Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-12-04, Memorial, St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr

November 12, 2004
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr

Reading I
2 Jn 4-9

[Chosen Lady:]
I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth
just as we were commanded by the Father.
But now, Lady, I ask you,
not as though I were writing a new commandment
but the one we have had from the beginning:
let us love one another.
For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;
this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning,
in which you should walk.

Many deceivers have gone out into the world,
those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh;
such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.
Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for
but may receive a full recompense.
Anyone who is so "progressive"
as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God;
whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

Responsorial Psalm
119:1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18

R (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Within my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Gospel
Lk 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left."
They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?"
He said to them, "Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather."

From: 2 John 4-9

The Law of Love

[4] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children following the
truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. [5] And now I beg
you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the
one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. [6] And
this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment,
as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love.

Precautions Against Heretics

[7] For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not
acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the
deceiver and the antichrist. [8] Look to yourselves, that you may not
lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward. [9] Any one
who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not
have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the
Son.

Commentary:

4-6. Among all similarities of language and content between the Second
and Third Letters, this passage is a particularly significant one.

The Apostle's joy (v. 4) is based on the fact that the Christians have
learned that walking in the truth entails keeping the commandment of
brotherly love, which they have had from the beginning. The verses sum
up one of the main themes of the First Letter, where St John expounds
these teachings at greater length (cf. 1 Jn 2:7-11; 3:11-24; 4:7-21 and
notes on same).

"That you follow love": the Greek is ambiguous and literally says "that
you follow it"; "it" could refer to the commandment (that is how the
New Vulgate reads it) or to love. The sense is not very different, if
one remembers that in St John's teaching the commandments reduce to
love of God and love of neighbor: "Listen carefully to a brief
precept", St Augustine exhorts, "love and do what you like" ("In Epist.
Ioann Ad Parthos", 7, 8).

St John also emphasizes that this is a commandment they have had "from
the beginning" (vv. 5 and 6); that is, Tradition is so definite on this
point that anyone who teaches otherwise is a liar and a deceiver. This
helps to explain the connection between these verses and the ones which
follow. In fact the false teachers were causing harm in two ways--by
corrupting the faith and by destroying unity and mutual love.

7-ll. These warnings are a summary of things said in the First Letter
(cf. 2:18-29; 4:1-6; 5:1-5; and notes on same). St John shows how to
recognize these heretics--by the fact that they do not acknowledge the
divinity of Jesus Christ incarnate (cf. 1 Jn 4:2-3 and note); and he
warns that anyone who turns his back on sound teaching is abandoning
the Father and the Son (cf. 1 Jn 2:22-25 and notes). The passage ends
with instructions on precautions to take in dealings with those people
(vv. 10-11).

On the "antichrist" (v. 7), see the note on 1 Jn 2:18.

8. "That you may not lose what you have worked for": many important
codexes read "what we have worked for", referring to the efforts of the
Apostles. Both readings have equal support in the Greek codexes; both
make sense and show that in order to persevere in the faith (and obtain
the reward for doing so) care and effort are needed, on the part of
both pastors and other faithful.

St Cyril of Jerusalem exhorted: "Keep careful watch, to ensure that the
enemy does not make off with any who are off guard or remiss; and that
no heretic may pervert part of what you have been given. Accepting the
faith is like putting into the bank the money we have given you; God
will ask you for an account of this deposit" ("Catechesis V, Defide Et
Symbolo").

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: Luke 17:26-37

The Day of the Son of Man (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "As it was in the days of Noah, so
will it be in the days of the Son of Man. [27] They ate, they drank,
they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah
entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
[28] Likewise as it was in the days of Lot--they ate, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they built, [29] but on the day when
Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from Heaven and
destroyed them all--[30] so will it be on the day when the Son of Man
is revealed. [31] On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with
his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise
let him who is in the field not turn back. [32] Remember Lot's wife.
[33] Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life will preserve it. [34] I tell you, in that night there will be
two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. [35] There
will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other
left." [37] And they said to Him, "Where Lord?" He said to them,
"Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Commentary:

23-36. These words of our Lord are a prophecy about the last coming of
the Son of Man. We should remember that prophecy often involves events
on different levels, many symbols, a terminology of its own; the
"chiaroscuro" which they create gives us insight into future events,
but the concrete details only become clear when the events actually
occur. Our Lord's last coming will be something sudden and unexpected;
it will catch many people unprepared. Jesus illustrates this by giving
examples from sacred history: as in the time of Noah (cf. Genesis
6:9-19:7) and that of Lot (cf. Genesis 18:16-19:27) divine judgment
will be visited on men without warning.

However, it is useful to recall here that everyone will find himself
before the divine Judge immediately when he dies, at the Particular
Judgment. Thus Jesus' teaching has also a present urgency about it:
HERE AND NOW a disciple should scrutinize his own conduct, for the
Lord can call him when he least expects.

33. "Will preserve it": what the Greek word literally means is "will
engender (his life)", that is to say, "will give true life to the
soul". Thus our Lord seems to mean the following: he who wants to save
his life at all costs, making it his basic value, will lose eternal
life; whereas he who is ready to lose his earthly life--that is, to
resist even to death the enemies of God and of his soul--will obtain
eternal happiness through this struggle. In content this passage is
almost identical with Luke 9:24.

36. In the Vulgate this verse reads: "Una assumetur, et altera
relinquetur. Duo in agro; unus assumetur, et alter relinquetur" ("One
will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one
will be taken and the other left"). These words seem to be an addition
to Luke, taken from Matthew 24:40; they do not appear in the better
Greek manuscripts, which is why the New Vulgate omits them.

37. "Where the body is, there the eagles will gather": the Greek text
uses a word which could mean either eagle or vulture. In any event the
proverb indicates the speed with which birds of prey swoop down on
their victims--apparently referring to the sudden, unexpected way the
Second Coming or Last Judgment will happen. Sacred Scripture also
deals with this subject in other passages: "But as to the times and the
seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you.
For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Once more Jesus is
exhorting us to be watchful: we should never neglect the most important
thing in life--eternal salvation. "All that, which worries you for the
moment, is of relative importance. What is of absolute importance is
that you be happy, that you be saved" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 297). So
curious are the Pharisees and the disciples about the time and place of the
Last Coming that they are distracted from Jesus' main point; the same thing
happens to us: for example, we can spend a lot of time pondering the
circumstances of the deaths of people we know, and fail to grasp the warning
these deaths contain--that this life is going to end one way or another and
that after it we too will meet God.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Josaphat was born around the year 1580 in Eastern Europe and
was raised in the Eastern Orthodox faith. In the year 1595, the
Orthodox bishop of Brest-Litovsk, and five other bishops broke away
from the Eastern Orthodox and sought to be reunited with Rome.
This had a great effect on Josaphat, and he joined the movement
and dedicated the rest of his life and even his death to the cause.

Josaphat became a Basilian monk, and was ordained to the
priesthood. He soon became well known as a preacher and as an
ascetic. Josaphat's work gave him a reputation and, although he was
relatively young, he was asked to be bishop of the diocese of
Vitebsk. Josaphat implemented a system of synods, catechetical
instruction, reform of the clergy and coupled with his own example,
won many hearts to union with Rome.

Unfortunately, as many hearts that Josaphat helped convert, just as
many were solidified in opposition against him. Josaphat was
criticized for his actions and despite warnings of danger, he
continued his work. Josaphat returned to his home in the city of
Vitebsk, and while he was there the opposition took action. After
being verbally harassed, he was removed from his home by a mob
and killed. His body was thrown into the river, but it was retrieved
and later buried in Biala, Poland. In 1867, he became the first saint
of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

You people of Vitebsk want to put me to death. You make ambushes
for me everywhere, in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways,
and in the marketplace. I am here among you as a shepherd and you
ought to know that I should be happy to give my life for you. I am
ready to die for the holy union, fir the supremacy of St. Peter and of
his successor the Supreme Pontiff. -St. Josaphat

TODAY IN HISTORY

607 Boniface III ends his reign as Pope

TODAY'S TIDBIT

An ascetic, like Josaphat, exercises self-discipline in all forms for the
love of God and spiritual improvement. This usually deals with
curbing physical wants, but also may deal with curbing internal
wants. An ascetic seeks to conform all his or her appetites to right
reason and the law of God. Asceticism is not an end in itself, but is
directed to allowing a more perfect love of God.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray through the intercession of St. Josaphat for the
Ecumenical movement seeking to rejoin the East and the West.

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

November 12, 2004

St. Josaphat

(1580?-1623)

In 1967, newspaper photos of Pope Paul VI embracing Athenagoras I, the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, marked a significant step toward the healing of a division in Christendom that has spanned nine centuries.

In 1595, when today’s saint was a boy, the Orthodox bishop of Brest-Litovsk (famous in World War I) in Belarus and five other bishops representing millions of Ruthenians, sought reunion with Rome. John Kunsevich (Josaphat became his name in religious life) was to dedicate his life and suffer his death in the same cause. Born in what was then Poland, he went to work in Wilno and was influenced by clergy adhering to the Union of Brest (1596). He became a Basilian monk, then a priest, and soon was well known as a preacher and as an ascetic.

He became bishop of Vitebsk (now in Russia) at a relatively young age, and faced a difficult situation. Most monks, fearing interference in liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome. By synods, catechetical instruction, reform of the clergy and personal example, however, Josaphat was successful in winning the greater part of the Orthodox in that area to the union.

But the next year a dissident hierarchy was set up, and his opposite number spread the accusation that Josaphat had "gone Latin" and that all his people would have to do the same. He was not enthusiastically supported by the Latin bishops of Poland.

Despite warnings, he went to Vitebsk, still a hotbed of trouble. Attempts were made to foment trouble and drive him from the diocese: A priest was sent to shout insults to him from his own courtyard. When Josaphat had him removed and shut up in his house, the opposition rang the town hall bell, and a mob assembled. The priest was released, but members of the mob broke into the bishop’s home. He was struck with a halberd, then shot and his body thrown into the river. It was later recovered and is now buried at Biala, Poland. He was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome.

