From: Numbers 6:22-27
Blessing by Priests
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Commentary:
6:23-27. This is one of the earliest blessing formulae that the Bible has con-
served for us. It is referred to in some psalms (cf. Ps 31:17; 67:2; etc.) and it was
used by priests in the temple liturgy. It consists of three petitions, each beginning
with the name of the Lord. Some ancient authors saw in this triple invocation an
advance announcement of the Blessed Trinity. It goes on to pray for protection,
grace and peace—three gifts which sum up man’s aspirations and which God
alone can provide in all their fullness.
The Church carries on the tradition of blessing the faithful during liturgical cere-
monies, especially at the end of the eucharistic celebration, beseeching God to
show them his favor. The Roman Missal includes this text as one of the optional
blessings the priest can use at the end of Mass.
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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: Galatians 4:4-7
Divine Sonship (Continuation)
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Commentary:
6. Abba is an Aramaic word which has come down to us with its translation “Fa-
ther”. As can be deduced from Mt 14:36 (cf. note on Lk 11:1), this is the same
word as our Lord used in his personal prayer. However, it is not a word ever used
by Jews to address God, probably because it contains the kind of trust and ten-
derness that small children have in their dealings with their father. Jesus, however,
did not hesitate to use it and to encourage his followers to use it. In this way he
invites us to relate to God with the trust and tenderness of a child towards its fa-
ther — as well he might, because by redeeming us Christ not only freed us from
the yoke of the Law but enabled us to have a new relationship to God, to be God’s
sons and daughters. St Paul echoes this teaching (cf. also Rom 8:16-17) and at-
tributes to the Holy Spirit that movement in man’s heart which impels him to cry
out, full of love and hope, “Abba! Father!”
This all means that “if we have a constant relationship with the Holy Spirit, we
shall become spiritual ourselves, we shall realize that we are Christ’s brothers
and children of God, and we shall not hesitate to call upon our Father [...]. Words
cannot go so far as the heart, which is moved by God’s goodness. He says to us,
‘You are my son.’ Not a stranger, not a well-treated servant, not a friend — that
would be a lot already. A son! He gives us free access to treat him as sons, with
a son’s piety and I would even say with the boldness and daring of a son whose
Father cannot deny him anything” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 136
and 185).
In this verse we can see the roles of the three Divine Persons in man’s super-
natural life. The Father sends the Holy Spirit, here called “the Spirit of his Son”,
to help us activate our gift of divine sonship.
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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.