CCC Cross Reference:
Eccl 12:1 1007; Eccl 12:7 1007
Lk 9:45 554
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Reading 1
Eccl 11:9—12:8
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand that as regards all this
God will bring you to judgment.
Ward off grief from your heart
and put away trouble from your presence,
though the dawn of youth is fleeting.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
while the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few,
and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird,
but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Gospel
Lk 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Ecclesiastes 11:9 - 12:8
Rejoice in your youth, you who are young;
let your heart give you joy in your young days.
Follow the promptings of your heart
and the desires of your eyes.
But this you must know: for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
Cast worry from your heart,
shield your flesh from pain.
Yet youth, the age of dark hair, is vanity. And remember your creator in the days of your youth, before evil days come and the years approach when you say, ‘These give me no pleasure’, before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
the day when those who keep the house tremble
and strong men are bowed;
when the women grind no longer at the mill,
because day is darkening at the windows
and the street doors are shut;
when the sound of the mill is faint,
when the voice of the bird is silenced,
and song notes are stilled,
when to go uphill is an ordeal
and a walk is something to dread.
Yet the almond tree is in flower,
the grasshopper is heavy with food
and the caper bush bears its fruit,
while man goes to his everlasting home. And the mourners are already walking to and fro in the street
before the silver cord has snapped,
or the golden lamp been broken,
or the pitcher shattered at the spring,
or the pulley cracked at the well,
or before the dust returns to the earth as it once came from it, and the breath to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. All is vanity.
Psalm: Psalm 89:3-6,12-14,17
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You turn men back to dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You sweep men away like a dream,
like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
Gospel Luke 9:43 – 45
Everyone was awestruck by the greatness of God. At a time when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.’ But they did not understand him when he said this; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.
Readings and Commentary from Navarre Bible
For: Saturday, September 25, 2010
25th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: Our Lady's Saturday
From: Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8
Wisdom and youth
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[9] Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
[10] Remove vexation from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Thoughts on death
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[1] Remember also your Creator in the day's of your youth. I before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; [2] before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain; [3] in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows are dimmed, [4] and the doors on the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; [5] they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grass hopper drags itself along and desire fails; because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets; [6] before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, [7] and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
[8] Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
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Commentary:
11:8-10. Life is short, and the future that awaits everyone is uncertain ("vanity": v. 8). Hence the advice given in vs. 9-10. The Preacher is not recommending hedonistic materialism; one needs to be ever mindful that God punishes and rewards, although, as the author sees it, that happens within the bounds of this life.
12:1-7. The second part of the book began by pointing out that a person who seeks true wisdom does not dodge difficult issues, including that of death (7:1-2). The author rounds off this part by focussing on the Creator and on the end of man's life. Death, and what will happen when it comes, is described very forcefully here. The wisdom of man cannot penetrate beyond it. Viewed from the perspective of death, man's life is a temporary gift given him by God. One can glance back at one's youth and also at the years one may still have ahead (v. 1) and ponder the tenuous nature of life and remember that death is coming. This is truly the office of a teacher of wisdom -- to help individuals see what possibilities lie open to them, so that they can make free and responsible choices. This is what the Preacher has done, as he says at the end of his text. "Death is the end of earthly life. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life. That aspect of death lends urgency to our lives: remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfilment'' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1007).
12:8. This verse repeats almost word for word what was said at the start of the book (cf. 1:2). The statement, in addition to acting as a title to the book, confirms that even the lifestyle outlined in the final chapters (cf. 7:9-12:7) is still "vanity of vanities". True wisdom consists in realizing this and accepting it. Christian asceticism has accepted the general thrust of the Preacher's message (detachment from worldly values, and attachment to God's commandments) and indeed its written form -- use of short, incisive phrases, and a use of contrasts to good effect. Christian commitment has often been described in such terms – as the imitation of Christ combined with rejection of the worlds vanities: ''He who follows me does not walk in darkness, says the Lord. These words are Christ's. in which he counsels us to imitate his life and deeds if we truly desire to be enlightened and freed from all blindness of heart. Our study should consist, therefore, in a consideration of the life of Jesus. [...] Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, unless one strives to love and serve God alone. The height of wisdom is to set aside this world in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Vanity is to seek the riches that perish and to place one's hope in them. It is vanity, too, to seek human glory and boast of it. Vanity is to yield to the desires of the body, for which you must bear a greater punishment in the afterlife. It is vanity to desire long life and not to live it well. Vanity is to concern yourself only with this life and fail to contemplate the life to come. It is vanity to give your love to things that will so soon pass away and not to seek earnestly the joy that will last forever. Call to mind often that saying from the Scriptures: "Neither has eye seen, nor ear heard," and try to tear your heart away from what is visible, to move beyond into what remains invisible" (Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1, 1-5).
From: Luke 9:43b-45
Second Prophecy of the Passion
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[43b] But while they were all marveling at everything He (Jesus) did, He said to His disciples, [44] "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men." [45] But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
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Commentary:
44. Christ predicts His passion and death a number of times. Initially He does so in veiled terms (John 2:19; Luke 5:35) to the crowd; and later, much more explicitly, to His disciples (Luke 9:22), though they fail to understand His words, not because what He says is not clear, but because they do not have the right dispositions. St. John Chrysostom comments: "Let no one be scandalized by this imperfection in the Apostles; for the Cross had not yet been reached nor the grace of the Spirit given" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 65).
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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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