From: Galatians 5:1-6
Christian Liberty
[1] For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit
again to a yoke of slavery.
[2] Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no
advantage to you. [3] I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that
he is bound to keep the whole law. [4] You are severed from Christ, you who
would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through
the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. [6] For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through
love.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-3. The Law of Moses, which was divinely revealed, was something good; it
suited the circumstances of the time. Christ came to bring this Law to perfection
(cf. notes on Mt 5:17-19 and Gal 5:14-15). All the elaborate legal and ritual pre-
scriptions in the Mosaic Law were laid down by God for a specific stage in Salva-
tion History, that is, the stage which ended with the coming of Christ. Christians
are under no obligation to follow the letter of that Law (cf. St Thomas Aquinas,
“Summa Theologiae”, I-II, q. 108, a.3 ad 3).
Although in this letter to the Galatians the Apostle is emphasizing, as we have
seen, freedom from the Law of Moses, obviously this liberation cannot be entirely
disconnected from freedom in general. If someone submits to circumcision after
being baptized, it amounts to subjecting oneself to a series of practices which
have now no value and to depriving oneself of the fruits of Christ’s Redemption.
In other words, subjection to the Law brings with it a loss of freedom in general.
Paul is using the full might of his apostolic authority when he says, “If you re-
ceive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.” Christ’s Redemption
alone is effective; it has no need of the rites of the Old Testament.
4-5. There is now not just a clear distinction but actual opposition between follo-
wing Christ and the observance of the Law, with the result that if anyone tries to
live by the Law only he is cutting himself off from Christ. Baptism is the sacra-
ment whereby we are inserted into Jesus Christ, becoming members of his Body
and branches of the vine (cf. Jn 15:5). If we cut ourselves off from Christ, the true
vine and source of life, we cannot bear fruit. Nor can we do so by going back and
submitting to the Old Law, for that Law is now out of date and no longer operates.
On the other hand, if we remain in the grace which Christ has won for us, we
shall produce the “hope of righteousness”, which is not simply what we have
now — the life of grace — but its perfect fulfillment in eternal life: this is really what
we “wait” for, what we yearn for.
6. In the stage of Salvation History which begins with Christ, the fact that a per-
son is Jewish or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, counts for nothing as far
as salvation is concerned. What does matter is truly believing that only Christ Je-
sus can save us: true faith, genuine faith, moves us to love Christ and, as a con-
sequence of this, to love everyone without exception. The faith to which St Paul
is referring can be described, as the Apostle St James implies (Jas 2:17), as “li-
ving faith”, that is, faith which is translated into a profound conviction which moti-
vates us to love: this is “faith working through love”.
St Paul is obviously speaking about the supernatural virtue of faith in its proper
sense, that is, “living faith”. In the Christian tradition, stemming from St James,
“dead faith” is a caricature of faith which is incapable of expressing itself in
words.
The Magisterium of the Church teaches that “faith, unless it is joined to hope and
charity, neither makes us one with Christ nor loving members of his Body. That
is why it is rightly said that ‘faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead’ (Jas 2:17)
and idle, and that ‘in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of
any avail, but faith working through love’ (Gal 5:6; 6:15)” (Council of Trent, “De
Iustificatione”, chap. 7).
Therefore, a person who has faith but does not live in the grace of God is really
a kind of dead person: charity is as it were the soul of all virtues, it is what gives
them life: “it must be remembered that if someone had all the gifts of the Holy
Spirit with the exception of the first gift, charity, he could not be supernaturally
alive [...]. He would be like a dead body: however much he deck himself out in
gold and precious stones, he continues to be a dead body” (St Thomas, “On
the Two Commandments...”, intro. 3).
Our Lord said that his disciples would be recognized by their charity (cf. Jn 13:
35), because faith begets hope, and hope leads on to love. “When one asks if
someone is good,” St Augustine says, “one does not check to see what he be-
lieves or what he hopes for, but what it is he loves. For someone who loves right-
ly certainly also believes and hopes rightly; but he who does not love believes in
vain, even if what he believes in is true [...]. Therefore, this is the faith in Christ,
which the Apostle extols — ‘faith which works through love” (”Enchiridion”, chap.
117).
*********************************************************************************************
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 11:37-41
The Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees
[37] While He (Jesus) was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with Him; so
He went in and sat at table. [38] The Pharisee was astonished to see that He did
not first wash before dinner. [39] And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees
cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion
and wickedness. [40] You fools! Did not He who made the outside make the in-
side also? [41] But give for alms those things which are within; and behold every-
thing is clean for you.”
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
39-52. In this passage (one of the most severe in the Gospel) Jesus determinedly
unmasks the vice which was largely responsible for official Judaism’s rejection of
His teaching — hypocrisy cloaked in legalism. There are many people, who under
the guise of doing good, keeping the mere letter of the law, fail to keep its spirit;
they close themselves to the love of God and neighbor; they harden their hearts
and, though apparently very upright, turn others away from fervent pursuit of God
— making virtue distasteful. Jesus’ criticism is vehement because they are worse
than open enemies: against open enemies one can defend oneself, but these en-
emies are almost impossible to deal with. The scribes and Pharisees were bloc-
king the way of those who wanted to follow Jesus: they were the most formidable
obstacle to the Gospel. Our Lord’s invective against the scribes and Pharisees is
reported even more fully in chapter 23 of St. Matthew. See the note on Matthew
23:1-39.
[The note on Matthew 23:1-39 states:
1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Phari-
sees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordina-
ry mass of the people, who have been ill-used, “harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into three parts:
in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices;
in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous “woes”,
which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no
one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven — no one can escape condemnation to the
flames — unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part (verses 37-
39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils into which the blind
pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees have misled the people.]
40-41. It is not easy to work out what these verses mean. Probably our Lord is
using the idea of cleaning the inside and outside of dishes to teach that a per-
son’s heart is much more important than what appears on the surface — whereas
the Pharisees got it the wrong way round, as so many people tend to do. Jesus
is warning us not to be so concerned about “the outside” but rather give impor-
tance to “the inside”. Applying this to the case of alms: we have to be generous
with those things we are inclined to hoard; in other words, it is not enough just to
give a little money (that could be a purely formal, external gesture); love is what
we have to give others — love and understanding, refinement, respect for their free-
dom, deep concern for their spiritual and material welfare; this is something we
cannot do unless our interior dispositions are right.
In an address to young people, Bl. John Paul II explained what almsgiving really
meant: “The Greek word for alms, “eleemosyne”, comes from “eleos”, meaning
compassion and mercy. Various circumstances have combined to change this
meaning so that almsgiving is often regarded as a cold act, with no love in it. But
almsgiving in the proper sense means realizing the needs of others and letting
them share in one’s own goods. Who would say that there will not always be
others who need help, especially spiritual help, support, consolation, fraternity,
love? The world is always very poor, as far as love is concerned” (28 March
1979).
*********************************************************************************************
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.
Oct 16, Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 28th week of Ordinary Time
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 380
Psalter: Tuesday, Week IV, 1129
Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings
Office of Readings for Tuesday in Ordinary Time
God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Glory, love, and praise, and honor
for our food
now bestowed
render we the Donor.
Bounteous God, we now confess thee:
God who thus
blessest us,
meet it is to bless thee.
Thankful for our every blessing,
let us sing
Christ the Spring,
never, never ceasing.
Source of all our gifts and graces,
Christ we own;
Christ alone
calls for all our praises.
He dispels our sin and sadness,
life imparts,
cheers our hearts,
fills with food and gladness.
Who himself for all has given,
us he feeds,
us he leads
to a feast in heaven.
“Glory, love and praise and honour” by Choir of the Abbey School Tewkesbury; Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788); Music: Benifold; Meter: 83 36 D
“Glory, love and praise and honour” performed by Choir of the Abbey School Tewkesbury is available from Amazon.com.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, let my cry come to you; do not hide your face from me.
Psalm 102
The longings and prayers of an exile
God comforts us in all our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:4).
I
O Lord, listen to my prayer
and let my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards me
and answer me quickly when I call.
For my days are vanishing like smoke,
my bones burn away like a fire.
My heart is withered like the grass.
I forget to eat my bread.
I cry with all my strength
and my skin clings to my bones.
I have become like a pelican in the wilderness,
like an owl in desolate places.
I lie awake and I moan
like some lonely bird on a roof.
All day long my foes revile me;
those who hate me use my name as a curse.
The bread I eat is ashes;
my drink is mingled with tears.
In your anger, Lord, and your fury
you have lifted me up and thrown me down.
My days are like a passing shadow
and I wither away like the grass.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, let my cry come to you; do not hide your face from me.
Ant. 2 Be attentive, Lord, to the prayer of the helpless.
II
But you, O Lord, will endure for ever
and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion:
for this is the time to have mercy;
yes, the time appointed has come
for your servants love her very stones,
are moved with pity even for her dust.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayers.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
and free those condemned to die.
The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled
and their race shall endure before you
that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion
and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,
when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together
to pay their homage to the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Be attentive, Lord, to the prayer of the helpless.
Ant. 3 You, O Lord, established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
III
He has broken my strength in mid-course;
he has shortened the days of my life.
I say to God: “Do not take me away
before my days are complete,
you, whose days last from age to age.
Long ago you founded the earth
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish but you will remain.
They will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothes that are changed.
But you neither change, nor have an end.”
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, you live in the hearts of your saints, and so have built up Zion. May you always show your greatness through their good works.
Ant. You, O Lord, established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.
Listen, my people, to my teaching.
– Give ear to the words I speak.
READINGS
First reading
From the beginning of the book of the prophet Zechariah
1:1–2:4
Vision of the rebuilding of Jerusalem
In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
The Lord was indeed angry with your fathers… and say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Be not like your fathers whom the former prophets warned: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked deeds. But they would not listen or pay attention to me, says the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, can they live forever? But my words and my decrees, which I entrusted to my servants the prophets, did not these overtake your fathers? Then they repented and admitted: “The Lord of hosts has treated us according to our ways and deeds, just as he had determined he would.”
In the second year of Darius, on the twenty-fourth day of Shebat, the eleventh month, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, in the following way: I had a vision during the night. There appeared the driver of a red horse, standing among myrtle trees in a shady place, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
Then I asked, “What are these, my lord?”; and the angel who spoke with me answered me, “I will show you what these are.” The man who was standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth; see, the whole earth is tranquil and at rest!”
Then the angel of the Lord spoke out and said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that have felt your anger these seventy years? “To the angel who spoke with me, the Lord replied with comforting words.
And the angel who spoke with me said to me, Proclaim: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am deeply moved for the sake of Jerusalem and Zion, and I am exceedingly angry with the complacent nations;
whereas I was but a little angry, they added to the harm. Therefore, says the Lord: I will turn to Jerusalem in mercy; my house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem. Proclaim further: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will again comfort Zion, and again choose Jerusalem.
I raised my eyes and looked: there were four horns. Then I asked the angel who spoke with me what these were. He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah and Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. And I asked, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “Here are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man raised his head any more; but these have come to terrify them: to cast down the horns of the nations that raised their horns to scatter the land of Judah.”
RESPONSORY Zechariah 1:16; Revelation 21:23
I turn to Jerusalem in compassion;
– there my house shall be rebuilt.
The city had no need of the sun or the moon for light,
for its lamp was the Lamb.
– There my house shall be rebuilt.
Second reading
From an instruction by Saint Columban, abbot
Light everlasting in the temple of the eternal high priest
How blessed, how fortunate, are those servants whom the Lord will find watchful when he comes. Blessed is the time of waiting when we stay awake for the Lord, the Creator of the universe, who fills all things and transcends all things.
How I wish he would awaken me, his humble servant, from the sleep of slothfulness, even though I am of little worth. How I wish he would enkindle me with that fire of divine love. The flames of his love burn beyond the stars; the longing for his overwhelming delights and the divine fire ever burn within me!
How I wish I might deserve to have my lantern always burning at night in the temple of my Lord, to give light to all who enter the house of my God. Give me, I pray you, Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and my God, that love that does not fail so that my lantern, burning within me and giving light to others, may be always lighted and never extinguished.
Jesus, our most loving Savior, be pleased to light our lanterns, so that they may burn for ever in your temple, receiving eternal light from you, the eternal light, to lighten our darkness and to ward off from us the darkness of the world.
Give your light to my lantern, I beg you, my Jesus, so that by its light I may see that holy of holies which receives you as the eternal priest entering among the columns of your great temple. May I ever see you only, look on you, long for you; may I gaze with love on you alone, and have my lantern shining and burning always in your presence.
Loving Savior, be pleased to show yourself to us who knock, so that in knowing you we may love only you, love you alone, desire you alone, contemplate only you day and night, and always think of you. Inspire in us the depth of love that is fitting for you to receive as God. So may your love pervade our whole being, possess us completely, and fill all our senses, that we may know no other love but love for you who are everlasting. May our love be so great that the many waters of sky, land and sea cannot extinguish it in us: many waters could not extinguish love.
May this saying be fulfilled in us also, at least in part, by your gift, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESPONSORY Isaiah 60:19-20
The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
nor shall the brightness of the moon shine on you at night.
– The Lord shall be your everlasting light,
and your God shall be your glory.
Your sun shall never set,
nor shall your moon withdraw.
– The Lord shall be your everlasting light,
and your God shall be your glory.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
May your grace,
O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)
Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.
The following is the longer version of the vital prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 after his startling vision as to the future of the Church. This prayer was dedicated for the Feast of St. Michael 1448 years from the date of the election of the first Leo - Pope Saint Leo the Great. Everyone is familiar with the first prayer below which was mandated by His Holiness as part of the Leonine Prayers after Low Mass. After Vatican II, in legion with the devil Giovanni Montini outlawed this necessary prayer and then one wonders how "the smoke of satan" got into the sanctuary? The conciliarists wanted to make sure the words in bold below would never see the light of day again for in it Leo foretold what would happen: The shepherd would be struck, the sheep scattered. Below are both the short and longer versions of this poignant prayer which should never be forgotten.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, O heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.Look down upon me, O good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; the while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me, calling to mind the words which David Thy prophet said of Thee, my good Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."
PRAYERS AFTER 
