Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 09-26-2020, [memorial]

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand that as regards all this
God will bring you to judgment.
Ward off grief from your heart
and put away trouble from your presence,
though the dawn of youth is fleeting.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
while the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few,
and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird,
but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 9
43.	And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father.	Et increpavit Jesus spiritum immundum, et sanavit puerum, et reddidit illum patri ejus.	εξεπλησσοντο δε παντες επι τη μεγαλειοτητι του θεου παντων δε θαυμαζοντων επι πασιν οις εποιησεν ο ιησους ειπεν προς τους μαθητας αυτου
44.	And all were astonished at the mighty power of God. But while all wondered at all the things he did, he said to his disciples: Lay you up in your hearts these words, for it shall come to pass, that the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.	Stupebant autem omnes in magnitudine Dei : omnibusque mirantibus in omnibus quæ faciebat, dixit ad discipulos suos : Ponite vos in cordibus vestris sermones istos : Filius enim hominis futurum est ut tradatur in manus hominum.	θεσθε υμεις εις τα ωτα υμων τους λογους τουτους ο γαρ υιος του ανθρωπου μελλει παραδιδοσθαι εις χειρας ανθρωπων
45.	But they understood not this word; and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not. And they were afraid to ask him concerning this word.	At illi ignorabant verbum istud, et erat velatum ante eos ut non sentirent illud : et timebant eum interrogare de hoc verbo.	οι δε ηγνοουν το ρημα τουτο και ην παρακεκαλυμμενον απ αυτων ινα μη αισθωνται αυτο και εφοβουντο ερωτησαι αυτον περι του ρηματος τουτου

9:43–45

43.—But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,

44. Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.

45. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. (non occ.) Every thing that Jesus did claimed admiration from all men for a peculiar and divine light reflected upon each of His works, according to the Psalms, honour and majesty wilt thou lay upon him. (Ps. 21:5.) Although all indeed marvelled at those things which He did, He however addresses what follows, not to all, but to His disciples; as it is said, But while they wondered every one, &c. He had shewn His glory on the mount to His disciples, and after this delivered a man from an evil spirit, but it was necessary for Him to undergo His passion for our salvation. Now His disciples might have been perplexed, saying, “Have we then been deceived in that we thought him to be God?” That they might know then what was to happen to Him, He bids them lay up in their minds as a certain deposit the mystery of His passion, saying, Let these sayings sink down in your hearts. By the word your, He distinguishes them from others. For the multitude were not to know that He was about to suffer, but were rather to be assured that the dead would rise again, destroying death, lest they should be offended.

TITUS BOSTRENSIS. While all thus were wondering at the miracles, He foretels His passion. For miracles do not save, but the cross conveys the benefit. Hence he adds, For the Son of man shall he delivered into the hands of men.

ORIGEN. (in Matt. tom. 13.) But it is not clearly expressed by whom He is to be delivered, for one says, that He is to be delivered up by Judas, another by the devil; but Paul says, that God the Father delivered Him up for us all; (Rom. 8:32.) but Judas, as he delivered Him up for money, did it traitorously, the Father for His mercies’ sake.

THEOPHYLACT. Now our Lord in condescension to their infirmities and governing them with a kind of economy, did not permit them to understand what was said of the cross; as it follows, But they understood not.

BEDE. This ignorance of the disciples proceeds not so much from slowness of understanding as from affection, for since they were yet carnal and ignorant of the mystery of the cross, they could not believe that He whom they thought to be really God would suffer death. And because they were often accustomed to hear Him speak by figure, they thought that He meant figuratively something else, by what He said of His betrayal.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now some one perhaps will say, How were the disciples ignorant of the mystery of the cross, seeing that it was touched upon in several places by the shadows of the Law? But as Paul relates, Even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their hearts. (2 Cor. 3:15.) It becomes then those who approach Christ, to say, Open thou my eyes, that I may behold the wonderful things out of thy law. (Ps. 119:18.)

THEOPHYLACT. Mark also the reverence of the disciples in what follows, And they feared to ask him of that saying. For fear is the first step to reverence.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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From: Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8

Wisdom and youth
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[9] Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

[10] Remove vexation from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Thoughts on death
---------------------------
[1] Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth. I before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; [2] before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain; [3] in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows are dimmed, [4] and the doors on the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; [5] they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets; [6] before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, [7] and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

[8] Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

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Commentary:

11:8-10. Life is short, and the future that awaits everyone is uncertain ("vanity": v. 8). Hence the advice given in vs. 9-10. The Preacher is not recommending hedonistic materialism; one needs to be ever mindful that God punishes and rewards, although, as the author sees it, that happens within the bounds of this life.

12:1-7. The second part of the book began by pointing out that a person who seeks true wisdom does not dodge difficult issues, including that of death (7:1-2). The author rounds off this part by focusing on the Creator and on the end of man's life. Death, and what will happen when it comes, is described very forcefully here. The wisdom of man cannot penetrate beyond it. Viewed from the perspective of death, man's life is a temporary gift given him by God. One can glance back at one's youth and also at the years one may still have ahead (v. 1) and ponder the tenuous nature of life and remember that death is coming. This is truly the office of a teacher of wisdom -- to help individuals see what possibilities lie open to them, so that they can make free and responsible choices. This is what the Preacher has done, as he says at the end of his text. "Death is the end of earthly life. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life. That aspect of death lends urgency to our lives: remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfilment'' ( Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1007).

12:8. This verse repeats almost word for word what was said at the start of the book (cf. 1:2). The statement, in addition to acting as a title to the book, confirms that even the lifestyle outlined in the final chapters (cf. 7:9-12:7) is still "vanity of vanities". True wisdom consists in realizing this and accepting it. Christian asceticism has accepted the general thrust of the Preacher's message (detachment from worldly values, and attachment to God's commandments) and indeed its written form -- use of short, incisive phrases, and a use of contrasts to good effect. Christian commitment has often been described in such terms – as the imitation of Christ combined with rejection of the worlds vanities: ''He who follows me does not walk in darkness, says the Lord. These words are Christ's. in which he counsels us to imitate his life and deeds if we truly desire to be enlightened and freed from all blindness of heart. Our study should consist, therefore, in a consideration of the life of Jesus. [...] Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, unless one strives to love and serve God alone. The height of wisdom is to set aside this world in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Vanity is to seek the riches that perish and to place one's hope in them. It is vanity, too, to seek human glory and boast of it. Vanity is to yield to the desires of the body, for which you must bear a greater punishment in the afterlife. It is vanity to desire long life and not to live it well. Vanity is to concern yourself only with this life and fail to contemplate the life to come. It is vanity to give your love to things that will so soon pass away and not to seek earnestly the joy that will last forever. Call to mind often that saying from the Scriptures: "Neither has eye seen, nor ear heard," and try to tear your heart away from what is visible, to move beyond into what remains invisible" (Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1, 1-5).

From: Luke 9:43b-45

Second Prophecy of the Passion
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[43b] But while they were all marvelling at everything He (Jesus) did, He said to His disciples, [44] "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men." [45] But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

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Commentary:

44. Christ predicts His passion and death a number of times. Initially He does so in veiled terms (John 2:19; Luke 5:35) to the crowd; and later, much more explicitly, to His disciples (Luke 9:22), though they fail to understand His words, not because what He says is not clear, but because they do not have the right dispositions. St. John Chrysostom comments: "Let no one be scandalized by this imperfection in the Apostles; for the Cross had not yet been reached nor the grace of the Spirit given" (Hom. on St. Matthew, 65).

Daily Word for Reflection -- The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries

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Twenty-fifth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Responsorial Psalm

Alleluia

Gospel