Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 10-25-14

Blessed Richard Gwyn

Feast Day: October 25
Born: (around) 1465 :: Died: 1539

Richard was a non-Catholic Welshman (from Wales). He studied in Cambridge and when he had finished college he became a teacher. Then Richard adopted the Catholic faith and decided to join the priesthood.

After becoming a priest he was made the Chamberlain of his monastery. A few years later he was chosen to be the abbot of Glastonbury (which is similar to a Parish-Priest).

At this time Queen Elizabeth I ruled England and Wales. Because most people in Wales were still Catholic, the queen and her officials tried to crush the faith by cruel laws.

Priests or people who were loyal to the Holy Father - the Pope, were put in prison and many were tortured and killed.

Soon Richard became a hunted man. He escaped from jail once, and a month later was arrested again. They said to him, "You will be freed, if you give up the Catholic faith." But Blessed Richard refused.

They took him to a non-Catholic church by force and he upset the preacher's whole sermon by clanking his chains loudly. The angry officers locked him up for eight hours, and many came to abuse and insult him.

He was again put in prison and tortured. The queen's men wanted him to give them the names of other Catholics whom they could arrest, but Richard would not.

When he was taken to court, men were paid to tell lies about him and he was sentenced to death. Then his wife and baby were brought to court.

"Do not imitate your husband," the poor woman was told. She bravely said, "If you want more blood, you can take my life with my husband's. If you give more money to your witnesses, they will definitely find something against me, too."

As Blessed Richard was being martyred, he cried out in terrible pain: "Holy God, what is this? Jesus, have mercy on me!" Then he was beheaded.

Blessed Richard wrote some beautiful poems when he was in prison. In them, he begged his countrymen of Wales to be loyal to the Catholic faith. Blessed Richard died a martyr in 1539.

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, October 25

Liturgical Color: Green

Pope Paul VI canonized St. Margaret
Ward, a martyr of England, on this day in
1970. She was hung, then drawn and
quartered in 1588 for providing aid to a
Catholic priest, and refusing to reveal his
name.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:October 25, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. 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 Fruit Cobbler

ACTIVITIES

o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: October

o Religion in the Home for Preschool: October

PRAYERS

o Litany of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

LIBRARY

o The Priest Martyrs of England | Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl

· Ordinary Time: October 25th

· Saturday of the Twenty-Ninth Week of Ordinary Time; Forty Martyrs of England & Wales (Eng & Wal)

Old Calendar: Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria, martyrs; Sts. Crispin and Crispinian (Hist)

Today in England is the feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of England and Wales (in Wales this is a memorial), a group of forty men, women, religious, priests, and lay people who were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1970. These people were executed for their Faith during a period of anti-Catholicism from 1535 to 1679. The Martyrs who were canonized were among more than two hundred martyrs who had been beatified by various earlier popes.

Some of the common "crimes" of these people were being priests, harboring priests, or refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. This group of saints includes some well-known saints, such as St. Alban Roe, and St. Edmund Campion. Many of these saints are recognized on the days of their martyrdom, but as a group, they are recognized on the day they were canonized. — Al Bushra

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria, a husband and wife who carried on an active apostolate among the noble families of Rome during the third century. When they were denounced as Christians, they underwent various tortures with great constancy, and they were buried alive in a sandpit in the year 283.

Today the Roman Martyrology remembers the martyrs Crispin and Crispinian, who died in the persecution of Diocletian by the sword. They were brothers, possibly twins, and cobblers. St. Crispin's day has been immortalized by Shakespeare's Henry V speech before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Beatified Martyrs of England and Wales
These forty were canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 25th, 1970. They are representative of the English and Welsh martyrs of the Reformation who died at various dates between 1535 and 1679. Some 200 of these martyrs had already been declared ‘Blessed’ (i.e. ‘beatified’) by previous Popes. They include:

SS. John Houghton, Robert Lawrence and Augustine Webster, the first martyrs (1535), all priors of different Charterhouses (houses of the Carthusian Order, including the one in London) who, by virtue of the Carthusian vow of silence, refused to speak in their own defense;
St. Cuthbert Mayne, a Devonian, who was the first martyr not to be a member of a religious order. He was ordained priest at the then newly established English College at Douai in Northern France and was put to death at Launceston in 1577;
St. Edmund Campion, the famous Jesuit missionary and theologian who published secretly from Stonor Park, the ancient Catholic country house near Henley-on-Thames, who died in 1581 on the same day as St. Ralph Sherwin, the first martyr to have been trained at the English College in Rome;
St. Richard Gwyn, the first of the Welsh martyrs, a schoolteacher from Llanidloes in Mid-Wales who died at Wrexham in 1584;
St. Margaret Clitherow, the wife of a butcher with a shop in the famous Shambles in York, who allowed her house to be used as a Mass centre, who was sentenced to be crushed to death under a large stone at the Ouse Bridge Tollbooth in the city;
St. Swithun Wells, a teacher from Brambridge in the county of Hampshire who owned a London house at Grays Inn Fields which was also a secret Mass centre (1591);
St. Philip Howard, eldest son of the fourth Duke of Norfolk (himself executed for treason in 1572) who led a dissolute existence and left behind an unhappy wife in Arundel Castle until he was converted by the preaching of St. Edmund Campion, and died in the Tower in 1595;
St. Nicholas Owen, Jesuit lay brother and master carpenter, who constructed many priests’ hiding-holes in houses throughout the country, some of them so cunningly concealed they were not discovered until centuries later (1606).

Under James I and Charles I the purge died down, but did not entirely cease. St. John Southworth, missionary in London, was put to death under Cromwell and is venerated in Westminster Cathedral, and the final martyrs died in the aftermath of the Titus Oates plot in 1679. [SS. John Fisher & Thomas More are not included in this list for they had been canonized in 1935].

Taken from Sacred Heart Parish, Waterloo

Things to Do:

If you would like to learn more about the Forty Martyrs you can purchase a pamphlet published by the Catholic Truth Society from St. Bernard Books.
For a list of the forty martyrs and a little more information about some of them, you can visit this site.

Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria
According to legend these two saints belonged to the nobility. Daria received baptism through the efforts of her husband Chrysanthus. In Rome they were instrumental in bringing many to the faith, for which cause they were cruelly martyred. Chrysanthus was sewn inside an ox's hide and placed where the sun shone hottest. Taken to a house of ill-fame, Daria was protected by a lion while she passed the time in prayer. Finally both were buried alive in a sand-pit and thereby together gained the crown of martyrdom (283). They were buried in the Jordan cemetery on the Via Saleria, Rome; at the same site were buried sixty-two soldiers who died as martyrs and also a group of faithful who had gathered together for the holy Sacrifice on the anniversary of saints' deaths but were cut down by the enemies of Christ.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Eissel, Germany; Salzburg, Austria.

Symbols: Ox skin; sandpit.

Sts. Crispin and Crispinian
The Roman Martyrology includes these twin brother martyrs for this day. St. Crispin was a Roman noble and brother of Saint Crispinian with whom he evangelized Gaul in the middle 3rd century. They worked from Soissons, preached in the streets by day and made shoes by night. The group's charity, piety and contempt of material things impressed the locals, and many converted in the years of their ministry. They were martyred in Rome in 286 by torture and beheading, under emperor Maximian Herculeus, being tried by Rictus Varus, governor of Belgic Gaul and an enemy of Christianity. A great church was built at Soissons in the 6th century in their honor; Saint Eligius ornamented their shrine.

This feast was immortalized by Shakespeare in his play Henry V, (Act 4, Scene 3). The king gave a rousing speech (called "Saint Crispin's Day) on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, fought on this day in 1415. (Read a synopsis of the battle.) The English, although outnumbered, soundly defeated the French. In England this was a religious holiday on which commoners and serfs got a day of rest.

Patron: Cobblers; glove makers; lace makers; lace workers; leather workers; saddle makers; tanners; weavers.

Symbols: Cobbler's last; shoe; shoemaker's tools; awl and knife saltire; millstones; flaying knives; rack.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Ephesians 4:7-16

Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary

He gave some as apostles, others as prophets … evangelists … pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11)

There’s something different about this list of spiritual gifts, don’t you think? Elsewhere in the New Testament, the charisms are generally listed as divinely empowered abilities like healing, wisdom, and generosity. But today’s list identifies the charisms as persons (compare Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11). In other words, the people are themselves the gifts.

Is this how you look at other people—or yourself? Whether unconsciously or not, we tend to assess people in terms of their abilities and achievements. But in God’s plan, even the most helpless, lowly, off-putting, or seemingly unaccomplished members of society are gifts by virtue of their very existence. Of course, it’s hard to take this view when relationships are wearing or unpleasant. Here, then, are a few suggestions to help us see the gift in every person.

Find something to appreciate. Don’t focus on flaws and failings. Your in-laws—or children’s spouses, nosy neighbors, demanding superiors, or [fill in the blank]—may drive you crazy. Surely, though, there’s something that you can appreciate. If you can’t see it, ask God for his perspective. Even if it’s just one little thing, try to focus on that. And remember: every person, no matter how challenging, is Jesus in disguise.

Consider the positive effects. Do you want to be more patient, compassionate, or courageous? Perhaps these relationships are opportunities to grow in the virtues you seek! Dealing with a demanding friend or family member, for example, can give you a clearer vision of your own weakness and need for the Lord. That’s a blessing! Throw yourself on the Lord and seek his lead about how to relate: when to forbear, weep with those who weep, or speak the truth in love.

Be a gift. You can’t force people to become the gifts that God has designed them to be. But you can decide to make your own sincere gift of self to the Lord and to everyone around you. Your self-giving will build up the body of Christ and may even spark a transformation in the challenging people around you!

“Lord, help me to see each person in my life as your gift. Empower me to be a gift to them.”

Psalm 122:1-5; Luke 13:1-9

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

Daily Marriage Tip for October 25, 2014:

“Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.” (Mk 10:43) Just for fun see which of you can serve the other more today. Make a game out of it if you wish. “No, let me get the door, the snack, make dinner, etc.” “No, honey, you must let me do it.”

Regnum Christi

The Fig That Was Almost Toast!

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

October 25, 2014. Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 13:1-9

At that time some people who were present there told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ´For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?´ He said to him in reply, ´Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.´"

Introductory Prayer: Lord, who am I that you spend time listening to me in my prayer? Who am I that you speak with me? You have given humanity such dignity by assuming our nature and giving me personally so many gifts. Time and time again you have been patient with me and received me back into your embrace when I have strayed from you. Thank you for your kindness to me. I hope to receive it always in the future and especially at the hour of my death. Your kindness and patience are a manifestation of your love for me. I want to return that love, because the only fitting response to love is love.

Petition: Lord, help me to be as patient with others as you are with me.

1. The Fig-less Fig: The owner of the fig tree in the parable, which many spiritual authors see as an image of God the Father, comes for three years in search of fruit. How often our Heavenly Father comes in search of fruit on the fig tree of our lives. And what does he find? He has given us the “soil” and so many elements that are conducive to being fruitful. He has made known his desire for us to bear fruit, and his Son has explained to us how the fruit is to be produced. There are no excuses. Let’s take notice of the lesson of the parable: When the Father comes to us looking for fruits, it is because it is the time for fruit. What will we say to the Father if he has given us ten, twenty, forty, sixty years to bear fruit but finds none? It’s not just about looking nice, as a fig does. It’s about bearing fruit – fruit that will last – according to the Father’s plan.

2. The Fig That Was Almost Toast: There is an American idiom referring to something that is destroyed and no longer what it was: “It’s toast!” The fig tree in the parable was in danger of becoming “toast.” “Cut it down” was the order given by the owner. “Why should it exhaust the soil?” What a terrible accusation! It was useless and only sapping nutrients from the soil for no purpose. When we apply this parable to our own lives, it is ghastly to think that our life, or the lives of others, might be just as useless. Cut it down. Take it away. It serves no purpose. The judgment is just. But it was a judgment that was soon to be lifted, both in the case of the fig tree and in the application to our own lives. Am I sufficiently grateful for God’s continual mercy towards me and others?

3. Leave It… Thanks to the gardener in the parable, the fig lives and is not cut down. The axe does not bite into the trunk of the fig, wrenching from it the beauty of its leaves and meandering branches. In our case, Jesus Christ the Good Gardener steps in and asks the owner, the Heavenly Father, to “leave it;” he, the Good Gardener, will take care of things. And how he does it! The Gardener himself is cut down in a bloody way and crucified. We who indeed should justly be cut down are saved, while the axe is put to the trunk of His body. All for love of us! Archbishop Luis Martinez has a beautiful image in his book The Secrets of the Interior Life where he speaks of suffering as a manifestation of love: “It is said that the myrrh tree allows its perfume to escape only when it is bruised.” The perfume “flows drop by drop through the lacerations of the bark that enfold them.”

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, how patient the Father is with me! Thank you for coming to save me, for laying your life down for me, for suffering what I should endure because of my self-centeredness and sinfulness. But with you, there is hope.

Resolution: I will exercise patience today with everyone I meet, thinking of the patience that God has had with me.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 6

<< Saturday, October 25, 2014 >>

Ephesians 4:7-16
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Psalm 122:1-5

Luke 13:1-9
Similar Reflections

FRUITFULNESS OR DOOM

"Perhaps it will bear fruit. If not, it shall be cut down." —Luke 13:9

We must bear the fruit of evangelization and holiness. The alternative is to be cut down like an unfruitful tree (Lk 13:7, 9), and get thrown into the fire to be burnt (see Jn 15:5-6), possibly undergoing tragedies (see Lk 13:1-5) on this earth and finally undergoing the ultimate tragedy of everlasting separation from God in hell. Therefore, we must bear fruit both for our own sakes and for the salvation of as many people as possible (1 Cor 9:19).

The Lord is so strict and severe about this because He is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). As Love, He wants all "to be saved and come to know the truth" (1 Tm 2:4). Everyone in the world has the need and the right to hear and see the Christians of this world proclaiming the Gospel and living it in holiness. Therefore, the Lord commands us to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). Otherwise, we will be punished.

We can be sure of bearing fruit and of saving ourselves from the terrible effects of fruitlessness by living in Jesus and accepting Him as Lord of our lives so that He will live in us (Jn 15:5). To do this, we must die to ourselves (see Jn 12:24). "Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed" (2 Cor 4:10). We either die, live in Christ, and bear fruit, or we live for ourselves, are fruitless, and are doomed. Decide to be fruitful now.

Prayer: Father, like a grain of wheat, I fall to the earth and die to bear much fruit (Jn 12:24).

Promise: "It is [Jesus] Who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers to equip the saints for the work of service to build up the body of Christ." —Eph 4:11-12, our transl.

Praise: Jessica rejoiced in the deeper unity she and her husband enjoyed after he came into the Church on Easter Vigil.

Pray for an end to abortion and the conversion of America to a culture of life.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 13
1.	AND there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.	Aderant autem quidam ipso in tempore, nuntiantes illi de Galilæis, quorum sanguinem Pilatus miscuit cum sacrificiis eorum.	παρησαν δε τινες εν αυτω τω καιρω απαγγελλοντες αυτω περι των γαλιλαιων ων το αιμα πιλατος εμιξεν μετα των θυσιων αυτων
2.	And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?	Et respondens dixit illis : Putatis quod hi Galilæi præ omnibus Galilæis peccatores fuerint, quia talia passi sunt ?	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις δοκειτε οτι οι γαλιλαιοι ουτοι αμαρτωλοι παρα παντας τους γαλιλαιους εγενοντο οτι τοιαυτα πεπονθασιν
3.	No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.	Non, dico vobis : sed nisi pœnitentiam habueritis, omnes similiter peribitis.	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ωσαυτως απολεισθε
4.	Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem?	Sicut illi decem et octo, supra quos cecidit turris in Siloë, et occidit eos : putatis quia et ipsi debitores fuerint præter omnes homines habitantes in Jerusalem ?	η εκεινοι οι δεκα και οκτω εφ ους επεσεν ο πυργος εν τω σιλωαμ και απεκτεινεν αυτους δοκειτε οτι ουτοι οφειλεται εγενοντο παρα παντας ανθρωπους τους κατοικουντας εν ιερουσαλημ
5.	No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.	Non, dico vobis : sed si pœnitentiam non egeritis, omnes similiter peribitis.	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ομοιως απολεισθε
6.	He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.	Dicebat autem et hanc similitudinem : Arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam in vinea sua, et venit quærens fructum in illa, et non invenit.	ελεγεν δε ταυτην την παραβολην συκην ειχεν τις εν τω αμπελωνι αυτου πεφυτευμενην και ηλθεν ζητων καρπον εν αυτη και ουχ ευρεν
7.	And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?	Dixit autem ad cultorem vineæ : Ecce anni tres sunt ex quo venio quærens fructum in ficulnea hac, et non invenio : succide ergo illam : ut quid etiam terram occupat ?	ειπεν δε προς τον αμπελουργον ιδου τρια ετη ερχομαι ζητων καρπον εν τη συκη ταυτη και ουχ ευρισκω εκκοψον αυτην ινα τι και την γην καταργει
8.	But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.	At ille respondens, dicit illi : Domine dimitte illam et hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circa illam, et mittam stercora,	ο δε αποκριθεις λεγει αυτω κυριε αφες αυτην και τουτο το ετος εως οτου σκαψω περι αυτην και βαλω κοπρια
9.	And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.	et siquidem fecerit fructum : sin autem, in futurum succides eam.	καν μεν ποιηση καρπον ει δε μηγε εις το μελλον εκκοψεις αυτην

1. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2. And Jesus answering said to them, Suppose you that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things?
3. I tell you, Nay: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.
4. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, Nay: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.

GLOSS. As He had been speaking of the punishments of sinners, the story is fitly told Him of the punishment of certain particular sinners, from which He takes occasion to denounce vengeance also against other sinners: as it is said, There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

CYRIL; For these were followers of the opinions of Judas of Galilee, of whom Luke makes mention in the Acts of the Apostles, who said, that we ought to call no man master. Great numbers of them refusing to acknowledge Caesar as their master, were therefore punished by Pilate. They said also that men ought not to offer God any sacrifices that were not ordained in the law of Moses, and so forbade to offer the sacrifices appointed by the people for the safety of the Emperor and the Roman people. Pilate then, being enraged against the Galileans, ordered them to be slain in the midst of the very victims which they thought they might offer according to the custom of their law; so that the blood of the offerers was mingled with that of the victims offered. Now it being generally believed that these Galileans were most justly punished, as sowing offences among the people, the rulers, eager to excite against Him the hatred of the people, relate these things to the Savior, wishing to discover what He thought about them. But He, admitting them to be sinners, does not however judge them to have suffered such things, as though they were worse than those who suffered not. Whence it follows, And he answered an said to them, Suppose you that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, &c.

CHRYS. For God punishes some sinners by cutting off their iniquities, and appointing to them hereafter a lighter punishment, or perhaps even entirely releasing them, and correcting those who are living in wickedness by their punishment. Again, he does not punish others, that if they take heed to themselves by repentance they may escape both the present penalty and future punishment, but if they continue in their sins, suffer still greater torment.

TIT. BOST. And he here plainly shows, that whatever judgments are passed for the punishment of the guilty, happen not only by the authority of the judges, but the will of God. Whether therefore the judge punishes upon the strict grounds of conscience, or has some other object in his condemnation, we must ascribe the work to the Divine appointment.

CYRIL; To save therefore the multitudes, from the intestine seditions, which were excited for the sake of religion, He adds, but unless you repent, and unless you cease to conspire against your rulers, for which you have no divine guidance, You shall all likewise perish, and your blood shall be united to that of your sacrifices.

CHRYS. And herein he shows that He permitted them to suffer such things, that the heirs of the kingdom yet living might be dismayed by the dangers of others. "What then," you will say, "is this man punished, that I might become better?" Nay, but he is punished for his own crimes, and hence arises an opportunity of salvation to those who see it.

BEDE; But because they repented not in the fortieth year of our Lord's Passion, the Romans coming, (whom Pilate represented, as belonging to their nation,) and beginning from Galilee, (whence our Lord's preaching had begun,) utterly destroyed that wicked nation, and defiled with human blood not only the courts of the temples, where they were wont to offer sacrifices, but also the inner parts of the doors, (where there was no entrance to the Galileans.)

CHRYS. Again, there had been eighteen others crushed to death by the falling of a tower, of whom He adds the same things, as it follows, Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay, For he does not punish all in this life, giving them a time meet for repentance. Nor however does he reserve all for future punishment, lest men should deny His providence.

TIT. BOST. Now one tower is compared to the whole city, that the destruction of a part may alarm the whole. Hence it is added, But, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish; as if He said, The whole city shall shortly be smitten if the inhabitants continue in impenitence.

AMBROSE; In those whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, there seems to be a certain mystical type, which concerns all who by the compulsion of the Devil offer not a pure sacrifice, whose prayer is for a sin, as it was written of Judas, who when he was amongst the sacrifices devised the betrayal of our Lord's blood.

BEDE; For Pilate, who is interpreted, "The mouth of the hammerer," signifies the devil ever ready to strike. The blood expresses sin, the sacrifices good actions. Pilate then mingles the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices when the devil stains the alms and other good works of the faithful either by carnal indulgence, or by courting the praise of men, or any other defilement. Those men of Jerusalem also who were crushed by the falling of the tower, signify that the Jews who refuse to repent will perish within their own walls. Nor without meaning is the number eighteen given, (which number among the Greeks is made up of I and H, that is, of the same letters with which the name of Jesus begins.) And it signifies that the Jews were chiefly to perish, because they would not receive the name of the Savior. That tower represents Him who is the tower of strength. And this is rightly in Siloam, which is interpreted, "sent;" for it signifies Him who, sent by the Father, came into the world, and who shall grind to powder all on whom He falls.

6. He spoke also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
7. Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none; cut it down: why cumbers it the ground?
8. And he answering; said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.

TIT. BOST. The Jews were boasting, that while the eighteen had perished, they all remained unhurt. He therefore sets before them the parable of the fig tree, for it follows, He spoke also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.

AMBROSE; There was a vineyard of the Lord of hosts, which He gave for a spoil to the Gentiles. And the comparison of the fig tree to the synagogue is well chosen, because as that tree abounds with wide and spreading foliage, and deceives the hopes of its possessor with the vain expectation of promised fruit, so also in the synagogue, while its teachers are unfruitful in good works, yet magnify themselves with words as with abundant leaves, the empty shadow of the law stretches far and wide. This tree also is the only one which puts forth fruit in place of flowers. And the fruit falls, that other fruit may succeed; yet some few of the former remain, and do not fall. For the first people of the synagogue fell off as a useless fruit, in order that out of the fruitfulness of the old religion might arise the new people of the Church; yet they who were the first out of Israel whom a branch of a stronger nature bore, under the shadow of the law and the cross, in the bosom of both, stained with a double juice after the example of a ripening fig, surpassed all others in the grace of most excellent fruits; to whom it is said, You shall sit upon twelve thrones. Some however think the fig tree to be a figure not of the synagogue, but of wickedness and treachery; y et these differ in nothing from what has gone before, except that they choose the genus instead of the species.

BEDE; The Lord Himself who established the synagogue by Moses, came born in the flesh, and frequently teaching in the synagogue, sought for the fruits of faith, but in the hearts of the Pharisees found none; therefore it follows, And came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

AMBROSE; But our Lord sought, not because He was ignorant that the fig tree had no fruit, but that He might show in a figure that the synagogue ought by this time to have fruit. Lastly, from what follows, He teaches that He Himself came not before the time who came after three years. For so it is said, Then said he to the dresser of the vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none. He came to Abraham, He came to Moses, He came to Mary, that is, He came in the seal of the covenant, He came in the law, He came in the body. We recognise His coming by His gifts; at one time purification, at another sanctification, at another justification. Circumcision purified, the law sanctified, grace justified. The Jewish people then could not be purified because they had not the circumcision of the heart, but of the body; nor be sanctified, because ignorant of the meaning of the law, they followed carnal things rather than spiritual; nor justified, because not working repentance for the their offences, they knew nothing of grace. Rightly then was there no fruit found in the synagogue, and consequently it is ordered to be cut down; for it follows, Cut it down, why cumbers it the ground? But the merciful dresser, perhaps meaning him on whom the Church is founded, foreseeing that another would be sent to the Gentiles, but he himself to them who were of the circumcision, piously intercedes that it may not be cut off; trusting to his calling, that the Jewish people also might be saved through the Church.

Hence it follows, And he answering said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also. He soon perceived hardness of bears and pride to be the causes of the barrenness of the Jews. He knew therefore how to discipline, who knew how to censure faults. Therefore adds He, till I shall dig about it. He promises that the hardness of their hearts shall be dug about by the Apostles' spades, lest a heap of earth cover up and obscure the root of wisdom. And He adds, and dung it, that is, by the grace of humility, by which even the fig is thought to become fruitful toward the Gospel of Christ. Hence He adds, And if it bear fruit, well, that is, it shall be well, but if not, then after that you shall cut it down.

BEDE; Which indeed came to pass under the Romans, by whom the Jewish nation was cut off, and thrust out from the land of promise.

AUG. Or, in another sense, the fig tree is the race of mankind. For the first man after he had sinned concealed with fig leaves his nakedness, that is, the members from which we derive our birth.

THEOPHYL. But each one of us also is a fig tree planted in the vineyard of God, that is, in the Church, or in the world.

GREG. But our Lord came three times to the fig tree, because He sought after man's nature before the law, under the law, and under grace, by waiting, admonishing, visiting; but yet He complains that for three years he found no fruit, for there are some wicked men whose hearts are neither corrected by the law of nature breathed into them, nor instructed by precepts, nor converted by the miracles of His incarnation.

THEOPHYL. Our nature yields no fruit though three times sought for; once indeed when we transgressed the commandment in paradise; the second time, when they made the molten calf under the law; thirdly, when they rejected the Savior. But that three years' time must be understood to mean also the three ages of life, boyhood, manhood, and old age.

GREG. But with great fear and trembling should we hear the word which follows, Cut it down, why cumbers it the ground. For every one according to his measure, in whatsoever station of life he is, except he show forth the fruits of good works, like an unfruitful tree, cumbers the ground; for wherever he is himself placed, he there denies to another the opportunity of working.

PSEUDO-BASIL; For it is the part of God's mercy not silently to inflict punishment, but to send forth threatenings to recall the sinner to repentance, as He did to the men of Nineveh, and now to the dresser of the vineyard, saying, Cut it down, exciting him indeed to the care of it, and stirring up the barren soil to bring forth the proper fruits.

GREG. NAZ. Let us not then strike suddenly, but overcome by gentleness, lest we cut down the fig tree still able to bear fruit, which the care perhaps of a skillful dresser will restore. Hence it is also here added, And he answering said to him, Lord, let alone, &c.

GREG. By the dresser of the vineyard is represented the order of Bishops, who, by ruling over the Church, take care of our Lord's vineyard.

THEOPHYL. Or the master of the household is God the Father, the dresser is Christ, who will not have the fig tree cut down as barren, as if saying to the Father, Although through the Law and the Prophets they gave no fruit of repentance, I will water them with My sufferings and teaching, and perhaps they will yield us fruits of obedience.

AUG. Or, the husbandmen who intercedes is every holy man who ho within the Church prays for them that are without the Church, saying, O Lord, O Lord, let it alone this year, that is, for that time vouchsafed under grace, until I dig about it. To dig about it, is to teach humility and patience, for the ground which has been dug is lowly. The dung signifies the soiled garments, but they bring forth fruit. The soiled garment of the dresser, is the grief and mourning of sinners; for they who do penance and do it truly are in soiled garments.

GREG. Or, the sins of the flesh are called the dung. From this then the tree revives to bear fruit again, for from the remembrance of sin the soul quickens itself to good works. But there are very many who hear reproof, and yet despise the return to repentance; wherefore it is added, And if it bear fruit, well.

AUG. That is, it will be well, but if not, then after that you shall cut it down; namely, when you shall come to judge the quick and the dead. In the mean time it is now spared.

GREG. But he who will not by correction grow rich to fruitfulness, falls to that place from whence he is no more able to rise again by repentance.

Catena Aurea Luke 13

Parable of the Fruitless Fig Tree (Left of diptych)

Alexey Pismenny

Oil on canvas, 20" x 16" (50 cm x 41 cm)
2008