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From: Isaiah 26:1-6

Songs of Salvation (Continuation)

[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
[2] Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith
may enter in.
[3] Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.
[4] Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord God
is an everlasting rock.
[5] For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
[6] The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”

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Commentary:

25:9-26:6. After the celebration of the banquet prepared by God, two hymns are
intoned that will be sung “on that day”. The first praises the Lord he is faithful
those who put their hope of salvation in him will never be disappointed, whereas
Moab will be laid low on account of its pride (25:9-12). The second hymn returns
(cf. 25:1-5) to the theme of praise of the Lord for giving refuge to the poor and
needy (26:1-6).

26:7-19. Now comes a personal dialogue with God in the form of a prayer or sa-
piential psalm (vv. 7-10). Here the greatness of the Lord is not being described to
third parties nor are his works being praised: the prophet is addressing him direct-
ly, to tell him that he trusts in Him (vv. 7-8), to express his innermost feelings (v.
9a; cf. Ps 42), to ask him to reveal his righteousness (vv. 9b-10) and intervene (v.
11) and bring peace (v. 12), and to celebrate enduring fidelity to the Lord (vv. 13-
19). Verse 19 is a ray of hope in personal resurrection, although here, as in 25:8,
it refers to the resurgence of the nation, as in the vision of the bones restored to
life in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 37:1-14). Daniel 12:1-3 clearly predicts the re-
surrection of people from the dead. Commenting on v. 10, St Bernard addresses
God, saying: “Father of mercies, may your anger be roused against me — the an-
ger that chastens a soul who has lost his way, not the wrath by which you seal
off the path of righteousness” (”In Cantica Canticorum”, 42, 4).

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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: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Doing the Will of God

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] “Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who
is in Heaven.

Building on Rock

[24] “Every one then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like
a wise man who built his house upon the rock; [25] and the rain fell, and the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it
had been founded on the rock. [26] And every one who hears these words of Mine
and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;
[27] and the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”

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Commentary:

21-23. To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering effort to do
God’s will. Similarly, in order to do His will it is not enough to speak about the
things of God: there must be consistency between what one preaches — what
one says — and what one does: “The Kingdom of God does not consist in talk
but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20); “Be doers of the word, not hearers only, de-
ceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

Christians, “holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources, and joining
forces with all who love and practise justice, have shouldered a weighty task on
earth and they must render an account of it to Him who will judge all men on the
last day. Not every one who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but those who do the will of the Father, and who manfully put their hands to the
work” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 93).

To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to speak elo-
quently about holiness. One has to practise what one preaches, to produce fruit
which accords with one’s words. Fray Luis de Leon puts it very graphically: “No-
tice that to be a good Christian it is not enough just to pray and fast and hear
Mass; God must find you faithful, like another Job or Abraham, in times of tribu-
lation” (”Guide for Sinners”, Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 21).

Even if a person exercises an ecclesiastical ministry that does not assure his ho-
liness; he needs to practice the virtues he preaches. Besides, we know from ex-
perience that any Christian (clerical, religious or lay) who does not strive to act in
accordance with the demands of the faith he professes, begins to weaken in his
faith and eventually parts company also with the teaching of the Church. Anyone
who does not live in accordance with what he says, ends up saying things which
are contrary to faith.

The authority with which Jesus speaks in these verses reveals Him as sovereign
Judge of the living and the dead. No Old Testament prophet ever spoke with this
authority.

22. “That day”: a technical formula in biblical language meaning the day of the
Judgment of the Lord or the Last Judgment.

23. This passage refers to the Judgment where Jesus will be the Judge. The sa-
cred text uses a verb which means the public proclamation of a truth. Since in
this case Jesus Christ is the Judge who makes the declaration, it takes the form
of a judicial sentence.

24-27. These verses constitute the positive side of the previous passage. A per-
son who tries to put Christ’s teaching into practice, even if he experiences per-
sonal difficulties or lives during times of upheaval in the life of the Church or is
surrounded by error, will stay firm in the faith, like the wise man who builds his
house on rock.

Also, if we are to stay strong in times of difficulty, we need, when things are
calm and peaceful, to accept little contradictions with a good grace, to be very
refined in our relationship with God and with others, and to perform the duties of
our state in life in a spirit of loyalty and abnegation. By acting in this way we are
laying down a good foundation, maintaining the edifice of our spiritual life and re-
pairing any cracks which make their appearance.

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