Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.[1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Suggested for this date: #37. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Hope.

“The River and the Tree of Life” 
by an UNKNOWN; Illustrator of 'Bamberg Apocalypse', 
Reichenau, 1000-20.

Readings for Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Revelation 22:1-7

Commentary on Rv 22:1-7

This final vision of the heavenly kingdom provides us with the ultimate peaceful setting. God and the Christ, the Lamb of God, preside over the water of life flowing through a land filled with an abundance of good things and nothing evil present.

When the reference is made to the name inscribed on their foreheads: “They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads,” it is a direct corollary to the Hebrew phylactery, small, black leather, cube-shaped cases containing Torah texts written on parchment worn on the forehead to symbolize they had internalized God’s law. (Note: the sign of the beast is in the same place for those who are thrown down.)

Our passage ends, appropriately: “Behold, I am coming soon.” This passage is used on the last day of the liturgical year.

CCC: Rv 21:1-22:5 117; Rv 22:1 1137; Rv 22:4 1023; Rv 22:5 1029

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab

R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab

Psalm 95 is a song of praise. These strophes rejoice in God’s saving help and extol his greatness as the creator of all things. The psalmist enjoins the faithful to bow down and worship the one who is the great shepherd, who protects his flock from all ills.

The Advent response itself is explained thus: “Marana tha: an Aramaic expression probably used in the early Christian liturgy. As understood here (‘O Lord, come!’), it is a prayer for the early return of Christ. If the Aramaic words are divided differently (Maran atha, ‘Our Lord has come’), it becomes a credal declaration. The former interpretation is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Rev 22:20 ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’” [5]

CCC: Ps 95:1-6 2628; Ps 95:7-8 2659; Ps 95:7 1165

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Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Commentary on Lk 21:34-36

This selection is the end of Jesus' final public exhortation before his passion and death.  Some scholars have speculated that the Gospel author could be using a fragment of some forgotten scroll from St. Paul because the Hellenistic form is so similar (see 1 Thessalonians 5:4).

"It is clear from this short section that Luke (different from 1 Thessalonians) eliminated the idea of an immediate parousia.  Sudden trials will strike everyone, and so there is need of continual vigilance.  Everyone, however, will eventually take part in the parousia.  How a person lives now determines how he will 'stand before the Son of Man.'"[6] Jesus reminds his disciples not to become complacent in their practice of the faith. It is one of his sternest warnings that the end will come without notice and judgment will be immediate.

CCC: Lk 21:34-36 2612

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Reflection:

It is almost as if those who assembled our reading could not wait for Advent to begin. The passage from St. John’s Revelation ends with: “Behold, I am coming soon.” The Psalm response is: “Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!”  It is interspersed with Psalm 95, the invitatory psalm we use in the Divine Office. And finally we are given a Gospel that has Jesus telling us that we must hold ourselves in constant preparation because we do not want to be caught unawares when the Lord comes again.

On this last day before the season of Advent begins, it is good to think about this past year and what we have done, right and wrong: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) As the analogy we have been using implies, take one more good look in the mirror of our souls.  What do we see there that we had not noticed before?

Let’s think about our interactions at work or school. Were we living God’s law of love as best we could? Did we consciously hurt or degrade a person? Do we need to make amends and apologize to anyone specifically?

What about in our family: did we set the good example that we are asked to? Did we show those we love the most that God does rule in our hearts? (This is one of the most difficult!)

And finally, in our solitude, have we worked hard at allowing the Lord to guide our inmost thoughts and therefore drive our actions with those about us? Have we been diligent in our prayer, in praise of the one who saves us all, for ourselves, and for the world? Have we been faithful in our participation in the sacraments of Eucharist, Reconciliation, and, as needed, Anointing? Have we allowed God’s grace to buoy us up and give us strength?

As we think through this short list, most of us will find ways to improve, to grow closer to God in the coming new year of grace. Let us add a prayer for strength, that we might walk hand in hand with the Lord throughout the year.

Pax

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5

[2] The picture used today is “The River and the Tree of Life” by an UNKNOWN; Illustrator of 'Bamberg Apocalypse', Reichenau, 1000-20.

[3] S.S. Commemoratio

[5] See NAB footnote on 1 Cor 16:22.

[6] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:149, p. 155.

Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

“St Andrew” by Jusepe de Ribera, 1616-18

Biographical Information about St. Andrew

Readings for the Feast of Saint Andrew [1]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[2]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Romans 10:9-18

Commentary on Rom 10:9-18

As part of his dialogue regarding why the Jews had failed in their mission, St. Paul calls upon the Roman Christians to profess their belief that Jesus is the Son of God, divine in his own person.  The Jewish converts could not say the name of God but referred instead to Yahweh as “Lord.”  By asking the Christians to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,“ they professed their belief in his divinity and what flowed from that profession was justification (to be made just as if one had not sinned).  In justification is salvation since the physical act of confessing with the lips must come from an interior faith from the heart.

The evangelist continues his call to faith explaining that this path to salvation is open to all peoples (“There is no distinction between Jew and Greek”).  This invitation does not have any prerequisites (i.e. one does not have to have come to belief through Judaism) to be unified in Christ, paraphrasing Isaiah 28:16.

In the next section (v. 14-21) St. Paul poses questions as to why the Jewish people forfeited their status as favorites in the eyes of God.  Perhaps there were reasons which he rhetorically proposes and then rejects: did they not hear; did they not understand?  To the question, have they not heard?  St. Paul responds quoting Psalm 19:5, which concludes this passage.

CCC: Rom 10:9 343, 186, 449; Rom 10:12-13 2739; Rom 10:13 2666; Rom 10:14-15 875; Rom 10:17 875

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (10) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. (John 6:63) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In this passage, we give praise for God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtues of obedience and steadfastness to the Law and its precepts. The passage also reflects the idea that following God’s statutes leads to peace and prosperity.

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Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

Commentary on Mt 4:18-22

This passage is the account in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the call of the first disciples. The important principle provided in this episode is the fact that the four disciples called by Jesus, the first four, followed the Lord immediately.  It is recorded that they left their entire livelihood and all their possessions behind and followed Jesus. (A similar abruptness is found also in the call of Levi, Matthew 9:9.)

Ironically the notes on this section point out that three of the four called, Peter, James, and John, are distinguished by a particular closeness to Jesus. The reason that Matthew’s account indicates the disciples left work and family immediately, without any explanation, may be due in part to Andrew’s earlier encounter with Jesus as a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40)

CCC: Mt 4:19 878; Mt 4:21 878

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Reflection:

What would the world be like if St. Andrew had not become a disciple of St. John the Baptist?  We don’t know what called him to follow the Voice, to become a member of that close circle of devout followers.  But we do know that if the Apostle had not, he would never have been sent, as tradition holds, with his companion to ask Jesus if he was the one to come or if they should expect someone else.

And what if he had not done as St. John had suggested and heard those words: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Luke 7:22)?  Those words had meaning beyond the obvious.  While indeed the blind, the lame, and deaf were healed, those events were a direct reference to the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1).

[Note: there are two different versions about the call of Andrew and his brother, Simon (St. Peter).  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus calls them while they are fishing with their father (Mark 1:16; Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11), although we notice in Luke, Andrew is not mentioned.  However, in the Gospel of St. John, hear the following: "Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed)." (John 1:35-41) The reflection above sort of cross-references the two versions of the call.]

And what did St. Andrew do?  He returned to the Baptist and then, perhaps taking St. John’s own mission to the next level went immediately to his brother (John 1:37-40).  The words he spoke to him echo through the thousands of years that have passed.  They are graven in the heart of every Christian who has ever come to faith, "We have found the Messiah."

From that point forward the profession of faith made by and to the brother of Peter, who would be given the Keys to the Kingdom, would shape the whole world.  To those first four disciples would be added eight more, including the one who betrayed him.  From them, the Gospel of the Lord would travel to every part of the world.  It began with a simple statement of faith - "We have found the Messiah."

Today as we celebrate the feast day of St. Andrew, we thank God for the gift of faith, the faith he gave St. Andrew and all the apostles and the faith he gives us.  We ask on this day that St. Andrew will intercede for us, and the one he found will bless us with an abundance of faith, so that we in our turn may announce it to the world - "We have found the Messiah."

Pax

In other years: Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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[1] The picture is “St Andrew” by Jusepe de Ribera, 1616-18.

