For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

From: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

The Ministry of Reconciliation (Continuation)

[14] For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has
died for all; therefore all have died. [15] And he died for all, that those who live
might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was
raised.

[16] From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even
though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus
no longer. [17] Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
passed away, behold, the new has come. [18] All this is from God, who through
Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19]
that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their tres-
passes against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [20] So
we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake he made him to
be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

14-15. The Apostle briefly describes the effects of Christ’s death, a death he un-
derwent out of love for man; elsewhere at greater length (cf. Rom 6:1-11; 14:7-9;
Gal 2:19-20; 2 Tim 2: 11) he goes into this doctrine which is so closely connec-
ted with the solidarity that exists between Jesus Christ and the members of his
mystical body. Christ, the head of that body, died for all his members: and they
have mystically died to sin with and in him. Christ’s death, is moreover, the price
paid for men—their ransom which sets them free from the slavery of sin, death
and the devil. As a result of it we belong no longer to ourselves but to Christ (cf.
1 Cor 6:19), and the new life—in grace and freedom—which he has won for us we
must live for his sake: “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to him-
self. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord [...]. For to
this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and
of the living” (Rom 14:7-9).

“What follows from this?”, St Francis de Sales asks. “I seem to hear the voice
of the Apostle like a peal of thunder startling our heart: It is easy to see, Chris-
tians, what Christ desired by dying for us. What did he desire but that we should
become like him? ‘That those who live might live no longer for themselves but for
him who for their sake died and was raised.’ How powerful a consequence is this
in the matter of love! Jesus Christ died for us; by his death he has given us life;
we only live because he died; he died for us, by us, and in us; our life then is no
longer ours, but belongs to him who has purchased it for us by his death: we are
therefore no more to live to ourselves but to him; not in ourselves but in him; nor
for ourselves but for him” (”Treatise on the Love of God”, book 7, chap. 8).

“The love of Christ controls us”, urges us: with these words St Paul sums up
what motivates his tireless apostolic activity — the love of Jesus, so immense
that it impels him to spend every minute of his life bringing this same love to all
mankind. The love of Christ should also inspire all other Christians to commit
themselves to respond to Christ’s love, and it should fill them with a desire to
bring to all souls the salvation won by Christ. “We are urged on by the charity
of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:14) to take upon our shoulders a part of this task of saving
souls. Look: the redemption was consummated when Jesus died on the Cross,
in shame and glory, ‘a stumbling block’ to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles (1
Cor 1:23). But the redemption will, by the will of God, be carried out continually
until our Lord’s time comes. It is impossible to live according to the heart of Je-
sus Christ and not to know that we are sent, as he was, ‘to save sinners’ (1 Tim
1:15), with the clear realization that we ourselves need to trust in the mercy of
God more and more every day. As a result, we will foster in ourselves a vehe-
ment desire to live as co-redeemers with Christ, to save all souls with him”
(”Christ Is Passing By”, 120f).

16-17. “Even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view”: Paul
seems to be referring to knowledge based only on external appearances and on
human criteria. Paul’s Judaizing opponents do look on things from a human point
of view, as Paul himself did before his conversion. Nothing he says here can be
taken as implying that St Paul knew Jesus personally during his life on earth (he
goes on to say that now he does not know him personally); what he is saying is
that previously he judged Christ on the basis of his own Pharisee prejudices;
now, on the other hand, he knows him as God and Savior of men.

In v. 17 he elaborates on this contrast between before and after his conversion,
as happens to Christians through Baptism. For through the grace of Baptism a
person becomes a member of Christ’s body, he lives by and is “in Christ” (cf.,
e.g., Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10, 15f; Cor 3:9f); the Redemption brings about a new crea-
tion. Commenting on this passage St Thomas Aquinas reminds us that creation
is the step from non-being to being, and that in the supernatural order, after origi-
nal sin, “a new creation was necessary, whereby (creatures) would be made with
the life of grace; this truly is a creation from nothing, because those without
grace are nothing (cf. 1 Cor 13:2) [...]. St Augustine says, ‘for sin is nothingness,
and men become nothingness when they sin’” (”Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc.”).

“The new has come”: St John Chrysostom points out the radical change which
the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ has brought about, and the consequent
difference between Judaism and Christianity: “Instead of the earthly Jerusalem,
we have received that Jerusalem which is above; and instead of a material tem-
ple we have seen a spiritual temple; instead of tablets of stone, holding the di-
vine Law, our own bodies have become the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit; instead
of circumcision, Baptism; instead of manna, the Lord’s body; instead of water
from a rock, blood from his side; instead of Moses’ or Aaron’s rod, the cross of
the Savior; instead of the promised land, the kingdom of heaven” (”Hom on 2
Cor”, 11).

18-21. The reconciliation of mankind with God—whose friendship we lost through
original sin—has been brought about by Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus, who
is like men in all things “yet without sinning” (Heb 4:14), bore the sins of men
(cf. s 53:4-12) and offered himself on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for all
those sins (cf. 1 Pet 2:22-25), thereby reconciling men to God; through this sa-
crifice we became the righteousness of God, that is, we are justified, made just
in God’s sight (cf. Rom 1:17; 3:24-26 and notes). The Church reminds us of this
in the rite of sacramental absolution: “God, the Father of mercies, through the
death and resurrection of his son has reconciled the world to himself [...].”

Our Lord entrusted the Apostles with this ministry of reconciliation (v. 18), this
“message of reconciliation” (v. 19), to pass it on to all men: elsewhere in the
New Testament it is described as the “message of salvation” (Acts 13:26), the
“word of grace” (Acts 14:3; 20:32), the “word of life” ( 1 Jn 1: 1). Thus, the Apos-
tles were our Lord’s ambassadors to men, to whom St Paul addresses a pres-
sing call: “be reconciled to God”, that is, apply to yourselves the reconciliation
obtained by Jesus Christ—which is done mainly through the sacraments of Bap-
tism and Penance. “The Lord Jesus instituted in his Church the sacrament of
Penance, so that those who have committed sins after Baptism might be recon-
ciled with God, whom they have offended, and with the Church itself whom they
have injured” (John Paul II, “Aperite Portas, 5).

21. “He made him to be sin”: obviously St Paul does not mean that Christ was
guilty of sin; he does not say “to be a sinner” but “to be sin”. “Christ had no sin,”
St Augustine says; “he bore sins, but he did not commit them” (”Enarrationes
in Psalmos”, 68, 1, 10).

According to the rite of atoning sacrifices (cf. Lev 4:24; 5:9; Num 19:9; Mic 6:7;
Ps 40:7) the word “sin”, corresponding to the Hebrew “asam”, refers to the ac-
tual act of sacrifice or to the victim being offered. Therefore, this phrase means
“he made him a victim for sin” or “a sacrifice for sin”. it should be remembered
that in the Old Testament nothing unclean or blemished could be offered to God;
the offering of an unblemished animal obtained God’s pardon for the transgres-
sion which one wanted to expiate. Since Jesus was the most perfect of victims
offered for us, he made full atonement for all sins. In the Letter to the Hebrews,
when comparing Christ’s sacrifice with that of the priests of the Old Testament,
it is expressly stated that “every priest stands daily at his service, offering re-
peatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ
had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For
by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb
10:11-14).

This concentrated sentence also echoes the Isaiah prophecy about the sacrifice
of the Servant of Yahweh; Christ, the head of the human race, makes men sha-
rers in the grace and glory he achieved through his sufferings: “upon him was the
chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed” (Is 53:5).

Jesus Christ, burdened with our sins and offering himself on the cross as a sa-
crifice for them, brought about the Redemption: the Redemption is the supreme
example both of God’s justice—which requires atonement befitting the offense—
and of his mercy, that mercy which makes him love the world so much that “he
gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). “In the Passion and Death of Christ—in the fact
that the Father did not spare his own Son, but ‘for our sake made him sin’—abso-
lute justice is expressed, for Christ undergoes the Passion and Cross because
of the sins of humanity. This constitutes even a ‘superabundance’ of justice, for
the sins of man are ‘compensated for’ by the sacrifice of the Man-God. Neverthe-
less, this justice, which is properly justice ‘to God’s measure’, springs complete-
ly from love, from the love of the Father and of the Son, and completely bears
fruit in love. Precisely for this reason the divine justice revealed in the Cross of
Christ is to God’s measure’, because it springs from love and is accomplished
in love, producing fruits of salvation. The divine dimension of redemption is put
into effect not only by bringing justice to bear upon sin, but also by restoring to
love that creative power in man thanks to which he once more has access to
the fullness of life and holiness that come from God. In this way, redemption in-
volves the revelation of mercy in its fullness” (John Paul II, “Dives In Misercordia”,
7).

*********************************************************************************************
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

Memorial: St Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor

Note: In certain years, the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) coin-
cides with another memorial properly assigned to the day. When this
happens, only one celebration, chosen according to local pastoral ad-
vantage, is to be used. (Prot. n. 2671/98/L)

From: Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [33] “Again you have heard that it was said to the
men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you
have sworn.’ [34] But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by Heaven, for it is
the throne of God, [35] or by the earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for
it is the city of the great King. [36] And do not swear by your head, for you can-
not make one hair white or black. [37] Let what you say be simply, ‘yes’ or ‘no’;
anything more than this comes from evil.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

33-37. The Law of Moses absolutely prohibited perjury or violation of oaths (Exo-
dus 20:7; Numbers 30:3; Deuteronomy 23:22). In Christ’s time, the making of
sworn statements was so frequent and the casuistry surrounding them so intri-
cate that the practice was being grossly abused. Some rabbinical documents
of the time show that oaths were taken for quite unimportant reasons. Parallel
to this abuse of oath-taking there arose no less ridiculous abuses to justify non-
fulfillment of oaths. All this meant great disrespect for the name of God. How-
ever, we do know from Sacred Scripture that oath-taking is lawful and good in
certain circumstances: “If you swear, ‘As the Lord lives’, in truth, in justice, and
in uprightness, then nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall
they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

Jesus here lays down the criterion which His disciples must apply in this connec-
tion. It is based on re-establishing, among married people, mutual trust, nobility
and sincerity. The devil is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Therefore, Christ’s
Church must teach that human relationships cannot be based on deceit and in-
sincerity. God is truth, and the children of the Kingdom must, therefore, base
mutual relationships on truth. Jesus concludes by praising sincerity. Throughout
His teaching He identifies hypocrisy as one of the main vices to be combatted
(cf., e.g., Matthew 23:13-32), and sincerity as one of the finest virtues (cf. John
1:47).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Note: In certain years, the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) coin-
cides with another memorial properly assigned to the day. When this
happens, only one celebration, chosen according to local pastoral ad-
vantage, is to be used. (Prot. n. 2671/98/L)

From: Isaiah 61:9-11

The herald of good tidings (continued)

[9] Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

[10] I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my soul shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
[11] For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-11. Into the air of great joy reflected in the previous hymn, the prophet inserts
this very important oracle about the new messenger (vv. 1-3). The rest of the
chapter is made up of three stanzas that celebrate the wonders of the holy city.
These can be seen in profound, spiritual renewal (vv. 4-7), perfect fulfillment of
the promises made to the ancient patriarchs (vv. 8-9), and joy-in-worship, com-
parable to that of a bridegroom and bride, or that of the farmer on seeing a rich
harvest (vv. 10-11).

The remarkable events and features of the city point to the time of the End, the
time of the Lord’s definitive, salvific intervention. In this context, these new things
are ultimate and definitive. Because in the New Testament the Church is called
“God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), erected on the foundation of the apostles (1 Cor 3:
11), Christian tradition has seen the new, glorious Jerusalem as a symbol of the
Church that makes its way through this world and will be made manifest at the
end of time (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 756-757).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Memorial: Immaculate Heart of Mary

Note: In certain years, the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) coin-
cides with another memorial properly assigned to the day. When this
happens, only one celebration, chosen according to local pastoral ad-
vantage, is to be used. (Prot. n. 2671/98/L)

From: Luke 2:41-51

The Finding in the Temple

[41] Now his (Jesus’) parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
Passover. [42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to
custom; [43] and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy
Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, [44] but sup-
posing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought
him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; [45] and when they did not find
him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And after three days they
found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and as-
king them questions; [47] and all who heard him were amazed at his under-
standing and his answers. [48] And when they saw him they were astonished;
and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your
father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” [49] And he said to them,
“How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s
house ?” [50] And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.

The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth

[51] And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to
them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

41. Only St Luke (2:41-50) reports the event of the Child Jesus being lost and
then found in the temple, which we contemplate in the “Fifth Joyful Mystery” of
the Rosary.

Only males aged twelve and upwards were required to make this journey. Naza-
reth is about 100 km (60 miles) from Jerusalem as the crow flies, but the hilly
nature of the country would have made it a trip of 140 km.

43-44. On pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jews used to go in two groups—one of
men, the other of women. Children could go with either group. This explains how
they could go a day’s journey before they discovered the Child was missing when
the families regrouped to camp.

“Mary is crying. In vain you and I have run from group to group, from caravan to
caravan. No one has seen him. Joseph, after fruitless attempts to keep from cry-
ing, cries too ... And you ... And I. ‘Being a common little fellow, I cry my eyes
out and wail to heaven and earth ..., to make up for the times when I lost him
through my own fault and did not cry” (St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joy-
ful Mystery).

45. The concern which Mary and Joseph show in looking for the Child should
encourage us always to seek Jesus out, particularly if we lose him through sin.

“Jesus, may I never lose you again.... Now you and I are united in misfortune
and grief, as were united in sin. And from the depths of our being comes sighs
of heartfelt sorrow and burning phrases which the pen cannot and should not
record” (”Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery).

46-47. The Child Jesus must have been in the courtyard of the temple, which was
where the teachers usually taught. Listeners used to sit at their feet, now and a-
gain asking questions and responding to them. This was what Jesus did, but his
questions and answers attracted the teachers’ attention, he was so wise and well-
informed.

48. Ever since the Annunciation our Lady had known that the Child Jesus was
God. This faith was the basis of her generous fidelity throughout her life—but there
was no reason why it should include detailed knowledge of all the sacrifices God
would ask of her, nor of how Christ would go about his mission of redemption:
that was something she would discover as time went by, contemplating her Son’s
life.

49. Christ’s reply is a form of explanation. His words—his first words to be recor-
ded in the Gospel—clearly show his divine Sonship; and they also show his deter-
mination to fulfill the will of his Eternal Father. “He does not upbraid them — Mary
and Joseph — for searching for their son, but he raises the eyes of their souls to
appreciate what he owes him whose Eternal Son he is” (St Bede, “In Lucae Evan-
gelium Expositio, in loc.”). Jesus teaches us that over and above any human au-
thority, even that of our parents, there is the primary duty to do the will of God.
“And once we are consoled by the joy of finding Jesus — three days he was gone!
— debating with the teachers of Israel (Lk 2:46), you and I shall be left deeply im-
pressed by the duty to leave our home and family to serve our heavenly Father”
(St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery”). See note on Mt 10:34-37.

50. We must remember that Jesus knew in detail the whole course his earthly
life would take from his conception onwards (cf. note on Lk 2:52). This is shown
by what he says in reply to his parents. Mary and Joseph realized that his reply
contained a deeper meaning which they did not grasp. They grew to understand
it as the life of their Child unfolded. Mary’s and Joseph’s faith and their reverence
towards the Child led them not to ask any further questions but to reflect on Je-
sus’ words and behavior in this instance, as they had done so on other occa-
sions.

51. The Gospel sums up Jesus’ life in Nazareth in just three words: “erat subdtus
illis”, he was obedient to them. “Jesus obeys, and he obeys Joseph and Mary.
God has come to the world to obey, and to obey creatures. Admittedly they were
very perfect creatures—Holy Mary, our mother, greater than whom God alone; and
that most chaste man Joseph. But they are only creatures, and yet Jesus, who
is God, obeyed them. We have to love God so as to love his will and desire to re-
spond to his calls. They come to us through the duties of our ordinary life — du-
ties of state, profession, work, family, social life, our own and other people’s diffi-
culties, friendship, eagerness to do what is right and just” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ
Is Passing By”, 17).

Jesus lived like any other inhabitant of Nazareth, working at the same trade as St
Joseph and earning his living by the sweat of his brow. “His hidden years are not
without significance, nor were they simply a preparation for the years which were
to come after—those of his public life. Since 1928 I have understood clearly that
God wants our Lord’s whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with
special reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side with
ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation during years
of quiet, unspectacular living. Obeying God’s will always means leaving our sel-
fishness behind, but there is no reason why it should entail cutting ourselves off
from the normal life of ordinary people who share the same status, work and so-
cial position with us.

“I dream—and the dream has come true—of multitudes of God’s children, sanctify-
ing themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and endeavors of their
colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them about this divine truth: If you are
there in the middle of ordinary life, it doesn’t mean Christ has forgotten about you
or hasn’t called you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns
of the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your profession,
your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has sanctified them and
made them a most acceptable offering to his Father” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is
Passing By”, 20).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Alleluia Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.

Readings at Mass

First reading

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ©

The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.

From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.

Psalm

Psalm 102:1-4,9-12 ©