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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-01-19, SOL, All Saints Day
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 11-01-19 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 10/31/2019 10:59:54 PM PDT by Salvation

November 1 2019

Solemnity of All Saints

Reading 1 Rv 7:2-4, 9-14

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."

All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:

"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Reading 2 1 Jn 3:1-3

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

Alleluia Mt 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."



TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt5; ordinarytime; prayer; romancatholic; saints
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1 posted on 10/31/2019 10:59:54 PM PDT by Salvation
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To: All

KEYWORDS: catholic; mt5; ordinarytime; prayer; saints;


2 posted on 10/31/2019 11:03:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...
Alleluia Ping

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3 posted on 10/31/2019 11:03:52 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

The Great Multitude of the Saved


[2] Then I (John) saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the
seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had
been given power to harm earth and sea, [3] saying, “Do not harm the earth or
the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their fore-
heads.” [4] And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thou-
sand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.

[9] After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their
hands, [10] and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who
sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” [11] And all the angels stood round the
throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their
faces before the throne and worshipped God, [12] saying, “Amen! Blessing and
glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our
God for ever and ever! Amen.”

[13] Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in
white robes, and whence have they come?” [14] I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation;
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-17. This chapter consists of two visions designed to illustrate God’s protection
of Christians and the happy circumstances of the martyrs. The victory of the
Church is depicted — of the entire Church, made up of people from the four points
of the compass (vv. 9-12). What is not so clear, however, is who the one hundred
and forty-four thousand are, drawn from the twelve tribes of Israel, whom an angel
has marked with the seal of the living God (vv. 1-8). Some commentators inter-
pret them as all being Christians of Jewish background (Judaeo-Christians). O-
thers say that they are those who make up the new Israel which St Paul speaks
about in Galatians 6:17; that is, all the baptized viewed first as still engaged in
their battle (vv. 1-8) and then after they have won victory (vv. 9-17). The most plau-
sible interpretation is that the one hundred and forty four thousand stand for the
Jews converted to Christianity (as distinct from those not converted) — the ‘rem-
nant of Israel’ (cf. Is 4:2-4; Ezek 9; etc.). St Paul says that they prove the irrevo-
cable nature of God’s election (cf. Rom 11:1-5) and are the first-fruits of the resto-
ration which will come about at the End (cf. Rom 11:25-32).

The hundred and forty-four thousand are included in the second vision; they would
be part of the great multitude “from all tribes and people and tongues”. Thus, the
vision in vv. 9-17 takes in the entire Church without any distinctions, whereas the
vision in vv. 1-8 can refer only to a part of the Church — those Jews who, by beco-
ming Christians, made up the original nucleus of the Church. The Church admits
these on the same basis as all those who become Christians later without having
had to pass through any stage of Jewish observance.

1-8. In Jewish tradition angels were divided into two groups — angels of the Pre-
sence and sanctification, and those charged with controlling the forces of nature.
Both kinds appear in this passage.

According to the custom of the time, when something bore the mark of a seal or
brand that meant that it belonged to the seal’s owner. This passage is saying
that the one hundred and forty four thousand belong to God and therefore will be
protected by him as his property. This fulfills what Ezekiel prophesied about the
inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf. Ezek 9:1-7): some would be sealed on the forehead
with a tax (the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and would therefore escape the
punishment to be inflicted on all the rest: this shows the special way God makes
provision for those who are his not only because he created them but also by a
new title.

The Fathers of the Church saw this mark as symbolizing the character Baptism
impresses on the souls of the faithful to show that they are destined for eternal
life. Thus, the persons preserved from harm are the Jews who were converts to
Christianity: their Baptism marked them out from those Jews who rejected Christ
and were not baptized.

The list of tribes is somewhat different from the usual list which keeps the order
of Genesis 29. The name of Judah is put first because the Messiah came from
that tribe, as St John recently mentioned (cf. 5:5); and there is no mention of the
tribe of Dan, presumably because it fell into idolatry (cf. Judg 17-18) and eventual-
ly disappeared. To make up the tally of twelve the tribe of Joseph is mentioned
twice — as that of Joseph and as that of Manasseh, his first-born.

The number of those sealed (12 x 12 x 1000) symbolizes completeness, totality
— in this instance, a huge multitude, depicted as the new Israel. Included in this
number are the descendants of Jacob who receive Baptism, irrespective of when
they do. Obviously this number is not meant to be taken literally, as if only one
hundred and forty-four thousand people will attain salvation. In this scene all
those of Gentile background who become Christians over the course of history
are explicitly not included. They will appear in the vision which follows.

9-17. Bl. John Paul II has commented on this passage as follows: “The people
dressed in white robes whom John sees with his prophetic eye are the redeemed,
and they form a ‘great multitude’, which no one could count and which is made up
of people of the most varied backgrounds. The blood of the Lamb, who has been
offered in sacrifice for all, has exercised its universal and most effective redemp-
tive power in every corner of the earth, extending grace and salvation to that ‘great
multitude’. After undergoing the trials and being purified in the blood of Christ, they
— the redeemed — are now safe in the Kingdom of God, whom they praise and
bless for ever and ever” (”Homily”, 1 November 1981). This great crowd includes
all the saved and not just the martyrs, for it says that they washed their robes in
the blood of the Lamb, not in their own blood.

Everyone has to become associated with Christ’s passion through suffering, as
St Augustine explains, not without a certain humor: “Many are martyrs in their
beds. The Christian is lying on his couch, tormented by pain. He prays and his
prayers are not heard, or perhaps they are heard but he is being put to the test...
so that he may be received as a son. He becomes a martyr through illness and
is crowned by him who hung upon the Cross” (”Sermon” 286, 8).

“It is consoling and encouraging to know that those who attain heaven constitute
a huge multitude. The passages of Matthew 7:14 and Luke 13:24 which seem to
imply that very few will be saved should be interpreted in the light of this vision,
which shows that the infinite value of Christ’s blood makes God’s will be done:
“(God) desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
(1 Tim 2:4).

In vv 14-17 we see the blessed in two different situations — first, before the resur-
rection of the body (v. 14) and, then, after it, when body and soul have been reu-
nited (vv. 15-17). In this second situation the nature of risen bodies is highligh-
ted: they cannot suffer pain or inconvenience of any kind: they are out of harm’s
reach; they have the gift of “impassibility” (cf. “St Pius V Catechism”, I, 12, 13).

This consoling scene is included in the vision to encourage believers to imitate
those Christians who were like us and now find themselves in heaven because
they have come through victorious. The Church invites us to pray along similar
lines: “Father, you sanctified the Church of Rome with the blood of its first mar-
tyrs. May we find strength from their courage and rejoice in their triumph” (”Ro-
man Missal”, Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, opening pra-
yer).

*********************************************************************************************
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.


4 posted on 10/31/2019 11:05:32 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: 1 John 3:1-3

We are Children of God


[1] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of
God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not
know him. [2] Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.

A Child of God Does Not Sin


[3] And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-24. This entire chapter shows how moved the Apostle is when he contemplates
the marvelous gift of divine filiation. The Holy Spirit, who is the author of all Sa-
cred Scripture, has desired John to pass on to us this unique revelation: we are
children of God (v. 1).

It is not easy to divide the chapter into sections, because the style is very cyclic
and colloquial and includes many repetitions and further thoughts which make for
great vividness and freshness. However, we can distinguish an opening proclama-
tion of the central message (vv. 1-2) and emphasis on two requirements of divine
filiation — rejection of sin in any shape or form (vv. 3-10), and brotherly love lived
to the full (vv. 11-24).

1. “We should be called children of God”: the original Hebrew expression, which
reads “we are called...”, is also used by our Lord in the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:9):
“to be called” means the same as “to be called by God”; and in the language of
the Bible, when God gives someone a name he is not simply conferring a title but
is causing the thing that the name indicates (cf., e.g., Gen 17:5), for the word of
God is efficacious, it does what it says it will do. Hence St John’s adding: “and
so we are”.

Therefore, it is not just a matter of a metaphorical title, or a legal fiction, or adop-
tion human-style: divine filiation is an essential feature of a Christian’s life, a mar-
velous fact whereby God gratuitously gives men a strictly supernatural dignity, an
intimacy with God whereby they are “domestici Dei”, “members of the household
of God” (Eph 2:19). This explains the tone of amazement and joy with which St
John passes on this revelation.

This sense of divine filiation is one of the central points in the spirituality of Opus
Dei. Its founder wrote: “We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness.
We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God’s own life, to know and
love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also — in
that same love of the one God in three divine Persons — the angels and all men.

“This is the great boldness of the Christian faith — to proclaim the value and dig-
nity of human nature and to affirm that we have been created to obtain the digni-
ty of children of God, through the grace that raises us up to a supernatural level.
An incredible boldness it would be, were it not founded on the promise of salva-
tion given us by God the Father, confirmed by the blood of Christ, and reaffirmed
and made possible by the constant action of the Holy Spirit” (”Christ Is Passing
By”, 133).

“The world does not know us, (because) it did not know him”: these words are
reminiscent of our Lord’s at the Last Supper: “the hour is coming when whoever
kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because
they have not known the Father, nor me” (Jn 16:2-3). Divine filiation brings with
it communion and a mysterious identification between Christ and the Christian.

2. The indescribable gift of divine filiation, which the world does not know (v. 1),
is not fully experienced by Christians, because the seeds of divine life which it
contains will only reach their full growth in eternal life, when we see him “as he
is”, “face to face” (1 Cor 13:12); “this is eternal life, that they know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (Jn 17:3). In that direct sight
of God as he is, and of all things in God, the life of grace and divine filiation
achieve their full growth. Man is not naturally able to see God face to face; he
needs to be enlightened by a special light, which is given the technical theologi-
cal name of “lumen gloriae”, light of glory. This does not allow him to “take in”
all God (no created thing could do that), but it does allow him to look at God di-
rectly.

Commenting on this verse, the “St Pius V Catechism” explains that “beatitude
consists of two things — that we shall behold God such as he is in his own na-
ture and substance; and that we ourselves shall become, as it were, gods. For
those who enjoy God while they retain their own nature, assume a certain admi-
rable and almost divine form, so as to seem gods rather than men” (I, 13, 7).

“When he appears”: two interpretations are possible, given that in Greek the verb
has no subject: “when (what we shall be) is revealed we shall be as he is”; or, as
the New Vulgate translates it, “when he (Christ) is revealed we will be like him
(Christ)”. The second interpretation is the more likely.

3. “Purifies himself’: Christian hope, which is grounded on Christ, is something
active and it moves the Christian to “purify himself”. This verb is evocative of the
ritual purifications required of priests in the Old Testament prior to engaging in
divine service (cf. Ex 19:10; Num 8:21; Acts 21:24); here, and in other places
in the New Testament, it means interior purification from sins, that is, righteous-
ness, holiness (1 Pet 1:22; Jas 4:8). Our model is Jesus Christ, “as he is pure”;
he is the One who has never had sin, the Righteous One (1 Jn 2: 29; 3:7); a
Christian has no other model of holiness, as Jesus himself said: “Learn from me”
(Mt 11:29; cf. Jn 14:6). “We have to learn from him, from Jesus, who is our only
model. If you want to go forward without stumbling or wandering off the path, then
all you have to do is walk the road he walked, placing your feet in his footprints
and entering into his humble and patient Heart, there to drink from the wellsprings
of his commandments and of his love. In a word, you must identify yourself with
Jesus Christ and try to become really and truly another Christ among your fellow
men” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 128).

*********************************************************************************************
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.


5 posted on 10/31/2019 11:06:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: Matthew 5:1-12a

The Beatitudes


[1] Seeing the crowds, He (Jesus) went up on the mountain, and when He sat
down His disciples came to Him. [2] And He opened His mouth and taught them,
saying: [3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
[4] Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. [5] Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. [6] Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [7] Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy. [8] Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see
God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
[10] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the Kingdom of Heaven. [11] Blessed are you when men revile you and perse-
cute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. [12] Re-
joice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1. The Discourse, or Sermon, on the Mount takes up three full chapters of St.
Matthew’s Gospel — Chapters 5-7. It is the first of the five great discourses of
Jesus which appear in this Gospel and it contains a considerable amount of
our Lord’s teaching.

It is difficult to reduce this discourse to one single theme, but the various tea-
chings it contains could be said to deal with these five points: 1) the attitude a
person must have for entering the Kingdom of Heaven (the Beatitudes, the salt
of the earth, the light of the world, Jesus and His teaching, the fullness of the
Law); 2) uprightness of intention in religious practice (here the “Our Father”
would be included); 3) trust in God’s fatherly providence; 4) how God’s children
should behave towards one another (not judging one’s neighbor, respect for ho-
ly things, the effectiveness of prayer, and the golden rule of charity); 5) the con-
ditions for entering the Kingdom (the narrow gate, false prophets and building
on rock).

“He taught them”: this refers both to the disciples and to the multitude, as can
be seen at the end of the Sermon (Matthew 7:28).

2. The Beatitudes (5:3-12) form, as it were, the gateway to the Sermon on the
Mount. In order to understand the Beatitudes properly, we should bear in mind
that they do not promise salvation only to the particular kinds of people listed
here: they cover everyone whose religious dispositions and moral conduct meet
the demands which Jesus lays down. In other words, the poor in spirit, the
meek, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the
merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who suffer persecution
in their search for holiness — these are not different people or kinds of people
but different demands made on everyone who wants to be a disciple of Christ.

Similarly, salvation is not being promised to different groups in society but to
everyone, no matter what his or her position in life, who strives to follow the
spirit and to meet the demands contained in the Beatitudes.

All the Beatitudes have an eschatological meaning, that is, they promise us de-
finitive salvation not in this world, but in the next. But the spirit of the Beatitudes
does give us, in this life, peace in the midst of tribulation. The Beatitudes imply
a completely new approach, quite at odds with the usual way man evaluates
things: they rule out any kind of pharisaical religiosity, which regards earthly
happiness as a blessing from God and a reward for good behavior, and unhap-
piness and misfortune as a form of punishment. In all ages the Beatitudes put
spiritual goods on a much higher plane than material possessions. The healthy
and the sick, the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor — all are called,
independently of their circumstances, to the deep happiness that is experienced
by those who live up to the Beatitudes which Jesus teaches.

The Beatitudes do not, of course, contain the entire teaching of the Gospel, but
they do contain, in embryo, the whole program of Christian perfection.

3. This text outlines the connection between poverty and the soul. This religious
concept of poverty was deeply rooted in the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Zephaniah
2:3ff). It was more to do with a religious attitude of neediness and of humility to-
wards God than with material poverty: that person is poor who has recourse to
God without relying on his own merits and who trusts in God’s mercy to be saved.
his religious attitude of poverty is closely related to what is called “spiritual child-
hood”. A Christian sees himself as a little child in the presence of God, a child
who owns nothing: everything he has comes from God and belongs to God. Cer-
tainly, spiritual poverty, that is, Christian poverty, means one must be detached
from material things and practice austerity in using them. God asks certain peo-
ple — religious — to be legally detached from ownership and thereby bear witness
to others of the transitoriness of earthly things.

4. “Those who mourn”: here our Lord is saying that those are blessed who suf-
fer from any kind of affliction — particularly those who are genuinely sorry for their
sins, or are pained by the offenses which others offer God, and who bear their
suffering with love and in a spirit of atonement.

“You are crying? Don’t be ashamed of it. Yes, cry: men also cry like you, when
they are alone and before God. Each night, says King David, I soak my bed with
tears. With those tears, those burning manly tears, you can purify your past and
supernaturalize your present life” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 216).

The Spirit of God will console with peace and joy, even in this life, those who
weep for their sins, and later will give them a share in the fullness of happiness
and glory in Heaven: these are the blessed.

5. “The meek”: those who patiently suffer unjust persecution; those who remain
serene, humble and steadfast in adversity, and do not give way to resentment or
discouragement. The virtue of meekness is very necessary in the Christian life.
Usually irritableness, which is very common, stems from a lack of humility and
interior peace.

“The earth”: this is usually understood as meaning our Heavenly Fatherland.

6. The notion of righteousness (or justice) in Holy Scripture is an essentially reli-
gious one (cf. notes on Matthew 1:19 and 3:15; Romans 1:17; 1:18-32; 3:21-22
and 24). A righteous person is one who sincerely strives to do the Will of God,
which is discovered in the commandments, in one’s duties of state in life (social,
professional and family responsibilities) and through one’s life of prayer. Thus,
righteousness, in the language of the Bible, is the same as what nowadays is
usually called “holiness” (1 John 2:29; 3:7-10; Revelation 22:11; Genesis 15:6;
Deuteronomy 9:4).

As St. Jerome comments (”Comm. on Matthew”, 5, 6), in the fourth Beatitude
our Lord is asking us not simply to have a vague desire for righteousness: we
should hunger and thirst for it, that is, we should love and strive earnestly to seek
what makes a man righteous in God’s eyes. A person who genuinely wants to
attain Christian holiness should love the means which the Church, the universal
vehicle of salvation, offers all men and teaches them to use — frequent use of the
Sacraments, an intimate relationship with God in prayer, a valiant effort to meet
one’s social, professional and family responsibilities.

7. Mercy is not a just a matter of giving alms to the poor but also of being under-
standing towards other people’s defects, overlooking them, helping them cope
with them and loving them despite whatever defects they may have. Being mer-
ciful also means rejoicing and suffering with other people.

8. Christ teaches us that the source of the quality of human acts lies in the heart,
that is, in a man’s soul, in the depths of his spirit. “When we speak of a person’s
heart, we refer not just to his sentiments, but to the whole person in his loving
dealings with others. In order to help us understand divine things, Scripture uses
the expression ‘heart’ in its full human meaning, as the summary and source,
expression and ultimate basis, of one’s thoughts, words and actions. A man is
worth what his heart is worth” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 164).

Cleanness of heart is a gift of God, which expresses itself in a capacity to love,
in having an upright and pure attitude to everything noble. As St. Paul says,
“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, what-
ever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything
worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Helped by God’s
grace, a Christian should constantly strive to cleanse his heart and acquire this
purity, whose reward is the vision of God.

9. The translation “peacemakers” well convey the active meaning of the original
text — those who foster peace, in themselves and in others and, as a basis for
that, try to be reconciled and to reconcile others with God. Being at peace with
God is the cause and effect of every kind of peace. Any peace on earth not
based on this divine peace would be vain and misleading.

“They shall be called sons of God”: this is an Hebraicism often found in Sacred
Scripture; it is the same as saying “they will be sons of God”. St. John’s first
letter (3:1) provides a correct exegesis of this Beatitude: “See what love the
Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are”.

10. What this Beatitude means, then, is: blessed are those who are persecuted
because they are holy, or because they are striving to be holy, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus, blessed is he who suffers persecution for being true to Jesus Christ and
who does so not only patiently but joyfully. Circumstances arise in a Christian’s
life that call for heroism — where no compromise is admissible: either one stays
true to Jesus Christ whatever the cost in terms of reputation, life or possessions,
or one denies Him. St. Bernard (”Sermon on the Feast of All Saints”) says that
the eighth Beatitude is as it were the prerogative of Christian martyrs. Every
Christian who is faithful to Jesus’ teaching is in fact a “martyr” (a witness) who
reflects or acts according with this Beatitude, even if he does not undergo phy-
sical death.

11-12. The Beatitudes are the conditions Jesus lays down for entering the King-
dom of Heaven. This verse, in a way summing up the preceding ones, is an invi-
tation to everyone to put this teaching into practice. The Christian life, then, is
no easy matter, but it is worthwhile, given the reward that Jesus promises.

*********************************************************************************************
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.


6 posted on 10/31/2019 11:07:17 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.


First reading
Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14 ©
I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language
I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.
  After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’
  One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
  the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
  on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
  Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
  who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
  and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
  seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

Second reading 1 John 3:1-3 ©
We shall be like God because we shall see him as he really is
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
  by letting us be called God’s children;
  and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
  therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
  but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
  we shall be like him
  because we shall see him as he really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
  must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.

Gospel Acclamation Mt11:28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 5:1-12a ©
How happy are the poor in spirit
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
  they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
  they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
  they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
  they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
  they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
  they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

7 posted on 10/31/2019 11:14:53 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Matthew
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Matthew 5
1 AND seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. Videns autem Jesus turbas, ascendit in montem, et cum sedisset, accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus, ιδων δε τους οχλους ανεβη εις το ορος και καθισαντος αυτου προσηλθον αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου
2 And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: et aperiens os suum docebat eos dicens : και ανοιξας το στομα αυτου εδιδασκεν αυτους λεγων
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Beati pauperes spiritu : quoniam ipsorum est regnum cælorum. μακαριοι οι πτωχοι τω πνευματι οτι αυτων εστιν η βασιλεια των ουρανων
4 Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Beati mites : quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram. μακαριοι οι πενθουντες οτι αυτοι παρακληθησονται
5 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Beati qui lugent : quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. μακαριοι οι πραεις οτι αυτοι κληρονομησουσιν την γην
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam : quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. μακαριοι οι πεινωντες και διψωντες την δικαιοσυνην οτι αυτοι χορτασθησονται
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Beati misericordes : quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur. μακαριοι οι ελεημονες οτι αυτοι ελεηθησονται
8 Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Beati mundo corde : quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. μακαριοι οι καθαροι τη καρδια οτι αυτοι τον θεον οψονται
9 Blesses are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. Beati pacifici : quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. μακαριοι οι ειρηνοποιοι οτι αυτοι υιοι θεου κληθησονται
10 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam : quoniam ipsorum est regnum cælorum. μακαριοι οι δεδιωγμενοι ενεκεν δικαιοσυνης οτι αυτων εστιν η βασιλεια των ουρανων
11 Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Beati estis cum maledixerint vobis, et persecuti vos fuerint, et dixerint omne malum adversum vos mentientes, propter me : μακαριοι εστε οταν ονειδισωσιν υμας και διωξωσιν και ειπωσιν παν πονηρον ρημα καθ υμων ψευδομενοι ενεκεν εμου
12 Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. gaudete, et exsultate, quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in cælis. Sic enim persecuti sunt prophetas, qui fuerunt ante vos. χαιρετε και αγαλλιασθε οτι ο μισθος υμων πολυς εν τοις ουρανοις ουτως γαρ εδιωξαν τους προφητας τους προ υμων

8 posted on 11/01/2019 5:43:18 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when he was set, His disciples came to Him.
2. And he opened His mouth, and taught them, saying,
3. Blessed are they the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Every man in his own trade or profession rejoices when he sees an opportunity of exercising it; the carpenter if he sees a goodly tree desires to have it to cut down to employ his skill on, and the Priest when he sees a full Church, his heart rejoices, he is glad of the occasion to teach. So the Lord seeing a great congregation of people was stirred to teach them.

AUG. Or he may be thought to have sought to shun the thickest crowd, and to have ascended the mountain that He might speak to His disciples alone.

CHRYS. By not choosing his seat in the city, and the market place, but on a mountain in a desert, he has taught us to do nothing with ostentation, and to depart from crowds, above all when we are to be employed in philosophy, or in speaking of serious things.

REMIG. This should be known, that the Lord had three places of retirement that we read of, the ship, the mountain, and the desert; to one of these He was accustomed to withdraw whenever he was pressed by the multitude.

JEROME; Some of the less learned brethren suppose the Lord to have spoken what follows front the Mount of Olives, which is by no means the case; what went before and what follows fixes the place in Galilee. Mount Tabor. We may suppose, or any other high mountain.

CHRYS. He ascended a mountain, first, that He might fulfill the prophecy of Esaias, Get you up into a mountain; Secondly, to show that as well he who teaches, as he who hears the righteousness of God should stand on an high ground of spiritual virtues; for none can abide in the valley and speak from a mountain. If you stand on the earth, speak of the earth; if you speak of heaven, stand in heaven. Or, He ascended into the mountain to show that all who would learn the mysteries of the truth should go up into the Mount of the Church of which the Prophet speaks, The hill of God is a hill of fatness.

HILARY; Or, He ascends the mountain, because it is placed in the loftiness of His Father's Majesty that He gives commands of heavenly life.

AUG. Or, he ascends the mountain to show that the precepts of righteousness given by God through the Prophets to the Jews, who were yet under the bondage of fear, were the lesser commandments; but that at by His own Son were given the greater commandments to a people which he had determined to deliver by love.

JEROME; He spoke to them sitting and not standing, for they could not have understood Him had He appeared in His own Majesty.

AUG. Or, to teach sitting is the prerogative of the Master. His disciples came to him, that they who in spirit approached more nearly to keeping His commandments, should also approach Him nearest with their bodily presence.

RABANUS; Mystically, this sitting down of Christ is His incarnation; had He not taken flesh on Him, mankind could not have come to Him.

AUG. It causes a thought how it is that Matthew relates this sermon to have been delivered by the Lord sitting on the mountain; Luke, as he stood in the plain. This diversity in their accounts would lead us to think that the occasions were different. Why should not Christ repeat once more what He said before, or do once more what he had done before? Although another method of reconciling the two may occur to us; namely, that our Lord was first with His disciples alone on some more lofty peak of the mountain when he chose the twelve; that He then descended with them not from the mountain entirely, but from the top to some expanse of level ground in the side, capable of holding a great number of people; that he stood there while the crowd was gathering around Him, and after when He had sat down, then his disciples came near to Him, and so to them and in the presence of the rest of the multitude He spoke the same sermon on which Matthew and Luke give, in a different manner, but with equal truth of facts.

GREG. When time Lord on the mountain is about to utter His sublime precepts, it is said Opening his mouth he taught them, he who had before opened the mouth of the Prophets.

REMIG. Wherever it is said that the Lord opened His mouth, we may know how great things are to follow.

AUG. Or, the phrase is introductory of an address longer than ordinary.

CHRYS. Or, that we may understand that He sometimes teaches by opening His mouth in speech, sometimes by that voice which resounds from His works.

AUG. Whoever will take the trouble to examine with a pious and sober spirit, will find in this sermon a perfect code of the Christian life as far as relates to the conduct of daily life. Accordingly the Lord concludes it with the Every man who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, &c.

AUG. The chief good is the only motive of philosophical inquiry; but whatever confers blessedness, that is the chief good; therefore He begins, Blessed are the poor in spirit.

