From: Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11
Thanksgiving and Prayer
[8] For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ
Jesus. [9] And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with
knowledge and all discernment, [10] so that you may approve what is excellent,
and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, [11] filled with the fruits of
righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
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Commentary:
3-5. “Your partnership”: in the original this reads “your communion”. In the New
Testament this term has a wide meaning, mainly denoting closeness of thought,
action and lifestyle. It is sometimes used in connection with collections made in
favor of the needy (cf. Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 9:13).
Despite the fact that the faithful at Philippi were in general people of modest
means and were themselves experiencing hardship (cf. 2 Cor 8:2), they never
spared any effort when others were in need, and always did what they could to
help the spread of the Church, by both almsgiving (cf. 2 Cor 8:3-4) and personal
commitment (cf. 2 Cor 8:5), prayer and help to the ministers of the Gospel, as
the Apostle knew from personal experience (cf. Phil 4:14-16).
St Paul recognizes their difficulties are due to their generous response to the de-
mands of the faith — a gift from God (cf. v. 29); that is why he continually prays
that they may always have the grace they need.
4. “With joy”: the Apostle’s joy is one of the outstanding features of this epistle;
the good spirit of the Philippians makes him particularly happy: the very thought
of them brings him joy. Further on, in 3:1, he tells them to rejoice in the Lord;
and in 4:4 he twice repeats this exhortation to a joy that comes from closeness
to the Lord (cf. notes on Phil 4:4; 4:5-7).
The same exhortation to true joy is very often to be found in early Christian wri-
tings: “Clothe yourself with cheerfulness, which always finds favor with God and
is acceptable to him. Take all your delight in this, for every cheerful man does
good, has good thoughts, and despises melancholy” (”The Pastor of Hermas”,
X, 3, 1).
Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22) and a virtue intimately connected
with supernatural charity, from which it derives (cf. “Summa Theologiae”, II-II, q.
23, a. 4). It is a gift a soul in grace experiences, irrespective of its personal situa-
tion or circumstances. It comes from union with God and recognition of his loving
Providence towards all creation and especially towards his children. Joy gives
the Christian peace and objectivity in everything he does.
6. The Old Testament teaches that God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6; Ps 119:137). His faith-
fulness means that he always is true to his word, always keeps the promises he
makes to his people (cf. Deut 34:4); therefore man can abandon himself into
God’s hand without fear, for there he will find a safe refuge (cf. Ps 31:5-6). God,
who initiated the work of salvation by giving Christians the gift of faith and filling
them with sanctifying grace, will continue to enrich them with his grace until they
at last encounter Christ in heaven (cf. 1 Cor 1:4-9).
On the basis of this verse of Scripture, the Church’s Magisterium, in reaction to
the Pelagian heresy, taught that the beginnings of faith, as also increase of faith
and the act of faith whereby we believe, are all the result of grace and man’s free
response to that gift (cf. Second Council of Orange, can. 5). Centuries later, the
Council of Trent repeated this teaching: just as God began this good work, he
will bring it to completion, if we for our part cooperate (cf. “De Iustificatione”,
chap. 13).
By reflecting on this truth, St. Francis de Sales tells us, we shall come to realize
how much we ought to trust in God: “Our Lord is ever watchful of the actions of
his children; he gets them to walk ahead of him and gives them a helping hand if
they meet up with difficulty. He said as much through Isaiah: ‘For I, the Lord your
God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, Fear not, I will help you” (Is 41:
13). So, in addition to having good morale, we should put all our trust in God and
in his help, for, provided we don’t lose the state of grace, he will complete in us
the good work of our salvation which he has already begun” (”Treatise on the
Love of God”, 3. 4).
To this trust in divine help must be added a personal effort to respond to grace,
for, in the words of St. Augustine, “God who created you without your coopera-
tion will not save you without your cooperation” (”Sermon 169”, 13).
“The day of Christ Jesus”: see the note on 1 Cor 1:8-9.
8. “With all the affection of Christ Jesus”: St Paul is so identified with our Lord
that he can say that he has the same sentiments towards them as Christ has.
This supernatural love is quite compatible with human affection, but it raises it
on to a higher level. This entire epistle is an excellent proof of how the two kinds
of love — human and divine — interweave. Charity “joins closely to God those in
whom it reigns”, Leo XIII teaches, “and causes them to receive from God the life
of the soul and to live with him and for him. Love of neighbor has to go hand in
hand with charity and love of God, for (we must recognize that) all mankind share
in God’s infinite goodness and are made in his image and likeness” (”Sapientiae
Christianae”, 51-52).
Helping others is the surest sign of true love, for, writes St Teresa of Avila, “we
cannot be sure if we are loving God, although we may have good reasons for be-
lieving that we are, but we can know quite well if we are loving our neighbor. And
be certain that, the farther advanced you find you are in this, the greater the love
you will have for God; for so dearly does His Majesty love us that He will reward
our love for our neighbor by increasing the love which we bear to himself, and
that in a thousand ways” (”Interior Castle”, 5, 3, 8).
This love is the basis of apostolic effectiveness: “A sign of love will be the con-
cern to give the truth and to bring people into unity. Another sign of love will be a
devotion to the proclamation of Jesus Christ, without reservation or turning back”
(Paul VI, “Evangelii Nuntiandi”, 79).
9-11. “Discernment”: a deeply Christian view of things, which enables one to see
the events of everyday life in a supernatural light and therefore understand them
properly — very much the same idea as conveyed by the “wisdom” so often refer-
red to in the Old Testament.
Up to this point St Paul’s prayers and exhortations have had to do with steady
growth in charity. Since charity is a supernatural virtue, “one needs to ask God
to increase it, since God alone can bring that about in us” (St Thomas Aquinas,
“Commentary on Phil, ad loc.”). Growth in charity means our attaining greater
“knowledge” of God. “The lover”, St Thomas says, “is not satisfied with superfi-
cial knowledge of the beloved, but strives to gain an intimate knowledge of every-
thing pertaining to him, so as to penetrate his very soul” (”Summa Theologiae”,
I-II, q. 28, a. 2). Eagerness to know God brings one closer and closer to Jesus
Christ, in an effort to absorb his teachings and put into practice the saving truths
they contain — to act “with discernment”, knowing what is the best thing to do in
every situation.
A personal relationship with God through prayer, identification with Christ by fre-
quent reception of the sacraments, and the action of the Holy Spirit indwelling in
the soul in grace, give the Christian a special insight that enables him to distin-
guish good from evil in the concrete situations that arise. The gift of wisdom “al-
lows us to know God and rejoice in his presence; it enables us to judge accu-
rately the situations and events of this life [...].
“Not that the Christian should neglect to see all that is good in humanity, appre-
ciate its healthy joys or participate in its enthusiasm and ideals. On the contrary,
a true Christian will vibrate in unison with all the good he finds in the world. And
he will live in the midst of it with a special concern, since he knows, better than
anyone, the depth and the richness of the human spirit.
“A Christian’s faith does not diminish his spirit or limit the noble impulses of his
soul: rather it makes them grow with the realization of their true and authentic
meaning” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 133).
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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 3:1-6
The Preaching of John the Baptist
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Commentary:
1. The Gospel identifies very precisely the time and place of the public appea-
rance of John the Baptist, the Precursor of Christ, “Tiberius Caesar” was the se-
cond emperor of Rome, and the fifteenth year of his reign corresponds to A.D. 27
or 29, depending on which of the two possible calculations is correct.
“Pontius Pilate” was governor or “praefectus” of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36. His
jurisdiction also extended to Samaria and Idumea.
The “Herod” referred to here is Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, who suc-
ceeded to part of his father’s territory with the title of tetrarch, not king. “Tetrarch”
indicated that he exercised his power in subordination to Roman authority. It was
Herod Antipas, who died in A.D. 39, who had St John the Baptist beheaded. On
the identity of the four Herods in the New Testament, see the note on Mt 2:1.
“Philip”, another son of Herod the Great and stepbrother of Herod Antipas, was
tetrarch in the territory mentioned here up to the year 34 B.C. He married Hero-
dias, who is spoken about in Mk 6:17-19.
2. The high priest at the time was “Caiaphas”, who held the position from A.D.
18 to 36. Annas, his father-in-law, was still so influential that he was considered
as the “de facto” head of Jewish religious and political life. That is why, when
Christ was arrested, he was first interrogated before Annas (Jn 18:12-24). St
Luke therefore is perfectly justified in calling him the high priest.
2-3. Here St Luke formally introduces St John the Baptist, who appears in his
gospel a number of times. When Christ praises the Baptist (cf. Mt 11: 7-9) he re-
fers particularly to his strength of will and his commitment to his God-given mis-
sion. Humility, austerity, courage and a spirit of prayer figure strongly in John’s
personality. So faithful was he to his mission of preparing the way for the Mes-
siah that Christ praises him in a unique way: he is the greatest of those born of
woman (cf. Mt 11:11), “a burning and shining lamp” (Jn 5:35). He burned with
love, and shone by the witness he bore. Christ “was the light” (Jn 1:9); the Bap-
tist “came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe
through him” (Jn 1:7).
John the Baptist appears on the scene preaching the need for repentance. He
prepares “the way of the Lord”. He is the herald of salvation: but his mission
does not go beyond that; he simply announces that salvation is coming. “Among
you stands one...who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worth
to untie” (Jn 1:27). He points Christ out: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29, 36),
behold “the Son of God” (Jn 1:34); and he rejoices to see his own disciples leave
him to follow Christ (Jn 1:37): “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).
4-6. In the second part of the Book of Isaiah (chaps. 40-55), which is called the
“Book of the Consolation of Israel”, the Jewish people are told that they will once
again suffer exile and a new exodus in which their guide will be, not Moses, but
God himself; once again they will make their way through the desert to reach a
new promised land. St Luke sees the preaching of the Baptist, who announces
the arrival of the Messiah, as fulfilling this prophecy.
Because the Lord is imminent, people must prepare themselves spiritually, by
doing penance for their sins, to receive the special divine grace the Messiah is
bringing. This is what he means by levelling the mountains and making the Lord’s
path straight.
Every year in its Advent liturgy the Church proclaims the coming of Jesus Christ,
our Savior, exhorting every Christian to purify his or her soul by a new interior
conversion.
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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.