From: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Praise and Thanksgiving to God
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Commentary:
3-12. This passage, a hymn of praise and gratitude to God, developing what is
proclaimed in v. 2, is more explicit about the action of each Person of the
Blessed Trinity: by making his choice of Christians, God the Father has destined
us to a marvellous heritage in heaven (vv. 3-5); to attain this we need to love and
believe in Jesus Christ our Lord (vv. 6-9); the Holy Spirit, who earlier proclaimed
salvation by the mouth of the Old Testament prophets, is now, through those who
preach the Gospel, announcing that salvation has arrived (vv. 10-12).
3-5. When the fruits of the Redemption are applied to us, a kind of rebirth takes
place. St Peter is the only New Testament writer to use the Greek term trans-
lated here “we have been born anew” (cf. also 1:23). However, the same idea
occurs elsewhere: St John speaks of the action of the Holy Spirit at Baptism as
causing one to be born again (cf. Jn 3:1ff; also, e.g., 1:12-13; 1 Jn 2:29; 3:9); St
Paul refers to “a new creation” to describe the effects of Redemption (cf., e.g.,
Gal 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17); and St James calls Christians the “first fruits of his
creatures”(Jas 1:16-18).
Through this being born again, God destines us “to a living hope”, which centers
on the inheritance of heaven, here described as “imperishable” (it is eternal),
“undefiled” (it contains no evil) and “unfading” (it will never grow o Id). The sacred
writer uses these adjectives of negation to show that heavenly things are not
subject to any of the imperfections and defects of earthly things.
For those Christians who stay true to their calling, their inheritance is “kept in
heaven”. This key theme will be addressed in various parts of the letter (cf. 2:18-
25; 3:13-17; 4:12-19; 5:5-11); the letter is very much aimed at encouraging the
faithful to bear sufferings with joy, knowing that they are a means to and a gu-
arantee of heaven.
3. God brought about the work of Redemption “by his great mercy”. For God,
who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we
were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:4-5).
And just as the work of Creation is a manifestation of God’s omnipotence, so his
new Creation is an expression of his mercy (cf. “Summa Theologiae”, II-II, q. 30,
a. 4; cf. note on 2 Cor 5:17).
“Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”: the resurrection of our
Lord marks the climax of his salvific work, for it assures men of their redemption
and their own resurrection. In its Easter liturgy the Church joyfully reminds of this:
“He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world. By dying he destroyed
our death; by rising he restored our life” (”Easter Preface”, I).
6-9. Hope of obtaining the inheritance of heaven gives Christians joy in the midst
of trials which test their faith. At the center of that faith is Jesus, whom they
strive to love above all, thereby attaining “unutterable and exalted joy”, a foretaste
of the joy of heaven itself.
Exhortations to be joyful in the midst of affliction occur often in the New Testa-
ment (cf., e.g., Mt 5:11-12; 2 Cor 1:3-7; Jas 1:2) and reflect a deep Christian
conviction, which St. Bede refers to in his commentary: “St Peter says that it is
good to suffer trials because eternal joys cannot be obtained except through the
afflictions and sorrows of this passing world. ‘For a little while’, he says, however,
because when one receives an eternal reward, the afflictions of this world—which
appeared so heavy and bitter—seem then to have been very short-lived and slight”
(”Super 1 Pet. Expositio, ad loc.”).
Christian joy is the fruit of faith, hope and love. “You should realize that God
wants us to be happy and that, if you do all you can, you will be happy, very, ve-
ry happy, although you will never be a moment without the Cross. But that Cross
s no longer a gallows. It is the throne from which Christ reigns” (St J. Escriva,
“Friends of God”, 141).
7. The refining of gold by fire is often referred to in Scripture (cf., e.g., Ps 66:10;
Prov 17:3; 1 Cor 3:12-13; Rev 3:18) to explain that the sufferings of this life help
to improve the quality of one’s faith. “If I experience pain,” St Augustine teaches,
“relief will come in due course. If I am offered tribulation, it will serve for my puri-
fication. Does gold shine in the craftsman’s furnace? It will shine later, when it
forms part of the collar, when it is part of the jewelry. But, for the time being, it
puts up with being in the fire because when it sheds its impurities it will acquire
its brilliant shine” (”Enarrationes in Psalmos”, 61, 11).
The thought of Christ coming in glory (cf. 1:5-13; 4:13) should greatly encourage
the Christian to bear trials cheerfully.
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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, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: John 20:19-31
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
[24] Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when
Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But
he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my
finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe.”
[26] Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was
with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and
said, “Peace be with you.” [27] Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here,
and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be
faithless, but believing.” [28] Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
[29] Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Bles-
sed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; [31] but these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His
name.
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Commentary:
19-20. Jesus appears to the Apostles on the evening of the day of which He rose.
He presents Himself in their midst without any need for the doors to be opened,
by using the qualities of His glorified body; but in order to dispel any impression
that He is only a spirit He shows them His hands and His side: there is no lon-
ger any doubt about its being Jesus Himself, about His being truly risen from the
dead. He greets them twice using the words of greeting customary among the
Jews, with the same tenderness as He previously used put into this salutation.
These friendly words dispel the fear and shame the Apostles must have been
feeling at behaving so disloyally during His passion: He has created the normal
atmosphere of intimacy, and now He will endow them with transcendental po-
wers.
21. Pope Leo XIII explained how Christ transferred His own mission to the Apos-
tles: “What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be founded?
This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which He had
received from the Father, that they should be perpetuated. This He clearly re-
solved to do: this He actually did. ‘As the Father hath sent Me, even so I send
you’ (John 20:21). ‘As Thou didst send Me into the world, so I have sent them
into the world’ (John 17:18). [...] When about to ascend into Heaven, He sends
His Apostles in virtue of the same power by which He had been sent from the
Father; and He charges them to spread abroad and propagate His teachings (cf.
Matthew 28:18), so that those obeying the Apostles might be saved, and those
disobeying should perish (cf. Mark 16:16). [...] Hence He commands that the
teaching of the Apostles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as if
it were His own: ‘He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects
Me’ (Luke 10:16). Wherefore the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ as He is
the ambassador of the Father” ([Pope] Leo XIII, “Satis Cognitum”). In this mis-
sion the bishops are the successors of the Apostles: “Christ sent the Apostles
as He Himself had been sent by the Father, and then through the Apostles made
their successors, the bishops, sharers in His consecration and mission. The func-
tion of the bishops’ ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests
so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers
of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had
been entrusted to it by Christ” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 2).
22-23. The Church has always understood—and has in fact defined—that Jesus
Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which is
exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. “The Lord then especially instituted the
Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, He breathed upon
His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit...’ The consensus of all the Fa-
thers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so
clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and
their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism”
(Council of Trent, “De Paenitentia”, Chapter 1).
The Sacrament of Penance is the most sublime expression of God’s love and
mercy towards men, described so vividly in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son
(cf. Luke 15:11-32). The Lord always awaits us, with His arms wide open, wai-
ting for us to repent—and then He will forgive us and restore us to the dignity of
being His sons.
The Popes have consistently recommended Christians to have regular recourse
to this Sacrament: “For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of virtue
we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced by
the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for by this means we grow in
a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uprooted,
spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified and the
will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased
by the efficacy of the Sacrament itself” ([Pope] Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”).
24-28. Thomas’ doubting moves our Lord to give him special proof that His risen
body is quite real. By so doing He bolsters the faith of those who would later on
find faith in Him. “Surely you do not think”, [Pope] St. Gregory the Great com-
ments, “that is was a pure accident that the chosen disciple was missing; who
on his return was told about the appearance and on hearing about it doubted;
doubting, so that he might touch and believe by touching? It was not an acci-
dent; God arranged that it should happen. His clemency acted in this wonderful
way so that through the doubting disciple touching the wounds in His Master’s
body, our own wounds of incredulity might be healed. [...] And so the disciple,
doubting and touching, was changed into a witness of the truth of the Resurrec-
tion” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 26, 7).
Thomas’ reply is not simply an exclamation: it is an assertion, an admirable act
of faith in the divinity of Christ: “My Lord and my God!” These words are an eja-
culatory prayer often used by Christians, especially as an act of faith in the real
presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist.
29. [Pope] St. Gregory the Great explains these words of our Lord as follows:
“By St. Paul saying ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things unseen’ (Hebrews 11:1), it becomes clear that faith has to do with things
which are not seen, for those which are seen are no longer the object of faith, but
rather of experience. Well then, why is Thomas told, when he saw and touched,
‘Because you have seen, you have believed?’ Because he saw one thing, and be-
lieved another. It is certain that mortal man cannot see divinity; therefore, he saw
the man and recognized Him as God, saying, ‘My Lord and my God.’ In conclu-
sion: seeing, he believed, because contemplating that real man he exclaimed
that He was God, whom he could not see” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 27, 8).
Like everyone else Thomas needed the grace of God to believe, but in addition to
this grace he was given an exceptional proof; his faith would have had more merit
had he accepted the testimony of the other Apostles. Revealed truths are normal-
ly transmitted by word, by the testimony of other people who, sent by Christ and
aided by the Holy Spirit, preach the deposit of faith (cf. Mark 16:15-16). “So faith
comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from the preaching of Christ”
(Romans 10:17). The preaching of the Gospel, therefore, carries with it sufficient
guarantees of credibility, and by accepting that preaching man “offers the full
submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals, willingly assenting to the
revelation given” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 5).
“What follows pleases us greatly: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
believe.’ For undoubtedly it is we who are meant, who confess with our soul Him
whom we have not seen in the flesh. It refers to us, provided we live in accor-
dance with the faith, for only he truly believes who practices what the believes”
(”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 26, 9).
30-31. This is a kind of first epilogue or conclusion to the Gospel of St. John.
The more common opinion is that he added Chapter 21 later, which covers such
important events as the triple confession of St. Peter, confirmation of his primacy
and our Lord’s prophecy about the death of the beloved disciple. These verses
sum up the inspired writer’s whole purpose in writing his Gospel — to have men
believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ announced by the prophets in
the Old Testament, the Son of God, so that by believing this saving truth, which
is the core of Revelation, they might already begin to partake of eternal life (cf.
John 1:12, 2:23; 3:18; 14:13; 15:16; 16:23-26).
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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, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.