Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-10-04, Feast, St. Lawrence, deacon & martyr

From: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10

Blessings To Be Expected

[6] The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. [7] Each one
must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [8] And God is able to
provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always
have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good
work. [9] As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures for ever." [10] He who supplies seed to the
sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and
increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Commentary:

6-15. The collection appeal ends with some remarks about the benefits
that accrue from it. First, St Paul says that the generous almsgiving
of the Corinthians will stand to them in this life and in the next (vv.
6-10), and then he refers to its effects on the faithful in Jerusalem:
they will praise God and feel closer to the Christians of Corinth (vv.
11-15).

A person who is generous in almsgiving draws down on himself the
blessings of God. St Augustine says: "Your Lord says this to you,
[...] Give to me and receive. In due course I will give back what is
due to you. What will I give back? You gave little to me, you will
receive a great deal; you gave me earthly things, I will give back
heavenly things; you gave me temporal things you will receive eternal
things; you gave me what was mine, you will receive me, myself [...].'
See whom you lent to. He nourishes (others) and (yet he himself)
suffers hunger for your sake; he gives and is needy. When he gives,
you wish to receive; when he is needy, you are unwilling to give.
Christ is needy when a poor man is needy. He who is disposed to give
eternal life to all his own has deigned to receive temporal things in
(the person of) anyone who is needy' ("Sermon 33", 8).

6. This image of sowing and reaping is often used in Sacred Scripture
to indicate the connection between one's actions and reward or
punishment in the next life (cf. Prov 22:8; Mt 25:24-26; Gal 6:7f).
What the Apostle says here reminds us of our Lord's promise: "Give and
it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, will be put into your lap" (Lk 6:38). However much we
give God in this life, he will reward us with much more in the next.

7. "God loves a cheerful giver": a teaching often found in Scripture
(cf. Deut 15:10; Ps 100:2; Sir 35:11; Rom 12:8). An alms or a service
done reluctantly can never please anyone, particularly God our Lord:
"If you give bread and it makes you sad to do so," St Augustine
comments, "you lose both the bread and the reward" (St Augustine,
"Enarrationes in Psalmos", 42, 8); whereas the Lord is delighted when
a person gives something or gives himself lovingly and spontaneously,
not as if he were doing a great favor (cf. "Friends of God", 140).

8-10. St Paul emphasizes the abundant divine blessings--both temporal
and spiritual--which generous almsgiving brings. In the Old Testament
we read in the Book of Tobias: "Give alms from your possessions to all
who live uprightly, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you
make it. Do not turn your face away from any poor man, and the face of
God will not be turned away from you. If you have many possessions,
make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to
give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good
treasure for yourself against the day of necessity. For charity
delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness; and for
all who practice it charity is an excellent offering in the presence of
Most High" (4:7-11). To almsgiving can be applied our Lord's promises
about the hundred-fold in this life and then everlasting life--promises
made to all those who give up something in his name (cf. Mt 19:28f).

"Righteousness" is equivalent to holiness. In the Bible the person is
described as righteous or "just" who strives to do God's will and serve
him to the best of his ability (cf., e.g., notes on Mt 1:19; 5:6).

10. "For," comments St John Chrysostom, "if even to those who sow the
earth and to those who are concerned about the needs of the body, God
gives in great abundance, much more will he give to those who till the
soil of heaven and apply themselves to the salvation of their souls,
for he wills that we should spare no sacrifice in that regard [...].

"This holy apostle gives these two principles: in temporal things one
should limit oneself to what is necessary; but in spiritual things one
should seek as much as possible. Therefore he asks that we should not
simply give alms, but give alms generously. That is why he calls alms
'seed'. Just as corn cast into the ground produces a crop, so generous
alms produces righteousness and abundant harvest" ("Hom. on 2 Cor",
20).

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.

From: John 12:24-26

Jesus Foretells His Glorification (Continuation)

(Jesus said to his disciples,) [24] "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if
it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] He who loves his life loses it, and
he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall
my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him."

Commentary:

24-25. There is an apparent paradox here between Christ's humiliation
and his glorification. Thus, "it was appropriate that the loftiness of
his glorification should be preceded by the lowliness of his passion"
(St Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 51, 8).

This is the same idea we find in St Paul, when he says that Christ
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,
and that therefore God the Father exalted him above all created things
(cf. Phil 2:8-9). This is a lesson and an encouragement to the
Christian, who should see every type of suffering and contradiction as
a sharing in Christ's cross, which redeems us and exalts us. To be
supernaturally effective, a person has to die to himself, forgetting his
comfort and shedding his selfishness. "If the grain of wheat does not
die, it remains unfruitful. Don't you want to be a grain of wheat, to
die through mortification, and to yield a rich harvest? May Jesus bless
your wheatfield!" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 199).

26. Our Lord has spoken about his sacrifice being a condition of his
entering into glory. And what holds good for the Master also applies to
his disciples (cf. Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40). Jesus wants each of us to be of
service to him. It is a mystery of God's plan that he--who is all, who
has all and who needs nothing and nobody--should choose to need our help
to ensure that his teaching and the salvation wrought by him reaches all
men.

"To follow Christ: that is the secret. We must accompany him so closely
that we come to live with him, like the first Twelve did; so closely,
that we become identified with him. Soon we will be able to say,
provided we have not put obstacles in the way of grace, that we have put
on, have clothed ourselves with our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 13:14).
[...]

"I have distinguished as it were four stages in our effort to identify
ourselves with Christ--seeking him, finding him, getting to know him,
loving him. It may seem clear to you that you are only at the first
stage. Seek him then, hungrily; seek him within yourselves with all your
strength. If you act with determination, I am ready to guarantee that
you have already found him, and have begun to get to know him and to love
him, and to hold your conversation in heaven (cf. Phil 3:20)" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Friends of God", 299-300).

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Lawrence was a deacon in Rome around the middle of the
second century. He was martyred four days after Pope Sixtus II and
his companions during the persecution of Christians by Valerian. He
was a popular saint of the early Church and many popular legends
were created about his life. These legends helped spread popular
devotion to St. Lawrence but they unfortunately have obscured many
of the facts about his life.

Quickly after the death of Lawrence, legends began to arise about
his life. One of the legends holds that days before he died Lawrence
distributed all the riches of the Church to the poor. When Lawrence
was arrested the Roman prefect wished to confiscate the riches and
demanded an inventory of the riches from Lawrence. In response,
Lawrence gathered the poor of the city and brought them before the
prefect saying that they were the treasure of the church. Lawrence
was burned to death on the gridiron and was buried in the field of
Verabi near the Via Tiburtina where a cathedral was later built.
Legend states that while Lawrence was being roasted alive, he
asked to be turned over as one side was already done cooking. After
Sts. Peter and Paul, Lawrence is venerated as the patron of Rome.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Whereas in the Lord's Prayer, we are bidden to ask for 'our daily
bread,' the Holy Fathers of the Church all but unanimously teach that
by these words must be understood, not so much that material bread
which is the support of the body, as the Eucharistic bread, which
ought to be our daily food. -Pope St. Pius X

TODAY IN HISTORY

258 Death of St. Lawrence
1471 Election of Sixtus IV as Pope

TODAY'S TIDBIT

As Lawrence realized that his life would be demanded from him, he
distributed all his possessions and all the wealth of the Church to the
people of Rome. This action reminds us of our need to provide
assistance to the poor. Lawrence believed that nothing should be
held back from the needy. We can incorporate this spirit of
generosity into our lives by regularly giving to the poor and by
helping the Church continue the charitable efforts so excellently
shown by St. Lawrence.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all who have been diagnosed with chronic or terminal
illnesses.

Tuesday August 10, 2004 Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (2 Corinthians 9:6-10) Gospel (St. John 12:24-26)

Our Lord tells us in the Gospel this morning that anyone who serves Him the Father will honor. Now we hear about exactly what this service is going to require. First of all, it is going to require that we are willing to lose our lives in order to save them. It is not, however, done with a motive of any kind of selfishness, although I suppose one could say it would be kind of hard to be selfish in losing your own life. The Lord also requires that it be done cheerfully, as Saint Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. It is not something that can be done, he says, in sadness or compulsion; but rather it is something that has to be freely determined.

When we consider love, we realize that it is not something which can be measured, it is not something which can be meted out little by little, but what the Lord is looking for is complete love. It is a matter of giving oneself entirely. So it is not a matter of giving something like money where we can look at it and say, “Well, if I tithe ten percent off the top then this is what I‘m going to be giving away.” When we look at love, we do not say, “Well, I’ll give ten percent,” or, “I’ll ration it out to different people. I’ll give this one a little and that one a little, and whatever is left over, well, then I’ve got that for myself or I’ll give that to God.” Not at all. God wants it all and He wants it done cheerfully. But we also understand that if we are going to give it is going to hurt because it means that we are going to have to go against the selfishness which is inherent within us because of sin. But that is exactly what our Christian life is all about: overcoming sin, learning how to love perfectly.

Our Lord tells us, Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it just remains a single grain; but if it dies, it produces an abundant harvest. In other words, if you want to hang onto what you have, you just remain all by yourself. It does not produce much fruit – you are just a single grain that is all alone. But if you are willing to allow the Lord to take everything that you have got (but that means, really, that you have to give it to Him; He is not going to take it from you; He will receive the gift that you offer, but He is not going to violate you by taking something against your will), you no longer remain just by yourself. First of all, it is the Lord then Who works in you and through you, Who lives in you and through you, but then we also produce an abundant harvest because we are no longer living for ourselves but we are living for Him. And so we save our lives in the sense of eternity, but even in this world we live in an entirely different way because we live no longer for ourselves but for Him.

That is the kind of generosity He is looking for. This is a generosity that has to be freely chosen, it is a generosity that has to be freely offered, and it needs to be done joyfully. If we just think about it, if we ask somebody for a favor and they very begrudgingly agree to be willing possibly to do it, maybe, our natural response is “That’s okay. Don’t worry about it; I’ll find somebody else.” Why would we think that God would be any other way? If we do not want to give it, He is not going to take it. We have to have a heart that is open, that is generous, and that desires in love to give freely. We have already received it in love, and so all we have to do is give it back in the same manner it has been received, that is, in love. It was out of a joyful love that Our Lord gave, and, of course, when we receive from the Lord, it is usually a pretty joyful thing for us. But, for some odd reason, when it comes to giving, it is not so joyful for us. It shows how selfish we are, and that is what has to be overcome.

So we need to be willing to lay down our lives, to be willing to die to self, to give it all just as Jesus has done for us – give it all out of love and with a great joy – knowing that we will have eternal life. But more than that, because we do not do it out of any selfish motive, it is knowing that God is being glorified and an abundant harvest is being reaped so that there are many who will be saved. In the end, we will not be alone but the harvest that has been reaped is all going to be there with us – thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold – all the souls that were saved because we were willing to give it all to Christ. We will bring many people to heaven with us so that the harvest will be abundant and the glory given to God will be great.

ROMAN MISSAL | DOUAY TEXTS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Hic est beátus Lurenéntius, qui pro ope Ecclésiæ semetípsum trádidit:
proptéra méruit martýrii passiónem,
ut ætus ascénderet ad Dóminum Iesum Christum.
Today let us honor Saint Lawrence,
who spent himself for the poor of the Church.
Thus he merited to suffer martyrdom
and to ascent in joy to Jesus Christ the Lord.

OPENING PRAYER
Father,
you called St. Lawrence to serve you by love
and crowned his life with glorious martyrdom.
Help us to be like him
in loving you and doing your work.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son …

FIRST READING – [url=www.drbo.org/chapter/54009.htm]2 Cor 9:6-10
God loves a cheerful giver.

Now this I say:

He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly:
and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings.

Every one as he hath determined in his heart,
not with sadness, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound in you;
that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things,
may abound to every good work,

As it is written: He hath dispersed abroad,
he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever.

And he that ministereth seed to the sower,
will both give you bread to eat, and will multiply your seed,
and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice:

REPONSORIAL PSALM – Ps 111 (NAB 112): 14, 24, 72, 103, 11, 131 (R:103a)
Iucúndus homo qui miserétur et cómmodat.
Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth
(NAB: Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.)

Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth
he shall order his words with judgment:

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord:
he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.
Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth

Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth:
he shall order his words with judgment:
Because he shall not be moved for ever.
Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance:
He shall not hear the evil hearing.
His heart is ready to hope in the Lord:
His heart is strengthened,
he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies.
Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth

He hath distributed,
he hath given to the poor:
his justice remaineth for ever and ever:
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth

ALLELUIA – John 8:12bc
Qui séquitur me, non ámbulat in ténebris,
sed habébit lumen vitæ, dicit Dóminus
R. Alleluia, alleluia
I am the light of the world: he that followeth me,
walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia

GOSPEL – John 12:24-26
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

Amen, amen I say to you,
unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die,
Itself remaineth alone.

But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it;
and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.

If any man minister to me, let him follow me;
and where I am, there also shall my minister be.
If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Meditation
2 Corinthians 9:6-10

St. Lawrence

As a deacon in the Roman church, Lawrence had the dual responsibility of caring for the poor and looking after the church’s possessions. During a wave of persecution in a.d. 258, Cornelius, the prefect of Rome, ordered Lawrence to surrender to the emperor the church’s treasures. Lawrence promised to make an inventory of the church’s valuables and after three days show Cornelius riches that exceeded all the wealth of the empire.

On the appointed day, Lawrence gathered all the widows and orphans, all the poor, blind, and crippled, all who were being supported by donations from the Christians. These, he told Cornelius, were the true treasures of the church. In anger, Cornelius condemned Lawrence to death. But far from weakening the church, as Cornelius had hoped, Lawrence’s martyrdom only strengthened it. The peaceful way in which he met his death—even to the point of joking with his persecutors—encouraged the Christians to remain faithful to the God whom Lawrence had served so joyfully.

God loves to see us care for the poor not just because we are meeting their needs, but because it is one of the most direct ways that we can take on the heart of Jesus. It is true that experiencing Jesus’ generous love for us will move us to be generous in our love for the poor. However, it is also true that taking steps outside of our comfortable circumstances and caring for the needs of the poor gives the Spirit a chance to put our selfishness to death and fill us with the love of Christ. Both prayer and action are necessary elements of our calling, and we cannot think that only one of them is sufficient to produce the heart of Christ in us.

When we are generous to the poor, God is generous to us—not so that we can be independent but so that we can keep on giving abundantly to the needy around us (2 Corinthians 9:8). Not only in material ways but also in spiritual ways, he gives to us so that we can give to others. Let us become like Jesus and share the riches of the gospel—both material and spiritual—with every soul that is hungry for God.

“Widen my heart, Lord, to love the poor and needy with a free and generous love. Raise up people everywhere to care for them!”

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