Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-10-19

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 04-10-19 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

April 10 2019

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95

King Nebuchadnezzar said:
"Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you will not serve my god,
or worship the golden statue that I set up?
Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,
whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,
and all the other musical instruments;
otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;
and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,
"There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you
in this matter.
If our God, whom we serve,
can save us from the white-hot furnace
and from your hands, O king, may he save us!
But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god
or worship the golden statue that you set up."

King Nebuchadnezzar's face became livid with utter rage
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual
and had some of the strongest men in his army
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and cast them into the white-hot furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,
"Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?"
"Assuredly, O king," they answered.
"But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God."
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,
"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God."

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim;
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!

Verse Before the Gospel See Lk 8:15

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.

Gospel Jn 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, 'You will become free'?"
Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father."

They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham."
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!"
So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God."
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me."

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

[Salvation]

KEYWORDS: catholic; jn8; lent; prayer;

[Salvation]

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ Ping

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[Salvation]

From: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 (New American Bible)
Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28 (RSVCE and New Vulgate)

Condemnation For Those Who Will Not Worship the Golden Image (Continuation)

---

[14] Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-
nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have
set up? [15] Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre,
trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and I have made, well
and good; but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning
fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

[16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar,
we have no need to answer you in this matter. [17] If it be so, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out
of your hand, O king. [18] But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not
serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

[19] Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression of his face was
changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace
heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. [20] And he ordered cer-
tain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to
cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

The King Acknowledges the God of the Jews

---

[24] Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said
to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They an-
swered the king, “True, O king?” [25] He answered, “But I see four men loose,
walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the
fourth is like a son of the gods.”

[28] Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him,
and set at naught the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than
serve and worship any god except their own God.”

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

3:1-4:3 This story has a very different tone to that of the previous ones, though
the scene is still the court of Babylon. It has to do with a confrontation between
Jews, worshipers of the one true God, and Gentiles, who worship idols; a simi-
lar situation arises in chapter 6. Following the Greek version (which is what the
Catholic Church follows and which is used in modern Catholic translations [in-
cluding the RSVCE]), the passage can be divided into three parts: the first tells
about the young men’s refusal to worship the statue set up by the king; for this
they are condemned to the fiery furnace (3:1-23); the second part, which does
not exist in the Aramaic text, records the prayers that the young men say in the
furnace (3:1:68: notice the italic verse-numbering in chap. 3); the third tells about
the king’s discovering that they are unscathed; as a result, he praises the God
of Israel (3:24-4:3). The RSVCE notes to the book of Daniel on page 886 of this
volume provide a concordance of verse numbers for this passage.

The entire passage shows that God can save from death those who are ready to
die rather than worship idols. Early on, the king asks: “Who is the God that will
deliver you out of my hands?” (3:15); he provides the answer himself when he
says at the end: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and delivered his servants” (3:28).

3:16-18. The young men’s answer is a model of what people’s attitude to God
should be when tragedy strikes and particularly when martyrdom beckons: they
should hope that God will come to their rescue, but even if he takes no action,
they should stay true to him. “Because of their faith, they believe that they can
escape death, but they say “if he does not deliver us out of your hand” so that
the king will know that they may also die in the arms of the God they love” (St
Cyprian, “Epistolae”, 58, 5). They do not seek to “compel” God to save them;
they want to show that they obey his will, not the king’s. That is the attitude our
Lord had when his passion loomed: “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup
from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk 22:42).

3:24-4:3. At 3:24 the RSV in roman type links up again with the Aramaic text.
The Greek translations introduce these verses by saying that the king heard the
young men singing in the fiery furnace: hence his amazement; the Aramaic text
simply says that he was astonished that they were alive (v. 24). Their delive-
rance reaches them in their place of torment, with the arrival of the angel to pro-
tect them. Nebuchadnezzar, looking down on the furnace, is able to see that
they are safe. To someone like the king, a believer in all sorts of gods, the fourth
person who looks like “a son of the gods” (v. 25) must have seemed a divine be-
ing; but the author makes it clear that he is simply an angel (v. 28). It is through
the angel that God manifests his providence. The divine help given to the three
young men, Novatian comments, “will not allow even their clothes to be singed
by flame.

This is just and right, for God sustains everything in the world in being and has
power over all, each and every thing; therefore, he can furnish any thing or per-
son with his help, since he is Lord of all” (”De Trinitate”, 8, 43).

The Fathers saw this “son of the gods” as meaning Christ. Daniel knew the Son
of God and saw the works of God. He saw the Son of God who cooled the fires
of the furnace with dew. But when he says “Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord”,
he does not include the Son among them, because he knows that He is not a
creature, but the One through whom all creatures were made, and who should
be praised and exalted in the Father” (St Athanasius, “Epistulae Ad Serapionem”,
2, 6).

There is not a little irony in what the text says about the king’s reaction: he prai-
ses the very fact that the young men disobeyed his orders, risking their lives in
the process, and he rewards them for doing so. The very people that the king or-
dered to worship the statue set up by himself, now benefit from a decree that
commands that the God of the Jews is to be respected. The young men’s hero-
ism (their readiness to accept martyrdom) and their miraculous deliverance have
completely changed the king’s attitude.

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

[Salvation]

From: John 8:31-42

Jesus Warns the Unbelieving Jews (Continuation)

---

[31] Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you continue in My
word, you are truly My disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth
will make you free.” [33] They answered Him, “We are descendants of Abraham,
and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be
made free’?”

[34] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin
is a slave of sin. [35] The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son
continues forever. [36] So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. [37]
I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me, because
My word finds no place in you. [38] I speak of what I have seen with My Father,
and you do what you have heard from your father.”

[39] They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you
were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, [40] but now you seek
to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not
what Abraham did. [41] You do what your father did.” They said to Him, “We were
not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” [42] Jesus said them, “If
God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded and came forth from
God; I came not on My own account, but He sent Me.”

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

30-32. Of those Jews who do believe in Him Jesus asks much more than a shal-
low faith resulting from superficial enthusiasm: they should be true disciples;
Jesus’ words should imbue their whole life. That kind of faith will bring them to
know the truth and to become really free persons.

The knowledge of the truth which Christ is speaking about is not just intellectual
knowledge; it is rather the maturing in the soul of the seed of divine Revelation.
That Revelation’s climax is to be found in Christ’s teaching and it constitutes a
genuine communication of supernatural life (cf. John 5:24): He who believes in
Jesus, and through Him in the Father, receives the wonderful gift of eternal life.
Knowing the truth is, in the last analysis, knowing Christ Himself, God become
man to save us; it means realizing that the inaccessible God has become man,
our Friend, our Life.

This is the only kind of knowledge which really sets us free, because it removes
us from a position of alienation from God—the state of sin and therefore of slavery
to the devil and to all attachments of our fallen nature—and puts us on the path
of friendship with God, the path of grace, of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the
liberation we obtain is not just light which shows us the way; it is grace, which
empowers us to keep to that way despite our limitations. “Jesus Christ meets
the man of every age, including our own, with the same words: ‘You will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free’ (John 8:32). These words contain both
a fundamental requirement and a warning: the requirement of an honest relation-
ship with regard to truth as a condition for authentic freedom, and the warning to
avoid every kind of illusory freedom, every superficial unilateral freedom, every
freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about man and the world. Today
also, even after two thousand years, we see Christ as the One who brings man
freedom based on truth, frees man from what curtails, diminishes and as it were
breaks off this freedom at its root, in man’s soul, his heart and his conscience.
What a stupendous confirmation of this has been given and is still being given
by those who, thanks to Christ and in Christ, have reached true freedom and
have manifested it even in situations of external constraint!” (John Paul II, “Re-
demptor Hominis”, 12).

“Christ Himself links liberation particularly with knowledge of the truth; ‘You will
know the truth and the truth will make you free’ (John 8:32). This sentence testi-
fies above all to the intimate significance of the freedom for which Christ liberates
us. Liberation means man’s inner transformation, which is a consequence of the
knowledge of truth. The transformation is, therefore, a spiritual process, in which
man matures ‘in true righteousness and holiness’ (Ephesians 4:24). [...] Truth is
important not only for the growth of human knowledge, deepening man’s interior
life in this way; truth has also a prophetic significance and power. It constitutes
the content of testimony and it calls for testimony. We find this prophetic power
of truth in the teaching of Christ. As a prophet, as a witness to truth, Christ re-
peatedly opposes non-truth; He does so with great forcefulness and decision
and often He does not hesitate to condemn falsehood” (John Paul II, “General
Audience”, 21 February 1979).

St. Thomas Aquinas explains the meaning of these words of our Lord in this way:
“In this passage, being made free does not refer to being freed of every type of
wrong [...]; it means being freed in the proper sense of the word, in three ways:
first, the truth of His teaching will free us from the error of untruth [...]; second,
the truth of grace will liberate us from the slavery of sin: ‘the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death’ (Romans 8:2);
third, the truth of eternity in Christ Jesus will free us from decay (cf. Romans
8:21)” (”Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).

“The truth will set you free. How great a truth is this, which opens the way to
freedom and gives it meaning throughout our lives. I will sum it up for you, with
the joy and certainty which flow from knowing there is a close relationship be-
tween God and His creatures. It is the knowledge that we have come from the
hands of God, that the Blessed Trinity looks upon us with predilection, that we
are children of so wonderful a Father. I ask my Lord to help us decide to take
this truth to heart, to dwell upon it day by day; only then will we be acting as
free men. Do not forget: anyone who does not realize that he is a child of God
is unaware of the deepest truth about himself. When he acts he lacks the do-
minion and self-mastery we find in those who love our Lord above all else” (St.
J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 26).

33-34. For centuries the people of Israel were ruled by other nations (Egypt, Ba-
bylon, Persia...), and now they were under the dominion of Rome. Therefore, the
Jews thought that He was referring to political bondage or dominion—which in
fact they had experienced but never accepted. In addition, since they belong to
the people chosen by God, they regarded themselves as free of the moral errors
and aberrations of Gentile nations.

They thought that true freedom was a matter of belonging to the chosen people.
Our Lord replies that it is not enough to belong to the line of Abraham: true free-
dom consists in not being slaves of sin. Both Jews and Gentiles were subject to
the slavery of original sin and personal sin (cf. Romans 5:12; 6:20 and 8:2). Only
Christ, the Son of God, can liberate man from that sorry state (cf. Galatians 4:
21-51); but these Jews do not understand the redemptive work which Christ is
doing and which will reach its climax in His death and resurrection

“The Savior”, St. Augustine comments, “is here explaining that we will not be
freed from overlords, but from the devil; not from captivity of the body but from
malice of soul” (”Sermon”, 48).

35-36. The words slave and son are reminiscent of the two sons of Abraham:
Ishmael, born of the slave woman Hagar, who would be given no part in the inhe-
ritance; and Isaac, son of the free woman Sarah, who would be the heir to God’s
promises (cf. Genesis 21:10-12; Galatians 4:28-31). Physical descent from Abra-
ham is not enough for inheriting God’s promises and attaining salvation: by faith
and charity one must identify oneself with Jesus Christ, the true and only Son of
the Father, the only one who can make us sons of God and thereby bring us true
freedom (cf. Romans 8:21; Galatians 4:31). Christ gives “power to become chil-
dren of God [to those] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Thus, a person who identifies him-
self with Christ becomes a son of God and obtains the freedom proper to sons.

“Freedom finds its true meaning when it is put to the service of the truth which
redeems, when it is spent seeking God’s infinite Love which liberates us from all
forms of slavery. Each passing day increases my yearning to proclaim to the four
winds this inexhaustible treasure that belongs to Christianity: ‘the glorious free-
dom of the children of God!’ (Romans 8:21). [...] Where does our freedom come
from? It comes from Christ our Lord. This is the freedom with which He has ran-
somed us (cf. Galatians 4:31). That is why He teaches, ‘if the Son makes you
free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36). We Christians do not have to ask any-
one to tell us the true meaning of this gift, because the only freedom that can
save man is Christian freedom” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 27 and 35).

37-41. Our Lord replies to the Jew’s objection: yes indeed, they are Abraham’s
children, but only in a natural sense, according to the flesh; this is something
which does not count any more; what matters now is acceptance of Jesus as
the One sent by the Father. Jesus’ questioners are spiritually very far away from
being true children of Abraham: Abraham rejoiced to see the Messiah (cf. John
8:56); through his faith he was reckoned righteous (cf. Romans 4:1ff), and his
faith led him to act consequentially (cf. James 2:21-24); this was how he at-
tained the joy of eternal blessedness (cf. Matthew 8:11; Luke 16:24). Although
those Jews “derived from him the generation of the flesh, they had become de-
generate, by not imitating the faith of him whose sons they were” (St. Augus-
tine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 42, 1). Those who live by faith, St. Paul says, are the
true sons of Abraham and like him they will be blessed by God (cf. Galatians 3:
7-9). In point of fact, the people who are arguing with our Lord have not only re-
jected His teaching: their own deeds indicate that they have a radically different
affiliation: “You do what your father did” is a veiled accusation that they are chil-
dren of the devil (cf. verse 44).

The false security Jews felt on the grounds of being descended from Abraham
has its parallel in a Christian who is content with being baptized and with a few
religious observances, but does not live up to the requirements of faith in Christ.

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

[Salvation]

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

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

---

First reading

Daniel 3:14-20,24-25,28 ©

God has sent his angel to rescue his servants

King Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have erected? When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, or any other instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you must be thrown straight away into the burning fiery furnace; and where is the god who could save you from my power?’ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘Your question hardly requires an answer: if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have erected.’ These words infuriated King Nebuchadnezzar; his expression was very different now as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave orders for the furnace to be made seven times hotter than usual, and commanded certain stalwarts from his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning fiery furnace.

  Then King Nebuchadnezzar sprang to his feet in amazement. He said to his advisers, ‘Did we not have these three men thrown bound into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’ ‘But,’ he went on ‘I can see four men walking about freely in the heart of the fire without coming to any harm. And the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’

  Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: he has sent his angel to rescue the servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the order of the king, and preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or worship any god but their own.’

---

Responsorial Psalm	Daniel 3:52-56 ©

To you glory and praise for evermore.

You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

Blest your glorious holy name.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

You are blest in the temple of your glory.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

You are blest on the throne of your kingdom.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

You are blest who gaze into the depths.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

You are blest in the firmament of heaven.

To you glory and praise for evermore.

---

Gospel Acclamation	Mt4:4

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Or:	cf.Lk8:15

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Blessed are those who,

with a noble and generous heart,

take the word of God to themselves

and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

---

Gospel	John 8:31-42 ©

If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed

To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said:

‘If you make my word your home

you will indeed be my disciples,

you will learn the truth

and the truth will make you free.’

They answered, ‘We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone; what do you mean, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus replied:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

everyone who commits sin is a slave.

Now the slave’s place in the house is not assured,

but the son’s place is assured.

So if the Son makes you free,

you will be free indeed.

I know that you are descended from Abraham;

but in spite of that you want to kill me

because nothing I say has penetrated into you.

What I, for my part, speak of

is what I have seen with my Father;

but you, you put into action

the lessons learnt from your father.’

They repeated, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them:

‘If you were Abraham’s children,

you would do as Abraham did.

As it is, you want to kill me

when I tell you the truth

as I have learnt it from God;

that is not what Abraham did.

What you are doing is what your father does.’

‘We were not born of prostitution,’ they went on ‘we have one father: God.’ Jesus answered:

‘If God were your father, you would love me,

since I have come here from God;

yes, I have come from him;

not that I came because I chose,

no, I was sent, and by him.’

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 8
31.	Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed.	Dicebat ergo Jesus ad eos, qui crediderunt ei, Judæos : Si vos manseritis in sermone meo, vere discipuli mei eritis,	ελεγεν ουν ο ιησους προς τους πεπιστευκοτας αυτω ιουδαιους εαν υμεις μεινητε εν τω λογω τω εμω αληθως μαθηται μου εστε
32.	And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.	et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.	και γνωσεσθε την αληθειαν και η αληθεια ελευθερωσει υμας
33.	They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free?	Responderunt ei : Semen Abrahæ sumus, et nemini servivimus umquam : quomodo tu dicis : Liberi eritis ?	απεκριθησαν αυτω σπερμα αβρααμ εσμεν και ουδενι δεδουλευκαμεν πωποτε πως συ λεγεις οτι ελευθεροι γενησεσθε
34.	Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.	Respondit eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : quia omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati.	απεκριθη αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι πας ο ποιων την αμαρτιαν δουλος εστιν της αμαρτιας
35.	Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever.	Servus autem non manet in domo in æternum : filius autem manet in æternum.	ο δε δουλος ου μενει εν τη οικια εις τον αιωνα ο υιος μενει εις τον αιωνα
36.	If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.	Si ergo vos filius liberaverit, vere liberi eritis.	εαν ουν ο υιος υμας ελευθερωση οντως ελευθεροι εσεσθε
37.	I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.	Scio quia filii Abrahæ estis : sed quæritis me interficere, quia sermo meus non capit in vobis.	οιδα οτι σπερμα αβρααμ εστε αλλα ζητειτε με αποκτειναι οτι ο λογος ο εμος ου χωρει εν υμιν
38.	I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father.	Ego quod vidi apud Patrem meum, loquor : et vos quæ vidistis apud patrem vestrum, facitis.	εγω ο εωρακα παρα τω πατρι μου λαλω και υμεις ουν ο εωρακατε παρα τω πατρι υμων ποιειτε
39.	They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.	Responderunt, et dixerunt ei : Pater noster Abraham est. Dicit eis Jesus : Si filii Abrahæ estis, opera Abrahæ facite.	απεκριθησαν και ειπον αυτω ο πατηρ ημων αβρααμ εστιν λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους ει τεκνα του αβρααμ ητε τα εργα του αβρααμ εποιειτε [αν]
40.	But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not.	Nunc autem quæritis me interficere, hominem, qui veritatem vobis locutus sum, quam audivi a Deo : hoc Abraham non fecit.	νυν δε ζητειτε με αποκτειναι ανθρωπον ος την αληθειαν υμιν λελαληκα ην ηκουσα παρα του θεου τουτο αβρααμ ουκ εποιησεν
41.	You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God.	Vos facitis opera patris vestri. Dixerunt itaque ei : Nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati : unum patrem habemus Deum.	υμεις ποιειτε τα εργα του πατρος υμων ειπον ουν αυτω ημεις εκ πορνειας ου γεγεννημεθα ενα πατερα εχομεν τον θεον
42.	Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me:	Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Si Deus pater vester esset, diligeretis utique et me ; ego enim ex Deo processi, et veni : neque enim a meipso veni, sed ille me misit.	ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους ει ο θεος πατηρ υμων ην ηγαπατε αν εμε εγω γαρ εκ του θεου εξηλθον και ηκω ουδε γαρ απ εμαυτου εληλυθα αλλ εκεινος με απεστειλεν

[annalex]

31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed in him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;
32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how say you, you shall be made free?
34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin.
35. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever.
36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

CHRYS. Our Lord wished to try the faith of those who believed, that it might not be only a superficial belief: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed in Him, If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed. His saying, if you continue, made it manifest what was in their hearts. He knew that some believed, and would not continue. And He makes them a magnificent promise, viz. that they shall become His disciples indeed; which words are a tacit rebuke to some who had believed and afterwards withdrawn.

AUG. We have all one Master, and are fellow disciples under Him. Nor because we speak with authority, are we therefore masters; but He is the Master of all, Who dwells in the hearts of all. It is a small thing for the disciple to come to Him in the first instance: he must continue in Him: if we continue not in Him, we shall fall. A little sentence this, but a great work; if you continue. For what is it to continue in God's word, but to yield to no temptations. Without labor, the reward would be gratis; if with, then a great reward indeed.

And you shall know the truth.

AUG. As if to say: Whereas you have now belief, by continuing, you shall have sight. For it was not their knowledge which made them believe, but rather their belief which gave them knowledge. Faith is to believe that which you see not: truth to see that which you believe? By continuing then to believe a thing, you come at last to see the thing; i.e. to the contemplation of the very truth as it is; not conveyed in words, but revealed by light. The truth is unchangeable; it is the bread of the soul, refreshing others, without diminution to itself; changing him who eats into itself; itself not changed. This truth is the Word of God, which put on flesh for our sakes, and lay hid, not meaning to bury itself, but only to defer its manifestation, till its suffering in the body, for the ransoming of the body of sin, had taken place.

CHRYS. Or, You shall know the truth, i.e. Me: for I am the truth. The Jewish was a typical dispensation; the reality you can only know from Me.

AUG. Some one might say perhaps, And what does it profit me to know the truth? So our Lord adds, And the truth shall free you; as if to say, If the truth does not delight you, liberty, will. To be freed is to be made free, as to be healed is to be made whole. This is plainer in the Greek; in the Latin we use the word free chiefly in the sense of escape of danger, relief from care, and the like.

THEOPHYL. As He said to the unbelievers alone, You shall die in your sin, so now to them who continue in the faith He proclaims absolution.

AUG. From what shall the truth free us, but from death, corruption, mutability, itself being immortal, uncorrupt, immutable? Absolute immutability is in itself eternity.

CHRYS. Men who really believed could have borne to he rebuked. But these men began immediately to show anger. Indeed if they had been disturbed at His former saying, they had much more reason to be so now. For they might argue; If He says we shall know the truth, He must mean that we do not know it now: so then the law is a lie, our knowledge a delusion. But their thoughts took no such direction: their grief is wholly worldly; they know of no other servitude, but that of this world: They answered Him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How say you then, we shall be made free? As if to say, They of Abraham's stock are free, and ought not to be called slaves: we have never been in bondage to any one.

AUG. Or it was not those who believed, but the unbelieving multitude that made this answer. But how could they say with truth, taking only secular bondage into account, that we have never been in bondage to any man? Was not Joseph sold? were not the holy prophets carried into captivity? Ungrateful people! Why does God remind you so continually of His having taken you out of the house of bondage if you never were in bondage? Why do you who are now talking, pay tribute to the Romans, if you never were in bondage?

CHRYS. Christ then, who speaks for their good, not to gratify their vainglory, explains His meaning to have been that they were the servants not of men, but of sin, the hardest kind of servitude, from which God only can rescue: Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin.

AUG. This asseveration is important: it is, if one may say so, His oath. Amen means true, but is not translated. Neither the Greek nor the Latin Translator have dared to translate it. It is a Hebrew word; and men have abstained from translating it, in order to throw a reverential veil over so mysterious a word: not that they wished to lock it up, but only to prevent it from becoming despised by being exposed. How important the word is, you may see from its being repeated. Verily I say to you, says Verity itself; which could not be, even though it said not verily. Our Lord however has recourse to this mode of enforcing His words, in order to rouse men from their state of sleep and indifference. Whosoever, He said, commits sin, whether Jew or Greek, rich or poor, king or beggar, is the servant of sin.

GREG. Because whoever yields to wrong desires, puts his hitherto free soul under the yoke of the evil one, and takes him for his master. But we oppose this master, when we struggle against the wickedness which has laid hold upon us, when we strongly resist habit, when we pierce sin with repentance, and wash away the spots of filth With tears.

GREG. And the more freely men follow their perverse desires, the more closely are they in bondage to them.

AUG. O miserable bondage! The slave of a human master when wearied with the hardness of his tasks, sometimes takes refuge in flight. But whither does the slave of sin flee? He takes it along with him, wherever he goes; for his sin is within him. The pleasure passes away, but the sin does not pass away: its delight goes, its sting remains behind. He alone can free from sin, who came without sin, and was made a sacrifice for sin. And thus it follows: The servant abides not in the house for ever. The Church is the house: the servant is the sinner; and many sinners enter into the Church. So He does not say, The servant is, not in the house; but, The servant abides not in the house for ever. If a time then is to come, when there shall be no servant in the house; who will there be there? Who will boast that he is pure from sin? Christ's are fearful words. But He adds, The Son abides for ever. So then Christ will live alone in His house. Or does not the word Son, imply both the body and the head? Christ purposely alarms us first, and then gives us hope. He alarms us, that we may not love sin; He gives us hope, that we may not despair of the absolution of our sin. Our hope then is this, that we shall be freed by Him who is free. He has paid the price for us, not in money, but in His own blood: If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

AUG. Not from the barbarians, but from the devil; not from the captivity of the body, but from the wickedness of the soul.

AUG. The first stage of freedom' is, the abstaining from sin. But that is only incipient, it is not perfect freedom: for the flesh still lusts against the spirit, so that you do not do the things that you would. Full and perfect freedom will only be, when the contest is over, and the last enemy, death, is destroyed.

CHRYS, Or thus: Having said that whosoever commits sin, is the servant of sin, He anticipates the answer that their sacrifices saved them, by saying, The servant abides not in the house for ever, but the Son abides ever. The house, He says, meaning the Father's house on high; in which, to draw a comparison from the world, He Himself had all the power, just as a man has all the power in his own house. Abides not, means, has not the power of giving; which the Son, who is the master of the house, has. The priests of the old law had not the power of remitting sins by the sacraments of the law; for all were sinners. Even the priests, who, as the Apostle says, were obliged to offer up sacrifices for themselves. But the Son has this power; and therefore our Lord concludes: If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed; implying that that earthly freedom, of which men boasted so much, was not true freedom.

AUG. Do not then abuse your freedom, for the purpose of sinning freely; but use it in order not to sin at all. Your will will be free, if it be merciful: you will be free, if you become the servant of righteousness.

37. I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.
38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father.
39. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
40. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41. You do the deeds of your father.

AUG. The Jews had asserted they were free, because they were Abraham's seed. Our Lord replies, I know that you are Abraham's seed; as if to say, I know that you are the sons of Abraham, but according to the flesh, not spiritually and by faith. So He adds, But you seek to kill Me.

CHRYS. He says this, that they might not attempt to answer, that they had no sin. He reminds them of a present sin; a sin which they had been meditating for some time past, and which was actually at this moment in their thoughts: putting out of the question their general course of life. He thus removes them by degrees out of their relationship to Abraham, teaching them not to pride themselves so much upon it: for that, as bondage and freedom were the consequences of works, so was relationship. And that they might not say, We do so justly, He adds the reason why they did so; Because My word has no place in you.

AUG. That is, has not place in your hearts, because your heart does not take it in. The word of God to the believing, is like the hook to the fish; it takes when it is taken: and that not to the injury of those who are caught by it. They are caught for their salvation, not for their destruction.

CHRYS He does not say, you do not take in My word, but My word has not room in you; showing the depth of His doctrines. But they might say; What if you speak of yourself? So He adds, I speak that which I have seen of My Father; for I have not only the Father's substance, but His truth.

AUG. Our Lord by His Father wishes us to understand God: as if to say, I have seen the truth, I speak the truth, because I am the truth. If our Lord then speaks the truth which He saw with the Father, it is Himself that He saw, Himself that He speaks; He being Himself the truth of the Father.

ORIGEN. This is proof that our Savior was witness to what was done with the Father: whereas men, to whom the revelation is made, were not witnesses.

THEOPHYL. But when you hear, I speak that which I have seen, do not think it means bodily vision, but innate knowledge, sure, and approved. For as the eyes when they see an object, see it wholly and correctly; so I speak with certainty what I know from My Father.

And, you do that which you have seen with your father.

ORIGEN. As yet He has not named their father; He mentioned Abraham indeed a little above, but now He is going to mention another father, viz. the devil: whose sons they were, in so far as they were wicked, not as being men. Our Lord is reproaching them for their evil deeds.

CHRYS. Another reading has, And do you do that which you have seen with your father; as if to say, As I both in word and deed declare to you the Father, so do you by your works show forth Abraham.

ORIGEN. Also another reading has; And, do you do what you have heard from the Father. All that was written in the Law and the Prophets they had heard from the Father. He who takes this reading, may use it to prove against them who hold otherwise, that the God who gave the Law and the Prophets, was none other than Christ's Father. And we use it too as an answer to those who maintain two original natures in men, and explain the words, My word has no place in you, to mean that these were by nature incapable of receiving the word. How could those be of an incapable nature, who had heard from the Father? And how again could they be of a blessed nature, who sought to kill our Savior, and would not receive His words. They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. This answer of the Jews is a great falling off from our Lord's meaning. He had referred to God, but they take Father in the sense of the father of their nature, Abraham.

AUG. As if to say, What are you going to say against Abraham? They seem to be inviting Him to say something in disparagement of Abraham; and so to give them an opportunity of executing their purpose.

ORIGEN. Our Savior denies that Abraham is their father: Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

AUG. And yet He says above, I know that you are Abraham's seed. So He does not deny their origin, but condemns their deeds. Their flesh was from him; their life was not.

ORIGEN. Or we may explain the difficulty thus. Above it is in the Greek, I know that you are Abraham's seed. So let us examine whether there is not a difference between a bodily seed and a child. It is evident that a seed contains in itself all the proportions of him whose seed it is, as yet however dormant, and waiting to be developed; when the seed first has changed and molded the material it meets within the woman, derived nourishment from thence and gone through a process in the womb, it becomes a child, the likeness of its begetter. So then a child is formed from the seed: but the seed is not necessarily a child. Now with reference to those who are from their works judged to be the seed of Abraham, may we not conceive that they are so from certain seminal proportions implanted in their souls? All men are not the seed of Abraham, for all have not these proportions implanted in their souls. But he who is the seed of Abraham, has yet to become his child by likeness. And it is possible for him by negligence and indolence even to cease to be the seed. But those to whom these words were addressed, were not yet cut off from hope: and therefore Jesus acknowledged that they were as yet the seed of Abraham, and had still the power of becoming children of Abraham. So He says, If you are the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. If as the seed of Abraham, they had attained to their proper sign and growth, they would have taken in our Lord's words. But not having grown to be children, they cared not; but wish to kill the Word, and as it were break it in pieces, since it was too great for them to take in. If any of you then be the seed of Abraham, and as yet do not take in the word of God, let him not seek to kill the word; but rather change himself into being a son of Abraham, and then he will be able to take in the Son of God. Some select one of the works of Abraham, viz. that in Genesis, And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. But even granting to them that faith is a work, if this were so, why was it not, Do the work of Abraham: using the singular number, instead of the plural? The expression as it stands is, I think, equivalent to saying, Do all the works of Abraham: i.e. in the spiritual sense, interpreting Abraham's history allegorically. For it is not incumbent on one, who would be a son of Abraham, to marry his maidservants, or after his wife's death, to marry another in his old age.

But now you seek to kill Me, a man that has told you the truth.

CHRYS. This truth, that is, that He was equal to the Father: for it was this that moved the Jews to kill Him. To show, however, that this doctrine is not opposed to the Father, He adds, Which I have heard from God.

ALCUIN. Because He Himself, Who is the truth, was begotten of God the Father, to hear, being in fact the same with to be from the Father.

ORIGEN. To kill Me, He says, a man. I say nothing now of the Son of God, nothing of the Word, because the Word cannot die; I speak only of that which you see. It is in your power to kill that which you see, and offend Him Whom you see not.

This did not Abraham.

ALCUIN. As if to say, By this you prove that you are not the sons of Abraham; that you do works contrary to those of Abraham.

ORIGEN. It might seem to some, that it were superfluous to say that Abraham did not this; for it were impossible that it should be; Christ was not born at that time. But we may remind them, that in Abraham's time there was a man born who spoke the truth, which he heard from God, and that this man's life was not sought for by Abraham. Know too that the Saints were never without the spiritual advent of Christ. I understand then from this passage, that every one who, after regeneration, and other divine graces bestowed upon him, commits sin, does by this return to evil incur the guilt of crucifying the Son of God, which Abraham did not do.

You do the works of your father.

AUG. He does not say as yet who is their father.

CHRYS. Our Lord says this with a view to put down their vain boasting of their descent; and persuade them to rest their hopes of salvation no longer on the natural relationship, but on the adoption. For this it was which prevented them from coming to Christ; viz. their thinking that their relationship to Abraham was sufficient for their salvation.

41. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.


AUG. The Jews had begun to understand that our Lord was not speaking of sonship according to the flesh, but of manner of life. Scripture often speaks of spiritual fornication, with many gods, and of the soul being prostituted, as it were, by paying worship to false gods. This explains what follows: Then said they to Him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

THEOPHYL. As if their motive against Him was a desire to avenge God's honor.

ORIGEN. Or their sonship to Abraham having been disproved, they reply by bitterly insinuating, that our Savior was the offspring of adultery. But perhaps the tone of the answer is disputatious, more than any thing else. For whereas they have said shortly before, We have Abraham for our father, and had been told in reply, If you are Abraham's children, do the works of Abraham; they declare in return that they have a greater Father than Abraham, i.e. God; and that they were not derived from fornication. For the devil, who has no power of creating any thing from himself, begets not from a spouse, but a harlot, i.e. matter, those who give themselves up to carnal things, that is, cleave to matter.

CHRYS. But what say you? Have you God for your Father, and do you blame Christ for speaking thus? Yet true it was, that many of them were born of fornication, for people then used to form unlawful connections. But this is not the thing our Lord has in view. He is bent on proving that they are not from God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God.

HILARY. It was not that the Son of God condemned the assumption of so religious a name; that is, condemned them for professing to be the sons of God, and calling God the Father; but that He blamed the rash presumption of the Jews in claiming God for their Father, when they did not love the Son. For I proceeded forth, and came from God. To proceed forth is not the same with to come. When our Lord says that those who called God their Father, ought to love Him, because He came forth from God, He means that His being born of God was the reason why He should be loved: the proceeding forth, having reference to His incorporeal birth. Their claim to be the sons of God, was to be made good by their loving Christ, Who was begotten from God. For a true worshiper of God the Father must love the Son, as being from God. And he only can love the Father, who believes that the Son is from Him.

AUG. This then is the eternal procession, the proceeding forth of the Word from God: from Him. It proceeded as the Word of the Father, and came to us: The Word was made flesh. His advent is His humanity: His staying, His divinity. You call God your Father; acknowledge Me at least to be a brother.

HILARY. In what follows, He teaches that His origin is not in Himself; Neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me.

ORIGEN. This was said, I think, in allusion to some who came without being sent by the Father, of whom it is said in Jeremiah, I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. Some, however, use this passage to prove the existence of two natures. To these we may reply, Paul hated Jesus when he persecuted the Church of God, at the time, viz. that our Lord said, Why persecute you Me? Now if it is true, as is here said, If God were your Father, you would love Me; the converse is true, If you do not love Me, God is not your Father. And Paul for some time did not love Jesus. There was a time when God was not Paul's father. Paul therefore was not by nature the son of God, but afterwards was made so. And when does God become any one's Father, except when he keeps His commandments?

Catena Aurea John 8

[annalex]

Descent into Limbo

Giotto di Bondone

1320-25
Tempera on wood, 45 x 44 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

[Salvation]

40 DAYS FOR LIFE: MAR. 6 – APR. 14 -- Prayer to End Abortion

[Salvation]

Pray for Pope Francis.

[Salvation]

It's time to kneel down and pray for our nation (Sacramental Marriage)

[Salvation]

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)
Novena asking for St Michael The Archangel to stand with us and bring us victory

[Salvation]

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

[Salvation]

7 Powerful Ways to Pray for Christians Suffering in the Middle East

[Salvation]

Pray the Rosary!

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[Salvation]

 

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.

[Salvation]

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 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 Spirit (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]

[Salvation]

Or during Lent:

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 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]

[Salvation]

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
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