November 30, 2005
Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Psalm: Wednesday 51
Reading IRom 10:9-18
Brothers and sisters:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone to preach?
And how can people preach unless they are sent?
As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!
But not everyone has heeded the good news;
for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?
Thus faith comes from what is heard,
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
But I ask, did they not hear?
Certainly they did; for
Their voice has gone forth to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
Responsorial PsalmPs 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (10)
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.or:
R. (John 6:63)
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R.
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.or:
R.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R.
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.or:
R.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R.
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.or:
R.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R.
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.or:
R.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
GospelMt 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
(Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.(
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
From: Romans 10:9-18
Israel's Infidelity (Continuation)
[9] If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
[10] For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he
confesses with his lips and so is saved. [11] The scripture says, "No
one who believes in him will be put to shame." [12] For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and
bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. [13] For, "every one who
calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." [14] But how are men to
call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to
believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear
without a preacher? [15] And how can men preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good
news!" [16] But they have not all heeded the gospel; for Isaiah says,
"Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" [17] So faith comes
from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.
[18] But I ask; have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice
has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the
world."
Commentary:
9. At least from the third century B.C. we have documentary evidence
that, out of respect, the Jews did not utter the name "Yahweh" but
generally referred to God instead as "Lord". The first Christians, by
giving Christ the title of "Lord", were making a profession of faith in
the divinity of Jesus.
10. To make the act of faith, human free will must necessarily be
involved as St Thomas explains when commenting on this passage: "He
very rightly says that man believes with his heart. Because everything
else to do with external worship of God, man can do it against his
will, but he cannot believe if he does not want to believe. So, the
mind of a believer is not obliged to adhere to the truth by rational
necessity, as is the case with human knowledge: it is moved by the
will" ("Commentary on Rom, ad loc.")
However, in order to live by faith, in addition to internal assent
external profession of faith is required; man is made up of body and
soul and therefore he tends by nature to express his inner convictions
externally; when the honor of God or the good of one's neighbor
requires it, one even has an obligation to profess one's faith
externally. For example, in the case of persecution we are obliged to
profess our faith, even at the risk of life, if, on being interrogated
about our beliefs, our silence would lead people to suppose that we did
not believe or that we did not hold our faith to be the true faith and
our bad example would cause others to fall away from the faith.
However, external profession is an obligation not only in extreme
situations of that kind. In all situations--be they ordinary or
exceptional--God will always help us to confess our faith boldly (cf.
Mt 10:32-33; Lk 12:8).
14-21. To sum up what the Apostle is saying: the Jews have no excuse
for not invoking Christ as Lord, for if they do not believe in him it
is due to their rebelliousness, for the Good News has indeed been
preached to them.
14-17. The Church's work of evangelization is aimed at eliciting faith,
moving people to conversion and reception of its sacraments, in
fulfillment of the Lord's commandment, "Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to the whole of creation. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned"
(Mk 16:15-16). The Acts of the Apostles give us a great deal of
information about this first period of evangelization which was marked
by many miracles worked by the Apostles through the power Jesus gave
them.
On the very day of Pentecost we can already see how vibrant was St
Peter's preaching and the miracles which accompanied it: "The men and
women who have come to the city from all parts of the world listen with
amazement [...]. These wonders, which take place before their very
eyes, lead them to listen to the preaching of the Apostles. The Holy
Spirit himself, who is acting through our Lord's disciples, moves the
hearts of their listeners and leads them to the faith" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Christ Is Passing By", 127). It is God himself who works these
miracles through the Apostles; it is he who, through the preaching of
Peter and the Eleven, is revealing the mysteries; and, finally, it is
he who is moving the hearts of the people. This triple divine action
leads to the hearers' act of faith. "Two things are required for
faith", says St Thomas. "First, the things which are of faith have to
be proposed [...]; second, the assent of the believer to the things
which are proposed to him" ("Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 6, a. 1, c).
He goes on to say later that, as regards the first of these two things,
faith comes from God, who reveals truths either directly, as in the
case of the Apostles and the Prophets, or else indirectly through
preachers of the faith sent by Him (cf. Rom 10:15). Speaking of the
second, he says that in the individual's assent to the truths of faith
factors come into play which are external to the person--for example,
miracles, and preaching which expounds the truth of faith. But none of
these factors is sufficient: even though they witness the same miracle
or hear the same preaching, some believe and others do not. There must
therefore be something which moves the person interiorly; although the
person's free will must play a part, it cannot account for the act of
faith, because that act is a supernatural one; therefore, it must be
that God moves the will interiorly, by means of grace (cf. "Summa
Theologiae, ibid.").
Following Jesus' example, "every catechist must constantly endeavor to
transmit by his teaching and behavior the teaching and life of Jesus
[...]. Every catechist should be able to apply to himself the
mysterious words of Jesus: 'My teaching is not mine, but his who sent
me' (Jn 7:16)" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 6).
Good example is not enough: apostolic action, through the spoken word,
is called for. We have a mission to speak in God's name: his disciples
"should everywhere on earth bear witness and give an answer to everyone
who asks a reason for the hope of an eternal life which is theirs"
(Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 10).
This was what the first Christians did. "Whenever we read the Acts of
the Apostles, we are moved by the audacity, the confidence in their
mission and the sacrificing joy of the disciples of Christ. They do not
ask for multitudes. Even though the multitudes come, they address
themselves to each particular soul, to each person, one by one. Philip,
to the Ethiopian (cf. Acts 8:24-40); Peter, to the centurion Cornelius
(cf. Acts 10:1-48); Paul, to Sergius Paulus (cf. Acts 13:6-12)" ([St] J.
Escriva, "Homily" entitled "Loyalty to the Church").
Those who accept the Gospel message feel drawn towards it when those
who proclaim it also bear witness to it. "It is therefore primarily by
her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world
[...]. This law once laid down by the Apostle Paul maintains its full
force today. Preaching, the verbal proclamation of a message, is indeed
always indispensable [...]. The word remains ever relevant, especially
when it is the bearer of the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 2:1-5)" (Paul VI,
"Evangelii Nuntiandi", 41-42).
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 4:18-22
The First Disciples Called
[18] As He (Jesus) walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into
the sea; for they were fishermen. [19] And He said to them, "Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men." [20] Immediately they left
their nets and followed Him. [21] And going on from there He saw two
other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the
boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called
them. [22] Immediately, they left the boat and their father, and
followed Him.
Commentary:
18-22. These four disciples had already met our Lord (John 1:35-42),
and their brief meeting with Him seems to have had a powerful effect on
their souls. In this way Christ prepared their vocation, a fully
effective vocation which moved them to leave everything behind so as to
follow Him and be His disciples. Standing out above their human
defects (which the Gospels never conceal), we can see the exemplary
generosity and promptness of the Apostles in answering God's call.
The thoughtful reader cannot fail to be struck by the delightful
simplicity with which the evangelists describe the calling of these men
in the midst of their daily work.
"God draws us from the shadows of our ignorance, our groping through
history, and, no matter what our occupation in the world, He calls us
in a loud voice, as He once called Peter and Andrew" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Christ Is Passing By," 45).
"This divine and human dialogue completely changed the lives of John
and Andrew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their
hearts to listen to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them
beside the Sea of Galilee" ("ibid"., 108).
We should notice the words of Sacred Scripture used to describe the
alacrity with which the Apostles follow our Lord. Peter and Andrew
"immediately" left their nets and followed Him. Similarly, James and
John "immediately" left the boats and their father and followed Him.
God passes by and calls us. If we do not answer Him "immediately", He
may continue on His way and we could lose sight of Him. When God
passes by, He may do so rapidly; it would be sad if we were to fall
behind because we wanted to follow Him while still carrying many things
that are only a dead weight and a nuisance.
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.
We're inclined to divide because that division was there from before we were. We know that before man was, there were angels who fell from Grace. Even Jesus states that we are either for or against Him.
Our most important duty is to figure out how to know, love, and serve God. Knowing is the first order of this Spiritual relationship. St. Paul talks about the inclusiveness of ALL mankind under God, I suppose, to emphasize Christ's command of "love thy neighbor as thyself".
It's nothing short of miraculous that early Christian communities survived through persecutions as well as faulty economic practices (what we call Socialism today). What made Christian 'socialism' successful was that EVERYTHING was focused around Christ. Today's Socialism heresy doesn't have that focus because Humanism replaces God with the 'state'. It's a deadly form of paganism and nothing short of diabolic in nature. Thus, the miraculous survival of the Christian Culture shows that Christ was truly among them in similar fashion that Jews are truly Loved by God and they are still His Chosen!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the Gospels' final draft were written well after those Apostles for whom the Gospels were named were long since dead? Another miracle that they should even exist! If a slight detail is out of place from one Gospel to the next, the Message never schisms from the Word.
In case the world (especially those of us calling ourselves "Christian") haven't caught on, Christ's 'delaying' His imminent return should show us just a glimpse of His infinite Love and Mercy for the pagan heart...which includes Christians' hearts not in full Communion with Christ. What has been held bound by the Apostolic Church was held bound in Heaven. This is the authority of the those responsible for Christ's Teaching. Thus, if Saints are allowed to Baptize souls in Limbo and promote them into Purgatory or better, then so be it.
If we're living in the end times (as it's healthy for a soul to anticipate the end and prepare for it) then I suppose the final temptations of Satan and the wicked (including those disguised as prophets, politicians, clergy, etc.) will be to maintain an "all inclusive" 'social justice/Socialism' attitude for ALL evils and bad habits without giving the necessary loving discipline of admonishment. This "all inclusive" attitude scatters the flock from the purity of Grace needed to be in Christ's presence. It keeps souls enslaved to sinful desires not of God instead of freeing the soul from fleshly desires and unimportant worldly worries. *****Furthermore, we can know and separate this attitude via the whining similar to Judas the betrayer when he complained of how a sorrowful woman misspent her money to perfume the feet of Our Lord and Savior.*****
Personally, I need the Graceful admonishment as I'm sure all souls stained with original sin would. I'd much rather someone tell me that my fly is down before meeting Jesus with my underwear and shirt tail hanging out (maybe that's why robes are better in Heaven).