Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-28-04, Memorial, St. Thomas Aquinas, priest & doctor/curch

Reading I
2 Sm 7:4-17

That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'

"Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
‘The LORD of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'"

Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30

R (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages."
R For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!'
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth."
R For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens."
R For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

Gospel
Mk 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

From: Mark 4:1-20

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables

[1] Again He (Jesus) began to teach beside the sea. And a very large
crowd gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on
the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. [2] And
He taught them many things in parables, and in His teachings He said to
them: [3] "Listen! A sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some
seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. [5]
Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and
immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; [6] and when
the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered
away. [7] Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and
choked it, and it yielded no grain. [8] And other seeds fell into good
soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding
thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." [9] And He said, "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear."

[10] And when He was alone, those who were about Him with the Twelve
asked Him concerning the parables. [11] And He said to them, "To you
has been given the secret of the Kingdom of God, but for those outside
everything is in parables; [12] so that they may indeed see but not
perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn
again, and be forgiven." [13] And He said to them, "Do you not
understand this parable? How then will you understand all the
parables? [14] The sower sows the word. [15] And these are the ones
along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan
immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. [16]
And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when
they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; [17] and they have
no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation
or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall
away. [18] And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those
who hear the word, [19] but cares of the world, and the delight in
riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word,
and it proves unfruitful. [20] But those that were sown upon the good
soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit,
thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

Commentary:

1-34. Parables are a special method of preaching used by Jesus. By
means of them He gradually unfolds before His listeners the mysteries
of the Kingdom of God. Cf. note on Matthew 13:3. Chapter 4 of St.
Mark, although much shorter, is the equivalent of chapter 13 of St.
Matthew and chapter 8:4-18 of St. Luke, which is the shortest synoptic
account of the Kingdom parables.

1-9. The ordinary Christian, who seeks holiness in his ordinary work,
must be moved to find how often our Lord uses in His parables examples
taken from work situations: "In His parables on the Kingdom of God,
Jesus Christ constantly refers to human work: that of the shepherd
(e.g. John 10:1-6), the farmer (cf. Mark 12:1-12), the doctor (cf. Luke
4:32), the sower (cf. Mark 4:1-9), the householder (cf. Matthew 13:52),
the servant (cf. Matthew 24:25; Luke 12:42-48), the steward (cf. Luke
16:1-8), the fisherman (cf. Matthew 13:47-50), the merchant (cf.
Matthew 13:45-46), the laborer (cf. Matthew 20:1-16). He also speaks
of the various forms of women's work (cf. Matthew 13:33; Luke 15:8-9).
He compares the apostolate to the manual work of harvesters (cf.
Matthew 9:37; John 4:35-38) or fishermen (cf. Matthew 4:19). He refers
to the work of scholars too (cf. Matthew 13:52)" (John Paul II,
"Laborem Exercens", 26).

3-9. With the parable of the sower Jesus wants to move His listeners to
open their hearts generously to the word of God and put it into
practice (cf. Luke 11:28). God expects the same docility also from
each of us: "It is a vivid scene. The Divine Sower is also sowing His
seed today. The work of salvation is still going on, and our Lord
wants us to share that work. He wants Christians to open to His love
all the paths of the earth. He invites us to spread the Divine
message, by both teaching and example, to the farthest corners of the
earth [...]. If we look around, if we take a look at the world, which
we love because it is God's handiwork, we will find that the parable
holds true. The word of Jesus Christ is fruitful, it stirs many souls
to dedication and fidelity. The life and conduct of those who serve
God have changed history. Even many of those who do not know our Lord
are motivated, perhaps unconsciously, by ideals which derive from
Christianity."

"We can also see that some of the seed falls on barren ground or among
thorns and thistles; some hearts close themselves to the light of
faith. Ideals of peace, reconciliation and brotherhood are widely
accepted and proclaimed, but all too often the facts belie them. Some
people are futilely bent on smothering God's voice. To drown it out
they use brute force or a method which is more subtle but perhaps more
cruel because it drugs the spirit--indifference" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ
Is Passing By", 150).

The parable of the sower also shows us the wonderful economy of Divine
Providence, which distributes various graces among men but gives each
person enough to reach salvation: "There was then in the eternal
providence an incomparable privilege for the Queen of Queens, Mother of
Fair Love, and most singularly perfect. There were also for certain
others some special favors. But after this life the sovereign goodness
poured an abundance of graces and benedictions over the whole race of
mankind and upon the angels; [...] every one received his portion as of
seed which falls not only upon good ground but upon the highway,
amongst thorns, and upon rocks, that all might be inexcusable before
the Redeemer, if they enjoy not this most abundant redemption for their
salvation" (St. Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", Book
2, Chapter 7).

11-12. The Kingdom of God is a mystery. If the Twelve know it, it is
simply because the mercy of God has revealed it to them, not because
they are better able, by themselves, to understand the meaning of the
parables.

Jesus' use of parables had many advantages: firstly, because typically
the human mind grasps concepts by first working on sense-information:
in His teaching Christ often clothes spiritual things in corporal
images. Secondly, Sacred Scripture is written for everyone, as St.
Paul says: "I am under obligation ...both to the wise and to the
foolish" (Romans 1:4): this meant it made sense for him to put forward
even the deepest truths by using comparisons--so that people could more
easily grasp what he meant (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae
I", q. 1, a.9).

The disciples are distinguished here from "those outside" (verse
11)--an _expression which Jews applied to Gentiles, and which Jesus here
applies to those Jews who do not want to understand the signs which He
performs (cf. Luke 12:41).

Later on, our Lord does give His disciples even more exact instruction
about the content of the parables. But, since the Jews do not want to
accept the signs He performs, in them are fulfilled the words of the
prophet Isaiah (6:9-10). The parables, which were an _expression of our
Lord's mercy, were the occasion for His condemning incredulous Jews,
whose sins He cannot forgive because they do not wish to see or listen
or be converted.

17. "They fall away": they are "scandalized": the word "scandal"
originally refers to a stone or obstacle which could easily cause one
to trip. Here, in the language of morality, it is used to refer to
anything which leads others to commit sin (cf. note on Matthew 18:1-7).
The word is also applied in a broader sense to anything which could be
an occasion of sin--e.g. sorrow and tribulation. In this passage,
falling away or being scandalized means being demoralized, stumbling,
giving in and falling. If a person maliciously professes to be shocked
by a good action, he is guilty of "pharisaical" scandal: that is what
St. Paul means when he says that the cross of Christ was a
stumbling-block to Jews, who refused to grasp that the saving plans of
God were to be effected through pain and sacrifice (cf. 1 Corinthians
1:23; cf. also Mark 14:27; Matthew 16:23).

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.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in the kingdom of Naples in
modern day Italy to a noble family. At the age of five, Thomas was
sent to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino to be educated
in religion and learning. Thomas' parents hoped this education would
encourage him to join the Benedictines at Monte Cassino and that he
would someday become abbot of this famous community. Thomas'
parents exercised a strong influence over his life but he felt God
calling him in a different direction and applied himself to following this
plan.

In 1239, Thomas traveled to the city of Naples to complete his
education in philosophy, and while he was there, he was introduced
to the philosophy of Aristotle. Thomas' study of Aristotelian
philosophy shaped his own philosophic views and is evident in his
writings. Thomas used the Aristotelian style of systematic proof for
several of his theological works and defended the philosophy of
Aristotle to several of his contemporaries.

While Thomas was studying at Naples, he felt a calling to join the
Dominican order and live an austere life dedicated to education.
Thomas professed vows as a Dominican at the age of seventeen in
1443 and earned the nickname "Dumb Ox" for his quiet
contemplative attitude and large stature. His parents opposed this
and abducted him in an effort to change his mind, but Thomas
remained resolute and managed to convince his parents that his
decision was sound. Once Thomas finished his studies at Naples, he
traveled to Cologne to study under the guidance of St. Albert the
Great. At the age of twenty-two, Thomas was asked to teach at the
university in addition to the classes he was taking there. After
receiving his doctorate at the age of 31, Thomas moved to Paris to
teach at the university there.

While Thomas was still in the university, he began to publish the first
works of a literary career that fills more than twenty volumes. As
Thomas continued publishing and teaching, he gained a wide
reputation and was called upon several times to settle theological
disputes. Several times, he was offered titles and ecclesiastical
offices in recognition for his work, but every time Thomas declined
them. Thomas' prolific writings cover a wide range of topics, from
synthesis of the Catholic Faith in the Summa Theologica and
religious hymns to defense of Aristotelian philosophy and treatises
on a variety of other subjects.

Throughout his life, Thomas continually worked to do more than his
duties as a Dominican required. In addition to his duties as a
Dominican, Thomas settled several theological disputes and
managed to publish several theological works and write hymns,
treatises and letters. Thomas is most well known for his major
compilation, the Summa Theologica. This work synthesizes Church
teaching in a question and answer format that was heavily used by
Aristotelian philosophers. The Summa was the last work of Thomas
and remained unfinished, because Thomas saw it as "straw
compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me."
Thomas is also known as the author of several hymns included the
Pange Lingua, which is often sung at exposition or benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament. Thomas is seen as one of the giants of
medieval thought and his works are still consulted for theological
matters today. St. Thomas died in 1274 while on his way to the
Second Council of Lyons, and is the patron saint of philosophers,
theologians and booksellers.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Hence we must say that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever
man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its
act. But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in
order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses
his natural knowledge. -St. Thomas Aquinas

TODAY IN HISTORY

1077 Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Heinrich IV
1986 25th Space Shuttle, Challenger, explodes 73 seconds after
liftoff, all on board are lost

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Thomism is an area of philosophy and theology related to
scholasticism and neo-scholasticism. This system copies the style of
Thomas and scientifically applies reason and the teachings of the
Church to solve philosophical and theological issues.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Thomas for all
theologians and philosophers.

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Meditation
2 Samuel 7:4-17

Don’t you find it interesting that God wasn’t angry with David for thinking that he—a lowly human—could ever build a fitting monument to the God of all creation? Not only did God not get angry, he promised David that his dynasty would remain secure and would have a special role in his plan for creation. In this little interchange, David learned a lot about who God is, especially about how surprisingly strong and generous he is toward those who love him.

Do you think of God in this way? Do you see him as a stable foundation—a solid rock—for your life? Because he loves us immensely, God is always with us, ready to give us his guidance and encouragement in every situation we face. And yet we often think that he’s far away, too occupied with weightier matters to concern himself with us. Or we think that we’re just not good enough to merit promises as great as the one he made to David.

Isn’t this a horrible way to think about God our Father? He simply is not limited by this world—not even by our limitations. He knows what we need when we need it, and he will remain true to the plans he has for us. He is not like earthly fathers, who have their own mixtures of strengths and weaknesses. He is completely committed to us and completely faithful to all his promises.

God’s love for us doesn’t change based on how well or poorly we have performed. We don’t have to build a “temple” worthy of God before he will come to dwell with us. He is always with us loving us, healing us, and offering us a share in his joy and peace. All he wants is an open heart. Then he will build us into a temple that far outshines anything we could have built on our own. Of course there will be times when he will have to correct us, but he will never abandon us.

“Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness to us. There is none like you. Even when we are unfaithful, you hold out your hand to lift us up. Please help us learn that we can trust you in all things and that you will never leave your children orphaned.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, January 28, 2004 >>

St. Thomas Aquinas

2 Samuel 7:4-17

Psalm 89:4-5, 27-30

Mark 4:1-20

View Readings

LIVING OR DYING EXAMPLES?

“To you the mystery of the reign of God has been confided.” —Mark 4:11

Throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has made many Christians holy by leading them to pray the Mass frequently or daily. However, when daily communicants didn’t appear that holy, the practice of daily Mass waned, and the Church weakened.

Many of you reading this book pray the Mass daily or at least frequently. If your holy Masses make you holy, the practice of daily Mass will grow, and the Church will become stronger. If, however, you are not holy, a de-emphasis of daily Mass may well contribute to the Church being further victimized by the culture of death.

Your holy Masses will probably make you holy if you listen to God’s word at Mass, take it to heart, and yield a great harvest (Mk 4:20). For example, after God’s word burned in the hearts of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they recognized the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread (Lk 24:30ff). We too will probably recognize Christ and become holy as He is holy, if we let God’s word penetrate our hearts. Thus, Jesus warns us to guard against choking God’s word by “anxieties over life’s demands, and the desire for wealth, and cravings of other sorts” (Mk 4:19). Guard and mortify your senses and worldly desires. Don’t be an example of the non-importance of daily Mass. Rather, be an example of eucharistic holiness.

Prayer: Father, may daily communicants be free from the sins of racism, impurity, and laziness.

Promise: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” —2 Sm 7:16

Praise: St. Thomas Aquinas loved the Word of God, both the written and living Word. He memorized many books of Scripture as a young adult.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	It’s Dangerous to Believe Our Own Press Releases
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Wednesday, January 28, 2004

2 Sam 7:4-17 / Mk 4:1-20

None of us has any greater enemy than our own egos, which lie and lie to us, just as the snake did in the story of Adam and Eve. “You can be God’s equal,” says the ego. What a lie that is, but we fall for it again and again, and it gets us in terrible trouble.

A raging ego running rampant is what we see in today’s Old Testament story about David. The little shepherd boy had become a king and he seemed to have forgotten who put him on the throne and guaranteed victory in all his battles. David proposed to build a house for God. It seemed like a nice gesture; even the prophet Nathan thought so.

But God who reads all hearts understood David’s heart all too well. David didn’t recognize his own radical poverty in the face of God who made the whole universe. What could he give to God that wasn’t God’s already? What would God need a house for if he already had a whole universe? These thoughts hadn’t occurred to David. His ego had silently shrunk God down to David’s own size!

That can happen. We can shrink God, and we can inflate ourselves. Both will lead us into foolishness that delays our getting on with the real business of life, which is building God’s kingdom not only around us but within us. The core of building the kingdom is the endless process of transformation whose goal is a heart shaped in God’s likeness.

So don’t get distracted by delusions of grandeur. Remember who you are and what your real work is. And be assured that the God who made you will at every turn provide you with what you need to complete your journey.

Wednesday January 28, 2004 Third Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (2 Samuel 7:4-17) Gospel (St. Mark 4:1-20)

As we hear this Gospel reading today which we all know so well, our natural tendency is not only to say, “What I really would like is to be that good soil,” but also, “I want to be the soil that is not only going to bear thirty or sixtyfold, but I want to bear a hundredfold. I want to do as much for the Lord as I can.” Now there are a couple of things that we need to look at. First of all, we have to ask, “Is what we are desiring done out of pride?” which, in other words, is to say, “I want to bear a hundredfold because I want to look good, because I want to see if I can impress people.” Well, that is not going to impress God. If that is your reason for doing it, you are probably not even going to bear tenfold because He is not going to allow it until the humility is deep enough that we are finally doing things for the right reason. Secondly, we have to look at the question of all the other points. Are we allowing ourselves to be choked off by fear, by other difficulties that come along? Are we allowing ourselves to be caught up in worldly things, in a desire for money, a desire for power, a desire for any kind of material stuff? Does that take precedence over God? Is there something standing between us and God? If so, once again, we are not going to be able to bear good fruit.

It is important to note that it does not say that the seed which fell on the ground (where the people get caught up in all the worldliness) withered and died (those were the ones who got choked off by all the anxieties), but the ones who got caught up in all the materialism just simply bore no fruit. So those are the ones who will go to Mass; they are the ones who will go to prayer; they are the ones who will go through the motions. They are doing a real nice job running on the little hamster wheel, but they are going nowhere because their goal is not God. Their goal is to have God as a part of their life; their goal is not God. Therefore, they are going nowhere. They are making lots of commotion but they are running in place. They are exercising their faith on one level, but their faith is not bearing any fruit because as soon as they walk away from the church or from their time of prayer, they are all caught up in material things: in the search for money, for self, for power, whatever it is. Consequently, their faith is not being lived out. Even when they are in prayer, it is oftentimes sought for their own good or for their own desires. And they pray for material things: for wealth, for power, and all the other things. So it is not about loving God; it is about loving themselves. Once again, they go through the motions but they bear no fruit.

Then there is the other point. That is, assuming we truly are seeking to do what God wants and we are that good soil, at the same time, we realize that there are certain sins we continue to commit after our conversion. Think of David. This was truly good soil, and yet what David wanted more than anything in the world was to be a priest. Well, he could not be a priest because he was not a Levite. So the best thing that he was going to be able to do to get close to being a priest was to build a temple for the Lord – and God would not allow it. The reason why God would not allow it, which we did not hear in the reading today, is because he had shed too much blood on the earth. Now, keep in mind that it was the Lord Himself Who said, “I have destroyed all of your enemies before you.” It was not the people that God told David to go and exterminate because of their sinfulness, but rather it was the people that David decided on his own to do this to. In a particular way, it had to do with Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, whom David had killed so he could cover up his sin. And so it is precisely in our infidelities to God that we are going to reduce the amount of yield that we are going to be able to bear.

We can look at it and say, “Boy, I really want to bear a hundredfold,” and yet, at the same time, if we look at it and say, “But I also want these other things for myself,” we are not going to be bearing nearly as much as we really would like because there is still too much of the self that is involved. So we need to listen very carefully to what Our Lord is telling us in the Gospel to make sure we truly are that good soil that we say we want to be, that we are really living according to the way Our Lord wants us to live, and that we are seeking His Will and not trying to conform Him to our will – not just going through the motions, but really opening our hearts so that we will be conformed to the Will of God so that in all things we will do His Will. When we are doing His Will in all things, then it is God Who will build the house for us and we will bear for Him the kind of yield that we truly desire – sixty or eighty or even a hundredfold – because it is not us, but it is God Who is doing it for us and it is God Who is working in us. And it is when we are doing God’s Will that we will be giving Him the greatest glory and we will find the fulfillment of all the desires of our heart. So it is a matter of making sure that those desires are proper, that they are directed in the right way so it is no longer we, but it is God Who is doing everything in us, and it is no longer our will that we are seeking but His – and His alone.

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