Reading 1 Heb 11:32-40

Brothers and sisters:
What more shall I say?
I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,
of David and Samuel and the prophets,
who by faith conquered kingdoms,
did what was righteous, obtained the promises;
they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires,
escaped the devouring sword;
out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle,
and turned back foreign invaders.
Women received back their dead through resurrection.
Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance,
in order to obtain a better resurrection.
Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword's point;
they went about in skins of sheep or goats,
needy, afflicted, tormented.
The world was not worthy of them.
They wandered about in deserts and on mountains,
in caves and in crevices in the earth.

Yet all these, though approved because of their faith,
did not receive what had been promised.
God had foreseen something better for us,
so that without us they should not be made perfect.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24

R. (25) Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
How great is the goodness, O LORD,
which you have in store for those who fear you,
And which, toward those who take refuge in you,
you show in the sight of the children of men.
R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men;
You screen them within your abode
from the strife of tongues.
R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
Blessed be the LORD whose wondrous mercy
he has shown me in a fortified city.
R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
Once I said in my anguish,
"I am cut off from your sight";
Yet you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried out to you.
R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
Love the LORD, all you his faithful ones!
The LORD keeps those who are constant,
but more than requites those who act proudly.
R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

Alleluia Lk 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,
to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat,
at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,
and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,
but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,
and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides
he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
"What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"
(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")
He asked him, "What is your name?"
He replied, "Legion is my name. There are many of us."
And he pleaded earnestly with him
not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him,
"Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.
The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,
where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town
and throughout the countryside.
And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus,
they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,
sitting there clothed and in his right mind.
And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened
to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
"Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis
what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

From: Hebrews 11:32-40

The Faith of Moses, of the Judges and of the Prophets

[32] And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak,
Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets — [33] who through
faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, [34] quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won
strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
[35] Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing
to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. [36] Others suffered
mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. [37] They were
stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about
in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated — [38] of whom the
world was not worthy — wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth. [39] And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not
receive what was promised [40] since God had foreseen something better for us,
that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

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Commentary:

32-38. Up to this point, the passage has been recalling outstanding examples of
faith from the time of the Patriarchs down to that of Joshua (18th to 13th century
B.C.). The epistle now goes on to their exploits and sufferings, wherein their faith
brought them victory; the sacred writer then mentions the testimony of faith of he-
roes, judges, kings, prophets and martyrs from the time of the conquest of Pale-
stine to that of the Maccabees (13th to 2nd centuries B.C.). Not in any strict
chronological order, he mentions only the most important Judges (Gideon, Barak,
Samson and Jephthah), the greatest of the kings (David) and the most famous of
the early prophets (Samuel). Finally he refers to exploits and other deeds inspi-
red by faith and fidelity, without giving names.

We know from Sacred Scripture that many of these people had shortcomings
and, in some cases, committed grave sins. However, those weaknesses did not
prevent their filling key roles in God’s plans: they let themselves be used by God
to apply his policy and are therefore worthy of being proposed as examples of
faith.

33-35a. “Through faith (they) conquered kingdoms”: a reference to the men who
conquer the promised land: Barak, who overcame the Canaanites (cf. Judg 11),
Gideon, who conquered the Midianites (cf. Judg 7), Jephthah, who conquered the
Amonnites (cf. Judg 11), Samson, who defeated the Philistines (cf. Judg 14), and
David, who succeeded in subduing all the enemies of Israel (cf. 2 Sam 5:17-25;
8:1f; 10).

“Enforced justice”: a reference to the authority exercised by the Judges on a tri-
bal basis, and by Samuel and the kings over the whole of Israel (cf. 1 Sam 12:3;
2 Sam 8:15); it can also be understood as meaning those who practised righ-
teousness in God’s name and made it effective, the prophets being the outstan-
ding examples.

“Received promises”: the righteous of the Old Testament received an earnest of
the messianic promises in the form of the fulfillment of certain prophecies made
by God. Barak defeated Sisera as God had promised (cf. Judg 4:14f); Gideon
overcame the Midianites (cf. Judg 6:14; 7:7); David brought peace to the whole
land, as Nathan had predicted (cf. 2 Sam 7:11); etc.

“Stopped the mouths of lions”: a reference to feats performed by Samson (cf. Jud
14:6), David (cf. 1 Sam 17:34-35), and Benaiah (cf. 2 Sam 23:20), it especially re-
calls the episode of Daniel in the lion’s den: when thrown there by the king on ac-
count of his faith, he told him, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths,
and they have not hurt me” (Dan 6:22).

