Navarre Bible Commentary:Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

Crucifixion of St. Andrew by Peter Howson

Matthew 4:18-22

 18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraph 878.

Commentary

The first disciples are called

4:18–22. These four disciples had already met our Lord (Jn 1:35–42), and their brief meeting with him seems to have had a powerful effect on their souls. In this way Christ prepared their vocation, a fully effective vocation which moved them to leave everything behind so as to follow him and be their disciples. Standing out above their human defects (which the Gospels never conceal), we can see the exemplary generosity and promptness of the apostles in answering God’s call.

The thoughtful reader cannot fail to be struck by the delightful simplicity with which the evangelists describe the calling of these men in the midst of their daily work. “God draws us from the shadows of our ignorance, our groping through history, and, no matter what our occupation in the world, he calls us in a loud voice, as he once called Peter and Andrew” (St Josemaría Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 45).

“This divine and human dialogue completely changed the lives of John and Andrew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their hearts to listen to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them beside the Sea of Galilee” (ibid., 108).

We should notice the words Sacred Scripture uses to describe the alacrity with which these apostles follow our Lord. Peter and Andrew “immediately” left their nets and followed him. Similarly, James and John “immediately” left their boats and their father and followed him. God passes by and calls us. If we do not answer him “immediately”, he may continue on his way and we could lose sight of him. When God passes us by, he may do so rapidly; it would be sad if we were to fall behind because we wanted to follow him while still carrying many things that are only a dead weight and a nuisance.

Concerning Christ’s call to men in the midst of their ordinary work, see the note on Mt 2:2.

Note on Matthew 2:2

2:2. The Jews had made known throughout the East their hope of a Messiah. The wise men knew about this expected Messiah, king of the Jews. According to ideas widely accepted at the time, this sort of person, because of his significance in world history, would have a star connected with his birth. God made use of these ideas to draw to Christ these representatives of the Gentiles who would later be converted

“The star had been hidden from them so that, on finding themselves without their guide, they would have no alternative but to consult the Jews. In this way the birth of Jesus would be made known to all” (St John Chrysostom, Hom. on St Matthew, 7). Chrysostom also points out that “God calls them by means of the things they are most familiar with: and he shows them a large and extraordinary star so that they would be impressed by its size and beauty” (ibid., 6). God called the wise men in the midst of their ordinary occupations, and he still calls people in that way. He called Moses when he was shepherding his flock (Ex 3:1–3), Elisha the prophet ploughing his land with oxen (1 Kings 19:19–20), Amos looking after his herd (Amos 7:15).… “What amazes you seems natural to me: that God has sought you out in the practice of your profession! That is how he sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James and John, beside their nets, and Matthew, sitting in the custom-house. And—wonder of wonders!—Paul, in his eagerness to destroy the seeds of Christianity” (St Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 799).

“Like the Magi we have discovered a star—a light and a guide in the sky of our soul. ‘We have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him (Mt 2:2).’ We have had the same experience. We too noticed a new light shining in our soul and growing increasingly brighter. It was a desire to live a fully Christian life, a keenness to take God seriously” (St J. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 32).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Navarre Bible Commentary:Friday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 21:29–33

29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are not cited in the Catechism.

Commentary

The end will surely come; the lesson of the fig tree

21:31. The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Mt 3:2) and described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Mt 13; Lk 13:18–20), is already present among the apostles (Lk 17:20–21), but it is not yet fully manifest. Jesus here describes what it will be like when the Kingdom comes in all its fulness, and he invites us to pray for this very event in the Our Father: “Thy Kingdom come.” “The Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic development cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of science and of technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deepening knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men” (Creed of the People of God, 27). At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ and God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Cor 15:24, 28).

21:32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty years after our Lord’s death—which meant that Jesus’ contemporaries would be able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But the destruction of Jerusalem is a symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the particular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. the note on Mt 24:32–35).

Note from Matthew 24:32-35

The end will surely come. The lesson of the fig tree

24:32–35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of the world, St John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig tree: “Here he also foretells a spiritual spring and a calm which, after the storm of the present life, the righteous will experience; whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the spring they have had […]. But this was not the only reason why he put before them the parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before his coming; he wanted to show them that his word would assuredly come true. As sure as the coming of spring is the coming of the Son of man” (ibid., 77).

“This generation”: this verse is a clear example of what we say in the note on Mt 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a symbol. “This generation” refers firstly to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. But, since that event is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with St John Chrysostom that “the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then living, but also of the generation of the believers; for he knows that a generation is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious worship and practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that ‘such is the generation of those who seek him’ (Ps 24:6)” (ibid.).

24:35. This is further confirmation that the prophecies he has just made will be fulfilled; it is as if he were saying: it is easier for heaven and earth, which seem so stable, to disappear, than for my words not to come true. Also he is making a formal statement about the value attaching to God’s word: “heaven and earth, since they are created things, are not necessarily unchangeable: it is possible for them to cease to exist; whereas, Christ’s words, which originate in eternity, have such power and force that they will last forever” (St Hilary, In Matth., 26).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Navarre Bible Commentary:Thursday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 21:20-28

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all that is written. 23 Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; 24 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraphs 58, 671, 674 and 697.

The great tribulation in Jerusalem

21:20–24. Jesus gives quite a detailed prophecy of the destruction of the Holy City. When the Christians living there saw the armies getting closer, they remembered this prophecy and fled to Transjordan (cf. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3, 5). Christ had advised them to flee as soon as possible because this is the time when God would punish Jerusalem for its sins, as the Old Testament predicted (Is 5:5–6).

Catholic tradition sees Israel as symbolizing the Church. In fact, in the Book of Revelation the Church triumphant is called the new Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21:2). Therefore, by applying this passage to the Church, the sufferings the Holy City experiences can symbolize the contradictions the pilgrim Church will experience due to the sins of men, for “she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the children of God” (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 48).

21:24. “The times of the Gentiles” means the period in which the Gentiles, who do not belong to the Jewish people, will become members of the new people of God, the Church, until the Jews themselves are converted at the end of the world (cf. Rom 11:11–32).

The coming of the Son of man

21:25–26. Jesus refers to the dramatic changes in natural elements when the world is coming to an end. “The power of the heavens will be shaken”; that is to say, the whole universe will tremble at the Lord’s coming in power and glory.

21:27–28. Applying to himself the prophecy of Daniel (7:13–14), our Lord speaks of his coming in glory at the end of time. Mankind will see the power and glory of the Son of man, coming to judge the living man, coming to judge the living and the dead. Christ will deliver this judgment in his human capacity. Sacred Scripture describes the solemnity of this event, when the sentence passed on each person in the particular judgment will be confirmed, and God’s justice and mercy to men throughout history will shine out for all to see. “It was necessary not only that rewards should await the just and punishments the wicked, in the life to come, but that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment. Thus they will become better known and will be rendered more conspicuous to all, and a tribute of praise will be offered by all to the justice and providence of God” (St Pius V, Catechism, 1, 8, 4).

This coming of the Lord is, then, a day of terror for evildoers and of joy for those who have remained faithful. The disciples should hold their heads high because their redemption is at hand. It is the day they will receive their reward. The victory won by Christ on the cross—victory over sin, over the devil and over death—will now be seen clearly, with all its implications. Therefore St Paul recommends that we be “awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13).

“He [Christ] ascended into heaven whence he will come again to judge the living and the dead, each according to his merits. Those who have responded to the love and compassion of God will go into eternal life. Those who have refused them to the end will be consigned to the fire that is never extinguished” (Paul VI, Creed of the People of God, 12).

Navarre Bible Commentary:Wednesday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 21:12-19

12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be a time for you to bear testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; 17 you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraph 675 and 679.

21:5–36. The disciples are in awe of the magnificence of the temple, and Jesus uses the occasion to give a long discourse, known as the “eschatological discourse” because it has to do with the last days of the world. The account given here is very similar to those in the other Synoptic Gospels. The discourse deals with three inter-connected subjects—the destruction of Jerusalem (which took place some forty years later), the end of the world, and the second coming of Christ in glory and majesty. Jesus, who also predicts here the persecution the Church will experience, exhorts his disciples to be patient, to pray and be watchful.

Our Lord speaks here in the style and language of prophecy, using images taken from the Old Testament; in this discourse, also, we find prophecies that will be fulfilled very soon, mixed in with others that have to do with the end of the world. It is not our Lord’s intention to satisfy people’s curiosity about future events, but to protect them from being discouraged and scandalized about what is going to happen in the days immediately ahead. This explains his exhortations in vv. 8, 9 and 36.

