Saint Anthony of Padua,
Priest and Doctor
Memorial Bench for St. Anthony of Padua
Readings for Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 5:14-21
This passage from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians has a distinctly initiative flavor. First he speaks of dying with Christ, becoming one with him in the spirit. This occurs in the sacrament of Baptism. The whole idea of being reconciled to God in Christ is inherent in the Sacrament of Confirmation and concluded in the Eucharist. These of course are the three sacraments of Christian Initiation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Psalm 103 is a song of praise to God for his mercy. It recognizes both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for it. The link between forgiveness and healing is brought out driving home the fact that forgiveness by God heals the soul and that His forgiveness is available always.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'
Anything more is from the Evil One."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:33-37
Jesus paraphrases the Old Testament (see Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12). He is attacking the practices of guaranteeing one’s promise by calling on God to witness the pledge. The Lord tells his disciples that no oaths should be made, that what they say should need no guarantee beyond their own character (“Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.”). This last reference speaks of the implied sinfulness of mankind in oath-breaking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We are “ambassadors for Christ”, as St. Paul says. As such we represent to others that which has been given to us. If this is not enough to scare us, nothing ever will. We are called Christians by the world. They look at us and say “This is what believing that Jesus is the Only Son of God means.” How we live and interact with those we meet is to demonstrate that lived reality.
The Gospel from St. Matthew gives us just one characteristic that we are to evince as “ambassadors of Christ”. We are to be honest to a fault. Our word should be our bond. If we promise to do something, there should be no need of formal documents or commitments in the legal sense. These instruments are for use among those of the secular world who require such pledges because there is a lack of trust. In Jesus’ day this was a practice of swearing an oath. It was more than children saying “cross my heart and hope to die.” It held the force of a covenant between individuals. When Jesus told his disciples not to swear oaths he was telling them that honesty was to be an integral part of loving one another.
“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’” does not mean we should be frank to the point of hurting another person, especially when it is our opinion that we are expressing. There are those who would say “I was only being honest” knowing that what they said was hurtful or demeaning of another. What parent would look at their toddler’s stick drawing and say “That’s terrible. What is it supposed to be?” Would they not say instead “That’s very nice.” recognizing the effort that had gone into it and the generosity of offering that work to them.
We are ambassadors of Christ. As such our first obligation to Christ is to do as he asked; love one another! We are to see those we meet though those loving eyes being honest and loving in our interactions. It is not easy. We must constantly subvert our human nature that strives to place our own interests above others. But ambassadors do not have easy jobs, especially when the one they represent gave up his life for the world.
Pax
Memorial Bench for St. Anthony of Padua
Readings for Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 5:14-21
This passage from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians has a distinctly initiative flavor. First he speaks of dying with Christ, becoming one with him in the spirit. This occurs in the sacrament of Baptism. The whole idea of being reconciled to God in Christ is inherent in the Sacrament of Confirmation and concluded in the Eucharist. These of course are the three sacraments of Christian Initiation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Psalm 103 is a song of praise to God for his mercy. It recognizes both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for it. The link between forgiveness and healing is brought out driving home the fact that forgiveness by God heals the soul and that His forgiveness is available always.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'
Anything more is from the Evil One."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:33-37
Jesus paraphrases the Old Testament (see Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12). He is attacking the practices of guaranteeing one’s promise by calling on God to witness the pledge. The Lord tells his disciples that no oaths should be made, that what they say should need no guarantee beyond their own character (“Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.”). This last reference speaks of the implied sinfulness of mankind in oath-breaking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We are “ambassadors for Christ”, as St. Paul says. As such we represent to others that which has been given to us. If this is not enough to scare us, nothing ever will. We are called Christians by the world. They look at us and say “This is what believing that Jesus is the Only Son of God means.” How we live and interact with those we meet is to demonstrate that lived reality.
The Gospel from St. Matthew gives us just one characteristic that we are to evince as “ambassadors of Christ”. We are to be honest to a fault. Our word should be our bond. If we promise to do something, there should be no need of formal documents or commitments in the legal sense. These instruments are for use among those of the secular world who require such pledges because there is a lack of trust. In Jesus’ day this was a practice of swearing an oath. It was more than children saying “cross my heart and hope to die.” It held the force of a covenant between individuals. When Jesus told his disciples not to swear oaths he was telling them that honesty was to be an integral part of loving one another.
“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’” does not mean we should be frank to the point of hurting another person, especially when it is our opinion that we are expressing. There are those who would say “I was only being honest” knowing that what they said was hurtful or demeaning of another. What parent would look at their toddler’s stick drawing and say “That’s terrible. What is it supposed to be?” Would they not say instead “That’s very nice.” recognizing the effort that had gone into it and the generosity of offering that work to them.
We are ambassadors of Christ. As such our first obligation to Christ is to do as he asked; love one another! We are to see those we meet though those loving eyes being honest and loving in our interactions. It is not easy. We must constantly subvert our human nature that strives to place our own interests above others. But ambassadors do not have easy jobs, especially when the one they represent gave up his life for the world.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Pope Alexander III Receives an Ambassador” (detail) by Spinello Aretino, 1407
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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