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From: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9

The Covenant is Renewed

[4b] He (Moses) rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the
LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. [5] And
the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the
name of the LORD.

God Appears

[6] The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness." [8] And Moses made haste to bow his his head toward the earth,
and worshiped. [9] And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, 0
Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a
stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for
thy inheritance."

Commentary:

34:1-28. This chapter narrating the renewal of the Covenant follows the same
pattern as the account of its original establishment (cf. Ex 19-24); but it
is shorter, concentrating on the two main protagonists, God and Moses. Thus,
it begins with the preparations for the theophany and for the encounter with
the Lord (vv. 1-5); then follows the revelation of God, and Moses' prayer
(vv. 6-9); and it ends with the renewal of the Covenant and the so-called
Rite of the Covenant (vv. 10-28). The account hinges on the remaking of the
tables of stone after the sin of the golden calf; the tables symbolize God's
offer to keep to the pact and never to go back on it.

34:1-5. The theophany is described very soberly here, but it has exactly the
same elements as given in chapter 19: very careful preparation by Moses (v.
2; cf 19:10-11); the people forbidden to approach the mountain (v. 3; of.
19:12-13); God appearing wrapped in the cloud (v. 5; of. 19:16-20).

Comparing the two accounts, this one says less about the transcendence of
God and puts more stress on his closeness to Moses: "he stood with him
there" (v. 5). God's initiative in drawing close to man is clear to see; it
lies at the very basis of the Covenant.

"He proclaimed the name of the Lord" (v. 6); the context would suggest that
it is Moses who proclaims the name of the Lord, but the Hebrew could indeed
be as the RSV has it, "and he proclaimed his name, 'Lord' ". The same
wording appears in v. 6 implying that it is the Lord who is "proclaiming",
defining himself as he promised he would (cf. 33:19). The sacred writer may
have intentionally left these words open to either interpretation; whether
spoken by Moses or said directly by God, they are equal from the revelation
point of view.

34:6-7. In response to Moses' pleading, the Lord makes himself manifest. The
solemn repetition of the name of Yahweh (Lord) emphasizes that the Lord is
introducing himself liturgically to the assembled Israelites. In the
description of himself which follows (and which is repeated elsewhere, cf.
20:5-6; Num 14:18; Deut 5:9-18; etc.), two key attributes of God are
underlined--justice and mercy. God cannot let sin go unpunished, nor does
he; the prophets, too, will teach that sin is, first and foremost, something
personal (cf. Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:2ff). But this ancient text refers only in
a general way to the fact that God is just, and puts more stress on his
mercy. A person who is conscious of his own sin has access to God only if he
is sure that God can and will forgive him. "The concept of 'mercy' in the
Old Testament," John Paul II comments, "has a long and rich history. We have
to refer back to it in order that the mercy revealed by Christ may shine
forth more clearly. [...] Sin too constitutes man's misery. The people of
the Old Covenant experienced this misery from the time of the Exodus, when
they set up the golden calf. The Lord himself triumphed over this act of
breaking the covenant when he solemnly declared to Moses that he was a 'God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness' (Ex 34:6). It is in this central revelation that the chosen
people, and each of its members, will find, every time that they have
sinned, the strength and the motive for turning to the Lord to remind him of
what he had exactly revealed about himself and to beseech his forgiveness"
("Dives In Misericordia", 4). On
"God's jealousy", see the note on 20:5-6.

34:8-9. Moses once more implores the Lord on behalf of his people; he makes
three requests, which sum up many earlier petitions: he begs God to stay
with the people and protect them in their hazardous journeying in the desert
(cf. 33:15-17), to forgive the very grave sin they have committed (cf.
32:11-14), and finally to make them his own property, thereby distinguishing
them from all other peoples (cf. 33:16) and restoring them to their status
as "his own possession" (cf. 19:5). These three requests are ones that were
constantly on the lips of the people of Israel and in the hearts of everyone
who acknowledges God (cf. Ps 86:1-15; 103:8-10; etc.).

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: 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13

Epilogue

[11] Finally, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree
with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with
you. [12] Greet one another with a holy kiss. [13] All the saints greet you.

Commentary:

11. In his words of farewell, the Apostle once more shows his great
affection for the faithful of Corinth, exhorting them to practise the
fraternity proper to Christians and thus live in concord and peace (cf. I
Cor 1:10-17). And, St John Chrysostom comments, he tells them what this will
lead to: "Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you, for
God is a God of love and a God of peace, and in these he takes his delight.
It is love that will give you peace and remove every evil from your church"
("Hom. on 2 Cor", 30).

St Paul's call to the faithful to be cheerful is particularly
significant--"gaudete"(rejoice) in the New Vulgate--contains a rnessage he
repeats on other occasions: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
Rejoice" (Phil 4:4; cf. 3:1). Joy is something very characteristic of
Christians because their awareness of being children of God tells them that
they are in the hands of God, who knows everything and can do everything
(cf. note on 5:10). Therefore, we should never be sad; on the contrary: we
should go out into the world, Monsignor Escrivd says, "to be sowers of peace
and joy through everything we say and do" ("Christ Is Passing By", 168).

12. On the "holy kiss", see the note on 1 Cor 16:20.

"The saints" who send greetings to the Corinthians are the Christians of
Macedonia, from where St Paul is writing. Regarding this description of
Christians, see the note on 1 Cor 1:2.