Saints Sixtus II, Pope, and his Companions, Martyrs
or Saint Cajetan, Priest
Biographical Information about Sts. Sixtus II and Companion Martyrs[1]
Biographical Information about St. Cajetan
Readings for Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Jeremiah 31:31-34
This passage is called by scripture scholars “Jeremiah’s Spiritual Testament”[3]. In his announcement of the “New Covenant” he condenses his entire message into these few words. While in his day he is speaking to the returning exiles about the re-establishment of the relationship with God, it can also be seen as predictive of the messianic covenant. This is especially clear given the language in the final verse regarding forgiveness “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
[Psalm 51 is a ] “A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought.”[4] In conjunction with Jeremiah’s announcement of the new covenant, the psalmist here prays for forgiveness and salvation possible only through a heart that yearns for God.
Gospel Matthew 16:13-23
St. Matthew’s story of how Jesus asked about what people were saying about him has a profound impact on the Church. Here, when challenged by Jesus with the question, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon answers, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” The second title is not present in St. Mark’s version of this encounter. It adds an understanding that Jesus is not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God.
Given this response, Jesus confers upon Simon a new name “Kephas” which comes from the root Aramaic word Kepa or “Rock”. When translated into Greek it came out Petros and from there to Peter. The name, however, becomes the foundation for the Church and Peter, as a consequence of this exchange, is given Christ’s authority that is passed down through Papal Succession to Pope Benedict XVI today.
The passage continues with Jesus’ explanation of his coming passion. Jesus, using the title “Son of Man” (see Daniel 7:13-14), foresees his trials and passion. This frightens the disciples and probably confuses many of the entourage (remember, there were more than just the 12 following Jesus around) and Peter confronts him asking him to take a different approach to what he tells his students. Seeing this request as an invitation to take a different path, Jesus rebukes Peter.
Homily:
Who do you say that I am? For most of us we don’t really think about that question any longer. We have long since learned the right answer – the one the St. Peter gave “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” The question we are challenged with today is “If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, sent by God, His Father, into the world so that we might have the new covenant announced by Jeremiah and the prophets; If we believe all of this from the depths of our hearts, how does that change who we are and how we deal with the world?”
There is the simple answer – “If Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God” then we try to do what he asks us to do and live like he wants us to. But how do we remember to do that, what keeps us from forgetting? Oops, I forgot to love my enemy! Or gosh, I just ignored the poor and hungry! How do we avoid letting our natural tendencies, our human reactions which are encouraged by a secular society that would rather ignore the poor, hate its enemies, and let the hungry starve?
That is obviously the whole point of our faith – to work constantly toward putting on the mind of Christ. We strive to do this through prayer which needs to be our consent companion and seeking out the sacramental grace offered through the mercy of Christ and handed down through St. Peter and his Church. The Saints show us the way with their heroic virtue as we remember their words and works as well.
or Saint Cajetan, Priest
Biographical Information about Sts. Sixtus II and Companion Martyrs[1]
Biographical Information about St. Cajetan
Readings for Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Jeremiah 31:31-34
This passage is called by scripture scholars “Jeremiah’s Spiritual Testament”[3]. In his announcement of the “New Covenant” he condenses his entire message into these few words. While in his day he is speaking to the returning exiles about the re-establishment of the relationship with God, it can also be seen as predictive of the messianic covenant. This is especially clear given the language in the final verse regarding forgiveness “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
[Psalm 51 is a ] “A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought.”[4] In conjunction with Jeremiah’s announcement of the new covenant, the psalmist here prays for forgiveness and salvation possible only through a heart that yearns for God.
Gospel Matthew 16:13-23
St. Matthew’s story of how Jesus asked about what people were saying about him has a profound impact on the Church. Here, when challenged by Jesus with the question, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon answers, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” The second title is not present in St. Mark’s version of this encounter. It adds an understanding that Jesus is not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God.
Given this response, Jesus confers upon Simon a new name “Kephas” which comes from the root Aramaic word Kepa or “Rock”. When translated into Greek it came out Petros and from there to Peter. The name, however, becomes the foundation for the Church and Peter, as a consequence of this exchange, is given Christ’s authority that is passed down through Papal Succession to Pope Benedict XVI today.
The passage continues with Jesus’ explanation of his coming passion. Jesus, using the title “Son of Man” (see Daniel 7:13-14), foresees his trials and passion. This frightens the disciples and probably confuses many of the entourage (remember, there were more than just the 12 following Jesus around) and Peter confronts him asking him to take a different approach to what he tells his students. Seeing this request as an invitation to take a different path, Jesus rebukes Peter.
Homily:
Who do you say that I am? For most of us we don’t really think about that question any longer. We have long since learned the right answer – the one the St. Peter gave “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” The question we are challenged with today is “If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, sent by God, His Father, into the world so that we might have the new covenant announced by Jeremiah and the prophets; If we believe all of this from the depths of our hearts, how does that change who we are and how we deal with the world?”
There is the simple answer – “If Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God” then we try to do what he asks us to do and live like he wants us to. But how do we remember to do that, what keeps us from forgetting? Oops, I forgot to love my enemy! Or gosh, I just ignored the poor and hungry! How do we avoid letting our natural tendencies, our human reactions which are encouraged by a secular society that would rather ignore the poor, hate its enemies, and let the hungry starve?
That is obviously the whole point of our faith – to work constantly toward putting on the mind of Christ. We strive to do this through prayer which needs to be our consent companion and seeking out the sacramental grace offered through the mercy of Christ and handed down through St. Peter and his Church. The Saints show us the way with their heroic virtue as we remember their words and works as well.
The answer may be obvious but in practice our faith is an ongoing and daily struggle. It is like pushing a very large rock up hill (against the hedonistic tide of the world). The moment we stop pushing, the rock will roll back down right over us.
Today we remember that fundamental question; “Who do you say that I am?” And we renew our efforts to put on Christ and become what he called us to be.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St. Sixtus Ordains St. Lawrence (Detail)” by Fra Angelico, 1447-49
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, pp.327, 89.
[4] See NAB footnote on Psalm 51
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