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From: Hebrews 10:19-25

Motives for Perseverance

[19] Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the
blood of Jesus, [20] by the new and living way which he opened for us through
the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21] and since we have a great priest over
the house of God, [22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful; [24] and let us consider how to stir up one ano-
ther to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit
of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
drawing near.

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Commentary:

19-21. Throughout the epistle there is a constant interweaving of dogmatic and
moral considerations, with the former points often giving rise to exhortations to
the faithful to be unwavering in faith and hope. The epistle now moves on from its
theological reflections on Christ’s priesthood to its practical application in the
Christian life: the Christian should put his trust in the efficacy of Christ’s sacri-
fice, and through faith, hope and charity associate himself with Christ’s priest-
hood.

He should do this for three reasons — the redemptive value of the blood of Je-
sus, the access to glory signified by his entry into the sanctuary of heaven, and
Christ’s enthronement at the right hand of the Father. The sprinkling of the blood
of Christ gives the believer full assurance that he too will enter heaven, because
the paschal mystery of Christ — his passion, death and resurrection — has made
this possible.

“The new and living way”: a translation of the original Greek expression, which
literally reads “the recently sacrificed and living way”; this is a metaphorical ex-
pression indicating that Christ is a way, and that this way has been recently o-
pened up, has been sacrificed and is alive. There is, then, a personification of
“way” which recalls what Jesus said about his being “the way, and the truth,
and the life” (Jn 14:6); and there is also a reference to Christ’s sacrifice, to the
fact that his body did not experience corruption and that he lives for ever (cf.
Heb 7:25).

The “Pius V Catechism”, referring to the benefits brought us by Christ’s passion,
specifies how he opened to us the gates of heaven, closed due to mankind’s sin:
“Nor are we without a type and figure of this mystery in the Old Law. For those
who were prohibited to return into their native country before the death of the high
priest (cf. Num 35:25) typified that no one, however just and holy may have been
his life, could gain admission into the celestial country until the eternal High
Priest, Jesus Christ, had died, and by his death immediately opened heaven to
those who, purified by the sacraments and gifted with faith, hope and charity, be-
come partakers of his passion” (I, 5, 14).

The reference to Christ’s flesh as a “curtain” not only recalls the curtain in the
temple separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the sanctuary, but also
points to the fact that the deepest dimension of Christ is his Godhead, in which
the Christian must believe, but without separating it from his humanity. Christ’s
human nature is at the same time a “way” because it reveals his divinity, and
a “curtain” because it masks it. “Just as the priest (of the Old Law) entered the
Holy of Holies, so too if we want to enter holy glory, we must enter by way of
Christ’s flesh, the curtain (concealing) his divinity [...]. For, faith in the one God
is insufficient if one does not have faith in the Incarnation” (St Thomas Aquinas,
“Commentary on Heb., ad loc.”).

22-25. The epistle now exhorts its readers to purity of heart, steadfastness in
faith and mutual charity.

It speaks of a clean heart, recalling the purity which the water of Baptism brings.
The Christian should stay true to the faith he received and professed at Baptism,
and maintain the purity which it brings. To live in this way the baptized should
count on the help provided by the Church and on the grace God continually gives.
As Vatican I teaches, referring to those who have received the light of faith, “God
does not abandon them, unless he is abandoned [...]. Therefore, the position of
those who have embraced Catholic truth by the heavenly gift of faith, and of those
who have been misled by human opinions and follow a false religion is by no
means the same, for the former, who have accepted the faith under the teaching
authority of the Church, can never have just reason for changing that faith or cal-
ling it into question” (”Dei Filius”, chap. 3).

Along with its exhortation to practise the three theological virtues, the passage
includes a call not to neglect to attend Christian assemblies. We know that the
first Christians were expected to come together daily or weekly (cf. Acts 2:46;
20:7) and, as we can see here, some gave up going to those meetings through
carelessness, or because they preferred private to public prayer, or because
they did not want others to know they were Christians. In Judaism much empha-
sis was placed on the duty to attend synagogue meetings. The meetings refer-
red to in this passage, whether for the celebration of the Christian liturgy or for
instruction in apostolic teaching, had a clearly eschatological focus in the sense
that they built up people’s hope in the coming of our Lord (cf. 1 Thess 5:4; 1 Cor
3:13; Rom 13:12; Phil 4:5; Jas 5:8; 1 Pet 4:7). The author’s insistence on the
need to meet together recalls another exhortation which goes back to the early
Church: “Now that you are members of Christ, do not choose to cut yourselves
off from the Church by failing to attend the assembly; having Christ your head
present and in touch with you, as he promised, do not underestimate yourselves
or choose to separate the Savior from his members, or divide or scatter his body,
or give your everyday needs more importance than the Word of God; rather, on
the Lord’s Day leave everything aside and come to the Church” (”The Teaching
of the Twelve Apostles”). On the basis of the apostolic tradition, the Church has
established a grave obligation to attend Mass on Sundays (cf. “Code of Canon
Law”, can. 1247). “On this day Christ’s faithful are bound to come together into
one place. They should listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist,
thus calling to mind the passion, resurrection and glory of the Lord Jesus and
giving thanks to God, ‘who has begotten them anew to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’” (1 Pet 1:3) (Vatican II, “Sacrosanc-
tum Concilium”, 106).

In the same way — by listening to and meditating on the Word of God — Chris-
tians fulfill their equally serious obligation to improve their understanding of Chris-
tian doctrine.

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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.