From: Genesis 17:3-9

The Renewal of the Covenant: Abram’s Name is Changed

[3] Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, [4] “Behold, my covenant
is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. [5] No longer
shall your name be Abram,” but your name shall he Abraham; for I have made
you the father of a multitude of nations. [6] I will make you exceedingly fruitful;
and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. [7] And I
will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after
you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you
and to your descendants after you. [8] And I will give to you, and to your des-
cendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

The Commandment of Circumcision

[9] And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you
and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

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Commentary:

17:5. Abraham is the first person in biblical history to have his name changed by
God. By doing this God is conferring a new personality and a new mission, as
can be seen from the meaning of his new name, “father of a multitude of nations”.
This name, therefore, is linked to the promise attached to the Covenant; from now
on, the entire personality of the patriarch stems from the Covenant and is subser-
vient to it. Abraham is the “father of the Covenant”; in the light of New Testament
revelation St Paul will interpret this new name of Abraham as having a connection
with Gentiles converted to Christianity (cf. Rom 4:17). This name, “father of a
multitude of nations” becomes, therefore, a prophetic announcement of the fact
that the non-Jewish world will in due course become part of the people of the
New Covenant, the Church.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

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

From: John 8:51-59

Jesus Warns the Unbelieving Jews (Continuation)

Jesus said to the Jews,) [51] “Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps My word,
he will never see death.” [52] The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have
a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My
word, he will never taste death.’ [53] Are you greater than our father Abraham, who
died? And the prophets died! Who do You claim to be?” [54] Jesus answered, “If
I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you
say that He is your God. [55] But you have not known Him; I know Him. If I said
I do not know Him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know Him and I keep His
word. [56] Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see My day; he saw it
and was glad.” [57] The Jews then said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old,
and have You seen Abraham?” [58] Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I AM.” [59] So they took up stones to throw at Him;
but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

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

51-53. “He will never see death”: our Lord promises eternal life to those who ac-
cept His teaching and remain faithful to it.

Sin, as the Fourth Gospel teaches, is death of the soul; and sanctifying grace,
life (cf. John 1:4, 13; 3:15, 16. 36; etc.). Through grace we enter eternal life, a
pledge of the Glory we shall attain beyond this earthly life and which is the true
Life. Blinded by their hostility, the Jews do not want to listen to the Lord and
therefore they fail to understand Him.

55. The knowledge our Lord is speaking about implies more than intellectual
knowledge. The Old Testament speaks of this “knowing” in the sense of love,
faithfulness, generous self-surrender. Love for God is a consequence of the cer-
tain knowledge we have of Him, and at the same time the more we love God,
the better we get to know Him.

Jesus, whose holy human nature was intimately united (though not mixed) with
His divinity in the one Person of the Word, continues to assert His singular and
ineffable knowledge of the Father. But this accurate language of Jesus is abso-
lutely incomprehensible to those who close themselves to faith: they even think
He is blaspheming (cf. verse 59).

56. Jesus presents Himself as the fulfillment of the hopes of the Old Testament
patriarchs. They had stayed faithful, eager to see the Day of Salvation. Referring
to their faith, St. Paul exclaims: “These all died in faith, not having received what
was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknow-
ledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). The
most outstanding of those patriarchs was Abraham, our father in faith (cf. Gala-
tians 3:7), who received the promise of being father of an immense people, the
chosen people from whom would be born the Messiah.

The future fulfillment of the messianic promises was a source of great joy for
Abraham: “Abraham, our father, who was set apart for the future accomplish-
ment of the Promise, and who hoped against hope, receives when his son Isaac
is born the prophetic firstfruits of this joy. This joy becomes transfigured through
a trial touching death, when this only son is restored to him alive, a prefiguring
of the resurrection of the One who was to come: the Son of God, promised for
the redeeming sacrifice. Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing the Day of
Christ, the Day of Salvation: he “saw it and was glad” (Paul VI, “Gaudete In
Domino”, II).

Jesus moves on a plane superior to that of the patriarchs, for they only saw pro-
phetically, from “afar”, the day of Christ, that is, the actual event of the Redemp-
tion, whereas it is Christ who brings it to pass.

58. Jesus’ reply to the skeptical remarks of the Jews contains a revelation of His
divinity. By saying “Before Abraham was, I am” our Lord is referring to His being
eternal, because He is God. Therefore, St. Augustine explains: “Acknowledge
the Creator, discern the creature. He who was speaking was a descendant of
Abraham, but that Abraham might be made, before Abraham He was” (St.
Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 43, 17).

The Fathers recall, in connection with the words of Christ, the solemn theophany
of Sinai: “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex 3:14), and also St. John’s distinction in the pro-
logue to his Gospel, between the world which “was made” and the Word which
“was” from all eternity (cf. John 1:1-3). The words, “I am”, used by Jesus so ab-
solutely are the equivalent therefore, of His affirming His eternity and His divinity.
Cf. note on John 8:21-24.

[The note on John 8:21-24 states:

21-24. At the outset of His public ministry, Jesus could be seen to have all the
features of the promised Messiah; some people recognized Him as such and be-
came His followers (cf. John 1:12-13; 4:42; 6:69; 7:41); but the Jewish authori-
ties, although they were expecting the Messiah (cf. John 1:19ff), persisted in their
rejection of Jesus. Hence the warning to them: He is going where they cannot fol-
low, that is, He is going to Heaven, which is where He has come from (cf. John
6:41ff), and they will keep looking out for the Messiah foretold by the prophets;
but they will not find Him because they look for Him outside of Jesus, nor can
they follow Him, for they do not believe in Him. You are of the world, our Lord is
saying to them, not because you are on earth but because you are living under
the influence of the prince of this world (cf. John 12:31; 14:30; 16: 11); you are
his vassals and you do his deeds (cf. 8:44); therefore, you will die in your sin.
“We are all born with sin”, St. Augustine comments, “all by our living have added
to what we were by nature, and have become more of this world than we then
were, when we were born of our parents. Where would we be if He had not come,
who had no sin at all, to loose all sin? The Jews, because they did not believe in
Him, deserved to have it said to them, You will die in your sin” (”In Ioann. Evang.”,
38, 6).

The salvation which Christ brings will be applied to those who believe in His divi-
nity. Jesus declares His divinity when He says “I am He”, for this expression,
which He repeats on other occasions (cf. John. 8:28; 13:19), is reserved to Yah-
weh in the Old Testament (cf. Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 43:10-11), where God,
in revealing His name and therefore His essence, says to Moses “I AM WHO I
AM” (Exodus 3:14). In this profound way God says that He is the Supreme Be-
ing in a full, absolute sense, that He is dependent on no other being, that all
other things depend on Him for their being and existence. Thus, when Jesus
says of Himself, “I am He”, He is revealing that He is God.]

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	Genesis 17:3-9 ©

Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations

Abram bowed to the ground and God said this to him, ‘Here now is my covenant with you: you shall become the father of a multitude of nations. You shall no longer be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a multitude of nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make you into nations, and your issue shall be kings. I will establish my Covenant between myself and you, and your descendants after you, generation after generation, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land you are living in, the whole land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity, and I will be your God.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 104(105):4-9 ©

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Consider the Lord and his strength;

constantly seek his face.

Remember the wonders he has done,

his miracles, the judgements he spoke.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

O children of Abraham, his servant,

O sons of the Jacob he chose.

He, the Lord, is our God:

his judgements prevail in all the earth.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

He remembers his covenant for ever,

his promise for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Jn6:63,68

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

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

you have the message of eternal life.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Or:	Ps94:8

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Harden not your hearts today,

but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel	John 8:51-59 ©

Your father Abraham saw my Day and was glad

Jesus said to the Jews:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

whoever keeps my word

will never see death.’

The Jews said, ‘Now we know for certain that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead, and yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?’ Jesus answered:

‘If I were to seek my own glory

that would be no glory at all;

my glory is conferred by the Father,

by the one of whom you say, “He is our God”

although you do not know him.

But I know him,

and if I were to say: I do not know him,

I should be a liar, as you are liars yourselves.

But I do know him, and I faithfully keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced

to think that he would see my Day;

he saw it and was glad.’

The Jews then said, ‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’ Jesus replied:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

before Abraham ever was,

I Am.’

At this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 8
51.	Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever.	Amen, amen dico vobis : si quis sermonem meum servaverit, mortem non videbit in æternum.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν εαν τις τον λογον τον εμον τηρηση θανατον ου μη θεωρηση εις τον αιωνα
52.	The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever.	Dixerunt ergo Judæi : Nunc cognovimus quia dæmonium habes. Abraham mortuus est, et prophetæ ; et tu dicis : Si quis sermonem meum servaverit, non gustabit mortem in æternum.	ειπον ουν αυτω οι ιουδαιοι νυν εγνωκαμεν οτι δαιμονιον εχεις αβρααμ απεθανεν και οι προφηται και συ λεγεις εαν τις τον λογον μου τηρηση ου μη γευσηται θανατου εις τον αιωνα
53.	Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself?	Numquid tu major es patre nostro Abraham, qui mortuus est ? et prophetæ mortui sunt. Quem teipsum facis ?	μη συ μειζων ει του πατρος ημων αβρααμ οστις απεθανεν και οι προφηται απεθανον τινα σεαυτον συ ποιεις
54.	Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God.	Respondit Jesus : Si ego glorifico meipsum, gloria mea nihil est : est Pater meus, qui glorificat me, quem vos dicitis quia Deus vester est,	απεκριθη ιησους εαν εγω δοξαζω εμαυτον η δοξα μου ουδεν εστιν εστιν ο πατηρ μου ο δοξαζων με ον υμεις λεγετε οτι θεος ημων εστιν
55.	And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word.	et non cognovistis eum : ego autem novi eum. Et si dixero quia non scio eum, ero similis vobis, mendax. Sed scio eum, et sermonem ejus servo.	και ουκ εγνωκατε αυτον εγω δε οιδα αυτον και εαν ειπω οτι ουκ οιδα αυτον εσομαι ομοιος υμων ψευστης αλλ οιδα αυτον και τον λογον αυτου τηρω
56.	Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad.	Abraham pater vester exsultavit ut videret diem meum : vidit, et gavisus est.	αβρααμ ο πατηρ υμων ηγαλλιασατο ινα ιδη την ημεραν την εμην και ειδεν και εχαρη
57.	The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?	Dixerunt ergo Judæi ad eum : Quinquaginta annos nondum habes, et Abraham vidisti ?	ειπον ουν οι ιουδαιοι προς αυτον πεντηκοντα ετη ουπω εχεις και αβρααμ εωρακας
58.	Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.	Dixit eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis, antequam Abraham fieret, ego sum.	ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν πριν αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι
59.	They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.	Tulerunt ergo lapides, ut jacerent in eum : Jesus autem abscondit se, et exivit de templo.	ηραν ουν λιθους ινα βαλωσιν επ αυτον ιησους δε εκρυβη και εξηλθεν εκ του ιερου διελθων δια μεσου αυτων και παρηγεν ουτως

51. Verily, verily, I say to you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

GREG. As the perversity of the wicked increases, preaching so far from giving way, ought even to become more active. Thus our Lord, after He had been accused of having a devil, imparts the treasures of preaching in a still larger degree: Verily, verily, I say to you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.

AUG. See is put for experience. But since, about to die Himself, He spoke with those about to die, what means this, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death? What, but that He saw another death from which He came to free us, death eternal, the death of the damned, which is shared with the devil and his angels! That is the true death: the other is a passage only.

ORIGEN. We must understand Him, as it were, to say, If a man keep My light, he shall not see darkness forever; forever being taken as common to both clauses, as if the sentence were, If a man keep My saying for ever, He shall not see death for ever: meaning that a man does not see death, so long as he keeps Christ's word. But when a man, by becoming sluggish in the observance of His words, and negligent in the keeping of his own heart, ceases to keep them, he then sees death; he brings it upon himself. Thus taught then by our Savior, to the prophet who asks, What man is he that lives, and shall not see death? we are able to answer, He who keeps Christ's word.

CHRYS. He says, keep, i.e. not by faith, but by purity of life. And at the same time too He means it as a tacit intimation that they can do nothing to Him. For if whoever keeps His word, shall never die, much less is it possible that He Himself should die.

52. Then said the Jews to him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53. Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead; whom make you yourself?
54. Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing; it is my Father that honors me; of whom you say, that he is your God:
55. Yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like to you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

GREG. As it is necessary that the good should grow better by contumely, so are the reprobate made worse by kindness On hearing our Lord's words, the Jews again blaspheme: Then said the Jews to Him, Now we know you have a devil.

ORIGEN. Those who believe the Holy Scriptures, understand that what men do contrary to right reason, is not done without the operation of devils. Thus the Jews thought that Jesus had spoken by the influence of the devil, when He said, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death. And this idea they labored under, because they did not know the power of God. For here He was speaking of that death of enmity to reason, by which sinners perish: whereas they understand Him of that death which is common to all; and therefore blame Him for so speaking, when it was certain that Abraham and the Prophets were dead: Abraham is dead, and the Prophets; and you say, If man keep My saying, be shall never taste of death. Shall never taste of death, they say, instead of, shall not see death; though between tasting and seeing death there is a difference. Like careless hearers, they mistake what our Lord said. For as our Lord, in that He is the true bread, is good to taste; in that He is wisdom, is beautiful to behold; in like manner His adversary death is both to be tasted and seen. When then a man stands by Christ's help in the spiritual place pointed out to him, he shall not taste of death if he preserves that state: according to Matthew, There those standing here, which shall not taste of death. But when a man hears Christ's words and keeps them, he shall not see death.

CHRYS. Again, they have recourse to the vainglorious argument of their descent: Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? They might have said, Are you greater than God, whose words they are dead who heard? But they do not say this, because they thought Him inferior even to Abraham.

ORIGEN. For they do not see that not Abraham only, but every one born of women, is less than He who was born of a Virgin. Now were the Jews right in saying that Abraham was dead? for he heard the word of Christ, and kept it, as did also the Prophets, who, they say, were dead. For they kept the word of the Son of God, when the word of the Lord came to Hosea, Isaiah, or Jeremiah; if any one else kept the word, surely those Prophets did. They utter a lie then when they say, We know that you have a devil; and when they say, Abraham is dead, and the Prophets.

GREG. For being given over to eternal death, which death they saw not, and thinking only, as they did, of the death of the body, their minds were darkened, even while the Truth Himself was speaking. They add: Whom makes you Yourself?

THEOPHYL. As if to say, you a person of no account, a carpenter's son of Galilee, to take glory to Yourself!

BEDE. Whom make you Yourself? i.e. Of what merit, of what dignity would you be accounted? Nevertheless, Abraham only died in the body; his soul lived. And the death of the soul which is to live for ever, is greater than the death of the body that must die some time.

ORIGEN. This was the speech of persons spiritually blind. For Jesus did not make Himself what He was, but received it from the Father: Jesus answered and said, If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.

CHRYS. This is to answer their suspicions as above, If I bear witness of Myself My witness is not true.

BEDE. He shows in these words that the glory of this present life is nothing.

AUG. This is to answer those who said, Whom make you Yourself? He refers His glory to the Father, from Whom He is: It is My Father that honors Me. The Arians take occasion from those words to calumniate our faith, and say, Lo, the Father is greater, for He glorifies the Son. Heretics, have you not read that the Son also glorifies the Father?

ALCUIN. The Father glorified the Son, at His baptism, on the mount, at the time of His passion, when a voice came to Him, in the midst of the crowd, when He raised Him up again after His passion, and placed Him at the right hand of His Majesty.

CHRYS. He adds, Of whom you say that He is your God; meaning to tell them that they were not only ignorant of the Father, but even of God.

THEOPHYL. For had they known the Father really, they would have reverenced the Son. But they even despise God, who in the Law forbade murder, by their clamors against Christ. Wherefore He says, You have not known Him.

ALCUIN. As if to say, you call Him your God, after a carnal manner, serving Him for temporal rewards. You have not known Him, as He should be known; you are not able to serve Him spiritually.

AUG. Some heretics say that the God proclaimed in the Old Testament is not the Father of Christ, but a kind of prince of bad angels. These He contradicts when He calls Him His Father, whom the Jews called their God, and knew not. For had they known Him, they would have received His Son. Of Himself however He adds, But I know Him. And here too, to men judging after the flesh, He might appear arrogant. But let not arrogance be so guarded against, as that truth be deserted. Therefore our Lord says, And if I should say I know Him not, I should be a liar like to you.

CHRYS. As if to say, As you, saying that you know Him, lie; so were I a liar, did I say I knew Him not. It follows, however, (which is the greatest proof of all that He was sent from God,) But I know Him.

THEOPHYL. Having that knowledge by nature; for as I am, so is the Father also; I know Myself, and therefore I know Him. And He gives the proof that He knows Him: And I keep His saying, i.e. His commandments. Some understand, I keep His saying, to mean, I keep the nature of His substance unchanged; for the substance of the Father and the Son is the same, as their nature is the same; and therefore I know the Father. And here has the force of because: I know Him because I keep His saying.

AUG. He spoke the saying of the Father too, as being the Son; and He was Himself that Word of the Father, which He spoke to men.

CHRYS. In answer then to their question, Are you greater than our father Abraham, He shows them that He is greater than Abraham; Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: he saw it, and was glad; he must have rejoiced, because My day would benefit him, which is to acknowledge Me greater than himself.

THEOPHYL. As if to say, He regarded My day, as a day to be desired, and full of joy; not as if I was an unimportant or common person.

AUG. He did not fear, but rejoiced to see: he rejoiced in hope, believing, and so by faith saw. It admits of doubt whether He is speaking here of the temporal day of the Lord, that, viz. of His coming in the flesh, or of that day which knows s neither rising or setting. I doubt not however that our father Abraham knew the whole: as he says to his servant whom he sent, Put your hand under my thigh, and swear to me by the God of heaven. What did that oath signify, but that the God of heaven was to come in the flesh, out of the stock of Abraham.

GREG. Abraham saw the day of the Lord even then, when he entertained the three Angels, a figure of the Trinity.

CHRYS. They are aliens from Abraham if they grieve over what he rejoiced in. By this day perhaps He means the day of the cross, which Abraham prefigured by the offering up of Isaac and the ram: intimating hereby that He did not come to His passion unwillingly.

AUG. If they rejoiced to whom the Word appeared in the flesh, what was his joy, who beheld in spiritual vision the light ineffable, the abiding Word, the bright illumination of pious souls, the indefectible wisdom, still abiding with God the Father, and sometime to come in the flesh, but not to leave the Father's bosom.

57. Then said the Jews to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?
58. Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

GREG. The carnal minds of the Jews are intent on the flesh only; they think only of His age in the flesh: Then said the Jews to Him, you are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? that is to say, Many ages have passed since Abraham died; and how then could he see your day? For they took His words in a carnal sense.

THEOPHYL. Christ was then thirty-three years old. Why then do they not say, You are not yet forty years old, instead of fifty? A needless question this: they simply spoke as chance led them at the time. Some however say that they mentioned the fiftieth year on account of its sacred character, as being the year of jubilee, in which they redeemed their captives, and gave up the possessions they had bought.

GREG. Our Savior mildly draws them away from their carnal view, to the contemplation of His Divinity; Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. Before is a particle of past time, am, of present. Divinity has no past or future, but always the present; and therefore He does not say, Before Abraham was, I was: but, Before Abraham was, I am: as it is in Exodus, I am that I am. Before and after might be said of Abraham with reference to different periods of his life; to be, in the present, is said of the truth only.

AUG. Abraham being a creature, He did not say before Abraham was, but, before Abraham was made. Nor does He say, I am made; because that, in the beginning WAS the Word.

GREG. Their unbelieving minds, however, were unable to support these indications of eternity; and not understanding Him, sought to destroy Him: Then they took up stones to cast at Him.

AUG. Such hardness of heart, whither was it to run, but to its truest likeness, even the stones? But now that He had done all that He could do as a teacher, and they in return wished to stone Him, since they could not bear correction, He leaves them: Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple. He did not hide Himself in a corner of the temple, as if He was afraid, or take refuge in a house, or run behind a wall, or a pillar; but by His heavenly power, making Himself invisible to His enemies, went through the midst of them: Jesus hid Himself, and, went out of the temple.

GREG. Who, had He chosen to exert the power of His Divinity, could, without a word, by His mere nod, have seized them, with the very stones in their hands, and delivered them to immediate death. But He who came to suffer, was slow to execute judgment.

AUG. For His part was more to exhibit patience than exercise power.

ALCUIN. He fled, because His hour was not yet come; and because He had not chosen this kind of death.

AUG. So then, as a man, He flies from the stones; but woe to them, from whose stony hearts God flies.

BEDE. Mystically, a man throws a stone at Jesus, as often as he harbors an evil thought, and if he follows it up, so far as lies in him, he kills Jesus.

GREG. What does our Lord mean by hiding Himself, but that the truth is hidden to them, who despise His words. The truth flies the company of an unhumbled soul. His example shows us, that we should in all humility rather retreat from the wrath of the proud, when it rises, than resist it, even though we might be able.

Catena Aurea John 8

April 11 - Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, bishop, martyr

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 17
11.	And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are.	Et jam non sum in mundo, et hi in mundo sunt, et ego ad te venio. Pater sancte, serva eos in nomine tuo, quos dedisti mihi : ut sint unum, sicut et nos.	και ουκετι ειμι εν τω κοσμω και ουτοι εν τω κοσμω εισιν και εγω προς σε ερχομαι πατερ αγιε τηρησον αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ω δεδωκας μοι ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις
12.	While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture may be fulfilled.	Cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos in nomine tuo. Quos dedisti mihi, custodivi : et nemo ex eis periit, nisi filius perditionis, ut Scriptura impleatur.	οτε ημην μετ αυτων εν τω κοσμω εγω ετηρουν αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ους δεδωκας μοι εφυλαξα και ουδεις εξ αυτων απωλετο ει μη ο υιος της απωλειας ινα η γραφη πληρωθη
13.	And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves.	Nunc autem ad te venio : et hæc loquor in mundo, ut habeant gaudium meum impletum in semetipsis.	νυν δε προς σε ερχομαι και ταυτα λαλω εν τω κοσμω ινα εχωσιν την χαραν την εμην πεπληρωμενην εν αυτοις
14.	I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world.	Ego dedi eis sermonem tuum, et mundus eos odio habuit, quia non sunt de mundo, sicut et ego non sum de mundo.	εγω δεδωκα αυτοις τον λογον σου και ο κοσμος εμισησεν αυτους οτι ουκ εισιν εκ του κοσμου καθως εγω ουκ ειμι εκ του κοσμου
15.	I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil.	Non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo.	ουκ ερωτω ινα αρης αυτους εκ του κοσμου αλλ ινα τηρησης αυτους εκ του πονηρου
16.	They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.	De mundo non sunt, sicut et ego non sum de mundo.	εκ του κοσμου ουκ εισιν καθως εγω εκ του κοσμου ουκ ειμι
17.	Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.	Sanctifica eos in veritate. Sermo tuus veritas est.	αγιασον αυτους εν τη αληθεια σου ο λογος ο σος αληθεια εστιν
18.	As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.	Sicut tu me misisti in mundum, et ego misi eos in mundum :	καθως εμε απεστειλας εις τον κοσμον καγω απεστειλα αυτους εις τον κοσμον
19.	And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.	et pro eis ego sanctificabo meipsum : ut sint et ipsi sanctificati in veritate.	και υπερ αυτων εγω αγιαζω εμαυτον ινα και αυτοι ωσιν ηγιασμενοι εν αληθεια

11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name: those that you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13. And now come I to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

CHRYS. And now I am no more in the world: i.e. though I no longer appear in the flesh, I am glorified by those who die for Me, as for the Father, and preach Me as the Father.

AUG. At the time at which He was speaking, both were still in the world. Yet we must not understand, I am no more in the world, metaphorically of the heart and life; for could there ever have been a time when hen He loved the things of the world? It remains then that He means that He was not in the world, as He had been before; i.e. that He was soon going away. Do we not say every day, when any one is going to leave us, or going to die, such an one is gone? This is shown to be the sense by what follows; for He adds, And now I come to You. And then He commends to His Father those whom He was about to leave: Holy Father, keep through Your own name those whom you have given Me. As man He prays God for His disciples, whom He received from God. But mark what follows: That they may be one, as We are: He does not say, That they may be one with us, We are one: but, that they may be one: that they may b one in their nature, as We are one in Ours. For, in that He was God and man in one person as man He prayed, as God He was one with Him to Whom He prayed.

AUG. He does not say, That I and they maybe one, though He might have said so in the sense, that He was the head of the Church, and the Church His body; not one thing, but one person: the head and the body being one Christ. But strewing something else, viz. that His divinity is consubstantial With the Father, He prays that His people may in like manner be one; but one in Christ, not only by the same nature, in which mortal man is made equal to the Angels, but also by the same will, agreeing most entirely in the same mind, and melted into one Spirit by the fire of love. This is the meaning of, That they may be one as We are: viz. that as the Father and the Son are one not only by equality of substance, but also in will, so they, between whom and God the Son is Mediator, may be one not only by the union of nature, but by the union of love.

CHRYS. Again He speaks as man: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name; i.e. by your help. He speaks in condescension to the minds of His disciples, who thought they were more safe in His presence.

AUG. The Son as man kept His disciples in the Father's name, being placed among them in human form: the Father again kept them in the Son's name, in that He heard those who asked in the Son's name. But we must not take this carnally, as if the Father and Son kept us in turns, for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost guard us at the same time: but Scripture do does not raise us, except it stoop to us. Let us understand then that when our Lord says this, He is distinguishing the persons, not dividing, the nature, so that when the Son was keeping His disciples by His bodily presence, the Father was waiting to succeed Him on His departure; but both kept them by spiritual power, and when the Son withdrew His bodily presence, he still held with the Father the spiritual keeping . For when the Son as man received them into His keeping , He did not take them from n the Father's keeping, and when the Father gave them into the Son's keeping , it was to the Son as man, who at the, same time was God. Those that you gave Me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the Son of perdition: i.e. the betrayer of Christ, predestined to perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, especially the prophecy, in Psalm 108.

CHRYS. He was the only one indeed who perished then, but there were many after. None of them is lost, i.e. as far as I am concerned; as He says above more clearly; I will in no wise cast out. But when they cast themselves out, I will not draw them to Myself by dint of compulsion. It follows: And now I come to you. But some one might ask, Can you not keep them? I can. Then why say you this? That they may have my joy fulfilled in them, i.e. that they may not be alarmed in their as yet imperfect state.

AUG. Or thus: That they might have the joy spoken of above: That they may be one, We are one. This spoken i.e. bestowed by Him, He says, is to be fulfilled in them on which account He spoke thus in the world. This joy is the peace and happiness of the life to come. He says He spoke in the world, though He had just now said, I am no more in the world. For, inasmuch as He had not yet departed, He was still here; and inasmuch as He was going to depart, He was in a certain sense not here.

14. I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil.
16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17. Sanctify them through your truth; your word is truth.
18. As you hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

CHRYS. Again, our Lord gives a reason why the disciples are worthy your of obtaining such favor our from the Father: I have given them your word; and the world has hated them; i.e. They are had in hatred for your sake, and on account of your word.

AUG. They had not yet experienced these sufferings which they afterwards met with; but, after His custom, He puts the future into the past tense. Then He gives the reason why the world hated them; viz. Because they are not of the world. This was conferred upon them by regeneration; for by nature they were of the world. It was given to them that they should not be of the world, even as He was not of the world; as it follows; Even as I am not of the world.

He never was of the world; for even His birth of the form of a servant He received from the Holy Ghost, from Whom they were born again. But though they were no longer of the world, it was still necessary that they should be in the world: I pray not that you should take them out of the world.

BEDE. As if to say, The time is now at hand, when I shall be taken out of the world; and therefore it is necessary that they should be still left in the world, in order to preach Me and You to the world. But that you should keep them from the evil; every evil, but especially the evil of schism.

AUG. He repeats the same thing again; They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

CHRYS. Above, when He said, Then whom you gave Me out of the world, He meant their nature; here He means their actions. They are not of the world; because they have nothing, in common with earth they are made citizens of heaven. Wherein He shows His love for them, thus praising them to the Father. The word as when used with respect to Him and the Father expresses likeness of nature; but between us and Christ there is immense distance Keep them from the evil, i.e. not from dangers only, but from falling away from the faith.

AUG. Sanctify them through your truth: for thus were they to be kept from the evil. But it may be asked, how it was that they were not of the world, when they were not yet sanctified in the truth? Because the sanctified have still to grow in sanctity, and this by the help of God's grace. The heirs of the New Testament are sanctified in that truth, the shadows of which were the sanctification of the Old Testament; they are sanctified in Christ, Who said above, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It follows, your discourse is truth. The Greek is i.e. word. The Father then sanctified them in the truth, i.e. in His Word the Only-Begotten, them, i.e. the heirs of God, and joint-heirs With Christ.

CHRYS. Or thus: Sanctify them in your truth; i.e. Make them holy, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and sound doctrines: for sound doctrines give knowledge of God, and sanctify the soul. And as He is speaking of doctrines, He adds, your word is truth, i.e. there is in it no lie, nor anything typical, or bodily. Again, Sanctify them in your truth, may mean, Separate them for the ministry of the word, and preaching.

GLOSS. As you have sent Me into the world, even so have 1 also sent them into the world. For what Christ was sent into the world, for the same end were they as said Paul, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself; and has given to us the word of reconciliation. As does not express perfect likeness between our Lord and His Apostles, but only as much as was possible in men. Have sent them, He says, according to His custom of putting the past for the future.

AUG. It is manifest by this, that He is still speaking of the Apostles; for the very word Apostle means in the Greek, sent. But since they are His members, in that He is the Head of the Church, He says, And for their sakes I sanctity Myself; i.e. I in Myself sanctify them, since they are Myself. And to make it more clear that this was His meaning, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth, i.e. in Me; inasmuch as the Word is truth, in which the Son of man was sanctified from the time that the Word was as made flesh. For then He sanctified Himself in Himself, i.e. Himself as man, in Himself as the Word: the Word and man being one Christ.

But of His members it is that He said, And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. them in Me, since in Me both they and I are. That they also might be sanctified in truth: they also, i.e. even as Myself; and in the truth, i.e. Myself.

CHRYS. Or thus: for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. I offer Myself as a sacrifice to You; for all sacrifices, and things that are offered to God, see called holy. And whereas this sanctification was of old in figure, (a sheep being the sacrifice,) but now in truth, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth: i.e. For I make them too an oblation to You, either meaning that He who was offered up was their head, or that they would be offered up too: as the Apostle says, Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy.

Catena Aurea John 17

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April 11 2019

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Verse Before the Gospel Ps 95:8

Gospel Jn 8:51-59

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, please go here.

Readings at Mass