Sacred history also includes people who “quenched raging fire” (like the three
young men in the fiery furnace in Babylon: cf. Dan 3:21-94); or who “escaped the
edge of the sword” (as Moses did, in his flight from Pharaoh’s wrath: cf. Ex 18:4);
or like David, who “won strength out of weakness” in his victories over Goliath
and Saul (cf. 1 Sam 17:34ff; 18:11; 19:11). Thanks to his faith Elijah found protec-
tion from Jezebel’s persecution (cf. 1 Kings 19:1f); and the Jewish people were
able to escape extermination during King Ahasuerus’ reign thanks to the prayer
and intercession of Esther and Mordecai (cf. Esther 3:6ff).

Through faith King Hezekiah was miraculously cured of mortal illness (cf. Is 38)
and Samson received his strength after becoming weak and blind (cf. Judg 15:
19; 16:28-30). Faith enabled the Hebrews, under the Judges, to take on and de-
feat the pagan peoples of Palestine; it led Judith to behead Holofernes and bring
about the destruction of his army; and it enabled the Maccabees to repel the fo-
reign armies of Antiochus (cf. 1 Mac 1:38).

Then there is the example of the widow of Zarephath, who sheltered Elijah and
had her son restored when the prophet cured him (cf. 1 Kings 17:17f). And Eli-
sha brought back to life the son of the Shunammite widow (cf. 2 Kings 4:33f).

All these examples show the effectiveness of faith, when it involves a person’s
whole life and lifestyle, influencing both everyday events and great exploits.
35b-36. Faith not only enables people to perform exploits and miracles: it also
enables them to persevere in doing good and to bear all kinds of moral and phy-
sical pain, even torture and the most cruel forms of death. And so the text refers
to various sorts of suffering inflicted on the prophets and many other just mem-
bers of the people of Israel.

The writer may have in mind, for example, the death of Eleazar (cf. 2 Mac 6:19ff)
and of the seven brothers (cf. 2 Mac 7), who underwent most cruel torture during
the persecution mounted by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The king had promised
them their lives if they gave up their faith and laws by eating forbidden meat; but
they stayed true to God and were mercilessly martyred.

However, they had unshakeable faith in the rightness of God’s judgment and in
future resurrection (2 Mac 7:19, 14, 23, 29). They desired to “rise again to a bet-
ter life”: they put their faith in an incomparably more valuable, more real, life than
that of a few more years on earth, which would have been the reward of apostasy.
“They did not escape death,” St Thomas writes, “not because God was not loo-
king after them but so that they might obtain eternal life, which is a more excel-
lent thing than being set free from any present affliction or being raised up again
to this life” (”Commentary on Heb.”, 11, 5).

The example of these men and women whom faith strengthened to endure suffe-
ring, should encourage Christians to face persecution courageously and defend
their faith at all costs. “Let us pray to God that we do not suffer persecution, but
if that does happen, let us bear it bravely. It befits a prudent man not to fling him-
self lightly into danger, but it befits a brave man to rise to the occasion when
danger falls on him” (”Hom. on Heb.”, 5).

37-38. Some righteous men were stoned for their faith — Zechariah, for example,
who was killed by order of King Joash (cf. 2 Chron 24:2021); Naboth, condemned
to death through the lies spread by Jezebel (cf. 1 Kings 21:13); and the prophet
Jeremiah also, according to an ancient tradition. Others were sawn in two — Isai-
ah, for example, whom another Jewish tradition says was martyred by King Ma-
nasseh.

Elijah, in flight from persecution, went around dressed in skins (cf. 1 Kings 19:
3ff); similarly Mattathias and his sons during the war against the Seleucid kings,
were forced to hide in the mountains and had only goatskins to wear (cf. 1 Mac
2:28).

In our own time there are also people who profess their faith in God by undergo-
ing comparable persecution; but usually hatred of Christ and his followers takes
more subtle forms.

40. This verse is the conclusion following from all the examples provided. The
righteous of the Old Law were outstanding for their faith and endurance, but for
all that they did not have the strength that the grace of Christ bestows; Jesus re-
marked, when John the Baptist was praised to him, “Truly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet
he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:11); and he
reminded his disciples of their privileged position: “Blessed are the eyes which
see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see
what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it”
(Lk 10:23-24; cf. Mt 13:16-17).

God did not deny their reward to the righteous of the Old Testament, but he
postponed it until heaven’s gates were opened by the death and resurrection of
our Lord. They too now enjoy eternal life and they will attain their final perfecting
when their bodies rise in glory on the last day. God is like a good father, St John
Chrysostom comments, who says to his beloved children when they finish their
work, that he will not give them their supper until their other brothers come back
also. “And you, are you annoyed because you have not received your reward?
What should Abel do, then. He was the first to gain the victory, but remained un-
crowned. And Noah? And all those of those times who are waiting for you and for
those who will come after you? Do you not see how much better off we are? That
is why he says: God in his providence had arranged something better for us. And,
in order that it should not be thought that those people were superior to us be-
cause they received their crown earlier, God disposed that all should be crowned
at the very same time; and he who won his many years earlier will be crowned
along with you [...]. For if we are all the one body, this body will the more rejoice
if all are crowned at the same time and not one by one” (”Hom. on Heb.”, 28).

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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: Mark 5:1-20

The Gerasene Demoniac

[1] They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. [2]
And when He (Jesus) had come out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs
a man with an unclean spirit, [3] who lived among the tombs; and no one could
bind him any more, even with a chain; [4] for he had often been bound with fetters
and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces;
and no one had the strength to subdue him. [5] Night and day among the tombs
and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones.
[6] And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him; [7] and crying
out with a loud voice, he said, “What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the
Most High God? I adjure You by God, do not torment me.” [8] For He had said to
him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” [9] And Jesus asked him, “What
is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” [10] And he
begged Him eagerly not to send them out of the country. [11] Now a great herd
of swine was feeding there on the hillside; [12] and they begged Him, “Send us
to the swine, let us enter them.” [13] So, He gave them leave. And the unclean
spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two
thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the
sea.

[14] The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and the country. And people came
to see what it was that had happened. [15] And they came to see Jesus, and
saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had
had the legion; and they were afraid. [16] And those who had seen it told what
had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. [17] And they began to beg Je-
sus to depart from their neighborhood. [18] And as He was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be
with Him. [19] But He refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and
tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on
you.” [20] And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much
Jesus had done for him; and all men marvelled.

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Commentary:

1-20. The inhabitants of Gerasa were mostly pagans, as one can gather from the
fact that there was such a huge herd of swine there (which must have belonged
to a number of different people). Jews were forbidden to raise pigs or eat pork
(Leviticus 11:7).

This miracle emphasizes, once more, the existence of the devil and his influence
over men’s lives: if God permits it, the devil can harm not only humans but also
animals. When Christ allows the demons to enter the swine, the malice of the
demons becomes obvious: they are tormented at not being able to do men harm
and therefore they ask Christ to let them, at least, inflict themselves on animals.
This He does, in order to show that they would have the same effect on men as
they have on these swine, if God did not prevent them.

Clearly it was not Jesus’ intention to punish the owners of the swine by the loss
of the herd: since they were pagans that were not subject to the precepts of the
Jewish law. Rather, the death of the swine is visible proof that the demon has
gone out of the possessed man.

Jesus permitted the loss of some material goods because these were of infinitely
less value than the spiritual good involved in the cure of the possessed man.

15-20. Notice the different attitudes to Jesus Christ: the Gerasenes beg Him to
go away; the man freed from the devil wants to stay with Him and follow Him. The
inhabitants of Gerasa have had our Lord near them, they have seen His divine po-
wers, but they are very self-centered: all they can think about is the material da-
mage they have suffered through the loss of the herd; they do not realize the mar-
vel Jesus has worked. Christ has invited them and offered them His grace but
they do not respond: they reject Him. The man who has been cured wants to
follow Jesus with the rest of His disciples but our Lord refuses; instead He gives
him a task which shows Christ’s unlimited compassion for all men, even for those
who reject Him: the man is to stay in Gerasa and proclaim to the whole neighbor-
hood what the Lord has done for him. Perhaps they will think again and realize
who He is who has visited them, and escape from the sins their greed has led
them to commit. These two attitudes are to be found whenever Christ passes by
— as are Jesus’ mercy and continuous offer of grace: our Lord does not want the
death of the sinner but rather that he should turn from his way and live (cf. Eze-
kiel 18:23).

20. The “Decapolis” or “country of the ten cities”, among the more famous of
which are Damascus, Philadelphia, Scythopolis, Gadara, Pella and Gerasa. The
region was located to the east of the lake of Gennesaret and was inhabited main-
ly by pagans of Greek and Syrian origin. This territory came under the Roman
governor of Syria.

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Hebrews 11:32-40 ©

Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets – these were men who through faith conquered kingdoms, did what is right and earned the promises. They could keep a lion’s mouth shut, put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed from battle. They were weak people who were given strength, to be brave in war and drive back foreign invaders. Some came back to their wives from the dead, by resurrection; and others submitted to torture, refusing release so that they would rise again to a better life. Some had to bear being pilloried and flogged, or even chained up in prison. They were stoned, or sawn in half, or beheaded; they were homeless, and dressed in the skins of sheep and goats; they were penniless and were given nothing but ill-treatment. They were too good for the world and they went out to live in deserts and mountains and in caves and ravines. These are all heroes of faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 30(31):20-24 ©