CCC Cross Reference:
Heb 10:19-21 1137; Heb 10:19 2778; Heb 10:23 1817; Heb 10:25 2178
Ps 24:6 2582
Back to Deacon’s Bench ‘09
Back to SOW II '11
Back to SOW II '13
Back to SOW II '15
Back to SOW II '17 (Sts. Timothy and Titus Gospel from weekday is proper)
Back to SOW II '19
Back to SOW II '21
Back to SOW II '23 Sts. Timothy and Titus Gospel from weekday is proper)
Reading 1
Heb 10:19-25
Brothers and sisters:
Since through the Blood of Jesus
we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary
by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,
that is, his flesh,
and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,”
let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed in pure water.
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,
for he who made the promise is trustworthy.
We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.
We should not stay away from our assembly,
as is the custom of some, but encourage one another,
and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Gospel
Mk 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Hebrews 10:19-25
Through the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body. And we have the supreme high priest over all the house of God. So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is faithful. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage each other to go; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 23(24):1-6
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Gospel Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’
Readings and Commetnary from the Navarre Bible
Thursday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Hebrews 10:19-25
Motives for Perseverance
------------------------------------
[19] Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, [20] by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; [24] and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
19-21. Throughout the epistle there a constant interweaving of dogmatic and moral considerations, with the former points often giving rise to exhortations to the faithful to be unwavering in faith and hope. The epistle now moves on from its theological reflections on Christ's priesthood to its practical application in the Christian life: the Christian should put his trust in the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice, and hrough faith, hope and charity associate himself with Christ's priesthood.
He should do this for three reasons -- the redemptive value of the blood of Jesus, the access to glory signified by his entry into the sanctuary of heaven, and Christ's enthronement at the right hand of the Father. The sprinkling of the blood of Christ gives the believer full assurance that he too will enter heaven, because the paschal mystery of Christ -- his passion, death and resurrection -- has made this possible.
"The new and living way": a translation of the original Greek expression, which literally reads "the recently sacrificed and living way"; this is a metaphorical expression indicating that Christ is a way, and that this way has been recently opened up, has been sacrificed and is alive. There is, then, a personification of "way" which recalls what Jesus said about his being "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6); and there is also a reference to Christ's sacrifice, to the fact that his body did not experience corruption and that he lives for ever (cf. Heb 7:25).
The "Pius V Catechism", referring to the benefits brought us by Christ's passion, specifies how he opened to us the gates of heaven, closed due to mankind's sin: "Nor are we without a type and figure of this mystery in the Old Law. For those who were prohibited to return into their native country before the death of the high priest (cf. Num 35:25) typified that no one, however just and holy may have been his life, could gain admission into the celestial country until the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, had died, and by his death immediately opened heaven to those who, purified by the sacraments and gifted with faith, hope and charity, become partakers of his passion" (I, 5, 14).
The reference to Christ's flesh as a "curtain" not only recalls the curtain in the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the sanctuary, but also points to the fact that the deepest dimension of Christ is his Godhead, in which the Christian must believe, but without separating it from his humanity. Christ's human nature is at the same time a "way" because it reveals his divinity, and a "curtain" because it masks it. "Just as the priest (of the Old Law) entered the Holy of Holies, so too if we want to enter holy glory, we must enter by way of Christ's flesh, the curtain (concealing) his divinity [...]. For, faith in the one God is insufficient if one does not have faith in the Incarnation" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Heb., ad loc.").
22-25. The epistle now exhorts its readers to purity of heart, steadfastness in faith and mutual charity.
It speaks of a clean heart, recalling the purity which the water of Baptism brings. The Christian should stay true to the faith he received and professed at Baptism, and maintain the purity which it brings. To live in this way the baptized should count on the help provided by the Church and on the grace God continually gives. As Vatican I teaches, referring to those who have received the light of faith, "God does not abandon them, unless he is abandoned [...]. Therefore, the position of those who have embraced Catholic truth by the heavenly gift of faith, and of those who have been misled by human opinions and follow a false religion is by no means the same, for the former, who have accepted the faith under the teaching authority of the Church, can never have just reason for changing that faith or calling it into question" ("Dei Filius", chap. 3).
Along with its exhortation to practise the three theological virtues, the passage includes a call not to neglect to attend Christian assemblies. We know that the first Christians were expected to come together daily or weekly (cf. Acts 2:46; 20:7) and, as we can see here, some gave up going to those meetings through carelessness, or because they preferred private to public prayer, or because they did not want others to know they were Christians. In Judaism much emphasis was placed on the duty to attend synagogue meetings. The meetings referred to in this passage, whether for the celebration of the Christian liturgy or for instruction in apostolic teaching, had a clearly eschatological focus in the sense that they built up people's hope in the coming of our Lord (cf. 1 Thess 5:4; 1 Cor 3:13; Rom 13:12; Phil 4:5; Jas 5:8; 1 Pet 4:7). The author's insistence on the need to meet together recalls another exhortation which goes back to the early Church: "Now that you are members of Christ, do not choose to cut yourselves off from the Church by failing to attend the assembly; having Christ your head present and in touch with you, as he promised, do not underestimate yourselves or choose to separate the Savior from his members, or divide or scatter his body, or give your everyday needs more importance than the Word of God; rather, on the Lord's Day leave everything aside and come to the Church" ("The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles"). On the basis of the apostolic tradition, the Church has established a grave obligation to attend Mass on Sundays (cf. "Code of Canon Law", can. 1247). "On this day Christ's faithful are bound to come together into one place. They should listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the passion, resurrection and glory of the Lord Jesus and giving thanks to God, 'who has begotten them anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead'" (1 Pet 1:3) (Vatican II, "Sacrosanctum Concilium", 106).
In the same way -- by listening to and meditating on the Word of God -- Christians fulfill their equally serious obligation to improve their understanding of Christian doctrine.
*********************************************************************************************
From: Mark 4:21-25
Parables of the Lamp and the Measure
---------------------------------------------------------
[21] And He (Jesus) said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? [22] For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. [23] If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." [24] And He said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. [25] For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
21. A "bushel" was a container used for measuring cereals and vegetables. It held a little over eight liters (two gallons).
22. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ's doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "what you hear whispered, proclaim it upon the house-tops" (Matthew 10:27); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mark 16:15). The other teaching is that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in favor or against Christ, will not become public and manifest.
24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching He is giving: they are receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will more be given...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished (cf. Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological virtues: "If you say 'Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51"). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines: "Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 247).
*********************************************************************************************
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:
Post a Comment