His death brought a movement toward Catholicism and unity, but the controversy continued, and the dissidents, too, had their martyr. After the partition of Poland, the Russians forced most Ruthenians to join the Russian Orthodox Church.

Comment:

The seeds of separation were sown in the fourth century when the Roman Empire was divided into East and West. The actual split came over relatively unimportant customs (unleavened bread, Saturday fasting, celibacy). No doubt the political involvement of religious leaders on both sides was a large factor, and doctrinal disagreement was present. But no reason was enough to justify the present tragic division in Christendom, which is 64 percent Roman Catholic, 13 percent Eastern Churches (mostly Orthodox) and 23 percent Protestant, and this when the 71 percent of the world that is not Christian should be getting the witness of unity and Christlike charity from Christians!

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Find a Life You Never Expected!
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, November 12, 2004

2 John 4-9; Luke 17:26-37

Sometimes, especially among the young, there’s the feeling that the commandments have an arbitrary character about them, being a kind of obstacle course, the survival of which earns one the reward of heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth: The commandments are not God’s whims, but descriptors of the only way of living that can ever work or bring us happiness in this life.

Walking in Jesus’s footsteps and living in accord with His law of love enables us to build together an environment that is free of fear and good for everyone, young and old, great and small. Living together in that way makes possible the “conversation” and fellowship that we long for and it prepares our inner beings for that silent, never-ending conversation with God which we call heaven.

By themselves, the rules and laws cannot save us; only God can do that. Indeed, the commandments can be a source of both frustration and sadness as we find ourselves continually falling short of the ideal. But for those whose hearts are bonded to Christ by faith, there is no fear: He knows us well and He will give us what we need in order to carry on, even in the wake of our greatest mistakes.

Trust the power of His love, and you will find a life you never expected!

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, November 12, 2004 >>

St. Josaphat

2 John 4-9

Psalm 119:1-2, 10-11, 17-18

Luke 17:26-37

View Readings

THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED

“Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; whoever loses it will keep it.” —Luke 17:33

At the very end of the world, two people will be “in one bed; one will be taken and the other left” (Lk 17:34). Two women will be working together; “one will be taken and the other left” (Lk 17:35). What determines whether a person is taken to meet Jesus or left for destruction?

Jesus answered: “Wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures gather” (Lk 17:37). A carcass is a dead body. Thus Jesus is saying that, where there is death, there the vultures of the end-time destruction will gather. He is referring to the spiritual death due to sin (see Rm 6:23). So those repentant of their sins will fly away, and those left behind are earthbound because of the weight of their unrepented sins.

To escape the end times, we must be living bodies, not dead carcasses. We should be pro-life in the fullest sense of the word. We must not only be against abortion but against sins of violence, hatred, racism, unforgiveness, injustice, and pornography. The death at the world’s end will only destroy those already among the living dead (1 Jn 3:14). At the world’s end, the spiritually dead will be destroyed physically, and the spiritually alive will meet Jesus (1 Thes 4:17).

Prayer: Father, “subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt 6:13).

Promise: “Anyone who is so ‘progressive’ that he does not remain rooted in the teaching of Christ does not possess God, while anyone who remains rooted in the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son.” —2 Jn 9

Praise: Foreseeing his own death, St. Josaphat spent his last moments pleading clemency for others.

Lk 17:26-37
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
26	And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.	et sicut factum est in diebus Noe ita erit et in diebus Filii hominis
27	They did eat and drink, they married wives and were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.	edebant et bibebant uxores ducebant et dabantur ad nuptias usque in diem qua intravit Noe in arcam et venit diluvium et perdidit omnes
28	Likewise as it came to pass in the days of Lot. They did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built.	similiter sicut factum est in diebus Loth edebant et bibebant emebant et vendebant plantabant aedificabant
29	And in the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.	qua die autem exiit Loth a Sodomis pluit ignem et sulphur de caelo et omnes perdidit
30	Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed.	secundum haec erit qua die Filius hominis revelabitur
31	In that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back.	in illa hora qui fuerit in tecto et vasa eius in domo ne descendat tollere illa et qui in agro similiter non redeat retro
32	Remember Lot's wife.	memores estote uxoris Loth
33	Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it shall preserve it.	quicumque quaesierit animam suam salvare perdet illam et qui perdiderit illam vivificabit eam
34	I say to you: In that night there shall be two men in one bed. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left.	dico vobis illa nocte erunt duo in lecto uno unus adsumetur et alter relinquetur
35	Two women shall be grinding together. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left. Two men shall be in the field. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left.	duae erunt molentes in unum una adsumetur et altera relinquetur duo in agro unus adsumetur et alter relinquetur
36	They answering, say to him: Where, Lord?	respondentes dicunt illi ubi Domine
37	Who said to them: Wheresoever the body shall be, thither will the eagles also be gathered together.	qui dixit eis ubicumque fuerit corpus illuc congregabuntur aquilae

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