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From: Ephesians 4:32-5:8

Christian Virtues (Continuation)

[32] And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God
in Christ forgave you.

Purity of Life

[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
[3] But immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named a-
mong you, as is fitting among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk,
nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5] Be sure
of this, that no immoral or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idola-
ter), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [6] Let no one de-
ceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of
God comes upon the sons of disobedience. [7] Therefore do not associate with
them.

Walking in the Light

[8] For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as chil-
dren of light.

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Commentary:

32. Forgiveness is one of the virtues which characterize the “new nature”, for it
leads a person to treat his neighbor as Jesus taught: “If you are offering your gift
at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother”
(Mt 5:23-24). Our Lord has shown by his own example what really forgiving one’s
neighbor involves. Even in the midst of his suffering on the cross he asked his fa-
ther to forgive those who condemned him and those who nailed him to the wood
so violently and sadistically.

“Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you, from the
very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them
is as nothing compared with what God has pardoned you” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 452).

1. A good child tries to please his parents and to follow their good example.
Christians are adopted children of God and therefore should be guided in their be-
havior by the way God treats people (cf. Mt 6:12; etc.); we have in fact a very ac-
cessible way to follow — that given us by Jesus.

If we wish our actions to be very pleasing to God our Father, we should learn from
his Son made man. However, it “is not enough to have a general idea of Jesus; we
have to learn the details of his life and, through them, his attitudes. And, especial-
ly, we must contemplate his life, to derive from it strength, light, serenity, peace.

“When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so
as to become like him. That is why we have to meditate on the life of Jesus, from
his birth in a stable right up to his death and resurrection” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ
Is Passing By”, 107).

2. Christ gave himself up to death of his own free will, out of love for man. The
words “a fragrant offering and sacrifice”, recalling the sacrifices of the Old Law,
underline the sacrificial character of Christ’s death and emphasize that his obe-
dience was pleasing to God the Father.

Jesus Christ “came to show us the immense love of his heart, and he gave him-
self to us entirely,” St Alphonsus teaches, “submitting himself first to all the hard-
ships of this life, then to the scourging, the crowning with thorns and all the pain
and ignominy of his passion; finally he ended his life forsaken by all on the infa-
mous wood of the cross” (”Shorter Sermons”, 37, 1, 1).

The founder of Opus Dei says in this connection: “Reflect on the example that
Christ gave us, from the crib in Bethlehem to his throne on Calvary. Think of his
self-denial and of all he went through — hunger, thirst, weariness; heat, tiredness,
ill-treatment, misunderstandings, tears [...]. But at the same time think of his joy
at being able to save all mankind. And now I would like you to engrave deeply on
your mind and on your heart — so that you can meditate on it often and draw your
own practical conclusions — the summary St Paul made for the Ephesians when
he invited them to follow resolutely in our Lord’s footsteps: [Eph 5:1-2 follows]”
(”Friends of God”, 128).

3. Like the early Christians in Asia Minor, many Christians today find themselves
in a somewhat paganized society marked by immoral practices (cf. Rom 1:24-27),
including fornication and impurity in general (cf. Col 3:5). However, no matter how
corrupt public morality may be, it should be vigorously resisted, especially by
means of that upright living which befits those who aspire to holiness because
they are temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19) and members of Christ’s body
(cf. 1 Cor 6:15).

That is why the Apostle warns that “immorality and all impurity or covetousness
must not even be named among you.” The last part of the sentence could also
be translated as “should not be mentioned in connection with you”; that is, Chris-
tians should be so refined in the practice of chastity and its associate virtues that
non-Christians have no grounds whatever for accusing them of impurity. However,
the main reason for practising this virtue is not fear of what others may say but
rather love of God, who is our Father, and respect for one’s own body, which is
the dwelling-place of the Blessed Trinity. “Tell me,” asks St Anastasius of Sinai,
“if your hands were stained with manure, would you dare to use them to touch
the king’s garments? You would not even touch your own clothes with dirty
hands; you would clean them first and then dry them carefully, and then touch
things. Well then, why do you not give God the same honor as you show mise-
rable clothes?” (”Sermon on the Holy Synaxis”).

“Take special care of chastity and also of the other virtues which go with it — mo-
desty and refinement. They are as it were the safeguard of chastity. Don’t take
lightly those norms of conduct which help so much to keep us worthy in the sight
of God: a watchful guard over our senses and our heart; the courage — the cou-
rage to be a ‘coward’ — to flee from occasions of sin; going to the sacraments fre-
quently, particularly to the sacrament of Confession; complete sincerity in perso-
nal spiritual direction; sorrow, contrition and reparation after one’s falls. And all
this imbued with a tender devotion to our Lady to have her obtain for us from God
the gift of a clean and holy life” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 185).

5-7. The Christian also has to fight against covetousness and greed, vices which
make one a slave to power and money, which can become a kind of idol (cf. Mt
6:24). When using the things of this world, the Christian must avoid growing at-
tached to them: “The Lord does not command us to demolish our house and
have no truck with money. What he does desire is that we remove from our soul
the priority given to possessions, uncontrolled greed and desire for riches, the
cares, the thorns of this life, which smother the seed of the true life” (Clement
of Alexandria, “Quis Dives Salvetur”, 11). Economic affairs are in fact a channel
whereby the spirit of the Gospel can exert an influence on private and public life.
“Christians engaged actively in modern economic and social progress and in the
struggle for justice and charity must be convinced that they have much to contri-
bute to the prosperity of mankind and to world peace. Let them, as individuals
and as members of groups, give a shining example to others. Endowed with the
skill and experience so absolutely necessary for them, let them preserve a pro-
per sense of values in their earthly activity in loyalty to Christ and his Gospel, in
order that their lives, individual as well as social, may be inspired by the spirit of
the Beatitudes, and in particular by the spirit of poverty.

“Anyone who in obedience to Christ seeks first the Kingdom of God will derive
from it a stronger and purer love for helping all his brethren and for accomplishing
the task of justice under the inspiration of charity. (For the right use of goods ac-
cording to the teaching of the New Testament cf. Lk 3:11; 10:30ff; 11:41; Mk 8:
36; 12:29-31; 1 Pet 5:3; Jas 5:1-6; 1 Tim 6:8; Eph 4:28; 2 Cor 8:13; 1 Jn 3:17-
18.)” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 72).

8-9. In contrast to the Christian’s previous situation, which St Paul describes as
“darkness”, he now goes on to speak about the proper course for a believer, for
someone enlightened by faith. The Christian is in a different position from that of
a pagan; he knows our Lord Jesus Christ and he has a new way of thinking: he
is a “child of light”, because Christ has given him insight into the criteria which
should govern his behavior. In his new life, he should be light; he has been reborn
to be the “light of the world” (cf. Mt 5:14-16; Jn 1:5; 8:12), a pursuer of all that is
good and right and true; this means that he has a new way of being and thinking
and acting, and is an example and a help to those around him. There is no room
for excuses when what is at stake is the salvation of souls to whom we could be
giving a helping hand: “Do not say, I cannot help others,” St John Chrysostom
preached; “if you are truly a Christian, it is impossible for you not to be able to
do so [...]. If we act properly, everything else will follow as a natural consequence.
Christians’ light cannot be hidden, a lamp so brilliant cannot fail to be seen”
(”Hom. on Acts”, 20).

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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 13:10-17

Jesus Cures a Woman on the Sabbath

[10] Now He (Jesus) was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
[11] And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years;
she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. [12] And when Jesus
saw her, He called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infir-
mity.” [13] And He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made
straight, and she praised God. [14] But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant
because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six
days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and
not on the Sabbath Day.” [15] Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites!
Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger,
and lead it away to water it? [16] And ought not this woman, a daughter of
Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on
the Sabbath Day?” [17] As He said this, all His adversaries were put to shame;
and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by Him.

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Commentary:

10-17. As was the custom, our Lord used to go to the synagogue on the Sab-
bath. Noticing this poor woman He uses His power and mercy to cure her. The
ordinary people are delighted, but the ruler of the synagogue, apparently zea-
lous about fulfilling the Law (cf. Exodus 20:8; 31:14; Leviticus 19:3-30), publicly
upbraids our Lord. Jesus energetically censures this warped interpretation of the
Law and stresses the need for mercy and understanding, which is what pleases
God (cf. Hosea 6:6; James 2:13).

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