May 23 2010 The Solemnity of Pentecost

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/bible/

The Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
Haydock New Testament

AND when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven tongues, as it were of fire, and it sat upon each of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.

Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. And when this voice was made, the multitude came together, and was confounded in mind, because that every one heard them speaking in his own tongue. And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying;

Behold are not all these, who speak, Galileans? And how have we every one heard our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews also, and Proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

Responsorial Psalm 103:1, 24, 29-31, 34 (Ps 104 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

Bless the Lord, O my soul:
O Lord my God, thou art exceedingly great.
Thou hast put on praise and beauty:
How great are thy works, O Lord ?
thou hast made all things in wisdom:
the earth is filled with thy riches.
But if thou turnest away thy face,
they shall be troubled:
thou shalt take away their breath,
and they shall fail,
and shall return to their dust.
Thou shalt send forth thy spirit,
and they shall be created:
and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord endure for ever:
the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
Let my speech be acceptable to him:
but I will take delight in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (Or Galatians 5:16-25 below)
Haydock New Testament

Wherefore I give to you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith anathema to Jesus. And no man can say, the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit: And there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. But the manifestations of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit.

For as the body is one, and hath many members: and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body: so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free: and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink.

Romans 8:8-17
Haydock NT

And they who are in the flesh, cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body, indeed, is dead, because of sin, but the spirit liveth, because of justification. And if the Spirit of him, who raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you: he that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his spirit that dwelleth in you.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, (Father.) For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also: heirs indeed of God, and joint-heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.

The Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-23
Haydock NT

Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews: Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them;

Peace be to you.

And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands, and his side. The disciples, therefore, were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again;

Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them:

Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained.

OR
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 14:15-16, 23b-26
Haydock New Testament

If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever,

If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him: He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words. And the word which you have heard is not mine: but the Father’s who sent me.

These things have I spoken to you, remaining with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.

Haydock Commentary Acts 2:1-11
Notes copied from Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Altogether in one[1] place. The Greek signifies, were all of one mind. Wi.
• Ver. 2. A sound, &c. Perhaps this was a kind of thunder, accompanied with a great wind, which filled with terror and awe the whole company, and disposed them to receive the gift of heaven with humility and fervour. This noise appears to have been heard over a great part of the city, and to have gathered together a great crowd, who came to learn the cause. This noise and wind were symbols of the divinity. It was thus also that formerly on Mount Sinai, thunder and lightning, the dark cloud, the smoking mountain, &c. marked the majesty of God. Calmet. — Jesus Christ, our Pasch, to answer perfectly the figure, was offered on the day of the great Jewish passover; so fifty days after, for accomplishing the like figure of the law given on Mount Sinai, He sent down the Holy Ghost on the day of their Pentecost, which meaneth fifty. But our feasts, as S. Augustin remarks, besides the remembrance of benefits past, contain great mysteries also of the life to come. Ep. cxix. c. 16.
• Ver. 3. Tongues . . . of fire. The Hebrews use the name tongue, for almost any thing pointed. Thus they say, a tongue of the earth, for a promontory. Josue xv. 5. A fiery tongue for a flame in shape of a tongue. Isaias v. 24. The expression, therefore, in this place, may mean noting more than sparks, or rather flames, which appeared above all who were in the house. — Sed et Latinis quod extremum et acutum est lingua dicitur, quare scopulos summos & invios linguas dixit Cæsar. P. — By the fiery tongues is signified the efficacy of the apostles’ preaching, and the gift of tongues bestowed upon them. M.
• Ver. 4. Began to speak divers tongues. Perhaps the apostles spoke only their own tongue, and the miracle consisted in each one’s understanding it as if they spoke it in his language. S. Greg. Nazianzen. orat. xliv. — But S. Augustin and most others, understand the text literally; though the apostles had not this gift on all occasions, nor on all subjects, and therefore sometimes stood in need of interpreters. Vide S. Aug. in Psalm xvii. Expos. 2. and Serm. 188. — The same Father observes, that the conversion of all nations to the Church, and their being united in one faith, all having one language or confession, is a perpetuation of the same miracle in the Church.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

• Ver. 3. No man, speaking by the Spirit of God, &c. He tells them, if they see a person moved in an extraordinary manner, and say anathema, curse, or speak ill of Jesus, such an one cannot be moved by a good spirit. And no man can say, the Lord Jesus, that is, praise Christ as he ought, but by a good spirit. Wi.
• Ver. 4-7. There are diversities of grace. Lit. divisions of grace; but all from the same spirit, from the same Lord, from the same God: and all these gifts are designed, and to be made use of for the profit of the faithful. Wi. — S. Justin Mar. S. Irenæus, and Origen bear testimony, that these special gifts of the Holy Ghost were not unusual in their time. S. Paul, in order to curb the vanity of such as seemed to be a little puffed up with the gifts they had received, and likewise to comfort those who had received no such spiritual and extraordinary favours, wishes to teach both parties, that the same Holy Spirit distributes these graces according as they are more conducive to the welfare of his Church, and the glory of God. Calmet.
• Ver. 12. &c. As the body is one, &c. From this comparison of the mystical body of Christ, that is, of his Church, to a man’s natural body, he brings excellent instructions. 1. That as all members and parts, make up the same body, so also is Christ; that is, so it is in the Church of Christ, which is his mystical body. 2. As all the parts of man’s body are enlivened by the same soul, so all in the Church have their life from the same Spirit of God in baptism, and in the sacraments instituted by our Saviour Christ; in which we are made to drink of the same spirit. 3. As all the members, that have such different offices and functions, do but constitute one complete body, so is it in the Church of Christ. 4. As those that seem the less considerable parts of the human body, are no less necessary for the subsistence and harmony of the whole, and stand in need of one another, (for example, the head stands in need of the feet) so in the Church, &c. 5. He take notice, that in a natural body, the less honourable, the baser, and as they are called, the uncomely parts, are clothed with greater care and decency, Lit. have a more abundant honour bestowed upon them, so in the mystical body, no less, but even a greater care is to be taken of the weaker, and more infirm members, of the poor, the weak, the ignorant; and in the spirit of charity and love, that there may be no divisions or schisms, but a brotherly union: that if one suffer, another compassionate and assist him, &c. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Romans 8:8-17

 

• Ver. 14. &c. They are the sons of God, by this new grace of adoption, by which also they call God, Abba; that is to say, Father, whereas under the former law of Moses, God rather governed his people by fear; they were his servants, we are his sons; and if sons, also the heirs of God, with the promise of an eternal inheritance in his kingdom, provided we suffer for Christ’s sake, as he suffered for us. And surely the short sufferings in this world have no proportion, nor can be put in balance with the future endless glory, which is promised and prepared for us in heaven. Wi. — Abba is a Syriac word, which signifies my father. This is properly the word of free and noble children; for amongst the Hebrews, the children of slaves were not allowed to call their fathers Abba, nor their mothers Imma. This kind of expression was very rarely used under the old law. The Hebrews called the Almighty their Lord, their God, their Salvation, their King, their Protector, their Glory, &c. but seldom their father, scarcely ever, except in the case of Solomon, who was a particular figure of the Messias, the true Son of God. On this account God said to him: “He shall call me Father and God; and I will be to him a Father, and will treat as my first-born.” But it is the property of the Christian to call the Almighty his Father with confidence indeed, yet tempered with a filial awe; remembering at the same time that he is his judge. Calmet. — Mat. Polus says that not any one of the just dared to call God, my Father, before the coming of Christ, as this favour was reserved for the time of the gospel. In hunc. locum. A. — S. Chrys.[1] takes notice, that God was also called the Father of the Israelites, and they his children, in the Old Testament, when God rather governed his people by fear of punishments, and promises of temporal blessings, but not in that particular manner as in the new law. Wi. — The Spirit himself, &c. By the inward motions of divine love, and the peace of conscience, which the children of God experience, they have a kind of testimony of God’s favour; by which they are much strengthened in the hope of their justification and salvation; but yet not so as to pretend to an absolute assurance, which is not usually granted in this mortal life: during which we are taught to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Phil. ii. 12. And that he who thinketh himself to stand, must take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor. x. 12. See also Rom. xi. 20, 21, 22. Ch. — He hath given to us, says S. John, (c. i. 12.) the power, or dignity, of being the sons of God. Christ taught us to pray, and to begin our prayers with our Father, &c. Matt. vi. 9. Wi.

Haydock Commentary John 20:19-23

 

• Ver. 19. And the doors were[1] shut, or being shut; and remaining still shut, his glorified body entered by penetration through the doors, as he did at his resurrection. Maldonate take notice, that Calvin was the first that denied this, against the belief of all the ancient Fathers and interpreters, who call this a miracle of divine power. Wi. — The same power which could bring Christ’s whole body, entire in all its dimensions, through the doors, can, without the least question, make the same body really present in the sacrament; though both the one and the other be above our comprehension. Ch. — Therefore it is a want of faith to limit the power of Christ, by the ordinary rules of place, and to deny that he can be in the blessed Sacrament, and on so many altars as he pleaseth. We do not still join the Ubiquists or Brentiani, who, quite contrary to the Zuinglians, maintain, that the humanity of Jesus Christ is in every place where his divinity is. This is contrary to faith. B.
• Ver. 21. As the Father hath sent me. The word mission, when applied to our Saviour Christ, sometimes signifies his eternal procession from the Father, and sometimes his mission, as he was sent into the world to become man, and the Redeemer of mankind: the first mission agrees with him, as the eternal Son of God; the second, as man, or as both God and man. The mission which Christ here gives his apostles, is like this latter mission, which this great difference, that graces and divine gifts were bestowed on Christ, even as man, without measure: and the apostles had a much lesser share in both these missions. See S. Aug. l. iv. de Trin. c. xix. xx. tom. 4. p. 829. and seq. Wi. — Jesus Christ here shews his commission, and so giveth power to his apostles to forgive sins, as when he gave them commission to preach and baptize throughout the world, he made mention of his own power. Hence, whosoever denies the apostles, and their successors, the right of preaching, baptizing, and remitting sins, must consequently deny that Christ, as man, had the power to do the same. S. Cyprian, in the 3d cent. ep. lxxiii. says: “for the Lord, in the first place, gave to S. Peter, on whom he built his Church, super quem ædificavit Ecclesiam, the power that what he loosed on earth, should be loosed also in heaven. And after his resurrection, he speaks also to his apostles, saying, as the Father sent me, &c. whose sins you shall forgive,” &c. Why, on this occasion, passing over the other apostles, does Jesus Christ address Peter alone? Because he was the mouth, and chief of the apostles. S. Chrys. de Sacerd. l. ii. c. 1.
• Ver. 22. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. It was said, (John vii. 39.) that the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not glorified. The sense must need be, that the holy Spirit was not given in that solemn manner, nor with so large an effusion of spiritual gifts and graces, till the day of Pentecost, after Christ’s ascension: but the just, at all times, from the beginning of the world, were sanctified by the grace of the Holy Ghost, as no doubt the apostles were, before this time. Now at this present, he gave them the power of forgiving sins. Wi. — Some say, that our Saviour did not then confer the Holy Ghost on his disciples, but only prepared them for the receiving of the Holy Ghost. But surely we may understand, that even then they received some portion of spiritual grace, the power, not indeed of raising the dead, and working other miracles, but of forgiving sins. S. Chrys. hom. lxxxv. in Joan. — S. Cyril of Alexandria, speaking of the remission of sins, promised in this text, asks, “How then, or why, did Christ impart to his disciples a power, which belongs to the divine Spirit, should likewise possess the power of forgiving sins, and of retaining such as they judged expedient; that Holy Spirit, according to his good pleasure, forgiving and retaining, through the ministry of men.” In Joan. l. xii. c. 1.
• Ver. 23. Whose sins you shall forgive,[2] &c. These words clearly express the power of forgiving sins, which, as God, he gave to his apostles, and to their successors, bishops and priests, to forgive sins in his name, as his ministers, and instruments, even though they are sinners themselves. For in this, they act not by their own power, nor in their own name, but in the name of God, who as the principal cause, always remitteth sins. This is generally allowed to be done by God’s ministers in the sacrament of baptism, as to the remission of original sin; and the Catholic Church has always held the same of God’s ministers, in the sacrament of penance. (See the Protestant Common Prayer Book, in the Visitation of the Sick. — Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained: by which we see, that to priests is given a power to be exercised, not only by forgiving, but also by retaining; not only by absolving and loosing, but also by binding, by refusing, or deferring absolution, according to the dispositions that are found in sinners, when they accuse themselves of their sins. From hence must needs follow an obligation on the sinner’s part, to declare, and confess their sins in particular, to the ministers of God, who are appointed the spiritual judges, and physicians of their souls. A judge must know the cause, and a physician the distemper: the one to pronounce a just sentence, the other to prescribe suitable remedies. Wi. — See here the commission, stamped by the broad seal of heaven, by virtue of which, the pastors of Christ’s Church absolve repenting sinners upon their confession. Ch.

Haydock Commentary John 14:15-16, 23b-26

• Ver. 15. Instead of afflicting yourselves at our separation, and my going to the Father, you ought, if you truly love me, to testify your affection, by a faithful observance of my commandments. Behold, this is the best proof you can give me of your attachment: better far than any exterior sign of grief and tenderness. S. Chrys.
• Ver. 16. Paraclete. This is a comforter: or also an advocate: inasmuch as by inspiring prayer, he prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us. — For ever. Hence it is evident, that this spirit of truth was not only promised to the persons of the apostles, but also to their successors, through all generations. Ch. — I have not changed the word Paraclete, which signifies, both and advocate and a comforter. He shall remain with you, and in you, for ever. What greater happiness, what greater security for the faithful, than to have this divine promise, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, remaining with the Church for ever, to protect her, and preserve her from all errors and heresies? Wi. — If the Holy Ghost had been promised only to the apostles, their successors could not have challenged the promise. But the promises and privileges were not merely personal, but attached to their office perpetually. Hence, the Holy Ghost, in every age and clime, perpetually watches over the Catholic Church, and preserves her from both open and secret attacks of her enemies.
• Ver. 22-25. Lord, how is it? Lit. what is done, or, what will be done, that thou art about to manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? This apostle imagined, that the Messias would make manifest his glory of a temporal kingdom, not to them only, but to all the world. But Christ, by his answer, lets him know, that he spoke only of a manifestation of his love to those that loved him. If any man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, that is, the three divine persons, will come to his soul, in a special manner, so as to bless him with an infusion of graces, and make our abode in his soul. Wi.
• Ver. 26. The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, as proceeding also from me: and therefore Christ saith, in the next chapter, (v. 26) that he himself will send him from the Father. He will teach you all things, &c. He will give you a more perfect knowledge of all those truths, which I have taught you. Wi. — Teach you all things. Here the Holy Ghost is promised to the apostles, and their successors, particularly, in order to teach them all truth, and to preserve them from error. Ch. — The Scripture, in different places, remarks, that the apostles did not understand the accomplishment of prophecies, as soon as they were fulfilled. Luke xxiv. 27. They could not draw the comparison between the actions of our Saviour, and the figures of the old law: but no sooner had the Holy Ghost descended upon them, than they explained the Scriptures, their hearts and eyes being opened and enlightened by the light of the Holy Spirit. Calmet. — See c. xvi. v. 12. and 13.

April 24 2010 Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
Saint of the Day – St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

About the sources used. The readings on this site are not the official lectionary readings for  Mass in the US Catholic Church, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings along with traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings may vary depending on your local calendar.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Acts 9:31-42
Haydock New Testament

Now the church had peace throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, and was edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and was filled with the consolation of the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass, that Peter, as he passed through, visiting all, came to the saints, who dwelt at Lydda. And he found there a certain main, named Æneas, lying on his bed for eight years, who was ill of the palsy. And Peter said to him:

Æneas, the Lord Jesus Christ healeth thee: arise, and make thy bed.

And immediately he arose. And all that dwelt at Lydda, and Saron, saw him: and they were converted to the Lord. And in Joppe there was a certain disciple, named Tabitha, which, being interpreted, is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and alms-deeds, which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died. Whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And Lydda being near to Joppe, the disciples hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting:

Delay not to come to us.

And Peter rising up, came with them. And when he was arrived, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood round about him weeping, and shewing him the coats and garments, which Dorcas had made them. And having put them all out, Peter kneeling down, prayed; and turning to the body, he said:

Tabitha, arise:

And she opened her eyes: and seeing Peter, sat up. And giving her his hand, he raised her up. And when he had called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. And it was made known throughout all Joppe; and many believed in the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm 115:12-17 (Ps 116 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

What shall I render to the Lord,
for all the things that he hath rendered to me?
I will take the chalice of salvation;
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, for I am thy servant:
I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast broken my bonds:
I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

The Gospel According To Saint John 6:60-69
Haydock NT

These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum. Many, therefore, of his disciples hearing it, said:

This saying is hard, and who can hear it?

But Jesus knowing in himself, that his disciples murmured at this, said to them:

Doth this scandalize you? If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life. But there are some of you that believe not.

For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who he was that would betray him. And he said:

Therefore did I say to you, that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my Father.

After this many of his disciples went back: and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve:

Will you also go away?

And Simon Peter answered him:

Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Haydock Commentary Acts 9:31-42
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 31. The Church visibly proceedeth still with much comfort and patience; she is perfected by persecution, and by means of the promised infallible protection, she has ever proved herself invulnerable to all the envenomed shafts of her adversaries.
• Ver. 35. Saron, or Assaron, is a mountain and city mentioned by Josue, xii. 18.  From it all the plain from Cæsarea of Palestine to Joppe, is called Saron.  It is a rich fertile country. Tirinus.
• Ver. 36. Tabitha, in Syriac, means the same as Dorcas in Greek, that is, a wild goat.  V. — See here the  powerful effects of good works, and alms-deeds; they reach even to the next life.  B. — Hence that of the wise man, alms free from death.
• Ver. 37. Washed. This custom of washing the dead was observed among the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and most other nations.  It is still practised in monasteries, and formerly was observed with much ceremony.  S. Chrysostom observes, that our Saviour’s body was washed and embalmed.  The same custom is mentioned in Homer and Virgil:
  • Corpusque lavant frigentis, et ungunt. — And again,
  • Date, vulnera lymphis abluam. — Æneid. iv.
  • — Tertullian, in his Apology, testifies, that the Christians performed that office to the dead.  It was a proof of their respect for the image of God impressed upon his creature, and for the character of Christian, which these persons have borne during their lives.  It was likewise a sign of the confidence they had in a future resurrection.
• Ver. 39. Citwn was the under garment, Imation the upper.
• Ver. 40. And having put them all out, not to disturb him while he prayed. — Sat up, raised herself a little: and Peter taking her by the hand, lifted her quite up, and calling in the company, presented her to them alive and well.  Wi.
• Ver. 41. Raising the dead to life can only be the work of God.  This woman was raised to life for the comfort of the faithful, and the conversion of others.  She herself might likewise have an opportunity of acquiring greater merit, otherwise the repose of another life is preferable to a return to the miseries of this world.  D. Dioin. Carthus.

