Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 19-September-2022; St. Januarius

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 8

8:16–18

16. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

17. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

18. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

BEDE. Having before said to His Apostles, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables; He now shews that by them at length must the same mystery be revealed also to others, saying, No man when he hath lighted a candle covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it tender a bed.

EUSEBIUS. As if He said, As a lantern is lighted that it should give light, not that it should be covered under a bushel or a bed, so also the secrets of the kingdom of heaven when uttered in parables, although hid from those who are strangers to the faith, will not however to all men appear obscure. Hence he adds, For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest, neither any thing hid that shall not be known, and come abroad. As if He said, Though many things are spoken in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand, because of their unbelief, yet the whole matter shall be revealed.

AUGUSTINE. (de Quæst. Ev. lib. ii. q. 12.) Or else in these words He typically sets forth the boldness of preaching, that no one should, through fear of fleshly ills, conceal the light of knowledge. For under the names of vessel and bed, he represents the flesh, but of that of lantern, the word, which whosoever keeps hid through fear of the troubles of the flesh, sets the flesh itself before the manifestation of the truth, and by it he as it were covers the word, who fears to preach it. But he places a candle upon a candlestick who so submits his body to the service of God, that the preaching of the truth stands highest in his estimation, the service of the body lowest.

ORIGEN. But he who would adapt his lantern to the more perfect disciples of Christ, must persuade us by those things which were spoken of John, for he was a burning and a shining light. (John 5:35.) It becomes not him then who lights the light of reason in his soul to hide it under a bed where men sleep, nor under any vessel, for he who does this provides not for those who enter the house for whom the candle is prepared, but they must set it upon a candlestick, that is, the whole Church.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 15. in Matt.) By these words he leads them to diligence of life, teaching them to be strong as exposed to the view of all men, and fighting in the world as on a stage. As if he said, Think not that we dwell in a small part of the world, for ye will be known of all men, since it cannot be that so great virtue should lie hid.

MAXIMUS. (Quæst. in Script. 63.) Or perhaps the Lord calls Himself a light shining to all who inhabit the house, that is, the world, since He is by nature God, but by the dispensation made flesh. And so like the light of the lamp He abides in the vessel of the flesh by means of the soul as the light in the vessel of the lamp by means of the flame. But by the candlestick he describes the Church over which the divine word shines, illuminating the house as it were by the rays of truth. But under the similitude of a vessel or bed he referred to the observance of the law, under which the word will not be contained.

BEDE. But the Lord ceases not to teach us to hearken to His word, that we may be able both to constantly meditate on it in our own minds, and to bring it forth for the instruction of others. Hence it follows, Take heed therefore how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given. As if he says, Give heed with all your mind to the word which ye hear, for to him who has a love of the word, shall be given also the sense of understanding what he loves; but whoso hath no love of hearing the word, though he deems himself skilful either from natural genius, or the exercise of learning, will have no delight in the sweetness of wisdom; for oftentimes the slothful man is gifted with capacities, that if he neglect them he may be the more justly punished for his negligence, since that which he can obtain without labour he disdains to know, and sometimes the studious man is oppressed with slowness of apprehension, in order that the more he labours in his inquiries, the greater may be the recompense of his reward.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 8
16.	Now no man lighting a candle covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it upon a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.	Nemo autem lucernam accendens, operit eam vase, aut subtus lectum ponit : sed supra candelabrum ponit, ut intrantes videant lumen.	ουδεις δε λυχνον αψας καλυπτει αυτον σκευει η υποκατω κλινης τιθησιν αλλ επι λυχνιας επιτιθησιν ινα οι εισπορευομενοι βλεπωσιν το φως
17.	For there is not any thing secret that shall not be made manifest, nor hidden, that shall not be known and come abroad.	Non est enim occultum, quod non manifestetur : nec absconditum, quod non cognoscatur, et in palam veniat.	ου γαρ εστιν κρυπτον ο ου φανερον γενησεται ουδε αποκρυφον ο ου γνωσθησεται και εις φανερον ελθη
18.	Take heed therefore how you hear. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given: and whosoever hath not, that also which he thinketh he hath, shall be taken away from him.	Videte ergo quomodo audiatis ? Qui enim habet, dabitur illi : et quicumque non habet, etiam quod putat se habere, auferetur ab illo.	βλεπετε ουν πως ακουετε ος γαρ εαν εχη δοθησεται αυτω και ος εαν μη εχη και ο δοκει εχειν αρθησεται απ αυτου

Saint of the Day for September 19

(c. 300)

Saint Januarius' Story

Little is known about the life of Januarius. He is believed to have been martyred in the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305. Legend has it that Januarius and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but the animals failed to attack them. They were then beheaded, and Januarius' blood ultimately brought to Naples.

"A dark mass that half fills a hermetically sealed four-inch glass container, and is preserved in a double reliquary in the Naples cathedral as the blood of St. Januarius, liquefies 18 times during the year...Various experiments have been applied, but the phenomenon eludes natural explanation...." [From the Catholic Encyclopedia]

Reflection

It is defined Catholic doctrine that miracles can happen and are recognizable. Problems arise, however, when we must decide whether an occurrence is unexplainable in natural terms, or merely unexplained. We do well to avoid an excessive credulity but, on the other hand, when even scientists speak about “probabilities” rather than “laws” of nature, it is something less than imaginative for Christians to think that God is too “scientific” to work extraordinary miracles to wake us up to the everyday miracles of sparrows and dandelions, raindrops and snowflakes.

Saint Januarius is the Patron Saint of:

Blood Banks/Blood Donors
Naples

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Proverbs 3:27-34

The way of the wise
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[27] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. [28] Do not say to your neighbour, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it” – when you have it with you. [29] Do not plan evil against your neighbour who dwells trustingly beside you. [30] Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm. [31] Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways; [32] for the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord. but the upright are in his confidence. [33] The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous. [34] Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favour.

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Commentary:

3:21-35. In the fourth lesson, the teacher gives his disciple some practical rules of behaviour that he needs to follow if he is to be a wise man. People who take these rules to heart can rest at ease, for the Lord is protective of those who keep to wisdom’s path (vv. 25-26).

One of the most valuable services that wisdom provides is to teach a person how to maintain good relationships with others. That goal is achieved when one sincerely seeks the good of others and is not slow to lend help when asked (vv. 27-31); one needs to have a right intention and be straightforward. Only a person like that can be on close terms with the Lord (v. 32). “The intimate conversation of God consists in the revelation of his secrets to the souls of men, and in elucidating them by his presence. It is said that he holds his intimate conversations with the simple because, by the light of his presence, he reveals the divine mysteries to the souls of those who are not steeped in shadow by their duplicity” (St Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, 3, 11).

“To the humble he shows favour” (v. 34). The New Testament twice refers to this in the context of how to make the best use of the Lord’s gifts. In the First Letter of St Peter, after addressing elders and younger people about the need for harmony between them, he says: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives to the humble’.

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you (1 Pet 5:5-7). And the Letter of St James, after recalling those same words, says. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter he turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (Jas 4:7-10).

From: Luke 8:16-18

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables (Continuation)
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(Jesus told the crowd,) [16] "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the light. [17] For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. [18] Take heed then how you hear; for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

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Commentary:

[There is no commentary available for Luke 8:16-18. The commentary for the same parable found in Mark 4:21-25 states:]

16-17. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ's doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "What you hear whispered, proclaim it upon the housetops" (Mt 10:27); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mk 16:15). The other teaching is that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in favor or against Christ, will not become public or manifest.

24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching he is giving: they are receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will more be given...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished (cf. Mt 25:14- 30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological virtues: "If you say 'Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, "Sermon" 51). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines: "Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 427).

[The commentary for still another similar parable found in Matthew 13:12 states:]

12. Jesus is addressing his disciples and explaining to them that, precisely because they have faith in him and want to have a good grasp of his teaching, they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not "follow him" (cf. note on Mt 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and will grow even blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a parable which gives us a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God's gifts become closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they eventually lose God's grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us--without taking away our freedom--to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

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Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 8

Saint of the Day for September 19

(c. 300)