Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
5:31–40
31. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
34. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
35. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
36. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
37. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 1) He now brings proof of those high declarations respecting Himself. He answers an objection: If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. These are Christ’s own words. But does not Christ in many places bear witness of Himself? And if all this is false, where is our hope of salvation? Whence shall we obtain truth, when the Truth Itself says, My witness is not true. We must believe then that true, here, is said, not with reference to the intrinsic value of His testimony, but to their suspicions; for the Jews might say, We do not believe Thee, because no one who bears witness to himself is to be depended on. In answer then, he puts forth three clear and irrefragable proofs, three witnesses as it were, to the truth of what He had said; the works which He had done, the testimony of the Father, and the preaching of John: putting the least of these foremost, i. e. the preaching of John: There is another that beareth witness of Me: and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of Me is true.
AUGUSTINE. (de Verb. Dom. s. 43) He knew Himself that His witness of Himself was true, but in compassion to the weak and unbelieving, the Sun sought for candles, that their weak sight might not be dazzled by His full blaze. And therefore John was brought forward to give his testimony to the truth. Not that there is such testimony really, for whatever witnesses bear witness to Him, it is really He who bears witness to Himself; as it is His dwelling in the witnesses, which moves them so to give their witness to the truth.
ALCUIN. Or thus; Christ, being both God and man, He shews the proper existence of both, by sometimes speaking according to the nature he took from man, sometimes according to the majesty of the Godhead. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true: this is to be understood of His humanity; the sense being, If I, a man, bear witness of Myself, i. e. without God, My witness is not true: and then follows, There is another that beareth witness of Me. The Father bore witness of Christ, by the voice which was heard at the baptism, and at the transfiguration on the mount. And I know that His witness is true; because He is the God of truth. How then can His witness be otherwise than true?
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) But according to the former interpretation, they might say to Him, If Thy witness is not true, how sayest Thou, I know that the witness of John is true? But His answer meets the objection: Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness of the truth: as if to say: Ye would not have sent to John, if ye had not thought him worthy of credit. And what is more remarkable, they did send to him, not to ask Him about Christ, but about himself. For they who were sent out did not say, What sayest thou of Christ? but, Who art thou? what sayest thou of thyself? (c. 1:22) In so great admiration did they hold him.
ALCUIN. But he bore witness not to himself, but to the truth: as the friend of the truth, he bore witness to the truth, i. e. Christ. Our Lord, on His part, does not reject the witness of John, as not being necessary, but shews only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ’s witness was all that was necessary to Himself. But I receive not, He says, testimony from men.
BEDE. Because I do not want it. John, though he bore witness, did it not that Christ might increase, but that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) Even the witness of John was the witness of God: for what he said, God taught him. But to anticipate their asking how it appeared that God taught John, as if the Jews had objected that John’s witness might not be true, our Lord anticipates them by saying, “Ye sought him yourselves to enquire of him; that is why I use his testimony, for I need it not.” He adds, But these things I say that ye might be saved. As if He said, I being God, needed not this human kind of testimony. But, since ye attend more to him, and think him more worthy of credit than any one else, while ye do not believe me, though I work miracles; for this cause I remind you of his testimony. But had they not received John’s testimony? Before they have time to ask this, He answers it: He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. He says this to shew, how lightly they had held by John, and how soon they had left him, thus preventing him from leading them to Christ. He calls him a candle, because John had not his light from himself, but from the grace of the Holy Spirit.
ALCUIN. John was a candle lighted by Christ, the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before, to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm, I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shamem. (Ps. 131)
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) I therefore direct you to John, not because I want his testimony, but that ye may be saved: for I have greater witness than that of John, i. e. that of my works; The works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me.
ALCUIN. That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the deaf ear, looses the mouth of the dumb, casts out devils, raises the dead; these works bear witness of Christ.
HILARY. (vi. de Trin. c. 27) The Only-begotten God shews Himself to be the Son, on the testimony not of man only, but of His own power. The works which He does, bear witness to His being sent from the Father. Therefore the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent. But the testimony of works not being sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Open the Evangelic volumes, and examine their whole range: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books, other than that He is the Son. So what a calumny is it in men now saying that this is only a name of adoption: thus making God a liar, and names unmeaning.
BEDE. (v. Joan.) By His mission we must understand His incarnation. Lastly, He shews that God is incorporeal, and cannot be seen by the bodily eye: Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.
ALCUIN. The Jews might say, We heard the voice of the Lord at Sinai, and saw Him under the appearance of fire. If God then bears witness of Thee, we should know His voice. To which He replies, I have the witness of the Father, though ye understand it not; because ye never heard His voice, or saw His shape.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) How then says Moses, Ask—whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is: did ever people hear the voice of God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard and seen? (Deut. 4:32, 33) Isaiah too, and many others, are said to have seen Him. So what does Christ mean here? He means to impress upon them the philosophical doctrine, that God has neither voice, or appearance, or shape; but is superior to such modes of speaking of Him. For as in saying, Ye have never heard His voice, He does not mean to say that He has a voice, only not an audible one to them; so when He says, Nor have even His shape, no tangible, sensible, or visible shape is implied to belong to God: but all such mode of speaking is pronounced inapplicable to God.
ALCUIN. For it is not by the carnal ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that God is heard. And they did not hear the spiritual voice, because they did not love or obey Him, nor saw they His shape; inasmuch as that is not to be seen by the outward eye, but by faith and love.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) But it was impossible for them to declare that they had received, and obeyed God’s commands: and therefore He adds, Ye have not His word abiding in you; i. e. the commandments, the law, and the prophets; though God instituted them, ye have them not. For if the Scriptures every where tell you to believe on Me, and ye believe not, it is manifest that His word is gone from you: For whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not.
ALCUIN. Or thus; they cannot have abiding in them the Word which was in the beginning, who came not to keep in mind, or fulfil in practice, that word of God which they hear. Having mentioned the testimonies of John, and the Father, and of His works, He adds now that of the Mosaic Law: Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me: as if He said, Ye think ye have eternal life in the Scriptures, and reject Me as being opposed to Moses: but you will find that Moses himself testifies to My being God, if you search the Scripture carefully. All Scripture indeed bears witness of Christ, whether by its types, or by prophets, or by the ministering of Angels. But the Jews did not believe these intimations of Christ, and therefore could not obtain eternal life: Ye will not come to Me, that ye may have life; meaning, The Scriptures bear witness of Me, but ye will not come to Me notwithstanding, i. e. ye will not believe on Me, and seek for salvation at My hands.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) Or the connection may be given thus. They might say to Him, How, if we have never heard God’s voice, has God borne witness to you? So He says, Search the Scriptures; meaning that God had borne witness of Him by the Scriptures. He had borne witness indeed at the Jordan, and on the mount. But they did not hear the voice on the mount, and did not attend to it at the Jordan. Wherefore He sends them to the Scriptures, when they would also find the Father’s testimony. (Hom. xli. 1). He did not send them however to the Scriptures simply to read them, but to examine them attentively, because Scripture ever threw a shade over its own meaning, and did not display it on the surface. The treasure was, as it were, hidden from their eye. He does not say, For in them ye have eternal life, but, For in them ye think ye have eternal life; meaning that they did not reap much fruit from the Scriptures, thinking, as they did, that they should be saved by the mere reading of them, without faith. For which reason He adds, Ye will not come to Me; i. e. ye will not believe on Me.
BEDE. (in v. Joan.) That coming is put for believing we know, Come unto Him, and be lightened. He adds, That ye might have life; (Ps. 33) For, if the soul which sinneth dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, i. e. eternal happiness.
Catena Aurea John 5
St. Adelaide – A Holy Roman Empress
St. Adelaide is one of the most inspiring saints for the modern woman and intercessor for those who are victims and suffering the pain of abuse. Saint Adelaide is the patron saint of abuse victims. Her feast day is celebrated on December 16th. St. Adelaide, patron saint of abuse victims, pray for us!
Throughout her difficult life she exhibited steadfast courage in her faith, was a caring ruler who was loved by her people, and strong woman of great honor in the face of abuse. She is a role model of how to bear life’s challenges with unwavering faith and how to be a strong religious woman even to this day.
Before Saint Adelaide was nineteen years old, she had been a princess, a queen, a wife, a mother, and a widow. When she was nineteen she was made a prisoner and was kept in what was practically solitary confinement. These first nineteen years were to be typical of Adelaide’s life. At times she had great prestige and power and at times she knew great adversity. From a material point of view her life was a series of ups and downs.
St. Adelaide Was An Honorable Princess
Adelaide’s father was King Ralph II of Burgundy, in what is now France, so Adelaide was born a princess. Royalty always married royalty, so when Adelaide was sixteen years old she married King Lothaire of Lombardy, in northern Italy. The marriage was blessed with one child, a daughter named Emma.
Lothaire was king in name only. The real power was held by Berengarius, the Marquis of Ivrea, who longed to have the title as well as the power of the king.
Lothaire died three years after his marriage, and there was a strong suspicion that he had been poisoned by Berengarius, who now succeeded him. Berengarius tried to arrange a marriage between his son and the widowed Adelaide, but she refused even to consider the idea. He then had her imprisoned in a castle on Lake Garda. That is why we find her a prisoner at the age of nineteen after having been a princess, a queen, a wife, a mother, and a widow.
Adelaide had many devoted friends. One of her friends dug a tunnel to the section of the castle where she was held, and by this means she escaped imprisonment. For a time she hid in the forest. Then the Duke of Canossa took her to the relative safety of his castle.
Liberating Her People
The nobles of Italy wished to be free from the unjust rule of Berengarius. They joined Pope Agapetus II in inviting Otte German king, to invade Italy and to re-establish justice. Otto went to Canossa where he met the popular ex-queen of the land he had been asked to liberate. The young widow and the considerably older Otto were married on Christmas Day, 951.
The marriage made conquest of Lombardy an easy matter, for the people loved Adelaide After gaining control of Lombardy, Otto generously offered to restore Berengarius to the throne provided he would promise to rule justly and hold all his lands as a fief, or dependency, from Otto Berengarius readily promised, and just as readily broke the promise, Pope John XII begged Otto to take the situation in hand once more Otto sent his son to take control of Lombardy. His son died before the work was completed, so Otto took personal charge of the campaign. Berengarius was taken prisoner and sent to Germany, where he died.
Adelaide’s marriage to Otto lasted twenty-one years, till the latter’s death in 973. The couple had five children. Adelaide was as popular among the German people as she had been among the Italians of Lombardy.
Empress of the Holy Roman Empire
Otto was really more of an emperor than a king, because he ruled a vast part of Europe and had kings who were subject to him. In 962, the Pope recognized both Otto’s great power and his devotion to the Church by crowning him emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This meant that Adelaide was now the empress. No other woman in the Western world held such a lofty position. She was thirty-one years old.
Whatever Adelaide had of riches or power she used in the services of God. Her generosity to the poor was so great that some people thought it excessive. She and her husband supported many missionaries both inside and outside their realm. They established monasteries which became great centers of Christian learning. They we’re especially zealous in trying to convert the Slavs in the north ere eastern section of the empire.
Adelaide became a widow for the second time when she was forty-two. Her nineteen year old son became Otto II. He ruled well as long as he kept his mother as a counselor. After the death of his first wife he married a Grecian princess named Theophana.
The new queen induced Otto to banish his mother from the court. Instead grieving over her misfortune Adelaide made use of her extra time by saying more prayers and performing more exercises which brought closer to God. She offered many prayers and sacrifices for her ring son. After a time, Otto came to his mother and begged forgiveness.
A Deep Love For Prayer in the Face of Life’s Torments
Adelaide returned to court and under her wise counsels Otto reformed many abuses in his government. Otto II died after a reign of only nine years. His son, Otto III, was only three years old, and so Theophany became regent. Theophana had burned with resentment ever since Adelaide returned to court, and now she had her opportunity for revenge. She went out of her way to heap dishonor upon Adelaide and to make life uncomfortable for her. Adelaide suffered the ill-treatment and neglect with patience, and she prayed for Theophany.
Theophana died suddenly and Adelaide became regent for her grandson. This was more power than she had ever held in her life. When she had been queen and empress earlier her two husbands held the actual power. Now the power of the vast empire was in her hands. She did not welcome this. She was advancing in years, and the power was a burden. Honor and position meant nothing to her.
Nevertheless, she applied herself with assiduous care to the affairs of government. She showed no ill-will toward those courtiers who, in Theophana’s time, had treated her with contempt and caused her so much suffering. Although obliged to give much time and attention to public affairs, Adelaide did not neglect her spiritual life. At regular intervals she retired to her oratory to seek light from heaven.
Whenever she saw an injustice for which she could find no remedy, she did penance for the wrongdoer and begged God to set him right.
The last effort of Adelaide’s life was an act of charity. When h was sixty-eight years old she undertook a difficult journey to Burgundy, the home of her childhood. Her purpose was to bring about a reconciliation between King Ralph, her nephew, and his rebellious subjects. She died on the way, at Salces in Alsace, on December 16, 999.
St. Adelaide was a worthy mother, a devoted wife, a charitable and beloved queen, a zealous empress, and a just and able regent.
If you enjoyed learning about Saint Adelaide, Patron Saint of Abuse Victims, you may also enjoy learning more about St. Joan of Arc Patron Saint of Military Service.
christianapostles.com
NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Isaiah 56:1-3a, 6-8
Worship Open to All
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[1] Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, [2] Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” [3] Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”.
[6] ”And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--[7] these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. [8] Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."
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Commentary:
56:1-66:24. These chapters make up the third part of the book of Isaiah, sometimes called “Third Isaiah”. It consists of prophetic visions and oracles about the new Zion and the nations of the earth. The variety of style and content here makes it difficult to identify any clear structure: the sacred writer seems to have drawn these oracles together, apparently content that they are all to do with the End and all refer to the whole world and not just to Israel. But he has carefully positioned chapter 61 in the middle, making it the high-point of these chapters. Also, 56:1-8 and 66:18-24, which stress the universality of justice and worship, are very appropriately positioned at start and finish. To make this part easier to read, we have divided it into three sections in this edition. The first (56:1-59:21) is a series of oracles that show salvation being extended to all mankind, even though the sins of the people of God will cause delays. In the second (60:1-64:11), the salvation that the Lord will provide is proclaimed to all the nations from Jerusalem. And the third section (65:1-66:24) has as its theme the judgment of God, handed down to each according to his or her merits, be it punishment for sin, or salvation.
Historically, the oracles have to do with the years following the return from exile after Cyrus issued his decree of repatriation (539 BC). It was for Judah a time for “beginning again”. God sent messages of hope to raise the Jews’ spirits during their years in exile and on their return, when they were confronted by a scene of devastation. They cannot fail to see that, from now on, peace and salvation are linked with a return to God, conversion, the practice of righteousness, and holiness.
This means that the horizon of divine salvation extends to include the whole world, extending beyond the narrow limits of Jewish nationalism. When the prophetic texts speak of Zion, they see it as the center of a new view of mankind, as a source of light for all nations. The new Jerusalem stands for a new order, as it will in the Revelation to John. Although all the energies of repatriates are focused on the rebuilding of the temple (60:7-13), the message here is that the ultimate goal is not material reconstruction, for the throne of God is to be found in heaven, and the earth is only his footstool (66:1-2). Hope in a glorious future is not measured in terms of external institutions--in the monarchy (which does not exist), or in any other human authority, or in force of arms. Even divine worship, and the rules and regulations to do with fasting and sacrifices, will be cleansed of the old formalism (58:1-14). God will act directly to save his people (62:2-12). The new horizon opened up by “Third Isaiah” has its parallel in Haggai and Zechariah, and, above all, it prepares the way for the still-distant eschatological vision found in the Revelation to John.
56:1-59:21. The new section looks forward to a salvation that is open to everyone who practises righteousness (56: 1-12). However, the first announcement of this is put on hold, as it were, due to the sins of the people of God; these delay the manifestation of God’s salvific power, for he refuses to hearken to the prayers of the ungodly (57:1-21). Therefore, first and foremost, the prophet issues a call to conversion (58: 1-14), while promising that the Lord, who is faithful to his Covenant, will reward people according to their actions: he will punish those who are faithless and redeem those who return to him (59:1-21).
56:1-8. In the restored Jerusalem, the temple will begin to open its doors to all peoples. What we were told at the start of the book (cf. 2:2-5) would happen “in the latter days” is beginning to happen: the temple of the Lord will be a house of prayer for those who previously could not enter it; it will be open to all peoples. The old rulings (Lev 22:25; Deut 23:2-9) did not permit eunuchs or foreigners to take part in the assembly of Israel (a similar approach is found in Ezra 9:1-12 and Nehemiah 9:1-2); but this oracle displays a much more open and universalist attitude (cf. V/is 3:14):there is no objection to eunuchs and foreigners provided that they observe the sabbath and the Covenant (cf. vv. 2, 4,6) Blood ties are no longer the criteria for membership of the community of the people of God now it suffices that a person keep to the moral teaching laid down in the old Covenant, and worship the true God.
The mission of the temple, rebuilt by the exiles after their return with its open invitation to all without exception to come and worship God as part of his people, will reach its fullness in the redemption wrought by Christ Jesus. When he cleanses the temple (Mt 21:12-13 and par.), appealing to the words of v. 6 (along with Jeremiah 7:11; cf. note on same), this prophecy will be fulfilled.
From: John 5:33-36Christ Defends His Action (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to the Jews,) [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has granted Me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear Me witness that the Father has sent Me.
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Commentary:
31-40. Because Jesus is Son of God, His own word is self-sufficient, it needs no corroboration (cf. 8:18); but, as on other occasions, He accommodates Himself to human customs and to the mental outlook of His hearers: He anticipates a possible objection from the Jews to the effect that it is not enough for a person to testify in his own cause (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15) and He explains that what He is saying is endorsed by four witnesses--John the Baptist, His own miracles, the Father, and the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament.
John the Baptist bore witness that Jesus was the Son of God (1:34). Although Jesus had no need to have recourse to any man's testimony, not even that of a great prophet, John's testimony was given for the sake of the Jews, that they might recognize the Messiah. Jesus can also point to another testimony, better than that of the Baptist—the miracles He has worked, which are, for anyone who examines them honestly, unmistakable signs of His divine power, which comes from the Father; Jesus' miracles, then, are a form of witness the Father bears concerning His Son, whom He has sent into the world. The Father manifests the divinity of Jesus on other occasions--at His Baptism (cf. 1:31-34); at the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1-8), and later, in the presence of the whole crowd (cf. John 12:28-30).
Jesus speaks to another divine testimony--that of the Sacred Scriptures. These speak of Him, but the Jews fail to grasp the Scriptures' true meaning, because they read them without letting themselves be enlightened by Him whom God has sent and in whom all the prophecies are fulfilled: "The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so orientated that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, Redeemer of all men, and of the Messianic Kingdom (cf. Luke 24:44; John 5:39, 1 Peter 1:10), and should indicate it by means of different types (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11). [...] Christians should accept with veneration these writings which give expression to a lively sense of God, which are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 15).
Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible
