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From: Acts 1:12-14

The Apostolic College

[12] Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; [13] and when they had entered, they
went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James
and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of
Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. [14] All these with
one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

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Commentary:

13-14. St Luke mentions the twelve Apostles by name, with the exception of Ju-
das Iscariot.

This is the first passage which tells of the spiritual life and devout practices of
the disciples. Significantly it places the emphasis on prayer, in keeping with our
Lord’s own practice and with his constant recommendation to his followers (cf.
Mt 6:5, 14:23; etc.).

“Prayer is the foundation of the spiritual edifice. Prayer is all-powerful” (St. J. Es-
criva, “The Way”, 83). It can truly be said that prayer is the bedrock of the Church,
which will be made manifest with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The prayer of the
disciples, including the women, in the company of Mary would have been a sup-
plication of entreaty and praise and thanksgiving to God. This union of hearts and
feelings produced by prayer is a kind of anticipation of the gifts the Holy Spirit will
bring.

“We are told this time and again in the passage narrating the lives of the first fol-
lowers of Christ. ‘All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer (Acts
1:14). [...] Prayer was then, as it is today, the only weapon, the most powerful
means, for winning the battles of our interior struggle” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of
God”, 242).

Here we see Mary as the spiritual center round which Jesus’ intimate friends ga-
ther: tradition has meditated on this “tableau”, and found it to depict our Lady’s
motherhood over the whole Church, both at its beginning and over the course of
the centuries.

On 21 November 1964, at the closing of the third session of Vatican II, Paul VI
solemnly proclaimed Mary Mother of the Church: “Our vision of the Church must
include loving contemplation of the marvels which God worked in his holy Mother.
And knowledge of the true Catholic doctrine about Mary will always be the key
to correct understanding of the mystery of Christ and of the Church.

Reflection on the close ties linking Mary and the Church, so clearly indicated by
the present constitution [”Lumen Gentium”], allows us to think this is the most
appropriate moment to satisfy a desire which, as we pointed out at the end of
the last session, many council Fathers have made their own, calling insistently
for an explicit declaration during this council of the maternal role which the Bles-
sed Virgin exercises towards the Christian people. To this end we have consi-
dered it opportune to dedicate a title in honor of the Virgin which has been pro-
posed in different parts of the Catholic world and which we find particularly tou-
ching, for it sums up in a wonderfully succinct way the privileged position which
this council has recognized the Blessed Virgin to have in the Church.

“And so, for the glory of the Virgin and for our consolation, we proclaim Mary
Most Holy to be the Mother of the Church, that is, Mother of the entire people of
God, faithful as well as pastors, who call her loving Mother, and we desire that
from now on she be honored and invoked by the entire people of God under this
most pleasing title.”

The text makes reference to Jesus’ “brethren”, an expression which also appears
in the Gospels. Given that the Christian faith teaches us that the Virgin Mary had
no children other than Jesus, whom she conceived by the action of the Holy Spi-
rit and without intervention of man, this expression cannot mean that Jesus had
blood brothers or sisters.

The explanation lies in the peculiarities of Semitic languages. The word used in
the New Testament translates a Hebrew term which applied to all the members
of a family group and was used for even distant cousins (cf. Lev 10:4) and for ne-
phews (Gen 13:8). See note on Mt 12:46-47. In the New Testament then; the
word “brethren” has a very wide meaning—as happens, also, for example, with
the word “apostle.”

At one point Jesus describes those who hear and keep his word as his “breth-
ren” (Lk 8:21), which seems to imply that, in addition to meaning belonging to
the same family group, the word “brother” in the New Testament may be a de-
signation for certain disciples who were particularly loyal to our Lord.

St Paul, for his part, uses this term for all Christians (cf., for example, 1 Cor 1:
10; etc), as does St Peter, according to Acts 12:17.

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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: 1 Peter 4:13-16

The Christian Meaning of Suffering (Continuation)

[13] But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also re-
joice and be glad when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are reproached for the
name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests
upon you. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrong-
doer, or a mischief-maker; [16] yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

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Commentary:

12-19. St Peter now returns to the main theme of this part of the letter (3:13-4:
19) — the trials Christians unjustly suffer on account of being followers of Christ
(cf. 1:6-7; 2:18-25; 3:13-17). They should not be surprised or ashamed by this;
rather, it should make them happy and lead them to glorify God, for if they share
in Christ’s suffering it means they will also share in his exaltation. St John of Avi-
la wrote: “God wants to open our eyes and have us realize what favors are being
done us in things the world regards as disadvantages, and how honored we are
to be scoffed at for seeking the honor of God, and what great reward awaits us
for our present depression, and how God’s gentle, sweet and loving arms are o-
pened wide to receive those wounded in doing battle on his behalf’ (”Letter”,
58).

Moreover, the “spirit of God” will rest on them (v. 14): our Lord promised the spe-
cial assistance of the Holy Spirit to persecuted Christians hauled before courts
on account of their faith (cf. Mt 10:19-20); St Peter here calls him “the spirit of
glory”, because his indwelling in the Christian is a guarantee and an anticipation
of eternal glory (cf. 2 Cor 1:22).

Before the divine judgment which lies ahead (it is one of the frequent themes of
the letter) no one can be complacent (vv. 17-18). The Apostle’s severe warnings
are reminiscent of those Jesus gave the women of Jerusalem on his way to Cal-
vary: “if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
(Lk 23:31). However, if one has suffered on Christ’s account in this life it is clear
that one can approach the judgment with greater confidence (cf. Mt 5:11-12; 10:
32).

13. “To the prospect of the Kingdom of God,” Bl. John Paul II teaches, “ is linked
hope in that glory which has its beginning in the Cross of Christ. The Resurrection
revealed this glory — eschatological glory — which in the Cross of Christ was com-
pletely obscured by the immensity of suffering. Those who share in the suffering
of Christ are also called, through their own sufferings, to share in glory” (”Salvifici
Doloris”, 22).

16. This is one of the three places in the New Testament in which Christ’s disci-
ples are described as “Christians” (cf. Acts 11:26; 26:28). As St Luke explains
in Acts, they were first given this name in Antioch, the capital of the Roman pro-
vince of Syria (cf. Acts 11:26).

Being a Christian should never cause one to be cowed or ashamed; it should be
a motive for gratitude to God and for holy pride: “Christians who become cowed
or inhibited or envious in the face of the licentious behavior of those who have not
accepted the Word of God, show that they have a very poor idea of the faith. If
we truly keep the law of Christ—that is, if we make the effort to do so, because
we will not always fully succeed—we will find ourselves endowed with a wonderful
gallantry of spirit that does not need to look elsewhere to discover the full mea-
ning of human dignity” (St. J. Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 38).

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