Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-10-16

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 06-10-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

June 10, 2016

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-16

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

Alleluia Phil 2:15d, 16a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights on the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

[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.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

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Information: St. Getulius & Companions

Feast Day: June 10

Died: 120 AD

Major Shrine: Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, Rome

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

Blessed Henry of Treviso

Feast Day: June 10
Died: 1315

Henry was born at Bolzano, in the Tyrol region of Italy. Henry's family was very poor, and they could not send him to school, so he did not learn how to read and write. But he studied earnestly the ways of God.

When he was a teenager, he went to Treviso looking for work and became a day laborer. Not many people knew that he kept only what money he absolutely needed for the day and gave the rest away to the poor. He never saved any money for the next day.

He went to Mass daily, confessed his sins and received communion. Henry loved the sacrament of Reconciliation and found this sacrament of a forgiving God very encouraging.

People began to notice what a good Christian Henry was. As penance he worked very hard, however difficult the job he was given and he did it cheerfully. He put aside enough time every day for private prayer, usually at church, trying hard not to draw attention to himself.

Henry was known for his calm and gentle ways. People teased him because he was so simple. And as he got older, children made fun of him because he looked so shabby and stooped. But Henry didn't mind. He realized that they did not know they were hurting him and answered them with kind words and a prayer.

When Henry was too old and frail to work, a friend James Castagnolis, brought him into his own home. Mr. Castagnolis gave Henry a room, and food whenever he would accept it. Blessed Henry insisted that he live on the alms of the people of Treviso.

They were generous in their donations of food because they knew he shared their gifts with many people who were poor and homeless. Henry as always, only kept what he needed and gave the rest away to those more needy than himself.

By the end of his life, Henry could barely walk. People watched with awe as the old man dragged himself to morning Mass. Often he would visit other local churches as well, painfully moving toward each destination. What a mystery this good man was.

When he died on June 10, 1315, people crowded into his little room. They wanted a relic, a keepsake. They found his treasures: a prickly hair-shirt, a log of wood that was his pillow, some straw that was the mattress for his bed.

His body was moved to the cathedral so that all the people could pay their tribute. Two hundred and seventy six miracles were reported within a few days after his death.

Reflection: Simplicity and generosity marked the life of this holy man. How do I live my life as a Christian?

[Salvation]

Friday

June 10, 2016

A Celebration of Devotion & Joy

“I propose increased opportunities for Eucharistic adoration. Far from detracting from the celebration of the Eucharist and far from privatizing the Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration increases our capacity to believe in the Eucharistic mystery, to participate in its celebration with devotion and joy, and to go forth in charity to serve the needs of others.”

~ Archbishop William E. Lori

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Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “Attend Adoration Today.”

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: June 10th

Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

June 10, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, from whom all good things come, grant that we, who call on you in our need, may at your prompting discern what is right, and by your guidance do it. 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.

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Recipes (2)

• Crown Cake
• Scottish Oat Scones

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Activities (2)

• Nameday Ideas for the Feast of St. Margaret of Scotland
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: June

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Prayers (3)

• Married Couple's Prayer to the Sacred Heart
• June Devotion: The Sacred Heart
• Novena to the Sacred Heart

Library (0)

Old Calendar: St. Margaret, Queen of Scots, widow; (Trad) St. Landericus

St. Landericus was the Bishop of Paris from 650 to his death. He is best remembered as the founder of the first hospital in Paris.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Margaret of Scotland. In the Ordinary Rite her feast is celebrated on November 16.

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St. Landericus
St. Landericus was a sincere and dedicated servant of God who, like his Lord Jesus Christ, had great love for the poor and the lowly. He became bishop of Paris in 650 A.D., in the Frankish kingdom (formally Gaul) during the reign of Clovis II and served as bishop until 656 A.D. (some records show until his death in 661).

He was a very earnest and devout man, and distinguished especially by his great love of the poor and by his charity during the famine of 651 A.D. To relieve them, during a time of famine he sold not only his personal possessions but also some of the vessels and furniture of the church.

He became increasingly aware that the sick and poor of disease were not really cared for by the custom then in vogue of housing them in little hotels dependent on the casual aims of charitable persons. For this, it was attributed to him was the foundation of the city's first real hospital, dedicated to St. Christopher, erected near Notre-Dame on the site of the dwelling place of Erchinoaldus, mayor of the palace In time, this became the famous Hotel-Dieu.

He was also responsible for the Benedictines' setup of the Abbey of Denis and in 653 AD, he signed along with 23 other bishops the foundation charter granted by King Clovis to the Abbey. He ws buried in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, then called Saint Vincent's, where his relics, except two bones given to the parish of Saint Landry in 1408, are kept in a silver shrine. He is honored with an office in the new Paris Breviary. There is a statue of St. Landry, behind the alter of the Church of St. Landry in Opelousas, Louisiana. It appears to be that of a bishop, holding or distributing some bread or food. His feast day is June 10th.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-16

10th Week in Ordinary Time

Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord. (1 Kings 19:11)

Elijah’s life was in danger. After defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, he fled from Jezebel’s wrath, which thundered on the horizon like a threatening storm. Weary and discouraged, yet poised at a new chapter in his prophetic ministry, Elijah needed to hear God’s voice—and God’s messenger promised that he would. 

But it was only after Elijah had passed through the storm that he was able to hear God’s voice in a “tiny whispering sound” (1 Kings 19:12).

Elijah’s story offers some encouraging insight into how we can hear God speak to us. In our natural desire to avoid stressful or challenging situations, we may think that the only way to hear God’s voice is in picturesque, quiet moments, when we are secluded and free to spend time with him in prayer or meditate on his word. Of course, those times are essential, but they are not the only way God speaks. And neither are they always the most effective way.

In fact, God often uses the storms of life to help us find his presence and his wisdom. Life is not picture-perfect. We know what it’s like to feel buffeted by forces beyond our control and by situations that affect our work or health or our children and their future. Our foundation gets shaken by problems we can’t fix, and that can unnerve us.

But there’s always a hidden blessing in these tough situations: they can bring us to our knees. It’s when we find ourselves nearing the end of our strength, as Elijah did, that we are more likely to listen for Jesus’ still small voice. We sense that we need him in the midst of whatever storm is swirling around us.

The surprising thing about making it through storms is that we can look back and realize Jesus has been with us all along. He promised, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age,” and he is true to his word (Matthew 28:20). So whenever you are facing a storm, try your best to cling to Jesus. Believe that even in the midst of the turmoil, you can still hear his voice and know his presence.

“Jesus, help me to cling to you through the storms so that I can learn to hear you.”

Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14
Matthew 5:27-32

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for June 10, 2016:

Have you ever made a list of your material needs versus wants? Throughout this summer, collaborate with family members and find items in your house to donate to a local shelter or charity.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

A Clean Heart

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

June 10, 2016 - Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Father Matthew Kaderabek, LC

Matthew 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. “It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I will contemplate your love in action. You continually go out of your way to make your presence felt in my life, and I am very grateful. Thank you, Lord, for another day; it is another opportunity to deepen my love and friendship with you.

Petition: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

1. Guard Your Eyes: Concerning purity of heart, Jesus takes this demand for purity a step further than the Old Testament. He teaches that to even look at a woman with lust in your heart, seeing her as merely an object to satisfy your lustful desires, is seriously sinful. Jesus does not say that it is sinful to simply recognize a woman as beautiful, or by extension, a woman recognizing a man as handsome. It is when we see the other as an object and have impure thoughts about them that we give in to sin. In other words, the temptation itself is not a sin; it is when we accept that temptation into our heart and give it a home by willfully playing with it in our mind that we step over the line. Lord Jesus, it’s so easy to grant myself concessions in this area, but with your aid I will be firm in my resolve to guard my senses, remembering an adage from the computer age: “Garbage in, garbage out!”
   

2. If It Puts Your Soul in Danger, It’s Got to Go: Christ’s call to holy purity, like every other virtue, is eminently positive. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Purity is a consequence of the love that prompts us to commit to Christ our soul and body, our faculties and senses. Jesus uses the images of “right eye” and “right hand” to refer to that which we value most. He is telling us that if that which we value most in life has become a stumbling block in our relationship with the Lord, then, simply put, it’s got to go. It is far better to lose a possession or a position or to break off a relationship than to risk the eternal salvation of our soul. We must be prepared to fight for righteousness with all of our strength, being ready to eliminate whatever could clearly lead us to offend the Lord.
   

3. And the Two Shall Become One: Jesus re-established the principle of the absolute indissolubility of marriage, a principle that has been unhesitatingly taught by the Church from the very beginning. Pope Pius XI reminded us in Casti Connubii (December 31, 1930) about the immutable and inviolable truth that “matrimony was not instituted or re-established by men, but by God. … Consequently those laws can in no way be subject to human wills or to any contrary pact made even by the contracting parties. This is the teaching of Sacred Scripture; it is the constant and universal Tradition of the Church.” Marriage endures until death though the love may last forever. What God has joined together, let nothing separate. Am I living my marriage as a covenant? Do I treat my spouse with respect and affection? Do I dedicate my heart, time and energy to cultivating our love so it will endure and flourish?
   

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to live with purity, and I know that this requires a strong will and a constant effort in this world that encourages instant gratification of the senses. Give me the strength in particular to guard my eyes and control my imagination. Help me to be exquisitely faithful to my spouse.

Resolution: I will promote the virtue of purity in my personal life and set a good example for others by incorporating into my lifestyle the time-tested ascetical methods that the Church has proposed to us down through the ages: frequent confession and Communion; devotion to Our Lady; a spirit of prayer and mortification; guarding of the senses; flight from occasions of sin; and striving to avoid idleness by always being engaged in doing useful things.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 4

<< Friday, June 10, 2016 >>

1 Kings 19:9, 11-16
View Readings

Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14

Matthew 5:27-32
Similar Reflections

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD (see Ps 46:11)

"Why are you here, Elijah?" —1 Kings 19:9

The mighty prophet Elijah had more confidence in Queen Jezebel's wicked fury than he did in his own strength. Jezebel had sworn to eliminate Elijah and sent assassins to hunt him down and kill him (1 Kgs 19:2-3). Elijah had stood as strong as a "wall of brass" against the whole nation (see Jer 1:18), but he was not able to stand up to one furious, powerful, vengeful woman.

Elijah fled the country, walking over forty days to put as much distance as possible between him and Jezebel's assassins (1 Kgs 19:8). Finally, the Lord was able to break through Elijah's fear and asked him: "Why are you here, Elijah?" (1 Kgs 19:9). While Elijah was conversing with God, God didn't listen to Elijah's excuses. Instead, God called Elijah to a new mission and sent him back out (1 Kgs 19:15).

It is God's call and mission that give us fresh strength as we step out and obey. In His kindness, the Lord sent Elijah on a route that would mercifully take a wide detour around the wicked Jezebel. Finally, in His awesome mercy, the Lord took Elijah up safely to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kgs 2:11). Then He sent a double-portion of Elijah's spirit into his successor, Elisha (2 Kgs 2:9, 14-15).

God wants us to simply quiet down and listen. Then He can get through to us. For Elijah, Jezebel was Goliath. We all have Goliaths. We must be still, know that God is almighty, and make it our priority to listen for God's voice rather than Goliath's.

Prayer: Father, "though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust" (Ps 27:3).

Promise: "I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living." —Ps 27:13

Praise: Thomas' addiction was overwhelming until he admitted he was powerless, turned to the All-powerful, and received grace to overcome it.

[Salvation]

[annalex]

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 5
27.	You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery.	Audistis quia dictum est antiquis : Non mœchaberis.	ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη ου μοιχευσεις
28.	But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.	Ego autem dico vobis : quia omnis qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, jam mœchatus est eam in corde suo.	εγω δε λεγω υμιν οτι πας ο βλεπων γυναικα προς το επιθυμησαι αυτην ηδη εμοιχευσεν αυτην εν τη καρδια αυτου
29.	And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.	Quod si oculus tuus dexter scandalizat te, erue eum, et projice abs te : expedit enim tibi ut pereat unum membrorum tuorum, quam totus corpus tuum mittatur in gehennam.	ει δε ο οφθαλμος σου ο δεξιος σκανδαλιζει σε εξελε αυτον και βαλε απο σου συμφερει γαρ σοι ινα αποληται εν των μελων σου και μη ολον το σωμα σου βληθη εις γεενναν
30.	And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.	Et si dextra manus tua scandalizat te, abscide eam, et projice abs te : expedit enim tibi ut pereat unum membrorum tuorum, quam totum corpus tuum eat in gehennam.	και ει η δεξια σου χειρ σκανδαλιζει σε εκκοψον αυτην και βαλε απο σου συμφερει γαρ σοι ινα αποληται εν των μελων σου και μη ολον το σωμα σου βληθη εις γεενναν
31.	And it hath been said, Whoseoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce.	Dictum est autem : Quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam, det ei libellum repudii.	ερρεθη δε οτι ος αν απολυση την γυναικα αυτου δοτω αυτη αποστασιον
32.	But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.	Ego autem dico vobis : quia omnis qui dimiserit uxorem suam, excepta fornicationis causa, facit eam mœchari : et qui dimissam duxerit, adulterat.	εγω δε λεγω υμιν οτι ος αν απολυση την γυναικα αυτου παρεκτος λογου πορνειας ποιει αυτην μοιχασθαι και ος εαν απολελυμενην γαμηση μοιχαται

[annalex]

27. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery;
28. But I say to you, That whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

CHRYS.The Lord having explained how much is contained in the first commandment, namely, You shall not kill, proceeds in regular order to the second.

AUG. You shall not commit adultery, that is, You shall go nowhere but to your lawful wife. For if you exact this of your wife, you ought to do the same, for the husband ought to go before the wife in virtue. It is a shame for the husband to say that this is impossible. Why not the husband as well as the wife? And let not him that is unmarried suppose that he does not break this commandment by fornication; you know the price wherewith you have been bought; you know what you eat and what you drink; therefore keep yourself from fornicationd. Forasmuch as all such acts of lust pollute and destroy God's image (which you are), the Lord who knows what is good for you, gives you this precept that you may not pull down His temple which you have begun to be.

ID. He then goes on to correct the error of the Pharisees, declaring, Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart. For the commandment of the Law, You shall not lust after your neighbor's wife, the Jews understood of taking her away, not of committing adultery with her.

JEROME; Between actual passion and the first spontaneous movement of the mind, there is this difference: passion is at once a sin; the spontaneous movement of the mind, though it partakes of the evil of sin, is yet not held for an offense committed. When then one looks upon a woman, and his mind is therewith smitten, there is pro-passion; if he yields to this he passes from pro-passion to passion, and then it is no longer the will but the opportunity to sin that is wanting. Whoever, then, looks on a woman to lust after her, that is, so looks on her as to lust, and cast about to obtain, he is rightly said to commit adultery with her in his heart.

AUG. For there are three things which make up a sin: suggestion either through the memory, or the present sense; if the thought of the pleasure of indulgence follows, that is an unlawful thought, and to be restrained; if you consent then, the sin is complete. For prior to the first consent, the pleasure is either none or very slight, the consenting to which makes the sin. But if consent proceeds on into overt act, then desire seems to be satiated and quenched. And when suggestion is again repeated, the contemplated pleasure is greater, which previous to habit formed was but small, but now more difficult to overcome.

GREG.But whoever casts his eyes about without caution will often be taken with the pleasure of sin, and ensnared by desires begins to wish for what he would not. Great is the strength of the flesh to draw us downwards, and the charm of beauty once admitted to the heart through the eye is hardly banished by endeavor. We must therefore take heed at the first, we ought not to look upon what it is unlawful to desire. For that the heart may be kept pure in thought, the eyes, as being on the watch to hurry us to sin, should be averted from wanton looks.

CHRYS. If you permit yourself to gaze often on fair countenances you will assuredly be taken, even though you may be able to command your mind twice or thrice. For you are not exalted above nature and the strength of humanity. She too who dresses and adorns herself for the purpose of attracting men's eyes to her, though her endeavor should fail, yet shall she be punished hereafter, seeing she mixed the poison and offered the cup, though none was found who would drink thereof. For what the Lord seems to speak only to the man, is of equal application to the woman, inasmuch as when He speaks to the head, the warning is meant for the whole body.

29. And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out, and cast it from yourself; for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.
30. And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, and cast it from yourself; for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.

GLOSS. Because we ought not only to avoid actual sin, but even put away every occasion of sin, therefore having taught that adultery is to be avoided not in deed only but in heart, He next teaches us to cut off the occasions of sin.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. But if according to that of the Prophet, there is no whole part in our body (Ps 38:3), it is needful that we cut off every limb that we have that the punishment may be equal to the depravity of the flesh. Is it then possible to understand this of the bodily eye or hand? As the whole man when he is turned to God is dead to sin, so likewise the eye when it has ceased to look evil is cut off from sin. But this explanation will not suit the whole; for when He says, your right eye offends you, what does the left eye do? Does it contradict the right eye, and it is preserved innocent?

JEROME; Therefore by the right eye and the right hand we must understand the love of brethren, husbands and wives, parents and kinsfolk; which if we find to hinder our view of the true light, we ought to sever from us.

AUG. As the eye denotes contemplation, so the hand aptly denotes action. By the eye we must understand our most cherished friend, as they are wont to say who would express ardent affection, 'I love him as my own eye.' And a friend too who gives counsel, as the eye shows us our way. The right eye, perhaps, only means to express a higher degree of affection, for it is the one which men most fear to lose. Or, by the right eye may be understood one who counsels us in heavenly matters, and by the left one who counsels in earthly matters. And this will the sense: Whatever that is which you love as you would your own right eye if it offends you, that is, if it be a hindrance to your true happiness, cut it off and cast it from you. For if the right eye was not to be spared, it was superfluous to speak of the left. The right hand also is to be taken of a beloved assistant in divine actions, the left hand in earthly actions.

PSEUDO-CHRYS.Otherwise; Christ would have us careful not only of our own sin, but likewise that even they who pertain to us should keep themselves from evil. Have you any friend who looks to your matters as your own eye, or manages them as your own hand, if you know of any scandalous or base action that he has done, cast him from you; he is an offense; for we shall give account not only of our own sins, but also of such of those of our neighbors as it is in our power to hinder.

HILARY; Thus a more lofty step of innocence is appointed us, in that we are admonished to keep free, not only from sin ourselves, but from such as might touch us from without.

JEROME. Otherwise, as above he had placed lust in the looking on a woman, so now the thought and sense straying here and there He calls 'the eye.' By the right hand and the other parts of the body, He means the initial movements of desire and affection.

PSEUDO-CHRYS.The eye of flesh is the mirror of the inward eye. The body also has its own sense, that is, the left eye, and its own appetite, that is, the left hand. But the parts of the soul are called right, for the soul was created both with free will and under the law of righteousness, that it might both see and do rightly. But the members of the body being not with free will, but under the law of sin, are called the left. Yet He does not bid us cut off the sense or appetite of the flesh; we may retain the desires of the flesh, and yet not do thereafter, but we cannot cut off the having the desires. But when we willfully purpose and think of evil, then our right desires and right will offend us, and therefore He bids us cut them off. And these we can cut off, because our will is free. Or otherwise, everything, however good in itself that offends ourselves or others, we ought to cut off from us. For example, to visit a woman with religious purposes, this good intent towards her may he called a right eye, but if often visiting her I have fallen into the net of desire, or if any looking on are offended, then the right eye, that is, something in itself good, offends me. For the right eye is good intention, the right hand is good desire.

GLOSS. Or, the right eye is the contemplative life which offends by being the cause of indolence or self-conceit, or in our weakness that we are not able to support it unmixed. The right hand is good works, or the active life, which offends us when we are ensnared by society and the business of life. If then anyone is unable to sustain the contemplative life, let him not slothfully rest from all action; or on the other hand while he is taken up with action, dry up the fountain of sweet contemplation.

REMIG. The reason why the right eye and the right hand are to be cast away is subjoined in that, For it is better, &c.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. For as we are everyone members one of another, it is better that we should be saved without some one of these members, than that we perish together with them. Or, it is better that we should be saved without one good purpose, or one good work, than that while we seek to perform all good works we perish together with all.

31. It has been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement;
32. But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her that is divorced commits adultery.

GLOSS. The Lord had taught us above that our neighbor's wife was not to be coveted; He now proceeds to teach that our own wife is not to be put away.

JEROME; For touching Moses's allowance of divorce, the Lord and Savior more fully explains in conclusion, that it was because of the hardness of the hearts of the husbands, not so much sanctioning discord, as checking bloodshed.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. For when Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, they were indeed Hebrews in race, but Egyptians in manners. And it was caused by the Gentile manners that the husband hated the wife; and if he was not permitted to put her away, he was ready either to kill her or mistreat her. Moses therefore suffered the bill of divorcement, not because it was a good practice in itself, but was the prevention of a worse evil.

HILARY; But the Lord who brought peace and good-will on earth, would have it reign especially in the matrimonial bond.

AUG. The Lord's command here that a wife is not to be put away, is not contrary to the command in the or Law, as Manichaeus affirmed. Had the Law allowed any who would to put away his wife, to allow none to put away were indeed the very opposite of that. But the difficulty which Moses is careful to put in the way, shows that he was no good friend to the practice at all. For He required a bill of divorcement, the delay and difficulty of drawing out which would often cool headlong rage and disagreement, especially as by the Hebrew custom, it was the scribes alone who were permitted to use the Hebrew letters, in which they professed a singular skill. To these then the law would send him whom it bid to give a writing of divorcement, when he would put away his wife, who mediating between him and his wife, might set them at one again, unless in minds too wayward to be moved by counsels of peace. Thus then He neither completed, by adding words to it, the law of them of old time, nor did He destroy the Law given by Moses by enacting things contrary to it, as Manichaeus affirmed, but rather repeated and approved all that the Hebrew Law contained, so that whatever He spoke in his own person more than it had, had in view either explanation, which in diverse obscure places of the Law was greatly needed, or the more punctual observance of its enactments. ID. By interposing this delay in the mode of putting away, the lawgiver showed as clearly as it could be shown to hard hearts, that He hated strife and disagreement. The Lord then so confirms this backwardness in the Law, as except only one case, the cause of fornication; every other inconvenience which may have place, He bids us bear with patience in consideration of the plighted troth of wedlock.

PSEUDO-CHRYS.If we ought to bear the burdens of strangers in obedience to that of the Apostle, Bear you one another's burdens (Gal 6:2), how much more that of our wives and husbands? The Christian husband ought not only to keep himself from any defilement, but to be careful not to give others occasion of defilement; for so is their sin imputed to him who gave the occasion. Whoever then by putting away his wife gives another human occasion of committing adultery, is condemned for that crime himself.

AUG. Yea more, He declares the man who marries her who is put away an adulterer.

CHRYS. Say not here, it is enough her husband has put her away; for even after she is put away she continues the wife of him that put her away.

AUG. The Apostle has fixed the limit here, requiring her to abstain from a fresh marriage as long as her husband lives. After his death he allows her to marry. But if the woman may not marry while her former husband is alive, much less may she yield herself to unlawful indulgences. But this command of the Lord, forbidding to put away a wife, is not broken by him who lives with her not carnally but spiritually, in that more blessed wedlock of those that keep themselves chaste. A question also here arises as to what is that fornication which the Lord allows as a cause of divorce; whether carnal sin or, according to the Scripture use of the word, any unlawful passion, as idolatry, avarice, in short all transgressions of the Law by forbidden desires. For if the Apostle permits the divorce of a wife if she be unbelieving (though indeed it is better not to put her away), and the Lord forbids any divorce but for the cause of fornication, unbelief even must be fornication. And if unbelief be fornication, and idolatry unbelief, and covetousness idolatry, it is not to be doubted that covetousness is fornication. And if covetousness be fornication who may say of any kind of unlawful desire that it is not a kind of fornication?

ID. Yet I would not have the reader think this disputation of ours sufficient in a matter so arduous; for every sin is spiritual fornication, nor does God destroy every sinner, for He hears His saints daily crying to Him Forgive us our debts; but every man who goes a whoring and forsakes Him, him He destroys. Whether this be the fornication for which divorce is allowed is a most knotty question - for it is no question at all that it is allowed for the fornication by carnal sin.

ID. If any affirm that the only fornication for which the Lord allows divorce is that of carnal sin, he may say that the Lord has spoken of believing husbands and wives, forbidding either to leave the other except for fornication. Not only does He permit to put away a wife who commits fornication, but whoso puts away a wife by whom he whom he is driven to commit fornication, puts her away for the cause of fornication, both for his own sake and hers.

ID. He also rightly puts away his wife to whom she shall say, 'I will not be your wife unless you get me money by robbery' or should require any other crime to be done by him. If the husband here be truly penitent, he will cut off the limb that offends him.

ID. Nothing can be more unjust than to put away a wife for fornication, and yourself to be guilty of that sin, for then is that happened, Wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself (Rom 2:1). When He says, And he who marries her who is put away, commits adultery, a question arises: does the woman also in this case commit adultery? For the Apostle directs either that she remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. There is this difference in the separation, namely, which of them was the cause of it. If the wife put away the husband and marry another, she appears to have left her first husband with the desire of change, which is an adulterous thought. But if she has been put away by her husband, yet he who marries her commits adultery, how can she be quit of the same guilt? And further, if he who marries her commits adultery, she is the cause of his committing adultery, which is what the Lord is here forbidding.

Catena Aurea Matthew 5

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Christ and the Samaritan woman