Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 07-20-14, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 07-20-14 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

Just A Minute (Listen) Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click.

[Salvation]

The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

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Saint Apollinaris, Bishop & Martyr

Saint Apollinaris, Bishop & Martyr
Optional Memorial
July 20th

St. Apollinaris, c. 549 mosaic
detail of apse
Ravenna, church of St. Apollinaris

Saint Appolinaris, probably born in Antioch, is one of the great Christian martyrs of the first century. He was made Bishop of Ravenna by Saint Peter. The date of his consecration is not known, though he was bishop for twenty-six years. His preaching won many converts to the Christian faith; but his very effective evangelization led to his continual persecution, and he was repeatedly driven from Ravenna. Once he was found severely beaten and half dead on the seashore; and for a time he was concealed by the Christians. He was captured again and compelled to walk on burning coals, and he was again driven from the region. Despite this, he returned to Ravenna and continued his work of evangelization. Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones because he persisted in preaching, and then, loaded with chains, he was cast into a dungeon to starve to death; however, after four days he was put on board ship and sent to Greece. There he continued his preaching and miracles. His very presence caused the oracles to be silent, so he was beaten and sent back to Italy. After three years, he returned to Ravenna a fourth time. Vespasian (9-79 AD) was Emperor at this time, and in response complaints he issued a decree of banishment against the Christians. Apollinaris was kept hidden for some time; but as he was passing out of the gates of the city, he was set upon and savagely beaten. He lived for seven days, and foretold that the persecution of Christians would increase, but that the Church would ultimately triumph. It has been suggested that Apollinaris was one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, but this is not certain.  

[Based on the entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia]

 

Collect:
Direct your faithful, Lord, in the way of eternal salvation,
which the Bishop Saint Apollinaris showed by his teaching and martyrdom,
and grant, through his intercession,
that we may so perserve in keeping your commandments
as to merit being crowned with him.
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: Ezekiel 34:11-16
"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.

Gospel Reading: John 10:11-18
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."

[Salvation]

Saint's Days are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

SAINT APOLLINARIS of RAVENNA, First Bishop of Ravenna and Martyr [Apollinarius]

[Salvation]

Information: St. Margaret of Antioch

Feast Day: July 20

Born: Antioch (in Pisidia)

Died: 304

Patron of: childbirth, pregnant women, dying people, kidney disease, peasants, exiles, falsely accused people; nurses

[Salvation]

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Joseph Barsabbas

Feast Day: July 20
Born/Died: (around the time of Jesus)

The Acts of the Apostles in the Bible, mentions that St. Peter wanted to replace Judas after Jesus' resurrection. Peter, who did not want to show favoritism, asked the community to suggest someone. He wanted a person who had been among the disciples from the time Jesus was baptized by John until the Lord's death and resurrection.

The first Christians suggested two men, who were equally good. One was Joseph, called Barsabbas or Joseph the Just, and the other was Matthias. "One of these men must become a witness with us of Jesus' resurrection," Peter said.

The community prayed. "Lord," they said, "you know the hearts of each of us here. Help us to know the person who should take the place of Judas." Then they "cast lots." The man selected was Matthias and he was added to the company of apostles.

Soon the disciples spread out and went with the mission to preach the good news of salvation to all nations. Joseph Barsabbas preached in many places using his energy to spread the Good News. His love for the Church and his dedication whether he was chosen or not, are his gift to us.

Reflection: When we sometimes feel unappreciated for what we have done, we can pray to the Holy Spirit to free us from the need to be praised.

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 13
24.	Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field.	Aliam parabolam proposuit illis, dicens : Simile factum est regnum cælorum homini, qui seminavit bonum semen in agro suo :	αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω σπειροντι καλον σπερμα εν τω αγρω αυτου
25.	But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.	cum autem dormirent homines, venit inimicus ejus, et superseminavit zizania in medio tritici, et abiit.	εν δε τω καθευδειν τους ανθρωπους ηλθεν αυτου ο εχθρος και εσπειρεν ζιζανια ανα μεσον του σιτου και απηλθεν
26.	And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle.	Cum autem crevisset herba, et fructum fecisset, tunc apparuerunt et zizania.	οτε δε εβλαστησεν ο χορτος και καρπον εποιησεν τοτε εφανη και τα ζιζανια
27.	And the servants of the goodman of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle?	Accedentes autem servi patrisfamilias, dixerunt ei : Domine, nonne bonum semen seminasti in agro tuo ? unde ergo habet zizania ?	προσελθοντες δε οι δουλοι του οικοδεσποτου ειπον αυτω κυριε ουχι καλον σπερμα εσπειρας εν τω σω αγρω ποθεν ουν εχει ζιζανια
28.	And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?	Et ait illis : Inimicus homo hoc fecit. Servi autem dixerunt ei : Vis, imus, et colligimus ea ?	ο δε εφη αυτοις εχθρος ανθρωπος τουτο εποιησεν οι δε δουλοι ειπον αυτω θελεις ουν απελθοντες συλλεξομεν αυτα
29.	And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it.	Et ait : Non : ne forte colligentes zizania, eradicetis simul cum eis et triticum.	ο δε εφη ου μηποτε συλλεγοντες τα ζιζανια εκριζωσητε αμα αυτοις τον σιτον
30.	Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.	Sinite utraque crescere usque ad messem, et in tempore messis dicam messoribus : Colligite primum zizania, et alligate ea in fasciculos ad comburendum : triticum autem congregate in horreum meum.	αφετε συναυξανεσθαι αμφοτερα μεχρι του θερισμου και εν καιρω του θερισμου ερω τοις θερισταις συλλεξατε πρωτον τα ζιζανια και δησατε αυτα εις δεσμας προς το κατακαυσαι αυτα τον δε σιτον συναγαγετε εις την αποθηκην μου
31.	Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.	Aliam parabolam proposuit eis dicens : Similis est regnum cælorum grano sinapis, quod accipiens homo seminavit in agro suo :	αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ομοια εστιν η βασιλεια των ουρανων κοκκω σιναπεως ον λαβων ανθρωπος εσπειρεν εν τω αγρω αυτου
32.	Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof.	quod minimum quidem est omnibus seminibus : cum autem creverit, majus est omnibus oleribus, et fit arbor, ita ut volucres cæli veniant, et habitent in ramis ejus.	ο μικροτερον μεν εστιν παντων των σπερματων οταν δε αυξηθη μειζον των λαχανων εστιν και γινεται δενδρον ωστε ελθειν τα πετεινα του ουρανου και κατασκηνουν εν τοις κλαδοις αυτου
33.	Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.	Aliam parabolam locutus est eis : Similis est regnum cælorum fermento, quod acceptum mulier abscondit in farinæ satis tribus, donec fermentatum est totum.	αλλην παραβολην ελαλησεν αυτοις ομοια εστιν η βασιλεια των ουρανων ζυμη ην λαβουσα γυνη εκρυψεν εις αλευρου σατα τρια εως ου εζυμωθη ολον
34.	All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them.	Hæc omnia locutus est Jesus in parabolis ad turbas : et sine parabolis non loquebatur eis :	ταυτα παντα ελαλησεν ο ιησους εν παραβολαις τοις οχλοις και χωρις παραβολης ουκ ελαλει αυτοις
35.	That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.	ut impleretur quod dictum erat per prophetam dicentem : Aperiam in parabolis os meum ; eructabo abscondita a constitutione mundi.	οπως πληρωθη το ρηθεν δια του προφητου λεγοντος ανοιξω εν παραβολαις το στομα μου ερευξομαι κεκρυμμενα απο καταβολης κοσμου
36.	Then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying: Expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field.	Tunc, dimissis turbis, venit in domum : et accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus, dicentes : Edissere nobis parabolam zizaniorum agri.	τοτε αφεις τους οχλους ηλθεν εις την οικιαν ο ιησους και προσηλθον αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου λεγοντες φρασον ημιν την παραβολην των ζιζανιων του αγρου
37.	Who made answer and said to them: He that soweth the good seed, is the Son of man.	Qui respondens ait illis : Qui seminat bonum semen, est Filius hominis.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου
38.	And the field, is the world. And the good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one.	Ager autem est mundus. Bonum vero semen, hi sunt filii regnum. Zizania autem, filii sunt nequam.	ο δε αγρος εστιν ο κοσμος το δε καλον σπερμα ουτοι εισιν οι υιοι της βασιλειας τα δε ζιζανια εισιν οι υιοι του πονηρου
39.	And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.	Inimicus autem, qui seminavit ea, est diabolus. Messis vero, consummatio sæculi est. Messores autem, angeli sunt.	ο δε εχθρος ο σπειρας αυτα εστιν ο διαβολος ο δε θερισμος συντελεια του αιωνος εστιν οι δε θερισται αγγελοι εισιν
40.	Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world.	Sicut ergo colliguntur zizania, et igni comburuntur : sic erit in consummatione sæculi.	ωσπερ ουν συλλεγεται τα ζιζανια και πυρι καιεται ουτως εσται εν τη συντελεια του αιωνος τουτου
41.	The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity.	Mittet Filius hominis angelos suos, et colligent de regno ejus omnia scandala, et eos qui faciunt iniquitatem :	αποστελει ο υιος του ανθρωπου τους αγγελους αυτου και συλλεξουσιν εκ της βασιλειας αυτου παντα τα σκανδαλα και τους ποιουντας την ανομιαν
42.	And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.	et mittent eos in caminum ignis. Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium.	και βαλουσιν αυτους εις την καμινον του πυρος εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων
43.	Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.	Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum. Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.	τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω

[annalex]

24. Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to man which sowed good seed in his field:
25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field; from whence then has it tares?
28. He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Will you then that we go and gather them up?
29. But he said, No; lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

CHRYS; In the foregoing parable the Lord spoke to such as do not receive the word of God; here of those who receive a corrupting seed. This is the contrivance of the Devil, ever to mix error with truth.

JEROME; He set forth also this other parable, as it were a rich householder refreshing his guests with various meats, that each one according to the nature of his stomach might find some food adapted to him. He said not 'a second parable,' but another; for had He said 'a second,' we could not have looked for a third; but another prepares us for many more.

REMIG; Here He calls the Son of God Himself the kingdom of heaven; for He said, The kingdom of heaven is like to a man that sowed good seed in his field.

CHRYS; He then points out the manner of the Devil's snares, saying, While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and departed. He here shows that error arose after truth, as indeed the course of events testifies; for the false prophets came after the Prophets, the false apostles after the Apostles, and Antichrist after Christ. For unless the Devil sees somewhat to imitate, and some to lay in wait against, he does not attempt any thing. Therefore because he saw that this man bears fruit an hundred, this sixty, and this thirty fold, and that he was not able to carry off or to choke that which had taken root, he turns to other insidious practices, mixing up his own seed, which is a counterfeit of the true, and thereby imposes upon such as are prone to be deceived. So the parable speaks, not of another seed, but of tares which bear a great likeness to wheat corn. Further, the malignity of the Devil is shown in this, that he sowed when all else was completed, that he might do the greater hurt to the husbandman.

AUG; He says, While men slept, for while the heads of the Church were abiding in sleep, and after the Apostles had received the sleep of death, then came the Devil and sowed upon the rest those whom the Lord in His interpretation calls evil children. But we do well to inquire whether by such are meant heretics, or Catholics who lead evil lives. That He says, that they were sown among the wheat, seems to point out that they were all of one communion. But forasmuch as He interprets the field to mean not the Church, but the world, we may well understand it of the heretics, who in this world are mingled with the good; for they who live amiss in the same faith may better be taken of the chaff than of the tares, for the chaff has a stem and a root in common with the grain. While schismatics again may be likened to ears that have rotted, or to straws that are broken, crushed down, and cast forth of the field. Indeed it is not necessary that every heretic or schismatic should be corporally severed from the Church; for the Church bears many who do not so publicly defend their false opinions as to attract the attention of the multitude, which when they do, then are they expelled. When then the Devil had sown upon the true Church diverse evil errors and false opinions; that is to say, where Christ's name had gone before, there he scattered errors, himself was the rather hidden and unknown; for He says, And went his way though indeed in this parable, as we learn from His own interpretation, the Lord may be understood to have signified under the name of tares all stumbling-blocks and such as work iniquity

CHRYS; In what follows He more particularly draws the picture of an heretic, in the words, When the blade grew, and put forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. For heretics at first keep themselves in the shade; but when, they have had long license, and when men have held communication with them in discourse, then they pour forth their venom.

AUG; Or otherwise; when a man begins to be spiritual, discerning between things, then he begins to see errors; for he judges concerning whatsoever he hears or reads, whether it departs from the rule of truth; but until he is perfected in the same spiritual things, he might be disturbed at so many false heresies having existed under the Christian name, whence it follows, And the servants of the householder coming to him said to him, Did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it tares? Are these servants then the same as those whom He afterwards calls reapers? Because in His exposition of the parable, He expounds the reapers to be the Angels, and none would dare say that the Angels were ignorant who had sowed tares, we should the rather understand that the faithful are here intended by the servants. And no wonder if they are also signified by the good seed; for the same thing admits of different likenesses according to its different signification; as speaking of Himself He says that He is the door, He is the shepherd.

REMIG. They came to the Lord not with the body but with the heart and desire of the soul; and from Him they gather that this was done by the craft of the Devil, whence it follows, And he said to them, An enemy has done this.

JEROME; The Devil is called a man that is an enemy because he has ceased to be God; and in the ninth Psalm it is written of him, Up, Lord, and let not man have the upper hand. Wherefore let not him sleep that is set over the Church, lest through his carelessness the enemy should sow therein tares, that is, the dogmas of the heretics.

CHRYS; He is called the enemy on account of the losses he inflicts on men; for the assaults of the Devil are made upon us, though their origin is not in his enmity towards us, but in his enmity towards God.

AUG; And when the servants of God knew that it was the Devil who had contrived this fraud, whereby when he found that he had no power in open warfare against a Master of such great name, he had introduced his fallacies under cover of that name itself, the desire might readily arise in them to remove such men from out of human affairs if opportunity should be given them; but they first appeal to God's justice whether they should so do; The servants said, Will you that we go and gather them out?

CHRYS; Wherein observe the thoughtfulness and affection of the servants; they hasten to root up the tares, thus showing their anxiety about the good seed; for this is all to which they look, not that any should be punished, but that which is sown should not perish. The Lord's answer follows, And he said to them, No.

JEROME; For repentance is left, and we are warned that we should not hastily cut off a brother, since one who is today corrupted with an erroneous dogma, may grow wiser tomorrow, and begin to defend the truth; wherefore it is added, Lest in gathering together the tares you root out the wheat also.

AUG; Wherein He renders them more patient and tranquil. For this He says, because good men while yet weak, have need in some things of being mixed up with bad, either that they may be proved by their means, or that by comparison with them they may be greatly stimulated and drawn to a better course. Or perhaps the wheat is declared to be rooted up if the tares should be gathered out of it, on account of many who though at first tares would after become wheat; yet they would never attain to this commendable change were they not patiently endured while they were evil. Thus were they rooted up, that wheat which they would become in time if spared, would be rooted up in them. It is then therefore He forbids that such should be taken away out of this life, lest in the endeavor to destroy the wicked, those of them should be destroyed among the rest who would turn out good; and lest also that benefit should be lost to the good which would accrue to them even against their will from mixing with the wicked. But this may be done seasonably when, in the end of all, there remains no more time for a change of life, or of advancing to the truth by taking opportunity and comparison of others' faults; therefore He adds, Let both grow together until the harvest, that is, until the judgment.

JEROME; But this seems to contradict that command, Put away the evil from among you. For if the rooting up be forbidden, and we are to abide in patience till the harvest time, how are we to cast forth any from among us? But between wheat and tares (which in Latin we call 'lolium') so long as it is only in blade, before the stalk has put forth an ear, there is very great resemblance, and none or little difference to distinguish them by. The Lord then warns us not to pass a hasty sentence on an ambiguous word, but to reserve it for His judgment, that when the day of judgment shall come, He may cast forth from the assembly of the saints no longer on suspicion but on manifest guilt.

AUG; For when any one of the number of Christians included in the Church is found in such sin as to incur an anathema, this is done, where danger of schism is not apprehended, with tenderness, not for his rooting out, but for his correction. But if he be not conscious of his sin, nor correct it by penitence, he will of his own choice go forth of the Church and be separated from her communion; whence when the Lord commanded, Suffer both to grow together till the harvest, He added the reason, Saying, lest when you would gather out the tares you root up the wheat also. This sufficiently shows, that when that fear has ceased, and when the safety of the crop is certain, that is when the crime is known to all, and is acknowledged as so execrable as to have no defenders, or not such as might cause any fear of a schism, then severity of discipline does not sleep, and its correction of error is so much the more efficacious as the observance of love had been more careful. But when the same infection has spread to a large number at once, nothing remains but sorrow and groans. Therefore let a man gently reprove whatever is in his power; what is not so let him bear with patience, and mourn over with affection, until He from above shall correct and heal, and let him defer till harvest time to root out the tares and winnow the chaff. But the multitude of the unrighteous is to be struck at with a general reproof, whenever there is opportunity of saying anything among the people; and above all when any scourge of the Lord from above gives opportunity, when they feel that they are scourged for their deserts; for then the calamity of the hearers opens their ears submissively to the words of their reprover, seeing the heart in affliction is ever more prone to the groans of confession than to the murmurs of resistance. And even when no tribulation lays upon them, should occasion serve, a word of reproof is usefully spent upon the multitude; for when separated it is wont to he fierce, when in a body it is wont to mourn.

CHRYS; This the Lord spoke to forbid any putting to death. Or we ought not to kill an heretic, seeing that so a never-ending war would be introduced into the world; and therefore He says, Lest you root out with them the wheat also; that is, if you draw the sword and put the heretic to death, it must needs be that many of the saints will fall upon them. Hereby He does not indeed forbid all restraint upon heretics, that their freedom of speech should be cut off, that their synods and their confessions should put broken up - but only forbids that they should be put to death.

AUG; This indeed was at first my own opinion, that no man was to be driven by force into the unity of Christ; but he was to be led by discourse, tended with in controversy, and overcome by argument, we might not have men feigning themselves to be Catholic whom we knew to be declared heretics. But this opinion of mine was overcome not by the authority of those who contradicted me, but by the examples of those that showed it in fact; for the tenor of those laws in enacting which Princes serve the Lord in fear, has had such good effect, that already some say, This we desired long ago; but now thanks be to God who has made the occasion for us, and has cut off our pleas of delay. Others say, This we have long known to be the truth; but we were held by a kind of old habit, thanks be to God who has broken our chains Others again; We knew not that this was true, and had no desire to learn it, but fear has driven us to give our attention to it, thanks be to the Lord who has banished our carelessness by the spur of terror. Others, We were deterred from entering in by false rumors, which we should not bare known to be false had we not entered in, and we should not have entered in had we not been compelled; thanks be to God who has broken up our preaching by the scourge of persecution, and has taught us by experience how empty and false things lying fame had reported concerning His Church. Others say, We thought indeed that it was of no importance in what place we held the faith of Christ but thanks be to the Lord who has gathered us together out of our division, and has shown us that it is consonant to unity of God that He should be worshipped in unity. Let then the Kings of the earth show themselves the servants of Christ by publishing laws in Christ's behalf.

ID; But who is there of you who has any wish that a heretic should perish, nay, that he should so much as lose all? Could the house of David have had peace in no other war but by the death of Absalom in that war which he waged against his father; notwithstanding his father gave strict commands to his servants that they should save him alive and unhurt, that on his repentance there might be room for fatherly affection to pardon; what then remained for him but to mourn over him when lost, and to console his domestic affliction by the peace which it had brought to his kingdom Thus our Catholic mother the Church, when by the loss of a few she gains many, soothes the sorrow of her motherly heart, healing it by the deliverance of so much people. Where then is that which those are accustomed to cry out, That it is free to all to believe? Whom has Christ done violence to? Whom has He compelled? Let them take the Apostle Paul; let them acknowledge in him Christ first compelling and afterwards teaching; first smiting and afterwards comforting. And it is wonderful to see him who entered into the Gospel by the force of a bodily infliction laboring therein more than all those who are called by word only. Why then should not the Church constrain her lost sons to return to her, when her lost sons constrained others to perish?

REMIG; It follows, And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them. The harvest is the season of reaping which here designates the day of judgment, in which the good are to be separated from the bad.

CHRYS; But why does He say, Gather first the tares? That the good should have no fears lest the wheat should be rooted up with them.

JEROME; In that He says that the bundles of tares are to be cast into the fire, and the wheat gathered into barns, it is clear that heretics also and hypocrites are to be consumed in the fires of hell, while the saints who are here represented by the wheat are received into the barns, that is into heavenly mansions.

