Monday, September 22, 2008

Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

448 Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
1 Cor 15:35-50 646; 1 Cor 15:35-37 999; 1 Cor 15:42-44 1683; 1 Cor 15:42 999, 1017; 1 Cor 15:44-45 364; 1 Cor 15:44 999, 1017; 1 Cor 15:45 411, 504; 1 Cor 15:47 504
Lk 8:6 2731; Lk 8:10 1151; Lk 8:13-15 2847; Lk 8:13 2731; Lk 8:15 368, 2668

Back to Deacon’s Bench '08
Back to SOW II '10
Back to SOW II '12
Back to SOW II '14
Back to SOW II '16
Back to SOW II '18

Reading 1
1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49

Brothers and sisters:
Someone may say, “How are the dead raised?
With what kind of body will they come back?”

You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be
but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.

So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious.
It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.

So, too, it is written,
“The first man, Adam, became a living being,”
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 56:10c-12, 13-14

R. (14) I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

Gospel
Lk 8:4-15

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.

“This is the meaning of the parable.
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,
they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,
embrace it with a generous and good heart,
and bear fruit through perseverance.”

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading 1 Corinthians 15:35 – 49

Someone may ask, ‘How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?’ They are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that, It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.

If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modeled on the earthly man, will be modeled on the heavenly man.

Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 55(56):10-14

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

My foes will be put to flight
  on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

In God, whose word I praise,
  in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
  what can mortal man do to me?

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

I am bound by the vows I have made you.
  O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
  you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
  and enjoy the light of the living.

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

Gospel Luke 8:4 – 15

With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable:

‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’

His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.

‘This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

Readings and Commentary from Navarre

24th Week in Ordinary Time

From: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

The Manner of the Resurrection of the Dead
---------------------------------------------------------------
[35] But some one will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" [36] You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.

[42] So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. [50] I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

35-38. Now that he has shown that the dead will rise, St Paul goes on to deal with what form this resurrection will take. He postulates certain questions (v. 35) and replies to them using comparisons taken from the vegetable, animal and mineral worlds, to help explain what this resurrection involves (vv. 36-41). He goes on to describe the qualities of the risen body (vv. 42-44), referring in particular to one of those qualities, its spiritual nature or "subtility" (vv. 44-50). He then des- cribes the circumstances in which the general resurrection will take place (vv. 51-53), and he ends with a hymn of joy and thanksgiving for all these wonders of God (vv. 54-58).

36-41. The Apostle uses the analogy of a seed to explain what resurrection involves: just as a seed has to corrupt in order to yield new life, the body has to die in order to be raised up. In the process of becoming a new plant the seed takes on a new form: the plant is something distinct from the original seed; similarly, risen bodies will be endowed with new qualities which they did not have during their mortal life (cf. note on vv. 42-44).

By referring to the difference in the flesh of different animals and to the way that one star shines differently from another, St Paul is trying to explain that risen bodies are also differentiated, the differences being a function of charity (cf. "St Pius V Catechism", I, 12, 13).

42-44. These verses are the basis of tile Church's teaching about the qualities of glorified bodies-impassibility or incorruptibility, glory or brightness, power or agility, subtility or spirituality. This is what the "St Pius V Catechism" has to say on the subject: "The bodies of the risen saints will be distinguished by certain transcendent endowments, which will ennoble them far beyond their former condition. Among these endowments four are specially mentioned by the Fathers, which they infer from the doctrine of St Paul and which are called 'gifts'.

"The first endowment or gift is impassibility, which shall place them beyond the reach of suffering anything disagreeable or of being affected by pain or inconvenience of any sort [...]. 'What is sown' says the Apostle, 'is perishable, what is raised is imperishable' (1 Cor 15:42) [...]. The next quality is brightness, by which the bodies of the saints shall shine like the sun [...]. This quality the Apostle sometimes calls "glory". [...] This brightness is a sort of radiance reflected on the body from the supreme happiness of the soul. It is a participation in that bliss which the soul enjoys, just as the soul itself is rendered happy by a participation in the happiness of God. Unlike the gift of impassibility, this quality is not common to all in the same degree. All the bodies of the saints will be equally impassible; but the brightness of all will not be the same, for, according to the Apostle, 'there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory' (1 Cor 15:41-42).

"To the preceding quality is united that which is called agility, by which the body will be freed from the heaviness that now presses it down, and will take on a capability of moving with the utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the soul pleases [...]. Hence these words of the Apostle: 'It is sown in weakness, it is raised in glory' (I Cor 15:43). Another quality is that of subtility, which subjects the body to the dominion of the soul, so that the body shall be subject to the soul and ever ready to follow her desires. This quality we learn from these words of the Apostle: 'It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44)" (I, 12, 13).

The bodies of the reprobate do not have these qualities proper to glorified bodies (cf. "St Pius X Catechism", 246).

44-50. The Apostle develops what he has said about those who rise having spiritual bodies--which might seem to be a self-contradictory notion. Through descent from Adam, whose body was formed from the dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7), men receive an earthly animal body which is destined to perish; Christ, the new Adam, when he comes again will give his own a heavenly body, perfect and immortal: "It is called a spiritual body," St Augustine says, "not because it has become a spirit but because it is in such a way subject to the spirit, to fit it for its heavenly abode, that every kind of earthly weakness and imperfection is changed into a heavenly permanence ("De Fide Et Symbolo", chap. VI).

Even in this present life the Christian should strive to reflect this image of "the man of heaven", by reproducing in himself the life of Christ: having died to sin through Baptism he has already been raised with Christ to a new life (cf. Col 3: 1-4). Christ's resurrection, St Thomas Aquinas explains, "is an exemplary cause with regard to the resurrection of souls, because even in our souls we must be conformed with the risen Christ, the Apostle says (Rom 6:4-11): 'Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, that we too might walk in newness of life [...]. Christ being raised from the dead shall never die again [...] so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin', so that you 'might live with him' (1 Thess 5:10)" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 56, a. 2).

45. Commenting on this verse, St John of Avila explains that "God created the first man and blew into his face, he gave him the breath of life, and he became a living being. "Et factus est primus Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam in spiritum vivificantem" (1 Cor 15:45). The second Adam was made, Jesus Christ, and not only was he given and did he have life for himself like the first Adam, but he had it for many others. Christ has a living spirit, a life-giving spirit which raises up those of us who desire to live. Let us go to Christ, let us seek Christ, who has the breath of life. No matter how evil you be, how lost, how disorientated, if you go to him, if you seek him, he will make you well, he will win you over and set you right and heal you" ("Sermon on Pentecost Sunday").

From: Luke 8:4-15

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4] And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town ame to Him (Jesus), He said in a parable: [5] "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. [6] And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. [7] And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. [8] And some feel into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As He said this, He called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

[9] And when His disciples asked Him what this parable meant, [10] He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. [11] Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. [12] The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. [13] And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. [14] And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. [15] And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience."

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

4-8. Our Lord explains this parable in verses 11-15. The seed is Jesus Himself and His preaching; and the different kinds of ground it falls on reflect people's different attitudes to Jesus and His teaching. Our Lord sows the life of grace in souls through the preaching of the Church and through an endless flow of actual graces.

10-12. Jesus uses parables to teach people the mysteries of the supernatural life and thereby lead them to salvation. However, He foresaw that, due to the bad dispositions of some of His listeners, these parables would lead them to harden their hearts and to reject grace. For a fuller explanation of the purpose of parables see the notes on Matthew 13:10-13 and Mark 4:11-12.

12. Some people are so immersed in a life of sin that they are the patch on which falls the seed "which suffers from two kinds of hazard: it is trodden on by wayfarers and snatched by birds. The path, therefore, is the heart, which is trodden on by the frequent traffic of evil thoughts, and cannot take in the seed and let it germinate because it is so dried up" (St. Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc."). Souls hardened by sin can become good soil and bear fruit through sincere repentance and penance. We should note the effort the devil makes to prevent souls from being converted.

13. "Many people are pleased by what they hear, and they resolve to do good; but as soon as they experience difficulties they give up the good words they started. Stony ground has not enough soil, which is why the shoots fail to produce fruit. There are many who, when they hear greed criticized, do conceive a loathing for it and extol the scorning of it; but as soon as the soul sees something else that it desires, it forgets what it previously promised. There are also others who when they hear talk against impurity not only desire not to be stained by the filth of the flesh but are even ashamed of the stains that they already bear; but as soon as bodily beauty presents itself to their eyes, their heart is so drawn by desires that it is as if they had done or decided to do nothing against these desires, and they act in a manner deserving condemnation and in a way which they themselves previously condemned when they reflected on their behavior. Very often we feel compunction for our faults and yet we go back and commit them even after bemoaning them" (St. Gregory the Great, "In Evangelia Homiliae", 15).

14. This is the case of people who after receiving the divine seed, the Christian calling, and having stayed on the right path for some time, begin to give up the struggle. These souls run the risk of developing a distaste for the things of God and of taking the easy, and wrong, way of seeking compensations suggested to them by their disordered ambition for power and their desire for material wealth and a comfortable life involving no suffering.

A person in this situation begins to be lukewarm and tries to serve two masters: "It is wrong to have two candles lighted--one to St. Michael and another to the devil. We must snuff out the devil's candle; we must spend our lives completely in the service of the Lord. If our desire for holiness is sincere, if we are docile enough to place ourselves in God's hands, everything will go well. For He is always ready to give us His grace" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 59).

15. Jesus tells us that the good soil has three features--listening to God's demands with the good disposition of a generous heart; striving to ensure that one does not water down these demands as time goes by; and, finally, beginning and beginning again and not being disheartened if the fruit is slow to appear. "You cannot 'rise'. It's not surprising: that fall!

"Persevere and you will 'rise'. Remember what a spiritual writer has said: your poor soul is like a bird whose wings are caked with mud.

"Suns of heaven are needed and personal efforts, small and constant, to shake off those inclinations, those vain fancies, that depression: that mud clinging to your wings.

"And you will see yourself free. If you persevere, you will 'rise'" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 991).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

No comments: