Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 20-October-2022

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

12:49–53

49. I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

50. But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

51. Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52. For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

AMBROSE. To stewards, that is, to Priests, the preceding words seem to have been addressed, that they may thereby know that hereafter a heavier punishment awaits them, if, intent upon the world’s pleasures, they have neglected the charge of their Lord’s household, and the people entrusted to their care. But as it profiteth little to be recalled from error by the fear of punishment, and far greater is the privilege of charity and love, our Lord therefore kindles in men the desire of acquiring the divine nature, saying, I came to send fire on earth, not indeed that He is the Consumer of good men, but the Author of good will, who purifies the golden vessels of the Lord’s house, but burns up the straw and stubble.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Now it is the way of holy Scripture to use sometimes the term fire, of holy and divine words. For as they who know how to purify gold and silver, destroy the dross by fire, so the Saviour by the teaching of the Gospel in the power of the Spirit cleanses the minds of those who believe in Him. This then is that wholesome and useful fire by which the inhabitants of earth, in a manner cold and dead through sin, revive to a life of piety.

CHRYSOSTOM. For by the earth He now means not that which we tread under our feet, but that which was fashioned by His hands, namely, man, upon whom the Lord pours out fire for the consuming of sins, and the renewing of souls.

TITUS BOSTRENSIS. And we must here believe that Christ came down from heaven. For if He had come from earth to earth, He would not say, I came to send fire upon the earth.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. But our Lord was hastening the kindling of the fire, and hence it follows, And what will I, save that it be kindleda? (nisi ut accendatur) For already some of the Jews believed, of whom the first were the holy Apostles, but the fire once lighted in Judæa was about to take possession of the whole world, yet not till after the dispensation of His Passion had been accomplished. Hence it follows, But I have a baptism to be baptized with. For before the holy cross and His resurrection from the dead, in Judæa only was the news told of His preaching and miracles; but after that the Jews in their rage had slain the Prince of life, then commanded He His Apostles, saying, Go and teach all nations. (Matt. 28:19.)

GREGORY. (in Ezech. lib. i. Hom. 2.) Or else, fire is sent upon the earth, when by the fiery breath of the Holy Spirit, the earthly mind has all its carnal desires burnt up, but inflamed with spiritual love, bewails the evil it has done; and so the earth is burnt, when the conscience accusing itself, the heart of the sinner is consumed in the sorrow of repentance.

BEDE. But He adds, I have a baptism to be baptized with, that is, I have first to be sprinkled with the drops of My own Blood, and then to inflame the hearts of believers by the fire of the Spirit.

AMBROSE. But so great was our Lord’s condescension, that He tells us He has a desire of inspiring us with devotion, of accomplishing perfection in us, and of hastening His passion for us; as it follows, And how am I straitened till it be accomplished?

BEDE. Some manuscripts have, “And how am I anguished,” (coangor) that is, grieved. For though He had in Himself nothing to grieve Him, yet was He afflicted by our woes, and at the time of death He betrayed the anguish which He underwent not from the fear of His death, but from the delay of our redemption. For he who is troubled until he reaches perfection, is secure of perfection, for the condition of bodily affections not the dread of death offends him. For ho who has put on the body must suffer all things which are of the body, hunger, thirst, vexation, sorrow; but the Divine nature knows no change from such feelings. At the same time He also shews, that in the conflict of suffering consists the death of the body, peace of mind has no struggle with grief.

BEDE. But the manner in which after the baptism of His passion and the coming of the spiritual fire the earth will be burnt, He declares as follows, Suppose ye that I am to give peace, &c.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. What sayest thou, O Lord? Didst thou not come to give peace, Who art made peace for us? (Eph. 2:14.) making peace by Thy cross with things in earth and things in heaven; (Col. 1:20.) Who saidst, My peace I give unto you. (John 14:27.) But it is plain that peace is indeed a good, but sometimes hurtful, and separating us from the love of God, that is, when by it we unite with those who keep away from God. And for this reason we teach the faithful to avoid earthly bonds. Hence it follows, For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, &c.

AMBROSE. Though the connexion would seem to be of six persons, father and son, mother and daughter, mother in law and daughter in law, yet are they five, for the mother and the mother in law may be taken as the same, since she who is the mother of the son, is the mother in law of his wife.

CHRYSOSTOM. (non occ.) Now hereby He declared a future event, for it so happened in the same house that there have been believers whose fathers wished to bring them to unbelief; but the power of Christ’s doctrines has so prevailed, that fathers were left by sons, mothers by daughters, and children by parents. For the faithful in Christ were content not only to despise their own, but at the same time also to suffer all things as long as they were not without the worship of their faith. But if He were mere man, how would it have occurred to Him to conceive it possible that He should be more loved by fathers than their children were, by children than their fathers, by husbands than their wives, and they too not in one house or a hundred, but throughout the world? And not only did he predict this, but accomplish it in deed.

AMBROSE. Now in a mystical sense the one house is one man, but by two we often mean the soul and the body. But if two things meet together, each one has its part; there is one which obeys, another which rules. But there are three conditions of the soul, one concerned with reason, another with desire, the third with anger. Two then are divided against three, and three against two. For by the coming of Christ, man who was material became rational. We were carnal and earthly, God sent His Spirit into our hearts, and we became spiritual children. (Gal. 4:6.) We may also say, that in the house there are five others, that is, smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. If then with respect to those things which we hear or see, separating the sense of sight and hearing, we shut out the worthless pleasures of the body which we take in by our taste, touch, and smell, we divide two against three, because the mind is not carried away by the allurements of vice. Or if we understand the five bodily senses, already are the vices and sins of the body divided among themselves. The flesh and the soul may also seem separated from the smell, touch, and taste of pleasure, for while the stronger sex of reason is impelled, as it were, to manly affections, the flesh strives to keep the reason more effeminate. Out of these then there spring up the motions of different desires, but when the soul returns to itself it renounces the degenerate offspring. The flesh also bewails that it is fastened down by its desires (which it has borne to itself,) as by the thorns of the world. But pleasure is a kind of daughter in law of the body and soul, and is wedded to the motions of foul desire. As long then as there remained in one house the vices conspiring together with one consent, there seemed to be no division; but when Christ sent fire upon the earth which should burn out the offences of the heart, or the sword which should pierce the very secrets of the heart, then the flesh and the soul renewed by the mysteries of regeneration cast off the bond of connection with their offspring. So that parents are divided against their children, while the intemperate man gets rid of his intemperate desires, and the soul has no more fellowship with crime. Children also are divided against parents when men having become regenerate renounce their old vices, and younger pleasure flies from the rule of piety, as from the discipline of a strict house.

BEDE. Or in another way. By three are signified those who have faith in the Trinity, by two the unbelievers who depart from the unity of the faith. But the father is the devil, whose children we were by following him, but when that heavenly fire came down, it separated us from one another, and shewed us another Father who is in heaven. The mother is the Synagogue, the daughter is the Primitive Church, who had to bear the persecution of that same synagogue, from whom she derived her birth, and whom she did herself in the truth of the faith contradict. The mother in law is the Synagogue, the daughter in law the Gentile Church, for Christ the husband of the Church is the son of the Synagogue, according to the flesh. The Synagogue then was divided both against its daughter in law, and its daughter, persecuting believers of each people. But they also were divided against their mother in law and mother, because they wished to abolish the circumcision of the flesh.

Catena Aurea Luke 12

A saint from Fatima’s neighboring town: St. Irene was a victim of sexual abuse

Larry Peterson - published on 10/20/19

St. Irene was assaulted by her tutor and killed by the hired man of a rejected suitor.

During October, when we focus on Fatima, the Miracle of the Sun, and the Holy Rosary, we might take a look at the story of a revered saint from Fatima’s neighboring town, Tomar. Her name is St. Irene of Tomar, and she was martyred in 653.

It’s natural that many of the stories and accounts of the early saints have facts intermingled with legend.

Legend says that Irene was born in a place called Nabancia, which is known today as Tomar, located in Portugal. Irene was born into an affluent and influential family. Her parents secured a private tutor for Irene and sent her to a convent school.

Apparently, Irene was quite beautiful, and the few men who actually got a chance to see her were always enamored by her beauty. There was one such man in the area named Britald. He began to watch for her to leave for church and then follow her.

The man became obsessed and finally approached Irene and asked her to marry him. She refused Britald, telling him she had taken a vow of celibacy and had given herself to God as a nun. The man was crushed and walked away.

However, there was another man who had hidden designs on Irene. It was her tutor, Remigio. He was a monk entrusted by Irene’s parents not only to teach their daughter but to guard her also. As time went by, Remigio grew in lust, and one day shocked Irene by making unreasonable and impure advances towards her. She turned him away as forcefully as she could, but Remigio would not merely go away. Instead, he became furious, quit as her tutor, and plotted revenge.

Soon after, people began asking Remigio why he was no longer tutoring Irene. He started telling people that he had found out she was pregnant and that there was no way he would have anything to do with her. He sent a message to Irene, asking if he could meet with her for a few moments to give her some material to study.

As the rumors of her pregnancy continued to spread, Irene agreed to meet with Remigio. He managed to offer her a drink, and she accepted. The legend accounts that Remigio had concocted a poison that would make her abdomen swell. When people saw Irene with her swollen belly, they believed Remigio’s lie. Word got back to Irene’s first rejected suitor, Britald. He was absolutely livid that Irene had lied to him and had been promiscuous. He was not about to let this behavior stand.

Britald hired a mercenary to kill Irene. Shortly after Britald’s “arrangement” had been made, Irene was walking home from afternoon prayer when the assassin struck. He sneaked up from behind her and cut her throat. He dragged her lifeless body to the Tagus River and threw it in. Folks no longer seeing Irene either going to Mass or praying in church thought that she had left the city in shame. What else could have possibly happened to her?

But here the legend turns to Irene’s uncle, the abbot Celius, who had received a mystic revelation about the truth of Irene’s death and the location of her body. Her uncle gathered a procession of people and made a journey to the place where he knew her body would be found. The water’s currents had carried Irene’s body to the shores of Scalabis (which is known today as Santarem, which means St. Irene).

When the procession reached the site, the waters receded, and the intact remains of Irene were found. It was also noted that she was not pregnant and that she had been a victim of lies and slander. The monks gave her a formal burial, and the story of St. Irene (Santa Iria) began to spread. The Cova da Iria, where Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima, was named for her.

Today, St. Irene of Tomar is honored as a saint and martyr throughout Portugal and in the Catholic Church. She is the patron saint of Tomar and Santarem, and her feast day is October 20.

aleteia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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

From: Ephesians 3:14-21

The Apostle's Prayer
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[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] what according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, [17] and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you maybe filled with all the fullness of God.

[20] Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do more abundantly than all that we ask or think, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all.

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Commentary:

14. St Paul now continues the prayer which he interrupted in v. 1, to entreat the Father to let Christians understand as deeply as possible the divine plan for salvation implemented in Christ (vv. 16-l9).

"I bow my knees": the Jews generally prayed standing up. Only at moments of special solemnity did they kneel or prostrate themselves in adoration. The Apostle, by introducing this almost liturgical reference, is expressing the intensity of his prayer, and the humility which inspires it.

Bodily gestures--genuflections, bowing of the head, beating the breast, etc.--which accompany prayer should be sincere expressions of devotion. They allow the entire person, body and soul, to express his love for God. "Those who love acquire a refinement, a sensitivity of soul, that makes them notice details which are sometimes very small but which are important because they express the love of a passionate heart" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 92).

15. To "take a name" from something means to derive one's being or existence from it, and the word translated here as "family" ("patria" in Greek) means a grouping of individuals who are descended from a common father; it could be translated as "paternity", as the New Vulgate does.

The Apostle is saying that every grouping which is regarded as a family, whether it be on earth (like the Church or the family), or in heaven (like the Church triumphant and the choirs of angels), takes its name and origin from God, the only Father in the full meaning of the word. Thus, the word "Father" can be correctly used to designate not only physical but also spiritual fatherhood.

The parenthood of married people is an outstanding example of the love of God the Creator. They are cooperators in that love, and, in a certain sense, its interpreters (cf. Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 50). Hence, "when they become parents, spouses receive from God the gift of a new responsibility. Their parental love is called to become for the children the visible sign of the very love of God, 'from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named"' (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 14).

16-17. The strengthening of the inner man through the Spirit means growth in faith, charity and hope, which is what the Apostle prays for here (cf. vv. 16-19).

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1); it is, then, a virtue whereby the Christian in this life anticipates, imperfectly, the object of his hope—that perfect union with God which will take place in heaven.

Love follows from knowledge: one cannot love someone one does not know. And so, when goodness is known, it comes to be loved. Thus, the knowledge of God, which faith provides, is followed by the love of God, which stems from charity. Charity, for its part, is the basis of the Christian's spiritual life. "The spiritual edifice cannot stay standing--the same is true of a tree without roots, or a house without a foundation, which can easily be toppled--unless it be rooted and grounded in love" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Eph, ad loc.").

18. St Paul asks God to give Christians understanding of the "mystery of Christ", which essentially is the outcome of his love. In referring to the vast dimensions of this mystery he uses an enigmatic phrase-- "the breadth and length and height and depth". These and similar terms were used by Stoic philosophy to designate the cosmos as a whole. Here they express the immense scale of the "mystery" which embraces the entire plan of salvation, the actions of Christ and the activity of the Church. St Augustine interpreted these words as referring to the cross, the instrument of salvation which Christ used to show the full extent of his love (cf. "De Doctrina Christiana", 2, 41).

St Paul may indeed be trying to sum up all the richness of the "mystery" of Christ in a graphic way--in terms of a cross whose extremities reach out in all four directions seeking to embrace the whole world. The blood which our Lord shed on the cross brought about the Redemption, the forgiveness of sins (cf. Eph 1:7). It did away with hostility, reconciling all men and assembling them into one body (cf. Eph 2:15-16), the Church. Therefore the cross is an inexhaustible source of grace, the mark of the true Christian, the instrument of salvation for all. When, through the action of Christians, the cross of Christ is made present at all the crossroads of the world, then is that "mystery" implemented whose purpose it is to "unite all things in Christ" (cf. Eph 1:10).

19. Christ's love for us is infinite; it is beyond our grasp, because it is of divine dimensions (cf. Jn 15:9 and note on Jn 15:9-11).

Knowledge of the history of salvation and of the "mystery" of Christ is ultimately what gives us a notion of the scale of God's love. Therefore, it is the basis of the Christian life: "We know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God" (1 Jn 4:16). Eternal life will consist in enjoying the love of God without any type of distraction. During his life on earth, the believer receives a foretaste of this joy to the degree that he abides in the love of Christ (cf. Jn 15:9), that is, is rooted and grounded in love (v. 17). However, this knowledge of Christ is always very imperfect compared with that in heaven.

It is worth pointing out that the "knowledge" ("gnosis") which St Paul is speaking about is not simply intellectual cognition but rather a kind of knowledge which permeates one's whole life. It does not consist so much in knowing that God is love as in realizing that we are personally the object, the focus, of God's love: he loves us one by one, as good parents love their children.

20-21. The dogmatic section of the letter concludes at this point, and St Paul breaks into a short hymn of praise or doxology, in awe at the divine plan of salvation revealed in Christ. He speaks his praise "in the church and in Christ Jesus".

God knows more than we do; and, since he is a Father who loves us unreservedly, he is always providing us with those things we stand in real need of; moreover, he anticipates our requests, "for he responds to the inner, hidden desires of the needy, not waiting for them to make explicit requests" ("St Pius V Catechism", IV, 2, 5). St Thomas Aquinas points out that "neither the mind nor the will of man could have thought or conceived or asked God that he might become man and that man might become God, a share in the divine nature; yet the latter has been wrought in us by his power, and the former has been effected by the incarnation of his Son" ("Commentary on Eph, ad loc.").

In its liturgy the Church is forever giving God the honor which is his due and praising him for the gifts which it receives in Jesus Christ: in the Mass, for example, at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer it proclaims, "Through him [Christ], with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen."

From: Luke 12:49-53

Jesus the Cause of Dissension
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [49] "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! [50] I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! [51] Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; [52] for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; [53] they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

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Commentary:

49-50. In the Bible, fire is often used to describe God's burning love for men. This divine love finds its highest expression in the Son of God become man: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16). Jesus voluntarily gave up His life out of love for us, and "greater love has no man than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

In these words reported by St. Luke, Jesus Christ reveals His abounding desire to give His life for love of us. He calls His death a baptism, because from it He will arise victorious never to die again. Our Baptism is a submersion in Christ's death, in which we die to sin and are reborn to the new life of grace: "We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

Through this new life, we Christians should become set on fire in the same way as Jesus set His disciples on fire: "With the amazing naturalness of the things of God, the contemplative soul is filled with apostolic zeal. `My heart became hot within me, a fire blazed forth from my thoughts' (Psalm 38:4). What could this fire be if not the fire that Christ talks about: `I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled' (Luke 12:49). An apostolic fire that acquires its strength in prayer: there is no better way than this to carry on, throughout the whole world, the battle of peace to which every Christian is called to fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (cf. Colossians 1:24)" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 120).

51-53. God has come into the world with a message of peace (cf. Luke 2:14) and reconciliation (cf. Romans 5:11). By resisting, through sin, the redeeming work of Christ, we become His opponents. Injustice and error lead to division and war. "Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until the coming of Christ; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in charity, violence itself will be vanquished" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 78).

During His own life on earth, Christ was a sign of contradiction (cf. Luke 2:34). Our Lord is forewarning His disciples about the contention and division which will accompany the spread of the Gospel (cf. Luke 6:20-23; Matthew 10:24).

Source: Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible

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Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 12
49.	I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?	Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur ?	πυρ ηλθον βαλειν εις την γην και τι θελω ει ηδη ανηφθη
50.	And I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized: and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?	Baptismo autem habeo baptizari : et quomodo coarctor usque dum perficiatur ?	βαπτισμα δε εχω βαπτισθηναι και πως συνεχομαι εως ου τελεσθη
51.	Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.	Putatis quia pacem veni dare in terram ? non, dico vobis, sed separationem :	δοκειτε οτι ειρηνην παρεγενομην δουναι εν τη γη ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ η διαμερισμον
52.	For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three.	erunt enim ex hoc quinque in domo una divisi, tres in duos, et duo in tres	εσονται γαρ απο του νυν πεντε εν οικω ενι διαμεμερισμενοι τρεις επι δυσιν και δυο επι τρισιν
53.	The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.	dividentur : pater in filium, et filius in patrem suum, mater in filiam, et filia in matrem, socrus in nurum suam, et nurus in socrum suam.	διαμερισθησεται πατηρ επι υιω και υιος επι πατρι μητηρ επι θυγατρι και θυγατηρ επι μητρι πενθερα επι την νυμφην αυτης και νυμφη επι την πενθεραν αυτης

Readings at Mass

A prayer that faithful may know the love of Christ

How I wish it were blazing already!

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

A saint from Fatima’s neighboring town: St. Irene was a victim of sexual abuse