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From: Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23

The Rites of the Old Covenant Prefigure Those of the New

[24] For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the
true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our be-
half. [25] Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy
Place yearly with blood not his own; [26] for then he would have had to suffer re-
peatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for
all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And just
as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, [28] so
Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second
time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

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.

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Commentary:

23-28. In these verses the sacred writer adds some additional considerations to
the main line of his argument. His thought centers on linking the sanctuary, the
sacrifices which were offered in the Old Testament sanctuary, and the sacrifice
of the New Covenant. It was “necessary” for Christ to shed his blood so that
men might “receive the promised eternal inheritance” (9:15), that is, forgiveness
of their sins (cf. 9:14). This shedding of blood is also necessary for the “purifica-
tion” of the heavenly things (9:23). The sacrifices of the Mosaic liturgy purified
the things of the old sanctuary and, in some way, pointed to forgiveness of sins
(9:9, 10). The sacrifice of Christ, on the other hand, really does blot out sin and
opens for us the way to heaven itself, giving us entry into that new sanctuary (7:
25; 9:12). But the parallel is not a perfect one, for the old sacrifices were multi-
ple and were constantly repeated in petition of forgiveness (9:25). The sacrifice
of Christ, on the contrary, is a unique sacrifice, because it is eternally effective
(7:27; 9:12). Moreover, whereas the high priest offered a sacrifice not with his
own blood but with the blood of animals, Christ offered his own blood in sacrifice.
Therefore, Christ has offered himself “once” (7:28; 9:12, 26, 28) in the same sort
of way as every man has to die only once and then undergoes judgment. Further-
more, through his sacrifice Christ has passed through the heavens once and for
all and will not return to earth to renew his sacrifice. He will not return until the
end of time, when he will come in glory.

Two truths interweave here a number of times. The first is that Christ entered for-
ever not into a temple made by man but into heaven itself (9:24; 7:26; 8:1). The
second is that Christ also enables us to enter into glory; that is, his sacrifice and
his entry into heaven enable man to attain his last end.

27-28. These verses look at three basic truths of Christian belief about the last
things—1) the immutable decree of death; 2) the fact that there is a judgment im-
mediately after death; 3) the second coming of Christ, in glory.

“Not to deal with sin”: this phrase means that the second coming of Christ or Pa-
rousia, will not be for the purpose of redeeming men from sin but rather to bring
salvation, that is, glory, to those who placed their hope in him. Christ will come
into the world for a second time, but not as Redeemer, for his sacrifice has alrea-
dy eliminated sin once for all; rather, he will come as Judge of all. His coming “is
appointed”: it is as necessary as death and judgment. These three truths are
closely interconnected.

Although man is mortal, “a spiritual element survives and subsists after death, an
element endowed with consciousness and will, so that the ‘human self’ subsists.
To designate this element, the Church uses the word ‘soul’, the accepted term in
the usage of Scripture and Tradition” (SCDF, “Letter on Certain Questions Con-
cerning Eschatology”, 17 May 1979).

Man, then, is made up of a spiritual and immortal soul and a corruptible body.

However, when God originally endowed man with supernatural grace, he gave
him additional gifts, the so-called “preternatural” gifts, which included bodily im-
mortality. Adam’s disobedience resulted in the loss of his friendship with God and
the loss of this preternatural gift. From that point onwards death is “the wages of
sin” (Rom 6:23), and it is to this divine decision that the text refers when it says
that it “is appointed for men to die” (cf. Gen 3:19, 23; Rom 5:12). The Church has
repeatedly stressed that death is a punishment; cf., for example, Pius VI, “Aucto-
rem Fidei”, prop. 1, 7: “in our present state (death) is inflicted as a just punish-
ment for sin”; immortality was an “unmerited gift and not a natural condition”.
Verses 27-28 are an implicit exhortation to watchfulness (cf. also 1 Cor 7:29;
Sir 14:12; and “Lumen Gentium”, 48).

Immediately after death everyone will be judged on the conduct of his life. All
“are to give an account of their lives; those who have done good deeds will go in-
to eternal life; those who have done evil will go into everlasting fire” (”Athanasian
Creed”). This is something which reason with the help of God’s Word can disco-
ver, because people with a correct moral sense realize that good deserves to be
rewarded and evil punished, and that it is impossible for this to occur completely
in this life. It is difficult to say whether Hebrews 9:27 is referring to the “particular
judgment”, which happens immediately after death, or to the general judgment,
which will take place on the last day. Both interpretations can be supported, for
the judgment the verse refers to is connected, on the one hand, with death, and
on the other with the second coming of Christ. In any event, it is clear that what
is meant is a “personal” judgment, a trial at which each individual will be judged
by Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10). The existence of a general judgment does
not conflict with the certainty that there is a particular judgment, for the Church,
in line with Sacred Scripture, although it awaits the glorious revealing of our Lord
Jesus Christ on the last day, sees that event as distinct from and separate in
time from the judgment which every individual will undergo immediately after
death (cf. “Letter on Eschatology, op. cit.”).

The idea of death and judgment, however, should not only inspire fear; it should
also lead us to hope in Christ, for our Lord will come a second time to show him-
self a merciful judge to “those who are eagerly waiting for him”.

Christians, therefore, combine their joyful hope in the establishment of the King-
dom of God, which they wholeheartedly desire, with a desire to make the best
possible use of the time allotted to them in this life. “This urgent solicitude of the
Church, the Spouse of Christ, for the needs of men—for their joys and hopes, their
griefs and labors—is nothing other than her intense desire to share them in full, in
order to illuminate men with the light of Christ and to gather together and unite all
in him who alone is the Savior of each one of them. This solicitude must never be
taken to mean that the Church conforms herself to the things of this world, or that
her longing for the coming of her Lord and his eternal reign grows cold” (Paul VI,
“Creed of the People of God”.

10:19-21. 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 sacrifice,
and through faith, hope and charity associate himself with Christ’s priesthood.

He should do this for three reasons—the redemptive value of the blood of Jesus,
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
opened 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,
become 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—Christians
fulfill their equally serious obligation to improve their understanding of Christian
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.

From: Lk 24:46-53

Jesus’ Last Instructions And Leave-Taking

[46] And (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer
and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repentance and forgiveness
of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
[48] You are witness of these things. [49] And behold, I send the promise of my
Father upon you; but say in the city, until you are clothed with power from on
high.”

The Ascension of Our Lord

[50] Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands be blessed
them. [51] While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into
heaven. [52] And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
[53] and were continually in the temple blessing God.

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Commentary:

44-49. St. Matthew stresses that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in
Christ, because his immediate audience was Jews, who would accept this as
proof that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.; St Luke does not usually
argue along these lines because he is writing for Gentiles; however, in this epi-
logue he does report, in a summarized way, Christ’s statement to the effect that
everything foretold about him had come true. By doing so he shows the unity of
Old and New Testaments and that Jesus is truly the Messiah.

St. Luke also refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16-17, 26; 15:26;
16:7ff), whose fulfilment on the day of Pentecost he will narrate in detail in the
Book of Acts (cf. Acts 2:1-4).

46.From St. Luke’s account we have seen how slow the apostles were to grasp
Jesus’ prophecy of his death and resurrection (cf. 9:45; 18:34). Now that the pro-
phecy is fulfilled Jesus reminds them that it was necessary for the Christ to suf-
fer and to rise from the dead (cf. Acts 2:1-4).

The Cross is a mystery, in our own life as well as in Christ’s “Jesus suffers to car-
ry out the will of the Father. And you, who also want to carry out the most holy
will of God, following the steps of the Master, can you complain if you meet suffe-
ring on the way? (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 213) 49.

“I send the promise of my Father upon you,” that is, the Holy Spirit who, some
days later, at Pentecost, would come down upon them in the cenacle (cf. Acts
2:1-4) as the Father’s gift to them (cf. Lk 11:13).

50-53 St. Luke, who will report our Lord’s ascension in the Acts of the Apostles,
here gives a summary account of this mystery which marks the end of Jesus’s
visible presence on earth. St Thomas Aquinas explains that it was inappropriate
for Christ to remain on earth after the Resurrection, whereas it was appropriate
that he should ascend into heaven, because, although his risen body was alrea-
dy a glorified one, it now receives an increase in glory due to the dignity of the
place to which it ascends (cf. Summa theologiae, 3, q. 57 a. 1).

“Our Lord’s Ascension also reminds us of another fact. The same Christ, who en-
courages us to carry out our task in the world, awaits us in heaven. In other words,
our life on earth, which we love, is not definitive. ‘Here we have no lasting city, but
we seek the city which is to come’ (Heb 13:14), a changeless home, where we
may live forever. […] Christ awaits us. We are ‘citizens of heaven’ (Phil 3:20), and
at the same time fully-fledged citizens of this earth, in the midst of difficulties, in-
justices and lack of understanding, but also in the midst of the joy and serenity
that comes from knowing that we are children of God” (St. J. Escriva, Christ is
Passing By, 126).

We have come to the end of St. Luke’s narrative. Words cannot express the
gratitude and love we feel when we reflect on Christ’s life among us. Let us offer
God our desire to be ever more faithful children and disciples of his, as we savor
this summary of Christ’s life given us by the Magisterium: “We believe in our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word born of the Father
before time began […]. He dwelt among us full of grace and truth. He announced
and established the Kingdom of God, enabling us to know the Father. He gave us
the commandment that we should love one another as he loved us. He taught us
the way of the Gospel Beatitudes, according to which we were to be poor in spirit
and humble, bearing suffering in patience, thirsting after justice, merciful, clean of
heart, peaceful, enduring persecution for justice’s sake. He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, the Lamb of God taking to himself the sins of the world, and he died for us,
nailed to the Cross, saving us by this redeeming blood. After he had been buried
he rose from the dead of his own power, lifting us by his Resurrection to that sha-
ring in the divine life which is grace. He ascended into heaven whence he will
come again to judge the living and the dead, each according to his merits. Those
who have responded to the love and compassion of God will go into eternal life.
Those who have refused them to the end will be consigned to the fire that is never
extinguished. And of his kingdom there will be no end” (Paul VI, Creed of the Peo-
ple of God, 11f).

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