Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Scholastica 

 
Biographical information about St. Scholastica

“Saint Scholastica”
by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, c. 1650’s

 
Readings for Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading I: 1 Kings 11:4-13
 
When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,
and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,
as the heart of his father David had been.
By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites,
Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD;
he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done.
Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab,
and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites,
on the hill opposite Jerusalem.
He did the same for all his foreign wives
who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon,
because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel,
who had appeared to him twice
(for though the LORD had forbidden him
this very act of following strange gods,
Solomon had not obeyed him).
 
So the LORD said to Solomon: “Since this is what you want,
and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes
which I enjoined on you,
I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant.
I will not do this during your lifetime, however,
for the sake of your father David;
it is your son whom I will deprive.
Nor will I take away the whole kingdom.
I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David
and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
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Commentary on 1 Kgs 11:4-13
 
At the beginning of Solomon’s reign, he had promised God that he would be faithful the Law of Moses as his father, King David, had been (1 Kings 3:1-15). In reply to that promise, God had promised him all prosperity and peace.  In this passage we see the consequences of his failure by falling into idolatry. All Solomon had worked for will be taken from his son except a small portion left because of God's promise to David that his kingdom would last (2 Samuel 7:16).
 
“The glorious rise of Solomon, his piety and wisdom, administrative skill and wealth, the extension of his kingdom, his prestige among neighboring rulers, his reign of peace, above all his friendship with God-these are now eclipsed by his sins of intermarriage with great numbers of pagan wives and the consequent forbidden worship of their gods (Exodus 34:11-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-5). His construction of temples in their honor merited the punishment of loss of a united kingdom to his posterity, and the opposition of adversaries to himself (1 Kings 11:14; 1 Kings 11:23-37).” [4]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40
 
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
 
Blessed are they who observe what is right,
who do always what is just.
Remember us, O LORD, as you favor your people;
visit us with your saving help.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
 
But they mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
 
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
And the LORD grew angry with his people,
and abhorred his inheritance.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
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Commentary on Ps 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40
 
Psalm 106 is a national lament. The psalmist recalls the times the chosen people failed to follow the Law of Moses, having been seduced by foreign religions and barbaric practices. As a consequence, they walked far from God, the Father who had adopted them (“And the LORD grew angry with his people, and abhorred his inheritance.”).
 
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Gospel: Mark 7:24-30
 
Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.
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Commentary on Mk 7:24-30
 
In this selection Jesus has withdrawn from Palestine to escape the persecution of the Pharisees and scribes and to spend time training his disciples. The region they come to is predominantly Gentile and sets the scene for his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman.
 
The exchange recorded in St. Mark’s Gospel is intended to describe the universal nature of the messianic mission. Within the dialogue we see Jesus first refuse to accede to the woman’s request (even though she recognized his authority: “She came and fell at his feet.”). This same pattern of refusal and then acquiescence is found in St. John’s Gospel (John 2:4, John 4:48).
 
The metaphor being exchanged in this banter refers to the “children” being the Hebrews and the “dogs” a reference to the Gentiles (frequently referred to as such by Hebrews of the day). While this seems out of character for the Lord, our translation leaves out some conversational nuances that soften the dialogue. The word translated as “dogs” in this translation could be more accurately expressed as “pups.” It is also significant that the children and pups are eating at the same table, again expressing the universal nature of the mission of the Messiah.
 
As in other instances in St. Mark’s Gospel when Jesus cures a Gentile, he does so from a distance. “When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”
 
CCC: Mk 7:29 2616
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Reflection
 
In spite of the way the exchange between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman sounds, the message given is actually one of unity. We hear Jesus refuse the woman who has come to him. She caught him at a very bad time. He had just traveled to Tyre; he needed a rest, time away from the confrontations with the Pharisees in Palestine. We are told he “wanted no one to know about it.” Yet, here comes this woman, a Gentile, and throws herself at him.
 
Jesus is true man as well as true God. He became tired just as we do and curing the sick and casting out demons took much effort on his part. So, he declines. He has not been as successful with the children of Israel as he had hoped. The gospel he brought had not been well received in his native land, and here comes this Gentile woman making claims on that message of salvation.
 
Jesus uses a slang expression but softens it. In Scripture we hear the word used was “dogs,” however, the Aramaic expression would have been more like pups. The woman persists and uses the metaphor to her own advantage and the Lord expels the unclean spirit from her daughter.
 
What is clear from this encounter is that Jesus brought his message to everyone, not just a select few. And his call to us is to take up that message and pass it on to others. We find that difficult to do at times. We even find it difficult to express that message to others who are tasked with sharing the same message, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
 
This then is what the Gospel calls us to do on this day – to bring the message of God’s love to those we meet. To express it in words and actions in a way that cannot be misunderstood. In this way we respond to the Lord as he responds to us – in love and understanding.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Saint Scholastica” by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, c. 1650’s.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on 1 Kings 11:1, 3, 7.