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From: Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3

God’s Covenant with Abram

[1] After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” [2] But Abram said,
“0 Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given
me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” [4] And behold,
the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own
son shall be your heir.” [5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward
heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said
to him, “So shall your descendants be.” [6] And he believed the Lord; and he\
reckoned it to him as righteousness.

The Birth and Circumcision of Isaac

[1] The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did Sarah as he had
promised. And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the
time of which God had spoken to him. [3] Abraham called the name of his son
who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.

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

15:1-21. God rewards Abraham for his generosity towards Mechizedek and for
his renouncing of the riches offered him by the king of Sodom. He appears to
him in a vision and promises his help, many descendants and the land of Ca-
naan. Here all that is required of Abraham is that he believe in the promise that
God himself, through a rite of covenant, undertakes to fulfill. This passage em-
phasizes the gravity of God’s promise and speaks of the faithfulness of God,
who will keep his word.

15:2-3. Abraham does not understand how God can keep the promise he made
to him in Haran (cf. chap. 12). The fact that he has no children is a severe test
of his faith; and anything else God may give him means little by comparison.
This is the first time Abraham speaks to God, and their conversation shows the
deep intimacy between them. He makes his concerns known to God: because
Lot has left him and Abraham has no son of his own, he needs to appoint an
heir who will take over leadership of the clan in return for serving Abraham in his
lifetime. This is the first friendly dialogue the Bible records between God and a
man since the dialogue God had with Adam in paradise (cf. 3:9-1.2). It is a con-
versation between friends and the first example, therefore, of a prayer of friend-
ship and filiation, for to pray is to speak to God.

“Of Damascus”: this is the translation most frequently given for a word which is
very unclear (the original text is unrecoverably corrupt). It does not seem to mean
that Eliezer was a native of Damascus, for he was a slave or servant born in Abra-
ham’s house (v. 3); therefore, it must be some other sort of title whose meaning
escapes us.

15:4-6. Once more Abraham is asked to make an act of faith in the word of God,
and he does so. This pleases God and is reckoned righteous. This makes Abra-
ham the father of all those who believe in God and his saving word.

In the light of this passage St Paul sees Abraham as the model of how a person
becomes righteous in God’s eyes—through faith in his word, the definitive word
being the announcement that God saves us through the death and resurrection
of Jesus. In this way, Abraham not only becomes the father of the Jewish people
according to the flesh, but also the father of those who without being Jews have
become members of the new people of God through faith in Jesus: “We say that
faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it reckoned to
him? Was it before or after he was circumcised? It was not after, but before he
was circumcised. He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteous-
ness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was
to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus
have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised
who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which
our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Rom 4:9-12).

Abraham’s faith revealed itself in his obedience to God when he left his homeland
(cf. 12:4), and later on when he was ready to sacrifice his son (cf 22:1-4). This is
the aspect of Abraham’s obedience which is given special emphasis in the Letter
of St James, inviting Christians to prove the genuineness of their faith with obe-
dience to God and good works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along
with his works, and faith was completed by works, and scripture was fulfilled
which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteous-
ness’; and he was called the friend of God” (Jas 2:21-23).

21:1-7. The promise recounted in 15:18 and 17:19-21 now begins to be fulfilled,
The patriarch’s age serves to show the special intervention by God in the birth of
Isaac; as does the etymological explanation of the child’s name, “she began to
laugh”, which is now interpreted as “God has made laughter for me”, that is, has
made me happy (cf. 18:15). And Abraham’s obedience is very clear: he strictly
fulfills the commandment of circumcision.

This is perhaps the most joyful moment in the patriarch’s life: up to now it has
been very much marked by trials and tribulations. With the birth of Isaac Abra-
ham’s trust in God grows, as can be seen now by his prompt obedience to his
Law. The Lord is strengthening the patriarch for the final test which he will make
him undergo later. This event in Abraham’s life helps us to see that in moments
of darkness in the course of our life we need to put our trust in God: “The time
has come to cry to him, Remember, Lord, the promises you made, filling me
with hope; they console me in my nothingness and fill my life with strength (Ps
119:49-50). Our Lord wants us to rely on him for everything: it is now glaringly
evident to us that without him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5), whereas with him
we can do all things (cf. Phil 4:13). We confirm our decision to walk always in
his presence (cf. Ps 119:168)” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 305).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19

The Good Example of the Patriarchs
-----------------------------------------------------
[8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he
was to receive as an inheritance and he went out, not knowing where he was to
go.