ID. Augmentation of 'spirit' generally implies insolence and pride. For in common speech the proud are said to have a great spirit, and rightly - for wind is a spirit, and who does not know that we say of proud men that they are 'swollen,' 'puffed up.' Here therefore by poor in spirit are rightly understood 'lowly,' 'fearing God,' not having a puffed up spirit. -

CHRYS. Or, He here calls all loftiness of soul and temper spirit; for as there are many humble against their will, constrained by their outward condition, they have no praise; the blessing is on those who humble themselves by their own choice. Thus He begins at once at the root, pulling up pride which is the root and source of all evil, setting up as its opposite humility as a firm foundation. If this be well laid, other virtues may be firmly built thereon; if that be sapped, whatever good you gather upon it perishes.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Blessed are the poor in spirit, or, according to the literal rendering of the Greek, 'they who beg,' that the humble may learn that they should be ever begging at God's almshouse. For there are many naturally humble and not of faith, who do not knock at God's almshouse; but they alone are humble who are so of faith.

CHRYS. Or, the poor in spirit may be those who fear and tremble at God's commandments, whom the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah commends. Though why more than simply humble? Of the humble there may be in this place but few, in that again an abundance.

AUG. The proud seek an earthly kingdom, of the humble only is the kingdom of Heaven.

PSEUD-CHRYS. For as all other vices, but chiefly pride, casts down to hell; so all other virtues, but chiefly humility, conduct to Heaven; it is proper that he that humbles himself should be exalted.

JEROME; The poor in spirit are those who embrace a voluntary poverty for the sake of the Holy Spirit.

AMBROSE; In the eye of Heaven blessedness begins there where misery begins in human estimation.

GLOSS. The riches of Heaven are suitably promised to those who at this present are in poverty.

4. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.

AMBROSE; When you have done thus much, attained both poverty and meekness remember that you are a sinner, mourn your sins, as he proceeds, Blessed are they that mourn. And it is suitable that the third blessing should be of those that mourn for sin, for it is the Trinity that forgives sin.

HILARY; Those that mourn, that is not loss of kindred, affronts, or losses, but who weep for past sins.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. And they who weep for their own sins are blessed, but much more so who weep for others' sins; so should all teachers do.

JEROME; For the mourning here meant is not for the dead by common course of nature, but for the dead in sins, and vices. Thus Samuel mourned for Saul, thus the Apostle Paul mourned for those who had not performed penance after uncleanness.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. The comfort of mourners is the ceasing of their mourning; they then who mourn their own sins shall be consoled when they have received remittance thereof.

CHRYS. And though it were enough for such to receive pardon, yet he rests not His mercy only there, but makes them partakers of many comforts both here and hereafter. God's mercies are always greater than our troubles.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. But they also who mourn for others' sins shall be comforted, inasmuch as they shall own God's providence in that worldly generation, understanding that they who had perished were not of God, out of whose hand none can snatch. For these leaving to mourn, they shall be comforted in their own blessedness.

AUG. Otherwise; mourning is sorrow for the loss of what is dear; but those that are turned to God lose the things that they held dear in this world; and as they have now no longer any joy in such things as before they had joy in, their sorrow may not be healed till there is formed within them a love of eternal things. They shall then be comforted by the Holy Spirit, who is therefore chiefly called, The Paraclete, that is , 'Comforter;' so that for the loss of their temporal joys, they shall gain eternal joys.

GLOSS. Or, by mourning, two kinds of sorrow are intended; one for the miseries of this world, one for lack of heavenly things; so Caleb's daughter asked both the upper and the lower springs. This kind of mourning none have but the poor and the meek, who as not having the world acknowledge themselves miserable, and therefore desire heaven. Suitably, therefore, consolation is promised to them that mourn, that he who has sorrow at this present may have joy hereafter. But the reward of the mourner is greater than that of the poor or the meek, for to rejoice in the kingdom is more than to have it, or to possess it; for many things we possess in sorrow.

CHRYS. We may remark that this blessing is given most simply, but with great force and emphasis; it is most simply, 'who have grief,' but who mourn. And indeed this command is the sum of all philosophy. For if they who mourn for the death of children or kinsfolk, throughout all that season of their sorrow, are touched with no other desires, as of money, or honor, burn not with envy, feel not wrongs, nor are open to any other vicious passion, but are solely given up to their grief; much more ought they, who mourn their own sins in such manner as they ought to mourn for them, to show this higher philosophy.

5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

AMBROSE; When I have learned contentment in poverty, the next lesson is to govern my heart and temper. For what good is it to me to be without worldly things, unless I have besides a meek spirit? It suitably follows therefore, Blessed are the meek.

AUG. The meek are they who resist not wrongs, and give way to evil; but overcome evil of good.

AMBROSE; Soften therefore your temper that you be not angry, at least that you be angry, and sin not. It is a noble thing to govern passion by reason; nor is it a less virtue to check anger, than to be entirely without anger, since one is esteemed the sign of a weak, the other of a strong, mind.

AUG. Let the unyielding then wrangle and quarrel about earthly and temporal things, the meek are blessed, for they shall inherit the earth, and not be rooted out of it; that earth of which it is said in the Psalms, Your lot is in the land of the living, meaning the fixedness of a perpetual inheritance, in which the soul that has good dispositions rests as in its own place, as the body does in an earthly possession, it is fed by its own food, as the body by the earth; such is the rest and the life of the saints.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. This earth as some interpret, so long as it is in its present condition is the land of the dead, seeing it is subject to vanity; but when t is freed from corruption it becomes the land of the living, that the mortal may inherit an immortal country. I have read another exposition of it, as if the heaven in which the saints are to dwell is meant by the land of the living, because compared with the regions of death it is heaven, compared with the heaven above it is earth. Others again say, that this body as longs as it is subject to death is the land of the dead, when it shall be made like to Christ's glorious body, it will be the land of the living.

HILARY; Or, the Lord promises the inheritance of the earth to the meek, meaning of that Body, which Himself took on Him as his tabernacle; and as by the gentleness of our minds Christ dwells in us, we also shall be clothed with the glory of His renewed body.

CHRYS. Otherwise; Christ here has mixed things sensible with things spiritual. Because it is commonly supposed that he who is meek loses all that he possesses, Christ here gives a contrary promise, that he who is not forward shall possess his own in security, but that he of a contrary disposition many times loses his soul and his paternal inheritance. But because the Prophet had said, The meek shall inherit the earth, he used those well-known words in conveying His meaning

GLOSS. The meek, who have possessed themselves, shall possess hereafter the inheritance of the Father; to possess is more than to have, for we have many things which we lose immediately.

6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

AMBROSE; As soon as I have wept for my sins, I begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness. He who is afflicted with any sore disease, has no hunger.

