Eglise de Saint Volusien, Foix, France
Posted on 01/18/2021 12:41:21 AM PST by Cronos
Liturgical Colour: Green.
| First reading | Hebrews 5:1-10 © |
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| Responsorial Psalm |
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| Psalm 109(110):1-4 © |
| Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
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| Or: | Heb4:12 |
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| Gospel | Mark 2:18-22 © |
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The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.
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| Mark | |||||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | Aramaic NT: Peshitta | ||
| 18. | And the disiples of John and the Pharisees used to fast; and they come and say to him: Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast; but thy disciples do not fast? | Et erant discipuli Joannis et pharisæi jejunantes : et veniunt, et dicunt illi : Quare discipuli Joannis et pharisæorum jejunant, tui autem discipuli non jejunant ? | και ησαν οι μαθηται ιωαννου και οι των φαρισαιων νηστευοντες και ερχονται και λεγουσιν αυτω δια τι οι μαθηται ιωαννου και οι των φαρισαιων νηστευουσιν οι δε σοι μαθηται ου νηστευουσιν | ܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ ܕܝܢ ܕܝܘܚܢܢ ܘܦܪܝܫܐ ܨܝܡܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܘܐܬܘ ܘܐܡܪܝܢ ܠܗ ܠܡܢܐ ܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ ܕܝܘܚܢܢ ܘܕܦܪܝܫܐ ܨܝܡܝܢ ܘܬܠܡܝܕܝܟ ܕܝܠܟ ܠܐ ܨܝܡܝܢ ܀ | .18 |
| 19. | And Jesus saith to them: Can the children of the marriage fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. | Et ait illis Jesus : Numquid possunt filii nuptiarum, quamdiu sponsus cum illis est, jejunare ? Quanto tempore habent secum sponsum, non possunt jejunare. | και ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους μη δυνανται οι υιοι του νυμφωνος εν ω ο νυμφιος μετ αυτων εστιν νηστευειν οσον χρονον μεθ εαυτων εχουσιν τον νυμφιον ου δυνανται νηστευειν | ܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܠܡܐ ܡܫܟܚܝܢ ܒܢܘܗܝ ܕܓܢܘܢܐ ܟܡܐ ܕܚܬܢܐ ܥܡܗܘܢ ܗܘ ܕܢܨܘܡܘܢ ܠܐ ܀ | .19 |
| 20. | But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them; and then they shall fast in those days. | Venient autem dies cum auferetur ab eis sponsus : et tunc jejunabunt in illis diebus. | ελευσονται δε ημεραι οταν απαρθη απ αυτων ο νυμφιος και τοτε νηστευσουσιν εν εκειναις ταις ημεραις | ܢܐܬܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܝܘܡܬܐ ܕܡܐ ܕܐܫܬܩܠ ܡܢܗܘܢ ܚܬܢܐ ܗܝܕܝܢ ܢܨܘܡܘܢ ܒܗܘ ܝܘܡܐ ܀ | .20 |
| 21. | No man seweth a piece of raw cloth to an old garment: otherwise the new piecing taketh away from the old, and there is made a greater rent. | Nemo assumentum panni rudis assuit vestimento veteri : alioquin aufert supplementum novum a veteri, et major scissura fit. | και ουδεις επιβλημα ρακους αγναφου επιρραπτει επι ιματιω παλαιω ει δε μη αιρει το πληρωμα αυτου το καινον του παλαιου και χειρον σχισμα γινεται | ܠܐ ܐܢܫ ܪܡܐ ܐܘܪܩܥܬܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܘܚܐܛ ܥܠ ܡܐܢܐ ܒܠܝܐ ܕܠܐ ܢܤܒܐ ܡܠܝܘܬܗ ܗܝ ܚܕܬܐ ܡܢ ܒܠܝܐ ܘܗܘܐ ܤܕܩܐ ܝܬܝܪܐ ܀ | .21 |
| 22. | And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: otherwise the wine will burst the bottles, and both the wine will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles. | Et nemo mittit vinum novum in utres veteres : alioquin dirumpet vinum utres, et vinum effundetur, et utres peribunt : sed vinum novum in utres novos mitti debet. | και ουδεις βαλλει οινον νεον εις ασκους παλαιους ει δε μη ρησσει ο οινος ο νεος τους ασκους και ο οινος εκχειται και οι ασκοι απολουνται αλλα οινον νεον εις ασκους καινους βλητεον | ܘܠܐ ܐܢܫ ܪܡܐ ܚܡܪܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܒܙܩܐ ܒܠܝܬܐ ܕܠܐ ܚܡܪܐ ܡܨܪܐ ܠܙܩܐ ܘܙܩܐ ܐܒܕܢ ܘܚܡܪܐ ܡܬܐܫܕ ܐܠܐ ܪܡܝܢ ܚܡܪܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܒܙܩܐ ܚܕܬܬܐ ܀ | .22 |
2:18–22
18. And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19. And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
21. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
GLOSS. (non occ.) As above, the Master was accused to the disciples for keeping company with sinners in their feasts, so now, on the other hand, the disciples are complained of to the Master for their omission of fasts, that so matter for dissension might arise amongst them. Wherefore it is said, And the disciples of John and the Pharisees used to fast.
THEOPHYLACT. For the disciples of John being in an imperfect state, continued in Jewish customs.
AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Evan. ii. 27) But it may be thought that He added Pharisees, because they joined with the disciples of John in saying this to the Lord, whilst Matthew relates that the disciples of John alone said it: but the words which follow rather shew that those who said it spoke not of themselves, but of others. For it goes on, And they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples, &c. For these words shew, that the guests who were there came to Jesus, and had said this same thing to the disciples, so that in the words which he uses, they came, he speaks not of those same persons, of whom he had said, And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. But as they were fasting, those persons who remembered it, come to him. Matthew then says this, And there came to him the disciples of John, saying, because the Apostles also were there, and all eagerly, as each could, objected these things.
CHRYSOSTOM. (non occ.) The disciples of John, therefore, and of the Pharisees, being jealous of Christ, ask Him, whether He alone of all men with His disciples could, without abstinence and toil, conquer in the fight of the passions.
BEDE. But John did not drink wine and strong drink, because he who has no power by nature, obtains more merit by abstinence. But why should the Lord, to whom it naturally belonged to forgive sins, shun those whom he could make more pure, than those who fast? But Christ also fasted, lest He should break the precept, He ate with sinners, that thou mightest see His grace, and acknowledge His power. It goes on; And Jesus said unto them, Can the children, &c.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Mark here calls them children of the nuptials, whom Matthew calls children of the bridegroom; for we understand the children of the nuptials to be not only those of the bridegroom, but also of the bride.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He then calls Himself a bridegroom, as if about to be betrothed to the Church. For the betrothal is giving an earnest, namely, that of the grace of the Holy Ghost, by which the world believed.
THEOPHYLACT. He also calls Himself a bridegroom, not only as betrothing to Himself virgin minds, but because the time of His first coming is not a time of sorrow, nor of sadness to believers, neither does it bring with it toil, but rest. For it is without any works of the law, giving rest by baptism, by which we easily obtain salvation without toil. But the sons of the nuptials or of the Bridegroom are the Apostles; because they, by the grace of God, are made worthy of every heavenly blessing, by the grace of God, and partakers of every joy.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) But intercourse with Him, He says, is far removed from all sorrow, when He adds, As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. He is sad, from whom some good is far removed; but he who has it present with him rejoices, and is not sad. But that He might destroy their elation of heart, and shew that He intended not His own disciples to be licentious, He adds, But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken, &c. as if He said, The time will come, when they will shew their firmness; for when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, they will fast as longing for His coming, and in order to unite to Him their spirits, cleansed by bodily suffering. He shews also that there is no necessity for His disciples to fast, as having present with them the Bridegroom of human nature, Who every where executes the words of God, and Who gives the seed of life. The sons of the Bridegroom also cannot, because they are infants, be entirely conformed to their Father, the Bridegroom, Who, considering their infancy, deigns to allow them not to fast: but when the Bridegroom is gone, they will fast, through desire of Him; when they have been made perfect, they will be united to the Bridegroom in marriage, and will always feast at the king’s banquet.
THEOPHYLACT. We must also understand, that every man whose works are good is the son of the Bridegroom; he has the Bridegroom with him, even Christ, and fasts not, that is, does no works of repentance, because he does not sin: but when the Bridegroom is taken away by the man’s falling into sin, then he fasts and is penitent, that he may cure his sin.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) But in a mystical sense, it may thus be expressed; that the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast, because every man who boasts of the works of the law without faith, who follows the traditions of men, and receives the preaching of Christ with his bodily ear, and not by the faith of the heart, keeps aloof from spiritual goods, and wastes away with a fasting soul. But he who is incorporated into the members of Christ by a faithful love cannot fast, because he feasts upon His Body and Blood. It goes on, No one seweth a piece of rough, that is, new, cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filleth it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat in Marc.) As if He said, because these are preachers of the New Testament, it is not possible that they should serve old laws; but ye who follow old customs, fitly observe the fasts of Moses. But for these, who are about to hand down to men new and wonderful observances, it is not necessary to observe the old traditions, but to be virtuous in mind; some time or other however they will observe fasting with other virtues. But this fasting is different from the fasting of the law, for that was one of restraint, this of goodwill; on account of the fervour of the Spirit, Whom they cannot yet receive. Wherefore it goes on, And no one putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put in new bottles.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) For He compares His disciples to old bottles, who would burst at spiritual precepts, rather than be held in restraint by them. But they will be new bottles, when after the ascension of the Lord, they are renewed by desiring His consolation, and then new wine will come to the new bottles, that is, the fervour of the Holy Ghost will fill the hearts of spiritual men. A teacher must also take heed not to commit the hidden things of new mysteries to a soul, hardened in old wickedness.
THEOPHYLACT. Or else the disciples are likened to old garments on account of the infirmity of their minds, on which it was not fitting to impose the heavy command of fasting.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) Neither was it fitting to sew on a, new piece; that is, a portion of doctrine which teaches a general fast from all the joy of temporal delights; for if this be done, the teaching is rent, and agrees not with the old part. But by a new garment is intended good works, which are done externally, and by the new wine, is expressed the fervour of faith, hope, and charity, by which we are reformed in our minds.
For: Monday, January 18, 2021
2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Hebrews 5:1-10
Christ Has Been Made High Priest by God the Father
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[1] For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. [2] He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. [3] Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. [4] And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.
[5] So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"; [6] as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek."
[7] In the days of the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. [8] Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; [9] and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, [10] being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
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Commentary:
1-10. The central theme of the epistle, broached in 2:17 and taken up again in 4:14-15, is discussed from here up to the start of chapter 10 -- the theme of Christ as high priest, the high priest who really can free us from all sin. In fact, Christ is the only perfect Priest: other priests--in both natural religions and the Jewish religion -- are only prefigurements of Christ. The first thing to be emphasized, because the writer is addressing people of Jewish background, is that Christ's priesthood is on a higher plane than that of the priests of the Old Law. However, the argument applies not only to the priesthood of Aaron, to whose family all Israelite priests belonged, but also, indirectly, to all forms of priesthood before Christ. But there is a basic difference, in that whereas other priests were chosen by men, Aaron was chosen by God. Sacred Scripture introduces him as Moses' brother (cf. Ex 6:20), acting as his interpreter to Pharaoh (because Moses was "slow of speech": Ex 4: 10; cf. 7:1-2) and joining him to lead the people out of Egypt (cf. Ex 4:27-30). After the Israelites left Egypt, God himself instituted the priesthood of Aaron to minister and carry out divine worship at the tabernacle and later at the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Ex 28:1-5).
Divine intervention, therefore, brought to a close the period when sacrifice was offered by the head of the family or the chief of the tribe and when no specific calling or external ordination rite was connected with priesthood. Thus, for example, in the Book of Genesis we read that Cain, and Abel, themselves offered sacrifices (cf. Gen 4:35), as did Noah after coming safely through the flood (cf. Gen 8:20); and the patriarchs often offered sacrifices to God in adoration or thanksgiving or to renew their Covenant--for example, Abraham (cf. Gen 12:8; 15:8-17; 22:1-13) and Jacob (cf. Gen 26:25; 33:20), etc.
Although for a considerable time after the institution of the Aaron priesthood, sacrifices continued to be offered also by private individuals -- for example, in the period of the Judges, the sacrifice of Gideon (Judg 6:18,25-26) or that of Samson's parents (Judg 13:15-20) -- gradually the convictions grew that to be a priest a person had to have a specific vocation, one which was not given to anyone outside males of the line of Aaron (cf. Judg 17:7-13), whom God had chosen from out of all the people of Israel, identifying him by the sign of his rod sprouting buds (Num 17:16-24). God himself meted out severe punishment to Korah and his sons when they tried to set themselves up as rivals of Aaron: they were devoured by fire from heaven (cf. Num 16); and it was specified in Mosaic legislation time and time again that only the sons of Aaron could act as priests (cf. Num 3:10; 17:5; 18:7). This priesthood offered the sacrifices of Mosaic worship--the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings (cf. Lev 6). To the descendants of Aaron, assisted by the Levites, was entrusted also the care of the tabernacle and the protection of the ark of the Covenant. They received their ministry and had it confirmed by the offering of sacrifice and by anointing of the man's head and hands with oil (Ex 29; Lev 8-9; Num 3:3). For all these reasons Hebrew priests were honored and revered by the people and regarded (not without reason, because God had ordained them) as on a much higher plane than other priests particularly those of the peoples of Canaan, the priests of Baal, for example. In Christ's time the high priest was the highest religious authority in Israel; his words were regarded as oracular statements, and his decisions could have important political repercussions.
However, Christ came with the very purpose of taking this ancient institution and transforming it into a new, eternal priesthood. Every Christian priest is, as it were, Christ's instrument or an extension of his sacred humanity. Christian priests do not act in their own name, nor are they mere representatives of the people: they act in the name of God. "Here we have the priest's identity: he is direct and daily instrument of the saving grace which Christ has won for us" (St. J. Escriva, In Love with the Church, 39). It is really Christ who is acting through them by means of their words, gestures etc. All of this means that Christian priesthood cannot be separated from the eternal priesthood of Christ. This extension of God's providence (in the form of the Old Testament priesthood and the priesthood instituted by Christ in the New Testament and the mission entrusted to New Testament priests) should lead us to love and honor the priesthood irrespective of the human defects and shortcomings of these ministers of God: "To love God and not venerate his Priests...is not possible" (St J. Escriva, The Way, 74).
1a. These words provide a very good short definition of what every priest is.
"The office proper to a priest", St Thomas Aquinas points out, "is to be a mediator between God and the people, inasmuch as he bestows divine things on the people (he is called sacerdos (priest), which means 'a giver of sacred things', sacra dans [...]), and again inasmuch as he offers the people's prayer to God and in some way makes satisfaction to God for their sins" (Summa Theologiae, III, q.22, a.1).
In this passage of the letter we can detect an echo of the description of Aaron in the Book of Sirach: "He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people" (Sir 45:16). Four elements characterize the office of the high priest (the text speaks of the "high" priest in the strict sense, but it is applicable to all priests --1) his special dignity, because although he is a man he has been specially chosen by God; 2) the purpose of his mission, which is the good of mankind ("to act on behalf of men"); 3) the "material" side of his office, that is, public divine worship; 4) the specific acts he must perform, the offering of sacrifice at appropriate times.
In the specific case of priesthood instituted by God--such as that of Aaron or the new priesthood instituted by Christ--the calling ("taken" or "chosen" from among men) is not simply an influence the person feels interiorly, or a desire to be a priest: its divine origin is confirmed by nomination by the proper authority, and by official consecration.
1b. A priest is "chosen from among men", that is, he should possess a human nature. This is a further sign of God's mercy: to bring about our salvation he uses someone accessible to us, one who shares our human condition, "so that man might have someone like himself to have recourse to" (St Thomas, Commentary on Heb, ad loc.). These words also indicate the extent of God's kindness because they remind us that the divine Redeemer not only offered himself and made satisfaction for the sins of all, but desired that "the priestly life which the divine Redeemer had begun in his mortal body by his prayers and sacrifice (should not cease). He willed it to continue unceasingly through the ages in his mystical body, which is the Church; and therefore he instituted a visible priesthood to offer everywhere a clean oblation (Mal 1:11), so that all men all over the world, being diverted from sin, might serve God conscientiously, and of their own free will" (Pius XII, Mediator Dei, 1).
He is "chosen from among men" also in the sense that he is given special consecration which is some way marks him off from the rest of the people of God. St John Chrysostom comments, recalling Jesus triple question to Peter after the Resurrection (cf. Jn 21:15-17): "When he asked Peter if he loved him, he did not do so because he needed to know whether his disciple loved him, but because he wanted to show how great his own love was; thus, when he says, 'Who then is the faithful and prudent servant', he does not say this because he does not know the answer, but in order to show us how unique and wonderful an honor it is, as can be deduced from the rewards: 'he will place him over all his goods.' And he concludes that the priest ought to be outstanding in holiness (De Sacerdotio, II, 1-2).
"The priests of the New Testament", Vatican II reminds us, "are, by their vocation to ordination, set apart in some way in the midst of the people of God, but this is not in order that they should be separated from that people or from anyone, but that they should be completely consecrated to the task for which God chose them" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 3). This calling, then, constitutes a distinction but not a separation because it is indissolubly linked to a specific mission: a priest is "chosen from among men" but for the purpose of acting "on behalf of men in relation to God". In this delicate balance between divine call and spiritual mission to men lies the essence of priesthood. Christians, therefore, should never view a priest as "just another person". "They want to find in the priest the virtues appropriate to any Christian and even any upright man--understanding, justice, commitment to work (priestly work, in this case), charity, good manners, social refinement. But the faithful also want to be able to recognize clearly the priestly character: they expect the priest to pray, not to refuse to administer the sacraments; they expect him to be open to everyone and not set himself up to take charge of people or become an aggressive leader of human factions, of whatever shade (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 6). They expect him to bring love and devotion to the celebration of Mass, to sit in the confessional, to console the sick and the troubled; to teach sound doctrine to children and adults, to preach the Word of God and no mere human science which--no matter how well he may know it--is not the knowledge that saves and brings eternal life; they expect him to give counsel and be charitable to those in need" (St. J. Escriva, In Love with the Church, 42).
Priests "could not be the servants of Christ unless they were witnesses and dispensers of a life other than that of this earth. On the other hand, they would be powerless to serve men if they remained aloof from their life and circumstances" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 3). In this connection, Pope John Paul II has made the following appeal: "Yes, you are chosen from among men, given to Christ by the Father, to be in the world, "in the heart of society". You are appointed to act on behalf of men (Heb 5:1). The priesthood is the sacrament whereby the Church is to be seen as the society of the people of God; it is the 'social' sacrament. Priests should 'convoke' each of the communities of the people of God, around them but not for themselves--for Christ!" (Homily at an Ordination of Priests, 15 June 1980).
The specific function of the priest has, then, been clearly identified: he is concerned about his brethren but he is not here to solve temporal problems; his role is only "in relation to God". "Christian ministerial priesthood is different from any other priesthood in that it is not an office to which someone is appointed by others to intercede with God on their behalf; it is a mission to which a man is called by God (Heb 5: 1-10; 7:24; 9: 11-28) to be towards others a living sign of the presence of Christ, the only Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), Head and Shepherd of his people [...]. In other words, Christian priesthood is essentially (this is the only possible way it can be understood) an eminently sacred mission, both in its origin (Christ) and in its content (the divine mystery) and by the very manner in which it is conferred (a sacrament)" (A. del Portillo, On Priesthood, pp. 59f).
