Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings

[Fidelis]

A meditation on the Gospel for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **We are told in the verse which follow the part of Christ’s discourse read today, that not only the incredulous Jews, but even many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve: Will you too go away? Simon Peter answered him, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (verses 66-68). Peter did not say he and the other Apostles understood what Christ had said, or that they had no difficulty in accepting his statement. Instead he made the profound act of faith: you have the words of eternal life—if we leave you, if we doubt your word, who else can teach us the truth?

I think we can all repeat today this humble and sincere act of faith which Peter made in Capernaum in that far-off day. Like Peter we cannot say that we can easily understand the mystery of Christ’s real presence under the appearance of bread and wine after the words of consecration have been pronounced by the celebrant. But we are certain that Christ said that he was doing this and that he gave a command to his Apostles (and their successors) to continue doing as he had done. We have one big advantage over Peter, we are certain that Christ was God as well as man—Peter was not convinced of this until after the resurrection—and we know that with God all things are possible.

While on earth the God-man Christ hid his divinity. No one who saw or met him would suspect God was truly present within that human frame. No one could think that the infinite who created the whole universe was within a tiny morsel of that universe, in a human nature. Even his twelve chosen ones to whom he gave many hints and many proofs of his divinity could not bring themselves to admit it, until the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit finally convinced them.

Now, if Christ could hide his divinity under his human nature, it certainly is not impossible for him to hide his divinity and his glorified body, which does not occupy space, under the form of bread and wine. Not only is it not impossible, but if he willed to do so as he clearly stated he did, then it is a fact.

We have a further advantage too over Peter: the two thousand long years of the Church’s acceptance of this truth. The “breaking of bread,” their term for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist as sacrifice and sacrament, was practiced in the Church from the first day after the descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42), and has been practiced ever since, even by parts of the Church who left the successor of Peter and established a “separate brotherhood.”

Admitting the fact then is not our difficulty. Rather our total unworthiness of such love and consideration, and our lack of gratitude in return, are what should give us serious food for thought today. Christ, the Son of God, comes into my home, my heart, every time I receive the Blessed Eucharist! And what kind of a home, what kind of a heart have I prepared for him? Our Sunday Mass is a repetition of the Last Supper—the institution of the Eucharist, which anticipated the death, resurrection, and glorification of the Son of God. Through his death and subsequent glorification he not only made heaven accessible to us, but he left us this crucified and glorified body of his, to be a communal meat for us, his followers, when we are gathered to honor God through him. Do we think of ourselves as being present in that Upper Room in Jerusalem as we come together in our local church to take an active part in the offering of this divine sacrifice for ourselves and for all men?

Sunday Mass and Holy Communion should not be an obligation to be fulfilled but a privilege to perform. An honest look into our hearts and into our attitude would do each one of us a lot of spiritual good and might make many of us find we have an urgent need to turn over a new leaf.

 

[Fidelis]

Some questions on the Readings for personal study and reflection:

* In the 1st Reading, what was the reason God gave the manna to the Israelites as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years? What does he say their response should be?

* In the 2nd reading, St. Paul is warning the Corinthians not to mix the Eucharist and pagan sacrifices (verses 1-15). What does this say about the Eucharist? About those that receive it?

* In the Gospel Reading, who is Jesus speaking to? What great miracle has he just performed? Where does this discourse take place (verse 59)? What does he say about the city in which he is speaking (Matthew 11:22ff) and how they received his message?

* What are the blessings of following Jesus’ commands to eat his flesh and drink his blood (verses 51, 54, 56-58)? What is the consequence for those who don’t (verse 53)? According to Jesus’ promise in this passage, when does eternal life begin if you eat his flesh?

* What happens if the Flesh and Blood of Christ is received unworthily (1 Corinthians 11:27-30; CCC 1385)? What should be our attitude when we partake of the Eucharist?

* How often do you go to Communion? What is your experience of God’s life when you do? If you are unable to receive Communion at this time, how important is it for you work towards that goal? What will be lacking in your spiritual life if you don’t?

God in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the Eucharist. –St. Augustine

 

[Fidelis]

A meditation on this Sunday’s Gospel from the Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation website:

"He who eats this bread will live forever"

Scripture: **John 6:51-58

Meditation:** Why did Jesus offer himself as “food and drink”? The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when Jesus said “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.” What a hard saying, unless you understand who Jesus is and why he calls himself the bread of life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves (John 6:3-13), when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, is a sign that prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper. The Gospel of John has no account of the Last Supper meal (just the foot washing ceremony and Jesus’ farewell discourse). Instead, John quotes extensively from Jesus’ teaching on the bread of life.

In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in a thanksgiving sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator as the giver and sustainer of life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His offering prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king (Hebrews 7:26; 9:11; 10:12). The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to the people of Israel that they live – not by earthly bread alone – but by the bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). At the last supper when Jesus blessed the cup of wine, he gave it to his disciples saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Jesus was pointing to the sacrifice he was about to make on the cross, when he would shed his blood for us – thus pouring himself out and giving himself to us – as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal (passover) lamb whose blood spared the Israelites from death in Egypt. Paul the Apostle tells us that “Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians5:7). Paul echoes the words of John the Baptist who called Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He “offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood as the true bread of heaven. Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection – the new passover – is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Do you hunger for the bread of life?
*
“Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us with your very own presence and life-giving word. You are the bread of life – the heavenly food that sustains us now and that produces everlasting life within us. May I always hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone.”*

 

[Fidelis]

From Dr. Scott Hahn at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology:

Word of the ‘Living Father’

The Eucharist is given to us as a challenge and a promise. That’s how Jesus presents it in today’s Gospel.

He doesn’t make it easy for those who hear Him. They are repulsed and offended at His words. Even when they begin to quarrel, He insists on describing the eating and drinking of His flesh and blood in starkly literal terms.

Four times in today’s reading, Jesus uses a Greek word - trogein - that refers to a crude kind of eating, almost a gnawing or chewing (see John 6:54,56,57,58).

He is testing their faith in His Word, as today’s First Reading describes God testing Israel in the desert.

The heavenly manna was not given to satisfy the Israelites’ hunger, as Moses explains. It was given to show them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

In today’s Psalm, too, we see a connection between God’s Word and the bread of life. We sing of God filling us with “finest wheat” and proclaiming his Word to the world.

In Jesus, “the living Father” has given us His Word come down from heaven, made flesh for the life of the world.

Yet as the Israelites grumbled in the desert, many in today’s Gospel cannot accept that Word. Even many of Jesus’ own followers abandon Him after this discourse (see John 6:66). But His words are Spirit and life, the words of eternal life (see John 6:63,67).

In the Eucharist we are made one flesh with Christ. We have His life in us and have our life because of Him. This is what Paul means in today’s Epistle when He calls the Eucharist a “participation” in Christ’s body and blood. We become in this sacrament partakers of the divine nature (see 1 Peter 2:4).

This is the mystery of the faith that Jesus asks us believe. And He gives us His promise: that sharing in His flesh and blood that was raised from the dead, we too will be raised up on the last day.

 

[Fidelis]

From Presentation Ministries:

COMMUNION DISTRIBUTORS?

*“I Myself am the living Bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world.” *—John 6:51

When Jesus originally revealed to us His eucharistic presence, the response was: “How can He give us His flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52) Today, we also respond: “This sort of talk is hard to endure! How can anyone take it seriously?” (Jn 6:60)

The Lord loves those who don’t believe in His eucharistic love because of ignorance, confusion, or sin. To help these people believe in Him and receive Him in the Eucharist, He is raising up faith-filled people to be witnesses of His eucharistic presence. Do you love Jesus in the Eucharist so much that people can hardly help but notice? Is your life centered on the eucharistic Jesus? Is it the desire of your heart to go to Mass and Holy Communion every day of your life? Are the Scripture readings for daily Mass the very light of your life? Does your love for the eucharistic Jesus overflow in your daily conversations? Do you make visits to the Blessed Sacrament?

Receive God’s grace to believe in and proclaim His eucharistic love. Share in the body and blood of Jesus (1 Cor 10:16). Eat His flesh and drink His blood (Jn 6:54). Love Him and be in communion with Him forever. Be His eucharistic witness.

Prayer: “Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore. O make us love Thee more and more.”

**Promise: **“Because the loaf of bread is one, we, many though we are, are one body.” —1 Cor 10:17

Praise: Praise Jesus, Whose Body and Blood are the “source and summit” of our lives. Alleluia! Glory to God forever!

 

[Fidelis]

From “The Word Among Us” devotional magazine:

Meditation: Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16
**
The Body and Blood of Christ**
*
Not by bread alone does man live.* (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Imagine entering a restaurant where the owner promises: “Our food will give you so much vitality that you’ll never go hungry again. Not only that, you’ll never weaken, get sick, or even die!” Wouldn’t you think that the owner was either a con artist or deranged? Yet in a spiritual sense, this is the claim that Jesus made when he said that he was “the bread that came down from heaven. … Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58).

“This bread” that Jesus is talking about is the life that he offers to us every time we celebrate the Eucharist. He is the food that makes us immortal, the drink that quenches our thirst forever. Sound impossible? Not for anyone who believes that “all things are possible for God” (Mark 10:27)!

Have you ever noticed how much of an emphasis Jesus placed on his promise that those who ate of him in faith will live forever: “I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:54)? Imagine: We will have a glorified body that will radiate the very holiness and power of our God!

This promise of the Second Coming pervades the celebration of the Mass. The Nicene Creed, for instance, states that Jesus will “come again in glory.” In the Sanctus, we proclaim: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Even the Memorial Acclamation is emphatic: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” This short prayer, in fact, sums up the entire gospel message—and one-third of that prayer is the Second Coming!

At every Mass, we are reminded that Jesus will return. The exact hour is hidden in God’s design, yet we can be certain that he will come again as the King of Love. For this, we should always give praise!

“Lord Jesus, we await your coming. You will come in power, yet in tenderness. May we prepare for your coming by our faith, hope, and love.”

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion:

1. The first reading tells us to “remember” what the Lord has done for us and not to “forget” him. And yet we can often receive the Eucharist in a blank or unfocused manner. How would you describe what Jesus did for you on the Cross? How can you better use your memory of the Lord’s great love for you, and what he has done for you through his death and resurrection, in preparing to receive Christ in the Eucharist?

1. We are also told we are to be fed by “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. What steps can you take to better incorporate Scripture reading in your day?

1. The responsorial psalm tells of all the wonderful things God has done: he has “strengthened,” “blessed,” “granted peace,” and “proclaimed his word” to us. And “with the best of wheat he fills” us. The word “eucharist” means thanksgiving. What are the things you are thankful to the Lord for?

1. In the second reading from the letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says that because we all partake of the same loaf, we, though many, are one. We have probably all experienced some kind of division within our family and parish, and among friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Who are the people in your life with whom you need to be reconciled? How might you begin to break down the walls of division and unforgiveness, and start the process of reconciliation?

1. In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us that “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” What are the little things you can do during the day to make yourself more aware of Jesus’ presence in you?

1. The meditation proclaims that the “promise of the Second Coming pervades the celebration of the Mass” and then gives several examples of this. Were you surprised when you read this text? The meditation goes on to state that “At every Mass, we are reminded that Jesus will return.” What steps can you take to be more sensitive to this reality prior to and during Mass?

1. Take some time now to pray for a greater sense of anticipation for the Lord’s Second Coming, and to always be ready to meet him when he returns. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.

 

[Fidelis]

Many more resources on this Sunday’s Readings can be found here:

Free Republic Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 06-26-11, Solemnity, Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Have a blessed week!

 

[kelvinf]

Many more resources on this Sunday’s Readings can be found here:

Have a blessed week!

Likewise!

 

[Fidelis]

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
for Sunday, July 3, 2011

To help us prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings, studies and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under “Current Study.”

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Robert Barron.

Here are a pair of Catholic Bible study podcasts (each about an hour long):

• St. Martha’s Adult Faith Formation.
• Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother

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.

Please consider supporting those who provide these free resources.

Reminder: This is a “perpetual thread”, so if you want to be notified of new entries weekly and as new posts are added, please go to the top of the thread to “Thread Tools” and subscribe.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/images/dailyBlog/blog/cache/jesus_with_lamb-300x427.jpg

 

[kelvinf]

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
for Sunday, July 3, 2011

To help us prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings, studies and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under “Current Study.”

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Robert Barron.

Here are a pair of Catholic Bible study podcasts (each about an hour long):

• St. Martha’s Adult Faith Formation.
• Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother

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.

Please consider supporting those who provide these free resources.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/images/dailyBlog/blog/cache/jesus_with_lamb-300x427.jpg

This is great! We can now start following immediately as you start posting.

 

[Fidelis]

This is great! We can now start following immediately as you start posting.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Fidelis]

1st Reading - Zechariah 9:9-10

The Book of Zechariah, the name means “Yahweh remembers,” comes chronologically after that of Haggai. The prophet Zechariah belonged to a priestly family which had returned from exile in Babylon. Like Haggai, he was called by God in 520 B.C., the second year of the reign of Darius. He probably lived until very near the time the new Temple was finished.

Working in a literary style quite different from Haggai’s but with the same doctrinal content, Zechariah describes in the first six chapters of his book, by means of eight visions, God’s plan for the restoration of the Temple and of the city of Jerusalem, and promises God’s blessing on Israel. As a prerequisite God asks His people for moral correctness; to be shown in acts of justice and mercy, and obedience to His commandments. In the seventh chapter Zechariah tells the people that fasting is pleasing to God if it stems from genuine piety (in Zechariah’s time the Jews gave much importance to fasting but their motivation was at fault because they were more concerned about appearing to others to be good than about seeking God’s favor).

Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi are the last three of the twelve Minor Prophets (they are called minor" not because of their importance, but because they wrote less than the four Major Prophets). They returned from Babylon with the exiles about 520 B.C. When the people were depressed, and almost in despair on seeing the city and the temple of Jerusalem in ruins, they encouraged them to rebuild and to settle down. They assured them that there was a great future—the messianic future—in store for the remnant of the Chosen People. We have one of these encouraging messianic prophecies in today’s lesson.

Here is the 1st Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ***,
on a colt, the foal of an ***.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary:

**9:1-14:21. The prophecies concerning the new circumstances of Jerusalem and Judah in chapters 7-8 give way now to two long oracles describing how that definitive time will he established by the Messiah (chaps. 9-10), and how the kingdom of God will come about (chaps. 12-14). Worked in among these themes are short prophetical pieces which are apparently anonymous, for there is no mention of Zechariah in them and no dates are given. The two oracles start in the same way: “An oracle. The word of the Lord …”(9:1; 12:1), a formula which is also used at the start of the book of Malachi (Mal 1:1). Because this construction is found on only these three occasions in the Old Testament, the three pieces are thought to come from some third source and to have found their way into the biblical text here – two into the book of Zechariah and one into that of Malachi.
**
9:1-11:17. This first oracle includes two prophetical proclamations – one about the advent of the Messiah king (9:1-10:12), and the other about the rejection of the good shepherd who tries to lead the people along the paths of faithfulness and unity, (11:1-17). The first one starts with a prophetical description of the victorious progress of the Lord as he makes his way down to Jerusalem from the north (9:1-8); then the city is invited to rejoice at the arrival of its king (9:9-10);and finally the restoration of Israel is proclaimed (9:11-17).

The arrival of the Messiah
-------------------------------------
*[9] Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on an ***,
on a colt the foal of an **.
[10] I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle how shall he cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

**9:9-10. ** The prophet now speaks directly to Jerusalem (“daughter of Zion”) and her citizens (“daughter of Jerusalem”) as representatives of the entire chosen people. An invitation to rejoice and celebrate is often found in the Old Testament in connexion with the arrival of the messianic era (cf. Is 12:6; 54:1; Zeph 3:14); here it is issued because Jerusalem’s king is arriving. Although the text does not say so explicitly, it is implied that he is the descendant of Dayid; there is an echo here of 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and Isaiah 7:14. This king is distinguished by what he is and what he does. The word “triumphant” translates the Hebrew saddiq, which means “just”: he does the will of God perfectly; and the term “victorious’ means that he enjoys divine protection and salvation. The Septuagint and the Vulgate, however, read it as meaning that he was the saviour. He is also “humble”, that is, he is not boastful in the presence of either God or men. He is peaceable – as can be seen from the fact that he rides not on a horse like kings of the time but on an ***, like the princes of ancient times (cf. Gen 49:11; Judg 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). He will cause the weapons of war to disappear from Samaria and Judah (cf. Is 2:4, 7; Mic 5:9), who will form a single, united people; and he will also establish peace among the nations (v. 10). This king has features similar to those of the “servant of the Lord” of whom Isaiah spoke (cf. Is 53:11) and to those of the lowly people whom God found acceptable (cf. Zeph 2:3; 3:12). Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy when he entered Jerusalem before the Passover and was acclaimed by the crowd as the Messiah, the Son of David (cf. Mt 21:1-5; Jn 12:14). “The ‘King of glory’ (Ps 24:7-10) enters his City ‘riding on an ass’ (Zech 9:9). Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth (cf. Jn 18:37)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 559). In an allegorical reading, Clement of Alexandria takes the young *** of v. 9 to stand for people who are not subject to evil: “It was not enough to say a ‘colt’; the sacred writer added, ‘the foal of an ass’, to emphasize the youth of the humanity of Christ, his eternal youth. The divine groom tends to us and trains us, the youngest, smallest colts (Paedagogus, 1, 15, 1).

