 |
| Source: Salem News |
Luke 19:41-44
41 And when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, 44 and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
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 558.
Commentary
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem
19:41–44. When the procession reaches a place where there is a good view of the city, they are disconcerted by Jesus’ unexpected weeping. Our Lord explains why he is weeping, by prophesying the destruction of the city which he loved so much: not one stone will remain on another, and its inhabitants will be massacred—a prophecy which was fulfilled in the year 70, when Titus razed the city and the temple was destroyed.
These historical events will be a punishment for Jerusalem failing to recognize the time of its visitation, that is, for closing its gates to the salvific coming of the Redeemer. Jesus loved the Jews with a very special love: they were the first to whom the Gospel was preached (cf. Mt 10:5–6); to them he directed his ministry (cf. Mt 15:24); he showed by his word and by his miracles that he was the Son of God and the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures. But the Jews for the most part failed to appreciate the grace the Lord was offering them; their leaders led them to the extreme of calling for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus visits every one of us; he comes as our Saviour; he teaches us through the preaching of the Church; he gives us forgiveness and grace through the sacraments. We should not reject our Lord, we should not remain indifferent to his visit.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment