Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 9-17-03, Optional, St. Robert Bellarmine

Reading I
1 Tm 3:14-16

Beloved:
I am writing you,
although I hope to visit you soon.
But if I should be delayed,
you should know how to behave in the household of God,
which is the Church of the living God,
the pillar and foundation of truth.
Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion,

Who was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R (2) How great are the works of the Lord!
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R How great are the works of the Lord!
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R How great are the works of the Lord!
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R How great are the works of the Lord!

Gospel
Lk 7:31-35

Jesus said to the crowds:
"To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

From: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

The Church is God's Household

[14] I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to
you so that, [15] if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave
in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the
pillar and bulwark of the truth.

The Mystery of our Religion

[16] Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was
manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels,
preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in
glory.

Commentary:

15. This verse contains three very evocative expressions which sum up
the letter's ecclesiology or theology of the Church.

"The Church of the living God": St Paul usually uses "church of God"
and (once) "church of Christ" (Rom 16:16), thereby implying continuity
with the "assemblies of Yahweh" in the Old Testament. The Church, in
other words, is the true people of God, founded on the New Covenant,
heir to the ancient promises and trustee of the means of salvation (cf.
"Lumen Gentium", 9). It is "the church of the living God", that is, it
receives from him supernatural life (grace) and distributes it to all.
"It pleased God to call men to share in his life and not merely singly,
without any bond between them, but he formed them into a people, in
which his children who had been scattered were gathered together"
Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 2).

"The household of God": in the original Greek the definite article does
not appear, thereby emphasizing the family character of the Church. St
Paul frequently described the Church as God's family: "you are fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God"
(Eph 2:19). The expression "household of God" conveys the idea of
family and also the idea of the cohesion of Christians as parts of a
holy building: the children of God, convoked by the will of God, form
the Church, a home and a temple, where God dwells in a fuller way than
he did in the ancient temple of Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 8:12-64).

This house or household of God is made up of all the believers; they
are living stones, as it were (1 Pet 2:5); its foundations are the
Apostles (1 Cor 3:11), and Christ himself is its cornerstone
(Mt 21:42); those who hold office in it are not domineering overlords
but conscientious stewards, who should rule with the same dedication as
a father does in his own household (1 Tim 3:4-5, 12).

"Pillar and bulwark of the truth": those aspects of the building would
have been very meaningful to Christians familiar with the great pillars
of the temple of Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 7:15-52) or the columns of the
huge temple at Ephesus dedicated to the goddess Artemis. They very
graphically convey the idea of the Church's solidity and permanence in
the role of safeguarding and transmitting the truth, for "the deposit
of revelation [...] must be religiously guarded and courageously
expounded" ("Lumen Gentium", 25).

"The truth" which the Apostle mentions here is the Revelation God has
communicated to men. It is interesting to note that there are three
closely connected expressions in this chapter: deacons are exhorted to
hold "the mystery of faith" (v. 9); the Church is "the pillar and
bulwark of the truth" (v. 15); and then "the mystery of our religion"
is extolled (v. 16). These are three ways of looking at the Church's
reason-of-being--Jesus Christ. For our Lord, who is the fullness of
Revelation (cf. Heb 1:2), is the center of our faith: he alone is the
supreme Truth (cf. In 14:6); and because he is the fullest expression
of God's love for men (making them children of God), he is "the mystery
of our religion" (cf. "Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 19).

16. The "pietatis mysterium", the mystery of (our) religion, as opposed
to the "mystery of lawlessness" (2:Thess 2:7) which includes the devil
and his activity, refers first and foremost to Christ and his work of
redemption and reconciliation. By describing it as the mystery of
"piety", the virtue which characterizes parent/children relations, it
includes the idea of God's paternal love for men, for it is through
Christ that men become children of God.

"It is profoundly significant", John Paul II comments, "that when Paul
presents this "mysterium pietatis" he simply transcribes, without
making a grammatical link with what he has just written, three lines of
a Christological hymn which--in the opinion of authoritative
scholars--was used in the Greek-speaking Christian communities"
("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 20). The introduction itself ("we
confess": by the confession of all), the rhythmic style, the fact that
no articles are used in the original Greek, and even the
vocabulary--all point to these verses having been taken from an early
liturgical hymn (cf. 1 Cor 14:26; Eph 5:19). It may even have been a
kind of counter to the idolatrous chants of pagan Ephesians: they used
to shout "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:34); St Paul
exclaims, "Great is the mystery of our religion."

The order of ideas in this confession of faith is typical of the
christological hymns in the New Testament (cf. Phil 2:6-11; Col
1:15-20; Heb 1:3), and probably reflects the oral preaching of the
Apostles which took in the existence of the Word from all eternity, his
incarnation and life on earth; his message of salvation for the whole
world; his passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. Each
of the three parts of this short creed stresses the paradox of the
mystery by using phrases involving contrasts (Semites were very fond of
this device). The first sentence, professing belief in the Incarnation,
uses a very early form of words--"manifested in the flesh" (cf. 1 Jn
4:2; 2 In 7). Pope John Paul II comments as follows: "he was made
manifest in the reality of human flesh and was constituted by the Holy
Spirit as the Just One who offers himself for the unjust"
("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 20).

The second phrase describes how Christ is manifested: the angels have
direct sight of him, men came to know him through preaching. Christ is
manifested to all, for just as he is seen by the angels (that part of
creation nearest to God), so is he revealed to the Gentiles (whom the
Jews regarded as most distanced from God): "he appeared to the angels,
having been made greater than them, and he was preached to the nations,
as the bearer of salvation" ("ibid.").

The last words profess faith in the glorification of Christ at the
extremes of creation--earth and heaven. On earth he is glorified
because faith in him implies recognizing him as God; and he is
glorified in heaven because the Ascension (which in Pauline teaching
marks the definitive victory of Christ--cf. Phil 2:19-2 and note) is
the definitive glorious revelation of his Person: "he was believed in,
in the world, as the one sent by the Father, and by the same Father he
was assumed into heaven as Lord" ("ibid.").

And so the "mysterium pietatis" involves the reconciliation--union of
man with God in Christ: he takes our flesh without ceasing to be God;
the nations of the earth will recognize him, as will the angels in
heaven, he dwells in the hearts of men through faith, but his mansion
is in heaven at the Father's side.

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.

From: Luke 7:31-35

Jesus Reproaches His Contemporaries

(Jesus spoke to the crowds), [33] For John the Baptist has come
eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, `He has a demon.'
[34] The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, `Behold,
a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
[35] Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

Commentary:

31-34. See the note on Matthew 11:16-19.

[The note on Matthew 11:16-19 states:

16-19. Making reference to a popular song or a child's game of His
time, Jesus reproaches those who offer groundless excuses for not
recognizing Him. From the beginning of human history the Lord has
striven to attract all men to Himself: "What more was there to do for
My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" (Isaiah 5:4), and often He
has been rejected: "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it
yield wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4).

Our Lord also condemns calumny: some people do try to justify their own
behavior by seeing sin where there is only virtue. "When they find
something which is quite obviously good," St. Gregory the Great says,
"they pry into it to see if there is not also some badness hidden in
it" ("Moralia", 6, 22). The Baptist's fasting they interpret as the
work of the devil; whereas they accuse Jesus of being a glutton. The
evangelist has to report these calumnies and accusations spoken against
our Lord; otherwise, we would have no notion of the extent of the
malice of those who show such furious opposition to Him who went about
doing good (Acts 10:38). On other occasions Jesus warned His disciples
that they would be treated the same as He was (cf. John 15:20).

The works of Jesus and John the Baptist, each in their own way, lead to
the accomplishment of God's plan for man's salvation: the fact that
some people do not recognize Him does not prevent God's plan being
carried into effect.]

35. The wisdom referred to here is divine Wisdom, especially Christ
Himself (cf. Wisdom 7:26; Proverbs 8:22). "Children of Wisdom" is a
Hebrew way of saying "wise men"; he is truly wise who comes to know God
and love Him and be saved by Him--in other words, a saint.

Divine wisdom is revealed in the creation and government of the
universe, and, particularly, in the salvation of mankind. Wise men
"justifying" wisdom seems to mean the wise, the saints, bear witness to
Christ by living holy lives: "Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
Heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Robert Bellarmine was born around the year 1542 in Tuscany. As
he was growing up, Bellarmine devoted his scholarly studies to
Scripture, study of the Early Church Fathers, and how to improve the
state of the Church. He entered the Jesuit order and was ordained to
the priesthood in the year 1570. At this time there was the
Reformation was causing turmoil in religious circles and part of
Bellarmine's mission was to settle disputes and educate people in
the true Faith. Bellarmine educated the faithful with his sermons and
with instruction as a professor at Louvain. One of Bellarmine's
scholarly writings that still exists is "Disputations on the
Controversies."

St. Robert was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII and was lived
in the Vatican advising various institutions. Even though he had the
opportunity to enjoy the wealth of the Church and the pleasures of
Rome, Bellarmine continued to live an austere life of poverty. He ate
few fancy meals, gave generously to the poor and gave up all
materiel possessions. Some of examples of his generosity included
using his wall hangings to clothe the poor, and also giving them all
the extra food of his household.

Throughout his lifetime, Robert was involved in various debates
including ones looking at the divine rights of kings, at the supremacy
of the pope and the Galileo controversy. St. Robert Ballaramine died
in 1621, was canonized in 1930 and was declared a doctor of the
Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. He is the patron of catechists and
catechumens.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is
saved. -St. Robert Bellarmine

TODAY IN HISTORY

853 Death of St. Columba of Cordoba
1179 Death of St. Hildegarde
1621 Death of St. Robert Bellarmine

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Christian witness is practical testimony or evidence given by
Christians of their faith in all circumstances of life. Prayer, general
conduct, and good works are ways that this is performed. This term
is also understood as acting in accordance with Christian faith and
practicing Christianity.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all travelers.

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Meditation
1 Timothy 3:14-16

Great indeed, is the mystery of our religion. (1 Timothy 3:16)

So begins a profession of faith from the primitive church. As such, these words reflect what the first Christians had witnessed, experienced, and understood as being the heart of their relationship with Jesus: the reality of his resurrection, the outpouring of his Holy Spirit, and amazing things like healings and dramatic conversions. This creed and others like it were the Christians’ first attempts to put all these marvels into words (1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Romans 10:9-10).

Great and awesome indeed is our God! In our day and in our lives, he has done equally marvelous things. He answers our prayers, however undeserving we are. He bestows kindness and mercy out of all proportion to any that we ourselves may have shown. He heals, protects, intervenes, enlightens, and draws us closer to himself. He continues to fulfill the promises he made millennia ago to Abraham, Moses, and David. He is ever working to bring as many people as possible into his kingdom.

Surely, every one of us can recount some act of God that astonished us and moved us to declare his greatness. Take some time today to write a “personal” profession of the mystery of faith. Don’t think you have to reinvent Christianity or come up with some novel truth about God. Simply declare what you know about who God is, about what he has done in the world, and about what he has done for you personally. Be as creative as you want: You can write it as a song, a prayer, a poem, or even a straightforward statement of belief.

Don’t worry if your statement of faith seems too short or uninspired or inadequate. The goal is not to come up with a perfect profession of faith. The church already has that. The point is more to invite the Holy Spirit to show you how much you really do know and to let the Spirit take you into even deeper understanding. Great indeed is the mystery of our faith: As we ask the Lord to teach our minds, our hearts will follow in love!

“Praise to you, Father, for your love! Great are your mercy, kindness, understanding, forgiveness—all the ways you demonstrate your love. I praise you for the amazing outpouring of your love in my life!”

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, September 17, 2003 >>

St. Robert Bellarmine

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Psalm 111

Luke 7:31-35

View Readings

TRUTH OR THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBRIDLED SELFISHNESS

“God’s wisdom is vindicated by all who accept it.” —Luke 7:35

In our secular humanistic society, some people promote tolerance to the point of permissiveness. To do this, they must contradict themselves and be intolerant of those believing in objective, absolute truth, who in charity must oppose permissiveness. So secular humanists have problems with our statement that Jesus is the only Savior (see Acts 4:12) and the only Way to the Father (see Jn 14:6). Secular humanists get nervous when we say that not all religions are the same and that the Church is “the pillar and bulwark of truth” (1 Tm 3:15).

However, absolute truth is not a threat to freedom. Rather, selfishness and pride unrestrained by objective truth are contrary to freedom. Truth is bigger than we are and it protects us from ourselves. We are like the people of Jesus’ times whom Jesus described as “children squatting in the city squares” selfishly trying to manipulate their playmates (Lk 7:32). Without submission to the truth, power, popularity, or deception will inevitably trample on human rights. Submission to the truth is the necessary basis for exercising and protecting freedom. “The truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32) from the oppression of unbridled selfishness.

Prayer: Father, inspire me to lay down my life for truth so as to safeguard freedom.

Promise: “Know what kind of conduct befits a member of God’s household, the church of the living God.” —1 Tm 3:15

Praise: St. Robert’s devotion to the Eucharist strengthened him for all the Lord had for him to do.

The 15 Marks of the Catholic Church

Developed by St. Robert Bellarmine,1542-1621, Doctor of the Church and Cardinal...

1. The Church's Name, Catholic, universal, and world wide, and not confined to any particular nation or people.

2. Antiquity, in tracing her ancestry directly to Jesus Christ.

3. Constant Duration, in lasting substantially unchanged for so many centuries.

4. Extensiveness, in the number of her loyal members.

5. Episcopla Succession, of her Bishops from the first Apostles at the Last Supper to the present hierarchy.

6. Doctrinal Agreement, of her doctrine with the teaching of the ancient Church.

7. Union, of her members among themselves, and with their visible head, the Roman Pontiff.

8. Holiness, of doctrine in reflecting the sanctity of GOD.

9. Efficacy, of doctrine in its power to sanctify believers, and inspire them to great moral achievement.

10. Holiness of Life, of the Church's representative writers and defenders.

11. The glory of Miracles, worked in the Church and under the Church's auspices.

12. The gift of Prophesy found among the Church's saints and spokesmen.

13. The Opposition that the Church arouses among those who attack her on the very grounds that Christ was opposed by His enemies.

14. The Unhappy End, of those who fight against her.

15. The Temporal Peace and Earthly Happiness of those who live by the Church's teaching and defend her interests.

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