Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 03-September-2022;Saint Gregory the Great

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 6
1.	AND it came to pass on the second first sabbath, that as he went through the corn fields, his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.	Factum est autem in sabbato secundo, primo, cum transiret per sata, vellebant discipuli ejus spicas, et manducabant confricantes manibus.	εγενετο δε εν σαββατω δευτεροπρωτω διαπορευεσθαι αυτον δια των σποριμων και ετιλλον οι μαθηται αυτου τους σταχυας και ησθιον ψωχοντες ταις χερσιν
2.	And some of the Pharisees said to them: Why do you that which is not lawful on the sabbath days?	Quidam autem pharisæorum, dicebant illis : Quid facitis quod non licet in sabbatis ?	τινες δε των φαρισαιων ειπον αυτοις τι ποιειτε ο ουκ εξεστιν ποιειν εν τοις σαββασιν
3.	And Jesus answering them, said: Have you not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was hungry, and they that were with him:	Et respondens Jesus ad eos, dixit : Nec hoc legistis quod fecit David, cum esurisset ipse, et qui cum illo erant ?	και αποκριθεις προς αυτους ειπεν ο ιησους ουδε τουτο ανεγνωτε ο εποιησεν δαυιδ οποτε επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου οντες
4.	How he went into the house of God, and took and ate the bread of proposition, and gave to them that were with him, which is not lawful to eat but only for the priests?	quomodo intravit in domum Dei, et panes propositionis sumpsit, et manducavit, et dedit his qui cum ipso erant : quos non licet manducare nisi tantum sacerdotibus ?	ως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου και τους αρτους της προθεσεως ελαβεν και εφαγεν και εδωκεν και τοις μετ αυτου ους ουκ εξεστιν φαγειν ει μη μονους τους ιερεις
5.	And he said to them: The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.	Et dicebat illis : Quia dominus est Filius hominis etiam sabbati.	και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι κυριος εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου και του σαββατου

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

CHAP. 6

6:1–5

1. And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

2. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

3. And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

4. How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the Priests alone?

5. And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

AMBROSE. Not only in the form of expression, but in His very practice and mode of action, did the Lord begin to absolve man from the observance of the old law. Hence it is said, And it came to pass that he went through the corn fields, &c.

BEDE. For His disciples having no opportunity for eating because the multitudes thronged so, were naturally hungry, but by plucking the ears of corn they relieved their hunger, which is a mark of a strict habit of life, not seeking for prepared meats, but mere simple food.

THEOPHYLACT. Now He says, on the second sabbath after the first, because the Jews called every feast a sabbath. For sabbath means rest. Frequently therefore was there feasting at the preparation, and they called the preparation a sabbath because of the feast, and hence they gave to the principal sabbath the name of the second-first, as being the second in consequence of the festival of the day preceding.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 39. in Matt.) For there was a double feast; one on the principal sabbath, another on the next solemn day succeeding, which was also called a sabbath.

ISIDORE OF PELEUSIUM. (Isidore. l. i. Ep. 110.) He says, On the second-first, because it was the second day of the Passover, but the first of unleavened bread. Having killed the passover, on the very next day they kept the feast of unleavened bread. And it is plain that this was so from the fact, that the Apostles plucked ears of corn and ate them, for at that time the ears are weighed down by the fruit.

EPIPHANIUS. (cont. Hær. l. i. Hær. xxx. 32.) On the sabbath day then they were seen passing through the corn fields, and eating the corn, shewing that the bonds of the sabbath were loosened, when the great Sabbath was come in Christ, Who made us to rest from the working of our iniquities.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. But the Pharisees and Scribes not knowing the Holy Scriptures agreed together to find fault with Christ’s disciples, as it follows, And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye, &c. Tell me now, when a table is set before you on the sabbath day; do you not break bread? Why then do you blame others?

BEDE. But some say that these things were objected to our Lord Himself; they might indeed have been objected by different persons, both to our Lord Himself and His disciples, but to whomsoever the objection is made, it chiefly refers to Him.

AMBROSE. But the Lord proves the defenders of the law to be ignorant of what belongs to the law, bringing the example of David; as it follows, And Jesus answering said to them, Have ye not read so much as this, &c.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. As if He said, Whereas the law of Moses expressly says, Give a righteous judgment, and ye shall not respect persons in judgment, (Deut. 1:16, 17.) how now do ye blame My disciples, who even to this day extol David as a saint and prophet, though he kept not the commandment of Moses?

CHRYSOSTOM. (ut sup.) And mark, that whenever the Lord speaks for His servants, (i. e. His disciples,) He brings forward servants, as for example David and the Priests; but when for Himself, He introduces His Father; as in that place, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. (John 5:17.)

THEOPHYLACT. But he reproves them in another way, as it is added, And he said unto them, that the So of man is Lord also of the sabbath. As if he said, I am the Lord of the sabbath, as being He who ordained it, and as the Legislator I have power to loose the sabbath; for Christ was called the Son of man, who being the Son of God yet condescended in a miraculous manner to be made and called for man’s sake the Son of man.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) But Mark declares that He uttered this of our common nature, for He said, The sabbath was made for man, not, man for the sabbath. It is therefore more fitting that the sabbath should be subject to man, than that man should bow his neck to the sabbath.

AMBROSE. But herein is a great mystery. For the field is the whole world, the corn is the abundant harvest of the saints in the seed of the human race, the ears of corn are the fruits of the Church, which the Apostles shaking off by their works fed upon, nourishing themselves with our increase, and by their mighty miracles, as it were out of the bodily husks, plucking forth the fruits of the mind to the light of faith.

BEDE. For they bruise the ears in their hands, because, when they wish to bring others over into the body of Christ, they mortify their old man with its acts drawing them away from worldly thoughts.

AMBROSE. Now the Jews thought this unlawful on the Sabbath, but Christ by the gift of new grace represented hereby the rest of the law, the work of grace. Wonderfully has He called it the second-first sabbath, not the first-second, because that was loosed from the law which was first, and this is made first which was ordained second. It is therefore called the second sabbath according to number, the first according to the grace of the work. For that sabbath is better where there is no penalty, than that where there is a penalty prescribed. Or this perhaps was first in the foreknowledge of wisdom, and second in the sanction of the ordinance. Now in David escaping with his companions, there was a foreshadowing of Christ in the law, who with His Apostles escaped the prince of the world. But how was it that the Observer and Defender of the law Himself both eat the bread, and gave it to those that were with Him, which no one was allowed to eat but the priests, except that He might shew by that figure that the priests’ bread was to come over to the use of the people, or that we ought to imitate the priests’ life, or that all the children of the Church are priests, for we are anointed into a holy priesthood, offering ourselves a spiritual sacrifice to God. (1 Pet. 2:5.) But if the sabbath was made for men, and the benefit of men required that a man when hungry (having been long without the fruits of the earth) should forsake the abstinence of the old fast, the law is surely not broken but fulfilled.

Catena Aurea Luke 6

Saint of the Day for September 3

(c. 540 - March 12, 604)

Saint Gregory the Great's Story

Gregory was the prefect of Rome before he was 30. After five years in office he resigned, founded six monasteries on his Sicilian estate, and became a Benedictine monk in his own home at Rome.

Ordained a priest, Gregory became one of the pope's seven deacons, and also served six years in the East as papal representative in Constantinople. He was recalled to become abbot, but at the age of 50 was elected pope by the clergy and people of Rome.

Gregory was direct and firm. He removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine. He was very concerned about the conversion of England, sending 40 monks from his own monastery. He is known for his reform of the liturgy, and for strengthening respect for doctrine. Whether he was largely responsible for the revision of “Gregorian” chant is disputed.

Gregory lived in a time of perpetual strife with invading Lombards and difficult relations with the East. When Rome itself was under attack, he interviewed the Lombard king.

His book, Pastoral Care, on the duties and qualities of a bishop, was read for centuries after his death. He described bishops mainly as physicians whose main duties were preaching and the enforcement of discipline. In his own down-to-earth preaching, Gregory was skilled at applying the daily Gospel to the needs of his listeners. Called “the Great,” Gregory has been given a place with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, as one of the four key doctors of the Western Church.

An Anglican historian has written: “It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages without the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy, the real father is Gregory the Great.”

Reflection

Gregory was content to be a monk, but he willingly served the Church in other ways when asked. He sacrificed his own preferences in many ways, especially when he was called to be Bishop of Rome. Once he was called to public service, Gregory gave his considerable energies completely to this work. Gregory's description of bishops as physicians fits in well with Pope Francis' description of the Church as a "field hospital."

Saint Gregory the Great is the Patron Saint of:

England
Epilepsy
Musicians
Teachers

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15

Servants of Christ (Continuation)
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[6] I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. [7] For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

Trials of Apostles
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[8] Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! [9] For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, t o angels and to men. [10] We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. [11] To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, [12] and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; [13] when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

Admonishment

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[14] I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. [15] For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

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Commentary:

6. "Not to go beyond what is written": this is open to various interpretations. I t may be a proverb with which the Corinthians were familiar, meaning that one should stay on safe ground (in this cases Paul's guidelines for the infant Church at Corinth). "What is written" could also refer to all scripture or just to the quotations which Paul has used (cf. 1:19, 31; 3:19). In any event he makes it clear to the Corinthians that it is they themselves who, due to their immaturity and pride, have caused the dissensions in their community through exalting one preacher at the expense of others. Paul and Apollos have behaved quite properly and therefore cannot be held responsible for these divisions.

7. The Apostle comes back again to insist on what he said earlier (cf. 1:26-31): they have no cause to boast about the calling they have received. God called them without any merit on their part. "To be humble is to walk in the truth, for it is absolutely true to say that we have no good thing in ourselves, but only misery and nothingness; and anyone who fails to understand this is walking in falsehood" (St Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle", VI, chap. 10). Therefore, the attitude of a humble soul, reflecting on the graces he or she has received, should be one of gratitude to God, the giver. Here is what St John of Avila has to say about this verse: "If you have the grace of God and want to please him and do excellent things, do not glory in yourself, but rather in him who made it possible-God. And if you boast of having used your free will well, or freely consented to God's inspirations, do not boast even on that account; boast rather of God who made you consent, inspiring you and gently influencing you-and who in fact gave you that free will whereby you were able to give your free consent. And if you are inclined to boast about the fact that you could have resisted God's inspiration and good influence and yet did not resist it, y ou should not boast about that either, for that is a matter not of doing something but of not doing something; and even that you owe to God, because he who helped you to consent in doing good also helped you not to reject that help. Any good use you make of your free will, in things to do with your salvation, is a gift from God [...]. So, always boast only in God, from whom all the good you have comes; and remember that without him the only harvest you reap is nothing, and vanity and evil" ("Audi, Filia", chap. 66).

8. Verse 8 sums up a series of ironic remarks about the conceitedness of these Corinthians whom St Paul is taking to task. St Thomas Aquinas comments on this passage as follows: "The Apostle here considers four types of pride: the first, when one thinks that what one has does not come from God [...]; the second, which is similar, when one thinks that one has done everything on one's own merit; the third, when one boasts of having something which one does not in fact have [...]; the fourth, when one despises others and is concerned only about oneself" ("Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.").

The Apostle dramatically describes the disabilities which followers of Christ are happy to bear, like people sentenced to death in the arena they are a spectacle for everyone to watch. In other letters he again tells of the suffering an apostle must expect (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10; 11:23-33; 2 Tim 3:11).

The last words in the passage-"the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things"-may refer to a barbaric custom that obtained in some Greek cities: in the face of some public calamity, a citizen, in exchange for being treated royal for a period, agreed to be sacrificed to the gods; on the day of his sacrifice the people had the right to heap every kind of insult and filth upon him; he was "the offscouring of everyone". This sacrifice was offered to free the city of evil spells. Even if they do refer to this custom, these words have also a much deeper meaning: Christ by dying on the cross has redeemed the world; the apostle must follow in the footsteps of his Master, knowing that suffering completes "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24).

Therefore, there is no trace of protest in what St Paul is saying here: he is pointing to the value of suffering, which the cross of Christ, helps us to recognize. "I will tell you which are man's treasures on earth," St. J. Escriva writes, "so that you won't let them go to waste: hunger, thirst, heat cold, pain, dishonor, poverty, loneliness, betrayal, slander, prison..." ("The Way", 194).

14-16. St Paul brings up the subject of the spiritual paternity of the Corinthians, because it was he who begot them in the faith. In view of this fact, his reproaches take on a special seriousness; his purpose is not to make them feel ashamed but to encourage them to acquire the virtues they need and to have them build up the Church, which has been established as "a communion of life, love and truth" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 9).

"Be imitators of me": whenever the Apostle puts himself forward as a model for the faithful (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; 2 Thess 3:7; Phil 3:17; Gal 4:12) he refers to the sufferings which his apostolate has brought upon him. All Christians should act in like manner (1 Thess 1:6-7; 2:14). If they do, they will be a support for one another, they will come to have the same sentiments as Christ Jesus, (Phil 2:5), and will be keeping out his commandment that each carry his own cross (Mt. 16:24).

The saints understood all this and taught others to face up to suffering, even severe suffering. "We always find that those who walked closest to Christ o ur Lord were those who had to bear the greatest trials. Consider the trials suffered by his glorious Mother and by the glorious Apostles. How do you suppose St Paul could endure such terrible trials? [...]. You know very well that, so far as we can learn, he took not a day's rest, nor can he have rested by night, since it was then that he had to earn his living" (St Teresa, "Interior Castle", VII, chap. 4,5).

From: Luke 6:1-5

The Law of the Sabbath
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[1] On a Sabbath, while He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields, His disciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are You doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" [3] And Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God, and took 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 with him?" [5] And he said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

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Commentary:

1-5. Accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus explains the correct way of understanding the Sabbath rest, using an example from the Old Testament. And, by stating that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" He is openly revealing that He is God Himself, for it was God who gave this precept to the people of Israel. For more on this, see the notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8.

[The notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8 states:
2. "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.

3-8. Jesus rebuts the Pharisees' accusation by four arguments—the example of David, that of the priests, a correct understanding of the mercy of God and Jesus' own authority over the Sabbath.

The first example which was quite familiar to the people, who were used to listening to the Bible being read, comes from 1 Samuel 21:2-7: David, in flight from the jealousy of King Saul, asks the priest of the shrine of Nob for food for his men; the priest gave them the only bread he had, the holy bread of the Presence; this was the twelve loaves which were placed each week on the golden altar of the sanctuary as a perpetual offering from the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 24:5-9). The second example refers to the priestly ministry to perform the liturgy, priests had to do a number of things on the Sabbath but did not thereby break the law of Sabbath rest (cf. Numbers 28:9). ]

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

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Readings at Mass

What do you have that was not given to you?

The Son of Man is master of the sabbath

God has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of his glory

I confer a kingdom on you, just as the Father conferred one on me

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

CHAP. 6

Saint of the Day for September 3

(c. 540 - March 12, 604)