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

The meek coming of Christ, to bring peace, to deliver the captives by his blood, and to give us all good things.
*
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy king will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ***, and upon a colt, the foal of an **.

Ver. 9. King. Christ often came to Jerusalem; but his last entrance, to die for man’s redemption, was most excellent. (Worthington) — If the Jews had not wilfully blinded themselves, they could not mistake Him, as he is here so minutely described, possessing the most humble and the noblest qualities. Not knowing how to reconcile them, they feign one Messias glorious and another poor and despised; while others admit only of one, and reject either the abject or the exalted things which the prophets have spoken of him. The Church alone can reconcile these apparent contradictions in our Saviour’s character. After predicting what would befall the Jews till about one hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet turns to Him who was the desire and comfort of the nation. (Calmet) — Saviour. Hebrew Noshah, (Haydock) or Jesus. (St. Jerome) — Poor; or meek, as St. Matthew quotes it, after the Septuagint and Chaldean. (Menochius) — They have read v for i, as *hani *(Haydock) means poor. (Calmet) — Protestants, “lowly,” which may signify devoid of riches, or of pride. — *****. Septuagint, “yoked animal, and upon a young foal.” (Haydock) — The former denotes the Jews {i.e., the Law].

10 And I will destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken: and he shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the end of the earth.

Ver. 10. Chariot. Arms shall be useless, Micheas v. 10. — Earth. This can be understood only of Christ’s kingdom, (Calmet) though it alludes to the greatest limits of the promised land. (Haydock)

 

[Fidelis]

The 2nd Reading is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the following paragraph:

559 How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of “his father David”. Acclaimed as son of David, as the one who brings salvation (Hosanna means “Save!” or “Give salvation!”), the “King of glory” enters his City “riding on an ***”. Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth. And so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children and God’s poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. Their acclamation, “Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord”, is taken up by the Church in the “Sanctus” of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord’s Passover.

 

[Fidelis]

A meditation of the 1st Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **The fulfillment of the age-old messianic prophecies in the person of Christ, is one of the proofs that Christ was the Messiah—the anointed king, priest and prophet—whom God had promised to send to the Chosen People. Only God can foresee contingent future events, that is, events that need not happen. I can foresee that if I set my alarm clock for 7 a.m. and wind it, it will ring at 7 a.m., but I cannot foresee that I shall be involved in a car-crash next week. The prophets of the Old Testament, illuminated by God, foretold many things concerning the future Messiah. These things were fulfilled in Christ and in no one else. Therefore, he was the one God had promised. These very prophecies were given by God beforehand so that his Messiah would be recognized when he came. And they were referred to by Christ as proofs that he was the promised Messiah (Lk. 24: 25-27).

Yet, so many of the Chosen People who knew the prophecies and saw them fulfilled in Christ, refused to accept him as such. Today’s prophecy is an evident case of this. How can one explain such blindness of intellect and such stubbornness of will? Humanly speaking, God had a difficult time dealing with his Chosen People, and yet he never once deserted them or departed from the promise he had first given to Abraham, and repeated century after century until the “fulness of time” came, and Christ appeared on earth. He fulfilled his promise to them, even though they had again and again proved themselves utterly unworthy of his kindness.

We wonder which should amaze us most: the ingratitude, the hardness of heart, the utter worldliness of the Jews, or the infinite mercy and patience of God, who not only spared and tolerated such a people, but actually loved them to the end. He did not desert them. It was they who deserted him. “He came unto his own but his own received him not” (Jn. 1 : 11).

We have a problem nearer home which can occupy our intellects more profitably than that of the meanness of the Jews toward their loving and merciful God. While the leaders of the Jews rejected Christ as an impostor and a blasphemer, our ancestors—the Gentile nations—accepted him gladly as their Redeemer and as the Son of God, who had become man and who came on earth to bring them to heaven. This is still our faith, and it is still the one and only true explanation of man’s life on this earth. We are here to prepare ourselves to merit heaven, the eternal life which Christ has earned for us. That life is the only explanation of why God created us, and the only answer to the human capabilities and natural desires that he instilled in our human nature. God raised us above all his other creatures, because he intended us to pass from this life to a future, everlasting state where perpetual joy and happiness would be our lot.

This is the meaning of the Christian faith which we profess—but how deeply does this conviction really sink into the hearts and minds of the millions who call themselves Christians? If it had sunk into the minds of the leaders of the Christian nations how could one nation be at war with another? How could injustices be rife within a Christian nation if we loved God and loved our neighbor, as the two basic commandments of the Christian faith prescribed? And to come still nearer home: how deeply does our Christian faith affect our daily actions and dealings with our fellowman? Like many of the Jews on Palm Sunday, who shouted, “Hosanna to the son of David,” but who on Good Friday morning were clamoring for Christ’s crucifixion, we too will sing “Hosanna” and “glory to God in the highest” on Sunday, but on Monday morning, we are ready to cheat our employer or our employees! Selfishness takes over and God is forgotten and our neighbor ceases to be our brother.

Thank God, this is not true of most of us. But it is true of far too many, and that is why our world, which was once Christian and is still nominally Christian, is a world of stress and strife where Christian is out to cheat Christian, and nation is out to subdue nation by force of arms, or by political maneuvers.

Can we do nothing about this? Of course we can! We can make our voices heard. But before we preach, we must make sure that we ourselves are practicing what we preach. We must show, by the manner of our daily lives, that getting to heaven is incomparably more important than getting on well, justly or unjustly, in this life.

 

[Fidelis]

2nd Reading - Romans 8:9, 11-13

For the past two weeks we have been looking at what Saint Paul describes as three ages: Adam to Moses which is the natural period represented by the fallen, unhappy family; Moses to Christ which is the legal period in which one nation is the example; and from Christ onward which is the period of international blessing where all nations are blessed and freed from the Law through the grace of Christ. The ancient rabbis often divided their six thousand years of man’s history into these same periods with the understanding that in the last two thousand years the Messiah would give a new law or reinterpret the old one. Saint Paul has recast this period in terms of Jesus the Christ. Chapter 7, which we skip over in our Sunday readings this cycle, contains a description of the doctrine of concupiscence, our tendency to sin as the result of original sin (Romans 7:7-25). In today’s reading we hear Saint Paul tell us that Christian life is lived in the Spirit and is destined for glory because Christian life is empowered by the Spirit.

St. Paul tells the Roman converts to Christianity, that to be a true Christian, to be living at peace with God and on the way to eternal life, one must sternly refuse to follow the sinful desires of human nature.

Here is the 2nd Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Brothers and sisters:
You are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

http://www.stjudes.org/files/Worship/spirit 2.jpg

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary:

Life in the Spirit
------------------
*[9] But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [11] 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.

[12] So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–[13] for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.*

10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently hopes in his future resurrection; Christ himself lives in him (cf. Gal 2:20; 1 Cor 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a consequence of original sin (cf. Rom 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, concupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after baptism; it is something which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all commentators interpret the expression “your bodies are dead because of sin” as referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as “already dead”.

St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Christian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him. If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the wrath of God, rejection of his laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our Guest. And he adds: “But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking? With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses him, one vies for honor with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death” (“Hom. on Rom.”, 13).

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

***There is no condemnation to them, who being justified by Christ, walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ***

*9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

11 *And if the Spirit of him, who raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you: he that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

13 For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.*

Ver. 5. &c. They who are subject to the flesh, by having their affections fixed on the things of the flesh, that is, carnal men, whilst they are such, cannot please God: for this prudence of the flesh makes them the enemies of God. (Estius) —* If Christ*, or* the spirit of Christ*, which he also (ver. 9.) calls the spirit of God, as being one and the same, dwell in you, and direct you, the body indeed is dead because of sin; that is, is mortal, and liable to death, the consequence of Adam’s sin; but* the spirit* and the soul liveth by the life of grace, by reason of justification: that is, because she hath been justified and sanctified by the merits of Christ. And the spirit of God, who raised Jesus to life, will also raise all who remain sanctified by the grace of Christ to a happy resurrection. (Witham)

 

[Fidelis]

The 2nd Reading is cited or alluded to in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the following paragraphs:

693 Besides the proper name of “Holy Spirit,” which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles: the Spirit of the promise, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of God - and, in St. Peter, the Spirit of glory.

632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was “raised from the dead” presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.

658 Christ, “the first-born from the dead” (Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf. Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf.: Rom 8:11).

**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.*

990 The term “flesh” refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. The “resurrection of the flesh” (the literal formulation of the Apostles’ Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that even our “mortal body” will come to life again.