a little love - and simply because it may cost me a trifle. Is this cowardice not as stinging as any slap in the face?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Jesus, the reflection of the pure, noble countenance of Mary, Jesus whose Adorable Face will be for all time the object of fervent contemplation.
Jesus, struck by the vulgar hand of a sneering brute whose only object in striking the Innocent One is to gain the good graces of a vile judge....This hand...this cheek...this blow! The Master of all....The last of the servants!
But Jesus sees beyond the figure of the man who raises his hand. As St. Jane de Chantal said: "The blow came from above." Beyond the hand of this servant, Jesus recognized and adored the hand of His Father. Are there no other blows but those given on the cheek? Certain shameful actions, certain preferences for creatures, are these not insults--not merely to the face of Christ but to His own adorable Person?
I have been chosen, by an inconceivable predilection, in preference to so many others, and how many times have I failed to love, turning my back on the invitation of the Good Master, forgetting to respond to His many attentions with a little love - and simply because it may cost me a trifle. Is this cowardice not as stinging as any slap in the face?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for Saturday, 4th Week of Lent
Optional Memorial of St. John of God, religious
Old Calendar: St. John of God
John 7:40-53
Different Opinions About Jesus (Continuation)
[40] When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This is really the prophet." [41] Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? [42] Has not the Scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" [43] So there was a division among the people over Him. [44] Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
[45] The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring Him?" [46] The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" [47] The Pharisees answered them, "Are you led astray, you also? [48] Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him? [49] But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." [50] Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them, said to them, [51] "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" [52] They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee." [53] They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
__________________
Commentary:
40-43. "The prophet" refers to Deuteronomy 18:18, which predicts the coming of a prophet during the last times, a prophet to whom all must listen (cf. John 1:21; 6:14); and "the Christ" ("the Messiah") was the title most used in the Old Testament to designate the future Savior whom God would send. This passage shows us, once again, the range of people's attitudes towards Jesus. Many Jews--not taking the trouble to check--did not know that He had been born in Bethlehem, the city of David, where Micah (5:2) says the Lord will be born. It was their own fault that they used this ignorance as an excuse for not accepting Christ. Others, however, realized from His miracles that He must be the Messiah. The same pattern obtains throughout history: some people see Him simply as an extraordinary man, not wanting to admit that His greatness comes precisely from the fact the He is the Son of God.
46. The truth begins to influence the straightforward souls of the servants of the Sanhedrin but it cannot make headway against the obstinacy of the Pharisees. "Notice that the Pharisees and scribes derive no benefit either from witnessing miracles or reading the Scriptures; whereas their servants, without these helps, were captivated by a single discourse, and those who set out to arrest Jesus went back under the influence of His authority. And they did not say, `We cannot arrest Him, the people will not let us'; instead they extolled Christ's wisdom. Not only is their prudence admirable, for they did not need signs; it is also impressive that they were won over by His teaching on its own; they did not say, in effect, `No man has ever worked such miracles,' but `No man ever spoke like this man.' Their conviction also is worthy of admiration: they go to the Pharisees, who were opposed to Christ, and address them in the way they do" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. On St. John", 9).
___________________________
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.
Old Calendar: St. John of God
John 7:40-53
Different Opinions About Jesus (Continuation)
[40] When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This is really the prophet." [41] Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? [42] Has not the Scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" [43] So there was a division among the people over Him. [44] Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
[45] The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring Him?" [46] The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" [47] The Pharisees answered them, "Are you led astray, you also? [48] Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him? [49] But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." [50] Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them, said to them, [51] "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" [52] They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee." [53] They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
__________________
Commentary:
40-43. "The prophet" refers to Deuteronomy 18:18, which predicts the coming of a prophet during the last times, a prophet to whom all must listen (cf. John 1:21; 6:14); and "the Christ" ("the Messiah") was the title most used in the Old Testament to designate the future Savior whom God would send. This passage shows us, once again, the range of people's attitudes towards Jesus. Many Jews--not taking the trouble to check--did not know that He had been born in Bethlehem, the city of David, where Micah (5:2) says the Lord will be born. It was their own fault that they used this ignorance as an excuse for not accepting Christ. Others, however, realized from His miracles that He must be the Messiah. The same pattern obtains throughout history: some people see Him simply as an extraordinary man, not wanting to admit that His greatness comes precisely from the fact the He is the Son of God.
46. The truth begins to influence the straightforward souls of the servants of the Sanhedrin but it cannot make headway against the obstinacy of the Pharisees. "Notice that the Pharisees and scribes derive no benefit either from witnessing miracles or reading the Scriptures; whereas their servants, without these helps, were captivated by a single discourse, and those who set out to arrest Jesus went back under the influence of His authority. And they did not say, `We cannot arrest Him, the people will not let us'; instead they extolled Christ's wisdom. Not only is their prudence admirable, for they did not need signs; it is also impressive that they were won over by His teaching on its own; they did not say, in effect, `No man has ever worked such miracles,' but `No man ever spoke like this man.' Their conviction also is worthy of admiration: they go to the Pharisees, who were opposed to Christ, and address them in the way they do" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. On St. John", 9).
___________________________
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.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Just for Today March 8
This is not the work of man, but the grace of Christ, which can and does effect such great things in frail flesh, and what is naturally abhors and flies, even this, through fervour of spirit, it now embraces and loves.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
Ever since I entered Carmel, suffering has awaited me at every turn, but I have always embraced it lovingly. At the canonical examination before my Profession I said that I had come to Carmel in order to save souls, and above all to pray for priests.
To attain an end, one must make use of the means, and Our Lord having made me understand that it was by the cross that I would win souls, the more crosses I met with, the more did my desire of suffering increase. I trod this path for five years, though no one suspected it. Jesus alone was to be given this flower, whose fragrance is all kept for Heaven, and so remains unnoticed upon earth.
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
Ever since I entered Carmel, suffering has awaited me at every turn, but I have always embraced it lovingly. At the canonical examination before my Profession I said that I had come to Carmel in order to save souls, and above all to pray for priests.
To attain an end, one must make use of the means, and Our Lord having made me understand that it was by the cross that I would win souls, the more crosses I met with, the more did my desire of suffering increase. I trod this path for five years, though no one suspected it. Jesus alone was to be given this flower, whose fragrance is all kept for Heaven, and so remains unnoticed upon earth.
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - March 8
He who at the hour of death finds himself protected by St. Joseph, will certainly experience great consolation.
-St. Teresa
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Teresa
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for March 8, Jesus Is Mocked
A God derided, reviled, become a plaything, one whose words, actions, and very silence are misinterpreted.
A God and yet, the object of ridicule, whose very endurance of suffering provokes coarse gaiety from the bodyguard.
A God struck, scoffed, jostled about, defiled, berated-and all that with impunity.
But what are the Angels doing in heaven while man makes sport of their King? Are they unconcerned at seeing the Lord of lords reduced to such a state? Will they make no attempt to deliver the Master, to withhold those arms raised in madness, to stop those scoffers?
No! the prophecies must be fulfilled, the God Man must go to lengths such as these.
Blows are succeeded by ribald tirades and scurrilous language. Someone blindfolds Him and the taunts begin again: "Tell us who struck You! Here! This blow! Who gave it to you? And that one? Here, you are looking! That one, that's a good one, even better aimed."
Jesus blindfolded. . . . Ah! what must have been His thoughts? He saw all these stupid infamies.... He saw me. Was I increasing the number of these derisive blows, or was I making expiation by a love that nothing could make waver?
Who, then, will efface all the horrors of that mockery? Where in all the world are there enough acts of love to compensate for all those ignominies?
My soul, have you finally decided to really love Him?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
A God and yet, the object of ridicule, whose very endurance of suffering provokes coarse gaiety from the bodyguard.
A God struck, scoffed, jostled about, defiled, berated-and all that with impunity.
But what are the Angels doing in heaven while man makes sport of their King? Are they unconcerned at seeing the Lord of lords reduced to such a state? Will they make no attempt to deliver the Master, to withhold those arms raised in madness, to stop those scoffers?
No! the prophecies must be fulfilled, the God Man must go to lengths such as these.
Blows are succeeded by ribald tirades and scurrilous language. Someone blindfolds Him and the taunts begin again: "Tell us who struck You! Here! This blow! Who gave it to you? And that one? Here, you are looking! That one, that's a good one, even better aimed."
Jesus blindfolded. . . . Ah! what must have been His thoughts? He saw all these stupid infamies.... He saw me. Was I increasing the number of these derisive blows, or was I making expiation by a love that nothing could make waver?
Who, then, will efface all the horrors of that mockery? Where in all the world are there enough acts of love to compensate for all those ignominies?
My soul, have you finally decided to really love Him?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Recalcitrant Priest Faces Church Sanctions
From the St Louis Review:
Looks really serious to the common layman...Bozek is history. The St Stanislaus board needs to get its act together and rid itself of this man, pronto.
Disappointed that Father Marek Bozek has refused to return to his home diocese to be reconciled with the Catholic Church, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke said March 5 that he is forced to proceed with the canonical process of dismissing Father Bozek from the clerical state....Also see this:
Decree of Extra-Judicial AdjudicationSource.
In the matter of the Reverend Marek Bogusław Bozek
Whereas I have diligently examined and considered all and each of the indications [indicia] and proofs, which have been assembled and certified in the acts of the case in question, and which have been lawfully presented before me in the extra-judicial penal process held regarding the Reverend Marek Bogusław Bozek of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Corporation, domiciled at 1413 North Twentieth Street in the City of Saint Louis, with the postal code of 63106-3256, who has been accused of having committed the following canonical delicts:
1) Protracted contumacy in schism (cf. can. 1364, §2);
2) Pertinacious rejection of the Church’s doctrine, referenced in can. 750, §2, infallibly set forth, that women cannot validly receive the Sacrament of Ordination to the Priesthood; and refusal to retract the rejection of Church doctrine after due admonition by myself as Ordinary (cf. can. 1371, 1);
3) Simony (cf. can. 1380);
4) Prohibited participation in sacred rites [communicatio in sacris] (cf. can. 1365);
5) Simulation of the administration of a sacrament, apart from the cases treated in can. 1378 (cf. can. 1379);
6) Usurpation of an ecclesiastical office (cf. can. 1381, §1);
7) Illegitimate exercise of the priestly ministry (cf. can. 1384);
8) The external violation of divine or canon law, which because of its special gravity demands punishment, and which is coupled with the urgent need to prevent and repair scandal (cf. can. 1399); and
9) Public incitement of the subjects of the Apostolic See or an Ordinary to animosity or hatred toward the Apostolic See or an Ordinary because of some act of ecclesiastical power or ministry, and the provoking of the same subjects to disobedience against the Apostolic See or an Ordinary (cf. can. 1373).
Therefore, after having weighed all of the proofs and the arguments with two assessors (cf. can. 1720, 2º), with only God before my eyes, I, by this my definitive sentence, consigned to writing, declare and pronounce, by reason of my lawful exercise of jurisdiction, the quality and preponderance of the proofs, which are extant in the acts of the case, and with moral certitude (cf. can. 1608, §1), that the Reverend Marek Bogusław Bozek is guilty of having committed all of the delicts indicated in nos. 2 through 9 above. Furthermore, by this my definitive sentence, I declare that the same delicts are fully imputable to the Reverend Bozek by reason of malice (cf. can. 1321, §§1-3), without exempting or mitigating circumstances (cf. cann. 1323-1324), within the time limits established by the Code of Canon Law, concerning both criminal (cf. can. 1362, §§1-2) and penal (cf. cann. 1363, §§1-2; and 1720, 3º) actions, and, therefore, are fully punishable.
Wherefore, with respect to the same Reverend Bozek, I declare and pronounce the following:
Firstly, with respect to the accusation that he has committed the delict of protracted contumacy in schism (cf. can. 1364, §2), I hereby decree and provide that said accusation against the Reverend Bozek be remanded to be heard and decided immediately, not by means of an extra-judicial penal process and decree, but by means of the ordinary judicial penal process, so that the expiatory penalty of dismissal from the clerical state may be considered (cf. cann. 1336, §1, 4º; 1425, §1, 2º; and 1364, §2). The Promoter of Justice of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis is hereby ordered to present to the Judicial Vicar of the Metropolitan Tribunal, as soon as is possible, the libellus of accusation against the Reverend Bozek for the commission of the delict of protracted contumacy in schism.
Secondly, that, because the Reverend Bozek has been found guilty of the most grave delict of simony, a crime committed against the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18), any convention, lease, contract, quasi-contract, hiring, loan, or other agreement, even if only tacit or evidenced from circumstances, by which any monetary increase, benefit, assumption of debt, pension, insurance, legal service, or temporal advantage has been or will be provided in compensation for or in recognition of the celebration of a Sacrament by the Reverend Bozek is hereby declared to be null, utterly void, and unenforceable because it is contrary to Divine Law and the sacred canons (cf. cann. 1290; and 1333, §4; Codex Iuris Canonici Pio-Benedictinus, cann. 727-729; and Decree of the Holy Office, 2 March 1679, n. 45 [DS, n. 2145]). Any baptized Catholic who is party to, directs, engages in, votes for, or authorizes the creation or execution of any of the aforementioned simoniacal conduct commits that most abhorrent sin against the Holy Spirit and is, thereby, deprived of good standing in the Catholic Church and imperils the eternal salvation of his soul.
Thirdly, by reason of having committed all of the eight delicts indicated in nos. 2 through 9 above, the Reverend Bozek is to be punished by the imposition of the following penalties:
1) The mandatory penalty of a ferendae sententiae interdict;
2) The just ferendae sententiae penalty of restitution of all monies and material benefits, received by the Reverend Bozek, to their baptized and non-baptized contributors alike, as a result of the nullity, in both Divine and Canon Law, of any of the above-mentioned types of convention, which is claimed to exist between the Reverend Bozek and the St. Stanislaus Kostka Corporation, or any other juridical or physical person, or third party.
Fourthly, and finally, for having attempted to concelebrate the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist with individuals not possessing valid Holy Orders or Apostolic Succession, the Reverend Bozek is hereby denounced to the Holy See, so that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith may exercise its reserved jurisdiction over the apparent commission of this added crime.
Wherefore, the Reverend Bozek is hereby notified that, if he desires to file recourse against this decree, he is required, for validity, to submit a petition to the undersigned for the revocation or revision of the same decree and sentence, within ten useful days from the publication of this same decree (cf. can. 1734, §§1-2).
So that all may know the contents of the present canonical decree, I order that this decree be published in the next edition of the St. Louis Review, which official publication of the Archbishop of Saint Louis, in accord with the particular legislation issued at Saint Louis, on the ninth day of November in the Year of the Lord 2007, constitutes notification by edict and execution of this my definitive Decree and Sentence.
Issued and read, at Saint Louis, on the fifth day of March in the Year of the Lord 2008.
SEAL (Most Rev.) Raymond L. Burke
Archbishop of St. Louis
(Rev. Msgr.) Henry J. Breier
Notary
Looks really serious to the common layman...Bozek is history. The St Stanislaus board needs to get its act together and rid itself of this man, pronto.
Gospel for Friday, 4th Week of Lent
Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs
Old Calendar: St. Thomas Aquinas, confessor and doctor
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus Goes Up to Jerusalem During the Feast of Tabernacles
[1] After this Jesus went about in Galilee; He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. [2] Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand. [10] But after His brethren had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private.
[25] Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? [26] And here He is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to Him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? [27 Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from. [28] So Jesus proclaimed, as He taught in the temple, "You know where I come from? But I have not come of My own accord; He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know. [29] I know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent Me." [30] So they sought to arrest Him; but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
______________
Commentary:
1-2. The Jewish custom was for closer relatives to be called "brothers", brethren (cf. notes on Matthew 12:46-47 and Mark 6:1-3). These relatives of Jesus followed Him without understanding His teaching or His mission (cf. Matthew 3:31); but because He worked such obvious miracles in Galilee (cf. Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10, 22-26) they suggest to Him that He show Himself publicly in Jerusalem and throughout Judea. Perhaps they wanted Him to be a big success, which would have indulged their family pride.
2. The name of the feast recalls the time the Israelites spent living under canvas in the wilderness (cf. Leviticus 23:34-36). During the eight days the feast lasted (cf. Nehemiah 8:13-18), around the beginning of autumn, the Jews commemorated the protection God had given the Israelites over the forty years of the Exodus. Because it coincided with the end of the harvest, it was also called the feast of ingathering (cf. Exodus 23:16).
10. Because He had not arrived in advance of the feast (which was what people normally did), the first caravans would have reported that Jesus was not coming up, and therefore the members of the Sanhedrin would have stopped planning anything against Him (cf. 7:1). By going up later, the religious authorities would not dare make any move against Him for fear of hostile public reaction (cf. Matthew 26:5). Jesus, possibly accompanied by His disciples, arrives unnoticed at Jerusalem, "in private", almost in a hidden way. Half-way through the feast, on the fourth or fifth day, He begins to preach in the temple (cf. 7:14).
27. In this chapter we often see the Jews disconcerted, in two minds. They argue with one another over whether Jesus is the Messiah, or a prophet, or an impostor (verse 12); they do not know where He gets His wisdom from (verse 15); they are short-tempered (verses 19-20); and they are surprised by the attitudes of the Sanhedrin (verse 26). Despite the signs they have seen (miracles, teaching) they do not want to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps some, thinking that He came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary, cannot see how this fits in with the notion usually taken from Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 53:1-8) about the Messiah's origin being unknown--except for His coming from the line of David and being born in Bethlehem (cf. Matthew 2:5 which quotes Micah 5:2; cf. John 7:42). In fact Jesus did fulfill those prophetic predictions, though most Jews did not know it because they knew nothing about His virginal birth in Bethlehem or His descent from David. Others must have known that He was of the house of David and had been born in Bethlehem, but even so they did not want to accept His teaching because it demanded a mental and moral conversion which they were not ready to make.
28-29. Not without a certain irony, Jesus refers to the superficial knowledge these Jews had of Him: however, He asserts that He comes from the Father who has sent Him, whom only He knows, precisely because He is the Son of God (cf. John 1:18).
30. The Jews realized that Jesus was making Himself God's equal, which was regarded as blasphemy and, according to the Law, was something punishable by death by stoning (cf. Leviticus 24:15-16, 23).
This is not the first time St. John refers to the Jews' hostility (cf. John 5:10), nor will it be the last (8:59; 10:31-33). He stresses this hostility because it was a fact and perhaps also to show that Jesus acts freely when, to fulfill the Father's will He gives Himself over to His enemies when His "hour" arrives (cf. John 18:4-8). "He did not therefore mean an hour when He would be forced to die, but one when He would allow Himself to be put to death. For He was waiting for the time in which He should die, even as He waited for the time in which He should be born" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang., 31, 5).
___________________________
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.
Old Calendar: St. Thomas Aquinas, confessor and doctor
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus Goes Up to Jerusalem During the Feast of Tabernacles
[1] After this Jesus went about in Galilee; He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. [2] Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand. [10] But after His brethren had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private.
[25] Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? [26] And here He is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to Him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? [27 Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from. [28] So Jesus proclaimed, as He taught in the temple, "You know where I come from? But I have not come of My own accord; He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know. [29] I know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent Me." [30] So they sought to arrest Him; but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
______________
Commentary:
1-2. The Jewish custom was for closer relatives to be called "brothers", brethren (cf. notes on Matthew 12:46-47 and Mark 6:1-3). These relatives of Jesus followed Him without understanding His teaching or His mission (cf. Matthew 3:31); but because He worked such obvious miracles in Galilee (cf. Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10, 22-26) they suggest to Him that He show Himself publicly in Jerusalem and throughout Judea. Perhaps they wanted Him to be a big success, which would have indulged their family pride.
2. The name of the feast recalls the time the Israelites spent living under canvas in the wilderness (cf. Leviticus 23:34-36). During the eight days the feast lasted (cf. Nehemiah 8:13-18), around the beginning of autumn, the Jews commemorated the protection God had given the Israelites over the forty years of the Exodus. Because it coincided with the end of the harvest, it was also called the feast of ingathering (cf. Exodus 23:16).
10. Because He had not arrived in advance of the feast (which was what people normally did), the first caravans would have reported that Jesus was not coming up, and therefore the members of the Sanhedrin would have stopped planning anything against Him (cf. 7:1). By going up later, the religious authorities would not dare make any move against Him for fear of hostile public reaction (cf. Matthew 26:5). Jesus, possibly accompanied by His disciples, arrives unnoticed at Jerusalem, "in private", almost in a hidden way. Half-way through the feast, on the fourth or fifth day, He begins to preach in the temple (cf. 7:14).
27. In this chapter we often see the Jews disconcerted, in two minds. They argue with one another over whether Jesus is the Messiah, or a prophet, or an impostor (verse 12); they do not know where He gets His wisdom from (verse 15); they are short-tempered (verses 19-20); and they are surprised by the attitudes of the Sanhedrin (verse 26). Despite the signs they have seen (miracles, teaching) they do not want to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps some, thinking that He came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary, cannot see how this fits in with the notion usually taken from Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 53:1-8) about the Messiah's origin being unknown--except for His coming from the line of David and being born in Bethlehem (cf. Matthew 2:5 which quotes Micah 5:2; cf. John 7:42). In fact Jesus did fulfill those prophetic predictions, though most Jews did not know it because they knew nothing about His virginal birth in Bethlehem or His descent from David. Others must have known that He was of the house of David and had been born in Bethlehem, but even so they did not want to accept His teaching because it demanded a mental and moral conversion which they were not ready to make.
28-29. Not without a certain irony, Jesus refers to the superficial knowledge these Jews had of Him: however, He asserts that He comes from the Father who has sent Him, whom only He knows, precisely because He is the Son of God (cf. John 1:18).
30. The Jews realized that Jesus was making Himself God's equal, which was regarded as blasphemy and, according to the Law, was something punishable by death by stoning (cf. Leviticus 24:15-16, 23).
This is not the first time St. John refers to the Jews' hostility (cf. John 5:10), nor will it be the last (8:59; 10:31-33). He stresses this hostility because it was a fact and perhaps also to show that Jesus acts freely when, to fulfill the Father's will He gives Himself over to His enemies when His "hour" arrives (cf. John 18:4-8). "He did not therefore mean an hour when He would be forced to die, but one when He would allow Himself to be put to death. For He was waiting for the time in which He should die, even as He waited for the time in which He should be born" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang., 31, 5).
___________________________
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.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Just for Today, March 7
Happy is he whom truth teaches by itself, not by figures and words that pass, but as it is in itself. Our opinion and our sense often deceive us, and discover but little.
-Bk. I, ch. iii.
______________
I have never acted like Pilate, who refused to hear the truth. I have always said to my Heavenly Father: I would willingly hear Thee, and so I beseech of Thee to answer me when I humbly ask: what is truth? Grant that I may see things as they truly are, and never be dazzled by them.
-Novissima Verba
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. I, ch. iii.
______________
I have never acted like Pilate, who refused to hear the truth. I have always said to my Heavenly Father: I would willingly hear Thee, and so I beseech of Thee to answer me when I humbly ask: what is truth? Grant that I may see things as they truly are, and never be dazzled by them.
-Novissima Verba
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
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