Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 6-Dec-2021: Mikołajki / Feast of St. Nicholas

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 5

5:17–26

17. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

18. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21. And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22. But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23. Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thine house.

25. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. The Scribes and Pharisees who had become spectators of Christ’s miracles, heard Him also teaching. Hence it is said, And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees sitting by, &c. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Not as though He borrowed the power of another, but as God and the Lord He healed by His own inherent power. Now men often become worthy of spiritual gifts, but generally depart from the rule which the giver of the gifts knew. It was not so with Christ, for the divine power went on abounding in giving remedies. But because it was necessary where so great a number of Scribes and Pharisees had come together, that something should be done to attest His power before those men who slighted Him, He performed the miracle on the man with the palsy, who since medical art seemed to fail, was carried by his kinsfolk to a higher and heavenly Physician. As it follows, And behold men brought him.

CHRYSOSTOM. But they are to be admired who brought in the paralytic, since on finding that they could not enter in at the door, they attempted a new and untried way. As it follows, And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, they went upon the housetop, &c. But unroofing the house they let down the couch, and place the paralytic in the midst, as it follows, And they let him down through the things. Some one may say, that the place was let down, from which they lowered the couch of the palsied man through the things.

BEDE. The Lord about to cure the man of his palsy, first loosens the chains of his sins, that He may shew him, that on account of the bonds of his sins, he is punished with the loosening of his joints, and that unless the former are set free, he cannot be healed to the recovery of his limbs. Hence it follows, And when he saw their faith, &c.

AMBROSE. Mighty is the Lord who pardons one man for the good deed of another, and while he approves of the one, forgives the other his sins. Why, O man, with thee does not thy fellowman prevail, when with God a servant has both the liberty to intercede in thy behalf, and the power of obtaining what he asks? If thou despairest of the pardon of heavy sins, bring the prayers of others, bring the Church to pray for thee, and at sight of this the Lord may pardon what otherwise He might deny to thee.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 29. in Matt.) But there was combined in this the faith also of the sufferer himself. For he would not have submitted to be let down, had he not believed.

AUGUSTINE. (de con. Ev. lib. ii. c. 25.) But our Lord’s saying, Man, thy sins are forgiven, conveys the meaning that the man had his sins forgiven him, because in that he was man, he could not say, “I have not sinned,” but at the same time also, that He who forgave sins might be known to be God.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Now if we suffer bodily, we are enough concerned to get rid of the hurtful thing; but when there has harm happened to the soul, we delay, and so are neither cured of our bodily ailments. Let us then remove the fountain of evil, and the waters of sickness will cease to flow. But from fear of the multitude, the Pharisees durst not openly expose their designs, but only meditated them in their hearts Hence it follows, And they began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies?

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. By this they hasten the sentence of death, for it was commanded in the law, that whoever blasphemed God should be punished with death. (Lev. 24:16.)

AMBROSE. From the Pharisees themselves therefore the Son of God receives testimony. For it is both more powerful evidence when men confess unwillingly, and a more fatal error when they who deny are left to the consequence of their own assertions. Hence it follows, Who can forgive sins, but God only? Great is the madness of an unbelieving people, who though they have confessed that it is of God alone to forgive sins, believe not God when He forgives sins.

BEDE. For they say true, that no one can forgive sins but God, who yet forgives through those to whom He gives the power of forgiving. And therefore Christ is proved to be truly God, for He is able to forgive sins as God.

AMBROSE. The Lord wishing to save sinners shews Himself to be God, by His knowledge of the secret thoughts; as it follows, But that ye may know.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. As if to say, O Pharisees, since ye say, Who can forgive sins, but God alone? I answer you, Who can search the secrets of the heart, but God alone, Who says by His prophet, I am the Lord, that searcheth the hearts, and trieth the reins. (Jer. 17:10.)

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) If then you disbelieve the first, (i. e. the forgiveness of sins,) behold, I add another, seeing that I lay open your inmost thoughts. Again, another that I make whole the body of the palsied man. Hence He adds, Whether is it easier? It is very plain that it is easier to restore the body to health. For as the soul is far nobler than the body, so is the forgiveness of sins more excellent than the healing of the body. But since you believe not the former, because it is hid; I will add that which is inferior, yet more open, in order that thereby that which is secret may be made manifest. And indeed in addressing the sick man, He said not, I forgive thee thy sins, expressing His own power, but, Thy sins are forgiven thee. But they compelled Him to declare more plainly His own power to them, when He said, But that you may know.

THEOPHYLACT. Observe that on earth He forgives sins. For while we are on earth we can blot out our sins. But after that we are taken away from the earth, we shall not be able to confess, for the gate is shut.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) He shews the pardon of sins by the healing of the body. Hence it follows, He says unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Rise. But He manifests the healing of the body by the carrying of the bed, that so that which took place might be accounted no shadow. Hence it follows, Take up thy bed. As if He said, “I was willing through thy suffering to cure those who think that they are in health, while their souls are sick, but since they are unwilling, go and correct thy household.”

AMBROSE. Nor is there any delay, health is present; there is but one moment both of words, and healing. Hence it follows, And immediately he rose. From this fact it is evident, that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins; He said this both for Himself and us. For He as God made man, as the Lord of the law, forgives sins; we also have been chosen to receive from Him the same marvellous grace. For it was said to the disciples, Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. (John 20:23.) But how does He not Himself forgive sins, Who has given to others the power of doing so? But the kings and princes of the earth when they acquit homicides, release them from their present punishment, but cannot expiate their crimes.

AMBROSE. They behold him rising up, still disbelieving, and marvel at his departing; as it follows, And they were all amazed.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) The Jews creep on by degrees, glorifying God, yet thinking Him not God, for His flesh stood in their way. But still it was no slight thing to consider Him the chief of mortal men, and to have proceeded from God.

AMBROSE. But they had rather fear the miracles of divine working, than believe them. As it follows, And they were filled with fear. But if they had believed they had not surely feared, but loved; for perfect love casteth out fear. But this was no careless or trifling cure of the paralytic, since our Lord is said to have prayed first, not for the petition’s sake, but for an example.

AUGUSTINE. (l. ii. qu. 4.) With respect to the sick of the palsy, we may understand that the soul relaxed in its limbs, i. e. its operations, seeks Christ, i. e. the meaning of God’s word; but is hindered by the crowds, that is to say, unless it discovers the secrets of the thoughts, i. e. the dark parts of the Scriptures, and thereby arrives at the knowledge of Christ.

BEDE. And the house where Jesus was is well described as covered with tiles, since beneath the beggarly covering of letters is found the spiritual power of grace.

AMBROSE. Now let every sick person have those that will pray for his salvation, by whom the loosened joints of our life and halting steps may be renewed by the remedy of the heavenly word. Let there be then certain monitors of the soul, to raise the mind of man, though grown dull through the weakness of the external body, to higher things, by the aid of which being able again easily to raise and humble itself, it may be placed before Jesus worthy to be presented in the Lord’s sight. For the Lord beholdeth the humble.

AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) The men then by whom he is let down may signify the doctors of the Church. But that he is let down with the couch, signifies that Christ ought to be known by man, while yet abiding in his flesh.

AMBROSE. But the Lord, pointing out the full hope of resurrection, pardons the sins of the soul, sets aside the weakness of the flesh. For this is the curing of the whole man. Although then it is a great thing to forgive the sins of men, it is yet much more divine to give resurrection to the bodies, since indeed God is the resurrection. But the bed which is ordered to be taken up is nothing else but the human body.

AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) That the infirm soul may no more rest in carnal joys, as in a bed, but rather itself restrain the carnal affections, and tend toward its own home, i. e. the resting-place of the secrets of its heart.

AMBROSE. Or it may reseek its own home, i. e. return to Paradise, for that is its true home, which first received man, and was lost not fairly, but by treachery. Rightly then is the soul restored thither, since He has come Who will undo the treacherous knot, and reestablish righteousness.

That's how I remember St. Nicholas i.e. "Santa Claus" -- he was a tough dude who slapped Arius the Heretic at the Council of Nicaea

A return to Myra

It had been a dozen years since Nicholas had walked out of the Emperor’s prison and walked back to Myra. He’d doubted, sometimes, whether he’d ever live to see the world outside the prison walls. But he’d never for a moment doubted where he’d go or what he’d do if he were ever released. God had called him to Myra all those years ago, and made him the bishop there, even though he was too young, even though he was too inexperienced, even though he just wanted to disappear into silence and obscurity.

He’d had silence and obscurity in prison, and he was glad to have left it behind. He was the Bishop of Myra. He had to get back to his people.

And so, for the last dozen years, he had been working in Myra, restoring the church that had been devastated under the persecutions of Diocletian. He had baptized and catechized, heard confessions, restored people to communion. He had urged the rich to return their wealth to the poor. And if some thought his urgings went too far … he shrugged, and began softly chanting the Magnificat.

An unwelcome invitation

There was still the matter of the invitation from the Emperor that he had to deal with. The new Emperor. The one who ended the persecutions. Constantine. Not Diocletian. But how would a mouse feel on receiving an invitation from a cat?

He shook his head. That was nonsense. God had been with him in the Emperor’s dungeons once. If he had to spend time in the dungeons again, God would be with him again.

Besides, the danger to him was trivial. The Church herself was in danger. It wasn’t enough that the priest Arius was troubling his own bishop’s diocese. His teachings seemed to travel on the wind, and were causing dissension everywhere. If the Emperor wanted to help bring peace to the Church, then what could he say but “Blessed are the peacemakers”?

St. Nicholas at Nicea

The city of Nicea was full to bursting. Every room in every inn slept a dozen men or more. In the crowds, the confessors were easy to spot. Missing limbs. Blinded eyes. Ropy scars. Nicholas rubbed the bridge of his nose. He never complained of the headaches he still suffered from the blow that had almost killed him. By the grace of God, through the prayers of God’s Mother, with the help of his fellow prisoners, he had survived.

And here he was, in Nicea, with 300 or more of his fellow confessors, fellow survivors. And that’s if you count only the bishops. Add in the priests and deacons and subdeacons and readers, and the number approached 2,000.

Of course, they weren’t all confessors. Some had come to their office after the persecutions were over. Some had, by God’s mercy, escaped the notice of the Emperor’s men for all the years of persecution.

But of the church’s 1800 bishops, only 300 or so had accepted the Emperor’s invitation. Yes, travel was hard, and they had flocks to tend. But how many of them, on receiving the invitation, found their sleep troubled by dreams of another Emperor?

Nicholas shook his head. Perhaps he was the only one who had been troubled by dreams. And he knew the others would as willingly submit to prison again as he would, rather than betray the One who had sustained them through the harshest years.

Priest Arius and the Council

Bishop Nicholas was known as a practical man. He really wasn’t given to theological disputes. He had enough to do feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, anointing the sick, serving the Liturgy. Those were enough for him.

But never let it be said that Bishop Nicholas failed in his duty! He was invited here to listen and judge, and so he would. He listened carefully as Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia explained what the priest Arius was teaching, citing the writings of St. Paul and the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John. Heads nodded here and there. There were questions, and some answered one way and some another.

At some point, Bishop Eusebius asked the Emperor if he might send a servant to fetch the priest Arius himself. Arius was not a bishop, of course. But rather than debating with each other about what Arius said, what he meant, they could hear from him directly. The Emperor consented. Nicholas nodded. That was wise.

In the eye of the storm

Arius entered the room with a sheaf of parchments in his hands, his own writings. He waited respectfully until he was addressed, and then simply, plainly, he began to read. The room was silent at first. Silent the way the night is silent before a storm. And then there were rustles, then rumbles, and then shouts. The confessors, men who had spent years beaten, chained, tortured, starved, alone except for the company of the God Man, Jesus Christ, couldn’t bear Arius’s words. Nicholas found himself standing up, walking to where Arius stood, speaking to him, over him.

Arius would not yield. He raised his voice. And Nicholas raised his hand and slapped Arius.

Arius staggered back. He might have fallen had one of the servants not caught him. And there was silence again. Awful, terrible silence. No one spoke. No one moved. And then the Emperor nodded to his guards. “Remove him.”

What the emperor forgot

The Emperor had, perhaps, forgotten that every bishop at his council remembered being removed by soldiers. Removed from the streets. Removed from their homes. Removed from their churches. Removed even when they held the sacred chalice in their hands.

And all those memories flowed into the silence. Memories of pain. Memories of hunger. Memories of isolation. And then memories of prayer. Memories of consolation, and even of joy. Their God, Christ, had suffered for them, had suffered with them. They remembered the sweetness of His presence. They remembered.

Into the silence, the Emperor spoke again. “Carry on.”

Memories and dreams

That evening, when the bishops left their deliberations, there was one name on every man’s lips. Nicholas. What had he done? What would happen to him?

And the confessors began to speak of their memories. Of where they had been when the Emperor’s guards had come for them. Of what had happened after. There were tears, and there was laughter, as fatigue and shadows and good wine took over.

The bishops went late to their beds that night, but sleep seemed elusive. When they dozed off, their sleep was full of dreams. Dreams of guards and chains and pain. Darkness and dungeons. And in the dungeons, in the dreams, there was Nicholas. But he wasn’t alone. The Lord Christ was with him. And Christ’s Virgin Mother.

Nicholas alone slept well that night. He was in a dungeon, yes. But he had been in dungeons before. As before, he knew that the Lord Christ was with him, and Christ’s Mother. He was not alone. He was not in danger. And so he slept.

When morning came, the bishops talked of Nicholas, and of their dreams. In their dreams, they had been in the dungeons, and Nicholas had been there. In their dreams, Nicholas was not alone. Christ God Himself was there, handing Nicholas a Gospel book. And the Mother of God was handing him his stole.

There was nothing to do but tell the Emperor. The discussions could not be resumed until Bishop Nicholas was back in his place among them.

Did this really happen?

Most historians consider this story unlikely, but not impossible.

To start with, there isn’t a single list of all the bishops who attended the Council of Nicea. There are several lists, some with more names, some with fewer. On the lists that are thought to be oldest and best, Nicholas of Myra does not appear.

However, there are old stories that say he was there. There is nothing in the oldest of these stories, though, about Bishop Nicholas slapping anyone, until 1370. That’s when Petrus, bishop of Equilio (near Venice), wrote, “It happened that saint Nicholas, now an old man, was present at the Council of Nicaea, and out of jealousy of faith struck a certain Arian in the jaw, on account of which it is recorded that he was deprived of his mitre and pallium; on account of which he is often depicted without a mitre.”

The fact that Petrus mentions “a certain Arian” and not “Arius” is small potatoes. Those sorts of details can change, and change back, as stories are told and retold. And we know that Bishop Petrus was retelling a story he’d learned from someone else. But we don’t know where he learned it, or when it was first told. His version is in Latin, but the story seems to come from Greek sources. And it would have taken the story time to make that journey. But how much time? How old is the story?

We simply don’t know.

Could St. Nicholas have been at the Council of Nicea, and while there, could he have slapped an Arian, been imprisoned briefly, and then restored? Yes, that’s possible. Nothing we know rules it out. But nothing confirms it, either.

The witness of the dreams

Yet there is one thing about the story that I think makes it likely that it happened. The dreams.

When I first heard the story, the dreams struck me as tropes, added because it’s a saint story, and saint stories need dreams or miracles. But, of course, the most famous story about St. Nicholas has nothing miraculous about it at all. Just an ordinary work of charity.

And the more I thought about it, the more these dreams struck me as real. If the story is true, you’d expect St. Nicholas’s fellow bishops, men who had been beaten and tortured and imprisoned for many years, to have had troubled dreams. Nobody had to make that up.

More stories from the life of St. Nicholas

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 5
17.	And it came to pass on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was to heal them.	Et factum est in una dierum, et ipse sedebat docens. Et erant pharisæi sedentes, et legis doctores, qui venerunt ex omni castello Galilææ, et Judææ, et Jerusalem : et virtus Domini erat ad sanandum eos.	και εγενετο εν μια των ημερων και αυτος ην διδασκων και ησαν καθημενοι φαρισαιοι και νομοδιδασκαλοι οι ησαν εληλυθοτες εκ πασης κωμης της γαλιλαιας και ιουδαιας και ιερουσαλημ και δυναμις κυριου ην εις το ιασθαι αυτους
18.	And behold, men brought in a bed a man, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.	Et ecce viri portantes in lecto hominem, qui erat paralyticus : et quærebant eum inferre, et ponere ante eum.	και ιδου ανδρες φεροντες επι κλινης ανθρωπον ος ην παραλελυμενος και εζητουν αυτον εισενεγκειν και θειναι ενωπιον αυτου
19.	And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus.	Et non invenientes qua parte illum inferrent præ turba, ascenderunt supra tectum, et per tegulas summiserunt eum cum lecto in medium ante Jesum.	και μη ευροντες ποιας εισενεγκωσιν αυτον δια τον οχλον αναβαντες επι το δωμα δια των κεραμων καθηκαν αυτον συν τω κλινιδιω εις το μεσον εμπροσθεν του ιησου
20.	Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.	Quorum fidem ut vidit, dixit : Homo, remittuntur tibi peccata tua.	και ιδων την πιστιν αυτων ειπεν αυτω ανθρωπε αφεωνται σοι αι αμαρτιαι σου
21.	And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?	Et cœperunt cogitare scribæ et pharisæi, dicentes : Quis est hic, qui loquitur blasphemias ? quis potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus ?	και ηρξαντο διαλογιζεσθαι οι γραμματεις και οι φαρισαιοι λεγοντες τις εστιν ουτος ος λαλει βλασφημιας τις δυναται αφιεναι αμαρτιας ει μη μονος ο θεος
22.	And when Jesus knew their thoughts, answering, he said to them: What is it you think in your hearts?	Ut cognovit autem Jesus cogitationes eorum, respondens, dixit ad illos : Quid cogitatis in cordibus vestris ?	επιγνους δε ο ιησους τους διαλογισμους αυτων αποκριθεις ειπεν προς αυτους τι διαλογιζεσθε εν ταις καρδιαις υμων
23.	Which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?	Quid est facilius dicere : Dimittuntur tibi peccata : an dicere : Surge, et ambula ?	τι εστιν ευκοπωτερον ειπειν αφεωνται σοι αι αμαρτιαι σου η ειπειν εγειραι και περιπατει
24.	But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.	Ut autem sciatis quia Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata, (ait paralytico) tibi dico, surge, tolle lectum tuum, et vade in domum tuam.	ινα δε ειδητε οτι εξουσιαν εχει ο υιος του ανθρωπου επι της γης αφιεναι αμαρτιας ειπεν τω παραλελυμενω σοι λεγω εγειραι και αρας το κλινιδιον σου πορευου εις τον οικον σου
25.	And immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay; and he went away to his own house, glorifying God.	Et confestim consurgens coram illis, tulit lectum in quo jacebat : et abiit in domum suam, magnificans Deum.	και παραχρημα αναστας ενωπιον αυτων αρας εφ ο κατεκειτο απηλθεν εις τον οικον αυτου δοξαζων τον θεον
26.	And all were astonished; and they glorified God. And they were filled with fear, saying: We have seen wonderful things to day.	Et stupor apprehendit omnes, et magnificabant Deum. Et repleti sunt timore, dicentes : Quia vidimus mirabilia hodie.	και εκστασις ελαβεν απαντας και εδοξαζον τον θεον και επλησθησαν φοβου λεγοντες οτι ειδομεν παραδοξα σημερον

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Isaiah 35:1-10

Promise of Redemption
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[1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus [2] it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.

[3] Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. [4] Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” [5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; [6] then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; [7] the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

[8] And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.[9] No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.[10] And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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Commentary:

35:1-10 The focus now changes with this hymn celebrating Zion, the holy city. It presents a picture of the restored Jerusalem in language reminiscent of that of chapters 11 and 12. God who manifested his presence and protection during the exodus, when Israel came up out of Egypt, will do so again in wonderful ways as the redeemed flock back home to Zion. He will show them the route and give them a highway and be with them in a sort of solemn procession to where he dwells (v. 8). Just as in Babylon there was a “Holy Way” lined with statues of lions and dragons that led to the temple of Marduk, the redeemed will have a truly “Holy Way” to take them to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The joy of the returnees is compounded by the instant cure of the blind, deaf and lame (cf. 29:18-19), which is an anticipation of what will happen in the messianic era.

The miracles worked by Jesus demonstrate that the moment of true redemption foreseen indistinctly by the prophets has come to pass (cf. Mt 11:2-6). St Justin, showing the Jew Tryphon that this prophecy found fulfillment in Christ, points out: “Christ is the stream of living water that flows from God; he sprang up in the desert wastes of ignorance of God; that is, in the parched earth of all the nations. He, who was born among your people, cured those who were blind from birth, and the deaf and the lame: by his word alone, they leapt and heard and saw once more. He raised the dead and gave them new life, and by all his good works prompted men to see Him for who he is. [...] He did all these things to convince those who were to believe in him, whatever bodily defects they might have, that if they obeyed the teachings that he gave them, he would raise them up again at his Second Coming and make them whole and perfect and immortal as He is” ("Dialogus Cum Tryphone", 69,6).

The Church uses this passage from Isaiah in the Advent liturgy (3rd Sunday, Cycle A) to encourage the faithful in joyous hope that God will come and bring salvation.

From: Luke 5:17-26

The Cure of the Paralytic in Capernaum
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[17] On one of those days, as He (Jesus) was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. [18] And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; [19] but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. [20] And when He saw their faith He said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." [21] And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" [22] When Jesus perceived their questionings, He answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? [23] Which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, `Rise and walk'? [24] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the man who was paralyzed--"I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home." [25] And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. [26] And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."

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Commentary:

17. A little earlier, beside the lake, Jesus addressed His teaching to crowds (verses 1ff). Here His audience includes some of the most educated Jews. Christ desired not only to teach but also to cure everyone--spiritually and, sometimes, physically, as He will soon do in the case of the paralytic. The evangelist's observation at the end of this verse reminds us that our Lord is ever-ready to use His omnipotence for our good: "I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil', God declared through the prophet Jeremiah (29:11). The liturgy applies these words to Jesus, for in Him we are clearly shown that God does love us in this way. He did not come to condemn us, to accuse us of meanness and smallness. He came to save us, pardon us, excuse us, bring us peace and joy." (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 165). On this occasion also Jesus wanted to benefit His listeners, even though some of them would not receive this divine gift because they were not well-disposed.

19-20. Our Lord is touched when He sees these friends of the paralytic putting their faith into practice: they had gone up onto the roof, taken off some of the tiles and lowered the bed down in front of Jesus. Friendship and faith combine in obtaining a miraculous cure. The paralytic himself had a like faith: he let himself be carried around, brought up onto the roof and so forth. Seeing such solid faith Jesus gives them even more than they expect: He cures the man's body and, what is much more, cures his soul. Perhaps He does this, as St. Bede suggests (cf. "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc."), to show two things: that the illness was a form of punishment for his sins and therefore the paralytic could only get up once these sins had been forgiven; and that others' faith and prayer can move God to work miracles.

In some way, the paralytic symbolizes everyone whose sins prevent him from reaching God. For example, St. Ambrose says: "How great is the Lord who on account of the merits of some pardon others, and while praising the former absolves the latter![...] Therefore, let you, who judge, learn to pardon; you, who are ill, learn to beg for forgiveness. And if the gravity of your sins causes you to doubt the possibility of being forgiven, have recourse to intercessors, have recourse to the Church, who will pray for you, and the Lord will grant you, out of love for her, what He might have refused you" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc."). Apostolic work should be motivated by desire to help people find Jesus Christ. Among other things it calls for daring--as we see in the friends of the paralytic; and it also needs the intercession of the saints, whose help we seek because we feel God will pay more attention to them than to us sinners.

24. Our Lord is going to perform a public miracle to prove that He is endowed with invisible, spiritual power. Christ, the only Son of the Father, has power to forgive sins because He is God, and He uses this power on our behalf as our Mediator and Redeemer (Luke 22:20; John 20:17-18, 28: 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus used this power personally when He was on earth and after ascending into Heaven He still uses it, through the Apostles and their successors.

A sinner is like a paralytic in God's presence. The Lord is going to free him of his paralysis, forgiving him his sins and enabling him to walk by giving him grace once more. In the sacrament of Penance, if Jesus Christ, "sees us cold, unwilling, rigid perhaps with the stiffness of a dying interior life, His tears will be our life: `I say to you, My friend, arise and walk,' (cf. John 11:43; Luke 5:24), leave that narrow life which is no life at all" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 193).

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

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Mikołajki / Feast of St. Nicholas

Readings at Mass

The return of the redeemed through the desert

'Your sins are forgiven you: get up and walk'