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

“Angel” by Georg Pencz, 
1525-30

Readings for Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [1]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

Commentary on Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

This passage is a “stirring dirge over the fall of Babylon-Rome. The perspective is prophetic, as if the fall of Rome had already taken place. The imagery here, as elsewhere in this book, is not to be taken literally. The vindictiveness of some of the language, borrowed from the scathing Old Testament prophecies against Babylon, Tyre, and Nineveh (Isaiah 23; 24; 27; Jeremiah 50-51; Ezekiel 26-27), is meant to portray symbolically the inexorable demands of God's holiness and justice; cf. Introduction. The section concludes with a joyous canticle on the future glory of heaven.)”[4]

CCC: Rv 19:1-8 2642; Rv 19:1-9 677; Rv 19:9 1329, 1602, 1612

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (Rev. 19: 9a) Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Commentary on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

Psalm 100 is a communal song of thanksgiving in which the psalmist invites the people to come to God with praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous things he has done. In this selection the psalmist gives thanks for God’s favor and his unending support in all good things. It affirms God’s saving grace given to his sons and daughters through all generations. The song recalls God the creator whose love and fidelity knows no bounds.

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Gospel: Luke 21:20-28

Commentary on Lk 21:20-28

The apocalyptic discourse continues in St. Luke’s Gospel. The first part of this section deals with the destruction of Jerusalem (which actually took place in 70 AD). Since this event took place before the Gospel was published, Luke and his community look back upon the event. This provides the assurance that, just as Jesus' prediction of Jerusalem's destruction was fulfilled, so too will the announcement of their final redemption come to pass. The prediction itself is validated by the historical account of Eusebius of Casoria. When the Christians saw the approach of the Roman armies they recalled Christ’s prediction and fled across the Jordan.[5]

The second part of the reading provides a description of the actual events of the end times. The Lord assures his disciples that he will return and those who follow him should not be afraid, even as the terrible signs manifest themselves upon the earth.

CCC: Lk 21:24 58, 674; Lk 21:27 671, 697

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Reflection:

There is a kind of paradox associated with the peace of Christ which we are offered that bears some reflection.  We have all heard stories about people who, in moments of severe stress, are able to accomplish physical feats that are seemingly impossible (a mother lifting a car off of her pinned child; a father standing on two broken legs catching his children as they leap from the second story window of their burning home).  These documented events are the result of a physiological rush of adrenaline – a fear reflex.  In the cases cited, this reflex was able to stimulate incredible physical strength and deaden pain reflexes.  We must ask: would the peace of Christ interrupt this process, putting the devout Christian at a disadvantage?

The consideration of this question is, to be sure, fanciful.  The examples used and the abilities exhibited during times of peril happen completely without conscious will or thought.  The brain circuits used are not the same consciousness centers over which the peace of Christ descends.  We submit that in one whose faith is strong enough, whose spiritual growth is so advanced, that this state of calm assurance would actually allow the physical reaction to be channeled in such a way as to have an even more effective outcome.  We take for example the expression found in St. Luke’s Gospel: “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world.”

People die of fright because the same fear reflex that directs some people to heroic actions causes others to go into cardiac arrest and die.  In most cases, panic, the most common expression of the fear reflex, causes devastating outcomes.  Take, for example, the swimmer who has a cramp and can no longer tread water.  When an unwary life guard or some well-meaning swimmer comes to help the person, they are likely to be fiercely grasped (using that same adrenaline enhanced strength) and pulled down, frequently to be drowned along with their panicked victim.  How often have we heard about panic driven crowds trampling others to death as they try to escape a threat?

The peace of Christ can stave off fear and allow us to see more clearly in difficult times.  When we know and are convinced that God is there to help us, to buoy us up, in times of strife, we can take actions with calm assurance that avoid the disaster panic can bring.  That peace is what we are offered by the one who defeated death and sin for our salvation.  That peace is what we accept when we crown Christ the king in our lives. (There is a more dramatic expression of the Peace of Christ found in the lives of many Saints, especially martyrs like St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions whose memorial we recently celebrated, but that is reserved for another time.)

Today we accept the life in the world to come.  We know and understand that, in God’s time, the end of this world will come and we will stand before the throne of the Just Judge, the Lamb of God.  In his consolation and mercy we find his peace.

Pax

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[1] The picture is “Angel” by Georg Pencz, 1525-30.

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

[4] See NAB footnote for Revelation 18:1-19:4.

[5] History of the Church from Christ to Constantine Vol. 3,Ch 5, 3