Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 07-05-15, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.

Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house— they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

To you I lift up my eyes who are enthroned in heaven — As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters.

As the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, So are our eyes on the LORD, our God, till he have pity on us.

Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us, for we are more than sated with contempt; our souls are more than sated with the mockery of the arrogant, with the contempt of the proud.

Brothers and sisters: That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished.

They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?”

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

From: Ezekiel 2:2-5

The Prophet’s mission

[2] And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my
feet; and I heard him speaking to me. [3] And he said to me, “Son of man, I send
you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me;
they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. [4] The
people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say
to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ [5] And whether they ear or refuse to hear (for
they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among
them.

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Commentary:

2:1-3:3. The vision by the river Chebar is all about the grandeur and glory of God,
who is sovereign over all things; whereas the account given of the call of Ezekiel
tells us about the prophet and about the people of Israel, for whom the message
is meant. The prophet is described as a son of man, whom the Spirit moves, a
prophet among the people; and they are a rebellious people. The account takes
the form of an address by the Lord containing a command to pass his word on
to the people (2: 1-7) and a symbolic action in which Ezekiel eats the scroll gi-
ven to him by God (2:8-3:3).

2:1. “Son of man”: this title is used repeatedly in these opening chapters. It oc-
curs later on, too, more than ninety times; but it has special significance here,
which is the first time it is used. Because Ezekiel is living in exile in a foreign
and therefore unclean country, he cannot be given grand titles. He is an ordinary
mortal, one creature among many, on an infinitely lower level than the Lord; one
more among his people, like them an exile, a person brought low, but also some-
one who has hope in his heart. St Gregory the Great explains the title like this:
“He is brought up often into heaven and his soul rejoices at great and beautiful
mysteries which remain invisible to us. But it is fitting that he be called “son of
man” while he contemplates those hidden wonders, so that he will not forget who
he is or glory in the splendour that has been revealed to him” (”Homiliae in Eze-
chielem prophetam”, 1, 12, 22).

2:2. “The Spirit set me upon my feet”. In the vision of God’s glory, the word “spi-
rit” has three meanings. It is a natural thing — a stormy wind, breath, spirit (1:4;
cf. 13:11). From this comes the second meaning: “spirit” is an inner, superhu-
man strength which guides the actions of living creatures and cherubim, deciding
when they should move and where they should go (cf. 1:12, 20, 21). But in the
account of the call of Ezekiel, “spirit” has a third meaning: it is life-force, remini-
scent of the “breath of life” that God breathed into man at the moment of creation
(cf. Gen 2:7); this meaning will be seen more clearly in the vision of the bones
brought back to life (cf. 37:5, 6, 8, 10). As a life-force, every time that the spirit
affects Ezekiel, it is to “set him on his feet” (cf. 2:1; 3:20), to “lift him up’’ (cf. 3:
12, 14, 24), so that he is better able to hear the word of God and to see what is
happening in the temple of Jerusalem cf. 8:3; 11:1; 43: 5) or in Babylon (cf. 11:
24). It is therefore an inner energy that transforms the prophet and helps him to
hear or see things that he could not if left on his own, for he is a mere “son of
man”.

2:3. Israel is a “nation of rebels” or, as it is put a little further on in the text, a
“rebellious house” (2:8). The book defines the people of Israel in this negative
way (cf. 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9) because it sums up the sinful history of their forebears
and their own hostility towards God. Their rebelliousness involves arrogance to-
wards God, rejection of his commandments, and refusal to listen to what he
says. It makes them stubborn: one can even see it in their faces. Time and a-
gain Ezekiel tells them that their sin is grave, for they have freely chosen to adopt
this attitude. They “will not listen to you”, the Lord says to Ezekiel, “for they are
not willing to listen to me” (3:7). Precisely because sin requires a free act of the
will, the prophet puts special emphasis on personal responsibility. Each individual
will be punished for his or her sins, not for those of their forebears (cf. 18:1 32).
Because the people are so rebellious, God wants the prophet to he especially do-
cile: “Do not be rebellious” (2:8). The Lord asks him to listen carefully to the word
of God and to accept it joyfully. The gesture of eating the scroll shows what doci-
lity requires. Even though the scroll contains “words of lamentation and mourning
and woe” (2:10), the prophet will find it “sweet as honey” when he does what he
is told.

2:4. “Thus says the Lord God”: this makes it clear that the prophet is not speak-
ing on his own behalf. It is usually termed a “messenger formula” (words a mes-
senger uses to preface his message), and occurs often in other prophetical
books, particularly Isaiah and Jeremiah. However, in Ezekiel, where it appears
almost 130 times, the name of God is reinforced (”Lord God”), to signal the infi-
nite majesty of the Lord who speaks with full authority. The people’s stubborn-
ness in rejecting God’s word is an act of rebellion, and the docility shown by the
prophet is an almost obligatory act of submission. Ezekiel never resists the voice
of the Lord, never raises any personal objection or difficulty unlike Isaiah and Je-
remiah. On the contrary, knowing that he is passing on a divine message, not in-
venting one of his own, he must do this bravely, and never flag, even if the people
refuse to listen (cf. 2:6-7; 3:11). “True prophets are those who say the words that
God has spoken to them; the prophet of God is the one who delivers the words
of God to men who cannot or do not deserve to understand God himself” (St Au-
gustine, “Quaestiones in Heptateuchum”, 2, 17).

2:5. “They will know that there has been a prophet among them”: a formal con-
firmation that Ezekiel is indeed a prophet. At a time when there was no king (for
he was the prisoner of Nebuchadnezzar) and no temple (for it had been profaned
and destroyed) and no social or religious institutions among the Jews, prophets
acquired increased status. The prophet was God’s only representative among
the people; he was the only one with authority to demand that they listen to his
message.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Visions and Revelations

[7] And to keep me [Paul] from being too elated by the abundance of revelations,
a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep
me from being too elated. [8] Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it
should leave me; [9] but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my po-
wer is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weak-
nesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ,
then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and ca-
lamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Commentary:

7-10. Displaying admirable humility, St Paul now refers to the weakness God al-
lowed him to experience to ensure his supernatural gifts did not make him proud.
It is impossible to say what exactly the “thorn in his flesh” was. Some Fathers —
St Augustine, for example—and modern commentators think that it was some
particularly painful and humiliating physical ailment, possibly the same one as
he refers to in Galatians 4:13f, where he also speaks in general terms. Others,
like St John Chrysostom, are of the view that he is referring to the pain which
continual persecution caused him. Others—from St Gregory the Great onwards
— opt for an ascetical interpretation; they say he is referring to temptations to do
with conscience; but the supporters of the two other theses argue, for example,
that it is unlikely that St Paul would have mentioned anything of that kind, be-
cause it could have given his enemies ammunition for further attacks.

St Paul asked God to take this “thorn” away, but the heavenly answer he re-
ceived is very revealing: God’s grace is enough to enable him to cope with this
difficulty—which serves to reveal God’s power. And so it is that he boasts of and
is content with his weaknesses and the persecution he suffers: in these circum-
stances he is stronger than ever, thanks to God’s supernatural help.

When commenting on this passage, St Thomas explains that God sometimes
permits certain kinds of evil in order to draw out greater good: for example, in or-
der to protect people from pride—the root of all vices — he sometimes allows his
chosen ones to be humiliated by an illness, or a defect, or even by mortal sin, in
order that “the person who is humbled in this way might recognize that he cannot
stand firm by his own efforts alone. Hence it is said in Romans 8:28, ‘We know
that in everything God works for good with those who love him’—not of course that
God seeks the sin but [the sinner’s] turning to him” (”Commentary on 2 Cor, ad
loc.”).

7. “A messenger of Satan”, an angel of Satan: this is how he describes the hu-
miliating “thorn”. This suggests that the disability could have been seen as an
obstacle to his work of evangelization—which the devil, logically, would have been
keen to frustrate (cf. 2:11; 11:14f).

8-10. Christians can learn a great deal about the ascetical struggle from these
words. They remind us, on the one hand, of the need to ask the Lord to help us
when we experience difficulties, and at the same time to be full of trust and to
abandon ourselves to God, who knows what is best for us. “The Lord is good”,
St Jerome teaches, “because he often does not give us what we desire, in or-
der to give us something we would prefer” (”Epist. ad Paulinum”).

The passage also shows us what attitude we should take to our own weakness:
“We have to glory”, St Alphonsus says, “in the knowledge of our own weakness
in order to acquire the strength of Jesus Christ, which is holy humility”, without
“giving in to lack of confidence, as the devil wants, and falling into more serious
sins” (”Treasury of Preaching Material”, II, 6).

At the same time this passage teaches us that awareness of our personal short-
comings should lead us to put all our trust in God: “We have to cry out cease-
lessly with a strong and humble faith, ‘Lord, put not your trust in me. But I, I put
my trust in you. ‘ Then, as we sense in our hearts the love, the compassion, the
tenderness of Christ’s gaze upon us (for he never abandons us) we shall come
to understand the full meaning of those words of St Paul, “virtus in infirmitate per-
ficitur” (2 Cor 12:9). If we have faith in our Lord, in spite of our failings — or rather,
with our failings—we shall be faithful to our Father, God; his divine power will
shine forth in us, sustaining us in our weakness” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of
God”, 194).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 6:1-6

No Prophet Is Honored In His Own Country

[1] He (Jesus) went away from there and came to His own country; and His dis-
ciples followed Him. [2] And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the synagogue;
and many who heard Him were astonished saying, “Where did this man get all
this? What is the wisdom given to Him? What mighty works are wrought by His
hands! [3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and
Joses and Judah and Simon, and are not His sisters here with us?” And they
took offense at Him. [4] And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without ho-
nor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”
[5] And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon
a few sick people and healed them. [6] And He marvelled because of their un-
belief.

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Commentary:

1-3. Jesus is here described by His occupation and by the fact that He is the
son of Mary. Does this indicate that St. Joseph is dead already? We do not
know, but it is likely. In any event, the description is worth underlining: in the
Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke we are told of the virginal conception of
Jesus. St. Mark’s Gospel does not deal with our Lord’s infancy, but there may
be an allusion here to His virginal conception and birth, in His being described
as “the son of Mary.”

“Joseph, caring for the Child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a crafts-
man, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbors of Naza-
reth will call Jesus both “faber” and “fabri filius”: the craftsman and the son of
the craftsman” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 55). This message of
the Gospel reminds us that our vocation to work is not marginal to God’s plans.

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God Himself,
his Creator, was ‘given particular prominence by Jesus Christ’ — the Jesus at
whom many of His first listeners in Nazareth ‘were astonished, saying, “Where
did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him?... Is not this the car-
penter?’” (Mark 6:23). For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost ful-
filled by His deeds the ‘Gospel’, the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been en-
trusted to Him. Therefore this was also ‘the gospel of work’, because ‘He who pro-
claimed it was Himself a man of work’, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth (cf.
Matthew 13:55). And if we do not find in His words a special command to work —
but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work
and life—(Matthew 6:25-34)—at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ
is unequivocal: He belongs to the ‘working world’, He has appreciation and res-
pect for human work. It can indeed be said the ‘He looks with love upon human
work’ and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a
particular facet of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father” (Bl. John
Paul II, “Laborem Exercens”, 26).

St. Mark mentions by name a number of brothers of Jesus, and refers in general
to His sisters. But the word “brother” does not necessarily mean son of the same
parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship—cousins, nephews, etc.
Thus in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of Abraham (tran-
slated as “kinsman” in RSV), whereas we know that he was Abraham’s nephew,
the son of Abraham’s brother Haran. The same is true of Laban, who is called the
brother of Jacob (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother’s brother (Genesis
29:15); there are other instances: cf. 1 Chronicles 23:21-22, etc. This confusion
is due to the poverty of Hebrew and Aramaic language: in the absence of distinct
terms, the same word, brother, is used to designate different degrees of relation-
ship.

From other Gospel passages we know that James and Joses, who are men-
tioned here, were sons of Mary of Clophas (John 19:25). We know less about Ju-
das and Simon: it seems that they are the Apostles Simon the Cananaean (Mat-
thew 10:4) and Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16), the author of the Catholic
Epistle, in which he describes himself as “brother” of James. In any event, al-
though James, Simon and Judas are referred to as brothers of Jesus, it is no-
where said they were “sons of Mary” — which would have been the natural thing
if they had been our Lord’s brothers in the strict sense. Jesus always appears as
an only son: to the people of Nazareth, He is “the son of Mary” (Matthew 13:55).
When He was dying Jesus entrusted His mother to St. John (cf. John 19:26-27),
which shows that Mary had no other children. To this is added the constant be-
lief of the Church, which regards Mary as the ever-virgin: “a perfect virgin before,
while, and forever after she gave birth” (Paul IV, “Cum Quorumdam”).

5-6. Jesus worked no miracles here: not because He was unable to do so, but as
punishment for the unbelief of the townspeople. God wants man to use the grace
offered him, so that, by cooperating with grace, he become disposed to receive
further graces. As St. Augustine neatly puts it, “He who made you without your
own self, will not justify you without yourself” (”Sermon” 169).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass
First reading
Ezekiel 2:2-5 ©

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

Psalm
Psalm 122:1-5 ©

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens;
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their lords.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Like the eyes of a servant
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
till he show us his mercy.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
  We are filled with contempt.
Indeed all too full is our soul
  with the scorn of the rich,
  with the proud man’s disdain.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Second reading
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ©

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Gospel Acclamation
Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us:
to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God.
Alleluia!
Or
Lk4:18
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Mark 6:1-6 ©

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry. Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Commentary of the day

Symeon the New Theologian (c.949-1022), Greek monk, saint of the Orthodox churches

Believing in Jesus today

Many people never stop saying - I have heard them myself - “If only we had lived in the days of the apostles, and been counted worthy to gaze upon Christ as they did, we should have become holy like them.” Such people do not realize that the Christ who spoke then and the Christ who speaks now throughout the whole world is one and the same... The position now is not the same as it was then, but our situation now, in the present day, is very much better. It leads us more easily to a deeper faith and conviction than seeing and hearing him in the flesh would have done.

Then he appeared to the uncomprehending as a man of lowly station: now he is proclaimed to us as true God. Then in his body he associated with tax collectors and sinners and ate with them: now he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and is never in any way separated from him... Then even those of lowliest condition held him in contempt. They said: “Is not this the son of Mary, and of Joseph the carpenter?” (Mk 6,3; Jn 6,42) Now kings and rulers worship him as Son of the true God, and himself true God... Then he was thought to be mortal and corruptible like the rest of humankind. He was no different in appearance from other men. The formless and invisible God, without change or alteration, assumed a human form and showed himself to be a normal human being. He ate, he drank, he slept, he sweated, and he grew weary. He did everything other people do, except that he did not sin.

For anyone to recognize him in that human body, and to believe that he was the God who made heaven and earth and everything in them was very exceptional... It is certain, therefore, that anyone who now hears Christ cry out daily through the holy gospels and proclaim the will of his blessed Father, but does not obey him with fear and trembling and keep his commandments: it is certain that such a person would have refused to believe in him then.

http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=commentary&localdate=20150705

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