• Ver. 6. Philistine. Some explain this of some fresh achievement against that nation, (Malvenda.  W.) but without reason. — Dancing. Heb. also playing on the flute, or on some such instrument of music.  C. — So Mary sung after the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea.  Ex. xv. 20.  2 K. i. 20.  Judg. xi. 34.
• Ver. 7. Sung. The chorus of their song is given.  C. — “The women sung, Saul slew his thousands; and the virgins answered, And David,” &c.  Josephus. — The death of Goliath was equivalent to the slaughter of thousands, as he had filled the whole army of Israel with dismay.  H.
• Ver. 8. A thousand. These women were guilty of an indiscretion, through excess of zeal, as it is always displeasing for the sovereign to hear any of his subjects preferred before him.  S. Chrys. hom. i. de Saul. — The jealousy of Saul was the more excited, as he had been threatened with the loss of his kingdom, and perceived in David all the qualifications of a king.  A malo principe tanquam successor timetur quisquis est dignior. Pliny in Traj. — But was David responsible for what was spoken in  his praise?  C. — The Vat. Sept. omit what follows till v. 12.  “And Saul feared David, (13) and he removed,” &c.  The Alex. copy agrees with the Vulg.  H. — Those who are proud, cannot bear the praises of others.  W.
• Ver. 9. Eye. Sept. “and Saul suspected.”  H. — Chal. “laid snares for David.”  C.
• 1 KINGS 19
• CHAPTER XIX.
• Ver. 1. Jonathan. He was most interested, as David might be feared as a competitor; (M.) and, under the cloak of friendship, he might more easily destroy him.  Saul was a stranger to the generous sentiments of his son, or he would never have made the proposal.  H. — Grotius compares him with Germanicus.  C.
• Ver. 2. Morning. Sept. add, “to-morrow.”  M.
• Ver. 3. Field. Saul would come thither, or Jonathan would sound his father’s disposition, and give David information in the place appointed.  C.
• Ver. 3. Hand, in danger.  M.
• Ver. 6. Slain. His inconstant temper might cause him to be moved with the expostulation of his son; but he presently relapsed, if he were ever sincere.  C. — The Scripture seems to insinuate that he was.  M.

Haydock Commentary Mark 3:7-12

• Ver. 8. What is to be understood by Idumea, see Rutter’s Evangelical Harmony.  Vol. i. p. 286.
• Ver. 11-12. The unclean spirits being obliged by the Divine Power, not only to come and worship, but also to declare his majesty, exclaimed: Thou art the Son of God. How astonishing then is the blindness of the Arians, who even after his resurrection denied him to be the Son of God, whom the devils confessed as such when clothed with human nature.  But it is certain that not only the devils, but the infirm that were healed, and the apostles themselves were forbidden, as well as the unclean spirits, to proclaim his divinity; lest the passion and death of Christ might be on that account deferred.  Ven. Bede.

Follow me.

And rising up, he followed him. And it came to pass, that as he sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat down together with Jesus and his disciples: for they were many, who also followed him. And the Scribes and Pharisees, seeing that he did eat with publicans and sinners, said to his disciples:

Why doth your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

Jesus hearing this, saith to them:

They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: for I came not to call the just, but sinners.

• Ver. 1. Abiel, who is also called Ner.  1 Par. viii. 33.  Cajetan. — Strong. Heb. “a mighty man of power,” either of body, or of riches.
• Ver. 2. Goodlier, better proportioned, more handsome, (H.) as the daughters of men are styled good, or fair. Gen. vi. 1.  People seek for corporal advantages in those who command.  The poets always represent their deities and heroes as taller than the rest of men.  A king of Sparta was fined for marrying a little woman.  Arist. Polit. iv.  The Ethiopians give their highest offices to those who have the most engaging appearance.  Herod. iii. 20.  C. — Little people may be elegant, but never majestic or perfectly beautiful.  Arist. Ethic. iv. 3.  M. — Choice, is taken in the same sense as goodly, and does not intimate that Saul was one of the elect.  Carthus.
• Ver. 3. Asses. The greatest noblemen rode upon such.  Judges v. 10.  A prince of Esau fed asses.  Gen. xxx. 24.  Agriculture, and keeping sheep, were the employment of men of the first eminence in the heroic ages, as hunting and other equally laborious exercises are now in fashion.  C.
• Ver. 4. Salisa, the ancient Segor, (M.) or rather a place 15 miles from Diospolis.  Euseb. — Salim, or Sual, not far from Galgal.  C. xiii. 17.
• Ver. 18. Gate. Sept. “city.”  Chal. “within the gate,” where business was transacted.
• Ver. 19. Place, while Samuel retired, for a while, to his own house.  He sends Saul to the assembly, (C.) where he would meet him to dine.  H. — Heart, or desirest to know.  M.
• 1 KINGS 10
• CHAPTER X.
• Ver. 1. Vial, in the form of a lentil. Plin. xviii. 12. — Oil. This anointing seems to have been peculiar to the kings, priests, and prophets of the Hebrews, who prefigured Jesus, the great anointed of God.  S. Aug. in Ps. xliv.  The custom was very ancient.  Judg. ix. 8.  It is thought that those kings, who succeeded their fathers by their birth-right, and without opposition, did not receive any unction.  C. — But the silence of Scripture is no proof on this head; and the Fathers seem to be convinced that the custom subsisted till Christ appeared.  S. Just. dial. &c.  H. — The Rabbins pretend that the sacred ointment was used for the kings of Juda, but not for those of Israel.  It is not probable that it was used for either.  Ex. xxx. 32.  3 K. i. 39.  We read that Jehu was anointed king of Israel; (4 K. ix. 6,) and we may suppose that common oil was used, in his regard, as well as for the other kings.  The perfume or balm of Judea, does not spot the garments on which it may fall.  Plin. xii. 25.  It was poured  on the head; the Rabbins say in the from of a crown, (C.) or cross.  H. — But this is uncertain.  The ceremony has been preserved, with respect to Christian kings, who, according to Innocent I, should be anointed on the shoulders and arms, while prelates receive the unction on the head. — Kissed him, out of respect.  Ps. ii. 12.  C. — Behold. Heb. “Is it not because?” &c.  H. — And thou…prince. All this is wanting in the Heb. &c.  But it is conformable to the Vat. Sept.; (C.) the Alex. has “to be prince over his people, over Israel? and thou shalt rule over the people of the Lord, and shalt save it from its enemies around;” as we have explained.  C. ix. 16.  H. — Saul was anointed with a small vessel, to signify that his kingdom should not subsist long; and with oil, to remind him of mercy, light, and health to his people.  S. Greg.  W.

Haydock Commentary Mark 2:13-17

• Ver. 14. To follow Christ, is to imitate him; wherefore this apostle, that he might be able to follow Christ, the model of poverty, not so much by his bodily steps, as by the inward affections of his soul, forsook all; he not only forsook his present goods, but despised all danger, which he incurred by leaving his business abruptly, and without rendering any account of it to his employers or governors.  Ven. Bede. — The person to whom Christ addresses the words, follow me, was Matthew: see infra ix. 9.
• Ver. 17. The Greek printed copies, and some MSS. add to penance, as we read in Luke v. 33.

Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad. The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth, and the islands shall wait for his law. I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles: That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Or

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God. Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

Responsorial Psalm 28:1-4, 3, 9-10 (Ps 29 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only (rearranged in Lectionary readings)

Bring to the Lord, O ye children of God:
bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.
Bring to the Lord glory and honour:
bring to the Lord glory to his name:
adore ye the Lord in his holy court.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The Lord is upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is in power;
the voice of the Lord in magnificence.
the God of majesty hath thundered,
and in his temple all shall speak his glory.
The Lord maketh the flood to dwell:
and the Lord shall sit king for ever.

Readings II – Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38
Haydock New Testament

Then Peter, opening his mouth, said:

In truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh justice, is acceptable to him. God sent the word to the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all). You know the word which hath been published through all Judea: for it began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached, Jesus, of Nazareth: how God anointed him with the Holy Ghost, and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil: for God was with him.

Or

Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Haydock New Testament

For the grace of God, our Savior, hath appeared to all men, Instructing us, that denying impiety, and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and piously in this world, Waiting for the blessed hope, and coming of the glory of the great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ: Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people acceptable, pursuing good works.

But when the goodness and kindness of our Savior, God, appeared: Not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ, our Savior: That, being justified by his grace, we may be heirs according to hope of life everlasting.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Haydock New Testament

I indeed baptize you with water: but there shall come one mightier that I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, heaven was opened: And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon him: and a voice came from heaven:

Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.

• Ver. 1. My servant. Christ, who, according to his humanity, is the servant of God, (Ch.) and Redeemer of others; none else being able to satisfy for themselves. W. Phil. ii. 7. C. — This passage clearly refers to the Messias, (Chal. Kimchi) who was prefigured by Cyrus. v. 6. C. Hugo. — It is quoted by S. Mat. (xii. 18.) who has some variations both from the Heb. and the Sept. (C.) particularly the first part of v. 4. which the Sept. renders, “He shall shine, and shall not be broken.”
• Ver. 4. Islands. Sept. and S. Mat. “the Gentiles shall hope in his name.” H.
• Ver. 6. Gentiles. This was literally verified in Christ. Cyrus is also styled the just, (C. xli. 26.) and gave liberty to many nations.
• Ver. 7. House. The Jews out of captivity, prefigured the redemption of mankind. These miracles proved that Jesus was the Messias. Lu. vii. 22.

Haydock Commentary Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

• Ver. 1. Be. Sept. “comfort my people.” Let them not be dejected. H. — The end of the captivity, and still more the coming of the Messias, afford consolation, (C.) and to this the prophet chiefly alludes. W.
• Ver. 2. Evil. Heb. and some Latin copies have, “warfare.” — Double. A rigorous chastisement. Apoc. xviii. 6. C.
• Ver. 3. God, that he may conduct his people from Babylon. Sanchez. — Yet the prophet speaks chiefly of the baptist, (Mat. iii. 3. C.) who is evidently foretold. W.
• Ver. 4. Plain. For the captives, or the conversion of the world. Bar. v. 6.
• Ver. 5. Glory. God will rescue his people. Christ will redeem mankind.
• Ver. 9. Thou, female. How beautiful are the feet of those who announce good tidings! Rom. x. 15. H. — Thus a feminine noun is applied to Solomon. Eccle. i. Prophets make known to all the coming of the Saviour. C. — Christ preaches from the mountain, and his apostles over the world. W.
• Ver. 10. Him. Christ will reward and punish. Jer. xxxi. 16. Lu. ii. 34.
• Ver. 11. Young, or have lately had young lambs, fœtas. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jo. x. 14.

Haydock Commentary Acts 10:34-38

• Ver. 35. In every nation, &c. That is to say, not only Jews, but Gentiles also, of what nation soever, are acceptable to God, if they fear him, and work justice. But then true faith is always to be presupposed, without which, (saith S. Paul, Heb. xi. 6.) it is impossible to please God. Beware then of the error of those, who would infer from this passage, that men of all religions may be pleasing to God. For since none but the true religion can be from God, all other religions must be from the father of lies; and therefore highly displeasing to the God of truth. Ch. — He that feareth him, and worketh justice. So he call the prayers, alms-deeds, and charitable works of this Gentile Cornelius. Wi.
• Ver. 36. God sent the word.[3] By this word, some understand the eternal Word, the Son of God; but by the next verse, we may rather expound it of the word of the gospel preached. Jesus Christ . . . he is Lord of all things. A proof of Christ’s divinity. Wi.
• Ver. 37. For it began, or its beginning was, &c.

Haydock Commentary Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

• Ver. 11. For the grace of God, our Saviour, hath appeared to all men. In the Greek: For the saving grace of God, &c. Wi.
• Ver. 12. We should live soberly,[4] and justly, and piously. S. Jerom puts (as in other places for the same Greek word) chastely, justly, and piously. The words comprehend man’s duty to himself, to his neighbour, and towards God. Wi.
• Ver. 13. Waiting for the blessed hope; for the happiness of the blessed in heaven, promised and hoped for. — And coming of the glory of the great God,[5] and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The title of great God, says Dr. Wells, is here referred to our Saviour Jesus Christ, by Clem. of Alex. in protreptico, c. vi. He might have added, and by the general consent of the Greek and Latin Fathers. S. Chrys. here cries out: “where are now they who say that the Son is less than the Father?” S. Jerom in like manner: “where is the serpent Arius? where is the snake Eunomius?” And that this title of great God is here given to Jesus Christ, may be shewn from the text itself, especially in the Greek; for the glorious coming, and appearance, in other places of S. Paul, is always used to signify Christ’s coming to judge the world. Secondly, inasmuch as one and the same Greek article falls upon the great God, and our Saviour Christ; so that even M. Simon, in a note on these words, says the construction is, and the coming of Jesus Christ, the great God, our Saviour, and blames Erasmus and Grotius for pretending that this place is not a confutation of the Arians. Wi.
• Ver. 14. A people, particularly acceptable.[6] S. Jerom translates an egregious or eminent people. He says in the Sept. it corresponds to segula, which signifies a man’s proper possessions, which he has purchased or chosen for himself. Budeus says it signifies what is rare and uncommon; and it is well translated by the Protestants, a particular people. Wi.
• TITUS 3
• CHAPTER III.
• Ver. 4. The goodness and kindness. Lit. humanity of our Saviour. By humanity[1] some expound Christ’s appearing in his human nature, but by the Greek is meant the love of God towards mankind. Wi.
• Ver. 5. Not by the works, &c. S. Paul in this verse alludes to the sacrament of baptism. This text is brought by divines to prove that baptism, like every other sacrament, produces its effect by its own power, (or, as it is termed in the schools, ex opere operato) independently of any disposition on the part of the receiver. We are saved, says the apostle, not by the works of justice, or any good works we have performed, but our salvation must be attributed solely to the mercy of our Saviour, God, manifested to us by the washing itself of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost. — By the laver of regeneration, &c.[2] That is, baptism, by which we are born anew the adoptive children of God, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured, &c. Wi.
• Ver. 6. All presumption of human merits, which have not the grace of Jesus Christ for their principle, is here completely confounded; and the whole glory of our salvation is justly attributed to the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ. A new birth, new creature, new spirit. The effusion of the water upon the body in baptism, is a figure of the salutary effusion of the holy Spirit in the soul to renew it, and to make it a child of God.
• Ver. 7. This admirable, and I may say divine adoption, is the sole foundation of a Christian’s hope, as the eternal life of the blessed is the sole end of this adoption.

Haydock Commentary Luke 3:15-16; 21-22

• Ver. 15. Many reasons might have induced the people to think that John was the Christ: 1. The wonders that took place at his birth and conception, his mother being very old, and without any prospect of offspring: 2. the excellence of his preaching, his mortified life, and the novelty of his baptism; and thirdly, the report which then generally prevailed among the Jews, that the Messias was already come; on account of the coming of the magi, and the murder of the infants by Herod: both which circumstances were probably fresh in their memory; and several perhaps, who witnessed them, were still living. Dion. Carth.
• Ver. 16. See Matt. iii. 11. That baptism cannot be valid, in which the name of the Holy Ghost only is invoked. For, the tradition concerning life-giving grace, must be preserved entire. To add or to omit any thing, may exclude from life everlasting. For, as we believe, so also are we baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. S. Basil, l. de Spirit. Sanc. c. xxii. — Fire. This is a metaphor, to signify the Holy Ghost and his gifts, particularly the fire of divine love to the expiation of sins, and is very common in Scripture. Sometimes also he is represented by water, as in S. John iv. 10, et dein. and vii. 38.-9. Isai. xliv. &c. &c. Hence, in the hymn to the Holy Ghost, the Church uses both figures.
  • Thou who art call’d the Paraclete,
    Best gift of God above,
    The living Spring, the living Fire,
    Sweet unction and love.
• Ver. 21. The motive of his baptism, as he himself informs us, was, that he himself might fulfil all justice. What is here meant by justice, but that obligation of doing first ourselves what we wish others to do? — Let no one then refuse the laver of grace, since Christ did not refuse the laver of penance. S. Amb. — Although all our sins are forgiven in baptism, still the frailty of the flesh is not yet perfectly strengthened. For, after passing this red sea, we rejoice at the destruction of the Egyptians, but still we must fight with assurance of the grace of Christ, against the enemies we shall undoubtedly meet with in the desert of this world, till at length we arrive at our true country. Ven. Bede. — It is said the heavens were opened, because they had been hitherto shut. The sheepfolds of heaven and earth are now united under the one Shepherd of the sheep: heaven is opened, and man, though formed of the earth, is admitted to the company of angels. S. Chrys.
• Ver. 22. The reason why the Holy Ghost shewed himself in the shape of a dove, was because he could not be seen in the substance of his divinity. But why a dove? To express that simplicity acquired in the sacrament of baptism. Be ye simple as doves; to signify that peace bestowed by baptism, and prefigured by the olive branch which the dove carried back to the ark, a true figure of the Church, and which was the only security from the destructive deluge. S. Amb. — You will object: Christ, though he was God, would not be baptized till the age of 30, and do you order baptism to be received sooner? When you say, though he was God, you solve the difficulty. For, he stood not in need of being purified at all; of course, there could be no danger in deferring his baptism. But you will have much to answer for, if, being born in corruption, you pass out of this world without the garment of incorruption. S. Greg. Nazian. orat. 40.

• ORIGEN; It was meet that more deference should be paid to John than to other men, for he lived such as no other man. Wherefore indeed most rightly did they regard him with affection, only they kept not within due bounds; hence it is said, But while the people were expecting whether he were the Christ.
• AMBROSE; Now what could be more absurd than that he who was fancied to be in another should not be believed in his own person? He whom they thought to have come by a woman, is not believed to have come by a virgin; while in fact the sign of the Divine coming was placed in tile childbearing of a virgin, not of a woman
• ORIGEN; But love is dangerous when it is uncontrolled. For he who loves any one ought to consider the nature and causes of loving, and not to love more than the object deserves. For if he pass the due measure and bounds of love, both he who loves, and he who is loved, will be in sin.
• GREEK EX. And hence, John gloried not in the estimation in which all held him, nor in any way seemed to desire the deference of others, but embraced the lowest humility. Hence it follows, John answered.
• THEOPHYL; But how could he answer them who in secret thought that he was Christ, except it was that they not only thought, but also (as another Evangelist declares) sending Priests and Levites to him asked him whether he was the Christ or not?
• AMBROSE; Or: John saw into the secrets of the heart; but let us remember by whose grace, for it is of the gift of God to reveal things to man, not of the virtue of man, which is assisted by the Divine blessing, rather than capable of perceiving by any natural power of its own. But quickly answering them, he proved that he was not the Christ, for his works were by visible operations. For as man is compounded of two natures, i.e. soul and body, the visible mystery is made holy by the visible, the invisible by the invisible; for by water the body is washed, by the Spirit the soul is cleansed of its stains. It is permitted to us also in the very water to have the sanctifying influence of the Deity breathed upon us. And therefore there was one baptism of repentance, another of grace. The latter was by both water and Spirit, the former by one only; the work of man is to bring forth repentance for his sin, it is the gift of God to pour in the grace of His mystery. Devoid therefore of all envy of Christ’s greatness, he declared not by word but by work that he was not the Christ. Hence it follows, There comes after me one mightier than I. In those words, mightier than I, he makes no comparison, for there can be none between the Son of God and man, but because there are many mighty, no one is mightier but Christ. So far indeed was as he from making comparison, that he adds, Whose shoes latched I am not worthy to unloose.
• AUG. Matthew says, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. If therefore it is worth while to understand any difference in these expressions, we can only suppose that John said one at one time, another at another, or both together, To bear his shoes, and to loose the latchet of his shoes, so that though one Evangelist may have related this, the others that, yet all have related the truth. But if John intended no more when he spoke of the shoes of our Lord but His excellence and his own humility, whether he said loosing the latchet of the shoes, or bearing them, they have still kept the same sense who by the mention of shoes have in their own words expressed the same signification of humility.
• AMBROSE; By the words, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, he shows that the grace of preaching the Gospel was conferred upon the Apostles, who were shod for the Gospel. He seems however to say it, because John frequently represented the Jewish people.
• GREG. But John denounces himself as unworthy to loose the latchet of Christ’s shoes: as if he openly said, I am not able to disclose the footsteps of my Redeemer, who do not presume unworthily to take unto myself the name of bridegroom, for it was an ancient custom that when a man refused to take to wife her whom he ought, whoever should come to her betrothed by right of kin, was to loose his shoe. Or because shoes are made from the skins of dead animals, our Lord being made flesh appeared as it were with shoes, as taking upon Himself the carcass of our corruption. The latchet of the shoe is the connection of the mystery. John therefore can not loose the latchet of the shoe, because neither is he able to fathom the mystery of the Incarnation, though he acknowledged it by the Spirit of prophecy.
• CHRYS. And having said that his own baptism was only with water, he next shows the excellence of that baptism which was brought by Christ, adding, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and fire, signifying by the very metaphor which he uses the abundance of grace. For he says not, ” He shall give you the Holy Spirit,” but He shall baptize you. And again, by the addition of fire, he shows the power of grace. And as Christ calls the grace of the Spirit, water, meaning by water the purity resulting from it, and the abundant consolation which is brought to minds which are capable of receiving Him; so also John, by the word fire, expresses the fervor and uprightness of grace, as well as the consuming of sins.
• THEOPHYL; The Holy Spirit also may be understood by the word fire, for He kindles with love and enlightens with wisdom the hearts which He fills. Hence also the Apostles received the baptism of the Spirit in the appearance of fire. There are some who explain it, that now we are baptized with the Spirit, hereafter we shall be with fire, that as in truth we are now born again to the remission of our sins by water and the Spirit, so then we shall be cleansed from certain lighter sins by the baptism of purifying fire.
• ORIGEN; And as John was waiting by the river Jordan for those who came to his baptism, and some he drove away, saying, Generation of vipers, but those who confessed their sins he received, so shall the Lord Jesus stand in the fiery stream with the flaming sword, that whoever after the close of this life desires to pass over to Paradise and needs purification, He may baptize him with this laver, and pass him over to paradise, but whoso has not the seal of the former baptisms, him He shall not baptize with the laver of fire.
• BASIL; But because he says, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, let no one admit that baptism to be valid in which the name of His Spirit only has been invoked, for we must ever keep undiminished that tradition which has’ been sealed to us in quickening grace. To add or take away ought thereof excludes from eternal life.
• Ver 21-22
• AMBROSE; In a matter which has been related by others Luke has rightly given us only a summary, and has left more to be understood than expressed in the fact, that our Lord was baptized by John. As it is said, Now when all were baptized, it came to pass. Our Lord was baptized not that He might be cleansed by the waters but to cleanse them, that being purified by the flesh of Christ who knew no sin, they might possess the power of baptism.
• GREG. NAZ. Christ comes also to baptism perhaps to sanctify baptism, but doubtless to bury the old Adam in water.
• AMBROSE; But the cause of our Lord’s baptism He Himself declares when He says, Thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. But what is righteousness, except that what you would have another do to you, you should first begin yourself, and so by your example encourage others? Let none then avoid the laver of grace, since Christ avoided not the laver of repentance.
• CHRYS. Now there was a Jewish baptism which removed the pollutions of the flesh, not the guilt of the conscience; but our baptism parts us from sin, washes the soul, and gives us largely the outpouring of the Spirit. But John’s baptism was more excellent than the Jewish; for it did not bring men to the observance of bodily purifications, but taught them to turn from sin to virtue. But it was inferior to our baptism, in that it conveyed not the Holy Spirit, nor showed forth the remission which is by grace, for there was a certain end as it were of each baptism. But neither by the Jewish nor our own baptism was Christ baptized, for He needed not the pardon of sins, nor was that flesh destitute of the Holy Spirit which from the very beginning was conceived by the Holy Spirit; He was baptized by the baptism of John, that from the very nature of the baptism, you might know that He was not baptized because He needed the gift of the Spirit. But he says, fitting baptized and praying, that you might consider how fitting to one who has received baptism is constant prayer.
• THEOPHYL; Because though all sins are forgiven in baptism, not as yet is the weakness of this fleshly substance made strong. For we rejoice at the overwhelming of the Egyptians having now crossed the Red sea, but in the wilderness of worldly living there meet us other foes, who, the grace of Christ directing us, may by our exertions be subdued until we come to our own country.
• CHRYS. But he says, The heavens opened, as if till then they had been shut. But now the higher and the lower sheep-fold being brought into one, and there being one Shepherd of the sheep, the heavens opened, and man was incorporated a fellow citizen with the Angels.
• THEOPHYL; For not then were the heavens opened to Him whose eyes scanned the innermost parts of the heaven, but therein is shown the virtue of baptism, that when a man comes forth from it the gates of the heavenly kingdom are opened to him, and while his flesh is bathed unharmed in the cold waters, which formerly dreaded their hurtful touch, the flaming sword is extinguished.
• CHRYS. The Holy Spirit descended also upon Christ as upon the Founder of our race, that He might be in Christ first of all who received Him not for Himself, but rather for us. Hence it follows: And the Holy Spirit descended. Let not any one imagine that He received Him because He had Him not. For He as God sent Him from above, and as man received Him below. Therefore from Him the Spirit fled down to Him, i.e. from His deity to His humanity.
• AUG. But it is most strange that He should receive the Spirit when he was thirty years old. But as without sin He came to baptism, so not without the Holy Spirit. For if it was written of John, He shall be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb, what must we believe of the man Christ, the very conception of whose flesh was not carnal but spiritual. Therefore He condescended now to prefigure His body, i.e. the Church, in which the baptized especially receive the Holy Spirit.
• CHRYS. That baptism savored partly of antiquity, partly of novelty. For that he should receive baptism from a Prophet showed antiquity, but the Spirit’s descent denoted something new.
• AMBROSE; Now the Spirit rightly showed Himself in the form of a dove, for He is not seen in His divine substance. Let us consider the mystery why like a dove? Because the grace of baptism requires innocence, that we should be innocent as doves. The grace of baptism requires peace, which under the emblem of an olive branch the dove once brought to that ark which alone escaped the deluge.
• CHRYS. Or to show the meekness of the Lord, the Spirit now appears in the form of a dove, but at Pentecost like fire, to signify punishment. For when He was about to pardon offenses, gentleness was necessary; but having obtained grace, there remains for us the time of trial and judgment.
• CYPRIAN; Now the dove is a harmless and pleasant creature, with no bitterness of gall, no fierceness of bite, no violence of rending talons; they love the abodes of men, consort within one home, when they have young nurturing them together, when they fly abroad, hanging side by side upon the wing, leading their life in mutual intercourse, giving with their bills a sign of their peaceful harmony, and fulfilling a law of unanimity in every way.
• CHRYS. Christ indeed had already manifested Himself at His birth by many oracles, but because men would not consult them, He who had in the mean time remained secret, again more clearly revealed Himself in a second birth. For formerly a star in the heavens, now the Father at the waves of Jordan declared Him, and as the Spirit descended upon Him, pouring forth that voice over the head of Him who was baptized, as it follows, And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son.
• AMBROSE; We have seen the Spirit, but in a bodily shape, and the Father whom we cannot see we may hear. He is invisible because He is the Father, the Son also is invisible in His divinity, but He wished to manifest Himself in the body. And because the Father did not take the body, He wished therefore to prove to us that He was present in the Son, by saying, You are my Son.
• ATHAN. The holy Scriptures by the name of Son set forth two meanings; one similar to that spoken of in the Gospel, He gave to them power that they should become the sons of God; another according to which Isaac is the son of Abraham. Christ is not then simply called a Son of God, but the article is prefixed, that we should understand that He alone is really and by nature the Son; and hence He is said to be the Only begotten. For if according to the madness of Arius He is called Son, as they are called who obtain the name through grace, He will seem in no way to differ from us. It remains therefore that in another respect we must confess Christ to be the Son of God, even as Isaac is acknowledged to be the son of Abraham. For that which is naturally begotten of another, and takes not its origin from any thing besides nature, accounts a son. But it is said, Was then the birth of the Son with suffering as of a man? By no means. God since He cannot be divided is without suffering the Father of the Son. Hence He is called the Word of the Father, because neither is the word of man even produced with suffering and since God is by nature one, He is the Father of one only Son, and therefore it is added, Beloved. For when a man has only one son, he loves him very much, but if he becomes father of many, his affection is divided by being distributed.
• ATHAN. But as the prophet had before announced the promise of God, saying, I will send Christ my son, that promise being now as it were accomplished at Jordan, He rightly adds, In you I am well pleased.
• THEOPHYL; As if He said, In You have I appointed My good pleasure, i.e. to carry on by You what seems good to Me.
• GREG. Or else, Every one who by repentance corrects any of his actions, by that very repentance shows that he has displeased himself, seeing he amends what he has done. And since the Omnipotent Father spoke of sinners after the manner of men, saying, It repents me that I have made man, He (so to speak) displeased Himself in the sinners whom He had created. But in Christ alone He pleased Himself, for in Him alone He found no fault that He should blame Himself, as it were, by repentance.
• AUG. But the words of Matthew, This is my beloved Son, and those of Luke, You are my beloved, Son, convey the same meaning; for the heavenly voice spoke one of these. But Matthew wished to show that by the words, This is my beloved Son, it was meant rather to declare to the hearers, that He was the Son of God. For that was not revealed to Christ which He knew, but they heard it who were present, and for whom the voice came.

Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, behold he baptizeth, and all men come to him.

John answered, and said:

A man cannot receive any thing unless it be given him from heaven. You yourselves do bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ; but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride, is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy, because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

• Ver. 16. A sin which is not unto death . . . . and life shall be given to him. It is hard to determine what S. John here calls a sin which is not unto death, and a sin which is unto death. The difference cannot be the same as betwixt sins that are called venial and mortal; for he says, that if a man pray for his brother who commits a sin that is not unto death, life shall be given to him: therefore such a one had before lost the life of grace, and been guilty of what is commonly called a mortal sin.  And when he speaks of a sin that is unto death, and adds these words, I do not say that any one should ask for that sin, it cannot be supposed that S. John would say this of every mortal sin, but only of some heinous sins which are very seldom remitted, because such sinners very seldom repent.  By a sin therefore which is not unto death, interpreters commonly understand a wilful apostacy from the faith, and from the know truth, when a sinner hardened by his own ingratitude becomes deaf to all admonitions, will do nothing for himself, but runs on to final impenitence.  Nor yet does S. John say that such a sin is never remitted, or cannot be remitted, but only has these words, I do not say that any one should ask for the remission of that sin; that is, though we must pray for all sinners whatsoever, yet man cannot pray for such sinners with such confidence of obtaining always their petitions, as S. John said before, v. 14.  Whatever exposition we follow on this verse, our faith teaches us from the holy Scriptures, that God desires not the death of any sinner, but that he be converted and live.  See Ezech. xxxiii. 11. Though men’s “sins be as the scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow.”  Isaias i. 18.  It is the will of God that every one come to the knowledge of truth and be save.  See John vi. 40.  There is no sin so great but which God is willing to forgive, and has left power in his Church to remit the most enormous sins; so that no sinner need despair of pardon, nor will any sinner perish buy by his own fault.  Wi. — A sin unto death. Some understand this of final impenitence, or of dying in mortal sin, which is the only sin that never can be remitted; but, it is probable, he may also comprise under this name the sin of apostacy from the faith, and some other such henious sins as are seldom and hardly remitted: and therefore he gives little encouragement to such as pray for these sinners, to expect what they ask.  Ch.
• Ver. 17. All iniquity[4] is sin. The sense here is, that sin is always an injury or an injustice done to God; but though every sin implies such an injury and an offence against God, yet there are different degrees in such injuries, which are not always such an injustice as S. John calls the sin unto death. Wi.
• Ver. 18. Sinneth not. See the annotation on chap. iii. 6. &c.  Ch. — The generation[5] of God preserveth him, (i.e. the grace of adoption, as long as it remains in the soul; see C. iii. 9.) and the wicked one (i.e. the devil) toucheth him not. Wi.
• Ver. 19. And the whole world is seated in wickedness;[6] i.e. a great part of the world.  It may also signify, is under the wicked one; meaning the devil, who is elsewhere called the prince of this world, that is, of all the wicked.  Jo. xii. 31.  Wi.
• Ver. 20. And may be in his true Son.[7]  This is the true God, and eternal life. Which words are a clear proof of Christ’s divinity, and as such made us of by the ancient Fathers.
• Ver. 21. Keep yourselves from idols. An admonition to the new converted Christians, lest, conversing with heathens and idolaters, they might fall back into the sin of idolatry, which may be the sin unto death here mentioned by S. John.  Wi.

Haydock Commentary John 3:22-30

• Ver. 22. And baptized. Not Christ himself, but his disciples.  See c. iv. 2.  Wi.
• Ver. 23. Salem. A town situated upon the river Jordan, where formerly Melchisedech reigned.  Ven. Bede.
• Ver. 29. He of whom you complain is the bridegroom, and I am the friend of the bridegroom, sent before to prepare his bride; that is, to collect for him a Church from all nations.  Alcuin. — The servants of the bridegroom do not rejoice in the same manner as his friends: I am his friend, and I rejoice with very great  joy, because of the bridegroom’s voice.  He must increase, and I must decrease; by which words the great precursor demonstrates to the world, that not the least envy with regard to his divine Master rankles in his heart; by on the contrary, that he should be happy to see all his followers desert him, to run to Jesus Christ.  S. Chrys.
• Ver. 30. He (Christ) must increase, not in virtue and perfection, with which he is replenished, but in the opinion of the world, when they begin to know him, and believe in him: and in like manner, I must be diminished, when they know how much he is above me.  Wi.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 5:12-16
Haydock New Testament

And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy, who seeing Jesus, and falling on his face, besought him, saying:

Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And stretching for his hand, he touched him, saying:

I will: Be thou cleansed.

And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man:

but, Go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

But the fame of him went abroad the more: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities. And he retired into the desert, and prayed.

• Ver. 6. Came by water and blood. The sense seems to be, by water, with which he ordered every one to be baptized and made Christians; 2ndly, by his blood shed on the cross for our redemption.  Wi. — Blood: not only to wash away our sins by the water of baptism, but by his own blood. Ch. — And it is the Spirit that testifieth that Christ[2] is the truth. By the Spirit, which is not here called the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, as in the next verse, is either meant the Spirit or soul of Christ, which dying he recommended into the hands of his Father, and which shewed that he was truly man, against Cerinthus, and some heretics of those times; or else it may signify the spirit of grace, given in this world to the faithful, in the same sense as S. Paul says, (Rom. viii. 16.) that the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our Spirit, that we are the sons of God: and of which may be understood what is said here, (v. 10.) He that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself. Wi.
• Ver. 7. There are three that give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one: i.e. one in nature, in substance, and in all perfections, in the same sense as when Christ himself said, (Jo. x. 30.) I and the Father are one, or one thing.  The Socinians object that this verse is wanting in many Greek manuscripts; and even Erasmus in one edition, and Mr. Simon in his Critics, have questioned it, or rejected it, as a false reading, but without any sufficient proofs and grounds, as hath been shewn by many learned Catholics, and also by Protestant writers, who receive in their translations this verse as canonical.  It is easy to account for the omission of this verse; for as both the seventh and eighth verse begin and end with the same words, this gave occasion to the oversight and omission of the transcribers, whereas it is not credible that such a whole verse could be added.  And that it was only by the mistake and oversight of transcribers may further appear, because we find part of the seventh verse, to wit, and these three are one, cited by Tertul. l. cont. Praxeam. c. xxiii. p. 515. Ed. Rig. and twice by S. Cyprian, Epist. 73. ad Jubaianum. p. 125. Ed. Rig. in the Oxford Edition, p. 310. and in his Treatise de Unit. Ecclesiæ, p. 181. Ed. Rigal. and in the Oxford Ed. p. 79, where also Dr. Fell defends this verse of S. John to be genuine.  Tertul. and Cyp. wrote long before the dispute with the Arians.  The Socinians also object that this passage is not brought by S. Athanasius and some other fathers against the Arians, which they could scarce have omitted had they read this verse, but this only proves that this omission had happened in some MSS. in their time, or, as some conjecture, that the Arians had corrupted some copies.  S. Fulgentius made use of it against the Arians, and also others about that time.  See the Benedictines of S. Maur against Mr. Simon, in the first tome of S. Jerom, p. 1670.  Both Catholics and Protestants, after diligent examination, have received this verse, which is found in the best MSS.  See Greek Test. at Amsterdam, an. 1711.  The three divine Persons, who are present everywhere, though said to be in heaven, gave testimony concerning Christ.  The Father by a voice from heaven, both at his baptism (Mat. iii. 17.) and at his transfiguration, (Mat. xvii. 5.) saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him:” and also by all the miracles wrought by the same power of all the three divine Persons.  2. The Son testified to the Jews on many occasions, that he was sent from God, that he was the only Son of God, that he and his Father were one, &c. as in the annotations on John iii.  The Holy Ghost confirmed the same, particularly by coming down upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, and inspiring them to teach the same doctrine concerning Jesus Christ.  Wi. — An express proof of the three distinct persons and unity of nature and essence in the blessed Trinity.
• Ver. 8. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three are one.[3]  This is a repetition of what was before said, v. 6, to be expounded in the same manner.  But when it is added, these three are one, the sense is, that they witness one and the same truth.  Wi. — As the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, all bear witness to Christ’s divinity; so the spirit, which he yielded up, crying out with a loud voice upon the cross, and the water and blood that issued from his side, bearing witness to his humanity, and are one; that is, all agree in one testimony.  Ch.
• Ver. 10. He that believeth not the Son, maketh him (God) a liar, by refusing to believe the testimonies given by the three divine Persons, that Jesus was the Messias and the true Son of God, by whom eternal life is obtained and promised to all that comply with his doctrine.  In him we have also this lively confidence, that we shall obtain whatever we ask, according to his will, when we ask what is for our good with perseverance and in the manner we ought.  And this we know and have experience of, by having obtained the petitions that we have made.  Wi.

Haydock Commentary Luke 5:12-16

• Ver. 12. By falling on his face, he shewed his humility and modesty, that all men might learn to be ashamed of the stains of their lives; but this, his bashfulness, did not prevent him from confessing his misery; he exposed his wound, he solicits a cure: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. He did not doubt the goodness of the Lord, but in consideration of his own unworthiness, he durst not presume.  That confession is full of religion and faith, which places its trust in the will of God.  S. Ambrose.
• Ver. 13. The law forbade lepers to be touched; but he, who is the Lord of the law, dispenses with it.  He touches the leper, not because he could not cleanse him without it, but in order to shew that he was not subject to the law, nor to fear of any infection.  At the touch of Christ leprosy is dispelled, which before communicated contagion to all that touched it.  S. Ambrose.
• Ver. 14. Because men in sickness generally turn their thoughts towards God, but when they recover, forget him, the leper is commanded to think of God, and return him thanks.  Therefore is he sent to the priest, to make his offering, (Leviticus xiv. 4.) that, committing himself to the examination of the priest, he might be accounted among the clean.  S. Chrys. hom. xxvi. in Matt. — By this our Saviour would testify to the priest, that this man was healed not by the ordination of the law, but by the power of grace, which is above the law.  He likewise shews that he did not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law.  S. Amb. — Jesus Christ seems here to approve of the legal sacrifices, which the Church does not receive; and this he did, because he had not yet established that most holy of all holy sacrifices, the sacrifice of his own body.  The figurative sacrifices were not to be abrogated, before that, which they prefigured, was established by the preaching of the apostles, and the faith of Christian believers.  S. Austin, quest. ii. b. 3. de quæst. evang. — By this leper is represented the whole human race, which was covered with a spiritual leprosy, and languishing in the corruption of sin; for all have sinned, and need the glory of God; (Rom. iii.) therefore he stretched forth his hand, i.e. he clothed himself with our human nature, that we might be cleansed from our former errors, and might offer in return for this favour our bodies, a living sacrifice to God.  Ven. Bede.
• Ver. 16. Christ did not stand in need of this retirement, since, being God, he was free from every stain, and likewise present in every place.  But, by this his conduct, he wished to teach us the time most proper, both for our active employments, and for the more sublime duties of prayer and contemplation.  S. Greg.Naz. Orat. xxviii. — hn upocwrwn, he withdrew after his great prodigies, to avoid the praise of the multitude, and to pray assiduously, and with fresh instance, for the salvation of man.