Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-16-06

Mt 17:9-13
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
9	And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.	et descendentibus illis de monte praecepit Iesus dicens nemini dixeritis visionem donec Filius hominis a mortuis resurgat
10	And his disciples asked him, saying: Why then do the scribes say that Elias must come first?	et interrogaverunt eum discipuli dicentes quid ergo scribae dicunt quod Heliam oporteat primum venire
11	But he answering, said to them: Elias indeed shall come, and restore all things.	at ille respondens ait eis Helias quidem venturus est et restituet omnia
12	But I say to you, that Elias is already come, and they knew him not, But have done unto him whatsoever they had a mind. So also the Son of man shall suffer from them.	dico autem vobis quia Helias iam venit et non cognoverunt eum sed fecerunt in eo quaecumque voluerunt sic et Filius hominis passurus est ab eis
13	Then the disciples understood, that he had spoken to them of John the Baptist.	tunc intellexerunt discipuli quia de Iohanne Baptista dixisset eis

From: Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11

Elijah
-----
[1] Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like
a torch. [2] He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made
them few in number. [3] By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens,
and also three times brought down fire. [4] How glorious you were, 0
Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which
you have? [9] You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot
with horses of fire; [10] you who are ready at the appointed time, it is
written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury to turn the
heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. [11]
Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in
love; for we also shall surely live.

Commentary:

48:1-16. This passage is a summary of the lives of the prophets Elijah
and Elisha. The author highlights Elijah's mission to turn the heart of the
father to his sons, to placate God's wrath (v. 10). In the New Testament
these same words are applied to John the Baptist, with reference to his
mission of preparing the way of the Lord (Lk 1:17; cf. Ma! 4:5-6). Thanks
to the preaching of those prophets, Sirach reminds us, a remnant of the
people remained faithful (v. 16), and the continuation of the history of sal-
vation was assured.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.

From: Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

The Transfiguration (Continuation)

[9] And as they were coming down the mountains, [10] (And) the dis-
ciples asked Him (Jesus), "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah
must come?" [11] He replied, "Elijah does come, and he is to restore
all things; [12] but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did
not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son
of Man will suffer at heir hands." [13] Then the disciples understood
that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Commentary:

10-13. Malachi 4:5 (3:23 in the Hebrew) speaks of the coming of Elijah
the prophet before "the great and terrible day of the Lord", the Judgment
Day. When Jesus says that Elijah has already come, He is referring to
St. John the Baptist, whose mission it was to prepare the way for the
First Coming of the Lord, the same as Elijah will have to do prior to His
last coming. The scribes failed to grasp the meaning of the prophecy
of Malachi; they thought it referred simply to the coming of the Messiah,
the First Coming of Christ.

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