11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past
the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from
one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the
stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had re-
ceived the promises was ready to offer up his only son, [18] of whom it was said,
"Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." [19] He considered that God
was able to raise men even from the dead; hence he did receive him back, and
this was a symbol.

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

8. Abraham, "our father in faith", is the greatest example, in the Old Testament,
of faith in God (cf. Gen 12:1-4; Rom 4:1ff; Gal 3:6-9; Heb 6:13ff). It is not surpri-
sing that the author pauses to dwell on the faithful life of the father of the chosen
people. Putting all his trust in the divine word, Abraham gave up all the security
and comfort of his native land in Ur of the Chaldeans, to set out for a distant and
unknown place, the land of Canaan, which God had promised to give his descen-
dants. "Neither the love for his homeland nor the pleasure of his neighbors' com-
pany nor the comforts of his father's home were able to weaken his resolve. He
set out courageously and ardently to where God willed to lead him. What self-
abasement and abandonment! One cannot love God perfectly unless one renoun-
ces all attachment to perishable things" (St. Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the
Love of God", book 10). Abraham symbolizes the need for detachment if one is
to obtain redemption and to be a good servant of God and of others.

"Never forget that Christ cannot be reached without sacrifice. You have to get rid
of everything that gets in the way [...]. You have to do the same in this battle for
the glory of God, in this struggle of love and peace by which we are trying to
spread Christ's kingdom. In order to serve the Church, the Pope and all souls,
you must be ready to give up everything superfluous" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends
of God", 196).

11-12. Sarah, like Abraham, was very elderly when God announced that she was
going to have a child. At first she was puzzled and even sarcastically skeptical
(cf. Gen 18:9f), but soon her attitude changed into a faith which God rewarded by
her conceiving Isaac. The faith of Sarah and her husband can be said to exceed
that of the earlier patriarchs because what God promised could come true only
by means of a miracle, since Abraham, like his wife, was old and incapable of
begetting children. That is why it says that from one man "and him as good as
dead" innumerable descendants were born. God is generous in rewarding man's
faith. "'Si habueritis fidem, sicut granum sinapis"! -- If your faith were the size of
a mustard seed!...'

"What promises are contained in this exclamation of the Master!" (St.. J. Escriva,
"The Way", 585).

The conception of Isaac is also a "type" of that of Christ. "All the miraculous con-
ceptions which occurred in the Old Testament were prefigurements of the grea-
test of all miracles, the Incarnation of the Word. It was fitting that his birth from
a Virgin should be prefigured by other births so as to prepare people's minds for
faith. But there is this difference: God miraculously enabled Sarah to conceive by
means of human seed, whereas the blessed Virgin conceived without it" (St. Tho-
mas Aquinas, "Commentary on Heb.", 11, 3).

17-19. It is very difficult for us to imagine what Abraham thought when God asked
him to sacrifice Isaac, the son of the promise, his only son, in the mountains of
Moriah (cf. Gen 22:2). The Old Testament shows how resolute Abraham was, his
absolute docility, his serenity even in the midst of suffering his trust in God (cf.
Gen 22:1-18). This is revealed in the touching conversation between the Patriarch
and his son, when Isaac asks him where is the lamb for the offering and Abraham
replies, "God will provide himself with the lamb for a burnt offering, my son". In St.
Paul's epistles generally Abraham's faith is proposed as an example (cf. Gal 3:7;
Rom 4:3, 11-12; 4:17-22); but that was in the context of his faith in God's promise
that he would have a multitude of descendants. Here, however, the Patriarch's
faith is to be seen in the way he approaches a commandment which seems to
negate that promise: how could God possibly ask him to sacrifice his only son?
The answer lies in the fact that God knew that Abraham had faith in his ability to
bring the dead back to life.

Abraham's obedience to God in this episode is the most striking proof of his faith.
Here most of all the Patriarch "believed against hope [...]; he grew strong in his
faith as he gave glory to God" (Rom 4:18, 21). "The Patriarch hears words which
deny the promise; he hears the very author of the promise contradict himself, but
he is not dismayed; he is going to obey as if everything were completely consis-
tent. And in fact the two things were compatible: the two things God said were
contradictory as far as human logic was concerned; but faith brought them into
agreement [...].

"God tested Abraham's faith. Did he not know the strength and integrity of that
great man? Undoubtedly he did, very well. Why, then, did he put them to the
test? He did not do it to prove to himself the Patriarch's virtue; he did it to show
the world how excellent Abraham was. The Apostle, moreover, shows the He-
brews one of the causes of our temptations, so that anyone who is afflicted
should not think that God has abandoned him" ("Hom. on Heb.", 25). we know,
moreover, that precisely on account of Abraham's generosity and faith, God re-
newed his promise to him, now ratifying it with an oath (cf. Gen 22:16; Heb 6:
13-18).

19. "Hence he did receive him back, and this was a symbol": after offering Isaac,
Abraham was given him back, because God stepped in before Isaac was sacri-
ficed (Gen 22:11-12). And he received him as "a symbol" (literally, as "a para-
ble"). Tradition has always seen the sacrifice of Isaac, the only Son, as a sym-
bol of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ; and, particularly, it has seen God's inter-
vention on Mount Moriah as a symbol of the Resurrection. "He saw it as a sym-
bol," Theodoret comments, "that is, as a prefigurement of the Resurrection. (I-
saac) was brought to death by his father's will, and then brought back to life by
the voice which prevented his death. All this amounts to a prefiguring of the pas-
sion of the Savior, and that is why the Lord told the Jews, 'Your father Abraham
rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad' (Jn 8:56)" ("Inter-
pretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad loc.").

Origen, a writer of Christian antiquity, reflects this tradition very beautifully when
he says that the sacrifice of Isaac helps us to understand the mystery of Re-
demption. "Isaac carrying the wood for the burnt offering is a symbol of Christ,
who carried his (own) cross. But it is also the function of the priest to carry the
wood for the burnt offering [...]. Christ is the Word of God, but the Word made
flesh. Therefore, there is in Christ an element which comes from above and a-
nother which comes from human nature, which he took on in the womb of the
Virgin. This is why Christ experiences suffering: he suffers in the flesh, and he
dies, but what suffers death is the flesh, and the ram is a figure of this, as St.
John said, 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' (Jn
1:29) [...]. Christ is at one and the same time victim and high priest. Thus, ac-
cording to the spirit he offers the victim to his father, according to his flesh, he
himself is offered on the altar of the cross" ("Homilies on Genesis", 8, 6 and 9).

For all these reasons, Eucharistic Prayer I links Christ's sacrifice with those of
Abel, Isaac and Melchizedek.

*********************************************************************************************
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: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

Duties Towards Parents
-----------------------------------
[2] For the Lord honored the father above the children,
     and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons.
[3] Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
[4] and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure.
[5] Whoever honors his father will he gladdened by his own children, and
     when he prays he will he heard.
[6] Whoever glorifies his father will have long life,
          and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother.

[12] O son, help your father in his old age,
            and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
[13] even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance;
            in all your strength do not despise him.
[14] For kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
            and against your sins it will be credited to you.

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

3:1-16:23. Throughout the book each doctrinal passage is followed by a section
to do with practical applications, sapiential thoughts on moral conduct, eulogies
of virtues and sapiential advice on where to seek things that are truly good, etc.
This is the first such section. In it the reader will find an exhortation to prudence
in all its various forms.

3:1-16. Traditional wisdom encourages people to be observant and to reflect on
life in order to discover the best route to happiness. Here it focuses on the
relationship between children and their parents: honoring one's parents brings
blessings.

However, Ben Sirach's viewpoint is primarily a religious one. "Whoever fears the
Lord will honor his father" (v. 7, RSV note m). The Decalogue laid this down very
clearly: "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded
you; that your day may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the
land ..." (Deut 5:16; cf. Ex 20:12), and these verses are a valuable commentary
that is generous in its praise of those who attend to that commandment. Very
appropriately, the Church uses these verses as the first reading on the feast of
the Holy Family, for God honors Mary and St Joseph by entrusting Jesus to
their care.

Finally (cf. vv. 12-26), the passage dwells on children's duties to their parents
when they can no longer look after themselves: The fourth commandment re-
minds grown children of their "responsibilities toward their parents". As much
as they can, they must give them material and moral support in old age and in
times of illness, loneliness or distress. Jesus recalls this duty of gratitude (cf.
Mk 7:10-12)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2218).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Colossians 3:12-21

Progress in the Spiritual Life

[12] Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness,
lowliness, meekness, and patience, [13] forbearing one another and, if one has a
complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so
you also must forgive. [14] And above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to
which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. [16] Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your
hearts to God. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Morals in Family Life

[18] Wives, be subject to your husband as is fitting in the Lord. [19] Husbands,
love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. [20] Children, obey your parents
in everything, for this pleases the Lord. [21] Fathers, do not provoke your children,
lest they become discouraged.

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

12-13. Putting on the new nature is not just an external action, like putting on
different clothes. It is a transfiguration involving the whole person — soul and body,
mind and will. This interior change begins to operate when one makes a firm re-
solution to lead a fully Christian life; but it calls for an on-going effort, day in day
out, to practice all the virtues. “Conversion is something momentary; sanctifica-
tion is the work of a lifetime. The divine seed of charity, which God has sown in
our souls, wants to grow, to express itself in action, to yield results which con-
tinually coincide with what God wants. Therefore, we must be ready to begin
again, to find again — in new situations — the light and the stimulus of our first
conversion” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 58).

The virtues which the Apostle lists here as characteristic of the new man are all
expressions, in one way or another, of charity, which “binds everything together
in total harmony” (v. 14). Meekness, patience, forgiveness and gratefulness all
reflect an essential virtue — humility. Only a humble person can be forgiving and
truly appreciative, because only he realizes that everything he has comes from
God. This realization leads him to be understanding towards his neighbor, forgi-
ving him as often as needs be; by acting in this way he is proving the genuine-
ness of his faith and love.

See the note on Eph 4:20-24.

14. The comparison of the new nature to a new outfit is extended here by a furt-
her metaphor: charity is the belt which keeps everything together. Without it the
other virtues would fall apart: supernatural virtue could not survive (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-
3). St Francis de Sales uses simple examples to explain this truth: “Without ce-
ment and mortar, which knits the bricks together and strengthens the walls, the
entire building is bound to collapse; a human body would simply disintegrate un-
less it had nerves, muscles and tendons; and if charity were absent, virtues sim-
ply could not stay together” (St Francis de Sales, “Treatise on the Love of God”,
11, 9).

“Love, as the bond of perfection and fullness of the law (cf. Col 3:14; Rom 13:10),
governs, imbues, and perfects all the means of sanctification” (Vatican II, “Lumen
Gentium”, 42). Therefore, “if we want to achieve holiness — in spite of personal
shortcomings and miseries which will last as long as we live — we must make an
effort, with God’s grace, to practice charity, which is the fullness of the law and
the bond of perfection. Charity is not something abstract, it entails a real, com-
plete, self-giving to the service of God and all men — to the service of that God
who speaks to us in the silence of prayer and in the hubbub of the world and of
those people whose existence is interwoven with our own. By living charity —
Love — we live all the human and supernatural virtues required of a Christian” (St.
J. Escriva, “Conversations”, 62).

15. The “peace of Christ” is that which flows from the new order of grace which
he has established; grace gives man direct access to God and therefore to that
peace he so much yearns for. “Thou has made us for thyself and our hearts are
restless till they rest in thee” (St Augustine, “Confessions”, 1, 1). This is not a
peace the world can give (cf. Jn 14:27), because it is not a function of purely ma-
terial progress or well-being, nor does it derive from the sort of peace that should
obtain among nations. “Peace on earth, which men of every era have most eage-
rly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God is
dutifully observed” (Bl. John XXIII, “Pacem In Terris”, 1).

The peace of Christ, then, is “a peace that comes from knowing that our Father
God loves us, and that we are made one with Christ. It results from being under
the protection of the Virgin, our Lady, and assisted by St Joseph. This is the
great light that illuminates our lives. In the midst of difficulties and of our personal
failings, it encourages us to keep up our effort” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing
By”, 22).

16. “The word of Christ”: the whole corpus of our Lord’s teachings, of which the
Apostles are accredited witnesses. This should be ever-present to the Christian’s
soul and “dwell...richly” in him, imbuing everything he does: the word of Christ is
the best nourishment of one’s life of prayer and an inexhaustible source of practi-
cal teaching; and it is to be found in the first instance in the books of the New
Testament. St John Chrysostom says that these writings “are teachers which
never cease to instruct us [...]. Open these books. What a treasury of good re-
medies they contain! [...]. All you need do is look at the book, read it and re-
member well the wise teachings therein. The source of all our evils is our igno-
rance of the sacred books” (”Hom. on Col, ad loc.”).

St Paul also reminds us that our appreciation should lead us to glorify the Lord
with songs of joy and gratitude. We can use ready-made hymns for this purpose,
and also the Psalms, which the Church has always used in its liturgy to praise
God and to nourish the spiritual life. “Just as the mouth savors good food, so
does the heart savor the Psalms” (St Bernard, “Sermons on the Song of Songs”,
7, 5).

See the note on Eph 5:19.

17. All genuinely human things can and should be sanctified (cf. 1 Cor 10:31),
by being done perfectly and for love of God.

The Second Vatican Council has recalled this teaching: “Lay people [...], while
meeting their human obligations in the ordinary conditions of life, should not se-
parate their union with Christ from their ordinary life; through the very performance
of their tasks, which are God’s will for them, they actually promote the growth of
their union with him. This is the path along which lay people must advance, fer-
vently, joyfully” (”Apostolicam Actuositatem”, 4).

This teaching was very much part of the message and life of the founder of Opus
Dei: “I assure you, my children, that when a Christian carries out with love the
most insignificant everyday action, that action overflows with the transcendence
of God. That is why I have told you repeatedly, and hammered away once and
again on the idea, that the Christian vocation consists in making heroic verse
out of the prose of each day. Heaven and earth seem to merge, my children, on
the horizon. But where they really meet is in your hearts, when you sanctify your
everyday lives” (”Conversations”, 116).

The Second Vatican Council also sees in this passage of Colossians a basis for
ecumenical dialogue with non-Catholics: “And if in moral matters there are many
Christians who do not always understand the Gospel in the same way as Catho-
lics, and do not admit the same solutions for the more difficult problems of mo-
dern society, they nevertheless want to cling to Christ’s word as the source of
Christian virtue and to obey the command of the Apostle: [Col 3:17 follows]”
(”Unitatis Redintegratio”, 23).

18-19. In the period when this epistle was written, especially in the East, women
were regarded as inferior to men. St Paul does not make a direct attack on the
customs of his time, but the way he focuses the question of the role of women
provides the elements of an answer to it. He identifies what a woman’s role in the
family should be: it is true that the husband has an important part to play, but the
wife also has a role to perform and one which is non-transferable. The wife is not
the husband’s slave: she is his equal in dignity and must be treated by him with
respect and sincere love. It is taken for granted that the family needs a center
of authority, and that this authority belongs to the husband, in accordance with
God’s design (cf. 1 Cor 11:3, 12-14). “The place and task of the father in and for
the family is of unique and irreplaceable importance [...]. In revealing and in re-
living on earth the very fatherhood of God (cf. Eph 3:15), a man is called upon to
ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family”
(Bl. John Paul II, “Familiaris Consortio”, 25).

God gave Eve to Adam as his inseparable companion and complement (cf. Gen
2:18); she was therefore duty-bound to live in peace with him. Man and woman
have different, though complementary, roles in family life; they are equal in digni-
ty, by virtue of the fact that they are human persons: “The unity of marriage, dis-
tinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which
must be accorded to man and woman in mutual and unreserved affection” (Vati-
can II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 49).

Therefore, a husband should make a special effort to love and respect his wife:
“You are not her master”, writes Saint Ambrose, “but her husband; she was not
given to you to be your slave, but your wife [...]. Reciprocate her attentiveness
to you and be grateful to her for her love” (”Exameron”, 5, 7, 19 quoted in “Fami-
liaris Consortio”, 25).

See the note on Eph 5:22-24 and 5:25-33.

20-21. Children should obey their parents in everything, as God has commanded
(cf. Ex 20:12; Sir 3:8ff) — a commandment which shows that this is something
which is part of human nature. Obviously for a child’s obedience to “please the
Lord” it must not involve doing anything that is opposed to God’s will, for Jesus
taught that “he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”
(Mt 10:37).

For their part, parents must do everything they can to bring up their children well.
In every family there should be an “educational exchange between parents and
children (cf. Eph 6:1-4; Col 3:20f) in which each gives and receives. By means of
love, respect and obedience towards their parents, children offer their specific and
irreplaceable contribution to the construction of an authentically human and Chris-
tian family (cf. “Gaudium Et Spes”, 48). They will be aided in this if parents exer-
cise their unrenounceable authority as a true and proper ‘ministry’, that is, as a
service to the human and Christian well-being of their children, and in particular
as a service aimed at helping them acquire a truly responsible freedom” (”Fami-
liaris Consortio”, 21).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Luke 2:22-40

The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

[22] And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses,
they (Joseph and Mary) brought Him (Jesus) up to Jerusalem to present Him to
the Lord [23] (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “every male that opens the
womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) [24] and to offer a sacrifice according to
what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons.”

Simeon’s Prophecy

[25] Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this
man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy
Spirit was upon him. [26] And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that
he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. [27] And inspired
by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, [28] he took Him up in
his arms and blessed God and said, [29] “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant de-
part in peace, according to Thy word; [30] for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation
[31] which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, [32] a light for re-
velation to the Gentiles, and for the glory to Thy people Israel.”

[33] And His father and His mother marvelled at what was said about Him; [34]
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother, “Behold this child is
set for the fall the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against
[35] (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of
many hearts may be revealed.”

Anna’s Prophecy

[36] And there was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of
Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from
her virginity, [37] and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from
the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. [38] And coming
up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of Him to all who were
looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Childhood of Jesus

[39] And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. [40] And the child grew
and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

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

22-24. The Holy Family goes up to Jerusalem to fulfill the prescriptions of the
Law of Moses—the purification of the mother and the presentation and then re-
demption or buying back of the first-born. According to Leviticus 12:2-8, a woman
who bore a child was unclean. The period of legal impurity ended, in the case of a
mother of a male child, after forty days, with a rite of purification. Mary most holy,
ever-virgin, was exempt from these precepts of the Law, because she conceived
without intercourse, nor did Christ’s birth undo the virginal integrity of His Mother.
However, she chose to submit herself to the Law, although she was under no ob-
ligation to do so.

“Through this example, foolish child, won’t you learn to fulfill the holy Law of God,
regardless of personal sacrifice?

“Purification! You and I certainly do need purification. Atonement and, more
than atonement, Love. Love as a searing iron to cauterize our soul’s uncleanness,
and as a fire to kindle with divine flames the wretchedness of our hearts” (St. J.
Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fourth Joyful Mystery).

Also, in Exodus 13:2, 12-13 it is indicated that every first-born male belongs to
God and must be set apart for the Lord, that is, dedicated to the service of God.
However, once divine worship was reserved to the tribe of Levi, first-born who did
not belong to that tribe were not dedicated to God’s service, and to show that
they continued to be God’s special property, a rite of redemption was performed.

The Law also laid down that the Israelites should offer in sacrifice some lesser
victim—for example, a lamb or, if they were poor, a pair of doves or two pigeons.
Our Lord, who “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that
by His poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9), chose to have a poor
man’s offering made on His behalf.

25-32. Simeon, who is described as a righteous and devout man, obedient to
God’s will, addresses himself to our Lord as a vassal or loyal servant who, having
kept watch all his life in expectation of the coming of his Lord, sees that this mo-
ment has “now” come, the moment that explains his whole life. When he takes
the Child in his arms, he learns, not through any reasoning process but through
a special grace from God, that this Child is the promised Messiah, the Consola-
tion of Israel, the Light of the nations.

Simeon’s canticle (verses 29-32) is also a prophecy. It consists of two stanzas:
the first (verses 29-30) is an act of thanksgiving to God, filled with profound joy
for having seen the Messiah. The second (verses 31-32) is more obviously pro-
phetic and extols the divine blessings which the Messiah is bringing to Israel
and to all men. The canticle highlights the fact that Christ brings redemption to
all men without exception—something foretold in many Old Testament prophecies
(cf. Genesis 22:18; Isaiah 2:6; 42:6; 60:3; Psalm 28:2).

It is easy to realize how extremely happy Simeon was—given that many patri-
archs, prophets and kings of Israel had yearned to see the Messiah, yet did not
see Him, whereas he now held Him in his arms (cf. Luke 10:24; 1 Peter 1:10).

33. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph marvelled not because they did not know
who Christ was; they were in awe at the way God was revealing Him. Once again
they teach us to contemplate the mysteries involved in the birth of Christ.

34-35. After Simeon blesses them, the Holy Spirit moves him to further prophecy
about the Child’s future and His Mother’s. His words become clearer in the light
of our Lord’s life and death.

Jesus came to bring salvation to all men, yet He will be a sign of contradiction
because some people will obstinately reject Him—and for this reason He will be
their ruin. But for those who accept Him with faith Jesus will be their salvation,
freeing them from sin in this life and raising them up to eternal life.

The words Simeon addresses to Mary announce that she will be intimately
linked with her Son’s redemptive work. The sword indicates that Mary will have
a share in her Son’s sufferings; hers will be an unspeakable pain which pierces
her soul. Our Lord suffered on the cross for our sins, and it is those sins which
forge the sword of Mary’s pain. Therefore, we have a duty to atone not only to
God but also to His Mother, who is our Mother too.

The last words of the prophecy, “that out of many hearts thoughts may be re-
vealed”, link up with verse 34: uprightness or perversity will be demonstrated by
whether one accepts or rejects Christ.

36-38. Anna’s testimony is very similar to Simeon’s; like him, she too has been
awaiting the coming of the Messiah her whole life long, in faithful service of God,
and she too is rewarded with the joy of seeing Him. “She spoke of Him,” that is,
of the Child—praising God in her prayer and exhorting others to believe that this
Child is the Messiah.

Thus, the birth of Christ was revealed by three kinds of witnesses in three diffe-
rent ways—first, by the shepherds, after the angel’s announcement; second, by
the Magi, who were guided by a star; third, by Simeon and Anna, who were in-
spired by the Holy Spirit.

All who, like Simeon and Anna, persevere in piety and in the service of God, no
matter how insignificant their lives seem in men’s eyes, become instruments the
Holy Spirit uses to make Christ known to others. In His plan of redemption God
avails of these simple souls to do much good to all mankind.

39. Before their return to Nazareth, St. Matthew tells us (2:13-23), the Holy
Family fled to Egypt where they stayed for some time.

40. “Our Lord Jesus Christ as a child, that is, as one clothed in the fragility of
human nature, had to grow and become stronger but as the eternal Word of God
He had no need to become stronger or to grow. Hence He is rightly described
as full of wisdom and grace” (St. Bede, “In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Mass Readings

First reading	Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7,14-17 ©

The Lord honours the father in his children,

and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.

Whoever respects his father is atoning for his sins,

he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune.

Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own,

he shall be heard on the day when he prays.

Long life comes to him who honours his father,

he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord.

My son, support your father in his old age,

do not grieve him during his life.

Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy,

do not despise him in your health and strength;

for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten

but will serve as reparation for your sins.

First reading	Genesis 15:1-6,21:1-3 ©

The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’

‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless...’ Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.

The Lord dealt kindly with Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named the son born to him Isaac, the son to whom Sarah had given birth.

Psalm	Psalm 127:1-5 ©

O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

You will be happy and prosper.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Your wife like a fruitful vine

in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

around your table.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Indeed thus shall be blessed

the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

all the days of your life!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Psalm	Psalm 104:1-6,8-9 ©