Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
Matthew CHAP. 19
19:13–15
13. Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
14. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
15. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. The Lord had been holding discourse of chastity; and some of His hearers now brought unto Him infants, who in respect of chastity are the purest; for they supposed that it was the pure in body only whom He had approved; and this is that which is said, Then were brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray.
ORIGEN. For they now understood from His previous mighty works, that by laying on of His hands and by prayer evils were obviated. They bring therefore children to Him, judging that it were impossible that after the Lord had by His touch conveyed divine virtue into them, harm or any demon should come nigh them.
REMIGIUS. For it was a custom among the ancients that little children should be brought to aged persons, to receive benediction by their hand or tongue, and according to this custom little children are now brought to the Lord.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. The flesh as it delights not in good, if it hear any good readily forgets it; but the evil that it has it retains ever. But a little while before Christ took a little child and said, Except ye become as this child, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, (Matt. 18:3.) yet His disciples, presently forgetting this innocence of children, now forbid children, as unworthy to come to Christ.
JEROME. Not because they liked not that they should have benediction of the Saviour’s hand and mouth; but forasmuch as their faith was not yet perfect, they thought that He like other men would be wearied by the applications of those that brought them.
CHRYSOSTOM. Or the disciples would have thrust them away, from respect to Christ’s dignity1. But the Lord teaching them holy thoughts, and to subdue the pride of this world, took the children into His arms, and promised to such the kingdom of heaven; But Jesus saith unto them, Suffer little children and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. For who were worthy to come to Christ, if simple infancy were thrust away? Therefore he said, Forbid them not. For if they shall turn out saints, why hinder ye the sons from coming to their Father? And if sinners, why do ye pronounce a sentence of condemnation, before you see any fault in them?
JEROME. And He said distinctly, Of such is the kingdom of heaven, not Of these, to shew that it was not years, but disposition that determined His judgment, and that the reward was promised to such as had like innocence and simplicity.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. The present passage instructs all parents to bring their children to the priests, for it is not the priest who lays his hands on them, but Christ, in whose name hands are laid. For if he that offers his food in prayer to God eats it sanctified, for it is sanctified by the word of God, and by prayer, as the Apostle speaks, how much rather ought children to be offered to God, and sanctified? (1 Tim. 4:5.) And this is the reason of blessing of food, Because the whole world lieth in wickedness; (1 John 5:19.) so that all things that have body, which are a great part of the world, lie in wickedness. Consequently infants when born, are as respects their flesh lying in wickedness.
ORIGEN. Mystically; We call them children who are yet carnal in Christ, having need of milk. They who bring the babes to the Saviour, are they who profess to have knowledge of the word, but are still simple, and have for their food children’s lessons, being yet novices. They who seem more perfect, and are therefore the disciples of Jesus, before they have learnt the way of righteousness which is for children, rebuke those who by simple doctrine bring to Christ children and babes, that is, such as are less learned. But the Lord exhorting His disciples now become men to condescend to the needs of babes, to be babes to babes, that they may gain babes, says, For of such is the kingdom of heaven. For He Himself also, when He was in the form of God, was made a babe. These things we should attend to, lest in esteeming that more excellent wisdom, and spiritual advancement, as though we were become great we should despise the little ones of the Church, forbidding children to be brought to Jesus. But since children cannot follow all things that are commanded them, Jesus laid His hands upon them, and leaving virtue in them by His touch, went away from them, seeing they were not able to follow Him, like the other more perfect disciples.
REMIGIUS. Also laying His hands upon them, He blessed them, to signify that the lowly in spirit are worthy His grace and blessing.
GLOSS. (non occ.) He laid His hands upon them while men held them, to signify that the grace of His aid was necessary.
HILARY. The infants are a type of the Gentiles, to whom salvation is rendered by faith and hearing. But the disciples, in their first zeal for the salvation of Israel, forbid them to approach, but the Lord declares that they are not to be forbidden. For the gift of the Holy Ghost was to be conferred upon the Gentiles by laying on of hands, as soon as the Law had ceased.
Catena Aurea Matthew 19
NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32
Individual responsibility
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[1] The word of the Lord came to me again: [2] What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge''? [3] As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. [4] Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.
[5] If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right – [6] if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbour's wife or approach a woman in her time of impurity, [7] does not oppress any one, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, [8] does not lend at interest or take any increase, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between man and man, [9] walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances -- he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord God.
[10] "If he begets a son who is a robber a shedder of blood, […] [13] shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die: his blood shall be upon himself.
[30] "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? [32] For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord God; so turn, and live."
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Commentary:
18:1-32. Here Ezekiel uses the father-son relationship as a key to this ongoing explanation of the catastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem and the exile. In the previous chapters he showed that the Lord did not give up on his special love for Israel; punish her he will, because she deserves it, but the broken Covenant will be re-established. Now he repeats a lesson that the exiles must learn: the Lord is not being very cruel or unjust towards them; nor is he whenever he allows people to suffer.
Traditional teaching put more emphasis on solidarity and unity among the people -- in terms of both space (all its parts formed one Israel) and time (all generations made up the same people). Thus, it defined the Lord as just and merciful when he rewarded or punished successive generations for the things their forebears did (cf. Ex 34:6-7 and note). But Ezekiel breaks new ground by asserting the principle of individual retribution/responsibility: the exiles have been punished for their own sins, not those of their forebears. This explanation for suffering is a very considerable advance, but the focus is still a narrow one.
The book of Job, too, tackles the question of the suffering of the blameless, and the answer it gives does not go far enough. Not until the New Testament will the full picture emerge in the light of Jesus' death on the cross. Christ suffers for the sins of men, he dies in order to redeem us, and he shows that suffering of every sort, even the suffering of the innocent, has a redemptive value: "When we consider once more the central mysteries of our faith, we are surprised to see how very human gestures are used to express the deepest truths: the love of God the Father who gives up his Son, and the Son's love which calmly leads him to Calvary. God does not approach us in power and authority. No, he 'takes the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man'. Jesus is never distant or aloof, although sometimes in his preaching he seems very sad, because he is hurt by the evil men do. However, if we watch him closely, we will note immediately that his anger comes from love. It is a further invitation for us to leave infidelity and sin behind. "'Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked," says the Lord God, "and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?'" These words explain Christ's whole life. They allow us to understand why he has come to us with a heart made of flesh, a heart like ours. This is a convincing proof of his love and a constant witness to the mystery of divine charity" (St J. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 162).
18:1-20. To counter the spiteful adage about the sour grapes and the teeth on edge (cf. Jer 31:29), Ezekiel offers a practical case involving three generations --a righteous father (vv. 5-9) who has a violent son (vv. 10-13), who in turn has a son who is righteous (vv. 14-20). The moral in each case is the same: "The soul that sins shall die" (v. 20; cf. v. 9); "the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (v. 20; cf. 9). Any possible confusion about personal or communal guilt for sin is addressed by the Catechism in the following way: "God's threat to inflict his punishment unto the third and fourth generation should be understood not as proof that children will suffer for the sins of their parents, but that the need for penance and expiation is fundamental [...l. Therefore, there is no contradiction between this threat and the words of the prophet: the soul that sins shall die (Ezek 18:4). St Gregory, whose teaching follows in the line of what all the Fathers taught, tells us: 'Every man who sins as his father did shares in his father's guilt. But the man who has no part in his father's iniquity bears none of his fault. The evil son of the evil father will pay not only for his own sins, but for those of his father as well, because he added his own sins to his father's sins against the Lord; it is just, in the eyes of a strict judge, that he who followed in the footsteps of his evil father should pay for the sins of his father in this life" (Roman Catechism, 3, 2, 31-32).
The sins listed here (idolatry, adultery, uncleanness, oppression, greed: vv. 6-8; 11-13; 15-17) are meant to include all the Lord's commandments, especially those written in what is known as the "Deuteronomic code" (Deut 12:1 26:15) and the "law of holiness" (Lev 17:1-26:46). In Ezekiel's time people were familiar with the Decalogue and with standard lists of virtues (cf. Ps 15:2-4; Is 33:15-16; Jer 22:3-5; Mic 6:8) and sins (cf. 22:6-12). The New Testament, too, uses similar lists (cf. 1 Cor 5:11; Eph 5:5) as a memory aid in moral instruction. So, one can see that Ezekiel was familiar with teaching methods that were in use in the temple. Following this tradition, the Church has always argued that the most effective means be used in catechetical teaching: "so that the faithful, according to their talents, ability and state in life, can learn Catholic doctrine most effectively and put it into practice" (Code of Canon Law, 779).
18:21-32. These verses reply to a question that may arise from the doctrine of personal retribution: If the sinner must live with the consequences of his sins, what is the purpose of repentance? Ezekiel takes the question very much to heart, and his reply includes one of the most beautiful summaries of divine mercy: "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked …, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" (v. 23; cf. 33:11). It is true that the explanation of divine justice and punishment develops over a long period until the New Testament is reached; even so, from the very beginning of divine Revelation, there is never any doubt but that God is always ready to forgive. Over the centuries, Christian spirituality has written beautiful pages filled to overflowing with heartfelt trust in God's mercy. As an example, we will quote a prayer by a Christian writer of the Armenian Church: "You are the Lord of Mercy. Have mercy on me, a sinner, who beseeches you with sighs and tears. [...] O kind and merciful Lord! You are patient with sinners, for you have said: if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed … none of the transgressions which he has committed shall he remembered against him (Ezek 18:21-22). Look, see how I have come before you and fallen at your feet: your guilty servant pleads for your mercy. Do not recall my sins, nor spurn me because of my wickedness. […] You are the Lord of goodness and mercy: you forgive all sin" (John Mandakuni, Oratio, 2-3).
Of course, God's forgiveness is closely interwoven with personal conversion. Therefore, it is not surprising to find these verses of Ezekiel being quoted in connexion with the need for the sacrament of penance: "at all times, the practice of penance in order to obtain grace and attain righteousness was necessary for all those who fell into mortal sin, even those who sought to he washed clean by the waters of baptism, so that, when sinfulness had been purged and set to rights, they would detest any offence against God through their hatred of sin and the sorrow of their souls. Thus says the Prophet: Repent and turn from all your transgression, lest iniquity be your ruin (Ezek 18:30)" (Council of Trent, Session 14, 1). There is also a need for genuine contrition: "Contrition, which is the most important element of penance, is a sorrow of the soul, a hatred of all the sins that have been committed, and a desire not to sin again in the future. This sense of contrition has always been a fundamental condition of forgiveness; the man who falls into sin after his baptism can only receive pardon if he is contrite, trusts in the mercy of God, and fulfills all the other conditions that are binding in this sacrament. This Council declares that contrition encompasses not only the end of sin and the beginning of new life, but the reparation of the old, sinful life, as it was written: Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! (Ezek 18:31)" (Council of Trent, Session 14, 4).
From: Matthew 19:13-15Jesus Blesses the Children
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[13] Then the children were brought to Him (Jesus) that He might lay His hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; [14] but Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven." [15] And He laid His hands on them and went away.
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Commentary:
13-14. Once again (see Matthew 18:1-6) Jesus shows His special love for children, by drawing them close and blessing them. The Church, also, shows special concern for children by urging the need for Baptism: "That this law extends not only to adults but also to infants and children, and that the Church has received this from Apostolic tradition, is confirmed by the unanimous teaching and authority of the Fathers.
"Besides, it is not to be supposed that Christ the Lord would have withheld the Sacrament of grace of Baptism from children, of whom He said: `Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven', whom also He embraced, upon whom He imposed hands, to whom He gave His blessing" ("St. Pius V Catechism", II, 2, 32).
Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary
