Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 3-18-03, Optional, St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Reading I
Is 1:10, 16-20

Hear the word of the Lord,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!

Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.

Come now, let us set things right,
says the Lord:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken!

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

R (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
R To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
R To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Gospel
Mt 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

From: Matthew 23:1-12

Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees

[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] "The
scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; [3] so practice and
observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach,
but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them
with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for
they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
[7] and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by
men. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher,
and you are all brethren. [9] And call no man your father on earth,
for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10] Neither be called
masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is greatest
among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Commentary:

1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and
Pharisees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards
the ordinary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, "harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). His address
may be divided into three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He
identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices; in the second
(verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous "woes", which in
effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no
one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven--no one can escape condemnation to
the flames--unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third
part (verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the
evils into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and
Pharisees have misled the people.

2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The
scribes, who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the
function of educating the people in the Law of Moses; that is why they
were said to "sit on Moses' seat". Our Lord recognized that the
scribes and Pharisees did have authority to teach the Law; but He warns
the people and His disciples to be sure to distinguish the Law as read
out and taught in the synagogues from the practical interpretations of
the Law to be seen in their leaders' lifestyles. Some years later, St.
Paul--a Pharisee like his father before him--faced his former
colleagues with exactly the same kind of accusations as Jesus makes
here: "You then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While
you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must
not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do
you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by
breaking the law? For, as it is written, `The name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:21-24).

5. "Phylacteries": belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred
Scripture which the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or
foreheads. To mark themselves out as more religiously observant than
others, the Pharisees used to wear broader phylacteries. The fringes
were light-blue stripes on the hems of cloaks; the Pharisees
ostentatiously wore broader fringes.

8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John
14:6). As a teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and
unparalleled. "The whole of Christ's life was a continual teaching:
His silences, His miracles, His gestures, His prayer, His love for
people, His special affection for the little and the poor, His
acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of
the world, and His resurrection are the actualization of His word and
the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix is one
of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher.

"These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the
Church and they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the
Teacher who reveals God to man and man to himself, the Teacher who
saves, sanctifies and guides, who lives, who speaks, rouses, moves,
redresses, judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day on the path of
history, the Teacher who comes and will come in glory" (John Paul II,
"Catechesi Tradendae", 9).

11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord
insists that every form of authority, particularly in the context of
religion, should be exercised as a form of service to others; it must
not be used to indulge personal vanity or greed. "He who is the
greatest among you shall be your servant".

12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple
of Christ. Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for
anyone who is to follow Him. The verbs "will be humbled", "will be
exalted" have "God" as their active agent. Along the same lines, St.
James preaches that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble" (James 4:6). And in the "Magnificat", the Blessed Virgin
explains that the Lord "has put down the mighty from their thrones, and
exalted those of low degree [the humble]" (Luke 1:52).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Cyril was born around the year 315 of Christian parents and
raised in the city of Jerusalem. As a young man, Cyril received an
excellent education, especially in religious matters. This religious
education helped Cyril discern his vocation to the priesthood, and
later served him well as a preacher and bishop. After his ordination
to the priesthood, Cyril first worked with catechumens preparing
them for entrance into the Church. While doing this work, he
published a book for use as a teaching aid.

After working for some time as a priest, Cyril was elected to serve as
bishop of Jerusalem. Soon after his consecration, he became
involved in a dispute with an Arian bishop. Over the course of this
bitter dispute, Cyril was exiled three times and continually faced
great amounts of work in trying to unify his diocese and in stamping
out heresy. Cyril was present at various councils throughout the
fourth century that tried to settle the strife caused by the Arians, and
always served as a major presence in them. After a life of continual
work for orthodoxy, Cyril died around the year 386.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It is not only among us, who are marked with the name of Christ, that
the dignity of faith is great; all the business of the world, even of
those outside the Church, is accomplished by faith. By faith,
marriage laws join in union persons who were strangers to one
another. By faith, agriculture is sustained; for a man does not endure
the toil involved unless he believes he will reap a harvest. By faith,
seafaring men, entrusting themselves to a tiny wooden craft,
exchange the solid element of the land for the unstable motion of the
waves. Not only among us does this hold true but also, as I have
said, among those outside the fold. For though they do not accept
the Scriptures but advance certain doctrines of their own, yet even
these they receive on faith. -St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechesis V)

TODAY IN HISTORY

417 Pope St. Zosimus begins his reign
731 Pope St. Gregory III begins his reign

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Arian heresy was one of the major hurdles faced within the early
Church. This heresy denied the divinity of Jesus saying that he was
only human, not both human and divine. Many of the early fathers of
the Church tailored arguments to address this issue and thereby
solidified beliefs about the Faith which have been passed down to
us.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for peace.

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Meditation
Matthew 23:1-12

There’s a certain righteous indignation we can feel when we read Jesus’ words about the scribes and Pharisees. It is almost gratifying when we see these men get what’s coming to them—especially since they hold positions of honor. After all, hearing of endless scandals in the news can make us label these religious leaders as just another bunch of hypocrites.

But look carefully, and you’ll notice that Jesus treated the scribes and Pharisees quite differently than we might. He looked at their actions and opinions, not just their positions in society. While we might be tempted to look on the outside, Jesus looked on the inside. Jesus didn’t have any problem with the function of the scribes and Pharisees. He even told the crowd to obey them! This wouldn’t have been a surprise to Jesus’ listeners, since the scribes and Pharisees were some of the most esteemed leaders in Jewish society. They were renowned for their knowledge and observance of the Mosaic Law. And Jesus himself said that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.

Ultimately, it was pride, not position or influence, that Jesus was attacking. He didn’t criticize the scribes for their knowledge of tradition, but for the way they twisted it to serve themselves and build up their importance. Likewise, he didn’t fault the Pharisees for their zeal for the things of God, but for focusing too much on small matters of observance and not enough on God and his command to love. Both the scribes and the Pharisees were in positions where they could place themselves at the service of their fellow Jews. They could have dedicated themselves to encouraging their people in prayer, in love for each other, and in embracing the mercy of God. But all this became obscured by pride, self-centeredness, and a love for honor.

Like the apostles, we too should pay attention to Jesus’ call to humility and service. The line between holiness and selfishness can be quite thin at times. It’s good to know that the more we stay close to Jesus, the more we will hear his voice encouraging, teaching, and even correcting us when necessary.

“Lord, help me to keep my heart open to the ways you are working in the world today. May I not become so fixed on traditions that I lose sight of you and your heart of love.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, March 18, 2003 >>

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Psalm 50

Matthew 23:1-12

View Readings

REACHING THE NEXT DEGREE OF HUMILITY

“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. ” —Matthew 23:12

Jesus is gentle and humble of heart (Mt 11:29). He humbled Himself even to death on the cross (Phil 2:8). He commands us to learn humility from Him (Mt 11:29). This Lent, He calls us to break new ground in humility — to be more humble than we’ve ever been before.

Grow in humility by:

submitting to the authority of even hypocritical leaders (see Mt 23:3),
admitting that you may be unjustly burdening others (see Mt 23:4),
doing more of your good deeds anonymously (cf Mt 6:3 and 23:5),
taking the lowest place more often (cf Lk 14:10 and Mt 23:6), and
using your speech to lift up others rather than to exalt yourself (see Mt 23:7ff).

After these acts of humility, you can wash the feet of others (Jn 13:4-5), turn the other cheek after being offended (Mt 5:39), forgive and love your enemies (Lk 6:27), deny yourself, and take up the cross daily (Lk 9:23). There are hundreds of ways to grow in humility. This Lent, be more humble than ever and more like Jesus.

Prayer: Father, in the next month do a miracle of humility in me.

Promise: “Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord: though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow.” —Is 1:18

Praise: St. Cyril urged: “Remove all obstacles and stumbling blocks so that you will be able to go straight along the road to eternal life.”

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