Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 07-27-2021;

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 13

13:36–43

36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

CHRYSOSTOM. The Lord had spoken to the multitude in parables, that He might induce them to ask Him of their meaning; yet, though He had spoken so many things in parables, no man had yet asked Him aught, and therefore He sends them away; Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house. None of the Scribes followed Him here, from which it is clear that they followed Him for no other purpose than that they might catch Him in His discourse.

JEROME. The Lord sends away the multitude, and enters the house that His disciples might come to Him and ask Him privately of those things which the people neither deserved to hear, nor were able.

RABANUS. Figuratively; Having sent away the multitude of unquiet Jews, He enters the Church of the Gentiles, and there expounds to believers heavenly sacraments, whence it follows, And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.

CHRYSOSTOM. Before, though desirous to learn, they had feared to ask; but now they ask freely and confidently because they had heard, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven; and therefore they ask when alone, not envying the multitude to whom it was not so given. They pass over the parables of the leaven and the mustard-seed as plain; and ask concerning the parable of the tares, which has some agreement with the foregoing parable concerning the seed, and shews somewhat more than that. And accordingly the Lord expounds it to them, as it follows, He answered and said unto them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man.

REMIGIUS. The Lord styles Himself the Son of Man, that in that title He might set an example of humility; or perhaps because it was to come to pass that certain heretics would deny Him to be really man; or that through belief in His Humanity we might ascend to knowledge of His Divinity.

CHRYSOSTOM. The field is the world. Seeing it is He that sows His own field, it is plain that this present world is His. It follows, The good seed are the children of the kingdom.

REMIGIUS. That is, the saints, and elect men, who are counted as sons.

AUGUSTINE. (cont. Faust. xviii. 7.) The tares the Lord expounds to mean, not as Manichæus interprets, certain spurious parts inserted among the true Scriptures, but all the children of the Evil one, that is, the imitators of the fraud of the Devil. As it follows, The tares are the children of the evil one, by whom He would have us understand all the wicked and impious.

AUGUSTINE. (Quæst. Ev. i. 10.) For all weeds among corn are called tares. It follows, The enemy who sowed this is the Devil.

CHRYSOSTOM. For this is part of the wiles of the Devil, to be ever mixing up truth with error. The harvest is the end of the world. In another place He says, speaking of the Samaritans, Lift up your eyes, and consider the fields that they are already white for the harvest; (John 4:35.) and again, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few, (Luke 10:2.) in which words He speaks of the harvest as being already present. How then does He here speak of it as something yet to come? Because He has used the figure of the harvest in two significations as He says there that it is one that soweth, and another that reapeth; but here it is the same who both sows and reaps; indeed there He brings forward the Prophets, not to distinguish them from Himself, but from the Apostles, for Christ Himself by His Prophets sowed among the Jews and Samaritans. The figure of harvest is thus applied to two different things. Speaking of first conviction and turning to the faith, He calls that the harvest, as that in which the whole is accomplished; but when He enquires into the fruits ensuing upon the hearing the word of God, then He calls the end of the world the harvest, as here.

REMIGIUS. By the harvest is denoted the day of judgment, in which the good are to be separated from the evil; which will be done by the ministry of Angels, as it is said below, that the Son of Man shall come to judgment with His Angels. As then the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and them which do iniquity.

AUGUSTINE. (De Civ. Dei. xx. 9.) Out of that kingdom in which are no offences? The kingdom then is His kingdom which is here, namely, the Church.

AUGUSTINE. (Quæst. Ev. i. 10.) That the tares are first separated, signifies that by tribulation the wicked shall be separated from the righteous; and this is understood to be performed by good Angels, because the good can discharge duties of punishment with a good spirit, as a judge, or as the Law, but the wicked cannot fulfil offices of mercy.

CHRYSOSTOM. Or we may understand it of the kingdom of the heavenly Church; and then there will be held out here a two-fold punishment; first that they fall from glory as that is said, And they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, to the end, that no offences should be seen in His kingdom; and then that they are burned. And they shall cast them into a furnace of fire.

JEROME. The offences are to be referred to the tares.

GLOSS. (non occ.) The offences, and, them that do iniquity, are to be distinguished as heretics and schismatics; the offences referring to heretics; while by them that do iniquity are to be understood schismatics. Otherwise; By offences may be understood those that give their neighbour an occasion of falling, by those that do iniquity all other sinners.

RABANUS. Observe, He says, Those that do iniquity, not, those who have done; because not they who have turned to penitence, but they only that abide in their sins are to be delivered to eternal torments.

CHRYSOSTOM. Behold the unspeakable love of God towards men! He is ready to shew mercy, slow to punish; when He sows, He sows Himself; when He punishes, He punishes by others, sending His Angels to that. It follows, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

REMIGIUS. In these words is shewn the reality of the resurrection of the body; and further, the twofold pains of hell, extreme heat, and extreme cold. And as the offences are referred to the tares, so the righteous are reckoned among the children of the kingdom; concerning whom it follows, Then the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. For in the present world the light of the saints shines before men, but after the consummation of all things, the righteous themselves shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

CHRYSOSTOM. Not that they shall not shine with higher brightness, but because we know no degree of brightness that surpasses that of the sun, therefore He uses an example adapted to our understanding.

REMIGIUS. That He says, Then shall they shine, implies that they now shine for an example to others, but they shall then shine as the sun to the praise of God. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

RABANUS. That is, Let him understand who has understanding, because all these things are to be understood mystically, and not literally.

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 13
36.	Then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying: Expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field.	Tunc, dimissis turbis, venit in domum : et accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus, dicentes : Edissere nobis parabolam zizaniorum agri.	τοτε αφεις τους οχλους ηλθεν εις την οικιαν ο ιησους και προσηλθον αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου λεγοντες φρασον ημιν την παραβολην των ζιζανιων του αγρου
37.	Who made answer and said to them: He that soweth the good seed, is the Son of man.	Qui respondens ait illis : Qui seminat bonum semen, est Filius hominis.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου
38.	And the field, is the world. And the good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one.	Ager autem est mundus. Bonum vero semen, hi sunt filii regnum. Zizania autem, filii sunt nequam.	ο δε αγρος εστιν ο κοσμος το δε καλον σπερμα ουτοι εισιν οι υιοι της βασιλειας τα δε ζιζανια εισιν οι υιοι του πονηρου
39.	And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.	Inimicus autem, qui seminavit ea, est diabolus. Messis vero, consummatio sæculi est. Messores autem, angeli sunt.	ο δε εχθρος ο σπειρας αυτα εστιν ο διαβολος ο δε θερισμος συντελεια του αιωνος εστιν οι δε θερισται αγγελοι εισιν
40.	Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world.	Sicut ergo colliguntur zizania, et igni comburuntur : sic erit in consummatione sæculi.	ωσπερ ουν συλλεγεται τα ζιζανια και πυρι καιεται ουτως εσται εν τη συντελεια του αιωνος τουτου
41.	The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity.	Mittet Filius hominis angelos suos, et colligent de regno ejus omnia scandala, et eos qui faciunt iniquitatem :	αποστελει ο υιος του ανθρωπου τους αγγελους αυτου και συλλεξουσιν εκ της βασιλειας αυτου παντα τα σκανδαλα και τους ποιουντας την ανομιαν
42.	And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.	et mittent eos in caminum ignis. Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium.	και βαλουσιν αυτους εις την καμινον του πυρος εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων
43.	Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.	Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum. Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.	τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω

Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia

Physician and Martyr (†303)

Saint Pantaleon was born in Nicomedia of a pagan father and a Christian mother, who died while her son was still a child. He was among the court physicians of the Emperor Galerius Maximianus. Deceived by hearing the false maxims of the world applauded, he was without religion when God decided to rescue his soul from its unhappy darkness. A zealous and prudent Christian named Hermolaus took special notice of him and awakened his conscience, telling him that although the famous physicians of ancient times had possessed the science which cures bodies, Jesus Christ was a far more excellent Physician, able to cure not only bodies, but souls, by His divine doctrine. Hermolaus succeeded in bringing him into the fold of the Church.

The young Christian strove to procure for his father the same grace he himself had received, and his words had already begun to separate his father from his idols, when one day a blind man, led by friends, came to the door and begged Pantaleon to cure him. His father was present and heard the promise his son made to this man to do so, if he would give to the poor the money he was offering him. The father was amazed and feared that the promise could not be fulfilled. But the young Saint prayed and touched the eyes of the blind man, invoking the name of Jesus Christ, and his eyes were opened. Pantaleon’s father and the blind man were both baptized as a result of this miracle. When Eustorgus, his father, died, Saint Pantaleon liberated all his slaves and, having sold most of his possessions, gave to the liberated ones and others the assistance their poverty required. He cured other illnesses and soon became renowned in Nicomedia.

Saint Pantaleon, being a very sincere penitent, ardently wished to expiate his former idolatry by the martyrdom he could foresee. When a bloody persecution broke out at Nicomedia in 303, the blind man he had cured was beheaded upon refusing to admit that it was the gods who had cured him. Saint Pantaleon, to prepare himself for the imminent combat, distributed all he had left among the poor. Not long after this act of charity he was arrested and subjected to various tortures, during which he was preserved from death. Three other Christians, of whom one was Hermolaus, were apprehended. After suffering many torments, the four confessors were all sentenced to be beheaded.

The relics of Saint Pantaleon were translated to Constantinople, and there received great honor. His blood, conserved in a small vial, is said to liquefy on his feast day and become oxygenated. Charlemagne brought a part of his relics into France, where they are presently divided again, a portion being in the abbey of Saint Denys near Paris, and the head at Lyons. Saint Pantaleon, whose name means the “all-compassionate one,” is the patron of physicians.

Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 9.

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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

From: Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28

The Tent of Meeting
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[7] Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And every one who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. [8] Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and very man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent.

[5] (God) stood with him (Moses) there, and (Moses) proclaimed the name of the Lord.

God Appears
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[6] The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, [7] keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." [8] And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshiped. [9] And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, 0 Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."

The Ritual Decalogue (Continuation)
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[28] And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

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Commentary:

33:7-11. The tent of meeting, sometimes called the tent of witness, and also the sanctuary, normally means the main tent in the sacred precinct (cf. chaps. 25-27). Here, however, it seems to be different firm the sanctuary, because the sanctuary was located in the center of the encampment and was a place of worship, whereas this tent is pitched away from the camp and is used for consultation. This discrepancy may well be due to the fact that this passage belonged to an older tradition than the Priestly one. Whereas the Priestly tradition lays the stress on matters to do with worship, the earlier one would have focused more on social matters.

The sacred writer, through this account, is showing that God continues to be present but at a certain distance, and that only Moses has the privilege of speaking to him "face to face" (cf. 33:20). The people are simply the silent witnesses of the conversations which take place between God and Moses, but God still shows them special favor.

34:1-28. This chapter narrating the renewal of the Covenant follows the same pattern as the account of its original establishment (cf. Ex 19-24); but it is shorter, concentrating on the two main protagonists, God and Moses. Thus, it begins with the preparations for the theophany and for the encounter with the Lord (vv. 1-5); then follows the revelation of God, and Moses' prayer (vv. 6-9); and it ends with the renewal of the Covenant and the so-called Rite of the Covenant (vv. 10-28). The account hinges on the remaking of the tables of stone after the sin of the golden calf; the tables symbolize God's offer to keep to the pact and never to go back on it.

34:1-5. The theophany is described very soberly here, but it has exactly the same elements as given in chapter 19: very careful preparation by Moses (v 2; cf. 19:10-11.); the people forbidden to approach the mountain (v.3; cf. 19:12-13); God appearing wrapped in the cloud (v. 5; cf. 19:16-20).

Comparing the two accounts, this one says less about the transcendence of God and puts more stress on his closeness to Moses: "he stood with him there" (v. 5). God's initiative in drawing close to man is clear to see; it lies at the very basis of the Covenant.

"He proclaimed the name of the Lord" (v. 6); the context would suggest that it is Moses who proclaims the name of the Lord, but the Hebrew could indeed be as the RSV has it, "and he proclaimed his name, 'Lord' ". The same wording appears in v. 6 implying that it is the Lord who is "proclaiming", defining himself as he promised he would (cf 33:19). The sacred writer may have intentionally left these words open to either interpretation; whether spoken by Moses or said directly by God, they are equal from the revelation point of view.

34:6-7. In response to Moses' pleading, the Lord makes himself manifest The solemn repetition of the name of Yahweh (Lord) emphasizes that the Lord is introducing himself liturgically to the assembled Israelites. In the description of himself which follows (and which is repeated elsewhere, cf 20:5-6; Num 14:18; Deut 5:9-18; etc.), two key attributes of God are underlined--justice and mercy. God cannot let sin go unpunished, nor does he; the prophets, too, will teach that sin is, first and foremost, something personal (cf. Jer 31:29; Ezek I 8:2ff). But this ancient text refers only in a general way to the fact that God is just, and puts more stress on his mercy. A person who is conscious of his own sin has access to God only if he is sure that God can and will forgive him. "The concept of 'mercy' in the Old Testament," John Paul II comments, "has a long and rich history. We have to refer back to it in order that the mercy revealed by Christ may shine forth more clearly. [...] Sin too constitutes man's misery. The people of the Old Covenant experienced this misery from the time of the Exodus, when they set up the golden calf. The Lord himself triumphed over this act of breaking the covenant when he solemnly declared to Moses that he was a 'God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness' (Ex 34:6). It is in this central revelation that the chosen people, and each of its members, will find, every time that they have sinned, the strength and the motive for turning to the Lord to remind him of what he had exactly revealed about himself and to beseech his forgiveness" (Dives In Misericordia, 4). On "God's jealousy", see the note on 20:5-6.

[The note on 20:5-6 states: "A jealous God": an antropomorphism emphasizing the uniqueness of God. Since he is the only true God, he cannot abide either the worship of other gods (cf. 34:14) or worship of idols. Idolatry is the gravest and most condemned sin in the Bible (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2113). Those in charge of worship in the temple are described as being "jealous" for the Lord (cf. Num 25:13; 1 Kings 19:10, 14), because they have to watch to ensure that no deviations occur. When expelling the money-changers from the temple (Jn 2:17), Jesus refers to this aspect of priests' responsibility: "Zeal for thy house has consumed me" (Ps 69:9).

On the Lord's merciful retribution, cf. the note on Ex 34:6-7.]

34:8-9. Moses once more implores the Lord on behalf of his people; he makes three requests, which sum up many earlier petitions: he begs God to stay with the people and protect them in their hazardous journeying in the desert (cf. 33:15-17), to forgive the very grave sin they have committed (cf. 32:11-14), and finally to make them his own property, thereby distinguishing them from all other peoples (cf. 33:16) and restoring them to their status as "his own possession" (cf. 19:5). These three requests are ones that were constantly on the lips of the people of Israel and in the hearts of everyone who acknowledges God (cf. Ps 86:1-15; 103:8-10; etc.).

34:7-8. The conclusion of the Covenant is described as soberly as its introduction (v. 10). On the meaning of the forty days, see the note on 24:12-18.

[The note on 24:12-18 states:

...then Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days, in close contact with the Lord. These periods of time are not meant to be exact but rather to show how intense Moses' relationship with God was; they will be evoked when important events are narrated later: thus, Elijah walked for forty days in search of God (cf. 1 Kings 19:8) and Jesus will spend forty days in the desert before beginning his public life (cf. Mt 4:2).]

From: Matthew 13:36-43

The Parable of the Weeds Explained
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[36] Then He (Jesus) left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." [37] He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; [38] the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the Kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, [39] and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all causes of sin and evildoers, [42] and throw them out into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

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Commentary:

36-43. While making its way on earth, the Church is composed of good and bad people, just men and sinners: they are mixed in with one another until the harvest time, the end of the world, when the Son of Man, in His capacity as Judge of the living and the dead, will divide the good from the bad at the Last Judgment--the former going to eternal glory, the inheritance of the saints; the latter, to the eternal fire of Hell. Although the just and the sinners are now side by side, the Church has the right and the duty to exclude those who cause scandal, especially those who attack its doctrine and unity; this is can do through ecclesiastical excommunication and other canonical penalties. However, excommunication has a medicinal and pastoral function—to correct those who are obstinate in error, and to protect others from them.

Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

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Readings at Mass

'They are a headstrong people; but forgive us our faults'

As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so it will be at the end of time

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 13

Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia