Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 4-04-03, Optional, St. Isidore

Reading I
Wis 2:1a, 12-22

The wicked said among themselves,
thinking not aright:
"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the Lord.
To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,
Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.
He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him."
These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls' reward.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

R (19a) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The Lord confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the Lord delivers him.
R The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The Lord redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Gospel
Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
"Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
"You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me."
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.

From: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus Goes Up to Jerusalem During the Feast of Tabernacles

[1] After this Jesus went about in Galilee; He would not go about in
Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. [2] Now the Jews' feast of
Tabernacles was at hand. [10] But after His brethren had gone up to
the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private.

[25] Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the
man whom they seek to kill? [26] And here He is, speaking openly, and
they say nothing to Him! Can it be that the authorities really know
that this is the Christ? [27 Yet we know where this man comes from;
and when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from.
[28] So Jesus proclaimed, as He taught in the temple, "You know where I
come from? But I have not come of My own accord; He who sent Me is
true, and Him you do not know. [29] I know Him, for I come from Him,
and He sent Me." [30] So they sought to arrest Him; but no one laid
hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Commentary:

1-2. The Jewish custom was for closer relatives to be called
"brothers", brethren (cf. notes on Matthew 12:46-47 and Mark 6:1-3).
These relatives of Jesus followed Him without understanding His
teaching or His mission (cf. Matthew 3:31); but because He worked such
obvious miracles in Galilee (cf. Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10, 22-26)
they suggest to Him that He show Himself publicly in Jerusalem and
throughout Judea. Perhaps they wanted Him to be a big success, which
would have indulged their family pride.

2. The name of the feast recalls the time the Israelites spent living
under canvas in the wilderness (cf. Leviticus 23:34-36). During the
eight days the feast lasted (cf. Nehemiah 8:13-18), around the
beginning of autumn, the Jews commemorated the protection God had given
the Israelites over the forty years of the Exodus. Because it
coincided with the end of the harvest, it was also called the feast of
ingathering (cf. Exodus 23:16).

10. Because He had not arrived in advance of the feast (which was what
people normally did), the first caravans would have reported that Jesus
was not coming up, and therefore the members of the Sanhedrin would
have stopped planning anything against Him (cf. 7:1). By going up
later, the religious authorities would not dare make any move against
Him for fear of hostile public reaction (cf. Matthew 26:5). Jesus,
possibly accompanied by His disciples, arrives unnoticed at Jerusalem,
"in private", almost in a hidden way. Half-way through the feast, on
the fourth or fifth day, He begins to preach in the temple (cf. 7:14).

27. In this chapter we often see the Jews disconcerted, in two minds.
They argue with one another over whether Jesus is the Messiah, or a
prophet, or an impostor (verse 12); they do not know where He gets His
wisdom from (verse 15); they are short-tempered (verses 19-20); and
they are surprised by the attitudes of the Sanhedrin (verse 26).
Despite the signs they have seen (miracles, teaching) they do not want
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps some, thinking that He
came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary, cannot see how
this fits in with the notion usually taken from Isaiah's prophecy
(Isaiah 53:1-8) about the Messiah's origin being unknown--except for
His coming from the line of David and being born in Bethlehem (cf.
Matthew 2:5 which quotes Micah 5:2; cf. John 7:42). In fact Jesus did
fulfill those prophetic predictions, though most Jews did not know it
because they knew nothing about His virginal birth in Bethlehem or His
descent from David. Others must have known that He was of the house of
David and had been born in Bethlehem, but even so they did not want to
accept His teaching because it demanded a mental and moral conversion
which they were not ready to make.

28-29. Not without a certain irony, Jesus refers to the superficial
knowledge these Jews had of Him: however, He asserts that He comes from
the Father who has sent Him, whom only He knows, precisely because He
is the Son of God (cf. John 1:18).

30. The Jews realized that Jesus was making Himself God's equal, which
was regarded as blasphemy and, according to the Law, was something
punishable by death by stoning (cf. Leviticus 24:15-16, 23).

This is not the first time St. John refers to the Jews' hostility (cf.
John 5:10), nor will it be the last (8:59; 10:31-33). He stresses this
hostility because it was a fact and perhaps also to show that Jesus
acts freely when, to fulfill the Father's will He gives Himself over to
His enemies when His "hour" arrives (cf. John 18:4-8). "He did not
therefore mean an hour when He would be forced to die, but one when He
would allow Himself to be put to death. For He was waiting for the
time in which He should die, even as He waited for the time in which He
should be born" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang., 31, 5).

