In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord was addressed through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, high commissioner of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as follows, ‘The Lord of Hosts says this, “This people says: The time has not yet come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. (And the word of the Lord was addressed through the prophet Haggai, as follows:) Is this a time for you to live in your panelled houses, when this House lies in ruins? So now, the Lord of Hosts says this: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, put on clothes but do not feel warm. The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes. So go to the hill country, fetch wood, and rebuild the House: I shall then take pleasure in it, and be glorified there, says the Lord.”’

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,

let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Let them praise his name with dancing

and make music with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people.

He crowns the poor with salvation.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,

shout for joy and take their rest.

Let the praise of God be on their lips:

this honour is for all his faithful.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider

the wonders of your law.

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was being done by Jesus; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus.

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

1 posted on 09/28/2023 8:29:28 AM PDT by annalex

KEYWORDS: catholic; lk9; ordinarytime; prayer;

2 posted on 09/28/2023 8:30:01 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

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3 posted on 09/28/2023 8:30:38 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

4 posted on 09/28/2023 8:30:59 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 9
7.	Now Herod, the tetrarch, heard of all things that were done by him; and he was in a doubt, because it was said	Audivit autem Herodes tetrarcha omnia quæ fiebant ab eo, et hæsitabat eo quod diceretur	ηκουσεν δε ηρωδης ο τετραρχης τα γινομενα υπ αυτου παντα και διηπορει δια το λεγεσθαι υπο τινων οτι ιωαννης εγηγερται εκ νεκρων
8.	By some, that John was risen from the dead: but by other some, that Elias had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.	a quibusdam : Quia Joannes surrexit a mortuis : a quibusdam vero : Quia Elias apparuit : ab aliis autem : Quia propheta unus de antiquis surrexit.	υπο τινων δε οτι ηλιας εφανη αλλων δε οτι προφητης εις των αρχαιων ανεστη
9.	And Herod said: John I have beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.	Et ait Herodes : Joannem ego decollavit : quis est autem iste, de quo ego talia audio ? Et quærebat videre eum.	και ειπεν ηρωδης ιωαννην εγω απεκεφαλισα τις δε εστιν ουτος περι ου εγω ακουω τοιαυτα και εζητει ιδειν αυτον

(*) "υπο τινων οτι ιωαννης εγηγερται εκ νεκρων" begins verse 8 in the translations.

5 posted on 09/28/2023 8:34:55 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

9:7–9

7. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;

8. And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

9. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 48. in Matt.) It was not till a long time had passed that Herod took notice of the things that were done by Jesus, (to shew you the pride of a tyrant,) for he did not acknowledge them at first, as it is said, Now Herod heard, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. Herod was the son of Herod the Great who slew the children, who was king, but this Herod was tetrarch. He inquired about Christ, who He was. Hence it follows, And he was perplexed.

CHRYSOSTOM. For sinners fear both when they know, and when they are ignorant; they are afraid of shadows, are suspicious about every thing, and are alarmed at the slightest noise. Such in truth is sin; when no one blames or finds fault, it betrays a man, when no one accuses it condemns, and makes the offender timid and backward. But the cause of fear is stated afterwards, in the words, Because that it was said of some.

THEOPHYLACT. For the Jews expected a resurrection of the dead to a fleshly life, eating and drinking, but those that rise again will not be concerned with the deeds of the flesh.

CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) When Herod then heard of the miracles which Jesus was performing, he says, John have I beheaded, which was not an expression of boasting, but by way of allaying his fears, and bringing his distracted soul to recollect that he had killed. And because he had beheaded John, he adds, but who is this.

THEOPHYLACT. If John is alive and has risen from the dead, I shall know him when I see him; as it follows, And he sought to see him.

AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Ev. l. 2. c. 45.) Now Luke, though he keeps the same order in his narrative with Mark, docs not oblige us to believe that the course of events was the same. In these words too, Mark testifies only to the fact that others (not Herod) said that John had risen from the dead, but since Luke has mentioned Herod’s perplexity, we must suppose either that after that perplexity, he confirmed in his own mind what was said by others, since he says to his servants, (as Matthew relates,) This is John the Baptist, he is risen from the dead, or these words of Matthew must have been uttered so as to signify that he was still doubting.

Catena Aurea Luke 9

6 posted on 09/28/2023 8:35:43 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Christ Before Herod

Duccio di Buoninsegna

1308-11
Tempera on wood, 50 x 57 cm
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena

7 posted on 09/28/2023 8:36:14 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

STS. LORENZO RUIZ AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

An ordinary man

Born in Manila in 1594, the half-Chinese, half-Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz grew up an ordinary Catholic. He was educated by Dominicans, served as an altar boy, and became a calligrapher, transcribing documents for a living. He participated in parish life in all the normal ways.
Lorenzo’s family life, too, was ordinary. He married a Filipino woman, Rosario; the couple had three children, and lived the daily life of an unassuming Catholic family, content with their lot. No one would have guessed that the life of this man, who prayed, worked and raised his children just like so many other husbands and fathers, would take an entirely unexpected turn.

Fugitive

Lorenzo’s life was turned upside down by a false accusation, the only record of which we find in the journal of a Dominican priest. The latter wrote that Lorenzo took refuge with the priests Antonio Gonzalez, Guillermo Courtet and Miguel de Aozaraza because “he was sought by the authorities on account of a homicide at which he was present or which was attributed to him.” With the three Dominicans was a Japanese priest, Vincente Shiwozuka de la Cruz, and a Japanese leper named Lazaro. They were about to leave for Japan, and Lorenzo, on the run from the authorities, decided to go with them.
They set sail toward a land where the toil of Portuguese missionaries had born much fruit – only years earlier, the city of Nagasaki had been home to over 50,000 Japanese Christians. But it was also a land of dread, for the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan had begun a persecution of Christians nearly unparalleled in cruelty, filling the land with martyrs and torturing others until they lost their minds.

Fear

Lorenzo and his companions were caught, and the battle with fear began. When interrogated, the men agreed to leave Japan, but this was not enough for the authorities. The shogunate didn’t merely want the missionaries to leave. It wanted to unmake them as Christians, offering them freedom only if they renounced the faith. The group was imprisoned for two years and tortured in clever, horrible ways.
Water was forced down their throats and their abdomens were then pressed with boards to make the water explode out of their noses, mouths and ears. Their bodies were pricked and cut. Worse, there was psychological torture. Fr. Gonzales soon died. Fr. Shiwozuka and Lazaro had a moment when they nearly did renounce Christ in sheer terror, but they soon strengthened each other, drawing courage from each other’s faith.
Lorenzo, too, faced the darkness of fear, when a man’s strength runs out and he looks death in the eye. “I would like to know,” he asked the Japanese interpreter during a particularly horrific session of torture, “if, by apostatizing, they will spare my life.” His interpreter gave no clear answer, but the Spirit of God came to this member of Christ’s Body in agony.

The offering

Somehow, in the midst of that anguish, Lorenzo grew stronger, even bold. Words that did not come from fear were given to him to answer his interrogators. His persecutors were losing in their terrible game, and they knew it. They decided to turn up the pressure, quite literally. The men were tightly bound to slow circulation – except for one arm, with which they could signal their apostasy – and they were hung over pits. Boards were placed around their waists and weighted with stones.
The men hung for three days. It was during that last trial that this ordinary husband and father, filled with the Holy Spirit, uttered the defining words of his life. “I am a Catholic,” he said, “and I wholeheartedly accept death for God. If I had a thousand lives, I would offer them all to Him.” He died in the pit on September 28 or 29, 1637, together with Lazaro. The three priests tortured with them were beheaded. All testified with their deaths to the One who is Life, and who received the offering of their extraordinary, ordinary lives.

vaticannews.va

8 posted on 09/28/2023 8:40:51 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Portrait of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions
used for his Canonization in Rome

9 posted on 09/28/2023 8:45:09 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Amazing:

CHRYSOSTOM. For sinners fear both when they know, and when they are ignorant; they are afraid of shadows, are suspicious about every thing, and are alarmed at the slightest noise. Such in truth is sin; when no one blames or finds fault, it betrays a man, when no one accuses it condemns, and makes the offender timid and backward. But the cause of fear is stated afterwards, in the words, Because that it was said of some.

10 posted on 09/28/2023 3:44:05 PM PDT by nicollo ("This is FR!")

11 posted on 09/29/2023 4:04:30 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

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Readings at Mass

'Rebuild the House'

'John? I beheaded him; so who is this?'

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

STS. LORENZO RUIZ AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

An ordinary man

Fugitive

Fear

The offering