Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 7-November-2022

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)	Latin: Vulgata Clementina
	Luke 17
1.	AND he said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come.	ειπεν δε προς τους μαθητας ανενδεκτον εστιν του μη ελθειν τα σκανδαλα ουαι δε δι ου ερχεται	Et ait ad discipulos suos : Impossibile est ut non veniant scandala : væ autem illi per quem veniunt.
2.	It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones.	λυσιτελει αυτω ει μυλος ονικος περικειται περι τον τραχηλον αυτου και ερριπται εις την θαλασσαν η ινα σκανδαλιση ενα των μικρων τουτων	Utilius est illi si lapis molaris imponatur circa collum ejus, et projiciatur in mare quam ut scandalizet unum de pusillis istis.
3.	Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him.	προσεχετε εαυτοις εαν δε αμαρτη εις σε ο αδελφος σου επιτιμησον αυτω και εαν μετανοηση αφες αυτω	Attendite vobis : Si peccaverit in te frater tuus, increpa illum : et si pœnitentiam egerit, dimitte illi.
4.	And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, I repent; forgive him.	και εαν επτακις της ημερας αμαρτη εις σε και επτακις της ημερας επιστρεψη λεγων μετανοω αφησεις αυτω	Et si septies in die peccaverit in te, et septies in die conversus fuerit ad te, dicens : Pœnitet me, dimitte illi.
5.	And the apostles said to the Lord: Increase our faith.	και ειπον οι αποστολοι τω κυριω προσθες ημιν πιστιν	Et dixerunt apostoli Domino : Adauge nobis fidem.
6.	And the Lord said: If you had faith like to a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou transplanted into the sea: and it would obey you.	ειπεν δε ο κυριος ει εχετε πιστιν ως κοκκον σιναπεως ελεγετε αν τη συκαμινω ταυτη εκριζωθητι και φυτευθητι εν τη θαλασση και υπηκουσεν αν υμιν	Dixit autem Dominus : Si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis, dicetis huic arbori moro : Eradicare, et transplantare in mare, et obediet vobis.

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 17

17:1–2

1. Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

2. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

THEOPHYLACT. Because the Pharisees were covetous and railed against Christ when He preached poverty, He put to them the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Afterwards, in speaking with His disciples concerning the Pharisees, He declares them to be men who caused division, and placed obstacles in the divine way. As it follows; Then said he unto his disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come, that is, hindrances to a good life and which is pleasing to God.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now there are two kinds of offences, of which the one resist the glory of God, but the other serve only to cause a stumbling-block to the brethren. For the inventions of heresies, and every word that is spoken against the truth, are obstructions to the glory of God. Such offences however do not seem to be mentioned here, but rather those which occur between friends and brethren, as strifes, slanders, and the like. Therefore He adds afterwards, If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him.

THEOPHYLACT. Or, He says that there must arise many obstacles to preaching and to the truth, as the Pharisees hindered the preaching of Christ. But some ask, If it needs be that offences should come, why does our Lord rebuke the author of the offences? for it follows, But woe to him through whom they come. For whatsoever necessity engenders is pardonable, or deserving of pardon. But observe, that necessity itself derives its birth from free-will. For our Lord, seeing how men cling to evil, and put forward nothing good, spoke with reference to the consequence of those things which are seen, that offences must needs come; just as if a physician, seeing a man using an unwholesome diet, should say, It is impossible but that such a one should be sick. And therefore to him that causes offences He denounces woe, and threatens punishment, saying, It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, &c.

BEDE. This is spoken according to the custom of the province of Palestine; for among the ancient Jews the punishment of those who were guilty of the greater crimes was that they should be sunk into the deep with a stone tied to them; and in truth it were better for a guilty man to finish his bodily life by a punishment however barbarous, yet temporal, than for his innocent brother to deserve the eternal death of his soul. Now he who can be offended is rightly called a little one; for he who is great, whatsoever he is witness of, and how great soever his sufferings, swerves not from the faith. As far then as we can without sin, we ought to avoid giving offence to our neighbours. But if an offence is taken at the truth, it is better to let the offence be, than that truth should be abandoned.

CHRYSOSTOM. But by the punishment of the man who offends, learn the reward of him who saves. For had not the salvation of one soul been of such exceeding care to Christ, He would not threaten with such a punishment the offender.

17:3–4

3. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

AMBROSE. After the parable of the rich man who is tormented in punishment, Christ added a commandment to give forgiveness to those who turn themselves from their trespasses, lest any one through despair should not be reclaimed from his fault; and hence it is said, Take heed to yourselves.

THEOPHYLACT. As if He says, Offences must needs come; but it does not follow that you must perish, if only you be on your guard: as it need not that the sheep should perish when the wolf comes, if the shepherd is watching. And since there are great varieties of offenders, (for some are incurable, some are curable,) He therefore adds, If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him.

AMBROSE. That there might neither be hard-wrung pardon, nor a too easy forgiveness, neither a harsh upbraiding, to dishearten, nor an overlooking of faults, to invite to sin; therefore it is said in another place, Tell him his fault between him and thee alone. (Mat. 18:15.) For better is a friendly correction, than a quarrelsome accusation. The one strikes shame into a man, the other moves his indignation. He who is admonished will more likely be saved, because he fears to be destroyed. For it is well that he who is corrected should believe you to be rather his friend than his enemy. For we more readily give ear to counsel than yield to injury. Fear is a weak preserver of consistency, but shame is an excellent master of duty. For he who fears is restrained, not amended. But He has well said, If he trespass against thee. For it is not the same thing to sin against God and to sin against man.

BEDE. But we must mark, that He does not bid us forgive every one who sins, but him only who repents of his sins. For by taking this course we may avoid offences, hurting no one, correcting the sinner with a righteous zeal, extending the bowels of mercy to the penitent.

THEOPHYLACT. But some one may well ask, If when I have several times forgiven my brother he again trespass against me, what must I do with him? In answer therefore to this question He adds, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; forgive him.

BEDE. By using the number seven He assigns no bound to the giving of pardon, but commands us either to forgive all sins, or always to forgive the penitent. For by seven the whole of any thing or time is frequently represented.

AMBROSE. Or this number is used because God rested on the seventh day from His works. After the seventh day of the world everlasting rest is promised us, that as the evil works of that world shall then cease, so also may the sharpness of punishment be abated.

17:5–6

5. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

THEOPHYLACT. The disciples hearing our Lord discoursing of certain arduous duties, such as poverty, and avoiding offences, entreat Him to increase their faith, that so they might be able to follow poverty, (for nothing so prompts to a life of poverty as faith and hope in the Lord,) and through faith to guard against giving offences. Therefore it is said, And the Apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

GREGORY. (22. Mor. c. 21.) That is, that the faith which has already been received in its beginning, might go on increasing more and more unto perfection.

AUGUSTINE. (de Quæst. Ev. lib. 2. qu. 39.) We may indeed understand that they asked for the increase of that faith by which men believe in the things which they see not; but there is further signified a faith in things, whereby not with the words only, but the things themselves present, we believe. And this shall be, when the Wisdom of God, by whom all things were made, shall reveal Himself openly to His saints face to face.

THEOPHYLACT. But our Lord told them that they asked well, and that they ought to believe stedfastly, forasmuch as faith could do many things; and hence it follows, And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, &c. Two mighty acts are here brought together in the same sentence; the transplanting of that which was rooted in the earth, and the planting thereof in the sea, (for what is ever planted in the waves?) by which two things He declares the power of faith.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 57. in Matt.) He mentions the mustard seed, because, though small in size, it is mightier in power than all the others. He implies then that the least part of faith can do great things. But though the Apostles did not transplant the mulberry tree, do not thou accuse them; for our Lord said not, You shall transplant, but, You shall be able to transplant. But they did not, because there was no need, seeing that they did greater things. (Hom. 32 in 1 ad Cor. c. 13:2.). But some one will ask, How does Christ say, that it is the least part of faith which can transplant a mulberry tree or a mountain, whereas Paul says that it is all faith which moves mountains? We must then answer, that the Apostle imputes the moving of mountains to all faith, not as though only the whole of faith could do this, but because this seemed a great thing to carnal men on account of the vastness of the body.

BEDE. Or our Lord here compares perfect faith to a grain of mustard seed, because it is lowly in appearance, but fervid in heart. But mystically by the mulberry tree, (whose fruit and branches are red with a blood-red colour,) is represented the Gospel of the cross, which, through the faith of the Apostles being uprooted by the word of preaching from the Jewish nation, in which it was kept as it were in the lineal stock, was removed and planted in the sea of the Gentiles.

AMBROSE. Or this is said because faith keeps out the unclean spirit, especially since the nature of the tree falls in with this meaning. For the fruit of the mulberry is at first white in the blossom, and being formed from thence grows red, and blackens as it gets ripe. The devil also having by transgression fallen from the white flower of the angelic nature and the bright beams of his power, grows terrible in the black odour of sin.

CHRYSOSTOM. The mulberry may be also compared to the devil, for as by the leaves of the mulberry tree certain worms are fed, so the devil, by the imaginations which proceed from him, is feeding for us a never dying worm; but this mulberry tree faith is able to pluck out of our souls, and plunge it into the deep.

Catena Aurea Luke 17

Bl. Francis Palau

The Blessed Francis Palau, a Spanish Carmelite born in Aytona in 1810 and died in Taragona in 1871, was a typical person of the XIX century. Fr Alejo of the Virgin of Carmel wrote that he could be counted among the great figures of the XIX century, particularly in Catalonia, and among the apostles of the Christian word, alongside the Venerable Claret, Fr Coll and Fr Planas, but that we must add about Fr Palau that he was the “most afflicted, most maligned, and least well known today, than all the others.”

He was a man dissatisfied with the spirit of the century, longing for the world that had been brought tumbling down by revolutionary processes, and always hoping for the resurgence of a new society in which he could see his hopes realized.

His vocation: Palau discovered that his place was in the cloister, and when circumstances expelled him from there, he reaffirmed his vocation as a religious and Carmelite, to which he remained faithful in facing pressure, prohibitions, prison and exile. Now that the “call of love” in him was stronger that all the difficulties that occurred, he resolved “to live in solitude in the deserts, within the shelter of the mountains.”

Love for the Church, his great passion, would eventually reveal itself as a reality far beyond the structure he initially felt. He came to understand it as a communion of love between God and neighbour. When he discovered this mystery at the height of 1860, he also discovered the definitive meaning of his life: a life spent in service to the Church.

Francis Palau, by vocation a hermit, felt himself an apostle, an evangelizer, willing to spend himself in this cause against all those who wished to discard and silence God. He understood evangelizing to be all activity: preaching, teaching, catechesis, charitable work, using journalism in his own style, propaganda and denunciation, which are helpful to make the environment Christian and to continue bringing it closer to religious principles which, for him, are the basis on which the social edifice ought to be built.

But this passion of his not only addressed Christian indoctrination, but also the care of the needy, the sick, and among these the “crazy”, the insane, who sometimes appeared as having fallen out of God’s hand. In fact he, who from his youth felt that solitude and contemplation – Mary’s vocation – was the natural environment for developing his vocation, recommended to his spiritual daughters the vocation of Martha.

This is Fr Palau, a Discalced Carmelite who, on being expelled from his monastery, discovered his vocation as a solitary hermit, enjoying to be among the caves and solitude of the mountains, who knew how to be a reservoir for the people, as a preacher, reformer of customs, teaching the faith, leading the groups and communities who gathered around him.

Apostolic Missionary: he was the founder of what we today know as two congregations, the Teresian Carmelite Missionary Sisters and the Carmelite Missionary Sisters.

He wrote works of an apologetic and devotional nature. But, above and before all, he was a searcher who always went “in pursuit of what was good and beautiful”.

carmelitaniscalzi.com

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Titus 1:1-9

Greeting
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[1] Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness, [2] in hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago [3] and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by command of God our Savior; [4] To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders
--------------------------------
[5] This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, [6] if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. [7] For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, [8] but hospitable, a lover of goodness, master of himself, upright, holy, and self-controlled; [9] he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it.

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Commentary:

1-4. The heading is particularly long and formal. It contains, as usual (cf. Rom 1:1-2; 1 Cor 1:13; etc.), the sender's name--Paul; the addressee's--Titus; and the greeting--"Grace and peace". In this case, however, Paul's title (Apostle), and the prerogatives of his authority and his God-given mandate to preach are given special emphasis (v. 3). This has led some scholars to argue that the epistle was in fact written by a disciple of St Paul--who would have put in all this about the Apostle's authority in order to give the letter more weight. However, it is more reasonable to suppose that when St Paul was writing the letter he had Titus very much in mind and also the community in Crete, whom false teachers were beginning to unsettle; the solemn, official tone would be due to the serious nature of their doctrinal aberrations and to the need to ensure that the church in Crete was property organized.

These introductory verses provide a very succinct definition of the mission of an Apostle: it derives from God himself, the Savior of all (vv. 1, 3); the Apostle has a mandate from God, he is God's representative (v. 3); the purpose of his mission is to communicate the word of God, which is true, which "accord with godliness" and leads to eternal life (v. 2). His letter is addressed to the believers, who had been endowed with faith (v. 1) and whom he has to lead to heaven (v. 2).

1. "Servant of God": in the language of the Bible, serving God means rendering him the worship that is his due. While keeping this basic meaning, "servant of God" means one who fulfills the task his Lord gives him. Like the Old Testament prophets (who were conscious of having a sacred mission, which they could not avoid: cf. Amos 3:7; Jer 7:25), St Paul knows that he has a God-given mission which he has a duty to perform.

"To further the faith of God's elect": God sends his apostles to instruct people in the faith so that they know the truth that saves and view their lives and the world from a supernatural vantage-point. As the Church's Magisterium has reminded us, evangelization begins by teaching the essential revealed truths: "It is not superfluous to recall the following points: to evangelize is first of all to bear witness, in a simple and direct way, to God revealed by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit; to bear witness that in his Son God has loved the world--that in his Incarnate Word he has given being to all things and has called men to eternal life" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 26).

"The truth that accords with godliness": The virtue of godliness or "piety" includes, particularly, openness to God, docility to his commandments and recognition of his divinity--in a word, religion. Godliness and truth are very closely connected: to acquire a solid, well-grounded piety one needs to have a good grasp of the truth. St Teresa of Avila explains this in her inimitable way: "I should prefer spirituality to be unaccompanied by prayer than not to be founded upon the truth. Learning is a great thing, for it instructs those of us who have little knowledge, and enlightens us, so that when we are faced with the truth of Holy Scripture, we act as we should. From foolish devotions may God deliver us!" ("Life", 13, 16).

2. In doing the work given him, the Apostle always keeps before his eyes the "hope of eternal life"; this determines the content and purpose of his preaching--eternal beatitude for himself and for all who accept the word of God, the attainment of the indescribable joy which is God's reward to those who love him: "What words can describe what is to come--the pleasure, the good fortune, the joy of being with Christ? It is impossible to explain the blessedness and the advantage the soul has when it is returned to its noble self and can from then on contemplate its Lord. And it is not only that he enjoys good things to hand: his joy is permanent because these good things will never cease to be his" (St John Chrysostom, "Ad Theod. Lapsum", 1, 13).

"In hope of eternal life": hope of eternal life should imbue our devout life, and it should also inspire the truth we teach, the faith we profess and the apostolic ministry itself.

Promised "ages ago": this ambiguous Semitic expression (it can also be translated as "from all eternity") refers to God's promise of salvation made in ancient times to the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament; but it refers mainly to God's eternal plan: from all eternity God decided to save men. This decision of his is the basis of the theological virtue of hope; we place our hope in God "who never lies", who cannot deceive or be deceived.

3-4. "At the proper time": salvation (God's plan for all eternity, communicated in a veiled way to the prophets) has been manifested in the fullness of time by the advent of the Son of God (cf. Heb 1:1); preaching concerns itself exclusively with this message of salvation. The Apostle preaches "by command of God our Savior", not on his personal initiative. It is worth pointing out that this whole passage is very dense and very typical of Paul's style: lots of ideas are crammed into very few words. The key factor is the divine plan of salvation; but the way that plan is communicated is also important, as is the way it is carried out; the word of God, in addition to making the plan of salvation known, is itself salvific, it is an effective instrument of salvation. The Apostle is very conscious that his mission is divine, for God keeps urging him on; he chose him for this very purpose and granted him the title of "servant of God" (cf. v. 1).

On the meaning of the greeting "Grace and peace", see the note on 1 Tim 1:2 and Rom 1:7.

5-9. The qualities of Church pastors described here agree with those recommended in the First Letter to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim 3:2-7 and note). In neither instance is St Paul trying to give a complete list; he is simply urging that ministers be a model for their flock. Emphasis is laid on four aspects which seem to be particularly important: a minister should be of irreproachable conduct (vv. 6-7); his family should be exemplary Christians (v. 6); he should be an upright and welcoming person (vv. 7-8); and finally, he should have a grasp of Christian doctrine (v. 9). The Church has always tried to have people of this caliber as ministers; the last ecumenical council, for example, reminded pastors that, in the pursuit of holiness, they have a special obligation to give good example to others: "they should abound in every spiritual good and bear a living witness of God to all" ("Lumen Gentium", 41).

5. St Paul seems to have given Titus two jobs to do. One, which is implied here, was to complete the catechetical instruction of the young community in Crete; there is a lot of emphasis throughout the letter on firmness in the truth, on counteracting false teachers, and on the need for all believers, particularly pastors, to have a well-grounded faith.

The second job is to complete the hierarchical structuring of the Church. The elders mentioned here perform the same role as that of the bishops in the First Letter to Timothy, and they are all required to have the same qualities (on the as yet unfixed bishop/priest terminology, see the note on 1 Tim 3:1). St Paul's insistence on appointing successors is a pointer to the Apostolicity of the Church: not only do bishops have the same mission as the Apostles; that mission comes to them from the Apostles: "In fact, not only had (the Apostles) various helpers in their ministry, but, in order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, they consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God (cf. Acts 20: 28)" ("Lumen Gentium", 20).

Very little information is available as to when St Paul visited Crete and evangelized it. When he was being brought as a prisoner to Rome in the autumn of the year 60, he probably evangelized some Cretans (cf. Acts 27:7-12); there may also have been some Christians there ever since St Peter preached for the first time in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 2:11). It could be that the Apostle spent a while on the island at some stage and established a Christian community there. Crete was fairly important, being a necessary port of call on the Greece-Asia Minor sea route.

From: Luke 17:1-6

On Leading Others Astray, Fraternal Correction
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[1] And He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! [2] It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. [3] Take heed yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; [4] and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, `I repent,' you must forgive him."

The Power of Faith
------------------------
[5] The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith! [6] And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea', and it would obey you."

***********************************************************************
Commentary:

1-3. Our Lord condemns scandal, that is, "any saying, action or omission which constitute for another an occasion of sin" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 417). Jesus is teaching two things here: the first is that scandal will "in fact" happen; the second, that it is a grave sin, as shown by the punishment it earns.

The reason why it is so serious a sin is that it "tends to destroy God's greatest work, that of Redemption, through souls being lost; it kills one's neighbor's soul by taking away the life of grace, which is more precious than the life of the body, and it is the cause of a multitude of sins. This is why God threatens with the most severe punishment those who cause others to stumble" ("ibid"., 418).

"Take heed to yourselves": a serious warning, meaning that we should not be a cause of scandal to others nor should we be influenced by the bad example others give us.

People who enjoy authority of any kind (parents, teachers, politicians, writers, artists, etc.) can more easily be a cause of scandal. We need to be on the alert in this respect in view of our Lord's warning, "Take heed to yourselves."

2. Millstones were circular in shape with a large hole in the center. Our Lord's description, therefore, was very graphic: it meant that the person's head just fitted through the hole and then he could not get the stone off.

3-4. In order to be a Christian one must always, genuinely, forgive others. Also, one has to correct an erring brother to help him change his behavior. But fraternal correction should always be done in a very refined way, full of charity; otherwise we would humiliate the person who has committed the fault, whereas we should not humiliate him but help him to be better.

Forgiving offenses--which is something we should always do--should not be confused with giving up rights which have been justly violated. One can claim rights without any kind of hatred being implied; and sometimes charity and justice require us to exercise our rights. "Let's not confuse the rights of the office you hold with your rights as a person. The former can never be waived" (St. Escriva, "The Way", 407).

Sincere forgiveness leads us to forget the particular offense and to extend the hand of friendship, which in turn helps the offender to repent.

The Christian vocation is a calling to holiness, but one of its essential requirements is that we show apostolic concern for the spiritual welfare of others: Christianity cannot be practiced in an isolated, selfish way. Thus, "if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

5. "Increase our faith!": a good ejaculatory prayer for every Christian. "Omnia possibilia sunt credenti". Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.' The words are Christ's. How is it that you don't say to Him with the Apostles: `"adauge nobis fidem"! increase my faith!'?" ("The Way", 588).

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible

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Readings at Mass

Appoint elders of irreproachable character

If your brother does wrong, reprove him

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 17

Bl. Francis Palau