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Daily Bible Readings Friday August 26 2011 21st Week in Ordinary Time Cycle I

Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 1:00 pm 
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Friday 21st Week in Ordinary Time Cycle I
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Haydock New Testament

For the rest therefore, brethren, we pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more.[1] For you know what commandments I have given to you by the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel[2] in sanctification and honour: Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles, who know not God: And that no man overreach, nor deceive his brother in business:[3] because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before, and have testified.

For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. He, therefore, that despiseth these things, despiseth not man, but God: who also hath given his holy spirit in us.

Psalm 96:1-2b, 5-6, 10-12 (Ps 97 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice:
let many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him:
justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne.
The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord:
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declared his justice: and all people saw his glory.
You that love the Lord, hate evil:
the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints,
he will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner.
Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart.
Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord:
and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 25:1-13
Haydock New Testament

Jesus delivered this parable to his disciples:

 

The Wise Virgins

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins,[4] who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Now five of them were foolish, and five were wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, took no oil with them:[5] But the wise took oil in their vessels, with the lamps.[6] And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.[7] And at midnight there was a cry made:[8]

Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise:

Give us of your oil: for our lamps are gone out.[9]

The wise answered, saying:

The Foolish Virgins

Lest there be not enough for us and for you, go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.[10]

Now while they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they who were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.[11] But at last came also the other virgins, saying:

Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answering said:

Amen, I say to you, I know you not.

Watch ye, therefore, because ye know not the day nor the hour.[12]

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)
  1. In this chapter the apostle begins to remind them of their obligation of always striving to increase in virtue.  Though he praises them through the whole epistle, he still thinks it necessary to warn them not to be surprised in uncleanness.  He repeats what he had taught them before; first, that there is vengeance awaiting the workers of evil; and secondly, that the favour of God is the reward of those who deal with the brethren in simplicity, and preserve themselves from the defilements of the Gentiles.  S. Ambrose, Comment. hic.↵
  2. His vessel.  That is, his own body.  See 1 K. xxi. 5.  Wi.↵
  3. That no man overreach, nor deceive his brother in business.[1]  The Prot. and Mr. N. even in their translations, add, in any matter, because some expound it of frauds and circumventions in any kind of business.  But this addition of any, should be left out, seeing the best interpreters expound it of a prohibition of adultery, and the injury thereby done to another, and of sins of that kind only, which is confirmed by what follows and what goes before.  See S. Jerom in c. iv. ad Ephes. tom. 4. p. 369.  S. Chrys. serm. 3 on this place.  Here, says he, he speaks of adultery, as before of fornication, &c.  See Theodoret, Theophylact. Estius, Menochius, A. Lapide, &c.  Wi.↵
  4. Ten virgins.  By these are signified all mankind.  By the bridegroom, Christ; by the bride, the Church; by oil, grace and charity.  Wi. — The kingdom of heaven is not unfrequently compared to the Church militant; which, as it is composed of both just and wicked, reprobate and elect, is deservedly compared to five wise and five foolish virgins: the wise constantly aspiring after their blessed country; the foolish, with all their fasts and austerities, wishing to procure nothing more than the empty esteem of men.  S. Gregory. — Went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride; in the Greek, it is simply, before the bridegroom.  The custom among the Jews was, that the bridegroom should go to fetch his spouse, and conduct her with solemnity to his house.  V. — This was the conclusive ceremony, and done in the night-time.  The young women of the vicinity, in order to do her honour, went to meet her with lighted lamps.  Modern travellers inform us, that this custom still obtains with the eastern nations, particularly the Persians.  Hence the Latin phrase, ducere uxorem, to marry.↵
  5. The foolish virgins had a little oil in their lamps at first, sufficient to shine before men, by some little external shew of piety, or certain works done through fear, profit, or human respects; but had made no provision of oil in their vessels, i.e. in their hearts and conscience, no provision of solid piety and charity, by means of which they might, like the prudent virgins, produce good works to salvation.  Jans.↵
  6. But the wise took oil.  Under this parable, we have the state of all Christians in their mortal pilgrimage justly delineated.  The wise took oil in their lamps, the necessary qualifications of grace and charity, joined with divine faith, and an additional supply of oil in their vessels; i.e. they laid up in store for themselves a solid foundation of good works.  S. Gregory teaches, that by the lamps, faith is meant; and by the light, good works.  Hence he concludes that the bad, although they have lamps, i.e. faith, no less than the good, shall be excluded; because their lamps are out, i.e. their faith is dead, without charity and good works to enlighten them.  hom. xii. — S. Augustine also declares, that these lighted lamps are good works, viz. works of mercy and good conversation, which shine forth before men.  ep. 120. c. xxxiii. — And, that this oil is a right inward intention, directing all our works to the greater glory of God, and not to the praise of ourselves in the sight of men.  Idem. ibid.↵
  7. And while the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) tarried, i.e. delayed his coming, and thus protracted the time of repentance, they all slumbered and slept; viz. they all died.  Hence S. Paul, nolo vos ignorare de dormientibus.  But the reason why Jesus Christ says they slumbered is, because they were to rise again: and by the expression, whilst the bridegroom tarried, Christ wishes to shew us that a very short time will elapse between his first and second coming.  S. Jerom.↵
  8. There was a cry.  So shall we all have to rise again at the sound of the last trumpet, to meet our judge, either like the wise virgins, who having their oil ready, and their lamps trimmed and burning, soon prepare themselves to give in their accounts to their Lord; or, like the foolish, who having made no provision of the oil of good works, are compelled to seek it at the time they are to be judged.  S. Augustine. — It is said he will come at midnight; i.e. when least expected.↵
  9. For our lamps are gone out.  Thus too many trusting to their faith alone, and leading a tepid indifference life, are negligent in preparing themselves by good works for the coming of the bridegroom.  But when they perceived themselves called away from this life, to go and meet their judge, they then begin to find their lamps extinguished, and to think of procuring for themselves the oil of good works, by bequeathing their effects to the poor.  Though we ought not to despair of the salvation of these, still there is great room to fear; for, a death-bed repentance is seldom sincere, more seldom, or never perfect, and always uncertain.  Jansenius.↵
  10. Go ye rather to them that sell.  The wise virgins do not there advise the foolish to go and buy, but upbraid them for the poor store of good works they have laid up.  They had before only sought the praises of men in their good actions, and therefore are answered by the wise: “go now to those to whom you have given all your actions; go and see what their praises will avail, what peace of conscience they can give you: and, if they have praised you, and made you esteemed in the eyes of men, see if they can do the same before God.”  S. Aug.↵
  11. And the door was shut.  After the final day of judgment, there will be no room for prayers and good works.  S. Jerom. — For, after having received those within its walls, who have put on in some degree the nature of the angels, the gate to the city of bliss is closed for ever.  S. Aug.↵
  12. Watch ye.  S. Austin asks, how can we be always watching, it being necessary for each one to give himself sufficient time to sleep and rest from his many labours?  He answers the question in these words: We may always keep watching to our hearts by faith, hope, charity, and all other good works.  But when we awake, like the five wise virgins, we must arise and trim our lamps, by supplying them with the oil of good works.  Then they will not go out, nor will the soothing oil of a good conscience be wanting to us.  Then will the bridegroom come and introduce us to his house, where we shall never need sleep or rest; nor will our lamps ever be in danger of going out.  Whilst we are in this life, we labour; and our lamps, blown about by the winds of innumerable temptations, are always in danger of being extinguished; but soon their flame shall become more brilliant, and the temptations we have suffered here shall not diminish, but increase its lustre.  S. Aug. serm. xxiv.↵

Sunday Bible Readings August 28 2011 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thursday, August 25th, 2011 at 4:53 am 
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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Jeremiah 20:7-9
DR Challoner

Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: thou hast been stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed.[1] I am become a laughingstock all the day, all scoff at me. For I am speaking now this long time, crying out against iniquity, and I often proclaim devastation: and the word of the Lord is made a reproach to me, and a derision all the day.[2] Then I said: I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: and there came in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it.[3]

Responsorial Psalm 62:2-6, 8-9 (Ps 63 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.
For thee my soul hath thirsted;
for thee my flesh, O how many ways!
In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water:
so in the sanctuary have I come before thee,
to see thy power and thy glory.
For thy mercy is better than lives:
thee my lips will praise.
Thus will I bless thee all my life long:
and in thy name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness:
and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
If I have remembered thee upon my bed,
I will meditate on thee in the morning:
Because thou hast been my helper.
And I will rejoice under the cover of thy wings:
My soul hath stuck close to thee:
thy right hand hath received me.

The Epistle of St. Paul, The Apostle, to the Romans 12:1-2
Haydock New Testament

I BESEECH[4] you, therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,[5] holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service.[6] And be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind: that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.[7]

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 16:21-27
Haydock New Testament

Get Thee Behind Me, Satan

From that time forth Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and the Scribes, and the chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again.[8] And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying:

Lord, be it far from thee; this shall not be unto thee.[9]

But he turning, said to Peter:

Go after me, Satan,[10] thou art a scandal unto me: because thou dost not relish the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.[11]

Then Jesus said to his disciples:

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.[12] For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.[13] For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?[14] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels:[15] and then will he render to ever man according to his works.

 

 

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)
  1. Thou hast deceived, &c.  The meaning of the prophet is not to charge God with any untruth; but what he calls deceiving, was only the concealing from him, when he accepted of the prophetical commission, the greatness of the evils which the execution of that commission was to bring upon him.  Ch. — Heb. “thou hast enticed me,” when I declined the office.  T. — God never promised that he should suffer no persecution.  H. — Jeremias might also have supposed that he was to be sent to the Gentiles.  C. i. 5.  S. Jer. in C. xxv. 18. — The oriental languages are much more lofty than ours, and express common things in the strongest manner.  C. — We may perceive the different emotions of fear and joy (D.) with which the prophet was actuated, like S. Paul, and our Saviour himself.  The saints evince the weakness of man and the power of divine grace.  C. — Heb. “If thou, Lord, hast deceived me, I am,” &c.  Tournemine.↵
  2. Day.  They keep asking where are these enemies from the north, the plagues? &c.  C. — He is sorry to see the word of God despised, (Theod.) and is guilty of a venial pusillanimity, concluding that his words had no good effect.  M.↵
  3. And there, or “for,” &c.  I was grieved continually.  Sanctius. — I could not however refrain from speaking.  Acts xvii. 16. and 1 Cor. ix. 16.  Job xxxii. 18.↵
  4. With this chapter S. Paul begins his second part, in which he gives us most excellent lessons of morality, after which every Christian should aim to form his life, and thus resemble Jesus Christ and his saints.  A.↵
  5. That you present your bodies a living sacrifice.  And how must this be done? says S. Chrys. hom. xx.  Let the eye abstain from sinful looks and glances, and it is a sacrifice; the tongue from speaking ill, and it is a sacrifice, &c.↵
  6. Your reasonable service, or worship,[1] from you; nothing being more reasonable, than for men to serve God with their souls and bodies, &c.  Wi.↵
  7. Take care, lest you imitate the practices of worldlings.  Let your heart, your ambition, carry you to heaven: ever despise those things which the world admires, that every one may see by your actions that you are not of the society of worldlings, and have neither regard nor friendship for them.  Calmet. — Transform yourselves into new men, by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern on all occasions, what is most perfect, most pleasing and acceptable to God.  V.↵
  8. From that time, &c.  Now when the apostles firmly believed that Jesus was the Messias, and the true Son of God, he saw it necessary to let them know he was to die an infamous death on the cross, that they might be disposed to believe that mystery; (Wi.) and that they might not be too much exalted with the power given to them, and manifestation made to them.  A.↵
  9. Peter taking him, &c. out of a tender love, respect and zeal for his honour, began to expostulate with him, and as it were to reprehend him,[3] saying, Lord, far be it from thee, God forbid, &c.  Wi.↵
  10. Go after me, Satan.[4]  The words may signify, begone from me; but out of respect due to the expositions of the ancient fathers, who would have these words to signify come after me, or follow me, I have put, with the Rheims translation, go after me.  Satan is the same as an adversary: (Wi.) and is here applied to Peter, however, unknowingly or innocently, raised an opposition against the will of God, against the glory of Jesus, against the redemption of mankind, and against the destruction of the devil’s kingdom.  He did not understand that there was nothing more glorious than to make of one’s life a sacrifice to God.  V.↵
  11. Thou dost not, i.e. thy judgment in this particular is not conformable with that of God.  Hence our separated brethren conclude that Christ did not, in calling him the rock in the preceding verses, appoint him the solid and permanent foundation of his Church.  This conclusion, however, is not true, because, as S. Augustine and theologians affirm Peter could fall into error in points regarding morals and facts, though not in defining or deciding on points of faith.  Moreover, S. Peter was not, as S. Jerom says, appointed the pillar of the Church till after Christ’s resurrection.  T. — And it was not till the night before Christ suffered that he said to Peter: Behold, Satan hath desired to have thee; but I have prayed for thee, that “thy faith fail not,” and thou being once converted confirm thy brethren.  Luke xxii. 31.  A.↵
  12. If any man will come.  S. Chry. Euthymius, and Theophylactus, shew that free will is confirmed by these words.  Do not expect, O Peter, that since you have confessed me to be the Son of God, you are immediately to be crowned, as if this were sufficient for salvation, and that the rest of your days may be spent in idleness and pleasure.  For, although by my power, as Son of God, I would free you from every danger and trouble, yet this I will not do for your sake, that you may yourself contribute to your glory, and become the more illustrious.  S. Chry. hom. lvi.↵
  13. Whosoever will save his life.  Lit. his soul.  In the style of the Scriptures, the word soul is sometimes put for the life of the body, sometimes for the whole man.  Wi. — Whosoever acts against duty and conscience to save the life of his body, shall lose eternal life; and whoever makes the sacrifice of his life, or the comforts and conveniences of life for conscience sake, shall be rewarded with life eternal.↵
  14. And lose his own soul.  Christ seems in these words to pass from the life of the body to that of the soul.  Wi.↵
  15. Shall come in the glory.  Jesus Christ wishing to shew his disciples the greatness of his glory at his future coming, reveals to them in this life as much as it was possible for them to comprehend, purposely to strengthen them against the scandal of his ignominious death.  S. Chry.↵

Daily Scripture Readings Thursday August 18 2011 20th Week in Ordinary Time Cycle I

Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at 12:01 am 
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Thursday 20th Week in Ordinary Time Cycle I
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Judges 11:29-39a
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Jephthah's Daughter - Tissot

Therefore[1] the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad,[2] and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon, He made a vow to the Lord,[3] saying:

If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me, when I return in peace[4] from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.

And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer[5] till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards,[6] with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel. And when Jephte returned into Maspha, to his house, his only daughter[7] met him with timbrels and with dances:[8] for he had no other children. And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said:

Alas![9] my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.[10]

And she answered him:

My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.

And she said to her father:

Grant me only this, which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity[11] with my companions.

And he answered her:

Go.

And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.[12] And the two months being expired, she returned to her father,[13] and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man.[14]

Psalm 39:5, 7-10 (Ps 40 NAB)
DR Challoner

Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord;
and who hath not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.
Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire;
but thou hast pierced ears for me.
Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not require:
Then said I, Behold I come.
In the head of the book it is written of me
That I should do thy will: O my God,
I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart.
I have declared thy justice in a great church,
lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 22:1-14
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus answering,[15] spoke to them again in parables, saying:

The kingdom of heaven is like to a man being a king, who made a marriage for his son.[16] And he sent his servants,[17] to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying:

Tell them that were invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my beeves and fatlings are killed,[18] and all things are ready: come ye to the wedding.

But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.[19] And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death.[20] But when the king heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city.[21] Then he saith to his servants:

The wedding indeed is ready; but they that were invited, were not worthy.[22] Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, invite to the wedding.[23]

And his servants going out into the highways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good:[24] and the wedding was filled with guests. And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment.[25] And he saith to him:

Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?[26]

But he was silent. Then the king said to the waiters:

Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen.

 

 

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)
  1. Therefore.  Heb. “then.”  Sept. “and.”  The refusal of the king of Ammon was not precisely the reason why God endued Jephte with shuch wisdom and courage, though we may say that it was the occasion.  H.↵
  2. Jephte summoned the troops in Galaad, and in the two tribes of Manasses, to attend his standard.  He also invited Ephraim, (C. xii. 2.  C.) and we may reasonably suppose the other tribes also, who were near enough to be ready for  the day of battle.  Having collected what force he could in so short a time, he returned to Maspha, and thence proceeded to attack the enemy.  H.↵
  3. He.  Heb. and Sept. “And he vowed.”  A new sentence commences; (Cajet.) so that it is not clear that Jephte was moved to make this vow by the spirit of the Lord; else it could not be blamed.  H.↵
  4. Whosoever, &c.  Some are of opinion, that the meaning of this vow of Jephte, was to consecrate to God whatsoever should first meet him, according to the condition of the thing; so as to offer it up as a holocaust, if it were such a thing as might be so offered by the law; or to devote it otherwise to God, if it were not such as the law allowed to be offered in sacrifice.  And therefore they think the daughter of Jephte was not slain by her father, but only consecrated to perpetual virginity.  But the common opinion followed by the generality of the holy fathers and divines is, that she was offered as a holocaust, in consequence of her father’s vow: and that Jephte did not sin, at least not mortally, neither in making nor in keeping his vow; since he is no ways blamed for it in scripture; and was even inspired by God himself to make the vow, (as appears from ver. 29, 30.) in consequence of which he obtained the victory; and therefore he reasonably concluded that God, who is the master of life and death, was pleased, on this occasion, to dispense with his own law; and that it was the divine will he should fulfil his vow.  Ch. — S. Thomas (2. 2. q. 88. a. 2.) acknowledges that  Jephte was inspired to make a vow, and his devotion herein is praised by the apostle.  Heb. xi. 32.  But he afterwards followed his own spirit, in delivering himself, without mature deliberation, and in executing what he had so ill engaged himself, to perform.  This decision seems to be the most agreeable to the Scripture, and to the holy fathers.  S. Jerom (in Jer. vii.) says, non sacrificium placet, sed animus offerentis.  “If Jephte offered his virgin daughter, it was not the sacrifice, but the good will of the offerer which deserves applause.”  Almost all the ancients seem to agree that the virgin was really burnt to death; and the versions have whosoever, which intimates that Jephte intended to offer a human victim; particularly as he could not expect a beast fit for such a purpose, would come out of the doors of his house to meet him.  C. — Yet many of the moderns, considering how much such things are forbidden by God, cannot persuade themselves that Jephte should be so ignorant of the law, or that the priests and people of Israel should suffer him to transgress it.  The original may be rendered as well, “whatsoever proceedeth…shall surely be the Lord’s, and (Prot.) or I will offer it up for a holocaust.”  Pagnin. &c. — The version of Houbigant is very favourable to this opinion.  See Hook’s Principia. — It is supposed that the sacrifice of Iphigenia, which took place about this time, (Aulis. v. 26,) was only in imitation of this of Jephte’s daughter.  But the poets say, that Diana saved her life, and substituted a doe in her place; (Ovid Met. xii.) which, if true, would make the conformity more striking, if we admit that the sacrifice of Jephte’s daughter was not carried into effect. Iphigenia was made a priestess of Dians, to whom human victims were immolated.  The daughter of Jephte, whom the false Philo calls Seila, was consecrated to the Lord, and shut up (H.) to lead a kind of monastic life; as the wives of David, (2 K. xx. 3.  Grotius) after they had been dishonoured, were obliged to live in a state of continency.  Although (H.) forced chastity be not a virtue, (C.) yet Jephte had no reason to believe that his daughter would not enter into the spirit of his vow, and embrace that state for God’s honour and service.  We know that she gave her entire consent to whatever might be the nature of his vow; and surely she would be as ready to refrain from marriage, however desirable at that time, as to be burnt alive, which would effectually prevent her from becoming a mother, v. 37.  To require this of her, was not, at least, more cruel in her father than to offer her in sacrifice.  Then Chaldee paraphrast says, “Jephte did not consult Phinees, the priest, or he might have redeemed her;” and Kimchi gives us a very mean idea, both of Jephte and of the high priest, the great Phinees, whom the Rabbins foolishly suppose was still living, and of course above 300 years old, v. 26. — “Phinees said, He wants me, let him come to me.  But Jephte, the head of the princes of Israel, shall I go to him?  During this contest the girl perished.”  To such straits are those reduced who wish to account for the neglect of Jephte in redeeming his daughter, as the Targum observes, was lawful for a sum of money.  Lev. xxvii. 2. 3. 28. — But H. his vow was of the nature of the cherom, which allowed of no redemption, and required death.  C. — On this point, however, interpreters are not agreed, and this manner of devoting to death, probably, regarded only the enemies of God, or such things as were under a person’s absolute dominion.  H. — If a dog had first come out to meet Jephte, could he have offered it up for a holocaust?  Certainly not, (Grot.) because it was prohibited, (Deut. xxiii. 18,) to offer even its price, (H.) and only oxen, sheep, goats, turtles and doves, were the proper victims.  If, therefore, a person made a vow, of a man, he was to be consecrated to the Lord, (Grot.) like Samuel, and he might marry.  But a woman could not, as she was already declared the servant of the Lord, and was not at liberty to follow her husband.  Amama. — We need not herein labour to defend the conduct of Jephte.  The Scripture does not canonize him on this account.  If he did wrong, his repentance, and other heroic acts of virtue, might justly entitle him to be ranked among the saints of the old law.  S. Aug. q. 49. — “Shew me the man who has not fallen into sin…Jephte returned victorious from the enemy, but in the midst of his triumph, he was overcome by his own vow, so that he thought it proper to requite the piety of his daughter, who came out to meet him, by parricide.  In the first place, what need was there of making a vow so hastily, to promise things uncertain, the event of which he knew not, instead of what was certain?  Then why did he perform so sorrowful a vow to the Lord God, by shedding blood?”  S. Amb. Apol. Dav. i. 4. — This saint adopts the common opinion that Jephte really  immolated his daughter.  But he is far from thinking that he was influenced by the holy spirit to make the vow, otherwise he would never represent it in such odious colours.  If God had required the life of Jephte’s daughter, as he did formerly command Abraham to sacrifice his son, the obedience and faith of the former would have been equally applauded, as the good will of the latter.  But most of those who embrace the opinion that Jephte sacrificed his daughter, are forced to excuse or to condemn the action.  They suppose that he was permitted to fulfil his vow, that others might be deterred from making similar promises, without the divine authority.  S. Chrys. hom. xiv. ad pop. Ant.  S. Jer. c. Jov. i.  “I shall never, says S. Amb. (Off. iii. 12,) be induced to believe that Jephte, the prince, did not promise incautiously that he would immolate whatever should meet him “at the door of  his own house;” whence he seems to take whosoever in the same latitude as we have given in the Hebrew.  He concludes, “I cannot accuse the man who was obliged to fulfil his vow,” &c.  We may imitate his moderation, (H.) rather than adopt the bold language of one who has written notes on the Prot. Bible, (1603) who says, without scruple, that by this rash vow and wicked performance, his victory was defaced; and again, that he was overcome with blind zeal, not considering whether the vow was lawful or not.  W. — If Jephte was under the immediate influence of the Holy Ghost in what he did, as Salien believes, and the context by no means disproves, we ought to admire the faith of this victorious judge, though he gave way to the feelings of human nature, v. 35.  We should praise his fidelity either in sacrificing or in consecrating his daughter to God’s service in perpetual virginity: but if he followed his own spirit, we cannot think that he was so ill-informed or so barbarous as to murder his daughter, nor that she would consent to an impiety which so often disgraced the pagan superstition, though she might very well agree to embrace that better part, which her father and God himself, by a glorious victory, seems to have marked out for her.  Amid the variety of opinions which have divided the learned on this subject, infidels can derive no advantage or solid proof against the divine authority of the Scripture, and of our holy religion.  The fact is simply recorded.  People are at liberty to form what judgment of it they think most rational.  If they decide that Jepthe was guilty of an oversight, or of a downright impiety, it will in the first place be difficult for them to prove it to the general satisfaction; and when they have done so, they will only evince that he was once a sinner, and under this idea the word of God gives him no praise.  But if he did wrong in promising, as many of the Fathers believe, he might be justified in fulfilling his vow, as God might intimate to him both interiorly, and by granting him the victory, that he dispensed  with his own law, and required this sort of victim in order to foreshew the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, (Serarius and Salien, A. 2850) or the state of virginity which his blessed Mother and so many nuns and others in the Christian Church embrace with fervour. Peace, with victory. — Same.  Heb. “it shall be the Lord’s, and (or) I will make it ascend a whole burnt offering.”  H. — The particle ve often signifies or as well as and, and it is explained in this sense here by the two Kimchis, by Junius, &c.  See Ex. xxi. 17.  Piscator says, the first part of the sentence determines that whatever the thing was it should be consecrated to the Lord, with the privilege of being redeemed, (Lev. xxvii. 11,) and the second shews that it should be immolated, if it were a suitable victim.  Amama.↵
  5. Aroer, upon the Arnon, belonged to the tribe of Gad.  Menith was four miles from Hesebon, towards Rabbath.↵
  6. Abel was noted for its vineyards, 12 miles east of Gadara, so that Jephte pursued the enemy, as they fled towards the north for about 60 miles, and during the course of the war destroyed 20 of their cities, (C.) to punish them for their unjust revenges and usurpation of another’s property.  H.↵
  7. Daughter.  It seems the vow had been kept secret, as no precautions were taken to prevent the affliction of the general; (C.) and indeed to  have done so, would have been injurious to God’s providence, and childish in Jephte, as he meant to offer whatever should come to meet him.  It would have been very mean, and contrary to the meaning of the vow, for him to procure something for which he had no great value, to present itself.  H.↵
  8. Dances, as it was customary on such occasions.  1 K. xviii. 6.↵
  9. Alas.  These indications of grief are the effects of nature.  Salien. — S. Amb. considerst them as the marks of repentance; (v. 31,) and we might hence infer that the vow was not dictated by the holy spirit, who would have endued Jepthe with fortitude, as he did Abraham, though all may not possess the virtue of that great father of believers.  Gen. xxii.  H. — Deceived.  We mutually expected comfort, from each other’s presence: but we must both experience the reverse.  Heb. may signify, “depressed, terrified,” &c.↵
