CCC Cross Reference:
1 Pt 5:7 322; 1 Pt 5:8 409, 2849
Ps 89 709
Mk 16:15-16 977, 1223; Mk 16:15 888; Mk 16:16 161, 183, 1253, 1256, 1257; Mk 16:17-18 670, 1507; Mk 16:17 434, 1673; Mk 16:18 699; Mk 16:19 659, 659; Mk 16:20 2, 156, 670
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Reading 1
1 Pt 5:5b-14
Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for:
God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.
Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
The God of all grace
who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you
after you have suffered a little.
To him be dominion forever. Amen.
I write you this briefly through Silvanus,
whom I consider a faithful brother,
exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Remain firm in it.
The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son.
Greet one another with a loving kiss.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O LORD,
and your faithfulness, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can rank with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the sons of God?
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 16:15-20
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Peter 5:5 – 14
To the rest of you I say: do what the elders tell you, and all wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you. Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while: the God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again: he will confirm, strengthen and support you. His power lasts for ever and ever. Amen.
I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a brother I know I can trust, to encourage you never to let go this true grace of God to which I bear witness.
Your sister in Babylon, who is with you among the chosen, sends you greetings; so does my son, Mark.
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to you all who are in Christ.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 88(89):2-3,6-7,16-17
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;
the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord
or who is like the Lord among the sons of God?
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Happy the people who acclaim such a king,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Mark 16:15 – 20
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Feast: St. Mark, Evangelist
From: 1 Peter 5:5b-14
To the Faithful
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[5b] Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
[6] Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you. [7] Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you. [8] Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish and strengthen you. [11] To Him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Epilogue
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[12] By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. [13] She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. [14] Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you that are in Christ.
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Commentary:
5-11. The Apostle concludes his exhortation with a call to humility, which should express itself in complete docility in the face of the trials God permits (verses 6-7). This last piece of advice is often found in Sacred Scripture: "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you" (Psalm 55:22); Jesus also teaches that we should trust in God's fatherly providence (cf. Matthew 6:19-34). "You have such care for each one of us", St. Augustine exclaims, "as if you had no others to care for" ("Confessions", 3, 11).
However, abandonment in God does not mean irresponsibility, so St. Peter reminds them there is always need to be watchful against the assaults of the devil, who will pounce on us if we lower our guard (verse 8).
The description of the devil (etymologically the word means liar, detractor: cf. Revelation 12:9-10) as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour has often been taken up by the Saints. "He moves round each one of us", St. Cyprian says, "like an enemy who has us surrounded and is checking the walls to see if there is some weak, unsecured part, where he can get in" ("De Zelo Et Livore").
Christians "firm in the faith" will resist the attacks of the devil. The trials they suffer (cf. 1:6-7; 4:13; 5:1-4) serve to purify them and are a pledge of the glory God will give them: "For this momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparisons" (2 Corinthians 4:17). "So great is the good that I hope for, that any pain is for me a pleasure" (St. Francis of Assisi, "Reflections on Christ's Wounds", 1).
5. "You who are younger": it is not clear whether he is addressing people who are young in age or Christians who are not "elders" (priests), that is, lay people.
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble": a quotation from Proverbs (cf. James 4:6 and note on same), containing an idea which runs right through the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Job 12:19; Psalm 18:88; 31:34) and the teachings of Christ (cf., e.g., Luke 14:11). The Blessed Virgin proclaims this truth in the "Magnificat": "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree" (Luke 1:52).
"Humility is the source and foundation of every kind of virtue," the Cure of Ars teaches; "it is the door by which all God-given graces enter; it is what seasons all our actions, making them so valuable and so pleasing to God. Finally, it makes us masters of God's heart, to the point, so to speak, of making Him our servant; for God has never been able to resist a humble heart" ("Selected Sermons", Tenth Sunday after Pentecost).
8. For the third time, St. Peter exhorts the faithful to be sober; earlier he referred to the importance of sobriety so as to put one's hope in Heavenly things (1:13) and to help one to pray (4:7). Now he stresses that it puts us on guard against the devil.
