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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-23-14
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 06-23-14 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 06/22/2014 8:37:13 PM PDT by Salvation

June 23, 2014

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

 

 

Reading 1 2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, occupied the whole land
and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel
the king of Assyria took Samaria,
and deported the children of Israel to Assyria,
setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan,
and the cities of the Medes.

This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD,
their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,
from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
and because they venerated other gods.
They followed the rites of the nations
whom the LORD had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel
and the kings of Israel whom they set up.

And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah
by every prophet and seer,
“Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes,
in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers
and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,”
they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers,
who had not believed in the LORD, their God.
They rejected his statutes,
the covenant which he had made with their fathers,
and the warnings which he had given them, till,
in his great anger against Israel,
the LORD put them away out of his sight.
Only the tribe of Judah was left.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 60:3, 4-5, 12-13

R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses;
you have been angry; rally us!
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
You have rocked the country and split it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
You have made your people feel hardships;
you have given us stupefying wine.
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
Have not you, O God, rejected us,
so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies?
Give us aid against the foe,
for worthless is the help of men.
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

Gospel Mt 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”



TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; ordinarytime; prayer
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To: All
CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Monday, June 23

Liturgical Color: Green

St. Joseph Cafasso died on this day in
1860. He was a priest known for his
ascetic lifestyle, one of strict self-denial.
He was much sought after as a
confessor, helping many to repent
and live more holy lives.

21 posted on 06/23/2014 3:00:48 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Day 190 - What are the Beatitudes? // Why are the Beatitudes so important?

What are the Beatitudes?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Mt 5:3-12)


Why are the Beatitudes so important?

Those who yearn for the kingdom of God look to Jesus' list of priorities: the Beatitudes.

From Abraham on, God made promises to his people. Jesus takes them up, extends their application to heaven, and makes them the program for his own
life: the Son of God becomes poor so as to share our poverty; he rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep (Rom 12:15); he employs no violence but rather turns the other cheek (Mt 5:39); he has mercy, makes peace, and thereby shows us the sure way to heaven. (YOUCAT questions 283, 284)


Dig Deeper: CCC section (1725-1726) and other references here.


22 posted on 06/23/2014 3:07:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Part 3: Life in Christ (1691 - 2557)

Section 1: Man's Vocation — Life in the Spirit (1699 - 2051)

Chapter 1: The Dignity of the Human Person (1700 - 1876)

Article 2: Our Vocation to Beatitude (1716 - 1729)

IN BRIEF

1725

The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God's promises from Abraham on by ordering them to the Kingdom of heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart.

1726

The Beatitudes teach us the final end to which God calls us: the Kingdom, the vision of God, participation in the divine nature, eternal life, filiation, rest in God.


23 posted on 06/23/2014 3:13:30 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

 

Daily Readings for:June 23, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o    Chiresaye (Cherry Pudding Decorated with Flowers)

o    Finnish Pancakes

o    Winster Wake Cakes

ACTIVITIES

o    Bonfire for the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

o    Customs of the Vigil and Birth of St. John the Baptist

o    Door Decoration for the Eve of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

o    Feasts of Saint John the Baptist

o    Hymn: Ut queant laxis (text)

o    Ideas for the Feast of the Birth St. John the Baptist

o    Johannesfeuer

o    Religion in the Home for Preschool: June

o    St. John the Baptist's Day

o    St. John's Eve

o    St. John's Eve Bonfire

o    The Birth of Saint John the Baptist

o    The Story of St. John the Baptist

o    Ut queant laxis hymn description

PRAYERS

o    June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

o    Blessing of a Bonfire on the Vigil of the Birthday of St. John the Baptist from Roman Ritual

o    Litany of St. John the Baptist

·         Ordinary Time: June 23rd

·         Monday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Vigil of St. John the Baptist; St. Ethelreda, virgin (Hist) ; Other Titles: Johannisnacht

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. The Birth of St. John the Baptist is a solemnity, and so observance still begins with Evening Prayer I in the Liturgy of the Hours of the preceding day. The liturgical day is from midnight to midnight in the Church's observance, except for Sunday and solemnities which begin with the evening of the preceding day.

Historically today is also the feast of St. Ethelreda the most popular of Anglo-Saxon women saints. She lived in the early era of the Germanic invasion of Britain.


There was a man sent from God whose name was John
Whom, my brethren, can we conceive to have such majestic and severe sanctity as the Holy Baptist? He had a privilege which reached near upon the prerogative of the Most Blessed Mother of God; for, if she was conceived without sin, at least without sin he was born. She was all-pure, all-holy, and sin had no part in her: but St. John was in the beginning of his existence a partaker of Adam's curse: he lay under God's wrath, deprived of that grace which Adam had received, and which is the life and strength of human nature. Yet as soon as Christ, his Lord and Savior, came to him, and Mary saluted his own mother, Elizabeth, forthwith the grace of God was given to him, and the original guilt was wiped away from his soul. And therefore it is that we celebrate the nativity of St. John; nothing unholy does the Church celebrate; not St. Peter's nor St. Paul's, nor St. Augustine's, nor St. Gregory's, nor St. Bernard's, nor St. Aloysius's, nor the nativity of any other Saint, however glorious, because they were all born in sin. She celebrates their conversions, their prerogatives, their martyrdoms, their deaths, their translations, but not their birth, because in no case was it holy.

Three nativities alone does she commemorate, our Lord's, His Mother's, and lastly, St. John's. What a special gift was this, my brethren, separating the Baptist off, and distinguishing him from all prophets and preachers, who ever lived, however holy, except perhaps the prophet Jeremiah. And such as was his commencement, was the course of his life. He was carried away by the Spirit into the desert, and there he lived on the simplest fare, in the rudest clothing, in the caves of wild beasts, apart from men, for thirty years, leading a life of mortification and of meditation, till he was called to preach penance, to proclaim the Christ, and to baptize Him; and then having done his work, and having left no act of sin on record, he was laid aside as an instrument which had lost its use, and languished in prison, till he was suddenly cut off by the sword of the executioner. Sanctity is the one idea of him impressed upon us from first to last; a most marvelous Saint, a hermit from his childhood, then a preacher to a fallen people, and then a Martyr. Surely such a life fulfills the expectation, which the salutation of Mary raised concerning him before his birth.

John Henry Newman

Things to Do:


St. Ethelreda

Etheldreda was the daughter of Anna, King of East Anglia and the sister of Erconwald, Ethelburga, Sexburga and Withburga, all saints. Etheldreda was born in Exining, Suffolk, and was married at an early age to Tonbert, Prince of the Gyrwe, but they agreed to live in perfect chastity. As part of the marriage settlement she received from her husband an estate called Ely.

Three years after her marriage, the Prince died, and Etheldreda retired from court and went to live in seclusion on the island of Ely, practicing penance and prayer. For reasons of State she was married again to Egfried, the young son of King Oswiu of Northumbria, who was only 15-years-old. He agreed she should remain a virgin, but 12 years later, demanded his conjugal rights. She refused, saying that she had dedicated herself to God.

She asked the advice of St. Wilfrid, Bishop of Northumbria, who supported her claim and told her to go to a convent. With the consent of Egfried, she became a nun at Codingham Convent. Later, she returned to Ely and built a large double monastery there. She was Abbess of the convent for the rest of her life, and died there on June 23, 695.

Excerpted from Tradition in Action

Things to Do:


24 posted on 06/23/2014 3:24:11 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: 2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15,18

12th Week in Ordinary Time

They did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers. (2 Kings 17:14)

King Hoshea of Israel was caught between a rock and a hard place. He had become a vassal to the king of Assyria. But that alliance made him uneasy, so he hedged his bets. He sent envoys to Egypt, the hostile power on the other side of Israel, hoping for a rival alliance to shield him against Assyria. Getting wind of this was all the excuse Assyria needed to take Hoshea prisoner and decimate Israel. Summing it all up, the author of 2 Kings explains why Israel really failed: the people relied on human help instead of divine power.

Does this assessment sound familiar? When we face a challenge, it’s not unusual to muster all our human resources to find a solution. Perhaps it lies in medicine, preferably a miracle drug. Maybe a new political leader will offer a fresh start. Maybe counseling can help us sort out our perplexity. Perhaps a new investment strategy will help secure our future.

These are all good approaches—but they can take us only so far. They can help resolve individual challenges and problems, but none of them can offer us a vision for our lives that will sustain us and guide us no matter what comes our way. Only God can do that! Hoshea failed because instead of seeking guidance from the Lord through his prophets, he immediately chose a deceptive political strategy. Perhaps he was doomed to fail no matter what he did, but he never even gave the Lord a chance to help him out. That’s the tragedy.

Hoshea’s story stands as a warning to us, so let’s heed it well. Let’s make it a point to turn to the Lord first rather than as the last resort. Let’s face every challenge with the proclamation, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). This is the foundational truth of our human situation, and it is the foundation for our life of faith. We depend on God from beginning to end.

So never forget that God is committed to working out his great and glorious purposes in your life. Never forget that he wants to bring only good to those who love him and seek his direction (Romans 8:28).

“Lord of heaven and earth, you are my only hope. I place all my trust in you.”

Psalm 60:3-5, 12-13; Matthew 7:1-5 


25 posted on 06/23/2014 4:02:58 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for June 23, 2014:

Start the day with a hug. It gives you a positive mentality.

26 posted on 06/23/2014 4:11:14 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Regnum Christi

Judge Not.
2014-06-23
U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY


Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother´s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ´Let me remove that splinter from your eye,´ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother´s eye."

Introductory Prayer: I believe in the power of prayer, Lord. This time spent with you is the most important time of my day. Let me be confident of your presence and your love, in order to take full advantage of these privileged moments.

Petition: Lord, help me to rid myself of judgmental attitudes.

1. Judge Not: Judging others is a national pastime. It is so easy to pick out the faults of others -- to see their defects. It can make us feel superior. Yet, focusing on the faults of others can often distract us from our own failings. We tend to see in others the very faults of which we ourselves are guilty. That is why a husband who spends endless hours on Internet might complain about the amount of time his wife spends at the shopping mall. What do I complain about the most? Could I be guilty of the same fault?

2. Cool Silence: Our Lord doesn´t dissuade us from trying to help others to improve. In fact, fraternal correction can be a form of charity if -- big if -- done charitably (see Matthew 18:15). Indeed, instructing the uninformed is a spiritual work of mercy. Unfortunately, for the sake of being "cool," we often keep quiet as others wallow in sin. Christ isn´t inviting us to be indifferent in the face of a loved one´s faults. The opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference. Am I afraid to guide those whom the Lord has entrusted to my care? Do I remain quiet in order to "keep the peace"? On Judgment Day we will have to answer for our sins of omission (see Luke 19:20-24).

3. Our Wooden Beam: We are all called to holiness. Life is but a brief opportunity to grow in holiness before we step into eternity. What we do here dictates the state of our eternal reward or punishment. That is why we have to be on guard against growing accustomed to our faults. God doesn´t want us to be mediocre. He wants us to struggle against our weaknesses. Am I actively trying to get rid of a vice? The best way to drive out a bad habit is to form a good habit. Am I eating too much? Then form the habit of smaller desserts. Am I short-tempered with my spouse? Then do a special act of charity for him or her each day.

Conversation with Christ: Life is short, Lord, and I need to grasp the importance of each day as an opportunity to grow in holiness. Let me put more effort into criticizing myself rather than others. Help me to see truthfully where my worst faults lie.

Resolution: I will say something nice to the last person I criticized or spoke badly about.

27 posted on 06/23/2014 4:23:30 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

Please, please take me off of your email list ! (second request)


28 posted on 06/23/2014 4:25:18 PM PDT by johnd201 (johnd201)
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To: johnd201

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3171076/posts?page=2#2


29 posted on 06/23/2014 4:26:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Homily of the Day

God’s relationship with his chosen people became sour because the people did not obey the laws and statutes God gave to their fathers. Instead of serving God, the chosen people served worthless idols. Indeed God as a parent always called the attention of His chosen people through the prophets and seers, but His people were in love with idols.

