Sunday Mass Readings Archives

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.↵

Scripture Readings August 21 2011 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday, August 21st, 2011 at 2:10 am 
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21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Isaiah 22:19-23
DR Challoner

And I will drive thee out from thy station, and depose thee from thy ministry. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliacim[1] the son of Helcias, And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle,[2] and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda.

And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder:[3] and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg[4] in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father.

Responsorial Psalm 137:1-3, 6, 8
DR Challoner Text Only

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart:
for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the angels:
I will worship towards thy holy temple,
and I will give glory to thy name.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth:
for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me:
thou shalt multiply strength in my soul.
For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low:
and the high he knoweth afar off.
The Lord will repay for me:
thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever:
O despise not the works of thy hands.

The Epistle of St Paul to the Romans 11:33-36
Haydock New Testament

O the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God![5] How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen.[6]

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 16:13-20
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi:[7] and he asked his disciples saying:

Whom do men say that the Son of man is?

But they said:

Some John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.[8]

But Jesus saith to them:

But whom do you say that I am?[9]

Simon Peter answering said:[10]

Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.[11]

And Jesus answering, said to him:

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona:[12] because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father, who is in heaven. And I say to thee:[13] That thou art Peter;[14] and upon this rock I will build my church,[15] and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.[16] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[17] And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven:[18] and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.[19]

Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.[20]

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)
  1. Eliacim, who had been displaced, v. 15. He acted as regent after the departure of Manasses, who always followed his counsels at his return. Judith iv. 5. The priesthood was not then incompatible with civil and military functions.↵
  2. Girdle, the badge of power. Job xii. 18.↵
  3. Shoulder. Here the marks of dignity were worn. Eliacim was appointed master of the palace, over all the other servants. C. — Thus we may gather what power Christ conferred on S. Peter, when he gave him the keys of heaven. Mat. xvi. 19. Apoc. iii. 7. H.↵
  4. Peg, on which whatever is placed shall be secure. 1 Esd. ix. 8.↵
  5. O the depth, &c. After he hath spoken of the mysteries of God’s grace and predestination, of his mercy and justice, which we must not pretend to dive into, he concludes this part of his epistle, by an exclamation, to teach us submission of our judgment, as to the secrets of his providence, which we cannot comprehend.↵
  6. How incomprehensible are his judgments, &c. — Who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? That is, no one, by any merit on his part, can first deserve God’s favours and mercy, by which he prevents us. — For of him, from God, or from Jesus Christ, as God, and by him, who made, preserves, and governs all things, and in him, is our continual dependance: for in him we live, we move, and exist. In the Greek, it is unto him,[3] to signify he is also our last end. See the notes, John c. i. Wi. — All things are from God, as their first cause and creator; all things are by God, as the ruler and governor of the universe; and all things are in God, or (as the Greek has it) for God, because they are all directed to his honour and glory. For the hath made all things for himself. Ps. xvi. S. Basil, lib. de Spiritu sto. c. 5.↵
  7. Cæarea Philippi, was first called Paneades, and was afterwards embellished and greatly enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the great, and dedicated in honour of Augustus, hence its name. There was moreover another Cæsarea, called Straton, situated on the Mediterranean: and not in this, but in the former, did Christ interrogate his disciples. He first withdrew them from the Jews, that they might with more boldness and freedom deliver their sentiments. S. Chry. hom. lv. — The Cæsarea here mentioned continued to be called by heathen writers Panea, from the adjoining spring Paneum, or Panium, which is usually taken for the source of the Jordan.↵
  8. Some say, &c. Herod thought that Christ was the Baptist, on account of his prodigies. S. Mat. xiv. 2. Others that he was Elias: 1st. because they expected he was about to return to them, according to the prophecy of Malachias; behold I will send you Elias; 2d. on account of the greatness of his miracles; 3d. on account of his invincible zeal and courage in the cause of truth and justice. Others again said he was Jeremias, either on account of his great sanctity, for he was sanctified in his mother’s womb; or, on account of his great charity and love for his brethren, as it was written of Jeremias: he is a lover of his brethren. Or, again, one of the prophets, viz. Isaias, or some other noted for eloquence; for it was the opinion of many of the Jews, as we read in S. Luke, that one of the ancient prophets had arisen again. Dion. Carth.↵
  9. Whom do you say that I am? You, who have been continually with me; you, who have seen me perform so many more miracles; you, who have yourselves worked miracles in my name? From this pointed interrogation, Jesus Christ intimates, that the opinion men had formed of him was very inadequate to the exalted dignity of his person, and that he expects they will have a juster conception of him. Chry. hom. lv.↵
  10. Simon Peter answering. As Simon Peter had been constituted the first in the college of apostles, (Matt. x. 2.) and therefore surpasseth the others in dignity as much as in zeal, without hesitation, and in the name of all, he answers: thou art the Christ, the Redeemer promised to the world, not a mere man, not a mere prophet like other prophets, but the true and natural Son of the living God. Thus SS. Chrys. Cyril, Ambrose, Austin, and Tirinus. When our Saviour inquired the opinion of him, Peter, as the mouth of the rest, and head of the whole college, steps forth, and prevents the others. Chrys. hom. lv.↵
  11. Tu es Christus, filius Dei vivi; or, as it is in the Greek, ο χριστος, ο υιος; The Christ, the Son, the Christ formerly promised by the law and the prophets, expected and desired by all the saints, the anointed and consecrated to God: ο υιοσ, the Son, not by grace only, or an adoptive filiation like prophets, to whom Christ is here opposed, but by natural filiation, and in a manner that distinguishes him from all created beings. — Thou art[1] Christ, the Son of the living God, not by grace only, or by adoption, as saints are the sons of God, but by nature, and from all eternity, the true Son of the living God. Wi.↵
  12. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. Σιμον is undoubtedly Συμεων, as written 2 Pet. i. 1. Βαριωνα is son of Jona, or John, an abridgment for Βαριωαννα. Bar, in Chaldaic, is son; hence S. Peter is called, in John xi, 16. and 17, Simon, son of John. It was customary with the Jews to add to a rather common name, for the sake of discrimination, a πατρωνυμικον, or patronymic, as appears from Matt. x. 3. and xxiii. 35. Mark ii. 14. John vi. 42. P.↵
  13. Κἀγὼ. And I say to thee, and tell thee why I before declared, (John i. 42.) that thou shouldst be called Peter, for thou art constituted the rock upon which, as a foundation, I will build my Church, and that so firmly, as not to suffer the gates (i.e. the powers) of hell to prevail against its foundation; because if they overturn its foundation, (i.e. thee and thy successors) they will overturn also the Church that rests upon it. Christ therefore here promises to Peter, that he and his successors should be to the end, as long as the Church should last, its supreme pastors and princes. T. — In the Syriac tongue, which is that which Jesus Christ spoke, there is no difference of genders, as there is in Latin, between patra, a rock, and Petrus, Peter; hence, in the original language, the allusion was both more natural and more simple. V.↵
  14. Thou art Peter;[2] and upon this (i.e. upon thee, according to the literal and general exposition of the ancient Fathers) I will build my church. It is true S. Augustine, in one or two places, thus expounds these words, and upon this rock, (i.e. upon myself:) or upon this rock, which Peter hath confessed: yet he owns that he had also given the other interpretation, by which Peter himself was the rock. Some Fathers have also expounded it, upon this faith, which Peter confessed; but then they take not faith, as separated from the person of Peter, but on Peter, as holding the true faith. No one questions but that Christ himself is the great foundation-stone, the chief corner-stone, as S. Paul tells the Ephesians; (C. ii, v. 20.) but it is also certain, that all the apostles may be called foundation-stones of the Church, as represented Apoc. xxi. 14. In the mean time, S. Peter (called therefore Cephas, a rock) was the first and chief foundation-stone among the apostles, on whom Christ promised to build his Church. Wi. — Thou art Peter, &c. As S. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ, so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz. that he, to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, (John i. 42.) should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be next to Christ himself, the chief foundation-stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.↵
  15. Upon this rock, &c. The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews, which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built; Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ by building his house, that is, his Church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder. Matt. vii. 24, 25.↵
  16. The gates of hell, &c. That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself or his agents. For as the Church is here likened to a house, or fortress, the gates of which, i.e. the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or Church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the Church of Christ. Ch. — The gates, in the Oriental style, signify the powers; thus, to this day, we designate the Ottoman or Turkish empire by the Ottoman port. The princes were wont to hold their courts at the gates of the city. V.↵
  17. And I will give to thee the keys, &c. This is another metaphor, expressing the supreme power and prerogative of the prince of the apostles. The keys of a city, or of its gates, are presented or given to the person that hath the chief power. We also own a power of the keys, given to the other apostles, but with a subordination to S. Peter and to his successor, as head of the Catholic Church.↵
  18. And whatsoever thou shalt bind, &c. All the apostles, and their successors, partake also of this power of binding and loosing, but with a due subordination to one head invested with the supreme power. Wi.↵
  19. Loose on earth. The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence: the power of which is here granted. Ch. — Although Peter and his successors are mortal, they are nevertheless endowed with heavenly power, says S. Chry. nor is the sentence of life and death passed by Peter to be attempted to be reversed, but what he declares is to be considered a divine answer from heaven, and what he decrees, a decree of God himself. He that heareth you, heareth me, &c. The power of binding is exercised, 1st. by refusing to absolve; 2d. by enjoining penance for sins forgiven; 3d. by excommunication, suspension or interdict; 4th. by making rules and laws for the government of the Church; 5th. by determining what is of faith by the judgments and definitions of the Church. T. — The terms binding and loosing, are equivalent to opening and shutting, because formerly the Jews opened the fastenings of their doors by untying it, and they shut or secured their doors by tying or binding it. V. — Dr. Whitby, a learned Protestant divine, thus expounds this and the preceding verse: “As a suitable return to thy confession, I say also to thee, that thou art by name Peter, i.e. a rock; and upon thee, who art this rock, I will build my making laws to govern my Church.” (Tom. i, p. 143.) Dr. Hammond, another Protestant divine, explains it in the same manner. And p. 92, he says: ” What is here meant by the keys, is best understand by Isaias xxii. 22, where they signified ruling the whole family or house of the king: and this being by Christ accommodated to the Church, denotes the power of governing it.”↵
  20. Tell no one that he was Jesus, the Christ. In some MSS. both Greek and Latin, the name Jesus is not here found, and many interpreters think it superfluous in this place. The Greek expressly says the Christ adjoining the article, which the Latin tongue does not express. V. — “In a preceding part of Scripture, Jesus sending his apostles, commanded them to publish his coming; but here he seems to give a contrary mandate, tell no one, &c. but in my opinion it is one thing to preach the Christ, and another to preach Christ Jesus; for Christ is a name of dignity, but Jesus is the particular name of the Redeemer.” S. Jer. — He did not forbid them to teach that there was a Messias a Redeemer, but to declare then that he was the person; 2d. the disciples (Matt. x,) are not sent to preach the gospel, strictly speaking, but only to prepare the minds and hearts of the people for the coming of the Messias, as is evident from Mat. x. 23. See Mark xiv. 61. and 62. John v. 18. and viii. 58. and x. 30. and xi. 27. But why did he lay this injunction? To avoid the envy of the Scribes, and not to appear to raise his own glory. He wished the people to be induced to own him for their Messias, not from the testimony of his retainers, but from his miracles and doctrines; and lastly, because as his time was not yet come, the apostles were not yet fit to deliver, nor the people to receive, this grand tenet. Mat. Polus. — It might moreover have proved a hinderance to his death.↵

Scripture Readings Sunday August 21 2011 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 1:58 am 
Comments Off

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Isaiah 22:19-23
DR Challoner

And I will drive thee out from thy station, and depose thee from thy ministry. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliacim[1] the son of Helcias, And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle,[2] and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda.

And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder:[3] and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg[4] in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father.

Responsorial Psalm 137:1-3, 6, 8
DR Challoner Text Only

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart:
for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the angels:
I will worship towards thy holy temple,
and I will give glory to thy name.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth:
for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me:
thou shalt multiply strength in my soul.
For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low:
and the high he knoweth afar off.
The Lord will repay for me:
thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever:
O despise not the works of thy hands.

The Epistle of St Paul to the Romans 11:33-36
Haydock New Testament

O the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God![5] How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen.[6]

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 16:13-20
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi:[7] and he asked his disciples saying:

Whom do men say that the Son of man is?

But they said:

Some John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.[8]

But Jesus saith to them:

But whom do you say that I am?[9]

Simon Peter answering said:[10]

Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.[11]

And Jesus answering, said to him:

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona:[12] because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father, who is in heaven. And I say to thee:[13] That thou art Peter;[14] and upon this rock I will build my church,[15] and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.[16] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[17] And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven:[18] and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.[19]

Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.[20]

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)
  1. Eliacim, who had been displaced, v. 15.  He acted as regent after the departure of Manasses, who always followed his counsels at his return.  Judith iv. 5.  The priesthood was not then incompatible with civil and military functions.↵
  2. Girdle, the badge of power.  Job xii. 18.↵
  3. Shoulder.  Here the marks of dignity were worn.  Eliacim was appointed master of the palace, over all the other servants.  C. — Thus we may gather what power Christ conferred on S. Peter, when he gave him the keys of heaven.  Mat. xvi. 19.  Apoc. iii. 7.  H.↵
  4. Peg, on which whatever is placed shall be secure.  1 Esd. ix. 8.↵
  5. O the depth, &c.  After he hath spoken of the mysteries of God’s grace and predestination, of his mercy and justice, which we must not pretend to dive into, he concludes this part of his epistle, by an exclamation, to teach us submission of our judgment, as to the secrets of his providence, which we cannot comprehend.↵
  6. How incomprehensible are his judgments, &c. — Who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him?  That is, no one, by any merit on his part, can first deserve God’s favours and mercy, by which he prevents us. — For of him, from God, or from Jesus Christ, as God, and by him, who made, preserves, and governs all things, and in him, is our continual dependance: for in him we live, we move, and exist.  In the Greek, it is unto him,[3] to signify he is also our last end.  See the notes, John c. i.  Wi. — All things are from God, as their first cause and creator; all things are by God, as the ruler and governor of the universe; and all things are in God, or (as the Greek has it) for God, because they are all directed to his honour and glory.  For the hath made all things for himself.  Ps. xvi. S. Basil, lib. de Spiritu sto. c. 5.↵
  7. Cæarea Philippi, was first called Paneades, and was afterwards embellished and greatly enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the great, and dedicated in honour of Augustus, hence its name.  There was moreover another Cæsarea, called Straton, situated on the Mediterranean: and not in this, but in the former, did Christ interrogate his disciples. He first withdrew them from the Jews, that they might with more boldness and freedom deliver their sentiments.  S. Chry. hom. lv. — The Cæsarea here mentioned continued to be called by heathen writers Panea, from the adjoining spring Paneum, or Panium, which is usually taken for the source of the Jordan.↵
  8. Some say, &c.  Herod thought that Christ was the Baptist, on account of his prodigies.  S. Mat. xiv. 2.  Others that he was Elias: 1st. because they expected he was about to return to them, according to the prophecy of Malachias; behold I will send  you Elias; 2d. on account of the greatness of his miracles; 3d. on account of his invincible zeal and courage in the cause of truth and justice.  Others again said he was Jeremias, either on account of his great sanctity, for he was sanctified in his mother’s womb; or, on account of his great charity and love for his brethren, as it was written of Jeremias: he is a lover of his brethren.  Or, again, one of the prophets, viz. Isaias, or some other noted for eloquence; for it was the opinion of many of the Jews, as we read in S. Luke, that one of the ancient prophets had arisen again.  Dion. Carth.↵
  9. Whom do you say that I am?  You, who have been continually with me; you, who have seen me perform so many more miracles; you, who have yourselves worked miracles in my name?  From this pointed interrogation, Jesus Christ intimates, that the  opinion men had formed of him was very inadequate to the exalted dignity of his person, and that he expects they will have a juster conception of him.  Chry. hom. lv.↵
  10. Simon Peter answering.  As Simon Peter had been constituted the first in the college of apostles, (Matt. x. 2.) and therefore surpasseth the others in dignity as much as in zeal, without hesitation, and in the name of all, he answers: thou art the Christ, the Redeemer promised to the world, not a mere man, not a mere prophet like other prophets, but the true and natural Son of the living God.  Thus SS. Chrys. Cyril, Ambrose, Austin, and Tirinus.  When our Saviour inquired the opinion of him, Peter, as the mouth of the rest, and head of the whole college, steps forth, and prevents the others.  Chrys. hom. lv.↵
  11. Tu es Christus, filius Dei vivi; or, as it is in the Greek, ο χριστος, ο υιος; The Christ, the Son, the Christ formerly promised by the law and the prophets, expected and desired by all the saints, the anointed and consecrated to God: ο υιοσ, the Son, not by grace only, or an adoptive filiation like prophets, to whom Christ is here opposed, but by natural filiation, and in a manner that distinguishes him from all created beings. — Thou art[1] Christ, the Son of the living God, not by grace only, or by adoption, as saints are the sons of God, but by nature, and from all eternity, the true Son of the living God.  Wi.↵
  12. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona.  Σιμον is undoubtedly Συμεων, as written 2 Pet. i. 1.  Βαριωνα is son of Jona, or John, an abridgment for Βαριωαννα.  Bar, in Chaldaic, is son; hence S. Peter is called, in John xi, 16. and 17, Simon, son of John.  It was customary with the Jews to add to a rather common name, for the sake of discrimination, a πατρωνυμικον, or patronymic, as appears from Matt. x. 3. and xxiii. 35.  Mark ii. 14.  John vi. 42.  P.↵
  13. Κἀγὼ.  And I say to thee, and tell thee why I before declared, (John i. 42.) that thou shouldst be called Peter, for thou art constituted the rock upon which, as a foundation, I will build my Church, and that so firmly, as not to suffer the gates (i.e. the powers) of hell to prevail against its foundation; because if they overturn its foundation, (i.e. thee and thy successors) they will overturn also the Church that rests upon it.  Christ therefore here promises to Peter, that he and his successors should be to the end, as long as the Church should last, its supreme pastors and princes. T. — In the Syriac tongue, which is that which Jesus Christ spoke, there is no difference of genders, as there is in Latin, between patra, a rock, and Petrus, Peter; hence, in the original language, the allusion was both more natural and more simple.  V.↵
  14. Thou art Peter;[2] and upon this (i.e. upon thee, according to the literal and general exposition of the ancient Fathers) I will build my church.  It is true S. Augustine, in one or two places, thus expounds these words, and upon this rock, (i.e. upon myself:) or upon this rock, which Peter hath confessed: yet he owns that he had also given the other interpretation, by which Peter himself was the rock.  Some Fathers have also expounded it, upon this faith, which Peter confessed; but then they take not faith, as separated from the person of Peter, but on Peter, as holding the true faith.  No one questions but that Christ himself is the great foundation-stone, the chief corner-stone, as S. Paul tells the Ephesians; (C. ii, v. 20.) but it is also certain, that all the apostles may be called foundation-stones of the Church, as represented Apoc. xxi. 14.  In the mean time, S. Peter (called therefore Cephas, a rock) was the first and chief foundation-stone among the apostles, on whom Christ promised to build his Church.  Wi. — Thou art Peter, &c.  As S. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ, so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz. that he, to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, (John i. 42.) should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be next to Christ himself, the chief foundation-stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.↵
  15. Upon this rock, &c.  The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews, which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church.  So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built; Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same.  Where also note, that Christ by building his house, that is, his Church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder.  Matt. vii. 24, 25.↵
  16. The gates of hell, &c.  That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself or his agents.  For as the Church is here likened to a house, or fortress, the gates of which, i.e. the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or Church of Christ.  By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the Church of Christ.  Ch. — The gates, in the Oriental style, signify the powers; thus, to this day, we designate the Ottoman or Turkish empire by the Ottoman port.  The princes were wont to hold their courts at the gates of the city.  V.↵
  17. And I will give to thee the keys, &c.  This is another metaphor, expressing the supreme power and prerogative of the prince of the apostles.  The keys of a city, or of its gates, are presented or given to the person that hath the chief power.  We also own a power of the keys, given to the other apostles, but with a subordination to S. Peter and to his successor, as head of the Catholic Church.↵
  18. And whatsoever thou shalt bind, &c.  All the apostles, and their successors, partake also of this power of binding and loosing, but with a due subordination to one head invested with the supreme power.  Wi.↵
  19. Loose on earth.  The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence: the power of which is here granted.  Ch. — Although Peter and his successors are mortal, they are nevertheless endowed with heavenly power, says S. Chry. nor is the sentence of life and death passed by Peter to be attempted to be reversed, but what he declares is to be considered a divine answer from heaven, and what he decrees, a decree of God himself.  He that heareth you, heareth me, &c.  The power of binding is exercised, 1st. by refusing to absolve; 2d. by enjoining penance for sins forgiven; 3d. by excommunication, suspension or interdict; 4th. by making rules and laws for the government of the Church; 5th. by determining what is of faith by the judgments and definitions of the Church.  T. — The terms binding and loosing, are equivalent to opening and shutting, because formerly the Jews opened the fastenings of their doors by untying it, and they shut or secured their doors by tying or binding it.  V. — Dr. Whitby, a learned Protestant divine, thus expounds this and the preceding verse: “As a suitable return to thy confession, I say also to thee, that thou art by name Peter, i.e. a rock; and upon thee, who art this rock, I will build my making laws to govern my Church.” (Tom. i, p. 143.) Dr. Hammond, another Protestant divine, explains it in the same manner.  And p. 92, he says: ” What is here meant by the keys, is best understand by Isaias xxii. 22, where they signified ruling the whole family or house of the king: and this being by Christ accommodated to the Church, denotes the power of governing it.”↵
  20. Tell no one that he was Jesus, the Christ.  In some MSS. both Greek and Latin, the name Jesus is not here found, and many interpreters think it superfluous in this place.  The Greek expressly says the Christ adjoining the article, which the Latin tongue does not express.  V. — “In a preceding part of Scripture, Jesus sending his apostles, commanded them to publish his coming; but here he seems to give a contrary mandate, tell no one, &c. but in my opinion it is one thing to preach the Christ, and another to preach Christ Jesus; for Christ is a name of dignity, but Jesus is the particular name of the Redeemer.”  S. Jer. — He did not forbid them to teach that there was a Messias a Redeemer, but to declare then that he was the person; 2d. the disciples (Matt. x,) are not sent to preach the gospel, strictly speaking, but only to prepare the minds and hearts of the people for the coming of the Messias, as is evident from Mat. x. 23.  See Mark xiv. 61. and 62.  John v. 18. and viii. 58. and x. 30. and xi. 27.  But why did he lay this injunction?  To avoid the envy of the Scribes, and not to appear to raise his own glory.  He wished the people to be induced to own him for their Messias, not from the testimony of his retainers, but from his miracles and doctrines; and lastly, because as his time was not yet come, the apostles were not yet fit to deliver, nor the people to receive, this grand tenet.  Mat. Polus. — It might moreover have proved a hinderance to his death.↵

Sunday Bible Readings August 14 2011 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday, August 14th, 2011 at 1:28 am 
Comments (2)

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Note: I also recommend checking the official readings in the link above. There are good notes in the NABRE, especially for the newly revised Old Testament translation, which is now available on the USCCB website.

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
DR Challoner

Thus saith the Lord:

Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my justice to be revealed. And the children of the stranger that adhere to the Lord, to worship him, and to love his name, to be his servants: every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and that holdeth fast my covenant: I will bring them into my holy mount, and will make them joyful in my house of prayer: their holocausts, and their victims shall please me upon my altar: for my house shall be called the house of prayer, for all nations.

Responsorial Psalm 66:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (Ps 67 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

May God have mercy on us, and bless us:
may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us,
and may he have mercy on us.
That we may know thy way upon earth:
thy salvation in all nations.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice:
for thou judgest the people with justice,
and directest the nations upon earth.
Let the people, O God, confess to thee:
let all the people give praise to thee:
May God bless us:
and all the ends of the earth fear him.

Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Haydock New Testament

For I say to you, Gentiles: As long, indeed, as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I will honour my ministry, If by any means I may provoke emulation of those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. For if the loss of them be the reconciliation of the world: what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. For as you also in times past did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy, through their unbelief: So these also now have not believed for your mercy, that they also obtain mercy. For God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 15:21-28
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus went from thence, and retired into the parts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Chanaan, who came out of those parts, crying out, said to him:

Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil.

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying:

Send her away, for she crieth after us:

And he answering, said:

I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel.

But she came and worshipped him, saying:

Lord, help me.

But he answered, and said:

It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.

But she said:

Yea, Lord: for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.

Then Jesus answering, said to her:

O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was cured from that hour.

Haydock Commentary Isaias 56:1, 6-7
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

  • Ver. 1. Judgment, the right resolution to do God’s will, which justice executes. C. xxxii. W. — My justice. Sept. “mercy.” Christ is at hand. Prepare for your deliverance, by keeping the commandments.
  • Ver. 7. Prayer. So the temple is justly styled. H. — This shall be open to all nations. After the captivity, the Jews condescended to let the Gentiles have a court, and they even suffered some princes to go into the court of the priests. 2 Mac. iii. 33. Physcon wished to penetrate into the inner sanctuary, (3 Mac. Eccli. l.) which could not be granted.

 

Haydock Commentary Romans 11:13-15, 29-32

  • Ver. 11-15. Have they so stumbled, that they should fall? God forbid. That is, their fall is not irreparable, or so as never to rise again: but by their offending, salvation (through the liberal mercy of God) is come to the Gentiles, that they, the Jews, may be emulous of the Gentiles, and of their happiness, and so may be converted. Wi. — The nation of the Jews is not absolutely and without remedy cast off for ever; but in part only (many thousands of them having been at first converted) and for a time: which fall of theirs God has been pleased to turn to the good of the Gentiles. Ch. — How much more the fulness of them? As if he should say, if the obstinacy of so many Jews seem to be an occasion upon which God, whose mercy calls whom he pleaseth, hath bestowed the riches of his grace on other nations; and while the glory of the Jews, the elect people of God, has been diminished, the Gentiles have been made happy: how much more glorious will be the fulness of them? that is, according to the common interpretation, will be the re-establishment and conversion of the Jews hereafter, before the end of the world? See S. Chrys. om. iq. p. 164; S. Hilar. in Ps. lviii. S. Jer. in c. iii. Osee. Habac. iii. S. Aug. l. xx. de Civ. Dei. c. xxix. — Then (v. 15.) the receiving of them into the Church, and their conversion to Christ, shall be like life from the dead, when the Jewish nation in general, shall rise from the death of sin, and their hardened infidelity, to the life of faith and grace. These things I speak to you, Gentiles, to honour and comply with my ministry of being your apostle: yet endeavouring at the same time, if by a pious emulation, or by any other way, I may be able to bring any of my flesh, or of my brethren, the Jews, to be saved by the faith of Christ. Wi.
  • Ver. 30. &c. As you also in times past did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy through their unbelief, which was an occasion of God’s sending his preachers to you: but the cause of your salvation is God’s mercy. — That they also may obtain mercy. That is, God has permitted their incredulity, that being a greater object of pity, he may shew greater mercy in converting them by the free gift of his grace. — For God hath concluded[2] all, that is, has permitted at different times, both Gentiles and Jews, to fall into a state of unbelief, that the salvation of all may be known to come, not from themselves, but as an effect of his mercy and grace. Wi. — He hath found all nations, both Jews and Gentiles, in unbelief and sin; not by his causing, but by the abuse of their own free-will; so that their calling and election are purely owing to his mercy. Ch.

 

Haydock Commentary Matthew 15:21-28

  • Ver. 21. Confines of Tyre. It perhaps may be asked, why Jesus went among the Gentiles, when he had commanded his apostles to avoid those countries? One reason may be, that our Saviour was not subject to the same rules he gave his disciples; another reason may be brought, that he did not go then to preach; hence S. Matthew observes that he kept himself retired. S. Chry. — Tyre and Sidon were both situated on the Mediterranean sea, about 20 miles distant from each other, and the adjoining country to the west and north of Galilee was called the coast or territories of Tyre and Sidon. The old inhabitants of this tract were descendants of Chanaan, (for Sidon was his eldest son) and continued in possession of it much longer than they did of any other part of the country. The Greeks called it Phœnicia; and when, by right of conquest, it became a province of Syria, it took the name of Syrophœnician and Gentile; as being both by religion and language a Greek.
  • Ver. 22. It is probable that woman first cried out before the door, and assembled a crowd, and then went into the house. Have mercy on me. The great faith of the Chanaanæan woman is justly extolled. She believed him to be God, whom she calls her Lord, and him a man, whom she styles the Son of David. She lays no stress upon her own merits, but supplicates for the mercy of God; neither does she say, have mercy on my daughter, but have mercy on me. . . . To move him to compassion, she lays all her grief and sorrow before him in thee afflicting words: my daughter is grievously afflicted by a devil. Glossa.
  • Ver. 23. He answered her not. It must not be supposed that our Saviour refused to hear the woman through any contempt, but only to shew that his mission was in the first instance to the Jews; or to induce her to ask with greater earnestness, so as to deserve more ample assistance. Dion. Carth.
  • Ver. 26-7. And to cast it to the dogs; i.e. to Gentiles, sometimes so called by the Jews. Wi. — The diminutive word KunarioV, or whelp, is used in both these verses in the Septuagint. Our Lord crosses the wishes of the Chanaanæan, not that he intended to reject her, but that he might bring to light the hidden and secret treasure of her virtue. Let us admire not only the greatness of her faith, but likewise the profoundness of her humility; for when our Saviour called the Jews children, so far from being envious or another’s praise, she readily answers, and gives them the title of lords; and when Christ likened her to a dog, she presently acknowledges the meanness of her condition. S. Chry. hom. liii. He refused at first to listen to her petition, says the same saint, to instruct us with what faith, humility, and perseverance we ought to pray. To make his servants more sensible of his mercy, and more eager to obtain it, he often appears to pay no attention to their prayers, till he had exercised them in the virtues of humility and patience. Ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you. A.
  • Ver. 28. Be it done. Inn the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light; here Jesus Christ says, let it be done, &c. and her daughter was healed from that hour. So powerful with God is earnest and fervent prayer. Idem. hom. liii.

 

Sunday Bible Readings August 14 2011 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 at 3:54 am 
Comments Off

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Official Readings available at http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Note: I also recommend checking the official readings in the link above. There are good notes in the NABRE, especially for the newly revised Old Testament translation, which is now available on the USCCB website.

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
DR Challoner

Thus saith the Lord:

Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my justice to be revealed. And the children of the stranger that adhere to the Lord, to worship him, and to love his name, to be his servants: every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and that holdeth fast my covenant: I will bring them into my holy mount, and will make them joyful in my house of prayer: their holocausts, and their victims shall please me upon my altar: for my house shall be called the house of prayer, for all nations.

Responsorial Psalm 66:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (Ps 67 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

May God have mercy on us, and bless us:
may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us,
and may he have mercy on us.
That we may know thy way upon earth:
thy salvation in all nations.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice:
for thou judgest the people with justice,
and directest the nations upon earth.
Let the people, O God, confess to thee:
let all the people give praise to thee:
May God bless us:
and all the ends of the earth fear him.

Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Haydock New Testament

For I say to you, Gentiles: As long, indeed, as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I will honour my ministry, If by any means I may provoke emulation of those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. For if the loss of them be the reconciliation of the world: what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. For as you also in times past did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy, through their unbelief: So these also now have not believed for your mercy, that they also obtain mercy. For God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 15:21-28
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus went from thence, and retired into the parts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Chanaan, who came out of those parts, crying out, said to him:

Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil.

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying:

Send her away, for she crieth after us:

And he answering, said:

I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel.

But she came and worshipped him, saying:

Lord, help me.

But he answered, and said:

It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.

But she said:

Yea, Lord: for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.

Then Jesus answering, said to her:

O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was cured from that hour.

Haydock Commentary Isaias 56:1, 6-7
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

  • Ver. 1.  Judgment, the right resolution to do God’s will, which justice executes.  C. xxxii.  W. — My justice.  Sept. “mercy.”  Christ is at hand.  Prepare for your deliverance, by keeping the commandments.
  • Ver. 7.  Prayer.  So the temple is justly styled.  H. — This shall be open to all nations.  After the captivity, the Jews condescended to let the Gentiles have a court, and they even suffered some princes to go into the court of the priests.  2 Mac. iii. 33.  Physcon wished to penetrate into the inner sanctuary, (3 Mac.  Eccli. l.) which could not be granted.

 

Haydock Commentary Romans 11:13-15, 29-32

  • Ver. 11-15.  Have they so stumbled, that they should fall? God forbid.  That is, their fall is not irreparable, or so as never to rise again: but by their offending, salvation (through the liberal mercy of God) is come to the Gentiles, that they, the Jews, may be emulous of the Gentiles, and of their happiness, and so may be converted.  Wi. — The nation of the Jews is not absolutely and without remedy cast off for ever; but in part only (many thousands of them having been at first converted) and for a time: which fall of theirs God has been pleased to turn to the good of the Gentiles.  Ch. — How much more the fulness of them?  As if he should say, if the obstinacy of so many Jews seem to be an occasion upon which God, whose mercy calls whom he pleaseth, hath bestowed the riches of his grace on other nations; and while the glory of the Jews, the elect people of God, has been diminished, the Gentiles have been made happy: how much more glorious will be the fulness of them? that is, according to the common interpretation, will be the re-establishment and conversion of the Jews hereafter, before the end of the world?  See S. Chrys. om. iq. p. 164; S. Hilar. in Ps. lviii.  S. Jer. in c. iii. Osee.  Habac. iii.  S. Aug. l. xx. de Civ. Dei. c. xxix. — Then (v. 15.) the receiving of them into the Church, and their conversion to Christ, shall be like life from the dead, when the Jewish nation in general, shall rise from the death of sin, and their hardened infidelity, to the life of faith and grace.  These things I speak to you, Gentiles, to honour and comply with my ministry of being your apostle: yet endeavouring at the same time, if by a pious emulation, or by any other way, I may be able to bring any of my flesh, or of my brethren, the Jews, to be saved by the faith of Christ.  Wi.
  • Ver. 30. &c.  As you also in times past did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy through their unbelief, which was an occasion of God’s sending his preachers to you: but the cause of your salvation is God’s mercy. — That they also may obtain mercy.  That is, God has permitted their incredulity, that being a greater object of pity, he may shew greater mercy in converting them by the free gift of his grace. — For God hath concluded[2] all, that is, has permitted at different times, both Gentiles and Jews, to fall into a state of unbelief, that the salvation of all may be known to come, not from themselves, but as an effect of his mercy and grace.  Wi. — He hath found all nations, both Jews and Gentiles, in unbelief and sin; not by his causing, but by the abuse of their own free-will; so that their calling and election are purely owing to his mercy.  Ch.

 

Haydock Commentary Matthew 15:21-28

  • Ver. 21.  Confines of Tyre.  It perhaps may be asked, why Jesus went among the Gentiles, when he had commanded his apostles to avoid those countries?  One reason may be, that our Saviour was not subject to the same rules he gave his disciples; another reason may be brought, that he did not go then to preach; hence S. Matthew observes that he kept himself retired.  S. Chry. — Tyre and Sidon were both situated on the Mediterranean sea, about 20 miles distant from each other, and the adjoining country to the west and north of Galilee was called the coast or territories of Tyre and Sidon.  The old inhabitants of this tract were descendants of Chanaan, (for Sidon was his eldest son) and continued in possession of it much longer than they did of any other part of the country.  The Greeks called it Phœnicia; and when, by right of conquest, it became a province of Syria, it took the name of Syrophœnician and Gentile; as being both by religion and language a Greek.
  • Ver. 22.  It is probable that woman first cried out before the door, and assembled a crowd, and then went into the house.  Have mercy on me.  The great faith of the Chanaanæan woman is justly extolled.  She believed him to be God, whom she calls her Lord, and him a man, whom she styles the Son of David.  She lays no stress upon her own merits, but supplicates for the mercy of God; neither does she say, have mercy on my daughter, but have mercy on me. . . . To move him to compassion, she lays all her grief and sorrow before him in thee afflicting words: my daughter is grievously afflicted by a devil.  Glossa.
  • Ver. 23.  He answered her not.  It must not be supposed that our Saviour refused to hear the woman through any contempt, but only to shew that his mission was in the first instance to the Jews; or to induce her to ask with greater earnestness, so as to deserve more ample assistance.  Dion. Carth.
  • Ver. 26-7.  And to cast it to the dogs; i.e. to Gentiles, sometimes so called by the Jews.  Wi. — The diminutive word KunarioV, or whelp, is used in both these verses in the Septuagint.  Our Lord crosses the wishes of the Chanaanæan, not that he intended to reject her, but that he might bring to light the hidden and secret treasure of her virtue.  Let us admire not only the greatness of her faith, but likewise the profoundness of her humility; for when our Saviour called the Jews children, so far from being envious or another’s praise, she readily answers, and gives them the title of lords; and when Christ likened her to a dog, she presently acknowledges the meanness of her condition.  S. Chry. hom. liii.  He refused at first to listen to her petition, says the same saint, to instruct us with what faith, humility, and perseverance we ought to pray.  To make his servants more sensible of his mercy, and more eager to obtain it, he often appears to pay no attention to their prayers, till he had exercised them in the virtues of humility and patience.  Ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you.  A.
  • Ver. 28.  Be it done.  Inn the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light; here Jesus Christ says, let it be done, &c. and her daughter was healed from that hour.  So powerful with God is earnest and fervent prayer.  Idem. hom. liii.

 

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