Haydock Commentary John 6:60-69

• Ver. 61. If Christ had wished to say nothing else than that his disciples should be filled with his doctrine, that being his flesh and blood, it would not have been a hard saying; neither would it have shocked the Jews.  He had already said as much in the former part of his discourse: but he goes on in still stronger terms, notwithstanding their complaints; and, as they were ignorant how he would fulfil his promise, they left him, (Calmet) and followed the example of the other unbelieving Jews, as all future sectarists have, saying: how can this be done?
• Ver. 62. If you cannot believe that I can give you my flesh to eat, now that I am living amongst you, how will you believe, that, after my ascension, I can give you to eat my glorified and immortal flesh, seated on the right hand of the majesty of God?  V.
• Ver. 63. If then you shall see, &c.  Christ, by mentioning his ascension, by this instance of his power and divinity, would confirm the truth of what he had before asserted; at the same time, correct their gross apprehension of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, in a vulgar and carnal manner, by letting them know he should take his whole body living with him to heaven; and consequently not suffer it to be, as they supposed, divided, mangled, and consumed upon earth.  Ch. — The sense of these words, according to the common exposition, is this: you murmur at  my words, as hard and harsh, and you refuse now to believe them: when I shall ascend into heaven, from whence I came into the world, and when my ascension, and the doctrine that I have taught you, shall be confirmed by a multitude of miracles, then shall you and many others believe.  Wi.
• Ver. 64. The flesh profiteth nothing. Dead flesh, separated from the spirit, in the gross manner they supposed they were to eat his flesh, would profit nothing.  Neither doth man’s flesh, that is to say, man’s natural and carnal apprehension, (which refuses to be subject to the spirit, and words of Christ) profit any thing.  But it would be the height of blasphemy, to say the living flesh of Christ (which we receive in the blessed sacrament, with his spirit, that is, with his soul and divinity) profiteth nothing.  For if Christ’s flesh had profited us nothing, he would never have taken flesh for us, nor died in the flesh for us. — Are spirit and life. By proposing to you a heavenly sacrament, in which you shall receive, in a wonderful manner, spirit, grace and life in its very fountain.  Ch. — It is the spirit that quickeneth, or giveth life.  These words sufficiently correct the gross and carnal imagination of these Capharnaites, that he meant to them his body and blood to eat in a visible and bloody manner, as flesh, says S. Aug. is sold in the market, and in the shambles;[3] but they do not imply a figurative or metaphorical presence only.  The manner of Christ’s presence is spiritual and under the outward appearances of bread and wine; but yet he is there truly and really present, by a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of his body and blood, which truly and really become our spiritual food, and are truly and really received in the holy sacrament. — The flesh[4] of itself profiteth nothing, not even the flesh of our Saviour Christ, were it not united to the divine person of Christ.  But we must take care how we understand these words spoken by our Saviour: for it is certain, says S. Aug. that the word made flesh, is the cause of all our happiness.  Wi. — When I promise you life if you eat my flesh, I do not wish you to understand this of that gross and carnal manner, of cutting my members in pieces: such ideas are far from my mind: the flesh profiteth nothing.  In the Scriptures, the word flesh is often put for the carnal manner of understanding any thing.  If you wish to enter into the spirit of my words, raise your hearts to a more elevated and spiritual way of understanding them.  Calmet. — The reader may consult Des Mahis, p. 165, a convert from Protestantism, and who has proved the Catholic doctrine on the Eucharist in the most satisfactory manner, from the written word.  Where he shows that Jesus Christ, speaking of his own body, never says the flesh, but my flesh: the former mode of expression is used to signify, as we have observed above, a carnal manner of understanding any thing.
• Ver. 68. Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? He shews them, says S. Chrys. that he stood not in need of them, and so leaves them to their free choice.  Wi. — Jesus Christ remarking in the previous verse that the apostate disciples had left him, to walk no more with him, turning to the twelve, asks them, Will you also go away? The twelve had heard all that passed; they had seen the Jews strive amongst themselves, and the disciples murmur and leave their Master; they understood what he said in the same literal sense; it could, indeed, bear no other meaning; but when Jesus put the above question to them, leaving them to their free choice, whether to follow him, or to withdraw themselves, Simon Peter answered him: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life;” and therefore art able to make good thy words, however hard and difficult they may appear to others. — We may here admire not only the excellency of their faith, but the plain, yet noble motive of their faith: they believe, because he is Christ, the Son of God, (or, as it is in the Greek, the Son of the living God) who is absolutely incapable of deceiving his creatures, and whose power is perfectly equal to perform the promises he here makes them.
• Ver. 69. Simon Peter, the chief or head of them, said in the name of the rest: Lord, to whom shall we go? It is only from thee that we hope for salvation.  Thou hast the words of eternal life: we have believed, and known, and remain in this belief, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Wi.

May 31 2009 Pentecost Sunday at the Vigil Mass

About the sources used. The readings on this site are from the Haydock Bible according to the daily Lectionary readings for the American Roman Catholic Church. The Haydock Bible contains traditional Catholic commentary and is free from copyright. Due to verse numbering differences and pastoral deletions in the actual Lectionary, these readings may at times vary from the actual readings.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/053109.shtml

There are 4 choices for Old Testament readings here.

Genesis 11:1-9
DR Challoner

And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech. And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it. And each one said to his neighbour:

Come let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar:

And they said:

Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.And he said:

Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed. Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city. And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

Exodus 19:3-8a, 16-20b
DR Challoner

And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from the mountain, and said:

Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.

Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded. And all the people answered together:

All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.

And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the camp, feared. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the mount was terrible. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof.

Ezekiel 37:1-14
DR Challoner

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me forth in the spirit of the Lord: and set me down in the midst of a plain that was full of bones. And he led me about through them on every side: now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceeding dry. And he said to me:

Son of man, dost thou think these bones shall live

and I answered:

O Lord God, thou knowest.

And he said to me:

Prophesy concerning these bones; and say to them: Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to grow over you, and will cover you with skin: and I will give you spirit and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

And I prophesied as he had commanded me: and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a commotion: and the bones came together, each one, its joint. And I saw, and behold the sinews, and the flesh came up upon them: and the skin was stretched out over them, but there was no spirit in them. And he said to me:

Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, O son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus saith the Lord God: Come, spirit, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, and let them live again.

And I prophesied as he had commanded me: and the spirit came into them, and they lived: and they stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

And he said to me:

Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel: they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchres, O my people: and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened your sepulchres, and shall have brought you out of your graves, O my people: And shall have put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall make you rest upon your own land: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and done it, saith the Lord God

Joel 3:1-5
DR Challoner Text

For behold in those days, and in that time when I shall bring back the captivity of Juda, and Jerusalem: I will gather together all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: and I will plead with them there for my people, and for my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have parted my land. And they have cast lots upon my people: and the boy they have put in the stews, and the girl they have sold for wine, that they might drink.

But what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coast of the Philistines? will you revenge yourselves on me? and if you revenge yourselves on me, I will very soon return you a recompense upon your own head. For you have taken away my silver, and my gold: and my desirable, and most beautiful things you have carried into your temples.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 24, 35, 27-30
DR Challoner Text Only

Bless the Lord, O my soul:
O Lord my God, thou art exceedingly great.
Thou hast put on praise and beauty:
And art clothed with light as with a garment.
Who stretchest out the heaven like a pavilion:
How great are thy works, O Lord ?
thou hast made all things in wisdom:
the earth is filled with thy riches.
Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,
and the unjust, so that they be no more:
O my soul, bless thou the Lord.
All expect of thee that thou give them food in season.
What thou givest to them they shall gather up:
when thou openest thy hand,
they shall all be filled with good.
But if thou turnest away thy face,
they shall be troubled:
thou shalt take away their breath,
and they shall fail,
and shall return to their dust.
Thou shalt send forth thy spirit,
and they shall be created:
and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Romans 8:22-27
Haydock NT

For we know that every creature groaneth, and is in labour even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope. But hope that is see, is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not: we wait for it with patience. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groaning. And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what the Spirit desireth: because he asketh for the saints according to God.

The Gospel According to Saint John 7:37-39
Haydock NT

Now on the last great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried out, saying:

If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He that believeth in me, as the Scriptures saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Now he said this of the spirit which they should receive who believed in him: for as yet the spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Haydock Commentary Genesis 11:1-9
Notes copied from Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Speech. Probably Hebrew; in which language we have the most ancient book in the world, the work of Moses.  This language has been preserved ever since, though with some alterations.  Most of the oriental languages are but like dialects from it, as French, Italian, &c. are from Latin.  The arguments which are brought to prove that other languages are more ancient, because the names of men, &c. have a proper significance in them as well as  in Hebrew, do not invalidate the right of the latter.  The most respectable authors have, therefore, always declared for it.  H.
• Ver. 2. The East: Armenia, which lies to the eastward of Babylonia, whither they directed their course in quest of provisions for themselves and cattle, being now grown pretty numerous.  M.
• Ver. 3. Each one: not that every individual joined in this undertaking, considered, at least, as a rash and presumptuous attempt to save themselves from a second deluge.  Some might innocently give in to it, meaning only to leave a monument to their common origin and friendship, before they separated into distant countries.  Slime: literally bitumen. H. — The Hebrew, chomer, means also slime, or mortar.  Stone is very scarce in that country, but the earth is fat, and very proper to make brick; it also abounds in naphtha, bitumen, &c.: hence the ancients notice the brick walls of Babylon.  C.
• Ver. 4. Famous before; Heb. lest, &c.; as if they intended to prevent that event.  H. — Their motive appears to have been pride, which raised the indignation of God.  Nemrod, the chief instigator, might have designed the tower for a retreat, whence he might sally out and maintain his tyranny.  M.
• Ver. 6. In deed. This seems to be spoken ironically; though the effects of weak mortals, the sons of Adam, when pursued with vigour and unanimity, will produce great effects.  These builders had conceived an idea of raising the tower as high as possible, hyperbolically, to touch heaven.  H.
• Ver. 7. Come ye, &c. As men seemed bent on taking heaven by storm, like the ancient giants, God turns their expressions, as it were, against themselves, and shews them an example of humility, let us go down. He acts the part of a judge, and therefore will examine all with the utmost diligence, as he denotes by these expressions; being really incapable of moving from place to place, on account of his immensity.  H. — He seems nearer to men, by the effects or punishments which he inflicted.  The address which he here makes is directed, not to the angels, but to the other co-equal powers of the Blessed Trinity.  M.
• Ver. 9. Babel, that is, confusion. This is one of the greatest miracles recorded in the Old Testament; men forgot, in a moment, the language which they had hitherto spoken, and found themselves enabled to speak another, known only to a few of the same family (C.); for we must not suppose that there were as many new languages as there were men at Babel.  M. — The precise number of languages which were then heard, cannot be determined.  The learned commonly acknowledge the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Sclavonian, Tartarian, and Chinese languages, to be original.  The rest are only dialects from these.  English is chiefly taken from the Teutonic, (C.) with many words borrowed from the Greek and other languages.  H.

Haydock Commentary Exodus 19:3-8a, 16-20b

• Ver. 3. And Moses went up to God. Moses went up to Mount Sinai, where God spoke to him.
• Ver. 4. Eagles. Out of the reach of danger.  As eagles carry their young upon their wings, so I have protected you from all your enemies.  Deut. xxxii. 11.  C.
• Ver. 5. Possession, (peculium.)  Heb. segula, “a chosen portion or treasure.”  M. — Mine. I could have made choice of others.  We cannot but admire the goodness of God, who asks for the free consent of the people.  Hence they can have no pretence for breaking this solemn covenant.  C.  Theod. 9. 35.
• Ver. 6. Priestly kingdom. “Priests and kings.”  Chal. You shall rule over the Chanaanites, &c. and you shall offer sacrifice to me, at least, by slaying the paschal lamb.  This kingdom shall not be merely of a civil nature; it shall be also sacred.  The whole nation shall be holy, separated from the pagans, and consecrated to me.  M.
• Ver. 18. Terrible, by the display of so many instruments of God’s power; lightning, fire, a thick cloud, and various peals of thunder, and the sound of a trumpet; besides rain, and the company of millions of angels.  Ps. lxvii. 9, 18.  How different was the appearance of Sion, when Jesus proclaimed his gospel!  Heb. xii. 18.
• Ver. 19. Answered him, “in a speech,” articulated and heard by all the people, as the Heb. Sept. Syr. &c. intimate.  Many legislators have pretended that their laws came from heaven.  But they had no witnesses.  Moses does all openly.  His laws are preceded, accompanied, and followed by prodigies.

Haydock Commentary Ezekiel 37:1-14

• Ver. 1. Spirit, by a divine impulse.  He was not really removed.  M.  C. — Bones. “This passage is very famous.”  S. Jer. — It insinuates the liberation of the captives and of the Gentiles, as well as the mystery of the resurrection.  W. — If this were not to take place, it would not be adduced as a figure.  Tert.  S. Jer.
• Ver. 5. Spirit. That is, life, soul, and breath.  Ch. — At the resurrection, the same souls shall return to their respective bodies.
• Ver. 7. Noise of the bones moving, which denotes the wars of Cyrus and the hurry of the nations to which he restored liberty.
• Ver. 9. Spirit; wind or soul.  The latter animates the body, as the grace (C.) of the Holy Spirit does the soul.  H.
• Ver. 11. Off, like branches.  Notwithstanding these desponding thoughts, God will restore his people, (W.) by means of Cyrus.  The grave is often put for punishment and grievous calamities.  (Osee is Hosea) Osee vi. 3.

Haydock Commentary Joel 3:1-5

• Ver. 1. Back. The people were just returned when the nations around fell upon them, and were miraculously defeated.  Theod. — We shall follow the system respecting God, given Ezec. xxxviii.  C. — Most people, with S. Jerom, suppose that the general judgment is described, though some explain it of the captives delivered from their enemies.  W.
• Ver. 2. Josaphat, “the judgment of the Lord,” (H.) marks the place where the Judge will sit, on the east of Jerusalem, between the temple and Olivet, whence our Lord ascended into heaven.  W. — There also had been seized and treated contumeliously.  H. — But many of the Fathers assert that the whole world will be  the scene of judgment, and the first author who determines the situation of Josaphat, is one in the works of V. Bede.  Here it may denote the great plain reaching from Carmel to the Jordan, where the army of Cambyses perished with its chief.  People of almost all nations were there.  Ezec. xxxviii. — Land. The Chaldees, now governed by a Persian, had scattered the Jews, and the Idumeans had seized part of their land.
• Ver. 3. Boy, to gratify their brutal passions; (Lam. v.) or, they have exchanged such for harlots, (C.) and paid the latter with captive boys.  Sept.  H.
• Ver. 4. Me. These cities and nations had rejoiced at the ruin of the Jews.  Ezec. xxv.  C. — Coast. Sept. “Galilee of strangers.”  H.
• Ver. 5. Temples, or palaces.  The Chaldeans had done so, and perhaps had sold some to others.

Haydock Commentary Romans 8: 22-27

• Ver. 24, &c. For we are saved by hope, as it is the will of God we should be, waiting and hoping with patience for the things which we have not seen, which neither the eye hath seen, nor the ear hath heard, &c.  1 Cor. ii. 9. — And the spirit also helpeth our infirmity . . . asketh for us with unspeakable groanings.[4]  If we understand this according to the common exposition, of the divine spirit of the Holy Ghost, the sense is, says S. Aug. that the Holy Ghost maketh us ask: but we may understand the spirit of God and his grace, diffused in our souls, and in particular that gift of the Holy Ghost, called the spirit of prayer, given to the new Christians, which taught them what to ask, and how to pray.  See S. Chrys.  Wi.

Haydock Commentary John 7:37-39

• Ver. 38. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. By this living water, are signified the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which were promised to the faithful.  Wi.
• Ver. 39. As yet the spirit was not given, in that particular and extraordinary manner, because Jesus was not yet glorified by his ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost.  Wi. — It is said that the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb of his mother; that Zacharias, when he prophesied concerning his son, and the blessed Virgin, when she prophesied concerning our Lord, were both filled with the Holy Ghost; that Simeon and Anna were inspired by the Holy Ghost, to declare the greatness of Christ.  How can this be otherwise reconciled with this text of S. John, that by saying that this gift of the Holy Ghost, after the ascension of Christ, was much more abundant that it had ever been before?  For we never read that men inspired by the Holy Ghost before the coming of Christ, spoke languages which they had never learned.  S. Aust. 4 de Trin. c. xx. — The Holy Ghost is still received, but none speak with tongues: because the Church herself, being spread over the whole earth, speaks the languages of all.  Idem. tract. 32. in S. Joan. — The primitive Christians of Corinth consulted S. Paul on the subject of these spiritual gifts or graces, frequently communicated in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.  In his Epistle, addressed to them, (C. xii.) he explains those gifts, and complains that some among the Corinthians made not a right use of these gifts; especially those who had the gift of tongues, and made use of it rather through vanity, than for the profit of others.  In v. ult. ibid. he adds: But be zealous for the better gifts.  And I shew to you a yet more excellent way. And in the 13th chapter, he describes the excellence, the characters of charity which he extols far above all other gifts.  A.

May 31 2009 Pentecost Sunday Mass During the Day

About the sources used. The readings on this site are from the Haydock Bible according to the daily Lectionary readings for the American Roman Catholic Church. The Haydock Bible contains traditional Catholic commentary and is free from copyright. Due to verse numbering differences and pastoral deletions in the actual Lectionary, these readings may at times vary from the actual readings.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/053109.shtml

The Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
Haydock New Testament

AND when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven tongues, as it were of fire, and it sat upon each of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.

Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. And when this voice was made, the multitude came together, and was confounded in mind, because that every one heard them speaking in his own tongue. And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying;

Behold are not all these, who speak, Galileans? And how have we every one heard our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews also, and Proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

Responsorial Psalm 103:1, 24, 29-31, 34 (Ps 104 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

Bless the Lord, O my soul:
O Lord my God, thou art exceedingly great.
Thou hast put on praise and beauty:
How great are thy works, O Lord ?
thou hast made all things in wisdom:
the earth is filled with thy riches.
But if thou turnest away thy face,
they shall be troubled:
thou shalt take away their breath,
and they shall fail,
and shall return to their dust.
Thou shalt send forth thy spirit,
and they shall be created:
and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord endure for ever:
the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
Let my speech be acceptable to him:
but I will take delight in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (Or Galatians 5:16-25 below)
Haydock New Testament

Wherefore I give to you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith anathema to Jesus. And no man can say, the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit: And there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. But the manifestations of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit.

For as the body is one, and hath many members: and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body: so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free: and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink.

Galatians 5:16-25
Haydock NT

I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit; and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are, fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcraft, enmities, contentions, emulations, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, sects, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things, shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law.

And they who are Christ’s, have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.

The Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-23
Haydock NT

Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews: Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them;

Peace be to you.

And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands, and his side. The disciples, therefore, were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again;

Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them:

Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained.

Haydock Commentary Acts 2:1-11
Notes copied from Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Altogether in one[1] place. The Greek signifies, were all of one mind.  Wi.
• Ver. 2. A sound, &c.  Perhaps this was a kind of thunder, accompanied with a great wind, which filled with terror and awe the whole company, and disposed them to receive the gift of heaven with humility and fervour.  This noise appears to have been heard over a great part of the city, and to have gathered together a great crowd, who came to learn the cause.  This noise and wind were symbols of the divinity.  It was thus also that formerly on Mount Sinai, thunder and lightning, the dark cloud, the smoking mountain, &c. marked the majesty of God.  Calmet. — Jesus Christ, our Pasch, to answer perfectly the figure, was offered on the day of the great Jewish passover; so fifty days after, for accomplishing the like figure of the law given on Mount Sinai, He sent down the Holy Ghost on the day of their Pentecost, which meaneth fifty.  But our feasts, as S. Augustin remarks, besides the remembrance of benefits past, contain great mysteries also of the life to come.  Ep. cxix. c. 16.
• Ver. 3. Tongues . . . of fire. The Hebrews use the name tongue, for almost any thing pointed.  Thus they say, a tongue of the earth, for a promontory. Josue xv. 5.  A fiery tongue for a flame in shape of a tongue.  Isaias v. 24.  The expression, therefore, in this place, may mean noting more than sparks, or rather flames, which appeared above all who were in the house. — Sed et Latinis quod extremum et acutum est lingua dicitur, quare scopulos summos & invios linguas dixit Cæsar.  P. — By the fiery tongues is signified the efficacy of the apostles’ preaching, and the gift of tongues bestowed upon them.  M.
• Ver. 4. Began to speak divers tongues. Perhaps the apostles spoke only their own tongue, and the miracle consisted in each one’s understanding it as if they spoke it in his language.  S. Greg. Nazianzen. orat. xliv. — But S. Augustin and most others, understand the text literally; though the apostles had not this gift on all occasions, nor on all subjects, and therefore sometimes stood in need of interpreters.  Vide S. Aug. in Psalm xvii.  Expos. 2. and Serm. 188. — The same Father observes, that the conversion of all nations to the Church, and their being united in one faith, all having one language or confession, is a perpetuation of the same miracle in the Church.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

• Ver. 3. No man, speaking by the Spirit of God, &c.  He tells them, if they see a person moved in an extraordinary manner, and say anathema, curse, or speak ill of Jesus, such an one cannot be moved by a good spirit.  And no man can say, the Lord Jesus, that is, praise Christ as he ought, but by a good spirit.  Wi.
• Ver. 4-7. There are diversities of grace. Lit. divisions of grace; but all from the same spirit, from the same Lord, from the same God: and all these gifts are designed, and to be made use of for the profit of the faithful.  Wi. — S. Justin Mar. S. Irenæus, and Origen bear testimony, that these special gifts of the Holy Ghost were not unusual in their time.  S. Paul, in order to curb the vanity of such as seemed to be a little puffed up with the gifts they had received, and likewise to comfort those who had received no such spiritual and extraordinary favours, wishes to teach both parties, that the same Holy Spirit distributes these graces according as they are more conducive to the welfare of his Church, and the glory of God.  Calmet.
• Ver. 12. &c. As the body is one, &c.  From this comparison of the mystical body of Christ, that is, of his Church, to a man’s natural body, he brings excellent instructions.  1. That as all members and parts, make up the same body, so also is Christ; that is, so it is in the Church of Christ, which is his mystical body.  2. As all the parts of man’s body are enlivened by the same soul, so all in the Church have their life from the same Spirit of God in baptism, and in the sacraments instituted by our Saviour Christ; in which we are made to drink of the same spirit. 3. As all the members, that have such different offices and functions, do but constitute one complete body, so is it in the Church of Christ.  4. As those that seem the less considerable parts of the human body, are no less necessary for the subsistence and harmony of the whole, and stand in need of one another, (for example, the head stands in need of the feet) so in the Church, &c.  5. He take notice, that in a natural body, the less honourable, the baser, and as they are called, the uncomely parts, are clothed with greater care and decency, Lit. have a more abundant honour bestowed upon them, so in the mystical body, no less, but even a greater care is to be taken of the weaker, and more infirm members, of the poor, the weak, the ignorant; and in the spirit of charity and love, that there may be no divisions or schisms, but a brotherly union: that if one suffer, another compassionate and assist him, &c.  Wi.

Haydock Commentary Galatians 5:16-25

• Ver. 17. So that you[1] do not the things that you would. He does not say, so that you cannot do, as others falsely translate; as if men were under an absolute necessity of sinning, or doing ill; which is also contradictory to the foregoing words, walk by the spirit, and you will not accomplish the works of the flesh. Wi. — Here some suppose, says S. Austin, that the apostle denieth that we have free liberty of will: not understanding that this is said to them, if they will not hold fast the grace of faith conceived, by which only they can walk in the spirit, and not accomplish the lusts of the flesh.  S. Austin, in c. v. Gal.
• Ver 19-21. Uncleanness, immodesty, luxury. In the Greek there are but two vices named; luxury is not mentioned; and, perhaps, the Latin interpreter put two words to explain one Greek word.  Wi. — S. Austin here sheweth that there are other damnable sins besides infidelity.
• Ver. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is charity, &c.  There are numbered twelve of these fruits in the Latin, though but nine in the Greek text, in S. Chrys. S. Jerom. S. Aug. tract. lxxxvii. in Joan. p. 756.  The difference may again happen by the Latin interpreter using two words to express one Greek word.  It is observed, that longanimity and patience are in a manner the same; so are benignity and goodness; and so may be here continency and chastity. Wi.

Haydock Commentary John 20:19-23

• Ver. 19. And the doors were[1] shut, or being shut; and remaining still shut, his glorified body entered by penetration through the doors, as he did at his resurrection.  Maldonate take notice, that Calvin was the first that denied this, against the belief of all the ancient Fathers and interpreters, who call this a miracle of divine power.  Wi. — The same power which could bring Christ’s whole body, entire in all its dimensions, through the doors, can, without the least question, make the same body really present in the sacrament; though both the one and the other be above our comprehension.  Ch. — Therefore it is a want of faith to limit the power of Christ, by the ordinary rules of place, and to deny that he can be in the blessed Sacrament, and on so many altars as he pleaseth.  We do not still join the Ubiquists or Brentiani, who, quite contrary to the Zuinglians, maintain, that the humanity of Jesus Christ is in every place where his divinity is.  This is contrary to faith.  B.
• Ver. 21. As the Father hath sent me. The word mission, when applied to our Saviour Christ, sometimes signifies his eternal procession from the Father, and sometimes his mission, as he was sent into the world to become man, and the Redeemer of mankind: the first mission agrees with him, as the eternal Son of God; the second, as man, or as both God and man.  The mission which Christ here gives his apostles, is like this latter mission, which this great difference, that graces and divine gifts were bestowed on Christ, even as man, without measure: and the apostles had a much lesser share in both these missions.  See S. Aug. l. iv. de Trin. c. xix. xx. tom. 4. p. 829. and seq.  Wi. — Jesus Christ here shews his commission, and so giveth power to his apostles to forgive sins, as when he gave them commission to preach and baptize throughout the world, he made mention of his own power.  Hence, whosoever denies the apostles, and their successors, the right of preaching, baptizing, and remitting sins, must consequently deny that Christ, as man, had the power to do the same.  S. Cyprian, in the 3d cent. ep. lxxiii. says: “for the Lord, in the first place, gave to S. Peter, on whom he built his Church, super quem ædificavit Ecclesiam, the power that what he loosed on earth, should be loosed also in heaven.  And after his resurrection, he speaks also to his apostles, saying, as the Father sent me, &c. whose sins you shall forgive,” &c.  Why, on this occasion, passing over the other apostles, does Jesus Christ address Peter alone?  Because he was the mouth, and chief of the apostles.  S. Chrys. de Sacerd. l. ii. c. 1.
• Ver. 22. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. It was said, (John vii. 39.) that the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not glorified. The sense must need be, that the holy Spirit was not given in that solemn manner, nor with so large an effusion of spiritual gifts and graces, till the day of Pentecost, after Christ’s ascension: but the just, at all times, from the beginning of the world, were sanctified by the grace of the Holy Ghost, as no doubt the apostles were, before this time.  Now at this present, he gave them the power of forgiving sins.  Wi. — Some say, that our Saviour did not then confer the Holy Ghost on  his disciples, but only prepared them for the receiving of the Holy Ghost.  But surely we may understand, that even then they received some portion of spiritual grace, the power, not indeed of raising the dead, and working other miracles, but of forgiving sins.  S. Chrys. hom. lxxxv. in Joan. — S. Cyril of Alexandria, speaking of the remission of sins, promised in this text, asks, “How then, or why, did Christ impart to his disciples a power, which belongs to the divine Spirit, should likewise possess the power of forgiving sins, and of retaining such as they judged expedient; that Holy Spirit, according to his good pleasure, forgiving and retaining, through the ministry of men.”  In Joan. l. xii. c. 1.
• Ver. 23. Whose sins you shall forgive,[2] &c.  These words clearly express the power of forgiving sins, which, as God, he gave to his apostles, and to their successors, bishops and priests, to forgive sins in his name, as his ministers, and instruments, even though they are sinners themselves.  For in this, they act not by their own power, nor in their own name, but in the name of God, who as the principal cause, always remitteth sins.  This is generally allowed to be done by God’s ministers in the sacrament of baptism, as to the remission of original sin; and the Catholic Church has always held the same of God’s ministers, in the sacrament of penance.  (See the Protestant Common Prayer Book, in the Visitation of the Sick. — Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained: by which we see, that to priests is given a power to be exercised, not only by forgiving, but also by retaining; not only by absolving and loosing, but also by binding, by refusing, or deferring absolution, according to the dispositions that are found in sinners, when they accuse themselves of their sins.  From hence must needs follow an obligation on the sinner’s part, to declare, and confess their sins in particular, to the ministers of God, who are appointed the spiritual judges, and physicians of their souls.  A judge must know the cause, and a physician the distemper: the one to pronounce a just sentence, the other to prescribe suitable remedies.  Wi. — See here the commission, stamped by the broad seal of heaven, by virtue of which, the pastors of Christ’s Church absolve repenting sinners upon their confession.  Ch.

September 16 2008 Tuesday
Memorial of Saint Cornelius, pope and martyr, and Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr

About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/091608.shtml

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31a
Haydock New Testament

For as the body is one, and hath many members: and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body: so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free: and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member. And God indeed hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then the graces of healing, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretation of speeches.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the grace of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But be zealous for the better gifts.

Responsorial Psalm 99 (Ps 100 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

Sing joyfully to God, all the earth:
serve ye the Lord with gladness.
Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.
Know ye that the Lord he is God:
he made us, and not we ourselves.
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Go ye into his gates with praise,
into his courts with hymns:
and give glory to him. Praise ye his name:
For the Lord is sweet,
his mercy endureth for ever,
and his truth to generation and generation.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 7:11-17
Haydock New Testament

And it came to pass, after this, that he went into a city called Naim: and there went with him his disciples, and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, he had compassion on her, and said to her:

Weep not.

And he came near and touched the bier. (And they that carried it, stood still.) And he said:

Young man, I say to thee, arise.

And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all: and they glorified God, saying: that

a great prophet is risen up among us:

and

God hath visited his people.

And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the country round about.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31a
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 12. &c. As the body is one, &c. From this comparison of the mystical body of Christ, that is, of his Church, to a man’s natural body, he brings excellent instructions. 1. That as all members and parts, make up the same body, so also is Christ; that is, so it is in the Church of Christ, which is his mystical body. 2. As all the parts of man’s body are enlivened by the same soul, so all in the Church have their life from the same Spirit of God in baptism, and in the sacraments instituted by our Saviour Christ; in which we are made to drink of the same spirit. 3. As all the members, that have such different offices and functions, do but constitute one complete body, so is it in the Church of Christ. 4. As those that seem the less considerable parts of the human body, are no less necessary for the subsistence and harmony of the whole, and stand in need of one another, (for example, the head stands in need of the feet) so in the Church, &c. 5. He take notice, that in a natural body, the less honourable, the baser, and as they are called, the uncomely parts, are clothed with greater care and decency, Lit. have a more abundant honour bestowed upon them, so in the mystical body, no less, but even a greater care is to be taken of the weaker, and more infirm members, of the poor, the weak, the ignorant; and in the spirit of charity and love, that there may be no divisions or schisms, but a brotherly union: that if one suffer, another compassionate and assist him, &c. Wi.
• Ver. 27. Members of members.[2] The sense seems to be, you are members of the particular Church of Corinth, which is only a part or member of the whole boy of the Christian Catholic Church. This is agreeable to the common reading in the Greek, where it s said, you are members of a part. See S. Chrys. hom. xxxii. Wi.
• Ver. 28. First apostles, &c. Here he sets down these gifts or graces in their order of dignity. 1. The apostles, blessed above others with all kinds of graces. 2. Prophets, who had the gift of interpreting of prophecies, and of knowing things to come. 3. Doctors, or teachers of the gospel, preferred before those who had the gift of miracles, or of healing the infirm, and before the gifts of tongues, which they valued and esteemed so much, which he reckons in a manner in the last place, except that of interpreting, which is wanting in the present Greek copies. But as interpreting is found in all the Greek MSS. (v. 30.) we have reason to prefer the reading of the Latin Vulgate. Wi.
• Ver. 31. Be zealous for the better gifts: which are to be more or less esteemed, as they are accompanied with charity, as he is going to shew in the next chapter. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Luke 7:11-17

• Ver. 11. Naim is a city of Galilee, about two miles from Mount Thabor. It was by divine dispensation, that so very great a multitude was present on this occasion, in order to witness this stupendous miracle. Ven. Bede. — The burying-places of the Jews were out of the precincts of the city, as well for the preservation of health as decency. Thus Joseph of Arimathea, had his sepulchre in the rock of Mount Calvary, which was out of the city. Tirinus.
• Ver. 12. The evangelist seems to relate this miracle, as if it had happened by mere accident; though, beyond a doubt, divine Providence disposed all things to increase the splendour of the miracle. Jesus Christ would not raise this young man to life before he was carried out to be buried, that he might meet him near the gates of the city, where the assembly of the people took place. Besides this, there were present both the multitude that followed Jesus, and the multitude that followed the corpse, to the end that all these might be eye-witnesses to the miracle, and many might praise God, as Ven. Bede remarks. It was very proper that Christ should work this miracle just as he was entering the city, that he might preach the gospel with better success, from the opinion they must form of him, after beholding so great a miracle, and so great a favour bestowed upon them. Maldonatus. — In a few words, the evangelist paints to life the affliction of this distressed widow parent: a mother and a widow, without the least hopes of children, deprived of him who was her only support, the life of her habitation, the source of all her maternal tenderness and satisfaction, now in the prime of health, the only branch of her succession, and the staff of her old age. S. Greg. of Nyssa, de hominis opificio.
• Ver. 14. Here Christ shews that he raised the dead by his own power, and at his own command: I say to thee, arise. This shews that it is the voice of God that speaks; for the dead can hear the voice of him alone, according to S. John. Amen, I say to you, the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they who hear shall live. S. John v. 25. Maldon. — Our Saviour is not like Elias, weeping for the son of the widow of Sarepta; nor Eliseus, who applied his own body to the body of the dead child; nor Peter, who prayed for Tabitha: but he it is that calls the things that are not, as those that are; who speaks to the dead as to the living. Titus Bostrensis.
• Ver. 16. And there came a fear on them all; i.e. a certain reverential awe and trepidation seized them, and an uncommon degree of astonishment at the divinity which appeared to them. Menoch. — And they glorified God: (edoxapan) they gave praise and glory to God for thus visiting his people, by sending them the Saviour he had promised them. Polus synop. crit.