Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 11-10-13, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 10, 2013

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law.
One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:
"What do you expect to achieve by questioning us?
We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors."

At the point of death he said:
"You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,
but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.
It is for his laws that we are dying."

After him the third suffered their cruel sport.
He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,
and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
"It was from Heaven that I received these;
for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again."
Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage,
because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he had died,
they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
When he was near death, he said,
"It is my choice to die at the hands of men
with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;
but for you, there will be no resurrection to life."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15

R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
My steps have been steadfast in your paths,
my feet have not faltered.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Keep me as the apple of your eye,
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

Reading 2 2 Thes 2:16-3:5

Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
and word.

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us,
so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified,
as it did among you,
and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
for not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful;
he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you,
you are doing and will continue to do.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the endurance of Christ.

Gospel Lk 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."

Or LK 20:27, 34-38

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward.

Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."

Sunday Gospel Reflections

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14 II: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5

Gospel
Luke 20:27-38

²⁷ There came to him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection,
²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother.
²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children;
³⁰ and the second
³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.
³² Afterward the woman also died.
³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."
³⁴ And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage;
³⁵ but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
³⁶ for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him."

Interesting Details

The Sadducees were quite different from the Pharisees. Small in number, but very wealthy, they were the governing class. To protect their wealth, they tended to collaborate with Rome.
The Saducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead; they did not believe in the existence of spirits, or in a life ordered by God, but believed in unrestricted free will. They posed the question of who would be the husband in heaven of a woman who married seven different men as a way to show how absurd the doctrine of resurrection was.
The law of Moses on marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5) was that if a man died childless, his brother must marry the widow. This was so that there would be children to carry on the family's name, and the family's property would be protected.
Jesus pointed out that their question exposed their ignorance. Life in God was different from life defined by men. The resurrected life was immortal; there would be no need for marriage and procreation.
(vv.34-36) Jesus spoke of "the age to come", but his phrasing implied that the age of the resurrection (the immortal life) had already begun.
(v.38) Luke's phrase "for to God all of them are alive" is an allusion to Maccabees 7:19 which says "that to God they do not die, as our patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died not, but live to God."

One Main Point

"God is not the God of the dead but of the living." Life in God is different from life defined by men.

Reflections

How do I define being alive, and being dead? Do I use my rules to define a good and successful life (physical attraction, material possessions, popularity, fitting in with the crowd, winning arguments...) or do I use God's rules?
I pray, with his apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians 3:5), that the Lord rule my heart in the love of God and the constancy of Christ.

Saint Leo the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church

Saint Leo the Great,
Pope & Doctor of the Church
Memorial
November 10th

Alessandro Algardi
The Meeting of Leo I and Attila
1646-53
Marble, height: 750 cm
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

(+461) During his pontificate, the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined that Christ is one divine person with two natures, divine and human, thus confirming Leo's Epistola Dogmatica (Tomus) which was written to the Patriarch Flavin of Constantinople. He defended the unity of the Church and famously delayed the onslaught of Attila.

Collect:
O God, who never allow the gates of hell
to prevail against your Church,
firmly founded on the apostolic rock,
grant her, we pray,
that through the intercession of Pope Saint Leo,
she may stand firm in your truth
and know the protection of lasting peace.
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.

First Reading: Ecclesiasticus 39:8-14 [39:6-10 in RSV]
If the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; he will pour forth words of wisdom and give thanks to the Lord in prayer. He will direct his counsel and knowledge aright, and meditate on his secrets. He will reveal instruction in his teaching, and will glory in the law of the Lord's covenant. Many will praise his understanding, and it will never be blotted out; his memory will not disappear, and his name will live through all generations. Nations will declare his wisdom, and the congregation will proclaim his praise.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 16:13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Christ lives in his Church
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope (Sermo 12 de Passione, 3, 6-7: PL 54, 355-357)

"My dear brethren, there is no doubt that the Son of God took our human nature into so close a union with himself that one and the same Christ is present, not only in the firstborn of all creation, but in all his saints as well. The head cannot be separated from the members, nor the members from the head.

Not in this life, it is true, but only in eternity will God be all in all, yet even now he dwells, whole and undivided, in his temple the Church. Such was his promise to us when he said: See, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. And so all that the Son of God did and taught for the world's reconciliation is not for us simply a matter of past history. Here and now we experience his power at work among us.

Born of a virgin mother by the action of the Holy Spirit, Christ keeps his Church spotless and makes her fruitful by the inspiration of the same Spirit. In baptismal regeneration she brings forth children for God beyond all numbering. These are the sons of whom it is written: They are born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. In Christ Abraham's posterity is blessed, because in him the whole world receives the adoption of sons, and in him the patriarch becomes the father of all nations through the birth, not from human stock but by faith, of the descendants that were promised to him. From, every nation on earth, without exception, Christ forms a single flock of those he has sanctified, daily fulfilling the promise he once made: I have other sheep, not of this fold, whom it is also ordained that I shall lead; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Although it was primarily to Peter that he said: Feed my sheep, yet the one Lord guides all pastors in the discharge of their office and leads to rich and fertile pastures all those who come to the rock. There is no counting the sheep who are nourished with his abundant love, and who are prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of the good shepherd who died for them.

But it is not only the martyrs who share in his passion by their glorious courage; the same is true, by faith, of all who are born again in baptism. That is why we are to celebrate the Lord's paschal sacrifice with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The leaven of our former malice is thrown out, and a new creature is filled and inebriated with the Lord himself. For the effect of our sharing in the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive. As we have died with him, and had been buried and raised to life with him, so we bear him within us, both in body and in spirit in everything we do."

Source: Vatican Website

Related link on the New Advent Website:

St. Leo the Great writings:

- Sermons
- Letters

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Leo the Great

Feast Day: November 10
Born: (around) 400 :: Died: 461

St. Leo was born at Tuscany in Italy. He came from a noble Roman family and was a very good student especially in scripture and theology (religious studies). When he grew up, he became a priest and was a powerful writer and preacher.

When Pope Sixtus died in 440, St. Leo became pope. Those were difficult times for the Church. Barbarian armies of Attila the Hun were attacking Christians in many places.

Within the Church, some people were spreading heresies (false teachings about the faith), too. But St. Leo was one of the greatest popes there ever was. He was absolutely unafraid of anything or anyone. He had great trust in the help of the first pope, St. Peter the apostle and prayed to St. Peter often.

To stop the spread of false teachings, St. Leo explained the true faith with his famous writings. He called a Council to condemn the wrong teachings. Those who would not give up their mistaken beliefs were put out of the Church. And Pope Leo received back into the Church those who were sorry. He asked people to pray for them.

When Attila the Hun came to attack Rome, all the people were filled with fear. They knew that the Huns had already burned many cities. To save Rome, St. Leo rode out to meet the fierce leader, Attila.

The only weapon he had was his great trust in God. When they met, something wonderful happened. Attila, the cruel pagan leader, showed the pope great honor. He made a treaty of peace with him.

Attila said afterward that he had seen two mighty figures standing by the pope while he spoke. It is believed that they were the great apostles, Peter and Paul. They had been sent by God to protect Pope Leo and the Christians.

Because of his humility and charity, Pope Leo was loved by all. He was pope for twenty-one years. He died on November 10, 461.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:November 10, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty and merciful God, graciously keep from us all adversity, so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours. 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.

RECIPES

o Green Beans

o Roast with Vegetables

ACTIVITIES

o Elementary Parent Pedagogy: Training by Doing, Children and the Whole Church

o Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November

PRAYERS

o Prayer for the Dead

o Prayer for the Dead - 2

LIBRARY

o God Alone Is My Every Good, My Life | Pope John Paul II

o Offer your suffering to God | Pope John Paul II

· Ordinary Time: November 10th

· Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the second book of Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 and recounts the story of the seven brothers and their mother who were arrested and put to death because they would not abandon their religion.

The second reading is from the second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, 2:16; 3:5, in which he prays to God for them and prays that they may persevere loyally in the faith that they profess. In return, he asks them to pray that he will be able to continue to spread the Christian faith to many others.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 20:27-38. We can thank the Sadducees today. They came to our Lord with what they thought was a case that would make the doctrine of the resurrection look very ridiculous. It would have appeared so, if it were understood in the crude sense which they gave it, namely, that we would come forth again from the grave in the very same bodies which we now have, with all their needs and instincts. Our Lord corrected that erroneous idea. We shall all rise to a new and eternal life, in a form and an existence very different from that of our present life. Thus, the question of ownership of wives or property will not, and cannot, arise in our new life. He gave us a brief but basic description of what our risen bodies will be. I am sure that most of us would love to know a lot more about what our future state will be like. But if we knew all, then where would our faith and trust in God come in? Some saints are said to have had brief visions of the joys of heaven. They wanted to die immediately in order to get there. God wants each one of us to earn heaven, by living our life on earth, and trusting in His word that heaven will be our eternal home if we do our part here below.

In his brief answer to the Sadducees, Christ gives us the essential facts concerning our future status. First, he affirms that all those who have proved themselves worthy while in this life will rise to an eternal life. In that life we will become like angels. We will not be angels, pure spirits without bodies, but we will be like them in that our bodies will become "spiritual." They will lose all the restrictions and limitations imposed on them now, as mere material composites. They will no longer be subject to decline and decay as they now are. Therefore, they can never suffer from pain or sickness or weakness of any sort.

Second, He clearly affirmed that those risen from the dead are no longer liable to death. Leaving aside the other greater joys of heaven, such as the beatific vision, and the close association with Christ our Savior in His risen humanity, the meeting with our blessed Mother and with all the Saints, including our relatives and friends, what a source of happiness and joy will it be for us, to know that we can never die again! The happiness and joy which we shall have will never end. We all have had moments of happiness in this life. Great as these moments were, the thought that they had to end too soon cast a shadow on our joy. There will be no shadow to darken or lessen our future joy and happiness.

Many Christians, even good, pious Christians, fear death and try to keep the very thought of it far from their minds. This is very understandable for one who believes (if there is such a one) that death is the end. To a certain degree it is understandable in the case of the believer or the Christian, whose conscience is not at peace with God. That latter, however, has the means of removing his fears by removing his sins, and by putting himself right with God. The normal, pious Christian should see death as what it is, an end of his time of probation and the door to his eternal reward. It is not normal for a student to dread his graduation day. Death for the God-fearing, honest Christian is graduation day. Therefore, no Christian should be afraid of it.

Of course, part of the fears which death instils come from the fear of the judgment which accompanies it. If we think every now and then, that our death is around the comer, we will turn to the God of mercy, to our loving Father, and ask for His forgiveness. He never refuses pardon to those who with a sincere heart, ask for it.

Let each one of us look into our own conscience this morning. Let us ask ourselves, how we would fare if death should claim us tonight. If there are sins on my conscience, which I would not want there when facing my just Judge, I still have time to approach the merciful Father. The Christian who does this daily, or even weekly, will not worry when death calls. He can rest assured that it is the beginning of the true and everlasting life, planned for him by God before time began.

— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 20
27.	And there came to him some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection, and they asked him,	Accesserunt autem quidam sadducæorum, qui negant esse resurrectionem, et interrogaverunt eum,	προσελθοντες δε τινες των σαδδουκαιων οι αντιλεγοντες αναστασιν μη ειναι επηρωτησαν αυτον
28.	Saying: Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.	dicentes : Magister, Moyses scripsit nobis : Si frater alicujus mortuus fuerit habens uxorem, et hic sine liberis fuerit, ut accipiat eam frater ejus uxorem, et suscitet semen fratri suo.	λεγοντες διδασκαλε μωσης εγραψεν ημιν εαν τινος αδελφος αποθανη εχων γυναικα και ουτος ατεκνος αποθανη ινα λαβη ο αδελφος αυτου την γυναικα και εξαναστηση σπερμα τω αδελφω αυτου
29.	There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.	Septem ergo fratres erant : et primus accepit uxorem, et mortuus est sine filiis.	επτα ουν αδελφοι ησαν και ο πρωτος λαβων γυναικα απεθανεν ατεκνος
30.	And the next took her to wife, and he also died childless.	Et sequens accepit illam, et ipse mortuus est sine filio.	και ελαβεν ο δευτερος την γυναικα και ουτος απεθανεν ατεκνος
31.	And the third took her. And in like manner all the seven, and they left no children, and died.	Et tertius accepit illam. Similiter et omnes septem, et non reliquerunt semen, et mortui sunt.	και ο τριτος ελαβεν αυτην ωσαυτως ωσαυτως δε και οι επτα ου κατελιπον τεκνα και απεθανον
32.	Last of all the woman died also.	Novissime omnium mortua est et mulier.	υστερον [δε] παντων απεθανεν και η γυνη
33.	In the resurrection therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? For all the seven had her to wife.	In resurrectione ergo, cujus eorum erit uxor ? siquidem septem habuerunt eam uxorem.	εν τη ουν αναστασει τινος αυτων γινεται γυνη οι γαρ επτα εσχον αυτην γυναικα
34.	And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:	Et ait illis Jesus : Filii hujus sæculi nubunt, et traduntur ad nuptias :	και αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου γαμουσιν και εκγαμισκονται
35.	But they that shall be accounted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, shall neither be married, nor take wives.	illi vero qui digni habebuntur sæculo illo, et resurrectione ex mortuis, neque nubent, neque ducent uxores :	οι δε καταξιωθεντες του αιωνος εκεινου τυχειν και της αναστασεως της εκ νεκρων ουτε γαμουσιν ουτε εκγαμιζονται
36.	Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.	neque enim ultra mori potuerunt : æquales enim angelis sunt, et filii sunt Dei, cum sint filii resurrectionis.	ουτε γαρ αποθανειν ετι δυνανται ισαγγελοι γαρ εισιν και υιοι εισιν του θεου της αναστασεως υιοι οντες
37.	Now that the dead rise again, Moses also shewed, at the bush, when he called the Lord, The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;	Quia vero resurgant mortui, et Moyses ostendit secus rubum, sicut dicit Dominum, Deum Abraham, et Deum Isaac, et Deum Jacob.	οτι δε εγειρονται οι νεκροι και μωσης εμηνυσεν επι της βατου ως λεγει κυριον τον θεον αβρααμ και τον θεον ισαακ και τον θεον ιακωβ
38.	For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him.	Deus autem non est mortuorum, sed vivorum : omnes enim vivunt ei.	θεος δε ουκ εστιν νεκρων αλλα ζωντων παντες γαρ αυτω ζωσιν

27. Then came to him certain of the Sadducees which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,
28. Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
29. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.
30. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.
31. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.
32. Last of all the woman died also.
33. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.
34. And Jesus answering said to them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36. Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
37. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him.
39. Then certain of the Scribes answering said, Master, you have well said.
40. And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

BEDE; There were two heresies among the Jews, one of the Pharisees, who boasted in the righteousness of their traditions, and hence they were called by the people, "separated;" the other of the Sadducees, whose name signified "righteous," claiming to themselves that which they were not. When the former went away, the latter came to tempt Him.

ORIGEN; The heresy of the Sadducees not only denies the resurrection of the dead, but also believes the soul to die with the body. Watching then to entrap our Savior in His words, they proposed a question just at the time when they observed Him teaching His disciples concerning the resurrection;

as it follows, And they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If a brother, etc.

AMBROSE; According to the letter of the law, a woman is compelled to marry, however unwilling, in order that a brother may raise up seed to his brother who is dead. The letter therefore kills, but the Spirit is the master of charity.

THEOPHYL. Now the Sadducees resting upon a weak foundation, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. For imagining the future life in the resurrection to be carnal, they were justly misled, and hence reviling the doctrine of the resurrection as a thing impossible they invent the story, There were seven brothers, etc.

BEDE; They devise this story in order to convict those of folly, who assert the resurrection of the dead. Hence they object a base fable, that they may deny the truth of the resurrection.

AMBROSE; Mystically, this woman is the synagogue, which had seven husbands, as it is said to the Samaritan, You had five husbands, because the Samaritan follows only the five books of Moses, the synagogue for the most part seven. And from none of them has she received the seed of a hereditary offspring, and so can have no part with her husbands in the resurrection, because she perverts the spiritual meaning of the precept into a carnal. For not any carnal brother is pointed at, who should raise seed to his deceased brother, but that brother who from the dead people of the Jews should claim to himself for wife the wisdom of the divine worship, and from it should raise up seed in the Apostles, who being left as it were unformed in the womb of the synagogue, have according to the election of grace been thought worthy to be preserved by the admixture of a new seed.

BEDE; Or these seven brothers answer to the reprobate, who throughout the whole life of the world which revolves in seven days, are fruitless in good works, and these being carried away by death one after another, at length the course of the evil world, as the barren woman, itself also passes away.

THEOPHYL. But our Lord shows that in the resurrection there will be no fleshly conversation, thereby overthrowing their doctrine together with its slender foundation; as it follows, And Jesus said to them, The children of this world marry, etc.

AUG. For marriages are for the sake of children, children for succession, succession because of death. Where then there is no death, there are no marriages; and hence it follows, But they which shall be accounted worthy, etc.

BEDE; Which must not be taken as if only they who are worthy were either to rise again or be without marriage, but all sinners also shall rise again, and abide without marriage in that new world. But our Lord wished to mention only the elect, that He might incite the minds of His hearers to search into the glory of the resurrection.

AUG. As our discourse is made up and completed by departing and succeeding syllables, so also men themselves whose faculty discourse is by departure and succession make up and complete the order of this world, which is built up with the mere temporal beauty of things. But in the future life, seeing that the Word which we shall enjoy is formed by no departure and succession of syllables, but all things which it has it has everlastingly and at once, so those who partake of it, to whom it alone will be life shall neither depart by death, nor succeed by birth, even as it now is with the angels; as it follows, For they are equal to the angels.; For as the multitude of the angels is indeed very great, yet they are not propagated by generation, but have their being from creation, so also to those who rise again, there is no more necessity for marriage; as it follows, And are the children of God.

THEOPHYL. As if He said, Because it is God who works in the resurrection, rightly are they called the sons of God, who are regenerated by the resurrection. For there is nothing carnal seen in the regeneration of them that rise again, there is neither coming together, nor the womb, nor birth.

BEDE; Or they are equal to the angels, and the children of God, because made new by the glory of the resurrection, with no fear of death, with no spot of corruption, with no quality of an earthly condition, they rejoice in the perpetual beholding of God's presence.

ORIGEN; But because the Lord says in Matthew, which is here omitted, You do err, not knowing the Scriptures, ask the question, where is it so written, They shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage? for as I conceive there is no such thing to be found either in the Old or New Testament, but the whole of their error had crept in from the reading of the Scriptures without understanding; for it is said in Esaias, My elect shall not have children for a curse. Whence they suppose that the like will happen in the resurrection. But Paul interpreting all these blessings as spiritual, knowing them not to be carnal, says to the Ephesians, You have blessed us in all spiritual blessings.

THEOPHYL Or to the reason above given the Lord added the testimony of Scripture, Now that the dead are raised, Moses also showed at the bush, as the Lord said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. As if he said, If the patriarchs have once returned to nothing so as not to live with God in the hope of a resurrection, He would not have said, I am, but, I was, for we are accustomed to speak of things dead and gone thus, I was the Lord or Master of such a thing; but now that He said, I am, He shows that He is the God and Lord of the living. This is what follows, But he its not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. For though they have departed from life, yet live they with Him in the hope of a resurrection.

BEDE; Or He says this, that after having proved that the souls abide after death, (which the Sadducees denied,) He might next introduce the resurrection also of the bodies, which together with the souls have done good or evil. But that is a true life which the just live to God, even though they are dead in the body. Now to prove the truth of the resurrection, He might have brought much more obvious examples from the Prophets, but the Sadducees received only the five books of Moses, rejecting the oracles of the Prophets.

CHRYS. As the saints claim as their own the common Lord of the world, not as derogating from His dominion, but testifying their affection after the manner of lovers, who do not brook to love with many, but desire to express a certain peculiar and especial attachment; so likewise does God call Himself especially the God of these, not thereby narrowing but enlarging His dominion; for it is not so much the multitude of His subjects that manifests His power, as the virtue of His servants. Therefore He does not so delight in the name of the God of heaven and earth, as in that of in God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now among men servants are thus denominated by, their masters; for we say, 'The steward of such a man', but on the contrary God is called the God of Abraham.

Catena Aurea Luke 20

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 20:27-38

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

He is not God of the dead, but of the living. (Luke 20:38)

The Gospels are filled with accounts of how Jesus’ enemies tried to trap him instead of believing in him. This is especially true in chapter twenty of Luke’s Gospel. First, some Pharisees questioned Jesus’ authority to cleanse the Temple and to teach in it (Luke 20:1-8). Later, they sent surrogates to ask Jesus about taxation (20:20-26).

Then comes today’s Gospel reading, which tells how some Sadducees tried to ensnare Jesus in a trap of their own devising. They tell a story about a woman who has been married and widowed seven times. But they’re not really interested in Jesus’ views on marriage. They just want to get him to admit that there is no resurrection after death. But Jesus elevates the conversation by making a distinction between “this age” and “the coming age” (Luke 20:34, 35).

“This age” is God’s wonderful and good creation—a good world darkened by the shadows of sin and temptation. Scripture calls it a “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) under the influence of Satan, the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31). By contrast, “the coming age” is heaven.

Now, the gospel teaches us that Jesus has set us free from the shadows of “this age,” but our freedom is closely linked to the choices we make. The devil is always on the prowl, trying to trap us. But God wants to protect us from these traps and teach us how to resist them so that Satan will flee (James 4:7). Jesus taught that there is indeed a resurrection after death. He taught that those who “are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age” will rise at the end.

Let’s not be duped like Jesus’ enemies, who were always trying to tell him what was right and wrong. Instead, let’s be open to his word and his work in our lives. That’s the best way to live in this present age—with our eyes on the age to come.

“Jesus, you have set us free. As I live in ‘this age,’ please help me keep my sights on ‘that age,’ which is to come.”

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15; 2 Thessalonians 2:16–3:5

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

(2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14; Psalm 17:1,5-6,8,15; 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38)

1. The Book of Maccabees tells the moving story of seven brothers and their mother who suffered torture and death rather than disobey one of God’s laws. Their courage came from their belief that “the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.” In what way does your belief in the resurrection of believers to eternal life give you courage to stand up for your faith?

2. The responsorial psalm presents us with an unshakeable faith that God will hear us when we cry out to him in a time of need. We also have the image of God hiding us in the shadow of his “wings”. During the day how often do you turn to God your Father or Jesus when facing difficulties? What steps can you take during the day to remind yourself to turn to him, even if it is for a few seconds?

3. In the second reading, St. Paul promises the Thessalonians that God will “encourage,” “strengthen,” “guard,” and “direct” them, no matter what the circumstances. How do you stay strong in your faith and these promises of God when facing tough situations? Can you give an example from your own life when God did indeed encourage, strengthen, guard, and direct you in the midst of a difficult trial?

4. In the Gospel reading, the Sadducees, who do not believe in an afterlife, pose a story to Jesus to trap him. Jesus, of course, confounds them with the clarity of his answer regarding heaven and the resurrection of the dead. What do you think heaven will be like? Do you believe that through prayer and Scripture reading, you can gain some insights from God on the nature of heaven?

5. The Gospel and the meditation describe the differences between “this age” and “the coming age.” How would you describe these differences? What steps can you take to remind yourself daily that God’s plan, and the real purpose for your life, is to spend eternity with him in “the coming age”?

6. In the meditation, we hear these words: “Now, the gospel teaches us that Jesus has set us free from the shadows of ‘this age,’ but our freedom is closely linked to the choices we make. The devil is always on the prowl, trying to trap us. But God wants to protect us from these traps and teach us how to resist them so that Satan will flee (James 4:7).” What are the ways you allow God to “protect” you and “teach” you? What additional steps can you take to “be open to his word and his work” in your life?

7. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord for the grace to keep “our eyes on the age to come” and not just on “this age.” Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

A Christian Pilgrim

JESUS ASSURES US OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

(Biblical reflection on the 32^nd Ordinary Sunday [Year C] – November 10, 2013)

Gospel Reading: Luke 20:27-38

First Reading: 2Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14; Psalms: Psalm 17:1,5-6,8,15; Second Reading: 2Thessalonians 2:16-3:5

Scripture Text:

There came to Him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked Him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children; and the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.

And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.” (Luke 20:27-38 RSV)

The ancient Greeks, such as Plato, had a clearer idea of personal immortality than the Israelites did. The Book of Wisdom, written about 50 B.C., contains the Old Testament’s most vivid concepts of the future life; not surprisingly, this originated from a strong Greek influence.

The hazy Hebrew notion of the afterlife centered around the word “Sheol”, meaning the “the grave”. This was a vague and shadowy type of survival, a very unappealing one. It Was much better to live on earth than in Sheol, which explains why the Hebrews interpreted a short life as a punishment and a long life as a reward from God.

Under Greek and Persian influence, Pharisees professed belief in the future life and in the resurrection of the body. The Sadducees, a more conservative group, believed in neither. Jesus basically agreed with the Pharisees on this question. The Sadducees took exception to this and thus set the scene for the confrontation in today’s Gospel. They tried to negate the possibility of resurrection and deflate the teaching of Jesus by posing the example of a woman who had been married to seven brothers. “At the resurrection of the dead,” they gleefully inquired, “which one will be her husband ……?” Jesus simply restated His teaching on the resurrection, and then explained that life in eternity would be different and that such problems would not arise. Our Lord’s answer was good, but His best answer would come later with His own personal resurrection from the grave.

In all ages and places, Christians have professed and proclaimed their belief in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. This central truth of our religion is dramatized liturgically at the annual Easter celebration and at every Mass which is offered. It is the message which gives meaning to our funeral liturgies, and is symbolized by the presence of the burning Easter candle. From early times, we as a Church have professed in the creed our belief “in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”

As Jesus triumphed over the objections of the Sadducees, we too must triumph over doubt and opposition. We are citizens of both earth and heaven. Death is our sister, our second birthday – our birthday into eternity. Since we are not angels but humans, we are incomplete without our bodies. Jesus therefore assures us that there will be a resurrection of the body. Then we will finally have it all together – forever.

At Mass today, let us lift up our hearts to heaven. Let us gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and let His glory and His majesty pierce us to the core. After all, He is the ONE who created us to worship Him in the first place!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are in awe of Your love for us. Continue to reveal to us who You are so that we can become more and more like You. Amen.

Sunday Scripture Study

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

November 10, 2013

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer

First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14

Psalm: 17:1,5-6,8,15

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:16—3:5

Gospel Reading: Luke 20:27-38

For the last several weeks we have followed Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem. This Sunday’s Gospel reading finds him now in Jerusalem after his triumphal entry (Luke 19:35-40) and his cleansing of the temple (19:45-48). The Jewish authorities, including the Sadducees, begin to look for a way to get rid of him.

The Sadducees were a religious/political party that accepted only the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) as inspired scripture. Thus they rejected all oral tradition and teachings which they could not find in the Pentateuch, including a belief in the resurrection of the dead (verse 27).

Their question as posed to Jesus is meant to ridicule the idea of a resurrection. Jesus uses the opportunity (from their own preferred version of the Scriptures) not only to answer their direct question, but to correct their mistaken concept of both marriage and the nature of the world to come.

QUESTIONS:

In the First Reading, what is the basis of the hope of the Maccabean martyrs?

In light of the themes of the First Reading and the Gospel Reading, what might St. Paul be referring to in the Second Reading when he uses terms like “everlasting encouragement,” “hope,” the Lord as being “faithful,” and “the endurance of Christ”?

In the Gospel Reading, why would the Sadducees pose a question like this to Jesus? What are they really asking him? How do the scribes respond to Jesus’ answer (verse 39-40)? Why?

How seriously does Jesus treat this absurd question? What if he had ridiculed it?

How do you deal with someone who wants to argue about religion? What if the person has honest questions and you don’t have the answer?

What does Jesus teach about life after death (verses 34-36)? How does he then “prove” the resurrection (note the verb tense in his quote from Exodus 3:6 and recall when this burning bush incident took place)?

How do you picture the resurrection, or the life to come? What, if anything, in your personal experience has confirmed your belief in life after death?

Does your belief in the world to come affect your priorities? Should it? How?

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 330, 991-93, 1023-29

For a person to go straight along the road, he must have some knowledge of the end--just as an archer will not shoot an arrow straight unless he first sees the target ... This is particularly necessary if the road is hard and rough, the going heavy, and the end delightful. --St. Thomas Aquinas

Thoughts Before the Cross

Pastor’s Column

32^nd Sunday Ordinary Time

November 10, 2013

Each detail of our new church has meaning for our own personal journey of life.

The corpus for our crucifix arrived from Italy last Friday. Of course, we immediately opened it to check its condition before accepting delivery. To see this life-size image of Our Lord, wrapped in plastic like a burial shroud and encased in a coffin-like wooden box, is to realize the depths of God’s love for you and me. He was willing even to enter death so that we might have life. This image of Christ, which will hang in the center of our church, will always be a most potent symbol of His love, because we often need reminders that we are, indeed, loved by God.

The cross itself is cut from the same Douglas Fir as the rest of the church. It is in fact a beautiful piece of art! But the real cross was not so beautiful to behold. In the same way, from a distance the cross may appear romantic, but when we are face to face with our own it is not always so easy! We know every cross we bear is shared with Jesus, who promised to be with us until we are home with him forever.

Finally, here in this picture we can see the place where our new “floating” cross will hang in the sanctuary. Behind it, this window will provide light. Christ is the light of the world, and even the darkness of suffering, the wood of our own cross, becomes “light” when it is shared with Christ.

Reflections from Scott Hahn

To Rise Again: Scott Hahn Reflects on the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 11.08.13 |

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
Psalm 17:1,5-6,8,15
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38

With their riddle about seven brothers and a childless widow, the Sadducees in today’s Gospel mock the faith for which seven brothers and their mother die in the First Reading.

The Maccabean martyrs chose death - tortured limb by limb, burned alive - rather than betray God’s Law. Their story is given to us in these last weeks of the Church year to strengthen us for endurance - that our feet not falter but remain steadfast on His paths.

The Maccabeans died hoping that the “King of the World” would raise them to live again forever (see 2 Maccabees 14:46).

The Sadducees don’t believe in the Resurrection because they can’t find it literally taught in the Scriptures. To ridicule this belief they fix on a law that requires a woman to marry her husband’s brother if he should die without leaving an heir (see Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5).

But God’s Law wasn’t given to ensure the raising up of descendants to earthly fathers. The Law was given, as Jesus explains, to make us worthy to be “children of God” - sons and daughters born of His Resurrection.

“God our Father,” today’s Epistle tells us, has given us “everlasting encouragement” in the Resurrection of Christ. Through His grace, we can now direct our hearts to the love of God.

As the Maccabeans suffered for the Old Law, we will have to suffer for our faith in the New Covenant. Yet He will guard us in the shadow of His wing, keep us as the apple of His eye, as we sing in today’s Psalm.

The Maccabeans’ persecutors marveled at their courage. We too can glorify the Lord in our sufferings and in the daily sacrifices we make.

And we have even greater cause than they for hope. One who has risen from the dead has given us His word - that He is the God of the living, that when we awake from the sleep of death we will behold His face, be content in His presence (see Psalm 76:6; Daniel 12:2).

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Meditation: Luke 20:27-38

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

Closing Prayer

To Rise Again: Scott Hahn Reflects on the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time