March 21: Study and Meditation on the Scripture Readings for this Sunday's Mass

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To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 5th Sunday of Lent, and in the Gospel Reading we hear the story of The Woman Caught In Adultery.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager’s meditation) can be found here under "Current Study.

Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures to share with the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also are links to audio reflections on the Gospel reading by Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found [here](catholicmatters.com).

Here are trio of recorded weekly Bible studies, each about an hour long:

– St. Martha Catholic Church Adult Faith Formation
– Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother– Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

(Note: Some of these resources haven’t been updated at the time of this post. Please check back later in the week for availablity)

Discussion and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lent!

http://www.hollywoodandthevine.org/images/john-8-3-11.jpg

 

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Correction on a couple of the resources provided above:

The *St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study *can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

 

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In last week’s First Reading, we heard about the entry of God’s people into the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the desert, fulfilling God’s promise to them. This Sunday, we have a part of the message of encouragement which God delivered through the prophet Isaiah to his people who are in exile. Their liberation is near at hand. God will set them free and return them to their native land. This return will be a new Exodus, and a greater one. God promises to restore his people after their suffering in exile.

The Navarre Bible Commentary on Isaiah provides the following as background:

43:11-44:5. God chose Israel and he had special love for his people (cf. 43:1-13). Just as in the past he acted in ways that showed he had not forgotten them, not least by releasing them from Egypt and guiding them through the wilderness, he will show equal power and kindness by bringing them out of Babylon (cf. 43:14-21). The provident care that he takes of them is not a reward that the people have earned; it stems entirely from his mercy; he is steadfast in his love for them, despite all their faults (43:22-44:5). His people have more than enough reason to be tranquil and unconcerned, for the Lord, who has special love for them, is the one true God and there is nothing, no one, to match him (cf. 44:6- 23). So, this group of oracles ends with shouts of joy, acknowledging the redemption that God brings (cf. 44:23).

**43:14-21. **This oracle is part of the doctrinal core of the “Book of Consolation” (40:1-48:22), where we can see the exodus from Egypt as the prototype of every instance of liberation brought about by the Lord. Its most direct reference would be to the return of those exiled in Babylon. The original exodus from Egypt was quite remarkable and well worth pondering; but this exodus is truly “new”, surpassing what happened in former times (cf. vv. 18-19). This prophecy is very carefully constructed. It first acknowledges God by giving an impressive list of divine titles, repeated several times: Lord, Redeemer, Holy One of Israel, Creator, King (vv. 14-15); then comes the announcement of the new exodus based on traditions to do with the first exodus, without mentioning it specifically (vv. 16-21); it recalls, with sadness, yet serenity, the people’s infidelities (vv. 22-24); and it ends with God asserting his forgiveness in the context of a “rib”, that is, a “legal hearing” (vv. 25-28).

The prophet’s words are designed to fill the people with hope that they will soon be able to return home, and also with the energy to undertake the religious restoration of Israel. But they are also a reminder to people at all times that God never abandons his chosen ones, and a constant encouragement to renew their fervor. The only proviso is that they must have recourse to the mercy of God and sincerely admit their sins. Thus, we find St Gregory the Great interpreting the “suit” in v. 26 as describing the examination of conscience that leads to the confession of sins: “The conscience accuses, reason judges, fear binds, and suffering tortures” (“Moralia in Job”, 25,7, 12-13).

Here is this Sunday’s First Reading:

Reading I
Isaiah 43:16-21

Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick.

Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.

 

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[16] **Thus says the LORD: **God is speaking through his prophet.

who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters: The same God who set their ancestors free from the slavery of Egypt, opening for them a path through the Red Sea, as related in the Book of Exodus.

[17] **Who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick: **refers to the Egyptian army which followed the escaping Israelites but were drowned when the waters of the Red Sea poured in on them (Ex. 15: 4). Contrast this with Isaiah 42:3.

[18] **Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not: **The miracles of the first Exodus will be surpassed by those of the second, the liberation from the Babylonian Exile. Although we are to learn from history, we are not to dwell in the past as if God only worked in history and in peoples lives way back then. God is in control of history; we are to listen to and place our trust in him only (see Isaiah 42:8-9).

[19] **See, I am doing something new!: **The exiles must now concentrate on the present; the God of their Fathers is still with them caring for them.

God is doing a new redemptive act which we must see and recognize. This new redemptive act which is going on now is a new Exodus, an exodus from slavery to sin and a new birth in God. This new exodus comes to fulfillment in the Eucharist (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26) through which we receive eternal life.

**Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?: **It was already beginning. Cyrus (ruler of Persia) had already captured Babylon, and this was the prelude to the liberation of the Jewish exiles.

**In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers: **In the first Exodus God provided water from a rock for the people. Now he will have rivers flowing through the Syrian desert through which the people must pass to come to Palestine.

[20] **Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, For I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink: **Even the wild beasts will be grateful to God because they can live in the irrigated desert. The rivers in the desert are also metaphors for the facilities that the exiles were given for their return journey. They were facilitated in every way by Cyrus (Ezra 1: 1-11). This is also evocative of Jesus time spent in the desert when “he was with the wild beasts.” (Mark 1:13)

[21] **The people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise: **The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was in use at the time of Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church) reads “the people whom I purchased” which is the phrase used in Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 2:9.

 

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This following reference is given for the First Reading in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

711 "Behold, I am doing a new thing."Isa 43:19] Two prophetic lines were to develop, one leading to the expectation of the Messiah, the other pointing to the announcement of a new Spirit. They converge in the small Remnant, the people of the poor, who await in hope the “consolation of Israel” and “the redemption of Jerusalem.”[Cf. Zeph 2:3; Lk 2:25,38]

*We have seen earlier how Jesus fulfills the prophecies concerning himself. We limit ourselves here [in this section of the Catechism discussing the Jewish expectation of the Messiah] to those in which the relationship of the Messiah and his Spirit appears more clearly. *

 

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Here are some questions for personal reflection on this reading:

1. When has God seemed like a dusty memory to you? At those times, what helps you get in touch with him? How might recalling the acts of God in the past give you courage to face the present and the future?

1. What has God done in your past that you can especially look to as evidence of his presence with you? What “water in the desert” is bubbling up for you now?

1. Has the Lord done “something new” in your life (verse 19)? What is he doing right now?

1. What “events of the past” (verse 18) do you have difficulty forgetting? How might Isaiah 43:25 help?

(Questions adapted from The Catholic Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study, New American Bible; Zondervan, 1999)

 

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Finally, a short reflection fro application on the First Reading from Catholic Matters:

APPLICATION: During Lent the Church is helping us to prepare for the great events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. These events set us free from the slavery resulting from sin but also raised us up to be sons of God and heirs to the eternal kingdom of heaven. They were foreshadowed in the liberation of the Chosen People, first from Egypt and later from their Babylonian exile.

When God brought them out of Egypt he gave them the country of Canaan to be their own kingdom. Because of their sinful, worldly lives and their neglect of their kind God, they lost their homeland and were taken prisoners to Babylon (586 B.C.). But he was merciful to them once more, brought them back to their home, and established them there once again.

In both of these acts of his mercy, and in all his loving kindness to the Chosen People of old down through the ages, God had not the Jews alone in mind. Through them he was planning for the great future liberation of all mankind which the death and resurrection of his divine Son was to bring about.

The death of Christ atoned for the sins of the whole world. His resurrection is the proof and the guarantee of our resurrection to an unending life of happiness in God’s kingdom. In baptism we die with Christ and coming out of the waters of baptism we rise with him to a new life. As St. Paul says, we are a “new creation.” We are new creatures, because we become sons of God by being made brothers of Christ in our baptism.

Unfortunately we often forget our eternal destiny. We live on earth as if it were our eternal home when we are really only passing through. We may and we must use the things of this life. God created them for our use, and made us masters of all created, earthly goods. It is not the proper use of this world’s goods that will impede us on our road to heaven. It is not by mastering created things that we sin. It is by letting these gifts, intended by the Creator for our use, become our masters and make us their slaves. This is what happens to so many. They become so fully occupied in the pursuit of possessions. power, and pleasure, that they forget God and their own eternal destiny.

The holy season of Lent is an ideal time for us to have an honest look into our consciences. We would all like to rise with Christ and enter the eternal kingdom prepared and won for us by Christ’s life and suffering. We shall do so only if we are following him closely during our few years on earth. Am I carrying my cross and climbing my Calvary slowly but willingly day by day? This is the test of a true Christian.

 

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This Sunday’s Second Reading is from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. Regarding this letter:

In Philippi, a city north of the Aegean Sea named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great (360 B.c.), Paul founded the first Christian church in Europe around the year 51, during his second apostolic journey. He lived in Philippi for some years and had special affection for the Philippians, which they reciprocated.

He suffered imprisonment and the lash on their account, as Luke records in Acts 16:40, and the Philippians for their part sent Epaphroditus to Rome to look after Paul when he was imprisoned there for the Lord. The apostle, typically, was very appreciative of this affection. However, Epaphroditus, who was a great help at first, soon became seriously ill, and once he was on the way to recovery Paul decided to send him back home.

When he left, Epaphroditus carried with him a letter from Paul to the Philippians, a letter written during his imprisonment in 61-63. This letter is not didactic or apologetic in purpose: Paul simply expresses his gratitude to the Father of all consolation and to the Philippians for the kindness and attention they showed him and for never being a source of worry to him but rather of consolation.

The letter, which overflows with joy, is an intimate conversation of a father and his children. Full of tenderness, it encourages and exhorts the Philippians to be ever better athletes of Christ until they reach their final goal-holiness.

Paul uses a simile taken from the games, which enjoyed great popularity during this period. He compares the virtues a Christian has to live, with athletic competitions: just as an athlete does not look behind but has his eyes always on the goal, so a Christian should forget himself, his past life, and trust in God’s grace, but, like a good athlete, he should never feel satisfied until he has reached his goal.

Source

Our Second Reading is from St. Paul’s warning to the Philippians about false teachers; Judaizers who would try to hang on to the old ways while at the same time claiming to be Christians. The Judaizers taught that in order to be a Christian, you first had to be a Jew: to be circumcised, keep the Sabbath, and to adhere to strict dietary and table fellowship precepts. This question, whether or not Gentile converts to Christianity must first become full and legal Jews, prompted the Council of Jerusalem (ca. AD 50). A summary of the activities of the Council of Jerusalem comprises Acts 15.

In the verses preceding this Sunday’s reading (verses 4-6), Paul says that before his conversion he was as good a Jew as any of those Jews who are now opposing him. He led a blameless life in Judaism. But even though his conscience was clear then, he now sees how unprofitable for eternity such a life was.

Here, then, is this Sunday’s Second Reading as we will hear it at Mass:

Reading II
Philippians 3:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus

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[8] **More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord: ** Paul has been speaking (rather dismissively) in the last few verses of circumcision, which was the most visible sign of adherence to the Jewish law. The knowledge he now has of Christ Jesus, “the Son of God” who became man in order to raise us up to union with God, is so great and so important that nothing else matters.

**For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ: **Paul is speaking of his strict life as a Pharisee of which was once so proud. He gave up position and possessions and now looks on these things as “dung”, mere rubbish. He has found Christ and his only desire now is to remain “in Christ” until his whole life is consummated in the parousia.

8. St Paul has a great love for his people. In Romans he shows that he would be ready to accept any sacrifice “for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen of the flesh” (Rom 9:3f). However, he recognizes that everything in which he gloried before his conversion is worthless in comparison with the grace of knowledge of Christ: that is the hidden treasure, the precious pearl referred to in Gospel parables (cf. Mt 13:44-46). For “once a person experiences the riches of Christ the Lord, he looks down on everything else: property, wealth and honors he views as filth. For there is nothing that can compare with that supreme treasure, nothing that can be placed beside it” (“St Pius V Catechism”, IV, 11, 15). Navarre Bible Commentary]

[9] **and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law: ** The strict observance of the Law of Moses often was a self-obtained uprightness. Paul contrasts his former life under the Law with his present Christian life.

but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith: Christian justice or holiness of life is a free gift of God. The man who accepts God’s revelation given through Christ Jesus, as Paul had done on the road to Damascus, and who has a firm conviction that God will fulfill his promises, is on the road to justification. This will be brought to full fruition on the day of the resurrection of all mankind from the dead, but only for those Christians who have learned to die with Christ during their earthly life, “becoming like him in death.”

Continued on next post.

 

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Continued from the previous post.

9. St Paul makes the distinction between "a righteousness of my own "attainable by personal effort, and that which comes from God. The former is the righteousness a person can attain by fulfilling the Mosaic Law [Deuteronomy 6:25]; it is a good thing, but it is insufficient to give one the full revelation of God in Christ, insufficient to give one a share in the glory of his Resurrection (vv. 10-11). For that, one needs to have righteousness from God, that is, supernatural grace: “not the justice by which he is himself just, but the justice by which he makes us just, namely, the justice which we have as a gift from him and by which we are renewed in the spirit of our mind [see Romans 5:17]. And not only are we considered just, but we are truly said to be just, and we are just” (Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”, chap. 7). For a more detailed explanation of the concept of the righteousness that comes from God, see the note on Romans 1:17.

(**Note on Romans 1:17. **The expression “righteousness of God” refers to the state of righteousness or justice (= justness) in which a person is placed when God gives him grace. It is called the righteousness of God because man cannot attain it through his own efforts: it is a free (gratuitous, hence “grace”) gift of God. The fact that “righteousness” comes from God does not mean that it is something external to man, for righteousness does not mean merely that we are called “righteous” but that we really are righteous in God’s eyes. The Magisterium of the Church has given solemn teaching on this matter in the context of explaining the various factors which cause man’s justification; “Finally”, says the Council of Trent, “the only formal cause is ‘justice of God, not the justice by which he is himself just, but the justice by which he makes us just’ (St Augustine, “De Trinitate”, XIV,12, 15), namely, the justice which we have as a gift from him and by which we are renewed in the spirit of our mind. And not only are we considered just, but we are truly said to be just, and we are just” (“De Iustificatione”, chap. 7).

“Through faith for faith”: Sacred Scripture tends to use this kind of phrase to indicate on-going growth in something that is living (cf. Ps 84:8; 2 Cor 2:16; 3:18; Rom 6:19). What is being spoken about here is a steady progression from the imperfect understanding of divine truths possible in this life to the perfect understanding that is experienced in heaven. The full meaning of the phrase can be seen from St Paul’s statement that in the Gospel justice is made manifest: it begins and is nourished and grows through faith, until the believer at last attains eternal salvation.

The statement that “he who through faith is righteous shall live” comes from Hab 2:4; St Paul here applies it to the position of the Christian. What the prophet meant was that those Jews who kept the Law and trusted in its promises would not succumb when the Babylonians invaded. St Paul applies the test to the righteous of the New Testament: if they stay firm in their faith in the Gospel, they will continue in the life of grace and will attain everlasting beatitude. The faith of good Israelites was a prefiguring of the faith of good Christians. The just man will live by faith, which “faith is the beginning of man’s salvation, the foundation and source of all justification, ‘without which it is impossible to please God’ (cf. Heb 11:6) and to be counted as his sons” (Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”, chap. 8).

St Paul’s statement can also be understood as meaning that he who through faith is just will live. This puts the emphasis on the fact that faith is the beginning of the process of justification, and that a person who is justified will attain salvation.)

**10-12. **The calling to holiness which every Christian receives is not a reward for personal merit: it comes from God’s initiative; God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim 2:4), that is, to know God himself. The Apostle bears witness to this when he says that “Christ Jesus has made me his own.” However, he also says that, in order to grow in knowledge of Christ and enjoy God in heaven, one needs to strive to share in Christ’s sufferings. “The Christian is certainly bound both by need and by duty to struggle with evil through many afflictions and to suffer death; but, as one who has been made a partner in the paschal mystery and has been configured to the death of Christ, he will go forward, strengthened by hope, to the resurrection” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 22). This struggle, which sometimes calls for heroism, is usually pitched in the incidents of one’s ordinary day. Heroism in the everyday battle proves the sincerity of our love and is a sure way to holiness.

“Certainly our goal is both lofty and difficult to attain. But please do not forget that people are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay of God’s grace and man’s response. As one of the early Christian writers says, referring to union with God, ‘Everything that grows begins small. It is by constant and progressive feeding that it gradually grows big’ (St Mark the Hermit, “De Lege Spirituali”, 172). So I say to you, if you want to become a thorough-going Christian–and I know you do, even though you often find it difficult to conquer yourself or to keep climbing upwards with this poor body–then you will have to be very attentive to the minutest of details, for the holiness that our Lord demands of you is to be achieved by carrying out with love of God your work and your daily duties, and these will almost always consist of ordinary little things” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 7). Navarre Bible Commentary]

Continued on the next post:

 

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Continued from the previous post.

[10] **to know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, **[11] **if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead: **

“That if possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead”: St Paul is referring here to the glorious resurrection of the just, whom the power of the risen Christ will rescue from the domain of death. At the second coming of the Lord, both the souls of the blessed in heaven and the souls of those who are still in purgatory undergoing the temporal punishment due to sins they committed will be re-united with their now glorified bodies. The reprobate will also rise, but their destiny is to suffer for ever the pains of hell in body and soul (cf. Second Council of Lyons, “Profession of Faith of Michael Paleologue”).

Man’s supernatural last end consists in knowing God as he is and enjoying him in heaven. When he attains this, man finds complete fulfillment. His life on earth has been a route leading to this perfection, a resurrection in glory. The Apostle recognizes that he needs the help of grace to be “perfect” (that is, faithful unto death) and thereby attain the prize promised by God: perseverance right to the end is not entirely a function of the merit a person has built up; it is a gift from God (cf. “De Iustificatione”, chap. 13). However, God does not dispense man from generously responding to grace in order to attain holiness. As St Teresa of Avila says. “It matters a great deal, it is essential …], that one have very great, very determined, resolution not to halt until one attains it, come what may, whatever happens, however much one suffers, however much people may gossip, whether I get there or not, even if I die on the way or am not able to face all the effort involved, even if the world collapses around me” (“Way of Perfection”, 35, 2). Navarre Bible Commentary]

[12] **It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ (Jesus) [13] Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession: **St. Paul speaks of having been “taken possession of by Christ”—probably referring to his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. He knows and emphasizes for the Philippians, that having been made a Christian is not enough. Each one must live as a Christian in order to reach the final justification. Note that he speaks of “hope,” not absolute assurance. The goal of St. Paul’s striving, and of Christian striving in general, is not yet attained in this life.

**Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead: **He describes his manner of leading his Christian life in a metaphor taken from the sports arena. He does not waste precious time looking back to see what faults he has committed or how much ground he has covered (this is reminiscent of the First Reading where God tells his people not to dwell on the past, but look ahead to the new thing that he is about to do). Instead all his energies are directed, like the good athlete’s, to getting to the winning tape.

Continued on next post.

 

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Contiued from previous post.

[14] I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus: The prize he (and every Christian) is striving for is the gift of eternal life in heaven, a gift freely given through God’s infinite love for us. In God’s eternal plan for mankind, the divine Son was to become man, “like us in all things save sin,” so that we could become adopted sons of God and heirs of heaven. This happened in Christ Jesus who was the incarnate Son of God.

12-14. Growth in holiness always demands an effort. St Paul here uses a vivid comparison–races in the stadium. He describes ascetical struggle in terms of enjoyable supernatural sport. Realizing that he has not reached perfection, he strains to win: Christ already made him his own (cf. v. 12) by entering his life on the Damascus road; from that moment onwards he has striven single-mindedly to serve God.

Our Lord helps everyone to discover his or her particular supernatural vocation. In response to that calling a person should seek to serve God in such a way that “everything good he does, interiorly or externally, he does for the glory and pleasure of God, like a loyal slave who gives everything he gets to his master. Moreover,” St John of Avila goes on, “even though he has worked as a servant for many years past, he is not easy-going or careless …]. He always has that ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ (Mt 5:6): he puts little weight on everything he has done, thinking of how much he has received and how much is due to the Lord he serves” (“Audi, Filia”, 92).

In making one’s way towards perfection it is important to be always trying to advance spiritually. “What does walking mean?”, St Augustine asked himself; “I shall answer very briefly: it means going forward …]. Examine yourself. You should always be unhappy with what you are, if you want to attain what you are not yet. For when you were content with yourself, you stayed where you were, because if you say ‘Enough’, you are finished that very minute. Always grow, always walk on, always advance; do not stop on the way, do not turn back, do not go off course. One who does not advance is standing still; one who returns to the things he already abandoned is going backwards; one who goes off course commits apostasy. It is better to hobble along the road than run on any other route” (“Sermon” 169, 15, 18). Navarre Bible Commentary]

 

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References to this Sunday’s Second Reading found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church include the following:

428 Whoever is called “to teach Christ” must first seek “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”; he must suffer “the loss of all things. . .” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him”, and “to know him and the power of his resurrection, and [to] share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible [he] may attain the resurrection from the dead”.

989 We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day. Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.[Rom 8:11; cf. 1 Thess 4:14; 1 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 4:14; Phil 3:10-11]

1006 “It is in regard to death that man’s condition is most shrouded in doubt.” In a sense bodily death is natural, but for faith it is in fact “the wages of sin.” For those who die in Christ’s grace it is a participation in the death of the Lord, so that they can also share his Resurrection.

648 Christ’s Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father’s power “raised up” Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son’s humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as “Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead”. St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God’s power through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus’ dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.

 

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A few alternate translations of this passage:

Revised Standard Version

8 Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

New Jerusalem Bible:

8 Because of the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, I count everything else as loss. For him I have accepted the loss of all other things, and look on them all as filth if only I can gain Christ
9 and be given a place in him, with the uprightness I have gained not from the Law, but through faith in Christ, an uprightness from God, based on faith,
10 that I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being moulded to the pattern of his death,
11 striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have secured it already, nor yet reached my goal, but I am still pursuing it in the attempt to take hold of the prize for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not reckon myself as having taken hold of it; I can only say that forgetting all that lies behind me, and straining forward to what lies in front,
14 I am racing towards the finishing-point to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

Good News Translation:

8 I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, 11 in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life. 12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. 13 Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. 14 So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

 

[Fidelis]

For the Second Reading, here are some “Questions for Understanding and Application.” adapted from The Ignatius Study Bible; The Letters of St. Paul to the Philippians, Colossians and Philemon (Ignatius Press, 2004):

1. To what activity does Paul compare the Christian life? What does this analogy imply about our salvation? What is Paul, like a sideline coach, urging his readers to do?

1. How do you know Christ Jesus as your Lord? Do you know him or only about him? How would anyone else but you know whether your assessment is reliable? What is that relationship worth to you?

1. What is your attitude toward the call you have from God to be holy? What does it mean for you to be holy? (Hint: Read all of chapter 3.) How are you “straining forward” (verse 13) for it?

 

[Fidelis]

Here is a short meditation for application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **Like St. Paul, we too have the Christian faith, we are firmly convinced that Christ was the Son of God who became man, that he died for us and was raised from the dead. We are firmly convinced too that God’s ultimate destiny for us in the Incarnation is an unending life in heaven, and that we can win this eternal life if we follow the teaching and the example of Christ. To die with Christ during our earthly life means to carry cheerfully the cross that God allots us. We know that if we do this we shall, on the day of resurrection, rise to a new life that will never end. This is our Christian faith. It is based on God’s revelation and promise. And it is the only truly satisfying explanation of human life that we have. But as St. Paul tells us today, it is not enough just to be a Christian. Paul’s own life, which from his conversion on was given entirely to the service of Christ, proves this. Being a Christian is but the first step on the right road. There are many more steps to take before we reach our eternal goal. Of course, it is true that we are not all called on to suffer all that St. Paul suffered for Christ. We are however called on to live our Christian lives within the laws laid down for us by Christ and by the Church which he founded to guide us on our way to heaven.

If we remind ourselves frequently of “the prize to which God calls us,” an eternal happy life, the affairs of this world will seem very paltry and very trifling. They will not come between us and the winning post. Rather will they help us on our way. When we compare them with the eternal riches of the future life, we shall see them as they really are, stepping stones to help us across the river.

We may not have run as fast as we should up to now. But we are still in the race. Like St. Paul. let us forget the past, and press on vigorously towards the prize that awaits us. It is still ours for the taking.

 

[Fidelis]

I just noticed that a couple of the links in the first post were mistyped or not included. Sorry for any incovenience. Here are the corrections.

The St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here.

Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother audio Scripture study can be found here.

The audio Sunday Gospel Scripture Study does not seem to be posted this week. I will check on it periodically this weekend, and if it appears I will repost it later in the thread.

 

[Fidelis]

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery.

(Some ancient manuscripts of John omit the episode we see in this Sunday’s Gospel reading, while some place it elsewhere in John’s Gospel or in Luke. It has been defined by the Church (in early councils, but officially so at the Council of Trent when it included it in the canon of inspired books) as canonical and thus inspired Scripture.)

St. Augustine said that the reason doubts were raised about the passage was that it showed Jesus to be so merciful that some rigorists thought it would lead to a relaxation of moral rules–and therefore many copyists suppressed it from their manuscripts (cf. “De Coniugiis Adulterinis”, 2, 6). Navarre Bible Commentary]

The setting is the Jerusalem temple during the Jewish feast of Tabernacles (or Booths), a harvest feast occurring in September which recalled God’s providence to Israel during their forty years of wandering in the desert (see John 7:2). During the seven days of the feast, Jews would build and live in small tents, or booths, to commemorate that time.

Jesus’ opponents bring before him a woman who they say has been caught in the act of adultery. They demand a judgment from him, not because they respect his opinion, but as a device to trap him. If he tells them to stone her, he would be liable to Roman law which reserved the death penalty to itself (see John 18:31). If he orders them to let her go, he will be seen as condoning sin and going against Moses (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:23-24).

In commenting on the episode of the woman caught in adultery Fray Luis de Granada gives these general considerations on the mercy of Christ: "Your feelings, your deeds and your words should be akin to these, if you desire to be a beautiful likeness of the Lord. And therefore the Apostle is not content with telling us to be merciful; he tells us, as God’s sons, to put on `the bowels of mercy’ (cf. Colossians 3:12). Imagine, then, what the world would be like if everyone arrayed themselves in this way.

“All this is said to help us understand to some degree the great abundance of the goodness and compassion of our Savior, which shine forth so clearly in these actions of His, for…in this life we cannot know God in Himself; we can know Him only through His actions…But it should also be pointed out that we should never act in such a way in view of God’s mercy, that we forget about His justice; nor should we attend to His justice forgetting about His mercy; for hope should have in it an element of fear, and fear an element of hope” (“Life of Jesus Christ”, 13, 4). Navarre Bible Commentary]

Here is the text of the Gospel Reading as we will hear it at Mass this Sunday:

Gospel
John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

 

[Fidelis]

[1] while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

We know that on a number of occasions our Lord withdrew to the Mount of Olives to pray (cf. John 18:2; Luke 22:39). This place was to the east of Jerusalem; the Kidron Valley (cf. John 18:1) divided it from the hill on which the temple was built. It had from ancient times been a place of prayer: David went there to adore God during the difficult period when Absalom was in revolt (2 Samuel 15:32), and there the prophet Ezekiel contemplated the glory of Yahweh entering the temple (Ezekiel 43:1-4). At the foot of the hill there was a garden, called Gethsemane or “the place of the oil-press”, an enclosed plot containing a plantation of olive trees. Christian tradition has treated this place with great respect and has maintained it as a place of prayer. Towards the end of the fourth century a church was built there, on whose remains the present church was built. There are still some ancient olive trees growing there which could well derive from those of our Lord’s time. Navarre Bible Commentary]

[2] **But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. **

Unlike today, teachers in ancient times sat down on a stone or a bench when they taught, while their pupils and disciples usually stood around him.

[3] **Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. **

Members of the religious parties of the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time were known as strict observers of the letter of the Old Law. Many of them were doubtless good, God-fearing men, but some of them became so blinded by their pride in their own righteousness that they positively hated all sinners and could not see that God could or ever would forgive any of them. For this reason they turned against Christ who was continually mixing with sinners and preaching a gospel of divine mercy.

[4] **They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. **

The title Rabbi “Master” was one of respect when used by a disciple, but in the mouths of these particular Pharisees it was used in derision rather than in respect. “He thinks he is a Teacher or Master; this test case we are now putting to him will show him up before the people.”

Bishop Fulton Sheen in his masterful book “Life of Christ” points out the baseness and shamlessness of Jesus’ accusers who make a spectacle of what is arguably the most shameful sin a woman can be publically accused of just so they can pursue their vendetta against Jesus. No justice, let alone mercy, is visible in their acts; they are merely using her to pursue their own ends.

[5] **Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" **

Stern and swift punishment for serious crimes (and adultery was one of these) was the order of the day among nearly all ancient peoples. The mosaic law, though it was more moderate than other legal codes, was no exception to this general rule. John 8:31, however, tells us that the Romans had deprived the Jews of the right to carry out the death penalty in cases where there law required it.

Concluded on next post.

 

[Fidelis]

[6] **They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. **

6. The question put by the scribes and Pharisees has a catch: our Lord had often shown understanding to people they considered sinners; they come to Him now with this case to see if He will be equally indulgent–which will allow them to accuse Him of infringing a very clear precept of the Law (cf. Leviticus 20:10). Navarre Bible Commentary]

Also, similar to the tribute money trap of Mark 12:13-17, Jesus must (so his opponents think) reject either the law or the authority of Rome.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

This is the only occasion in which Christ is mentioned as writing anything. What he wrote is not stated, but, following St. Jerome and other patristic authors, it is often held that he wrote the hidden sins of the woman’s accusers. "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake thee shall be put to shame; those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water." *(Jeremiah 17:13 [RSV]) This interpretation also fits nicely with Jesus’ words to the Jews right before this incident where he invited all to come to him as “living water” (John 7:37-39)

[7] **But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” **

**7. **Jesus’ reply refers to the way stoning was carried out: those who witnessed the crime had to throw the first stones, and then others joined in, to erase the slur on the people which the crime implied (cf. Deuteronomy 17:7). The question put to Jesus was couched in legal terms; He raises it to the moral plane (the basis and justification of the legal plane), appealing to the people’s conscience. He does not violate the law, St. Augustine says, and at the same time He does not want to lose what He is seeking–for He has come to save that which was lost: “His answer is so full of justice, gentleness and truth…O true answer of Wisdom. You have heard: Keep the Law, let the woman be stoned. But how can sinners keep the Law and punish this woman? Let each of them look inside himself and enter the tribunal of his heart and conscience; there he will discover that he is a sinner. Let this woman be punished, but not by sinners; let the Law be applied, but not by its transgressors” (St. Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 33, 5).Navarre Bible Commentary]

[8] **Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. **[9] And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.

The elders, being the wiser ones, evidently realized that the trap had been reversed and that either a) Jesus knew their secret sins, or b) they were striken to the hearts by Jesus’ words so that their own sins accused them. either way, they did not dare to pretend they were legally fit to carry out the sentence of death on a fellow sinner, either from the their own law or that of the Romans.

[10] **Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” **

Her accusers had all discreetly withdrawn. There was now no witness of her crime. Both Jesus and the woman knew she was guilty but he had come to forgive sins not to punish sinners. Jesus makes it clear that he is not ranked among the sinners who were forced to withdraw.

[11] **She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more.” **

The lesson of this story is *not *that sin is of no importance, or that God does not punish sin, but that God extends mercy to the sinner that he may turn away from his (or her) sin. The woman was repentant. Jesus urged her to form a firm purpose of amendment and then set her free: He condemns the sin, not the sinner.

**11. **“The two of them were left on their own, the wretched woman and Mercy. But the Lord, having smitten them with the dart of justice, does not even deign to watch them go but turns His gaze away from them and once more writes on the ground with His finger. But when the woman was left alone and they had all gone, He lifted up His eyes to the woman. We have already heard the voice of justice; let us now hear the voice of gentleness. I think that the woman was the more terrified when she heard the Lord say, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,'...fearing now that she would be punished by Him, in whom no sin could be found. But He, who had driven away her adversaries with the tongue of justice, now looking at her with the eyes of gentleness asks her, Has no one condemned you?’ She replies, No one, Lord.' And He says, Neither do I condemn you; I who perhaps you feared would punish you, because in Me you have found no sin.’ Lord, can it be that You favor sinners? Assuredly not. See what follows” `Go and sin no more.’ Therefore the Lord also condemned sin, but not the woman’ (St. Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 33, 5-6).

Jesus, who is the Just One, does not condemn the woman; whereas these people are sinners, yet they pass sentence of death. God’s infinite mercy should move us always to have compassion on those who commit sins, because we ourselves are sinners and in need of God’s forgiveness. Navarre Bible Commentary]