Persecution on account of the Gospel

21:19. Jesus foretells all kinds of persecution. Persecution itself is something inevitable: “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12). His disciples will have need to remember the Lord’s warning at the Last Supper: “ ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (Jn 15:20). However, these persecutions are part of God’s providence: they happen because he lets them happen, which he does in order to draw greater good out of them. Persecution provides Christians with an opportunity to bear witness to Christ; without it the blood of martyrs would not adorn the Church. Moreover, our Lord promises to give special help to those who suffer persecution, and he tells them not be afraid: he will give them of his own wisdom to enable them to defend themselves; he will not permit a hair of their heads to perish, that is, even apparent misfortune and loss will be for them a beginning of heaven.

From Jesus’ words we can also deduce the obligation of every Christian to be ready to lose his life rather than offend God. Only those will attain salvation who persevere until the end in faithfulness to the Lord. The three Synoptic Gospels locate his exhortation to perseverance in this discourse (cf. Mt 24:13; Mk 13:13) and St Matthew gives it elsewhere (Mt 10:22) as does St Peter (1 Pet 5:9)—all of which underlines the importance for every Christian of this warning from our Lord.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Download Pope Francis's First Apostolic Exhortation:Evangelii Gaudium, Joy of the Gospel

Source: Wikipedia

Pope Francis officially concluded the Year of Faith by publishing his first Apostolic Exhortation. The document is entitled Evangelii Gaudium, which translates to the 'Joy of the Gospel, is Pope Francis's distillation and response to the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

The document is available to view, print or download as a PDF at the Vatican website. Additionally, Carl Olsen has posted a Vatican summary on his Insight Scoop blog.

Navarre Bible Commentary:Tuesday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Destruction of the Temple by Nicolas Poussin

Luke 21:5-11

5 And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?” 8 And he said, “Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraph 675.

Commentary

Announcement of the destruction of the temple

21:5–36. The disciples are in awe of the magnificence of the temple, and Jesus uses the occasion to give a long discourse, known as the “eschatological discourse” because it has to do with the last days of the world. The account given here is very similar to those in the other Synoptic Gospels. The discourse deals with three inter-connected subjects—the destruction of Jerusalem (which took place some forty years later), the end of the world, and the second coming of Christ in glory and majesty. Jesus, who also predicts here the persecution the Church will experience, exhorts his disciples to be patient, to pray and be watchful.

Our Lord speaks here in the style and language of prophecy, using images taken from the Old Testament; in this discourse, also, we find prophecies that will be fulfilled very soon, mixed in with others that have to do with the end of the world. It is not our Lord’s intention to satisfy people’s curiosity about future events, but to protect them from being discouraged and scandalized about what is going to happen in the days immediately ahead. This explains his exhortations in vv. 8, 9 and 36.

The beginning of tribulation. Persecution on account of the Gospel

21:8. On hearing that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, the disciples ask what sign will be given as a warning of these events (vv. 5–7). Jesus answers by telling them “not to be led astray,” that is to say, not to expect any warning; not to be misled by false prophets; to stay faithful to him. These false prophets will come along claiming to be the Messiah (“I am he!”). Our Lord’s reply in fact refers to two events which in the Jewish mind were interrelated—the destruction of the Holy City and the end of the world. This is why he goes on to speak of both events and implies that there will be a long gap between the two; the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem are a kind of sign or symbol of the catastrophes which will mark the end of the world.

21:9–11. Our Lord does not want his disciples to confuse just any catastrophe—famine, earthquake, war—or even persecution with the signals of the end of the world. He exhorts them quite clearly: “Do not be terrified,” because although all this has to happen, “the end will not be at once;” in spite of difficulties of all kinds the Gospel will spread to the ends of the earth. Difficulties should not paralyse the preaching of the faith.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Navarre Bible Commentary:Monday, 34th Week in Ordinary TimeAd Majorem Dei Gloriam

Widow's Mite by James Christensen

Luke 21:1-4

The Widow’s Offering

21 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.”

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraph 2544.

Commentary

The Widow's Mite

21:1–4. Our Lord, surrounded by his disciples, watches people putting offerings into the treasury. This was a place in the women’s courtyard, where there were collection boxes for the offerings of the faithful. Just then, something happens whose significance Jesus wants his disciples to notice: a poor widow puts in two coins, of very little value. He describes this as the greatest offering of all, praising the giving of alms for this purpose, particularly by people who give part of what they need. Our Lord is moved by this tiny offering because in her case it implies a big sacrifice. “The Lord does not look”, St John Chrysostom comments, “at the amount offered but at the affection with which it is offered” (Hom. on Heb, 1). Generosity is of the essence of almsgiving. This woman teaches us that we can move God’s heart if we give him all we can, which will always amount to very little even if we give our very lives. “How little a life is to offer to God!” (St J. Escrivá, The Way, 420).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome