From: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Psalms of Joy in Zion
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Commentary:
3:14-18a. Now the promise becomes a song of jubilation. The Lord, the Savior,
sees to it that all is joy (v. 14), and there is no room for fear (v. 16). The Chris-
tian, in reading these verses, cannot but be reminded of the scene of the Annun-
ciation: Mary, too, the humble Virgin (Lk 1:48), is invited to rejoice (Lk 1:28) and
not to fear (Lk 1:20), because the Lord is with her (Lk 1:28). And indeed, with the
Incarnation of the Word, the Lord did come to dwell among his people, and the
salvation that was promised came to pass.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Romans 12:9-16
Charity Towards All
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Commentary:
9-21. “After speaking about those gifts which are not common to all, the Apostle
now teaches that charity is common to all” (St Thomas, “Commentary on Rom,
ad loc”.). True charity takes different forms depending on the needs and capacity
of each person; it always involves seeking good and avoiding evil (v. 9); it has to
be exercised with those who are already Christians (vv. 10-16) and those who are
not (vv. 17-21); indeed, the charity shown to the latter is instrumental in bringing
them closer to the faith. However, it is not always possible to do to others all the
good we would wish: we have limited resources, more pressing duties; there are
problems of physical distance, etc. Only God, who is infinitely perfect and al-
mighty, can do good to everyone all the time; this does not mean that he always
gives everyone the same gifts: to some he gives more, to others less, according
to the designs of his Wisdom.
Even bearing in mind our own limitations, our love for others should affect
everything we do, everything we think and say. Obviously, one of the first conse-
quences of charity is never to judge anyone, or speak badly about anyone, or
scandalize them by what we say or do. Moreover, we should perform positive acts
of this virtue; it would be impossible to give a complete list of the ways of being
charitable but they certainly include, Fray Luis de Granada says, “among other
things, these six—loving, counselling, assisting, suffering, forgiving and edifying.
These are so closely connected to charity that the more one does them the more
charity one has, and the less, less [...]. For, according to this order a person can
heck to see what he has and what he does not have as far as the perfection of
that virtue is concerned. For we can say that he who loves is on the first step;
he who loves and counsels, on the second; he who assists, on the third; he who
suffers on the fourth; he who forgives and suffers, on the fifth; and he who builds
on all this with his words and his good life, as is the task of perfect and apostolic
men, on the highest step of all” (”Guide to Sinners”, I, II, chap. 16).
12. The love of God makes us joyful, strong and persevering. Therefore “one
accepts tribulation with joy and hope, because one knows that what is promised
in exchange is something much better” (Pseudo-Ambrose, “Comm. in Epist. ad
Rom, ad loc”.)
This setting gives us every opportunity to derive supernatural benefit from suffering,
which is quite a normal part of the Christian life: “A whole program for a good
course in the ‘subject’ of suffering is given to us by the Apostle: “spe gaudentes”
—rejoicing in hope, “in tribulatione patientes”—patient in troubles, “orationi instantes
— persevering in prayer” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 209).
Joy in the midst of difficulties is in fact one of the clearest signs that love of God
is influencing everything we do, for, as St Augustine comments, “where one loves,
either one does not feel the difficulty or else one loves the very difficulty [...]. The
tasks of those who love are never laborious” (”De Bono Viduitatis”, 21, 26).
13. “For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God
whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). Similarly, it can be said that Christians, that
is “servants of the Lord”, unless they serve their brethren whom they see before
them, cannot serve God either. Serving God, in other words, ultimately means
alleviating “the needs of the saints “ and offering hospitality to strangers, after
the example of the patriarchs Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:2-5; 19:2-3; cf. Heb
13:2).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.