St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church – New York City, NY
Posted on 02/13/2021 6:26:20 AM PST by annalex
| First reading | Genesis 3:9-24 © |
|---|
| Responsorial Psalm |
|---|
| Psalm 89(90):2-6,12-13 © |
| Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
|---|
| Gospel | Mark 8:1-10 © |
|---|
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.
You can also view this page with the Gospel in Greek and English.
KEYWORDS: catholic; mk8; ordinarytime; prayer;
Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.
| Mark | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Mark 8 | |||
| 1. | IN those days again, when there was a great multitude, and had nothing to eat; calling his disciples together, he saith to them: | In diebus illis iterum cum turba multa esset, nec haberent quod manducarent, convocatis discipulis, ait illis : | εν εκειναις ταις ημεραις παμπολλου οχλου οντος και μη εχοντων τι φαγωσιν προσκαλεσαμενος ο ιησους τους μαθητας αυτου λεγει αυτοις |
| 2. | I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. | Misereor super turbam : quia ecce jam triduo sustinent me, nec habent quod manducent : | σπλαγχνιζομαι επι τον οχλον οτι ηδη ημεραι τρεις προσμενουσιν μοι και ουκ εχουσιν τι φαγωσιν |
| 3. | And if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; for some of them came from afar off. | et si dimisero eos jejunos in domum suam, deficient in via : quidam enim ex eis de longe venerunt. | και εαν απολυσω αυτους νηστεις εις οικον αυτων εκλυθησονται εν τη οδω τινες γαρ αυτων μακροθεν ηκουσιν |
| 4. | And his disciples answered him: From whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilderness? | Et responderunt ei discipuli sui : Unde illos quis poterit saturare panibus in solitudine ? | και απεκριθησαν αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου ποθεν τουτους δυνησεται τις ωδε χορτασαι αρτων επ ερημιας |
| 5. | And he asked them: How many loaves have ye? Who said: Seven. | Et interrogavit eos : Quot panes habetis ? Qui dixerunt : Septem. | και επηρωτα αυτους ποσους εχετε αρτους οι δε ειπον επτα |
| 6. | And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke, and gave to his disciples for to set before them; and they set them before the people. | Et præcepit turbæ discumbere super terram. Et accipiens septem panes, gratias agens fregit, et dabat discipulis suis ut apponerent, et apposuerunt turbæ. | και παρηγγειλεν τω οχλω αναπεσειν επι της γης και λαβων τους επτα αρτους ευχαριστησας εκλασεν και εδιδου τοις μαθηταις αυτου ινα παραθωσιν και παρεθηκαν τω οχλω |
| 7. | And they had a few little fishes; and he blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. | Et habebant pisciculos paucos : et ipsos benedixit, et jussit apponi. | και ειχον ιχθυδια ολιγα και ευλογησας ειπεν παραθειναι και αυτα |
| 8. | And they did eat and were filled; and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. | Et manducaverunt, et saturati sunt, et sustulerunt quod superaverat de fragmentis, septem sportas. | εφαγον δε και εχορτασθησαν και ηραν περισσευματα κλασματων επτα σπυριδας |
| 9. | And they that had eaten were about four thousand; and he sent them away. | Erant autem qui manducaverunt, quasi quatuor millia : et dimisit eos. | ησαν δε οι φαγοντες ως τετρακισχιλιοι και απελυσεν αυτους |
| 10. | And immediately going up into a ship with his disciples, he came into the parts of Dalmanutha. | Et statim ascendens navim cum discipulis suis, venit in partes Dalmanutha. | και ευθεως εμβας εις το πλοιον μετα των μαθητων αυτου ηλθεν εις τα μερη δαλμανουθα |
8:1–9
1. In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
2. I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
3. And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
4. And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness.
5. And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
6. And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
7. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
8. So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
9. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
THEOPHYLACT. After the Lord had performed the former miracle concerning the multiplication of the loaves, now again, a fitting occasion presents itself, and He takes the opportunity of working a similar miracle; wherefore it is said, In those days, the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and, saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. For He did not always work miracles concerning the feeding of the multitude, lest they should follow Him for the sake of food; now therefore He would not have performed this miracle, if He had not seen that the multitude was in danger. Wherefore it goes on: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
BEDE. (in Marc. 2, 32) Why they who came from afar hold out for three days, Matthew says more fully: And he went up into a mountain, and sat down there, and great multitudes came unto him, having with them many sick persons, and cast them down at Jesus feet, and he healed them. (v. Matt. 15:29)
THEOPHYLACT. The disciples did not yet understand, nor did they believe in His virtue, notwithstanding former miracles; wherefore it continues, And his disciples said unto him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? But the Lord Himself does not blame them, teaching us that we should not be grievously angry with ignorant men and those who do not understand, but bear with their ignorance. After this it continues, And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? and they answered, Seven.
REMIGIUS. Ignorance was not His reason for asking them, but that from their answering seven, the miracle might be noised abroad, and become more known in proportion to the smallness of the number. It goes on: And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground. In the former feeding they lay down on grass, in this one on the ground. It continues, And he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake. In giving thanks, He has left us an example, that for all gifts conferred on us from heaven we should return thanks to Him. And it is to be remarked, that our Lord did not give the bread to the people, but to His disciples, and the disciples to the people; for it goes on, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. And not only the bread, but the fish also He blessed, and ordered to be set before them. For there comes after, And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) In this passage then we should notice, in one and the same, our Redeemer, a distinct operation of Divinity and of Manhood; thus the error of Eutyches1, who presumes to lay down the doctrine of one only operation in Christ, is to be cast out far from the Christian pale. For who does not here see that the pity of our Lord for the multitude is the feeling and sympathy of humanity; and that at the same time His satisfying four thousand men with seven loaves and a few fishes, is a work of Divine virtue? It goes on, And they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
THEOPHYLACT. The multitudes who ate and were filled did not take with them the remains of the loaves, but the disciples took them up, as they did before the baskets. In which we learn according to the narration, that we should be content with what is sufficient, and not look for any thing beyond. The number of those who ate is put down, when it is said, And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away; where we may see that Christ sends no one away fasting, for He wishes all to be nourished by His grace.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) The typical difference between this feeding and the other of the five loaves and two fishes, is, that there the letter of the Old Testament, full of spiritual grace, is signified, but here the truth and grace of the New Testament, which is to be ministered to all the faithful, is pointed out. Now the multitude remains three days, waiting for the Lord to heal their sick, as Matthew relates, when the elect, in the faith of the Holy Trinity, supplicate for sins, with persevering earnestness; or because they turn themselves to the Lord in deed, in word, and in thought.
THEOPHYLACT. Or by those who wait for three days, He means the baptized; for baptism is called illumination, and is performed by trine immersion.
GREGORY. (Mor. 1, 19) He does not however wish to dismiss them fasting, lest they should faint by the way; for it is necessary that men should find in what is preached the word of consolation, lest hungering through want of the food of truth, they sink under the toil of this life.
AMBROSE. (in Luc. 6:73) The good Lord indeed whilst He requires diligence, gives strength; nor will He dismiss them fasting, lest they faint by the way, that is, either in the course of this life, or before they have reached the fountainhead head of life, that is, the Father, and have learnt that Christ is of the Father, lest haply, after receiving that He is born of a virgin, they begin to esteem His virtue not that of God, but of a man. Therefore the Lord Jesus divides the food, and His will indeed is to give to all, to deny none; He is the Dispenser of all things, but if thou refusest to stretch forth thy hand to receive the food, thou wilt faint by the way, nor canst thou find fault with Him, who pities and divides.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) But they who return to repentance after the crimes of the flesh, after thefts, violence, and murders, come to the Lord from afar; for in proportion as a man has wandered farther in evil working, so he has wandered farther from Almighty God. The believers amongst the Gentiles came from afar to Christ, but the Jews from near, for they had been taught concerning Him by the letter of the law and the prophets. In the former case, however, of the feeding with five loaves, the multitude lay upon the green grass; here, however, upon the ground, because by the writing of the law, we are ordered to keep under the desires of the flesh, but in the New Testament we are ordered to leave even the earth itself and our temporal goods.
THEOPHYLACT. Further, the seven loaves are spiritual discourses, for seven is the number, which points out the Holy Ghost, who perfects all things; for our life is perfected in the number of seven days’d.
PSEUDO-JEROME. Or else, the seven loaves are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fragments of the loaves are the mystical understanding of the1 first week.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) For our Lord’s breaking the bread means the opening of mysteries; His giving of thanks shews how great a joy He feels in the salvation of the human race; His giving the loaves to His disciples that they might set them before the people, signifies that He assigns the spiritual gifts of knowledge to the Apostles, and that it was His will that by their ministry the food of life should be distributed to the Church.
PSEUDO-JEROME. The small fishes blessed are the books of the New Testament, for our Lord when risen asks for a piece of broiled fish;1 or else in these little fishes, we receive the saints, seeing that in the Scriptures of the New Testament are contained the faith, life, and sufferings of them who, snatched away from the troubled waves of this world, have given us by their example spiritual refreshment.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) Again, what was over and above, after the multitude was refreshed, the Apostles take up, because the higher precepts of perfection, to which the multitude cannot attain, belong to those whose life transcends that of the generality of the people of God; nevertheless, the multitude is said to have been satisfied, because though they cannot leave all that they possess, nor come up to that which is spoken of virgins, yet by listening to the commands of the law of God, they attain to everlasting life.
PSEUDO-JEROME. Again, the seven baskets are the seven Churches. By the four thousand is meant the year of the new dispensation, with its four seasons. Fitly also are there four thousand, that in the number itself it might be taught us that they were filled with the food of the Gospel.
THEOPHYLACT. Or there are four thousand, that is, men perfect in the four virtues; and for this reason, as being more advanced, they ate more, and left fewer fragments. For in this miracle, seven baskets full remain, but in the miracle of the five loaves, twelve, for there were five thousand men, which means men enslaved to the five senses, and for this reason they could not eat, but were satisfied with little, and many remains of the fragments were over and above.
Catena Aurea Mark 8
For: Saturday, February 13, 2021
5th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: Our Lady's Saturday
From: Genesis 3:9-24
Temptation and the First Sin (Continuation)
--------------------------------------------------------------
[9] But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" [10] And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." [11] He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" [12] The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." [13] Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate." [14] The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
[16] To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. [17] And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; [18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. [19] "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
[20] The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Adam and Eve are Expelled from Paradise
-------------------------------------------------------------
[21] And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
[22] Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever"--[23] therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. [24] He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
******************************************************************
Commentary:
3:7-13. This passage begins the description of the effects of the original sin. Man and woman have come to know evil, and it shows, initially, in a most direct way-- in their own bodies. The inner harmony described in Genesis 2:25 is broken, and concupiscence rears its head. Their friendship with God is also broken, and they flee from his presence, to avoid their nakedness being seen. As if his Creator could not see them! The harmony between man and woman is also fractured: he puts the blame on her, and she puts it on the serpent. But all three share in the responsibility, and therefore all three are going to pay the penalty.
"The harmony in which they found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions (cf. Gen 3:7-16), their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man (cf. Gen 3:17, 19). Because of man, creation is now subject 'to its bondage to decay' (Rom 8:21). Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will 'return to the ground' (Gen 3:19), for out of it he was taken. "Death makes its entrance into human history" (cf. Rom 5:12)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 400).
3:14-15. The punishment God imposes on the serpent includes confrontation between woman and the serpent, between mankind and evil, with the promise that man will come out on top. That is why this passage is called the "Proto-gospel": it is the first announcement to mankind of the good news of the Redeemer-Messiah. Clearly, a bruise to the head is deadly, whereas a bruise to the heel is curable.
As the Second Vatican Council teaches, "God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, (cf. Jn 1:3), provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities (cf. Rom 1:19-20). And furthermore, wishing to open up the way to heavenly salvation, by promising redemption (cf. Gen 3:15); and he has never ceased to take care of the human race. For he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in well-doing (cf. Rom 2:6-7)" (Dei Verbum, 3).
Victory over the devil will be brought about by a descendant of the woman, the Messiah. The Church has always read these verses as being messianic, referring to Jesus Christ; and it was seen in the woman the mother of the promised Savior; the Virgin Mary is the new Eve. "The earliest documents, as they are read in the Church and are understood in the light of a further and full revelation, bring the figure of a woman, Mother of the Redeemer, into a gradually clearer light. Considered in this light, she is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent which was given to our first parents after their fall into sin (cf. Gen 3:15) [...]. Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with Irenaeus in their preaching: 'the knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith' (St Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3, 22, 4). Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her 'Mother of the living' (St Epiphanius, Adv. Haer. Panarium 78, 18) and frequently claim: 'death through Eve, life through Mary' (St Jerome, Epistula 22, 21; etc.)" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 55-56).
So, woman is going to have a key role in that victory over the devil. In his Latin translation of the Bible, the "Vulgate", St Jerome in fact reads the relevant passage as "she [the woman] shall bruise your head". That woman is the Blessed Virgin, the new Eve and the mother of the Redeemer, who shares (by anticipation and preeminently) in the victory of her Son. Sin never left its mark on her, and the Church proclaims her as the Immaculate Conception.
St Thomas explains that the reason why God did not prevent the first man from sinning was because "God allows evils to be done in order to draw forth some greater good. Thus St Paul says, 'Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more' (Rom 5:20); and the Exultet sings, 'O happy fault,...which gained for us so great a Redeemer'" (Summa Theologiae, 3, 1, 3 and 3; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 412).
3:16. Turning to the woman, God tells her what effects sin is going to have on her, as a mother and a wife. The pain of childbirth also points to the presence of physical pain in mankind, as a consequence of sin. Sin is also the cause of disorder in family life, especially between husband and wife: the text expressly instances a husband's despotic behavior towards his wife. Discrimination against women is here seen as the outcome of sin; it is something, therefore, that the Bible regards as evil. Sin is also the reason why people fail to appreciate the dignity of marriage and the family--a widespread failing denounced by the Second Vatican Council: "the dignity of these partnerships is not reflected everywhere, but is overshadowed by polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love, and similar blemishes: furthermore, married love is too often dishonored by selfishness, hedonism, and unlawful contraceptive practices. Besides, the economic, social, psychological, and civil climate of today has a severely disturbing effect on family life" (Gaudium Et Spes, 47).
3:17-19 The effects of sin that man is warned about are closely connected with his God-given mission--to till and keep the garden, or, to put it another way, to master the earth by means of his activity, work. The harmony between man and nature has been shattered through sin: from now on man is going to find work burdensome and it will cause him much distress. Thus, the effects of sin are all the various kinds of injustice which are to be found in the world of work and in man's control over the goods of the earth. God meant the earth and all that it contains benefit all mankind, but what in fact happens is that "in the midst of huge numbers deprived of the absolute necessities of life there are some who live in riches and squander their wealth; and this happens in less developed areas as well. Luxury and misery exist side by side. While a few individuals enjoy an almost unlimited opportunity to choose for themselves, the vast majority have no chance whatever of exercising personal initiative and responsibility, and quite often have to live and work in conditions unworthy of human beings" (Vatican II, Gaudium Et Spes, 63)
The consequences of sin will stay with man until he returns to the earth, that is, until he dies. However, God does not immediately put into effect what he threatened in Genesis 2:17; man continues to live on earth, but he is destined to die. It is in this sense that St Paul explains human existence, in the light of the work of Christ whom he sees as being the second Adam: 'Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, [...] so death spread to all men because all men sinned. [..] If, because of one man's trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:12, 17).
3:21-24. Even after the fall, God still takes care of man. Man will continue to populate the earth, in spite of death, thanks to woman's role as mother. God comes to the rescue of man's nakedness, which made him feel so afraid and ashamed. Man's place in history emerges with his expulsion from paradise. He now knows good and evil; he is deprived of the happiness for which he was created and, with death as his fate, he yearns for the immortality which in fact belongs to God alone. This is the human condition; it affects everyone and its cause lies in sin. Thus, "we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected "the human nature" that they would then transmit "in a fallen state" (cf. Council of Trent, De Peccato Originali). It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called 'sin' only in an analogical sense: it is a sin 'contracted' and not 'committed'--a state and not an act" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 404).
Second Miracle of the Loaves
-------------------------------------------
[1] In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, He (Jesus) called His disciples to Him, and said to them, [2] "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat; [3] and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way." [4] And His disciples answered Him, "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?" [5] And He asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven." [6] And He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. [7] And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He commanded that these also should be set before them. [8] And they ate, and were satisfied; and took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. [9] And there were about four thousand people. [10] And He sent them away; and immediately He got into the boat with His disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
**********************************************************************
Commentary:
1-9. Jesus repeats the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish: the first time (Mark 6:33-44) He acted because He saw a huge crowd like "sheep without a shepherd"; now He takes pity on them because they have been with Him for three days and have nothing to eat.
This miracle shows how Christ rewards people who persevere in following Him: the crowd had been hanging on His words, forgetful of everything else. We should be like them, attentive and ready to do what He commands, without any vain concern about the future, for that would amount to distrusting Divine Providence.
10. "Dalmanutha": this must have been somewhere near the Lake of Gennesaret, but it is difficult to localize it more exactly. This is the only time it is mentioned in Sacred Scripture. In the parallel passage in St. Matthew (15:39) Magadan (sometime Magdala) is mentioned.
Logical Bible Study podcast on the daily mass Gospel reading for Saturday, February 13, 2021. Today's Gospel reading is Mark 8:1-10 - 'The feeding of the four thousand.'
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.