Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 28-September-2022

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 9
57.	And it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to him: I will follow thee withersoever thou goest.	Factum est autem : ambulantibus illis in via, dixit quidam ad illum : Sequar te quocumque ieris.	εγενετο δε πορευομενων αυτων εν τη οδω ειπεν τις προς αυτον ακολουθησω σοι οπου αν απερχη κυριε
58.	Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.	Dixit illi Jesus : Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cæli nidos : Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet.	και ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους αι αλωπεκες φωλεους εχουσιν και τα πετεινα του ουρανου κατασκηνωσεις ο δε υιος του ανθρωπου ουκ εχει που την κεφαλην κλινη
59.	But he said to another: Follow me. And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go, and to bury my father.	Ait autem ad alterum : Sequere me : ille autem dixit : Domine, permitte mihi primum ire, et sepelire patrem meum.	ειπεν δε προς ετερον ακολουθει μοι ο δε ειπεν κυριε επιτρεψον μοι απελθοντι πρωτον θαψαι τον πατερα μου
60.	And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.	Dixitque ei Jesus : Sine ut mortui sepeliant mortuos suos : tu autem vade, et annuntia regnum Dei.	ειπεν δε αυτω ο ιησους αφες τους νεκρους θαψαι τους εαυτων νεκρους συ δε απελθων διαγγελλε την βασιλειαν του θεου
61.	And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house.	Et ait alter : Sequar te Domine, sed permitte mihi primum renuntiare his quæ domi sunt.	ειπεν δε και ετερος ακολουθησω σοι κυριε πρωτον δε επιτρεψον μοι αποταξασθαι τοις εις τον οικον μου
62.	Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.	Ait ad illum Jesus : Nemo mittens manum suam ad aratrum, et respiciens retro, aptus est regno Dei.	ειπεν δε ο ιησους προς αυτον ουδεις επιβαλων την χειρα αυτου επ αροτρον και βλεπων εις τα οπισω ευθετος εστιν εις την βασιλειαν του θεου

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

9:57–62

57. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

58. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

59. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

60. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

61. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. (non occ.) Although the Almighty Lord is bountiful, He does not grant to every one absolutely and indiscriminately heavenly and divine gifts, but to those only who are worthy to receive them, who free themselves and their souls from the stains of wickedness. And this we are taught by the force of the angelic words, And it came to pass, that, us they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee. First indeed there is much tardiness implied in the manner of his coming. It is next shewn that he is filled with too great presumption. For he sought not to follow Christ simply as several others of the people, but rather caught at the honour of the Apostleship. Whereas Paul says, No one taketh the honour to himself but he that is called of God. (Heb. 5:4.)

ATHANASIUS. (non occ.) He dared also to match himself with the incomprehensible power of the Saviour, saying, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest; for to follow the Saviour simply to hear His teaching is possible to human nature, as it directs itself towards men, but it is not possible to go with Him wherever He is; for He is incomprehensible, and is not confined by place.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. In another respect also our Lord deservedly gives him a refusal, for He taught that to follow the Lord, a man must take up his cross, and renounce the affection of this present life. And our Lord finding this lacking in him does not blame him, but corrects him.

It follows, And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. For having seen our Lord drawing much people to Him, he thought that he received reward from them, and that if he followed our Lord, he might obtain money.

BEDE. Therefore it is said to him, Why do you seek to follow Me for the riches and gain of this world, when so great is My poverty that I have not even a place of rest, and take shelter under another man’s roof.

CHRYSOSTOM. See how our Lord sets forth by his works the poverty which he taught. For him was no table spread, no lights, no house, nor any such thing.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now under a mystical signification He applies the name of foxes and birds of the air to the wicked and crafty powers of evil spirits. As if He said, Since foxes and birds of the air have their abode in thee, how shall Christ rest in thee? What fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14.)

ATHANASIUS. Or herein our Lord teaches the greatness of His gift, as if He said, All created things may be confined by place, but the Word of God has incomprehensible power. Say not then, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. But if thou wouldest be a disciple, cast off 1 foolish things, for it is impossible for him who remains in foolishness to become a disciple of the Word.

AMBROSE. Or, He compares foxes to heretics, because they are indeed a wily animal, and, ever intent upon fraud, commit their robberies by stealth. They let nothing be safe, nothing be at rest, nothing secure, for they hunt their prey into the very abodes of men. The fox again, an animal full of craft, makes no hole for itself, yet likes to lie always concealed in a hole. So the heretics, who know not how to construct a house for themselves, circumscribe and deceive others. This animal is never tamed, nor is it of use to man. Hence the Apostle, A heretic after the first and second admonition reject. (Tit. 3:10.) But the birds of the air, which are frequently brought in to represent spiritual wickedness, build as it were their nests in the breasts of the wicked, and as long as deceit reigns over the affections, the divine principle has no opportunity to take possession. But when a man has proved his heart to be innocent, upon him Christ leans in some measure the weight of His greatness, for by a more abundant shedding of grace He is planted in the breasts of good men. So then it does not seem reasonable that we should think him faithful and simple, who is rejected by the judgment of the Lord, notwithstanding that he promised the service of unwearied attendance; but our Lord cares not for this kind of service, but only purity of affection, nor is his attendance accepted whose sense of duty is not proved. For the hospitality of faith should be given with circumspection, lest while opening the interior of our house to the unbelieving, through our imprudent credulity we fall a snare to the treachery of others. Therefore that you may be aware that God despises not attendance upon him but deceit, He who rejected the deceitful man chose the innocent. For it follows, And he said unto another, Follow me. But He says this to him, whose father He knew to be dead. Hence it follows, But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

BEDE. He did not refuse the discipleship, but his wish was, having fulfilled the filial duty of burying his father, to follow Christ more freely.

AMBROSE. But the Lord calls those upon whom He has compassion. Hence it follows, And Jesus said, Let the dead bury their dead. Since we have received as a religious duty the burial of the human body, how is it thus that the burial even of a father’s dead body is forbidden, unless you are to understand that human things are to be postponed to divine? It is a good employment, but the hindrance is greater, for he who divides his pursuits, draws down his affections; he who divides his care, delays his advances. We must first set about the things which are most important. For the Apostles also, that they might not be occupied in the office of distributing alms, ordained ministers for the poor.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 27. in Matt.) But what more necessary than the burial of his father, what more easy, seeing that there would not be much time given to it? We are then hereby taught that it becomes us not to spend even the slightest portion of our time in vain, although we have a thousand things to compel us, nay to prefer spiritual things to even our greatest necessities. For the devil watchfully presses close upon us, wishing to find any opening, and if he causes a slight negligence, he ends in producing a great weakness.

AMBROSE. The performance of a father’s burial is not then prohibited, but the observance of religious duty is preferred to the ties of relationship. The one is left to those in like condition, the other is commanded to those who are left. But how can the dead bury the dead? unless you here understand a twofold death, one a natural death, the other the death of sin. (Rom. 9:11.) There is also a third death, by which we die unto sin, live unto God.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) By thus saying, their dead, he shews that this man’s father was not his dead, for I suppose that the deceased was of the number of the unbelieving.

AMBROSE. Or because the throat of the ungodly is an open sepulchre, their memory is ordered to be forgotten whose services die together with their bodies. Nor is the son recalled from his duty to his father, but the faithful is separated from the communion of the unbelieving; there is no prohibition of duty, but a mystery of religion, that is, that we should have no fellowship with the dead Gentiles.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Or else, his father was borne down with years, and he thought he was doing an honourable act in proposing to pay the kind offices which were due to him, according to Exodus, Honour thy father and thy mother. (Exod. 20:12.) Hence when calling him to the ministry of the Gospel, our Lord said, Follow me, he sought for a time of respite, which should suffice for the support of his decrepit father, saying, Permit me first to go and bury my father, not that he asked to bury his deceased father, for Christ would not have hindered the wish to do this, but he said, Bury, that is, support in old age even till death. But the Lord said to him, Let the dead bury their dead. For there were other attendants also bound by the same tie of relationship, but as I consider dead, because they had not yet believed Christ. Learn from this, that our duty to God is to be preferred to our love for our parents, to whom we shew reverence, because through them have we been born. But the God of all, when as yet we were not, brought us into being, our parents were made the ministers of our introduction.

AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 23.) Our Lord spoke this to the man to whom He had said, Follow me. But another disciple put himself forward, to whom no one had spoken any thing, saying, I will follow thee, O Lord; but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at home, lest perchance they look for me as they are wont.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now this promise is worthy of our admiration and full of all praise, but to bid farewell to those who are at home, to get leave from them, shews that he was still somehow divided from the Lord, in that he had not yet resolved, to make this venture with his whole heart. For to wish to consult relations who would not agree to his proposal betokens one somewhat wavering. Wherefore our Lord condemns this, saying, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. He puts his hand to the plough who is ambitious to follow, yet looks back again who seeks an excuse for delay in returning home, and consulting with his friends.

AUGUSTINE. (Serm. 100.) As if he said to him, The East calls thee, and thou turnest to the West.

BEDE.: To put one’s hand to the plough, is also, (as it were by a certain sharp instrument,) by the wood and iron of our Lord’s passion, to wear away the hardness of our heart, and to open it to bring forth the fruits of good works. But if any one, having begun to exercise this, delights to look back with Lot’s wife to the things which he had left, he is deprived of the gift of the kingdom to come.

GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Nilus Monac.) For the frequent looking upon the things which we have forsaken, through the force of habit draws us back to our past way of life. For practice has great power to retain to itself. Is not habit generated of use, and nature of habit? But to get rid of or change nature is difficult; for although when compelled it for a while turns aside, it very rapidly returns to itself.

BEDE. But if the disciple about to follow our Lord is reproved for wishing even to bid farewell at home, what will be done to such as for no advantage-sake frequently visit the houses of those whom they have left in the world?

Catena Aurea Luke 9

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Job 9:1-12, 14-16

Man cannot defend himself against God
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[1] Then Job answered: [2] Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be just before God? [3] If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. [4] He is wise in heart, and might in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?— [5] he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger; [6] who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; [7] who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; [8] who alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea; [9] who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; [10] who does great things beyond understanding, and marvellous things without number. [11] Lo, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, hut I do not perceive him. [12] Behold, he snatches away; who can hinder him? Who will say to him, ‘What doest thou’?

[14] How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him? [15] Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. [16] If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

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Commentary:

9:1-10:22. This new speech of Job’s takes up what Bildad has said about divine justice (cf. 8:3, 20) and is a sort of direct appeal to God to act as a judge between the two of them and to come down on Job’s side and vindicate him. Job makes no mention here of the three friends. However, he speaks boldly, almost irreverently, against God’s own way of operating, while staying within the bounds of orthodox teaching as regards the creative work and providence of the Lord – which he contrasts with the way God ill-treats the human being (9:11-24); he ends by lamenting the lowly position of man, who is quite unable to assess the probity of God’s actions (9:25-35). The second part of the speech is a supplication similar in content to that of his previous speech (cf. 7:16-21). Here Job complains that God is treating him too harshly (10:1-7) despite the care he took in creating him in the first place (10:8-12). He ends by begging God to leave him in peace and not to be constantly causing him to suffer (10:15-22).

The use of terminology to do with a legal trial serves to emphasize that God does not act in the way men do, and that human criteria cannot explain his actions. On the contrary, human standards should be set in accordance with God’s way of acting.

9:4. Wisdom and omnipotence are two divine attributes that are praised constantly in the Psalms and wisdom books (cf. Ps 115:3; 135:5-6; Prov 8:22-31) as guiding God’s actions both in creation and in salvation history. When discussing the justice of God, St Thomas Aquinas says: “Justice can be corrupted in two ways -- by the cunning of the wise or the violence of the powerful. But since in God is found perfect wisdom and omnipotence, his justice cannot he perverted by his wisdom since he acts without guile, nor can it he harmed by his omnipotence because he does not violently destroy what is just’’) Expositio super lob, 8, 3). But he goes on to say: “In both qualities God is greater than anyone else, for his wisdom surpasses all human knowledge, and his power all human strength” (ibid. 9, 4).

9:9. This reference to the constellations shows that God’s power embraces all created things that our senses can perceive, such as mountains, stars, the heavens, the seas, including those entities of a mythological type regarded by Israel’s neighbours as divinities.

The Fathers often stressed that this verse 9 and also 38:31-32 show that all things, even those which some people thought had power over men, were created by God and are subject to his rule. Thus, St Gregory of Nyssa, in his controversy against the Arians, taught that the names of the constellations do not imply that they have any power over human beings: “God has not only counted the number of the stars, he knows each one of them by name. This means that his knowledge extends even to the smallest of things, and he knows each thing as intimately as he does man” (Contra Eunomium, 2, 435-436). Quite clearly. God is above everything.

The names of the stars, the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, which derive from Greek mythology, are used in the Greek version and in the Vulgate to translate the Ais, Quesil, Qimah of the Hebrew -- names that come from Babylonian mythology. The “chambers of the south” refer to another constellation not found in Greek mythology.

9:13. “Rahab” is a mythical figure of evil, connected with the sea (cf. 26:12) and sometimes used to symbolize Egypt (cf. Is 30:7).

From: Luke 9:57-62

The Calling of Three Disciples
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[57] As they were going along the way, a man said to Him (Jesus), "I will follow you wherever You go." [58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." [59] To another He said, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." [60] But He said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." [61] Another said, "I will follow You, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." [62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God."

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Commentary:

57-62. Our Lord spells out very clearly what is involved in following Him. Being a Christian is not an easy or comfortable affair: it calls for self-denial and for putting God before everything else. See the notes on Matthew 8:18-22 and Matthew 8:22.

[The notes on Matthew 8:18-22 states: 18-22. From the very outset of His messianic preaching, Jesus rarely stays in the same place; He is always on the move. He "has nowhere to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). Anyone who desires to be with him has to "follow Him". This phrase "following Jesus" has a very precise meaning: it means being His disciple (cf. Matthew 19:28). Sometimes the crowds "follow Him"; but Jesus' true disciples are those who "follow Him" in a permanent way, that is, who keep on following Him: being a "disciple of Jesus" and "following Him" amount to the same thing. After our Lord's ascension, "following Him" means being a Christian (cf. Acts 8:26). By the simple and sublime fact of Baptism, every Christian is called, by a divine vocation, to be a full disciple of our Lord, with all that that involves.

The evangelist here gives two specific cases of following Jesus. In the case of the scribe our Lord explains what faith requires of a person who realizes that he has been called; in the second case—that of the man who has already said "yes" to Jesus--He reminds him of what His commandment entails. The soldier who does not leave his position on the battlefront to bury his father, but instead leaves that to those in the rearguard, is doing his duty. If service to one's country makes demands like that on a person, all the more reason for it to happen in the service of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Following Christ, then, means we should make ourselves totally available to Him; whatever sacrifice He asks of us we should make: the call to follow Christ means staying up with Him, not falling behind; we either follow Him or lose Him. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus explained what following Him involves--a teaching which we find summarized in even the most basic catechism of Christian doctrine: a Christian is a man who believes in Jesus Christ--a faith he receives at Baptism--and is duty bound to serve Him. Through prayer and friendship with the Lord every Christian should try to discover the demands which this service involves as far as he personally is concerned. ]

[The notes on Matthew 8:22 states: 22. "Leave the dead to bury their own dead": although this sounds very harsh, it is a style of speaking which Jesus did sometimes use: here the "dead" clearly refers to those whose interest is limited to perishable things and who have no aspirations towards the things that last forever.

"If Jesus forbade him," St. John Chrysostom comments, "it was not to have us neglect the honor due to our parents, but to make us realize that nothing is more important than the things of Heaven and that we ought to cleave to these and not to put them off even for a little while, though our engagements be ever so indispensable and pressing" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 27).]

We see here the case of the man who wanted to follow Christ, but on one condition--that he be allowed to say goodbye to his family. Our Lord, seeing that he is rather undecided, gives him an answer which applies to all of us, for we have all received a calling to follow Him and we have to try not to receive this grace in vain. "We receive the grace of God in vain, when we receive it at the gate of our heart, and do not let it enter our heart. We receive it without receiving it, that is, we receive it without fruit, since there is no advantage in feeling the inspiration if we do not accept it [...]. It sometimes happens that being inspired to do much we consent not to the whole inspiration but only to some part of it, as did those good people in the Gospel, who upon the inspiration which our Lord gave them to follow Him wished to make reservations, the one to go first and bury his father, the other to go to take leave of his people" (St. Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", Book 2, Chapter 11).

Our loyalty and fidelity to the mission God has given us should equip us to deal with every obstacle we meet: "There is never reason to look back (cf. Luke 9:62). The Lord is at our side. We have to be faithful and loyal; we have to face up to our obligations and we will find in Jesus the love and the stimulus we need to understand other people's faults and overcome our own" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 160).

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary

Saint Leoba

Leoba (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon nun who was part of Boniface's mission to the Germans, and a saint.

EARLY LIFE

She was born Leofgyth in Wessex to a noble family. Her mother was related to Boniface (they were distant cousins), and Boniface was a friend of her father's. Though her birth date is unknown, her actual birth is regarded as a miracle. Leoba was conceived to old parents who were barren. Her mother had a dream in which she would conceive "the chosen/ beloved" child of Christ. This dream also told her mother that her offspring was to lead a spiritual life, and to serve the church. Leofgyth was trained first by abbess Eadburg at Minster.

She entered Wimborne Minster as an oblate and corresponded with Boniface. Archbishop Boniface later sought out Leoba, who was widely acclaimed for being virtuous, to help him with his mission of spreading Christianity throughout Germany. Archbishop Boniface repeatedly requested for Leoba to accompany him because he thought that many would benefit from her holiness and example. Leoba agreed to accompany him because of a dream that she had. This dream signified "that by her teaching and good example she will confer benefits on many people. ... and carry out in her actions whatever she expressed in her words.". She arrived in Germany in 748.

Leoba once experienced a dream in which a purple thread was coming from her mouth. She pulled the thread repeatedly until she rolled it into a ball. The labor of this caused her extreme fatigue and resulted in her waking up from her dream. Out of curiosity, she employed a fellow nun to seek out a nun who was known to reveal prophecies. This nun listened to the explanation of the dream and said that this dream represented the life of leadership that Leoba was to live and that she was destined to be a wise teacher and a great counselor.

LIFE AS A MISSIONARY

Boniface established a convent in the Franconian town Tauberbischofsheim, where she became the abbess. Boniface, whose relationship to her could be as near as that of uncle, entrusted Leoba with a great deal of authority, and Rudolf of Fulda indicates that she was not merely in charge of her own house, but all of the nuns who worked for Boniface. In 754, when Boniface was preparing a missionary trip to Frisia, he gave his monastic cowl to Leoba to indicate that, when he was away, she was his delegate.

She was a learned woman, and in the following years she was involved in the foundation of nunneries in Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt. She had a leading role in evangelizing her area, and, during her life, she was credited with quelling a storm with her command. Additionally, bishops in Fulda consulted her, and she was the only woman allowed to enter into monasteries in Fulda to consult the ecclesiastical leaders on issues of monastic rule. She was also favoured in the court of Pippin III, and Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne, was her friend.

LATER YEARS

In her later years, she retired with a few other Anglo-Saxon nuns to an estate near Mainz in Schornsheim. The estate was given by Charlemagne for her exclusive use. She died on 28 September 782. Boniface's will had originally designated that Leoba was to be buried in his own tomb. However, when Leoba died, she was, instead, placed near him, but not in the same grave. Several miracles were attributed to her gravesite, and she was canonized. Her relics were translated twice and are now behind an altar in a church dedicated to Mary and the virgins of Christ in Petersburg in Fulda. Rudolf of Fulda was commissioned to write the acta of her life (Vita Leobae) in connection with this second translation of relics.

Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is 28 September. Her Life was written some fifty years after her death by Rudolf of Fulda.

MIRACLES

Several miracles have been attributed to Leoba both during her life and death. During her lifetime, Leoba was responsible for many miracles: saving a village from fire; saving a town from a terrible storm, protecting the reputation of the nuns in her convent; and saving the life of a fellow nun who was gravely ill. All of these miracles were completed through prayer. According to Rudolf of Fulda, Leoba's grave was the site of many miracles. These miracles include: freeing a man of tightly bound iron rings around his arms; and curing a man from Spain of his twitching disorder. Due to these miracles, which were witnessed by Rudolf, Leoba's relics were translated twice to ensure their safety.

peoplepill.com

For the Rudolf of Fulda's book, see sourcebooks.fordham.edu

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