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From: Romans 3:21-30

Righteousness, a Free Gift through Faith in Christ

[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, al-
though the law and the prophets bear witness to it, [22] the righteousness of
God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction
[23] since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] they are justi-
fied by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, [25]
whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This
was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had
passed over former sins; [26] it was to prove at the present time that he himself
is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.

[27] Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On
the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith. [28] For we hold that a
man is justified by faith apart from works of law. [29] Or is God the God of Jews
only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, [30] since God
is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the un-
circumcised through their faith.

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Commentary:

21-22. The doctrinal richness of this text and of the whole passage (vv. 21-26) is
here condensed in a way very typical of St Paul’s style. He explains how justifi-
cation operates: God the Father, the source of all good, by his redemptive de-
cree is the “efficient cause” of our salvation; Jesus Christ, by shedding his blood
on the Cross, merits this salvation for us; faith is the instrument by which the Re-
demption becomes effective in the individual person.

The righteousness of God is the action by which God makes people righteous,
or just (cf. St Augustine, “De Spiritu Et Littera”, IX, 15). This righteousness was
originally proclaimed in the books of the Old Testament—the Law and the Pro-
phets — but it has now been made manifest in Christ and in the Gospel. Salva-
tion does not depend on fulfillment of the Mosaic Law, for that Law is not suffi-
cient to justify anyone: only faith in Jesus Christ can work salvation.

“If anyone says that, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, man can be jus-
tified before God by his own works, whether they were done by his natural po-
wers or by the light of the teaching of the Law: let him be anathema” (Council
of Trent, “De Iustificatione”, can. 1).

It is not the law, then, which saves, but “faith in Jesus Christ”. This expression
should be interpreted in line with the unanimous and constant teaching of the
Church, which is that “faith is the beginning of human salvation”, and a person’s
will must cooperate with faith to prepare the ground for the grace of justification
(cf. ibid., chap. 8 and can. 9).

23-26. The Apostle first describes the elements that go to make up the mystery
of faith (vv. 23-25): all men need to be liberated from sin; God the Father has a re-
demptive plan, which is carried out by the atoning and bloody sacrifice of Christ’s
death; faith is a necessary condition for sharing in the Redemption wrought by
Christ; the sacrifice of the Cross is part and parcel of the History of Salvation: be-
fore the Incarnation of the Word, God patiently put up with men’s sins; in the full-
ness of time he chose—through Christ’s sacrifice—to require full satisfaction for
those sins so that men might be enabled to become truly righteous in God’s
eyes and God’s perfections become more manifest.

“The Cross of Christ, on which the Son, consubstantial with the Father, renders
full justice to God, is also a radical revelation of mercy, that is, of the love that
goes against what constitutes the very root of evil in the history of man—against
sin and death” (Bl. John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”, 8).

23. “Fall short of the glory of God”: this shows the position man is in when he is
in a state of sin. Because he has not the life of grace in him, he is not properly
orientated towards his supernatural end, is deprived of the right to heaven that
sanctifying grace confers, and consequently does not have these divine perfec-
tions which supernatural life gives him.

24. All have been justified, that is, all have been made “righteous” (cf. 1:17).
This justification is the result of a gratuitous gift of God which St Paul describes
in a way which reinforces his point (”grace”; “as a gift”): this identifies the source
of the gift as God’s loving-kindness and it also shows the new state in which
justification places a person so important is this statement—that grace is a gift
which God gives without merit on our part—that the Council of Trent, when using
this text from St Paul, made a point of explaining what it meant: that is, that no-
thing which precedes justification (whether it be faith, or morals) merits the grace
by which man is justified (cf. Rom 11:16; Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”,
chap. 8).

This new kind of life, whose motor is grace, requires free and active cooperation
on man’s part; by that cooperation a person in the state of grace obtains merit
through his actions: “For such is God’s goodness to men that he wills that his
gifts be our merits, and that he will grant us an eternal reward for what he has gi-
ven us” (”Indiculus”, chap. 9). The fact that grace is a gratuitous gift of God does
not mean that man does not have an obligation to respond to it: we are not justi-
fied by keeping the Law or by a decision of our free will; however, justification
does not happen without our cooperation; grace strengthens our will and helps
it freely to keep the Law (cf. St Augustine, “De Spiritu Et Littera”, IX, 15).

Justification by grace is attained “through the redemption which is in Jesus
Christ”. The Council of Trent teaches that when a sinner is justified there is “a
passing from the state in which man is born a son of the first Adam, to the state
of grace and adoption as sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ
our Savior” (”De Iustificatione”, chap. 4). This has been made possible because
our Lord saved us by giving himself up as our ransom. The Greek word transla-
ted as “redemption” refers to the ransom money paid to free a person from sla-
very. Christ has freed us from the slavery of sin, paying the necessary ransom
(cf. Rom 6:23). By sacrificing himself for us, Christ has become our master or
owner, who mediates between the Father and the whole human race: “Let us
all take refuge in Christ; let us have recourse to God to free us from sin: let us
put ourselves up for sale in order to be redeemed by his blood. For the Lord says,
‘You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money’ (Is 52:3);
without spending a penny of your inheritance, for I have paid on your behalf. This
is what the Lord says: He paid the price, not with silver but with his blood” (St
Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 41, 4).

Our very creation means that we belong totally to God the Father and therefore
also to Christ, insofar as he is God, but “as man, he is also for many reasons
appropriately called ‘Lord’. First, because he is our Redeemer, who delivered us
from sin, he deservedly acquired the power by which he truly is and is called our
Lord” (”St Pius V Catechism”, I, 3, 11).

And so, through the Incarnation, whose climax was Christ’s redemptive sacrifice,
“God gave human life the dimension that he intended man to have from his first
beginning; he has granted that dimension definitively [...] and he has granted it
also with the bounty that enables us, in considering the original sin and the
whole history of the sins of humanity, and in considering the errors of the human
intellect, will and heart, to repeat with amazement the words of the sacred Litur-
gy: ‘O happy fault...which gained us so great a Redeemer!’” (Bl. John Paul II,
“Redemptor Hominis”, 1).

25. The “expiation” was the cover or mercy seat of the Ark, which stood in the
center of the Holy of Holies in the Temple (cf. Exod 25:17-22). It was made of
beaten gold and had a cherub at either end, each facing the other. It had two func-
tions: one was to act as God’s throne (cf. Ps 80:2; 99:1), from which he spoke to
Moses during the time of the exodus from Egypt (cf. Num 7:89; Exod 37:6); the
other was to entreat God to pardon sin through a rite of expiatory sacrifice on the
feast of the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev 16): on that day the High Priest sprinkled
the mercy seat with the blood of animals sacrificed as victims, to obtain forgive-
ness of sins for priest and people.

St Paul asserts that God has established Jesus as the true expiation, of which
the mercy seat in the Old Testament was merely a figure.

No angel or man could ever atone for the immense evil that sin is — an offense to
the infinite majesty of God. The Blessed Trinity decided “that the Son of God,
whose power is infinite, clothed in the weakness of our flesh, should remove the
infinite weight of sin and reconcile us to God in his Blood” (”St Pius V Catechism”,
I, 3, 3).

This expiatory sacrifice, prefigured in the bloody sacrificial rites of the Old Testa-
ment (cf. Lev 16:1 ff), was announced by John the Baptist when he pointed to Je-
sus as the Lamb of God (cf. Jn 1:29 and note); and Jesus himself referred to the
sacrifice of the Cross when he said that the Son of man had come “to give his
life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28).

This sacrifice is renewed daily in the Holy Mass, one of the purposes of which is
atonement, as the Liturgy itself states: “Lord, may this sacrifice once offered on
the cross to take away the sins of the world now free us from our sins” (”Roman
Missal”, Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, prayer over the gifts).

26. In the time prior to Christ’s coming the sins of mankind remained unatoned
for: neither the rites designed by man to placate God’s anger, nor those estab-
lished by God himself in the Old Law, were in any way equal to atoning for the
offense offered to God by sin. Therefore, the just of the Old Testament were real-
ly justified by virtue of their faith in the future Messiah, a faith which expressed
itself in observance of the rites established by God.

During all this period the Lord kept deferring punishment (”passing over former
sins”). This time of “God’s forbearance” lasted until the messianic era “the pre-
sent time”, that is, the period between the first and second comings of Christ.
On the righteousness of God and God as the Justifier of man, see note on Rom
1:17.

27-31. These words are addressed to the same imaginary interlocutor as ap-
peared at the beginning of the chapter. Although he is Lord of all nations, God
showed special preference for the people of Israel. Relying on this, the Jews
wrongly thought that only they could attain blessedness because only they en-
joyed God’s favor. This led them to look down on other peoples. After the co-
ming of Christ, they no longer have any basis for this pride: St John Chrysostom
explains that it had simply become outdated, superseded (cf. “Hom. On Rom”,
7), for God had set up a single way of salvation for all men—the “principle of faith”
which the Apostle refers to. This new way means that Jews must forget their an-
cient pride and become humble, for God has opened the gates of salvation to all
mankind.

Consequently, no one—not even the Jew—is justified by works of the Law. What
justifies a person is faith: not faith alone, as Luther wrongly argued, but the faith
which works through charity (cf. Gal 5:6); faith which is not presumptuous self-
confidence in one’s own merits, but a firm and ready acceptance of all that God
has revealed, faith which moves one to place one’s hope in Christ’s merits and to
repent of one’s sins. Therefore it will be “by faith”—not by circumcision—that the
Jews will be justified, and it will be “through their faith” that the uncircumcised
will attain salvation. From this it might appear as though the Law had been re-
voked; but that is not the case: faith ratifies the Law gives it its true meaning
and raises it to perfection. For, through being a preparation for the Gospel, the
Mosaic Law receives from Christ the fullness it was lacking: the precept of chari-
ty reveals the meaning which God gave the law but which lay hidden until Christ
made it manifest, for “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10). St Paul in a
way summarizes all this teaching in v. 28, which is the key statement in the
passage.

*********************************************************************************************
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: Luke 11:47-54:

The Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Pharisees,) [47] “Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the
prophets whom your fathers killed. [48] So you are witnesses and consent to the
deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. [49] There-
fore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some
of whom they will kill and persecute,’ [50] that the blood of all the prophets, shed
from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, [51] from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the
sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation. [52] Woe to you
lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter your-
selves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

[53] As He went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press
Him hard, and to provoke Him to speak of many things, [54] lying in wait for Him,
to catch at something He might say.

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

51. Zechariah was a prophet who died by being stoned in the temple of Jerusa-
lem around the year 800 B.C. because he accused the people of Israel of being
unfaithful to God’s law (cf. 2 Chronicles 24:20-22). The murder of Abel (Genesis
4:8) and that of Zechariah were, respectively, the first and last murders reported
in these books which the Jews regarded as Sacred Scripture. Jesus refers to a
Jewish tradition which, in His own time and even later, pointed out the stain of
the blood of Zechariah.

The altar referred to here was the altar of holocausts, located outside, in the
courtyard of the priests, in front of the temple proper.

52. Jesus severely reproaches these doctors of the Law who, given their study
and meditation on Scripture, were the very ones who should have recognized
Jesus as the Messiah, since His coming had been foretold in the sacred books.
However, as we learn from the Gospel, the exact opposite happened. Not only
did they not accept Jesus: they obstinately opposed Him. As teachers of the
Law they should have taught the people to follow Jesus; instead, they blocked
the way.

53-54. St. Luke frequently records this attitude of our Lord’s enemies (cf. 6:11;
19:47-48; 20:19-20; 22:2). The people followed Jesus and were enthusiastic
about His preaching and miracles, whereas the Pharisees and scribes would
not accept Him and would not allow the people to follow Him; they tried in every
way to discredit Him in the eyes of the people (cf. John 11:48).

*********************************************************************************************
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	Romans 3:21-30 ©

God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.

So what becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do. Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 129(130):1-6 ©

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,

Lord, hear my voice!

O let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleading.

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,

Lord, who would survive?

But with you is found forgiveness:

for this we revere you.

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.

I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord

more than watchman for daybreak.

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Gospel Acclamation	Ps110:7,8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;

they stand firm for ever and ever.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Luke 11:47-54 ©

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.

‘And that is why the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary.” Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.

‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’

When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

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These are considered, I believe, the North American Martyrs.

However, one person, Father Sebastian Rale, is either one of them or not considered a martyr/saint.

I have a copy of the Jesuit Letters.

Great Britian accused him of things that may prevented him from being canonized. And, after the time of his death, the Jesuits, in a sense, were Personna Non Grata.

One problem he might have in history are:

(1) He was illegally in the colonies. He decided to stay to minister to the Abenaki Tribe.
(2) He may have helped the Abenaki Tribe get weapons from the French in Canada for the French and Indian War.

From what I understand from his letters, he urged the Abenaki tribe not to fight against the British, but they decided to fight the British.

He wrote a French Dictionary of the Abenaki Tribe which the British stole on one raid (now at Harvard University and may still be under name Kale and not Rale).

In the second raid by the British, he was savagely murdered by the British and Mohawks.

It is unclear if the Roman Catholic Church has made him a Martyr...

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 11
47.	Woe to you who build the monuments of the prophets: and your fathers killed them.	Væ vobis, qui ædificatis monumenta prophetarum : patres autem vestri occiderunt illos.	ουαι υμιν οτι οικοδομειτε τα μνημεια των προφητων οι δε πατερες υμων απεκτειναν αυτους
48.	Truly you bear witness that you consent to the doings of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchres.	Profecto testificamini quod consentitis operibus patrum vestrorum : quoniam ipsi quidem eos occiderunt, vos autem ædificatis eorum sepulchra.	αρα μαρτυρειτε και συνευδοκειτε τοις εργοις των πατερων υμων οτι αυτοι μεν απεκτειναν αυτους υμεις δε οικοδομειτε αυτων τα μνημεια
49.	For this cause also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute.	Propterea et sapientia Dei dixit : Mittam ad illos prophetas, et apostolos, et ex illis occident, et persequentur :	δια τουτο και η σοφια του θεου ειπεν αποστελω εις αυτους προφητας και αποστολους και εξ αυτων αποκτενουσιν και εκδιωξουσιν
50.	That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,	ut inquiratur sanguis omnium prophetarum, qui effusus est a constitutione mundi a generatione ista,	ινα εκζητηθη το αιμα παντων των προφητων το εκχυνομενον απο καταβολης κοσμου απο της γενεας ταυτης
51.	From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who was slain between the alter and the temple: Yea I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.	a sanguine Abel, usque ad sanguinem Zachariæ, qui periit inter altare et ædem. Ita dico vobis, requiretur ab hac generatione.	απο του αιματος αβελ εως του αιματος ζαχαριου του απολομενου μεταξυ του θυσιαστηριου και του οικου ναι λεγω υμιν εκζητηθησεται απο της γενεας ταυτης
52.	Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered in, and those that were entering in, you have hindered.	Væ vobis, legisperitis, quia tulistis clavem scientiæ : ipsi non introistis, et eos qui introibant, prohibuistis.	ουαι υμιν τοις νομικοις οτι ηρατε την κλειδα της γνωσεως αυτοι ουκ εισηλθετε και τους εισερχομενους εκωλυσατε
53.	And as he was saying these things to them, the Pharisees and the lawyers began violently to urge him, and to oppress his mouth about many things,	Cum autem hæc ad illos diceret, cœperunt pharisæi et legisperiti graviter insistere, et os ejus opprimere de multis,	λεγοντος δε αυτου ταυτα προς αυτους ηρξαντο οι γραμματεις και οι φαρισαιοι δεινως ενεχειν και αποστοματιζειν αυτον περι πλειονων
54.	Lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.	insidiantes ei, et quærentes aliquid capere de ore ejus, ut accusarent eum.	ενεδρευοντες αυτον ζητουντες θηρευσαι τι εκ του στοματος αυτου ινα κατηγορησωσιν αυτου

47. Woe to you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48. Truly you bear witness that you allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers.
49. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50. That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
51. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.
52. Woe to you, Lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in you hindered.
53. And as he said these things to them, the Scribes and Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
54. Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

CYRIL; Having then condemned the burdensome dealing of the Lawyer, He brings a general charge against all the chief men of the Jews, saying, Woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

AMBROSE; This is a good answer to the foolish superstition of the Jews, who in building the tombs of the prophets condemned the deeds of their fathers, but by rivaling their fathers' wickedness, throw back the sentence upon themselves. For not the building but the imitation of their deeds is looked upon as a crime. Therefore He adds, Truly you bear witness that you allow, &c.

BEDE; They pretended indeed, in order to win in the favor of the multitude, that they were shocked at the unbelief of their fathers, since by splendidly honoring the memories of the prophets who were slain by them they condemned their deeds. But in their very actions they testify how much they coincide with their fathers' wickedness, by treating with insult that Lord whom the prophets foretold. Hence it is added, Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute.

AMBROSE; The wisdom of God is Christ. The words indeed in Matthew are, Behold I send to you prophets and wise men.

BEDE; But if the same Wisdom of God sent prophets and Apostles, let heretics cease to assign to Christ a beginning from the Virgin; let them no longer declare one God of the Law and Prophets, another of the New Testament. For although the Apostolic Scripture often calls by the name of prophets not only those who foretell the coming Incarnation of Christ, but those also who foretell the future joys of the kingdom of heaven, yet I should never suppose that these were to be placed before the Apostles in the order of enumeration.

ATHAN. Now if they kill, the death of the slain will cry out the louder against them; if they pursue, they send forth memorials of their iniquity, for flight makes the pursuit of the sufferers to redound to the great disgrace of the pursuers. For no one flees from the merciful and gentle, but rather from the cruel and evil-minded man. And therefore it follows, That the blood of all the prophets who have been slain from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation.

BEDE; It is asked, How comes it that the blood of all the prophets and just men is required of the single generation of the Jews; whereas many of the saints, both before the Incarnation and after, have been slain by other nations? But it is the manner of the Scriptures frequently to reckon two generations of men, one of the good, and the other of the evil.

CYRIL; Although then He says pointedly of this generation, He expresses not merely those who were then standing by Him and listening, but every manslayer. For like is attributed to like.

CHRYS. But if He means that the Jews are about to suffer worse things, this will not be undeserved, for they have dared to do worse than all. And they have been corrected by none of their past calamities, but when they saw others sin, and punished, they were not made better, but did likewise; yet it will not be that one shall suffer punishment for the sins of others.

THEOPHYL. But our Lord shows that the Jews have inherited the malice of Cain, since he adds, From the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zacharias, &c. Abel, inasmuch as he was slain by Cain; but Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar, some say was the Zacharias of old time, the son of Jehoiadah the Priest.

BEDE; Why He begins from the blood of Abel, who was the first martyr, we need not wonder; but why, to the blood, of Zacharias, is a question, since many were slain after him even up to our Lord's birth, and soon after His birth the Innocents, unless perhaps it was because Abel was a shepherd, Zacharias a Priest. And the one was killed in the field, the other in the court of the temple, martyrs of each class, that is, under their names are shadowed both laymen, and those engaged in the office of the altar.

GREG. NYSS.. But some say that Zacharias, the father of John, by the spirit of prophecy forecasting the mystery of the immaculate virginity of the mother of God, in no wise separated her from the part of the temple set apart for virgins, wishing to show that it was in the power of the Creator of all things to manifest a new birth, while he did not deprive the mother of the glory of her virginity. Now this part was between the altar and the temple, in which was placed the brazen altar, where for this reason they slew him. It is said also, that when they heard the King of the world was about to come, form fear of subjection they designedly attacked him who bore witness to His coming, and slew the priest in the temple.

GREEK EX. But others give another reason for the destruction of Zacharias. For at the murder of the children the blessed John was to be slain with the rest of the same age, but Elizabeth, snatching up her son from the midst of the slaughter, sought the desert. And so when Herod's soldiers could not find Elisabeth and the child, they turn their wrath against Zacharias, killing him as he was ministering in the temple.

It follows, Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge.

BASIL; This word woe, which is uttered with pain intolerable, is suited to those who were shortly after to be cast out into grievous punishment

CYRIL; Now we say, the law itself is the key of knowledge. For it was both a shadow and a figure of the righteousness of Christ, therefore it became the Lawyers, as instructors of the Law of Moses and the words of the Prophets, to reveal in a certain measure to the Jewish people the knowledge of Christ This they did not, but on the contrary detracted from the divine miracles, and spoke against His teaching, Why hear you him? So then they took away the key of knowledge. Hence it follows, You entered not in yourselves, and them that were entered in you hindered. But faith also is the key of knowledge. For by faith comes also the knowledge of truth according to that of Isaiah, Unless you have believed, you will not understand. The Lawyers then have taken away the key of knowledge, not permitting men to believe in Christ.

AUG. But the key of knowledge is also the humility of Christ, which they would neither themselves understand, nor let be understood by others.

AMBROSE; Those also are even now condemned under the name of Jews, and made subject to future punishment, who, while usurping to themselves the teaching of divine knowledge, both hinder others, and do not themselves acknowledge that which they profess.

AUG. Now all these things Matthew records to have been said after our Lord had come into Jerusalem. But Luke relates them here, when our Lord was yet on His journey to Jerusalem. From which they appear to me to be similar discourses, of which Matthew has given one, Luke the other.

BEDE; But how true were the charges of unbelief, hypocrisy, and impiety, brought against the Pharisees and Lawyers they themselves testify, striving not to repent, but to entrap the Teacher of truth; for it follows, And as he said these things to them, the Pharisees and Lawyers began to urge him vehemently.

CYRIL; Now this urging is taken to mean pressing upon Him, or threatening Him, or waxing furious against Him. But they began to interrupt His words in many ways, as it follows, And to force him to speak of many things.

THEOPHYL. For when several are questioning a man on different subjects, since he can not reply to all at once, foolish people think he is doubting. This also was part of their wicked design against Him; but they sought also in another way to control His power of speech, namely, by provoking Him to say something by which He might be condemned; whence it follows, Laying in wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. Having first spoken of "forcing," Luke now says to catch or seize something from His mouth; at one time indeed they asked Him concerning the Law, that they might convict as a blasphemer Him who accused Moses; but at another time concerning Caesar, that they might accuse Him as a traitor and rebel against the majesty of Caesar.

Catena Aurea Luke 11

Ecce Homo

Hieronymus Bosch

1475-80
Tempera and oil on oak panel, 71 x 61 cm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

Among the works generally ascribed to Bosch's first period of activity (c. 1470-85) may be included several small biblical scenes: the Epiphany (Adoration of the Magi) in Philadelphia, the Ecce Homo in Frankfurt (with a related version in Boston, Museum of Fine Arts) and an altar wing in Vienna, the Christ Carrying the Cross. Their early date is suggested by their relatively simple compositions and their adherence to traditional compositional types.

In the Ecce Homo, crowned with thorns and his flesh beaten raw by the scourge, Christ stands with Pilate and his companions before the angry mob. The dialogue between Pilate and the crowd is indicated by the Gothic inscriptions. From the mouth of Pilate issue the words Ecce Homo (Behold the Man). There is no need to decipher the inscription Crufige Eum (Crucify Him), the cry which rises from the people below; their animosity is unmistakably conveyed by their facial expressions and threatening gestures. The third inscription Salve nos Christe redemptor (Save us, Christ Redeemer) once emerged from two donors at lower left, but their figures have been painted over. The heathen character of the men surrounding Christ is suggested by their strange dress and headgear, including pseudo-oriental turbans. The scene's essential wickedness is further indicated by such traditional emblems of evil as the owl in the niche above Pilate and the giant toad sprawled on the back of a shield carried by one of the soldiers. In the background appears a city square, the Turkish crescent fluttering from one of its towers. The enemies of Christ have been identified with the power of Islam which in Bosch's day, and long afterwards, controlled the most holy places of Christendom. The buildings, however, are late Gothic; only the oddly bulging tower in the distance evokes a feeling of far-off places.

Source

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light (Thursdays) see Rosarium Virginis Mariae
1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan (II Corinthians 5:21, Matthew 3:17 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Gratitude for the gift of Faith]
2. Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1- 12) [Spiritual fruit - Fidelity]
3. Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion (Mark 1:15, Mark 2:3-13; Luke 7:47- 48, John 20:22-23) [Spiritual fruit - Desire for Holiness]
4. Jesus' Transfiguration (Luke 9:35 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Spiritual Courage]
5. Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. (Luke 24:13-35 and parallels, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) [Spiritual fruit - Love of our Eucharistic Lord]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

October Devotion: The Holy Rosary

This feast was established by Pope Pius V to commemorate the great victory of the Christian army against the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
All soldiers on the battlefield prayed the Rosary for three hours and the wind has shifted in their favor. They were able to defeat an army three times bigger, in one of the greatest naval victory in history.
Pope Pius V named this the Feast of Our Lady of Victories, to be celebrated on October 7th.
In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this memorial to Feast of the Holy Rosary.

Pope Paul VI established the form that we celebrate this feast today, in 1969 under the name “Our Lady of the Rosary”.
“The celebration of this day invites all to mediate upon the mysteries of Christ, following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was so singularly associated with the incarnation, passion and glorious resurrection of the Son of God.”

Madonna del Rosario

Caravaggio

1607

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.
End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Final step -- The Sign of the Cross
The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

The Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light
(Thursdays) see Rosarium Virginis Mariae
1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan (II Corinthians 5:21, Matthew 3:17 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Gratitude for the gift of Faith]
2. Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1- 12) [Spiritual fruit - Fidelity]
3. Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion (Mark 1:15, Mark 2:3-13; Luke 7:47- 48, John 20:22-23) [Spiritual fruit - Desire for Holiness]
4. Jesus' Transfiguration (Luke 9:35 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Spiritual Courage]
5. Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. (Luke 24:13-35 and parallels, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) [Spiritual fruit - Love of our Eucharistic Lord]
The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Tuesdays and Fridays)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]
The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]