Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
FIRST READING:
From: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Only the Sufferer Can Know His Own Grief (Continuation)
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(Then Job answered,) [1] ”Has not man a hard service upon earth, and are not his days like the days of a hireling? [2] Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hireling who looks for his wages, [3] so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. [4] When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. [6] My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and come to their end without hope.
[7] ”Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good."
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Commentary:
7:1-2. Well aware that his particular case is by no means unique, Job applies general statements (vv. 1-2) to his own predicament (3:10). The references to military service (cf. 14:14) and the position of a hireling graphically describe the limitations man labors under his whole life long. They are in line with biblical teaching about the plight of the world resulting from original sin and personal sins. This dramatic situation “makes man’s life a battle: ‘The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity’ ("Gaudium Et Spes", 37)” ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 409).
No one can escape this struggle. However, as we know from experience, not everyone strives in the same way. “Man’s life on earth is warfare, and his days are spent under the burden of work. No one escapes this law, not even the easygoing who try to turn a deaf ear to it. They desert the ranks of Christ, and then take up other battles to satisfy their laziness, their vanity, or their petty ambitions. They become enslaved to their every whim. Since to be in a state of struggle is part and parcel of the human condition, let us try to fulfill our obligations with determination. Let us pray and work with good will, with upright motives and with our sights set on what God wants. This way our longing for Love will be satisfied and we shall progress along the path to sanctity, even if we find at the end of the day that we still have a long way to go” (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 217).
7:7-10. In a supplication which begins formally with the word “Remember”, Job argues that if death marks the end for him, then his suffering makes no sense; we can see that he is still very much taken up with the idea that death is a sort of goal and that it means the end of all the anguish of life (cf. 3:11-19; 10:20-22; 14:1-22). This approach belongs to a time when the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was as yet unclear. However, what Job says should not be taken as implying that there is no future life; it simply shows that he is so overwhelmed that he desires his suffering to cease as soon as possible. “Job spoke these words to register the fact that life is a very fragile thing--and, especially, to make the point that a person who dies never returns to this life of corruptibility and never again will pick up his ordinary life where he left off’ (Didymus the Blind, "In Iob", "ad loc.").
SECOND READING:
From: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-23
St Paul Does Not Exercise His Rights
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[16] For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! [17] For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. [18] What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the gospel.
[19] For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. [22b] I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. [23] I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
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Commentary:
15-18. As he already said in v. 12, St Paul makes it clear that he has not exercised so far, nor does he envisage doing so, his right to be supported by the faithful. Conscious that his God-given calling obliges him to preach the Gospel, he prefers to carry out that mission without receiving anything in exchange. His attitude shows both his greatness and his humility: he faces every kind of suffering, privation and danger for the sake of the Gospel (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-33), and yet he considers that he is doing no more than his duty. His policy recalls our Lord's teaching: "When you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty"' (Lk 17:10; cf. Mt 10:8).
To keep to this self-imposed policy, St Paul had to add to all his work of evangelization the additional effort to earn his own living. In the Acts of the Apostles, for example, we learn of his manual work in Corinth (18:3) and Ephesus (20:34); and he himself tells the Thessalonians that "we worked night and day, that we would not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God" (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:9). Only in the case of the Philippians for whom he had very particular affection, did he allow any exception to this rule (cf. Phil 4:15-16). However, at no time did he feel that others were doing wrong in acting differently, "for the Lord had disposed that those who proclaim the Gospel be supported by it [...]. But he [Paul] went further and chose not even to take what was his due" (St Augustine, "Sermon" 46, 4).
16. The Church has often used these words of St Paul to remind the faithful that our Lord has called them to the apostolate through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. The Second Vatican Council explains what this apostolate involves: "The witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a more fervent life; 'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14), and in the hearts of all should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel' (1 Cor 9:16)" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).
St John Chrysostom anticipates the kinds of excuse people might offer to avoid this duty: "There is nothing colder than a Christian who is not concerned about the salvation of others [...]. Do not say, I cannot help others: for, if you are truly a Christian it is impossible not to. Natural objects have properties that cannot be denied; the same is true of what I have just said, because it is the nature of a Christian to act in that way. Do not offend God by deception. If you said that the sun cannot shine, you would be committing an offense against God and making a liar of him. It is easier for the sinner to shine or give warmth than for a Christian to cease to give light: it is easier for that to happen than for light to become darkness. Do not say that that is impossible: what is impossible is the contrary [...]. If we behave in the correct way, everything else will follow as a natural consequence. The light of Christians c annot be hidden, a lamp shining so brightly cannot be hidden" ("Hom. on Acts", 20).
19-23. Because he is one with Christ (cf. Gal 2:20), who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give us his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28), the Apostle makes himself "all things to all men", so generous is he and so eager to save as many souls as possible, at the cost of whatever sacrifice and humiliation might be involved. "A Christian has to be ready to share his life with everyone at all times, giving to everyone the chance to come nearer to Christ Jesus. He has to sacrifice his own desires willingly for the sake of others, without separating people into watertight compartments, without pigeonholing them or putting tags on them as though they were merchandise or insect specimens. A Christian cannot afford to separate himself from others, because, if he did that, his life would be miserably selfish. He must become 'all things to all men, in o rder to save all men' (1 Cor 9:22)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 124).
Obviously this concern for others should not lead to diluting the truths of faith. Referring to this point, Pope Paul VI wrote: "The apostle's art is a risky one. The desire to come together as brothers must not lead to a watering down or subtracting from the truth. Our dialogue must not weaken our attachment to our faith. In our apostolate we cannot make vague compromises about the principles of faith and action on which our profession of Christianity is based. An immoderate desire to make peace and sink differences at all costs is, fundamentally, a kind of skepticism about the power and content of the Word of God which we desire to preach. Only one who is completely faithful to the teaching of Christ can be an apostle. And only he who lives his Christian life to the full can remain uncontaminated by the errors with which he comes into contact" ("Ecclesi am Suam", 33).
GOSPEL READING:
From: Mark 1:29-39
The Curing of Peter's Mother-In-Law
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[29] And immediately He (Jesus) left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. [31] And He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.
Jesus Cures Many Sick People
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[32] That evening, at sundown, they brought to Him all who were sick or possessed with demons. [33] And the whole city was gathered together about the door. [34] And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
Jesus Goes To a Lonely Place To Pray
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[35] And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there He prayed. [36] And Simon and those who were with Him followed Him, [37] and they found Him and said to Him, "Everyone is searching for you." [38] And He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." [39] And He went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
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Commentary:
34. Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Through the people they possess they are able to publish this fact. But Our Lord, using His divine powers, orders them to be silent. On other occasions He also silences His disciples (Mark 8:30; 9:9), and He instructs people whom He has cured not to talk about their cure (Mark 1:4; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He may have acted in this way to educate the people away from a too human and political idea of the Messiah (Matthew 9:30). Therefore, He first awakens their interest by performing miracles and gradually, through His preaching, gives them a clearer understanding of the kind of Messiah He is.
Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.
35. Many passages of the New Testament make reference to Jesus praying. The evangelists point to Him praying only on specially important occasions during His public ministry: Baptism (Luke 3:1), the choosing of the Twelve (Luke 6:12), the first multiplication of the loaves (Mark 6:46), the Transfiguration (Luke 9:29), in the garden of Gethsemane prior to His passion (Matthew 26:39) etc. Mark for his part, refers to Jesus' prayer at three solemn moments: at the beginning of His public ministry (1:35), in the middle of it (6:46), and at the end, in Gethsemane (14:32).
Jesus' prayer is prayer of perfect praise to the Father; it is prayer of petition for Himself and for us; and it also a model for His disciples. It is a prayer of perfect praise and thanksgiving because He is God's beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased (cf. Mark 1:11). It is a prayer of petition because the first spontaneous movement of a soul who recognizes God as Father is to ask Him for things. Jesus' prayer, as we see in very many passages (e.g. John 17:9ff) was a continuous petition to the Father for the work of redemption which He, Jesus, had to achieve through prayer and sacrifice.
Our Lord wants to give us an example of the kind of attitude a Christian should have; he should make a habit of addressing God as son to Father in the midst of and through his everyday activities--work, family life, personal relationships, apostolate--so as to give his life a genuinely Christian meaning, for, as Jesus will point out later on, "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
"You write: `To pray is to talk with God. But about what?' About what? About Him, about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: `to get acquainted!'" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way").
38. Jesus tells us here that His mission is to preach, to spread the Good News. He was sent for this purpose (Luke 4:43). The Apostles, in turn, were chosen by Jesus to be preachers (Mark 3:14; 16:15). Preaching is the method selected by God to effect salvation: "it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). This is why St. Paul says to Timothy: "Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Faith comes from hearing, we are told in Romans 10:17, where St. Paul enthusiastically quotes Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7).
The Church identifies preaching the Gospel as one of the main tasks of bishops and priests. St. Pius X went so far as saying that "for a priest there is no duty more grave or obligation more binding (to dispel ignorance)" ("Acerbo Nimis"). In this connection Vatican II states: "The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God (cf. 1 Peter 1:23; Acts 6:7; 12:24), which is quite rightly sought from the mouths of priests (2 Corinthians 11:7).
For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed (Mark 16:16), it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men (2 Corinthians 11:7). In this way they carry out the Lord's command `Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15) (cf. Malachi 2:7; 1 Timothy 4:11-13; etc.) and thus set up and increase the people of God" ("Presbyterorum Ordinis").
Jesus' preaching is not just limited to words: He backs up His teaching with His authority and with deeds. The Church also has been sent to preach salvation and to effect the work of salvation which it proclaims--a work done through the Sacraments and especially through the renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary in the Mass (Vatican II, "Sacrosanctum Concilium", 6).
In the Church of God all of us should listen devoutly to the preaching of the Gospel and we all should feel a responsibility to spread the Gospel by our words and actions. It is the responsibility of the hierarchy of the Church to teach the Gospel authentically--on the authority of Christ.