Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

363 Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
1 Kgs 19:16 436
Ps 27:8 2730
Mt 5:27-28 2330, 2336, 2380; Mt 5:28 1456, 2513, 2528; Mt 5:29-30 226; Mt 5:29 1034; Mt 5:31-32 2382; Mt 5:32 2380

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Reading 1
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-16

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the Lord came 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.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The Lord said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

Responsorial Psalm
27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.

Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

Your presence, O Lord, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

Gospel
Mt 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading 1 Kings 19:9 – 16

Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.’

‘Go,’ the Lord said, ‘go back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.

Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 26(27):7-9,13-14

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
  have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
  ‘Seek his face.’

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
  hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
  you have been my help.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
  in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
  Hope in the Lord!

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

Gospel Matthew 5:27 - 32

Jesus said, ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

Friday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time

From: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16

Elijah’s encounter with God
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[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. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” [14] He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain they prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” [15[ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; [16] and Jehu the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.

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Commentary:

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).

19:15-18. It is important to note that the “anointing” given to the prophet Elisha is on a par with that given to the kings – and that there is already a reference here to the remnant of Israel (cf. Is 4:3).

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From: Matthew 5:27-32

Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples:) [27] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' [28] But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lust- fully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [29] If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

[31] "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' [32] But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

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Commentary:

27-30. This refers to a sinful glance at any woman, be she married or not. Our Lord fills out the precepts of the Old Law, where only adultery and the coveting of one's neighbor's wife were considered sinful.

"Lustfully": feeling is one thing, consenting another. Consent presupposes that one realizes the evil of these actions (looking, imagining, having impure thoughts) and freely engages in them.

Prohibition of vices always implies a positive aspect -- the contrary virtue. Holy purity, like every other virtue, is something eminently positive; it derives from the First Commandment and is also directed to it: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). "Purity is a consequence of the love that prompts us to commit to Christ our soul and body, our faculties and senses. It is not something negative; it is a joyful affirmation" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 5). This virtue demands that we use all the resources available to us, to the point of heroism if necessary.

"Right eye", "right hand", refers to whatever we value most. Our Lord lays it on the line and it not exaggerating. He obviously does not mean that we should physically mutilate ourselves, but that we should fight hard without making any concessions, being ready to sacrifice anything which clearly could put us in the way of offending God. Jesus' graphic words particularly warn us about one of the most common oc- casions of sin, reminding us of how careful we need to be guarding our sight. King David, by indulging his curiosity, went on to commit adultery and crime. He later wept over his sins and led a holy life in the presence of God (cf. 2 Samuel 11 and 12).

"The eyes! Through them many iniquities enter the soul. So many experiences like David's! -- If you guard your sight you will have assured the guard of your heart: (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 183).

Among the ascetical methods of protecting the virtue of holy purity are: frequent Confession and Communion; devotion to our Lady; a spirit of prayer and mortification; guarding of the senses; flight from occasions of sin; and striving to avoid idleness by always being engaged in doing useful things. There are two further \means which are particularly relevant today: "Decorum and modesty are younger brothers of purity" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 128). Decorum and modesty are a sign of good taste, of respect for others and of human and Christian dignity. To act in accord with this teaching of our Lord, the Christian has to row against the current in a paganized environment and bring his influence for good to bear on it.

"There is need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and undo the savage work of those who think that man is a beast. And that crusade is a matter for you" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 121).

31-32. The Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 24:1), which was laid down in ancient times, had tolerated divorce due to the hardness of heart of the early Hebrews. But it had not specified clearly the grounds on which divorce might be obtained. The rabbis worked out different sorts of interpretations, depending on which school they belonged to -- solutions ranging from very lax to quite rigid. In all cases, only husband could repudiate wife, not vice-versa. A woman's inferior position was eased somewhat by the device of a written document whereby the husband freed the repudiated woman to marry again if she wished. Against these rabbinical interpretations, Jesus re-establishes the original indissolubility of marriage as God instituted it (Genesis 1:27; 2:24; cf. Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 1:31; 1 Corinthians 7:10).

[The RSVCE carries a note which reads: "unchastity": The Greek word used here appears to refer to marriages which were not legally marriages, because they were within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity (Leviticus 18:6-16) or contracted with a Gentile. The phrase "except on the ground of unchastity" does not occur in the parallel passage in Luke 16:18. See also Matthew 19:9 (Mark 10:11-12), and especially 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, which shows that the prohibition is unconditional.] The phrase "except on the ground of unchastity" should not be taken as indicating an exception to the principle of absolute indissolubility of marriage which Jesus has just re-established. It is almost certain that the phrase refers to unions accepted as marriage among some pagan people, but prohibited as incestuous in the Mosaic Law (cf. Leviticus 18) and in rabbinical tradition. The reference, then, is to unions radically invalid because of some impediment. When persons in this position were converted to the True Faith, it was not that their union could be dissolved; it was declared that they had never in fact been joined in true marriage. Therefore, this phrase does not do against the indissolubility of marriage, but rather reaffirms it.

On the basis of Jesus' teaching and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church has ruled that in the specially grave case of adultery it is permissible for a married couple to separate, but without the marriage bond being dissolved; therefore, neither party may contract a new marriage.

The indissolubility of marriage was unhesitatingly taught by the Church from the very beginning; she demanded practical and legal recognition of this doctrine, expounded with full authority by Jesus (Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18) and by the Apostles (1 Corinthians 6:16; 7:10-11; 39; Romans 7:2-3; Ephe\sians 5:31f). Here, for example, are just a few texts from the Magisterium on this subject:

"Three blessings are ascribed to matrimony [...]. The third is the indissolubility of matrimony -- indissoluble because it signifies the indivisible union of Christ with the Church. Although a separation from bed may be permitted by reason of marital infidelity, nevertheless it is not permitted to contract another matrimony since the bond of a marriage lawfully contracted is perpetual" (Council of Florence, "Pro Armeniis").

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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.

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