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From: 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31

Martyrdom of the Seven Brothers and Their Mother

[1] It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were
being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of
unlawful swine’s flesh.

[20] The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory.
Though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good
courage because of her hope in the Lord. [21] She encouraged each of them in
the language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit, she fired her woman’s rea-
soning with a man’s courage, and said to them, [22] “I do not know how you came
into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in
order the elements within each of you. [23] Therefore the Creator of the world, who
shaped the beginning man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy
give Iife and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the
sake of his laws.”

[24] Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspi-
cious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus
not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make
him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his fathers, and that he
would take him for his friend and entrust him with public affairs.

[25] Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mo-
ther to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. [26] After much
urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. [27] But, leaning close
to him, she spoke in their native tongue as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant:
“My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed
you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in
your life, and have taken care of you.’ [28] I beseech you, my child, to look at
the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that
God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes
into being. [29] Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Ac-
cept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again with your
brothers.”

[30] While she was still speaking, the young man said, ‘What are you waiting
for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that
was given to our fathers through Moses. [31] But you, who have contrived all
souls ol evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God.”

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Commentary:

7:1-42. This is one of the most famous and popular passages in the history of
the Maccabees — so much so that traditionally (but improperly) these brothers
are usually referred to as “the Maccabees”. The sacred writer does not tell us
the boys’ names, or where it all happened; and he brings in the presence of the
king to heighten the dramatic effect. The bravery of these young men, it would
seem, was inspired by the good example given by Eleazar (cf. 6:28). The mo-
ther’s intervention divides the scene into two parts—first the martyrdom of the
six older brothers (vv. 2-19), and then that of the youngest and the mother her-
self (vv. 20-41).

In the first part the conviction that the just will rise and evildoers will be punished
builds up as the story goes on. Each of the replies given by the six brothers con-
tains some aspect of that truth. The first says that just men prefer to die rather
than sin (v. 2) because God will reward them (v. 6); the second, that God will
raise them to a new life (v. 9); the third, that they will rise with their bodies re-
made (v. 11); the fourth, that for evildoers there will be no “resurrection to life”
(v. 14); the fifth, that there will be punishment for evildoers (v. 17); and the sixth,
that when just people suffer it is because they are being punished for their own
sins (v. 18).

In the second part, both the mother and the youngest brother affirm what the
others have said: but the boy adds something new when he says that death
accepted by the righteous works as atonement for the whole people (vv. 37-38).

The resurrection of the dead, which “God revealed to his people progressively”
(”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 992), is a teaching that is grounded first
on Moses’ words about God having compassion on his servants (v. 6; cf. Deut
32:36), and the idea that if they die prematurely they will receive consolation in
the next life. This is the point being made by the first brother, and it implies that
God “faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity” (ibid.).
As the mother sees it (vv. 27-28), belief in the resurrection comes from “faith in
God as creator of the whole man, body and soul” (ibid., 992). Our Lord Jesus
Christ ratifies this teaching and links it to faith in himself (cf. in 5:24-25; 11:25);
and he also purifies the Pharisees’ notion of the resurrection, which was an
interpretation based only on material terms (cf. Mk12:18-27;1 Cor 15:35-53).

In what the mother says (v. 28) we can also see belief in the creation of the
world out of nothing “as a truth full of promise and hope” (”Catechism of the
Catholic Church”, 297). On the basis of this passage and some New Testament
passages, such as John 1:3 and Hebrews 11:3, the Church has formulated its
doctrine of creation: “We believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any
help in order to create (cf. Vatican I: DS 3022), nor is creation any sort of ne-
cessary emanation from the divine substance (cf. Vatican I: DS 3023-3024).God
creates freely ‘out of nothing’ (DS 800; 3025). If God had drawn the world from
pre-existent matter, what would be so extraordinary in that? A human artisan
makes from a given material whatever he wants, while God shows his power by
starting from nothing to make all he wants” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”,
296).

The assertion that the death of martyrs has expiatory value (vv. 37-38) prepares
us to grasp the redemptive meaning of Christ’s death; but we should remember
that Christ, by his death, not only deflected the punishment that all men deserve
on account of sin, but also, through his grace, makes sinful men righteous in
God’s sight (cf. Rom 3:21-26).

Many Fathers of the Church, notably St Gregory Nazianzen (”Orationes”, 15, 22),
St Ambrose (”De Jacob Et Vitae Beata”, 2, 10, 44-57), St Augustine (”In Episto-
la loannis”, 8, 7), and St Cyprian (”Ad Fortunatus”, 11) heaped praise on these
seven brothers and their mother. St John Chrysostom invites us to imitate them
whenever temptation strikes: “All the moderation that they show in the midst of
dangers we, too, should imitate by the patience and temperance with which we
deal with irrational concupiscence, anger, greed for possessions, bodily pas-
sions, vainglory and suchlike. For if we manage to control their flame, as (the
Maccabees) did the flame of the fire, we will be able to be near them and have
a share in their confidence and freedom of spirit” (”Homiliae in Maccabaeos”,
1,3).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

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

From: Luke 19:11-28

Parable of the Pounds

[11] As they heard these things, He (Jesus) proceeded to tell a parable, because
He was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the Kingdom of God
was to appear immediately. [12] He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far
country to receive kingly power and then return. [13] Calling ten of his servants,
he gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Trade with these till I come.’ [14]
But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him saying, ‘We do not
want this man to reign over us.’ [15] When he returned, having received the king-
ly power, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to
be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. [16] The
first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.’
[17] And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faith-
ful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ [18] And the second
came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ [19] And he said to him,
‘And you are to be over five cities.’

[20] Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid
away in a napkin; [21] for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you
take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ [22] He said
to him, ‘I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew
that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did

not sow? [23] Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my co-
ming I should have collected it with interest?’ [24] And he said to those who stood
by, ‘Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.’ [25]
(And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) [26] ‘I tell you, that to every one
who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be
taken away. [27] But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign
over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’”

The Messiah Enters the Holy City

[28] And when He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

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Commentary:

11. The disciples had a wrong concept of the Kingdom of Heaven: they thought
it was about to happen and they saw it in earthly terms: they envisaged Jesus
conquering the Roman tyrant and immediately establishing the Kingdom in the
holy city of Jerusalem, and that when that happened they would hold privileged
positions in the Kingdom. There is always a danger of Christians failing to grasp
the transcendent, supernatural character of the Kingdom of God in this world,
that is, the Church, which “has but one sole purpose—that the Kingdom of God
may come and the salvation of the human race may be accomplished.” (Vati-
can II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 45).

Through this parable our Lord teaches us that, although His reign has begun, it
will only be fully manifested later on. In the time left to us we should use all the
resources and graces God gives us, in order to merit the reward.

13. The “mina”, here translated as “pound”, was worth about 35 grams of gold.
This parable is very like the parable of the talents reported in St. Matthew (cf.
25:14-30).

14. The last part of this verse, although it has a very specific context, reflects
the attitude of many people who do not want to bear the sweet yoke of our Lord
and who reject Him as king. “There are millions of people in the world who reject
Jesus Christ in this way; or rather they reject His shadow, for they do not know
Christ. They have not seen the beauty of His face; they do not realize how won-
derful His teaching is. This sad state of affairs makes me want to atone to our
Lord. When I hear that endless clamor—expressed more in ignoble actions than
in words—I feel the need to cry out, ‘He must reign!’ (1 Corinthians 15:25)” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 179).

17. God counts on our fidelity in little things, and the greater our effort in this re-
gard the greater the reward we will receive: “Because you have been ‘in pauca
fidelis’, faithful in small things, come and join in your Master’s happiness. The
words are Christ’s. ‘In pauca fidelis!...Now will you neglect little things, if Heaven
itself is promised to those who mind them?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 819).

24-26. God expects us to strive to put to good use the gifts we have received —
and He lavishly rewards those who respond to His grace. The king in the parable
is shown to be very generous towards his servants—and generous in rewarding
those who managed to increase the money they were given. But he is very se-
vere towards the lazy servant who was also the recipient of a gift from his Lord,
who did not let it erode but guarded it carefully—and for this his king criticizes
him: he failed to fulfill the just command the king gave him when he gave him the
money: “Trade till I come.” If we appreciate the treasures the Lord has given us
— life, the gift of faith, grace—we will make a special effort to make them bear fruit
— by fulfilling our duties, working hard and doing apostolate. “Don’t let your life be
barren. Be useful. Make yourself felt. Shine forth with the torch of your faith and
your love. With your apostolic life, wipe out the trail of filth and slime left by the
corrupt sowers of hatred. And set aflame all the ways of the earth with the fire of
Christ that you bear in your heart” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 1).

28. Normally in the Gospels when there is mention of going to the Holy City it
is in terms of “going up” to Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 20:18; John 7:8), probably
because geographically the city is located on Mount Zion. Besides, since the
temple was the religious and political center, going up to Jerusalem had also a
sacred meaning of ascending to the holy place, where sacrifices were offered to
God.

Particularly in the Gospel of St. Luke, our Lord’s whole life is seen in terms of a
continuous ascent towards Jerusalem, where His self-surrender reaches its high
point in the redemptive sacrifice of the Cross. Here Jesus is on the point of ente-
ring the city, conscious of the fact that His passion and death are imminent.

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