JEROME; it is not enough that we desire righteousness, unless were also suffer hunger for it, by what expression we may understand that we are never righteous enough, but always hunger after works of righteousness.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. All good which men do not from love of the good itself is unpleasing before God. He hungers after righteousness who desires to walk according to the righteousness of God; he thirsts after righteousness who desires to get the knowledge thereof.

CHRYS. He may mean either general righteousness, or that particular virtue which is the opposite of covetousness. As he was going out to speak of mercy, He shows beforehand of what kind our mercy should be, that it should not be of the gains of plunder or covetousness, hence he ascribes to righteousness that which is peculiar to avarice, namely, to hunger and thirst.

HILARY; The blessedness which He appropriates to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shows that the deep longing of the saints for the doctrine of God shall receive perfect replenishment in heaven; then they shall be filled.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. Such; is the botany of a rewarding God, that at His gifts are greater than the desires of the saints.

AUG. Or he speaks of food with which they sat and he filled at this present; to wit, that food of which the Lord spoke, My food is to do the will of my Father, that is, righteousness, and that water of which whoever drinks it shall be in him a well of water springing up to life eternal.

CHRYS. Or, this is again a promise of a temporal reward; for as covetousness is thought to make many rich, He affirms on the contrary that righteousness rather makes rich, for he who loves righteousness possesses all things in safety.

7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

GLOSS. Justice and mercy are so united, that the one ought to be mingled with the other; justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice, profusion - hence He goes on to the one from the other.

REMIG. The merciful is he who has a sad heart; he counts others' misery his own, and is sad at their grief as at his own.

JEROME; Mercy here is not said only of alms, but is in every sin of a brother, if we bear one another's burdens.

AUG. He pronounces those blessed who succor the wretched, because they are rewarded in being themselves delivered from all misery; as it follows, for they shall obtain mercy.

HILARY; So greatly is God pleased with our feelings of benevolence towards all men, that He will bestow His own mercy only on the merciful.

CHRYS. The reward here seems at first to be only an equal return; but indeed it is much more; for human mercy and divine mercy are not to be put on an equality.

GLOSS. Justly is mercy dealt out to the merciful, that they should receive more than they had deserved; and as he who has more than enough receives more than he who has only enough so the glory of mercy is greater than that of the things hitherto mentioned.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

AMBROSE; The merciful loses the benefit of his mercy unless he shows it from a pure heart; for if he seeks to have whereof to boast, he loses the fruit of his deeds; the next that follows therefore is, Blessed are the pure in heart.

GLOSS. Purity of heart comes properly in the sixth place, because on the sixth day man was created in the image of God, which image was shrouded by sin, but is formed anew in pure hearts by grace. It follows rightly the before - mentioned graces, because if they be not there, a clean heart is not created in a man.

CHRYS. By the pure are here meant those who possess a perfect goodness, conscious to themselves of no evil thoughts, or again those who live in such temperance as is mostly necessary to seeing God according to that of St. Paul, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall all see God. For as there are many merciful, yet unchaste, to show that mercy alone is not enough, he adds this concerning purity.

JEROME; The pure is known by purity of heart for the temple of God cannot be impure.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. He who is in thought and deed fulfills all righteousness, sees God in his heart, for righteousness is an image of God, for God is righteousness. So far as any one has rescued himself from evil and works things that are good, so far does he see God either hardly, or fully, or sometimes, or always, according to the capabilities. of human nature. But in that world to come the pure in heart shall see God face to face not in a glass, and in enigma as here.

AUG. They are foolish who seek to see God with the bodily eye, seeing He is seen only by the heart, as it is elsewhere written, In singleness of heart seek you Him; the single heart is the same as is here called the pure heart. ID. But if spiritual eyes in the spiritual body shall be able only to see so much as they we now have can see, undoubtedly God will not be able to be seen of them. ID. This seeing God is the reward of faith; to which end our hearts are made pure by faith, as it is written, cleansing their hearts by faith; but the present verse proves this still more strongly. ID. No one seeing God can be alive with the life men have on earth or with these our bodily senses. Unless one die altogether out of this life, either by totally departing from the body, or so alienated from carnal lusts that he may truly say with the Apostle, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, he is not translated that he should see this vision.

GLOSS. The reward of these is greater than the reward of the first; being not merely to dine in the King's court, but further to see His face.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

AMBROSE; When you have made your inward parts clean from every spot of sin, that dissensions and contentions may not proceed from your temper, begin peace within yourself, that so you may extend it to others.

AUG. Peace is time fixedness of order; by order, I mean an arrangement of things like and unlike giving to each its own place. And as there is no man who would not willingly have joy, so is there no man who would not have peace; since even those who go to war desire nothing more than by war to come to a glorious peace.

JEROME; The peacemakers are pronounced blessed, they namely who make peace first within their own hearts, then between brethren at variance. For what avails it to make peace between others, while in your own heart are wars of rebellious vices.

AUG. The peacemakers within themselves are they who having stilled all disturbances of their spirits, having subjected them to reason, have overcome their carnal desires., and become the kingdom of God. There all things are so disposed, that that which is most chief and excellent in man, governs those parts. which we have in common with the brutes, though they struggle against it; nay even that in man which is excellent is subjected to a yet greater, namely, the very Truths, the Son of God. For it would not be able to govern what is inferior to it, if it were not subject to what is above it. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of good will.

ID. No man can attain in this life that there be not in his members a law resisting the law of his mind. But the peacemakers attain thus fat by overcoming the lusts of the flesh, that in time they come to a most perfect peace.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. The peacemakers with others are not only those who reconcile enemies, but those who unmindful of wrongs cultivate peace. That peace only is blessed which is lodged in the heart, and does not consist only in words. And they who love peace, they are the sons of peace.

HILARY; The blessedness of the peacemakers is the reward of adoption, they shall be called the sons of God. For God is our communion parent, and no other way can we pass into His family than by living in brotherly love together.

CHRYS. Or, if the peacemakers are they who do not contend one with another, but reconcile those that are at strife, they are rightly called the sons of God, seeing that was the chief employment of the only begotten Son, to reconcile things separated, to give peace to things at war.

AUG. Or, because peace is then perfect when there is no where any opposition, the peacemakers are called the sons of God, because nothing resists God, and the children ought to bear the likeness of their Father.

GLOSS. The peacemakers have thus the place of highest honor, inasmuch as he who is called the king's son, is the highest in the king's house. This beatitude is placed the seventh in order, because in the sabbath shall be given the repose of true peace, time six ages being passed away.

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

CHRYS; Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, that is for virtue, for defending others, for piety, for all these things are spoken of under the title of righteousness. This follows the beatitude upon the peacemakers, that we may not be led to suppose that it is good to seek peace at all times.

AUG. When peace is once firmly established within, whatever persecutions he who has been cast without raises, or carries on, he increases that glory which is the sight of God.

JEROME; For righteousness' sake He adds expressly, for many suffer persecution for their sins, and are not therefore righteousness. Likewise consider how the eighth beatitude of the true circumcision is terminated by martyrdom.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. he said not, Blessed are they who suffers persecution of the Gentiles; that we may not suppose the blessing pronounced on those only who are persecuted for refusing to sacrifice to idols; yea, whoever suffers persecution of heretics because he will not forsake the truth is likewise blessed, seeing he suffers for righteousness. Moreover, if any of the great ones, who seem to be Christians, being corrected by you on account of his sins, shall persecute you, you are blessed with John the Baptist. For if the Prophets are truly martyrs when they are killed by their own countrymen, without a doubt he who suffers in the cause of God has the reward of martyrdom though he suffers from his own people. Scripture therefore does not mention the persons of the persecutors, but only the cause of the persecution, that you may learn to look, not by whom but why you suffer.

HILARY; Thus, lastly, He includes those in the beatitudes whose will is ready to suffer all things for Christ, who is our righteousness. For these then also is the kingdom preserved, for they are in the contempt of this world poor in spirit.

AUG. Or, the eighth beatitude, as it were, returns to the commencement, because it shows the perfect complete character. In the first then and the eighth, the kingdom of heaven is named, for the seven go to make the perfect man, the eighth manifests and proves his perfectness, that all may be conducted to perfection by these steps.

AMBROSE; Otherwise; the first kingdom of heaven was promised to the Saints, in deliverance from this body; the second, that after the resurrection they should be with Christ. For after your resurrection you should begin to possess the earth delivered from death, and in that possession shall find comfort. Pleasure follows comfort, and His divine mercy pleasure. But on whom God has mercy, him He calls, and he whom he calls, behold Him that called him. He who beholds God is adopted into the rights of divine birth, and then at length as the son of God is delighted with the riches of the heavenly kingdom. The first then begins, the last is perfected.

CHRYS. Wonder not if you do not hear the kingdom mentioned under each beatitude; for in saying shall be comforted, shall find mercy, and the rest, in all these the kingdom of heaven is tacitly understood, so that you must not look for any of the things of sense. For indeed he would not be blessed who was to be crowned with those things which depart with this life.

AUG. The number of these sentences should be carefully attended to; to these seven degrees of blessedness agree the operation of that seven - form Holy Spirit which Isaiah described. But as He began from the highest, so here he begins from the lowest; for there we are taught that the Son of God will descend to the lowest; here that man will ascend from the lowest to the likeness of God. Here the first place is given to fear, which is suitable for the humble, of whom it is said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, that is, those who think not high things, but who fear. The second is piety, which belongs to the meek; for he who seeks piously, reverences, does not find fault, does not resist; and this is to become meek. The third is knowledge, which belongs to those that mourn, who have learned to what evils they are enslaved which they once pursued as goods. The fourth, which is fortitude, rightly belongs to those who hunger and thirst, who are seeking joy in true goods, labor to turn away from earthly lusts. The fifth, counsel, is appropriate for the merciful, for there is one remedy to deliver form so great evils, viz. to give and to distribute to others. The sixth is understanding, and belongs to the pure in heart, who with purged eye can see what eye sees not. The seventh is wisdom, and may be assigned to the peacemakers, in whom is no rebellious motion, but they obey the Spirit. Thus the one reward, the kingdom of heaven, is put forth under various names. In the first, as was right, is placed the kingdom of heaven, which is the beginning of perfect wisdom; as if it should be said, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To the meek, an inheritance, as to those who with piety seek the execution of a father's ill. To those that mourn, comfort, as to persons who know what they had lost, and in what they were immersed. To the hungry, plenty, as a refreshment to those who labor for salvation. To the merciful, mercy, that to those who have followed the best counsel, that may be showed which they have showed to others. To the pure in heart the faculty of seeing God, as to men hearing a pure eye to understand the things of eternity. To the peacemakers, the likeness of God. And all these things we believe may be attained in this life, as we believe they were fulfilled in the Apostles; for as to the things after this life they cannot be expressed in any words.

11. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

RABANUS; The preceding blessings were general; he now begins to address His discourse to them that were present, foretelling them the persecutions which they should suffer for His name.

AUG. It may be asked, what difference there is between 'they shall revile you'; and 'shall speak all manner of evil of you;' to revile, it may be said, being but to speak evil of. But a reproach thrown with insult in the face of one present is a different thing from a slander cast on the character of the absent. To persecute includes both open violence and secret snares.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. But if it be true that he who offers a cup of water does not lose his reward, consequently he who has been wronged but by a single word of calumny, shall not be without a reward. But that the reviled may have a claim to this blessing, two things are necessary, it must be false, and it must he for God's sake; otherwise he has not the reward of this blessing; therefore he adds, falsely for my sake.

AUG. This I suppose was added because of those who wish to boast of persecutions and evil reports of their shame, and therefore claim to belong to Christ because many evil things are said of them; but either these are true, or when false yet they are not for Christ's sake.

GREG. What hurt can you receive when men detract from you, though you have no defense but only your own conscience? But as we ought not to stir up willfully the tongues of slanderers, lest they perish for their slander, yet when their own malice has instigated them, we should endure it with equanimity, that our merit may be added to. Rejoice, he says, and exult, for your reward is abundant in heaven,

GLOSS. Rejoice, that is, in mind, exult with the body, for your reward is not great only but abundant in heaven.

AUG. Do not suppose that by heaven here is meant the upper regions of the sky of this visible world, for your reward is not to be placed in things that are seen, but by in heaven understand the spiritual firmament, where everlasting righteousness dwells. Those then whose joy is in things spiritual will even here have some foretaste of that reward; but it will be unable perfect in every part when this mortal shall have put on immortality.

JEROME; This it is in the power of any one of us to attain, that when our good character is injured by calumny, we rejoice in the Lord. He only who seeks after empty glory cannot attain this. Let us then rejoice and exult, that our reward may be prepared for us in heaven.

PSEUDO- CHRYS. For by how much any is pleased with the praise of men, by so much is he grieved with their evil speaking. But if you seek your glory in heaven, you will not fear any slanders on earth.

GREG; Yet ought we sometimes to check our defamers, lest by spreading evil reports of us, they corrupt the innocent hearts of those who might hear good from us.

GLOSS. He invites them to patience not only by the prospect of reward, but by example, when He adds, for so persecuted they the Prophets who were before you.

REMIG. For a man in sorrow receives great comfort from the recollection of the sufferings of others, who are set before him as an example of patience; as if he had said, Remember that you are His Apostles, of whom also they were Prophets.

CHRYS. At the same time He signifies His equality in honor with His Father, as if He had said, As they suffered for my Father, so shall you suffer for me. And in saying, The Prophets who were before you, He teaches that they themselves are already become Prophets.

AUG. Persecuted He says generally, comprehending both reproaches and defamation of character.

Catena Aurea Matthew 5
9 posted on 11/01/2019 5:44:09 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Christ Enthroned with Saints

(Harbaville Triptych)
ca. AD 950

Full View

10 posted on 11/01/2019 5:49:49 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All

Pray for Pope Francis.


11 posted on 11/01/2019 4:52:10 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
It's time to kneel down and pray for our nation (Sacramental Marriage)
12 posted on 11/01/2019 4:52:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)
Novena asking for St Michael The Archangel to stand with us and bring us victory
13 posted on 11/01/2019 4:54:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)
14 posted on 11/01/2019 5:04:52 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
7 Powerful Ways to Pray for Christians Suffering in the Middle East
15 posted on 11/01/2019 5:06:52 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Pray the Rosary!

50 Boko Haram Islamic Radicals Killed; 1,000 Hostages, Women and Children, Rescued in Nigeria
Nigeria: In the Face of Ongoing Islamist Attacks, the Faith is Growing
US Promises to Help Nigeria Exterminate Boko Haram
Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflictef on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group

16 posted on 11/01/2019 5:08:18 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

 
Jesus, High Priest
 

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem.  He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.


17 posted on 11/01/2019 8:36:13 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

(Tuesdays and Fridays)

1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

18 posted on 11/01/2019 8:38:19 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

St. Michael the Archangel

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+


19 posted on 11/01/2019 8:38:51 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

(For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." II Maccabees 12

 

November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. As a reminder of our duty to pray for the suffering faithful in Purgatory, the Church has dedicated the month of November to the Holy Souls. The Holy Souls are those who have died in the state of grace but who are not yet free from all punishment due to their unforgiven venial sins and all other sins already forgiven for which satisfaction is still to be made. They are certain of entering Heaven, but first they must suffer in Purgatory. The Holy Souls cannot help themselves because for them the night has come, when no man can work (John 9:4). It is our great privilege of brotherhood that we can shorten their time of separation from God by our prayers, good works, and, especially, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

To Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory:

1. Have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered up for them.

2. Pray the Rosary and or the Chaplet of Divine Marcy for them, or both.

3. Pray the Stations of the Cross.

4. Offer up little sacrifices and fasting.

5. Spread devotion to them, so that others may pray for them.

6. Attend Eucharistic Adoration and pray for them.

7. Gain all the indulgences you can, and apply them to the Holy Souls

8. Visit to a Cemetery

 

Litany for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance; 
He shall not fear the evil hearing.
 
V. Absolve, O Lord, the souls of the faithful departed 
from every bond of sin, 
R. And by the help of Thy grace
may they be enabled to escape the avenging judgment, 
and to enjoy the happiness of eternal life. 
Because in Thy mercy are deposited the souls that departed 
in an inferior degree of grace,
Lord, have mercy.
Because their present suffering is greatest 
in the knowledge of the pain that their separation from Thee is causing Thee,
Lord, have mercy. 
Because of their present inability to add to Thy accidental glory, 
Lord, have mercy.
Not for our consolation, O Lord; 
not for their release from purgative pain, O God; 
but for Thy joy 
and the greater accidental honour of Thy throne, O Christ the King,
Lord, have mercy.
For the souls of our departed friends, relations and benefactors, 
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those of our family who have fallen asleep in Thy bosom, O Jesus, 
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those who have gone to prepare our place,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
(For those who were our brothers [or sisters] in Religion,)
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For priests who were our spiritual directors,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For men or women who were our teachers in school,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those who were our employers (or employees),
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those who were our associates in daily toil,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For any soul whom we ever offended,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For our enemies now departed,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those souls who have none to pray for them,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those forgotten by their friends and kin,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those now suffering the most,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those who have acquired the most merit,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For the souls next to be released from Purgatory,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
 
For those who, while on earth, 
were most devoted to God the Holy Ghost, 
to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, 
to the holy Mother of God,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For all deceased popes and prelates,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For all deceased priests, seminarians and religious, 
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For all our brethren in the Faith everywhere, 
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For all our separated brethren who deeply loved Thee, 
and would have come into Thy household had they known the truth,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those souls who need, or in life asked, our prayers,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
For those, closer to Thee than we are, whose prayers we need,
grant light and peace, O Lord.  
That those may be happy with Thee forever, 
who on earth were true exemplars of the Catholic Faith, 
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
That those may be admitted to Thine unveiled Presence, 
who as far as we know never committed mortal sin,     
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.  
That those may be housed in glory, 
who lived always in recollection and prayer,
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.  
That those may be given the celestial joy of beholding Thee, 
who lived lives of mortification and self-denial and penance,
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.  
That those may be flooded with Thy love, 
who denied themselves even Thy favours of indulgence 
and who made the heroic act 
for the souls who had gone before them,
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.  
That those may be drawn up to the Beatific Vision, 
who never put obstacles in the way of sanctifying grace 
and who ever drew closer in mystical union with Thee,
grant them eternal rest, O Lord.  
V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, 
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them. 
 
Let Us Pray 
Be mindful, O Lord, 
of Thy servants and handmaids, 
N. and N., 
who are gone before us 
with the sign of faith 
and repose in the sleep of grace.  
To these, O Lord, 
and to all who rest in Christ, 
grant, we beseech Thee, 
a place of refreshment, 
light and peace, 
through the same Christ Our Lord.
 
Amen


Bringing back the dead… Catholic style
All Souls, Purgatory and the Bible

Letter #95: Remembering the Dead
Hungry Souls (a bit of a [Book] review) Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
What Is All Souls Day (Commemoration of the Faithful Departed)?
All Saints or All Souls? Differences should be black and white
All Souls' Day [Catholic Caucus]
Why I Am Catholic: For Purgatory, Thank Heavens (Ecumenical)
Q and A: Why Pray for the Dead? [Ecumenical]
“….and Death is Gain” – A Meditation on the Christian View of Death [Catholic Caucus]
99 & 1/2 Won’t Do – A Meditation on Purgatory
The Month of November: Thoughts on the "Last Things"
To Trace All Souls Day

November 2 -- All Souls Day
On November: All Souls and the "Permanent Things"
"From the Pastor" ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS
Praying for the Dead [All Souls Day] (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
To Trace All Souls Day [Ecumenical]
All Souls Day [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Roots of All Souls Day
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
During Month of Souls, Recall Mystic, St. Gertrude the Great
All Saints and All Souls


20 posted on 11/01/2019 8:39:48 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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