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From: Job 42.1-3, 5-6, 12-17

Job accepts that God has acted rightly

[1] Then Job answered the Lord:
[2] I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can he thwarted.
[3] Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
[…]
[5] I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
[6] therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

God’s blessing on Job

[12] And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he
had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen,
and a thousand she-asses. [13] had also seven sons and three daughters. [14]
And he called the name of the first Jemimah; and the name of the second Keziah;
and the name of the third Keren-happuch. [15] And in all the land there were no
women so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among
their brothers. [16] And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw
his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. [17] And Job died, an old man,
and full of days.

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Commentary:

42:1-6. The last verses of the poetical section of the book are given to Job to
speak. In them he answers two challenges raised by the Lord. To the first (v. 3)
Job replies by confessing that he did speak without knowing all the facts, that
is, without appreciating the harmony with which creation is imbued, the awesome
fact that even seemingly useless and destructive things have their part to play.
This is a sort of “sapiential’ response. To God’s second appeal (v. 4). Job’s reply
is full of faith: he acknowledges that God has manifested himself in person: now
he has seen him with his eyes (v. 5), as Moses and the prophets saw him, Job
feels consoled, and he is moved to repentance now that he has actually met God.
This meeting, more than the words he has heard, is what brings about his conver-
sion: “It is one thing to hear your voice and another to see you before our eyes;
for just as all things are made clear in the light of the sun, and darkness and every
trace of shadow is banished, so the sight of your resplendent face, when it dawns
over the soul. dissipates all ignorance and error. When I see you before me, I be-
rate and reprove myself, and I suffer bitter pain for ever having offended you” (Fray
Luis de Leon, Expositio libri lob, 42, 6).

42:7-17. The prose epilogue describes Job’s remarkable rehabilitation. He is in-
deed appreciated as a wise man, for he spoke rightly, and as a good person,
who will successfully intercede on behalf of his opponents. This passage, almost
certainly, must (like the prologue) have been part of the original text; prologue and
epilogue are closely interconnected and have literary features in common. Some
commentators have suggested that this happy ending does not fit in well with the
message in the book, because it seems to confirm the idea that good people en-
joy success and wrongdoers do not. But that is not really the point. The epilogue
displays the mercy of God who, as supreme judge, desires that all should be
saved; Job, in his case, has found salvation through suffering.

A number of small details help us to see why the book is given this ending: it
contains no mention of Satan, perhaps because his presence was irrelevant to
the question posed in the book. Eliphaz and his friends, who thought that they
were speaking on God’s side, now have to admit they were wrong: they have not
“spoken what is right” (vs. 7-8); they must turn to the Lord; that is the only way
to discover the truth. Finally, Job is comforted and accepted by all his relatives
and friends (v. 10-11), and is blessed by God with children, wealth and a long
life (vv. 12-17). So, God does not conform to the way human beings see things;
they, rather, must respect what he does and conform to his wishes.

42:12-17. God’s blessing on Job brings with it many children and much wealth.
It is interesting to see the importance given to his daughters: they enjoy the
same inheritance as their brothers, they are the fairest in all the land (as their
names imply). Jemima (Jamama), according to Arabic etymology means Dove;
Keziah/Cassia is the name of a tree (which must he the acacia, which was con-
sidered in that region to be very beautiful); and Kerena-happuch or “Horn of Anti-
mony” referred to a container for very expensive perfume.

As we have pointed out a number of times, the Fathers see Job as prefiguring
Jesus; this applies also to the restoration of his fortunes: “Job recovered both
his health and his wealth. In the same way, the Lord, through his resurrection,
brings not only good health to those who believe in him, but immortality; and he
restores the whole kingdom of nature, as he himself assured us when he said:
Everything has been given to me by my Father. New children are born of Job to
replace those who died. Similarly, the holy apostles are sons of the Lord in the
same line as were the prophets of old. Job is filled with happiness and in the
end rests in peace. And the Lord is blessed forever, as he was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be” (St Zeno of Verona, Tractatus, 1, 15).

42:17. This is the same wording as is used in the accounts of the lives of the pa-
triarchs (Gen 25:8; 35:29). The Fathers of the Church usually interpreted these
words in a broad sense, as a sort of resume of the good things enjoyed by the
blessed in heaven. In line with this, St Thomas writes: “By ‘fullness of days’ is
meant not only the possession of many material goods but also an abundance
of spiritual graces, by whose power Job entered into the glory that lasts forever”
(Expositio super Iob, 42, 17).

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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: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The “Little Ones” and the Kingdom. The Lost Sheep

[1] At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in
the Kingdom of Heaven?” [2] And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst
of them, [3] and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like chil-
dren, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself
like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

[5] “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.

[10] “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in
Heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven.

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Commentary:

1-35. The teachings of Jesus recorded in chapter 18 of St. Matthew are often
called the “discourse on the Church” or “ecclesiastical discourse” because they
are a series of instructions on the way in which His Church is to be administered.

The first passage (Matthew 18:1-5), addressed to leaders, that is, the future hier-
archy of the Church, warns them against natural tendencies to pride and ambi-
tion: even though they have positions of government, they must act with humility.
In verses 6-10 Jesus emphasizes the fatherly care which pastors of the Church
should have for the “little ones” — a term which covers everyone in need of spe-
cial care for whatever reason (because they are recent converts, or are not well
grounded in Church teaching, or are not yet adults, etc.)... God takes special
care of the weak and will punish those who harm them.

Our Lord shows similar concern for those who are experiencing spiritual difficul-
ties. Every effort, even an heroic effort, must be made to seek out the “lost sheep”
(verses 12-14). If the Church in general and each Christian in particular should be
concerned to spread the Gospel, all the more reason for them to try and see that
those who already embraced the faith do not go astray...

Thus, the whole of Chapter 18, the “discourse of the Church”, is a survey of the
future history of the Church during its earthly stage, and a series of practical rules
for conduct for Christians — a kind of complement to the Sermon on the Mount,
(Chapters 5-7), which is a “magna carta” for the new Kingdom established by
Christ.

1-6. Clearly the disciples still suffer from human ambition: they want to occupy
key positions when Jesus comes to establish the Kingdom on earth (cf. Acts 1:
6). To correct their pride, our Lord shows them a child and tells them that if they
want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, they must decide to be like children: chil-
dren are incapable of hating anyone and are totally innocent of vice, particularly
of pride, the worst vice of all. They are simple and full of trust.

Humility is one of the main pillars of the Christian life. “If you ask me”, St. Au-
gustine says, “what is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus
Christ, I shall reply: first humility, second humility and third humility” (”Letter
118”).

3-4. Applying these words to our Lord’s virtues, Fray Luis de Granada makes the
point that humility is superior to virginity: “If you cannot imitate the virginity of the
humble, then imitate the humility of the virgin. Virginity is praiseworthy, but humi-
lity is more necessary. The former is recommended to us, the latter is an obliga-
tion for us; to the former we are invited, to the latter we are obliged [...]. And so
we see that the former is celebrated as voluntary sacrifice, the latter required as
an obligatory sacrifice. Lastly, you can be saved without virginity, but not without
humility” (”Summa De La Vida Cristiana”, Book 3, Part 2, Chapter 10).

5. Receiving a child in Jesus’ name is the same as receiving Jesus Himself. Be-
cause children reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity and tenderness of our
Lord, “In children and in the sick a soul in love sees Him” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 419).

10. Jesus warns that giving scandal to little children is a very serious matter,
for they have angels who guard them, who will plead a case before God against
those who led them to commit sin.

In this context He speaks of children having guardian angels. However, everyone,
adult or child, has a guardian angel. “By God’s providence angels have been en-
trusted with the office of guarding the human race and of accompanying every hu-
man being so as to preserve him from any serious dangers [...]. Our Heavenly
Father has placed over each of us an angel under whose protection and vigilance
we are” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, IV, 9, 4).

This means that we should have a trusting relationship with our guardian angel.
“Have confidence in your guardian Angel. Treat him as a lifelong friend — that is
what he is — and he will render you a thousand services in the ordinary affairs of
each day” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way” 562).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.