Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 23-September-2022; Padre Pio

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:

A time for giving birth,

a time for planting,

a time for uprooting what has been planted.

a time for knocking down,

a time for building.

a time for laughter;

a time for mourning,

A time for throwing stones away,

a time for gathering them up;

a time for embracing,

a time to refrain from embracing.

A time for searching,

a time for throwing away.

a time for keeping silent,

a time for speaking.

What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

He is my love, my fortress;

he is my stronghold, my saviour

my shield, my place of refuge.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

Lord, what is man that you care for him,

mortal man, that you keep him in mind;

man, who is merely a breath

whose life fades like a passing shadow?

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

The Son of Man came to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

One day when Jesus was praying alone in the presence of his disciples he put this question to them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ It was Peter who spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this.

‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’

Through the Law I am dead to the Law, so that now I can live with God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

You will be happy and prosper.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed

the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

all the days of your life!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

You have only one Father, and he is in heaven;

you have only one Teacher, the Christ.

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Follow me, says the Lord,

and I will make you into fishers of men.

The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to captives.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my own sheep and my own know me.

you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty,

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,

and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’

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

1 posted on 09/23/2022 4:26:04 AM PDT by annalex

KEYWORDS: catholic; lk9; mt16; ordinarytime; prayer

2 posted on 09/23/2022 4:26:55 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...

Alleluia Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.

3 posted on 09/23/2022 4:27:37 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

4 posted on 09/23/2022 4:28:01 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 9
18.	And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples also were with him: and he asked them, saying: Whom do the people say that I am?	Et factum est cum solus esset orans, erant cum illo et discipuli : et interrogavit illos, dicens : Quem me dicunt esse turbæ ?	και εγενετο εν τω ειναι αυτον προσευχομενον καταμονας συνησαν αυτω οι μαθηται και επηρωτησεν αυτους λεγων τινα με λεγουσιν οι οχλοι ειναι
19.	But they answered, and said: John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again.	At illi responderunt, et dixerunt : Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero unus propheta de prioribus surrexit.	οι δε αποκριθεντες ειπον ιωαννην τον βαπτιστην αλλοι δε ηλιαν αλλοι δε οτι προφητης τις των αρχαιων ανεστη
20.	And he said to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God.	Dixit autem illis : Vos autem quem me esse dicitis ? Respondens Simon Petrus, dixit : Christum Dei.	ειπεν δε αυτοις υμεις δε τινα με λεγετε ειναι αποκριθεις δε ο πετρος ειπεν τον χριστον του θεου
21.	But he strictly charging them, commanded they should tell this to no man.	At ille increpans illos, præcepit ne cui dicerent hoc,	ο δε επιτιμησας αυτοις παρηγγειλεν μηδενι ειπειν τουτο
22.	Saying: The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again.	dicens : Quia oportet Filium hominis multa pati, et reprobari a senioribus, et principibus sacerdotum, et scribis, et occidi, et tertia die resurgere.	ειπων οτι δει τον υιον του ανθρωπου πολλα παθειν και αποδοκιμασθηναι απο των πρεσβυτερων και αρχιερεων και γραμματεων και αποκτανθηναι και τη τριτη ημερα αναστηναι

5 posted on 09/23/2022 4:29:59 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

9:18–22

18. And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

19. They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

20. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

21. And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

22. Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and Chief Priests and Scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Our Lord having retired from the multitude, and being in a place apart, was engaged in prayer. As it is said, And it came to pass, as he was alone praying. For He ordained Himself as an example of this, instructing His disciples by an easy method of teaching. For I suppose the rulers of the people ought to be superior also in good deeds, to those that are under them, ever holding converse with them in all necessary things, and treating of those things in which God delights.

BEDE. Now the disciples were with the Lord, but He alone prayed to the Father, since the saints may be joined to the Lord in the bond of faith and love, but the Son alone is able to penetrate the incomprehensible secrets of the Father’s will. Every where then He prays alone, for human wishes comprehend not the counsel of God, nor can any one be a partaker with Christ of the deep things of God.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now His engaging in prayer might perplex His disciples. For they saw Him praying like a man, Whom before they had seen performing miracles with divine power. In order then to banish all perplexity of this kind, He asks them this question, not because He did not know the reports which they had gathered from without, but that He might rid them of the opinion of the many, and instil into them the true faith. Hence it follows, And he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

BEDE. Rightly does our Lord, when about to enquire into the faith of the disciples, first inquire into the opinion of the multitudes, lest their confession should appear not to be determined by their knowledge, but to be formed by the opinion of the generality, and they should be considered not to believe from experience, but like Herod to be perplexed by different reports which they heard.

AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 53.) Now it may raise a question, that Luke says that our Lord asked His disciples, Whom do men say that I am, at the same time that He was alone praying, and they also were with Him; whereas Mark says, that they were asked this question by our Lord on the way; but this is difficult only to him who never prayed on the way.

AMBROSE. But it is no trifling opinion of the multitude which the disciples mention, when it is added, But they answering said, John the Baptist, (whom they knew to be beheaded;) but some say, Elias, (whom they thought would come,) but others say that one of the old Prophets is risen again. But to make this enquiry belongs to a different kind of wisdom from ours, for if it were enough for the Apostle Paul to know nothing but Christ Jesus, and Him crucified, what more can I desire to know than Christ? (1 Cor. 2:2.)

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. But mark the subtle skill of the question. For he directs them first to the praises of strangers, that having overthrown these, He might beget in them the right opinion. So when the disciples had given the opinion of the people, He asks them their own opinion; as it is added, And He said unto them, Whom say ye that I am? How marked is ye! He excludes them from the other, that they may avoid their opinions; as if He said, Ye who by my decree are called to the Apostleship, the witnesses of my miracles, whom do ye say that I am? But Peter anticipated the rest, and becomes the mouthpiece of the whole company, and launching forth into the eloquence of divine love, utters the confession of faith, as it is added, Peter answering said, The Christ of God. He says not merely that He was Christ of God, but now He uses the article. Hence it is in the Greek, τὸν χριστόν. For many divinely accounted persons are in diverse ways called Christs, for some were anointed kings, some prophets. But we through Christ have been anointed by the holy Spirit, have obtained the name of Christ. But there is only one who is the Christ of God and the Father, He alone as it were having His own Father who is in heaven. And so Luke agrees indeed in the same opinion as Matthew, who relates Peter to have said, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God, but speaking briefly Luke says that Peter answered, the Christ of God.

AMBROSE. In this one name there is the expression both of His divinity and incarnation, and the belief of His passion. He has therefore comprehended every thing, having expressed both the nature and the name wherein is all virtue. (summa virtutum)

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. But we must observe, that Peter most wisely confessed Christ to be one, against those who presumed to divide Immanuel into two Christs. For Christ did not enquire of them, saying, Whom do men say the divine Word is? but the Son of man, whom Peter confessed to be the Son of God. Herein then is Peter to be admired, and thought worthy of such chief honour, seeing that Him whom he marvelled at in our form, he believed to be the Christ of the Father, that is to say, that the Word which proceeded of the Father’s Substance was become man.

AMBROSE. But our Lord Jesus Christ was at first unwilling to be preached, lest an uproar should arise; as it follows, And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man any thing. For many reasons He commands His disciples to be silent; to deceive the prince of this world, to reject boasting, to teach humility. Christ then would not boast and dost thou boast who art of ignoble birth? Likewise He did it to prevent rude and as yet imperfect disciples from being oppressed with the wonder of this awful announcement. They are then forbid to preach Him as the Son of God, that they might afterwards preach Him crucified.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 54. in Matt.) Timely also was our Lord’s command that no one should tell that He was Christ, in order that when offences should be taken away and the sufferings of the cross completed, a proper opinion of Him might be firmly rooted in the minds of the hearers. For that which has once taken root and afterwards been torn up. when fresh planted will scarcely ever be preserved. But that which when once planted continues undisturbed, grows up securely. For if Peter was offended merely by what he heard, what would be the feelings of those many who, after they had heard that He was the Son of God, saw Him crucified, and spit upon?

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. It was the duty then of the disciples to preach Him throughout the world. For this was the work of those who were chosen by Him to the office of the Apostleship. But as holy Scripture bears witness, There is a time for every thing. For it was fitting that the cross and resurrection should be accomplished, and then should follow the preaching of the Apostles; as it is spoken, saying, The Son of man must needs suffer many things.

AMBROSE. Perhaps because the Lord knew that the disciples would believe even the difficult mystery of the Passion and Resurrection, He wished to be Himself the proclaimer of His own Passion and Resurrection.

Catena Aurea Luke 9

6 posted on 09/23/2022 4:31:33 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

The Stefaneschi Triptych: Martyrdom of Peter

Giotto di Bondone

c. 1330
Tempera on panel
Pinacoteca, Vatican

7 posted on 09/23/2022 4:31:48 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 16
24.	Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.	Tunc Jesus dixit discipulis suis : Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me.	τοτε ο ιησους ειπεν τοις μαθηταις αυτου ει τις θελει οπισω μου ελθειν απαρνησασθω εαυτον και αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθειτω μοι
25.	For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.	Qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere, perdet eam : qui autem perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet eam.	ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ αν απολεση την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ευρησει αυτην
26.	For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?	Quid enim prodest homini, si mundum universum lucretur, animæ vero suæ detrimentum patiatur ? aut quam dabit homo commutationem pro anima sua ?	τι γαρ ωφελειται ανθρωπος εαν τον κοσμον ολον κερδηση την δε ψυχην αυτου ζημιωθη η τι δωσει ανθρωπος ανταλλαγμα της ψυχης αυτου
27.	For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.	Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis : et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus.	μελλει γαρ ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεσθαι εν τη δοξη του πατρος αυτου μετα των αγγελων αυτου και τοτε αποδωσει εκαστω κατα την πραξιν αυτου

8 posted on 09/23/2022 4:33:41 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

16:24–25

24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lv.) Peter had said, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee; and had been answered, Get thee behind me, Satan; but the Lord was not satisfied with this rebuke, but over and above desired to shew the impropriety of those things which Peter had said, and the fruit of His own passion; whence it is added, Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me; as much as to say, You say unto me, Be it far from thee; but I say unto you, that not only is it harmful for you to hinder Me from My Passion, but yourself will not be able to be saved unless you suffer and die, and renounce your life always. And note, that He does not speak of it as compulsory, for He does not say, Though ye will not yet must ye suffer this, but, If any man will. By saying this He rather attracted them; for he who leaves his auditor at liberty, attracts him the more; whereas he that uses violence oftentimes hinders him. And He proposes this doctrine, not to His disciples only, but in common to the whole world, saying, If any man will, that is, if woman, if man, if king, if free, if slave; there are three things mentioned; let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

GREGORY. (Hom. in Ev. xxxii. 2.) For unless a man departs from himself, he does not draw near to Him who is above him. But if we leave ourselves, whither shall we go out of ourselves? Or if we have forsaken ourselves, who is it then that goes? Indeed, we are one thing when fallen by sin, another thing as we were made by nature. It is therefore then that we leave and deny ourselves, when we avoid that which we were of old, and strive towards that to which we are called in newness.

GREGORY. (in Ezech. Hom. i. 10.) He denies himself whosoever is changed for the better, and begins to be what he was not, and ceases to be what he was.

GREGORY. (Mor. xxxiii. 6.) He also denies himself, who having trode under foot the risings of pride, shews himself in the eyes of God to be estranged from himself.

ORIGEN. But though a man may seem to keep from sin, yet if he does not believe in the cross of Christ, he cannot be said to be crucified with Christ; whence it follows, And take up his cross.

CHRYSOSTOM. Otherwise; He that disowns another, whether a brother, or a servant, or whosoever it be, he may see him beaten, or suffering aught else, and neither succours nor befriends him; thus it is he would have us deny our body, and whether it be beaten or afflicted in any other way, not to spare it. For this is to spare. So parents do then most spare their children when they hand them over to tutors, bidding them not to spare them. And that you should not think that this denial of self extends only to words or affronts, he shews to what degree we should deny ourselves, namely, to death the most shameful, even that of the cross; this He signifies when He says, And take up his cross, and follow me.

HILARY. We are to follow our Lord by taking up the cross of His passion; and if not in deed, yet in will, hear Him company.

CHRYSOSTOM. And because malefactors often suffer grievous things, that you should not suppose that simply to suffer evil is enough, He adds the reason of suffering, when He says, And follow me. For His sake you are to endure all, and to learn His other virtues; for this is to follow Christ aright, to be diligent in the practice of virtues, and to suffer all things for His sake.

GREGORY. (Hom. in Ev. xxxii. 3.) There are two ways of taking our cross; when the body is afflicted by abstinence, or when the heart is pained by compassion for another. Forasmuch as our very virtues are beset with faults, we must declare that vainglory sometimes attends abstinence of flesh, for the emaciated body and pale countenance betray this high virtue to the praise of the world. Compassion again is sometimes attended by a false affection, which is hereby led to be consenting unto sin; to shut out these, He adds, and follow me.

JEROME. Otherwise; He takes up his cross who is crucified to the world; and he to whom the world is crucified, follows his crucified Lord.

CHRYSOSTOM. And then because this seemed severe, He softens it by shewing the abundant rewards of our pains, and the punishment of evil, He that will save his life shall lose it.

ORIGEN. This may be understood in two ways. First thus; if any lover of this present life spares his life, fearing to die, and supposing that his life is ended with this death; he seeking in this way to save his life, shall lose it, estranging it from life eternal. But if any, despising the present life, shall contend for the truth unto death, he shall lose his life as far as this present life is concerned, but forasmuch as he loses it for Christ, he shall the more save it for life eternal. Otherwise thus; if any understand what is true salvation, and desire to obtain it for the salvation of his own life, he by denying himself loses his life as to the enjoyments of the flesh, but saves it by works of piety. He shews by saying. For he that will, that this passage must be connected in sense with that which went before. If then we understand the first, Let him deny himself, of the death of the body, we must take this that follows of death only; but if we understand the first of mortifying the propensities of the flesh, then, to lose his life, signifies to give up carnal pleasures.

16:26–28

26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

28. Verily I say unto you. There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

CHRYSOSTOM. Because He had said, Whoso will save, shall lose, and whoso will lose shall save, opposing saving to losing, that none should hence conclude that there was any equality between the losing on one side, and the saving on the other, He adds, What does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his soul? As though He had said, Say not that he who escapes the dangers which threaten him for Christ’s sake, saves his soul, that is, his temporal life; but add to his temporal life the whole world, and what of all these things will profit a man if his soul perishes for ever? Suppose you should see all your servants in joy, and yourself placed in the greatest evils, what profit would you reap from being their master? Think over this within your own soul, when by the indulgence of the flesh that soul looks for its own destruction,

ORIGEN. I suppose also that he gains the world who does not deny himself, nor loses Ms own life as to carnal pleasures, and thence suffers the loss of his soul. These two things being set before us, we must rather choose to lose the world, and gain our souls.

CHRYSOSTOM. But if you should reign over the whole world, you would not be able to buy your soul; whence it follows, Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? As much as to say, if you lose goods, you may have it in your power to give other goods to recover them; but if you lose your soul, you can neither give another soul, nor any thing else in ransom for it. And what marvel is it if this happen in the soul, when we see the same happen in the body; for if you should surround a body afflicted with an incurable disease with ten thousand diadems, they would not heal it.

ORIGEN. And at first sight indeed the ransom of the soul might be supposed to be in his substance, that a man should give his substance to the poor, and so should save his soul. But I suppose that a man has nothing that giving as a ransom for his soul he should deliver it from death. God gave the ransom for the souls of men, namely the precious blood of His Son.

GREGORY. (Hom. in Ev. xxxii. 4.) Or the connexion may be thus; The Holy Church has a period of persecution, and a period of peace; and our Redeemer accordingly distinguishes between these periods in His commands; in time of persecution the life is to be laid down; but in time of peace, those earthly lusts which might gain too great power over us are to be broken through; whence He says, What does it profit a man?

JEROME. Having thus called upon His disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross, the hearers were filled with great terror, therefore these severe tidings are followed by more joyful; For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels. Dost thou fear death? Hear the glory of the triumph. Dost thou dread the cross? Hear the attendance of the Angels.

ORIGEN. As much as to say; The Son of Man is now come, but not in glory; for He ought not to have been ordained in His glory to bear our sins; but then He shall come in His glory, when He shall first have made ready His disciples, being made as they are, that He might make them as He is Himself, in the likeness of His glory.

CHRYSOSTOM. He said not in such glory as is that of the Father, that you might not suppose a difference of glory, but He says, The glory of the Father, that it might be shewn to be the same glory. But if the glory is one, it is evident that the substance is one. What then fearest thou, Peter, hearing of death? For then shalt thou see Me in glory. But if I be in glory, so also shall ye be. But in making mention of His glory, He mingleth therewith things terrible, bringing forward the judgment, as it follows, And then shall he render to each man according to his works.

JEROME. For there is no difference of Jew or Gentile, man or woman, poor or rich, whore not persons but works are accepted.

CHRYSOSTOM. This He said to call to their minds not only the punishment of sinners, but the prizes and crowns of the righteous.

JEROME. But the secret thought of the Apostles might have suffered an offence of this sort; The killings and deaths you speak of as to be now, but the promise of your coming in glory is put off to a long distant time. He that knows secret things therefore, seeing that they might object this, requites a present fear with a present reward, saying, Verily I say unto you, There be some of those standing here that shall not taste death until the Son of Man come in his kingdom.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lvi.) Willing to shew what is that glory in which He shall come hereafter, He revealed it to them in this present life, so far as it was possible for them to receive it, that they might not have sorrow in their Lord’s death.

REMIGIUS. What is here said, therefore, was fulfilled in the three disciples to whom the Lord, when transfigured in the mount, shewed the joys of the eternal inheritance; (vid. Bed. in Luc. 9:27.) these saw Him coming in His kingdom, that is, shining in His effulgent radiance, in which, after the judgment passed, He shall be beheld by all the saints.

CHRYSOSTOM. Therefore He does not reveal the names of those who should ascend into the mount, because the rest would be very desirous to accompany them whither they might look upon the pattern of His glory, and would be grieved as though they were passed over.

GREGORY. (ubi sup.) Or, by the kingdom of God is meant the present Church, and because some of His disciples were to live so long in the body as to behold the Church of God built up and raised against the glory of this world, this comfortable promise is given them, There be some of them standing here.

ORIGEN. Morally; To those who are nearly brought to the faith, the Word of God wears the form of a servant; but to those that are perfect, He comes in the glory of the Father. His angels are the words of the Prophets, which it is not possible to comprehend spiritually, until the word of Christ has been first spiritually comprehended, and then will their words be seen in like majesty with His. Then will He give of His own glory to every man according to his deeds; for the better each man is in his deeds, so much the more spiritually does he understand Christ and His Prophets. They that stand where Jesus stands, are they that have the foundations of their souls rested upon Jesus; of whom such as stood firmest are said not to taste death till they see the Word of God; which comes in His kingdom when they see that excellence of God which they cannot see while they are involved in divers sins, which is to taste death, forasmuch as the soul that sinneth, dies. For as life, and the living bread, is He that came down from heaven, so His enemy death is the bread of death. And of these breads there are some that eat but a little, just tasting them, while some eat more abundantly. They that sin neither often, nor greatly, these only taste death; they that have partaken more perfectly of spiritual virtue do not taste it only, but feed ever on the living bread. That He says, Until they see, does not fix any time at which shall be done what had not been done before, but mentions just what is necessary; for he that once sees Him in His glory, shall after that by no means taste death.

RABANUS. (e Bed. in Luc. 9.) It is of the saints He speaks as tasting death, by whom the death of the body is tasted just as it were sipping, while the life of the soul is, held fast in possession.

Catena Aurea Matthew 16

9 posted on 09/23/2022 4:34:17 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Carrying the Cross

Hans Memling

Oil on oak, 58,2 x 27,5 cm
Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest

10 posted on 09/23/2022 4:34:45 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

A Short Biography

Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born to Giuseppa and Grazio Forgione, in the small farming town of Pietrelcina, Italy on May 25, 1887. Although the Forgiones were poor in material goods, they were certainly rich in their faith life and in the love of God.

Even as a young boy, Francesco had already shown signs of extraordinary gifts of grace. At the age of five, he dedicated his life to God. From his early childhood, he showed a remarkable recollection of spirit and a love for the religious life. His mother described him as a quiet child who, from his earliest years, loved to go to church and to pray. As a young boy, he was able to see and communicate with his guardian angel. In his simplicity, Francesco assumed everyone had the same experiences. Once a woman who noticed his piety asked him, “When did you consecrate your life to God? Was it at your first Holy Communion?” and he answered, “Always, daughter, always.”

When Francesco was fifteen years old, he was admitted to the novitiate of the Capuchin Order of the Friars Minor in Morcone, Italy. He was admired by his fellow-students as well as by his Superiors for his exemplary behavior and his deep spirituality. One of the novices stated, “There was something which distinguished him from the other students. Whenever I saw him, he was always humble, recollected, and silent. What struck me most about Brother Pio was his love of prayer.”

On August 10, 1910, at the age of twenty-three, Padre Pio was ordained to the priesthood. The celebration of the Holy Mass was for Padre Pio, the center of his spirituality. Due to the long pauses of contemplative silence into which he entered at various parts of the Holy Sacrifice, his Mass could sometimes last several hours. Everything about him spoke of how intensely he was living the Passion of Christ. The parish priest in Pietrelcina called Padre Pio’s Mass, “an incomprehensible mystery.” When asked to shorten his Mass, Padre Pio replied, “God knows that I want to say Mass just like any other priest, but I cannot do it.”

His parishioners were deeply impressed by his piety and one by one they began to come to him, seeking his counsel. For many, even a few moments in his presence, proved to be a life changing experience. As the years passed, pilgrims began to come to him by the thousands, from every corner of the world, drawn by the spiritual riches which flowed so freely from his extraordinary ministry. To his spiritual children he would say, “It seems to me as if Jesus has no other concern but the sanctification of your soul.”

Padre Pio is understood above all else as a man of prayer. Before he was thirty years old he had already reached the summit of the spiritual life known as the “unitive way” of transforming union with God. He prayed almost continuously. His prayers were usually very simple. He loved to pray the Rosary and recommended it to others. To someone who asked him what legacy he wished to leave to his spiritual children, his brief reply was, “My child, the Rosary.” He had a special mission to the souls in Purgatory and encouraged everyone to pray for them. He used to say, “We must empty Purgatory with our prayers.” Father Agostino Daniele, his confessor, director, and beloved friend said, “One admires in Padre Pio, his habitual union with God. When he speaks or is spoken to, we are aware that his heart and mind are not distracted from the thought and sentiment of God.”

Padre Pio suffered from poor health his entire life, once saying that his health had been declining from the time he was nine years old. After his ordination to the priesthood, he remained in his hometown of Pietrelcina and was separated from his religious community for more than five years due to his precarious health. Although the cause of his prolonged and debilitating illnesses remained a mystery to his doctors, Padre Pio did not become discouraged. He offered all of his bodily sufferings to God as a sacrifice, for the conversion of souls. He experienced many spiritual sufferings as well. “I am fully convinced that my illness is due to a special permission of God,” he said.

Shortly after his ordination, he wrote a letter to his spiritual director, Father Benedetto Nardella, in which he asked permission to offer his life as a victim for sinners. He wrote, “For a long time I have felt in myself a need to offer myself to the Lord as a victim for poor sinners and for the souls in Purgatory. This desire has been growing continually in my heart so that it has now become what I would call a strong passion. . .It seems to me that Jesus wants this.” The marks of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appeared on Padre Pio’s body, on Friday, September 20, 1918, while he was praying before a crucifix and making his thanksgiving after Mass. He was thirty-one years old and became the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. With resignation and serenity, he bore the painful wounds in his hands, feet, and side for fifty years.

In addition, God endowed Padre Pio with many extraordinary spiritual gifts and charisms including the gift of healing, bilocation, prophecy, miracles, discernment of spirits, the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues (the ability to speak and understand languages that he had never studied), the gift of conversions, the grace to see angelic beings in form, and the fragrance which emanated from his wounds and which frequently announced his invisible presence. When a friend once questioned him about these charisms, Padre Pio said, “You know, they are a mystery to me, too.” Although he received more than his share of spiritual gifts, he never sought them, never felt worthy of them. He never put the gifts before the Giver. He always remained humble, constantly at the disposal of Almighty God.

His day began at 2:30 a.m. when he would rise to begin his prayers and to make his preparation for Mass. He was able to carry on a busy apostolate with only a few hours of sleep each night and an amount of food that was so small (300-400 calories a day) that his fellow priests stated that it was not enough food even to keep a small child alive. Between Mass and confessions, his workday lasted 19 hours. He very rarely left the monastery and never took even a day’s vacation from his grueling schedule in 51 years. He never read a newspaper or listened to the radio. He cautioned his spiritual children against watching television.

In his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, he lived the Franciscan spirit of poverty with detachment from self, from possessions, and from comforts. He always had a great love for the virtue of chastity, and his behavior was modest in all situations and with all people. In his lifetime, Padre Pio reconciled thousands of men and women back to their faith.

The prayer groups that Padre Pio established have now spread throughout the world. He gave a new spirit to hospitals by founding one which he called “The Home for the Relief of Suffering.” He saw the image of Christ in the poor, the suffering, and the sick and gave himself particularly to them. He once said, “Bring God to all those who are sick. This will help them more than any other remedy.”

Serene and well prepared, he passed away on September 23, 1968 at the age of eighty-one. He died as he had lived, with his Rosary in his hands. His last words were Gesú, Maria – Jesus, Mary – which he repeated over and over until he breathed his last. He had often declared, “After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death.”

In 1971, Pope Paul VI, speaking to the superiors of the Capuchin order, said of Padre Pio, “What fame he had. How many followers from around the world. Why? Was it because he was a philosopher, a scholar, or because he had means at his disposal? No, it was because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from morning until night and was a marked representative of the stigmata of Our Lord. He was truly a man of prayer and suffering.”

In one of the largest liturgies in the Vatican’s history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio on June 16, 2002. During his homily, Pope John Paul recalled how, in 1947, as a young priest he journeyed from Poland to make his confession to Padre Pio. “Prayer and charity–this is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio’s teaching,” the Pope said.

Drawing approximately eight million pilgrims each year, San Giovanni Rotondo, where St. Pio lived and is now buried, is second only to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in its number of annual visitors.

St. Pio’s whole life might be summed up in the words of St. Paul to the Colossians, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.”

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, pray for us.

padrepiodevotions.org

11 posted on 09/23/2022 4:40:23 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

12 posted on 09/23/2022 4:42:18 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

From: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

For everything there is a season
----------------------------------------------
[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: [2] a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; [3] a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; [4] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; [5] a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; [6] a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; [7] a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; [8] a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. [9] What gain has the worker from his toil?

Man cannot see far
----------------------------
[10] have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

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

3:1-15. After arriving at the previous conclusion, the sacred writer picks up the thread of his discourse to say something along the same lines as 1:3-7, but this time focussing not on the created world but on “seasonal” changes in human life. These, too, are fixed in advance and man can do nothing to alter them (vv. 1-9). However, even though he may not be able to make sense of them, man has to accept that it is God who makes “everything beautiful in its time” (vv. 10-11), and therefore man should enjoy life as a gift from God (vv. 12-13), conscious that God controls what happens now and in the future (vv. 14-15; cf. 1:9).

3:1-9. In this passage the teacher of Israel uses some ideas from the Greek philosophers. He lists fourteen pairs of “times” in the ordinary life of man. In Hebrew culture, numbers had symbolic values, multiples of seven denoting completeness; so this list is meant to include all the stages and tasks of life. By putting birth and death first he is giving them pride of place: all the other pairs fit in between birth and death. The Stoic philosophers claimed that the human mind can know the season fixed for each activity, and that a virtuous man knows and respects the appropriate time for each thing. As the Preacher sees it, man can know them, but he cannot change them, because it is God who has established those times and he has charged man with the task of discovering them. Moreover, the “seasons of life, the times at which events in man’s life happen, are presented here as transcending man’s understanding, while, at the same time, they lie at the core of his existence. Believing, as we do, that the coming of Christ marks the fullness of time, we see time to be the backdrop against which the salvation history unfolds: “In Christianity, time has a fundamental importance, says John Paul II. “Within the dimension of time the world was created; within it the history of salvation unfolds, finding its culmination in the ‘fullness of time’ of the Incarnation, and its goal in the glorious return of the Son of God at the end of time.

In Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, time becomes a dimension of God, who is himself eternal. With the coming of Christ there begin ‘the last days’ (cf. Heb 1:2), the ‘last hour’ (cf. 1 Jn 2:18), and the time of the Church, which will last until the Parousia. From this relationship of God with time there arises the duty to sanctify time. This is done, for example, when individual times, days or weeks, are dedicated to God, as once happened in the religion of the Old Covenant, and as happens still, though in a new way, in Christianity. In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil the celebrant, as he blesses the candle which symbolizes the Risen Christ, proclaims: ‘Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all the ages, to him be glory and power through every age for ever.’ He says these words as he inscribes on the candle the numerals of the current year. The meaning of this rite is clear: it emphasizes the fact that Christ is the Lord of time; he is its beginning and its end; every year, every day and every moment are embraced by his Incarnation and Resurrection, and thus become part of the ‘fullness of time’” (Tertio millenio adveniente, 10). Thus, every time, every moment, is not purely transitory; it is an eternal dimension. So, “what is important is to make good use of time, that time which is always slipping from our grasp and which to a Christian is more precious than gold, because it represents a foretaste of the glory that will he granted us hereafter” (St. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 212).

3:10-15. Earlier, the sacred writer spoke about his personal reflections (“I said to myself”: 1:16; 2:1, 15); now he is going to speak about what he sees, what his own experience has been (“I have seen”: v. 10; cf. 3:16; 4:1; etc.). He sees man’s activity as the “business” entrusted to him by God. Although man does not grasp the full import of his actions, he can still take some pleasure from them and benefit from them.

13 posted on 09/23/2022 7:27:30 AM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)

From: Luke 9:18-22

Peter's Confession of Faith
----------------------------------
[18] Now it happened that as He (Jesus) was praying alone the disciples were with Him; and He asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?" [19] And they answered, "John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen." [20] And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

First Prophecy of the Passion
-------------------------------------
[21] But He charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, [22] saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."

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

20. "Christ" means "anointed" and is a name indicating honor and office. In the Old Law "priests" were anointed (Exodus 29:7 and 40:13), as were "kings" (1 Samuel 9:16), because God laid down that they should receiving anointing in view of their position; there was also a custom to anoint "prophets" (1 Samuel 16:13) because they were interpreters and intermediaries of God. "When Jesus Christ our Savior came into the world, He assumed the position and obligations of the three offices of priest, king and prophet and was therefore called Christ" ("St. Pius V Catechism", I, 3, 7).

22. Jesus prophesied His passion and death in order to help His disciples believe in him. It also showed that He was freely accepting these sufferings He would undergo. "Christ did not seek to be glorified: He chose to come without glory in order to undergo suffering; and you, who have been born without glory, do you wish to be glorified? The route you must take is the one Christ took. This means recognizing Him and it means imitating Him both in His ignominy and in His good repute; thus you will glory in the Cross, which was His path to glory. That was what Paul did, and therefore he glorified in saying, `Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Galatians 6:14)" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

14 posted on 09/23/2022 7:27:42 AM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)

The soul that places its trust in God alone has nothing to fear. Lift up your mind full of faith to your heavenly home and may all our yearnings and aspirations be directed there. Admire the heavenly regions which can be reached by no other road than that of suffering. That is our true home. What matter if we reach it by treading no other paths than the rough ones of tribulation and sacrifice?

What God wants from you is always right and good. May he be blessed forever. Let us get to work; in heaven we’ll have no other duty than the fulfillment of God’s will. Let us strive to bless the Lord when we are the object of humiliations and contempt. Let us bless him in our spiritual trials and our heartbreaks, for all is ordained by God with great wisdom. In a most singular manner and by a special predilection of the heavenly Father this is being accomplished in you. May he be forever blessed in all our miseries and in all our sufferings. Bless him in all that he makes you suffer on this earth and rejoice at it, for each victory gained has a corresponding crown in paradise. Don’t be frustrated or cast down, for the Lord is faithful and will not allow you to be overcome by temptation.

In order to reach our final goal, we must follow our divine Leader, who usually leads chosen souls by the path he himself has trodden and by no other; by the path, I tell you, of self-denial and suffering: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Should you not deem yourself fortunate to see yourself treated in this way by Jesus? Foolish are those who fail to fathom the secret of the cross. In order to reach the haven of salvation, the Holy Spirit tells us, the souls of the elect must pass through and be purified in the fire of painful humiliations, like gold and silver in the melting-pot. Jesus wants to make us holy at all costs, but above all he wants to sanctify you. He offers you continual proof of this; it would seem as if he had nothing else to do but sanctify your soul. Oh, how good Jesus is! The continual crosses to which he subjects you, giving you not merely the necessary strength, but superabundant strength to bear them meritoriously, are most certain and singular signs of his deep love for you. Believe me, the strength he gives you does not remain sterile in you; I assure you of this in God’s name and you must listen to me in all humility and rid yourself of any sentiment to the contrary.

Saint Pius of Pietrelcina

15 posted on 09/23/2022 9:18:54 AM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794

Readings at Mass

There is a time for every occupation under heaven

'You are the Christ of God'

I live now with the life of Christ who lives in me

Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

A Short Biography