AUG; It may be asked why He commands more than one bundle or heap of tares to be formed? Perhaps because of the variety of heretics differing not only from the wheat, but also among themselves, each several heresy, separated from communion with all the others, is designated as a bundle; and perhaps they may even then begin to be bound together for burning, when they first sever themselves from Catholic communion, and begin to have their independent church; so that it is the burning and not the binding into bundles that will take place at the end of the world. But were this so, there would not be so many who become wise again, and return from error into the Catholic Church. Wherefore we must understand the binding into bundles to be what shall come to pass in the end, that punishment should fall on them not promiscuously, but in due proportion to the obstinacy and willfulness of each separate error.

RABAN; And it should be noted that, when He says, Sowed good seed, He intends that good will which is in the elect; when He adds, An enemy came, He intimates that watch should be kept against him; when as the tares grow up, He suffers it patiently, saying, An enemy has done this, He recommends to us patience; when He says, Lest in gathering the tares, &c. He sets us an example of discretion; when hen He says, Suffer both to grow together till the harvest He teaches us long-suffering; and, lastly, He inculcates justice, when He says, Bind them into bundles to burn.

31. Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches.

CHRYS; Seeing the Lord had said above that three parts of the seed perish, and one only is preserved, and of that one part there is much loss by reason of the tares that are sown upon it; that none might say, Who then and how many shall they be that believe; He removes this cause of fear by the parable of the mustard seed: therefore it is said, Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed.

JEROME; The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the Gospel, and the knowledge of the Scriptures which leads to life, concerning which it is said to the Jews, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you. It is the kingdom of heaven thus understood which is likened to a grain of mustard seed.

AUG; A grain of mustard seed may allude to the warmth of faith, or to its property as antidote to poison. It follows; Which a man took and sowed in his field.

JEROME; The man who sows is by most understood to be the Savior, who sows the seed in the minds of believers; by others the man himself, who sows in his field, that is, in his own heart. Who indeed is he that sows, but our own mind and understanding, which receiving the grain of preaching, and nurturing it by the dew of faith, makes it to spring up in the field of our own breast? Which is the least of all seeds. The Gospel preaching is the least of all the systems of the schools; at first view it has not even the appearance of truth, announcing a man as God, God put to death, and proclaiming the offense of the cross. Compare this teaching with the dogmas of the Philosophers, with their books, the splendor of their eloquence, the polish of their style, and you will see how the seed of the Gospel is the least of all seeds.

CHRYS; Or, the seed of the Gospel is the least of seeds, because the disciples were weaker than the whole of mankind; yet forasmuch as there was great might in them, their preaching spread throughout the whole world, and therefore it follows, But when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs, that is among dogmas.

AUG; Dogmas are the decisions of sects, the points, that is, that they have determined.

JEROME; For the dogmas of Philosophers when set they have grown up, show nothing of life or strength, but watery and insipid they grow into grasses and other greens, which quickly dry up and wither away. But the Gospel preaching, though it seem small in its beginning, when sown in the mind of the hearer, or upon the world, comes up not a garden herb, but a tree, so that the birds of the air (which we must suppose to be either the souls of believers or the Powers of God set free from slavery) come and abide in its branches. The branches of the Gospel tree which have grown of the grain of mustard seed, I suppose to signify the various dogmas in which each of the birds (as explained above) takes his rest. Let us then take the wings of the dove, that flying aloft we may dwell in the branches of this tree, and may make ourselves nests of doctrines, and soaring Or you earthly things may hasten towards heavenly.

HILARY; Or, the Lord compares Himself to a grain of mustard seed, sharp to the taste, and the least of all seeds, whose strength is extracted by bruising.

GREG; Christ Himself is the grain of mustard seed, who, planted in the garden of the sepulcher, grew up a great tree; He was a grain of seed when He died and a tree when He rose again; a grain of seed in the humiliation of the flesh, a tree in the power of His majesty.

HILARY; This grain then when sown in the field, that is when seized by the people and delivered to death, and as it were buried in the ground by a sowing of the body, grew up beyond the size of all herbs, and exceeded all the glory of the Prophets. For the preaching of the Prophets was allowed as it were herbs to a sick man; but now the birds of the air lodge in the branches of the tree. By which we understand the Apostles, who put forth of Christ's might, and overshadowing the world with their boughs, are a tree to which the Gentiles flee in hope of life, and having been long tossed by the winds, that is by the spirits of the Devil, may have rest in its branches.

GREG; The birds lodge in its branches, when holy souls that raise themselves aloft from thoughts of earth on the wings of the virtues, breathe again from the troubles of this life in their words and comforting.

33. Another parable spoke he to them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

CHRYS; The same thing the Lord sets forth in this parable of the leaven; as much as to say to His disciples, As leaven changes into its own kind much wheat flour, so shall you change the whole world. Note here the wisdom of the Savior; He first brings instances from nature proving that as the one is possible so is the other. And He says not simply 'put,' but hid; as much as to say, So you, when you shall be cast down by your enemies, then you shall overcome them. And so leaven is kneaded in, without being destroyed, but gradually changes all things into its own nature; so shall it come to pass with your preaching. Fear you not then because I said that many tribulations shall come upon you, for so shall you shine forth, and shall overcome them all. He says, three measures, to signify a great abundance; that definite number standing for an indefinite quantity.

JEROME; The 'satum' is a kind of measure in use in Palestine containing one modius and a half.

AUG; Or, the leaven signifies love, because it causes activity and fermentation; by the woman He means wisdom. By the three measures He intends either those three things in man, with the whole heart, with the whole soul, with the whole mind; or the three degrees of fruitfulness, the hundred-fold, the sixty-fold, the thirty-fold; or those three kinds of men, Noah, Daniel, and Job.

RABAN; He says, Until the whole was leavened, because that love implanted in our mind ought to grow until it changes the whole soul into its own perfection; which is begun here, but is completed hereafter.

JEROME; Or otherwise, the woman who takes the leaven and hides it, seems to me to be the Apostolic preaching, or the Church gathered out of diverse nations. She takes the leaven, that is, the understanding of the Scriptures, and hides it in three measures of meal, that the three, spirit, soul,, and body, may be brought into one, and may not differ among themselves. Or otherwise. we read in Plato that there are three parts in the soul - reason, anger, and desire - so we also if we have received the evangelic leaven of Holy Scripture, may possess in our reason prudence, in our anger hatred against vice, in our desire love of the virtues, and this will all come to pass by the Evangelic teaching which our mother Church has held out to us. I will further mention an interpretation of some; that the woman is the Church, who has mingled the faith of man in three measures of meal, namely, belief in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; which when it has fermented into one lump, brings us not to a threefold God, but to the knowledge of one Divinity. This is a pious interpretation; but parables and doubtful solutions of dark things can never bestow authority on dogmas.

HILARY; Or otherwise, the Lord compares Himself to leaven; for leaven is produced from meal, and communicates the power that it has received to heap of its own kind. The woman, that is the Synagogue, taking this leaven hides it, that is by the sentence of death; but it working in the three measures of meal, that is equally in the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels, makes all one; so that what the Law ordains, the Prophets announce, that is fulfilled in the developments of the Gospels. But many, as I remember, have thought that the three measures refer to the calling of the three nations, out of Shem, Ham, and Japhet. But I hardly think that the reason of the thing will allow this interpretation; for though these three nations have indeed been called, yet in them Christ is shown and not hidden, and in so great a multitude of unbelievers the whole cannot be said to be leavened.

34. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them.
35. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

CHRYS; After the foregoing parables, that none might think that Christ was bringing forward anything new, the Evangelist quotes the Prophet, foretelling even this His manner of preaching: Mark's words are, And with many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it (Mark 4:33). So marvel not that, in speaking of the kingdom, He uses the similitudes of a seed, and of leaven) for He was discoursing to common men, and who needed to be led forward by such aids.

REMIG; The Greek word 'Parable,' is rendered in Latin 'Similitude,' by which truth is explained; and an image or representation of the reality is set forth.

JEROME; Yet He spoke not in parables to the disciples, but to the multitude; and even to this day the multitude hears in parables; and therefore it is said, And without a parable He did not speak to them.

CHRYS; For though He had spoken many things not in parables, when not speaking before the multitudes, yet at this time He spoke nothing without a parable.

AUG; Or, this is said, not that He uttered nothing in plain words; but that He concluded no one discourse without introducing a parable in the course of it, though the chief part of the discourse might consist of matter not figurative. And we may indeed find discourses of His parabolic throughout, but none direct throughout. And by a complete discourse, I mean, the whole of what He says on any topic that may be brought before Him by circumstances, before He leaves it and passes to a new subject. For sometimes one Evangelist connects what another gives as spoken at different times; the writer having in such a case followed not the order of events, but the order of connection in his own memory.

The reason why He spoke in parables the Evangelist subjoins, saying, That it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the Prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

JEROME; This passage is taken from the seventy-seventh Psalm. I have seen copies which read, 'by Esaias the Prophet,' instead of what we have adopted, and what the common text has by the Prophet?

REMIG; From which reading Porphyry took an objection to the believers; Such was your Evangelist's ignorance, that he imputed to Isaiah what is indeed found in the Psalms.

JEROME; But because the text was not found in Isaiah, his name was, I suppose, therefore erased by such as had observed that. But it seems to me that it was first written thus, 'As was written by Asaph the Prophet, saying'; for the seventy-seventh Psalm out of which this text is taken is ascribed to Asaph the Prophet; and that the copyist not understanding Asaph, and imputing it to error in the transcription, substituted the better known name Isaiah. For it should be known that not David only, but those others also whose names are set before the Psalms, and hymns and songs of God, are to be considered prophets, namely, Asaph, Idithum, and Heman the Esraite, and the rest who are named in Scripture. And so that which is spoken in the Lord's person, I will open my mouth in parables, if considered attentively, will be found to be a description of the departure of Israel out of Egypt, and a relation of all the wonders contained in the history of Exodus. By which we learn, that all that is there written may be taken in a figurative way, and contains hidden sacraments; for this what the Savior is there made to preface by the words, I will open my mouth in parables.

GLOSS; As though He had said, I who spoke before by the Prophets, now in My own person will open My mouth in parables, and will bring forth out of My secret store mysteries which have been hidden ever since the foundation of the world.

36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him saying, Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field.
37. He answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man;
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.
41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

CHRYS; The Lord had spoken to the multitude in parable that He might induce them to ask Him of their meaning yet, though He had spoken so many things in parables no man had yet asked Him anything, and therefore He sends them away; Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house. None of the Scribes followed Him here, from which it is clear that they followed Him for no other purpose than that they might catch Him in His discourse.

JEROME; The Lord sends away the multitude, and enters the house that His disciples might come to Him and ask Him privately of those things which the people neither deserved to hear, nor were able.

RABAN; Figuratively; Having sent away the multitude of unquiet Jews, He enters the Church of the Gentiles, and there expounds to believers heavenly sacraments, whence it follows, And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.

CHRYS; Before, though desirous to learn, they had feared to ask; but now they ask freely and confidently because they had heard, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven; and therefore they ask when alone, not envying the multitude to whom it was not so given. They pass over the parables of the leaven and the mustard seed as plain; and ask concerning the parable of the tares, which has some agreement with the foregoing parable concerning the seed, and shows somewhat more than that. And accordingly the Lord expounds it to them, as it follows, He answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man.

REMIG. The Lord styles Himself the Son of Man, that in that title He might set an example of humility; or perhaps because it was to come to pass that certain heretics would deny Him to be really man; or that through belief in His Humanity we might ascend to knowledge of His Divinity.

CHRYS; The field is the world. Seeing it is He that sows His own field, it is plain that this present world is His. It follows, The good seed are the children of the kingdom.

REMIG; That is, the saints, and elect men, who are counted as sons.

AUG; The tares the Lord expounds to mean, not as Manichaeus interprets, certain spurious parts inserted among the true Scriptures, but all the children of the Evil one, that is, the imitators of the fraud of the Devil. As it follows, The tares are the children of the evil one, by whom He would have us understand all the wicked and impious.

ID; For all weeds among corn are called tares. It follows, The enemy who sowed this is the Devil.

CHRYS; For this is part of the wiles of the Devil, to be ever mixing up truth with error. The harvest is the end of the world. In another place He says, speaking of the Samaritans, Lift up your eyes, and consider the fields that they are already white for the harvest; and again, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few, in which words He speaks of the harvest as being already present. How then does He here speak of it as something yet to come? Because He has used the figure of the harvest in two significations, as He says there that it is one that sows, and another that reaps; but here it is the same who both sows and reaps indeed there He brings forward the Prophets, not to distinguish them from Himself, but from the Apostles, for Christ Himself by His Prophets sowed among the Jews and Samaritans. The figure of harvest is thus applied to two different things. Speaking of first conviction and turning to the faith, He calls that the harvest, as that in which the whole is accomplished; but when He inquires into the fruits ensuing upon the hearing the word of God, then He calls the end of the world the harvest, as here.

REMIG; By the harvest is denoted the day of judgment, in which the good are to he separated from the evil; which will be done by the ministry of Angels, as it is said below, that the Son of Man shall come to judgment with His Angels. As then the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.

The Son of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offenses, and them which do iniquity.

AUG; Out of that kingdom in which are no offenses? The kingdom then is His kingdom which is here, namely, the Church.

ID; That the tares are first separated, signifies that by tribulation the wicked shall be separated from the righteous; and this is understood to be performed by good Angels, because the good can discharge duties of punishment with a good spirit, as a judge, or as the Law, but the wicked cannot fulfill offices of mercy.

CHRYS; Or we may understand it of the kingdom of the heavenly Church; and then there will be held out here a two-fold punishment; first that they fall from glory as that is said, And they shall gather out of his kingdom all offenses, to the end, that no offenses should be seen in His kingdom; and then that they burned. And they shall cast them into a furnace of fire.

JEROME; The offenses are to be referred to the tares.

GLOSS; The offenses, and, them that do iniquity, are to be distinguished as heretics and schismatics; the offenses referring to heretics; while by them that do iniquity are to be understood Schismatics. Otherwise; By offenses may be understood those that give their neighbor an occasion of falling, by those that do iniquity all other sinners.

RABAN; Observe, He says, Those that do iniquity, not, those who have done; because not they who have turned to penitence, but they only that abide in their sins are to be delivered to eternal torments.

CHRYS; Behold the unspeakable love of God towards men! He is ready to show mercy, slow to punish; when He sows, He sows Himself; when He punishes, He punishes by others, sending His Angels to that. It follows, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

REMIG; In these words is shown the reality of the resurrection of the body; and further, the twofold pains of hell, extreme heat, and extreme cold. And as the offenses are referred to the tares, so the righteous are reckoned among the children of the kingdom; concerning whom it follows, Then the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. For in the present world the light of the saints shines before men, but after the consummation of all things, the righteous themselves shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

CHRYS; Not that they shall not shine with higher brightness, but because we know no degree of brightness that surpasses that of the sun, therefore He uses an example adapted to our understanding.

REMIG; That He says, Then shall they shine, implies that they now shine for an example to others, but they shall then shine as the sun to the praise of God. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

RABAN; That is, Let him understand who has understanding, because all these things are to be understood mystically, and not literally.

Catena Aurea Matthew 13

[annalex]

Paradise

Guisto de' Menabuoi

1375-76
Fresco
Baptistry, Padua

[Salvation]

Day 219 - What are the "Five Precepts of the Church"? // What is the purpose of the precepts of the Church?

What are the "Five Precepts of the Church"?

(1) You shall attend Mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation and abstain from work or activities that offend against the character of the day. (2) You shall receive the sacrament of Penance at least once a year. (3) You shall receive the Eucharist at least during the Easter season. (4) You shall observe the prescribed seasons of fasting and days of abstinence (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). (5) You shall contribute to the material support of the Church.

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What is the purpose of the precepts of the Church, and how binding are they?

The "Five Precepts of the Church" with their minimum requirements are supposed to remind us that one cannot be a Christian without making a moral effort, without participating personally in the sacramental life of the Church, and without union with her in solidarity. They are obligatory for every Catholic Christian. (YOUCAT questions 345-346)

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Dig Deeper: CCC section (2041-2043) and other references here.

[Salvation]

Part 3: Life in Christ (1691 - 2557)

Section 1: Man's Vocation — Life in the Spirit (1699 - 2051)

Chapter 3: God's Salvation: Law and Grace (1949 - 2051)

Article 3: The Church, Mother and Teacher (2030 - 2051)

II. THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH ⇡

2041

The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:

1389
1389
1457
2180
(all)

2042

The first precept ("You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor") requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.⁸²

The second precept ("You shall confess your sins at least once a year") ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.⁸³

The third precept ("You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season") guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.⁸⁴

82.

Cf. CIC, cann. 1246-1248; CCEO, cann. 881 § 1, § 2, § 4.

83.

Cf. CIC, can. 989; CCEO, can. 719.

84.

Cf. CIC, can. 920; CCEO, cann. 708; 881 § 3.

1351
1387
1438
2177
(all)

2043

The fourth precept ("You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.⁸⁵

The fifth precept ("You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church") means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.⁸⁶

The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities.⁸⁷

85.

Cf. CIC, cann. 1249-1251; CCEO, can. 882.

86.

Cf. CIC, can. 222; CCEO can. 25; Furthermore, episcopal conferences can establish other ecclesiastical precepts for their own territories (Cf. CIC, can. 455).

87.

Cf. CIC, can. 222.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

 

Daily Readings for:July 20, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Show favor, O Lord, to your servants and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace, that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity, they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands. 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    Best-Ever Meat Loaf

ACTIVITIES

o    Security of Faith within the Home

PRAYERS

o    Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Ordinary Time (2nd Plan)

o    Litany of the Saints

o    Prayer for Troops

o    Prayer for Peace

·         Ordinary Time: July 20th

·         Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

"Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." (Matt 13:40-43)

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

The Optional Memorial of St. Apollinaris, bishop and martyr, is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 where the author reminds us that the kind of judgment we receive depends not on the scales of godless justice, but instead on the mercy and love of God for those who strive to live life in response to His love. — A Celebrants Guide to the New Sacramentary - A Cycle by Kevin W. Irwin

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 8:26-27. The theme is the activity of the Spirit in helping us in our weakness to pray as we ought, for it is the Spirit who makes intercession for us and intercedes for us before God. — A Celebrants Guide to the New Sacramentary - A Cycle by Kevin W. Irwin

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 13:24-43. Today's parable is Christ's answer to the question so frequently asked: "Why does God permit evil to triumph so often in this world, why are the wicked allowed to prosper?" The triumph of the wicked is short-lived, the reward of the Christian who suffers from their wickedness is everlasting. The very wickedness and injustices of evil-doers are one of the ways that God uses to perfect his elect. It is only on a battlefield that a true soldier can be proved.

In the parable, the weed does not destroy the wheat. It only makes it more difficult for the wheat to grow to maturity. So it is with the Christian. No one can take his faith from him, but living up to it is made more difficult by the evil influence and bad example of sinners. If some succumb to this evil influence and give up the practice of their faith, the fault is theirs. God can force no man to serve him.

The patience of the farmer in letting the weed grow on until harvest time, exemplifies the infinite mercy of God toward sinners. The weed could not change its nature, but the sinner can change his ways and God gives him every chance and every help to do this, up to his last moment of life. No sinner will be excluded from heaven because of the sins he committed but because he did not repent of these sins while he had the opportunity.

We must learn a double lesson of patience from this parable. First, to be patient with those who make our spiritual progress more difficult for us—they are actually helping us to be better Christians if we bear with patience the injuries they inflict on us. Second, we must try to imitate the patience God shows in his dealings with sinners. While we must not approve of their evil deeds, or their sins, we must still look on them as our brothers and do all in our power to put them back on the right road to heaven. We can do this by good example, and by fervent prayer for their conversion. This is not easy for human nature, but we can be certain that God will give us the necessary grace and strength to subdue our natural weakness and aversion, if we try to act with charity and true brotherly interest toward our erring fellowmen.

By acting thus, we will not only be helping a weak brother on the rugged road to heaven, we will also be making doubly sure of our own arrival there, for God will never be outdone in generosity.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Romans 8:26-27

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. (Romans 8:26)

If you remember nothing else about St. Paul, remember this: he loved to talk about the Holy Spirit! For just one example, take a look at chapter eight of his Letter to the Romans, and you’ll see:

The law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

The Spirit helps us fulfill the just requirements of the law. (8:4)

The Spirit gives us life and peace. (8:6)

God will raise us up from the dead by the Spirit. (8:11)

The Spirit helps us put to death the misdeeds of the body. (8:13)

The Spirit convinces us that we are children of God. (8:14)

The Spirit is the foretaste of our full redemption. (8:23)

Paul goes even further in today’s reading. He tells us that beyond all the points he has made so far, beyond the theology that he has outlined in this chapter, the Holy Spirit is also an intimate and compassionate friend. The Spirit knows you. He loves you. Because he is God, he knows better than anyone how to help you.

So always be encouraged when you feel at a loss or when difficulties come your way. Remember that the Spirit of God makes intercession for you. Remember that your heavenly Father hears and answers the prayers of the Holy Spirit. And always keep this in mind: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:26-31).

“Thank you, Father, for the gift of your Holy Spirit. I welcome your Spirit into my life today. Help me to yield to his work in my heart.”

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16; Matthew 13:24-43

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

(Wisdom 12:13,16-19; Psalm 86:5-6,9-10,15-16; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43)

1. In the first reading, we hear that “those who are just must be kind”. What do these words mean to you? How does the cross reflect God’s justice and kindness toward you? In what way is there a conflict between justice and kindness in your life?

2. In the responsorial psalm, we read that God is “forgiving” and “merciful”. We know that God forgives us when we confess our sins? How ready are you to forgive those who have wronged you? Why do you think we have a tendency to demand justice from God for others and but mercy for ourselves? Why is this contrary to the Gospel?

3. In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us that the “Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.” How often during the day do you turn to the Holy Spirit, present in each baptized Catholic, to seek help and guidance? What steps can you take to change that?

4. In the Gospel, we see that the smallest of actions (e.g., the sowing of a “mustard seed” and the mixing of “yeast” with flour) can have a very large effect. What small steps do you think the Lord is asking you to take in your life that could have a major impact?

5. The meditation tells us that in addition to the many ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives, he is “also an intimate and compassionate friend.” What do these words mean to you? In what ways have you experienced the Holy Spirit as “an intimate and compassionate friend”?

6. Take some time now to pray for the grace to fully yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Use the prayer at the end of the mediation as the starting point.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

WE MUST REFRAIN FROM DISMISSING OTHERS

(A biblical reflection on the 16th Ordinary Sunday, 20 July 2014)

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:24-30 (long version: Matthew 13:24-43)

First Reading: Wisdom 12:13,16-19; Psalms: Psalm 86:5-6,9-10,15-16; Second Reading: Romans 8:26-27

The Scripture Text
Another parable He put before them, saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds? He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he said, ‘No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30 RSV)

How do you treat other people when they fall short of your expectations? Do you find yourself turning against them – maybe in your mind and heart, if not outwardly? It’s a tempting reaction but not one that Jesus recommended. In fact, His parable of the weeds among the wheat tells us not to write anyone off as hopeless. Just as the householder refrained from having the weeds pulled up for fear of uprooting the wheat (Matthew 13:29), we must refrain from dismissing others, in effect throwing out the “wheat” in their lives along with whatever we perceive the “weeds” to be.

Who are the “weedy” ones in your life – those you have given up on, those you don’t treat so well because they have pulled away from God? Look closely at your list and ask yourself whether perhaps your judgments might be contributing in some way to their bondage. Is it possible that you have a beam in your eye, something that prevents you from seeing the beauty and promise – the wheat among the weeds – within them? Even in their sin, God sees their potential and gives them opportunities to realize it through the power of His Son. He invites you to take on this attitude, too.

Today at Mass, take some time to reflect on God’ invitation to patience. Let the readings show you God’s heart and help you embrace that heart for yourself: “Although You are sovereign in strength, You judge with mildness, and with great forbearance You govern us. … You have taught Your people that the righteous must be kind” (Wisdom 12:18-19). “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26). Having experienced God’s mercy in your own life – and who hasn’t? – you can be patient with the imperfections of others, with the Spirit’s help. And amazingly, the more you learn to see people through the eyes of Jesus, the more you will draw them to Him. They will change. So will you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for having written some people off as beyond help. Knowing Your love and patience toward me, I am compelled to pray that every “hopeless case” will make it into Your Kingdom. I pray for an abundant harvest of the finest wheat. Amen.

[Salvation]

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

Daily Marriage Tip for July 20, 2014:

“The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness.” (Rom 8:26) When a difficult decision looms, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. It can be as simple as praying, “Come, Holy Spirit!”

[Salvation]

Sunday Scripture Study

Scripture  Study  Sixteenth

Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A 

Opening prayer  

Wisdom 12:13,16-19           

(Ps 86:5-6,9-10,15-16)          

Romans 8:26-27            

Matthew 13:24-43    

 

Overview of the Gospel:

 

• Last Sunday, we were introduced to Matthew 13 as a chapter of parables. This week we have three more parables, all with “growth” as a theme.

• Jesus tells another parable about a “sower”, this time one who has an enemy who secretly sows his field with weeds. This certain type of weed (called “tares” or “darnel” in some translations) contained a fungus that was poisonous to people and animals, causing severe nausea. This was sometimes done for revenge or maliciousness and the Romans had severe penalties to those caught committing such an act. These weeds look just like wheat in the early stages of growth thus making them almost impossible to remove without ruining the wheat. 

• The owner of the field decides to let the wheat and the tares grow side by side until the harvest. In biblical terms, “the harvest” is often associated with a day of God’s judgment (Jeremiah 51:33; Joel 4:13; Hosea 6:11; Revelation 14:14-20). 

Questions:

• What does the 1st Reading teach us about God’s might, justice and mercy? How is the way that God acts (or does not act) different from the way that we might act? What, according to the writer of the Book of Wisdom, should this teach us about God and ourselves?

• In our journey to becoming more like God, from Whom do we receive assistance? What kind of assistance does he give us? 

• In the parable of the weeds (verses 24-30 and verses 36-40), who is the sower? What does the wheat represent? The weeds? The enemy? The harvest? • How does this parable relate to Matthew 7:15-20?

• Why does this parable so puzzle the disciples? Why is patience and tolerance toward unbelievers difficult for them (and for us)?

• In the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast (verses 31-33), what aspects of Jesus’ ministry seem small? What is the promise if the small seed is sown? • How does the kingdom of heaven become evident to others? • Where (in your life or in your parish) have you seen faith like “yeast” or a “mustard seed” have a great impact? Where is the harvest field God has placed you in? • What accountability are you now feeling for yourself? For others? To God? What are you “hearing” God call you to do as a result? 

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 827, 2284—2287, 764 

Closing prayer 

 

Jesus is the teacher of holiness. I go to him because I want him to teach me how to become a saint. Of what use to me is all I learn in school if I do not become holy? -St. Francis de Sales

[Salvation]

Weeds Among the Wheat

Pastor’s Column

16th Sunday Ordinary Time

July 20, 2014

 

One of the biggest challenges to our faith is always the question, why is evil tolerated by God in the world? The parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-33) offers us a tremendous amount of insight as to why some people seem to get away with so much evil while God appears to look in the other direction.

Like the weeds and the wheat, we are all at present growing together in the world, but this will not always be so. There is a certain type of wheat-like plant called bearded darnel which looks so much like wheat that in its early stages an untrained eye can’t readily tell the difference between the weed and genuine wheat. This plant has adopted these characteristics to give it a better survival rate. By the time a farmer realizes what kind of plant this is, the roots would have so intertwined themselves with the good plants that to pull up the weeds would necessarily entail destroying the wheat as well. This is why the farmer in our parable decides to let them both grow together till harvest time.

Sowing these kinds of weeds in a field was common among enemies at the time of Christ (the Romans actually had laws against it), so people would’ve been very familiar with this story. To top it all off, the weed is mildly poisonous!

The Lord presently appears to tolerate those who do evil and cause others to do so (the weeds) for the sake of those who love him (the wheat). It is also his desire and will that they be given time to repent; but in the end, there will be a sorting-out by the angels and the weeds will be removed.

It can appear at first glance that the present state of affairs in the world is normal, when in fact this situation is quite temporary. At present we must live in a world where we cannot always readily distinguish the good from evil-doers, who often seem to be getting away with it. But those who habitually live evil lives do not realize that God is watching and waiting to act, holding the present world in existence for the sake of those who love him.

Therefore, the role of Christians and those who genuinely seek God is very great. God allows those who do evil to live side-by-side in this life with the good in the hope that the evil-doers (the “weeds” of our parable) will repent and become wheat. As long as we live on earth, it is not too late! How do we recognize the evil in the world and in ourselves from the good? The good will bear fruit, while evil ultimately is poisonous.

In the meantime, we live in a temporary situation where we are called to turn from evil but not judge others, which is God’s job. The parable is both a warning and a comfort: God tolerates evil for the sake of the good, but only for a little while. The final end of those who choose evil and those who choose the good could not be more different.

 

                                    Father Gary

[Salvation]

Of Wheat and Weeds: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 07.18.14 |

Readings:
Wisdom 12:13,16-19  
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

Romans 8:26-27  
Matthew 13:24-43

God is always teaching His people, we hear in today’s First Reading.

And what does He want us to know? That He has care for all of us, that though He is a God of justice, even those who defy and disbelieve Him may hope for His mercy if they turn to Him in repentance.

This divine teaching continues in the three parables that Jesus tells in the Gospel today. Each describes the emergence of the kingdom of God from the seeds sown by His works and preaching. The kingdom’s growth is hidden - like the working of yeast in bread; it’s improbable, unexpected—as in the way the tall mustard tree grows from the smallest of seeds.

Again this week’s readings sound a note of questioning: Why does God permit the evil to grow alongside the good? Why does He permit some to reject the Word of His kingdom?

Because, as we sing in today’s Psalm, God is slow to anger and abounding in kindness. He is just, Jesus assures us - evildoers and those who cause others to sin will be thrown into the fiery furnace at the end of the age. But by His patience, God is teaching us—that above all He desires repentance, and the gathering of all nations to worship Him and to glorify His name.

Even though we don’t know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit will intercede for us, Paul promises in today’s Epistle. But first we must turn and call upon Him, we must commit ourselves to letting the good seed of His Word bear fruit in our lives.

So we should not be deceived or lose heart when we see weeds among the wheat, truth and holiness mixed with error, injustice and sin.

For now, He makes His sun rise on the good and the bad (see Matthew 5:45). But the harvest draws near. Let’s work that we might be numbered among the righteous children—who will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.

[Salvation]

A Look at this Sunday: Good, Bad and Ugly

 

 

"Where have the weeds come from?"

 

Sunday Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/072014.cfm

What purpose do weeds serve?  Well, I suppose there are some but don't we do all we can to eliminate them from our gardens, our sidewalks, our flowers and orchards, our farms.  Tons of money is spent on developing fertilizers and ways to prevent weeds from growing and chocking off important energy and life from more desirable plants.

Yet, in our Gospel this Sunday (below) Jesus teaches in a parable: ". . . His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' he replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.  Let them grow together until harvest . . ."  Hmm, not the most attractive garden so, as always, this parable has a deeper spiritual meaning.  We learn it is a reference to the end harvest - the ultimate time when Christ will return and final justice will be meted out. 

In the meantime, we have a constant chance for God's mercy to touch our lives and hearts and turn our weeds into healthy wheat. This call to conversion is the essence of the Christian Gospel.  The truth is that the good, the bad, and the ugly always live together but hopefully those among the good can influence through word and deed, and the grace of God, to turn away from evil and embrace God's goodness and truth.  Look at the Church or any human organization and we find a host of players. 

Where do I fit?  More to come . . .

Mt 13: 24 - 30

 

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

Weeds, Seeds, and the Kingdom of Heaven

"Wheat Field" (1888) by Vincent van Gogh (Wikiart.org)

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, July 20, 2014 | Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Wis 12:13, 16-19
• Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
• Rom 8:26-27
• Mt 13:24-43

What is the Kingdom of God? How does it come about? And how will it grow?

These are some of the questions addressed in the parables of Jesus, including the seven parables found in Matthew 13. As we saw last week, these parables are not simply stories with a moral, nor are they theological tracts or even pithy catechetical lessons. Parables are not, writes Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis in Fire of Mercy, Heart of the World (Ignatius Press, 2003), “a test of human intelligence that functions like riddles. Rather they are verbal strategies of grace that test the willingness of the human heart to surrender to, and be enfolded by, the always surprising generosity of Wisdom.”

Leiva-Merikakis describes a parable, strikingly, as “a coded letter left by a Lover” (p 192). He points out that the original Greek renditions of the parables are imbued with a beautiful musicality, adding even more meaning to Jesus’ exhortation: “He who has ears, let him hear” (Mt 13:9). God’s love for mankind is such that the eternal Word uses words of beauty to redeem our souls and transform our hearts.

Today’s Gospel reading contains three of the seven parables: the parables of the weeds among the wheat, the mustard seed, and the yeast (or leaven). Like the parable of the sower and seeds heard last week, all three express something about the growth of the Kingdom and how God’s word brings about that mysterious—and often unseen—growth.

Like the parable of the sower and the seeds, the parable of the weeds among the wheat has an agricultural setting. However, the parable is unique to Matthew’s Gospel and does not appear in the other Gospels. The focus is less on the response of the soil to the sower’s seeds and more on the mystery of evil and how it grows alongside what the Son of Man has planted in the field of the world. In his explanation of the parable to the disciples, Jesus draws a stark contrast between the children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one. Those who hear the word of God and reject it are the children of Satan. Having been offered light, they choose darkness (cf., Jn 1:9-11; 3:19-20).

But, as Saint Augustine noted, what is currently wheat can become a weed, and what is a weed can still become wheat “and no one knows what they will be tomorrow.” It is right to lament the sins committed by sons and daughters of the Church. But we shouldn’t be blind to our own weaknesses, nor to the ravenous appetite of the devil, who “is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Mindful of our failings, as the Apostle Paul exhorts the Romans in today’s epistle, we must trust in the Holy Spirit, who “comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”

The parable of the mustard seed, although short, is memorable in its imagery, especially in the comparison between the largeness of the bush (growing to ten feet in height) and the smallness of the seed. Its central meaning is that the works of God often begin in small ways and are usually ignored or missed by the world. The temptation for the children of the Kingdom is to become impatient, forgetting that this tree has now been growing for thousands of years, and will continue to grow until the end of time.

Even shorter is the parable of the yeast, or leaven. From what seems to be of little consequence comes a super abundance, a theme echoing the reality of the Incarnation and the stunning truth of the empty tomb. It is Christ, the lover of mankind, who is the leaven. And it is through his death and Resurrection and by his Body and Blood that we are leavened—transformed and transferred into the always growing kingdom of the Son (Col 1:13).

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the July 20, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)