From: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
The Crown of Righteousness
[17] For the Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully,
that all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. [18]
The Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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Commentary:
6-8. Conscious of his closeness to death, St Paul writes in poetic strain about
his life in the service of the Gospel, about the meaning of death and his hope of
heaven. The imagery he uses shows how he interprets his experience in the
light of faith. “On the point of being sacrificed” — literally “poured out in sacrifice”
— death is an offering to God, like the libations of oil poured on the altar of sacri-
fices. Death is the beginning of a journey: “the point of my departure has come,”
the anchor is being weighed, the sails unfurled.
The Christian life is like magnificent Games taking place in the presence of God,
who acts as the judge. In Greece the Games had close connections with reli-
gious worship; St Paul presents the Christian life as a type of spiritual sport:
“races” indicates the continuous effort to achieve perfection (cf. Phil 3:14); trai-
ning for athletics indicates the practice of self-denial (cf. 1 Cor 9:26-27); fighting
stands for the effort required to resist sin even if that means death, as can hap-
pen in the event of persecution (cf. Heb 12:4). It is well worthwhile taking part in
this competition, because, as St John Chrysostom points out, “the crown which
it bestows never withers. It is not made of laurel leaves, it is not a man who pla-
ces it on our head, it has not been won in the presence of a crowd made up of
men, but in a stadium full of angels. In earthly competitions a man fights and
strives for days and the only reward he receives is a crown which withers in a
matter of hours [. . .]. That does not happen here: the crown he is given is a
glory and honor whose brilliance lasts forever (”Hom. on 2 Tim, ad loc”.).
All Christians who “have loved his appearing”, that is, who stay true to Christ,
share St Paul’s expectation of eternal life. “We who know about the eternal joys
of the heavenly fatherland should hasten to reach it by the more direct route”
(St Gregory the Great, “In Evangelia Homiliae”, 16).
9-18. In his letters St Paul often asks people to do things for him; his messa-
ges here are particularly moving, given as they are on the eve of his martyrdom.
He is following the example of Christ: he puts his trust in God even though his
friends desert him (vv. 10-12, 16); his enemies harass him more than ever, yet
he forgives them (vv. 14, 16); in the midst of his sufferings he praises the Lord (v.
18). His mention of Thessalonica, Galatia, Dalmatia, Ephesus, Troas, Corinth
and Miletus show how warmly he remembers places which were very receptive
to the Christian message. These few verses constitute a mini-biography.
His generosity of spirit is shown by the fact that he mentions so many disciples
by name; to all he gave of his best; some of them fell by the wayside but most
of them stayed faithful; some are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles or in
other letters, but for others this is the only mention in the New Testament. How-
ever, all without exception must have been very present to the Apostle who be-
came “all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor 9:22).
16-17. St Paul points to the contrast between the way men treat him and the
way God does. Because of the hazards involved in staying with Paul or defen-
ding him, some of his friends, even some of his closest friends, have deserted
him; whereas God stays by his side.
“You seek the company of friends who, with their conversation and affection,
with their friendship, make the exile of this world more bearable for you. There
is nothing wrong with that, although friends sometimes let you down. But how
is it you don’t frequent daily with greater intensity the company, the conversa-
tion, of the great Friend, who never lets you down?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”,
88).
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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: Matthew 16:13-19
Peter’s Profession of Faith and His Primacy
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Commentary:
13-20. In this passage St. Peter is promised primacy over the whole Church, a
primacy which Jesus will confer on him after His Resurrection, as we learn in the
Gospel of St. John (cf. John 21:15-18). This supreme authority is given to Peter
for the benefit of the Church. Because the Church has to last until the end of time,
this authority will be passed on to Peter’s successors down through history. The
Bishop of Rome, the Pope, is the successor of Peter.
The solemn Magisterium of the Church, in the First Vatican Council, defined the
doctrine of the primacy of Peter and his successors in these terms: “We teach
and declare, therefore, according to the testimony of the Gospel that the primacy
of jurisdiction over the whole Church was immediately and directly promised to
and conferred upon the blessed Apostle Peter by Christ the Lord. For to Simon,
Christ had said, ‘You shall be called Cephas’ (John 1:42). Then, after Simon had
acknowledged Christ with the confession, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the li-
ving God’ (Matthew 16:16), it was to Simon alone that the solemn words were
spoken by the Lord: ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the powers of Hell shall not
prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and what you loose on earth shall
be loosed in Heaven’ (Matthew 16:17-19). And after His Resurrection, Jesus con-
ferred upon Simon Peter alone the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler
over His whole fold with the words, ‘Feed My lambs....Feed My sheep’ (John 21:
15-17) [...]
“Now, what Christ the Lord, Supreme Shepherd and watchful guardian of the
flock, established in the person of the blessed Apostle Peter for the perpetual
safety and everlasting good of the Church must, by the will of the same, endure
without interruption in the Church which was founded on the rock and which will
remain firm until the end of the world. Indeed, ‘no one doubts, in fact it is obvious
to all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, Prince and head of the Apos-
tles, the pillar of faith, and the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the
keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer
of the human race; and even to this time and forever he lives,’ and governs, ‘and
exercises judgment in his successors’ (cf. Council of Ephesus), the bishops
of the holy Roman See, which he established and consecrated with his blood.
Therefore, whoever succeeds Peter in this Chair holds Peter’s primacy over the
whole Church according to the plan of Christ Himself [...]. For this reason, ‘be-
cause of its greater sovereignty,’ it was always ‘necessary for every church, that
is, the faithful who are everywhere, to be in agreement’ with the same Roman
Church [...]
“We think it extremely necessary to assert solemnly the prerogative which the
only-begotten Son of God deigned to join to the highest pastoral office. “And so,
faithfully keeping to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith,
for the glory of God our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and for
the salvation of Christian peoples, we, with the approval of the sacred council,
teach and define that it is a divinely revealed dogma: that the Roman Pontiff,
when he speaks “ex cathedra”, that is, when, acting in the office of shepherd
and teacher of all Christians, he defines, by virtue of his supreme apostolic au-
thority, doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church,
possesses through the divine assistance promised to him in the person of St.
Peter, the infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed His Church to be en-
dowed in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals; and that such definitions
of the Roman Pontiff are therefore irreformable because of their nature, but not
because of the agreement of the Church.”
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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.