Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings

Fidelis · Jul 30, 2011

Here is a meditation on the Gospel Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **This miracle was an act of kindness and loving thoughtfulness on the part of Christ. He saw the people’s need—it was late for them to return to their homes and they had had nothing to eat all day—and he worked a miracle to provide for this need. The miracle also helped to convince the people of Galilee—the news spread around quickly—that he was the expected Messiah, but especially it prepared the way for the announcement of the greatest miracle of all—the miracle of the Eucharist.

As St. John tells us in his version of the story, Jesus referred to this miracle next day in order to introduce his promise of the heavenly bread which he would give them and which was to be his own body and blood, under the form of bread and wine. The bread he miraculously multiplied that day to supply the bodily needs of the Galilean multitude was but a foreshadowing of that heavenly food which he was about to give as spiritual nourishment to the millions who would become his followers down through the centuries until the end of time.

The Galileans were grateful to him for providing so kindly and so thoughtfully for their needs. How much more grateful should we not be for the miracle by means of which he has left us himself to be our daily spiritual food? We are grateful, of course, to our loving Lord who not only handed up his body to his enemies to be crucified for us, but through his divine power, arranged that his glorified body, triumphant over death, should remain with us, his Church, forever under the eucharistic species.

Though invisible to mortal eyes, he is as truly present on our altars as he was that day in Galilee, when he miraculously fed the multitude. He is present under the form of bread and wine—so that we can partake of him as spiritual nourishment during our earthly life. Could love go any further? He himself said: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15: 13). Yes, once a man has given his life he has given his all; there is nothing more he can give. But Christ was more than man. He was God as well, and, therefore, he was able not only to lay down his human life for us, but was able and willing to remain with us after death under the eucharistic species: to be our strength and nourishment until we join him in the promised land of heaven.

When we compare our own unworthiness with this, almost incredible, love and thoughtfulness of Christ for us, all we can do is simply to say: “Lord, you know I am not worthy to receive you, but you say you want to come into my poor and untidy home, please make me less unworthy, forgive all my past sins and offences, and give me the grace and strength to be better in the future.”

Fidelis · Jul 30, 2011

Here are some questions on the Sunday Readings for personal study and reflection:

Code:

* In the 2nd Reading, go through the list of things that St. Paul says cannot separate us from the love of Christ. How is this encouraging? Why does this list not include things like our own sin and unfaithfulness?

Code:

* How does the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew’s Gospel reflect eucharistic language (see Luke 22:19 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-24)? How is it similar to the Old Testament event related in 2 Kings 4:42-44? How is it different?

Fidelis · Jul 30, 2011

From the Daily Scripture Reading & Meditation website:

"They took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over"

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21

**Meditation: ** How do you treat those who make unexpected demands on you? When Jesus and the disciples sought a lonely place to regroup and rest, they found instead a crowd of more than five thousand people waiting for them! Did they resent this intrusion on their hard-earned need for privacy and refreshment? Jesus certainly didn’t but welcomed them with open-arms. Jesus put human need ahead of everything else. His compassion showed the depths of God’s love and concern for all who are truly needy. Jesus gave the people the word of God and he healed them physically as well as spiritually. We can never intrude upon God nor exhaust his generosity and kindness. He is ever ready to give to those who earnestly seek him out. Do you thirst for his saving word and for his healing power?

Why did Jesus command his disciples to do what seemed impossible – to feed such a large and hungry crowd when there were no adequate provisions in sight? Jesus, no doubt wanted to test their faith and to teach them to rely upon God for their provision. The signs which Jesus did, including the miraculous feeding of the five thousand signified that God the Father had indeed sent his only begotten Son as the anointed Prophet and King for his people. Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. What is the significance of this miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God’s provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses’ leadership. This food foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers. Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God’s provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who lack?

*“Lord Jesus Christ, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude for your blessings and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me.” *

Fidelis · Jul 30, 2011

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

Food in Due Season

In Jesus and the Church, Isaiah’s promises in today’s First Reading are fulfilled. All who are thirsty come to the living waters of baptism (see John 4:14). The hungry delight in rich fare - given bread to eat and wine to drink at the Eucharistic table.

This is the point, too, of today’s Gospel. The story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 brims with allusions to the Old Testament. Jesus is portrayed as a David-like shepherd who leads His flock to lie down on green grass as He spreads the table of the Messiah’s banquet before them (see Psalm 23).

Jesus is shown as a new Moses, who likewise feeds vast crowds in a deserted place. Finally, Jesus is shown doing what the prophet Elisha did - satisfying the hunger of the crowd with a few loaves and having some left over (see 2 Kings 4:42-44).

Matthew also wants us to see the feeding of the 5,000 as a sign of the Eucharist. Notice that Jesus performs the same actions in the same sequence as at the Last Supper - He takes bread, says a blessing, breaks it, and gives it (see Matthew 26:26).

Jesus instructed His apostles to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Him. And the ministry of the Twelve is subtly stressed in today’s account. Before He performs the miracle, Jesus instructs the Twelve to give the crowd “some food yourselves.” Indeed, the apostles themselves distribute the bread blessed by Jesus (see Matthew 15:36).

And the leftovers are enough to fill precisely 12 baskets - corresponding to each of the apostles, the pillars of the Church (see Galatians 2:9; Revelation 21:14).

In the Church, as we sing in today’s Psalm, God gives us food in due season, opens His hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing. Now, as Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Fidelis · Jul 31, 2011

**The multiplication of loaves: What if it were only a matter of people sharing?, or Why it had to be a miracle; **by The New Theological Movement blog:

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Matthew 14:13-21
*Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied.
*
It is well known how the modernist and rationalist interpreters of Sacred Scripture will attempt to twist the multiplication of the loaves (indeed, we should say “multiplications”, since Jesus did this more than once) from a miracle into an instance of sharing.
“It wasn’t a miracle,” they tell us. “Or, rather, the miracle was that our Lord got the people to share!” Now, I don’t intend here to point out that such “scholars” have little understanding of the Gospels – how the event is clearly related as a miracle, how the crowds (according to St. John) wanted to make Jesus a political King on account of the fact that he could solve all their material problems with his power, how our Savior himself reminds the Apostles that he had fed the multitudes with only some loaves and a few fish (remember, he was with them on the boat and told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees).

I could do all this, many have done so before – it is the very necessary project of apologetics (the first phase of theology). However, I wish to consider the multiplication according to the higher science of theology proper: What would it mean if this were only a case of sharing? And, What did Christ tell us when he worked this great miracle?

If it was only sharing, to hell with it

When modernists claim that this is only a story about sharing, they are telling us that Christ only gave out the five loaves (or the seven loaves) and that various individuals in the crowd provided the rest. The idea would be that, inspired by the example of Christ (or, even, by the example of the young boy who gave our Savior the bread and fish), certain unnamed persons among the multitude who had hidden away some portion of food decided then to share these reserves with others.

We need not point out how ridiculous a thought it is that the crowd – who, we are told, were on the point of exhaustion and had no reserves – could be more than satiated by a handful of persons sharing a few little treats. Rather, let us consider what the theology of the event would be, if the multiplication were really only about sharing.

If the “miracle” were only that people learned to share, then it would not be Christ who fed the crowd; rather, the crowd would have fed itself. The people would not have received the bread from Christ’s hand (and through the mediation of the Apostles), but they would have provided bread for themselves. Our Savior would only be a “moral cause” of their being fed, he would not have actually fed them himself.

Now, consider that this event is really telling us about how Christ feeds and sustains his Church. If the crowd simply shared (and fed themselves), what would this say about the Church? It would mean that the Church does not rely on Christ (except insofar as he is a moral example from 2000 years ago), but rather she provides for herself and guides herself.

Indeed, most of the modernist interpreters would delight in this conclusion – they have long ago thrown off the yoke of Christ and made themselves rather slaves of the world and its fashions (preferring darkness to light, and slavery to freedom).

The would-be-followers of Christ who “feed themselves” and who “share amongst each other” are those who foment against the Church and her Tradition, who join together in groups calling for radical change (consider those impious bands who demand women’s ordination and approval of same-sex “marriage”). These indeed do not receive the true bread from Christ our God, but only share their meager “treats” amongst themselves.
The Savior feeds his flock through his priests

But, if we accept that the multiplication is a miracle, we quickly recognize the theology behind the actions: Christ continues throughout the centuries to miraculously feed and sustain his Church. Even when we are in the desert, when the Church seems to be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion – especially then, the Savior provides for his Bride.
First and foremost, the “bread” is the Eucharist and the other sacraments. It is also the illumination of the hierarchy in matters of faith and morals. Moreover, we may well say that the “bread” is the saints who are a shining light for the whole world.

What is more, we notice that our Lord does not give the bread to the crowds immediately, but he gives the bread to the Apostles and commands them to feed the crowds. Our Savior sustains his Church through her priests, and especially through the Pope and the bishops united to him.

The faithful in the Church are not left to feed themselves, but Christ continues to care for all his children through the ministry of the successors of his Apostles.

Fidelis · Jul 31, 2011

From Presentation Ministries:

DAILY BREAD

“Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.” —Isaiah 55:2

Isaiah prophesied “rich fare.” The psalmist promised “the best of wheat” (Ps 147:14). Wisdom invited all to her banquet. “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” (Prv 9:5) Throughout the Old Testament, we were invited to a wondrous banquet.

For centuries the chosen people waited for the fulfillment of these prophecies. Finally, they were fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus. He took the five loaves and two fish and miraculously multiplied them to feed possibly 15-20,000 people (Mt 14:16-21). Yet even this did not totally fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. Jesus saved the best till last.

At the last supper before He died, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it, saying: “This is My Body” (Lk 22:19). Jesus taught that His flesh was real food and His blood real drink (Jn 6:55). He was fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies in a way unimaginable. He gave Himself to us in an intimate communion of love.

Jesus invites: “Come to Me heedfully, listen, that you may have life” (Is 55:3). Accept Jesus’ invitation to His banquet of love. Go to Mass daily, or as often as possible, and eat the Bread of Life.

Prayer: Jesus, may I want to celebrate Mass and receive Holy Communion every day of my life.

Promise: “For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” —Rm 8:38-39

Praise: Praise the risen Jesus, Whose Body and Blood are indeed “rich fare” and the food of angels!

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

August 7, 2011:
Study and Meditations on this Sunday’s Scripture Readings

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 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.

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

My own weekly study on the Sunday Readings can be found here.

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):

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://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c8pizPzt.../ygrbj4xdjus/s1600/walking_on_water_jekel.jpg

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

1st Reading - 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a

The northern tribes broke away from Judah on the death of Solomon (922 B.C.), and formed an independent country which was called Israel. Separated from the temple and the priestly caste (the tribe of Levi which remained with Judah and Benjamin), they gradually lost their knowledge and belief in Yahweh, the true God, as well. During the reign of Ahab (869-850), their seventh King, idolatry became rampant in Israel. Ahab had married a pagan called Jezebel, a daughter of the king of Tyre. She set up a temple to Baal in Samaria and had 400 pagan priests daily at her table. She banished all the prophets of the true God from the country or almost all, for Elijah remained to preserve the true faith and make life miserable for Jezebel.

After his victory over the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs. 18: 16-40) and his execution of 400 of them Elijah decided it was safer to leave Israel to escape the wrath of Jezebel (for Elijah to be tough enough to face-off against 400 of Jezebel’s priests, but flee from Jezebel herself says something about how implacable and formidable a foe Jezebel was!).

The nineteenth chapter of 1st Kings is the Elijah story which has close parallels with the story of Moses on the same mountain (Sinai/Horeb). Both journey to the mountain to meet God; Moses while fleeing from the Egyptians, and Elijah while fleeing from Jezebel. Both even receive miraculous rations in route (manna and bread). In today’s reading we hear of Elijah’s encounter with God. Elijah headed for Mount Sinai, evidently in the hope of meeting Yahweh where Moses had seen him, when the incident narrated in today’s reading took place. Remember, Elijah was a holy man of God, who wanted God to be a God of fire and sword for he was waging a one-man war against the queen and her forces.

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

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

http://www.scienceofcorrespondences.com/user/cimage/ElijahCave.jpg

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

From the *Navarre Bible *commentary on the 1st Reading:

Elijah’s encounter with God
----------------------------------------
*[9a] And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him. [11] And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. [13] And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. *

19:9-14. “Taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to this people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides ‘in a cleft of the rock’ until the mysterious presence of God has passed by (cf. 1 Kings 19:1- 14; cf. Ex 33:19-23). But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ’, crucified and risen (cf. 2 Cor 4:6)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2583). There is a sharp contrast between the spectacular forces of nature, in which God is not present, and the small still voice of a gentle breeze in which Elijah recognizes God to be present (vv. 11-13). “In this way,” writes St Irenaeus, “the prophet, who was greatly downcast by the transgression of the people and the murder of the prophets, learned to work with greater calm, and thus also the coming of the Lord in human form is signified. In the light of the Law given to Moses, his coming will be seen as an untroubled time when the bent reed will not be crushed nor the flickering flame quenched. The sweet rest and peace of his reign is foreshadowed here as well. After the wind that moves mountains, after earthquake and fire, the calm and peaceful age of his reign will come, in which the Spirit of God will revitalize and gently encourage the growth of man” (Adversus haereses, 4, 20, 10).

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

Elias, fleeing from Jezabel, cometh to Horeb, where he hath a vision of God.

*9a And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave:

11 And [the Lord] said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord, over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: but the Lord is not in the earthquake.*

Ver. 11. Lord; the angel, his representative. (Menochius) — God had formerly granted the like favour to Moses, in the same place, Exodus xxxiii. 21.

12 And after the earthquake, a fire: the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air.

**Ver. 12. **Air. Something similar happened at the giving of the law, and at the propagation of the gospel, Exodus xix 9, 16., and Acts ii. 2. The Lord was pleased to shew his prophet the difference between the two laws: the own was full of terror, the other of mildness. (Grotius) — He insinuated likewise, that he could easily exterminate the offenders, but he chose to bear patiently with them; (Tirinus) and taught his prophet to moderate his zeal, and, after terrifying sinners, to being them to a sense of their duty by gentle means. (Sanctius) (Calmet) — “His spirit is most indulgent and mild.” *…est teneræ serenitatis, apertus et simplex. *(Tertullian, contra Marcion xxiii.)

13 And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth, stood in the entering in of the cave,
**
Ver. 13. **Mantle, out of respect, like Moses, Exodus iii. 6. So the cherubim veil their faces with their wings, Isaias vi. 2. (Menochius) — Among the Orientals, to cover the face has the same import as when we pull of our hats. (Calmet)

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

The 1st Reading is cited in the following paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

**CCC 2583 **After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in The Word of God and confirms her faith by his urgent prayer: God brings the widow’s child back to life.

The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith of the People of God. In response to Elijah’s plea, “Answer me, O LORD, answer me,” the Lord’s fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the evening oblation. The Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah’s plea in the Eucharistic epiclesis.

Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides “in a cleft of he rock” until the mysterious presence of God has passed by. But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ,” crucified and risen.

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

Here is a meditation on the 1st Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **Elijah was a great prophet, a great defender of the true faith in Israel, where a defense was needed—but, being of a fiery, violent nature, he was evidently not quite satisfied with the help God was giving him. He wanted fire and brimstone poured abundantly on all God’s enemies, but God did not always see things as Elijah did. When running away in despair, or with the hope of collecting reinforcements in the form of more active cooperation (according to his ideas), on the part of God, he was taught a lesson and, to his credit, he learned it.

Many of us have at least a little of the spirit of the pre-Horeb Elijah in us. When we see wickedness prosper and open opponents of God continuing to live and to thrive, we begin to wish God would step in and show his power by exterminating them, in a way that would prevent others from daring to imitate them. An earthquake could so easily swallow up the leaders of atheistic policy when they all meet in Moscow; and what a blessing for the world and for the true religion We wonder, perhaps, why God doesn’t show his power and his presence in some such way to those who deny his existence.

But, as Christians, we should know better. We have the great advantage (which Elijah lacked) of Christ’s teaching on God’s mercy. God is the father, and the loving father, of the sinner as well as of the saint. He does not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live. He gives his grace to all men; he lets his sun shine on the sinners and the just. He has infinite patience and is ready, up to the last moment, to welcome back the greatest sinner who turns to him. How many saints are in heaven today, who would have been cut down in their sins, if God acted as Elijah and some other devout lovers of God would have him act?

No, the lesson for each one of us today is that God is especially a God of mercy in his dealings with us. He would have us deal mercifully with our fellowman who are not serving him or who, worse still, are even denying his existence. Tornadoes of blame and abuse, thundering condemnations and threats of fire and brimstone are not the means God uses to bring back his prodigal sons, and they are not the means he wants us, his friends, to use either.

God is to be found in “the tiny gentle breeze,” in the kind, charitable understanding word spoken out of a true brotherly heart. In the sinner God sees his child and still loves him. We too should see in the sinner our brother, and we should love him and wish him to reach the happy end God intends for him. A kindly word will do more to produce his conversion than torrents of abuse and condemnation. There are few of us who have not sinned and offended God during our adult years. How fortunate we were that God was not Elijah’s type of God while we were in our sins! He gave us a chance because he was a merciful, understanding God. Let us be merciful and understanding to our brothers who now are what we once were. Let us pray for them and ask God to continue to be merciful towards them. Let us help them kindly and charitably whenever we can. If we are instrumental in bringing back a prodigal son to his loving Father in heaven, we can rest assured that our Father will help us on our road back to him in heaven.

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

2nd Reading - Romans 9:1-5

In the preceding eight chapters, St. Paul has been telling the Roman converts to Christianity of the blessings Christ, the Messiah, had brought to mankind. Christ was the fulfillment of all God’s dealings with the Chosen People of the Old Testament—he was the fulfillment of “the Law and the prophets.” Yet the Jews, as a nation, had refused to see Christ as the Messiah who was promised to them by God through their patriarchs and prophets. This question troubled Paul very much. (It must be remembered that a great many individual Jews had accepted Christianity, among them Paul and the other Apostles.) Paul would gladly have given everything, even his life and his Christian faith, to get them to accept Christ as the fulfillment of the promises. It is of this sorrow of heart that he speaks in the following verses.

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

Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are Israelites;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

From the Navarre Bible commentary on the 1st Reading:

Chaps. 9-11. In these chapters–as we indicate in the title given to this section of the letter–St Paul deals with “God’s plan for the chosen people.” The Apostle explains that Israel, as a people, in general has failed to accept the Gospel despite the fact that God’s promises of salvation were made to the Jews in the first instance.

The Privileges of Israel and God’s Fidelity
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[1] I am speaking for the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness to the Holy Spirit, [2] that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. [3] For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race.

**3. **There is an apparent contradiction between what is said here–"I could wish that I myself was accursed and cut off from Christ’–and what is said earlier (cf. 8:31ff) about nothing being able to separate us from the love of Christ. The two ideas in fact complement one another. God’s love moves us to love others so intensely that we are ready to suffer anything if it means the conversion of others to God. Paul is not referring to permanent separation from God, that is, eternal damnation, but to being ready to renounce any material or spiritual favor God might grant us. This means that we should be ready to bear public opprobrium and be taken for evildoers, as Jesus was. Some writers have interpreted the verse as meaning that the Apostle is even ready to renounce eternal happiness, but obviously what we have here is typical oriental exaggeration, rather like what Moses said when he interceded with God on behalf of those Israelites who had fallen into idolatry: “[If thou wilt not forgive their sin] blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Ex 32:32). Both Moses and Paul know that God loves them and protects them and that the vision of God necessarily involves
the indescribable happiness of heaven, but they want to make it plain that they put the salvation of the chosen people ahead of their own personal advantage.

[4] They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; [5] to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.

**4-6. **The Israelites are the descendants of Jacob, to whom God gave the name Israel (cf. Gen 32:29). The fact that they are children of Israel is the basis of the privileges which God bestows on them in the course of Salvation History–firstly, their status as the people of God, chosen as the adoptive sons of Yahweh (cf. Ex 4:22; Deut 7:6); also their being given the “glory” of God who dwelt in their midst (cf. Ex 25:8; Deut 4:7; Jn 1:14); their good fortune in being able to offer worship proper to the one true God, and in receiving from him the Law of Moses, which spelt out the principles of the natural moral law and revealed other aspects of God’s will; and, finally, their being the recipients of oft-repeated messianic promises.

The remarkable honor bestowed on the chosen people is to be seen most clearly in the fact that God himself chose to assume a human nature which had all the characteristics of the Israelite race. Jesus Christ, as true man, is an Israelite “according to the flesh”, and he is true God because he is “God above all, blessed for ever.”

Similar statements made in other epistles of St Paul about the mystery of the Incarnation manifest Christ’s two natures and one Person (cf. Rom 1:3-4; Phil 2:6-7; Col 2:9; Tit 2:13-14).

In the present passage, this statement appears in the form of a “doxology” or paean of praise to God, one of the most solemn ways in which Yahweh is exalted in the Old Testament (cf. Ps 41:14; 72:19; 106:48; Neh 9:5; Dan 2:20; etc.). By calling Jesus Christ “God, blessed for ever” his divinity is being declared in a most explicit manner.

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

The apostle’s concern for the Jews.

*1 I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost:

2 That I have great sadness, and continual sorrow in my heart.

3 For I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh,*

Ver. 3. I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ. The word anathema, according to its derivation, signifies a thing separated or laid apart for some particular use. Hence it was put to signify things given and consecrated to God, which therefore used to be presented and hung up in temples. 2. The word also was applied to signify things whose destruction was resolved upon, that is, men or things separated for destruction, as sometimes, men deputed to be sacrificed to the gods to appease their anger. This signification was according to the Hebrew word cherem, and the Syriac word horma, as Numbers xxi. 3. He called the name of that place Horma, that is, anathema; because it was to be entirely destroyed. See 1 Machabees v. Hence anathema was also used for a curse, and to anathematize, to curse. See Acts xxiii. 14. The sense of this place is differently expounded. Tolet, by the word I wished, or I did wish, thinks that St. Paul might speak of the time before his conversion, when out of a false zeal, he wished to be separated from Christ, and from all Christians: and that he brings this to shew his brethren how zealous he had been for their religion. But this wish of St. Paul is generally expounded as proceeding from the great love and charity he had, when he was an apostle, for the conversion and salvation of his brethren, the Jews, who mostly remained obstinate and incredulous: and some will have it to be no more than a hyperbolical expression of his great love and affection for them. Others, with St. Jerome, ep. ad Algasiam, tom. iv. p. 203. Ed. Ben. think that by this way of speaking, St. Paul signifies himself willing to be sacrificed, by undergoing any death for their conversion: but St. Chrysostom (hom. xvi.) thinks this far short of the sublime charity of St. Paul; for by such a death, says he, he would not be separated from Christ, but would be a great gainer by it; since by that means he would soon be free from all the troubles and sufferings of a miserable life, and blessed with the company and enjoyment of Christ in the kingdom of his glory. He, and many others, think that St. Paul was so troubled and grieved to the heart at the obstinacy of the unbelieving Jews, at their blasphemies against Christ, and their eternal perdition, that an extraordinary charity and zeal for God’s honour, and their salvation, made him wish even to endure a separation from Christ, and from the glory prepared for him in heaven, though not from the love, or from the grace of Christ. If this, says St. Chrysostom, seems incredible to us, it is because we are far from such heroic dispositions of the love of God, and of our neighbours. (Witham) — The apostle’s concern and love for his countrymen, the Jews, was so great, that he was willing even to suffer an anathema, or curse, for their sake; or any evil that could come upon him, without his offending God. (Challoner)

Concluded on the next post…

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

*4 Who are Israelites, to whom belongeth the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the covenant, and the giving of the law, and the worship, and the promises:

5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen.*

Ver. 4-5. To whom belongeth the adoption of children. Literally,* whose is the adoption*. He mentions the favours which God had done to his people, the Jews. As, 1. That God had adopted them for his elect people. 2. That he had glorified them with so many miracles. 3. That he had made a particular covenant and alliance with them. 4. Given them a written law. 5. Prescribed the manner they should worship him. 6. Promises of divers blessings. 7. Who are from the Fathers. Literally, whose are the Fathers; i.e. who descended from the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, &c. 8. Of whose race, i.e. of the family of David, Jesus Christ, as man, was born. — Who is over all things God, blessed for ever. Amen. Though the apostles did not often, in express words, call Jesus Christ the God, lest the heathens, when they were not sufficiently instructed, should imagine that there were many gods, (as divers of the fathers take notice) yet here, and in several places, they clearly delivered the divinity of our Saviour, Christ. The Socinians might here observe, that the apostle calls him the God blessed for ever, and with the Greek article. (Witham)

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

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

CCC 449 By attributing to Jesus the divine title “Lord”, the first confessions of the Church’s faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honor and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because “he was in the form of God”, and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.

CCC 839 “Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways.”

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, “the first to hear the Word of God.” The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”, “for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

Fidelis · Aug 5, 2011

Here is a meditation on the 2nd Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **Like St. Paul we too can and should grieve that God’s Chosen People of the Old Testament refused, and still refuse as a nation, to accept the last and greatest of the many gifts he gave them, his Messiah, Christ. For eighteen centuries he treated them as a people apart. He let the other nations go their way, but to them he revealed himself as the true and only God, who made and regulated the whole universe and all it contains. And his reason for this special treatment was that his Son (according to the flesh), whom he was going to send on earth to make all nations his new Chosen People, would be a descendant of Abraham, a member of their race.

While we regret that they are not our brothers in Christ, and while we must always pray that one day they will become our Christian brothers, we must realize that they are a small percentage of those who reject Christ today. There are millions living among us—men and women—who know nothing and care nothing for God or for their own eternal future. If they were not baptized then their parents were, but indifference followed by disbelief has ousted the faith in families, and almost in whole nations, in much of the so-called civilized part of our world.

What is the cause of this? It is the same as that which prevented most of the Jews of St. Paul’s day from accepting Christ: pride and worldliness. The leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and the priestly caste, could not bear to be taught by Christ. What was he but a country carpenter, while they were doctors of the law! They had nothing to learn, they thought. Our ex-Christians and anti-Christians today think they have all the answers to all questions too. Because they know a little more than their grand-parents about the things of this world, they think they can ignore or deny the existence of what does not come within the range of their bodily senses.

As well as being proud, the priests and Pharisees of Paul’s day were worldly and politically minded. They looked for a Messiah who would not only set them free from the hated Roman rule, but who would make of their country a world-power. And in this new empire they would, of course, have the seats of honor. Christ’s teaching was concerned not with power or wealth in this world but with the eternal joy and happiness that men could obtain for themselves in the next. Our ex-Christians today have no time, and no thought, for God or for Christ’s teaching, because they are totally occupied with obtaining the pleasures, the wealth, the comforts of this world. They may not think in terms of world-power for themselves, but they have put themselves completely and entirely in the power of this world. Talk of a future-life is to them sheer folly—the present is what counts: “eat, sleep, drink and be merry” is their motto, their creed. They are reluctant to add "for tomorrow you die’!—that might disturb their present bliss!

What should be our reaction to this sad state of so many of our fellowmen? Our first reaction should be a fervent “Thank you, God, for the true faith we have; please give us the grace to live in it until we draw our last breath.” Our second thought must be to ask the good God to send the light of faith to the descendants of Abraham, and to re-light it among those Gentiles who have extinguished it. It is not enough for a true Christian that he should live his own life according to the laws of Christ, true charity demands that he be seriously interested in the spiritual welfare of his neighbors.

Fidelis · Aug 6, 2011

Gospel Reading: Matthew 14:22-33

Code:

* The events related in this Sunday’s Gospel takes place right after the multiplication of the loaves and fish we heard about last week. The events it describes are related in three of the four Gospels (see also Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:14-21).

* Jesus instructs his disciples to get into a fishing boat (probably Peter’s) and head out across the Sea of Galilee toward Gentile territory, to the land of Gennesaret (verse 34; Matthew 8:28-34). While far out to sea in the barque of Peter, in the darkest part of the night (the fourth watch was between 3 and 6 A.M.), they battle a great storm.

* As they struggle against the wind and the waves, Jesus comes to them walking on the water. Whereas they were not described as terrified from the storm, they are now, as they assume Jesus is some sort of phantom (verse 26). Peter, however—always the impetuous leader—decides to step out in faith. Jesus allows him to proceed, then saves him when he takes his eyes off the Lord and his faith fails.

* Returning to the boat, the wind calms. The disciples had seen Jesus quiet the sea once before (Matthew 8:23-27), but now seem to recognize that the Old Testament credits God alone with mastery over the sea (Job 26:11-14; Ps 89:8-10; 93:4; 107:28-31).

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

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

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Fidelis · Aug 6, 2011

From the *Navarre Bible *commentary on the Gospel Reading:

Jesus Walks on the Water
------------------------
*[22] Then He (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. [23] And after He had dismissed the crowds He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, *

**22-23. **It has been a very full day, like so many others. First, Jesus works many cures (14:14) and then performs the remarkable miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, a symbol of the future Eucharist. The crowd who have been following Him were avid for food, teaching and consolation. Jesus “had compassion on them” (14:14),
curing their sick and giving them the comfort of His teaching and the nourishment of food. He continues to do the same, down the centuries, tending to our needs and comforting us with His word and with the nourishment of His own body. Jesus must have been very moved, realizing the vivifying effect the Blessed Sacrament would have on the lives of Christians–a sacrament which is a mystery of life and faith and love. It is understandable that He should feel the need to spend some hours in private to speak to His Father. Jesus’ private prayer, in an interlude between one demanding activity and another, teac hes us that every Christian needs to take time out for recollection, to speak to His Father, God. On Jesus’ frequent personal prayer see, for example, Mark 1:35; 6:47; Luke 5:16; 16:12. See the notes on Matthew 6:5-6 and Matthew 7:7-11.

**24-33: **This remarkable episode of Jesus walking on the sea must have made a deep impression on the Apostles. It was one of their outstanding memories of the life they shared with the Master. It is reported not only by St. Matthew, but also by St. Mark (6:45-52), who would have heard about it from St. Peter, and by St. John (6:14-21).

Storms are very frequent on Lake Gennesaret; they cause huge waves and are very dangerous to fishing boats. During His prayer on the hill, Jesus is still mindful of His disciples; He sees them trying to cope with the wind and the waves and comes to their rescue once He has finished praying.

This episode has applications to Christian life. The Church, like the Apostles’ boat, also gets into difficulties, and Jesus who watches over His Church comes to its rescue also, after allowing it to wrestle with obstacles and be strengthened in the process. He gives us encouragement: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear” (14:27); and we show our faith and fidelity by striving to keep an even keel, and by calling on His aid when we feel ourselves weakening: “Lord, save me” (14:30), words of St. Peter which every soul uses when he has recourse to Jesus, his Savior. Then our Lord does save us, and we urgently confess our faith: “Truly you are the Son of God” (14:33).

*[24] but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. [26] But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. [27] But immediately He spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

[28] And Peter answered Him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to You on the water.” [29] He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; [30] but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” *
**
29-31. **St. John Chrysostom (“Hom. on St. Matthew”, 50) comments that in this episode Jesus taught Peter to realize, from his own experience, that all his strength comes from our Lord and that he could not rely on his own resources, on his own weaknesses and wretchedness. Chrysostom goes as far as to say that “if we fail to play our part, God ceases to help us.” Hence the reproach, 'O man of little faith" (14:31). When Peter began to be afraid and to doubt, he started to sink, until again, full of faith, he called out, “Lord, save me.”

If at any time we, like Peter, should begin to weaken, we too should try to bring our faith into play and call on Jesus to save us.
*
[32] And when they got into boat, the wind ceased. [33] And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the son of God.”*

Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings

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