From: John 14:23-29
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
[23] Jesus answered him, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. [24] He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
[25] "These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. [26] But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [28] You have heard Me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. [29] And now I have told you before iit takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe."
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Commentary:
22-23. It was commonly held by the Jews that when the Messiah came He would be revealed to the whole world as King and Savior. The Apostles take Jesus' words as a revelation for themselves alone, and they are puzzled. Hence the question from Judas Thaddeus. It is interesting to note how easy the Apostles' relations with our Lord are: they simply ask Him about things they do not know and get Him to clear up any doubts they have. This is a good example of how we should approach Jesus, who is also our Teacher and Friend.
Jesus' reply may seem evasive but in fact, by referring to the form His manifestation takes, He explains why He does not reveal Himself to theworld: He makes Himself known to him who loves Him and keeps His commandments. God repeatedly revealed Himself in the Old Testament and promised to dwell in the midst of the people (cf. Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 37:26-27; etc.); but here Jesus speaks of a presence of God in each person. St. Paul refers to this presence when he asserts that each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16-17). St. Augustine, in reflecting on God's ineffable nearness in the soul, exclaims, "Late have I loved You, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved You! You were within me, and I was in the world outside myself. I searched for You in the world outside myself.... You were with me, but I was not with You. The beautiful things of this world kept me far from You and yet, if they had not been in You, they would have no being at all. You called me; You cried aloud to me; You broke my barrier of deafness; You shone upon me; Your radiance enveloped me; You cured my blindness" ("Confessions", X, 27, 38).
Jesus is referring to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the soul renewed by grace: "Our heart now needs to distinguish and adore each one of the Divine Persons. The soul is, as it were, making a discovery in the supernatural life, like a little child opening his eyes to the world about him. The soul spends time lovingly with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and readily submits to the work of the lifegiving Paraclete, who gives Himself to us with no merit on our part, bestowing His gifts and the supernatural virtues!" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 306).
25-26. Jesus has expounded His teaching very clearly, but the Apostles do not yet fully understand it; they will do so later on, when they receive the Holy Spirit who will guide them unto all truth (cf. John 16:13). "And so the Holy Spirit did teach them and remind them: He taught them what Christ had not said because they could not take it in, and He reminded them of what the Lord had taught and which, either because of the obscurity of the things or because of the dullness of their minds, they had not been able to retain" (Theophylact, "Enarratio in Evangelium Ioannis, ad loc").
The word translated here as "bring to your remembrance" also includes the idea of "suggesting": the Holy Spirit will recall to the Apostles' memory what they had already heard Jesus say--and He will give them light to enable them to discover the depth and richness of everything they have seen and heard. Thus, "the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done, but with that fuller understanding which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ (cf. John 2:22) and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed: (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 19).
"Christ has not left His followers without guidance in the task of understanding and living the Gospel. Before returning to His Father, He promised to send His Holy Spirit to the Church: `But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you'" (John 14:26).
"This same Spirit guides the successors of the Apostles, your bishops, united with the Bishop of Rome, to whom it was entrusted to preserve the faith and to `preach the Gospel to the whole creation' (Mark 16:15). Listen to their voices, for they bring you the word of the Lord" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Homily at Knock Shrine", 30 September 1979).
In the Gospels is consigned to writing, under the charism of divine inspiration, the Apostles' version of everything they had witnessed--and the understanding of it, which they obtained after Pentecost. So it is that these sacred writers "faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while He lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day when He was taken up (cf. Acts 1:1-2)" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 19). This is why the Church so earnestly recommends the reading of Sacred Scripture, particularly the Gospels. "How I wish your bearing and conversation were such that, on seeing or hearing you, people would say: This man reads the life of Jesus Christ" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 2).
27. Wishing a person peace was, and still is, the usual form of greeting among Jews and Arabs. It is the greeting Jesus used, and which the Apostles continued to use, as we can see from their letters (cf. 1 Peter 1:3; 3 John 15; Romans 1:7; etc.). The Church still uses it in the liturgy: for example, before Communion the celebrant wishes those present peace, a condition for worthily sharing in the holy sacrifice (cf. Matthew 5:23) and also a fruit of that sacrifice.
On our Lord's lips this common greeting acquires its deepest meaning; peace is one of the great messianic gifts (cf. Isaiah 9:7; 48:18; Micah 5:5; Matthew 10:22; Luke 2:14; 19:38). The peace which Jesus gives us completely transcends the peace of the world, which can be superficial and misleading and compatible with injustice. The peace of Christ is, above all, reconciliation with God and reconciliation of men with one another; it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23); it is "serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, a bond of love, a union of charity: no one can inherit God if he does not keep His testament of peace, or live in unity with Christ if he is separated from Christianity" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini Serm.", 58).
"Christ `is our peace' (Ephesians 2:14). And today and forever He repeats to us: `My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you'. [...] Never before in the history of mankind has peace been so much talked about and so ardently desired as in our day. [...] And yet again and again, one can see how peace is undermined and destroyed. [...] Peace is the result of many converging attitudes and realities; it is the product of moral concerns, of ethical principles based on the Gospel message and fortified by it. [...] In his message for the 1971 Day of Peace, my revered predecessor, that pilgrim of peace, [Pope] Paul VI, said: "True peace must be founded upon justice, upon a sense of the untouchable dignity of man, upon the recognition of an indelible and happy equality between men, upon the basic principle of human brotherhood, that is, of the respect and true love due to each man, because he is man'. This same message I affirmed in Mexico and in Poland. I reaffirm it here in Ireland. Every human being has inalienable rights that must be respected. Each human community--ethnic, historical, cultural or religious--has rights which must be respected. Peace is threatened every time one of these rights is violated.
The moral law, guardian of human rights, protector of the dignity of man, cannot be set aside by any person or group, or by the State itself, for any cause, not even for security or in the interests of law and order. The law of God stands in judgment over all reasons of State. As long as injustices exist in any of the areas that touch upon the dignity of the human person, be it in the political, social or economic field, be it in the cultural or religious sphere, true peace will not exist. [...] Peace cannot be established by violence, peace can never flourish in a climate of terror, intimidation and death. It is Jesus Himself who said: `All who take the sword will perish by the sword' (Matthew 26:52). This is the word of God, and it commands this generation of violent men to desist from hatred and violence and to repent" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Homily at Drogheda", 29 September 1979).
The peace and joy which Christ brings us should be typical of believers: "Get rid of those scruples that deprive you of peace.--What takes away your peace of soul cannot come from God.
"When God comes to you, you will feel the truth of those greetings: My peace I give to you..., peace I leave you..., peace be with you..., and you will feel it even in the midst of troubles." ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 258).
28. Jesus Christ, as Only-begotten Son of God, possesses divine glory for all eternity; but while He is on earth this glory is veiled and hidden behind His holy human nature (cf. 17:5; Philippians 2:7). It only shows itself on a few occasions, such as when He performs miracles (cf. 2:11) or at the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1-8 and paragraph). Now, through His death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven Jesus will be glorified--in His body also--as He returns to the Father and enters into His glory. Therefore, His departure from this world should be a source of joy for His disciples; but they do not properly understand what He is saying, and they are saddened because they are more aware of the Master being physically separated from them than the glory which awaits Him.
When Jesus says that the Father is greater than He, He is thinking about His human nature; as man Jesus is going to be glorified, ascending as He does to the right hand of the Father. Jesus Christ "is equal to the Father in His dignity, less than the Father in His humanity" ("Athanasian Creed"). St. Augustine exhorts us to "acknowledge the twofold nature of Christ--the divine, by which He is equal to the Father; the human, by which He is less than the Father. But the one and the other are together not two, but one Christ' ("In Ioann. Evang.", 78, 3). However, although the Father and the Son are equal in nature, eternity and dignity, our Lord's words can also be understood by taking "greater" to refer to His origin: only the Father is "beginning without beginning", whereas the Son proceeds eternally from the Father by way of a generation which is also eternal. Jesus Christ is God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God (cf. Nicene Creed).
___________________________
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, May 08, 2010
News Updates, 5/8
Pope accepts resignation of German bishop in sex probe
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday accepted the resignation of a German bishop who has been accused of sexually abusing minors, the latest in a string of Roman Catholic prelates forced to resign over an abuse scandal...
Issues to watch on Pope's trip to Portugal [Catholic Culture]
John Allen looks at the background of Pope Benedict's coming trip to Fatima, Portugal. He notes that the five foreign trips the Pope has scheduled for this year-- to Malta, Portugal, Cyprus, Great Britain, and Spain-- "are almost laid out in ascending order of difficulty."
Shroud of Turin supports Resurrection, expert affirms
(CNA/Europa Press).- Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro, who is head of a group of researchers from the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Development in Italy, noted this week that the latest discoveries on the Shroud of Turin “are not in contradiction with the theory of the Resurrection” of Christ.
Europe's Web of Debt (Graphic)
Banks and governments in these five shaky economies owe each other many billions of euros — converted here to dollars — and have even larger debts to Britain, France and Germany. Arrow widths are proportional to debt amounts....
['The world has no money and the emperor has no clothes' - Brian Williams on Dave Letterman Show]
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday accepted the resignation of a German bishop who has been accused of sexually abusing minors, the latest in a string of Roman Catholic prelates forced to resign over an abuse scandal...
Issues to watch on Pope's trip to Portugal [Catholic Culture]
John Allen looks at the background of Pope Benedict's coming trip to Fatima, Portugal. He notes that the five foreign trips the Pope has scheduled for this year-- to Malta, Portugal, Cyprus, Great Britain, and Spain-- "are almost laid out in ascending order of difficulty."
Shroud of Turin supports Resurrection, expert affirms
(CNA/Europa Press).- Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro, who is head of a group of researchers from the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Development in Italy, noted this week that the latest discoveries on the Shroud of Turin “are not in contradiction with the theory of the Resurrection” of Christ.
Europe's Web of Debt (Graphic)
Banks and governments in these five shaky economies owe each other many billions of euros — converted here to dollars — and have even larger debts to Britain, France and Germany. Arrow widths are proportional to debt amounts....
['The world has no money and the emperor has no clothes' - Brian Williams on Dave Letterman Show]
Principles and Practices - May 9
Strength of the Meek
'Blessed are the meek,' said our Divine Lord, 'for they shall inherit the earth.'
Does not this mean that the meek shall possess power over souls and control them by their very gentleness, that, far from being passive, consists of strength, self-possession and unchangeable serenity?
One who is assailed by the sufferings and trials of life, and never flinches; who by God's grace has learnt how to hide the depths of his own soul under a veil which allows the soul's light to shine on others without permitting its central point to be reached by agitation or trouble from without, is strong by God's own strength, and can say with S. Paul: 'I live, not I, but Christ liveth in me,' and giveth me His peace.
-Elizabeth Leseur.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
'Blessed are the meek,' said our Divine Lord, 'for they shall inherit the earth.'
Does not this mean that the meek shall possess power over souls and control them by their very gentleness, that, far from being passive, consists of strength, self-possession and unchangeable serenity?
One who is assailed by the sufferings and trials of life, and never flinches; who by God's grace has learnt how to hide the depths of his own soul under a veil which allows the soul's light to shine on others without permitting its central point to be reached by agitation or trouble from without, is strong by God's own strength, and can say with S. Paul: 'I live, not I, but Christ liveth in me,' and giveth me His peace.
-Elizabeth Leseur.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The School of Love & Other Essays, May 8
THE SCHOOL OF LOVE
"BE zealous for the better gifts," says St. Paul in a well-known passage. "And I shew unto you yet a more excellent way." Then the apostle breaks out into that wonderful description of love, which has been worn threadbare by all writers and preachers; worn threadbare, and yet it is ever new, ever thrilling, ever inspiring.
"Love is patient, is kind. Love envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never falleth away....Follow after love" (I Cor. xiii.).
Love is a word we play with very easily. We use it for the most trifling emotions; we even use it with a sense of evil, so that we almost fear to have it on our lips at all, lest others take scandal at our language.
Nevertheless the word is the greatest and the deepest that human tongue has ever invented. It is almost too deep for definition. Poets have extolled it from the beginning of the world; philosophers have discussed and analysed it; men and women have lived for it and died for it by millions; upon it man builds up this existence, and God Himself has built eternity; it is the key to this life, the content of the next, the abiding link between both, the mortal's possession that can never die, the fire of life that leaps across the chasm made by death....
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
"BE zealous for the better gifts," says St. Paul in a well-known passage. "And I shew unto you yet a more excellent way." Then the apostle breaks out into that wonderful description of love, which has been worn threadbare by all writers and preachers; worn threadbare, and yet it is ever new, ever thrilling, ever inspiring.
"Love is patient, is kind. Love envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never falleth away....Follow after love" (I Cor. xiii.).
Love is a word we play with very easily. We use it for the most trifling emotions; we even use it with a sense of evil, so that we almost fear to have it on our lips at all, lest others take scandal at our language.
Nevertheless the word is the greatest and the deepest that human tongue has ever invented. It is almost too deep for definition. Poets have extolled it from the beginning of the world; philosophers have discussed and analysed it; men and women have lived for it and died for it by millions; upon it man builds up this existence, and God Himself has built eternity; it is the key to this life, the content of the next, the abiding link between both, the mortal's possession that can never die, the fire of life that leaps across the chasm made by death....
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
Friday, May 07, 2010
Gospel for Saturday, 5th Week of Easter
From: John 15:18-21
A Hostile World
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [18] "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. [19] If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. [20] Remember the word that I said to you, `A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. [21] But all this they will do to you on My account, because they do not know Him who sent Me."
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Commentary:
18-19. Jesus states that there can be no compromise between Him and the world, the kingdom of sin: anyone who lives in sin abhors the light (cf. John 3:19-20). This is why Christ is persecuted, and why the Apostles will be in their turn. "The hostility of the perverse sounds like praise for our life", St. Gregory says, "because it shows that we have at least some rectitude if we are an annoyance to those who do not love God; no one can be pleasing to God and to God's enemies at the same time. He who seeks to please those who oppose God is no friend of God; and he who submits himself to the truth will fight against those who strive against truth" ("In Ezechielem Homiliae", 9).
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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.
A Hostile World
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [18] "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. [19] If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. [20] Remember the word that I said to you, `A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. [21] But all this they will do to you on My account, because they do not know Him who sent Me."
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Commentary:
18-19. Jesus states that there can be no compromise between Him and the world, the kingdom of sin: anyone who lives in sin abhors the light (cf. John 3:19-20). This is why Christ is persecuted, and why the Apostles will be in their turn. "The hostility of the perverse sounds like praise for our life", St. Gregory says, "because it shows that we have at least some rectitude if we are an annoyance to those who do not love God; no one can be pleasing to God and to God's enemies at the same time. He who seeks to please those who oppose God is no friend of God; and he who submits himself to the truth will fight against those who strive against truth" ("In Ezechielem Homiliae", 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.
Principles and Practices - May 8
The First Lesson
We may gather that without humility it is impossible to please God, and that there is no other way of gaining heaven.
It is the beginning, foundation, and safeguard of all good, which all the saints who are now in heaven embraced as the first lesson in the school of virtue.
Wherefore we may be sure that if ever we will reach any degree of perfection, either of grace in this life or of glory hereafter, it is absolutely necessary that we become as little children by humility: little in our own eyes, little in the eyes of the world, little before God.
-Fr. Constantine Barbanson.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
We may gather that without humility it is impossible to please God, and that there is no other way of gaining heaven.
It is the beginning, foundation, and safeguard of all good, which all the saints who are now in heaven embraced as the first lesson in the school of virtue.
Wherefore we may be sure that if ever we will reach any degree of perfection, either of grace in this life or of glory hereafter, it is absolutely necessary that we become as little children by humility: little in our own eyes, little in the eyes of the world, little before God.
-Fr. Constantine Barbanson.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The School of Love & Other Essays, May 7
THE LAY APOSTOLATE
[continued from yesterday]
...Again, there is a kind of good work which, one has reason to fear, is very much neglected in these days. It is true one sometimes does find ladies visiting hospitals, refuges, and even prisons; one sometimes finds there Salvation Army officers; but how seldom does one find our own men!
And yet why should it not be possible for them to do good work there as well as for anyone else?
A man can smooth a pillow, a man can light a cigarette, a man can wash a hand or a face, a man can write a letter, a man can lift a patient, a man can bring a cheering book or paper - and a man can encourage a back-slider to lift up his face to God, and determine to reform his life and begin again.
And to the man who will attempt it I can promise one thing; he will find it engrossingly interesting. He will find a new meaning in life. He will unperstand life as he has never understood it before, that is, from many points of view besides his own.
These, then, are some of the ways by which we can make the lay apostolate a real thing; there are many more, which a soul that is keen will not fail to discover.
Only let us set to work and something will be done. Let us work together and then, as our Lord has promised:
And those other words of Our Lord Himself:
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
[continued from yesterday]
...Again, there is a kind of good work which, one has reason to fear, is very much neglected in these days. It is true one sometimes does find ladies visiting hospitals, refuges, and even prisons; one sometimes finds there Salvation Army officers; but how seldom does one find our own men!
And yet why should it not be possible for them to do good work there as well as for anyone else?
A man can smooth a pillow, a man can light a cigarette, a man can wash a hand or a face, a man can write a letter, a man can lift a patient, a man can bring a cheering book or paper - and a man can encourage a back-slider to lift up his face to God, and determine to reform his life and begin again.
And to the man who will attempt it I can promise one thing; he will find it engrossingly interesting. He will find a new meaning in life. He will unperstand life as he has never understood it before, that is, from many points of view besides his own.
These, then, are some of the ways by which we can make the lay apostolate a real thing; there are many more, which a soul that is keen will not fail to discover.
Only let us set to work and something will be done. Let us work together and then, as our Lord has promised:
"Where there are two or three gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."If we want further encouragement, let us remember the words of St. James: "He who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his own soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins."
And those other words of Our Lord Himself:
"Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me."For
"Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Gospel for Friday, 5th Week of Easter
From: John 15:12-17
The Law of Love
[12] "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are My friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. [17] This I command you, to love one another."
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Commentary:
12-15. Jesus insists on the "new commandment", which He Himself keeps by giving His life for us. See note on John 13:34-35.
Christ's friendship with the Christian, which our Lord expresses in a very special way in this passage, is something very evident in [St] Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer's preaching: "The life of the Christian who decides to behave in accordance with the greatness of his vocation is so to speak a prolonged echo of those words of our Lord, `No longer do I call you My servants; a servant is one who does not understand what his master is about, whereas I have made known to you all that My Father has told Me; and so I have called you My friends' (John 15:15). When we decide to be docile and follow the will of God, hitherto unimagined horizons open up before us.... `There is nothing better than to recognize that Love has made us slaves of God. From the moment we recognize this we cease being slaves and become friends, sons' ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 35).
"Sons of God, FRIENDS OF GOD.... Jesus is truly God and truly Man, He is our Brother and our Friend. If we make the effort to get to know Him well `we will share in the joy of being God's friends' ["ibid.", 300]. If we do all we can to keep Him company, from Bethlehem to Calvary, sharing His joys and sufferings, we will become worthy of entering into loving conversation with Him. As the Liturgy of the Hours sings, "calicem Domini biberunt, et amici Dei facti sunt" (they drank the chalice of the Lord and so became friends of God).
"Being His children and His friends are two inseparable realities for those who love God. We go to Him as children, carrying on a trusting dialogue that should fill the whole of our lives; and we go to Him as friends.... In the same way our divine sonship urges us to translate the overflow of our interior life into apostolic activity, just as our friendship with God leads us to place ourselves at `the service of all men. We are called to use the gifts God has given us as instruments to help others discover Christ' ["ibid.", 258]" (Monsignor A. del Portillo in his preface to [St] J. Escriva's, "Friends of God").
16. There are three ideas contained in these words of our Lord. One, that the calling which the Apostles received and which every Christian also receives does not originate in the individual's good desires but in Christ's free choice. It was not the Apostles who chose the Lord as Master, in the way someone would go about choosing a rabbi; it was Christ who chose them. The second idea is that the Apostles' mission and the mission of every Christian is to follow Christ, to seek holiness and to contribute to the spread of the Gospel. The third teaching refers to the effectiveness of prayer done in the name of Christ; which is why the Church usually ends the prayers of the liturgy with the invocation "Through Jesus Christ our Lord...".
The three ideas are all interconnected: prayer is necessary if the Christian life is to prove fruitful, for it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:7); and the obligation to seek holiness and to be apostolic derives from the fact that it is Christ Himself who has given us this mission. "Bear in mind, son, that you are not just a soul who has joined other souls in order to do a good thing.
"That is a lot, but it's still little. You are the Apostle who is carrying out an imperative command from Christ" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 942).
___________________________
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 Law of Love
[12] "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are My friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. [17] This I command you, to love one another."
_______________________
Commentary:
12-15. Jesus insists on the "new commandment", which He Himself keeps by giving His life for us. See note on John 13:34-35.
Christ's friendship with the Christian, which our Lord expresses in a very special way in this passage, is something very evident in [St] Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer's preaching: "The life of the Christian who decides to behave in accordance with the greatness of his vocation is so to speak a prolonged echo of those words of our Lord, `No longer do I call you My servants; a servant is one who does not understand what his master is about, whereas I have made known to you all that My Father has told Me; and so I have called you My friends' (John 15:15). When we decide to be docile and follow the will of God, hitherto unimagined horizons open up before us.... `There is nothing better than to recognize that Love has made us slaves of God. From the moment we recognize this we cease being slaves and become friends, sons' ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 35).
"Sons of God, FRIENDS OF GOD.... Jesus is truly God and truly Man, He is our Brother and our Friend. If we make the effort to get to know Him well `we will share in the joy of being God's friends' ["ibid.", 300]. If we do all we can to keep Him company, from Bethlehem to Calvary, sharing His joys and sufferings, we will become worthy of entering into loving conversation with Him. As the Liturgy of the Hours sings, "calicem Domini biberunt, et amici Dei facti sunt" (they drank the chalice of the Lord and so became friends of God).
"Being His children and His friends are two inseparable realities for those who love God. We go to Him as children, carrying on a trusting dialogue that should fill the whole of our lives; and we go to Him as friends.... In the same way our divine sonship urges us to translate the overflow of our interior life into apostolic activity, just as our friendship with God leads us to place ourselves at `the service of all men. We are called to use the gifts God has given us as instruments to help others discover Christ' ["ibid.", 258]" (Monsignor A. del Portillo in his preface to [St] J. Escriva's, "Friends of God").
16. There are three ideas contained in these words of our Lord. One, that the calling which the Apostles received and which every Christian also receives does not originate in the individual's good desires but in Christ's free choice. It was not the Apostles who chose the Lord as Master, in the way someone would go about choosing a rabbi; it was Christ who chose them. The second idea is that the Apostles' mission and the mission of every Christian is to follow Christ, to seek holiness and to contribute to the spread of the Gospel. The third teaching refers to the effectiveness of prayer done in the name of Christ; which is why the Church usually ends the prayers of the liturgy with the invocation "Through Jesus Christ our Lord...".
The three ideas are all interconnected: prayer is necessary if the Christian life is to prove fruitful, for it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:7); and the obligation to seek holiness and to be apostolic derives from the fact that it is Christ Himself who has given us this mission. "Bear in mind, son, that you are not just a soul who has joined other souls in order to do a good thing.
"That is a lot, but it's still little. You are the Apostle who is carrying out an imperative command from Christ" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 942).
___________________________
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.
News Updates, 5/6
Brazil bishop says kids are 'spontaneously' gay
'Society today is pedophile, that is the problem'
India's bishops frame new sex abuse rules
Zero-tolerance policy recommended for convicted priests
Catholic women still religiously take the Pill
'Priests don't even preach against it any more'
[Tacitly approving the culture of death]
Argentine House of Deputies approves gay marriage
President has promised not to veto the measure
Kung warns against wholesale attack on Church
Nixes claim that Benedict is worst pontiff in centuries
Nagasaki prelate takes anti-nuclear plea to UN
Urges 'courageous step' toward total disarmament
Time to expand canon of great Catholic writers
Move over Chesterton, Greene, Waugh and Belloc
Catholic hospital network files sale notice
Outlines how Catholic identity will be maintained
US Catholic Latino leaders meet with Vatican
Organization founded by LA's new Archbishop Gomez
'Society today is pedophile, that is the problem'
India's bishops frame new sex abuse rules
Zero-tolerance policy recommended for convicted priests
Catholic women still religiously take the Pill
'Priests don't even preach against it any more'
[Tacitly approving the culture of death]
Argentine House of Deputies approves gay marriage
President has promised not to veto the measure
Kung warns against wholesale attack on Church
Nixes claim that Benedict is worst pontiff in centuries
Nagasaki prelate takes anti-nuclear plea to UN
Urges 'courageous step' toward total disarmament
Time to expand canon of great Catholic writers
Move over Chesterton, Greene, Waugh and Belloc
Catholic hospital network files sale notice
Outlines how Catholic identity will be maintained
US Catholic Latino leaders meet with Vatican
Organization founded by LA's new Archbishop Gomez
Principles and Practices - May 7
Jesus, Our Model
But what is the holiness which is proposed to Christians as a model?
No other than that of God Himself:
What do they really mean?
Can we, in very deed, be holy as God is holy?
No; it is impossible for us to be holy as He is, or even to approach His infinite perfection.
But whatever may be our holiness, it must be moulded upon His, which is the only source and the only pattern of all holiness.
-Father Jean Grou.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
But what is the holiness which is proposed to Christians as a model?
No other than that of God Himself:
'Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect':it is Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it is God made Man, to teach us the way of holiness, who addresses these words to us.
What do they really mean?
Can we, in very deed, be holy as God is holy?
No; it is impossible for us to be holy as He is, or even to approach His infinite perfection.
But whatever may be our holiness, it must be moulded upon His, which is the only source and the only pattern of all holiness.
-Father Jean Grou.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The School of Love & Other Essays, May 6
THE LAY APOSTOLATE
[continued from yesterday]
...There are few who, if they will look about them, will not find abundant opportunities of doing good.
There are our own subjects of one kind or another; these, in a quiet but unassuming way, we can influence more than we do, to think and act in the right direction.
There are our own friends and equals; these, by some kind of co-operation, we can turn into towers of strength.
There are the poor about us, whom we have always with us; and by the poor we do not merely mean those who are in need of money.
We can, if we will, lend a helping hand in many places where help is needed; we can give much more than mere gold and silver.
I once knew a man who made a rule for himself to spend an hour every day if he could in doing something for somebody; and wonderful were the devices he discovered for making himself useful.
In this lies the principle; its application may be very varied. Let us see. In France and some parts of England, it is common to find a man or woman offer their services to their parish priest to give instructions.
Some will instruct children, some will instruct the grownups who are ignorant, some will instruct converts.
In France and England, again, the practice is growing for men, and sometimes women, to see to it that young people after leaving school do not fall away from the faith.
They follow them up; they see that they go to the sacraments; they support the clubs and gatherings instituted for their use.
In Italy and Spain, in England, France, and North America, young men work hard among themselves for their own training. They study social questions, they meet for discussion, they write essays, at times there will appear in some paper or review a telling essay, the fruit of their re-unions.
Then there is the spreading of good literature. In many ways may this be done. There are the regular Catholic papers, there is an ever-growing output of Catholic books; if only our laymen and women would work for the circulation of these, what a world of good they would be doing!...
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
[continued from yesterday]
...There are few who, if they will look about them, will not find abundant opportunities of doing good.
There are our own subjects of one kind or another; these, in a quiet but unassuming way, we can influence more than we do, to think and act in the right direction.
There are our own friends and equals; these, by some kind of co-operation, we can turn into towers of strength.
There are the poor about us, whom we have always with us; and by the poor we do not merely mean those who are in need of money.
We can, if we will, lend a helping hand in many places where help is needed; we can give much more than mere gold and silver.
I once knew a man who made a rule for himself to spend an hour every day if he could in doing something for somebody; and wonderful were the devices he discovered for making himself useful.
In this lies the principle; its application may be very varied. Let us see. In France and some parts of England, it is common to find a man or woman offer their services to their parish priest to give instructions.
Some will instruct children, some will instruct the grownups who are ignorant, some will instruct converts.
In France and England, again, the practice is growing for men, and sometimes women, to see to it that young people after leaving school do not fall away from the faith.
They follow them up; they see that they go to the sacraments; they support the clubs and gatherings instituted for their use.
In Italy and Spain, in England, France, and North America, young men work hard among themselves for their own training. They study social questions, they meet for discussion, they write essays, at times there will appear in some paper or review a telling essay, the fruit of their re-unions.
Then there is the spreading of good literature. In many ways may this be done. There are the regular Catholic papers, there is an ever-growing output of Catholic books; if only our laymen and women would work for the circulation of these, what a world of good they would be doing!...
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
News Updates, 5/5
ND president plays hardball with Obama protesters
Fr. Jenkins says prolifers deserve year in jail
[Where are his superiors? And I'm not speaking of the anti-life Obama]
Report: Cardinal Pell headed to Vatican post
Australian prelate to head Congregation for Bishops
Theologian vows to bring tax dispute to Vatican
German prof challenges existing 'collection' procedure
Buses of Christian students bombed in Iraq
Four people killed and 171 wounded outside Mosul
[Another 'religion of peace' alert]
Spanish order reports alleged abuse case
Barefoot Carmelites: one of our monks abused a minor
Louisiana blessing of boats a sad affair this year
Event dampened by Gulf closure by gov't over oil spill
Priest conducts 'bizarre' faith healing ritual
Later escorted to mental health clinic by police
Pope calls for complete nuclear disarmament
Asked world leaders to work calmly to that end
Pope to deliver 'intense' message at Fatima?
Benedict to visit Portugal shrine on feast day
Fr. Jenkins says prolifers deserve year in jail
[Where are his superiors? And I'm not speaking of the anti-life Obama]
Report: Cardinal Pell headed to Vatican post
Australian prelate to head Congregation for Bishops
Theologian vows to bring tax dispute to Vatican
German prof challenges existing 'collection' procedure
Buses of Christian students bombed in Iraq
Four people killed and 171 wounded outside Mosul
[Another 'religion of peace' alert]
Spanish order reports alleged abuse case
Barefoot Carmelites: one of our monks abused a minor
Louisiana blessing of boats a sad affair this year
Event dampened by Gulf closure by gov't over oil spill
Priest conducts 'bizarre' faith healing ritual
Later escorted to mental health clinic by police
Pope calls for complete nuclear disarmament
Asked world leaders to work calmly to that end
Pope to deliver 'intense' message at Fatima?
Benedict to visit Portugal shrine on feast day
Gospel for Thursday, 5th Week of Easter
From: John 15:9-11
The Vine and the Branches (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [9] "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love. [10] If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
______________________
Commentary:
9-11. Christ's love for Christians is a reflection of the love the Three Divine Persons have for one another and for all men: "We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
The certainty that God loves us is the source of Christian joy (verse 11), but it is also something which calls for a fruitful response on our part, which should take the form of a fervent desire to do God's will in everything, that is, to keep His commandments, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who did the will of His Father (cf. John 4:34).
___________________________
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 Vine and the Branches (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [9] "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love. [10] If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
______________________
Commentary:
9-11. Christ's love for Christians is a reflection of the love the Three Divine Persons have for one another and for all men: "We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
The certainty that God loves us is the source of Christian joy (verse 11), but it is also something which calls for a fruitful response on our part, which should take the form of a fervent desire to do God's will in everything, that is, to keep His commandments, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who did the will of His Father (cf. John 4:34).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - May 6
True Conception
To understand Our Lord we must put aside our own imperfect ideals, because according to our own desire do we fashion our heroes. He is greater than such ideals. He is no romantic, no poet, no socialist, or philanthropist, no dreamer of a fierce reform. He escapes such categories.
Hardly ever can the word lover be applied to Him without the danger of a false tenderness and sentimentalism creeping in to blur the outlines of the Gospels.
Never shall we know Him as He was and is, if we do not forsake our puny conceptions and sit at His feet like Mary of Bethany or follow Him as the disciples followed Him after He had said to them: 'Come and see.'
-M.C.D'Arcy, S.J.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
To understand Our Lord we must put aside our own imperfect ideals, because according to our own desire do we fashion our heroes. He is greater than such ideals. He is no romantic, no poet, no socialist, or philanthropist, no dreamer of a fierce reform. He escapes such categories.
Hardly ever can the word lover be applied to Him without the danger of a false tenderness and sentimentalism creeping in to blur the outlines of the Gospels.
Never shall we know Him as He was and is, if we do not forsake our puny conceptions and sit at His feet like Mary of Bethany or follow Him as the disciples followed Him after He had said to them: 'Come and see.'
-M.C.D'Arcy, S.J.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The School of Love & Other Essays, May 5
THE LAY APOSTOLATE
[continued from yesterday]
...These things presupposed, let us now descend to something very practical.
To begin with there is one thing, and after all the one important thing, for the spread of the Church which every man can do.
He can look to himself; he can set a good example; conscious as he is that wherever he goes he carries the honour of the Church with him, he can look to it that that honour is not tarnished.
Sucn a man will in public and before others do nothing that is unworthy of a member of the Church; such a man will do everything which is expected of him; if he has power over others, he will do what in him lies to see that they too are worthy of the Church to which they belong.
By such means was Christianity mainly spread at the beginning; by such means is it being spread to-day; though - alas! that we should have to say it - it is because of the neglect of this first duty among those who bear its name that Christianity in many places fails and falters.
But there are many who can say with the young man in the Gospel: "This I have observed from my youth; what else can I do?" For these, then, let us see whether we can make any suggestions....
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
[continued from yesterday]
...These things presupposed, let us now descend to something very practical.
To begin with there is one thing, and after all the one important thing, for the spread of the Church which every man can do.
He can look to himself; he can set a good example; conscious as he is that wherever he goes he carries the honour of the Church with him, he can look to it that that honour is not tarnished.
Sucn a man will in public and before others do nothing that is unworthy of a member of the Church; such a man will do everything which is expected of him; if he has power over others, he will do what in him lies to see that they too are worthy of the Church to which they belong.
By such means was Christianity mainly spread at the beginning; by such means is it being spread to-day; though - alas! that we should have to say it - it is because of the neglect of this first duty among those who bear its name that Christianity in many places fails and falters.
But there are many who can say with the young man in the Gospel: "This I have observed from my youth; what else can I do?" For these, then, let us see whether we can make any suggestions....
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
News Updates, 5/4
US Catholic Preacher Fr. Corapi: "socialism is not in conformity with biblical teaching"
In a wide-ranging discourse, sponsored by the international Catholic businessmen's organization Legatus, Corapi called Christians to task for dropping the ball and losing the culture to "neo-pagan" elements...
Seton Hall to cancel gay marriage class?
NJ archbishop: it would conflict with Church teaching
Notre Dame Prez Accuses ND 88 of Threatening Peace and Order on Campus
Sycamore Trust president William Dempsey took issue with Jenkins' characterization of the Notre Dame 88, which witnesses and videos attest were a largely, if not entirely peaceful presence on campus
Schiavo threatens to sue Terri's foundation
Husband claims to have an exclusive right to her name
[Just like he had an "exclusive right" to kill her by dehydration and starvation? What a pathetic excuse for a human being - pray for his demented soul!]
Pope's Turin visit clarifies Shroud's value
Cloth's marks correspond exactly to Gospel accounts
Pope laments attacks on Iraq's Christians
Recent bomb attack near Mosul injures 171
German abuse victim seeks payout from Church
'How much is the life and the soul of a victim worth?'
'Pope podcasts' pave way for Portugal trip
Web-savvy will get chance to communicate with Benedict
Ex-Catholic school president removed from ministry
Priest admitted 'improper relationship' with student
UK judge: Christian beliefs have no legal standing
Says they lack evidence and cannot be proven
In a wide-ranging discourse, sponsored by the international Catholic businessmen's organization Legatus, Corapi called Christians to task for dropping the ball and losing the culture to "neo-pagan" elements...
Seton Hall to cancel gay marriage class?
NJ archbishop: it would conflict with Church teaching
Notre Dame Prez Accuses ND 88 of Threatening Peace and Order on Campus
Sycamore Trust president William Dempsey took issue with Jenkins' characterization of the Notre Dame 88, which witnesses and videos attest were a largely, if not entirely peaceful presence on campus
Schiavo threatens to sue Terri's foundation
Husband claims to have an exclusive right to her name
[Just like he had an "exclusive right" to kill her by dehydration and starvation? What a pathetic excuse for a human being - pray for his demented soul!]
Pope's Turin visit clarifies Shroud's value
Cloth's marks correspond exactly to Gospel accounts
Pope laments attacks on Iraq's Christians
Recent bomb attack near Mosul injures 171
German abuse victim seeks payout from Church
'How much is the life and the soul of a victim worth?'
'Pope podcasts' pave way for Portugal trip
Web-savvy will get chance to communicate with Benedict
Ex-Catholic school president removed from ministry
Priest admitted 'improper relationship' with student
UK judge: Christian beliefs have no legal standing
Says they lack evidence and cannot be proven
Gospel for Wednesday, 5th Week of Easter
From: John 15:1-8
The Vine and the Branches
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. [3] You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [6] If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
____________________
Commentary:
1. This comparison of the chosen people with a vine was used in the Old Testament: Psalm 80 speaks of the uprooting of the vine in Egypt and its replanting in another land; and in Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) God complains that despite the care and love He has lavished on it, His vineyard has yielded only wild grapes. Jesus previously used this imagery in His parable about the murderous tenants (Matthew 21:33-43) to signify the Jew's rejection of the Son and the calling of the Gentiles. But here the comparison has a different, more personal meaning: Christ explains that He Himself is the true vine, because the old vine, the original chosen people, has been succeeded by the new vine, the Church, whose head is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9). To be fruitful one must be joined to the new, true vine, Christ: it is no longer a matter of simply belonging to a community but of living the life of Christ, the life of grace, which is the nourishment which passes life on to the believer and enables him to yield fruits of eternal life. This image of the vine also helps understand the unity of the Church, Christ's mystical body, in which all the members are intimately united with the head and thereby are also united to one another (1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:15-16).
2. Our Lord is describing two situations: that of those who, although they are still joined to the vine externally, yield no fruit; and that of those who do yield fruit but could yield still more. The Epistle of St. James carries the same message when it says that faith alone is not enough (James 2:17). Although it is true that faith is the beginning of salvation and that without faith we cannot please God, it is also true that a living faith must yield fruit in the form of deeds. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). So, one can say that in order to produce fruit pleasing to God, it is not enough to have received Baptism and to profess the faith externally: a person has to share in Christ's life through grace and has to cooperate with Him in His work of redemption.
Jesus uses the same verb to refer to the pruning of the branches as He uses to refer to the cleanness of the disciples in the next verse: literally the translation should run: "He cleanses him who bears fruit so that he bear more fruit". In other words, He is making it quite clear that God is not content with half-hearted commitment, and therefore He purifies His own by means of contradictions and difficulties, which are a form of pruning, to produce more fruit. In this we can see an explanation of the purpose of suffering: "Have you not heard the Master Himself tell the parable of the vine and the branches? Here we can find consolation. He demands much of you for you are the branch that bears fruit. And He must prune you `ut fructum plus afferas": to make you bear more fruit'.
"Of course: that cutting, that pruning, hurts. But, afterwards, what richness in your fruits, what maturity in your actions" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 701).
3. After washing Peter's feet Jesus had already said that His Apostles were clean, though not all of them (cf. John 13:10). Here, once more, He refers to that inner cleansing which results from accepting His teachings. "For Christ's word in the first place cleanses us from errors, by instructing us (cf. Titus 1:9) [...]; secondly, it purifies our hearts of earthly affections, filling them with desire for Heavenly things [...]; finally, His word purifies us with the strength of faith, for `He cleansed their hearts by faith' (Acts 15:9)" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St. John, in loc.").
4-5. Our Lord draws more conclusions from the image of the vine and the branches. Now He emphasizes that anyone who is separated from Him is good for nothing, like a branch separated from the vine. "You see, the branches are full of fruit, because they share in the sap that comes from the stem. Otherwise, from the tiny buds we knew just a few months back, they could not have produced the sweet ripe fruit that gladdens the eye and make the heart rejoice. Here and there on the ground we may find some dry twigs, lying half-buried in the soil. Once they too were branches of the vine; now they lie there withered and dead, a perfect image of barrenness: `apart from Me, you can do nothing'" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 254).
The life of union with Christ is necessarily something which goes far beyond one's private life: it has to be focused on the good of others; and if this happens, a fruitful apostolate is the result, for "apostolate, of whatever kind it be, must be an overflow of the interior life" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 239). The Second Vatican Council, quoting this page from St. John, teaches what a Christian apostolate should be: "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. Clearly then, the fruitfulness of the apostolate of lay people depends on their living union with Christ; as the Lord Himself said: `He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing'. This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by the active participation in the Liturgy. Laymen should make such a use of these helps that, while meeting their human obligations in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate their union with Christ from their ordinary life; but through the very performance of their tasks, which are God's will for them, actually promote the growth of their union with Him" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).
6. If a person is not united to Christ by means of grace he will ultimately meet the same fate as the dead branches--fire. There is a clear parallelism with other images our Lord uses--the parables of the sound tree and the bad tree (Matthew 7:15-20), the dragnet (Matthew 13:49-50), and the invitation to the wedding (Matthew 22:11-14), etc. Here is how St. Augustine comments on this passage: "The wood of the vine is the more contemptible if it does not abide in the vine, and the more glorious if it does abide....For, being cut off it is profitable neither for the vinedresser nor for the carpenter. For one of these only is it useful--the vine or the fire. If it is not in the vine, it goes to the fire; to avoid going to the fire it must be joined to the vine" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 81, 3).
___________________________
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 Vine and the Branches
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. [3] You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [6] If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
____________________
Commentary:
1. This comparison of the chosen people with a vine was used in the Old Testament: Psalm 80 speaks of the uprooting of the vine in Egypt and its replanting in another land; and in Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) God complains that despite the care and love He has lavished on it, His vineyard has yielded only wild grapes. Jesus previously used this imagery in His parable about the murderous tenants (Matthew 21:33-43) to signify the Jew's rejection of the Son and the calling of the Gentiles. But here the comparison has a different, more personal meaning: Christ explains that He Himself is the true vine, because the old vine, the original chosen people, has been succeeded by the new vine, the Church, whose head is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9). To be fruitful one must be joined to the new, true vine, Christ: it is no longer a matter of simply belonging to a community but of living the life of Christ, the life of grace, which is the nourishment which passes life on to the believer and enables him to yield fruits of eternal life. This image of the vine also helps understand the unity of the Church, Christ's mystical body, in which all the members are intimately united with the head and thereby are also united to one another (1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:15-16).
2. Our Lord is describing two situations: that of those who, although they are still joined to the vine externally, yield no fruit; and that of those who do yield fruit but could yield still more. The Epistle of St. James carries the same message when it says that faith alone is not enough (James 2:17). Although it is true that faith is the beginning of salvation and that without faith we cannot please God, it is also true that a living faith must yield fruit in the form of deeds. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). So, one can say that in order to produce fruit pleasing to God, it is not enough to have received Baptism and to profess the faith externally: a person has to share in Christ's life through grace and has to cooperate with Him in His work of redemption.
Jesus uses the same verb to refer to the pruning of the branches as He uses to refer to the cleanness of the disciples in the next verse: literally the translation should run: "He cleanses him who bears fruit so that he bear more fruit". In other words, He is making it quite clear that God is not content with half-hearted commitment, and therefore He purifies His own by means of contradictions and difficulties, which are a form of pruning, to produce more fruit. In this we can see an explanation of the purpose of suffering: "Have you not heard the Master Himself tell the parable of the vine and the branches? Here we can find consolation. He demands much of you for you are the branch that bears fruit. And He must prune you `ut fructum plus afferas": to make you bear more fruit'.
"Of course: that cutting, that pruning, hurts. But, afterwards, what richness in your fruits, what maturity in your actions" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 701).
3. After washing Peter's feet Jesus had already said that His Apostles were clean, though not all of them (cf. John 13:10). Here, once more, He refers to that inner cleansing which results from accepting His teachings. "For Christ's word in the first place cleanses us from errors, by instructing us (cf. Titus 1:9) [...]; secondly, it purifies our hearts of earthly affections, filling them with desire for Heavenly things [...]; finally, His word purifies us with the strength of faith, for `He cleansed their hearts by faith' (Acts 15:9)" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St. John, in loc.").
4-5. Our Lord draws more conclusions from the image of the vine and the branches. Now He emphasizes that anyone who is separated from Him is good for nothing, like a branch separated from the vine. "You see, the branches are full of fruit, because they share in the sap that comes from the stem. Otherwise, from the tiny buds we knew just a few months back, they could not have produced the sweet ripe fruit that gladdens the eye and make the heart rejoice. Here and there on the ground we may find some dry twigs, lying half-buried in the soil. Once they too were branches of the vine; now they lie there withered and dead, a perfect image of barrenness: `apart from Me, you can do nothing'" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 254).
The life of union with Christ is necessarily something which goes far beyond one's private life: it has to be focused on the good of others; and if this happens, a fruitful apostolate is the result, for "apostolate, of whatever kind it be, must be an overflow of the interior life" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 239). The Second Vatican Council, quoting this page from St. John, teaches what a Christian apostolate should be: "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. Clearly then, the fruitfulness of the apostolate of lay people depends on their living union with Christ; as the Lord Himself said: `He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing'. This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by the active participation in the Liturgy. Laymen should make such a use of these helps that, while meeting their human obligations in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate their union with Christ from their ordinary life; but through the very performance of their tasks, which are God's will for them, actually promote the growth of their union with Him" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).
6. If a person is not united to Christ by means of grace he will ultimately meet the same fate as the dead branches--fire. There is a clear parallelism with other images our Lord uses--the parables of the sound tree and the bad tree (Matthew 7:15-20), the dragnet (Matthew 13:49-50), and the invitation to the wedding (Matthew 22:11-14), etc. Here is how St. Augustine comments on this passage: "The wood of the vine is the more contemptible if it does not abide in the vine, and the more glorious if it does abide....For, being cut off it is profitable neither for the vinedresser nor for the carpenter. For one of these only is it useful--the vine or the fire. If it is not in the vine, it goes to the fire; to avoid going to the fire it must be joined to the vine" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 81, 3).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - May 5
Purify the Soul
It appears that the soul, when it shall have purified and emptied itself from all these intelligible forms and images, will then dwell in this pure and simple light transformed thereto in the state of perfection.
This light is ever ready to be communicated to the soul, but does not flow in because of the forms and veils of the creature that embarrass the soul.
Take away these hindrances and coverings and the soul in detachment and poverty of spirit will then, being pure and simple, be transformed in the pure and sincere Wisdom of God who is the Son.
For then that which is natural having failed, that which is divine flows supernaturallY into the soul, since God leaves nothing empty that He does not fill.
-St. John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
It appears that the soul, when it shall have purified and emptied itself from all these intelligible forms and images, will then dwell in this pure and simple light transformed thereto in the state of perfection.
This light is ever ready to be communicated to the soul, but does not flow in because of the forms and veils of the creature that embarrass the soul.
Take away these hindrances and coverings and the soul in detachment and poverty of spirit will then, being pure and simple, be transformed in the pure and sincere Wisdom of God who is the Son.
For then that which is natural having failed, that which is divine flows supernaturallY into the soul, since God leaves nothing empty that He does not fill.
-St. John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The School of Love & Other Essays, May 4
THE LAY APOSTOLATE
[continued from yesterday]
...Let us try to answer this enquiry in as few words as possible.
To begin with, there are some for whom this responsibility may indeed mean all that has just been asked. Some may feel and know in their hearts that they are asked to prove their freedom, and their right use of it, by freely surrendering it; as many a rich man feels that he then makes the best use of his riches when he gives it away.
Such men know beyond a doubt that nothing else but this complete surrender of themselves will satisfy them; by no other course of action wi11 they be happy.
But these are by no means all; they are the very few; they are those of whom we say that they have a vocation, for a vocation in this limited and accepted sense is defined as a call to devote oneself entirely to the work of God.
Of these, then, and to these we do not here speak. We speak rather to those to whom we can say at once that the responsibility of their freedom does not exact so much.
How much, then, it will be asked, does it exact?
I do not know; it will differ in each case; but in general it may be said to be as much as an able and willing heart is able and willing to give.
Circumstances are to be considered; individual characters are to be considered. A married man, with family cares, and other anxieties, cannot always give as much as one who has but himself to look to; a married woman usually still less.
Again a character that is naturally shy, and reserved, and contemplative can often make itself do less than one that is by nature open, and expansive, and active; all this must be taken into account when we make our estimates...
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
[continued from yesterday]
...Let us try to answer this enquiry in as few words as possible.
To begin with, there are some for whom this responsibility may indeed mean all that has just been asked. Some may feel and know in their hearts that they are asked to prove their freedom, and their right use of it, by freely surrendering it; as many a rich man feels that he then makes the best use of his riches when he gives it away.
Such men know beyond a doubt that nothing else but this complete surrender of themselves will satisfy them; by no other course of action wi11 they be happy.
But these are by no means all; they are the very few; they are those of whom we say that they have a vocation, for a vocation in this limited and accepted sense is defined as a call to devote oneself entirely to the work of God.
Of these, then, and to these we do not here speak. We speak rather to those to whom we can say at once that the responsibility of their freedom does not exact so much.
How much, then, it will be asked, does it exact?
I do not know; it will differ in each case; but in general it may be said to be as much as an able and willing heart is able and willing to give.
Circumstances are to be considered; individual characters are to be considered. A married man, with family cares, and other anxieties, cannot always give as much as one who has but himself to look to; a married woman usually still less.
Again a character that is naturally shy, and reserved, and contemplative can often make itself do less than one that is by nature open, and expansive, and active; all this must be taken into account when we make our estimates...
[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918
Monday, May 03, 2010
News Updates, 5/3
Thousands of Anglicans could covert with bishops
Three leading British prelates in discussion with Rome
Vatican official statement on Legion of Christ
Maciel appeared 'untouchable' but capsized in the end
Belgian bishops to talk to Pope about sex abuse
'We will surely touch on the painful questions...'
Pittsburgh diocese announces 16th school closing
Citing falling enrollment, rising tuition and costs
Former Episcopal bishop returns to flock
Opponent of gay clergy had converted to Catholic Church
Ugandan church 'bombed' by human excrement
Parishioners receive early Sunday morning shock
Pope: Shroud is Christ's 'icon written in blood'
'...sharing the loneliest moment of human existence'
Nurse sues hospital over forced work on abortion
Threatened with possible termination, loss of her license
Christian music meets its gay stars
Musician Jennifer Knapp comes out publicly as lesbian
==== Other ====
Republicans Sound Alarm on Administration Plan to Seize 401ks
In February, the White House released its “Annual Report on the Middle Class” containing new regulations favored by Big Labor including a bailout of critically underfunded union pension plans through “retirement security” options. The radical solution most favored by Big Labor is the seizure of private 401(k) plans for government disbursement -- which lets them off the hook for their collapsing retirement scheme. And, of course, the Obama administration is eager to accommodate their buddies...
Faisal Shahzad: Time Square Bomber, Islamic Terrorist (Shahzad Faisal)[Naturalized April 17th, 2009]
An Islamic terrorist named Faisal Shahzad is the Time Square bomber according to media reports. He is Muslim of Pakistani heritage with dual citizenship in the United States, a registered Democrat in the state of Connecticut who may be an Obama donor. He was recently naturalized as a U.S. citizen under the Obama administration’s lenient open door policy...
Three leading British prelates in discussion with Rome
Vatican official statement on Legion of Christ
Maciel appeared 'untouchable' but capsized in the end
Belgian bishops to talk to Pope about sex abuse
'We will surely touch on the painful questions...'
Pittsburgh diocese announces 16th school closing
Citing falling enrollment, rising tuition and costs
Former Episcopal bishop returns to flock
Opponent of gay clergy had converted to Catholic Church
Ugandan church 'bombed' by human excrement
Parishioners receive early Sunday morning shock
Pope: Shroud is Christ's 'icon written in blood'
'...sharing the loneliest moment of human existence'
Nurse sues hospital over forced work on abortion
Threatened with possible termination, loss of her license
Christian music meets its gay stars
Musician Jennifer Knapp comes out publicly as lesbian
==== Other ====
Republicans Sound Alarm on Administration Plan to Seize 401ks
In February, the White House released its “Annual Report on the Middle Class” containing new regulations favored by Big Labor including a bailout of critically underfunded union pension plans through “retirement security” options. The radical solution most favored by Big Labor is the seizure of private 401(k) plans for government disbursement -- which lets them off the hook for their collapsing retirement scheme. And, of course, the Obama administration is eager to accommodate their buddies...
Faisal Shahzad: Time Square Bomber, Islamic Terrorist (Shahzad Faisal)[Naturalized April 17th, 2009]
An Islamic terrorist named Faisal Shahzad is the Time Square bomber according to media reports. He is Muslim of Pakistani heritage with dual citizenship in the United States, a registered Democrat in the state of Connecticut who may be an Obama donor. He was recently naturalized as a U.S. citizen under the Obama administration’s lenient open door policy...
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