Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas,
Priest and Doctor of the Church
(Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time)
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas
Readings for Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29
After Nathan had spoken to King David,
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said,
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house,
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD;
you have also spoken of the house of your servant
for a long time to come:
this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD!
“You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever,
and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made
concerning your servant and his house,
and do as you have promised.
Your name will be forever great, when men say,
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.
It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel,
who said in a revelation to your servant,
‘I will build a house for you.’
Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.
And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;
you have made this generous promise to your servant.
Do, then, bless the house of your servant
that it may be before you forever;
for you, Lord GOD, have promised,
and by your blessing the house of your servant
shall be blessed forever.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29
Nathan’s oracle has been communicated to David, that the Lord has established the Davidic dynasty. In this passage from 2 Samuel, David now goes to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant is kept (“King David went in and sat before the Lord”) and prays that all God has promised will be fulfilled. The prayer is in the form of a response to a covenant proposed; if you do this… I will do that….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14
R. (Lk 1:32b) The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
LORD, remember David
and all his anxious care;
How he swore an oath to the LORD,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“I will not enter the house where I live,
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
Till I find a home for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
The LORD swore an oath to David
a firm promise from which he will not withdraw:
“Your own offspring
I will set upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“If your sons keep my covenant,
and the decrees which I shall teach them,
Their sons, too, forever
shall sit upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
For the LORD has chosen Zion,
he prefers her for his dwelling:
“Zion is my resting place forever;
in her I will dwell, for I prefer her.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14
Psalm 132 is a song of thanksgiving song by the community as they remember the establishment of God’s salvation expressed in the Davidic dynasty. The promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah, who comes from the house of David to rule forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 4:21-25
Jesus continues his private talk with his disciples, explaining the parables he had used when speaking to the crowds from the boat. The description of the lamp placed high so that all can benefit from the light continues the description of the seed that fell on fertile ground in the parable of the “Sower.” It therefore takes the character of a description of the duties of those who hear the word and have it take root in them.
The second part of the reading that speaks of “The measure” again refers to his disciples who are given the gift of the word. In them the word will grow. Yet the final verse tells us he understands that one of their number will fall “…from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
There have been few “lamps set on a lampstand” that burned brighter than the Saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Thomas Aquinas was truly one who shaped the Church’s understanding of God’s revelation through Christ Jesus. Not only did the great saint hear and listen attentively to the Holy Spirit, he proclaimed that truth eloquently and with passion.
The Lord, in the Gospel proclaimed today, tells the disciples that the great truth of revelation may not be buried or hidden that it is meant to be given freely to the whole world. It is for this very reason that those simple men and women that comprised the Lord’s close circle of friends (and family, we cannot forget Mother Mary to whom these words were also addressed) took the Word of God to all they met; even though in most cases this action cost them their lives.
Today that instruction is passed on to us once more. Like St. Thomas Aquinas and like the disciples we are called to take the word of God into the world. We ask this rhetorical question of you – if you were able to put a message on a huge sign along a busy stretch of road where others could see it, what would you write? What short message would you use to convey your faith, hope, and love to others who passed by?
We pray today for ourselves that we can be more like St. Thomas Aquinas who was a beacon of truth. We ask for his intercession that the gifts of wisdom and understanding given so lavishly to him might in some small part be given to us as well, for God’s greater glory. We ask also that the love of Christ, poured out from those many faithful will illuminate the world with his love and peace.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas” by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1471
[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.
Priest and Doctor of the Church
(Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time)
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas
Readings for Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29
After Nathan had spoken to King David,
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said,
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house,
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD;
you have also spoken of the house of your servant
for a long time to come:
this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD!
“You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever,
and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made
concerning your servant and his house,
and do as you have promised.
Your name will be forever great, when men say,
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.
It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel,
who said in a revelation to your servant,
‘I will build a house for you.’
Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.
And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;
you have made this generous promise to your servant.
Do, then, bless the house of your servant
that it may be before you forever;
for you, Lord GOD, have promised,
and by your blessing the house of your servant
shall be blessed forever.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29
Nathan’s oracle has been communicated to David, that the Lord has established the Davidic dynasty. In this passage from 2 Samuel, David now goes to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant is kept (“King David went in and sat before the Lord”) and prays that all God has promised will be fulfilled. The prayer is in the form of a response to a covenant proposed; if you do this… I will do that….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14
R. (Lk 1:32b) The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
LORD, remember David
and all his anxious care;
How he swore an oath to the LORD,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“I will not enter the house where I live,
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
Till I find a home for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
The LORD swore an oath to David
a firm promise from which he will not withdraw:
“Your own offspring
I will set upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“If your sons keep my covenant,
and the decrees which I shall teach them,
Their sons, too, forever
shall sit upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
For the LORD has chosen Zion,
he prefers her for his dwelling:
“Zion is my resting place forever;
in her I will dwell, for I prefer her.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14
Psalm 132 is a song of thanksgiving song by the community as they remember the establishment of God’s salvation expressed in the Davidic dynasty. The promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah, who comes from the house of David to rule forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 4:21-25
Jesus continues his private talk with his disciples, explaining the parables he had used when speaking to the crowds from the boat. The description of the lamp placed high so that all can benefit from the light continues the description of the seed that fell on fertile ground in the parable of the “Sower.” It therefore takes the character of a description of the duties of those who hear the word and have it take root in them.
The second part of the reading that speaks of “The measure” again refers to his disciples who are given the gift of the word. In them the word will grow. Yet the final verse tells us he understands that one of their number will fall “…from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
There have been few “lamps set on a lampstand” that burned brighter than the Saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Thomas Aquinas was truly one who shaped the Church’s understanding of God’s revelation through Christ Jesus. Not only did the great saint hear and listen attentively to the Holy Spirit, he proclaimed that truth eloquently and with passion.
The Lord, in the Gospel proclaimed today, tells the disciples that the great truth of revelation may not be buried or hidden that it is meant to be given freely to the whole world. It is for this very reason that those simple men and women that comprised the Lord’s close circle of friends (and family, we cannot forget Mother Mary to whom these words were also addressed) took the Word of God to all they met; even though in most cases this action cost them their lives.
Today that instruction is passed on to us once more. Like St. Thomas Aquinas and like the disciples we are called to take the word of God into the world. We ask this rhetorical question of you – if you were able to put a message on a huge sign along a busy stretch of road where others could see it, what would you write? What short message would you use to convey your faith, hope, and love to others who passed by?
We pray today for ourselves that we can be more like St. Thomas Aquinas who was a beacon of truth. We ask for his intercession that the gifts of wisdom and understanding given so lavishly to him might in some small part be given to us as well, for God’s greater glory. We ask also that the love of Christ, poured out from those many faithful will illuminate the world with his love and peace.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas” by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1471
[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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