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From: Isaiah 58:6-10

Misguided Fasting Denounced

[6] “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
[7] Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
[8] Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
[9] Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.
If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
[10] if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.”

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Commentary:

58:1-14. This new denunciation, very much in the style of this part of the book,
criticizes fasting done in the wrong spirit; it is uncompromising (vv. 1-7) but it
ends with words of encouragement. The Lord cannot go along with the hypocrisy
of a purely external religion — with people going through the motions of religious
observance while being unjust in their dealings with others and ignoring those in
need. Those who act in this way cannot know much about God this is why the
prophet feels compelled to speak out and use every opportunity to correct them.

“They seek me daily” (v. 2), that is, they are keen to hear the oracles spoken by
the prophets, to learn what God is saying, but they do not act on them — which
shows that they do not really know what religion is all about. Conversion to God
is not a matter of engaging in many external acts of worship and fasting, while
being unjust, exploiting workers and neglecting the poor. It is not surprising that
God ignores fasts if those who perform them commit sins against justice and
charity (vv. 3-6). In this poem different people’s voices are heard at different
points: first God tells the prophet to keep on condemning hypocrisy (vv. 1-2);
then men speak, complaining that God ignores their fasting (v. 3) and at the
end God teaches and reproaches: he will have nothing to do with the hypocrisy
of those who perform fasts but behave wickedly (vv. 4-7); whereas he will cer-
tainly listen to prayers if they are accompanied by acts of justice and charity
(vv. 8-14).

The works of mercy recommended in this oracle are echoed in Jesus’ discourse
on the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:23-45. Christian spirituality has always
stressed that love of neighbor and works of mercy are clear proof of a person’s
love of God and are a touchstone of true religion, for “...works of mercy are proof
of a truly holy life” (Rabanus Maurus, recorded by St Thomas Aquinas in the
“Catena Aurea”). And St Leo the Great taught: “Let each of the faithful examine
his own conscience, seeking out his deepest desires; if he finds the fruits of
love within his soul, he will know that God is with him, and he should strive even
harder to be worthy of so great a guest, being ever more generous in his works
of mercy” (”Sermones”, 48, 3).

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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: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

St. Paul’s Preaching in Corinth

[1] When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimo-
ny of God in lofty words or wisdom. [2] For I decided to know nothing among you
except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness and in
much fear and trembling; [4] and my speech and my message were not in plau-
sible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, [5] that your
faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

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Commentary:

1-3. The Apostle had come to Corinth from Athens, as we know from the Acts
of the Apostles (17:16-34); in that city he had not made many converts, despite
his brilliant discourse in the Areopagus. This fact, and the moral corruption of
Corinthian society, may explain his arriving “in much fear and trembling” (v. 3);
he must have felt that he had a difficult task ahead of him. As it turned out, he
must have met many difficulties: our Lord appeared to him at night in a vision to
comfort and encourage him: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent;
for I am with you” (Acts 18:9-10). St Paul, therefore, putting no reliance on care-
fully argued speeches, proclaims Christ crucified, to make sure that faith is
grounded on God alone.

St Paul sums up his entire message here “Jesus Christ and him crucified”. The
Church, on whom it devolves to continue the mission of the Apostles, does no-
thing but make Jesus Christ known: “Our spirit is set in one direction,” Bl. John
Paul II reminds us; “the only direction for our intellect, will and heart is towards
Christ our Redeemer, towards Christ, the Redeemer of man. We wish to look
towards him because there is salvation in no one else but him, the Son of God
— repeating what Peter said, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life’ (Jn 6:68) [...]. The Church lives his mystery, draws unwearyingly from
it and continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and Lord to
mankind — to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every in-
dividual human being—as if she were ever repeating, as the Apostle did, ‘For I de-
cided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (1 Cor
2:2). The Church stays within the sphere of the mystery of the Redemption,
which has become the fundamental principle of her life and mission” (”Redemp-
tor Hominis”, 7).

Every Christian, for his part, should try to see that those around him “desire to
know Jesus Christ and him crucified and that they be firmly convinced and with
the most heartfelt piety and devotion believe that no other name under heaven
has been given to men by which we may be saved (cf. Acts 4:12), since he is
the expiation for our sins (cf. 1 Jn 2:2)” (”St Pius V Catechism”, Introduction,
10).

4-5. Just as Paul’s preaching did not rely on eloquence, so too faith must not be
based on human wisdom (cf. note on 1 Cor 1:20-25). He says that he based his
message on “demonstration of the Spirit and power” — probably a reference to
the powerful action of divine grace on those who listened to his preaching, with
grace manifesting itself in conversions and extraordinary charisms. This power
of God explains how they came to believe.

God continues to act through the Christian message, which “is unique. It cannot
be replaced. It does not permit either indifference, syncretism or accommodation.
It is a question of people’s salvation. It is the beauty of the Revelation that it re-
presents. It brings with it a wisdom that is not of this world. It is able to stir up by
itself faith—faith that rests on the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 2:5). It is truth. It merits
having the apostle consecrate to it all his time and all his energies, and to sacri-
fice for it, if necessary, his own life” (Paul VI “Evangelic Nuntiandi”, 5).

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