Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 17-March-2024

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 12
20.	Now there were certain Gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day.	Erant autem quidam gentiles, ex his qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo.	ησαν δε τινες ελληνες εκ των αναβαινοντων ινα προσκυνησωσιν εν τη εορτη
21.	These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus.	Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilææ, et rogabant eum, dicentes : Domine, volumus Jesum videre.	ουτοι ουν προσηλθον φιλιππω τω απο βηθσαιδα της γαλιλαιας και ηρωτων αυτον λεγοντες κυριε θελομεν τον ιησουν ιδειν
22.	Philip cometh, and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.	Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreæ ; Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Jesu.	ερχεται φιλιππος και λεγει τω ανδρεα και παλιν ανδρεας και φιλιππος λεγουσιν τω ιησου
23.	But Jesus answered them, saying: The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.	Jesus autem respondit eis, dicens : Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis.	ο δε ιησους απεκρινατο αυτοις λεγων εληλυθεν η ωρα ινα δοξασθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου
24.	Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die,	Amen, amen dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram, mortuum fuerit,	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν εαν μη ο κοκκος του σιτου πεσων εις την γην αποθανη αυτος μονος μενει εαν δε αποθανη πολυν καρπον φερει
25.	Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.	ipsum solum manet : si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam ; et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam æternam custodit eam.	ο φιλων την ψυχην αυτου απολεσει αυτην και ο μισων την ψυχην αυτου εν τω κοσμω τουτω εις ζωην αιωνιον φυλαξει αυτην
26.	If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.	Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur, et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus.	εαν εμοι διακονη τις εμοι ακολουθειτω και οπου ειμι εγω εκει και ο διακονος ο εμος εσται και εαν τις εμοι διακονη τιμησει αυτον ο πατηρ
27.	Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour.	Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam ? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horam hanc :	νυν η ψυχη μου τεταρακται και τι ειπω πατερ σωσον με εκ της ωρας ταυτης αλλα δια τουτο ηλθον εις την ωραν ταυτην
28.	Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.	Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de cælo : Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.	πατερ δοξασον σου το ονομα ηλθεν ουν φωνη εκ του ουρανου και εδοξασα και παλιν δοξασω
29.	The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said: An angel spoke to him.	Turba ergo, quæ stabat, et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant : Angelus ei locutus est.	ο ουν οχλος ο εστως και ακουσας ελεγεν βροντην γεγονεναι αλλοι ελεγον αγγελος αυτω λελαληκεν
30.	Jesus answered, and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.	Respondit Jesus, et dixit : Non propter me hæc vox venit, sed propter vos.	απεκριθη [ο] ιησους και ειπεν ου δι εμε αυτη η φωνη γεγονεν αλλα δι υμας
31.	Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.	Nunc judicium est mundi : nunc princeps hujus mundi ejicietur foras.	νυν κρισις εστιν του κοσμου τουτου νυν ο αρχων του κοσμου τουτου εκβληθησεται εξω
32.	And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.	Et ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum.	καγω εαν υψωθω εκ της γης παντας ελκυσω προς εμαυτον
33.	(Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.)	(Hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus.)	τουτο δε ελεγεν σημαινων ποιω θανατω εμελλεν αποθνησκειν

(*) "αυτος μονος μενει εαν δε αποθανη πολυν καρπον φερει" went to verse 25 in the translations.

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

John CHAP. 12

12:20–26

20. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.

21. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

22. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

23. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

25. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

26. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

BEDE. The temple at Jerusalem was so famous, that on the feast days, not only the people near, but many Gentiles from distant countries came to worship in it; as that eunuch of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, mentioned in the Acts. The Gentiles who were at Jerusalem now, had come up for this purpose: And there were certain Gentiles among them who came to worship at the feast.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvi. 2) The time being now near, when they would be made proselytes. They hear Christ talked of, and wish to see Him: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. li. 8) Lo! the Jews wish to kill Him, the Gentiles to see Him. But they also were of the Jews who cried, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. So behold them of the circumcision, and them of the uncircumcision, once so wide apart, coming together like two walls, and meeting in one faith of Christ by the kiss of peace.

Philip cometh and telleth Andrew.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 2) As being the elder disciple. He had heard our Saviour say, Go not into the way of the Gentiles; (Matt. 10:5) and therefore he communicates with his fellow-disciple, and they refer the matter to their Lord: And again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. li. 8) Listen we to the voice of the corner stone: And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Did He think Himself glorified, because the Gentiles wished to see? No. But He saw that after His passion and resurrection, the Gentiles in all lands would believe on Him; and took occasion from this request of some Gentiles to see Him, to announce the approaching fulness of the Gentiles, for that the hour of His being glorified was now at hand, and that after He was glorified in the heavens, the Gentiles would believe; according to the passage in the Psalm, Set up Thyself, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth. (Ps. 56, and 107) But it was necessary that His exaltation and glory should be preceded by His humiliation and passion; wherefore He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into they round and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. That corn was He; to be mortified in the unbelief of the Jews, to be multiplied in the faith of the Gentiles.

BEDE. He Himself, of the seed of the Patriarchs, was sown in the field of this world, that by dying, He might rise again with increase. He died alone; He rose again with many.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvi. 2) He illustrates His discourse by an example from nature. A grain of corn produces fruit, after it has died. How much more then must the Son of God? The Gentiles were to be called after the Jews had finally offended; i. e. after His crucifixion. Now then that the Gentiles of their own accord offered their faith, He saw that His crucifixion could not be far off. And to console the sorrow of His disciples, which He foresaw would arise, He tells them that to bear patiently not only His death, but their own too, is the only way to good: He that loveth his life shall lose it.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. li. 10) This may be understood in two ways: 1. If thou lovest it, lose it: if thou wouldest preserve thy life in Christ, fear not death for Christ. 2. Do not love thy life here, lest thou lose it hereafter. The latter seems to be the more evangelical (evangelicus) sense; for it follows, And he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 1) He loveth his life in this world, who indulges its inordinate desires; he hateth it, who resists them. It is not, who doth not yield to, but, who hateth. For as we cannot bear to hear the voice or see the face of them whom we hate; so when the soul invites us to things contrary to God, we should turn her away from them with all our might.

THEOPHYLACT. It were harsh to say that a man should hate his soul; so He adds, in this world: i. e. for a particular time, not for ever. And we shall gain in the end by so doing: shall keep it unto life eternal.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. li. 10) But think not for an instant, that by hating thy soul, is meant that thou mayest kill thyself. For wicked and perverse men have sometimes so mistaken it, and have burnt and strangled themselves, thrown themselves from precipices, and in other ways put an end to themselves. This did not Christ teach; nay, when the devil tempted Him to cast Himself down, He said, Get thee hence, Satanb. But when no other choice is given thee; when the persecutor threatens death, and thou must either disobey God’s law, or depart out of this life, then hate thy life in this world, that thou mayest keep it unto life eternal.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 1) This present life is sweet to them who are given up to it. But he who looks heavenwards, and sees what good things are there, soon despises this life. When the better life appears, the worse is despised. This is Christ’s meaning, when He says, If any man serve Me, let him follow Me, i. e. imitate Me, both in My death, and life. For he who serves, should follow him whom he serves.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. li) But what is it to serve Christ? The very words explain. They serve Christ who seek not their own things, but the things of Jesus Christ, i. e. who follow Him, walk in His, not their own, ways, do all good works for Christ’s sake, not only works of mercy to men’s bodies, but all others, till at length they fulfil that great work of love, and lay down their lives for the brethren. But what fruit, what reward? you ask. The next words tell you: And where I am, there shall also My servant be. Love Him for His own sake, and think it a rich reward for thy service, to be with Him.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii) So then death will be followed by resurrection. Where I am, He says; for Christ was in heaven before His resurrection. Thither let us ascend in heart and in mind.

If any man serve Me, him will My Father honour. This must be understood as an explanation of the preceding. There also shall My servant be. For what greater honour can an adopted son receive than to be where the Only Son is?

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii) He says, My Father will honour him, not, I will honour him; because they had not yet proper notions of His nature, and thought Him inferior to the Father.

12:27–33

27. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

30. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

31. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

33. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvi) To our Lord’s exhortation to His disciples to endurance, they might have replied that it was easy for Him, Who was out of the reach of human pain, to talk philosophically about death, and to recommend others to bear what He is in no danger of having to bear Himself. So He lets them see that He is Himself in an agony, but that He does not intend to decline death, merely for the sake of relieving Himself: Now is My soul troubled.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 2) I hear Him say, He that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal; and I am ravished, I despise the world; the whole of this life, however long, is but a vapour in My sight; all temporal things are vile, in comparison with eternal. And again I hear Him say, Now is My soul troubled. Thou biddest my soul follow Thee; but I see Thy soul troubled. What foundation shall I seek, if the Rock gives way? Lord, I acknowledge Thy mercy. Thou of Thy love wast of Thine own will troubled, to console those who are troubled through the infirmity of nature; that the members of Thy body perish not in despair. The Head took upon Himself the affections of His members. He was not troubled by any thing, but, as was said above, He troubled Himself. (c. 11:33)

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii) As He draws near to the Cross, His human nature appears, a nature that did not wish to die, but cleaved to this present life. He shews that He is not quite without human feelings. For the desire of this present life is not necessarily wrong, any more than hunger. Christ had a body free from sin, but not from natural infirmities. But these attach solely to the dispensation of His humanity, not to His divinity.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii) Lastly, let the man who would follow Him, hear at what hour he should follow. A fearful hour has perhaps come: a choice is offered, either to do wrong, or suffer: the weak soul is troubled. Hear our Lord. What shall I say?

BEDE. i. e. What but something to confirm My followers? Father, save Me from this hour.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 3) He teaches thee Whom thou shouldest call on, whose will prefer to thine own. Let Him not seem to fall from His greatness, because He wishes thee to rise from thy meanness. He took upon Him man’s infirmity, that He might teach the afflicted to say, Not what I will, but what Thou wilt. Wherefore He adds, But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name: i. e. in My passion and resurrection.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 2) As if He said, I cannot say why I should ask to be saved from it; For for this cause came I unto this hour. However ye may be troubled and dejected at the thought of dying, do not run away from death. I am troubled, yet I ask not to be spared. I do not say, Save Me from this hour, but the contrary, Glorify Thy name. To die for the truth was to glorify God, as the event shewed; for after His crucifixion the whole world was to be converted to the knowledge and worship of God, both the Father and the Son. But this He is silent about.

Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

GREGORY. (Moral. xxviii.) When God speaks audibly, as He does here, but no visible appearance is seen, He speaks through the medium of a rational creature: i. e. by the voice of an Angel.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 4) I have glorified it, i. e. before I made the world; and will glorify it again, i. e. when Thou shalt rise from the dead. Or, I have glorified it, when Thou wast born of a Virgin, didst work miracles, wast made manifest by the Holy Ghost descending in the shape of a dove; and will glorify it again, when Thou shalt rise from the dead, and, as God, be exalted above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth.

The people therefore that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 2) The voice though loud and distinct, soon passed off from their gross, carnal, and sluggish minds; only the sound remaining. Others perceived an articulate voice, but did not catch what it said: Others said, An Angel spake to Him.

Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 5) i. e. It did not come to tell Him what He knew already, but them what they ought to know. And as that voice did not come for His sake, but for theirs, so His soul was not troubled for His sake, but for theirs.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 2) The voice of the Father proved what they were so fond of denying, that He was from God. For He must be from God, if He was glorified by God. It was not that He needed encouragement of such a voice Himself, but He condescended to receive it for the sake of those who were by. Now is the judgment of this world: this fits on to the preceding, as shewing the mode of His being glorified.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 6) The judgment at the end of the world will be of eternal rewards and punishments. But there is another judgment, not of condemnation, but of selection, which is the one meant here; the selection of His own redeemed, and their deliverance from the power of the devil: Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. The devil is not called the prince of this world, in the sense of being lord over heaven and earth; God forbid. The world here stands for the wicked dispersed over all the world. In this sense the devil is the prince of the world, i. e. of all the wicked men who live in the world. The world also sometimes stands for the good dispersed throughout the world: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. (2 Cor. 5:19) These are they from whose hearts the prince of this world shall be cast out. Our Lord foresaw that after His passion and glorifying, great nations all over the world would be converted, in whom the devil was then, but from whose hearts, on their truly renouncing him1, he would be cast out. But was he not cast out of the hearts of righteous men of old? Why is it, Now shall be cast out? Because that which once took place in a very few persons, was now to take place in whole nations. What then, does the devil not tempt at all the minds of believers? Yea, he never ceases to tempt them. But it is one thing to reign within, another to lay siege from without.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 2) What kind of judgment it is by which the devil is cast out, I will explain by an example. A man demands payment from his debtors, beats them, and sends them to prison. He treats with the same insolence one who owes him nothing. The latter will take vengeance both for himself and the others too. This Christ does. He revenges what He has suffered at the devil’s hands, and with Himself He revenges us too. But that none may say, How will he be cast out, if he overcome thee? He adds, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. How can He be overcome, who draws others unto Him? This is more than saying, I shall rise again. Had He said this, it would not have proved that He would draw all things unto Him; but, I shall draw, includes the resurrection, and this besides.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 11) What is this all that He draweth, but that from which the devil is cast out? He does not say, All men, but, All things; for all men have not faith. He does not mean then all mankind, but the whole of a man, i. e. spirit, soul, and body; by which respectively we understand, and live, and are visible. Or, if all means all men, it means those who are predestined to salvation: or all kinds of men, all varieties of character, excepting in the article of sin.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxvii. 3.) Why then did He say above, that the Father drew men? (c. 6:46.) Because the Father draws, by the Son who draws. I shall draw, He says, as if men were in the grasp of some tyrant, from which they could not extricate themselves.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. lii. 11) If I be lifted up from the earth, He says, i. e. when I shall be lifted up. He does not doubt that the work will be accomplished which He came to do. By His being lifted up, He means His passion on the cross, as the Evangelist adds: This He said, signifying by what death He should die.

Catena Aurea John 12

Saint of the Day for March 17

(c. 415? – 493?)

Saint Patrick’s Story

Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.

Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.

After six years Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish.

In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north–where the faith had never been preached–obtained the protection of local kings, and made numerous converts.

Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.

Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rock-like belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused. One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.

There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland, long the scene of strife and violence.

Reflection

What distinguishes Patrick is the durability of his efforts. When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work, the vast extent of his labors, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been. The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work.

Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of:

Engineers
Ireland
Nigeria

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Jeremiah 31:31-34

The New Covenant
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[31] “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. [33] But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

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Commentary:

31:31-37. The words of this oracle are central to Jeremiah’s message, and they constitute the passage in the book that has had most impact on the New Testament and on Christian teaching. Most ancient and modern commentators consider these words to be original words of Jeremiah, and they generally attribute them to the early stages of his, ministry, because they express support for King Josiah’s religious reform.

The oracle is made up of two contrasting parts: the first (vv. 31-32) describes the Old Covenant, broken by the people’s sins; the second (vv. 33-35) speaks very forcefully of the New Covenant which will endure forever.

The old Covenant is described in terms of three characteristic features: it carried the force of tradition because it was a pact made “with the fathers”; it was a sign of divine election, as can be seen from a phrase exclusive to Jeremiah: “when "I took them by the hand" to bring them out of the land of Egypt”; and it showed the Lord’s authority over his people.

The new pact has three key features, too: it is "new", it is something "interior", and it is "heartfelt", written upon their hearts. It is "new", because prior to this the pact with God was never described in that way; that is, it is new not in terms of the previous covenant which has ceased to operate (cf. Heb 8:18-13) but in the sense that it is definitive and will not be superseded. When, at the Last Supper, Jesus said the words of consecration over the chalice: “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant” (Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), he brings Jeremiah’s words to fulfillment. It is "interior" because it is etched in the heart of the people and of each individual. Its content did not change (it is the Law of God) but people will know it in a different way: the previous covenant was written on tablets of stone (Ex 31:38; 34:28ff), but this one will be written on the heart and soul of man. Therefore, it is part of a person’s very being; it is not just an external obligation; people’s well-formed consciences tell them what they ought to do; if they fail to live up to the demands of the Covenant, they lose their identity until they are converted and are redeemed from sin. In the Letter to the Hebrews it says, by way of explaining this passage, that in the New Covenant Christ has obtained forgiveness of sins for us through the cross, and therefore the old sin offerings no longer have any effect: “Where there is forgiveness (of sins), there is no longer any offering for sin” (Heb 10:18). Finally, it is "heartfelt" because it is based on a loving relationship between God and his people. The wording that Jeremiah likes so much (“I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33; cf. 7:23) implies bonds, of fidelity and love. The nearest precedent for this is Hosea, who used the metaphor of marriage as the hinge of his preaching and who defined sin as estrangement from God, and punishment in terms of marital breakdown: “Call his name not my people, for you are not my people and I am not your God” (Hos 1:9). Therefore, moral imperatives should not come via legal imposition from outside; they should arise from a person’s heart--the aim being not so much perfect, guiltless behavior as living in union with God: “All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them” (1 Jn 3:24).

The New Covenant has given its name to the, “New Testament”, on which the new people of God is founded, as the Second Vatican Council says: “At all times and in every race God has given welcome to whosoever fears him and does what is right. God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased him to bring men together as one people, a people that acknowledges him in truth and serves him in holiness. He therefore chose the race of Israel as a people unto himself. With it he setup a covenant. Step by step he taught and prepared this people, making known in its history both himself and the decree of his will and making it holy unto himself. All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ, and of that fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God Himself made flesh. ‘Behold the days shall come saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel, and with the house of Judah. [...] I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[...] For all of them shall know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord’ (Jer 31:31-34). Christ instituted this new covenant, the new testament, that is to say, in his Blood, calling together a people made up of Jew and Gentile, making them one, not according to the flesh but in the Spirit" ("Lumen Gentium", 9).

Second Reading:

From: Hebrews 5:7-9

Christ Has Been Made High Priest by God the Father
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[7] In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who has able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. [8] Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; [9] and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

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Commentary:

1-10. The central theme of the epistle, broached in 2:17 and taken up again in 4:14-15, is discussed from here up to the start of chapter 10--the theme of Christ as high priest, the high priest who really can free us from all sin. In fact, Christ is the only perfect Priest: other priests--in both natural religions and the Jewish religion--are only prefigurements of Christ. The first thing to be emphasized, because the writer is addressing people of Jewish background, is that Christ's priesthood is on a higher plane than that of the priests of the Old Law. However, the argument applies not only to the priesthood of Aaron, to whose family all Israelite priests belonged, but also, indirectly, to all forms of priesthood before Christ. But there is a basic difference, in that whereas other priests were chosen by men, Aaron was chosen by God. Sacred Scripture introduces him as Moses' brother (cf. Ex 6:20), acting as his interpreter to Pharaoh (because Moses was "slow of speech": Ex 4:10; cf. 7:1-2) and joining him to lead the people out of Egypt (cf. Ex 4:27-30). After the Israelites left Egypt, God himself instituted the priesthood of Aaron to minister and carry out divine worship at the tabernacle and later at the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Ex 28:1-5).

Divine intervention, therefore, brought to a close the period when sacrifice was offered by the head of the family or the chief of the tribe and when no specific calling or external ordination rite was connected with priesthood. Thus, for example, in the Book of Genesis we read that Cain, and Abel, themselves offered sacrifices (cf. Gen 4:35), as did Noah after coming safely through the flood (cf. Gen 8:20); and the patriarchs often offered sacrifices to God in adoration or thanksgiving or to renew their Covenant--for example, Abraham (cf. Gen 12:8; 15:8-17; 22:1-13) and Jacob (cf. Gen 26:25; 33:20), etc.

Although for a considerable time after the institution of the Aaron priesthood, sacrifices continued to be offered also by private individuals--for example, in the period of the Judges, the sacrifice of Gideon (Judg 6: 18,25-26) or that of Samson's parents (Judg 13:15-20)-- gradually the convictions grew that to be a priest a person had to have a specific vocation, one which was not given to anyone outside males of the line of Aaron (cf. Judg 17:7-13), whom God had chosen from out of all the people of Israel, identifying him by the sign of his rod sprouting buds (Num 17:16-24). God himself meted out severe punishment to Korah and his sons when they tried to set themselves up as rivals of Aaron: they were devoured by fire from heaven (cf. Num 16); and it was specified in Mosaic legislation time and time again that only the sons of Aaron could act as priests (cf. Num 3:10; 17:5; 18:7). This priesthood offered the sacrifices of Mosaic worship--the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings (cf. Lev 6). To the descendants of Aaron, assisted by the Levites, was entrusted also the care of the tabernacle and the protection of the ark of the Covenant. They received their ministry and had it confirmed by the offering of sacrifice and by anointing of the man's head and hands with oil (Ex 29; Lev 8-9; Num 3:3). For all these reasons Hebrew priests were honored and revered by the people and regarded (not without reason, because God had ordained them) as on a much higher plane than other priests particularly those of the peoples of Canaan, the priests of Baal, for example. In Christ's time the high priest was the highest religious authority in Israel; his words were regarded as oracular statements, and his decisions could have important political repercussions.

However, Christ came with the very purpose of taking this ancient institution and transforming it into a new, eternal priesthood. Every Christian priest is, as it were, Christ's instrument or an extension of his sacred humanity. Christian priests do not act in their own name, nor are they mere representatives of the people: they act in the name of God. "Here we have the priest's identity: he is direct and daily instrument of the saving grace which Christ has won for us" ([St] J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 39). It is really Christ who is acting through them by means of their words, gestures etc. All of this means that Christian priesthood cannot be separated from the eternal priesthood of Christ. This extension of God's providence (in the form of the Old Testament priesthood and the priesthood instituted by Christ in the New Testament and the mission entrusted to New Testament priests) should lead us to love and honor the priesthood irrespective of the human defects and shortcomings of these ministers of God: "To love God and not venerate his Priests...is not possible" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 74).

Gospel Reading:

From: John 12:20-33

Jesus Foretells His Glorification (Continuation)
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[20] Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. [21] So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." [22] Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. [23] And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. [24] "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. [27] Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. [28] Father, glorify thy name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." [29] The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." [30] Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. [31] Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; [32] and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." [33] He said this to show by what death he was to die.

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Commentary:

20-23. These "Greeks" approach Philip because seemingly this Apostle, who has a Greek name, must have understood Greek and been able to act as interpreter. If that was the case, then this is a very important moment because it means that people of a non-Jewish culture came in search of Christ: which would make them the firstfruits of the spread of the Christian faith in the Hellenic world. This would make it easier to understand our Lord's exclamation in v. 23, about his own glorification, which has to do not only with his being raised up to the right hand of the Father (cf. Phil 2:6-11) but also with his attracting all men to himself (cf. Jn 12:32).

Jesus refers to "the hour" on other occasions also. Sometimes he means the end of the world (cf. Mt 13:32; Jn 5:25); sometimes, as is the case here, it means the moment of Redemption through his death and glorification (cf. Mk 14:41; Jn 2:4; 4:23; 7:30; 8:20; 12:27; 13:1; 17:1).

24-25. There is an apparent paradox here between Christ's humiliation and his glorification. Thus, "it was appropriate that the loftiness of his glorification should be preceded by the lowliness of his passion" (St Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 51, 8).

This is the same idea we find in St Paul, when he says that Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, and that therefore God the Father exalted him above all created things (cf. Phil 2:8-9). This is a lesson and an encouragement to the Christian, who should see every type of suffering and contradiction as a sharing in Christ's cross, which redeems us and exalts us. To be supernaturally effective, a person has to die to himself, forgetting his comfort and shedding his selfishness. "If the grain of wheat does not die, it remains unfruitful. Don't you want to be a grain of wheat, to die through mortification, and to yield a rich harvest? May Jesus bless your wheatfield!" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 199).

26. Our Lord has spoken about his sacrifice being a condition of his entering into glory. And what holds good for the Master also applies to his disciples (cf. Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40). Jesus wants each of us to be of service to him. It is a mystery of God's plan that he--who is all, who has all and who needs nothing and nobody--should choose to need our help to ensure that his teaching and the salvation wrought by him reaches all men.

"To follow Christ: that is the secret. We must accompany him so closely that we come to live with him, like the first Twelve did; so closely, that we become identified with him. Soon we will be able to say, provided we have not put obstacles in the way of grace, that we have put on, have clothed ourselves with our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 13:14). [...]

