From: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
Solomon’s Dedication Prayer (Continuation)
[27] ”But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! [28] Yet have regard to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, hearkening to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays before thee this day; [29] that thy eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which thou hast said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant offers toward this place. [30] And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they pray toward this place; yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive.”
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
8:14-61. This long prayer of Solomon, the centerpiece of the Dedication of the temple, has three parts to it: the first is a blessing (an act of thanksgiving to God) for having fulfilled his promise (vv. 15-21); the second is a supplication for the successors of David, for all the people, and even for foreigners resident in the country (vv. 22-53); and the third, a blessing of Israel (v. 55), with a further supplication on its behalf (vv. 56-61): “The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his son, Solomon. The prayer at the dedication of the Temple relies on God’s promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus. The king lifts his hands toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the entire people and of the generations yet to come, for the forgiveness of their sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the only God and that the heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to him” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 2580).
8:22-53 The prayer properly speaking begins by proclaiming the greatness of the God of Israel and his fidelity in keeping his promises. But the speaker, Solomon, immediately finds himself confronted by the mysteriousness of God: God transcends all things (he is the creator of heaven and earth) yet he condescends to dwelt in this temple. How is that possible? God is really in heaven (Solomon goes on to assert) but he is also at the same time, in some way, in the temple, where he has wanted “his name” to be (v. 29), that is, he himself in person. Therefore (the prayer goes on to say), God hearkens from heaven when man prays to him in that temple.
The temple is depicted as a place more of prayer than of offerings, and the attitude of a person when he goes to the temple and when he prays should be one of true and profound conversion—acknowledgment that his sin is the cause of his misfortune. Thus, Solomon’s prayer is in line with the teaching andspirit of the book of Deuteronomy. Its teaching includes the conviction that, through prayer, man is delivered from evil, because God always forgives him. This aspect of prayer is worth emphasizing because, as John Paul II has written, “’Conversion’ and ‘contrition’ are often considered under the aspect of the undeniable demands which they involve and under the aspect of the mortification which they impose for the purpose of bringing about a radical change of life. But we do well to recall and emphasize the fact that ‘contrition’ and ‘conversion’ are even more a drawing near to the holiness of God, a rediscovery of one’s true identity which has been upset and disturbed by sin,a liberation in the very depth of the self and thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved (cf. Ps 51:12), which the majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing” (”Reconciiliatio El Paenitentia”, 31, 3).
From: Mark 7:1-13
The Tradition of the Elders
[9] And He said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition! [10] For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother’; and `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die’; [11] but you say, `If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)—[12] then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, [13] thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do.”
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
1-2. Hands were washed not for reasons of hygiene or good manners but because the custom had religious significance: it was a rite of purification. In Exodus 30:17ff the Law of God laid down how priests should wash before offering sacrifice. Jewish tradition had extended this to all Jews before every meal, in an effort to give meals a religious significance, which was reflected in the blessings which marked the start of meals. Ritual purification was a symbol of the moral purity a person should have when approaching God (Psalm 24:3ff; 51:4 and 9); but the Pharisees had focused on the mere external rite. Therefore Jesus restores the genuine meaning of these precepts of the Law, whose purpose is to teach the right way to render homage to God (cf. John 4:24).
3-5. We can see clearly from this text that very many of those to whom St. Mark’s Gospel was first addressed were Christians who had been pagans and were unfamiliar with Jewish customs. The Evangelist explains these customs in some detail, to help them realize the significance of the events and teachings reported in the Gospel story.
Similarly, Sacred Scripture needs to be preached and taught in a way which puts it within reach of its hearers. This is why Vatican II teaches that “it is for the bishops suitable to instruct the faithful [...] by giving them translations of the sacred texts which are equipped with necessary and really adequate explanations. Thus the children of the Church can familiarize themselves safely and profitably with the Sacred Scriptures, and become steeped in their spirit” (”Dei Verbum”, 25).
11-13. For an explanation of this text cf. note on Mt. 15:5-6. Jesus Christ, who is the authentic interpreter of the Law, because as God He is its author, explains the scope of the fourth commandment and points out the mistakes made by the Jewish casuistry. There were many other occasions when He corrected mistaken interpretations offered by the Jewish teachers: for example, when He recalls that phrase of the Old Testament, “Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6, 1 Samuel 15:22; Sirach 35:4) in Matthew 9:13.
[The note on Matthew 15:5-6 states:
5-6. Over the years teachers of the Law (scribes) and priests of the temple had distorted the true meaning of the fourth commandment. In Jesus’ time, they were saying that people who contributed to the temple in cash or in kind were absolved from supporting their parents: it would be sacrilegious for parents to lay claim to this “corban” (offerings for the altar). People educated in this kind of thinking felt that they were keeping the fourth commandment—in fact, fulfilling it in the best way possible—and they were praised for their piety by the religious leaders of the nation. But what in fact it meant was that, under the cloak of piety, they were leaving elderly parents to fend for themselves. Jesus, who is Messiah and God, is the one who can correctly interpret the Law. Here He explains the proper scope of the fourth commandment, exposing the error of Jewish practice at the time.
For Christians, therefore, the fourth commandment includes affectionate help of parents if they are old or needy, even if one has other family, social or religious obligations to attend to. Children should check regularly on whether they are looking after their parents properly.]