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From: Hebrews 13:1-8

Duties Towards Others — Charity, Hospitality, Fidelity in Marriage

[1] Let brotherly love continue. [2] Do not neglect to show hospitality to stran-
gers,’ for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. [3] Remember those
who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated,
since you also are in the body. [4] Let marriage be held in honor among all, and
let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous.
[5] Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for
he has said, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” [6] Hence we can confidently
say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”

Religious Duties — Obeying Lawful Pastors; Religious Worship

[7] Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider
the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. [8] Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and for ever.

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Commentary:

1-3. The teaching on moral questions which takes up this chapter follows on lo-
gically from the trend of the whole letter, particularly the previous chapter: faith-
fulness to Christ means being faithful to him as a person and to his teaching. As
he himself said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15).
Among the essential teachings of our faith is the supreme importance of charity:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35). As Tertullian attests,
pagans bore witness to how well the early Christians practised this virtue, when
they would say, “See how they love one another: they are ready to die for one
another” (”Apologeticum”, 39).

Brotherly love expresses itself in all kinds of ways. One of them is hospitality,
which is one of the traditional corporal works of mercy. The virtue of hospitality is
given high praise in this passage which contains implicit references to episodes
in the life of Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18), Lot (cf. Gen 19), Manoah (cf. Judg
13:3-22) or Tobit (cf. Job 12:1-20), who gave hospitality to wayfarers who turned
out to be angels. Similarly, Christians who practise this virtue are in fact welco-
ming Christ himself (cf. Mt 25:40). They should also see Christ in everyone who
is experiencing any kind of suffering. “He himself is the one who in each individual
experiences love; he himself is the one who receives help, when this is given to
every suffering person without exception. He himself is present in this suffering
person, since his salvific suffering has been opened once and for all to every hu-
man suffering” (John Paul II, “Salvifici Doloris”, 30).

4. For anyone to practise charity towards God and towards others, the virtue of
chastity is essential. It expands one’s capacity for love. The text earnestly ex-
horts Christians to show their appreciation of marriage by practising marital
chastity. Marriage is a personal calling by God to seek holiness in that state
in life. “In God’s plan, all husbands and wives are called in marriage to holiness,
and this lofty vocation is fulfilled to the extent that the human person is able to
respond to God’s command with serene confidence in God’s grace and in his
or her own will” (John Paul II, “Familiaris Consortio”, 34).

However, this also calls for marital chastity, which is a manifestation and proof
of true love. “Human love — pure, sincere and joyful — cannot subsist in marriage
without the virtue of chastity, which leads a couple to respect the mystery of sex
and ordain it to faithfulness and personal dedication [...].

“When there is chastity in the love of married persons, their marital life is authen-
tic; husband and wife are true to themselves, they understand each other and
develop the union between them. When the divine gift of sex is perverted their
intimacy is destroyed, and they can no longer look openly at one another” (St
J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 25).

5-6. In teaching against love of money and exaggerated desire for material things,
the text may be echoing what our Lord said: “Do not lay up for yourselves trea-
sures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and
steal, but lay up treasures in heaven [...]” (Mt 6:19-20). The epistle is encoura-
ging us to trust God at all times and to be detached from earthly things. “Detach
yourself from the goods of the world. Love and practise poverty of spirit: be con-
tent with what enables you to live a simple and sober life [...]” (St J. Escriva,
“The Way”, 631).

It uses some words spoken by Moses on God’s behalf to remind the reader that
it is God himself who has told man that he will never abandon him (cf. Deut 31:6).
These words should fill us with consolation, allowing us to say with the psalmist
(cf. Ps 118:6) that we can do anything provided God helps us, and there is no-
thing for us to fear provided we abandon ourselves to divine providence (cf. Mt
6:25-32).

“If Christ is yours, then wealth is yours; he satisfies all your wants. He will look
after you, manage all your affairs for you most dutifully; you will need no human
support to rely on [...]. Put all your trust in God; center in him all your fear and
all your love; he will make himself responsible for you, and all will go well as he
sees best” (”The Imitation of Christ”, 1, 2-3).

7-19. In this passage this more practical section of the epistle examines specifi-
cally ecclesial duties, placing special emphasis on the Christian’s duty to main-
tain unity with and to obey and respect those have the mission to govern the
community. This exhortation is made twice (vv. 7 and 17) to show the importance
of obedience to lawful pastors(cf. 1 Thess 5:12-13; 1 Cor 16:16). We should see
in the pastors of the Church a model of how we should practise the faith (v. 7; cf.
Phil 3:17), and in particular we should see them as Christ’s representatives (cf.
Gal 4:12-14). Obedience to the hierarchy of the Church naturally involves accep-
ting its teaching and eschewing heretical opinions (v. 9; cf. 1 Tim 6:3; Gal 1:6-9).
Unity of faith, moreover, has to be expressed in unity of worship (v. 10; cf. Phil
3:3; Eph 4:4-5): no one may take part in Christian worship while continuing to
take part in Jewish worship (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-21), nor is it lawful to regard rabbini-
cal rules about food as still applying (v. 9; Col 2:16-18; 1 Tim 4:3-5). One needs
to undergo a real conversion (vv. 11-13; Rom 3:23-26) and to put aside outdated
rites and practices if one is to share in Christ’s Cross (1 Cor 2:21-25; Gal 6:14-
15). We must not put our trust in earthly things, but instead bear in mind that
our end and goal is heaven (cf. Phil 3:20). Finally, unity of faith, discipline and
sacraments must express itself in a consistent, coherent lifestyle whereby we
are always in the presence of God, use everything as an opportunity for prayer
and sacrifice, and practise a continuous charity towards others (vv. 15-16; cf.
Gal 6:9-10; Rom 12:9-13; Eph 5:1-2; etc.). This short passage gives a very at-
tractive outline of what Christian life involves. As Vatican II put it, “A life like this
calls for a continuous exercise of faith, hope and charity. Only the light of faith
and meditation on the Word of God can enable us to find everywhere and always
the God ‘in whom we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28); only thus
can we seek his will in everything, see Christ in all men, acquaintance or stran-
ger, and make sound judgments on the true meaning and value of temporal
realities both in themselves and in relation to man’s end” (Apostolicam Actuosi-
tatem, 2).

7-14. The sacred text emphasizes the need to be at one with those in charge,
the pastors and teachers of the Christian communities. Reference, in the past
tense, to their faith suggests it is referring to those who have already obtained
the crown of martyrdom—people like Stephen and St James the Greater (cf. Acts
7:59-60; 12:2), and other members of the community who were victims of Jewish
persecution (cf. Acts 8:1; Heb 6:10; 10:32-34). They were admirable people; how-
ever, unity with one’s leaders was not and is not conditional on the personal qua-
lity of these leaders: “What a pity that whoever is in charge doesn’t give you good
example! But, is it for his personal qualities that you obey him? (cf. Acts 7:59-60;
12:2), and other members of the community who were victims of Jewish persecu-
tion (cf. Acts 8:1; Heb 6:10; 10:32-34). They were admirable people; however,
unity with one’s leaders was not and is not conditional on the personal quality of
these leaders: “What a pity that whoever is in charge doesn’t give you good exam-
ple! But, is it for his personal qualities that you obey him? Or do you conveniently
interpret Saint Paul’s “obedite praepositis vestris”: obey your leaders’ with a qua-
lification of your own ..., ‘always provided they have virtues to my taste’?” (St J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 621). Faithfulness to and solidarity with one’s lawful pas-
tors is faithfulness towards Christ himself, for the “bishops, as vicars and legates
of Christ, govern the particular churches assigned to them by their counsels, ex-
hortations and example, but over and above that also by the authority and sacred
power which indeed they exercise exclusively for the spiritual development of their
flock in truth and holiness, keeping in mind that he who is greater should become
as the lesser, and he who is the leader as the servant (cf. Lk 22:26-27)” (Vatican
II, “Lumen Gentium” 27). Thus, it is rightly said that he who hears them hears
Christ (cf. Lk 10:16). For their part, pastors should have the same love and solici-
tude for those in their charge as our Redeemer had; in this wonderful unity of cha-
rity the mystery of Christ will shine forth; it is Christ’s right “to be the sole ruler of
the Church; and for this reason also he is likened to the Head. The head (to use
the words of St Ambrose) is ‘the royal citadel’ of the body (”Hexameron”, VI, 9,
55), and because it was endowed with more perfect gifts it naturally rules all the
members, being purposely placed above them to have them under its care. In like
manner the divine Redeemer wields the supreme power and government over the
whole commonwealth of Christians” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”, 16).

The mystery of the Incarnation is indissolubly linked to the mystery of the Church,
in such a way that the unity of the Church is a sign of the unity of the Lord’s Body,
which is one body with many different members (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-12; “Lumen Gen-
tium”, 7). Therefore, fidelity to the Church derives not from human reasons but
from a desire to be faithful to Christ himself.

Fidelity to Christ, his preaching, to his commandments and the sacraments he
instituted leads to loving fulfillment of everything the Church lays down with re-
gard to worship—particularly to interior practice of the faith, repentance for sin
and fervent reception of the sacraments (cf. Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”,
chaps. 6 and 8; Rom 3:22-24; 11:16; Eph 2:8; 1 Cor 4:7-15:10 2 Cor 3:5). There
are no clean or unclean foods (cf. Col 2:16; Rom i4:2-4) whether they are offered
to idols or not (cf. 1 Cor 8; 10:14-33), whether they are eaten or abstained from
on certain days (cf. Rom 14:5; Col 2:16; Gal 4:10); there is no food which rea-
ders a person unclean or leads him to salvation (cf. Mk 7:15, 18; Rom 14:17,
20): for one whose heart is pure all things are pure (cf. Tit 1:15). The important
thing is the grace of God, which is given us in the sacraments and which ena-
bles us to practise all the commandments out of love for God. The letter moves
from these remarks about legal purity and impurity to point out that there is now
an entirely new situation and what really matters is sharing in the paschal mys-
tery of Christ, that is, in his passion, death and resurrection.

8. This verse expresses the foundation of the life of every Christian. It is a won-
derful expression of faith constituting an act of adoration and reverence similar to
the praise of the one God in Deuteronomy 6:4 (”The Lord our God is one Lord”)
or of the eternal God in Psalm 102:12 (”Thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever; thy
name endures to all generations”), only here it is Jesus Christ who is being ex-
tolled. Though their first teachers and guides may have died to bear witness to
their faith, Christians will always have a teacher and guide who will never die,
who lives for ever crowned with glory. Men come and go but Jesus remains for
ever. He exists from all eternity, he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End (cf. Rev 1:8; 22:13); he lived “yesterday” among men in a specific
period of history; he lives “today” in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and
he is “today”, at our side providing us with grace and forever interceding for us
(cf. Mt 28:20; Heb 4:14); he will remain “for ever” as High Priest and Redeemer
(cf. Heb 6:20; 7:17) until he establishes his Kingdom and hands it to his Father
(cf. 1 Cor 15:24-28).

It is moving to think that Christ did not take on human nature for a limited period
only. The Incarnation was decreed from all eternity, and the Son of God, born of
the Virgin Mary, in time and space, in the reign of Caesar Augustus, remains a
man for ever, with a glorious body bearing the resplendent marks of his passion.
In Christ’s human nature, now indissolubly joined to the divine person of the Son,
all Creation is in some way glorified (cf. Col 1:15-20; Eph 1:9-10). Therefore, we
can be absolutely sure that Christ’s teaching cannot change: it is as immutable
as he is and it will eventually transform the world. We know that all dimensions
of human life—work, family life, life in society, affections, suffering—acquire in
Christ a new and lasting purpose. “The Church believes that Christ, who died
and was raised for the sake of all, can show man the way and strengthen him

through the Spirit in order to be worthy of his destiny: nor is there any other name
under heaven given among men by which they can be saved. The Church likewise
believes that the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of man’s history is
to be found in its Lord and Master. She also maintains that beneath all that chan-
ges there is much that is unchanging, much that has its ultimate foundation in
Christ, who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Vatican II, “Gaudium
Et Spes”, 10). This is the source of the Christian’s confidence. “Jesus is the way.
Behind him on this earth of ours he has left the clear outlines of his footprints.
They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the
evil one have been able to erase. “Iesus Christus herd et hodie; ipse et in saecula”.
How I love to recall these words! Jesus Christ, the very Jesus who was alive yes-
terday for his Apostles and the people who sought him out—this same Jesus lives
today for us, and will live forever” (St J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 127).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Mark 6:14-29

Opinions About Jesus

[14] King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said,
“John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are
at work with Him.” [15] But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a
prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” [16] But when Herod heard of it, he
said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

John the Baptist Beheaded

[17] For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake
of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her. [18] For John
said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” [19] And Hero-
dias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, [20]
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept
him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him
gladly. [21] But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet
for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee. [22] For when Hero-
dias’ daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the
king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.” [23] And
he said to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”

[24] And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said,
“The head of John the Baptizer.” [25] And she came in immediately with haste
to the king, and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John
the Baptizer on a platter.” [26] And the King was exceedingly sorry; but because
of his oath and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. [27] And im-
mediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head.
He went and beheaded him in the prison, [28] and brought his head on a platter,
and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. [29] When his disciples
heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

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Commentary:

16-29. It is interesting that the extensive account of the death of John the Baptist
is inserted here in the Gospel narrative. The reason is St. John the Baptist’s spe-
cial relevance in the history of salvation: he is the Precursor, entrusted with the
task of preparing the way for the Messiah. Besides, John the Baptist had a great
reputation among the people: they believed him to be a prophet (Mark 11:32);
some even thought he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15; John 1:20); and they flocked
to him from many places (Mark 1:5). Jesus Himself said: “Among those born of
women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
Later, the Apostle St. John will speak of him in the Gospel: “There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6); but the sacred text points out
that, despite this, he was not the light, but rather the witness to the light (John 1:
6-8). More correctly, he was the lamp carrying the light (John 5:35). We are told
here that he was a righteous man and preached to everyone what had to be
preached: he had a word for people at large, for publicans, for soldiers (Luke 3:10-
14); for Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 3:7-12); for King Herod himself (Mark
6:18-20). This humble, upright and austere man paid with his life for the witness
he bore to Jesus the Messiah (John 1:29 and 36-37).

26. Oaths and promises immoral in content should never be made, and, if made,
should never be kept. This is the teaching of the Church, which is summed up
in the “St. Pius X Catechism”, 383, in the following way: “Are we obliged to keep
oaths we have sworn to do unjust and unlawful things? Not only are we not ob-
liged: we sin by making such oaths, for they are prohibited by the Law of God or
of the Church.”

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading	Hebrews 13:1-8 ©

Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; and those who are being badly treated, since you too are in the one body. Marriage is to be honoured by all, and marriages are to be kept undefiled, because fornicators and adulterers will come under God’s judgement. Put greed out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God himself has said: I will not fail you or desert you, and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing: what can man do to me?

Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 26(27):1,3,5,8-9 ©