2-3. From the moral qualities a priest needs, these verses single out mercy and compassion, which lead him, on the one hand, to be gentle to sinners and, at the same time, to desire to make personal reparation for their sins. The Latin translation of v. 2a puts the emphasis on the fact that the priest shares in suffering for sin: he can "suffer along with" (aeque condolere) but in just measure on seeing those who go astray, and, imitating Christ, he can himself perform some of the penance those sinners should be doing. The original word translated here as "deal gently" recalls the profound, but serene, sorrow which Abraham felt when Sarah died (cf. Gen 23:2) and at the same time it alludes to the need for forbearance, generosity and understanding: a priest must be a person who, while rejecting sin, is understanding to the sinner and conscious that it may take him time to mend his ways. He is also inclined to put the sinner's intentions in the best light (cf. Gal 6:1): people do not always sin deliberately; they can sin out of ignorance (that is, not realizing the gravity of their actions) and, more often than not, out of weakness.
The Old Testament makes a clear distinction between sin committed unwittingly (cf. Lev 4:2-27; Num 14:24, 27-29) and sins of rebelliousness (cf. Num 15:22-31; Deut 17:12). Further on (cf. Heb 6:4-6; 10:26-27; 12:17), the letter will again refer to the gravity of sins committed out of malice. Here, however, it is referring to sin, whether grave or not, committed out of weakness. "Ignorant" and "wayward" are almost synonymous, for a person who sins out of ignorance is described in Hebrews by a word which means "he who goes astray, he who does not know the way". The basic reason why a priest should be understanding and compassionate is his awareness of his own weakness. Thus, the Church puts these words on his lips in Eucharistic Prayer I: 'nobis quoque peccatoribus'--for ourselves, too, sinners" (cf. Wis 9:5-6). A priest is compassionate and understanding because "he himself is beset with weakness". The word translated as "beset" contains the idea of surrounded or covered by or wrapped as if in a cloak. Pope Pius XI wrote: "When we see a man exercising this faculty (of forgiving sins), we cannot but repeat (not out of pharisaical scandal, but with reverent amazement) those words, 'Who is this, who even forgives sins?' (Lk 7:49). It is the Man-God, who had and has 'authority on earth to forgive sins' (Lk 5:24), and has chosen to communicate it to his priests, and thereby with the generosity of divine mercy to meet the human conscience's need of purification. Hence the great consolation the guilty man receives who experiences remorse and contritely hears the priest tell him in God's name, 'I absolve you from your sins.' The fact that he hears this said by someone who himself will need to ask another priest to speak the same words to him, does not debase God's merciful gift: it enhances it, for the hand of God who works this wonder is seen (as operating) by means of a frail creature" (Pius XII, Ad Catholici Sacerdotii).
3. Everyone, including the priest, is a sinner. In the Old Testament rites for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the high priest, before entering the Holy of Holies, offered a sin-offering for his own sins (cf. Lev 16:3, 6, 11; Heb 9:6-14); so too the priests of the New Testament have a duty to be holy, to reject sin, to ask for forgiveness of their own sins, and to intercede for sinners.
The model the priest should always have before him is Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest. "The main motive force actuating a priest should be the determination to attain the closest union with the divine Redeemer [...]. He should continually keep Christ before his eyes. Christ's commands, actions and example he should follow most assiduously, in the conviction that it is not enough for him to submit to the duties by which the faithful are bound, but that he must at a daily increasing pace pursue the perfection of life which the high dignity of a priest demands" (Pius XII, Menti Nostrae, 7). But, one might object, Christ never had any defect, never sinned, because his human nature was perfect and totally holy: is he not therefore too perfect a model for men who when it comes down to it are sinners? The answer is, No, not at all, for he himself said, "I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you" (Jn 13:15). Besides, when the text (v. 2) refers to "weakness" this may refer to two things -- the weakness of human nature (of man as creature), and the imperfection resulting from his faults and his passions. The former kind of defect is one Christ shares with us; the second is one he does not.
For this very reason, in the case of the priest, consciousness of his sins, plus his conviction that he has been called by Christ, moves him to be very committed to his apostolic ministry of reconciliation and penance; and in the first instance priests perform this ministry for one another. "Priests, who are consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and sent by Christ, mortify the works of the flesh in themselves and dedicate themselves completely to the service of people" (Vatican II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 12). As Pope John Paul II has stressed, "the priest's celebration of the Eucharist and administration of the other sacraments, his pastoral zeal, his relationship with the faithful, his communion with his brother priests, his collaboration with his bishop, his life of prayer -- in a word, the whole of his priestly existence -- suffers an inexorable decline if by negligence or for some other reason he fails to receive the sacrament of Penance at regular intervals and in a spirit of genuine faith and devotion. If a priest were no longer to go to confession or properly confess his sins, his priestly being and his priestly action would feel the effect of this very soon, and it would also be noticed by the community of which he was the pastor.
"But I also add that even in order to be a good and effective minister of Penance he priest needs to have recourse to the source of grace and holiness present in this sacrament. We priests, on the basis of our personal experience, can certainly say that, the more careful we are to receive the sacrament of Penance and to approach it frequently and with good dispositions, the better we fulfill our own ministry as confessors and ensure that our penitents benefit from it. And on the other hand this ministry would lose much of its effectiveness if in some way we were to stop being good penitents. Such is the internal logic of this great sacrament. It invites all of us priests of Christ to pay renewed attention to our personal confession" (Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia, 31).
What the Pope says here ultimately stems from the fact that "as ministers of the sacred mysteries, especially in the sacrifice of the Mass, priests act in a special way in the person of Christ who gave himself as a victim to sanctify men" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13).
In this way, "Christ the shepherd is present in the priest so as continually to ac- tualize the universal call to conversion and repentance which prepares for the coming of the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 4:17). He is present in order to make men understand that forgiveness of sins, the reconciliation of the soul and God, cannot be the outcome of a monologue, no matter how keen a person's capacity for reflection and self-criticism. He reminds us that no one, alone, can calm his own conscience; that the contrite heart must submit its sins to the Church – institution, to the man-priest, who in the sacrament of Penance is a permanent objective witness to the radical need which fallen humanity has of the man-God, the only Just One, the only Justifier" (A. del Potillo, On Priesthood, p. 62).
7-9. This brief summary of Christ's life stresses his perfect obedience to the Father's will, his intense prayer and his sufferings and redemptive death. As in the hymn to Christ in Philippians 2:6-11, the point is made that Christ set his power aside and, despite his being the only-begotten Son of God, out of obedience chose to die on the cross. His death was a true self-offering expressed in that "loud voice" when he cried out to the Father just before he died, "into thy hands I commit my spirit" (Lk 23:46). But although Jesus' obedience was most obvious on Calvary, it was a constant feature of "the days of his flesh": he obeyed Mary and Joseph, seeing in them the authority of the heavenly Father; he was obedient to political and religious authorities; and he always obeyed the Father, identifying himself with him to such a degree that he could say, "I have glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do [...]. All mine are thine and thine are mine" (Jn 17:4, 10).
The passage also points to Jesus prayer, the high point of which occurred in Gethsemane on the eve of his passion. The reference to "loud cries and supplications" recalls the Gospel account of his suffering: "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground" (Lk 22:44).
Hebrews 5:7-9 is probably referring not so much to his prayer in the Garden, still less to any prayer of Christ asking to be delivered from death, but to our Lord's constant prayer for the salvation of mankind. "When the Apostle speaks of these supplications and cries of Jesus," St John Chrysostom comments, "he does not mean prayers which he made on his own behalf but prayers for those who would later believe in him. And, due to the fact that the Jews did not yet have the elevated concept of Christ that they ought to have had, St Paul says that 'he was heard', just as the Lord himself told his disciples, to console them, 'If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I' [...]. Such was the respect and reverence shown by the Son, that God the Father could not but take note and heed his Son and his prayers" (Hom. on Heb, 11).
7. "In the days of his flesh", a reference to the Incarnation. "Flesh" is synonymous with mortal life; this is a reference to Christ's human nature--as in the prologue to St John's Gospel (elf. Jn 1:14) and many other places (Heb 2:14; Gal 2:20; Phil 1:22-24; 1 Pet 4:1-2) including where mention is made of Jesus being a servant and capable of suffering (cf. Phil 2:8; Mt 20:27-28). Jesus' human nature "in the days of his flesh" is quite different from his divine nature and also from his human nature after its glorification (cf. 1 Cor 15:50). "It must be said that the word 'flesh' is occasionally used to refer to the weakness of the flesh, as it says in 1 Cor 15:50: 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God'. Christ had a weak and mortal flesh. Therefore it says in the text, 'In the days of his flesh', referring to when he was living in a flesh which seemed to be like sinful flesh, but which was sinless" (St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Heb, 5, 1). So, this text underlines our Lord's being both Victim and Priest.
"Prayers and supplications": very fitting in a priest. The two words mean much the same; together they are a form of words which used to be employed in petitions to the king or some important official. The plural tells us that there were lots of these petitions. The writer seems to have in mind the picture of the Redeemer who "going a little farther fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Mt 26:39). St Thomas comments on this description of Christ's prayer as follows: "His action was indeed one of offering prayers and supplications, that is, a spiritual sacrifice: that was what Christ offered. It speaks of prayers in the sense of petitions because 'The prayer of a righteous man has great power' (Jas 5:16); and it speaks of supplications to emphasize the humility of the one who is praying, who falls on his knees, as we see happening in the case of him who 'fell on his face and prayed' (Mt 26:39)" (Commentary on Heb, 5, 1).
