Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 6-May-2025

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

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

First Reading:

From: Acts 7:51-8:1a

Stephen's Address to the Sanhedrin
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(Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin,) [51] "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. [52] Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, [53] you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."

The Martyrdom of Stephen
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[54] Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. [55] But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; [56] and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." [57] But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. [58] Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [60] And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Persecution of the Church
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[1a] And Saul was consenting to his death.

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Commentary:

55-56. "It is clear", St. Ephraem comments, "that those who suffer for Christ enjoy the glory of the whole Trinity. Stephen saw the Father and Jesus at His side, because Jesus appears only to his own, as was the case with the Apostles after the Resurrection. While the champion of the faith stood there helpless in the midst of those who had killed the Lord, just at the point when the first martyr was to be crowned, he saw the Lord, holding a crown in His right hand, as if to encourage him to conquer death and to show that he inwardly helps those who are about to die on his account. He therefore reveals what he sees, that is, the heavens opened, which were closed to Adam and only opened to Christ at the Jordan, but open now after the Cross to all who share Christ's sufferings, and in the first instance open to this man. See how Stephen reveals why his face was lit up: it was because he was on the point of contemplating this wondrous mission. That is why he took on the appearance of an angel--so that his testimony might be more reliable" ("Armenian Commentary, ad loc.").

57-59. The cursory trial of Stephen ends without any formal sentence of death: this Jewish tribunal was unable to pass such sentences because the Romans restricted its competence. In any event no sentence proves necessary: the crowd becomes a lynching party: it takes over and proceeds to stone Stephen, with the tacit approval of the Sanhedrin.

Tradition regards Stephen as the first Christian martyr, an example of fortitude and suffering for love of Christ. "Could you keep all God's commandments," St. Cyprian asks, "were it not for the strength of patience? That was what enabled Stephen to hold out: in spite of being stoned he did not call down vengeance on his executioners, but rather forgiveness.... How fitting it was for him to be Christ's first martyr, so that by being, through his glorious death, the model of all the martyrs that would come after him, he should not only be a preacher of the Lord's Passion, but should also imitate it in his meekness and immense patience" ("De Bono Patientiae", 16).

Martyrdom is a supreme act of bravery and of true prudence, but to the world it makes no sense. It is also an _expression of humility, because a martyr does not act out of bravado or overweening self-confidence; he is a weak man like anyone else, but God's grace gives him the strength he needs. Although martyrdom is something which happens rarely, it does show Christians what human nature can rise to if God gives it strength, and it establishes a standard, both real and symbolic, for the behavior of every disciple of Christ.

"Since all the virtues and the perfection of all righteousness are born of love of God and one's neighbor," St. Leo says, "in no one is this love more worthily found than in the blessed martyrs, who are nearest to our Lord in terms of imitation of both His charity and His Passion.

"The martyrs have been of great help to others, because the Lord has availed of the very strength as He granted them to ensure that the pain of death and the cruelty of the Cross do not frighten any of His own, but are seen as things in which man can imitate Him....

"No example is more useful for the instruction of the people of God than that of the martyrs. Eloquence is effective for entreating, argument for convincing; but examples are worth more than words, and it is better to teach by deeds than by speech" ("Hom. on the Feast of St. Laurence").

The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the excellence of the martyrdom as a form of witness to the faith. Although there are heroic ways of imitating and following our Lord which do not involve the drama of bloodshed and death, all Christians should realize that confession of the faith in this way is not a thing of the past and is sometimes necessary.

"Since Jesus, the Son of God, showed His love by laying down His life for us, no one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Him and for his brothers (cf. 1 John 3:16; John 15:13). Some Christians have been called from the beginning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love to all, especially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes the disciple like his Master. [...] Therefore, the Church considers it the highest gift and supreme test of love. And although it is given to few, all must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.

"Likewise the Church's holiness is fostered [...] by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to His disciples in the Gospel" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 42).

The Liturgy of the Church sums up the asceticism and theology of martyrdom in the preface for Christian martyrs: "Your holy martyr followed the example of Christ, and gave his life for the glory of Your name. His death reveals Your power shining through our human weakness. You choose the weak and make them strong in bearing witness to You."

Like Jesus, Stephen dies commending his soul to God and praying for his persecutors. At this point St. Luke brings in Saul who cooperates in the proceedings by watching the executioners' clothes; Saul will soon experience the benefits of Stephen's intercession. "If Stephen had not prayed to God, the Church would not have had Paul" (St. Augustine, "Sermons", 315, 7).

Stephen has died, but his example and teaching continue to speak across the world.

Gospel Reading:

From: John 6:30-35

The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)
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[30] So they said to Him (Jesus), "Then what sign do You do, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? [31] Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from Heaven to eat.'" [32] Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from Heaven; My Father gives you the true bread from Heaven. [33] For the bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven, and gives life to the world." [34] They said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

[35] Jesus said them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

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Commentary:

28-34. This dialogue between Jesus and His hearers is reminiscent of the episode of the Samaritan woman (cf. John 4:11-15). On that occasion Jesus was speaking about water springing up to eternal life; here, He speaks of bread coming down from Heaven to give to the world. There, the woman was asking Jesus if He was greater than Jacob; here the people want to know if He can compare with Moses (cf. Exodus 16:13). "The Lord spoke of Himself in a way that made Him seem superior to Moses, for Moses never dared to say that he would give food which would never perish but would endure to eternal life. Jesus promises much more than Moses. Moses promised a kingdom, and a land flowing with milk and honey, good health and other temporal blessings [...], plenty for the belly, but food which perishes; whereas Christ promised food which never perishes but which endures forever" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 25:12).

These people know that the manna--food which the Jews collected every day during the journey through the wilderness (cf. Exodus 16:13ff)—symbolized messianic blessings; which was why they asked our Lord for a dramatic sign like the manna. But there was no way they could suspect that the manna was a figure of a great supernatural messianic gift which Christ was bringing to mankind--the Blessed Eucharist. In this dialogue and in the first part of the discourse (verses 35-47), the main thing Jesus is trying to do is bring them to make an act of faith in Him, so that He can then openly reveal to them the mystery of the Blessed Eucharist--that He is the bread "which comes down from Heaven, and gives life to the world" (verse 33). Also, St. Paul explains that the manna and the other marvels which happened in the wilderness were a clear prefiguring of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:3-4).

The disbelieving attitude of these Jews prevented them from accepting what Jesus revealed. To accept the mystery of the Eucharist, faith is required, as Pope Paul VI stressed: "In the first place we want to remind you that the Eucharist is a very great mystery; strictly speaking, to use the words of sacred liturgy, it is `the mystery of faith'. This is something well known to you but it is essential to the purpose of rejecting any poisonous rationalism. Many martyrs have witnessed to it with their blood. Distinguished Fathers and Doctors of the Church in unbroken succession have taught and professed it. [...] We must, therefore, approach this mystery, above all, with humble reverence, not following human arguments, which ought to be hushed, but in steadfast adherence to divine revelation" ("Mysterium Fidei").

35. Going to Jesus means believing in Him, for it is through faith that we approach our Lord. Jesus uses the metaphor of food and drink to show that He is the one who really meets all man's noblest aspirations: "How beautiful is our Catholic faith! It provides a solution for all our anxieties, calms our minds and fills our hearts with hope" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 582).

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 6
30.	They said therefore to him: What sign therefore dost thou shew, that we may see, and may believe thee? What dost thou work?	Dixerunt ergo ei : Quod ergo tu facis signum ut videamus et credamus tibi ? quid operaris ?	ειπον ουν αυτω τι ουν ποιεις συ σημειον ινα ιδωμεν και πιστευσωμεν σοι τι εργαζη
31.	Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.	Patres nostri manducaverunt manna in deserto, sicut scriptum est : Panem de cælo dedit eis manducare.	οι πατερες ημων το μαννα εφαγον εν τη ερημω καθως εστιν γεγραμμενον αρτον εκ του ουρανου εδωκεν αυτοις φαγειν
32.	Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you; Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.	Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : non Moyses dedit vobis panem de cælo, sed Pater meus dat vobis panem de cælo verum.	ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ου μωυσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον αρτον εκ του ουρανου αλλ ο πατηρ μου διδωσιν υμιν τον αρτον εκ του ουρανου τον αληθινον
33.	For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.	Panis enim Dei est, qui de cælo descendit, et dat vitam mundo.	ο γαρ αρτος του θεου εστιν ο καταβαινων εκ του ουρανου και ζωην διδους τω κοσμω
34.	They said therefore unto him: Lord, give us always this bread.	Dixerunt ergo ad eum : Domine, semper da nobis panem hunc.	ειπον ουν προς αυτον κυριε παντοτε δος ημιν τον αρτον τουτον
35.	And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.	Dixit autem eis Jesus : Ego sum panis vitæ : qui venit ad me, non esuriet, et qui credit in me, non sitiet umquam.	ειπεν δε αυτοις ο ιησους εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης ο ερχομενος προς με ου μη πειναση και ο πιστευων εις εμε ου μη διψηση πωποτε

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

30. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

31. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32. Then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

33. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

AUGUSTINE. (xxv. 12) To eat then that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, is to believe on Him. Why dost thou make ready thy tooth and thy belly? Only believe, and thou hast eaten already. As He called on them to believe, they still asked for miracles whereby to believe; They said therefore unto Him, What sign shewest Thou then, that we may see and believe Thee? What dost Thou work?

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xlv. 1) Nothing can be more unreasonable than their asking for another miracle, as if none had been given already. And they do not even leave the choice of the miracle to our Lord; but would oblige Him to give them just that sign, which was given to their fathers: Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

ALCUIN. And to exalt the miracle of the manna, they quote the Psalm, As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xlv. 1) Whereas many miracles were performed in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert, they remembered this one the best of any. Such is the force of appetite. They do not mention this miracle as the work either of God, or of Moses, in order to avoid raising Him on the one hand to an equality with God, or lowering Him on the other by a comparison with Moses; but they take a middle ground, only saying, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xxv. s. 12) Or thus; Our Lord sets Himself above Moses, who did not dare to say that He gave the meat which perisheth not. The multitude therefore remembering what Moses had done, and wishing for some greater miracle, say, as it were, Thou promisest the meat which perisheth not, and doest not works equal to those Moses did. He gave us not barley loaves, but manna from heaven.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xxv. 1) Our Lord might have replied, that He had done miracles greater than Moses: but it was not the time for such a declaration. One thing He desired, viz. to bring them to taste the spiritual meat: then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Did not the manna come from heaven? True, but in what sense did it? The same in which the birds are called, the birds of heavenk; and just as it is said in the Psalm, The Lord thundered out of heaven. (Ps. 17) He calls it the true bread, not because the miracle of the manna was false, but because it was the figure, not the reality. He does not say too, Moses gave it you not, but I: but He puts God for Moses, Himself for the manna.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xxv. 13.) As if He said, That manna was the type of this food, of which I just now spoke; and which all my miracles refer to. You like my miracles, you despise what is signified by them. This bread which God gives, and which this manna represented, is the Lord Jesus Christ, as we read next, For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

BEDE. Not to the physical world, but to men, its inhabitants.

THEOPHYLACT. He calls Himself the true bread, because the only-begotten Son of God, made man, was principally signified by the manna. For manna means literally, what is this? The Israelites were astonished at first on finding it, and asked one another what it was. And the Son of God, made man, is in an especial sense this mysterious manna, which we ask about, saying, What is this? How can the Son of God be the Son of man? How can one person consist of two natures?

ALCUIN. Who by the humanity, which was assumed, came down from heaven, and by the divinity, which assumed it, gives life to the world.