In the gospel the evangelist is reminding the people not to judge, criticize and perhaps even condemn others, but for us to look at our own lives first and see to it that we are living according to God’s law of love. For we might find ourselves like them or even worse so we have no credibility to criticize others.

We as followers of Christ and now members of His Church have forgotten the message he came to bring – LOVE. What the Lord is forbidding is to put the person down, to find fault in him, to put him to shame so that we would look better than he or she. That is not love, but pride. If we really love a person who needs to reform, we have the responsibility to help him or her to change. There is such a thing as constructive criticism whose purpose is to make the person see his wrong doing without insulting him or her. This is allowed because the purpose is to correct the person, not to put him down. St. Paul said, “Brothers, if a man is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct him in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself so that you also may not be tempted.” (Gal.6:1). This is the primary reason why we judge, to make a brother realize the error of his ways.
Notice that St. Paul says “you who are spiritual” meaning we should be living God’s law of love. And he says “correct him in a gentle spirit” which means not to put him to shame. In doing this, we need a lot of love, compassion, and patience. Let us not give up in helping a person to become better if we truly love him or her.


30 posted on 06/23/2014 4:31:33 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4

<< Monday, June 23, 2014 >>
 
2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18
View Readings
Psalm 60:3-5, 12-13 Matthew 7:1-5
Similar Reflections
 

LEARNING FROM SINNERS

 
"The Lord put them away out of His sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left." —2 Kings 17:18
 

The kingdom of Israel received the wages of its sins, that is, death (Rm 6:23). The Israelites "rejected His (God's) statutes, the covenant which He had made with their fathers, and the warnings which He had given them...till, in His great anger against Israel, the Lord put them away out of His sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left" (2 Kgs 17:15, 18).

The culture in which we live has been called by Pope John Paul II a "culture of death." Our culture has begun to be paid the wages for its sins of idolatry, rebellion, racism, abortion, unforgiveness, and selfishness. Like the tribe of Judah, only a few Christians, families, marriages, and churches are left that have not been destroyed or warped.

Judah did not learn from the self-destruction of the kingdom of Israel. It continued to sin and eventually destroyed itself. Will we, the survivors in our culture of death, take the plank of sin out of our own eyes (Mt 7:5) and escape destruction, or will we let ourselves be sucked into the sinkhole of sin?

Sin is naturally contagious. The misery of sinners loves company. However, God's grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9). We have the grace to repent, be different, be uncontaminated, and live holy lives. Go to Confession at the earliest opportunity. Do not destroy yourself.

 
Prayer: Father, I accept Jesus as my Justice and thereby receive Your mercy.
Promise: "The measure with which you measure will be used to measure you." —Mt 7:2
Praise: Louise led her kidnapper to give his life to Jesus. He felt Jesus take away the hatred from his life.

31 posted on 06/23/2014 4:33:55 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Spiritual Adoption of
Unborn Human Life

Over 30 years ago a court decision was rendered which legalized abortion throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.  This decision, Roe v. Wade, is the reason over 1 million abortions have been committed in the U.S. each year

To help stop the anti-life push around the world, the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen encouraged the spiritual adoption of an unborn child.  This is done by praying that the one particular but unknown child’s life be spared abortion and be allowed to continue to live.

To help accomplish this, it was recommended an individual say the following daily prayer for a period of nine months.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of [baby’s name] the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.”

- Prayer of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen


32 posted on 06/23/2014 4:39:47 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Matthew
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Matthew 7
1 JUDGE not, that you may not be judged, Nolite judicare, ut non judicemini. μη κρινετε ινα μη κριθητε
2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. In quo enim judicio judicaveritis, judicabimini : et in qua mensura mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis. εν ω γαρ κριματι κρινετε κριθησεσθε και εν ω μετρω μετρειτε μετρηθησεται υμιν
3 Any why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? Quid autem vides festucam in oculo fratris tui, et trabem in oculo tuo non vides ? τι δε βλεπεις το καρφος το εν τω οφθαλμω του αδελφου σου την δε εν τω σω οφθαλμω δοκον ου κατανοεις
4 Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? aut quomodo dicis fratris tuo : Sine ejiciam festucam de oculo tuo, et ecce trabs est in oculo tuo ? η πως ερεις τω αδελφω σου αφες εκβαλω το καρφος απο του οφθαλμου σου και ιδου η δοκος εν τω οφθαλμω σου
5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Hypocrita, ejice primum trabem de oculo tuo, et tunc videbis ejicere festucam de oculo fratris tui. υποκριτα εκβαλε πρωτον την δοκον εκ του οφθαλμου σου και τοτε διαβλεψεις εκβαλειν το καρφος εκ του οφθαλμου του αδελφου σου

33 posted on 06/23/2014 6:00:17 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
1. Judge not, that you be not judged
2. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.

AUG. Since when these temporal things are provided beforehand against the future, it is uncertain with what purpose it is done, as it may he with a single or double mind, He opportunely subjoins, Judge not.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Otherwise; He has drawn out thus far the consequences or his injunctions of almsgiving; He now takes up those respecting prayer. And this doctrine is in a sort a continuation of that of the prayer; as though it should run, Forgive us our debts, and then should follow, Judge not, that you be not judged.

JEROME; But if He forbids us to judge, how then does Paul judge the Corinthian who had committed uncleanness? Or Peter convict Ananias and Sapphira of falsehood?

PSEUD-CHRYS. But some explain this place after a sense, as though the Lord did not herein forbid Christians to reprove others out of good will, but only intended that Christians should not despise Christians by making a show of their own righteousness, hating others often on Suspicion alone, condemning them, and pursuing private grudges under the show of piety.

CHRYS. Wherefore He does not say, 'Do not cause a sinner to cease,' but do not judge; that is, be not a bitter judge; correct him indeed, but not as an enemy seeking revenge, but as a physician applying a remedy.

PSEUD-CHRYS. But that not even this should Christians correct Christians is shown by that expression, Judge not. But if they do not thus correct, shall they therefore obtain forgiveness of their sins, because it is said, and you shall not be judged? For who obtains forgiveness of a former sin, by not adding another thereto? This we have said, desiring to show that this is not here spoken concerning not judging our neighbor who shall sin against God, but who may sin against ourselves. For who so does not judge his neighbor who has sinned against him, him shall not God judge for his sin, but will forgive him his debt even as He forgave.

CHRYS. Otherwise; He does not forbid us to judge all sin absolutely, but lays this prohibition on such as are themselves full of great evils, and judge others for very small evils. In like manner Paul does not absolutely forbid to judge those that sin, but finds fault with disciples that judged their teacher, and instructs us not to judge these that are above us.

HILARY; Otherwise; He forbids us to judge God touching His promises; for as judgments among men are founded on things uncertain, so this judgment against God is drawn from somewhat that is doubtful. And He therefore would have us put away the custom from us altogether; for it is not here as in other cases where it is sin to have given a false judgment; but here we have begun to sin if we have pronounced any judgment at all.

AUG. I suppose the command here to be no other than that we should always put the best interpretation on such actions as seem doubtful with what mind they were done. But concerning such as cannot be done with good purpose, as adulteries, blasphemies, and the like, He permits us to judge; but of indifferent actions which admit of being done with either good or bad purpose, it is rash to judge, but especially so to condemn. There are two cases in which we should be particularly on our guard against hasty judgments, when it does not appear with what mind the action was done; and when it does not yet appear, what sort of man any one may turn out, who now seems either good or bad. Wherefore we should neither blame those things of which we know with what mind they are done, nor so blame those things which are manifest, as though we despaired of recovery. Here one may think there is difficulty in what follows, with what judgment you judge you shall be judged. If we judge a hasty judgment, will God also judge us with the like? Or if we have measured with a false measure, is there with God a false measure whence it may be measured to us again? For by measure I suppose is here meant judgment. Surely this is only said, that the haste in which you punish another shall be itself your punishment. For injustice often does no harm to him who suffers the wrong; but must always hurt him who does the wrong.

ID. Some say, How is it true that Christ says, And with what measure you shall mete it shall be measured to you again, if temporal sin is to be punished by eternal suffering? They do not observe that it is not said the same measure, because of the equal space of time, but because of the equal retribution namely, that he who has done evil should suffer evil, though even in that sense it might be said of that of which the Lord spoke here, namely of judgments and condemnations. Accordingly, he that judges and condemns unjustly, if he is judged and condemned, justly receives in the same measure though not the same thing that He gave; by judgment he did what was unjust, by judgment he suffers what is just.

3. And why behold you the sliver that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?
4. Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the sliver out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye?
5. You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the sliver out of your brother's eye.

ID. The Lord having admonished us concerning hasty and unjust judgment; and because that they are most given to rash judgment, who judge concerning things uncertain; and they most readily find fault, who love rather to speak evil and to condemn than to cure and to correct; a fault that springs either from pride or jealousy - therefore He subjoins, Why see you the sliver in your brother's eye, and see not the beam in your own eye?

JEROME; He speaks of such as though themselves guilty of mortal sin, do not forgive a trivial fault in their brother.

AUG. As if He perhaps have sinned in anger, and you correct him with settled hate. For as great as is the difference between a beam and a mote, So great is the difference between anger and hatred. For hatred is anger become inveterate. It may be if you are angry with a man that you would have him amend, not so if you hate him.

CHRYS. Many do this, if they see a Monk having a superfluous garment, or a plentiful meal, they break out into bitter accusation, though themselves daily seize and devour, and suffer from excess of drinking.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Otherwise; This is spoken to the doctors. For every sin is either a great or a small sin according to the character of the sinner If he is a lay, it is small and a sliver in comparison of the sin of a priest, which is the beam.

HILARY; Otherwise; The sin against the Holy Spirit is to take from God power which has influences, and from Christ substance which is of eternity, through whom as God came to man, So shall man likewise come to God. As much greater then as is the beam than the sliver, so much greater is the sin against the Holy Spirit than all other sins. As when unbelievers object to others carnal sins, and secrete in themselves the burden of that sin, to wit, that they trust not the promises of God, their minds being blinded as their eye might be by a beam.

PSEUD-CHRYS. That is, with what face can you charge your brother with sin, when yourself are living in the same or a yet greater sin?

AUG. When then we are brought under the necessity of finding fault with any, let us first consider whether the sin be such as we have never had; secondly that we are yet men, and may fall into it; then, whether it be one that we have had, and are now without, and then let our common frailty come into our mind, that pity and not hate may go before correction. Should we find ourselves in the same fault, let us not reprove, but groan with the offender, and invite him to struggle with us. Seldom indeed and in cases of great necessity is reproof to be employed; and then only that the Lord may be served and not ourselves.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Otherwise; How say you to your brother; that is, with what purpose? From charity, that you may save your neighbor? Surely not, for you would first save yourself. You desire therefore not to heal others, but by good doctrine to cover bad life, and to gain praise of learning from men, not the reward of edifying from God, and you are a hypocrite; as it follows, You hypocrite, cast first the beam out of your own eye.

AUG. For to reprove sin is the duty of the good, which when the bad do, they act a part, dissembling their own character, and assuming one that does not belong to them.

CHRYS. And it is to be noted, that whenever He intends to denounce any great sin, He begins with an epithet of reproach, as below, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt; and so here, You hypocrite, cast out first. For each one knows better the things of himself than the things of others, and sees more the things that be great, than the things that be lesser, and loves himself more than his neighbor Therefore He bids him who is chargeable with many sins, not to be a harsh judge of another's faults, especially if they be small. Herein not forbidding to arraign and correct but forbidding to make light of our own sins, and magnify those of others. For it is necessary that you first diligently to examine how great may be your own sins, and then try those of your neighbor; whence it follows, and then shall you see clearly, to cast the sliver out of your brother's eye.

AUG. For having removed from our own eve the beam of envy, of malice, or hypocrisy, we shall see clearly to cast the beam out of our brother's eye.

Catena Aurea Matthew 7
34 posted on 06/23/2014 6:00:47 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Christ The Judge

Laurent De La Hire (1606 - 1656)
Oil on Canvas

35 posted on 06/23/2014 6:01:26 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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