He who knows Jesus Christcan understand all sacred Scripture

Saint Bonaventure

(Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

An excerpt from Prologus

ORDINARY TIME WEEK 5: Monday

The source of sacred Scripture was not human research but divine revelation. This revelation comes from the Father of Light from whom the whole concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives. From him, through Jesus Christ his Son, the Holy Spirit enters into us. Then, through the Holy Spirit who allots and apportions his gifts to each person as he wishes, we receive the gift of faith, and through faith Christ lives in our hearts. So we come to know Christ and this knowledge becomes the main source of a firm understanding of the truth of all sacred Scripture. It is impossible, therefore, for anyone to achieve this understanding unless he first receives the gift of faith in Christ. This faith is the foundation of the whole Bible, a lamp and a key to its understanding. As long as our earthly state keeps us from seeing the Lord, this same faith is the firm basis of all supernatural enlightenment, the light guiding us to it, and the doorway through which we enter upon it. What is more, the extent of our faith is the measure of the wisdom which God has given us. Thus, no one should overestimate his wisdom; instead, he should soberly make his assessment according to the extent of the faith which God has given him.

The outcome or the fruit of reading holy Scripture is by no means negligible: it is the fullness of eternal happiness. For these are the books which tell us of eternal life, which were written not only that we might believe but also that we might have everlasting life. When we do live that life we shall understand fully, we shall love completely, and our desires will be totally satisfied. Then, with all our needs fulfilled, we shall truly know the love that surpasses understanding and so be filled with the fullness of God. The purpose of the Scriptures, which come to us from God, is to lead us to this fullness according to the truths contained in those sayings of the apostles to which I have referred. In order to achieve this, we must study holy Scripture carefully, and teach it and listen to it in the same way.

If we are to attain the ultimate goal of eternal happiness by the path of virtue described in the Scriptures, we have to begin at the very beginning. We must come with a pure faith to the Father of Light and acknowledge him in our hearts. We must ask him to give us, through his Son and in the Holy Spirit, a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, and along with that knowledge a love of him. Knowing and loving him in this way, confirmed in our faith and grounded in our love, we can know the length and breadth and height and depth of his sacred Scripture. Through that knowledge we can come at last to know perfectly and love completely the most blessed Trinity, whom the saints desire to know and love and in whom all that is good and true finds its meaning and fulfillment.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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MEMORIAL Saint Paul Mikiand his companions

“I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you.” (1 Kings 3:12.)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“Since the narrative [of the book of Kings] is accurate in the facts, nobody can have any doubt that Solomon received his noble sovereignty, his elevated thought and extraordinary power as a gift from God, thus it is evident that no one among those kings who were dead, nor among those who would succeed him, could be compared with him. It is certain, nevertheless, that these qualities, and others, which are described in the psalms about Solomon, mostly are to be transferred to Christ; otherwise the words [of these biblical passages] would not be in absolute and complete agreement with their meaning and truth. Therefore Christ is that prince of peace whose wisdom and royal power were never preceded in time or overcome in greatness. And before him no Son was born of an eternal nature or equal to the Father, nor after him will there ever be someone similar to him, as the Word, God says through another prophet: “Before me no god was formed, nor will be after me.” (On the First Book of Kings, 3.)

Collect

O God,
strength of all the Saints,
who through the Cross were pleased to call
the martyrs Saint Paul Miki and companions to life,
grant, we pray, that by their intercession
we may hold with courage even until death
to the faith we profess.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

MEMORIAL Saint Agatha

“Like the choice fat of sacred offerings, so was DAVID in Israel.” (Sirach 47:2.)

Rabanus Maurus comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“When it says that Nathan, like the fat of salvation, was separated from the meat, it indicates that he was full of the grace of the Holy Spirit and that his conduct and his life were far from and foreign to those of carnal and sinful people.” (On Ecclesiasticus, 10)

Collect

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha
implore Your compassion for us,
O Lord, we pray,
for she found favor with You
by the courage of her martyrdom
and the merit of her chastity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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The gift of God:the source of all goodness

Saint Methodius of Sicily

(Bishop)

An excerpt from a Homily on Saint Agatha

MEMORIAL: Saint Agatha

My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. She achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory; she is well known now as well, for she continues to triumph through her divine miracles, which occur daily and continue to bring glory to her name.

She is indeed a virgin, for she was born of the divine Word, God’s only Son, who also experienced death for our sake. John, a master of God’s word, speaks of this: He gave the power to become children of God to everyone who received him.

The woman who invites us to this banquet is both a wife and virgin. To use the analogy of Paul, she is the bride who has been betrothed to one husband, Christ. A true virgin, she wore the glow of pure conscience and the crimson of the Lamb’s blood for her cosmetics. Again and again she meditated on the death of her eager lover. For her, Christ’s death was recent, his blood was still moist. Her robe is the mark of her faithful witness to Christ. It bears the indelible marks of his crimson blood and the shining threads of her eloquence. She offers to all who come after her these treasures of her eloquent confession.

Agatha, the name of our saint, means “good.” She was truly good, for she lived as a child of God. She was also given as the gift of God, the source of all goodness to her bridegroom, Christ, and to us. For she grants us a share in her goodness.

What can give greater good than the Sovereign Good? Whom could anyone find more worthy of celebration with hymns of praise than Agatha?

Agatha, her goodness coincides with her name and way of life. She won a good name by her noble deeds, and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds. Agatha, her mere name wins all men over to her company. She teaches them by her example to hasten with her to the true Good. God alone.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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ORDINARY TIME Week 4: Wednesday

“Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people. David said to the LORD: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done. Take away, LORD, your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.” (2 Samuel 24:10.)

Saint Gregory the Great comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“The characters, then, of rulers are so assigned according to the merits of their subjects, that frequently they who seem to be good are soon changed by the acceptance of power. As holy Scripture observed of the same Saul that he changed his heart with his dignity. Whence it is written, “When you were little in your own eyes, I made you the head of the tribes of Israel.” The conduct of rulers is so ordered with reference to the characters of their subjects that frequently the conduct of even a truly good shepherd becomes sinful as a result of the wickedness of his flock. For that prophet David, who had been praised by the witness of God himself, who had been made acquainted with heavenly mysteries, being puffed up by the swelling of sudden pride, sinned in numbering the people. And yet, though David sinned, the people endured the punishment. Why was this? Because in truth the hearts of rulers are disposed according to the merits of their people. But the righteous judge reproved the fault of the sinner by the punishment of those very persons on whose account he sinned. But because he was not exempt from guilt, as displaying pride of his own free will, he himself endured also the punishment of his sin. For that furious wrath which struck the people in their bodies prostrated the ruler of the people by the pain of his inmost heart. But it is certain that the merits of rulers and people are so mutually connected that frequently the conduct of the people is made worse from the fault of their pastors and the conduct of pastors is changed according to the merits of their people.” (Morals on the Book of Job, 25.)

Collect

Grant us, Lord our God,
that we may honor you with all our mind,
and love everyone in truth of heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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ORDINARY TIME Week 3: Saturday

“The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: “Tell me how you judge this case: In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.” (2 Samuel 12:1.)

Saint Gregory the Great comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“But at times, in taking to task the powerful of this world, they are first to be dealt with by drawing diverse comparisons in a case ostensibly concerning someone else. Then, when they give a right judgment on what apparently is another’s case, they are to be taken to task regarding their own guilt by a suitable procedure. Thus a mind puffed up with temporal power cannot possibly lift itself up against the reprover, for by its own judgment it has trodden on the neck of pride; and it cannot argue to defend itself, as it stands convicted by the sentence out of its own mouth.

Thus it was that Nathan the prophet, coming to chide the king, to all appearance asked his judgment in the case of a poor man against a rich man. The king first was to deliver judgment and then to hear that he was the culprit. Thus he was completely unable to deny the just sentence which he had personally delivered against himself. Therefore, the holy man, considering both the sinner and the king, aimed in that wonderful manner at convicting a bold culprit first by his own admission and then cut him by his rebuke. For a short while he concealed the person whom he was aiming at and then at once struck him when he had convicted him. His stroke would, perhaps, have had less force if he had chosen to castigate the sin directly the moment he began to speak. But by beginning with a similitude, he sharpened the rebuke which he was concealing. He came like a physician to a sick man, saw that his wound had to be incised, but was in doubt about the endurance of the patient. He, therefore, concealed the surgeon’s knife under his coat, but drawing it out suddenly, pierced the wound, that the sick man might feel the knife before he saw it, for if he had first seen it, he might have refused to feel it.” (Pastoral Care, 3.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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The mystery of death

Second Vatican Council

An excerpt from Gaudium et Spes, 18, 22.

ORDINARY TIME 3: SATURDAY

In the face of death the enigma of human existence reaches its climax. Man is not only the victim of pain and the progressive deterioration of his body; he is also and more deeply, tormented by the fear of final extinction. But the instinctive judgment of his heart is right when he shrinks from, and rejects, the idea of a total collapse and definitive end of his own person. He carries within him the seed of eternity, which cannot be reduced to matter alone, and so he rebels against death. All efforts of technology, however useful they may be, cannot calm his anxieties; the biological extension of his life-span cannot satisfy the desire inescapably present in his heart for a life beyond this life.

Imagination is completely helpless when confronted with death. Yet the Church, instructed by divine revelation, affirms that man has been created by God for a destiny of happiness beyond the reach of earthly trials. Moreover, the Christian faith teaches that bodily death, to which man would not have been subject if he had not sinned, will be conquered; the almighty and merciful Savior will restore man to the wholeness that he had lost through his own fault. God has called man, and still calls him, to be united in his whole being in perpetual communion with himself in the immortality of the divine life. This victory has been gained for us by the risen Christ, who by his own death has freed man from death.

Faith, presented with solid arguments, offers every thinking person the answer to his questionings concerning his future destiny. At the same time, it enables him to be one in Christ with his loved ones who have been taken from him by death and gives him hope that they have entered into true life with God.

Certainly, the Christian is faced with the necessity, and the duty, of fighting against evil through many trials, and of undergoing death. But by entering into the paschal mystery and being made like Christ in death, he will look forward, strong in hope, to the resurrection.

This is true not only of Christians but also of all men of good will in whose heart grace is invisibly at work. Since Christ died for all men, and the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, that is, a divine vocation, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being united with this paschal mystery in a way known only to God.

Such is the great mystery of man, enlightening believers through the Christian revelation. Through Christ and in Christ light is thrown on the enigma of pain and death which overwhelms us without his Gospel to teach us. Christ has risen, destroying death by his own death; he has given us the free gift of life so that as sons in the Son we may cry out in the Spirit, saying: Abba, Father!

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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ORDINARY TIME Week 3: Friday

“David sent people to inquire about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite, Joab’s armor-bearer.” (2 Samuel 11:3.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“It would be better for the sun to be extinguished than for David’s words to be forgotten and not transmitted to others. He fell into adultery and envy. For he saw, he says, a beautiful woman bathing and became enamored of her; and later he succeeded in doing all that he fancied.

And the prophet was found in adultery, the pearl in mud. However, he did not yet understand that he had sinned, the passion ravaged him to such a great extent. Because, when the charioteer gets drunk, the chariot moves in an irregular, disorderly manner. What the charioteer is to the chariot, the soul is to the body. If the soul becomes darkened, the body rolls in mud. As long as the charioteer stands firm, the chariot drives smoothly. However, when he becomes exhausted and is unable to hold the reins firmly, you see this very chariot in terrible danger. This exact same thing happens to human beings. As long as the soul is sober and vigilant, this very body remains in purity. However, when the soul is darkened, this very body rolls in mud and in lusts.

Therefore, what did David do? He committed adultery; yet neither was he aware nor was he censured by anyone. This occurred in his most venerable years, so you may learn that, if you are indolent, not even old age benefits you, nor, if you are earnest, can youthful years seriously harm you. Behavior does not depend on age but on the direction of the will.

So you may learn that the affairs of prudence rely upon the will and do not depend on age, just remember that David was found in his venerable years falling into adultery and committing murder; and he reached such a pathetic state that he was unaware that he had sinned, because his mind, which was the charioteer, was drunk from debauchery.” (Homilies on Repentance and Almsgiving, 2.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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MEMORIAL Saint Thomas Aquinas

“Then King David went in and sat in the LORD’S presence and said, “Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you should have brought me so far?” (2 Samuel 7:18.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Second Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“David, understanding this, says in the second book of Kings [Samuel]... “You did also speak of the house of your servant for a long time to come.” And, further on, “And now begin and bless the house of your servant that it may endure forever,” etc. At that time, David was about to beget his son through whom his lineage would be carried down to Christ; through whom, in turn, his house was to be everlasting—indeed, identified with the house of God. It was to be called the “house of David” because [it was] of David’s stock and, simultaneously, the “house of God” because it was a temple to God made not of stones but of people. In this house God’s people shall everlastingly dwell with their God and in their God, and God with his people and in his people, God filling his people, his people filled with their God, so that “God may be all in all” — the very same God being their prize in peace who was their strength in battle.

It was with this in view that, when Nathan had said, “And the Lord said to you, that you shall build him a house,” David said further on, “Because you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to the ear of your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’” This is a house which we build by living virtuously and which God builds by helping us to live virtuously, for “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

Only, however, when this house receives its final consecration will the words God spoke by Nathan’s lips come true: “And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more: neither shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as they did before, from the day that I appointed judges over my people Israel.” (City of God, 17.)

Collect

O God,
Who made Saint Thomas Aquinas
outstanding in his zeal for holiness
and his study of sacred doctrine,
grant us, we pray,
that we may understand what he taught
and imitate what he accomplished.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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ORDINARY TIME — The Lord’s Day — Week 3: Sunday Pondering Jesus’ victorious Word

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“Since many have undertaken to compile
a narrative of the events (πραγμάτων, pragmaton)
that have been fulfilled (πεπληροφορημένων, peplerophoremenon) among us,
just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning
and ministers of the word have handed them down (παρέδοσαν, paredosan) to us,
I too have decided,
after investigating everything accurately anew,
to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may realize (ἐπιγνῷς, epignos)
the certainty of the teachings (κατηχήθης, katechethes)
you have received.”

”

(Luke 1:1-4.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Admittedly, when one hears the word prologue in the context of the Gospels, many naturally – and properly – recall the Johannine Text: 1:1-18. The verses that open the Gospel according to Saint Luke (1:1-4), like the verses that open the Gospel according to Saint John, do form a necessary ‘first word (pro-logos)’ as the Church begins a sequential proclamation of the Lucan Text on these Sundays in the Season known as “Time through the Year (Ordinary Time).” Today’s study will focus on ‘fulfilled events handed down to realize the certainty of the teachings.’

Saint Luke begins this 4 verse prologue by speaking of “events (πραγμάτων, pragmaton)” “that have been fulfilled (πεπληροφορημένων, peplerophoremenon).” “Events” is the English translation of the Greek πρᾶγμα (pragma). πρᾶγμα (pragma), while not offering an earth-shattering insight to the meaning of a relatively common English word event, it does highlight life’s events in ‘all their facets and dimensions.’ Applied here to the Person and Life of Jesus, πρᾶγμα (pragma) demands embracing reality in its wholeness, not selected episodes that appeal to one’s sensibilities or likes. πρᾶγμα (pragma) is a ‘whole-package’ approach to life that invites continuous examination and reflection in such a way that one may omit nothing from life. It is precisely “the events” - the totality of the life of Jesus - that Luke records as being fulfilled (πληροφορέω, plērophoreō). πληροφορέω (plērophoreō), translated here “have been fulfilled,” is a verb that is formed from two Greek words meaning ‘complete’ and ‘to carry/to wear/to carry a burden.’ The sense of the Greek compound is that the action πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) is an all-encompassing action involving the whole person living life in all its facets. In antiquity, πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) meant a ‘complete wearing of clothes’ in a somewhat idiomatic way that expressed all of life being kept as close to you as your clothes. Later use of the verb πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) included elements of ‘protection,’ ‘assurance’ and ‘confidence’ that would permit one to have sufficient evidence to persuade or convince another of truth. The point here is that while “have been fulfilled” is not an erroneous translation, it does seem to lack the ‘punch’ that πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) in the biblical era expressed. One could argue that translating πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) as “have been fulfilled” conveys a sense of neutrality, a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ attitude whereas πληροφορέω (plērophoreō) is a bit more challenging and active. For Luke, “the events that have been fulfilled” is ‘everything of Jesus presented in a way to convince and assure you’ of the presentation’s truth.

So, what do one do with ‘everything of Jesus presented in a way to convince and assure?’ You hand it down or hand it on, of course! The Greek verb παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) is an important word as both a verb and noun in the New Testament meaning “to deliver, to hand-down, to hand-on (it is the basis of the word Tradition, which will be studied at a later date).” παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) is not an inconsequential or passive action of delivery. Think of mail delivery. The letter carrier places mail in an approved box at one’s home or place of business and assumes at some point, someone will retrieve the mail and do something with it. παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), however, expresses action that engages both the deliverer and the deliveree. Using the same example of mail delivery, παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) expresses the fact that the letter carrier has something specific for you. You are required to receive and sign for the delivery … and sometimes, the deliverer gets to see your response to the received letter or package. For Luke, the ‘delivery’ of ‘everything of Jesus presented in a way to convince and assure’ is, once again, not a neutral, take-it-or-leave-it event. This is truth and the truth presented in such a way specifically for each person that it has a real affect and effect in one’s life. The delivery, in this case a Person, demands ‘Yes, I accept delivery’ or ‘No, I refuse delivery.’ Either way, with παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) there is no politically correct or comfortable middle ground of picking and choosing.

This leads to Saint Luke’s self-stated purpose for the Narrative that is about to follow: “that you may realize (ἐπιγνῷς, epignos) the certainty (ἀσφάλειαν) of the teachings (κατηχήθης, katechethes) you have received.” “That you may realize” is the English translation of the Greek verb ἐπιγινώσκω (epiginōskō). ἐπιγινώσκω (epiginōskō) is a form of the important biblical verb γινώσκω (ginosko). While this family of Greek verbs is often translated into English by various words ‘to know’ or ‘to realize,’ it is important here to distinguish between ‘types of knowning.’ γινώσκω (ginosko) is certainly about ‘knowing,’ but ‘knowing’ in a way that is experiential. γινώσκω (ginosko) expresses events that touch a person at his or her core, life-defining or life-changing events. γινώσκω (ginosko) is knowledge akin to the ‘wow moments’ of life when connections are made or deep insights flood a person’s entire life. γινώσκω (ginosko) is not amassing individual, isolated factual data and regurgitating them upon request. Knowledge that is grounded in γινώσκω (ginosko) is life altering. For Luke, this experiential knowledge that changes a person is firm, confident and able to form a basis for living life (ἀσφάλειαν, asphaleian) because for Luke, the life-altering event is the Person Jesus, handed-on to each person to live life confidently in Him.

Luke’s ‘first-word (prologue)’ to all who are Theophilus (friend of God) is more than preliminary information. Like the famous Johannine Prologue, the Lucan Prologue expresses the life-changing event of Jesus Christ delivered to each person. While there is much more to consider about this Prologue (which hopefully will be posted throughout the week), the present task is to answer, “Do I accept delivery of the Person Jesus into my life - AND - am I willing to make the changes such delivery entails?”