"I have distinguished as it were four stages in our effort to identify ourselves with Christ--seeking him, finding him, getting to know him, loving him. It may seem clear to you that you are only at the first stage. Seek him then, hungrily; seek him within yourselves with all your strength. If you act with determination, I am ready to guarantee that you have already found him, and have begun to get to know him and to love him, and to hold your conversation in heaven (cf. Phil 3:20)" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 299-300).

27. The thought of the death that awaits him saddens Jesus, and he turns to the Father in a prayer very similar to that of Gethsemane (cf. Mt 26:39; Mk 14:36; Lk 22:42): our Lord, as man, seeks support in the love and power of his Father God, to be strengthened to fulfill his mission. We find this very consoling, for we often feel weak in moments of trial: like Jesus we should seek support in God's strength, for "thou art my rock and my fortress" (Ps 31:4).

28. "Glory" in Sacred Scripture implies God's holiness and power; the "glory of God" dwelt in the sanctuary in the desert and in the temple of Jerusalem (cf. Ex 40:35; 1 Kings 8:11). The voice of the Father saying "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again" is a solemn ratification that the fullness of divinity dwells in Jesus (cf. Col 2:9; Jn 1:14) and that, through his passion, death and resurrection, it will be made patent, in his human nature itself, that Jesus is the Son of God (cf. Mk 15:39).

This episode evokes other occasions--at Christ's baptism (cf. Mt 3:13-17 and par.) and his transfiguration (Mt 17: 1-5 and par.)--when God the Father bears witness to the divinity of Jesus.

31-33. Jesus tells them the results that will flow from his passion and death. "Now is the judgment of this world", that is, of those who persist in serving Satan, the "prince of this world". Although 'world' means the totality of mankind whom Christ comes to save (cf. In 3:16-17), it also often means all that is opposed to God (cf. note on Jn 1:10), which is the sense it has here. On being nailed to the cross, Jesus is the supreme sign of contradiction for all men: those who recognize him as Son of God will be saved (cf Lk 23:39-43); those who reject him will be condemned. Christ crucified is the maximum expression of the Father's love for us (cf. Jn 3:14-16; Rom 8:32), the sign raised on high which was prefigured in the bronze serpent raised up by Moses in the wilderness (cf. In 3:14; Num 21:9).

Our Lord on the cross, then, is the Judge who will condemn the world (cf. Jn 3:17) and the devil (cf. Jn 16:11); in fact they have provoked their own condemnation by not accepting or believing in God's love. From the Cross the Lord will attract all men to himself, for all will be able to see him there, crucified.

"Christ our Lord was crucified; from the height of the cross he redeemed the world, thereby restoring peace between God and men. Jesus reminds all of us: 'et ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum" (Jn 12:32), and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself'. If you put me at the center of all earthly activities, he is saying, by fulfilling the duty of each moment, in what appears important and what appears unimportant, I will draw everything to myself. My kingdom among you will be a reality!" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 183). Every Christian, following Christ, has to be a flag raised aloft, a light on a lampstand--through prayer and mortification, securely attached to the cross, always and in every situation, a sign to men of the saving love of God the Father.

"Through his Incarnation, through his work at Nazareth and his preaching and miracles in the land of Judea and Galilee, through his death on the Cross, and through his resurrection, Christ is the center of the universe, the firstborn and Lord of all creation.

"Our task as Christians is to proclaim this kingship of Christ, announcing it through what we say and do. Our Lord wants men and women of his own in all walks of life. Some he calls away from society, asking them to give up involvement in the world, so that they remind the rest of us by their example that God exists. To others he entrusts the priestly ministry. But he wants the vast majority to stay right where they are, in all earthly occupations in which they work--the factory, the laboratory, the farm, the trades, the streets of the big cities and the trails of the mountains" ("Ibid.", 105).

32. "I will draw all men to myself". The Latin Vulgate, following important Greek manuscripts, translates this as "omnia", "all things"; the New Vulgate, using equally important and more numerous manuscripts, opts for "omnes", "everyone". There is no compelling reason for adopting one or other reading: in fact, both are theologically correct and neither excludes the other, for Christ attracts all creation to himself, but especially mankind (cf. Rom 8:18-23).

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