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From: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Jesus, the Apostle's Model

[8] Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David,
as preached in my gospel, [9] the gospel for which I am suffering and
wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered.
[10] Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they
also may obtain the salvation which in Christ Jesus goes with eternal
glory. [11]The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also
live with him; [12] if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we
deny him, he also will deny us; [13] if we are faithless, he remains
faithful--for he cannot deny himself.

Avoiding Useless Argument

[14] Remind them of this, and charge them before the Lord to avoid
disputing about words, which does, no good, but only ruins the hearers.
[15] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman
who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Commentary:

8. "Jesus Christ, risen from the dead": the Resurrection is the climax
of our faith (cf. 1 Cor 15) and the fixed reference point for Christian
living, for we know that "Christ being raised from the dead will never
die again; death no longer has dominion over him" (Rom 6:9). Therefore,
Christ lives on in a glorified condition: "Christ is alive. He is not
someone who has gone, someone who existed for a time and then passed
on, leaving us a wonderful example and a great memory. No, Christ is
alive. Jesus is Emmanuel: God with us. His resurrection shows us that
God does not abandon his own" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By",
102).

"As preached in my gospel": literally, "according to my gospel"; Jesus'
glorious resurrection and his descent from David were key points in St
Paul's preaching.

9-10. The trials which St Paul was experiencing in prison on account of
his preaching of the Gospel constitute an entitlement to heaven, for
"martyrdom makes the disciple like his master, who willingly accepted
death for the salvation of the world, and through it he is conformed to
him by the shedding of blood" ("Lumen Gentium", 42). This is a shining
example of the Communion of Saints at work, for, when a Christian links
his suffering to Christ's passion, that suffering contributes to the
Redemption: "Therefore he is carrying out an irreplaceable service. In
the Body of Christ, which is ceaselessly born of the Cross of the
Redeemer, it is precisely suffering permeated by the spirit of Christ's
sacrifice that is the irreplaceable mediator and author of the good
things which are indispensable for the world's salvation. It is
suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace
which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes
present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption" (John
Paul II, "Salvifici Doloris", 27).

Throughout history many pastors of the Church have suffered persecution
on account of their fidelity to Christ. St John Chrysostom, shortly
before going into exile, expressed his feelings in this way: "For me,
this world's evils are something I despise; and its good things are an
object of scorn. I am not afraid of poverty nor do I have any desire
for riches; I am not afraid of death nor do I have any desire to live
unless it be to your advantage" ("Ante Exiltum Hom.", 1).

11-13. "The saying is sure": this is a technical expression used a
number of times in the Pastoral Epistles to attract attention to
especially important statements (cf. note on 1 Tim 1:15). Here it
introduces a poetic section in the form of a hymn of four verses, each
consisting of a pair of contrasting phrases (of the type the Semitic
mind loves). It is quite possible that this hymn was used in very early
baptismal liturgy, given that it has to do with the intimate union of
the baptized person with Christ, who died and is now risen; it also
encourages Christians to stay faithful in the face of adverse
circumstances even if that means martyrdom.

Thus, the first verse deals with the beginning of Christian life. Dying
to sin and rising to the life of grace are Pauline expressions (cf. Rom
6:34) which point to the fact that in Baptism the Christian becomes a
sharer in the passion, death and burial of the Lord, and also in the
glory of his resurrection. Grace is the supernatural life and that life
will attain its full form in heaven.

The two following verses deal with the stark choice the Christian has
to make in the face of difficulties- endurance, or denial of the faith
(cf. Mt 10:33; Lk 12:9); the hymn puts special emphasis on endurance,
using as it does terminology proper to athletics (cf. Heb 12:1-3);
also, the verb used in the second part of each phrase is in the future
tense, as if an unlikely possibility were being discussed: "In the
event of our denying him...". And (what is most important) the
Christian's faithfulness is orientated towards Christ: "we shall reign
with him." "To persevere is to persist in love, 'per Ipsum et cum Ipso
et in Ipso...'. Indeed we can also interpret this as: "He himself,
with me, for me and in me" ([St] J. Escriva, "Furrow", 366).

The last verse breaks the pattern because it does not counterpose
attitude and result but rather man's infidelity and Christ's fidelity:
"If we are faithless, he remains faithful." This paradox of our Lord's
love marks the climax of the hymn, which is a kind of poem extolling
Christian endurance based on our Lord's eternal faithfulness. "We
Christians have the right to proclaim the royalty of Christ. Although
injustice abounds, although many do not desire the kingdom of love, the
work of salvation is taking place in the same human history as harbors
evil" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 186).

14-16. False teachers were in a position to do harm to the still
immature Christian community of the time; apparently they were not
teaching things which were directly heretical; but they were involving
the believers in controversy to such an extent that there was a danger
of turning the truth of faith into rational deductions in a complicated
philosophical system. The Apostle advises that the best way to deal
with all that dangerous wordiness is to expound revealed truth in a
simple, straightforward way.

"Rightly handling": the original means "cutting straight", the way a
mason cuts a stone or a farmer ploughs a furrow. Similarly, preaching
and teaching the Gospel should be done in direct, simple language
accessible to all. The teacher should not simply recommend views,
attitudes and feelings: his function is to pass on the certainties
which "the word of truth" (that is, revealed teaching) provides. Paul
VI taught that one "sign of love will be the effort to transmit to
Christians, not doubts and uncertainties born of an erudition poorly
assimilated but certainties that are solid because they are anchored in
the Word of God. The faithful need these certainties for their
Christian life" ("Evangelii Nuntiandi", 79).

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.

**One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."**

This is so simple. What is it about today's world -- that they don't get these two simple rules of life?

Maybe some of you have the answer!

The Greatest Commandment of All

[28] One of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that He (Jesus) answered them well, asked Him,
"Which commandment is the first of all?" [29] Jesus answered, "The
first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; [30] and
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' [31] The
second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is
no other commandment greater than these." [32] And the scribe said to
Him, "You are right, Teacher; You have truly said that He is one, and
there is no other than He; [33] and to love with all the heart, and
with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love
one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings
and sacrifices." [34] And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He
said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that
no one dared to ask Him any question.

Commentary:

28-34. The doctor of the law who asks Jesus this question is obviously
an upright man who is sincerely seeking the truth. He was impressed by
Jesus' earlier reply (verses 18-27) and he wants to learn more from
Him. His question is to the point and Jesus devotes time to
instructing him, though he will soon castigate the scribes, of whom
this man is one (cf. Mark 12:38ff).

Jesus sees in this man not just a scribe but a person who is looking
for the truth. And His teaching finds its way into the man's heart.
The scribe repeats what Jesus says, savoring it, and our Lord offers
him an affectionate word which encourages his definitive conversion:
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God." This encounter reminds us
of His meeting with Nicodemus (cf. John 3:1ff). On the doctrinal
content of these two commandments cf. note on Matthew 22:34-40.

[Note on Matthew 22:34-40 states:

In reply to the question, our Lord points out that the whole law can
be condensed into two commandments: the first and more important
consists in unconditional love of God; the second is a consequence and
result of the first, because when man is loved, St. Thomas says, God is
loved, for man is the image of God (cf. "Commentary on St. Matthew",
22:4).

A person who genuinely loves God also loves his fellows because he
realizes that they are his brothers and sisters, children of the same
Father, redeemed by the same blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: "This
commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his
brother also" (1 John 4:21). However, if we love man for man's sake
without reference to God, this love will become an obstacle in the way
of keeping the first commandment, and then it is no longer genuine love
of our neighbor. But love of our neighbor for God's sake is clear
proof that we love God: "If anyone says, `I love God', and hates his
brother, he is a liar" (1 John 4:20).

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself": here our Lord establishes
as the guideline for our love of neighbor the love each of us has for
himself; both love of others and love of self are based on love of
God. Hence, in some cases it can happen that God requires us to put
our neighbor's need before our own; in others, not: it depends on what
value, in light of God's love, needs to be put on the spiritual and
material factors involved.

Obviously spiritual goods take absolute precedence over material ones,
even over life itself. Therefore, spiritual goods, be they our own or
our neighbor's, must be the first to be safeguarded. If the spiritual
good in question is the supreme one for the salvation of the soul, no
one is justified in putting his own soul into certain danger of being
condemned in order to save another, because given human freedom we can
never be absolutely sure what personal choice another person may make:
this is the situation in the parable (cf. Matthew 25:1-13), where the
wise virgins refuse to give oil to the foolish ones; similarly St. Paul
says that he would wish himself to be rejected if that could save his
brothers (cf. Romans 9:3)--an unreal theoretical situation. However,
what is quite clear is that we have to do all we can to save our
brothers, conscious that, if someone helps to bring a sinner back to
the way, he will save himself from eternal death and cover a multitude
of his own sins (James 5:20). From all this we can deduce that
self-love of the right kind, based on God's love for man, necessarily
involves forgetting oneself in order to love God and our neighbor for
God.]

30. This commandment of the Old Law, ratified by Jesus, shows, above
all, God's great desire to engage in intimate conversation with man:
"would it not have sufficed to publish a permission giving us leave to
love Him? [...]. He makes a stronger declaration of His passionate
love for us, and commands us to love Him with all our power, lest the
consideration of His majesty and our misery, which make so great a
distance and inequality between us, or some other pretext, divert us
from His love. In this He well shows that He did not leave in us for
nothing the natural inclination to love Him, for to the end that it may
not be idle, He urges us by His general commandment to employ it, and
that this commandment may be effected, there is no living man He has
not furnished him abundantly with all means requisite thereto" (St.
Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", Book 2, Chapter 8).

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. Charles Lwanga and 21 Ugandan companions were among
hundreds of Catholics killed in Uganda by King Mwanga
between 1885 and 1887. Many of the people persecuted by
the king were relatives and friends. Charles and his 21
companions were put to death by the sword and fire because
they would not violate their faith to follow the king.
Before these Catholics died they challenged the king on
many of his immoral practices. Pope Paul VI canonized St.
Charles and his companions on October 18, 1964. Charles
is the patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Labour without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still
have the time. -St. John of God

TODAY IN HISTORY

545 Death of St. Clotilda
618 Death of St. Kevin

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the
public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries
which may be called in a special way "mysteries of light". Certainly
the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the "light of
the world" (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during
the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the
Kingdom. In proposing to the Christian community five significant
moments - "luminous" mysteries - during this phase of Christ's life, I
think that the following can be fittingly singled out: (1) his Baptism in
the Jordan, (2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana, (3) his
proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion, (4)
his Transfiguration, and finally, (5) his institution of the Eucharist, as
the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. Section 21
Paragraph 1 of Rosarium Virginis Mariae - Pope John Paul II 16 October 2002

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all who are persecuted because of their faith in God.

Thursday, June 3, 2004
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Memorial)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

2 Timothy 2:8-15
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
Mark 12:28-34

That hope is deceitful which hopes to be saved amid the occasions of sin.

-- St. Augustine

The Word Among Us

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Meditation
Mark 12:28-34

Jewish literature relates that a man once asked the famous Rabbi Hillel to sum up the 613 precepts of the Old Testament law while he stood on one leg (in other words: briefly!). Hillel replied: “What you hate for yourself, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole law; the rest is commentary.”

Stepping out from the majority of the religious leaders—who were bent on destroying Jesus—one scribe asked Jesus a similar question, but with remarkable sincerity: “Which commandment is the first of all?” (Mark 12:28). While many of the other scribes saw Jesus as a threat, this man saw in him an opportunity to learn. So he posed a simple question that expressed a concern embedded deep within every heart.

This scribe’s question reflects a heart that was seeking to grasp, if possible, a single, simple principle underlying the complexity of the law. What foundational commandment can give meaning to all the smaller rules and regulations of religious life? Is there a key that can unlock the riddle of our lives and guide us through the complexity that is both around and within us? We all yearn for answers to these questions. The command to love God and neighbor is not just an order or duty. After all, no one can love simply because he is told to do so! Ultimately, loving God is a privilege, a relationship that God initiates at our baptism and that grows as we accept God’s words and open our hearts to experience his love. It grows as we align our wills with this greatest of commandments, making daily decisions to ask God to teach us how to love and obey him.

God is always reaching out to us, and every time we turn to him, we can receive his love more deeply. The experience of his love then moves us to love him and to share this love with others. It is true that we have to decide to seek God and respond to him, but these decisions are meant to flow from the loving relationship that God wants with us, a relationship that grows as love is shared.

“Heavenly Father, move me by your love to love you and others with your love. Help me to see my life of faith as a relationship, not just a duty.”

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 4

<< Thursday, June 3, 2004 >>

St. Charles Lwanga & Companions

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Psalm 25

Mark 12:28-34

View Readings

HOW HE SAVES US

“Obtain the salvation to be found in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” —2 Timothy 2:10

God wants all to be saved (1 Tm 2:4) from sin, death, Satan, hell and saved for perfect love and eternal life. We cannot save ourselves. Jesus alone can save us. We accept His grace of salvation by faith, usually expressed in works (see Eph 2:8-10). In this way, we work out and obtain our salvation (Phil 2:12).

Paul spelled out some of the details of accepting the grace of salvation by faith. He said: “You can depend on this” (2 Tm 2:11). First, we must die with Jesus by being baptized and living our Baptisms, as we repeatedly choose to die to ourselves (see 2 Tm 2:11; 2 Cor 4:10-11). Second, we must persevere in our faith in the Lord (2 Tm 2:12). Third, we should admit we are quite capable of denying Christ (see 2 Tm 2:12). Therefore, we need to accept the grace to overcome this temptation. Finally, we should focus on faithfulness (see 2 Tm 2:13) so that, on Judgment Day, the Lord will say to us the words: “Well done, good and faithful servants” (see Mt 25:21).

To understand and accept salvation, we must:

die with Jesus in Baptism,
persevere in total love for Jesus,
cry out for the grace not to deny Jesus, and
be faithful to Jesus.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and all your household” (Acts 16:31).

Prayer: Father, may I live my life so as to lead to salvation as many people as possible (see 1 Cor 9:22).

Promise: “Jesus replied: ‘This is the first: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the second, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ” —Mk 12:29-31

Praise: St. Charles died as a martyr because he would not compromise his purity to save his life.

Homily of the Day

Title:	Are You Bound by the Chains of the Gospel?
Author:	Father Frank E. Jindra
Date:	Thursday, June 3, 2004

2 Tim 2:8-15/ Mk 12:28-34

“But the word of God is not chained.”

This is another one of Paul’s letters written from prison. He himself is in chains, but he recognizes that you cannot chain the word of God.

I would have loved to see the joy on Paul’s face when he wrote those words. Here is a man physically in chains, but he knows without any doubt that his spirit can never be chained again.

All of us have chains in our lives. Some are caused by relationships, some by sin, some by our own choices, some by choices others have made for us.

There is only one set of chains I want to be bound by: the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here and here alone is true freedom: the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let no one bind me, except by the love of the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let sin not bind me; I am bound by the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let no evil block or bind me, for I am bound by the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I forgot to post this with #10

Homily of the Day

Catholic Forum

Saint Charles Lwanga

CHARLES LWANGA

Also known as: Karoli Lwanga
Memorial: 3 June
Profile: Ngabi clan. Servant of King Mwanga of Uganda. Convert, joining the Church in June 1885. One of the Martyrs of Uganda who died in the Mwangan persecutions.
Born: 1865 at Bulimu, Buganda, Uganda
Died: burned to death in 1886 at Namugongo, Uganda
Canonized: 18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI at Rome, Italy
Patronage: African Catholic Youth Action, Catholic youth, converts, torture victims

Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga

Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions - Martyrs of Uganda

Mk 12:28-34
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
28	And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all.	et accessit unus de scribis qui audierat illos conquirentes et videns quoniam bene illis responderit interrogavit eum quod esset primum omnium mandatum
29	And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God.	Iesus autem respondit ei quia primum omnium mandatum est audi Israhel Dominus Deus noster Deus unus est
30	And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.	et diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo et ex tota anima tua et ex tota mente tua et ex tota virtute tua hoc est primum mandatum
31	And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.	secundum autem simile illi diliges proximum tuum tamquam te ipsum maius horum aliud mandatum non est
32	And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth that there is one God and there is no other besides him.	et ait illi scriba bene magister in veritate dixisti quia unus est et non est alius praeter eum
33	And that he should be loved with the whole heart and with the whole understanding and with the whole soul and with the whole strength. And to love one's neighbour as one's self is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices.	et ut diligatur ex toto corde et ex toto intellectu et ex tota anima et ex tota fortitudine et diligere proximum tamquam se ipsum maius est omnibus holocaustomatibus et sacrificiis
34	And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.	Iesus autem videns quod sapienter respondisset dixit illi non es longe a regno Dei et nemo iam audebat eum interrogare