Catechism Links
CCC 531-534: the Holy Family
CCC 1655-1658, 2204-2206: the Christian family, a domestic Church
CCC 2214-2233: duties of family members
CCC 534, 583, 2599: the Finding in the Temple
CCC 64, 489, 2578: Hannah and Samuel
CCC 1, 104, 239, 1692, 1709, 2009, 2736: we are God’s children now
CCC 163, 1023, 1161, 2519, 2772: we shall see him face to face and be like him
CCC Cross Reference:
Sir 3:2-6 2218; Sir 3:12 2218
1 Sm 1 489
Ps 84:3 1770
Col 3:14 815, 1827, 1844; Col 3:16-17 1156, 2633; Col 3:16 2641; Col 3:18-21 2204; Col 3:20 2217; Col 3:21 2286
1 Jn 3 2822; 1 Jn 3:1 1692; 1 Jn 3:2 163, 1023, 1161, 1720, 2519, 2772; 1 Jn 3:21 2778; 1 Jn 3:22 2631
Lk 2:41-52 534; Lk 2:41 583; Lk 2:46-49 583; Lk 2:48-49 503; Lk 2:49 2599; Lk 2:51-52 531; Lk 2:51 517, 2196, 2599; Lk 2:52 472
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Reading 1:
Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
Or
First Reading: 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28
In those days Hannah conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son
whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.
The next time her husband Elkanah was going up
with the rest of his household
to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows,
Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband,
“Once the child is weaned,
I will take him to appear before the LORD
and to remain there forever;
I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite.”
Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him up with her,
along with a three-year-old bull,
an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,
and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.
After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull,
Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:
“Pardon, my lord!
As you live, my lord,
I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”
Hannah left Samuel there.
Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (cf. 1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
OR:
Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
R. (cf. 5a) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
Happy they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
O LORD of hosts, hear our prayer;
hearken, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
Reading II
Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.
Or
Second Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
And so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.
Gospel:
Lk 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7,14-17
The Lord honors the father in his children,
and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.
Whoever respects his father is atoning for his sins,
he who honors his mother is like someone amassing a fortune.
Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own,
he shall be heard on the day when he prays.
Long life comes to him who honors his father,
he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord.
My son, support your father in his old age,
do not grieve him during his life.
Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy,
do not despise him in your health and strength;
for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten
but will serve as reparation for your sins.
Alternative first reading 1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28
Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’
When a year had gone by, the husband Elkanah went up again with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow. Hannah, however, did not go up, having said to her husband, ‘Not before the child is weaned. Then I will bring him and present him before the Lord and he shall stay there for ever.’
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her together with a three-year old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother came to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 127(128):1-5
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!
Your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!
Alternative Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 83(84):2-3,5-6,9-10
They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer,
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.
They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord.
Second reading Colossians 3:12-21
You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, give way to your husbands, as you should in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and treat them with gentleness. Children, be obedient to your parents always, because that is what will please the Lord. Parents, never drive your children to resentment or you will make them feel frustrated.
Alternative second reading Colossians 3:12-17
You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Alternative second reading 1 John 3:1-2,21-24
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence,
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.
Gospel Luke 2:41-52
Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and men.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Feast: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
From: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Duties Towards Parents
-----------------------------------
[2] For the Lord honored the father above the children, and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons. [3] Whoever honors his father atones for sins, [4] and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure. [5] Whoever honors his father will he gladdened by his own children, and when he prays he will he heard. [6] Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother.
[12] O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives; [13] even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance; in all your strength do not despise him. [14] For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you.
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Commentary:
3:1-16:23. Throughout the book each doctrinal passage is followed by a section to do with practical applications, sapiential thoughts on moral conduct, eulogies of virtues and sapiential advice on where to seek things that are truly good, etc. This is the first such section. In it the reader will find an exhortation to prudence in all its various forms.
3:1-16. Traditional wisdom encourages people to be observant and to reflect on life in order to discover the best route to happiness. Here it focuses on the relationship between children and their parents: honoring one's parents brings blessings.
However, Ben Sirach's viewpoint is primarily a religious one. "Whoever fears the Lord will honor his father" (v. 7, RSV note m). The Decalogue laid this down very clearly: "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you; that your day may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land ..." (Deut 5:16; cf. Ex 20:12), and these verses are a valuable commentary that is generous in its praise of those who attend to that commandment. Very appropriately, the Church uses these verses as the first reading on the feast of the Holy Family, for God honors Mary and St Joseph by entrusting Jesus to their care.
Finally (cf. vv. 12-26), the passage dwells on children's duties to their parents when they can no longer look after themselves: The fourth commandment re- minds grown children of their "responsibilities toward their parents". As much as they can, they must give them material and moral support in old age and in times of illness, loneliness or distress. Jesus recalls this duty of gratitude (cf. Mk 7:10-12)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2218).
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From: 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
Birth of Samuel (conclusion)
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[20] [A]nd in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, "I have asked him of the LORD."
Consecration of Samuel
-----------------------------------
[21] And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. [22] But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and abide there for ever."
[24] And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh; and the child was young. [25] Then they slew the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. [26] And she said, "Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. [27] For this child I prayed; and the LORD has granted me my petition which I made to him. [28] Therefore I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD."
And they worshipped the LORD there.
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Commentary:
1:1-7:17. The books of Samuel begin with an account of the birth of the man from whom they take their name, that is, Samuel, who will become a judge of Israel and a prophet. The beginning is like the book of Exodus, which also begins with a birth -- that of Moses. In fact, many of Moses' features apply to Samuel: just as Moses inaugurated a new and very important stage in the history of the people, so Samuel marks the start of the monarchical period, which will forever leave its imprint on the religious profile of Israel.
The story of Samuel comprises only the first part of 1 Samuel, the first seven chapters, which also contain the history of the ark. The narrative includes three distinct accounts arranged in such a way that the first and last have the same protagonist -- the birth, calling and activity of Samuel as a prophet (chaps. 1-3), the history of the ark (chaps. 4-6), and then Samuel's activity as a judge (chap. 7). Although these narratives may have been independent originally, in the final biblical text they form a perfect unity in doctrinal terms, from the point of view of the setting of events (the shrine at Shiloh), and in the identity of their protagonists, Samuel and the priests, the sons of Eli. The shrine at Shiloh, which was located between Bethel and Shechem and which was a main centre of worship in the era of the judges (Judg 21:19-21), acquires special importance at this point: Shiloh will be where the monarchical power begins, and its splendour will transfer to the temple of Jerusalem when the ark moves there.
The sons of Eli were the last priests of Shiloh. Whereas Samuel was perfectly faithful to the will of God, the Sons of Eli had gradually corrupted the practices of their priestly function; with their death, the temple at Shiloh ceases to have any importance.
The doctrinal thread moving through the three episodes is God's active intervention in all these important events in the life of the people: to him is due the prodigy of Samuel's birth (1:1-20) -- Samuel, the man chosen to open the way to the monarchy; it is God who exposes the sin of the sons of Eli (chap. 2) and initiates the charming dialogue in which Samuel receives his calling (chap. 3). In the episode of the ark, it is the Lord who punishes his people by taking away the ark, the sign of his presence (chap. 4); it is he who visits countless misfortunes on the Philistines who have taken possession of the ark (chap. 5) and it is he who forces them to return it to Israel, which receives it with delight (chap. 6). Finally, the Lord makes Samuel a judge over his people (chap. 5), able to exercise his function at all the shrines of Israel -- in Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah (7:15).
From the very start, the book of Samuel is a sort of religious interpretation of history, in the sense that it puts more emphasis on the meaning of the events it narrates than on their chronological order or their geographical situation. Samuel is a figure of Christ who will initiate the final stage of salvation through his complete obedience to the will of God (cf. Phil 2:8).
1:1-28. Samuel's birth is described with all the elements denoting a miraculous event, emphasizing divine intervention and the child's importance. With no hope of a human solution, a childless woman, humiliated by her husband's (other) fertile wife, seeks a way out of her anguish by asking God, her only hope, to give her a son. Her husband loves her, but he cannot understand her (v. 8); Eli, the priest and head of the shrine at Shiloh, comes to bless her but even he cannot understand her (vv. 15-17). God is the only one who listens to her, and he accepts the vow she has made to him (v. 11). Hannah follows in the line of Sarah, Rachel and the mother of Samson -- other women in whom the action of God could be seen very clearly when he took away the stigma of their barrenness. But, above all, she is the prototype of the devout woman who perseveres in prayer, convinced that it will be heard. "Why is it necessary to list here all those who, by praying as they ought to do, won from God the greatest gifts? For it would be easy for anyone to take an abundant sample of cases based in holy Scripture. Hannah gave birth to Samuel, who was to be compared with Moses himself (cf. Jer 15:1), because although she was sterile, she had faith and prayed to the Lord (1 Sam 1:9ff). [...]
How many favours each of us could tell of if we recalled with gratitude the gifts we have received in order to praise God for them! Once they have been watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit through constant prayer, souls that have gone for a long time without bearing fruit, sterile in the most noble part of their being and with the signs of death on their souls, think wholesome thoughts and are filled with the knowledge of the truth" (Origen, "De Oratione", 13, 2-3). Hannah, who will bear Samuel in her womb, is a figure of Mary and also "a symbol of the Church which carries the Lord. Her prayer is not clamorous, rather it is calm and refined; she prays in the depths of her heart because she knows that God listens to her there" (St Cyprian, "De Oratione Dominica", 5).
Samuel comes into the world as a gift from God; he is the one who was "asked for of the Lord" (cf. v. 20), according to a popular etymology of his name. His mission on earth will be as exceptional as his birth; Hannah presents him at the shrine: "as long as he lives he is lent to the Lord" (v. 28). Samuel is brought up by the priest at the shrine of Shiloh (cf. Judg 18:31; 21:19), that is, within the ancient institutions of the time of the judges; thus, the new institutions he will establish do not imply any break with or rejection of what went before.
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From: Colossians 3:12-21
Progress in the Spiritual Life
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[12] Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, [13] forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. [16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Morals in Family Life
------------------------------
[18] Wives, be subject to your husband as is fitting in the Lord. [19] Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. [20] Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. [21] Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
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Commentary:
12-13. Putting on the new nature is not just an external action, like putting on different clothes. It is a transfiguration involving the whole person -- soul and body, mind and will. This interior change begins to operate when one makes a firm resolution to lead a fully Christian life; but it calls for an on-going effort, day in day out, to practice all the virtues. "Conversion is something momentary; sanctification is the work of a lifetime. The divine seed of charity, which God has sown in our souls, wants to grow, to express itself in action, to yield results which continually coincide with what God wants. Therefore, we must be ready to begin again, to find again -- in new situations -- the light and the stimulus of our first conversion" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 58).
The virtues which the Apostle lists here as characteristic of the new man are all expressions, in one way or another, of charity, which "binds everything together in total harmony" (v. 14). Meekness, patience, forgiveness and gratefulness all reflect an essential virtue -- humility. Only a humble person can be forgiving and truly appreciative, because only he realizes that everything he has comes from God. This realization leads him to be understanding towards his neighbor, forgiving him as often as needs be; by acting in this way he is proving the genuineness of his faith and love.
See the note on Eph 4:20-24.
14. The comparison of the new nature to a new outfit is extended here by a further metaphor: charity is the belt which keeps everything together. Without it the other virtues would fall apart: supernatural virtue could not survive (cf. 1 Cor 13:1- 3). St Francis de Sales uses simple examples to explain this truth: "Without cement and mortar, which knits the bricks together and strengthens the walls, the entire building is bound to collapse; a human body would simply disintegrate unless it had nerves, muscles and tendons; and if charity were absent, virtues simply could not stay together" (St Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", 11, 9).
"Love, as the bond of perfection and fullness of the law (cf. Col 3:14; Rom 13:10), governs, imbues, and perfects all the means of sanctification" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 42). Therefore, "if we want to achieve holiness -- in spite of personal shortcomings and miseries which will last as long as we live -- we must make an effort, with God's grace, to practice charity, which is the fullness of the law and the bond of perfection. Charity is not something abstract, it entails a real, complete, self-giving to the service of God and all men -- to the service of that God who speaks to us in the silence of prayer and in the hubbub of the world and of those people whose existence is interwoven with our own. By living charity -- Love -- we live all the human and supernatural virtues required of a Christian" (St. J. Escriva, "Conversations", 62).
15. The "peace of Christ" is that which flows from the new order of grace which he has established; grace gives man direct access to God and therefore to that peace he so much yearns for. "Thou has made us for thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in thee" (St Augustine, "Confessions", 1, 1). This is not a peace the world can give (cf. Jn 14:27), because it is not a function of purely material progress or well-being, nor does it derive from the sort of peace that should obtain among nations. "Peace on earth, which men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God is dutifully observed" (John XXIII, "Pacem In Terris", 1).
The peace of Christ, then, is "a peace that comes from knowing that our Father God loves us, and that we are made one with Christ. It results from being under the protection of the Virgin, our Lady, and assisted by St Joseph. This is the great light that illuminates our lives. In the midst of difficulties and of our personal failings, it encourages us to keep up our effort" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 22).
16. "The word of Christ": the whole corpus of our Lord's teachings, of which the Apostles are accredited witnesses. This should be ever-present to the Christian's soul and "dwell...richly" in him, imbuing everything he does: the word of Christ is the best nourishment of one's life of prayer and an inexhaustible source of practical teaching; and it is to be found in the first instance in the books of the New Testament. St John Chrysostom says that these writings "are teachers which never cease to instruct us [...]. Open these books. What a treasury of good remedies they contain! [...]. All you need do is look at the book, read it and remember well the wise teachings therein. The source of all our evils is our ignorance of the sacred books" ("Hom. on Col, ad loc.").
St Paul also reminds us that our appreciation should lead us to glorify the Lord with songs of joy and gratitude. We can use ready-made hymns for this purpose, and also the Psalms, which the Church has always used in its liturgy to praise God and to nourish the spiritual life. "Just as the mouth savors good food, so does the heart savor the Psalms" (St Bernard, "Sermons on the Song of Songs", 7, 5).
See the note on Eph 5:19.
17. All genuinely human things can and should be sanctified (cf. 1 Cor 10:31), by being done perfectly and for love of God.
The Second Vatican Council has recalled this teaching: "Lay people [...], while meeting their human obligations in the ordinary conditions of life, should not separate their union with Christ from their ordinary life; through the very performance of their tasks, which are God's will for them, they actually promote the growth of their union with him. This is the path along which lay people must advance, fervently, joyfully" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).
This teaching was very much part of the message and life of the founder of Opus Dei: "I assure you, my children, that when a Christian carries out with love the most insignificant everyday action, that action overflows with the transcendence of God. That is why I have told you repeatedly, and hammered away once and again on the idea, that the Christian vocation consists in making heroic verse out of the prose of each day. Heaven and earth seem to merge, my children, on the horizon. But where they really meet is in your hearts, when you sanctify your everyday lives" ("Conversations", 116).
The Second Vatican Council also sees in this passage of Colossians a basis for ecumenical dialogue with non-Catholics: "And if in moral matters there are many Christians who do not always understand the Gospel in the same way as Catholics, and do not admit the same solutions for the more difficult problems of modern society, they nevertheless want to cling to Christ's word as the source of Christian virtue and to obey the command of the Apostle: [Col 3:17 follows]" ("Unitatis Redintegratio", 23).
18-19. In the period when this epistle was written, especially in the East, women were regarded as inferior to men. St Paul does not make a direct attack on the customs of his time, but the way he focuses the question of the role of women provides the elements of an answer to it. He identifies what a woman's role in the family should be: it is true that the husband has an important part to play, but the wife also has a role to perform and one which is non-transferable. The wife is not the husband's slave: she is his equal in dignity and must be treated by him with respect and sincere love. It is taken for granted that the family needs a center of authority, and that this authority belongs to the husband, in accordance with God's design (cf. 1 Cor 11:3, 12-14). "The place and task of the father in and for the family is of unique and irreplaceable importance [...]. In revealing and in reliving on earth the very fatherhood of God (cf. Eph 3:15), a man is called upon to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 25).
God gave Eve to Adam as his inseparable companion and complement (cf. Gen 2:18); she was therefore duty-bound to live in peace with him. Man and woman have different, though complementary, roles in family life; they are equal in dignity, by virtue of the fact that they are human persons: "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and woman in mutual and unreserved affection" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 49).
Therefore, a husband should make a special effort to love and respect his wife: "You are not her master", writes Saint Ambrose, "but her husband; she was not given to you to be your slave, but your wife [...]. Reciprocate her attentiveness to you and be grateful to her for her love" ("Exameron", 5, 7, 19 quoted in "Familiaris Consortio", 25).
See the note on Eph 5:22-24 and 5:25-33.
20-21. Children should obey their parents in everything, as God has commanded (cf. Ex 20:12; Sir 3:8ff) -- a commandment which shows that this is something which is part of human nature. Obviously for a child's obedience to "please the Lord" it must not involve doing anything that is opposed to God's will, for Jesus taught that "he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10:37).
For their part, parents must do everything they can to bring up their children well. In every family there should be an "educational exchange between parents and children (cf. Eph 6:1-4; Col 3:20f) in which each gives and receives. By means of love, respect and obedience towards their parents, children offer their specific and irreplaceable contribution to the construction of an authentically human and Christian family (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48). They will be aided in this if parents exercise their unrenounceable authority as a true and proper 'ministry', that is, as a service to the human and Christian well-being of their children, and in particular as a service aimed at helping them acquire a truly responsible freedom" ("Familiaris Consortio", 21).
See the note on Eph 6:1-4.
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From: 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
We are Children of God
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[1] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. [2] Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Loving One Another (Continuation)
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[21] Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; [22] and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. [24] All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.
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Commentary:
1-24. This entire chapter shows how moved the Apostle is when he contem- plates the marvelous gift of divine filiation. The Holy Spirit, who is the author of all Sacred Scripture, has desired John to pass on to us this unique revelation: we are children of God (v. 1).
It is not easy to divide the chapter into sections, because the style is very cyclic and colloquial and includes many repetitions and further thoughts which make for great vividness and freshness. However, we can distinguish an opening proclamation of the central message (vv. 1-2) and emphasis on two requirements of divine filiation -- rejection of sin in any shape or form (vv. 3-10), and brotherly love lived to the full (vv. 11-24).
1. "We should be called children of God": the original Hebrew expression, which reads "we are called...", is also used by our Lord in the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:9): "to be called" means the same as "to be called by God"; and in the language of the Bible, when God gives someone a name he is not simply conferring a title but is causing the thing that the name indicates (cf., e.g., Gen 17:5), for the word of God is efficacious, it does what it says it will do; hence, St John's adding: "and so we are."
Therefore, it is not just a matter of a metaphorical title, or a legal fiction, or adoption human-style: divine filiation is an essential feature of a Christian's life, a marvelous fact whereby God gratuitously gives men a strictly supernatural dignity, an intimacy with God whereby they are "domestici Dei", "members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19). This explains the tone of amazement and joy with which St John passes on this revelation.
This sense of divine filiation is one of the central points in the spirituality of Opus Dei. Its founder wrote: "We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God's own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also -- in that same love of the one God in three divine Persons -- the angels and all men.
"This is the great boldness of the Christian faith--to proclaim the value and dignity of human nature and to affirm that we have been created to obtain the dignity of children of God, through the grace that raises us up to a supernatural level. An incredible boldness it would be, were it not founded on the promise of salvation given us by God the Father, confirmed by the blood of Christ, and reaffirmed and made possible by the constant action of the Holy Spirit" ("Christ Is Passing By", 133).
"The world does not know us, (because) it did not know him": these words are reminiscent of our Lord's at the Last Supper: "the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me" (Jn 16:2-3). Divine filiation brings with it communion and a mysterious identification between Christ and the Christian.
2. The indescribable gift of divine filiation, which the world does not know (v. 1), is not fully experienced by Christians, because the seeds of divine life which it contains will only reach their full growth in eternal life, when we see him "as he is", "face to face" (1 Cor 13:12); "this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (Jn 17:3). In that direct sight of God as he is, and of all things in God, the life of grace and divine filiation achieve their full growth. Man is not naturally able to see God face to face; he needs to be enlightened by a special light, which is given the technical theological name of "lumen gloriae", light of glory. This does not allow him to "take in" all God (no created thing could do that), but it does allow him to look at God directly.
Commenting on this verse, the "St Pius V Catechism" explains that "beatitude consists of two things--that we shall behold God such as he is in his own nature and substance; and that we ourselves shall become, as it were, gods. For those who enjoy God while they retain their own nature, assume a certain admirable and almost divine form, so as to seem gods rather than men" (I, 13, 7).
"When he appears": two interpretations are possible, given that in Greek the verb has no subject: "when (what we shall be) is revealed we shall be as he is"; or, as the New Vulgate translates it, "when he (Christ) is revealed we will be like him (Christ)". The second interpretation is the more likely.
19-22. The Apostle reassures us: God knows everything; not only does he know our sins and our frailties, he also knows our repentance and our good desires, and he understands and forgives us (St Peter, on the Lake of Tiberias, made the same confession to Jesus: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you": Jn 21:17).
St John's teaching on divine mercy is very clear: if our conscience tells us we have done wrong, we can seek forgiveness and strengthen our hope in God; if our conscience does not accuse us, our confidence in God is ardent and bold, like that of a child who has loving experience of his Father's tenderness. The love of God is mightier than our sins, Pope John Paul II reminds us: "When we realize that God's love for us does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil before our offenses, but becomes even more attentive and generous; when we realize that this love went so far as to cause the Passion and Death of the Word made flesh who consented to redeem us at the price of his own blood, then we exclaim in gratitude: 'Yes, the Lord is rich in mercy', and even: 'The Lord is mercy"' ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 22).
This confidence in God makes for confidence in prayer: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you" (Jn 15:7; cf. 14:13f; 16:23, 26-27).
23-24. The commandments of God are summed up here in terms of love for Jesus and love for the brethren. "We cannot rightly love one another unless we believe in Christ; nor can we truly believe in the name of Jesus Christ without brotherly love" (St Bede, "In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc."). Faith and love cannot be separated (cf. Gal 5:6); our Lord himself told us what would mark his disciples out -- their love for one another (Jn 13:34-35).
Keeping the commandments confirms to the Christian that he is abiding in God: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (Jn 15:10). More- over, it ensures that God abides in his soul, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: "If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever" (Jn 14:15-16).
"May God be your house and you God's; dwell in God that God may dwell in you. God dwells in you to support you; you dwell in God in order not to fall. Keep the commandments, have charity" ("In I Epist. S. loannis, ad loc.").
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From: Luke 2:41-52
The Finding in the Temple
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[41] Now his (Jesus's) parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. [42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; [43] and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, [44] but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; [45] and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And after three days they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; [47] and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. [48] And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." [49] And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house ?" [50] And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.
The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth
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[51] And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. [52] And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.
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Commentary:
41. Only St Luke (2:41-50) reports the event of the Child Jesus being lost and then found in the temple, which we contemplate in the "Fifth Joyful Mystery" of the Rosary.
Only males aged twelve and upwards were required to make this journey. Nazareth is about 100 km (60 miles) from Jerusalem as the crow flies, but the hilly nature of the country would have made it a trip of 140 km.
43-44. On pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jews used to go in two groups -- one of men, the other of women. Children could go with either group. This explains how they could go a day's journey before they discovered the Child was missing when the families regrouped to camp.
"Mary is crying. In vain you and I have run from group to group, from caravan to caravan. No one has seen him. Joseph, after fruitless attempts to keep from crying, cries too.... And you.... And I.
'Being a common little fellow, I cry my eyes out and wail to heaven and earth..., to make up for the times when I lost him through my own fault and did not cry" (St. J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful Mystery).
45. The concern which Mary and Joseph show in looking for the Child should encourage us always to seek Jesus out, particularly if we lose him through sin. "Jesus, may I never lose you again.... Now you and I are united in misfortune and grief, as were united in sin. And from the depths of our being comes sighs of heartfelt sorrow and burning phrases which the pen cannot and should not record" ("Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful Mystery).
46-47. The Child Jesus must have been in the courtyard of the temple, which was where the teachers usually taught. Listeners used to sit at their feet, now and again asking questions and responding to them. This was what Jesus did, but his questions and answers attracted the teachers' attention, he was so wise and well-informed.
48. Ever since the Annunciation our Lady had known that the Child Jesus was God. This faith was the basis of her generous fidelity throughout her life -- but there was no reason why it should include detailed knowledge of all the sacrifices God would ask of her, nor of how Christ would go about his mission of redemption: that was something she would discover as time went by, contemplating her Son's life.
49. Christ's reply is a form of explanation. His words--his first words to be recorded in the Gospel--clearly show his divine Sonship; and they also show his determination to fulfill the will of his Eternal Father. "He does not upbraid them -- Mary and Joseph--for searching for their son, but he raises the eyes of their souls to appreciate what he owes him whose Eternal Son he is" (St Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc."). Jesus teaches us that over and above any human authority, even that of our parents, there is the primary duty to do the will of God. "And once we are consoled by the joy of finding Jesus -- three days he was gone! -- debating with the teachers of Israel (Lk 2:46), you and I shall be left deeply impressed by the duty to leave our home and family to serve our heavenly Father" (St. J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful Mystery"). See note on Mt 10:34-37.
50. We must remember that Jesus knew in detail the whole course his earthly life would take from his conception onwards (cf. note on Lk 2:52). This is shown by what he says in reply to his parents. Mary and Joseph realized that his reply contained a deeper meaning which they did not grasp. They grew to understand it as the life of their Child unfolded. Mary's and Joseph's faith and their reverence towards the Child led them not to ask any further questions but to reflect on Jesus' words and behavior in this instance, as they had done so on other occasions.
51. The Gospel sums up Jesus' life in Nazareth in just three words: "erat subditus illis", he was obedient to them. "Jesus obeys, and he obeys Joseph and Mary. God has come to the world to obey, and to obey creatures. Admittedly they are very perfect creatures -- Holy Mary, our mother, greater than whom God alone; and that most chaste man Joseph. But they are only creatures, and yet Jesus, who is God, obeyed them. We have to love God so as to love his will and desire to respond to his calls. They come to us through the duties of our ordinary life -- duties of state, profession, work, family, social life, our own and other people's difficulties, friendship, eagerness to do what is right and just" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 17).
Jesus lived like any other inhabitant of Nazareth, working at the same trade as St Joseph and earning his living by the sweat of his brow. "His hidden years are not without significance, nor were they simply a preparation for the years which were to come after--those of his public life. Since 1928 I have understood clearly that God wants our Lord's whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with special reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side with ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation during years of quiet, unspectacular living. Obeying God's will always means leaving our selfishness behind, but there is no reason why it should entail cutting ourselves off from the normal life of ordinary people who share the same status, work and social position with us.
"I dream--and the dream has come true--of multitudes of God's children, sanctifying themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and endeavors of their colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them about this divine truth: If you are there in the middle of ordinary life, it doesn't mean Christ has forgotten about you or hasn't called you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns of the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your profession, your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has sanctified them and made them a most acceptable offering to his Father" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 20).
52. As far as his human nature was concerned Jesus matured like anyone else. His growth in wisdom should be seen as referring to experiential knowledge -- knowledge acquired by his mind from sense experience and general experience of life. It can also be taken as referring to the external expression of his wisdom; in this sense everything he did was done perfectly, in keeping with whatever age he was at the time.
As man Jesus had three kinds of knowledge: 1. "The knowledge of the blessed" (vision of the divine essence) by virtue of the hypostatic union (the union of his human nature with his divine nature in the one person of the Word). This knowledge did not allow of any increase. 2. "Infused knowledge", which perfected his intellect and which meant that he knew everything, even hidden things; thus he was able to read men's hearts. Here again his knowledge was complete; it could not grow. 3. "Acquired knowledge": he acquired new knowledge through sense experience and reflection; logically, this knowledge increased as time went by.
As far as grace, in the strict sense of the word, was concerned, Jesus could not grow. From the first instant of his conception he possessed grace in all its fullness because he was true God by virtue of the hypostatic union. As St Thomas explains: "The end of grace is the union of the rational creature with God. But there can neither be nor be conceived a greater union of the rational creature with God than that which is in the person of Christ [...]. Hence it is clear that the grace of Christ cannot be increased on the part of grace. But neither can it be increased on the part of Christ, since Christ as man was a true and full 'comprehensor from the first instant of his conception. Hence there could have been no increase of grace in him" ("Summa Theologiae", Ill, q.7, a.12).
However, we can speak of his growing in grace in the sense of the "effects" of grace. In the last analysis, this matter is one of the mysteries of our faith, which our minds cannot fully grasp. How small God would be if we were able fully to fathom this mystery! That Christ should conceal his infinite power and wisdom by becoming a Child teaches our pride a great lesson.
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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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