Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14

The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
The LORD said to Moses,
"I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."

But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel Jn 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews:
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.

"I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?"

From: Exodus 32:7-14

The Lord’s Ire

[7] And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought
up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; [8] they have turned aside
quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves
a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your
gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”’ [9] And the LORD
said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people;
[10] now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I
may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.”

Moses’ Prayer for Israel

[11] But Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does thy
wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land
of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? [12] Why should the Egyp-
tians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains,
and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and
repent of this evil against thy people. [13] “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thine own self, and didst say to them,
‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I
have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”’
[14] And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people.

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Commentary:

32:7-14. The Lord’s dialogue with Moses contains the doctrinal basis of salvation
history—Covenant, sin, mercy. Only the Lord knows just how serious this sin is:
by adoring the golden calf the people have taken the wrong road and have vitiated
the whole meaning of the Exodus; but most of all, they have rebelled against God
and turned their backs on him, breaking the Covenant (cf. Deut 9:7-14). God no
longer calls them “my people” (cf. Hos 2:8) but “your people” (Moses’) (v. 7). That
is, he shows him that they have acted like anyone else, guided by human leaders.

The punishment that the sin deserves is their destruction (v. 10), for this is a stiff-
necked nation (cf. 33:3; 34:9; Deut 9:13). The sin deserves death, as the first sin
did (Gen 3:19) and the sin which gave rise to the flood (cf. Gen 6:6-7). However,
mercy always prevails over the offense.

As Abraham did in another time on behalf of Sodom (Gen 18:22-23), Moses inter-
cedes with the Lord. But this time intercession proves successful, because Isra-
el is the people that God has made his own; he chose it, bringing it out of Egypt
in a mighty way; so, he cannot turn back now; in fact, he chose it ever since he
swore his oath to Abraham (cf. Gen 15:5; 22:16-17; 35:11-12). He established
the Covenant with Israel, as Moses reminds him when he refers to “thy people,
whom thou has brought forth out of the land of Egypt’ (v. 11). Thus, promise,
election and Covenant form the foundation which guarantees that God’s forgive-
ness will be forthcoming, even if they commit the gravest of sins.

God forgives his people (v. 14) not because they deserve to be forgiven, but out
of pure mercy and moved by Moses’ intercession. Thus God’s forgiveness and
the people’s conversion are, both of them, a divine initiative.

*********************************************************************************************
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: John 5:31-47

Christ Defends His Action (Continuation)

[Jesus said to the Jews,] [31] “If I bear witness to Myself, My testimony is not
true; [32] there is another who bears witness to Me, and I know that the testimo-
ny which he bears to Me is true. [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness
to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this
that you may be saved.[35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were wil-
ling to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony which I have is greater
than that of John; for the works which the Father has granted Me to accomplish,
these very works which I am doing, bear Me witness that the Father has sent Me.
[37] And the Father who sent He has Himself borne witness to Me. His voice you
have never heard, His form you have never seen; [38] and you do not have His
word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He has sent. [39] You search
the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they
that bear witness to Me; [40] yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.
[41] I do not receive glory from men. [42] But I know that you have not the love of
God within you. [43] I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me;
if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. [44] How can you believe,
who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the
only God? [45] Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who
accuses you, on whom you set your hope. [4] If you believed Moses, you would
believe Me, for he wrote of Me. [47] But if you do not believe his writings, how will
you believe My words?”

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

31-40. Because Jesus is Son of God, His own word is self-sufficient, it needs
no corroboration (cf. 8:18); but, as on other occasions, He accommodates Him-
self to human customs and to the mental outlook of His hearers: He anticipates
a possible objection from the Jews to the effect that it is not enough for a person
to testify in his own cause (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15) and He explains that what
He is saying is endorsed by four witnesses—John the Baptist, His own miracles,
the Father, and the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament.

John the Baptist bore witness that Jesus was the Son of God (1:34). Although
Jesus had no need to have recourse to any man’s testimony, not even that of a
great prophet, John’s testimony was given for the sake of the Jews, that they
might recognize the Messiah. Jesus can also point to another testimony, better
than that of the Baptist—the miracles He has worked, which are, for anyone who
examines them honestly, unmistakable signs of His divine power, which comes
from the Father; Jesus’ miracles, then, are a form of witness the Father bears
concerning His Son, whom He has sent into the world. The Father manifests the
divinity of Jesus on other occasions—at His Baptism (cf. 1:31-34); at the Transfi-
guration (cf. Matthew 17:1-8), and later, in the presence of the whole crowd (cf.
John 12:28-30).

Jesus speaks to another divine testimony—that of the Sacred Scriptures. These
speak of Him, but the Jews fail to grasp the Scriptures’ true meaning, because
they read them without letting themselves be enlightened by Him whom God has
sent and in whom all the prophecies are fulfilled: “The economy of the Old Testa-
ment was deliberately so orientated that it should prepare for and declare in pro-
phecy the coming of Christ, Redeemer of all men, and of the Messianic Kingdom
(cf. Luke 24:44; John 5:39, 1 Peter 1:10), and should indicate it by means of dif-
ferent types (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11). [...] Christians should accept with venera-
tion these writings which give expression to a lively sense of God, which are a
storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as
well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation
is present in a hidden way” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 15).

41-47. Jesus identifies three obstacles preventing His hearers from recognizing
that He is the Messiah and Son of God—their lack of love of God, their striving
after human glory and their prejudiced interpretation of sacred texts. His defense
of His own actions and of His relationship with the Father might lead His adver-
saries to think that He was looking for human glory. But the testimonies He has
adduced (the Baptist, the miracles, the Father and the Scriptures) show clearly
that it is not He who is seeking His glory, and that the Jews oppose Him not out
of love of God or in defense of God’s honor, but for unworthy reasons or because
of their merely human outlook.

The Old Testament, therefore, leads a person towards recognizing who Jesus
Christ is (cf. John 1:45; 2:17, 22; 5:39, 46; 12:16, 41); yet the Jews remain un-
believers because their attitude is wrong: they have reduced the Messianic pro-
mises in the sacred books to the level of mere nationalistic aspirations: this out-
look, which is in no way supernatural, closes their soul to Jesus’ words and ac-
tions and prevents them from seeing that the ancient prophecies are come true
in Him (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

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: Violet.

First reading	Exodus 32:7-14 ©

Moses pleads with the Lord his God to spare Israel

The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’

But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Why let the Egyptians say, “Ah, it was in treachery that he brought them out, to do them to death in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth”? Leave your burning wrath; relent and do not bring this disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.’

So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 105(106):19-23 ©

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

They fashioned a calf at Horeb

and worshipped an image of metal,

exchanging the God who was their glory

for the image of a bull that eats grass.

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

They forgot the God who was their saviour,

who had done such great things in Egypt,

such portents in the land of Ham,

such marvels at the Red Sea.

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

For this he said he would destroy them,

but Moses, the man he had chosen,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn back his anger from destruction.

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Jn6:63,68

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Or:	Jn3:16

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life.

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Gospel	John 5:31-47 ©

You place your hopes on Moses but Moses will be your accuser

Jesus said to the Jews:

‘Were I to testify on my own behalf,

my testimony would not be valid;

but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf,

and I know that his testimony is valid.

You sent messengers to John,

and he gave his testimony to the truth:

not that I depend on human testimony;

no, it is for your salvation that I speak of this.

John was a lamp alight and shining

and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave.

But my testimony is greater than John’s:

the works my Father has given me to carry out,

these same works of mine testify

that the Father has sent me.

Besides, the Father who sent me

bears witness to me himself.

You have never heard his voice,

you have never seen his shape,

and his word finds no home in you

because you do not believe in the one he has sent.

‘You study the scriptures,

believing that in them you have eternal life;

now these same scriptures testify to me,

and yet you refuse to come to me for life!

As for human approval, this means nothing to me.

Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you.

I have come in the name of my Father

and you refuse to accept me;

if someone else comes in his own name

you will accept him.

How can you believe,

since you look to one another for approval

and are not concerned

with the approval that comes from the one God?

Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father:

you place your hopes on Moses,

and Moses will be your accuser.

If you really believed him

you would believe me too,

since it was I that he was writing about;

but if you refuse to believe what he wrote,

how can you believe what I say?’

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 5
31.	If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.	Si ego testimonium perhibeo de meipso, testimonium meum non est verum.	εαν εγω μαρτυρω περι εμαυτου η μαρτυρια μου ουκ εστιν αληθης
32.	There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.	Alius est qui testimonium perhibet de me : et scio quia verum est testimonium, quod perhibet de me.	αλλος εστιν ο μαρτυρων περι εμου και οιδα οτι αληθης εστιν η μαρτυρια ην μαρτυρει περι εμου
33.	You sent to John, and he gave testimony to the truth.	Vos misistis ad Joannem, et testimonium perhibuit veritati.	υμεις απεσταλκατε προς ιωαννην και μεμαρτυρηκεν τη αληθεια
34.	But I receive not testimony from man: but I say these things, that you may be saved.	Ego autem non ab homine testimonium accipio : sed hæc dico ut vos salvi sitis.	εγω δε ου παρα ανθρωπου την μαρτυριαν λαμβανω αλλα ταυτα λεγω ινα υμεις σωθητε
35.	He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.	Ille erat lucerna ardens et lucens : vos autem voluistis ad horam exsultare in luce ejus.	εκεινος ην ο λυχνος ο καιομενος και φαινων υμεις δε ηθελησατε αγαλλιαθηναι προς ωραν εν τω φωτι αυτου
36.	But I have a greater testimony than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to perfect; the works themselves, which I do, give testimony of me, that the Father hath sent me.	Ego autem habeo testimonium majus Joanne. Opera enim quæ dedit mihi Pater ut perficiam ea : ipsa opera, quæ ego facio, testimonium perhibent de me, quia Pater misit me :	εγω δε εχω την μαρτυριαν μειζω του ιωαννου τα γαρ εργα α εδωκεν μοι ο πατηρ ινα τελειωσω αυτα αυτα τα εργα α εγω ποιω μαρτυρει περι εμου οτι ο πατηρ με απεσταλκεν
37.	And the Father himself who hath sent me, hath given testimony of me: neither have you heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.	et qui misit me Pater, ipse testimonium perhibuit de me : neque vocem ejus umquam audistis, neque speciem ejus vidistis :	και ο πεμψας με πατηρ αυτος μεμαρτυρηκεν περι εμου ουτε φωνην αυτου ακηκοατε πωποτε ουτε ειδος αυτου εωρακατε
38.	And you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him you believe not.	et verbum ejus non habetis in vobis manens : quia quem misit ille, huic vos non creditis.	και τον λογον αυτου ουκ εχετε μενοντα εν υμιν οτι ον απεστειλεν εκεινος τουτω υμεις ου πιστευετε
39.	Search the scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlasting; and the same are they that give testimony of me.	Scrutamini Scripturas, quia vos putatis in ipsis vitam æternam habere : et illæ sunt quæ testimonium perhibent de me :	ερευνατε τας γραφας οτι υμεις δοκειτε εν αυταις ζωην αιωνιον εχειν και εκειναι εισιν αι μαρτυρουσαι περι εμου
40.	And you will not come to me that you may have life.	et non vultis venire ad me ut vitam habeatis.	και ου θελετε ελθειν προς με ινα ζωην εχητε
41.	I receive glory not from men.	Claritatem ab hominibus non accipio.	δοξαν παρα ανθρωπων ου λαμβανω
42.	But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you.	Sed cognovi vos, quia dilectionem Dei non habetis in vobis.	αλλ εγνωκα υμας οτι την αγαπην του θεου ουκ εχετε εν εαυτοις
43.	I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.	Ego veni in nomine Patris mei, et non accipitis me ; si alius venerit in nomine suo, illum accipietis.	εγω εληλυθα εν τω ονοματι του πατρος μου και ου λαμβανετε με εαν αλλος ελθη εν τω ονοματι τω ιδιω εκεινον ληψεσθε
44.	How can you believe, who receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek?	Quomodo vos potestis credere, qui gloriam ab invicem accipitis, et gloriam quæ a solo Deo est, non quæritis ?	πως δυνασθε υμεις πιστευσαι δοξαν παρα αλληλων λαμβανοντες και την δοξαν την παρα του μονου θεου ου ζητειτε
45.	Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom you trust.	Nolite putare quia ego accusaturus sim vos apud Patrem : est qui accusat vos Moyses, in quo vos speratis.	μη δοκειτε οτι εγω κατηγορησω υμων προς τον πατερα εστιν ο κατηγορων υμων μωσης εις ον υμεις ηλπικατε
46.	For if you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me.	Si enim crederetis Moysi, crederetis forsitan et mihi : de me enim ille scripsit.	ει γαρ επιστευετε μωση επιστευετε αν εμοι περι γαρ εμου εκεινος εγραψεν
47.	But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?	Si autem illius litteris non creditis, quomodo verbis meis credetis ?	ει δε τοις εκεινου γραμμασιν ου πιστευετε πως τοις εμοις ρημασιν πιστευσετε

31. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32. There is another that bears witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true.
33. You sent to John, and he bore witness to the truth.
34. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that you might be saved.
35. He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
36. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me.
37. And the Father himself, which has sent me, has borne witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38. And you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he has sent, him you believe not.
39. Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40. And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

AUG. He knew Himself that His witness of Himself was true, but in compassion to the weak and unbelieving, the Sun sought for candles, that their weak sight might not be dazzled by His full blaze. And therefore John was brought forward to give his testimony to the truth. Not that there is such testimony really, for whatever witnesses bear witness to Him, it is really He who bears witness to Himself; as it is His dwelling in the witnesses, which moves them so to give their witness to the truth.

ALCUIN. Or thus; Christ, being both God and man, He shows the proper existence of both, by sometimes speaking according to the nature he took from man, sometimes according to the majesty of the Godhead. If I bear witness of Myself; My witness is not true: this is to be understood of His humanity; the sense being, If I, a man, bear witness of Myself, i.e. without God, My witness is not true: and then follows, There is another that bears witness of Me. The Father bore witness of Christ, by the voice which was heard at the baptism, and at the transfiguration on the mount. And I know that His witness is true; because He is the God of truth. How then can His witness be otherwise than true?

CHRYS. But ac cording to the former interpretation, they might say to Him, If your witness is not true, how say You, I know that the witness of John is true? But His answer meets the objection: You sent to John, and he bore witness of the truth: as if to say: You would not have sent to John, if you had not thought him worthy of credit. And what is more remarkable, they did send to him, not to ask Him about Christ, but about himself: For they who were sent out did not say, What say you of Christ? but, Who are you? what say you of yourself? In so great admiration did they hold him.

ALCUIN. But he bore witness not to himself, but to the truth: as the friend of the truth, he bore witness to the truth, i.e. Christ. Our Lord, on His part, does not reject the witness of John, as not being necessary, but shows only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ's witness was all that was necessary to Himself. But I receive not, He says, testimony from men.

BEDE. Because I do not want it. John, though he bore witness, did it not that Christ might increase, but that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.

CHRYS. Even the witness of John was the witness of God: for what he said, God taught him. But to anticipate their asking how it appeared that God taught John, as if the Jews had objected that John's witness might not be true, our Lord anticipates them by saying, "you sought him yourselves to inquire of him; that is why I use his testimony, for I need it not." He adds, But these things I say that you might be saved. As if He said, I being God, needed not this human kind of testimony. But, since you attend more to him, and think him more worthy of credit than any one else, while you do not believe me, though I work miracles; for this cause I remind you of his testimony. But had they not received John's testimony? Before they have time to ask this, He answers it: He was a burning and a shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. He says this to show, how lightly they had held by John, and how soon they had left him, thus preventing him from leading them to Christ. He calls him a candle, because John had not his light from himself; but from the grace of the Holy Spirit.

ALCUIN. John was a candle lighted by Christ, the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before, to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm, I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shame.

CHRYS. I therefore direct you to John, not because I want this testimony, but that you may: for I have greater witness than that of John, i.e. that of my works; The works which the Father hash given Me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

ALCUIN. That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the deaf ear, looses the mouth of the dumb, casts out devils, raises the dead; these works hear witness of Christ.

HILARY. The Only-begotten God shows Himself to be the Son, on the testimony not of man only, but of His own power. The works which He does, bear witness to His being sent from the Father. Therefore the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent. But the testimony of works not being sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself which has sent Me, has borne witness of Me. Open the Evangelic volumes, and examine their whole range: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books, other than that He is the Son. So what a calumny is it in men now saying that this is only a name of adoption: thus making God a liar, and names unmeaning.

BEDE. By His mission we must understand His incarnation. Lastly, He shows that God is incorporeal, and cannot be seen by the bodily eye: You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.

ALCUIN. The Jews might say, We heard the voice of the Lord at Sinai, and saw Him under the appearance of fire. If God then bears witness of You, we should know His voice. To which He replies, I have the witness of the Father, though you understand it not; because you never heard His voice, or saw His shape.

CHRYS. How then says Moses, Ask - whether there has been any such thing as this great thing is: did ever people hear the voice of God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard and seen? Isaiah too, and many others, are said to have seen Him. So what does Christ mean here? He means to impress upon them the philosophical doctrine, that God has neither voice, or appearance, or shape; but is superior to such modes of speaking of Him. For as in saying, You have never heard His voice, He does not mean to say that He has a voice, only not an audible one to them; so when He says, Nor have even His shape, no tangible, sensible, or visible shape is implied to belong to God: but all such mode of speaking is pronounced inapplicable to God.

ALCUIN. For it is not by the carnal ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that God is heard. And they did not hear the spiritual voice, because they did not love or obey Him, nor saw they His shape; inasmuch as that is not to be seen by the outward eye, but by faith and love.

CHRYS. But it was impossible for them to declare that they had received, and obeyed God's commands: and therefore He adds, You have not His word abiding in you; i.e. the commandments, the law, and the prophets; though God instituted them, you have them not. For if the Scriptures every where tell you to believe in Me, and you believe not, it is manifest that His word is gone from you: For whom He has sent, Him you believe not.

ALCUIN. Or thus; they cannot have abiding in them the Word which was in the beginning, who came not to keep in mind, or fulfill in practice, that word of God which they hear. Having mentioned the testimonies of John, and the Father, and of His works, He adds now that of the Mosaic Law: Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me: as if He said, you think you have eternal life in the Scriptures, and reject Me as being opposed to Moses: but you will find that Moses himself testifies to My being God, if you search the Scripture carefully. All Scripture indeed bears witness of Christ, whether by its types, or by prophets, or by the ministering of Angels. But the Jews did not believe these intimations of Christ, and therefore could not obtain eternal life: You will not come to Me, that you may have life; meaning, The Scriptures bear witness of Me, but you will not come to Me notwithstanding, i.e. you will not believe in Me, and seek for salvation at my hands.

CHRYS. Or the connection may be given thus. They might say to Him, How, if we have never heard God's voice, has God borne witness to you? So He says, Search the Scriptures; meaning that God had borne witness of Him by the Scriptures. He had borne witness indeed at the Jordan, and on the mount. But they did not hear the voice on the mount, and did not attend to it at the Jordan. Wherefore He sends them to the Scriptures, when they would also find the Father's testimony. He did not send them however to the Scriptures simply to read them, but to examine them attentively, because Scripture ever threw a shade over its own meaning, and did not display it on the surface. The treasure was, as it were, hidden from their eve. He does not say, For in them you have eternal life, but, For in them you think you have eternal life; meaning that they did not reap much fruit from the Scriptures, thinking, as they did, that they should be saved by the mere reading of them, without faith. For which reason He adds, You will not come to Me; i.e. you will not believe on Me.

BEDE. That coming is put for believing we know, Come to Him, and be lightened. He adds, That you might have life; For, if the soul which sin dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, i.e. eternal happiness.

41. I receive not honor from men.
42. But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you.
43. I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.
44. How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only?
45. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust.
46. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
47. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?

CHRYS. Our Lord having made mention of John, and the witness of God, and His own works, many, who did not see H that His motive was to induce them to believe, might suspect Him of a desire for human glory, and therefore He says, I receive not honor from men: i.e. I do not want it. My nature is not such as to want that glory, which comes from men. For if the Son receives no addition from the light of a candle, much more am not I in want of human glory.

ALCUIN. Or, I receive not honor from men: i.e. I seek not human praise; for I came not to receive carnal honor from men, but to give spiritual honor to men. I do not bring forward this testimony then, because I seek my own glory; but because I compassionate your wandering, and wish to bring you back to the way of truth. Hence what follows, But I know you that you have not the love of God in you.

CHRYS. As if to say, I said this to prove that it is not from your love of God, that you persecute Me; for He bears witness to Me, by My own works, and by the Scriptures. So that, if you loved God, as you rejected Me, thinking Me against God, so now you would come to Me. But you do not love Him. And He proves this, not only from what they do now, but from what they will do in time to come: I am come in My Father's name, and you received Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. He says plainly, I am come in the Father's name, that they might never be able to plead ignorance as an excuse

ALCUIN. As if He said, For this cause came I into the world, that through Me the name of the Father might be glorified; for I attribute all to Him. As then they would not receive Him, Who came to do His Father's will; they had not the love of God. But Antichrist will come not in the Father's name, but in his own, to seek, not the Father's glory, but his own. And the Jews having rejected Christ, it was a fit punishment on them, that they should receive Antichrist, and believe a lie, as they would not believe the Truth.

AUG. Hear John, As you have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists. But what do you dread in Antichrist, except that he will exalt his own name, and despise the name of the Lord? And what else does he do, who says, "I justify;" or those who say, Unless we are good, you must perish?" Wherefore my life shall depend on You, and my salvation shall be fastened to You. Shall I so forget my foundation? Is not my rock Christ?

CHRYS. Here is the crowning proof of their impiety. He says, as it were, If it was the love of God that made you persecute me, you would persecute Antichrist much more: for he does not profess to be sent by the Father, or to come according to His will; but, on the contrary, usurping what does not belong to him, will proclaim himself to be God over all. It is manifest that your persecution of Me is from malice and hatred of God. Then He gives the reason of their unbelief: How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only? another proof this, that theirs was not a zeal for God, but a gratification of their own passions.

ALCUIN. How faulty then is the boasting temper, and that eagerness for human praise, which likes to be thought to have what it has not, and would fain be thought to have all that it has, by its own strength. Men of such temper cannot believe; for in their hearts, they are bent solely on gaining praise, and setting themselves up above others.

BEDE. The best way of guarding against this sin, is to bring to our consciences the remembrance, that we are dust, and should ascribe all the good that we have not to ourselves, but to God. And we should endeavor always to be such, as we wish to appear to others. Then, as they might ask, Will you accuse us then to the Father? He anticipates this question: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.

CHRYS. For I am not come to condemn, but to save. There is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust. As He had said of the Scriptures above: In them you think you have eternal life. So now of Moses He says, In whom you trust, always answering them out of their authorities. But they will say, How will he accuse us? What have you to do with Moses, you who have broken the sabbath? So He adds: For had you believed Moses, you would perhaps hare believed Me, for he wrote of me. This is connected with what was said before. For where evidence that He came from God had been forced upon them by His words, by the voice of John, and the testimony of the Father, it was certain that Moses would condemn them; for he had said, If any one shall come, doing miracles, leading men to God, and foretelling the future with certainty, you must obey him. Christ did all this, and they did not obey Him.

ALCUIN. Perhaps, He says, in accommodation to our way of speaking, not because there is really any doubting in God. Moses prophesied of Christ, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up from among your brethren like to me: Him shall you hear.

AUG. But, in fact, the whole that Moses wrote, was written of Christ, i.e. it has reference to Him principally; whether it point to Him by figurative actions, or expression; or set forth His grace and glory.

But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe My words.

THEOPHYL. As if I He said, He has even written, and has left his books among you, as a constant memento to you, lest you forget His words. And since you believe not his writings, how can you believe My unwritten words?

ALCUIN. From this we may infer too, that he who knows the commandments against stealing, and other crimes, and neglects them, will never fulfill the more perfect and refined precepts of the Gospel.

CHRYS. Indeed had they attended to His words, they ought and would have tried to learn from Him, what the things were which Moses had written of Him. But they are silent. For it is the nature of wickedness to defy persuasion. Do what you will, it retains its venom to the last.

Catena Aurea John 5

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]

OR:

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.

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.

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.

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 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]

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March 15, 2018

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14

Responsorial Psalm Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23

Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16

Gospel Jn 5:31-47

Readings at Mass