  10. Thing.  Heb. “I cannot recede.”  H. — It appears that he could not redeem what he had promised, (C.) as the condition had been fulfilled on the part of God.  He might consider that he as no longer at liberty to use the privilege which the law allowed, when no condition had been specified.  Lev. xxvii. 4.  H.↵
  11. Bewail my virginity.  The bearing of children was much coveted under the Old Testament, when women might hope that from some child of theirs the Saviour of the world might one day spring.  But under the New Testament virginity is preferred.  1 Cor. vii. 35.↵
  12. Mountains.  Such places were frequented in times of mourning.  Jer. xxxi. 15.  Is. xv. 2.  C. — Jepthe allowed his daughter this short respite, without any offence, (Deut. xxiii. 21,) before he immolated her, (M.) or before he debarred her from the society of men.  Grot. &c.↵
  13. Father.  Her fortitude is commended by S. Ambrose (Off. iii. 12,) as more worthy of admiration than that of the two Pythagorean friends, one of whom, being sentenced to die, procured the other to stand bond for his return; and, at the time appointed, came freely to deliver himself up; an instance of generosity which made the tyrant who had sentenced him to die, beg that they would admit him into the society of their friendship.  H. — Whatever we may think of Jephte, “we cannot sufficiently admire the dutiful behaviour, and amiable simplicity of the daughter, who voluntarily submitted to her parent’s will, and exhorted him to do as he had vowed.  To die to sin, to resign the pomps of a licentious world, to renounce those pleasures and incentives to vice, which are inconsistent with a clean heart, is a sacrifice truly meritorious, and acceptable to God; it is a sacrifice which was solemnly begun at the font of baptism.”  Reeves, A. 2817.↵
  14. No man.  It is remarked by those who believe that she was not slain, that this observation would be very unnecessary in the contrary opinion.  No mention of death is made.  The virgin only deplores, with pious resignation, that she cannot be the happy mother of the Messias.↵
  15. Jesus answered, and spoke to them again in parables, and concludes his discourse with again describing, 1st. the reprobation of the Jews; 2d. the calling of the Gentiles to the true faith; and 3d. the final judgment of both the one and the other.  In this parable of the marriage feast, says S. Chrysostom, our Saviour again declares to the Jews their reprobation, and the vocation of the Gentiles, their great ingratitude, and his tender solicitude for them.  For he did not send them a single invitation only; he repeatedly invited them.  Say, says he, to the invited; and afterwards, call the invited; thus evincing the greatness of their obstinacy, in resisting all the calls and pressing invitations of the Almighty.  Hom. lxx. — This parable is certainly not the same as that mentioned in S. Luke xiv. 16, as every one that will be at the pains to examine and compare all the circumstances of each, will easily discover, though they are very much alike.  M.↵
  16. Is like to a man being a king, &c.  This parable seems different from that of Luke xiv. 16.  See S. Aug. l. ii. de Cons. Evang. c. lxx.  The main design in this parable, is to shew the Jews that they were all invited to believe in Christ; though so few of them believed.  The king is God; his son is Jesus Christ; the spouse is the Church; the marriage is Christ’s incarnation; the feast, the grace of God in this life, and his glory in the next.  His servants were the prophets; and lastly his precursor, S. John.↵
  17. His servants.  John the Baptist and Christ himself, who took the form of a servant, to call such as had been formerly invited to the nuptials that were to be celebrated in his time.  The Jews were invited by Moses and the prophets, and were instructed to believe that the Messias would celebrate this happy feast.  On the predetermined day, they were again called by his servants, saying: Do penance; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand: come to the feast, i.e. become members of his Church, by believing in Christ.  Jans. — In the same manner, S. Chrysostom says that the Jews had been invited by the voice of the prophets, and afterwards by the Baptist, who declared to all, that Christ should increase, but that he himself should decrease.  At length, they were invited by the Son in person, crying aloud to them: come to me all you that labour, and are heavily laden, and I will refresh you.  Mat. xi. 28.  And again: if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.  S. John vii. 37. — And not by his words only, but by his actions also did he call them; and after his resurrection, by the ministry of Peter and the rest of the apostles (hom. lxx,) he informed the invited Jews that the banquet was ready; because the Christian religion being now established, the way to eternal happiness was laid open to mankind.↵
  18. My fatlings, which I have prepared, and made fat for the feast: but this is but an ornament of the parable.  Wi. — The same takes place in the kingdom of heaven, as when a king makes a marriage feast for his son.  Jesus Christ seems to have had two things in view in this parable: 1st. that many are called to the kingdom of heaven, i.e. his Church, and that few come, as he concludes, v. 14, many are called, &c; 2d. that not all that come when called will be saved, i.e. will be reputed worthy of the celestial feast; because some have not on the wedding-garment, as he shews, v. 11.  M. — Thus the conduct of God in the formation of his Church, and in the vocation of men to glory which himself has prepared for them in the kingdom of heaven, is like to that of a king, wishing to celebrate the marriage of his son.  V. — Marriage is here mentioned, says S. Chrysostom to shew there is nothing sorrowful in the kingdom of God, but all full of the greatest spiritual joy.  S. John Baptist likewise calls our Saviour the spouse; and S. Paul says, I have espoused thee to one man, 2 Cor. xi.  S. Chrys. hom. lxx.  See also Eph. v. 25. and Apoc. xxi. 2. and 9.  The nuptials in this place do not signify the union of marriage, or the incarnation of Jesus Christ, by which the Church is made his spouse; but the marriage feast, to which men are said to be invited.  This is no other than the doctrines, the sacraments and graces, with which God feeds and nourishes our souls, united to him by faith in this life, and by eternal joy and glory in the next.  Jans. — This union is begun here on earth by faith, is cemented by charity in all such as are united to Christ in the profession of the one true faith he came down to establish, and will be consummated and made perpetual hereafter by the eternal enjoyment of Christ in his heavenly kingdom.↵
  19. One to his farm.  After they had put to death the Son of God, still did the Almighty invite them to the marriage-feast; but they with futile excuses declined and slighted the proffered favour, wholly taken up with their temporal concerns and sensual enjoyments, their oxen, lands and wives.  From the punishment inflicted on these, we learn, that no consideration, how specious soever it may appear, can prove a legitimate excuse for neglecting our spiritual duties.  S. John. Chrys. hom. lxx. — Such as refuse to be reconciled to the holy Catholic Church, allege vain pretexts and impediments; but all these originating in pride, indolence, or human respects, will not serve at the day of general retribution and strict scrutiny.↵
  20. Put them to death.  Thus the Jews had many times treated the prophets.  Wi. — These were by far the most impious and the most ungrateful; tenuerunt Servos ejus, as is related in the Acts, with regard to the death of James, and Stephen, and Paul.  M.↵
  21. Sending his armies.  Here our Redeemer predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, by the armies of Vespasian and Titus, sent against them by the Almighty, in punishment of their incredulity and impiety.  S. Chrys. hom. lxx. — Thus the king destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city; for sooner or later God is observed to exert his vengeance on all such as despise his word, or persecute his ministers.  See the miseries to which the Jews were reduced in Josephus, book the 6th, c. ix, Hist. of the Jewish war; who declares, that in the last siege of Jerusalem 1,100,000 persons perished, and that the city was completely destroyed.  Other interpreters suppose that the evil spirits are here meant, by whom God punishes man, according to Psalm lxxvii, v. 49.  M. and Maldonatus.↵
  22. Were not worthy.  The Almighty knew full well that they were not worthy; he still sent them these frequently repeated invitations, that they might be left without any excuse.  S. Chry. hom. lxx. — More is signified here than the bare letter conveys; they were not only less worthy of the nuptials, but by their very great obstinacy, ingratitude and impiety, quite unworthy.  Not so the Gentiles.  Jans. — Hence Christ says: Go ye therefore into the highways.↵
  23. Go ye therefore into the highways.  The apostles first kept themselves within the precincts of Judea, but the Jews continually sought their destruction.  Therefore S. Paul said to them, (Acts xiii. 46.) to you it behoved us first to speak the word of God, but seeing you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the Gentiles.  S. Chrys. hom lxx.↵
  24. Both bad and good.  Christ had before told the Jews that harlots and publicans should, in preference to them, inherit the kingdom of heaven, and that the first should be last, and the last first, which preference of the Gentiles, tormented the Jews more than even the destruction of their city.  Chrys. lxx. — Good and bad, persons of every tribe, tongue, people, nation, sex and profession, without any exception of persons or conditions.  Hence it is evident that the Church of God doth not consist of the elect only; and, that faith alone, without the habit of charity and good works, will not suffice to save us.  B.↵
  25. Wedding garment, which Calvin erroneously understands of faith, for he came by faith to the nuptials.  S. Augustine says it is the honour and glory of the spouse, which each one should seek, and not his own; and he shews this, in a sermon on the marriage feast, to be charity.  This is the sentiment of the ancients, of S. Gregory, S. Ambrose, and others.  What S. Chrysostom expounds it, viz. an immaculate life, or a life shining with virtues, and free from the filth of sin, is nearly the same; for charity cannot exist without a good life, nor the purity of a good life, without charity.  In his 70th homily on S. Matthew, he says that the garment of life is our works; and this is here mentioned, that none might presume, (like Calvin and his followers) that faith alone was sufficient for salvation.  When, therefore we are called by the grace of God, we are clothed with a white garment, to preserve which from every stain, from every grievous sin, depends upon the diligence (the watching and praying) of every individual.  S. John. Chrys. — It was the custom then, as it still is in every civilized nation, not to appear at a marriage feast, or at a dinner of ceremony, except in the very best attire.  V.↵
  26. Not having a wedding garment.  By this one person, are represented all sinner void of the grace of God.  Wi. — To enter with unclean garments, is to depart out of this life in the guilt of sin.  For those are no less guilty of manifesting a contempt for the Deity, who presume to sit down in the filth of an unclean conscience, than those who neglected to answer the invitations of the Almighty.  He is said to be silent, because having nothing to advance in his own defence, he remains self-condemned, and is hurried away to torments; the horrors of which words can never express.  S. Chrys. hom. lxx.↵

Daily Bible Readings Friday August 5 2011 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Friday, August 5th, 2011 at 12:01 am 
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Friday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Cycle I
Disclaimer  – Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Moses addressed the Israelites:

Ask of the days of old, that have been before thy time from the day that God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to the other end thereof, if ever there was done the like thing, or it hath been known at any time, That a people should hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard, and lived:

If God ever did so as to go, and take to himself a nation out of the midst of nations by temptations, signs, and wonders, by fight, and a strong hand, and stretched out arm, and horrible visions according to all the things that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before thy eyes. That thou mightest know that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.

From heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might teach thee. And upon earth he shewed thee his exceeding great fire, and thou didst hear his words out of the midst of the fire, Because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them. And he brought thee out of Egypt, going before thee with his great power, To destroy at thy coming very great nations, and stronger than thou art, and to bring thee in, and give thee their land for a possession, as thou seest at this present day.

Know therefore this day, and think in thy heart that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and there is no other. Keep his precepts and commandments, which I command thee: that it may be well with thee, and thy children after thee, and thou mayst remain a long time upon the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee.

Psalm 76:12-16, 21 (Ps 77 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning.
And I will meditate on all thy works: and will be employed in thy inventions.
Thy way, O God, is in the holy place: who is the great God like our God?
Thou art the God that dost wonders. Thou hast made thy power known among the nations:
With thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob and of Joseph.
Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 16:24-28
Haydock New Testament

Then Jesus said to his disciples:

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.

Amen, I say to you, there are some of them standing here, who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Haydock Commentary Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

  • Ver. 32.  Heaven.  To our senses the sky seems to rest upon the horizon.  So Jesus says, Then he…shall gather…his elect…from the uttermost part of earth, to the uttermost part of heaven.  Mat. xxiv. 31.  Vatable translates, “from the east to the west.”  In no age or place did God ever declare his will, as he had done at Sinai.  C.
  • Ver. 33.  And lived.  It was generally supposed that those who had seen a vision of God, or of his angel, would instantly die.  See Gen. xvi. 13.  H.  C. v. 24.
  • Ver. 34.  Temptations.  The Chal. and Arab. understand this of the prodigies which God wrought in favour of his people; though they may also denote the trials to which the Patriarchs and the Hebrews had been exposed, that their virtue might shine more brightly.  Many indeed lost courage under these trials, but they were of great service to form a perfect people; and those who continued to lead a virtuous life received the reward of their labours.  C. — Visions, during the three days’ darkness mentioned, Wisd. xvii. 9. 18, &c. (M.) or those terrible appearances on Sinai, v. 33. 6.  C. v. 22.  C.  Heb. may be, “by great terrors.” — In Egypt.  God himself fought for his people, when he brought them out of that country.  He repeatedly made the king and his people feel the impressions of terror, but as they presently recovered their wonted insolence and pride, he at last miraculously divided the Red Sea, and buried vast multitudes in its waters.  H.
  • Ver. 38.  Day.  They had already conquered the mighty kingdoms of Sehon and of Og.  M.
  • Ver. 39.  Other.  The power of the true and only God is not confined to the sea, or to the land, &c. (C.) as the pagans believed that of their various idols was.  H.

 

Haydock Commentary Matthew 16:24-28

  • Ver. 24.  If any man will come.  S. Chry. Euthymius, and Theophylactus, shew that free will is confirmed by these words.  Do not expect, O Peter, that since you have confessed me to be the Son of God, you are immediately to be crowned, as if this were sufficient for salvation, and that the rest of your days may be spent in idleness and pleasure.  For, although by my power, as Son of God, I could free you from every danger and trouble, yet this I will not do for your sake, that you may yourself contribute to your glory, and become the more illustrious.  S. Chry. hom. lvi.
  • Ver. 25.  Whosoever will save his life.  Lit. his soul.  In the style of the Scriptures, the word soul is sometimes put for the life of the body, sometimes for the whole man.  Wi. — Whosoever acts against duty and conscience to save the life of his body, shall lose eternal life; and whoever makes the sacrifice of his life, or the comforts and conveniences of life for conscience sake, shall be rewarded with life eternal.
  • Ver. 26.  And lose his own soul.  Christ seems in these words to pass from the life of the body to that of the soul.  Wi.
  • Ver. 27.  Shall come in the glory.  Jesus Christ wishing to shew his disciples the greatness of his glory at his future coming, reveals to them in this life as much as it was possible for them to comprehend, purposely to strengthen them against the scandal of his ignominious death.  S. Chry.
  • Ver. 28.  Till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.  Some expound this, as fulfilled at his transfiguration, which follows in the next chapter.  Others understand it of the glory of Christ, and of his Church, after his resurrection and ascension, when he should be owned for Redeemer of the world: and this state of the Christian Church might be called the kingdom of Christ.  Wi. — This promise of a transitory view of his glory he makes, to prove that he should one day come in all the glory of his Father, to judge each man according to his works: not according to his mercy, or their faith, but according to their works.  Aug. de verb. apos. serm. 35. — Again, asks S. Aug. how could our Saviour reward every one according to his works, if there were no free will?  l. ii. c. 4. 5. 8, de act. cum Fœlic. Manich.  B.

Sunday Scripture Readings September 26 2010 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 4:07 am 
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September 26 2010 Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Amos 6:1a,4-7
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Woe to you that are wealthy in Sion; You that sleep upon beds of ivory, and are wanton on your couches: that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd; You that sing to the sound of the psaltery: they have thought themselves to have instruments of music like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments: and they are not concerned for the affliction of Joseph.

Wherefore now they shall go captive at the head of them that go into captivity: and the faction of the luxurious ones shall be taken away.

Responsorial Psalm 145:7, 8-9, 9-10 (Ps 146 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Blessed is he
Who keepeth truth for ever:
who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong:
who giveth food to the hungry.
The Lord looseth them that are fettered:

The Lord enlighteneth the blind.
The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down:
the Lord loveth the just.

The Lord keepeth the strangers,
he will support the fatherless and the widow:
and the ways of sinners he will destroy.

The Lord shall reign for ever:
thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

1 Timothy 6:11-16
Haydock New Testament

But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, piety, faith, charity, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art called, and hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses.

I charge thee before God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession: That thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the Blessed and only Mighy, the King of kings, and Lord of lords: Who only hath immortality, and inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. Amen.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 16:19-31
Haydock New Testament

James Tissot: The Life of Christ

The Poor Lazarus at the Rich Man's Door

And it came to pass that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom: And he cried, and said:

Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

And Abraham said to him:

Son, remember that thou didst receive good things in thy life-time, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither.

And he said:

Then, Father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren, that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments.

And Abraham said to him:

They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

But he said:

No, father Abraham; but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.

And he said to him:

If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if one rise again from the dead.

Haydock Commentary Amos 6:1a,4-7

  • Ver. 1. Wealthy. Sept. Syr. and Arab. “despisers of Sion.” Heb. also, “who hate Sion.” The prophecy wholly regards Israel. C.—It is a great crime for the rich to neglect the poor; but still more so, when wealthy clergymen shew no compassion for the spiritual or corporal wants of their neighbours. W.—State. Heb. “to whom the house of Israel comes” for judgment.
  • Ver. 4. Ivory, with which the beds for eating were adorned. v. 7. C.—Wanton. Heb. “stretch themselves out upon their,” &c. H.
  • Ver. 5. David. They think they excel him in music; but he consecrated his talent to a better purpose. C.—Sept. “they deemed them stable, and not fugitive things.” H.—They have placed their chief good in such pleasures. Theod. C.
  • Ver. 6. In bowls. Sept. “refined,” (H.) or cleared of the dregs.—Joseph, of their brethren, or they seem to have no share in the sufferings of mankind. Ps. lxxii. 5.
  • Ver. 7. Luxurious. Heb. “the feast of those who stretch themselves out, shall,” &c. Sept. “the neighing shall be removed from Ephraim.” His luste shall be punished. Jer. v. 8.—Some translate Heb. “the mourning of those who stretch themselves on their beds is at hand.” Others, “their funeral feast is distant.” None shall bewail their death. So ambiguous is the original. C.

Haydock Commentary 1 Timothy 6:11-16

  • Ver. 11. But thou, O man of God. This, says S. Chrys. is one of the highest titles and commendations that can be given to any man. So are called Samuel, Elias, Eliseus. 1 K. ii. and ix. 3 K. xxxiii. Wi.
  • Ver. 12. Fight the good fight. Lit. strive a good strife. S. Paul oftentimes brings this comparison of men striving for a prize.—And hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses, not only when baptized, not only when thou wast ordained a bishop, but by thy constancy and sufferings, and persecutions, says S. Chrys. though we know not the particulars. Wi.—Timothy had made profession of his faith at his baptism, at his ordination, and during the whole course of a life which, through many labours and persecutions, had been dedicated entirely to promote the faith. D. Thomas.—Like him let us also combat, if we aspire after the same triumph and prize.
  • Ver. 13. Under Pontius Pilate, &c. Some expound it of the words and particular testimony Christ gave when he said he was king, but not of this world, who came to teach the truth. We may rather understand it with others, of all Christ taught and suffered under Pilate, or whilst he was governor of Judea. Wi.
  • Ver. 14. That thou keep the commandment. Some understand that of fighting manfully; others of loving God; others rather comprehend all that S. Paul had commanded him, and all the instructions given.—Unto the coming of our Lord; which coming, he in due time will shew. This is the construction by the Greek. Wi.00This coming will be desirable for Christians who have preserved or recovered their baptismal innocence, and for pastors who have faithfully fulfilled their ministry; but terrible, in the extreme, for all who have lived in the constant neglect and omission of their duties.
  • Ver. 16. Who only hath immortality; i.e. is immortal of himself, and by his own nature.—Light inaccessible;

to human eyes or understandings. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Luke 16:19-31

  • Ver. 19. There was a certain rich man, &c. By this history of the rich man and Lazarus, he declares that those who are placed in affluent circumstances, draw upon themselves a sentence of condemnation, if seeing their neighbor in want, they neglect to succour him. S. Cyril, in Cat. Graec. Partum.—He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shut up his bowels against him, how doth the charity of God abide in him? John, 1 Ep. iii. 17. A received tradition of the Jews informs us, that this Lazarus was a beggar, then at Jerusalem, suffering in the most wretched condition of poverty, and infirmity: him our Saviour introduces, to manifest more plainly the truth of what he had been saying. S. Cyril, ut supra.—By this, we are not to understand that all poverty is holy, and the possession of riches criminal; but, as luxury is the disgrace of riches, so holiness of life is the ornament of poverty. S. Ambrose.—A man may be reserved and modest in the midst of riches and honours, as he may e proud and avaricious in the obscurity of a poor and wretched life.—Divers interpreters have looked upon this as a true history; but what is said of the rich man seeing Lazarus, of his tongue, or his finger, cannot be literal: souls having no such parts. Wi.—In this parable, which S. Ambrose takes to be a real fact, we have the name of the poor mendicant; but our Lord suppresses the name of the rich man, to signify that his name is blotted out of the book of life: besides, the rich man tells Abraham, that he has five brothers, who were probably still living; wherefore, to save their honour, our Lord named not their reprobated brother.
  • Ver. 22. —Abraham’s bosom. The place of rest, where the souls of the saints resided, till Christ had opened heaven by his death. Ch.—It was an ancient tradition of the Jews, that the souls of the just were conducted by angels into paradise. The bosom of Abraham (the common Father of all the faithful) was the place where the souls of the saints, and departed patriarchs, waited the arrival of their Deliverer. It was thither that Jesus went after his death; as it is said in the Creed, “he descended into hell,” to deliver those who were detained there, and who might at Christs’s ascension enter into heaven. Calmet. See 1 Pet. iii. 19.—“Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham.” Matt. viii. 11.
  • Ver. 25. It appears from Philo, (de Execrat. p. 9, 37 b.) that the Jews not only acknowledged the existence of souls, and their state of happiness or misery after this life, but also that the souls of the saints and patriarchs interceded with God for their descendants, and obtained for them the succour they stood in need of. Calmet.
  • Ver. 26. Between us and you is fixed a great chaos, or gulf; i.e. God’s justice has decreed, that the bad should forever be separated from the good. We may here take notice that the Latin and Greek word, (v. 22) translated hell, even in the Prot. translation, cannot signify only the grave. Wi.
  • Ver. 27. If they hear not Moses, &c. We think that if we saw a man raised from the dead, who should tell us what he had seen and suffered in another world, it would make more impression upon us than past miracles, which we hear of, or the promises and threats of the prophets, apostles, and our blessed Saviour, which are contained in the Scripture; but it is a false notion, a vain excuse. The wicked, and unbelievers, would even in that case find pretexts and objections for not believing. S. Chrys. hom. iv.—They would say that the dead man was a phantom; that his resurrection was not real; his assertion nugatory. When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, the miracle was known, evident and public, yet we find none of the Pharisees converted by it. They were even so mad as to enter into a design to kill Lazarus, to get rid of a witness who deposed against their incredulity. How many other miracles did he not perform in their sight, which they attributed to the prince of darkness, or to magic? Christ raised himself from the dead. This fact was attested by many unexceptionable witnesses. And what do the hardened Jews do? They object, that his disciples, stealing away the body, maliciously persuaded the people that he had risen again. Such is the corruption of the human heart, that when once delivered up to any passion, nothing can movie it. Every day we see or hear of malefactors publicly executed yet their example has no effect on the survivors, nor does it prevent the commissions of fresh crimes. Calmet.—“We have also the more firm prophetical word; whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.” 2 Pet. i. 19.—We may learn many very instructive lessons from this affecting history of Lazarus.—The rich may learn the dreadful consequences to be apprehended from riches, when made subservient to sensuality, luxury, and ambition. The poor may learn to make their poverty and sufferings however grievous the nature, instrumental to their future happiness, by bearing them with patience and resignation and resignation to the will of heaven. The former are taught that to expose a man to eternal misery, nothing more is required than to enjoy all the good things of this world according to their own will; the latter that however they may be despised and rejected of men, they may still have courage, knowing that the short day of this fleeting life, with all its apparent evils will soon be over; and that the day of eternity is fast approaching, when everyone shall receive according as he has done good or evil in his body.
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