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St. Elmo by the Master of Meßkirch, c. 1530

St. Erasmus, whose name morphed into St. Elmo as it was passed along, is patron saint of those suffering from abdominal pain because he was martyred by being disemboweled.

In the late second century, he was a bishop of Formia, which sits between Rome and Naples. When that city burned, he moved to the nearby town of Gaeta, and he remains the city’s patron. Both Formia and Gaeta sit on the west coast of Italy, and St. Erasmus was invoked by sailors who frequented their ports—today he is patron saint of those who make their living at sea.

During storms at sea, sailors noticed a blue electrical discharges dancing in their rigging and masts, and took it as a sign of St. Erasmus’ protection. Given the evolution of his name, we know this today as St. Elmo’s fire.

A number of unreliable legends fill in Erasmus’ story. They tell of him fleeing a persecution of Christians and living on a mountain and being sustained by food delivered by a raven. He was later discovered, arrested, and tortured, but survived by several miraculous escapes.

It was believed he eventually died by disembowelment, so he is invoked by women in labor and those experiencing intestinal disorders, including appendicitis. As is the case with many martyrs, he is depicted here holding the instrument of his death, a windlass around which is wound his intestines.

St. Erasmus is considered one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers—a band of saints whose intercession was asked for around the time of the bubonic plague. Relics of St. Erasmus rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

St. Erasmus, patron of those experiencing intestinal disorders and women in labor, pray for us!

The Last Supper

Fray Nicolás Borrás

1570s
Oil on panel, 49 x 46 cm
Private collection

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

14:12–16

12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover?

13. And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

14. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?

15. And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

16. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Whilst Judas was plotting how to betray Him, the rest of the disciples were taking care of the preparation of the Passover: wherefore it is said, And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare where thou mayest eat the Passover.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) He means by the first day of the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when they threw aside leaven, and were wont to sacrifice, that is, to kill the lamb at even. The Apostle explaining this says, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. (1 Cor. 5:7) For although He was crucified on the next day, that is, on the fifteenth moon, yet on the night when the lamb was offered up, He committed to His disciples the mysteries of His Body and Blood, which they were to celebrate, and was seized upon and bound by the Jews; thus He consecrated the beginning of His sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.

PSEUDO-JEROME. But the unleavened bread which was eaten with bitterness, that is with bitter herbs, is our redemption, and the bitterness is the Passion of our Lord.

THEOPHYLACT. From the words of the disciples, Where wilt thou that we go? it seems evident that Christ had no dwelling-place, and that the disciples had no houses of their own; for if so, they would have taken Him thither.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For they say, Where wilt thou that we go? to shew us that we should direct our steps according to the will of God. But the Lord points out with whom He would eat the Passover, and after His custom He sends two disciples, which we have explained above; wherefore it goes on, And he sendelh forth two of his disciples, and he saith unto them, Go ye into the city.

THEOPHYLACT. He sends two of His disciples, that is, Peter and John, as Luke says, to a man unknown to Him, implying by this that He might, if He had pleased, have avoided His Passion. For what could not He work in other men, who influenced the mind of a person unknown to Him, so that he received them? He also gives them a sign how they were to know the house, when He adds, And there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water.

AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Evan. ii. 80) Mark says a pitcher, Luke a two-handled vessel; one points out the kind of vessel, the other the mode of carrying it; both however mean the same truth.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) And it is a proof of the presence of His divinity, that in speaking with His disciples, He knows what is to take place elsewhere; wherefore it follows, And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them; and they made ready the Passover.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Not our Passover, but in the meanwhile that of the Jews; but He did not only appoint ours, but Himself became our Passover. Why too did He eat it? Because He was made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, (Gal. 4:4) and Himself give rest to the Law. And lest any one should say that He did away with it, because He could not fulfil its hard and difficult obedience, He first Himself fulfilled it, and then set it to rest.

PSEUDO-JEROME. And in a mystical sense the city is the Church, surrounded by the wall of faith, the man who meets them is the primitive people, the pitcher of water is the law of the letter.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Or else, the water is the laver of grace, the pitcher points out the weakness of those who were to shew that grace to the world.

THEOPHYLACT. He who is baptized carries the pitcher of water, and he who bears baptism upon him comes to his rest, if he lives according to his reason; and he obtains rest, as being in the house. Wherefore it is added, Follow him.

PSEUDO-JEROME. That is, him who leads to the lofty place, where is the refreshment prepared by Christ. (John 21:15) The lord of the house is the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord has entrusted His house, that there may be one faith under one Shepherd. The large upper-room is the wide-spread Church, in which the name of the Lord is spoken of, prepared by a variety of powers and tongues.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Or else, the large upper-room is spiritually the Law, which comes forth from the narrowness of the letter, and in a lofty place, that is, in the lofty chamber of the soul, receives the Saviour. But it is designedly that the names both of the bearer of the water, and of the lord of the house, are omitted, to imply that power is given to all who wish to celebrate the true Passover, that is, to be embued with the sacraments of Christ, and to receive Him in the dwelling-place of their mind.

THEOPHYLACT. Or else, the lord of the house is the intellect, which points out the large upper room, that is, the loftiness of intelligences, and which, though it be high, yet has nothing of vain glory, or of pride, but is prepared and made level by humility. But there, that is, in such a mind Christ’s Passover is prepared by Peter and John, that is by action and contemplation.

14:17–21

17. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.

18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

19. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

20. And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

21. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) The Lord who had foretold His Passion, prophesied also of the traitor, in order to give him room for repentance, that understanding that his thoughts were known, he might repent. Wherefore it is said, And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.

THEOPHYLACT. But how could they eat reclining, when the law ordered that standing and upright they should eat the Passover? It is probable that they had first fulfilled the legal Passover, and had reclined, when He began to give them His own Passover.

PSEUDO-JEROME. The evening of the day points out the evening of the world; for the last, who are the first to receive the penny of eternal life, come about the eleventh hour. All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, Is it I, Lord? as Matthew testifies.

THEOPHYLACT. But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him who knows all hearts, rather than themselves. It goes on: And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) That is, Judas, who when the others were sad and held back their hands, puts forth his hand with his Master into the dish. And because He had before said, One of you shall betray me, and yet the traitor perseveres in his evil, He accuses him more openly, without however pointing out his name.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Again, He says, One out of the twelve, as it were separate from them, for the wolf carries away from the flock the sheep which he has taken, and the sheep which quits the fold lies open to the bite of the wolf. But Judas does not withdraw his foot from his traitorous design though once and again pointed at, wherefore his punishment is foretold, that the death denounced upon him might correct him, whom shame could not overcome; wherefore it goes on: The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him.

THEOPHYLACT. The word here used, goeth, shews that the death of Christ was not forced but voluntary.

PSEUDO-JEROME. But because many do good, in the way that Judas did, without its profiting them, there follows: Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Woe too to that man, to-day and for ever, who comes to the Lord’s table with an evil intent. For he, after the example of Judas, betrays the Lord, not indeed to Jewish sinners, but to his own sinning members. It goes on: Good were it for that man if he had never been born.

PSEUDO-JEROME. That is, hidden in his mother’s inmost womb, for it is better for a man not to exist than to exist for torments.

THEOPHYLACT. For as respects the end for which he was designed, it would have been better for him to have been born, if he had not been the betrayer, for God created him for good works; but after he had fallen into such dreadful wickedness, it would have been better for him never to have been born.

14:22–25

22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

23. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

24. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

25. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) When the rites of the old Passover were finished, He passed to the new, in order, that is, to substitute the Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, for the flesh and blood of the lamb. Wherefore there follows: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread; that is, in order to shew that He Himself is that person to whom the Lord swore, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec. (Ps. 110:4) There follows: And blessed, and brake it.

THEOPHYLACT. That is, giving thanks, He brake it, which we also do, with the addition of some prayers.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) He Himself also breaks the bread, which He gives to His disciples, to shew that the breaking of His Body was to take place, not against His will, nor without His intervention; He also blessed it, because He with the Father and the Holy Spirit filled His human nature, which He took upon Him in order to suffer, with the grace of Divine power. He blessed bread and brake it, because He deigned to subject to death His manhood, which He had taken upon Him, in such a way as to shew that there was within it the power of Divine immortality, and to teach them that therefore He would the more quickly raise it from the dead. There follows: And gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

THEOPHYLACT. That, namely, which I now give and which ye take. But the bread is not a mere figure of the Body of Christ, but is changed into the very Body of Christ. For the Lord said, The bread which I give you is my flesh. But the flesh of Christ is veiled from our eyes on account of our weakness, for bread and wine are things to which we are accustomed, if however we saw flesh and blood we could not bear to take them. For this reason the Lord bending Himself to our weakness keeps the forms of bread and wine, but changes the bread and wine into the reality of His Body and Blood.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Even now also that Christ is close to us; He who prepared that table, Himself also consecrates it. For it is not man who makes the offerings to be the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ who was crucified for us. The words are spoken by the mouth of the Priest, and are consecrated by the power and the grace of God. By this word which He spoke, This is my body, the offerings are consecrated; and as that word which says, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, (Gen. 1:28) was sent forth but once, yet has its effect throughout all time, when nature does the work of generation; so also that voice was spoken once, yet gives confirmation to the sacrifice through all the tables of the Church even to this day, even to His advent.

PSEUDO-JEROME. But in a mystical sense, the Lord transfigures into bread His body, which is the present Church, which is received in faith, is blessed in its number, is broken in its sufferings, is given in its examples, is taken in its doctrines; and He forms His Blood (formans sanguinem suum ap. Pseudo-Hier.) in the chalice of water and wine mingled together, that by one we may be purged from our sins, by the other redeemed from their punishment. For by the blood of the lamb our houses are preserved from the smiting of the Angel, and our enemies perish in the waters of the Red sea, which are the sacraments of the Church of Christ. Wherefore it goes on: And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them. For we are saved by the grace of the Lord, not by our own deserts.

GREGORY. (Mor. ii. 37) When His Passion was approaching, He is said to have taken bread and given thanks. He therefore gave thanks, who took upon Him the stripes of other men’s wickedness; He who did nothing worthy of smiting, humbly gives a blessing in His Passion, to shew us, what each should do when beaten for his own sins, since He Himself bore calmly the stripes due to the sin of others; furthermore to shew us, what we who are the subjects of the Father should do under correction, when He who is His equal gave thanks under the lash.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) The wine of the Lord’s cup is mixed with water, because we should remain in Christ and Christ in us. For on the testimony of John, the waters are the people, and it is not lawful for any one to offer either wine alone, or water alone, lest such an oblation should mean that the head may be severed from the members, and either that Christ could suffer without love for our redemption, and that we can be saved or be offered to the Father without His Passion. (Apoc. 17:15) It goes on: And they all drank of it.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Happy intoxication, saving fulness, which the more we drink gives the greater sobriety of mind!

THEOPHYLACT. Some say that Judas did not partake in these mysteries, but that he went out before the Lord gave the Sacrament. Some again say that He gave him also of that Sacrament.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) For Christ offered His blood to him who betrayed Him, that he might have remission of his sins, if he had chosen to cease to be wicked.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Judas therefore drinks and is not satisfied, nor can he quench the thirst of the everlasting fire, because he unworthily partakes of the mysteries of Christ. There are some in the Church whom the sacrifice does not cleanse, but their foolish thought draws them on to sin, for they have plunged themselves in the stinking slough of cruelty.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) Let there not be therefore a Judas at the table of the Lord; this sacrifice is spiritual food, for as bodily food, working on a belly filled with humours which are opposed to it, is hurtful, so this spiritual food if taken by one polluted with wickedness, rather brings him to perdition, not by its own nature, but through the fault of the recipient. Let therefore our mind be pure in all things, and our thought pure, for that sacrifice is pure. There follows: And he said unto them, This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) This refers to the different circumstances of the Old Testament, which was consecrated by the blood of calves and of goats; and the lawgiver said in sprinkling it, This is the blood of the Testament which God hath injoined unto you. (Heb. 9:20. vide Ex. 24:8) It goes on: Which is shed for many.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For it does not cleanse all. It goes on: Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

THEOPHYLACT. As if He had said, I will not drink wine until the resurrection; for He calls His resurrection the kingdom, as He then reigned over death. But after His resurrection He ate and drank with His disciples, shewing that it was He Himself who had suffered. But He drank it new, that is, in a new and strange manner, for He had not a body subject to suffering, and requiring food, but immortal and incorruptible. We may also understand it in this way. The vine is the Lord Himself, by the offspring1 of the vine is meant mysteries, and the secret understanding, which He Himself begets2, who teaches man knowledge. But in the kingdom of God, that is, in the world to come, He will drink with His disciples mysteries and knowledge, teaching us new things, and revealing what He now hides.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Or else, Isaiah testifies that the synagogue is called the vine or the vineyard of the Lord, saying, The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. (Is. 5:7) The Lord therefore when about to go to His Passion, says, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, as if He had said openly, I will no longer delight in the carnal rites of the synagogue, in which also these rites of the Paschal Lamb have held the chief place. For the time of my resurrection shall come, that day shall come, when in the kingdom of heaven, that is, raised on high with the glory of immortal life, I will be filled with a new joy, together with you, for the salvation of the same people born again of the fountain of spiritual grace.

PSEUDO-JEROME. But we must consider that here the Lord changes the sacrifice without changing the time; so that we never celebrate the Cæna Domini before the fourteenth moon. He who celebrates the resurrection on the fourteenth moon, will celebrate the Cæna Domini on the eleventh moon, which was never done in either Old or New Testament.

14:26–31

26. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

27. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

28. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

29. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

30. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

31. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

THEOPHYLACT. As they returned thanks, before they drank, so they return thanks after drinking; wherefore it is said, And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, to teach us to return thanks both before and after our food.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For by a hymn he means the praise of the Lord, as is said in the Psalms, The poor shall eat and be satisfied; they that seek after the Lord shall praise him. (Ps. 22:26, 29) And again, All such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped.

THEOPHYLACT. He also shews by this that He was glad to die for us, because when about to be betrayed, He deigned to praise God. He also teaches us when we fall into troubles for the sake of the salvation of many, not to be sad, but to give thanks to God, who through our distress works the salvation of many.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) That hymn in the Gospel of John (John 17.) may also be meant, which the Lord sang, returning thanks to the Father, in which also He prayed, raising His eyes to heaven, for Himself and His disciples, and those who were to believe, through their word.

THEOPHYLACT. Again, He went out into a mountain, that they might come to Him in a lonely place, and take Him without tumult. For if they had come to Him, whilst He was abiding in the city, the multitude of the people would have been in an uproar, and then His enemies, who took occasion against Him, should seem to have slain Him justly, because He stirred up the people.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Beautifully also does the Lord lead out His disciples, when they had tasted His Sacraments, into the mount of Olives, to shew typically that we ought through the reception of the Sacraments to rise up to higher gifts of virtue, and graces of the Holy Ghost, that we may be anointed in heart.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Jesus also is held captive on the mount of Olives, whence He ascended to heaven, that we may know, that we ascend into heaven from that place in which we watch and pray; there we are bound and do not tend back again to earth.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) But the Lord foretells to His disciples what is about to happen to them, that when they have gone through it, they may not despair of salvation, but work out their repentance, and be freed; wherefore there follows: And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night.

PSEUDO-JEROME. All indeed fall, but all do not remain fallen. (Ps. 40:9. Vulg.) For shall not he who sleeps also rise up again? It is a carnal thing to fall, but devilish to remain lying when fallen.

THEOPHYLACT. The Lord allowed them to fall that they might not trust in themselves, and lest He should seem to have prophesied, what He had said, as an open accusation (κατηγορία ap. Theoph.) of them, He brings forward the witness of Zechariah the Prophet; wherefore it goes on: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) This is written in different words in Zecharias, and in the person of the Prophet it is said to the Lord; Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. (Zech. 13:7)

PSEUDO-JEROME. For the Prophet prays for the Passion of the Lord, and the Father answers, I will smite the shepherd according to the prayers of those below. The Son is sent and smitten by the Father, that is, He is made incarnate and suffers.

THEOPHYLACT. But the Father says, I will smite the shepherd, because He permitted him to be smitten. He calls the disciples sheep, as being innocent and without guile. At last He consoles them, by saying, But after that I am risen I will go before you into Galilee.

PSEUDO-JEROME. In which the true resurrection is promised, that their hope may not be extinguished. There follows: But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Lo, a bird unfledged strives to raise itself on high; but the body weighs down the soul, so that the fear of the Lord is overcome by the fear of human death.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Peter then promised in the ardour of his faith, and the Saviour as God knew what was to happen. Wherefore it goes on: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

AUGUSTINE. (iii. 2. de Con. Evan) Though all the Evangelists say that the Lord foretold that Peter was to deny before the cock crew, Mark alone has related it more minutely, wherefore some from inattention suppose that he does not agree with the others. For the whole of Peter’s denial is threefold; if it had begun altogether after the cock crew, the other three Evangelists would seem to have spoken falsely, in saying, that before the cock crew, he would deny him thrice. Again, if he had finished the entire threefold denial before the cock began to crow, Mark would in the person of the Lord seem to have said needlessly, Before the cock crow twice, thou shall deny me thrice. But because that threefold denial began before the first cock-crowing, the other three did not notice when Peter was to finish it, but how great it was to be, that is, threefold, and when it was to begin, that is, before the cock crew, although the whole was conceived in his mind, even before the first cock crew; but Mark has related more plainly the interval between his words themselves.

THEOPHYLACT. We are to understand that it happened thus; Peter denied once, then the cock crew, but after he had made two more denials, then the cock crew for the second time.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Who is the cock, the harbinger of day, but the Holy Ghost? by whose voice in prophecy, and in the Apostles, we are roused from our threefold denial, to most bitter tears after our fall, for we have thought evil of God, spoken evil of our neighbours, and done evil to ourselves.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) The faith of the Apostle Peter, and his burning love for our Lord, is shewn in what follows. For it goes on: But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise.

THEOPHYLACT. The other disciples also shewed a fearless zeal. For there follows, Likewise also said they all, but nevertheless they acted against the truth, which Christ had prophesied.

Catena Aurea Mark 14

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 14
12.	Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Whither wilt thou that we go, and prepare for thee to eat the pasch?	et primo die azymorum quando pascha immolabant dicunt ei discipuli quo vis eamus et paremus tibi ut manduces pascha	και τη πρωτη ημερα των αζυμων οτε το πασχα εθυον λεγουσιν αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου που θελεις απελθοντες ετοιμασωμεν ινα φαγης το πασχα
13.	And he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith to them: Go ye into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him;	et mittit duos ex discipulis suis et dicit eis ite in civitatem et occurret vobis homo laguenam aquae baiulans sequimini eum	και αποστελλει δυο των μαθητων αυτου και λεγει αυτοις υπαγετε εις την πολιν και απαντησει υμιν ανθρωπος κεραμιον υδατος βασταζων ακολουθησατε αυτω
14.	And whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The master saith, Where is my refectory, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples?	et quocumque introierit dicite domino domus quia magister dicit ubi est refectio mea ubi pascha cum discipulis meis manducem	και οπου εαν εισελθη ειπατε τω οικοδεσποτη οτι ο διδασκαλος λεγει που εστιν το καταλυμα οπου το πασχα μετα των μαθητων μου φαγω
15.	And he will shew you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare ye for us.	et ipse vobis demonstrabit cenaculum grande stratum et illic parate nobis	και αυτος υμιν δειξει ανωγεον μεγα εστρωμενον ετοιμον εκει ετοιμασατε ημιν
16.	And his disciples went their way, and came into the city; and they found as he had told them, and they prepared the pasch.	et abierunt discipuli eius et venerunt in civitatem et invenerunt sicut dixerat illis et praeparaverunt pascha	και εξηλθον οι μαθηται αυτου και ηλθον εις την πολιν και ευρον καθως ειπεν αυτοις και ητοιμασαν το πασχα
[...]
22.	And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye. This is my body.	et manducantibus illis accepit Iesus panem et benedicens fregit et dedit eis et ait sumite hoc est corpus meum	και εσθιοντων αυτων λαβων ο ιησους αρτον ευλογησας εκλασεν και εδωκεν αυτοις και ειπεν λαβετε φαγετε τουτο εστιν το σωμα μου
23.	And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it.	et accepto calice gratias agens dedit eis et biberunt ex illo omnes	και λαβων το ποτηριον ευχαριστησας εδωκεν αυτοις και επιον εξ αυτου παντες
24.	And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many.	et ait illis hic est sanguis meus novi testamenti qui pro multis effunditur	και ειπεν αυτοις τουτο εστιν το αιμα μου το της καινης διαθηκης το περι πολλων εκχυνομενον
25.	Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God.	amen dico vobis quod iam non bibam de genimine vitis usque in diem illum cum illud bibam novum in regno Dei	αμην λεγω υμιν οτι ουκετι ου μη πιω εκ του γεννηματος της αμπελου εως της ημερας εκεινης οταν αυτο πινω καινον εν τη βασιλεια του θεου
26.	And when they had said an hymn, they went forth to the mount of Olives.	et hymno dicto exierunt in montem Olivarum	και υμνησαντες εξηλθον εις το ορος των ελαιων

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franciscanmedia.org

Saint Justin the Philosopher

Saint of the Day for June 1

(c. 100 – 165)

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Saint Justin Martyr’s Story

Justin never ended his quest for religious truth even when he converted to Christianity after years of studying various pagan philosophies.

As a young man, he was principally attracted to the school of Plato. However, he found that the Christian religion answered the great questions about life and existence better than the philosophers.

Upon his conversion he continued to wear the philosopher’s mantle, and became the first Christian philosopher. He combined the Christian religion with the best elements in Greek philosophy. In his view, philosophy was a pedagogue of Christ, an educator that was to lead one to Christ.

Justin is known as an apologist, one who defends in writing the Christian religion against the attacks and misunderstandings of the pagans. Two of his so-called apologies have come down to us; they are addressed to the Roman emperor and to the Senate.

For his staunch adherence to the Christian religion, Justin was beheaded in Rome in 165.

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Reflection

As patron of philosophers, Justin may inspire us to use our natural powers—especially our power to know and understand—in the service of Christ, and to build up the Christian life within us. Since we are prone to error, especially in reference to the deep questions concerning life and existence, we should also be willing to correct and check our natural thinking in light of religious truth. Thus we will be able to say with the learned saints of the Church: I believe in order to understand, and I understand in order to believe.

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Christ with the Four Evangelists

Fra Bartolomeo

1516
Oil on canvas, 282 x 204 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Catena Aurea Mark 11

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 11
27.	And they come again to Jerusalem. And when he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests and the scribes and the ancients,	Et veniunt rursus Jerosolymam. Et cum ambularet in templo, accedunt ad eum summi sacerdotes, et scribæ, et seniores :	και ερχονται παλιν εις ιεροσολυμα και εν τω ιερω περιπατουντος αυτου ερχονται προς αυτον οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις και οι πρεσβυτεροι
28.	And they say to him: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority that thou shouldst do these things?	et dicunt ei : In qua potestate hæc facis ? et quis dedit tibi hanc potestatem ut ista facias ?	και λεγουσιν αυτω εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιεις και τις σοι την εξουσιαν ταυτην εδωκεν ινα ταυτα ποιης
29.	And Jesus answering, said to them: I will also ask you one word, and answer you me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.	Jesus autem respondens, ait illis : Interrogabo vos et ego unum verbum, et respondete mihi : et dicam vobis in qua potestate hæc faciam.	ο δε ιησους αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις επερωτησω υμας και εγω ενα λογον και αποκριθητε μοι και ερω υμιν εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιω
30.	The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.	Baptismus Joannis, de cælo erat, an ex hominibus ? Respondete mihi.	το βαπτισμα ιωαννου εξ ουρανου ην η εξ ανθρωπων αποκριθητε μοι
31.	But they thought with themselves, saying: If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him?	At illi cogitabant secum, dicentes : Si dixerimus : De cælo, dicet : Quare non credidistis ei ?	και ελογιζοντο προς εαυτους λεγοντες εαν ειπωμεν εξ ουρανου ερει δια τι ουν ουκ επιστευσατε αυτω
32.	If we say, From men, we fear the people. For all men counted John that he was a prophet indeed.	Si dixerimus : Ex hominibus, timemus populum : omnes enim habebant Joannem quia vere propheta esset.	αλλ ειπωμεν εξ ανθρωπων εφοβουντο τον λαον απαντες γαρ ειχον τον ιωαννην οτι οντως προφητης ην
33.	And they answering, say to Jesus: We know not. And Jesus answering, saith to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.	Et respondentes dicunt Jesu : Nescimus. Et respondens Jesus ait illis : Neque ego dico vobis in qua potestate hæc faciam.	και αποκριθεντες λεγουσιν τω ιησου ουκ οιδαμεν και ο ιησους αποκριθεις λεγει αυτοις ουδε εγω λεγω υμιν εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιω

My dad is back in the hospital. [JimRob update at 242]
Jim still needs our prayers. Thread 2
Prayer thread for Salvation's recovery
Pray for Ukraine
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Update on Jim Robinson's health issues

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KEYWORDS: catholic; mk11; ordinarytime; prayer

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.