January 28, 2014

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom
into the City of David amid festivities.
As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,
he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.
The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place
within the tent David had pitched for it.
Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When he finished making these offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He then distributed among all the people,
to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel,
a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.
With this, all the people left for their homes.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10

R. (8) Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!
R. Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.
R. Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!
R. Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD of hosts; he is the king of glory.
R. Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!

Gospel Mk 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

From: 2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19

The Ark in Jerusalem (Continuation)

[12b] So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obede-
dom to the city of David with rejoicing; [13] and when those who bore the ark of
the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. [14] And David
danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen
ephod. [15] So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD
with shouting, and with the sound of the horn.

[17] And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the
tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings before the LORD. [18] And when David had finished offering the burnt
offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD
of hosts, [19] and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel,
both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of
raisins. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

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Commentary:

6:1-23. By moving the ark to Jerusalem from Baale, a town on the border with the
Philistines (cf. 1 Sam 4:1-7:1), David is making the city the religious capital: from
now on, it will be the Holy City blessed by the presence of the Lord. The narrative
gives a good idea of the solemnity of the transfer (a liturgical procession of the
kind celebrated in Psalm 132) and has a lot of doctrinal content.

The first stage in the transfer of the ark (vv. 1-11) was interrupted by the death of
Uzzah, son of Abinadab. This amazing episode may be meant to show the pre-
dominance of one priestly family, that of Abiathar (cf. 1 Sam 22:20-23; 2 Sam 15:
27-29), and the disappearance (for some inexplicable reason) of the descendants
of Abinadab; but the main message is of course the respect and veneration due
to the ark as the symbol of God’s presence among his people. Only those in
charge of the ark may touch it. Even the king wonders whether it is right to bring
it as far as Jerusalem, and it is the Lord himself who, by blessing the house of
Obed-edom, signals that it should be brought the rest of the way.

The procession bringing the ark into the holy city is reported in detail in the se-
cond stage of the transfer (vv. 12-15). David himself, as king of Israel, assumes
the functions of a priest and gives a lead in ritual jubilation. The Fathers have
seen the ark as a figure of the Blessed Virgin; so the transfer of the ark is a sym-
bol of Mary’s journey to visit her relative Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:39-45), and David’s
dance is a figure of the Baptist, who leaps with joy in the womb of his mother
when Mary arrives with Jesus in her womb. “The prophet dances before the ark;
but what is the ark if not [a symbol of] Holy Mary? The ark contained the tablets
of the testament, Mary held in her body the heir to the testament; the ark carried
the Law, Mary the Gospel; the ark held the voice of God, Mary the Word; inside
and out, the ark shone with gold, the light of Mary’s virginity shines inside and
out; the ark was decorated with earthly gold, Mary with the gold of heaven” (St
Maximus of Turin, Sermons, 42, 5). See also the note on 1 Chronicles 15:1-24.

The last scene records Michal’s failure to understand David’s sincere devotion to-
wards the ark (vv. 16-23); her rejection has political implications as regards the
succession. David will have many sons who later dispute the throne, but none of
them will be descendants of Saul. The sentence pronounced against Michal,
David’s first wife, draws a line under the house of Saul.

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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: Mark 3:31-35

The True Kinsmen of Jesus

[31] And His (Jesus’) mother and His brethren came; and standing outside they
went to Him and called Him. [32] And a crowd was sitting about Him: and they
said to Him, “Your mother and Your brethren are outside, asking for You.” [33]
And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brethren?” [34] And looking around
on those who sat about Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brethren!
[35] Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

31-35. In Aramaic, the language used by the Jews, the word “brethren” is a broad
term indicating kinship: nephews, first cousins, and relatives in general are called
‘brethren’ (for further explanation cf. note on Mark 6:1-3). “Jesus did not say this
to disown His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor not only account of
having given birth to Jesus, but also because she has all the virtues” (Theophylact,
“Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.”).

Therefore, the Church reminds us that the Blessed Virgin “in the course of her
Son’s preaching received the words whereby, in extolling a kingdom beyond the
concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and
kept the word of God as she was faithfully doing” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”,
58).

Our Lord, then, is also telling us that if we follow Him we will share His life more
intimately than if we were a member of His family. St.Thomas explains this by
saying that Christ “had an eternal generation and a generation in time, and gave
preference to the former. Those who do the will of the Father reach Him by Hea-
venly generation [...]. Everyone who does the will of the Father, that is to say,
who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he is like Him who ful-
filled the will of His Father. But he who not only obeys but converts others, be-
gets Christ in them, and thus becomes like the Mother of Christ” (”Commentary
on St. Matthew”, 12, 49-50.)

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

Readings at Mass

First reading

2 Samuel 6:12-15,17-19 ©

David went and brought the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the Citadel of David with great rejoicing. When the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep. And David danced whirling round before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth round him. Thus David and all the House of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with acclaim and the sound of the horn. They brought the ark of the Lord in and put it in position inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered holocausts before the Lord, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. He then distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, a roll of bread to each, a portion of dates, and a raisin cake. Then they all went away, each to his own house.

Psalm

Psalm 23:7-10 ©