Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 2-21-03, Optional-St. Peter Damian

Reading I
Gn 11:1-9

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.
While the people were migrating in the east,
they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another,
"Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire."
They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth."

The Lord came down to see the city and the tower
that they had built.
Then the Lord said: "If now, while they are one people,
all speaking the same language,
they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
Let us then go down and there confuse their language,
so that one will not understand what another says."
Thus the Lord scattered them from there all over the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel,
because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15

R (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
The Lord brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the Lord stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
R Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
From his fixed throne he beholds
all who dwell on the earth,
He who fashioned the heart of each,
he who knows all their works.
R Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Gospel
Mk 8:34--9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

He also said to them,
"Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power."

Christian Renunciation (Continuation)

[34] And He (Jesus) called to Him the multitude with His disciples, and
said to them, "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow Me. [35] For whoever would save his life
will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel's
will save it. [36] For what does it profit a man to gain the whole
world and forfeit his life? [37] For what can a man give in return for
his life? [38] For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be
ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy
angels".

[1] And He said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing
here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come
with power."

Commentary:

35. "Life": in the original text and the New Vulgate the word literally
means "soul." But here, as in many other cases, "soul" and "life" are
equivalent. The word "life" is used, clearly, in a double sense:
earthly life and eternal life, the life of man here on earth and man's
eternal happiness in Heaven. Death can put an end to earthly life, but
it cannot destroy eternal life (cf. Matthew 10:28), the life which can
only be given by Him who brings the dead back to life.

Understood in this way, we can grasp the paradoxical meaning of our
Lord's phrase: whoever wishes to save his (earthly) life will lose his
(eternal) life. But whoever loses his (earthly) life for Me and the
Gospel, will save his (eternal) life. What, then, does saving one's
(earthly) life mean? It means living this life as if there were non
other--letting oneself be controlled by the lust of the flesh and the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life (cf. 1 John 2:16). And losing
one's (earthly) life means mortifying, by continuous ascetical effort,
this triple concupiscence--that is, taking up one's cross (verse
34)--and consequently seeking and savoring the things that are God's
and not the things of the earth (cf. Colossians 3:1-2).

36-37. Jesus promises eternal life to those who are willing to lose
earthly life for His sake. He has given us example: He is the Good
Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:15); and He
fulfilled in His own case what He said to the Apostles on the night
before He died: "Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down
his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

38. Each person's eternal destiny will be decided by Christ. He is the
Judge who will come to judge the living and the dead (Matthew 16:27).
The sentence will depend on how faithful each has been in keeping the
Lord's commandments--to love God and to love one's neighbor, for God's
sake. On that day Christ will not recognize as His disciple anyone who
is ashamed to imitate Jesus' humility and example and follow the
precepts of the Gospel for fear of displeasing the world or worldly
people: he has failed to confess by his life the faith which he claims
to hold. A Christian, then, should never be ashamed of the Gospel
(Romans 1:16); he should never let himself be drawn away by the
worldliness around him; rather he should exercise a decisive influence
on his environment, counting on the help of God's grace. The first
Christians changed the ancient pagan world. God's arm has not grown
shorter since their time (cf. Isaiah 59:1). Cf. Matthew 10:32-33 and
note on same.

1. The coming o the Kingdom of God with power does not seem to refer to
the second, glorious coming of Jesus at the end of time (the Parousia);
it may, rather, indicate the amazing spread of the Church in the
lifetime of the Apostles. Many of those present here will witness
this. The growth and spread of the Church in the world can be
explained only by the divine power God gives to the mystical body of
Christ. The Transfiguration of our Lord, which is recounted in the
next passage, is a sign, given to the Apostles, of Jesus' divinity and
of the divine powers which He will give His Church.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

The Word Among Us

Friday, February 21, 2003

Meditation
Genesis 11:1-9

Why is it so hard for people to communicate? Why do we find it so difficult to understand and trust other people? Surprisingly, the story of the tower of Babel seems to be saying that it’s God’s fault. After all, he’s the one who confused the languages of the people so they couldn’t understand one another and ended up scattering all over the world.

Was God being cruel? Was he scared that by building their tower all the people would become too great for him to control? Hardly. God isn’t worried that we’ll overpower him. He isn’t worried that we’ll become too smart for our own good. Rather, he is concerned that we take up the high calling that he has given over and over again since the dawn of creation: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1).

God wanted his people to spread out over all the world and become cocreators with him. He wanted them to develop different cultures that reflected the many facets of his glory and his creativity. He wanted them to develop different languages with which they could tell of his majesty, different types of music with which to praise him, and different forms of society that would welcome his reign. But instead of building such diverse communities to glorify God, the people built a monument to themselves. As the story unfolds, we see God taking a more radical approach that would force the people to disperse and so begin making the whole earth a dwelling place for the Lord.

In contrast to the story of Babel, we have the historical event of Pentecost. There, people from all over the world gathered in one place and heard—each in their own language—the gospel. And from that moment on, Christians have been going into the world, doing the very thing God had asked for from the start.

Do you believe that God is calling you to fill the earth with his praises? Even today, he wants to send you out—into your neighborhood, your parish, even your family—and empower you to speak to people in their own languages about the marvels of the Lord.

b>“Here I am, Father. Send me. I want to become your witness. I want to take up the calling you have for me. Lord, let the whole earth rejoice in your goodness!”

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, February 21, 2003 >>

St. Peter Damian

Genesis 11:1-9

Psalm 33

Mark 8:34—9:1

View Readings

IS UNITY GOOD OR BAD?

“Then the Lord said: ‘If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down and there confuse their language.’ ” —Genesis 11:6-7

We Catholic Christians have been baptized in one Spirit into the one body of Christ, that is, the Church (1 Cor 12:13). Therefore, we think of the Church as one, and we understand that the Church is the sacrament of unity for the whole world (Lumen Gentium, Vatican II, 1). We assume the Lord wants all to be one (Jn 17:21).

However, this assumption that the Lord wants universal unity is controversial. Some attack the Catholic Church because they see her as part of the “one world order” of the antichrist. In our economy, we see more and more mergers. This unity tends toward monopoly. God Himself broke down the unity of the world at the tower of Babel (Gn 11:8). Although the Lord considers it good and pleasant when brethren “dwell at one” (Ps 133:1), doesn’t He mean a local unity rather than a universal one?

The question about unity is answered at the first Christian Pentecost. There the divisive breakdown of communication at Babel was reversed (see Acts 2:6ff). God wants a trans-national, trans-cultural, universal, united Church to be a sign of unity to the world. Give your life for universal unity (see Jn 11:51-52).

Prayer: Father, may the title of this book be realized.

Promise: “If a man wishes to come after Me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in My steps.” —Mk 8:34

Praise: St. Peter Damian helped propagate unity by answering a call that opposed his natural inclination to solitude and accepted the calling to serve God’s people in a more public, universal way.

St. Peter Damian
February 21
Bishop, Confessor, Doctor — Commemoration

Patron Saint of: Faenza and Font-Avellano

St. Peter Damian was born in 988, and lost both parents at an early age. His eldest brother, in whose hands he was left, treated him so cruelly that a younger brother, a priest; moved by his piteous state, sent him to the University of Parma, where he acquired great distinction.

His studies were sanctified by vigils, fasts, and prayers, till at last, thinking that all this was only serving God by halves, he resolved to leave the world. He joined the monks of Font-Avellano, then in the greatest repute, and by his wisdom and sanctity rose to be Superior.

He was employed, on the most delicate and difficult missions, amongst others the reform of ecclesiastical communities, which was effected by his zeal.

Seven Popes in succession made him their constant adviser, and he was at last created Cardinal Bishop of Ostia.

He withstood Henry IV of Germany, and labored in defence of Alexander II against the Antipope, whom he forced to yield and seek for pardon.

He was charged, as Papal Legate, with the repression of simony; again, was commissioned to settle discords amongst various bishops; and finally, in 1072, to adjust the affairs of the Church at Ravenna. He was laid low by a fever on his homeward journey, and died at Faenza, in a monastery of his order, on the eighth day of his sickness, whilst the monks chanted matins around him.

Taken from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints edited by John Gilmary Shea, LL.D.

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