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I remember watching Wild Kingdom as a kid, and they showed the real deal of critters attacking and eating other critters.

Me and my siblings too. It always cracked us up that Marlin Perkins, between segments, always found a way to tie in the behavior of wild animals to selling life insurance.

June is the month of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

“Lord Jesus Christ, who in your Incarnation elevated created things to bear your divine life, grant that we, who have been baptized into your Death and Resurrection, may ever draw near to the Sacrament of your salvation and remain close to you for all eternity. Who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

(From Magnificat magazine)

Please join Cardinal Burke’s novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for ‘crises of our age’ (Started March 12—Never too late to join!)

Let us pray.

O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.

Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.

Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.

Click here to go to the My Catholic Life! Devotional thread for today’s Gospel Reading

Click here to go to the FR thread for the Sacred Page meditations on the Scripture readings for this Sunday's Mass by Dr. John Bergsma.

Gospel Reading:

From: Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

The Last Supper
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[12] And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to him (Jesus), "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?" [13] And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, [14] and wherever he enters, say to the householder, 'The Teacher says, where is my guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?' [15] And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us." [16] And the disciples set out and went to the city, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover.

The Institution of the Eucharist
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[22] And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." [23] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. [24] And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. [25] Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

[26] And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

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Commentary:

12-16. At first sight our Lord's behavior described here seems quite out of character. However, if we think about it, it is quite consistent: probably Jesus wanted to avoid Judas knowing in advance the exact place where the Supper will be held, to prevent him notifying the Sanhedrin. And so God's plans for that memorable night of Holy Thursday were fulfilled: Judas was unable to advise the Sanhedrin where they could find Jesus until after the celebration of the passover meal (during which Judas left the Cenacle): cf. Jn 13:30.

St Mark describes in more detail than the other evangelists the place where the meal took place: he says it was a large, well-appointed room--a dignified place. There is an ancient Christian tradition that the house of the Cenacle was owned by Mary the mother of St Mark, to whom, it seems, the Garden of Olives also belonged.

22. The word "this" does not refer to the act of breaking the bread but to the "thing" which Jesus gives his disciples, that is, something which looked like bread and which was no longer bread but the body of Christ. "This is my body. That is to say, what I am giving you now and what you are taking is my body. For the bread is not only a symbol of the body of Christ; it becomes his very body, as the Lord has said: the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh. Therefore, the Lord conserves the appearances of bread and wine but changes the bread and wine into the reality of his flesh and his blood" (Theophylact, "Enarratio in Evangelium Marci, in loc."). Therefore, any interpretation in the direction of symbolism or metaphor does not fit the meaning of the text. The same applies to the "This is my blood" (v. 24). on the realism of these expressions, cf. first part of note on Mt 26:26-29.

24. The words of consecration of the chalice clearly show that the Eucharist is a sacrifice: the blood of Christ is poured out, sealing the new and definitive Covenant of God with men. This Covenant remains sealed forever by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, in which Jesus is both Priest and Victim. The Church has defined this truth in these words: "If anyone says that in the Mass a true and proper sacrifice is not offered to God, or that to be offered is nothing else but that Christ is given us to eat, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, "De S. Missae sacrificio", chap. 1, can. 1).

These words pronounced over the chalice must have been very revealing for the Apostles, because they show that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were in fact a preparation for and anticipation of Christ's sacrifice. The Apostles were able to grasp that the Covenant of Sinai and the various sacrifices of the temple were merely an imperfect pre-figurement of the definitive sacrifice and definitive Covenant, which would take place on the cross and which they were anticipating in this Supper.

A clear explanation of the sacrificial character of the Eucharist can be found in the inspired text in chapters 8 and 9 of the Letter to the Hebrews. Similarly, the best preparation for understanding the real presence and the Eucharist as food for the soul is a reading of chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John.

In the Last Supper, then, Christ already offered himself voluntarily to his Father as a victim to be sacrificed. The Supper and the Mass constitute with the Cross one and the same unique and perfect sacrifice, for in all these cases the victim offered is the same--Christ; and the priest is the same--Christ. The only difference is that the Supper, which takes place prior to the Cross, anticipates the Lord's Death in an unbloody way and offers a victim soon to be immolated whereas the Mass offers, also in an unbloody manner, the victim already immolated on the cross, a victim who exists forever in heaven.

26. "When they had sung a hymn": it was a custom at the passover meal to recite prayers, called "Hallel", which included Psalms 113 to 118; the last part was recited at the end of the meal.

Second Reading:

From: Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-15

Christ Sealed the New Covenant with His Blood Once and for All
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[11] But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tents (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) [12] he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. [13] For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, [14] how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

[15] Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenants.

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Commentary:

11-14. The sacrifices of the Old Law could only promise ephemeral benefits, whereas Christ's redemptive sacrifice obtained for man, once and for all, "the good things to come", that is, the heavenly and eternal benefits proper to the messianic age--sanctifying grace and entry to heaven. Like the high priest on the Day of Atonement, Christ entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, through the curtain. This sanctuary which he entered is the heavenly one; that is why it is "greater and more perfect" and not made by men (cf. 8:2). Christ passed through the heavens into the very presence of the Father (cf. 7:26) and is seated in heaven at his right hand (cf. 8:1).

Many Fathers, Doctors of the Church and modern scholars see the expression "through the greater and more perfect tent" as referring to the sacred humanity of our Lord, virginally conceived in the womb of Mary, that is, "not made with hands". The tent or tabernacle would be our Lord's body, in which the Godhead dwells. The text then says that it is "not of this creation", because Jesus as man was conceived without the action of a man and without original sin: he did not follow "the law of nature which holds sway in the created world" (Theodoret, "Interpretatio Ep. ad Hebraeos, ad loc."). In this case the inspired text would be saying that Christ redeemed us by means of his human nature (cf. v. 12). However, the words "through the greater and more perfect tent" can also be understood as referring to heaven, in the sense of a greater and more perfect sanctuary. In any event, whether by passing through the heavens or through his most sacred body, Christ achieved Redemption by offering his own blood. This does not have a temporary value--like the blood of animals shed each year when the priest entered the Holy of Holies: Jesus secured eternal Redemption. In the Old Law the Jews were cleansed by the blood of sacrificed animals from legal impurities which prevented them from taking part in the liturgy; but Christ's blood does so much more, for it cleanses man of his sins. "Do you want to know how effective the blood of Christ is? Let us go back to the symbols which foretold it and remind ourselves of the ancient accounts of (the Jews in) Egypt. Moses told them to kill a year-old lamb and put its blood on the two doorposts and the lintel of each house [...]. Would you like an additional way to appreciate the power of Christ's blood? See where it flowed from, what its source is. It began to flow from the very Cross and its source was the Lord's side. For, as the Gospel says, when our Lord was already dead, one of the soldiers went up to him with a lance and pierced his side and at once there came out water and blood--water, the symbol of Baptism; blood, the symbol of the Eucharist. The soldier pierced his side, he opened a breach in the wall of the holy temple, and there I discover the hidden treasure and I rejoice at the treasure I have found" (Chrysostom, "Baptismal Catechesis", III, 13-19).

And so the Church includes in the prayers it recommends to be said after Mass, one which reads: "I beseech thee, most sweet Lord Jesus, may your passion be the virtue which strengthens, protects and defends me; your wounds, food and drink to nourish, inebriate and delight me; your death, everlasting life for me; your cross, my eternal glory" ("Roman Missal of St Pius V", recommended prayer of thanksgiving after Mass).

12. "Thus securing an eternal redemption": the Greek text uses "having found", here translated as "securing". St John Chrysostom points out that the verb "to find" in this context has a shade of meaning that implies finding something unexpected: the reference is to finding, "as it were, something very unknown and very unexpected" ("Hom. on Heb, ad loc."). However, taking into account the whole context and the possible Hebraic background of the expression, the verb "to find" is synonymous with "to search keenly, to reach, to attain": in other words, Christ eagerly sought to redeem man and he did so by his sacrifice. The verse refers to an "eternal" redemption, in contrast to the provisional nature of Mosaic sacrifices.

13. These words refer to a ceremony of purification described in the Old Testament (cf. Num 19). To cleanse a person from certain transgressions of the Law, the Israelites could avail of certain expiatory ablutions. There were done with water mixed with the ashes of a heifer, which the high priest had sacrificed in front of the tabernacle and then burned in its entirety. Into the fire cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet wool (9:19) had also to be thrown. Thus lustral water was only useful for legal purification or "purification of the flesh", as distinct from purification of the spirit.

14. The Messiah acts "through the eternal Spirit", which may be taken as a reference to the Holy Spirit, as St Thomas, for example, interprets it: "Christ shed his blood, because the Holy Spirit did so; that is to say, it was by the Spirit's influence and prompting, that is, out of love of God and love of neighbor, that he did what he did. For it is the Spirit who purifies" ("Commentary on Heb, ad loc.").

Pope John Paul II has referred to this text to show the presence of the Holy Spirit in the redemptive sacrifice of the Incarnate Word: "In the sacrifice of the Son of Man the Holy Spirit is present and active just as he acted in Jesus' conception, in his coming into the world, in his hidden life and in his public ministry. According to the Letter to the Hebrews, on the way to his 'departure' through Gethsemani and Golgotha, the same "Jesus Christ" in his own humanity "opened himself totally" to this "action of the Spirit-Paraclete", who from suffering enables eternal salvific love to spring forth" ("Dominum et Vivificantem", 40).

The Son of God desired that the Holy Spirit should turn his death into a perfect sacrifice. Only Christ "in his humanity was worthy to become this sacrifice, for "he alone" was 'without blemish' (Heb 9:14). But he offered it 'through the eternal Spirit', which means that the Holy Spirit acted in a special way in this absolute self-giving of the Son of Man, in order to transform this suffering into redemptive love" ("ibid.").

It is also possible that "the eternal Spirit" is a more general reference to the Godhead present in Christ; in which case it would be the same as saying that Christ, being God and man, offered himself as an unblemished victim and therefore this offering was infinitely efficacious. Thus, as Pius XII says, Christ "labored unceasingly by prayer and self-sacrifice for the salvation of souls until, hanging on the Cross, he offered himself as a victim unblemished in God's sight, that he might purify our consciences and set them free from lifeless observances to serve the living God. All men were thus rescued from the path of ruin and perdition and set once more on the way to God, to whom they were now to give due glory by co-operating personally in their sanctification, making their own the holiness that springs from the blood of the unspotted Lamb" ("Mediator Dei", 1).

Christ's sacrifice purifies us completely, thereby rendering us fit to worship the living God. As St Alphonsus puts it, "Jesus Christ offered himself to God pure and without the trace of a fault; otherwise he would not have been a worthy mediator, would not have been capable of reconciling God and sinful man, nor would his blood have had the power to purify and cleanse our conscience from 'dead works', that is, from sins which are given that name because (our) works are in no way meritorious or else are worthy of eternal punishment. 'So that you might serve the living God"' ("Reflections on the Passion", 9, 2).

15-22. The covenant is shown to be new because it has been ratified by the death and by the shedding of the blood of the testator or mediator. "Man, having fallen into sin, was in debt to divine justice and was the enemy of God. The Son of God came into the world and clothed himself in human flesh; being both God and man he became the mediator between man and God, the representative of both sides, so as to restore peace between them and obtain divine grace for man, giving himself as an offering to pay man's debt with his blood and his death. This reconciliation was prefigured in the Old Testament in all the sacrifices that were offered in that period and in all the symbols which God ordained--the tabernacle, the altar, the veil, the lampstand, the thurible and the ark where the rod of Aaron and the tables of the Law were kept. All these were a sign and type of the Promised redemption; and it was because that redemption would come about through the blood of Christ that God specified the blood of animals--a symbol of the blood of the divine Lamb--and laid it down that all the symbolic objects mentioned above should be sprinkled with blood: Hence even the first Covenant was not ratified without blood"' ("ibid.", 9, 2).

For a third time Christ is stated to be the mediator of a New Covenant. Hebrews 7:22 and 8:6 say that he is the mediator of a better covenant because it can give eternal life. Here, as in 12:24, it is explained that Christ is the mediator of a New Covenant, ratified by blood which gives an eternal inheritance. The emphasis is on the sacrificial aspect: Christ is the mediator insofar as he is the atoning victim and at the same time the offerer of the sacrifice: in his sacrifice he is both priest and victim. "Christ is priest indeed; but he is priest for us, not for himself. It is in the name of the whole human race that he offers prayer and acts of human religious homage to his Eternal Father. He is likewise victim; but victim for us, since he substitutes himself for guilty mankind. Now the Apostle's exhortation, 'Yours is to be the same mind as Christ Jesus showed ' (Phil 2:5), requires all Christians, so far as human power allows, to reproduce in themselves the sentiments that Christ had when he was offering himself in sacrifice—sentiments of humility, of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to the divine Majesty. It requires them also to become victims, as it were; cultivating a spirit of self-denial according to the precepts of the Gospel, willingly doing works of penance, detesting and expiating their sins" ("Mediator Dei", 22).

Christ's sacrifice is not only effective to forgive our sins; it is a manifestation of our Redeemer's love for us and it sets an example which we should follow. "And if God forgives us our sins it is so that we might use the time that remains to us in his service and love. And the Apostle concludes, saying, 'Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant.' Our Redeemer, captivated by his boundless love for us, chose to rescue us, at the cost of his blood, from eternal death; and he succeeded in doing so, for if we serve him faithfully until we die we shall obtain from the Lord forgiveness and eternal life. Such were the terms of the testament, mediation or compact between Jesus Christ and God" ("Reflections on the Passion", 9, 2).

15-17. As the RSV note points out the Greek word can be translated as either "covenant" or "will". The context and the parallel with the covenant of Sinai suggest the idea of covenant or pact, since the covenant with the chosen people was an unilateral pact, that is, a concession granted by God; however, it too can also be taken in a broad sense as a "will". Both the word "mediator" and the word "testator" (the one who makes the will) applied here to Christ serve to emphasize that his death needed to involve the shedding of blood. His is a death whereby we are called to "receive the promised eternal inheritance": "The work of our Redemption has been accomplished. We are now children of God, because Jesus has died for us and his death has ransomed us. "Empti enim estis pretio magno!" (1 Cor 6:20), you and I have been bought at a great price.

"We must bring into our life, to make them our own, the life and death of Christ. We must die through mortification and penance, so that Christ may live in us through Love. And then follow in the footsteps of Christ, with a zeal to co-redeem all mankind" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way of the Cross", XIV).

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Exodus 24:3-8

A sacred meal and sprinkling with blood
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[3] Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do.” [4] And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. [5] And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. [6] And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. [7] Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” [8] And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

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Commentary:

24:-18. It was common practice for those peoples to ratify pacts by means of a rite or a meal. This section recounts a meal or rite whereby the Covenant was sealed. This event is very important for salvation history: it prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which brought in the New Covenant.

The usual interpretation is that there were two stages in this ratification -- first involving Moses and the elders, that is, authorities (vv. 1-2, 9-11) and then the entire people (vv. 3-8). Other commentators think that there was only one ceremony, relayed by two different traditions. In both cases the final editor has tried to make it clear that both the leaders and the people themselves took part in and formally accepted the divine Covenant and all it laid down.

24:1-11. Nabab and Abihu are priests of Aaron’s line (cf. 6:33; 28:1; Lev 10:1-2); the elders represent the people on important matters. The ceremony takes place on the top of the mountain, which all the leaders ascended – Moses; the priests, holders of religious authority; and the elders, that is, the civil and legal authorities (cf. 18:21-26).

Only Moses has direct access to God (v. 2), but all are able to see God without dying: what they see far outstrips in brilliance and luxury the great palaces and temples of the East (cf. the vision of Isaiah in Is 6:10). In fact, they all share the same table with God (v. 11): the description is reminiscent of a royal banquet, in which the guests are treated on a par with the host: thus, the king of Babylonia will show his benevolence to King Jehoiachin by having him as his dinner guest (cf. 2 Kings 25:27-30). But it is, above all, a ritual banquet in which sharing the same table shows the intimate relationship that exists between God and the leaders of the people, and shows too that both parties are mutually responsible for the covenant now being sealed. 24:3-8. The ceremony takes place on the ‘slope of the mountain; Moses alone is the intermediary; but the protagonists are God and his people. The ceremony has two parts -- the reading and accepting of the clauses of the Covenant (vv. 3-4), that is, the Words (Decalogue) and the laws (the so-called Code of the Covenant); then comes the offering which seals the pact.

The acceptance of the clauses is done with all due solemnity, using the ritual formula: “all the words which the Lord has spoken we will do”. The people, who have already made this commitment (19:8), now repeat it after listening to Moses’ address (v. 3) and just before being sprinkled with the blood of the offering. The binding force of the pact is thereby assured,

The offering has some very ancient features -- the altar specially built for the occasion (v. 4; cf. 20:25); the twelve pillars, probably set around the altar; the young men, not priests, making the offerings; and particularly the sprinkling with blood which is at the very core of the rite.

The dividing of the blood in two (one half for the altar which represents God, and the other for the people) means that both commit themselves to the requirements of the Covenant. There is evidence that nomadic peoples used to seal their pacts with the blood of sacrificed animals. But there are no traces in the Bible of blood being used in that way. This rite probably has deeper significance: given that blood, which stands for life (cf. Gen 4), belongs to God alone, it must only be poured on the altar or used to anoint people who are consecrated to God, such as priests (cf. Ex 29:19-22). When Moses sprinkled the blood of the offering on to the entire people, he was consecrating it, making it divine property and “a kingdom of priests” (cf. 19:3-6). The Covenant therefore is not only a commitment to obey its precepts but, particularly, the right to belong to the holy nation, which is God’s possession. At the Last Supper, when instituting the Eucharist, Jesus uses the very same terms, “blood of the Covenant”, thereby indicating the nature of the new people of God who, having been redeemed, is fully “the holy people of God” (cf. Mt 26:27 and par.; 1 Cor 11:23-25).

The Second Vatican Council has this to say about the connection between the New and Old Covenants, pointing out that the Church is the true people of God: “God chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people -- in its history manifesting both himself and the decree of his will -- and made it holy unto himself. All these things, however, happened as a preparation and figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be ratified in Christ, and of the fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God made flesh. […] Christ instituted this new covenant, namely the new covenant in his blood (cf. 1 Cor 11:25); he called a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would he one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit, and this race would he the new People of God” (Lumen gentium, 4 and 9).

June is the month of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Please join Cardinal Burke’s novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for ‘crises of our age’ (Started March 12—Never too late to join!)

Let us pray.

O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.

Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.

Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.

Click here to go to Salvation’s Catholic Caucus thread on the Daily Readings

Click here to go to the FR thread for the Sacred Page meditations on the Scripture readings for this Sunday's Mass by Dr. John Bergsma.

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Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you and have a holy Lord’s Day.

Not me.

Gospel Reading:

From: Mark 11:27-33

Jesus' Authority
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[27] And they (Jesus and his disciples) came to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, [28] and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" [29] Jesus said to them, "I will ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. [30] Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me." [31] And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did not you not believe him?' [32] But shall we say, 'From men'?"--they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was a real prophet. [33] So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

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Commentary:

27-33. Those who put this question to Jesus are the same people as, some days earlier, sought to destroy him (cf. Mk 11:18). They represent the official Judaism of the period (cf. note on Mt 2:4). Jesus had already given proofs and signs of being the Messiah, in his miracles and preaching; and St. John the Baptist had borne witness about who Jesus was. This is why, before replying, our Lord asks them to recognize the truth proclaimed by the Precursor. But they do not want to accept this truth; nor do they want to reject it publicly, out of fear of the people. Since they are not ready to admit their mistake, any further explanation Jesus might offer would serve no purpose.

This episode has many parallels in everyday life: anyone who seeks to call God to account will be confounded.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Jude 17, 20-25

It Was Predicted That False Teachers Would Appear
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[17] But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; [18] they said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." [19] It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

Faith, Hope and Charity
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[20] But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; [21] keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Attitude Towards the Misguided
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[22] And convince some, who doubt; [23] save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Doxology
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[24] Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, [25] to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

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Commentary:

17-19. In their initial oral teaching, the Apostles who founded the various Christian communities warned of the danger of false teachers within the Church itself (cf. Acts 20:29f; 1 Tim, 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:1-5). These warnings can be traced back to what Christ himself said: "False Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Mt 24:24).

The way the writer refers to "the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" does not mean that he was not one of them. He could be referring simply to the fact that some of them had already died. The other point about this verse is the importance it gives to Tradition (cf. note on v. 3).

"In the last time" (v. 18): in the Prophets this expression refers to the messianic era (cf., e.g., Is 2:2; Mic 4:1), which brings to an end the long period of waiting for the promised Redeemer and marks the start of the Kingdom of God, which will last forever (cf. Dan 7:14, 27; Lk 1:33). The fullness of time (cf. Gal 4:4) began with the coming of Christ and will reach its zenith with his return in glory for the Last Judgment. In the New Testament perspective, therefore, "the last time" covers the entire period of the Christian era; it is the era of the Church. This earthly phase of the Kingdom of God is characterized, by, among other things, the presence of the "good" and the "bad" side by side (cf. Mt 13:47-48), the cockle sown among the wheat (cf. Mt 13:24ff).

"Worldly people": "psychikoi", literally, "animal" or "natural" men. As in some texts of St Paul (cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46), these are the opposite of "spiritual" men, that is, Christians who have the Holy Spirit and are docile to him (cf. Rom 5:5; 8:14). On the other hand, those who are "devoid of the Spirit", who is the source of supernatural life, form judgments and make decisions under the sole guidance of human nature wounded by original sin. Theirs is a merely earthly wisdom (cf. Jas 3:15), a wisdom of the flesh (cf. 1 Cor 3:3).

20-21. The Christian life can be summed up as living the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity, accompanied by prayer), through the action of each of the three divine Persons--the love of God the Father, the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual building is founded on faith, that is, on the truths revealed by God for our salvation and delivered once for all to the Church (cf. v. 3). Therefore it is a "most holy" faith--of divine origin, worthy of the highest respect, and unchangeable. Prayer is essential for penetrating deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of the faith. The Christian prays "in the Holy Spirit" because, as St Paul teaches, "you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, 'Abba, Father!' ..." (Rom 8:15); and "the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Rom 8:26). To the love of God (the source of divine filiation in the Holy Spirit) the Christian should respond by striving to abide in that love and constantly increase it. Trust in God's help and in his mercy build up our hope of ultimately seeing the Lord face to face.

The Second Vatican Council reminds us that the faithfulness of a Christian's life depends on active communion with Christ: "A life like this calls for a continuous exercise of faith, hope and charity. Only the light of faith and meditation on the Word of God can enable us to find God everywhere and always [...]. Those with such a faith live in the hope of the revelation of the sons of God, keeping in mind the cross and resurrection of the Lord [...]. With the love that comes from God's prompting, they do good to all, especially to their brothers in the faith (cf. Gal 6:10)" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).

22-23. The Apostle now gives some-practical advice on how to behave towards those who have been affected by false ideas.

The Greek text can be read in various ways. According to some codexes and the Vulgate, it is referring to three categories of people -- waverers; those who have already been harmed by error but can still be recovered; and those who persist in heresy. That is how the RSV translates it. Other codexes, followed by the New Vulgate, first give a counsel valid for dealings with everyone affected by error and then go on to distinguish two groups--those who can still be recovered and those who seem to be beyond help.

Christians should always show kindness to those who break with sound teaching. In this way they will attract many back to the faith; but there will be others with whom they will not succeed; in their case, particularly if their lifestyle is depraved, it will be necessary to be prudent (to hate "even the garment spotted by the flesh"), in order to avoid contagion; but one should still treat them affectionately and pray for them. "It is a characteristic of the perfect", St Augustine teaches, "not to hate anything in sinners other than their sins; and to love those people themselves" ("Contra Adimantum", XVII, 5).

24-25. The letter does not end with the usual greetings but with a solemn doxology or hymn of praise addressed to God the Father through Jesus Christ. It may have come from a liturgical hymn.

"Only God"; this does not exclude the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit; it is simply confessing that there is only one God (cf. In 17:3).

God reveals his power particularly in the work of our salvation. We constantly need his grace if we are to avoid sin in this life and one day obtain the glory of heaven. Jesus Christ is the Mediator both of our salvation and of our praise of God. From the beginning the Church has had the custom of addressing liturgical prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ.

I love books, myself, but I’m a bit of a dinosaur in that regard. Everybody’s got their face buried in electronic devices of some kind these days. Seriously, when was the last time you saw someone reading an actual book?

Sorry, "Catholic" Joe Biden--this month has already long been claimed: