Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Hosea 11:1-4, 8abe-9
When Israel was a child
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[1] When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
[2] The more l called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and burning incense to idols.
[3] Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. [4] I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
[8ab] How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! [8e] My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender.
[9] I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy.
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Commentary:
11:1-11. The second part of the hook of Hosea ends with this very touching passage summing up, once again, the relationship between God and his people: the Lord is faithful, whereas Israel is not; but the Lord, true to his nature (v. 9), proclaims that he will bless Israel once more. The Christian reader will immediately notice in v. 1 a line that is applied to Jesus in the New Testament (Mt 2: 15).
What is new about this poem is the fact that whereas previously God’s faithfulness was described as being like that of a husband, here God is depicted as a father: "God’s love for Israel is compared to a father’s love for his son (Hos 11:11). His love for his people is stronger than a mother’s for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved (Is 62:4-5); his love will he victorious over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: 'God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’ (Jn 3:16)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 219).
With the exception of v. 10, the oracle is placed on the lips of the Lord, to underscore God’s relationship with his people. From the very first (v. 1), the Lord loved Israel as his own son, and from the first Israel rebelled (v. 2); the Lord reared him (v. 3), showing every sign of attention (v. 4: literally "cords of man" as distinct from the reins used for animals), but Israel is bent on forsaking his Lord (v. 7). Then, in a burst of anger, the Lord decides to chastise his people; they shall become slaves once more (vv. 5-6). But this anger does not last long, because, "even when the Lord is exasperated by the infidelity of his people and thinks of finishing with it, it is still his tenderness and generous love for those who are his own which overcomes his anger" (John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, 4).
This oracle shows the full extent of God’s paternal affection. In the opening chapters God’s love for Israel was compared with the distraught, impassioned love of a husband for his unfaithful wife; here it is depicted as a father’s love for his son: he cannot not love him, even if the son proves ungrateful. The very thought of abandoning Israel breaks God’s heart (cf. v. 8). What the prophet is doing here is telling us something about God’s "psychology": God’s love for his people, and ultimately for every human being, exceeds human loves -- parental and spousal (these, in fact, are only partial reflections of divine love): "God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective 'perfections’ of a man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 370).
This oracle of salvation is rounded off by the final verses. God forgives Israel; it is only right that he should: he is God (v. 9). The wonderful thing about this passage is that God’s forgiveness comes before Israel’s conversion: his initial love, and the later reconciliation, are initiatives of God. Conversion (vv. 11-12) stems from God’s prior love.
St Matthew’s Gospel (2:15) sees the prophecy in Hosea 11:1 being fulfilled in the flight into Egypt and subsequent return: according to the evangelist, Jesus, in his life, embodies the history of his people, and in him God fulfils his ancient promises to renew the people of Israel.
From: Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
St Paul's Mission
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[8] To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [9] and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. [11] This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.
The Apostle's Prayer
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[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] what according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, [17] and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you maybe filled with all the fullness of God.
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Commentary:
1-21. Christ's saving work on behalf of the Gentiles, calling them to be with the Jews, living stones in the edifice of the Church, leads the Apostle once again to overflow in prayer (vv. 14-21). But first he considers his own position and what Christ has done in him by making him a minister or servant of the Mystery of Christ (vv. 2-13). He witnesses to the revelation he himself has received, which made this Mystery known to him (vv. 2-5); and he goes on to give a summary of the Mystery, emphasizing the call of the Gentiles to the Church through the preaching of the Gospel (v. 6); he then explains that his mission is precisely to preach the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles (vv. 7-13).
8. Humble abandonment to the action of God in his soul leads St Paul to regard himself as the very lowest of Christians (cf. 1 Cor 15:9); his only credit is the grace God has given him. This grace includes the revelation of "the Mystery" and also the mission to proclaim it (cf. note on Phil 1:7).
He sees the gifts which Christ extends to all, the Gentiles included, as an inexhaustible source of riches (cf. 1:18; 2:7; 3:16). In this present life no one can fully grasp the marvels God has done (cf. Job 5:9) or plumb the depths of God's mercy as manifested in Jesus Christ (cf. note on Col 2:2-3).
Every generation can and should discover in the mystery of Christ "full awareness of (man's) dignity, of the heights to which he is raised, of the surpassing worth of his own humanity, and of the meaning of his existence" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 11). The Church's mission is precisely this: "the revealing of Christ to the world, helping each person to find himself in Christ, and helping the contemporary generations of our brothers and sisters the peoples, nations, states, mankind, developing countries and countries of opulence--in short, helping everyone to get to know 'the unsearchable riches of Christ', since these riches are for every individual and are everybody's property" ("ibid.").
9. The Apostle establishes a close parallel between God's plan of Redemption and the very act of creation (cf. 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:4). This saving design, hidden until now, is what has been revealed by Christ; it enables us to grasp God's infinite love for men, for it shows that creation itself is part of God's plan of salvation. For if "all things were created" (Col 1:16) in and for and with Christ, the "Mystery" of which he is speaking was already latent in the very creation of the world. Hence God's eternal plan, which envisages man's salvation, affects the very act of creation and includes the incarnation of the Son of God.
Pope John Paul II says this in "Redemptor Hominis", 8: "The Redeemer of the world! In him has been revealed in a new and more wonderful way the fundamental truth concerning creation to which the Book of Genesis gives witness when it repeats several times, 'God saw that it was good' (cf. Gen 1 "passim"). The good has its source in Wisdom and Love. In Jesus Christ the visible world which God created for man (cf. Gen 1:26-30)--the world which, when sin entered, 'was subjected to futility' (Rom 8:19-22)--recovers again its original link with the divine source of Wisdom and Love."
10-12. This text shows that the apostolic ministry of preaching has a universal, cosmic, impact. Thanks to the Church's preaching of "the mystery", it is made known not only to mankind but also to the principalities and powers of the heavens. This preaching reveals the hidden, eternal plans of salvation whereby Jews and Gentiles, by being converted to Christ, come to have an equal place in the Church, and this fact in turn reveals the "mystery" of salvation even to the angels (cf. 1 Pet 1 :12), who come to realize the harmony that lies in God's various interventions in the course of history, from the Creation to the Redemption, including the history of the people of Israel.
The "principalities" and "powers" refer to the angelic powers which, according to Jewish belief, were the promulgators and guardians of the Law and whose mission included the government of men. But these "powers" did not know what God's plans were until they were carried out by Christ and his Church. In this passage St Paul does not say anything about whether these powers are good or evil (cf. note on 1:21). What he does re-assert, very clearly, is Christ's supremacy over all these powers, and the Church's role in bringing all creation to recognize that Christ is Lord of all. Therefore, the powers in the heavenly places no longer have any mastery over the Christian: through faith in Christ he acquires the freedom of a son of God and is able to address God confidently.
St Jerome, St Thomas and others interpret "the principalities and powers" as being good angels, like the "thrones" and "dominions" (cf. Col 1:16) and "virtutes" ("powers": cf. Eph 1:21). If we add to these titles appearing in St Paul's letters those to be found in other books of Sacred Scripture--cherubim, seraphim, archangels and angels--we get the nine angelic hierarchies known to tradition. The names simply reflect the qualities with which angels are endowed: they are spiritual beings, personal and free; they are incorporeal and because they are pure spirits, they have intellect, will and power far in excess of man's.
14. St Paul now continues the prayer which he interrupted in v. 1, to entreat the Father to let Christians understand as deeply as possible the divine plan for salvation implemented in Christ (vv. 16-l9).
"I bow my knees": the Jews generally prayed standing up. Only at moments of special solemnity did they kneel or prostrate themselves in adoration. The Apostle, by introducing this almost liturgical reference, is expressing the intensity of his prayer, and the humility which inspires it.
Bodily gestures--genuflections, bowing of the head, beating the breast, etc.--which accompany prayer should be sincere expressions of devotion. They allow the entire person, body and soul, to express his love for God. "Those who love acquire a refinement, a sensitivity of soul, that makes them notice details which are sometimes very small but which are important because they express the love of a passionate heart" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 92).
15. To "take a name" from something means to derive one's being or existence from it, and the word translated here as "family" ("patria" in Greek) means a grouping of individuals who are descended from a common father; it could be translated as "paternity", as the New Vulgate does.
The Apostle is saying that every grouping which is regarded as a family, whether it be on earth (like the Church or the family), or in heaven (like the Church triumphant and the choirs of angels), takes its name and origin from God, the only Father in the full meaning of the word. Thus, the word "Father" can be correctly used to designate not only physical but also spiritual fatherhood.
The parenthood of married people is an outstanding example of the love of God the Creator. They are cooperators in that love, and, in a certain sense, its interpreters (cf. Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 50). Hence, "when they become parents, spouses receive from God the gift of a new responsibility. Their parental love is called to become for the children the visible sign of the very love of God, 'from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named"' (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 14).
16-17. The strengthening of the inner man through the Spirit means growth in faith, charity and hope, which is what the Apostle prays for here (cf. vv. 16-19).
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1); it is, then, a virtue whereby the Christian in this life anticipates, imperfectly, the object of his hope—that perfect union with God which will take place in heaven.
Love follows from knowledge: one cannot love someone one does not know. And so, when goodness is known, it comes to be loved. Thus, the knowledge of God, which faith provides, is followed by the love of God, which stems from charity. Charity, for its part, is the basis of the Christian's spiritual life. "The spiritual edifice cannot stay standing--the same is true of a tree without roots, or a house without a foundation, which can easily be toppled--unless it be rooted and grounded in love" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Eph, ad loc.").
18. St Paul asks God to give Christians understanding of the "mystery of Christ", which essentially is the outcome of his love. In referring to the vast dimensions of this mystery he uses an enigmatic phrase-- "the breadth and length and height and depth". These and similar terms were used by Stoic philosophy to designate the cosmos as a whole. Here they express the immense scale of the "mystery" which embraces the entire plan of salvation, the actions of Christ and the activity of the Church. St Augustine interpreted these words as referring to the cross, the instrument of salvation which Christ used to show the full extent of his love (cf. "De Doctrina Christiana", 2, 41).
St Paul may indeed be trying to sum up all the richness of the "mystery" of Christ in a graphic way--in terms of a cross whose extremities reach out in all four directions seeking to embrace the whole world. The blood which our Lord shed on the cross brought about the Redemption, the forgiveness of sins (cf. Eph 1:7). It did away with hostility, reconciling all men and assembling them into one body (cf. Eph 2:15-16), the Church. Therefore the cross is an inexhaustible source of grace, the mark of the true Christian, the instrument of salvation for all. When, through the action of Christians, the cross of Christ is made present at all the crossroads of the world, then is that "mystery" implemented whose purpose it is to "unite all things in Christ" (cf. Eph 1:10).
19. Christ's love for us is infinite; it is beyond our grasp, because it is of divine dimensions (cf. Jn 15:9 and note on Jn 15:9-11).
Knowledge of the history of salvation and of the "mystery" of Christ is ultimately what gives us a notion of the scale of God's love. Therefore, it is the basis of the Christian life: "We know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God" (1 Jn 4:16). Eternal life will consist in enjoying the love of God without any type of distraction. During his life on earth, the believer receives a foretaste of this joy to the degree that he abides in the love of Christ (cf. Jn 15:9), that is, is rooted and grounded in love (v. 17). However, this knowledge of Christ is always very imperfect compared with that in heaven.
It is worth pointing out that the "knowledge" ("gnosis") which St Paul is speaking about is not simply intellectual cognition but rather a kind of knowledge which permeates one's whole life. It does not consist so much in knowing that God is love as in realizing that we are personally the object, the focus, of God's love: he loves us one by one, as good parents love their children.