Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 8-21-03, Memorial, St. Pius X, Pope

Reading I
Jdgs 11:29-39a

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
"If you deliver the Ammonites into my power," he said,
"whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering."

Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
"Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract."
She replied, "Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites."
Then she said to her father, "Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions."
"Go," he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

R (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Gospel
Mt 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."

From: Matthew 22:1-14

The Parable of the Marriage Feast

[1] And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2] "The kingdom
of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his
son, [3] and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the
marriage feast; but they would not come. [4] Again he sent other
servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made
ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything
is ready; come to the marriage feast.' [5] But they made light of it
and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6] while the
rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
[7] The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those
murderers and burned their city. [8] Then he said to his servants,
"The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. [9] Go
therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as
many as you find.' [10] And those servants went out into the streets
and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding
hall was filled with guests.

[11] "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a
man who had no wedding garment; [12] and he said to him, 'Friend, how
did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.
[13] Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot,
and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash
their teeth.' [14] For many are called, but few are chosen."

Commentary:

1-14. In this parable Jesus reveals how intensely God the Father
desires the salvation of all men--the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven
--and the mysterious malice that lies in willingly rejecting the
invitation to attend, a malice so vicious that it merits eternal
punishment. No human arguments make any sense that go against God's
call to conversion and acceptance of faith and its consequences.

The Fathers see in the first invitees the Jewish people: in salvation
history God addresses himself first to the Israelites and then to all
the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).

Indifference and hostility cause the Israelites to reject God's loving
call and therefore to suffer condemnation. But the Gentiles also need to
respond faithfully to the call they have received; otherwise they will
suffer the fate of being cast "into outer darkness".

"The marriage", says St Gregory the Great ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 36)
"is the wedding of Christ and his Church, and the garment is the virtue
of charity: a person who goes into the feast without a wedding garment
is someone who believes in the Church but does not have charity."

The wedding garment signifies the dispositions a person needs for
entering the Kingdom of heaven. Even though he belongs to the Church,
if he does not have these dispositions he will be condemned on the day
when God judges all mankind.=A0 These dispositions essentially mean
responding to grace.

13. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the doctrine of the "last
things", one aspect of which is covered in this verse. Referring to the
eschatological dimension of the Church, the Council recalls our Lord's
warning about being on the watch against the wiles of the devil, in
order to resist in the evil day (cf. Eph 6:13). "Since we know neither
the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch
constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is
completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the
marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and
not, like the wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mt 25:26), be ordered
to depart into the eternal fire (cf. Mt 25:41), into the outer darkness
where "men will weep and gnash their teeth'" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).

14. These words in no way conflict with God's will that all should be
saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). In his love for men, Christ patiently seeks the
conversion of every single soul, going as far as to die on the cross
(cf. Mt 23:37; Lk 15:4-7). St Paul teaches this when he says that
Christ loved us and "gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). Each of us can assert with the Apostle
that Christ "loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). However,
God in his infinite wisdom respects man's freedom: man is free to
reject grace (cf. Mt 7:13-14).

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.

FEAST OF THE DAY

Joseph Sarto was born in 1835 and was the second of ten children in
a poor family. Joseph Sarto became one of the most outstanding
popes of the 20th century, Pope St. Pius X. Throughout his life he
remembered his humble beginnings and donated selflessly to the
poor.

Joseph moved up through the hierarchy of the Church from priest, to
bishop to cardinal. In 1903 Pope Leo XIII died and a conclave was
held to chose his successor. Joseph was chosen to be the 259th
pope and took the name Pius X. The motto of Pius' reign was "renew
all things in Christ" and he accomplished this by encouraging the
faithful to a great love and devotion to the Eucharist. He also
encouraged the faithful to receive Communion frequently and made
a law allowing children to start receiving Communion around the age
of 7. Pius also waged war against modernism, one of the great errors
of the era. Pius died a few weeks after the start of the First World
War, stricken with great sorrow for the pain that humanity was about
to suffer.

Pope Pius X died on August 20, 1914 and was canonized by Pope
Pius XII in 1954. St. Pius X is the patron of sick pilgrims.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven. There
are others: Innocence, for instance, but that is for little children.
Penance, but we are afraid of it. Generous endurance of the trials of
life, but when they come we weep and ask to be spared. The surest,
easiest, shortest way is by the Eucharist. -Pope St. Pius X

TODAY IN HISTORY

1221 Death of St. Abraham of Smolensk
1241 Death of Pope Gregory IX

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Pope St. Pius X described Modernism as the synthesis of all
heresies. Modernism attacked dogma, Sacraments, the authenticity
and genuineness of the scriptures, the Church and ecclesiastical
authority and discipline. Modernism is the result of agnosticism
(saying that God cannot be the object of certain knowledge) and
Immanence. (The teaching that the foundation of faith must be
sought in an internal sense which arises from man's need of God) -
Taken from "A Catholic Dictionary"

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of Pope St. Pius X, that all
people may develop a greater love and devotion to the Eucharist.

The Word Among Us

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Meditation
Matthew 22:1-14

It’s your only son’s wedding, and you’re overjoyed. You watch as the guests enter to celebrate with you. They’re all wearing their Sunday best—all except for one fellow, who has chosen to dress in a deliberately inappropriate way. How would you respond? Wouldn’t you feel upset, or even insulted? You might even want to do what the king in today’s parable did: have that disrespectful guest thrown out (Matthew 22:13)!

In Jesus’ parable, the people who came to the wedding banquet weren’t even the original invitees. The first invitees refused to come, and some even murdered the servants who brought the invitation (Matthew 22:5-6)! These “round- two” guests—everyone the servants have been able to find—did well by choosing to come. Still, there is no excuse for showing up in dirty rags.

“Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). Jesus’ statement suggests that many people who are invited to heaven’s banquet won’t get in. Why not? Because despite the very generous invitation, they choose not to put on the clean “white robe” of Christ’s righteousness—or because they allow their robe to become stained with unrepented sin. This is why repentance—and more specifically the Sacrament of Reconciliation—is such a precious gift. Absolved of our sins, we are once more made as clean as the day of our baptism.

Keeping our robe spotless is more than just a life insurance policy. For one thing, the benefits of repentance come in this lifetime, not only the next. When we repent, Jesus removes the chains of sin that held us bound. How freeing this is! No longer enslaved to sin, we can experience true happiness and peace and grow in love of God. Let’s stay away from sin, then, and repent quickly when we do fall. Clothed in that robe of righteousness, let’s enjoy a foretaste of the wedding feast where we will celebrate for all eternity.

“Lord, thank you for your love and mercy. Thank you for your forgiveness that knows no bounds. Thank you for the sacrifice of the cross, which makes me clean and whole. Help me to come to you whenever I need to repent and be renewed!”

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, August 21, 2003 >>

Pope St. Pius X

Judges 11:29-39

Psalm 40

Matthew 22:1-14

View Readings

PREFIGURING THE MYSTERY

“Whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord. I shall offer him up as a holocaust.” —Judges 11:31

Jephthah wrongly vowed to offer a human sacrifice if he defeated the Ammonites in war. He defeated the Ammonites, and he offered as a holocaust his only child, a virgin daughter (Jgs 11:34ff).

Although Jephthah was so wrong in his vow, the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter has intrigued many of God’s people for centuries. Possibly this is because in a remote way the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter prefigured the human sacrifice of Jesus, the Father’s only-begotten, virgin Son. The strange events regarding Jephthah’s daughter can be a remote, ancient entry into contemplation of the mystery of God’s plan of salvation.

We have been baptized into Christ and into His death and resurrection (Rm 6:3ff). We should be immersed in and preoccupied with the crucified and risen Jesus. We should see everything in reference to the central event of all human history: the Passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, that is, the Paschal mystery. Let us abide forever in the mystery of the Trinity’s saving love.

Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to make me an everlasting contemplative of the Paschal mystery.

Promise: “Go out into the byroads and invite to the wedding anyone you come upon.” —Mt 22:9

Praise: Pope St. Pius X’s papal motto was: “Renew all things in Christ.”

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