Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 27-November-2024

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 21
12.	But before all these things, they will lay their hands upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for my name's sake.	Sed ante hæc omnia injicient vobis manus suas, et persequentur tradentes in synagogas et custodias, trahentes ad reges et præsides propter nomen meum :	προ δε τουτων παντων επιβαλουσιν εφ υμας τας χειρας αυτων και διωξουσιν παραδιδοντες εις συναγωγας και φυλακας αγομενους επι βασιλεις και ηγεμονας ενεκεν του ονοματος μου
13.	And it shall happen unto you for a testimony.	continget autem vobis in testimonium.	αποβησεται δε υμιν εις μαρτυριον
14.	Lay it up therefore into your hearts, not to meditate before how you shall answer:	Ponite ergo in cordibus vestris non præmeditari quemadmodum respondeatis :	θεσθε ουν εις τας καρδιας υμων μη προμελεταν απολογηθηναι
15.	For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay.	ego enim dabo vobis os et sapientiam, cui non poterunt resistere et contradicere omnes adversarii vestri.	εγω γαρ δωσω υμιν στομα και σοφιαν η ου δυνησονται αντειπειν ουδε αντιστηναι παντες οι αντικειμενοι υμιν
16.	And you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren, and kinsmen and friends; and some of you they will put to death.	Trademini autem a parentibus, et fratribus, et cognatis, et amicis, et morte afficient ex vobis :	παραδοθησεσθε δε και υπο γονεων και συγγενων και φιλων και αδελφων και θανατωσουσιν εξ υμων
17.	And you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake.	et eritis odio omnibus propter nomen meum :	και εσεσθε μισουμενοι υπο παντων δια το ονομα μου
18.	But a hair of your head shall not perish.	et capillus de capite vestro non peribit.	και θριξ εκ της κεφαλης υμων ου μη αποληται
19.	In your patience you shall possess your souls.	In patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras.	εν τη υπομονη υμων κτησασθε τας ψυχας υμων

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 21

21:12–19

12. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

13. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

18. But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19. In your patience possess ye your souls.

GREGORY. (Hom. 35. in Evang.) Because the things which have been prophesied of arise not from the injustice of the inflictor of them, but from the deserts of the world which suffers them, the deeds or wicked men are foretold; as it is said, But before all these things, they shall lay their hands upon you: as if He says, First the hearts of men, afterwards the elements, shall be disturbed, that when the order of things is thrown into confusion, it may be plain from what retribution it arises. For although the end of the world depends upon its own appointed course, yet finding some more corrupt than others who shall rightly be overwhelmed in its fall, our Lord makes them known.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Or He says this, because before that Jerusalem should be taken by the Romans, the disciples, having suffered persecution from the Jews, were imprisoned and brought before rulers; Paul was sent to Rome to Cæsar, and stood before Festus and Agrippa.

It follows, And it shall turn to you for a testimony. In the Greek it is εἰς μαρτύριον, that is, for the glory of martyrdom.

GREGORY. (ut sup.) Or, for a testimony, that is, against those who by persecuting you bring death upon themselves, or living do not imitate you, or themselves becoming hardened perish without excuse, from whom the elect take example that they may live. But as hearing so many terrible things the hearts of men may be troubled, He therefore adds for their consolation, Settle it therefore in your hearts, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. For because they were foolish and inexperienced, the Lord tells them this, that they might not be confounded when about to give account to the wise. And He adds the cause, For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist. As if He said, Ye shall forthwith receive of me eloquence and wisdom, so that all your adversaries, were they gathered together in one, shall not be able to resist you, neither in wisdom, that is, the power of the understanding, nor in eloquence, that is, excellence of speech, for many men have often wisdom in their mind, but being easily provoked to their great disturbance, mar the whole when their time of speaking comes, But not such were the Apostles, for in both these gifts they were highly favoured.

GREGORY. (ut sup.) As if the Lord said to His disciples, “Be not afraid, go forward to the battle, it is I that fight; you utter the words, I am He that speaketh.”

AMBROSE. Now in one place Christ speaks in His disciples, as here; in another, the Father; (Mat. 16:17) in another the Spirit of the Father speaketh. (Mat. 10:20.) These do not differ but agree together, In that one speaketh, three speak, for the voice of the Trinity is one.

THEOPHYLACT. Having in what has gone before dispelled the fear of inexperience, He goes on to warn them of another very certain event, which might agitate their minds, lest falling suddenly upon them, it should dismay them; for it follows, And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

GREGORY. (ut sup.) We are the more galled by the persecutions we suffer from those of whose dispositions we made sure, because together with the bodily pain, we are tormented by the bitter pangs of lost affection.

GREGORY OF NYSSA. But let us consider the state of things at that time. While all men were suspected, kinsfolk were divided against one another, each differing from the other in religion; the gentile son stood up the betrayer of his believing parents, and of his believing son the unbelieving father became the determined accuser; no age was spared in the persecution of the faith; women were unprotected even by the natural weakness of their sex.

THEOPHYLACT. To all this He adds the hatred which they shall meet with from all men.

GREGORY. (ut sup.) But because of the hard things foretold concerning the affliction of death, there immediately follows a consolation, concerning the joy of the resurrection, when it is said, But there shall not an hair of your head perish. As though He said to the martyrs, Why fear ye for the perishing of that which when cut, pains, when that can not perish in you, which when cut gives no pain?

BEDE. Or else, There shall not perish a hair of the head of our Lord’s Apostles, because not only the noble deeds and words of the Saints, but even the slightest thought shall meet with its deserving reward.

GREGORY. (Mor. 5. c. 16.) He who preserves patience in adversity, is thereby rendered proof against all affliction, and so by conquering himself, he gains the government of himself; as it follows, In your patience shall ye possess your souls. For what is it to possess your souls, but to live perfectly in all things, and sitting as it were upon the citadel of virtue to hold in subjection every motion of the mind?

GREGORY. (Hom. 35. in Ev.) By patience then we possess our souls, because when we are said to govern ourselves, we begin to possess that very thing which we are. But for this reason, the possession of the soul is laid in the virtue of patience, because patience is the root and guardian of all virtues. Now patience is to endure calmly the evils which are inflicted by others, and also to have no feeling of indignation against him who inflicts them.

Catena Aurea Luke 21

St. Vergilius of Salzburg

19.99... Irish missionary and astronomer, of the eighth century. Vergilius (or Virgilius, in Irish Fergal, Ferghil, or Feirghil) is said to have been a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages. In the "Annals of the Four Masters" and the "Annals of Ulster" he is mentioned as Abbot of Aghaboe, in Queen's County. About 745 he left Ireland, intending to visit the Holy land, but, like many of his countrymen, who seemed to have adopted this practice as a work of piety, he settled down in France, where he was received with great favour by Pepin, then mayor of the Palace under Childeric III. After spending two years at Cressy, near Compiegne, he went to Bavaria, at the invitation of Duke Otilo, and within a year or two was made Abbot of St. Peter's at Salzburg. Out of humility, he "concealed his orders", and had a bishop named Dobdagrecus, a fellow countryman, appointed to perform his episcopal functions for him. It was while Abbot of St. Peter's that he came into collision with St. Boniface. A priest having, through ignorance, conferred the Sacrament of Baptism using, in place of the correct formula, the words Baptizo te in nomine patria et filia et spiritu sancta", Vergilius held that the sacrament had been validly conferred. Boniface complained to Pope Zachary. The latter, however, decided in favour of Vergilius. Later on, St. Boniface accused Vergilius of teaching a doctrine in regard to the rotundity of the earth, which was "contrary to the Scriptures". Pope Zachary's decision in this case was that "if it be proved that he held the said doctrine, a council be held, and Vergilius expelled from the Church and deprived of his priestly dignity" (Jaffe, "Biblioth. rerum germ.", III, 191). Unfortunately we no longer possess the treatise in which Vergilius expounded his doctrine. Two things, however, are certain: first, that there was involved the problem of original sin and the universality of redemption; secondly, that Vergilius succeeded in freeing himself from the charge of teaching a doctrine contrary to Scripture. It is likely that Boniface misunderstood him, taking it for granted, perhaps, that if there are antipodes, the "other race of men" are not descendants of Adam and were not redeemed by Christ. Vergilius, no doubt, had little difficulty in showing that his doctrine did not involve consequences of that kind. (See ANTIPODES.)

After the martyrdom of St. Boniface, Vergilius was made Bishop of Salzburg (766 or 767) and laboured successfully for the upbuilding of his diocese as well as for the spread of the Faith in neighbouring heathen countries, especially in Carinthia. He died at Salzburg, 27 November, 789. In 1233 he was canonized by Gregory IX. His doctrine that the earth is a sphere was derived from the teaching of ancient geographers, and his belief in the existence of the antipodes was probably influenced by the accounts which the ancient Irish voyagers gave of their journeys. This, at least, is the opinion of Rettberg ("Kirchengesch. Deutschlands", II, 236).

Sources

Dict. of Christian Biog., s.v. Vergilius; OLDEN in Dict. of National Biography, s.v. Fergil; KRETSCHMER, Die physiche Erdkunde (Vienna, 1889).

About this page

APA citation. Turner, W. (1912). St. Vergilius of Salzburg. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15353d.htm

MLA citation. Turner, William. "St. Vergilius of Salzburg." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. .

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. Dedicated to St. Vergilius.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal 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: Revelation 15:1-4

The Hymn of the Saved
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[1] Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.

[2] And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. [3] And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages! [4] Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship thee, for thy judgments have been revealed."

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Commentary:

1. The third portent (cf. the first two in 12:1, 3) is of special significance--it is "great and wonderful"--for it heralds the final outcome of the contention between the beasts and the followers of the Lamb, between the powers of evil and the Church of Jesus Christ. That this is the denouement is shown by the use of the figure seven for a third time, after the seven seals (5:1) and the seven trumpets (cf. Rev 8:2). This is the last word: "the wrath of God is ended."

As in the case of the two earlier groups of seven, the author first announces the sevenfold nature of the sign. It consists of seven plagues--which immediately recall the punishments God inflicted on Pharaoh in Egypt prior to the Exodus. Then follows a very liturgical type of scene (15:2-8) which as it were encourages and calls for the divine judgments which follow (cf. 16:1-17).

The last of these plagues acts as an introduction to the account of the last battles and total victory of the Church (cf. chaps. 17-22).

2-4. The image of the sea of glass mixed with fire is somewhat reminiscent of the passage of the Red Sea during the Exodus. On that occasion, according to the Book of Wisdom (cf. Wis 19:6-22), natural elements were changed to enable the Israelites to walk on water: the water became as hard as glass for the Israelites whereas for the Egyptians it was unable to protect them from the fire sent to punish them. The sea of glass may also be evocative of the molten sea (used for the cleansing of those going to take part in temple rites) which was positioned in front of the Holy of Holies (cf. note on Rev 4:6-7). In any event, the author depicts the saved as giving thanks and praising God while intoning a hymn which fuses the salvation of the Israelites with the Redemption wrought by Christ. The latter is the full realization of the former, and God's plan is seen to embrace all men and all nations (cf. v. 4; Eph 3:4-7). For this reason some early Christian writers (Primasius, for example) interpret the sea of glass as a symbol of Baptism (prefigured in the Red Sea) which makes Christians pure and transparent. The reference to fire signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. "Commentariorum Super Apoc.", 15, 2).

Every saving action of God has ultimately a supernatural purpose, even though it may include noble human aims, for when "God rescues his people from hard economic, political and cultural slavery, he does so in order to make them, through the Covenant on Sinai, 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Ex 19:6). God wishes to be adored by people who are free. All the subsequent liberations of the people of Israel help to lead them to this full liberty that they can only find in communion with their God" (SCDF, "Libertatis Conscientia", 44).

Gospel Reading:

From: Luke 21:12-19

Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem
and the End of the World (Continuation)
-------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples), [12] "But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My name's sake. [13] This will be a time for you to bear testimony. [14] Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; [15] for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. [16] You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; [17] you will be hated by all for My name's sake. [18] But not a hair of your head will perish. [19] By your endurance you will gain your lives."

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Commentary:

19. Jesus foretells all kinds of persecution. Persecution itself is something inevitable: "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). His disciples will have need to remember the Lord's warning at the Last Supper: "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20). However, these persecutions are part of God's providence: they happen because He lets them happen, which He does in order to draw greater good out of them. Persecution provides Christians with an opportunity to bear witness to Christ; without it the blood of martyrs would not adorn the Church. Moreover, our Lord promises to give special help to those who suffer persecution, and He tells them not to be afraid: He will give them of His own wisdom to enable them to defend themselves; He will not permit a hair of their heads to perish, that is, even apparent misfortune and loss will be for them a beginning of Heaven.

From Jesus' words we can also deduce the obligation of every Christian to be ready to lose life rather than offend God. Only those will attain salvation who persevere until the end in faithfulness to the Lord. The three Synoptic Gospels locate His exhortation to perseverance in this discourse (cf. Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13) and St. Matthew gives it elsewhere (Matthew 10:22) as does St. Peter (1 Peter 5:9)—all of which underlines the importance for every Christian of this warning from our Lord.

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Readings at Mass

The victors sang the hymn of Moses and of the Lamb

Your endurance will win you your lives

Nothing is changing

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Luke CHAP. 21

St. Vergilius of Salzburg

Sources

About this page