From: Mark 8:14-21
The Leaven of the Pharisees (Continuation)
[14] Now they had forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. [15] And He (Jesus) cautioned them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” [16] And they discussed it with one another, saying, “We have no bread.” [17] And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” [20] And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” [21] And He said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
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Commentary:
15-16. In another Gospel passage—Luke 13:20-21 and Matthew 31:33—Jesus uses the simile of the leaven to show the vitality of His teaching. Here “leaven” is used in the sense of bad disposition. In the making of bread, leaven is what causes the dough to rise; the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and Herod’s dissolute life, stemming from their personal ambition, were the “leaven” which was poisoning from within the “dough” of Israel and which would eventually corrupt it. Jesus seeks to warn His disciples about these dangers, and to have them understand that if they are to take in His doctrine they need a pure and simple heart.
But the disciples fail to understand: “They weren’t educated; they weren’t very bright, if we judge from their reaction to supernatural things. Finding even the most elementary examples and comparisons beyond their reach, they would turn to the Master and ask: `Explain the parable to us.’ When Jesus uses the image of the `leaven’ of the Pharisees, they think that He’s reproaching them for not having purchased bread....These were the disciples called by our Lord. Such stuff is what Christ chose. And they remain just like that until they are filled with the Holy Spirit and thus become pillars of the Church. They are ordinary people, full of defects and shortcomings, more eager to say than to do. Nevertheless, Jesus calls them to be fishers of men, co-redeemers, dispensers of the grace of God” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 2). The same thing can happen to us. Although we may not be very gifted, the Lord calls us, and love of God and docility to His words will cause to grow in our souls unsuspected fruit of holiness and supernatural effectiveness.
Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
| First reading |
James 1:12-18 © |
Temptation is not from God
Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.
Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.
| Responsorial Psalm |
| Psalm 93(94):12-15,18-19 © |
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord,
whom you train by means of your law;
to him you give peace in evil days
while the pit is being dug for the wicked.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
The Lord will not abandon his people
nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just
and all true hearts shall uphold it.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’;
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.
When cares increase in my heart
your consolation calms my soul.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
| Gospel Acclamation |
cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod
The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’
What I find interesting is that some non-Catholics expect perfection from priests. For SOME reason THEY are
NOT allowed to sin. Aren't we ALL sinners?
We ought to stay with the words of Jesus and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church:
...that the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition."
According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the task of interpretation is vested uniquely in the Pope and the bishops, though the concept has a complex history of development.
Scripture and church tradition "make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church," and the magisterium is not independent of this, since "all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is derived from this single deposit of faith."