Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 8-02-02, Optional Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli

Reading I
Jer 26:1-9

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim,
son of Josiah, king of Judah,
this message came from the Lord:
Thus says the Lord:
Stand in the court of the house of the Lord
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the Lord;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
Say to them: Thus says the Lord:
If you disobey me,
not living according to the law I placed before you
and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
I will treat this house like Shiloh,
and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth
shall refer when cursing another.

Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people
heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord.
When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the Lord bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
"You must be put to death!
Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord:
‘This house shall be like Shiloh,' and
‘This city shall be desolate and deserted'?"
And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:5, 8-10, 14

R (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal?
R Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother's sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O Lord,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Gospel
Mt 13:54-58

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.

The Word Among Us

Friday, August 02, 2002

Meditation
Matthew 13:54-58

What better illustration of the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt” can there be than this story! You can just hear the people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth saying to themselves, “Who does he think he is? He’s just a carpenter’s son, and here he is, trying to teach us!” They had become so accustomed to Jesus their neighbor that they couldn’t see him in any other way. They knew him as a good boy growing up, honoring and loving his parents and never speaking an unkind word to anyone. But they let this familiarity keep them from seeing beyond the ordinary to even question whether there was more to Jesus than good parenting and a pleasant disposition.

And so, the people of Nazareth missed a golden opportunity. You can just imagine Jesus wanting to give these people—his old friends and neighbors, and maybe even some members of his extended family—a special blessing. How saddened he must have been at their rejection of him!

It’s easy to fall into a trap like this. We may have been raised in a faith-filled home, going to Mass on Sundays and saying our prayers every night. We may have become familiar with Jesus’ presence in a take-it-for-granted way, and subtly lost sight of his sovereignty and divinity. He may have become a good man to us, even a friend. But he is also the holy Son of God, the promised Messiah and Lord of heaven and earth. Yes, Jesus wants us to believe that he is our friend and brother; but he also wants us to let him reign over us every day, every moment, as King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s only as God that he empowers us to forgive our enemies, free us from sin, heal our wounds, and transform our ways of acting and thinking.

Let’s not miss Jesus’ visitation in our lives. Let’s come to know him as the Lord of all whom God has highly exalted (Philippians 2:9). Let’s spend time reading Scripture, giving the word of God a chance to sink into our minds and hearts. If we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us about Jesus’ Lordship, he surely will. Let’s not be like the people of Nazareth who refused to believe in Christ. Let’s seize the opportunity of his presence and thank God that he is with us and will never leave us.

“Jesus, holy Son of God, I adore you!”

Here is what I was looking for:

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Friday, August 2, 2002
17th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop
From: Matthew 13:54-58

No One is a Prophet in His Own Country
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[54] And coming to His (Jesus') own country He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? [55] Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? [56] And are not all His sisters with us? Where then did this Man get all this?" [57] And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." [58] And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
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Commentary:

53-58. The Nazarenes' surprise is partly due to people's difficulty in recognizing anything exceptional and supernatural in those with whom they have been on familiar terms. Hence the saying, "No one is a prophet in his own country." These old neighbors were also jealous of Jesus. Where did He acquire this wisdom? Why Him rather than us? They were unaware of the mystery of Jesus' conception; surprise and jealousy cause them to be shocked, to look down on Jesus and not to believe in Him: "He came to His own home, and His own people received Him not" (John 1:11).

"The carpenter's son": this is the only reference in the Gospel to St. Joseph's occupation (in Mark 6:3 Jesus Himself is described as a "carpenter"). Probably in a town like Nazareth the carpenter was a general tradesman who could turn his hand to jobs ranging from metalwork to making furniture or agricultural implements.

For an explanation of Jesus' "brethren", see the note on Matthew 12:46-47.

[The note of Matthew 12:46-47 states:

46-47. "Brethren": ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had no special words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found in more modern languages. In general, all those belonging to the same family, clan and even tribe were "brethren".

In the particular case we have here, we should bear in mind that Jesus had different kinds of relatives, in two groups--some on His mother's side, others on St. Joseph's. Matthew 13:55-56 mentions, as living in Nazareth, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas ("His brethren") and elsewhere there is reference to Jesus' "sisters" (cf. Matthew 6:3). But in Matthew 27:56 we are told that James and Joseph were sons of a Mary distinct from the Blessed Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were not brothers of James and Joseph, but seemingly children of a brother of St. Joseph.

Jesus, on the other hand, was known to everyone as "the son of Mary" (Mark 6:3) or "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).

The Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had no brothers or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma that Mary was ever-Virgin (cf. note on Matthew 1:25).]

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Catholic Online Saints

St. Eusebius of Vercelli

d. b: 315? d: 371 Feastday: August 2

Christians who breathed a sigh of relief when Constantine proclaimed Christianity the state religion, believing this would end the bloodshed and martyrdom. But it was all too short a time until they were facing persecution once more -- from others who claimed to be Christian.

When Christianity became the state religion, many people adopted it for political reasons. Others adopted it without truly understanding it. Under these circumstances heresy found fertile ground. One of the most powerful heresies was Arianism which claimed that Jesus was not God (a heresy that has never completely died out). The Arians were powerful people, including nobles, generals, emperors. They commanded armies and senates. True Christianity was in real danger of being stamped out once again.

Eusebius had learned how to stand as a Christian from his father, who died a martyr in Sardinia. After his father's death, he grew up in Rome where he was ordained a lector. This was a time when bishops were elected by the people and local clergy. When the people of Vercelli saw how well he served their Church, they had no doubt about choosing him as bishop.

Pope Liberius also noticed his abilities and sent him on a mission to the Emperor Constantius to try to resolve the troubles between Arians and Catholics. Seeming to agree, Constantius convened a council in Milan in 355. The powerful Arians however weren't there to talk but to force their own will on the others. A horrified Eusebius watched as his worst fears were confirmed and the Arians made this peace council into a condemnation of Saint Athanasius, their chief opponent. Eusebius, unafraid of their power, slapped the Nicene Creed down on the table and demanded that everyone sign that before condemning Athanasius. The Nicene Creed, adopted by a council of the full Church, proclaims that Jesus is one in being with the Father -- directly contradicting the Arian teaching.

The emperor then tried to force Eusebius, Saint Dionysius of Milan, and Lucifer of Cagliari to condemn Athanasius under pain of death. They steadfastly refused to condemn a man who far from being a heretic was supporting the truth. Instead of putting them to death, the emperor exiled them.

In exile in Scythopolis in Palestine, Eusebius lived with the only Catholic in town. Any comfort he had from visits of other saints was destroyed when the local Arians stripped him half naked and dragged him through the streets to a tiny cell. The Arians finally let him go after he spent four days without food. But a few weeks later they were back, breaking into his house, stealing his belongings and food, and imprisoning him again.

Eusebius was exiled to two other places before Constantius' successor Julian let him and the other exiled bishops return home in 361. The problem was not over and Eusebius spent his last years working hard to counteract the damage the Arians had done and continued to do. After working with Athanasius and taking part in councils, he became a latter-day Saint Paul traveling all over in order to strengthen the faith and spread the truth.

Eusebius died on August 1, 371. In His Footsteps

How much do you know about your faith? Could you defend it against powerful argument? Read the section on the Trinity and Christ's divinity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 238 through 256).

Prayer:

Saint Eusebius, help us to have a desire to learn more about our faith, the wisdom to discern the truth, and the strength to defend it. Amen

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