Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 8-August-2022

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

KEYWORDS: catholic; mt17; ordinarytime; prayer;

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 17
22.	17:21 And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:	17:21 Conversantibus autem eis in Galilæa, dixit illis Jesus : Filius hominis tradendus est in manus hominum :	αναστρεφομενων δε αυτων εν τη γαλιλαια ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους μελλει ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοσθαι εις χειρας ανθρωπων
23.	17:22 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again. And they were troubled exceedingly.	17:22 et occident eum, et tertia die resurget. Et contristati sunt vehementer.	και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και τη τριτη ημερα εγερθησεται και ελυπηθησαν σφοδρα
24.	17:23 And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that recieved the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: Doth not your master pay the didrachmas?	17:23 Et cum venissent Capharnaum, accesserunt qui didrachma accipiebant ad Petrum, et dixerunt ei : Magister vester non solvit didrachma ?	ελθοντων δε αυτων εις καπερναουμ προσηλθον οι τα διδραχμα λαμβανοντες τω πετρω και ειπον ο διδασκαλος υμων ου τελει τα διδραχμα
25.	17:24 He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers?	17:24 Ait : Etiam. Et cum intrasset in domum, prævenit eum Jesus, dicens : Quid tibi videtur Simon ? reges terræ a quibus accipiunt tributum vel censum ? a filiis suis, an ab alienis ?	λεγει ναι και οτε εισηλθεν εις την οικιαν προεφθασεν αυτον ο ιησους λεγων τι σοι δοκει σιμων οι βασιλεις της γης απο τινων λαμβανουσιν τελη η κηνσον απο των υιων αυτων η απο των αλλοτριων
26.	17:25 And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free.	17:25 Et ille dixit : Ab alienis. Dixit illi Jesus : Ergo liberi sunt filii.	λεγει αυτω ο πετρος απο των αλλοτριων εφη αυτω ο ιησους αραγε ελευθεροι εισιν οι υιοι
27.	17:26 But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.	17:26 Ut autem non scandalizemus eos, vade ad mare, et mitte hamum : et eum piscem, qui primus ascenderit, tolle : et aperto ore ejus, invenies staterem : illum sumens, da eis pro me et te.	ινα δε μη σκανδαλισωμεν αυτους πορευθεις εις την θαλασσαν βαλε αγκιστρον και τον αναβαινοντα πρωτον ιχθυν αρον και ανοιξας το στομα αυτου ευρησεις στατηρα εκεινον λαβων δος αυτοις αντι εμου και σου

KEYWORDS: catholic; lk9; mt17; ordinarytime; prayer;

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 17

17:22–23

22. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men.

23. And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall he raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

REMIGIUS. The Lord often foretold to His disciples the mysteries of His passion, in order that when they come to pass, they might be the lighter to them from having been known beforehand.

ORIGEN. This seems to be so like a warning He had given above, that a man might easily say that the Lord now repeated what He had said before; yet is it not so; He had not before said that He must be betrayed, but we hear now not only that He must be betrayed, but that He must be betrayed into the hands of men. The Son of Man indeed was delivered up by God the Father according to the Apostle (Rom. 8:32.), but different powers gave him up into the hands of men.

JEROME. Thus does He ever mix the joyful and the grievous; if it grieves them that He is to be put to death, they ought to be gladdened when they hear, And shall rise again the third day.

CHRYSOSTOM. For this is no long time that He speaks of continuing in death, when He says that He shall rise again on the third day.

ORIGEN. By this announcement of the Lord the disciples were made very sorrowful, not attending to that He said, And shall rise again the third day, nor considering what He must be to whom the space of three days was enough to destroy death.

JEROME. That they were thus made exceeding sorrowful, came not of their lack of faith; but out of their love of their Master they could not endure to hear of any hurt or indignity for Him.

17:24–27

24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

25. He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

26. Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

GLOSS. (non occ.) The disciples were exceeding sorrowful when they heard of the Lord’s passion, and therefore that none might ascribe His suffering to compulsion, and not to a voluntary Submission, he adds an incident which instances Christ’s power, and is submission; And when they were come to Capernaum, there came to Peter those who received the didrachma, and said unto him, Doth not your Master pay the didrachma?

HILARY. The Lord is called upon to pay the didrachma, (that is, two denarii,) for this the Law had enjoined upon all Israel for the redemption of their body and soul, and the use of those that served in the temple.

CHRYSOSTOM. For when God slew the firstborn of Egypt, He then accepted the tribe of Levi for them. (Numb. 3:44.) But because the numbers of this tribe were less than the number of firstborn among the Jews, it was ordained that redemption money should be paid for the number that came short; and thence sprang the custom of paying this tax. Because then Christ was a firstborn son, and Peter seemed to be the first among the disciples, they came to him. And as it seems to me this was not demanded in every district, they come to Christ in Capernaum, because that was considered His native place.

JEROME. Or otherwise; From the time of Augustus Cæsar Judæa was made tributary, and all the inhabitants were registered, as Joseph with Mary his kinswoman gave in His name at Bethlehem. Again, because the Lord was brought up at Nazareth, which is a town of Galilee subject to Capernaum, it is there that the tribute is asked of Him; but for that His miracles were so great, those who collected it did not dare to ask Himself, but make up to the disciple.

CHRYSOSTOM. And him they address not with boldness, but courteously; for they do not arraign, but ask a question, Doth not your Master pay the didrachma?

JEROME. Or, They enquire with malicious purpose whether He pays tribute, or resists Caesar’s will.

CHRYSOSTOM. What then does Peter say? He saith, Yea. To these then he said that He did pay, but to Christ he said not so, blushing perhaps to speak of such matters.

GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) Otherwise; Peter answered, Yea; meaning, yea, He does not pay. And Peter sought to acquaint the Lord that the Herodians had demanded tribute, but the Lord prevented him; as it follows, And when he had entered into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, Of whom do the kings of the earth receive custom or tribute, (i. e. head-money,) of their children, or of strangers?

JEROME. Before any hint from Peter, the Lord puts the question to him, that His disciples might not be offended at the demand of tribute, when they, see that He knows even those things that are done in His absence. It follows, But he said, From strangers; Jesus said unto him, Then are the children free.

ORIGEN. This speech has a twofold meaning. First, that the children of the kings of the earth are free with the kings of the earth; but strangers, foreigners in the land, are not free, because of those that oppress them, as the Egyptians did the children of Israel. The second sense is; forasmuch as there be some who are strangers to the sons of the kings of the earth, and are yet sons of God, therefore it is they that abide in the words of Jesus; these are free, for they have known the truth, and the truth has set them free from the service of sin; but the sons of the kings of the earth are not free; for whoso doth sin, he is the servant of sin. (John 8:34.)

JEROME. But our Lord was the son of the king, both according to the flesh, and according to the Spirit; whether as sprung of the seed of David, or as the Word of the Almighty Father; therefore as the king’s son He owed no tribute.

AUGUSTINE. (Quæst. Ev. i. 23.) For, saith He, in every kingdom the children are free, that is, not under tax. Much more therefore should they be free in any earthly kingdom, who are children of that very kingdom under which are all the kingdoms of the earth.

CHRYSOSTOM. But this instance were brought to no purpose if He were not a son. But some one may say, He is son indeed, but not an own son. But then He were a stranger; and so this instance would not apply; for He speaks only of own sons, distinct from whom He calls them strangers who are actually born of parents. Mark how here also Christ certifies that relationship which was revealed to Peter from God, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.

JEROME. Howsoever free then He was, yet seeing He had taken to Him lowliness of the flesh, He ought to fulfil all righteousness; whence it follows, But that they should not be offended, go to the sea.

ORIGEN. We may hence gather as a consequence of this, that when any come with justice demanding our earthly goods, it is the kings of the earth that send them, to claim of us what is their own; and by His own example the Lord forbids any offence to be given even to these, whether that they should sin no more, or that they should be saved. For the Son of God, who did no servile work, yet as having the form of a slave, which He took on Him for man’s sake, gave custom and tribute.

JEROME. I am at a loss what first to admire in this passage; whether the foreknowledge, or the mighty power of the Saviour. His foreknowledge, in that He knew that a fish had a stater in its mouth, and that that fish should be the first taken; His mighty power, if the stater were created in the fish’s mouth at His word, and if by His command that which was to happen was ordered. Christ then, for His eminent love, endured the cross, and paid tribute; how wretched we who are called by the name of Christ, though we do nothing worthy of so great dignity, yet in respect of His majesty, pay no tribute, but are exempt from tax as the King’s sons. But even in its literal import it edifies the hearer to learn, that so great was the Lord’s poverty, that He had not whence to pay the tribute for Himself and His Apostle. Should any object that Judas bore money in a bag, we shall answer, Jesus held it a fraud to divert that which was the poor’s to His own use, and left us an example therein.

CHRYSOSTOM. Or He does not direct it to be paid out of that they had at hand, that He might shew that He was Lord also of the sea and the fish.

GLOSS. (non occ.) Or because Jesus had not any image of Cæsar, (for the prince of this world had nothing in Him,) therefore He furnished an image of Cæsar, not out of their own stock, but out of the sea. But He takes not the stater into His own possession, that there should never be found an image of Cæsar upon the Image of the invisible God.

CHRYSOSTOM. Observe also the wisdom of Christ; He neither refuses the tribute, nor merely commands that it be paid, but first proves that He is of right exempt, and then bids to give the money; the money was paid to avoid offence to the collectors; the vindication of His exemption was to avoid the offence to the disciples. Indeed in another place He disregards the offence of the Pharisees, in disputing of meats; teaching us herein to know the seasons in which we must attend to, and those in which we must slight the thoughts of, those who are like to be scandalized.

GREGORY. (in Ezech. 7. 4.) For we must cast about how, as far as we may without sin, to avoid giving scandal to our neighbours. But if offence is taken from truth, it is better that offence should come, though truth be forsaken.

CHRYSOSTOM. As you wonder at Christ’s power, so admire Peter’s faith, who was obedient in no easy matter. In reward of his faith he was joined with his Lord in the payment. An abundant honour! Thou shall find a stater, that take and give unto them for thee and for me.

GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) For by custom every several man paid a didrachma for himself; now a stater is equal to two didrachmas.

ORIGEN. Mystically; In the field of comfort, (for so is Capernaum expounded,) He comforts each one of His disciples, and pronounces him to be a son and free, and gives him the power of taking the first fish, that after His ascension Peter may have comfort over that which he has caught.

HILARY. When Peter is instructed to take the first fish, it is shewn therein that he shall catch more than one. The blessed first martyr Stephen was the first that came up, having in his mouth a stater, which contained the didrachma of the new preaching, divided as two denarii, for he preached as he beheld in his passion the glory of God, and Christ the Lord.

JEROME. Or; That fish which was first taken is the first Adam, who is set free by the second Adam; and that which is found in his mouth, that is, in his confession, is given for Peter and for the Lord.

ORIGEN. And when you see any miser rebuked by some Peter who takes the speech of his money out of his mouth, you may say that he is risen out of the sea of covetousness to the hook of reason, and is caught and saved by some Peter, who has taught him the truth, that he should change his stater for the image of God, that is for the oracles of God.

JEROME. And beautifully is this very stater given for the tribute; but it is divided; for Peter as for a sinner a ransom is to be paid, but the Lord had not sin. Yet herein is shewn the likeness of their flesh, when the Lord and His servants are redeemed with the same price.

Catena Aurea Matthew 17

Tribute Money

Mattia Preti

c. 1640
Oil on canvas, 193 x 143 cm
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 9
57.	And it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to him: I will follow thee withersoever thou goest.	Factum est autem : ambulantibus illis in via, dixit quidam ad illum : Sequar te quocumque ieris.	εγενετο δε πορευομενων αυτων εν τη οδω ειπεν τις προς αυτον ακολουθησω σοι οπου αν απερχη κυριε
58.	Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.	Dixit illi Jesus : Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cæli nidos : Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet.	και ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους αι αλωπεκες φωλεους εχουσιν και τα πετεινα του ουρανου κατασκηνωσεις ο δε υιος του ανθρωπου ουκ εχει που την κεφαλην κλινη
59.	But he said to another: Follow me. And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go, and to bury my father.	Ait autem ad alterum : Sequere me : ille autem dixit : Domine, permitte mihi primum ire, et sepelire patrem meum.	ειπεν δε προς ετερον ακολουθει μοι ο δε ειπεν κυριε επιτρεψον μοι απελθοντι πρωτον θαψαι τον πατερα μου
60.	And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.	Dixitque ei Jesus : Sine ut mortui sepeliant mortuos suos : tu autem vade, et annuntia regnum Dei.	ειπεν δε αυτω ο ιησους αφες τους νεκρους θαψαι τους εαυτων νεκρους συ δε απελθων διαγγελλε την βασιλειαν του θεου
61.	And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house.	Et ait alter : Sequar te Domine, sed permitte mihi primum renuntiare his quæ domi sunt.	ειπεν δε και ετερος ακολουθησω σοι κυριε πρωτον δε επιτρεψον μοι αποταξασθαι τοις εις τον οικον μου
62.	Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.	Ait ad illum Jesus : Nemo mittens manum suam ad aratrum, et respiciens retro, aptus est regno Dei.	ειπεν δε ο ιησους προς αυτον ουδεις επιβαλων την χειρα αυτου επ αροτρον και βλεπων εις τα οπισω ευθετος εστιν εις την βασιλειαν του θεου

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

9:57–62

57. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

58. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

59. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

60. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

61. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. (non occ.) Although the Almighty Lord is bountiful, He does not grant to every one absolutely and indiscriminately heavenly and divine gifts, but to those only who are worthy to receive them, who free themselves and their souls from the stains of wickedness. And this we are taught by the force of the angelic words, And it came to pass, that, us they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee. First indeed there is much tardiness implied in the manner of his coming. It is next shewn that he is filled with too great presumption. For he sought not to follow Christ simply as several others of the people, but rather caught at the honour of the Apostleship. Whereas Paul says, No one taketh the honour to himself but he that is called of God. (Heb. 5:4.)

ATHANASIUS. (non occ.) He dared also to match himself with the incomprehensible power of the Saviour, saying, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest; for to follow the Saviour simply to hear His teaching is possible to human nature, as it directs itself towards men, but it is not possible to go with Him wherever He is; for He is incomprehensible, and is not confined by place.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. In another respect also our Lord deservedly gives him a refusal, for He taught that to follow the Lord, a man must take up his cross, and renounce the affection of this present life. And our Lord finding this lacking in him does not blame him, but corrects him.

It follows, And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. For having seen our Lord drawing much people to Him, he thought that he received reward from them, and that if he followed our Lord, he might obtain money.

BEDE. Therefore it is said to him, Why do you seek to follow Me for the riches and gain of this world, when so great is My poverty that I have not even a place of rest, and take shelter under another man’s roof.

CHRYSOSTOM. See how our Lord sets forth by his works the poverty which he taught. For him was no table spread, no lights, no house, nor any such thing.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now under a mystical signification He applies the name of foxes and birds of the air to the wicked and crafty powers of evil spirits. As if He said, Since foxes and birds of the air have their abode in thee, how shall Christ rest in thee? What fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14.)

ATHANASIUS. Or herein our Lord teaches the greatness of His gift, as if He said, All created things may be confined by place, but the Word of God has incomprehensible power. Say not then, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. But if thou wouldest be a disciple, cast off 1 foolish things, for it is impossible for him who remains in foolishness to become a disciple of the Word.

AMBROSE. Or, He compares foxes to heretics, because they are indeed a wily animal, and, ever intent upon fraud, commit their robberies by stealth. They let nothing be safe, nothing be at rest, nothing secure, for they hunt their prey into the very abodes of men. The fox again, an animal full of craft, makes no hole for itself, yet likes to lie always concealed in a hole. So the heretics, who know not how to construct a house for themselves, circumscribe and deceive others. This animal is never tamed, nor is it of use to man. Hence the Apostle, A heretic after the first and second admonition reject. (Tit. 3:10.) But the birds of the air, which are frequently brought in to represent spiritual wickedness, build as it were their nests in the breasts of the wicked, and as long as deceit reigns over the affections, the divine principle has no opportunity to take possession. But when a man has proved his heart to be innocent, upon him Christ leans in some measure the weight of His greatness, for by a more abundant shedding of grace He is planted in the breasts of good men. So then it does not seem reasonable that we should think him faithful and simple, who is rejected by the judgment of the Lord, notwithstanding that he promised the service of unwearied attendance; but our Lord cares not for this kind of service, but only purity of affection, nor is his attendance accepted whose sense of duty is not proved. For the hospitality of faith should be given with circumspection, lest while opening the interior of our house to the unbelieving, through our imprudent credulity we fall a snare to the treachery of others. Therefore that you may be aware that God despises not attendance upon him but deceit, He who rejected the deceitful man chose the innocent. For it follows, And he said unto another, Follow me. But He says this to him, whose father He knew to be dead. Hence it follows, But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

BEDE. He did not refuse the discipleship, but his wish was, having fulfilled the filial duty of burying his father, to follow Christ more freely.

AMBROSE. But the Lord calls those upon whom He has compassion. Hence it follows, And Jesus said, Let the dead bury their dead. Since we have received as a religious duty the burial of the human body, how is it thus that the burial even of a father’s dead body is forbidden, unless you are to understand that human things are to be postponed to divine? It is a good employment, but the hindrance is greater, for he who divides his pursuits, draws down his affections; he who divides his care, delays his advances. We must first set about the things which are most important. For the Apostles also, that they might not be occupied in the office of distributing alms, ordained ministers for the poor.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 27. in Matt.) But what more necessary than the burial of his father, what more easy, seeing that there would not be much time given to it? We are then hereby taught that it becomes us not to spend even the slightest portion of our time in vain, although we have a thousand things to compel us, nay to prefer spiritual things to even our greatest necessities. For the devil watchfully presses close upon us, wishing to find any opening, and if he causes a slight negligence, he ends in producing a great weakness.

AMBROSE. The performance of a father’s burial is not then prohibited, but the observance of religious duty is preferred to the ties of relationship. The one is left to those in like condition, the other is commanded to those who are left. But how can the dead bury the dead? unless you here understand a twofold death, one a natural death, the other the death of sin. (Rom. 9:11.) There is also a third death, by which we die unto sin, live unto God.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) By thus saying, their dead, he shews that this man’s father was not his dead, for I suppose that the deceased was of the number of the unbelieving.

AMBROSE. Or because the throat of the ungodly is an open sepulchre, their memory is ordered to be forgotten whose services die together with their bodies. Nor is the son recalled from his duty to his father, but the faithful is separated from the communion of the unbelieving; there is no prohibition of duty, but a mystery of religion, that is, that we should have no fellowship with the dead Gentiles.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Or else, his father was borne down with years, and he thought he was doing an honourable act in proposing to pay the kind offices which were due to him, according to Exodus, Honour thy father and thy mother. (Exod. 20:12.) Hence when calling him to the ministry of the Gospel, our Lord said, Follow me, he sought for a time of respite, which should suffice for the support of his decrepit father, saying, Permit me first to go and bury my father, not that he asked to bury his deceased father, for Christ would not have hindered the wish to do this, but he said, Bury, that is, support in old age even till death. But the Lord said to him, Let the dead bury their dead. For there were other attendants also bound by the same tie of relationship, but as I consider dead, because they had not yet believed Christ. Learn from this, that our duty to God is to be preferred to our love for our parents, to whom we shew reverence, because through them have we been born. But the God of all, when as yet we were not, brought us into being, our parents were made the ministers of our introduction.

AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 23.) Our Lord spoke this to the man to whom He had said, Follow me. But another disciple put himself forward, to whom no one had spoken any thing, saying, I will follow thee, O Lord; but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at home, lest perchance they look for me as they are wont.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now this promise is worthy of our admiration and full of all praise, but to bid farewell to those who are at home, to get leave from them, shews that he was still somehow divided from the Lord, in that he had not yet resolved, to make this venture with his whole heart. For to wish to consult relations who would not agree to his proposal betokens one somewhat wavering. Wherefore our Lord condemns this, saying, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. He puts his hand to the plough who is ambitious to follow, yet looks back again who seeks an excuse for delay in returning home, and consulting with his friends.

AUGUSTINE. (Serm. 100.) As if he said to him, The East calls thee, and thou turnest to the West.

BEDE.: To put one’s hand to the plough, is also, (as it were by a certain sharp instrument,) by the wood and iron of our Lord’s passion, to wear away the hardness of our heart, and to open it to bring forth the fruits of good works. But if any one, having begun to exercise this, delights to look back with Lot’s wife to the things which he had left, he is deprived of the gift of the kingdom to come.

GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Nilus Monac.) For the frequent looking upon the things which we have forsaken, through the force of habit draws us back to our past way of life. For practice has great power to retain to itself. Is not habit generated of use, and nature of habit? But to get rid of or change nature is difficult; for although when compelled it for a while turns aside, it very rapidly returns to itself.

BEDE. But if the disciple about to follow our Lord is reproved for wishing even to bid farewell at home, what will be done to such as for no advantage-sake frequently visit the houses of those whom they have left in the world?

Catena Aurea Luke 9

Monastery of Christ in the Desert

Abiquiu, New Mexico

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c

Introduction
-----------------
[2] On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), [3] the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of the Lord
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[4] As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness round about it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming bronze. [5] And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.” And this was their appearance: they had the form of men.

[24] And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of a host; when they stood still, they let down their wings. [25] And there came a voice from above the firmament over their heads; when they stood still, they let down their wings.

[26] And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. [27] And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. [28] Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

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Commentary:

1:1-3. As is usual in the prophetical books, the heading identifies the author and indicates when and where he exercised his ministry. Ezekiel was a priest, and there is evidence of this throughout the book -- for example, in the stress he puts on precepts to do with divine worship and in his frequent use of the teaching techniques used by people who held temple positions.

“The thirtieth year”: this seems to provide the key to dating Ezekiel’s ministry, but it is not easy to decide how this should be interpreted. It could he a reference to the prophet’s age at the start of his mission, as if he were to say, “when I was thirty years old,” or it could be a reference to when the theophany that he is about to describe (vv. 2-3) occurred. Since that in fact happened in 593 BC (see below), the thirty years would refer to the period of time that had elapsed since that event. He could mean that he had the visions thirty years after the finding of the book of Deuteronomy in 622 BC, in the time of King Josiah (cf. 2 Kings 22:1-23:30), or that he was thirty. From Origen onwards (Homilae in Ezechielem, 1, 4), most scholars take it that the reference is to the age of Ezekiel at the time. Thirty was an important age for a priest, because that was when he began to exercise a priest’s duties in the temple (cf. Num 4:23, 30), and it is probable that that was the point when Ezekiel received the word of the Lord and began his prophetical ministry. Jesus, too, was “about thirty years of age” (Lk 3:23) when he began his public ministry; and the Fathers point out the parallel: “When he was thirty years old, the heavens were opened and Ezekiel the prophet saw visions of God on the banks of the river Chebar. When he was thirty years old, our Lord travelled to the Jordan; the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and a voice cried out from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (St Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Ezechielem prophetam, 1,2, 5).

Verses 2-3 are in the third person, unlike the rest of the passage, which is in the first person singular. They specify the date of the start of Ezekiel’s ministry. “the first year of the exile of King Jehoiachin”, that is, 593 BC, for that first deportation took place in 597 (cf. 2 Kings 24:10-17). These two verses giving the prophet’s name and the year when his ministry began were probably added by a later author.

The Chebar is a tributary of the Euphrates; archaeological remains have been discovered on its banks which show that there was a Jewish settlement there from the sixth century BC on. By mentioning the location twice, the text wants to make it clear that the theophany or vision took place outside the land of Israel, in Babylon, and that, therefore, the Lord had remained with his followers even when they were living among the Gentiles, in a pagan and unclean land.

The fact that Ezekiel has a prophet’s role is conveyed by the use of two wordings. The first, “the word of the Lord came to (him)”, occurs in many other prophetical books (Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1; etc.); the second, “the hand of the Lord was upon him” (cf. 3:22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1) is used more in connexion with the early non-writer prophets, specifically those in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 18:46). Thus, Ezekiel is being depicted as a person of great importance, a priest by descent, a true defender of the faith like Elijah, and a prophet like his immediate predecessors.

1:4-3:27. This fairly homogenous section introduces the two protagonists of the book -- God and the prophet. God reveals himself in all his majesty in a remarkable theophany: Ezekiel is able to see the splendour of his glory (1:4-28). The prophet is depicted as the person entrusted with the Lord’s words and charged with passing them on to the people (2:1-3:15). Ezekiel is made a watchman; he must warn the people and look out for them at all times, no matter what it takes: “What did Ezekiel do to prompt my admiration? Having been ordered to accuse Jerusalem of her sins, he set his heart wholly on obedience to the Lord’s command and paid no heed to the persecution he might encounter because of his preaching” (Origen, Homiliae in Ezechielem, 6, 1).

1:4-28. This is an awesome vision. The prophet watches in amazement as he sees the throne arrive (v. 26), on which is seated “a likeness as it were of a human form”, which becomes “the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (v. 28). The “glory of the Lord” is something that cannot be described. What can one say? It is like “gleaming bronze” (v. 4), “like burning coals of fire, like torches” (v. 13), “like sapphire” (v. 26) etc.; human language is at a complete loss to describe the grandeur of God’s glory. The account of the vision shows that God stands above everything; he is ineffable. St Cyril of Jerusalem puts it this way: “Do you want to know why it is impossible to understand the nature of God? [...] Tell me about the cherubim [...]. In so far as it is possible, the prophet Ezekiel offered a description of them: each one had four faces: the faces of a man, of a lion, of an eagle, and of a bull [...]. If we cannot form a clear idea of the cherubim, even with the help of this prophetic description; if we cannot make out the image of the throne as the prophet has described it, how can we expect to understand the one seated on the throne, the invisible and ineffable God? It is impossible for us to comprehend who God is; but by seeing all his works, it is possible for us to praise and worship him” (Catecheses ad illuminandos, 9, 3).

The various elements in the account leave us in no doubt as to the splendour of the vision, but the details given about each are difficult to understand. Many commentators think that the details were added much later, in an attempt to adapt the vision to the traditions of divine worship -- for example, to identify the throne of the glory of the Lord with the carriage that was used for bearing the ark of the Covenant solemn processions. Certainly, each piece of the vision must have a meaning, though it may sometimes escape us. Wind, cloud and fire (cf. v. 4) accompany great theophanies, such that of Sinai (Ex 19:16-20; Ps 18:9-15, 29:3-10); here they serve to emphasize the heavenly nature of the vision (“the heavens were opened”: v. 1).

“The likeness of four living creatures” (v. 5): the Hebrew word “hayot”, used for these, indicates that they are not domestic animals or wild beasts, but mythological beings of the sort often represented in Assyrian art. In Ezekiel the number four means fullness (the idea must derive from the four cardinal points -- north, south, east, west): the four creatures have four wings each, and four faces, and each of them has a wheel so that they can move in any four directions (vv. 15-17). The creatures are unlike any known creature, for sometimes they are treated masculine, and sometimes as feminine; sometimes the verb is in the singular, sometimes in the plural. In some way, they symbolize all living things, humans and beasts, created to show, in what they are and what they do, the glory of God in all its splendour. Almost from the beginning, Christian exegesis (cf. St lrenaeus, Adversus haereses, 3, 11, 18) interpreted the four animals (cf. v. 10) as symbolizing the four evangelists: “Because he begins his Gospel with an account of the human genealogy [of the Lord], Matthew is symbolized by the man; Mark is symbolized by the lion because he begins with a loud cry in the desert: Luke is symbolized by the bull because his book begins with a sacrifice; John is the eagle because his first focus is on the divinity of the Word I... I: in trying to see into the heart of the divine he is like the eagle that stares into the sun” (St Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Ezechielem prophetam, 1, 4, 1).

The “wheels” (vv. 15-21) suggest a war chariot, but they have extraordinary features and operate as if they were alive: they are “full of eyes” (v. 18) and “the spirit of the living creatures was in (them)” (v. 20). They symbolize all inanimate creation -- a dimension of creation which, like man, is designed to reveal the greatness of the glory of God. The “firmament” (v. 22), in Semitic cosmology, was a huge, solid plate separating the upper waters from those below; rain resulted when God opened trapdoors in this plate (cf. Gen 1:6-8). But the firmament also acted as a divide between heaven and earth; below it, creatures lived their lives; above it, God lived his. Therefore, the things depicted here as being above the firmament (vv. 24-28) have to do with God: the voice, the sapphire throne, the fire, etc. are all manifestations of divine majesty.

The “glory of God” forms the centre of the vision: all the other details are meant to underscore the splendour of that glory. In Ezekiel, as in the Priestly tradition (cf. Ex 13:22; 24:16; 40:35; Lev 9:23-24), the “glory of God” means the presence of God, who rules over all that he has created and is active among them. When the glory of God is present, the people are safe, and things go well; when it is withdrawn, it is a sign that the very worst will happen. Ezekiel records that the vision comes to him as a “likeness”, “demut” (as in Genesis 1:26), of the glory of God. So, St Cyril of Jerusalem makes the point that “The prophet saw the likeness of the glory of God (Ezek 1:28); he did not see the Lord, hut only the likeness of his glory; he did not even see the glory itself, as it really is, but only its likeness. And yet, though he saw only the likeness of the glory of the Lord, the prophet was so moved that he fell to the ground. If so great a man as the prophet falls to the ground and trembles in the presence of the likeness of the Lord’s glory, any man who tries to see God as he really is will surely die. And Scripture tells us so: No man shall see the face of God and live” (Catechesis ad illuminandos, 9, 1 ).

From: Matthew 17:22-27

Second Prophecy of the Passion; the Temple Tax
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[22] As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, [23] and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed.

[24] When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your Teacher pay the tax?" 25] He said, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?" [26] And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. [27] However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give to them for Me and for yourself."

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Commentary:

24-27. "Half-shekel", or "didrachma": a coin equal in value to the annual contribution every Jew had to make for the upkeep of the temple--a day's wage of a laborer. The shekel or stater which our Lord refers to in verse 27 was a Greek coin worth two didrachmas.

Jesus uses things great and small to get His teaching across to His disciples. Peter, who is to be the rock on which He will found His Church (Matthew 16:18-19), He prepares by letting him see His dramatic Transfiguration (17:1-8); now He gives Peter another inkling of His divinity through an apparently unimportant miracle. We should take note of Jesus' teaching method: after His second announcement of His passion, His disciples are downhearted (Matthew 17:22-23); here He lifts Peter's spirits with this friendly little miracle.

26. This shows how conscientiously our Lord fulfilled His civic duties. Although the half-shekel tax had to do with religion, given the theocratic structure of Israel at the time, payment of this tax also constituted a civic obligation.

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

Saint of the Day for August 8

(August 8, 1170 - August 6, 1221)

Saint Dominic's Story

If he hadn’t taken a trip with his bishop, Dominic would probably have remained within the structure of contemplative life; after the trip, he spent the rest of his life being a contemplative in active apostolic work.

Born in old Castile, Spain, Dominic was trained for the priesthood by a priest-uncle, studied the arts and theology, and became a canon of the cathedral at Osma, where there was an attempt to revive the apostolic common life described in Acts of the Apostles.

On a journey through France with his bishop, Dominic came face to face with the then virulent Albigensian heresy at Languedoc. The Albigensians--or Cathari, “the pure ones”--held to two principles—one good, one evil—in the world. All matter is evil—hence they denied the Incarnation and the sacraments. On the same principle, they abstained from procreation and took a minimum of food and drink. The inner circle led what some people regarded as a heroic life of purity and asceticism not shared by ordinary followers.

Dominic sensed the need for the Church to combat this heresy, and was commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against it. He saw immediately why the preaching crusade was not succeeding: the ordinary people admired and followed the ascetical heroes of the Albigenses. Understandably, they were not impressed by the Catholic preachers who traveled with horse and retinues, stayed at the best inns and had servants. Dominic therefore, with three Cistercians, began itinerant preaching according to the gospel ideal. He continued this work for 10 years, being successful with the ordinary people but not with the leaders.

His fellow preachers gradually became a community, and in 1215 Dominic founded a religious house at Toulouse, the beginning of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans.

Dominic's ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to pass on the fruits of contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.”

Reflection

The Dominican ideal, like that of all religious communities, is for the imitation, not merely the admiration, of the rest of the Church. The effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any full human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity.

Saint Dominic is the Patron Saint of:

Astronomers
Dominican Republic

franciscanmedia.org

Saint Dominic of Guzmán

Claudio Coello

Ca. 1685
Prado

Readings at Mass

Ezekiel's vision of the glory of the Lord

'They will put the Son of Man to death'

The wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory

'I will follow you wherever you go'

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 17

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Saint of the Day for August 8

(August 8, 1170 - August 6, 1221)