Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop
Biographical Information about St. Augustine of Canterbury[1]
Readings for Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Peter 1;10-16
The Apostle here continues to exhort the five churches to respond to the call to holiness. A call brought to them by the Apostles who were filled with “the Spirit of Christ”. It was this Holy Spirit that motivated them as it had motivated the prophets of old in their understanding of the salvation to come.
The passage concludes with very practical instructions about their behavior, instructing them to avoid their former way of life “…do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance” but rather be holy as God is holy quoting Leviticus (see Leviticus 11; 44).
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Psalm 98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people and the salvation he brings to those who are faithful. The psalm rejoices in God’s salvation. The Lord has revealed his compassion toward the people and they sing his praises in response. As the Hebrews saw this as salvation for the people of Israel from its enemies, we see the deeper expression of God’s love as he sent his Son for salvation and justice for the whole world.
Gospel Mark 10:28-31
Following the exchange with the rich young man and the rest of the crowd, St. Peter brings up the fact that the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus. The Lord responds telling them they will receive a reward “a hundred times more” and “eternal life”. The last statement “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first” is thought to have been added to reconcile the fact that some called first outlived some early Christians.
Reflection:
Did you notice the touch of irony in the scripture we have today? In the Gospel we are hearing about how St. Peter (and his friends), who gave up everything to follow Jesus, react when the crowd was muttering “Then who can be saved?” Jesus had already said that was only possible for God the Father and now St. Peter says, in effect, what about us? “We have given up everything and followed you.”
The Lord reassures them (although if we look at the language it is somewhat problematic). It is his concluding remark that strikes us “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first”
It is ironic because of the first reading from St. Peter’s first letter. He is speaking once more to the five churches in infant Christianity. Do you remember where and when he is writing this letter? He is in Rome. Many of his fellow Apostles have already gone on before him, following Christ in martyrdom. Scholars believe that his letters were published just before his own death. Tradition holds that Peter himself, when told he was to be crucified, asked to have that horrible punishment performed on his person upside down because he did not fell worthy to so closely imitate his Savior’s death.
The Savior's words and examples were surely burned into the minds and hearts of his Apostles. St. Peter enjoins those first Christians to remain firm in their commitment to Christ. It is the same message that Jesus has just given to the crowd of which St. Peter and the eleven had been apart. The message he had difficulty in accepting is the same message he gives a generation later.
Truth is truth from age to age. Today we are asked to remember our pledge to follow the Lord. We recall that this will not be an easy path and we will be challenged on many fronts to “Be holy because I am holy.” Today we follow all the saints in that struggle.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St. Augustine of Canterbury” – taken from Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 6.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Biographical Information about St. Augustine of Canterbury[1]
Readings for Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Peter 1;10-16
The Apostle here continues to exhort the five churches to respond to the call to holiness. A call brought to them by the Apostles who were filled with “the Spirit of Christ”. It was this Holy Spirit that motivated them as it had motivated the prophets of old in their understanding of the salvation to come.
The passage concludes with very practical instructions about their behavior, instructing them to avoid their former way of life “…do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance” but rather be holy as God is holy quoting Leviticus (see Leviticus 11; 44).
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Psalm 98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people and the salvation he brings to those who are faithful. The psalm rejoices in God’s salvation. The Lord has revealed his compassion toward the people and they sing his praises in response. As the Hebrews saw this as salvation for the people of Israel from its enemies, we see the deeper expression of God’s love as he sent his Son for salvation and justice for the whole world.
Gospel Mark 10:28-31
Following the exchange with the rich young man and the rest of the crowd, St. Peter brings up the fact that the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus. The Lord responds telling them they will receive a reward “a hundred times more” and “eternal life”. The last statement “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first” is thought to have been added to reconcile the fact that some called first outlived some early Christians.
Reflection:
Did you notice the touch of irony in the scripture we have today? In the Gospel we are hearing about how St. Peter (and his friends), who gave up everything to follow Jesus, react when the crowd was muttering “Then who can be saved?” Jesus had already said that was only possible for God the Father and now St. Peter says, in effect, what about us? “We have given up everything and followed you.”
The Lord reassures them (although if we look at the language it is somewhat problematic). It is his concluding remark that strikes us “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first”
It is ironic because of the first reading from St. Peter’s first letter. He is speaking once more to the five churches in infant Christianity. Do you remember where and when he is writing this letter? He is in Rome. Many of his fellow Apostles have already gone on before him, following Christ in martyrdom. Scholars believe that his letters were published just before his own death. Tradition holds that Peter himself, when told he was to be crucified, asked to have that horrible punishment performed on his person upside down because he did not fell worthy to so closely imitate his Savior’s death.
The Savior's words and examples were surely burned into the minds and hearts of his Apostles. St. Peter enjoins those first Christians to remain firm in their commitment to Christ. It is the same message that Jesus has just given to the crowd of which St. Peter and the eleven had been apart. The message he had difficulty in accepting is the same message he gives a generation later.
Truth is truth from age to age. Today we are asked to remember our pledge to follow the Lord. We recall that this will not be an easy path and we will be challenged on many fronts to “Be holy because I am holy.” Today we follow all the saints in that struggle.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St. Augustine of Canterbury” – taken from Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 6.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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