From: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
[31] But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you still a more excel-
lent way.
Hymn to Charity
[8] Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they
will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For our knowledge is imper-
fect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect
will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For
now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. [13] So faith, hope,
love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
31. “Earnestly desire the higher gifts”: according to some Greek manuscripts
this can be translated “earnestly seek the greater gifts.” St Paul is encouraging
his Christians to put greater value on those gifts of the Holy Spirit which contri-
bute most to the goal of the Church than on those which are spectacular. He pro-
bably has in mind the teaching he will develop (chap. 14) about the superiority of
graces and charisms to do with teaching and catechesis.
“A still more excellent way”: this undoubtedly refers to charity, which he goes on
to describe and praise (chap. 13). Therefore, what is called his “hymn to charity”
is not a digression, much less a later addition, but an outpouring of the Apostle’s
soul, which perfectly explains why charity is the greatest of all gifts, a sure route
to holiness and salvation, and the identifying mark of the Christian: “the first and
most necessary gift is charity, by which we love God above all things and our
neighbor because of him. [...] This is because love, as the bond of perfection and
fullness of the law (cf. Col 3:14, Rom. 13:10), governs, gives meaning to, and per-
fects all the means of sanctification. Hence the true disciple of Christ is marked
by love both of God and of his neighbor” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 42).
1-13. This wonderful hymn to charity is one of the most beautiful pages in Pau-
line writing. The literary style of the chapter is designed to present charity in all
its splendor. St Paul sings the praises of love as seen from three points of view
— the superiority and absolute need of this gift (vv. 1-3); its features and practical
expression (vv. 4-7); and the fact it endures for ever (vv. 8-13).
Love, the charity of which St Paul is speaking, has nothing to do with selfish de-
sire for physical passionate possession; nor is it restricted to mere philanthropy,
whose motivation is purely humanitarian: charity is a love which is to be found in
the new order of things established by Christ; its origin, context and purpose are
radically new; it is born of the love of God for men, a love so intense that he sacri-
ficed his only-begotten Son (In 3:16). The Christian is enabled to respond to this
love of God by this gift of the Holy Spirit, charity (cf. Gal 5:22; Rom 15:30), and
by virtue of this divine love he discovers God in his neighbor: he recognizes that
all are children of the one Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ: “Our
love is not to be confused with sentimentality or mere good fellowship, nor with
that somewhat questionable zeal to help others in order to convince ourselves of
our superiority. Rather, it means living in peace with our neighbor, venerating the
image of God that is found in each and every person and doing all we can to get
them in their turn to contemplate that image and learn to turn to Christ” (St. J.
Escriva, “Friends of God”, 230).
To make this clear St Paul mentions those gifts which appear to be most excep-
tional — the gift of tongues; knowledge; and heroic actions.
Firstly, the gift of tongues. St Thomas Aquinas comments that the Apostle “right-
ly compares words lacking in charity to the sound of lifeless instruments, to the
sound of a bell or cymbals, whose sound though clear is a dead sound. The
same occurs in the speech of someone who has no charity; no matter how bril-
liant it be, it comes across as something dead, because it is of no help as far as
meriting eternal life is concerned” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”). By way of
emphasis St Paul speaks of the tongues of angels as the highest degree of the
gift of tongues.
“I am nothing”: this conclusion could not be more emphatic. A little further on (1
Cor 15:10), St Paul will himself say that “by the grace of God I am what I am”, to
make us see that from God’s love for man (grace) derives man’s love for God and
for his neighbor for God’s sake (charity).
Knowledge and faith, which need not ever be separated, also acquire their full
meaning in the Christian who lives by love: “Each one according to his own gifts
and duties must steadfastly advance along the way of a living faith, which arou-
ses hope and works through love” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 41).
Strictly speaking, martyrdom is the supreme act of love. St Paul is referring here
as in the previous points to hypothetical cases or merely external gestures,
which seem to be token detachment and generosity, but are in fact mere appea-
rances: “If someone does not have charity”, St Augustine says, “even though he
may have these gifts at the moment, they will be taken away from him. What he
has will be taken away because he is missing the main thing, that whereby he
will have everything and which will keep him safe [...]. He has the power to pos-
sess, but he has no charity in what he does; and because he lacks charity, what
he has in his possession will be taken from him” (”Enarrationes in Psalmos”,
146, 10).
4-7. In his listing of the qualities of charity, St Paul, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, begins with two general features — patience and kindness — which
the Bible attributes to God. Both of these lead on to thirteen particular ways in
which love expresses itself.
Patience is a quality often praised in the Bible: in the Psalms God is said to be
slow to anger (Ps 145:8); patience means great serenity in the face of injury;
kindness has to do with being inclined to do good to others. St Thomas Aquinas
explains this by starting with the etymology of the word: “Kindness [”benignitas”,
benignity] is like good fuel [”bona igneitas”]: just as fire causes solid substances
to become liquid and start to melt, charity sees to it that a person does not keep
his things for himself but distributes them to others” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad
loc.”). Since to charity are attributed qualities which in the first instance apply to
God, we can see the excellence of this virtue: “Charity towards our neighbor is
an expression of our love of God. Accordingly, when we strive to grow in this vir-
tue, we cannot fix any limits to our growth. The only possible measure for the
love of God is to love without measure: on the one hand, because we will never
be able to thank him enough for what he has done for us; and on the other, be-
cause this is exactly what God’s own love for us, his creatures, is like: it over-
flows without calculation or limit” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 232).
“Love is patient”, St Gregory the Great comments, “because it bears serenely
the injury it suffers. It is kind, because it repays evil with good. It is not jealous,
because it covets nothing in this world: it does not know what it is to envy world-
ly prosperity. It is not boastful, because it yearns only for spiritual reward and it
is not carried away by external things. It is not arrogant, because it thrives only
on the love of God and neighbor and avoids whatever would take it from the path
of righteousness. It is not covetous, because although it ardently pursues its
own spiritual goals, it does not desire the goods of others. It does not insist on
its own way, because it scorns as alien those things it temporarily possesses
here below: it seeks to hold on only to what is enduring. It is not irritable, and
even though injuries seek to provoke it, it does not let itself have any desire for
vengeance, for no matter how difficult a time it may have in this life, it hopes for
greater rewards in the next. It is not resentful, because it has invested its thought
in the love of purity, and having rooted out all hatred it is incapable of harboring in
its heart any type of aversion. It does not rejoice at wrong, because it feels affec-
tion for others and does not rejoice at seeing the ruin of its enemies. It rejoices
in the right, because by loving others as it loves itself, it is as pleased to see
goodness in them as if it were indeed something to its own personal advantage”
(”Moralia”, X, 7-8, 10).
7. The repetition of the word “all” reinforces the absolute, essential, value of cha-
rity. This is not hyperbole, much less a depiction of utopia: it is recognition of the
fact, as the Word of God confirms, that love lies at the very source of all Christian
virtue. “Since we are all children of God,” the founder of Opus Dei reminds us,
“our fraternity is not a cliché or an empty dream; it beckons as a goal which,
though difficult, is really ours to achieve.
“As Christians we must show that affection of this kind is in fact possible, what-
ever cynics, skeptics, those disappointed in love or those with a cowardly out-
look on life might say. It may be quite difficult to be truly affectionate, for man
was created free and he can rebel against God in a useless and bitter way. But
it is possible and people can attain it, because it flows as a necessary conse-
quence of God’s love for us and our love for God. If you and I want it, Jesus also
wants it. Then we will obtain a full and fruitful understanding of the meaning of
suffering, sacrifice and unselfish dedication in ordinary life” (”Friends of God”,
233).
8-13. Love is enduring; it will never disappear. In this sense it is greater than all
God’s other gifts to man; each of those gifts is designed to help man reach per-
ection and eternal beatitude; charity, on the other hand, is beatitude, blessed-
ness, itself. A thing is imperfect, St Thomas comments, for one of two reasons
— either because it contains certain defects, or because it will later be superse-
ded. In this second sense knowledge of God and prophecy are overtaken by see-
ing God face to face. “Charity, on the other hand, which is love of God, does not
disappear but, rather, increases; the more perfect one’s knowledge of God, the
more perfectly does one love him” (St Thomas Aquinas, “Commentary on 1 Cor,
ad loc.”).
St Paul is constantly reminding us to pursue the goal of charity, the bond of per-
fection (cf. Col. 3:14). Following his example the saints teach the same mes-
sage; St Teresa of Avila puts it in this way: “I only want you to be warned that, if
you would progress a long way on this road and ascend to the mansions that we
desire, it is not a matter of thinking much, but of loving much; do, then, whatever
most arouses you to love. Perhaps we do not know what it is to love; that would
not greatly surprise me; for love consists, not in what most pleases us, but in the
strength of our determination to desire to please God in everything and to endea-
vor to do everything we can not to offend him, and to pray him ever to advance
the honor and glory of his Son and the growth of the catholic Church” (”Interior
Castle”, IV, 1, 7).
11-12. “Then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood”: the
Old Testament usually avoids mentioning God by name; these words in effect
mean “Then I will know God as he knows me.” The knowledge which God has of
men is not merely speculative: it involves an intimate, personal union which em-
braces a person’s mind and will and all his or her noble aspirations. Thus in Sa-
cred Scripture God is said to know someone when he shows a preferential love
for him (1 Cor 8:3), particularly when he chooses him out to be a Christian (Gal
4:8).
Happiness in heaven consists in this direct knowledge of God. To explain this
better St Paul uses the simile of the mirror: in those times mirrors were made of
metal and produced a reflection which was blurred and dark; but it is still easy
for us to understand what St Paul means; as St Thomas explains, in heaven “we
shall see God face to face, because we shall see him directly, just as we see a
man face to face. And by seeing in this way we become very like God, becoming
sharers in his beatitude: for God has knowledge of his own substance in its very
essence and therein his happiness lies. Therefore does St John (1 Jn 3:2) write:
‘When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”’ (”Summa
Contra Gentiles”, III, 51).
In this connection the Church’s Magisterium teaches that “in the usual provi-
dence of God, the souls of all the saints who departed this world [...] see the di-
vine essence with an intuitive and even face-to-face vision, without the interposi-
tion of any creature in the function of object seen; rather, the divine essence im-
mediately manifests itself to them plainly, clearly, openly [...]. We also define
that those who see the divine essence in this way take great joy from it, and that
because of this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died
are truly blessed and possess life and eternal rest” (Benedict XII, “Benedictus
Deus, Dz-Sch”, 1000f).
13. Faith, hope and charity are the most important virtues in the Christian life.
They are called “theological” virtues, “because they have God as their direct and
principal object” (”St Pius X Catechism”, 859), and it is he himself who infuses
them into the soul together with sanctifying grace (cf. ibid., 861).
When discussing the superiority of charity over faith and hope, St Thomas Aqui-
nas says that the greatest of these virtues is that which most directly unites one
to good: “Faith and hope attain God in so far as we derive from him the know-
ledge of truth or the acquisition of good; whereas charity attains God himself that
it may rest in him, not that something else should come to us from him” (”Sum-
ma Theologiae”, II-II, q. 23, a.6).
*********************************************************************************************
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: Luke 4:21-30
Jesus Preaches in Nazareth
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
21. Christ’s words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached
and explained the Scriptures: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hea-
ring.” Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old
Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus,
the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New—as the
risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on
the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus’s
words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt
that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He
had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they
insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change
their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal res-
ponse to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11);
He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament
(cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-dis-
posed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they
are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding
Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved
to make ourselves available to Him.
30. Jesus does not take flight but withdraws majestically, leaving the crowd para-
lyzed. As on other occasions men do Him no harm; it was by God’s decree that
He died on a cross (cf. John 18:32) when His hour had come.
*********************************************************************************************
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.