Man should use the goods of this world in a balanced, temperate way, so as to avoid being ensnared by them, thereby forgetting his eternal destiny: "Detach yourself from the goods of the world. Love and practice poverty of spirit: be content with what enables you to live a simple and sober life. Otherwise, you will never be an apostle" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 631).
12. Silvanus, called Silas in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 15:22), accompanied St. Paul on his second apostolic journey through Asia Minor and Greece (cf. Acts 15:36-18:22); he was therefore well known to the Christians addressed in this letter.
From the reference St. Peter makes to him here, it is not possible to say for sure whether Silvanus was simply the bearer of the letter, or acted as an amanuensis who took down the Apostle's dictation, or was an editor or redactor of ideas the Apostle gave him (on this subject, see the Introduction to this Letter).
13. "Babylon": this is a symbolic way of referring to Rome, the prototype of the idolatrous and worldly city of the era. Some centuries earlier Babylon had been the subject of severe reproaches and threats by the prophets (cf., e.g., Isaiah 13:47; Jeremiah 50-51). In the Book of Revelation Rome is also referred to by this name (cf. e.g., Revelation 17-18).
The Mark referred to is the author of the second Gospel. Tradition says that he acted as St. Peter's interpreter in Rome. The Apostle calls him "son", meaning that he was spiritually his son, and implying that they had been close to each other for a long time (cf. "The Navarre Bible: St. Mark", pp. 56-57).
14. "The kiss of love": St. Paul also, at the end of some of his letters, refers to the "holy kiss" (cf. Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26), a mark of supernatural charity and shared faith. With this meaning the gesture passed into primitive eucharistic liturgy (cf. note on 1 Corinthians 16:20).
The final words, "Peace to all of you that are in Christ", are similar to the way St. Paul ends many of his letters; since the first age of the Church it has been used in liturgical celebrations. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, for example, ends his baptismal catechism with these words: "May the God of peace hallow you entirely, and your body and your soul remain unsullied until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" ("Mystagogical Catechesis", 5, 23).
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From: Mark 16:15-20
Jesus Appears to the Eleven. The Apostle's Mission
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[15] And He (Jesus) said to them (the Eleven), "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. [16] He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. [17] And these signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; [18] they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
The Ascension
---------------------
[19] So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
The Apostles Go Forth and Preach
--------------------------------------------------
[20] And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
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Commentary:
15. This verse contains what is called the "universal apostolic mandate" (paralleled by Matthew 28:19-20 and Luke 24:46-48). This is an imperative command from Christ to His Apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world. This same apostolic mission applies, especially to the Apostles' successors, the bishops in communion with Peter's successor, the Pope.
But this mission extends further: the whole "Church was founded to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth for the glory of God the Father, to make all men partakers in redemption and salvation.... Every activity of the Mystical Body with this in view goes by the name of 'apostolate'; the Church exercises it through all its members, though in various ways. In fact, the Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well. In the organism of a living body no member plays a purely passive part, sharing in the life of the body it shares at the same time in its activity. The same is true for the body of Christ, the Church: 'the whole body achieves full growth in dependence on the full functioning of each part' (Ephesians 4:16). Between the members of this body there exists, further, such a unity and solidarity (cf. Ephesians 4:16) that a member who does not work at the growth of the body to the extent of his possibilities must be considered useless both to the Church and to himself.
"In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in His name and by His power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole people of God" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 2).
It is true that God acts directly on each person's soul through grace, but it must also be said that it is Christ's will (expressed here and elsewhere) that men should be an instrument or vehicle of salvation for others.
Vatican II also teaches this: "On all Christians, accordingly, rests the noble obligation of working to bring all men throughout the whole world to hear and accept the divine message of salvation" ("ibid.", 3).
16. This verse teaches that, as a consequence of the proclamation of the Good News, faith and Baptism are indispensable pre-requisites for attaining salvation. Conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ should lead directly to Baptism, which confers on us "the first sanctifying grace, by which Original Sin is forgiven, and which also forgives any actual sins there may be; it remits all punishment due for sins; it impresses on the soul the mark of the Christian; it makes us children of God, members of the Church and heirs to Heaven, and enables us to receive the other Sacraments" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 553).
Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, as we can see from these words of the Lord. But physical impossibility for receiving the rite of Baptism can be replaced either by martyrdom (called, therefore, "baptism of blood") or by a perfect act of love of God and of contrition, together with an at least implicit desire to be baptized: this is called "baptism of desire" (cf. "ibid.", 567-568).
Regarding infant Baptism, St. Augustine taught that "the custom of our Mother the Church of infant Baptism is in no way to be rejected or considered unnecessary; on the contrary, it is to be believed on the ground that it is a tradition from the Apostles" ("De Gen., Ad Litt.", 10, 23, 39). The new "Code of Canon Law" also stresses the need to baptize infants: "Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptized within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the Sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it" (Canon 867).
Another consequence of the proclamation of the Gospel, closely linked with the previous one, is that "the Church is necessary", as Vatican II declares: "Christ is the one mediator and way of salvation; He is present to us in His body which is the Church. He Himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to enter it, or to remain in it" ("Lumen Gentium", 14; cf. "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 4; "Ad Gentes", 1-3; "Dignitatis Humanae", 11).
17-18. In the early days of the Church, public miracles of this kind happened frequently. There are numerous historical records of these events in the New Testament (cf., e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 28:3-6) and in other ancient Christian writings. It was very fitting that this should be so, for it gave visible proof of the truth of Christianity.
Miracles of this type still occur, but much more seldom; they are very exceptional. This, too, is fitting because, on the one hand, the truth of Christianity has been attested to enough; and, on the other, it leaves room for us to merit through faith. St. Jerome comments: "Miracles were necessary at the beginning to confirm the people in the faith. But, once the faith of the Church is confirmed, miracles are not necessary" ("Comm. In Marcum, in loc."). However, God still works miracles through saints in every generation, including our own.
19. The Lord's ascension into Heaven and His sitting at the right hand of the Father is the sixth article of faith confessed in the Creed. Jesus Christ went up into Heaven body and soul, to take possession of the Kingdom He won through His death, to prepare for us a place in Heaven (cf. Revelation 3:21) and to send the Holy Spirit to His Church (cf. "St. Pius X Catechism", 123).
To say that He "sat at the right hand of God" means that Jesus Christ, including His humanity, has taken eternal possession of Heaven and that, being the equal of His Father in that He is God, He occupies the place of highest honor beside Him in His human capacity (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", I, 7, 2-3). Already in the Old Testament the Messiah is spoken of as seated at the right hand of the Almighty, thereby showing the supreme dignity of Yahweh's Anointed (cf. Psalm 110:1). The New Testament records this truth here and also in many other passages (cf. Ephesians 1:20-22; Hebrews 1:13).
As the "St. Pius V Catechism" adds, Jesus went up to Heaven by His own power and not by any other. Nor was it only as God that He ascended, but also as man.
20. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the evangelist attests that the words of Christ have already begun to be fulfilled by the time of writing. The Apostles, in other words, were faithfully carrying out the mission of our Lord entrusted to them. They begin to preach the Good News of salvation throughout the known world. Their preaching was accompanied by the signs and wonders the Lord had promised, which lent authority to their witness and their teaching. Yet, we know that their apostolic work was always hard, involving much effort, danger, misunderstanding, persecution and even martyrdom--like our Lord's own life.
Thanks to God and also to the Apostles, the strength and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ has reached as far as us. But every Christian generation, every man and woman, has to receive the preaching of the Gospel and, in turn, pass it on. The grace of God will always be available to us: "Non est abbreviata manus Domini" (Isaiah 59:1), the power of the Lord has not diminished.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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