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, April 04, 2003

Meditation
Wisdom 2:1,12-22

What caused Jesus to trigger seething anger in some people? Why did his contemporaries want to kill him (John 7:1)? Perhaps the answer is found in the Book of Wisdom, which was written at least fifty years before Jesus was even born! According to Wisdom, “the very sight” of the righteous man is a “burden” to the wicked (Wisdom 2:15). In the way he lived and the things he taught, Jesus revealed sin for what it was, and so he was considered “inconvenient” by those who refused to give up the things they knew were opposed to God’s laws.

The irony in all this is that Jesus did not travel around playing the role of a “good cop” snooping out all unlawful conduct. He wasn’t trying to be a hero, and he certainly wasn’t motivated by a prideful desire for recognition. Then, as now, his only motivation was love. When he corrected his people—as when he corrects us—his goal was always to lead us out of the bondage of sin so we could know the freedom of being children of God. Like a committed parent, Jesus doesn’t just see our failures and sins; he sees our full potential and wants to help us become everything he created us to be.

Like the Jews who plotted Jesus’ downfall, today too there are many who reject Jesus and his claim over their lives. Even we who believe can point to times when we have resented Jesus or resisted his presence. Thankfully, Jesus never gives up on us. He continues to pursue us and tug at our consciences, urging us to embrace his laws and his love.

Whenever you find yourself wishing Jesus would just go away, or trying to rationalize your way around one of God’s commands, stop and ask yourself a few questions. “Have I lost sight of God’s plan for me?” “Do I really want to minimize the potential that Jesus has given me—the possibility of being filled to overflowing with the love and power of Christ?” Recall your heritage! Recall the goodness of God! Then, confident that Jesus is still with you, go on to fight the good fight of faith.

“Lord Jesus, you alone are the holy and righteous one. Help me to become more like you. May your love be my strength!”

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, April 4, 2003 >>

St. Isidore

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22

Psalm 34

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

View Readings

COMBAT READINESS?

“Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him.” —Wisdom 2:17

In a little over two weeks, on the first day of the Easter season, we will renew our baptismal promises. After that, we will be persecuted either mildly or severely, for all who wish to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Tm 3:12). May these last days of Lent prepare us for the renewal of our Baptisms at Easter. Then may this renewal prepare us to profess our faith even in the most severe persecution.

Because the Holy Spirit uses the lives of Christians to convict people of their sins (Jn 16:8), Christians are intolerable even for those who pride themselves on being tolerant. Thus, Christians appear to the unrepentant as obnoxious (Wis 2:12) and judgmental (Wis 2:12, 14, 16). Just to see us is a hardship for the unrepentant (Wis 2:14). Therefore, the tolerant make an exception for Christians and refuse to tolerate us. They may even revile, torture, or kill us (Wis 2:19-20).

Therefore, “beloved, grow strong in your holy faith through prayer in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). Pray: “I believe! Help my lack of faith!” (Mk 9:24, our transl.) Pray for an increase of faith (Lk 17:5) as you hear God’s word, for “faith comes through hearing and hearing by God’s word” (Rm 10:17, our transl). Who is the conqueror of the world? It is the one who has faith in Jesus, the Son of God (1 Jn 5:5). As the season of persecution nears, now is the season to grow deeply in our faith.

Prayer: Father, may my faith help me to look forward to being persecuted.

Promise: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.” —Ps 34:19

Praise: St. Isidore wrote: “When we pray we talk to God; when we read God talks to us.”

Lenten Reflections

Friday, Fourth Week of Lent

"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us." (Wisdom 2:12)

Reflection.

There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand.
This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord, and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph's wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying "Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord."
Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of Him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. ....Saint Bernardine of Siena

Lenten Fact

Since Lent is a penitential season of preparation for Easter, the Stations of the Cross, which follow the path of Christ from Pontius Pilate's praetorium to Christ's tomb have been a popular devotion in parishes. In the 16th century, this pathway was officially entitled the "Via Dolorosa" (Sorrowful Way) or simply Way of the Cross or Stations of the Cross.

Lenten Action.

Think about St. Joseph's role in salvation history. Think about what God might be asking of you.

Prayer

O Great Saint Joseph, you were completely obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for me the grace to know the state of life that God in his providence has chosen for me. Since my happiness on earth, and perhaps even my final happiness in heaven, depends on this choice, let me not be deceived in making it.

Stations Of The Cross

Catholic Online Saints

St. Isidore of Seville
Doctor of the Church
d. 636
Feastday: April 4

Isidore was literally born into a family of saints in sixth century Spain. Two of his brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, and one of his sisters, Florentina, are revered as saints in Spain. It was also a family of leaders and strong minds with Leander and Fulgentius serving as bishops and Florentina as abbess.

This didn't make life easier for Isidore. To the contrary, Leander may have been holy in many ways, but his treatment of his little brother shocked many even at the time. Leander, who was much older than Isidore, took over Isidore's education and his pedagogical theory involved force and punishment. We know from Isidore's later accomplishments that he was intelligent and hard-working so it is hard to understand why Leander thought abuse would work instead of patience.

One day, the young boy couldn't take any more. Frustrated by his inability to learn as fast as his brother wanted and hurt by his brother's treatment, Isidore ran away. But though he could escape his brother's hand and words, he couldn't escape his own feeling of failure and rejection. When he finally let the outside world catch his attention, he noticed water dripping on the rock near where he sat. The drops of water that fell repeatedly carried no force and seemed to have no effect on the solid stone. And yet he saw that over time, the water drops had worn holes in the rock.

Isidore realized that if he kept working at his studies, his seemingly small efforts would eventually pay off in great learning. He also may have hoped that his efforts would also wear down the rock of his brother's heart.

When he returned home, however, his brother in exasperation confined him to a cell (probably in a monastery) to complete his studies, not believing that he wouldn't run away again.

Either there must have been a loving side to this relationship or Isidore was remarkably forgiving even for a saint, because later he would work side by side with his brother and after Leander's death, Isidore would complete many of the projects he began including a missal and breviary.

In a time where it's fashionable to blame the past for our present and future problems, Isidore was able to separate the abusive way he was taught from the joy of learning. He didn't run from learning after he left his brother but embraced education and made it his life's work. Isidore rose above his past to become known as the greatest teacher in Spain.

His love of learning made him promote the establishment of a seminary in every diocese of Spain. He didn't limit his own studies and didn't want others to as well. In a unique move, he made sure that all branches of knowledge including the arts and medicine were taught in the seminaries.

His encyclopedia of knowledge, the Etymologies, was a popular textbook for nine centuries. He also wrote books on grammar, astronomy, geography, history, and biography as well as theology. When the Arabs brought study of Aristotle back to Europe, this was nothing new to Spain because Isidore's open mind had already reintroduced the philosopher to students there.

As bishop of Seville for 37 years, succeeding Leander, he set a model for representative government in Europe. Under his direction, and perhaps remembering the tyrannies of his brother, he rejected autocratic decision- making and organized synods to discuss government of the Spanish Church.

Still trying to wear away rock with water, he helped convert the barbarian Visigoths from Arianism to Christianity.

He lived until almost 80. As he was dying his house was filled with crowds of poor he was giving aid and alms to. One of his last acts was to give all his possessions to the poor.

When he died in 636, this Doctor of the Church had done more than his brother had ever hoped; the light of his learning caught fire in Spanish minds and held back the Dark Ages of barbarism from Spain. But even greater than his outstanding mind must have been the genius of his heart that allowed him to see beyond rejection and discouragement to joy and possibility.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Isidore was born around the year 560 at the city of Cartagena in
Spain. He was raised in the Catholic faith his two brothers and his
sister are all considered saints by the Church. Isidore received his
education from his brother, St. Leander the bishop of Seville. After
completing a rigorous education, Isidore was ordained and worked
with Leander to battle several heresies rampant in Spain at the time.

In the year 600, Leander died and Isidore was chosen to replace his
brother as bishop of Seville. Isidore worked as a unifying force for
both the Church in Spain and the state of Spain. He used his
influence to attack heresies and used his learning to educate the
misinformed. Isidore assisted at several important councils held in
Spain during his life and also presided over the Council of Toledo in
610.

Isidore was held in high regard for his learning during his life and for
many years after his death. He is often referred to as the
"Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages," and is honored as a Doctor of
the Church. Isidore wrote an encyclopedia, a dictionary, several
histories and several theological works. He was fluent in Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew and used this knowledge to educate others.

Near the end of his life, Isidore became well known for his humility
and generosity. Before he died, he remitted all debts owed to him
and distributed all his belongings among the poor. Isidore died
around the year 636.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

After confession, thank Almighty God for the pardon which you have
received, and renew your good resolution never more to offend Him,
and to avoid all occasions of sin; and pray to Jesus and Mary for
perseverance. -St. Alphonsus Liguori

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TODAY IN HISTORY

896 Pope Formosus dies
1541 Ignatius of Loyola becomes 1st superior-general of the Jesuits

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TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Canon of Sacred Scripture is the list of the books of the Bible
that the Church recognizes as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

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INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for the conversion of all people who do not believe in
God and for those who do not see the relevance of religion to the
world.

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