Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 18-Jan-2022

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 2
23.	And it came to pass again, as the Lord walked through the corn fields on the sabbath, that his disciples began to go forward, and to pluck the ears of corn.	Et factum est iterum Dominus sabbatis ambularet per sata, et discipuli ejus cœperunt progredi, et vellere spicas.	και εγενετο παραπορευεσθαι αυτον εν τοις σαββασιν δια των σποριμων και ηρξαντο οι μαθηται αυτου οδον ποιειν τιλλοντες τους σταχυας
24.	And the Pharisees said to him: Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?	Pharisæi autem dicebant ei : Ecce, quid faciunt sabbatis quod non licet ?	και οι φαρισαιοι ελεγον αυτω ιδε τι ποιουσιν εν τοις σαββασιν ο ουκ εξεστιν
25.	And he said to them: Have you never read what David did when he had need, and was hungry himself, and they that were with him?	Et ait illis : Numquam legistis quid fecerit David, quando necessitatem habuit, et esuriit ipse, et qui cum eo erant ?	και αυτος ελεγεν αυτοις ουδεποτε ανεγνωτε τι εποιησεν δαυιδ οτε χρειαν εσχεν και επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου
26.	How he went into the house of God, under Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which was not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave to them who were with him?	quomodo introibit in domum Dei sub Abiathar principe sacerdotum, et panes propositionis manducavit, quos non licebat manducare, nisi sacerdotibus, et dedit eis qui cum eo erant ?	πως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου επι αβιαθαρ αρχιερεως και τους αρτους της προθεσεως εφαγεν ους ουκ εξεστιν φαγειν ει μη τοις ιερευσιν και εδωκεν και τοις συν αυτω ουσιν
27.	And he said to them: The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.	Et dicebat eis : Sabbatum propter hominem factum est, et non homo propter sabbatum.	και ελεγεν αυτοις το σαββατον δια τον ανθρωπον εγενετο ουχ ο ανθρωπος δια το σαββατον
28.	Therefore the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath also.	Itaque Dominus est Filius hominis, etiam sabbati.	ωστε κυριος εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου και του σαββατου

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Mark CHAP. 2

2:23–28

23. And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

24. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25. And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

26. How he went into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar the High Priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

27. And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

28. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) The disciples of Christ, freed from the figure, and united to the truth, do not keep the figurative feast of the sabbath, wherefore it is said, And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

BEDE. (in Marc. 1, 13) We read also in the following part, that they who came and went away were many, and that they had not time enough to take their food, wherefore, according to man’s nature, they were hungry.

CHRYSOSTOM. (non occ. sed v. Chrys. Hom. 39, in Matt) But being hungry, they ate simple food, not for pleasure, but on account of the necessity of nature. The Pharisees however, serving the figure and the shadow, accused the disciples of doing wrong. Wherefore there follows, But the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful.

AUGUSTINE. (de Op. Monach. 23) For it was a precept in Israel, delivered by a written law, that no one should detain a thief found in his fields, unless he tried to take something away with him. For the man, who had touched nothing else but what he had eaten, they were commanded to allow to go away free and unpunished. Wherefore the Jews accused our Lord’s disciples, who were plucking the ears of corn, of breaking the sabbath, rather than of theft.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) But our Lord brings forward David, to whom it once happened to eat though it was forbidden by the law, when he touched the Priest’s food, that by his example, he might do away with their accusation of the disciples. For there follows, Have ye never read, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. For David, when flying from the face of Saul, went to the Chief Priest, and ate the shew-bread, and took away the sword of Goliath, which things had been offered to the Lord. (1 Sam. 21.) But a question has been raised how the Evangelist called Abiathar at this time High Priest, when the Book of Kings calls him Abimelech.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) There is, however, no discrepancy, for both were there, when David came to ask for bread, and received it: that is to say, Abimelech, the High Priest, and Abiathar his son; but Abimelech having been slain by Saul, Abiathar fled to David, and became the companion of all his exile afterwards. When he came to the throne, he himself also received the rank of High Priest, and the son became of much greater excellence than the father, and therefore was worthy to be mentioned as the High Priest, even during his fathers life-time. It goes on: And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. For greater is the care to be taken of the health and life of a man, than the keeping of the sabbath. Therefore the sabbath was ordered to be observed in such a way, that, if there were a necessity, he should not be guilty, who broke the sabbath-day; therefore it was not forbidden to circumcise on the sabbath, because that was a necessary work. And the Maccabees, when necessity pressed on them, fought on the sabbath-day. Wherefore, His disciples being hungry, what was not allowed in the law became lawful through their necessity of hunger; as now, if a sick man break a fast, he is not held guilty in any way. It goes on: Therefore the Son of man is Lord, &c. As if he said, David the king is to be excused for feeding on the food of the Priests, how much more the Son of man, the true King and Priest, and Lord of the sabbath, is free from fault, for pulling ears of corn on the sabbath-day.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He calls himself properly, Lord of the sabbath, and Son of man, since being the Son of God, he deigned to be called Son of man, for the sake of men. Now the law has no authority over the Lawgiver and Lord, for more is allowed the king, than is appointed by the law. The law is given to the weak indeed, but not to the perfect and to those who work above what the law enjoins.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) But in a mystical sense the disciples pass through the corn fields, when the holy doctors look with the care of a pious solicitude upon those whom they have initiated in the faith, and who, it is implied, are hungering for the best of all things, the salvation of men. But to pluck the ears of corn means to snatch men away from the eager desire of earthly things. And to rub with the hands is by examples of virtue to put from the purity of their minds the concupiscence of the flesh, as men do husks. To eat the grains is when a man, cleansed from the filth of vice by the mouths of preachers, is incorporated amongst the members of the Church. Again, fitly are the disciples related to have done this, walking before the face of the Lord, for it is necessary that the discourse of the doctor should come first, although the grace of visitation from on high, following it, must enlighten the heart of the hearer. And well, on the sabbath-day, for the doctors themselves in preaching labour for the hope of future rest, and teach their hearers to toil over their tasks for the sake of eternal repose.

THEOPHYLACT. Or else, because when they hare rest from their passions, then are they made doctors to lead others to virtue, plucking away from them earthly things.

BEDE. (ubi sup) Again, they walk through the corn fields with the Lord, who rejoice in meditating upon His sacred words. They hunger, when they desire to find in them the bread of life; and they hunger on sabbath days, as soon as their minds are in a soothing rest, and they rejoice in freedom from troubled thoughts; they pluck the ears of corn, and by rubbing, cleanse them, till they come to what is fit to eat, when by meditation they take to themselves the witness of the Scriptures, to which they arrive by reading, and discuss them continually, until they find in them the marrow of love; this refreshment of the mind is truly unpleasing to fools, but is approved by the Lord.

Catena Aurea Mark 2

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

David is Anointed
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[1b] The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." [2] And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ [3] And invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do and you shall anoint for me him whom I name to you” [4] Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?” [5] And he said, ‘Peaceably, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD, consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

[6] When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." [7] But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." [8] Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." [9] Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” [10] And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." [11] And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here." [12] And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." [13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

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Commentary:

16:1-31:13. This, the last section of 1 Samuel, begins with an account of the gradual decline of Saul until his eventual death in the battle of Gilboa against the Philistines (chap. 31); it also deals with the tortuous and sometimes slow rise to power of the new king, David. Strictly speaking, this section should also take in the final chapter of 2 Samuel. From a literary point of view we can see that the text is very much in the style of a court chronicle focusing only on episodes in which the kings play the leading role. Many of the events covered here are repeated twice--for example, David's entry into Saul's service (16:14-23; 18:1-2), Saul's attempt on David's life (18:10-11; 19:9-10), Saul's promise to give David his daughter's hand in marriage (18:17-19; 18:20-27), Jonathan's pleading on David's behalf (19:1-7; 20:25-34), David's flight (19:10-18; 20:1-21) and the opportunity he gets to take Saul's life (24:7-8; 26:11-12). All this goes to show that the editor has used material from a variety of sources and not made any great effort to merge them properly.

In the episodes recounted here there are few religious references, whereas the tensions between Saul and David are exposed in all their starkness; in fact, even though these chapters deal with the most famous of kings, David, and stress God's special love for him, no effort is made to gloss over his failings and transgressions (contrary to what happens in 1 and 2 Chronicles). David comes across as a shrewd politician, capable of allying himself with the eternal enemies of his people, the Philistines, in order to save himself (chap. 27); as a usurper of Saul's throne (chaps. 19 and 21); as a man of strong passions capable of slaughter on a grand scale (21:12; 22:17) and other human weaknesses (18:17-27; 25:32-44), yet capable, too, of great loyalty to the Lord's anointed king (chaps. 24-26) and to his own friends (chap. 20). So, these accounts expose the most human side of the personalities involved, but they also allow us to see that the Lord God of Israel is the main protagonist even though he is in the background--mainly because it is he who chooses David and stays with him, from the first moment that he enters the picture (16:1) and through all the crises of his career: witness the constant refrain "the Lord is with him" (16:18; 18:14, 28). Saul, David and the rest of the players in this history are not guided by a blind destiny: they are all playing their part in God's plan of salvation The great lesson contained in these accounts is that the Lord does not normally intervene by way of miracles or amazing actions; he guides the course of history through lights and shadows until he attains his key objective--to make himself known to all mankind and lead it to salvation. The other great lesson is that this salvific history steadily advances, amidst ups and downs--acts of heroism, human weaknesses--until it reaches its fully developed stage in Jesus Christ.

16:1-13. Samuel's anointing of David, in a private, familial setting, is reminiscent of Saul's anointing, which was also done in secret (cf. 10:1-16). The narrative emphasizes that David does not in any way merit his election: he is a nobody, from a family of no importance: no genealogy is provided, apart from the name of Jesse, his father (v. 5); he is the youngest of his brothers (vv. 11-12) and, like the rest of his family, he works as a shepherd: he doesn't come from a noble or military or priestly family. He could have no claim to be anointed king.

God's gratuitous choice of this shepherd boy gives deep, religious meaning to his reception by Saul (16:14-23) and by the people, when he later kills Goliath (17:55-18:5). David's qualities and feats would not have been enough to advance him, had not God first singled him out. David is a type of those who in the Christian dispensation are called to offices in the Church: what matters is not background, personal qualities or material resources but the realization that one is called by God. Also, one needs to bear in mind that "man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (v. 7); from this derives the requirement to live and act in keeping with the call one is given. "For by his power to know himself in the depths of his being he rises above the whole universe of mere objects. When he is drawn to think about his real self, he turns to those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 14).

From: Mark 2:23-28

The Law of the Sabbath
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[23] One Sabbath He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way His disciples began to pluck ears of grain. [24] And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" [25] And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and hungry, he and those who were with him: [26] how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" [27] And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; [28] so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

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Commentary:

24. Cf. note on Matthew 12:2. [Note on Matthew 12:2 states: "The Sabbath": this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine precept: by Jesus' time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling--types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.]

26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests.

Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.

This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).

Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.

By proclaiming Himself `Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.

28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates `one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This _expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Mark", p. 62 above).

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

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Readings at Mass

Jesse's youngest son David is anointed king

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Mark CHAP. 2