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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

First Reading:

From: Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Psalms of Joy in Zion
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[14] Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, 0 daughter of Jerusalem! [15] The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. [16] 0n that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, 0 Zion; let not your hands grow weak. [17] The LORD, your God, is in your midst, warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing [18] as on a day of festival.

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Commentary:

3:14-18a. Now the promise becomes a song of jubilation. The Lord, the Savior, sees to it that all is joy (v. 14), and there is no room for fear (v. 16). The Christian, in reading these verses, cannot but be reminded of the scene of the Annunciation: Mary, too, the humble Virgin (Lk 1:48), is invited to rejoice (Lk 1:28) and not to fear (Lk 1:20), because the Lord is with her (Lk 1:28). And indeed, with the Incarnation of the Word, the Lord did come to dwell among his people, and the salvation that was promised came to pass.

Or:

From: Romans 12:5-16

Charity Towards All
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[9] Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; [10] love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. [11] Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. [12] Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. [13] Contribute to the needs of the saints, practise hospitality. [14] Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. [16] Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited.

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Commentary:

9-21. "After speaking about those gifts which are not common to all, the Apostle now teaches that charity is common to all" (St Thomas, "Commentary on Rom, ad loc".). True charity takes different forms depending on the needs and capacity of each person; it always involves seeking good and avoiding evil (v. 9); it has to be exercised with those who are already Christians (vv. 10-16) and those who are not (vv. 17-21); indeed, the charity shown to the latter is instrumental in bringing them closer to the faith. However, it is not always possible to do to others all the good we would wish: we have limited resources, more pressing duties; there are problems of physical distance, etc. Only God, who is infinitely perfect and almighty, can do good to everyone all the time; this does not mean that he always gives everyone the same gifts: to some he gives more, to others less, according to the designs of his Wisdom.

Even bearing in mind our own limitations, our love for others should affect everything we do, everything we think and say. Obviously, one of the first consequences of charity is never to judge anyone, or speak badly about anyone, or scandalize them by what we say or do. Moreover, we should perform positive acts of this virtue; it would be impossible to give a complete list of the ways of being charitable but they certainly include, Fray Luis de Granada says, "among other things, these six--loving, counselling, assisting, suffering, forgiving and edifying. These are so closely connected to charity that the more one does them the more charity one has, and the less, less [...]. For, according to this order a person can check to see what he has and what he does not have as far as the perfection of that virtue is concerned. For we can say that he who loves is on the first step; he who loves and counsels, on the second; he who assists, on the third; he who suffers on the fourth; he who forgives and suffers, on the fifth; and he who builds on all this with his words and his good life, as is the task of perfect and apostolic men, on the highest step of all" ("Guide to Sinners", I, II, chap. 16).

12. The love of God makes us joyful, strong and persevering. Therefore "one accepts tribulation with joy and hope, because one knows that what is promised in exchange is something much better" (Pseudo-Ambrose, "Comm. in Epist. ad Rom, ad loc".)

This setting gives us every opportunity to derive supernatural benefit from suffering, which is quite a normal part of the Christian life: "A whole program for a good course in the 'subject' of suffering is given to us by the Apostle: "spe gaudentes"--rejoicing in hope, "in tribulatione patientes"--patient in troubles, "orationi instantes"-- persevering in prayer" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 209).

Joy in the midst of difficulties is in fact one of the clearest signs that love of God is influencing everything we do, for, as St Augustine comments, "where one loves, either one does not feel the difficulty or else one loves the very difficulty [...]. The tasks of those who love are never laborious" ("De Bono Viduitatis", 21, 26).

13. "For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 Jn 4:20). Similarly, it can be said that Christians, that is "servants of the Lord", unless they serve their brethren whom they see before them, cannot serve God either. Serving God, in other words, ultimately means alleviating "the needs of the saints " and offering hospitality to strangers, after the example of the patriarchs Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:2-5; 19:2-3; cf. Heb 13:2).