THEOPHYLACT. But this bread, being essentially life, (for He is the Son of the living Father,) in quickening all things, does but what is natural to Him to do. For as natural bread supports our weak flesh, so Christ, by the operations of the Spirit, gives life to the soul; and even incorruption to the body, (for at the resurrection the body will be made incorruptible.) Wherefore He says, that He giveth life unto the world.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xlv. 1) Not only to the Jews, but to the whole world. The multitude, however, still attached a low meaning to His words: Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. They say, Give us this bread, not, Ask Thy Father to give it us: whereas He had said that His Father gave this bread.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xxv. 13) As the woman of Samaria, when our Lord told her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall never thirst, thought He meant natural water, and said, Sir, give me this water, that she might never be in want of it again: in the same way these say, Give us this bread, which refreshes, supports, and fails not.

6:35–40

35. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xlv. 2) Our Lord now proceeds to set forth mysteries; and first speaks of His Divinity: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He does not say this of His body, for He speaks of that at the end; The bread that I will give you is My flesh. Here He is speaking of His Divinity. The flesh is bread, by virtue of the Word; this bread is heavenly bread, on account of the Spirit which dwelleth in it.

THEOPHYLACT. He does not say, I am the bread of nourishment, but of life, for, whereas all things brought death, Christ hath quickened us by Himself. But the life here, is not our common life, but that which is not cut short by death: He that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and He that believeth on Me shall never thirst.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xxv. 14) He that cometh to Me, i. e. that believeth on Me, shall never hunger, has the same meaning as shall never thirst; both signifying that eternal society, where there is no want.

THEOPHYLACT. Or, shall never hunger or thirst, i. e. shall never be wearied1 of hearing the word of God, and shall never thirst as to the understanding: as though He had not the water of baptism, and the sanctification of the Spirit.

Catena Aurea John 6

Written by John Paul Meenan, Editor

‘Tis difficult to believe that Quebec was once a a bastion of the Faith, incarnating in an almost unique way in the historical annals the harmony between Church and State, offering the early pioneers of this nation – New France – the elan vital to conquer a wild and savage land, to raise large families, and build a prosperous and virtuous society. But la belle province is now a sclerotic, socialist mess, moribund, and its culture, or what’s left of it, held up by governmental largesse, as is most of its economy. Under the Trudeau pere et fils, and their Liberal successors – now the benighted Mr. Carney – the rest of Canada has followed suit. As the Faith recedes, so does everything else, true, good and beautiful,

But what Quebec was, Canada once was, and might be again. We are free to choose which path to follow, and how to live – the present is not the past, and it definitely need not be the future.

The glory of Vieux Quebec was the work of saints, one of the greatest of them François -Xavier de Montmorency-Laval (+1708), her first bishop, two centuries before ‘Canada’ even existed. Born in France, a descendant from nobility on both sides, Francois was destined for the priesthood, demonstrating a high degree not only of intelligence, holiness, piety and devotion, but also a shrewd practical sense, with the capacity to administrate, to organize funds and to deal with men amicably in all their foibles and fractiousness. He was, in the truly Pauline sense, all things to all men. He lived a life of deep prayer, discipline and recollection, the source of his immense apostolic activity and fruitfulness.

With the death of his father, along with two older brothers in battle, François became the eldest son, and had to discern whether to inherit and take over his family fortune and affairs – which his mother and his own bishop advised, but which would have meant abandoning his ecclesiastical path.

Fortunately for history and for Canada, François set his face like flint for the priesthood. Ordained on May 1^st, 1647, Pere François gave his all to his supernatural vocation, and whatever task he was given, he accomplished admirably. His deepest desire was to become a missionary, after his famous Jesuit namesake, Francis Xavier. Originally, he applied to be sent to Asia, but this plan was blocked, and the young, dynamic priest spent years in more quiet and hidden ministry – one of the virtues he strove to especially cultivate was patience. As he wrote in a letter to missionaries in 1668:

May they remember that the seed of God’s Word brings forth fruit with patience. Those who lack patience risk becoming discouraged, after a fiery start, and abandoning their endeavor

His patience bore fruit. Still only 36, the decision was made to ordain him the first bishop, the ‘Vicar Apostolic’, of New France, on the propitious day of December 8^th, 1658, the future universal Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

François set sail in April, arriving in Quebec on June 16, 1659, and immediately set to work for the next half-century establishing the Church in New France, his vast diocese extending from the eastern seacoast to Lake Michigan, north to the nether regions of the Arctic, and south to Louisiana, even if almost all the Catholics lived in Quebec City, whose population, in 1665 consisted of 550 souls, living in 70 houses, one-quarter of them members of religious orders.

Bishop Laval built upon the foundation laid by the heroic work of the Recollets and the Jesuits; Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant had been martyred in Huronia a scant ten years before the new bishop’s arrival, with many members of the Order still toiling away in the hinterlands.

François gave his life to his work, paving the way for bringing over many new settlers – the hardy and hard-working habitants – as well as a parochial system and priests to serve them. He founded la Grand Seminaire in Quebec City – still operational – on March 26, 1663, which he saw as the intellectual and spiritual centre of the diocese. The new bishop strove to balance the authority of the Church and State – dealing with such contentious issues as selling liquor to the ‘Natives’, and his conflict with the secular arm, the Governors, was never-ending. Following the Apostles, it was not his way to kowtow to the State.

On that note, this first bishop of Canada is also the patron saint of the bishops of Canada, who could use his powerful intercession, labouring as they are under the enervating echo of the Winnipeg Statement, the Church in Canada languishing and, from a worldly perspective, moribund.

Of course, the Church cannot die, even in our deranged Dominion. God is always working, and there will be refuges of fidelity, of strong faith – humble and hidden, perhaps, but all the more powerful for it.

Bishop Laval makes a cameo appearance in the Willa Cather novel, Shadows on the Rock, going into the unheated cathedral very early in the morning to take in the frozen holy water stoops to thaw before his fire, so that the parishioners might bless themselves on their way to prayer. A small window into the man he was.

The good bishop realized, as we all must do, that much of the ‘fruit’ of our lives is borne of such small sacrifices, and much of that fruit will only be seen by others after us. By the time of Saint Laval’s death on this day in 1708, the population of New France had risen to thousands, and the Church in Quebec, for nearly three centuries, right up until its near-collapse in the revolution tranquil of the 1960’s, witnessed a vibrant and full Catholicism, with large families, a strong devotional life, music, literature, culture, heritage, the best of what it meant and should mean to be ‘Canadian’, all built on the solid Faith that Saint Francois de Laval, along with many other heroic men and women hidden to history, brought to this untamed land.

We all owe him, and them, a great deal of gratitude, and Saint François de Laval provides a model for what a bishop should be. The Church in Canada needs to hear a clear affirmation of the Church’s moral teaching; a re-appropriation and handing on of the rich intellectual tradition of the Church; and, perhaps most of all, a renewed fidelity to the liturgy. What we need far less of is a muted, milquetoast, laissez-faire, happy-clappy Catholicism, to say nothing of outright heresy and apostasy. Witness the tragic state of our school system, and the languid disorder of so many Masses across this land. We may hope a renewal under a new Laval is one of the lights at the end of this dark tunnel.

François de Laval was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II on June 22, 1980 (along with fellow ‘Canadians’ Marie of the Incarnation and Kateri Tekakwitha), and canonized by Pope Francis on April 3, 2014. His tomb is in his own cathedral, Notre Dame, in the heart of the vieux ville of Quebec City – well worth a pilgrimage, if you ever get the chance.

As Saint Paul exhorted the new bishop Timothy, which Saint François lived to the full:

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ.

And as we pray in today’s Collect:

O God, eternal shepherd of the faithful,

who sent Blessed François de Laval as bishop

to extend the dominion of Christ to the people of Canada,

grant, through his intercession,

that we may strive always to keep and to put into practice

the faith which, with unquenchable zeal, he strove to proclaim.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

catholicinsight.com

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Readings at Mass

'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'

It is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas