Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 22-May-2024

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 9
38.	9:37 John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him.	9:37 Respondit illi Joannes, dicens : Magister, vidimus quemdam in nomine tuo ejicientem dæmonia, qui non sequitur nos, et prohibuimus eum.	απεκριθη δε αυτω [ο] ιωαννης λεγων διδασκαλε ειδομεν τινα τω ονοματι σου εκβαλλοντα δαιμονια ος ουκ ακολουθει ημιν και εκωλυσαμεν αυτον οτι ουκ ακολουθει ημιν
39.	9:38 But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me.	9:38 Jesus autem ait : Nolite prohibere eum : nemo est enim qui faciat virtutem in nomine meo, et possit cito male loqui de me :	ο δε ιησους ειπεν μη κωλυετε αυτον ουδεις γαρ εστιν ος ποιησει δυναμιν επι τω ονοματι μου και δυνησεται ταχυ κακολογησαι με
40.	9:39 For he that is not against you, is for you.	9:39 qui enim non est adversum vos, pro vobis est.	ος γαρ ουκ εστιν καθ υμων υπερ υμων εστιν

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

38. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he follows not us: and we forbade him, because be follows not us.
39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40. For he that is not against us is on our part.

BEDE; John, loving the Lord with eminent devotion, thought that He who performed an office to which He had no right was to be excluded from the benefit of it. Wherefore it is said, And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he follows not us: and we forbade him, because he follows not us.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. For many believers received gifts, and yet were not with Christ, such was this man who cast out devils; for there were many of them deficient in some way; some were pure in life, but were not so perfect in faith; others again, contrariwise.

THEOPHYL. Or again, some unbelievers, seeing that the name of Jesus was full of virtue, themselves used it, and performed signs, though they were unworthy of Divine grace; for the Lord wished to extend His name even by those unworthy.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. It was not from jealousy or envy, however, that John wished to forbid him who cast out devils, but because he wished that all, who called on the name of the Lord, should follow Christ, and be one body with His disciples. But the Lord, however unworthy they who perform the miracles may be, incites others by their means to believe in Him, and induces themselves by this unspeakable grace to become better. Wherefore there follows: But Jesus said, Forbid him not.

BEDE; By which He shows that no one is fled to be driven away from that partial goodness which he possesses already, but rather to be stirred up to that which he has not as yet obtained

PSEUDO-CHRYS. In conformity to this, He shows that he is not to be forbidden, adding immediately after, For there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. He says lightly, to meet the case of those who fell into heresy, such as were Simon and Menander, and Cerinthus; not that they did miracles in the name of Christ, but by their deceptions had the appearance of doing them. But these others, though they do not follow us, cannot however set themselves to say any thing against us, because they honor My name by working miracles.

THEOPHYL. For how can he speak evil of Me, who draws glory from My name, and works miracles by the invocation of this very name. There follows, For he that is not against you is on your part.

AUG. We must take care that this saying of the Lord appear not to be contrary to that, where He says, He who is not with me is against me. Or will any one say that the difference lies in that here He says to His disciples, For he that is not against you is on your part, but in the other He speaks of Himself, He who is not with me is against me? As if indeed it were possible that he who is joined to Christ's disciples, who ate as His members, should not be with Him. How if it were so, could it be true that he that receives you receives me? Or how is he not against Him, who is against His disciples? Where then will be that saying, He who despises you, despises me? But surely what is implied is, that a man is not with Him in as far as he is against Him, and is not against Him as far as he is with Him. For instance, he who worked miracles in the name of Christ, and yet did not join himself to the body of His disciples, in as far as he worked the miracles in His name, was with them, and was not against them: again, in that he did not join their society, he was not with them, and was against them. But because they forbade his doing that in which he was with them, the Lord said to them, Forbid him not; for they ought to have forbidden his being without their society, and thus to have persuaded him of the unity of the Church, but they should not have forbidden that in which he was with them, that is, his commendation of the name of their Lord and Master by the expulsion of devils. Thus the Church Catholic does not disapprove in heretics the sacraments, which are common, but she blames their division, or some opinion of theirs adverse to peace and to truth; for in this they are against us.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or else, this is said of those who believe on Him, but nevertheless do not follow Him from the looseness of their lives. Again, it is said of devils, who try to separate all from God, and to disperse His congregation. There follows, For whoever shall give you a cup of cold water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

Catena Aurea Mark 9

Saint of the Day for May 22

(1381 – May 22, 1457)

Saint Rita of Cascia’s Story

Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow, and member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each phase of her life.

Born at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During her 18-year marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons had died, Rita tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first because she was a widow, Rita eventually succeeded.

Over the years, her austerity, prayerfulness, and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ’s crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ’s passion. Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counseled lay people who came to her monastery.

Beatified in 1626, Rita was not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the reputation, together with Saint Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit her tomb each year.

Reflection

Although we can easily imagine an ideal world in which to live out our baptismal vocation, such a world does not exist. An “If only ….” approach to holiness never quite gets underway, never produces the fruit that God has a right to expect.

Rita became holy because she made choices that reflected her baptism and her growth as a disciple of Jesus. Her overarching, lifelong choice was to cooperate generously with God’s grace, but many small choices were needed to make that happen. Few of those choices were made in ideal circumstances—not even when Rita became an Augustinian nun.

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

First Reading:

From: James 4:13-17

Trust in Divine Providence
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[13] Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain"; [14] whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that." [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

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Commentary:

13-17. Overweening self-confidence is a type of pride because it means one is forgetful of who God, in his providence, rules over the lives of men. St James reminds those who are totally caught up in their business affairs that human life is something very impermanent (v. 14). He made the same point earlier with the simile of the flower of the grass (cf. 1:9-11); now he puts it in terms of the fleetingness of mist (a familiar Old Testament image; cf., e.g., Job 7:7-16; Ps 102;4; Wis 2:4). "Earthly life is a wearisome thing," St Gregory the Great reminds us, "more unreal than fables, faster than a runner, with many ups and down caused by unreliability and weakness; we shelter in houses made of clay (in fact, life itself is merely clay); our fortitude, our resolution, has no substance; such rest and repose as we get in the midst of our activities and difficulties is of no help" ("Exposition on the Seven Penitential Psalms", Ps. 109, Prologue).

A Christian should trustingly abandon himself into the hands of God, but that does not in any sense mean that he may irresponsibly opt out of his duties or avoid exercising his rights.

15. "If the Lord wills": this expression is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament; St Paul uses the same words (cf. 1 Cor 4:19) or ones like them, when speaking about his personal plans (cf. Acts 18:21; Rom 1:10; 1 Cor 16:7). It is a saying which has passed into popular Christian speech and it shows a readiness to leave one's future in God's hands, trusting in divine providence.

17. As elsewhere in the letter, St James ends this passage with a general maxim (cf. 1:12; 2:13; 3:18). In this instance, to emphasize the need to prove one's faith and one's grasp of the faith by action (cf. 2:14-16), he gives a warning about sins of omission. Once again, the Master's teachings are reflected in what the sacred writer says: "the servant who knew his master's will, and did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating" (Lk 12:47).

Gospel Reading:

From: Mark 9:38-40

Being the Servant of All
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[38] John said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." [39] But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon after to speak evil of Me. [40] For he that is not against us is for us."

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Commentary:

38-40. Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against exclusivism in the apostolate--the notion that "good is not good unless I am the one who does it." We must assimilate this teaching of Christ's: good is good, even if it is not I who do it. Cf. note on Luke 9:49-50.

[ The note on Luke 9:49-50 states: 49-50. Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles. St Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will [...]. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice" (Philippians 1:15, 18). "Rejoice, when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And ask God to grant them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace. Then, you, on your way: convince yourself that it's the only way for you." (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 965) ]

Please join Cardinal Burke’s novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for ‘crises of our age’ (Started March 12—Never too late to join!)

Let us pray.

O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.

Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.

Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.

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Readings at Mass

You cannot know what will happen tomorrow

You must not stop anyone from working miracles in my name

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Saint of the Day for May 22

(1381 – May 22, 1457)