Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Catechism Links [1]
 
CCC 484-494: The Annunciation
 
Information about the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

“The Annunciation,”
by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890

 
Readings for the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
                                                                                                                             
Reading 1: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
 
The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us!"
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Commentary on Is 7:10-14; 8:10
 
In the first part of this reading, the prophet attempts to reassure the king as Jerusalem comes under threat of attack from Syria.  King Ahaz is offered a sign by the prophet Isaiah. However, Ahaz refuses the sign because it would indicate that God was intervening on the prophet’s side, and he did not want to accept that.
 
The sign that would be given, despite the king’s refusal, is the oracle we understand as referring to the perfect realization of the promise of a Davidic dynasty in the birth of the Messiah – Christ Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary.
 
“The sign proposed by Isaiah was concerned with the preservation of Judah in the midst of distress (cf Isaiah 7:15, 17), but more especially with the fulfillment of God's earlier promise to David (2 Samuel 7:12-16) in the coming of Immanuel (meaning, "With us is God") as the ideal king (cf Isaiah 9:5-6; 11:1-5). The Church has always followed St. Matthew in seeing the transcendent fulfillment of this verse in Christ and his Virgin Mother.” [5]
 
"The child, the son, is the most significant part of the sign. If the prophecy refers to the son of Ahaz, the future King Hezekiah, it would be indicating that his birth will be a sign of divine protection, because it will mean that the dynasty will continue. If it refers to another child, not yet known, the prophet's words would mean that the child's birth could manifest hope that 'God was going to be with us,' and his reaching the age of discretion (v. 16) would indicate the advent of peace; the child's birth would, then, be the sign that 'God is with us.' In the New Testament, the deeper meaning of these words find fulfillment: Mary is Virgin and Mother, and her Son is not a symbol of God's protection but God himself who dwells among us."[6]
 
CCC: Is 7:14 497
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
 
R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
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Commentary on Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
 
Psalm 40 is a song of thanksgiving combined with a lament. The initial waiting of the psalmist is satisfied by favor shown by God to one who is faithful in service to him. These strophes sing the thanksgiving of those who hear the voice of God and obey his words. This obedience is loved by God above ritual sacrifices. The Lord especially loves those who follow his law. Once heard, the good news is proclaimed to all the people.
 
CCC: Ps 40:7-9 LXX 462; Ps 40:7 2824
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Reading II: Hebrews 10:4-10
 
Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:
 
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"
 
First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in."
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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Commentary on Heb 10:4-10
 
Sacrifices traditionally offered in the Hebrew temple are refuted as an ineffective act to take away sins. Psalm 40 is quoted here by the author and applied as if it were Jesus addressing God, the Father. The intent is to stress the scriptural understanding that the Hebrew practice of animal sacrifice does not find favor with God and that Jesus' sacrifice of his own body is the one and only acceptable sacrifice of atonement.
 
"The author of the letter, elaborating on the text of the psalm, asserts that the Messiah's sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of the old law, unbloody as well as bloody, sin-offerings as well as burnt offerings as they were called in the liturgy (cf. Leviticus 5;6; 7:27). The sacrifice of Christ, who has ‘come into the world,’ has replaced both kinds of ancient sacrifice. It consisted in perfectly doing the will of His Father (cf. John 4:34; 6:38; 8:29; 14:31), even though He was required to give His life to the point of dying on Calvary (Matthew 26:42; John 10:18; Hebrews 5:7-9). Christ ‘came into the world’ to offer Himself up to suffering and death for the redemption of the world." [7]
 
CCC: Heb 10:1-4 1540; Heb 10:5-10 606; Heb 10:5-7 462, 516, 2568; Heb 10:5 488; Heb 10:7 2824; Heb 10:10 614, 2824
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Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
 
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
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Commentary on Lk 1:26-38
 
This passage, from St. Luke’s Gospel, is the story of Mary being informed by the archangel Gabriel that she has been chosen for the great privilege of bearing the Savior of the world. St. Mary graciously accepts this honor, although with very human fear, indicating that her free will is at play. This response makes her obedience to God’s will more powerful. It is proposed that, with this acceptance, Mary entered into a vow of perpetual virginity because of the demands of Isaiah 7:14 : “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."
 
In St. Luke’s story of the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she will bear a son and names him Jesus (the eternal implication of this statement is made clear in the greeting which presupposes knowledge of Mary’s entire existence). Mary confirms the title “Virgin” given by the author as she questions Gabriel saying: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” Even though she does not understand, Mary accepts her role and is told that the Holy Spirit will be the agent of the life within her. She then utters those amazing words: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
 
This announcement is parallel to Zechariah’s news about John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-23), which is also delivered by the archangel Gabriel. This passage clearly identifies Jesus as Son of David and Son of God, thus linking it with the messianic predictions from the Old Testament.
 
CCC: Lk 1:26-38 497, 706, 723, 2571; Lk 1:26-27 488; Lk 1:26 332; Lk 1:28-37 494; Lk 1:28 490, 491; Lk 1:31 430, 2812; Lk 1:32-33 709; Lk 1:32 559; Lk 1:34 484, 497, 505; Lk 1:35 437, 484, 486, 697; Lk 1:37-38 494; Lk 1:37 148, 269, 273, 276; Lk 1:38 64, 148, 510, 2617, 2677, 2827, 2856
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Reflection:
 
Those of us who have virtuously practiced prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we engaged in our Lenten discipline can become focused on the prize, the promise fulfilled in the Easter of our joy.  It is good, therefore, that as we reach the halfway point of our Lenten discipline, we are called back to the very beginning.  It started with an incredible (and very anonymous) event in the little town of Nazareth.  Mary, the daughter of Anne and Joachim, a Spirit-led young lady, had an unprecedented visit from a messenger of God, the Most High.  We call this event the “Annunciation” because that messenger, the archangel Gabriel, announced to Mary that she was to be the vessel of God’s Only Begotten Son.  The Church could easily have named the event something else. 
 
One of the key reasons we find this story so compelling is that Mary, a young and innocent girl, well educated in Mosaic Law, was given free will to accept the pronouncement of the archangel or to reject the call to be used by God in this way.  Her humble acceptance could easily have been celebrated as the solemnity of the “acceptance.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says this about the Annunciation:
 
484 The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of time", the time of the fulfillment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily". The divine response to her question, "How can this be, since I know not man?", was given by the power of the Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you."
 
As is implied by this statement, the visit Mary received from the archangel Gabriel sets in motion events that fulfill God’s plan from the beginning.  It is God’s final revelatory act of love and mercy, given to his creation that they (we) might accept the inheritance he has prepared for us.
 
Think of it!  It all depended on a young girl, Mary, accepting God’s offer (it is in fact an offer, not a pronouncement).  And what was that incredible offer?  Mary had to know that conceiving a child at that time in her life without a husband could mean her death by stoning, the punishment prescribed by law for an adulteress.  Yet her response is so humble and simple: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
 
With that humble act of faith, Mary establishes herself as the first of the saints.  Her example of selfless love provides an avenue of grace that fills her and assures her a preeminent place in the heavenly kingdom.
 
On this solemn feast day dedicated to the Annunciation, we thank God for his act of love in sending his Only Begotten Son into the world.  We thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for choosing to become man, and at the same time to become the sacrifice that takes away our sins.  And we thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for making her courageous decision and accepting the path offered to her.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent.
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “The Annunciation,” by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] NAB footnote on Isaiah 7: 10ff.
[6] The Navarre Bible, Major Prophets (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002), 73.
[7] The Navarre Bible, Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003), 222.

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

During the Fifth Week of Lent (especially in cycles B and C when the Gospel of Lazarus is not read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent) optional Mass Texts are offered.

“Christ Holds the Cross”
by El Greco 1602-07

 
Readings for Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading I: Numbers 21:4-9
 
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
 
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
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Commentary on Nm 21:4-9
 
The reading from the book of Numbers recounts another intervention by God along the Hebrew sojourn in the desert.  God had already provided “manna” which is what the Israelites in this reading now call “wretched food.” They believed that, because they offended God with their bitterness and lack of gratitude, they failed to love God and sinned against him. In punishment, serpents were sent to afflict them.
 
This event is seen by the Christian community as an analogy to the later crucifixion of Jesus. “If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover," and "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:14-15). [4]
 
CCC: Nm 21:4-9 2130
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
 
R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
 
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
 
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
 
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
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Commentary on Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
 
Psalm 102 is an individual lament. In this selection we find the cry of the people in the desert once more being directed to the Lord. The song proposes a covenant: If you hear our plea, we will revere your name.
 
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Gospel: John 8:21-30
 
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
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Commentary on Jn 8:21-30
 
Jesus continues his discourse with the Pharisees, trying to lead them to understanding. He tells them that he is going away, clearly implying his own death, and tells them they may not follow him. Their unbelief is sin and hence they will die in their sin. They do not understand the manner of his death (that he will lay his life down) but rather see a partial truth in thinking he will kill himself.
 
Even though he uses language filled with specific clues (e.g., the use of the phrase “I AM,” God’s own designation for himself) they still do not understand. Toward the end he alludes to the saraph image from Numbers: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM”; and at the same time makes it clear whose Son he is.
 
CCC: Jn 8:28 211, 653, 2812; Jn 8:29 603, 1693, 2824, 2825
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Reflection:
 
In the Gospel, Jesus is clearly getting a bit frustrated with the Hebrew leadership for not being able to understand who he is (even though he uses the Hebrew formula for God, “I AM,” referring to himself on a couple of occasions).  We, his modern-day disciples, see the meaning clearly in his statements and understand he is truly the Son of God.
 
Frustration and impatience also play a role in the first reading.  This time however, it is the Hebrew people being led out of Egypt.  From a practical standpoint, the reading from Numbers should speak to us today.  How often have we fallen into the role of the Hebrews in the story about the saraph serpents?  How frequently have we heard ourselves complaining: why did God let that happen? Or why did God put me in this situation? 
 
It’s the “blessing and curse” opposition of a covenant relationship.  God made us in his own image and likeness.  In doing so he gave all mankind (the good and the bad) free will.  He gave us the freedom to make choices, good and bad, and placed us in a world full of people with that same ability.  What he did not do was make us slaves to him as he so easily could have done.  That would have been absolutely necessary if all of our choices in life would lead us to happy outcomes all of the time.
 
So, bad things happen.  They usually happen because we make bad decisions and put ourselves in situations where the outcomes are not positive.  They happen because the people around us make bad decisions, perhaps not for themselves. Look, for example, at executives who decide they need to reduce labor costs and lay people off so they can make their profit numbers and get their bonus, so shareholders can make the money they expect on their investments.  For the executive it was a good decision, for the people who invested their 401k money in the company it was a good thing.  For the worker who no longer has an income, it might seem that God had dealt them an unfair blow.
 
Recognizing that there is evil in the world and that God has given us the ability to choose between good and evil, we must also look at situations in which we feel frustrated or unjustly treated by God. We need to ask: who really put us there? God is there for us.  He sent his Son to us to give us hope and peace.  We only need to reach out to him, to believe he is I AM, and we find that salvation and peace. 
 
Pax
 
Stations of the Cross
 

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[1] The picture used is “Christ Holds the Cross” by El Greco 1602-07.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] See NAB Footnote on Numbers 21: 4ff.

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Optional Memorial of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, bishop
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo
 
Biographical information for St. Toribio de Mogrovejo
 
During the Fifth Week of Lent (especially in cycles B and C when the Gospel of Lazarus is not read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent) optional Mass Texts are offered.

“Susanna and the Elders” (detail)
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647

 
Readings for Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,
who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,
the daughter of Hilkiah;
her pious parents had trained their daughter
according to the law of Moses.
Joakim was very rich;
he had a garden near his house,
and the Jews had recourse to him often
because he was the most respected of them all.
 
That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,
of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon:
from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."
These men, to whom all brought their cases,
frequented the house of Joakim.
When the people left at noon,
Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk.
When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk,
they began to lust for her.
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.
 
One day, while they were waiting for the right moment,
she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only.
She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.
Nobody else was there except the two elders,
who had hidden themselves and were watching her.
"Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids,
"and shut the garden doors while I bathe."
 
As soon as the maids had left,
the two old men got up and hurried to her.
"Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us;
give in to our desire, and lie with us.
If you refuse, we will testify against you
that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."
 
"I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned.
"If I yield, it will be my death;
if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.
Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt
than to sin before the Lord."
Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,
as one of them ran to open the garden doors.
When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden,
they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.
At the accusations by the old men,
the servants felt very much ashamed,
for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.
 
When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day,
the two wicked elders also came,
fully determined to put Susanna to death.
Before all the people they ordered:
"Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
the wife of Joakim."
When she was sent for,
she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.
All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.
 
In the midst of the people the two elders rose up
and laid their hands on her head.
Through tears she looked up to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.
The elders made this accusation:
"As we were walking in the garden alone,
this woman entered with two girls
and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.
A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.
When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime,
we ran toward them.
We saw them lying together,
but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we;
he opened the doors and ran off.
Then we seized her and asked who the young man was,
but she refused to tell us.
We testify to this."
The assembly believed them,
since they were elders and judges of the people,
and they condemned her to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him,
"Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you,
lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
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Commentary on Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
The story of Susanna and the Elders is one of three stories that now exist only in Greek. Neither this story nor the stories of "Bel and the Dragon" (Daniel 14) and "The prayer of Azariah" (Daniel 3:24ff) are included in the Hebrew canon but have always been included by the Church.
 
This story is one of justice and the application of Mosaic Law.  Mosaic Law states in Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:5 that two witnesses must corroborate testimony against one charged. The innocent Susanna is rescued by the hero of the book, Daniel. In demanding the law be followed scrupulously, he rescues Susanna and expunges wickedness.
 
Within the story we find Susanna and her family likely intended to represent Israel. The two elders may have some link with the two false prophets who committed adultery and who are denounced in Jeremiah 29:21-23. The point is clearly made that what leads them astray is lust. A work attributed to St John Chrysostom comments on this passage: "If no passion undermines and corrupts it, the soul will remain clean and unstained. But if he does not guard his eyes and looks at whatever he wants around him in the world, […] the poison of desire will enter through a man's sight and strike to the bottom of his heart; and he who was once a sober and modest man will be overwhelmed by a whirlwind of passions" (De Susanna, col. 591).[4]
 
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OR
Shorter Form: Daniel 13:41c-62
 
The assembly condemned Susanna to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him,
"What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah,
beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,"
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
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Commentary on Dn 13:41c-62
 
The shorter version omits all that led up to the trial and conviction of Susanna. In doing so, this shorter form requires the reader to infer, based upon the final verdict, the injustice being plotted by the wicked elders. Daniel, now a judge raised up by God to protect the innocent, not a seer or interpreter of dreams, intervenes to rescue Susanna and demonstrate the justice of Mosaic Law.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
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Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar songs in the entire psalter. “God's loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Psalm 23:1-4) and a host's generosity toward a guest (Psalm 23:5-6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; Jeremiah 31:10).”[5] While the theme of shepherd is mentioned in the first strophe, the psalm really speaks to the peace given to those who follow the Lord and place their trust in him, even into the “dark valley.”
 
The reference in the third strophe above: “'You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes' occurs in an exodus context in Psalm 78:19. As my enemies watch: my enemies see that I am God's friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Psalm 104:15; Matthew 26:7; Luke 7:37, 46; John 12:2).” [6]
 
CCC: Ps 23:5 1293
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Gospel: John 8:1-11
 
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 8:1-11
 
John’s Gospel places Jesus once more in the temple precincts. The story of Jesus and the adulterous woman constitutes another example of how the Jewish leadership attempts to trap Jesus with a difficult legal problem.  They have no doubt heard the Lord’s teaching about loving one another and believe that he will not condemn the adulterous woman and thereby give them reason to call him “blasphemer.” As a side note, most Scripture scholars believe this passage was not originally in St. John’s Gospel but was borrowed from St. Luke.  Regardless, from a very early period it has been considered sacred in the current context.
 
It is not completely clear what Jesus is being asked to judge.  The law concerning adultery by a betrothed virgin was stoning (see Deuteronomy 22:23-24).  However, the law concerning married women was simply death (see Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) and was generally carried out by strangulation.
 
In response, rather than debating the law, he simply begins writing in the dust. Tradition tells us that what he wrote with his finger was a list of the sins of those gathered to stone the woman caught in adultery. He then asked that the one without sin should cast the first stone. (The first stones were to be thrown by the witnesses.)
 
In either case, Jesus should not have been able to commute her sentence without going against the law so he uses his knowledge of people’s hearts to have the charges withdrawn.  As we saw in the first reading, two accusers are required to condemn a person under the law.
 
The story continues that after his second set of writings in the dust, the group gathered to stone the woman; “went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” Even, or more importantly, first the elders left. No one was without sin. In the closing statement Jesus does something unexpected. He does not judge the woman either; rather he tells her to go and sin no more, emphasizing that Jesus came into the world not to judge it but through his presence to save it.
 
CCC: Jn 8:2 583
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Reflection:
 
With less than two weeks until we celebrate the great high feast of the Lord’s resurrection, now deep within our desert journey, we are reminded of our responsibility to testify truthfully to the light and to turn from darkness.  The story from Daniel of the evil elders, men of authority, who allowed their base instincts to rule them, should be example enough.  The warning was clear, when we give in to the beast that howls in the night our only reward will be death, if not of body – of spirit.
 
Our testimony – our words, our actions and our thoughts – must testify to the light of the world.  It is a constant struggle because just as the elders were seduced by the spirit of the evil one first to lust and then to dishonor themselves further in lies, so that same spirit of evil exists today begging us to give in to invitations to abandon Our Lord’s path.  Many have been lured away with promises of pleasure and gain at the expense of the poor and the weak.  They call out to the righteous, “Come, enjoy, it is your right to have all that you can take.”  The seduction is smooth and cunning.  Its logic twists and turns, it makes sense of the senseless acts of greed and overindulgence.
 
We are called by the Gospel to be children of the light.  That means that all our actions and our thoughts should be able to be submitted to the light of the world without blemish or shame.  And when those times occur as they do in the best of us, we must take those stains and offer them to the one whose blood cleansed the world in the sacrament of the confessional.
 
Our Lenten journey flows toward Easter quickly. Let us pledge that when we stand in the new light of Easter, we will be children of the light, indeed.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Susanna and the Elders” (detail) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible, Major Prophets (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002), 873.
[5] NAB footnote on Psalm 23.
[6] Ibid.