Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings xx-May-2025

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 16
5.	But I told you not these things from the beginning, because I was with you. And now I go to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me: Whither goest thou?	Hæc autem vobis ab initio non dixi, quia vobiscum eram. Et nunc vado ad eum qui misit me ; et nemo ex vobis interrogat me : Quo vadis ?	νυν δε υπαγω προς τον πεμψαντα με και ουδεις εξ υμων ερωτα με που υπαγεις
6.	But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart.	sed quia hæc locutus sum vobis, tristitia implevit cor vestrum.	αλλ οτι ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν η λυπη πεπληρωκεν υμων την καρδιαν
7.	But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.	Sed ego veritatem dico vobis : expedit vobis ut ego vadam : si enim non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet ad vos ; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos.	αλλ εγω την αληθειαν λεγω υμιν συμφερει υμιν ινα εγω απελθω εαν γαρ εγω μη απελθω ο παρακλητος ουκ ελευσεται προς υμας εαν δε πορευθω πεμψω αυτον προς υμας
8.	And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment.	Et cum venerit ille, arguet mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio.	και ελθων εκεινος ελεγξει τον κοσμον περι αμαρτιας και περι δικαιοσυνης και περι κρισεως
9.	Of sin: because they believed not in me.	De peccato quidem, quia non crediderunt in me.	περι αμαρτιας μεν οτι ου πιστευουσιν εις εμε
10.	And of justice: because I go to the Father; and you shall see me no longer.	De justitia vero, quia ad Patrem vado, et jam non videbitis me.	περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκετι θεωρειτε με
11.	And of judgment: because the prince of this world is already judged.	De judicio autem, quia princeps hujus mundi jam judicatus est.	περι δε κρισεως οτι ο αρχων του κοσμου τουτου κεκριται

(*) The translations start Verse 5 one sentence sooner than the original.

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

16:5–11

5. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

6. But because I have said these tilings unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

7. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9. Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii. 1) The disciples, not as yet perfected, being overcome by sorrow, our Lord blames and corrects them, saying, But now I go My way to Him that sent Me; and none of you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou? They were so struck down at hearing that whosoever killed them would think that he was doing God service, that they could say nothing. Wherefore He adds, But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your hearts. It was no small consolation to them to know, that the Lord knew their superabundant sorrow, because of His leaving them, and because of the evils which they heard they were to suffer, but knew not whether they should suffer manfully.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciv) Or whereas they had asked Him above, whither He was going, and He had replied that He was going whither they would not come; now He promises that He will go in such a way that no one will ask Him whither He goeth: and none of you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou? Going up to heaven, they questioned Him not in words, but followed with their eyes. But our Lord saw what effect His words would produce upon their minds. Not having yet that inward consolation which the Holy Ghost was to impart, they were afraid to lose the outward presence of Christ, and so, when they could no longer doubt from His own words that they were going to lose Him, their human affections were saddened, for the loss of their visible object. Wherefore it follows; But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. But He knew that it would be for their good, forasmuch as that inward sight wherewith the Holy Ghost would console them, was the better one: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii) As if He said, Though your grief be ever so great, ye must hear how that it is profitable for you that I go away. What the profit is He then shews: For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.

AUGUSTINE. (i. de Trin. c. 9.) This He says not on account of any inequality between the Word of God and the Holy Ghost, but because the presence of the Son of man amongst them would impede the coming of the latter. For the Holy Ghost did not humble Himself as did the Son, by taking upon Him the form of a servant. It was necessary therefore that the form of the servant should he removed from their eyes; for so long as they looked upon that, they thought that Christ was no more than what they saw Him to be. So it follows: But if I depart, I will send Him unto you.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciv) But could He not send Him while here, Him, Who, we know, came and abode on Him at His baptism, yea Him from Whom we know He never could be separated? What meaneth then, If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but, ye cannot receive the Spirit, so long as ye know Christ according to the flesh? Christ departing in the body, not the Holy Ghost only, but the Father, and the Son also came spiritually.

GREGORY. (viii. Moral. c. xvii.) As if He said plainly, If I withdraw not My body from your eyes, I cannot lead you to the understanding of the Invisible, through the Comforting Spirit.

AUGUSTINE. (de Verb. Dom. serm. lx) The Holy Ghost the Comforter brought this, that the form of a servant which our Lord had received in the womb of the Virgin, being removed from the fleshly eye, He was manifested to the purified mental vision in the very form of God in which He remained equal to the Father, even while He deigned to appear in the flesh.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xxviii) What say they here, who entertain unworthy notions of the Spirit? Is it expedient for the master to go away, and a servant to come? He then shews the good that the Spirit will do: And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xcv. 1) But how is it that Christ did not reprove the world? Is it because Christ spoke among the Jews only, whereas the Holy Spirit, poured into His disciples throughout the whole world, reproved not one nation only, but the world? But who would dare to say that the Holy Ghost reproved the world by Christ’s disciples, and that Christ did not, when the Apostle exclaims, Do ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in Me? (2 Cor. 13:3. Vulg.) Those then whom the Holy Ghost reproves, Christ reproves also. He shall reprove the world, means, He shall pour love into your hearts, insomuch, that fear being cast out, ye shall be free to reprove. He then explains what He has said: Of sin, because they believed not in Me. He mentions this as the sin above all others, because while it remains, the others are retained, when it departs, the others are remitted.

AUGUSTINE. (de Verb. Dom. s. lxi) But it makes a great difference whether one believes in Christ, or only that He is Christ. For that He was Christ, even the devils believed: but e believes in Christ, who both hopes in Christ and loves Christ.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xcv. 2) The world is reproved of sin, because it believes not in Christ, and reproved of righteousness, the righteousness of those that believe. The very contrast of the believing, is the censure of the unbelieving. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father: as it is the common objection of unbelievers, How can we believe what we do not see? so the righteousness of believers lies in this, Because I go to the Father, and ye see Me no more. For blessed are they which see not, and believe. The faith even of those who saw Christ is praised, not because they believed what they saw, i. e. the Son of man, but because they believed what they saw not, i. e. the Son of God. And when the form of the servant was withdrawn from their sight altogether, then only was fulfilled in completeness the text, The just liveth by faith. (Heb. 10:38) It will be your righteousness then, of which the world will be reproved, that ye shall believe in Me, not seeing Me. And when ye shall see Me, ye shall see Me as I shall be, not as I am now with you, i. e. ye shall not see Me mortal, but everlasting. For in saying, Ye see Me no more (jam non videbitis me Vulg.), He means that they should see Him no more for ever.

AUGUSTINE. (de Verb. Dom. s. lxi) Or thus: They believed not, He went to the Father. Theirs therefore was the sin, His the righteousness. But that He came from the Father to us, was mercy; that He went to the Father, was righteousness; according to the saying of the Apostle, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him. (Philip. 2:9) But if He went to the Father alone, what profit is it to us? Is He not alone rather in the sense of being one with all His members, as the head is with the body? So then the world is reproved of sin, in those who believe not in Christ; and of righteousness, in those who rise again in the members of Christ. It follows, Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged: i. e. the devil, the prince of the wicked, who in heart dwell only in this world which they love. (s. lx). He is judged in that he is cast out; and the world is reproved of this judgment; for it is vain for one who does not believe in Christ to complain of the devil, whom judged, i. e. cast out, and permitted to attack us from without, only for our trial, not men only but women, boys and girls, have by martyrdom overcome.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xcv) Or, is judged, i. e. is destined irrevocably for the punishment of eternal fire. And of this judgment is the world reproved, in that it is judged with its prince, the proud and ungodly one whom it imitates. Let men therefore believe in Christ, lest they be reproved of the sin of unbelief, by which all sins are retained; pass over to the number of the believing, lest they be reproved of the righteousness of those whom justified they do not imitate; beware of the judgment to come, lest with the prince of this world whom they imitate, they too be judged.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii) Or thus: Shall reprove the world of sin, i. e. cut off all excuse, and shew that they have sinned unpardonably in not believing in Me, when they see the ineffable gift of the Holy Ghost obtained by calling upon Me.

AUGUSTINE. (de Qu. N. et V. Test. qu. 89) In this way too the Holy Ghost reproved the world of sin, i. e. by the mighty works He did in the name of the Saviour, Who was condemned by the world. The Saviour, His righteousness retained, feared not to return to Him Who sent Him, and in that He returned, proved that He had come from Him: Of righteousness, because I go to the Father.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii. 2) i. e. My going to the Father will be a proof that I have led an irreproachable life, so that they will not be able to say, This man is a sinner; this man is not from God. (c. 9:24, 16) Again, inasmuch as I conquered the devil, (which no one who was a sinner could do,) they cannot say that I have a devil, and am a deceiver. But as he hath been condemned by Me, they shall be assured that they shall trample upon him afterwards; and My resurrection will shew that he was not able to detain Me.

AUGUSTINE. (de Qu. V. et N. Test. qu. 89) The devils seeing souls go from hell1 to heaven, knew that the prince of this world was judged, and being brought to trial in the Saviour’s cause, had lost all right to what he held. This was seen on our Saviour’s ascension, but was declared plainly and openly in the descent of the Holy Ghost on the disciples.

Catena Aurea John 16

Saint of the Day for May 27

(? – May 26, 605)

Saint Augustine of Canterbury’s Story

In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was Augustine, the prior of their monastery. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to Gregory the Great—the pope who had sent them—only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless.

Augustine set out again. This time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian, Bertha. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, additional sees were established at London and Rochester.

Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians—who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders—ended in dismal failure. Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors.

Laboring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles—quite enlightened for the times—suggested by Pope Gregory: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible. The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after his arrival, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England. Augustine of Canterbury can truly be called the “Apostle of England.”

Reflection

Augustine of Canterbury comes across today as a very human saint, one who could suffer like many of us from a failure of nerve. For example, his first venture to England ended in a big U-turn back to Rome. He made mistakes and met failure in his peacemaking attempts with the Briton Christians. He often wrote to Rome for decisions on matters he could have decided on his own had he been more self-assured. He even received mild warnings against pride from Pope Gregory, who cautioned him to “fear lest, amidst the wonders that are done, the weak mind be puffed up by self-esteem.” Augustine’s perseverance amidst obstacles and only partial success teaches today’s apostles and pioneers to struggle on despite frustrations and be satisfied with gradual advances.

Saint Augustine of Canterbury is the Patron Saint of:

England

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

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

First Reading:

From: Acts 16:22-34

Imprisonment of Paul and Silas
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[22] The crowd joined in attacking them; and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. [23] And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. [24] Having received this charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Baptism of the Jailer
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[25] But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, [26] and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's fetters were unfastened. [27] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." [29] And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, [30] and brought them out and said, "Men, what must I do to be saved?" [31] And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." [32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once with all his family. [34] Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.

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Commentary:

19-40. This is the first time St Paul comes into conflict with Gentiles. As might be expected, the incident does not take the form of a riot, as happened in cities of Asia Minor (13:50; 14:5, l9), but of a civil suit before local magistrates. The people who bring the charge say nothing about their real reason--loss of profit. They accuse Paul of two things. Their first charge is disturbance of the peace. The second seems to be based on regulations forbidding Roman citizens to practise alien cults, especially where these conflict with Roman custom. They see Paul's exorcism and his preaching as an attempt to propagate what they see as an unacceptable religion. It may well be that the charge also had to do with specific prohibitions on the propagation of Judaism to non-Jews. However, there is no hard evidence that any such prohibition existed; therefore, the charge against Paul must have been based on regulations in the colony separating Roman from alien religious practices.

23. St Paul refers specifically to this punishment in 1 Thess 2:2. It was one of the three beatings mentioned in 2 Cor 11:25.

24. St John Chrysostom, reflecting on the punishment Paul and Silas underwent, sees them as sitting or lying on the ground, covered with wounds caused by the beating. He contrasts this suffering with the way many people avoid anything which involves effort, discomfort or suffering: "How we should weep over the disorders of our time! The apostles were subjected to the worst kinds of tribulation, and here we are, spending our time in search of pleasure and diversion. This pursuit of leisure and pleasure is the cause of our ruin. We do not see the value of suffering even the least injury or insult for love of Jesus Christ.

"Let us remember the tribulations the saints experienced; nothing alarmed them or scared them. Severe humiliations made them tough, enabled them to do God's work. They did not say, if we are preaching Jesus Christ, why does he not come to our rescue?" ("Hom. on Acts", 35).

25. Paul and Silas spend the night praying and singing hymns. Commenting on this passage St John Chrysostom exhorts Christians to do the same and to sanctify night-time rest: "Show by your example that the night-time is not just for recovering the strength of your body: it is also a help in sanctifying your soul. [...] You do not have to say long prayers; one prayer, said well, is enough. [...] Offer God this sacrifice of a moment of prayer and he will reward you" ("Hom. On Acts", 36).

St Bede notes the example Paul and Silas give Christians who are experiencing trials or temptations: "The piety and energy which fires the heart of the apostles expresses itself in prayer and brings them to sing hymns even in prison. Their praise causes the earth to move, the foundations to quake, the doors to open and even their fetters to break. Similarly, that Christian who rejoices when he is happy, let him rejoice also in his weakness, when he is tempted, so that Christ's strength come to his aid. And then let him praise the Lord with hymns, as Paul and Silas did in the darkness of their prison, and sing with the psalmist, 'Thou does encompass me with deliverance' (Ps 32:7)" (St Bede, "Super Act Expositio, ad loc.").

30-34. This incident so affects the jailer with religious awe that he comes to be converted. He has been helped to react in this way as a result of listening to the prayers and hymns of the apostles: "Notice how the jailer reveres the apostles. He opens his heart to them, when he sees the doors of the prison open.

He lights the way further with his torch, but it is another kind of torch that lights up his soul. [...] Then he cleans their wounds, and his soul is cleansed from the filth of sin. On offering them material food, he receives in return a heavenly one. [...] His docility shows that he sincerely believed that all his sins had been forgiven" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 36).

A person can meet up with God in all kinds of unexpected situations—in which case he or she needs to have the same kind of docility as the jailer in order to receive the grace of God through the channels which God has established, normally the sacraments.

33. As happened with Lydia and her family, the jailer's household is baptized along with him. Noting that these families probably included children and infants, the Magisterium of the Church finds support here for its teaching that baptism of children is a practice which goes right back to apostolic times and is, as St Augustine says, "a tradition received from the Apostles" (cf. "Instruction on Infant Baptism", 20 October 1980, 4).

Gospel Reading:

From: John 16:5-11

The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
--------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [5] "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."

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Commentary:

6-7. The thought that He is going to leave them saddens the Apostles, and our Lord consoles them with the promise of the Paraclete, the Consoler. Later (verses 20ff), He assures them that their sadness will turn into joy which no one can take away from them.

Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit three times during the discourse of the Last Supper. The first time (14:15ff), He says that another Paraclete (advocate, consoler) will come, sent by the Father, to be with them forever; secondly, He says (14:26) that He Himself will send them, on behalf of the Father, the Spirit of truth who will teach them everything; and now He unfolds for them the complete plan of salvation and announces that the Holy Spirit will be sent once He ascends into Heaven.

8-12. The word "world" here means all those who have not believed in Christ and have rejected Him. These the Holy Spirit will accuse of sin because of their unbelief. He will accuse them of unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside His Father. And, finally, He will indict them by demonstrating that the devil, the prince of the world, has been overthrown through the death of Christ, which rescues man from the power of the Evil One and gives him grace to avoid the snares he lays.

"Today’s first reading shows the ordinary trajectory of becoming a Christian. It begins with the individual’s asking to know more in response to a sign, continues with instruction that cultivates the kernel of faith, that leads to Baptism, that flourishes as a life that becomes a sign for others..."

That is a good summation. As the Navarre Bible selection for today notes above:
"A person can meet up with God in all kinds of unexpected situations—in which case he or she needs to have the same kind of docility as the jailer in order to receive the grace of God through the channels which God has established, normally the sacraments."

From the beginning to the end, our justification and salvation is God's grace, freely given by him and at his initiative. He gives us the grace to seek him, and it is his grace that gives us signs--either through his word or action-- so that of our free will, we may respond. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, in part, about grace:

CCC 2001-2005
2001 The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace. This latter is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification through faith, and in sanctification through charity. God brings to completion in us what he has begun, "since he who completes his work by cooperating with our will began by working so that we might will it:"

Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God: for without him we can do nothing.

2002 God's free initiative demands man's free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him. The soul only enters freely into the communion of love. God immediately touches and directly moves the heart of man. He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy. The promises of "eternal life" respond, beyond all hope, to this desire:
If at the end of your very good works . . ., you rested on the seventh day, it was to foretell by the voice of your book that at the end of our works, which are indeed "very good" since you have given them to us, we shall also rest in you on the sabbath of eternal life" (St. Augustine).

2003 Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning "favor," "gratuitous gift," "benefit." Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.

2004 Among the special graces ought to be mentioned the graces of state that accompany the exercise of the responsibilities of the Christian life and of the ministries within the Church:
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

2005 Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord's words "Thus you will know them by their fruits" - reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

A pleasing illustration of this attitude is found in the reply of St. Joan of Arc to a question posed as a trap by her ecclesiastical judges: "Asked if she knew that she was in God's grace, she replied: 'If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.'"

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Readings at Mass

Become a believer and you will be saved, and your household too

Unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Saint of the Day for May 27

(? – May 26, 605)