CCC Cross Reference:
2 Cor 1:20 1065; 2 Cor 1:21-22 1274; 2 Cor 1:21 695, 735; 2 Cor 1:22 698, 1107, 1296
Mt 5:13-16 782, 2821; Mt 5:14 1243; Mt 5:16 326
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Reading 1
2 Cor 1:18-22
Brothers and sisters:
As God is faithful, our word to you is not “yes” and “no.”
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us,
Silvanus and Timothy and me,
was not “yes” and “no,” but “yes” has been in him.
For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him;
therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.
But the one who gives us security with you in Christ
and who anointed us is God;
he has also put his seal upon us
and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135
R. (135a) Lord, let your face shine on me.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
gives understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Turn to me in pity
as you turn to those who love your name.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Steady my footsteps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity rule over me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Gospel
Mt 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 2 Corinthians 1:18 – 22
I swear by God’s truth, there is no Yes and No about what we say to you. The Son of God, the Christ Jesus that we proclaimed among you – I mean Silvanus and Timothy and I – was never Yes and No: with him it was always Yes, and however many the promises God made, the Yes to them all is in him. That is why it is ‘through him’ that we answer Amen to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all, and you, of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 118(119):129-133,135
Let your face shine on your servant.
Your will is wonderful indeed;
therefore I obey it.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.
Let your face shine on your servant.
I open my mouth and I sigh
as I yearn for your commands.
Turn and show me your mercy;
show justice to your friends.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Let my steps be guided by your promise;
let no evil rule me.
Let your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Gospel Matthew 5:13 – 16
Jesus said, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
From: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Why He Has Not Visited Corinth (Continuation)
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[18] As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. [19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always: Yes. [20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God. [21] But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; [22] he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
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Commentary:
17-20. He calls on God to witness to the sincerity of his actions and to his being a man of his word. He cannot act otherwise, he explains, because he preaches Jesus Christ and follows him: and Christ is absolutely faithful and truthful (cf. Jn 14:6) and demanded sincerity in word and in deed (cf. Mt 5:37; Jas 5:12). The faithfulness of Christ -- in whom it is always "Yes" (vv. 19-20) -- is the model for all Christians, both those who dedicate their lives totally and exclusively to God in celibacy and those who do so through marriage. Referring to this passage, Bl. John Paul II teaches that "just as the Lord Jesus is 'the faithful witness' (Rev 3: 14), the 'yes' of the promises of God (cf. 2 Cor 1:20), so Christian couples are called to participate truly in the irrevocable indissolubility that binds Christ to the Church, his bride, loved by him to the end (cf. Jn 13:1)" ("Familiaris Consortio", 20).
Relying on Christ's faithfulness the faithful are able to say that "Amen" ("So be it"), by which they adhere fully to the Apostle's teachings. From the very beginning of Christianity, the "Amen" was said at the end of the Church's public pra- yers (cf. 1 Cor 14:16).
Silvanus, called Silas in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 15:40), had helped St Paul to found the Church in Corinth (cf. Acts 18:5).
18. "As surely as God is faithful': so translated to evoke a form of words used in taking a oath; literally, "Faithful is God."
21-22. As in other passages of this letter (cf. 3:3; 13:13), St Paul is here referring explicitly to the promises made of the Blessed Trinity: it is God (the Father) who has given us our "commission" (anointed us with grace) establishing us in the Son, through the gift of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Using three different expressions--"commissioned" (anointed), "put his seal upon us", given us his Spirit "as a guarantee"--the Apostle describes the way God acts in the soul: in Baptism the Christian is spiritually anointed with grace and incorporated into Christ; he is thereby "sealed", for he no longer belongs to himself but has become the property of Christ; and together with grace, he receives the Holy Spirit as a "guarantee", a pledge of the gifts he will receive in eternal life. All those effects of Baptism are reinforced by the sacrament of Confirmation (St Paul may well have had this sacrament in mind also, when writing these words).
Commenting on this passage St John Chrysostom explains that by this action the Holy Spirit establishes the Christian as prophet, priest and king: "In olden times these three types of people received the unction which confirmed them in their dignity. We Christians have not one of these three dignities but all three preeminently. For, are we not kings, who shall infallibly inherit a kingdom? Are we not priests, if we offer our bodies as a sacrifice, instead of mere animal victims, as the Apostle says: 'I appeal to you...to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God' (Rom 12:1)? And are we not constituted prophets if, thanks to God, secrets have been revealed to us which eye has not seen nor ear heard?" ("Hom. on 2 Cor.", 3).
"He has put his seal on us": the St Pius V Catechism uses these words to ex- plain the "character" which the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Order impress on the soul; Paul "not obscurely describes by the word 'sealed' a character, the property of which is to impress a seal or mark. This character is, as it were, a distinctive impression stamped on the soul which perpetually inheres and cannot be blotted out" (II, 1, 30).
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From: Matthew 5:13-16
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World
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(Jesus said to the multitude:) [13] "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.
[14] "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. [15] Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven."
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Commentary:
13-16. These verses are a calling to that apostolate which is part and parcel of being a Christian. Every Christian has to strive for personal sanctification, but he also has to seek the sanctification of others. Jesus teaches us this, using the very expressive simile of salt and light. Salt preserves food from corruption; it also brings out its flavor and makes it more pleasant; and it disappears into the food; the Christian should do the same among the people around him.
"You are salt, apostolic soul. 'Bonum est sal': salt is a useful thing', we read in the holy Gospel; 'si autem sal evanuerit': but if the salt loses its taste', it is good for nothing, neither for the land nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out as useless. You are salt, apostolic soul. But if you lose your taste..." (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 921).
Good works are the fruit of charity, which consists in loving others as God loves us (cf. John 15:12). "I see now", St. Therese of Lisieux writes, "that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue. I see above all that charity must not remain hidden in the bottom of our hearts: 'nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.' It seems to me that this lamp is the symbol of charity; it must shine out not only to cheer those we love best but all in the house" ("The Autobiography of a Saint", Chapter 9).
Apostolate is one of the clearest expressions of charity. The Second Vatican Council emphasized the Christian's duty to be apostolic. Baptism and Confirmation confer this duty, which is also a right (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 33), so much so that, because the Christian is part of the mystical body, "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" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 2). "Laymen have countless opportunities for exercising the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification. The very witness of a Christian life, and good works done in a supernatural spirit, are effective in drawing men to the faith and to God; and that is what the Lord has said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven" ("Apo- stolicam Actuositatem", 6).
"The Church must be present to these groups [those who do not even believe in God] through those of its members who live among them or have been sent to them. All Christians by the example of their lives and witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they put on in Baptism, and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were streng- thened at Confirmation, so that others, seeing their good works, might glorify the Father and more perfectly perceive the true meaning of human life and the universal solidarity of mankind" ("Ad Gentes", 11; cf. 36).
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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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