Note: In Canada, October 19 is the optional memorial of St. Paul of the
Cross. The Feast of Sts. Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf, Priests,
and Companions, Martyrs, is celebrated in Canada on September 26.
From: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
The Trials He Has Experienced
He Is Sustained By Hope in Heaven
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Commentary:
7-12. In contrast to the greatness of the Gospel—the “treasure” entrusted to them
by God—St. Paul emphasizes the limitations of its ministers: they are “earthen
vessels” (v. 7). To illustrate this he describes the afflictions and persecution to
which he finds himself subjected and in which God’s grace always comes to his
aid.
In some way these sufferings of the Apostles and of all Christians reproduce in
their lives the sufferings of Christ in his passion and death. In his case his suf-
fering opened the way to his glorification after the Resurrection; similarly his ser-
vants, even in this life, are experiencing an anticipation of the life they will attain
in heaven; this helps them overcome every kind of affliction.
7. St. Paul again stresses that the effectiveness of all his apostolic activity
comes from God (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 1:26-31; 2 Cor 3:5); he it is who places his trea-
sures in poor earthenware vessels. The image the Apostle uses—which is remini-
scent of the clay which God used to make Adam (cf. Gen 2:7)—helps Christians
realize that through grace they bear in their souls a wonderful treasure, God him-
self; like earthen vessels they are very fragile and they need to be put together
again in the sacrament of Confession. As a gloss on these ideas St. Escriva
taught that Christians by bearing God in their souls are enabled to live at one and
the same time “in heaven and on earth, divinized: but knowing that we are of the
world and made of clay, with the frailty that is typical of clay — an earthenware
pot which our Lord has deigned to use in his service. And whenever it has got
broken, we have gone and riveted the bits together again, like the prodigal son:
‘I have sinned against heaven and against you...’” (quoted in Bernal, “Monsignor
Escriva de Balaguer”).
8-9. The Apostle’s words assure the Christian that he or she can always count
on God’s help: no matter what trials they have to undergo, victory can be attained
with the grace of God as happened in St. Paul’s case. “God is faithful, and he will
not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with temptation will also provide
you the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13). More-
over, St. Paul’s example reminds us that more or less severe suffering and tribu-
lation will be a normal thing in the lives of Christ’s followers; theirs will never be a
comfortable, trouble-free life. “If it is your ambition to win the esteem of men, if
your desire to be well-regarded and seek only a life of ease, you have gone astray
[...]. In the city of the saints, entrance is given and rest and eternal rule with the
King, only to those who have made their way along the rough, narrow way of tribu-
lation” (Pseudo-Macarius, “Homilies”, XII, 5).
10-11. As happened in St. Paul’s case, in their daily lives Christians must relive
the sufferings of Christ through self-denial and penance: this is part of following
Christ and imitating him. “The Christian vocation is one of sacrifice, penance, ex-
piation. We must make reparation for our sins—for the many times we turned our
face aside so as to avoid the gaze of God—and all the sins of mankind. We must
try to imitate Christ, ‘always carrying in the body the death of Christ’, his abnega-
tion, his suffering on the cross, ‘so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in
our bodies’ (2 Cor 4:10). Our way is one of immolation and, in this denial, we find
“gaudium cum pace”, both joy and peace” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”,
9).
Self-denial, mortification, does not have to be something overt; it should be prac-
ticed in the ordinary circumstances of life—for example, by being punctual for ap-
pointments, carefully fulfilling one’s duties, treating everyone with as much chari-
ty as possible, accepting little setbacks in a good-humored way (cf. St. J. Escri-
va, “Friends of God”, 138).
10. “The death of Jesus”: more exactly, the “dying” of Christ: the Greek word re-
fers to the situation of someone who is dying.
12. In the Apostles, and also in other Christians, the paradox of Jesus’ life is ve-
rified: his death is the cause of life for all men. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24).
Afflictions and tribulations, physical and moral pain, daily self-denial and penance,
cause Christ’s disciple to die to himself and, if united to the sufferings of his Mas-
ter, they become a source of life for others through the communion of saints.
13-18. The Apostle explains where he gets the strength to bear all the tribulations
of life — from his hope in the resurrection and his expectation of being in heaven
with those to whom he is writing (v. 14). There is nothing selfish about this desire
for heaven: it helps us to stay true to the faith and it enables us to see all the suf-
ferings of this life as something transitory and slight (v. 17), a necessary step to
heaven and a way to obtain incomparably greater happiness. “If we wish to enjoy
the pleasures of eternity,” St. Alphonsus reminds us, “we must deprive ourselves
of the pleasures of time. ‘Whoever would save his life will lose it’ (Mt 16:25) [...].
If we wish to be saved, we must all be martyrs, either by the tyrant’s sword or
through our own mortification. Let us have this conviction — that everything we suf-
fer is nothing compared with the eternal glory that awaits us. ‘I consider the suffe-
rings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be re-
vealed to us’ (Rom 8:18). These momentary afflictions will bring us eternal happi-
ness (cf. 2 Cor 4:17)” (”Treasury of Preaching Material”, II, 9).
13. The Apostle’s faith leads him to keep on preaching, despite all the difficulties
this may involve. There is nothing else he can do: he is convinced that his faith is
what can save the world and he cannot but strive to spread it. If he acted other-
wise it would mean his faith was asleep and he did not truly love others. “When
you find that something has done you good,” St. Gregory the Great explains,
“try to bring it to the attention of others. You should, therefore, desire others to
join you on the ways of the Lord. If you are going to the forum or the baths, and
you meet someone who is not doing anything, you invite him to go along with
you. Apply this earthly custom to the spiritual sphere, and as you make your
way to God, do not do so alone” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 6, 6).
14. What inspires St. Paul’s apostolic activity and enables him to bear all the dif-
ficulties it involves, is his firm belief in resurrection in glory, the basis and cause
of which is Christ’s resurrection. He also has the hope of sharing this happiness
in heaven, in the presence of God, with all the faithful for whose salvation he is
working on earth.
15. After reminding the Corinthians that all the sufferings he has been speaking
about he has borne for their sake (cf. 4:5), St. Paul tells them what motivates
him most — the greater glory of God, to whom the faithful should turn in deep gra-
titude (cf. 1:11; 9:12). This should be man’s primary attitude to God — one of pro-
found adoration and thanksgiving for all his benefits, as we are daily reminded in
the Preface of the Mass.
“If life’s purpose were not to give glory to God, how contemptible, how hateful it
would be” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 783).
*********************************************************************************************
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.
Note: In Canada, October 19 is the optional memorial of St. Paul of the
Cross. The Feast of Sts. Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf, Priests,
and Companions, Martyrs, is celebrated in Canada on September 26.
From: Luke 9:23-26
The Need for Self-Denial
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Commentary:
22. Jesus prophesied His passion and death in order to help His disciples believe
in Him. It also showed that He was freely accepting these sufferings He would un-
dergo. “Christ did not seek to be glorified: He chose to come without glory order
to undergo suffering; and you, who have been born without glory, do you wish to
be glorified? The route you must take is the one Christ took. This means recog-
nizing Him and it means imitating Him both in His ignominy and in His good re-
pute; thus you will glory in the Cross, which was His path to glory. That was
what Paul did, and therefore he gloried in saying, ‘Far be it from me to glory ex-
cept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 6:14)” (St. Ambrose, “Ex-
positio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.”).
23. “Christ is saying this again, to us, whispering it in our ears: the cross each
day. As St. Jerome puts it: ‘Not only in time of persecution or when we have the
chance of martyrdom, but in all circumstances, in everything we do and think, in
everything we say, let us deny what we used to be and let us confess what we
now are, reborn as we have been in Christ’ (”Epistola” 121, 3) [...]. Do you see?
The DAILY cross. No day without a cross; not a single day in which we are not
to carry the cross of the Lord, in which we are not to accept His yoke” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 58 and 176). “There is no doubt about it: a per-
son who loves pleasure, who seeks comfort, who flies from anything that might
spell suffering, who is over-anxious, who complains, who blames and who be-
comes impatient at the least little thing which does not go his way — a person
like that is a Christian only in name; he is only a dishonor to his religion for Je-
sus Christ has said so: Anyone who wishes to come after Me, let him deny him-
self and take up his cross every day of his life, and follow Me” (St. John Mary
Vianney, “Selected Sermons”, Ash Wednesday).
The Cross should be present not only in the life of every Christian but also at the
crossroads of the world: “How beautiful are those crosses on the summits of high
mountains, and crowning great monuments, and on the pinnacles of cathedrals...!
But the Cross must also be inserted in the very heart of the world.
“Jesus wants to be raised on high, there in the noise of the factories and work-
shops, in the silence of libraries, in the loud clamor of the streets, in the stillness
of the fields, in the intimacy of the family, in crowded gatherings, in stadiums....
Wherever there is a Christian striving to lead an honorable life, he should, with his
love, set up the Cross of Christ, who attracts all things to Himself” (St. J. Escriva,
“The Way of the Cross”, XI, 3).
25. By this radical statement Jesus teaches us to do everything with a view to
eternal life: it is well worth while to devote our entire life on earth to attaining eter-
nal life. “We have been warned that it profits man nothing if he gains the whole
world and loses or forfeits himself. Far from diminishing our concern to develop
this earth, the expectance of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the
body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which
is to come. That is why, although we must be careful to distinguish earthly pro-
gress clearly from the increase of the Kingdom of Christ, such progress is of vi-
tal concern to the Kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better or-
dering of human society” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 39).
26. Our Lord is well aware how weak people can be when difficult circumstances
arise in which they have to confess their faith by word or deed. To overcome this
weakness he has given us a special resource — the grace of the sacrament of
Confirmation, which strengthens the recipient to be “a good soldier of Christ Je-
sus” (2 Tim 2:3) and to be “the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor 2:15) among men, which
prevents us being led astray by an environment contrary to Christian faith and
morals: “Therefore, the one to be confirmed is anointed on the forehead, where
shame shows itself, lest he be ashamed to confess the name of Christ and es-
pecially his cross which was, indeed, according to the Apostle, a stumbling
block to the Jews and to the Gentiles foolishness (cf. 1 Cor 1:23)” (Council of
Florence, “Pro Armeniis”; cf. “Lumen gentium”, 11).
This duty to confess the faith applies not only to one’s private or family life but
also to one’s public life: “Non-sectarianism. Neutrality. Old myths that always try
to seem new. Have you ever stopped to think how absurd it is to leave one’s Ca-
tholicism aside on entering a university, a professional association, a cultural so-
ciety, or Parliament, like a man leaving his hat at the door?” (St. J. Escrivá, “The
Way”, 353). See the note on Matthew 10:32-33.
*********************************************************************************************
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.