To emphasize the force of Christ's prayer, the writer adds, "with loud cries and tears". According to rabbinical teaching, there were three degrees of prayer, each stronger than the last--supplications, cries and tears. Christian tradition has always been touched by the humanity of the Redeemer as revealed in the way he prays. "Everything that is being said here may be summed up in one word-- humility: that stops the mouths of those who blaspheme against Christ's divinity saying that it is completely inappropriate for a God to act like this. For, on the contrary, the Godhead laid it down that [Christ's] human nature should suffer all this, in order to show us the extreme to which he truly became incarnate and assumed a human nature, and to show us that the mystery of salvation was accomplished in a real and not an apparent or fictitious manner" (Theodoret of Cyrus, lnterpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad loc.). Christ's prayer, moreover, teaches us that prayer must 1) be fervent and 2) involve interior pain. "Christ had both [fervor and pain], for the Apostle by mentioning 'tears' intends to show the interior groaning of him who weeps in this way [...]. But he did not weep on his own account: he wept for us, who receive the fruit of his passion" (St Thomas, Commentary on Heb., ad loc.).
"He was heard for his godly fear." St John Chrysostom's commentary is very apposite: "'He gave himself up for our sins', he says in Gal 1:4; and elsewhere (cf. 1 Tim 2:6) he adds, 'He gave himself as a ransom for all'. What does he mean by this? Do you not see that he is speaking with humility of himself, because of his mortal flesh? And, nevertheless, because he is the Son, it says that he was heard for his godly fear" (Hom. on Heb., 8). It is like a loving contention between Father and Son. The Son wins the Father's admiration, so generous is his self-surrender.
And yet Christ's prayer did not seem to be heeded, for his Father God did not save him from ignominious death--the cup he had to drink--nor were all the Jews, for whom he prayed, converted. But it was only apparently so: in fact Christ's prayer was heard. It is true that, like every one, the idea of dying was repugnant to him, because he had a natural instinct to live; but, on the other hand, he wished to die through a deliberate and rational act of his will, hence in the course of the prayer, he said, "not my will, but thine, be done" (Lk 22:42). Similarly Christ wanted to save all mankind--but he wanted them to accept salvation freely (cf. Commentary on Heb., ad loc.).
8. In Christ there are two perfect and complete natures and therefore two different levels of knowledge--divine knowledge and human knowledge. Christ's human knowledge includes 1) the knowledge that the blessed in heaven have, that is, the knowledge that comes from direct vision of the divine essence; 2) the knowledge with which God endowed man before original sin (infused knowledge); and 3) the knowledge which man acquires through experience. This last-mentioned knowledge could and in fact did increase (cf. Lk 2:52) in Christ's case. Christ's painful experience of the passion, for example, increased this last type of knowledge, which is why the verse says that Christ learned obedience through suffering. There was a Greek proverb which said, "Sufferings are lessons." Christ's teaching and example raise this positive view of suffering onto the supernatural level. "In 'suffering there is concealed' a particular 'power that draws a person interiorly close to Christ', a special grace [...]. A result of such a conversion is not only that the individual discovers the salvific meaning of suffering but above all that he becomes a completely new person. He discovers a new dimension, as it were, 'of his entire life and vocation'" (John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, 26).
In our Lord's case, his experience of suffering was connected with his generosity in obedience. He freely chose to obey even unto death (cf. Heb 10:5-9; Rom 5:19; Phil 2:8), consciously atoning for the first sin, a sin of disobedience. "In his suffering, sins are canceled out precisely because he alone as the only-begotten Son could take them upon himself, accept them 'with that love for the Father which overcomes' the evil of every sin; in a certain sense he annihilates this evil in the spiritual space of the relationship between God and humanity, and fills this space with good" (Salvifici Doloris, 17). Christ "learned obedience" not in the sense that this virtue developed in him, for his human nature was perfect in its holiness, but in the sense that he put into operation the infused virtue his human soul already possessed. "Christ knew what obedience was from all eternity, but he learned obedience in practice through the severities he underwent particularly in his passion and death" (St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Heb., ad loc.).
Christ's example of obedience is something we should copy. A Christian writer of the fifth century, Diadochus of Photike, wrote: "The Lord loved (obedience) because it was the way to bring about man's salvation and he obeyed his Father unto the cross and unto death; however, his obedience did not in any sense diminish his majesty. And so, having--by his obedience--dissolved man's disobedience, he chose to lead to blessed and immortal life those who followed the way of obedience" (Chapters on Spiritual Perfection, 41).
9. Obviously Christ as God could not increase in perfection. Nor could his sacred humanity become any holier, for from the moment of his Incarnation he received the fullness of grace, that is, he had the maximum degree of holiness a man could have. In this connection Thomas Aquinas points out that Christ had union (that is, the personal union to the Son of God gratuitously bestowed on human nature): clearly this grace is infinite as the person of the Word is infinite. The other grace is habitual grace which, although it is received in a limited human nature, is yet infinite in its perfection because grace was conferred on Christ as the universal source of the justification of human nature (cf. Summa Theologiae, III, q. 7, a. 11). In what sense, then, could Christ be "made perfect"? St Thomas provides the answer: Christ, through his passion, achieved a special glory--the impassibility and glorification of his body. Moreover, he attained the same perfections as we shall participate in when we are raised from the dead in glory, those of us who believe in him (cf. "Commentary on Heb., ad loc."). For this reason our Redeemer could exclaim before his death, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30)--referring not only to his own sacrifice but also to the fact that he had completely accomplished the redeeming atonement. Christ triumphed on the cross and attained perfection for himself and for others. In Hebrews the same verb is used for what is translated into English as "to be made perfect" and "to finish". Christ, moreover, by obeying and becoming a perfect victim, truly pleasing to the Father, is more perfectly positioned to perfect others. "Obedience" is essentially docility to what God asks of us and readiness to listen to him (cf. Rom 1:5; 16:26; 2 Cor 10:5; Heb 4:3). Christ's obedience is a source of salvation for us; if we imitate him we will truly form one body with him and he will be able to pass on to us the fullness of his grace.
"Now, when you find it hard to obey, remember your Lord: 'factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis": obedient even to accepting death, death on a cross!'" (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 628).
10. As the epistle repeatedly teaches, Christ is a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek". Two essential characteristics come together here: he is the eternal Son of God, as announced in the messianic Psalm 2:7: "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; and he is at the same time high priest not according to the order which God instituted with Aaron but according to the order of Melchizedek, also established by God. Further on the letter explains in what sense this "order of Melchizedek" is superior to that of Levi and Aaron. What it stresses at this point is the connection between Christ's priesthood and his divine sonship. Christ, the Son of God, was sent by the Father as Redeemer and mediator, and the mediation of Christ, who is God and true man, is exercised by way of priesthood. So, in the last analysis Christ is Priest both by virtue of being the Son of God and by virtue of his Incarnation as man. "The abyss of malice which sin opens up has been bridged by his infinite charity. God did not abandon men. His plans foresaw that the sacrifices of the Old Law would be insufficient to repair our faults and re-establish the unity which had been lost. A man who was God would have to offer himself up. To help us grasp in some measure this unfathomable mystery, we might imagine the Blessed Trinity taking counsel together in their uninterrupted intimate relationship of intimate love. As a result of their eternal decision, the only-begotten Son of God the Father takes on our human condition and bears the burden of our wretchedness and sorrow, to end up sewn with nails to a piece of wood" (St J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 95).
It was appropriate that the divine person who became incarnate should be the Son or Word, for "the Word has a kind of essential kinship not only with rational nature but also universally with the whole of creation, since the Word contains the essences of all things created by God, just as man the artist in the conception of his intellect comprehends the essences of all the products of art [...]. Wherefore all things are said to be made by the Word. Therefore, it was appropriate for Word to be joined to creature, that is, to human nature" (St Thomas, Summa Contra Gentiles, IV, 42). Finally, it was fitting that Redemption from sin should be brought about by way of a sacrifice offered by the same divine person. So it is that Christ, the only-begotten Son, to whom God said, "You are my son, today I have begotten you", is also the priest to whom God swears, "Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek".
A Discussion on Fasting
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[18] Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to Him (Jesus): "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" [19] And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. [20] The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. [21] No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. [22] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins."
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Commentary:
18-22. Using a particular case, Christ's reply tells about the connection between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament the Bridegroom has not yet arrived; in the New Testament He is present, in the person of Christ. With Him began the Messianic Times, a new era distinct from the previous one. The Jewish fasts, therefore, together with their system of religious observances, must be seen as a way of preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. Christ shows the difference between the spirit He has brought and that of the Judaism of His time. This new spirit will not be something extra, added on to the old; it will bring to life the perennial teachings contained in the older Revelation. The newness of the Gospel--just like new wine--cannot fit within the molds of the Old Law.
But this passage says more: to receive Christ's new teaching people must inwardly renew themselves and throw off the straight-jacket of old routines.
19-20. Jesus describes Himself as the Bridegroom (cf. also Luke 12:35; Matthew 25:1-13; John 3:29), thereby fulfilling what the Prophets had said about the relationship between God and His people (cf. Hosea 2:18-22; Isaiah 54:5ff). The Apostles are the guests at the wedding, invited to share in the wedding feast with the Bridegroom, in the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 22:1-14).
In verse 20 Jesus announces that the Bridegroom will be taken away from them: this is the first reference He makes to His passion and death (cf. Mark 8:31; John 2:19; 3:14). The vision of joy and sorrow we see here epitomizes our human condition during our sojourn on earth.
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About the relevance of fasting. I have my doubts.
When I look at the stricter Eastern Orthodox and the stricter Muslims (not the ones that feast in the nights), I also think that fasting in the stricter sense of really not eating anything for a long period of time and also foregoing certain foods for 40 days can be spiritually enlightening.
Or at least it was for me — I can basically afford to eat my favorite foods everyday. But if everything is available all the time, then we lose the value of it.
Taking a shallow example - pączki or the Polish doughtnuts. Poland has a big version of Shrove Tuesday called Fatty Tuesday when everyone finished the doughnuts etc.
The bakeries have a field day (and the quality of doughnuts plummets as the quantity skyrockets). But the next day and every day after that, there are still doughnuts available. So that day loses meaning.
If we don’t experience want, we get jaded, expecting everything and expecting nothing.
I personally feel a stricter fasting helps ME spiritually. What do you think?
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