Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-30-05, Opt. First Holy Martyrs of the Church of Rome

June 30, 2005
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Thursday 29

Reading I
Gn 22:1b-19

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you."
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
"Father!" he said.
"Yes, son," he replied.
Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"
"Son," Abraham answered,
" God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering."
Then the two continued going forward.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am," he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."
Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing–all this because you obeyed my command.'

Abraham then returned to his servants,
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the LORD;
He is their help and their shield.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, ‘Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"—
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

From: Genesis 22:1b-19 The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Renewal of the Promise ----------------------------------------------------- [1b] God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [2] He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." [3] So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, an arose and went to the place of which God had told him. [4] 0n the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. [5] Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. [7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" [8] Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. [9] When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. [10] Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [12] He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." [13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." [15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, [16] and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, [18] and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." [19] So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. *********************************************************************** Commentary: 22:1-19. God has been true to his promise: he has given Abraham a son by Sarah. Now it is Abraham who should show his fidelity to God by being ready to sacrifice his son in recognition that the boy belongs to God. The divine command seems to be senseless: Abraham has already lost Ishmael, when he and Hagar were sent away; now he is being asked to sacrifice his remaining son. Disposing of his son, meant detaching himself even from the fulfillment of the promise which Isaac represented. In spite of all this, Abraham obeys. '"As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham 'who had received the promises' (Heb 11:17) is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abraham's faith does hot weaken ('God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering'), for he 'considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead' (Heb 11:19). And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own son but will deliver him up for us all (cf. Rom 8:32). Prayer restores man to God's likeness and enables him to share in the power of God's love that saves the multitude (cf. Rom 4:16-21)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2572). By undergoing the test which God set, Abraham attains perfection (cf. Jas 2:2 1) and he is now in a position for God to reaffirm in a solemn way the promise he made previously (cf. Gen 12:3). The sacrifice of Isaac has features which make it a figure of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. Thus, there is father giving up his son; the son who renders himself to his father's will; the tools of sacrifice such as the wood, the knife and the altar. The account reaches its climax by showing through Abraham's obedience and Isaac's non-resistance, God's blessing will reach all the nations of the earth (cf. v. 18). So, it is not surprising that Jewish tradition should attribute a certain redemptive value to Isaac's submissiveness, and that the Fathers should see this episode prefiguring the passion of Christ, only Son of the Father. 22:2. "The land of Moriah": according to the Syrian version of Genesis this is "land of the Ammorites". We do not in fact know where this place was, although in 2 Chronicles 3:1 it is identified the mountain on which the temple Jerusalem was built, to stress the holiness of that site. 22:12. God is satisfied just by Abraham's sincere intention to do what he asked of him. It is as good as if he had actually done the deed. "The patriarch turned sacrificer of his son for the love of God; he stained his right hand with blood in intention and offered sacrifice. But owing to God's loving kindness beyond telling he received his son back safe and sound and went off with him; the patriarch was commended for his intention and bedecked with a bright crown; he had engaged in the ultimate struggle and at every stage given evidence of his godly attitude" ("Homiliae in Genesim", 48, 1). Making an implicit comparison between Isaac and Jesus, St Paul sees in the death of Christ the culmination of God's love; he writes: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" (Rom 8:32). If staying Abraham's hand was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was the fact that he allowed Jesus to die as an expiatory sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. In that later sacrifice, because "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8), "the abyss of malice which sin opens wide has been bridged by his infinite charity. God did not abandon men. His plans foresaw that the sacrifices of the old law would be insufficient to repair our faults and reestablish the unity which had been lost. A man who was God would have to offer himself up" (St. J. Escrivᬠ"Christ is Passing By", 95). 22: 13-14. Some Fathers see this ram as a prefigurement of Jesus Christ, insofar as, like Christ, the ram. was immolated in order to save man. In this sense, St Ambrose wrote: "Whom does the ram represent, if not him of whom it is written, 'He has raised up a horn for his people' (Ps 148:14)? [...] Christ: It is He whom Abraham saw in that sacrifice; it was his passion he saw. Thus, our Lord himself says of Abraham: 'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad' (Jn 8:56). Therefore Scripture says: 'Abraham called the name of that place 'The Lord will provide,' so that today one can say: the Lord appeared on the mount, that is, he appeared to Abraham revealing his future passion in his body, whereby he redeemed the world; and sharing, at the same time, the nature of his passion when he caused him to see the ram suspended by his horns. The thicket stands for the scaffold of the cross" ("De Abraham", 1, 8, 77-7.8). *********************************************************************** 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: Genesis 22:1b-19

The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Renewal of the Promise
-----------------------------------------------------
[1b] God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [2] He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." [3] So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, an arose and went to the place of which God had told him. [4] 0n the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. [5] Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. [7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" [8] Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

[9] When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. [10] Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [12] He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." [13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."

[15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, [16] and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, [18] and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." [19] So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

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

22:1-19. God has been true to his promise: he has given Abraham a son by Sarah. Now it is Abraham who should show his fidelity to God by being ready to sacrifice his son in recognition that the boy belongs to God. The divine command seems to be senseless: Abraham has already lost Ishmael, when he and Hagar were sent away; now he is being asked to sacrifice his remaining son. Disposing of his son, meant detaching himself even from the fulfillment of the promise which Isaac represented. In spite of all this, Abraham obeys.

'"As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham 'who had received the promises' (Heb 11:17) is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abraham's faith does hot weaken ('God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering'), for he 'considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead' (Heb 11:19). And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own son but will deliver him up for us all (cf. Rom 8:32). Prayer restores man to God's likeness and enables him to share in the power of God's love that saves the multitude (cf. Rom 4:16-21)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2572).

By undergoing the test which God set, Abraham attains perfection (cf. Jas 2:2 1) and he is now in a position for God to reaffirm in a solemn way the promise he made previously (cf. Gen 12:3).

The sacrifice of Isaac has features which make it a figure of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. Thus, there is father giving up his son; the son who renders himself to his father's will; the tools of sacrifice such as the wood, the knife and the altar. The account reaches its climax by showing through Abraham's obedience and Isaac's non-resistance, God's blessing will reach all the nations of the earth (cf. v. 18). So, it is not surprising that Jewish tradition should attribute a certain redemptive value to Isaac's submissiveness, and that the Fathers should see this episode prefiguring the passion of Christ, only Son of the Father.

22:2. "The land of Moriah": according to the Syrian version of Genesis this is "land of the Ammorites". We do not in fact know where this place was, although in 2 Chronicles 3:1 it is identified the mountain on which the temple Jerusalem was built, to stress the holiness of that site.

22:12. God is satisfied just by Abraham's sincere intention to do what he asked of him. It is as good as if he had actually done the deed. "The patriarch turned sacrificer of his son for the love of God; he stained his right hand with blood in intention and offered sacrifice. But owing to God's loving kindness beyond telling he received his son back safe and sound and went off with him; the patriarch was commended for his intention and bedecked with a bright crown; he had engaged in the ultimate struggle and at every stage given evidence of his godly attitude" ("Homiliae in Genesim", 48, 1).

Making an implicit comparison between Isaac and Jesus, St Paul sees in the death of Christ the culmination of God's love; he writes: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" (Rom 8:32).

If staying Abraham's hand was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was the fact that he allowed Jesus to die as an expiatory sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. In that later sacrifice, because "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8), "the abyss of malice which sin opens wide has been bridged by his infinite charity. God did not abandon men. His plans foresaw that the sacrifices of the old law would be insufficient to repair our faults and reestablish the unity which had been lost. A man who was God would have to offer himself up" (St. J. Escrivᬠ"Christ is Passing By", 95).

22: 13-14. Some Fathers see this ram as a prefigurement of Jesus Christ, insofar as, like Christ, the ram. was immolated in order to save man. In this sense, St Ambrose wrote: "Whom does the ram represent, if not him of whom it is written, 'He has raised up a horn for his people' (Ps 148:14)? [...] Christ: It is He whom Abraham saw in that sacrifice; it was his passion he saw. Thus, our Lord himself says of Abraham: 'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad' (Jn 8:56). Therefore Scripture says: 'Abraham called the name of that place 'The Lord will provide,' so that today one can say: the Lord appeared on the mount, that is, he appeared to Abraham revealing his future passion in his body, whereby he redeemed the world; and sharing, at the same time, the nature of his passion when he caused him to see the ram suspended by his horns. The thicket stands for the scaffold of the cross" ("De Abraham", 1, 8, 77-7.8).

***********************************************************************
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: Matthew 9:1-8

The Curing of a Paralytic

[1] And getting into a boat He (Jesus) crossed over and came to His own
city. [2] And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on his
bed; and when Jesus saw their faith He said to the paralytic, "Take
heart, My son; your sins are forgiven." [3] And behold, some of the
scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." [4] But Jesus,
knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
[5] For which is easier to say, `Your sins are forgiven', or to say,
`Rise and walk'? [6] But that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins"--He then said to the paralytic--
"Rise, take up your bed and go home." [7] And He rose and went home.
[8] When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God,
who had given such authority to men.

Commentary:

1. "His own city": Capernaum (cf. Matthew 4:13 and Mark 2:1).

2-6. The sick man and those who bring him to Jesus ask Him to cure the
man's physical illness; they believe in His supernatural powers. As in
other instances of miracles, our Lord concerns Himself more with the
underlying cause of illness, that is, sin. With divine largesse He
gives more than He is asked for, even though people do not appreciate
this. St. Thomas Aquinas says that Jesus Christ acts like a good
doctor: He cures the cause of the illness (cf. "Commentary on St.
Matthew", 9, 1-6).

2. The parallel passage of St. Mark adds a detail which helps us
understand this scene better and explains why the text refers to "their
faith": in Mark 2:2-5 we are told that there was such a crowd around
Jesus that the people carrying the bed could not get near Him. So they
had the idea of going up onto the roof and making a hole and lowering
the bed down in front of Jesus. This explains His "seeing their
faith".

Our Lord was pleased by their boldness, a boldness which resulted from
their lively faith which brooked no obstacles. This nice example of
daring indicates how we should go about putting charity into
practice--as also how Jesus feels towards people who show real concern
for others: He cures the paralytic who was so ingeniously helped by his
friends and relatives; even the sick man himself showed daring by not
being afraid of the risk involved.

St. Thomas comments on this verse as follows: "This paralytic
symbolizes the sinner lying in sin"; just as the paralytic cannot move,
so the sinner cannot help himself. The people who bring the paralytic
along represent those who, by giving him good advice, lead the sinner
to God" ("Commentary on St. Matthew", 9, 2). In order to get close to
Jesus the same kind of holy daring is needed, as the Saints show us.
Anyone who does not act like this will never take important decisions
in his life as a Christian.

3-7. Here "to say" obviously means "to say and mean it", "to say
producing the result which your words imply". Our Lord is arguing as
follows" which is easier--to cure the paralytic's body or to forgive
the sins of his soul? Undoubtedly, to cure his body; for the soul is
superior to the body and therefore diseases of the soul are the more
difficult to cure. However, a physical cure can be seen, whereas a
cure of the soul cannot. Jesus proves the hidden cure by performing a
visible one.

The Jews thought that any illness was due to personal sin (cf. John
9:1-3); so when they heard Jesus saying, "Your sins are forgiven", they
reasoned in their minds as follows: only God can forgive sins (cf. Luke
5:21); this man says that He has power to forgive sins; therefore, He
is claiming a power which belongs to God alone--which is blasphemy.
Our Lord, however, forestalls them, using their own arguments: by
curing the paralytic by saying the word, He shows them that since He
has the power to cure the effects of sin (which is what they believe
disease to be), then He also has power to cure the cause of illness
(sin); therefore, He has divine power.

Jesus Christ passed on to the Apostles and their successors in the
priestly ministry the power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins
of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23). "Truly, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 18:18). Priests
exercise this power in the Sacrament of Penance: in doing so they act
not in their own name but in Christ's--"in persona Christi", as
instruments of the Lord.

Hence the respect, the veneration and gratitude with which we should
approach Confession: in the priest we should see Christ Himself, God
Himself, and we should receive the words of absolution firmly believing
that it is Christ who is uttering them through the priest. This is why
the minister does not say: "Christ absolves you...", but rather "I
absolve you from your sins..." He speaks in the first person. So
fully is he identified with Jesus Christ Himself (cf. "St. Pius V
Catechism", II, 5, 10).

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 Culture

Collect:
Father, you sanctified the Church of Rome with the blood of its first martyrs. May we find strength from their courage and rejoice in their triumph. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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June 30, 2005

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome

Old Calendar: Commemoration of St. Paul, apostle

This memorial is in honor of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the imperial parks Christians were put into animal skins and hunted, were brutally attacked, and were made into living torches to light the road for Nero's chariot. From 64 to 314 "Christian" was synonymous with "execution victim."

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the commemoration of St. Paul. Previously the Church emphasized St. Peter's prerogatives on yesterday's feast and today recalled the special mission of Paul as Apostle of the Gentiles.

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome

There were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the "Apostle of the Gentiles" (see Romans 15:20). Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in A.D. 57-58.

There was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city "caused by the certain Chrestus" [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius's death in A.D. 54. Paul's letter was addressed to a church with members from Jewish and gentile backgrounds.

In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus, a "great multitude" of Christians were put to death because of their "hatred of the human race." Peter and Paul were probably among the victims.

Threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68 at the age of thirty-one.

Wherever the Good News of Jesus was preached, it met the same opposition as Jesus did, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been, and will always be, the seed of Christians.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Symbols: Red is the color for marytrs; red rose symbol of martyrdom; crown, symbolizing victory over death and sin; white horse with a white banner and cross and sword; fire or flames; palm, symbol of victory.

Things to Do:

St. Augustine gives us thoughts on why we celebrate the martyrs:

Christians celebrate the memory of the martyrs with religious ceremony in order to arouse emulation and in order that they may be associated with their merits and helped by their prayers. But to none of the martyrs do we erect altars as we do to the God of martyrs; we erect altars at their shrines. For what bishop standing at the altars over the bodies of martyrs ever said: We offer to Peter or Paul or Cyprian? Mass is offered to God who crowned the martyrs, at the shrine of the martyrs, so that the very spot may remind us to arouse in ourselves a more fervent charity toward those whom we imitate and toward Him who gives us the power to do so.
Bake a special dessert, either some recipe originating from Rome, or the highlighted nameday cakes.
This feast was created with the reform of the General Calendar in 1969. Many Roman martyrs feasts were removed from the General Calendar, since there wasn't too much historical information about them. This feast celebrates the nameless men and women who were martyred in Nero's Circus in the year 64 AD.

American Catholic’s Saint of the Day

June 30, 2005

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome

(d. 68)

There were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the “Apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 15:20). Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in a.d. 57-58.

There was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in 49-50 A.D. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city “caused by the certain Chrestus” [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius’s death in 54 A.D. Paul’s letter was addressed to a Church with members from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds.

In July of 64 A.D., more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus, a “great multitude” of Christians was put to death because of their “hatred of the human race.” Peter and Paul were probably among the victims.

Threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in 68 A.D. at the age of 31.

Comment:

Wherever the Good News of Jesus was preached, it met the same opposition as Jesus did, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been, and will always be, the seed of Christians.

Quote:

From Pope Clement I, successor of St. Peter: “It was through envy and jealousy that the greatest and most upright pillars of the Church were persecuted and struggled unto death.... First of all, Peter, who because of unreasonable jealousy suffered not merely once or twice but many times, and, having thus given his witness, went to the place of glory that he deserved. It was through jealousy and conflict that Paul showed the way to the prize for perseverance. He was put in chains seven times, sent into exile, and stoned; a herald both in the east and the west, he achieved a noble fame by his faith....”
“Around these men with their holy lives there are gathered a great throng of the elect, who, though victims of jealousy, gave us the finest example of endurance in the midst of many indignities and tortures. Through jealousy women were tormented, like Dirce or the daughters of Danaus, suffering terrible and unholy acts of violence. But they courageously finished the course of faith and despite their bodily weakness won a noble prize.”

A Voice in the Desert

Thursday June 30, 2005 Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Genesis 22:1b-19) Gospel (St. Matthew 9:1-8)

In the first reading today, we hear from the Book of Genesis about this sacrifice of Isaac, that God has asked Abraham to offer his only son as a sacrifice. Now there are a number of things in here that we can look at, first of all, the fact that God calls Isaac the only son of Abraham. We know that Abraham already had Ishmael through Hagar, the slave girl, but he was not the son of promise. Because of the situation, it is God Himself who is saying, “Take your son Isaac, your only one whom you love,” to be able to say that the other one is illegitimate and is not considered in this case. Therefore, truly the only son is Isaac.

So as Abraham sets off to offer this son who was the fulfillment of the promise, remember that Abraham was a hundred years old when he had Isaac. Now several years later he is going to offer his son as a sacrifice, and it would appear that the promises of God are once again going to be dashed. How is God going to fulfill what He has promised? Well, we remember that when Abraham was in his seventies he took things into his own hands and decided to have Ishmael. But now, Abraham is going to trust God. Even though it seems absolutely foolish and completely hopeless, he still continues to trust in God, that God would fulfill His promise. And he is willing to offer even the person that he loves the most to God, which is a very important lesson to all of us – not to tie up our kids and offer them as a burnt offering – but rather to be completely detached from husband or wife or children, because they belong first and foremost to God. They are given to us as gifts to love, and in the meantime they are with us but they belong to Him. He created them. All the parents did was cooperate with God in the creation of the children. So we need to be detached in that proper way so we can love the other person solely for the sake of that other person. If we are not detached, then our love is selfish. We cannot do that. We want to love the person in a completely selfless way.

Then as we go through, skipping many other important points, we get to the point where after God has stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son. The Lord then says to Abraham, “Now I see just how committed you really are,” and then goes on to say, “Now all of your descendants will be countless.” God has made this promise several times to Abraham: “Look up at the stars in the sky and see if you can count them. Go and try to count the sand on the shore of the sea.” But the promise is not going to be fulfilled until after there is a test.

Jesus has made many promises; God Himself has made many promises. All of them are going to be fulfilled in each and every one of us provided that we do His Will. There is going to be a test – and many more than one. All the promises are there and they are all true, but they are not just simply there to say, “All of this is yours, now go and do whatever you want.” Rather, God is saying, “All of this is yours, but you have to prove that it is really what you want. You have to prove that you love Me more than anything in the world, and that you truly want the promises that are being offered.” Abraham’s test was a particularly painful and difficult one. But if you read the lives of the saints, the tests that God gives to Christian people are not any less – different, yes, but no less. They are difficult because He is really asking the question: “Do you love Me?”

The thing that all of us need to recognize is that we have to put God first. There are wonderful promises that Our Lord has made for us regarding eternal life, regarding all that He is going to do for us even in this world, but we have to show our love for Him. His promises are true and they are trustworthy. The question now is: Are we true and are we trustworthy? The only way we are going to know is to be tested. So thanks be to God for His promises. Now we need to pray that we will be faithful in the midst of the testing so that everything promised us will indeed be ours.

This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

Mt 9:1-8
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	And entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city.	et ascendens in naviculam transfretavit et venit in civitatem suam
2	And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.	et ecce offerebant ei paralyticum iacentem in lecto et videns Iesus fidem illorum dixit paralytico confide fili remittuntur tibi peccata tua
3	And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth.	et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se hic blasphemat
4	And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts?	et cum vidisset Iesus cogitationes eorum dixit ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris
5	Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk?	quid est facilius dicere dimittuntur tibi peccata aut dicere surge et ambula
6	But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.	ut sciatis autem quoniam Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata tunc ait paralytico surge tolle lectum tuum et vade in domum tuam
7	And he arose, and went into his house.	et surrexit et abiit in domum suam
8	And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.	videntes autem turbae timuerunt et glorificaverunt Deum qui dedit potestatem talem hominibus

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