Monday, September 10, 2007

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

437 Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
Col 1:24 307, 618, 1508; Col 1:27 568, 772
Lk 6:6-9 581

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Reading 1
Col 1:24–2:3

Brothers and sisters:
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his Body, which is the Church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me
to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles;
it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
For this I labor and struggle,
in accord with the exercise of his power working within me.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you
and for those in Laodicea
and all who have not seen me face to face,
that their hearts may be encouraged
as they are brought together in love,
to have all the richness of assured understanding,
for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 62:6-7, 9

R. (8) In God is my safety and my glory.

Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. In God is my safety and my glory.

Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
R. In God is my safety and my glory.

Gospel
Lk 6:6-11

On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up and stand before us.”
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
“I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.


Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading Colossians 1:24 - 2:3

It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly.
Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle hard for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for so many others who have never seen me face to face. It is all to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 61(62):6-7,9

In God is my safety and glory.

In God alone be at rest, my soul;
  for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
  my fortress: I stand firm.

In God is my safety and glory.

Take refuge in God, all you people.
  Trust him at all times.
Pour out your hearts before him
  for God is our refuge.

In God is my safety and glory.

Gospel Luke 6:6 – 11

On another sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ And he came out and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’ Then he looked round at them all and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand’. He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

From: Colossians 1:24-2:3

Paul's response to his calling
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[24] Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25] of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.

St. Paul's concern for the faithful
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[1] For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face, [2] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, [3] in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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Commentary:

24. Jesus Christ our Lord perfectly accomplished the work the Father gave him to to (cf. Jn 17:4); as he said himself when he was about to die, "It is finished”, it is accomplished (Jn 19:30).

From that point onwards objective redemption is an accomplished fact. All men have been saved by the redemptive death of Christ. However, St Paul says that he completes in his flesh "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions”; what does he mean by this? The most common explanation of this statement is summarized by St Alphonsus as follows: "Can it be that Christ's passion alone was insufficient to save us? It left nothing more to be done, it was entirely sufficient to save all men. However, for the merits of the Passion to be applied to us, according to St. Thomas (Summa theologiae, III, q. 49, a. 3), we need to cooperate (subjective redemption) by patiently bearing the trials God sends us, so as to become like our head, Christ” (St Alphonsus, Thoughts on the Passion, 10).

St Paul is applying this truth to himself. Jesus Christ worked and strove in all kinds of ways to communicate his message of salvation, and then he accomplished the redemption by dying on the Cross. The Apostle is mindful of the Master's teaching and so he follows in his footsteps (cf. 1 Pet 2:21), takes up his cross 9cf. Mt 10:38) and continues the task of bringing Christ's teaching to all men.

Faith in the fact that we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, Bl. John Paul II says, gives a person "the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemption he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. Therefore he is carrying out an irreplaceable service. In the Body of Christ, which is ceaselessly born of the Cross of the Redeemer, it is precisely suffering permeated by the spirit of Christ's sacrifice that is the irreplaceable mediator and author of the good things which are indispensable for the world's salvation. It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the force of the Redemption” (Salvifici doloris, 27).

26-27. The "mystery”, now revealed, is God's eternal plan to give salvation to men, both Jews and Gentiles, making all without distinction co-heirs of glory and members of a single body which is the Church (cf. Eph 3:6), through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 15:25-26).

In Christ, who has brought salvation to Gentile and Jew, the "mystery” is fully revealed. His presence in Christians of Gentile origin is in fact a very clear manifestation of the supernatural fruitfulness of the "mystery” and an additional ground for Christians' hope. Thanks to this presence people who do not form part of Israel are enabled to attain salvation. Previously subject to the power of darkness and slaves of sin (vv. 13-14), the have now died to sin through Baptism (cf. Rom 6:2-3) and Christ, through grace, dwells in their hearts (on the salvific "mystery”, cf. notes on Eph 1:13-14 and Eph 1:9, and "Introduction to the letters of St Paul” in The Navarre Bible: Romans and Galatians, pp. 32-33).

In his infinite love Christ lives in us through faith and grace, through prayer and the sacraments. Also, "he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Mt 18:20)” (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7).

"Christ stays in his Church, its sacraments, its liturgy, its preaching – in all that it does. In a special way Christ stays with us in the daily offering of the Blessed Eucharist […]. The presence of Christ in the host is the guarantee, the source and the culmination of his presence in the world.

"Christ is alive in Christians. Our faith teaches us that man, in the state of grace, is divinized – filled with God. We are men and women, not angels. We are flesh and blood, people with sentiments and passions, with sorrows and joys. And this divinization affects everything human; it is a sort of foretaste of the final resurrection” (St. J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 102-103).

28. "In all wisdom”: St Paul is exhorting and teaching each and every one, communicating wisdom, the true teaching of Jesus Christ. The text clearly shows St Paul's conviction that he is a faithful transmitter of teachings revealed by God. Possessed of such wisdom he is confident that he can lead his disciples to Christian perfection.

2-3. The term "mystery”, which St Paul uses on other occasions (cf. 1:26; Eph 1:9), refers in this verse expressly to Christ: Christ is the complete manifestation of the divine plan or "mystery” designed to bring about the salvation of mankind. The name Jesus means Saviour and indicates his principal mission – to save the people of Israel (and through them all mankind) from their sins (cf. Mt 1:21).

The assertion that in Christ "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” is based on the fact that Christ – God made man – is the incarnation of divine Wisdom itself, for Wisdom is one of the names applied in Sacred Scripture to the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Hence St Athanasius' comment that "God no longer chose to make himself known, as in times past, by the reflection and shadow of wisdom to be seen in created things: he determined that Wisdom itself, in person, should become incarnate, should be made man and suffer death on the cross, so that from then on all the faithful might attain salvation through faith grounded on the cross” (Oratio II contra Arianos).

The infinite richness of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ means that meditation on his life and his teachings is an inexhaustible source of nourishment for the life of the soul. "There are great depths to be fathomed in Christ. For he is like an abandoned mine with many recesses containing treasures, of which, for all that men try to fathom them, the end and bottom is never reached; rather in each recess men continue to find new veins of new riches on all sides” (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, 37, 3).

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From: Luke 6:6-11

The Cure of a Man with a Withered Hand
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[6] On another Sabbath, when He (Jesus) entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. [7] And the scribes and the Pharisees watched Him, to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him. [8] But He knew their thoughts, and He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come and stand here." And he rose and stood there. [9] And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" [10] And He looked around on them all, and said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored. [11] But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

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Commentary:

10. The Fathers teach us how to discover a deep spiritual meaning in apparently casual things Jesus says. St. Ambrose, for example, commenting on the phrase "Stretch out your hand," says: "This form of medicine is common and general. Offer it often, in benefit of your neighbor; defend from injury anyone who seems to be suffering as a result of calumny; stretch your hand out also to the poor man who asks for your help; stretch it out also to the Lord asking Him to forgive your sins; that is how you should stretch your hand out, and that is the way to be cured" ("Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc".).

11. The Pharisees do not want to reply to Jesus' question and do not know how to react to the miracle which He goes on to work. It should have converted them, but their hearts were in darkness and they were full of jealousy and anger. Later on, these people, who kept quiet in our Lord's presence, began to discuss Him among themselves, not with a view to approaching Him again but with the purpose of doing away with Him. In this connection St. Cyril comments: "O Pharisee, you see Him working wonders and healing the sick by using a higher power, yet out of envy you plot His death" ("Commentarium in Lucam, in loc.").

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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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