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From: Galatians 2:16, 19-21

Peter and Paul at Antioch (continued)

[16] [We] who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through
faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified
by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no
one be justified.

[19] For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. [20] I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the
life I know live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. [21] I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were
through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.

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Commentary:

16. “All that shadowy observance”, St Augustine comments, “had to cease in an
unnoticed way, gradually, as the pace grew of the wholesome preaching of the
grace of Christ […], during the lifetime of that generation of Jews who had
experienced the physical presence of our Lord and had lived through the
apostolic times. This sufficed to make it clear that those practices were not to be
deemed hateful or idolatrous. But neither were they to be kept up any longer than
that, in case people might hold them to be necessary, as if salvation came from
them or could not be obtained without them” (Letter 82, II, 15).

We might say that there are three periods in observance of the prescriptions of the
Law. In the first period, prior to Christ’s passion, the precepts of the Law were
“alive”, that is, it was obligatory to keep them. A second period was between the
Passion and the spread of apostolic preaching: the Law’s precepts were already
“dead”, no longer obligatory, but there were not “lethal”: Jewish converts could
keep them provided that they did not rely on them, for Christ was already the
basis of their hope. In the third stage, in which we find ourselves, observance of
Jewish precepts as a means of salvation amounts to denying the redemptive
power of Christ and therefore they could be termed “lethal” (cf. St Thomas
Aquinas, Commentary on Gal, ad loc.).

St Augustine uses a very interesting comparison: with the arrival of faith in
Christ the old “sacraments” of the Law come to resemble the dead – who merit
respect and honour. They should be interred with all the necessary ritual,
religiously, reverently. They should not be thrown out, to be devoured by
predators. But if a Christian now wants to keep them in force “disturbing the
ashes which lie at rest, he would not be a pious son or a relative who keeps
vigil at the grave, but an impious profaner of tombs” (Letter 82, ibid.).

19-20. Through the sacrament of Baptism we have been united to Christ in a
union which far exceeds mere solidarity of feeling: we have been crucified with
him, dying with him to sin, so as to rise reborn into a new life (cf. note on Rom 6:
3-8). This new life requires us to live in a new, supernatural way, which with the
help of grace gradually becomes stronger and stronger and acts to perfect man’s
behaviour: he is no longer living on a purely natural level. “That is why a
Christian should live as Christ lived, making the affections of Christ his own, so
that he can exclaim with St Paul: ‘It is now no longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me’ […] to such an extent that each Christian is not simply alter Christus:
another Christ, but ipse Christus: Christ himself!” (J. Escriva, Christ is Passing
By, 103 and 104).

The life in Christ which the Apostle is speaking about here is not a matter of
feelings: it is something real which grace brings about: “Paul’s soul was in
between God and his body: his body was alive, and moved, thanks to the action
of Paul’s soul; but his soul drew its life from Christ’s action. Therefore, in referring
to the life of the flesh, which he was living, St Paul speaks of ‘the life I now live in
the flesh’; but as far as relationship with God was concerned, Christ it was who
was living in Paul, and therefore he says, ‘I live by faith in the Son of God’: it is
he who lives in me and makes me act” (St Thomas Aquinas Commentary on
Gal, ad loc.). This is why the Apostle goes as far as to say elsewhere, “to me to
live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).

All this is a consequence of Christ’s love: he freely gave himself up to death out
of love for each and every one of us. We, like St Paul, can come to appreciate,
through faith, that Christ’s passion affects us personally. Fro this faith will arise
that love which “has the power to effect union […], which inspires those who love
to leave where they are, and which does not allow them to stay the way they are,
but rather transforms them into the object of their love” (Pseudo-Dionysius, De
divinis nominibis, 4). People who are very keen on academic pursuits or on
sports often refer to these things as being “their life”. If someone pursues only
his own interest, he is living for himself. If, on the contrary, he seeks the good of
others, we say that he “lives for others”. Therefore, if we love Jesus and are
united to him, we will live “for” him, “by” him, “through” him. “Do you love the
earth?”, St Augustine exclaims. “You will be earth. Do you love God? What am
I to say? That you will be God? I almost don’t dare to say it, but Scripture says
it, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High’ (Ps 82:6)” (In Epist. Ioann. ad Parthos,
II, 14).

This profound truth should move us to devote ourselves to an asceticism moti-
vated by love: “Let us hasten, therefore, full of spirit, to the fight, fixing our gaze
on the crucified Jesus, who from the Cross offers us his help and promises us
victory and laurels. If we happened to stumble in the past, it was because we did
not keep before our eyes the wounds and disgrace which our Redeemer suffered
and because we did not seek his help. For the future, let us not cease to keep
before our eyes him who suffered on our account and who is ever-ready to come
to our aid […]; if we do so, we shall surely emerge victorious over our enemies”
(St Alphonsus Mary Liguori, The Love of Jesus Christ, 3).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 7:36-8:3

Forgiveness for a sinful woman

[36] One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the
Pharisee’s house, and sat at table. [37] And behold, a woman of the city, who
was a sinner, when she learned that he was sitting at table in the Pharisee’s
house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, [38] and standing beside him at his
feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears; and wiped them with the
hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. [39]
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this
man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is
who is touching him, for she is a sinner. [40] And Jesus answering said to him,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it,
Teacher?” [41] A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred
denarii, and the other fifty. [42] When they could not pay, he forgave them both.
Now which of them will love him more?” [43] Simon answered, “The one, I
suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged
rightly.” [44] Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this
woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has
wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You gave me no
kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. [46] You
did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. [47]
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much;
but he who is forgiven little loves little.” [48] And he said to her, “Your sins are
forgiven.” [49] Then those who were at table with him began to say among them-
selves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” [50] And he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The holy women
8 [1] Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages; preaching and bring-
ing the good news of God. And the twelve were with him, [2] and also some
women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary, called Magdal-
ene, from whom seven demons had gone out, [3] and Joanna, the wife of
Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them
out of their means.

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Commentary:

36-40. This woman, moved no doubt by grace, was attracted by Christ’s preach-
ing and by what people were saying about him. When dining, people reclined on
low divans leaning on their left arm with their legs tucked under them, away from
the table. A host was expected to give his guest a kiss of greeting and offer him
water for his feet, and perfumes.

41-50. In this short parable of the two debtors Christ teaches us three things –
his own divinity and his power to forgive sins; the merit the woman’s love
deserves; and the discourtesy implied in Simeon’s neglecting to receive Jesus in
the conventional way. Our Lord was not interested in these social niceties as
such but in the affection which they expressed; that was why he felt hurt at
Simeon’s neglect.

“Jesus notices the omission of the expression of human courtesy and refinement
which the Pharisee failed to show him. Christ is perfectus Deus, perfectus homo
(Athanasian Creed). He is perfect God, the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity, and perfect man. He comes to save, not to destroy nature. It is from him
that we learn that it is unchristian to treat our fellow men badly, for they are crea-
tures of God, made in his image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26)” (Bl. J. Escriva,
Friends of God, 73).

Moreover, the Pharisee was wrong to think badly of this sinner and of Jesus:
reckoning that Christ did not know anything about her, he complained inwardly.
Our Lord, who could read the secret thoughts of men (which sowed his divinity),
intervened to point out to him his mistake. True righteousness, says St. Gregory
the Great (cf. In Evangelia homiliae, 33), is compassionate; whereas false
righteousness is indignant. There are many people like this Pharisee: forgetting
that they themselves were or are poor sinners, when they see other people’s sin
they immediately become indignant, instead of taking pity on them, or else they
rush to judge them or sneer at them. They forget what St Paul says: “Let any
one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12); “Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in
a spirit of gentleness […]. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ” (Gal 6:1-2).

We should strive to have charity govern all our judgments. Otherwise, we will
easily be unjust towards others. “Let us be slow to judge. Each one see things
from his own point of view, and with his own mind, with all its limitations, through
eyes that are often dimmed and clouded by passion . . . Of what little worth are
the judgments of men! Don’t judge without sifting your judgment in prayer (Bl. J.
Escriva, The Way, 451).

Charity and humility will allow us to see in the sins of others our own weak and
helpless position, and will help our hearts go out to the sorrow of every sinner who
repents, for we too would fall into sins as serious or more serious if God in his
mercy did not say by our side.

“It was not the ointment that the Lord loved”, St. Ambrose comments, “but the
affection; it was the woman’s faith that pleased him, her humility. And you also,
if you desire grace, increase your love; pour over the body of Jesus Christ your
faith in the Resurrection, the perfume of the holy Church and the ointment of
charity towards others” (Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc.).

47, Man cannot merit forgiveness for his sins because, since God is the offended
party, they are of infinite gravity. We need the sacrament of Penance, in which
God forgives us by virtue of the infinite merits of Jesus Christ; there is only one
indispensable condition for winning God’s forgiveness – our love, our repentance.
We are pardoned to the extent that we love; when our heart is full of love there is
no longer any room in it for sin because we have made room for Jesus, and he
says to us as he said to this woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” Repentance is a
sign that we love God. But it was God who first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:1:10). When
God forgives us he is expressing his love for us. Our love for God is, then, always
a response to his initiative. By forgiving us God helps us to be more grateful and
more loving towards him. “He loves little”, St Augustine comments, “who has little
forgiven. You say that you have not committed many sins: but why is that the
case? […] The reason is that God was guiding you […]. There is no sin that one
many commits, which another may not commit also unless God, man’s maker,
guides him” (Sermons, 99, 6). Therefore, we ought to fall ever more deeply in
love with our Lord, not only because he forgives us our sins but also because he
helps us by means of his grace not to commit them.

50. Jesus declares that it was faith that moved this woman to throw herself at his
feet and show her repentance; her repentance wins his forgiveness. Similarly,
when we approach the sacrament of Penance we should stir up our faith in the
fact that it is “not a human but a divine dialogue. It is a tribunal of divine justice
and especially of mercy, with a loving judge who ‘has no pleasure in the death of
the wicked; I desire that the wicked turn back from his way and live’ (Ezek 33:11)”
(Bl. J. Escriva, Christ is Passing By, 78).

1-3. The Gospel refers a number of times to women accompanying our Lord.
Here St Luke gives us the name of three of them – Mary, called Magdalene, to
whom the risen Christ appeared beside the holy sepulchre (Jn 20:11-18; Mk
16:9); Joanna, a lady of some position, whom we also meet among the women
who went to the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection (Lk 24:10), and Sus-
anna, whom the Gospel does not mention again. The role of these women con-
sisted in helping Jesus and his disciples out of their own resources, thereby show-
ing their gratitude for what Christ had done for them, and in cooperating his his
ministry.

Men and women enjoy equal dignity in the Church. Within the context of that
equality, women certainly have specific characteristics which must necessarily be
reflected in their role in the Church: “All the baptized, men and women alike,
share equally in the dignity, freedom and responsibility of the children of God….
Women are called to bring to the family, to society and to the Church, character-
istics which are their own and which they alone can give – their gentle warmth
and untiring generosity, their love for detail, their quick-wittedness and intuition,
their simple and deep piety, their constancy. . . . A woman’s femininity is
genuine only if she is aware of the beauty of this contribution for which there is no
substitute – and if she incorporates it into her own life” (Bl. J. Escriva, Conversa-
tions, 14 and 87).

The Gospel makes special reference to the generosity of these woman. It is nice
to know that our Lord availed himself of their charity, and that they responded to
him with such refined and generous detachment that Christian women feel filled
with a holy and fruitful envy (cf. Bl. J. Escriva, The Way, 981).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.