Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
9:32–35
32. As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
33. And when the devil was east out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
34. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
35. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
REMIGIUS. Observe the beautiful order of His miracles; how after He had given sight to the blind, He restored speech to the dumb, and healed the possessed of the dæmon; by which He shews Himself the Lord of power, and the author of the heavenly medicine. For it was said by Isaiah, Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb loosed. (Is. 35:6.) Whence it is said, When they were gone forth, they brought unto him a man dumb, and possessed with a dæmon.
JEROME. The Greek word here (κωφὸς) is more frequent in common speech in the sense of ‘deaf,’ but it is the manner of Scripture to use it indifferently as either.
CHRYSOSTOM. This was not a mere natural defect; but was from the malignity of the dæmon; and therefore he needed to be brought of others, for he could not ask any thing of others as living without voice, and the dæmon chaining his spirit together with his tongue. Therefore Christ does not require faith of him, but immediately healed his disorder; as it follows, And when the dæmon was cast out, the dumb spake.
HILARY. The natural order of things is here preserved; the dæmon is first cast out, and there the functions of the members proceed. And the multitude marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
CHRYSOSTOM. They set Him thus above others, because He not only healed, but with such ease, and quickness; and cured diseases both infinite in number, and in quality incurable. This most grieved the Pharisees, that they set Him before all others, not only those that then lived, but all who had lived before, on which account it follows, But the Pharisees said, He casteth out dæmons through the Prince of dæmons.
REMIGIUS. Thus the Scribes and Pharisees denied such of the Lord’s miracles as they could deny; and such as they could not they explained by an evil interpretation, according to that, In the multitude of thy excellency thy enemies shall lie unto thee. (Ps. 66:3.)
CHRYSOSTOM. What can be more foolish than this speech of theirs? For it cannot be pretended that one dæmon would cast out another; for they are wont to consent to one another’s deeds, and not to be at variance among themselves. But Christ not only cast out dæmons, but healed the lepers, raised the dead, forgave sins, preached the kingdom of God, and brought men to the Father, which a dæmon neither could nor would do.
RABANUS. Figuratively; As in the two blind men were denoted both nations, Jews and Gentiles, so in the man dumb and afflicted with the dæmon is denoted the whole human race.
HILARY. Or; By the dumb and deaf, and dæmoniae, is signified the Gentile world, needing health in every part; for sunk in evil of every kind, they are afflicted with disease of every part of the body.
REMIGIUS. For the Gentiles were dumb; not being able to open their mouth in the confession of the true faith, and the praises of the Creator, or because in paying worship to dumb idols they were made like unto them. They were afflicted with a dæmon, because by dying in unbelief they were made subject to the power of the Devil.
HILARY. But by the knowledge of God the frenzy of superstition being chased away, the sight, the hearing, and the word of salvation is brought in to them.
JEROME. As the blind receive light, so the tongue of the dumb is loosed, that he may confess Him whom before he denied. The wonder of the multitude is the confession of the nations. The scoff of the Pharisees is the unbelief of the Jews, which is to this day.
HILARY. The wonder of the multitude is followed up by the confession, It was never so seen in Israel; because he, for whom there was no help under the Law, is saved by the power of the Word.
REMIGIUS. They who brought the dumb to be healed by the Lord, signify the Apostles and preachers, who brought the Gentile people to be saved before the face of divine mercy.
AUGUSTINE. (De Cons. Ev. ii. 29.) This account of the two blind men and the dumb dæmon is read in Matthew only. The two blind men of whom the others speak are not the same as these, though something similar was done with them. So that even if Matthew had not also recorded their cure, we might have seen that this present narrative was of a different transaction. And this we ought diligently to remember, that many actions of our Lord are very much like one another, but are proved not to be the same action, by being both related at different times by the same Evangelist. So that when we find cases in which one is recorded by one Evangelist, and another by another, and some difference which we cannot reconcile between their accounts, we should suppose that they are like, but not the same, events.
9:36–38
36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
CHRYSOSTOM. The Lord would refute by actions the charge of the Pharisees, who said, He casteth out dæmons by the Prince of the dæmons; for a dæmon having suffered rebuke, does not return good but evil to those who have not shewn him honour. But the Lord on the other hand, when He has suffered blasphemy and contumely, not only does not punish, but does not utter a hard speech, yea He shews kindness to them that did it, as it here follows, And Jesus went about all their towns and villages. Herein He teaches us not to return accusations to them that accuse us, but kindness. For he that ceases to do good because of accusation, shews that his good has been done because of men. But if for God’s sake you do good to your fellow-servants, you will not cease from doing good whatever they do, that your reward may be greater.
JEROME. Observe how equally in villages, cities, and towns, that is to great as well as small, He preaches the Gospel, not respecting the might of the noble, but the salvation of those that believe. It follows, Teaching in their synagogues; this was His meat, going about to do the will of His Father, and saving by His teaching such as yet believed not.
GLOSS. (non occ.) He taught in their synagogues the Gospel of the Kingdom, as it follows, Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
REMIGIUS. Understand, ‘of God;’ for though temporal blessings are also proclaimed, yet they are not called The Gospel. Hence the Law was not called a Gospel, because to such as kept it, it held out not heavenly, but earthly, goods.
JEROME. He first preached and taught, and then proceeded to heal sicknesses, that the works might convince those who would not believe the words. Hence it follows, Healing every sickness and every disease, for to Him alone nothing is impossible.
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) By disease we may understand complaints of long standing, by sickness any lesser infirmity.
REMIGIUS. It should be known that those whom He healed outwardly in their bodies, He also healed inwardly in their souls. Others cannot do this of their own power, but can by God’s grace.
CHRYSOSTOM. Nor does Christ’s goodness rest here, but He manifests His care for them, opening the bowels of His mercy towards them; whence it follows, And seeing the multitudes, he had compassion upon them.
REMIGIUS. Herein Christ shews in Himself the disposition of the good shepherd and not that of the hireling. Why He pitied them is added, Because they were troubled1, and sick1 as sheep that have no shepherd—troubled either by dæmons, or by divers sicknesses and infirmities.
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) Or, troubled by dæmons, and sick, that is, benumbed and unable to rise; and though they had shepherds, yet they were as though they had them not.
CHRYSOSTOM. This is an accusation against the rulers of the Jews, that being shepherds they appeared like wolves; not only not improving the multitude, but hindering their progress. For when the multitude marvelled and said, It was never so seen in Israel, these opposed themselves, saying, He casteth out dæmons by the prince of the dæmons. (vid. Ps. 102:19.)
REMIGIUS. But when the Son of God looked down from heaven upon the earth, to hear the groans of the captives, straight a great harvest began to ripen; for the multitude of the human race would never have come near to the faith, had not the Author of human salvation looked down from heaven; and it follows, Then said he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few.
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) The harvest are those men who can be reaped by the preachers, and separated from the number of the damned, as grain is beaten out from the chaff that it may be laid up in granaries.
JEROME. The great harvest denotes the multitude of the people; the few labourers, the want of instructors.
REMIGIUS. For the number of the Apostles was small in comparison of so great crops to be reaped. The Lord exhorts His preachers, that is, the Apostles and their followers, that they should daily desire an increase of their number; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
CHRYSOSTOM. He privately insinuates Himself to be the Lord; for it is He Himself who is Lord of the harvest. For if He sent the Apostles to reap what they had not sown, it is manifest that He sent them not to reap the things of others, but what He had sown by the Prophets. But since the twelve Apostles are the labourers, He said, Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he would send labourers into his harvest; and notwithstanding He added none to their number, but rather He multiplied those twelve many times, not by increasing their numbers, but by giving them more abundant grace.
REMIGIUS. Or, He then increased their number when He chose the seventy and two, and then when many preachers were made what time the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers.
CHRYSOSTOM. He shews us that it is a great gift that one should have the power of rightly preaching, in that He tells them that they ought to pray for it. Also we are here reminded of the words of John concerning the threshing-floor, and the fan, the chaff, and the wheat.
HILARY. Figuratively; When salvation was given to the Gentiles, then all cities and towns were enlightened by the power and entrance of Christ, and escaped every former sickness and infirmity. The Lord pities the people troubled with the violence of the unclean Spirit, and sick under the burden of the Law, and having no shepherd at hand to bestow on them the guardianship of the Holy Spirit. But of that gift there was a most abundant fruit, whose plenty far exceeded the multitude of those that drank thereof; how many soever take of it, yet an inexhaustible supply remains; and because it is profitable that there should be many to minister it, He bids us ask the Lord of the harvest, that God would provide a supply of reapers for the ministration of that gift of the Holy Spirit which was made ready; for by prayer this gift is poured out upon us from God.
Catena Aurea Matthew 9
The Martyrs of Gorkum
The year 1572, Luther and Calvin had already wrested from the Church a great part of Europe. The iconoclastic storm had swept through the Netherlands, and was followed by a struggle between Lutheranism and Calvinism in which the latter was victorious. In 1571 the Calvinists held their first synod, at Embden. On 1 April of the next year the Watergeuzen (Sea-beggars) conquered Briel and later Vlissingen and other places. In June, Dortrecht and Gorkum fell into their hands and at Gorkum they captured nine Franciscans. These were: Nicholas Pieck, guardian of Gorkum, Hieronymns of Weert, vicar, Theodorus van der Eem, of Amersfoort, Nicasius Janssen, of Heeze, Willehad of Denmark, Godefried of Mervel, Antonius of Weert, Antonius of Hoornaer, and Franciseus de Roye, of Brussels. To these were added two lay brothers from the same monastery, Petrus of Assche and Cornelius of Wyk near Duurstede. Almost at the same time the Calvinists laid their hands on the learned parish priest of Gorkum, Leonardus Vechel of Bois-le-Duc, who had made distinguished studies in Louvain, and also has assistant Nicolaas Janssen, surnamed Poppel, of Welde in Belgium. With the above, were also imprisoned Godefried van Duynsen, of Gorkum who was active as a priest in his native city, and Joannes Lenartz of Oisterwljk, an Augustinian and director of the convent of Augustinian nuns in Gorkum. To these fifteen, who from the very first underwent all the sufferings and torments of the persecution, were later added four more companions: Joannes van Hoornaer, a Dominican of the Cologne province and parish priest not far from Gorkum, who, when apprised of the incarceration of the clergy of Gorkum, hastened to the city in order to administer the sacraments to them and was seized and imprisoned with the rest, Jacobus Lacops of Oudenaar, a Norbertine, who after leading a frivolous life, being disobedient to his order, and neglectful of his religious duties, reformed, became a curate in Monster, Holland and was imprisoned in 1572; Adrianus Janssen of Hilvarenbeek, at one time a Premonstratensian and parish priest in Monster, who was sent to Brielle with Jacobus Lacops; and lastly Andreas Wouters of Heynoord, whose conduct was not edifying up to the time of his arrest, but who made ample amends by his martyrdom.
After enduring much suffering and abuse in the prison at Gorkum (26 June-6 July) the first fifteen martyrs were transferred to Brielle. On their way to Dortrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious and arrived at Brielle 13 July. On the following day, Lumey, the commander of the Watergeuzen, caused the martyrs to be interrogated and ordered a sort of disputation. In the meantime the four other martyrs also arrived. It was exacted of each that he abandon his belief in the Blessed Sacrament and in papal supremacy. All remained firm in their faith. Meanwhile there came a letter from William of Orange which enjoined all those in authority to leave priests and religious unmolested. Nevertheless Lumey caused the martyrs to be hanged in the night of 9 July, in a turfshed amid cruel mutilations. Their beatification took place on 14 Nov., 1675, and their canonization on 29 June, 1865. For many years the place of their martyrdom in Brielle has been the scene of numerous pilgrimages and processions.
About this page
APA citation. Albers, P.H. (1909). The Martyrs of Gorkum. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06651c.htm
MLA citation. Albers, Petrus Henricus. "The Martyrs of Gorkum." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. .
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
Kings and princes condemned
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[4] They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. [5] I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will it be till they are pure [6] in Israel?
A workman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. [7] For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, aliens would devour it.
Israel ruined by relying on foreign help
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[11] Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning. [12] Were I to write for him my laws by ten-thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. [13] They love sacrifice; they sacrifice flesh and eat it; but the Lord has no delight in them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
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Commentary:
8:1-14. This passage begins and ends with imperatives (v. 1; cf. 9:1). The first stanza (vv. 1-7) gives God’s order to Hosea to be his herald (to blow the trumpet or horn), to warn against impending danger: a vulture is hovering over “the house of the Lord”, probably a reference to the shrine at Bethel (v. 1). The people respond (“My God”: v. 2) and back their cry for help by saying that he should hear them because they acknowledge him as their God: “we Israel know thee.”
But the Lord, through the prophet, says that that is not so: Israel does not know him, for it has “spurned the good” (v. 3). The prophet denounces two sins here: they have acted without reference to God, by appointing kings “but not through me” (v. 4); and they have made idols of silver and gold (the golden calf of Samaria gets special mention: vv. 4-5). These are grievous sins; therefore, having sown the wind, “they shall reap the whirlwind”, to quote the proverb, and a short wisdom maxim tells them what punishment awaits them (vv. 6-7).
The punishment announced in v. 7 (being “devoured by aliens”) has already befallen Israel in the first verse of the second stanza (vv. 8-14), which denounces foreign pacts (vv. 9-10) and the idolatry that Israel falls into as a consequence of them (vv. I l-13). The prophet begins by saying that the alliances that Israel tries to make with foreign powers, involving probably tribute to the king of Assyria (vv. 8-10), will be to no avail. What these three verses seem to be saying is that Israel now tries to make alliances that are at odds with its true nature: inevitably, they will take its freedom away. The oracle goes on to denounce the effects that these pacts will have on worship of the Lord: there will he an increased number of places of worship but, because Canaanite rites will he mixed in with Yahwist ones, the religious services, far from expiating sins, will multiply them (v. 11). Moreover, even the offerings that they do make to the Lord will not be pleasing to him, for they will not he backed up by fulfilment of the Law of the Lord (vv. 12-13). The same point is being made as in 6:6: “Outward sacrifice, to he genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: ‘The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit ...‘ (Ps 51:19). The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbour” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2100). So, the prophet sees that Israel needs to he cleansed; hence the threat that “they shall return to Egypt”, that is, become enslaved once again.
The last verse re-introduces the idea of “forgetting God”. By building palaces and fortresses, Israel is showing that he “has forgotten his Maker”, that is, does not put his trust in him: if Assyria “devours” part of the nation’s land (vv. 8-9), the fire of God will “devour” the strongholds, on which it had relied (v. 14). “Forgetting God” is a favourite theme of Hosea’s (cf. 2:13; 4:6), but the threat of destruction by fire is repeated a number of times in Amos (cf. Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 12; 2:5).
Gospel Reading: From: Matthew 9:32-38
The Dumb Devil
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[32] As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to Him (Jesus). [33] And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marvelled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." [34] But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."
The Need for Good Shepherds
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[35] And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. [36] When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] pray therefore the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
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Commentary:
35. The Second Vatican Council uses this passage when teaching about the message of Christian charity which the Church should always be spreading: "Christian charity is extended to all without distinction of race, social condition or religion, and seeks neither gain nor gratitude. Just as God loves us with a gratuitous love, so too the faithful, in their charity, should be concerned for mankind, loving it with that same love with which God sought man. As Christ went about all the towns and villages healing every sickness and infirmity, as a sign that the Kingdom of God had come, so the Church, through its children, joins itself with men of every condition, but especially with the poor and afflicted, and willingly spends herself for them" ("Ad Gentes", 12).
36. "He had compassion for them": the Greek verb is very expressive; it means "He was deeply moved". Jesus was moved when He saw the people, because their pastors, instead of guiding them and tending them, led them astray, behaving more like wolves than genuine shepherds of their flock. Jesus sees the prophecy of Ezekiel 34 as now being fulfilled; in that passage God, through the prophet, upbraids the false shepherds of Israel and promises to send them the Messiah to be their new leader.
"If we were consistent with our faith when we looked around us and contemplated the world and its history, we would be unable to avoid feeling in our own hearts the same sentiments that filled the heart of our Lord" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 133). Reflection on the spiritual needs of the world should lead us to be tirelessly apostolic.
37-38. After contemplating the crowds neglected by their shepherds, Jesus uses the image of the harvest to show us that that same crowd is ready to receive the effects of Redemption: "I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see now the fields are already white for harvest" (John 4:35). The field of the Jewish people cultivated by the prophets—most recently by John the Baptist--is full of ripe wheat. In farm work, the harvest is lost if the farmer does not reap at the right time; down the centuries the Church feels a similar need to be out harvesting because there is a big harvest ready to be won.
However, as in the time of Jesus, there is a shortage of laborers. Our Lord tells us how to deal with this: we should pray to God, the Lord of harvest, to send the necessary laborers. If a Christian prays hard, it is difficult to imagine his not feeling urged to play his part in this apostolate. In obeying this commandment to pray for laborers, we should pray especially for there to be no lack of shepherds, who will be able to equip others with the necessary means of sanctification needed to back up the apostolate.
In this connection Pope Paul VI reminds us: "the responsibility for spreading the Gospel that saves belongs to everyone--to all who have received it! The missionary duty concerns the whole body of the Church; in different ways and to different degrees, it is true, but we must all of us be united in carrying out this duty. Now let the conscience of every believer ask himself: Have I carried out my missionary duty? Prayer for the Missions is the first way of fulfilling this duty" ("Angelus Address", 23 October 1977).
