Navarre Bible Commentary:Wednesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 7:14-23 by Jack Olson

Mark 7:14–23

14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”  

Footnotes:

1. Mark 7:15 Other ancient authorities add verse 16, “If any man has ears to hear, let him hear”
2. Mark 7:19 Or is evacuated

Catholic Exegesis:

The Second Vatican Council teaches  that if we are to derive the true meaning from the sacred texts,  attention must be devoted “not only to their content but to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the entire Church, and the analogy of faith. […] Everything to do with the interpretation of Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred communion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Dei Verbum, 12).

St. John Paul II, when he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  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).

Cited in the Catechism:

Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, paragraphs 574, 582 and 1764.

Commentary

7:15. See the RSV note [above].

7:18–19. We know from Tradition that St Mark was the interpreter of St Peter and that, in writing his Gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he gathered up the Roman catechesis of the head of the apostles.

The vision which St Peter had in Joppa (Acts 10:10–16) showed him the full depth of what Jesus teaches here about food. When he returns to Jerusalem, St Peter himself tells us this in his report on the conversion of Cornelius: “I remembered the word of the Lord” (Acts 11:16). The now non-obligatory character of such prescriptions laid down by God in the Old Testament (cf. Lev 11) would have been something St Peter included in his preaching. For interpretation of this text see also the note on Mt 15:10–20.

7:20–23. “In order to help us understand divine things, Scripture uses the expression ‘heart’ in its full human meaning, as the summary and source, expression and ultimate basis, of one’s thoughts, words and actions” (St Josemaría Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 164).

The goodness or malice, the moral quality, of our actions does not depend on their spontaneous, instinctive character. The Lord himself tells us that sinful actions can come from the human heart.

We can understand how this can happen if we realize that, after original sin, man “was changed for the worse” in both body and soul and was, therefore, prone to evil (cf. Council of Trent, De peccato originali). Our Lord here restores morality in all its purity and intensity.

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, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

All the City Gathered at His Door
by James Tissot

Mark 6:53–56

53 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, 55 and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.   

Catholic Exegesis:

The Second Vatican Council teaches  that if we are to derive the true meaning from the sacred texts,  attention must be devoted “not only to their content but to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the entire Church, and the analogy of faith. […] Everything to do with the interpretation of Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred communion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Dei Verbum, 12).

St. John Paul II, when he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  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).

Cited in the Catechism:

Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, paragraph 1504.

Commentary:

Cures at Gennesaret

6:52. The disciples do not yet see Jesus’ miracles as signs of his divinity. They witness the multiplication of the loaves and the fish (Mk 6:33–44) and the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:17), but their hearts and minds are still hardened; they fail to grasp the full import of what Jesus is teaching them through his actions—that he is the Son of God. Jesus is patient and understanding with their defects, even when they fail to grasp what he says when he speaks about his own passion (Lk 18:34). Our Lord will give them further miracles and further teaching to enlighten their minds, and, later, he will send the Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything he said (cf. Jn 14:26). St Bede comments on this episode (Mk 6:45–52) in this way: “In a mystical sense, the disciples’ efforts to row against the wind point to the efforts the Holy Church must make against the waves of the enemy world and the outpourings of evil spirits in order to reach the haven of its heavenly home. It is rightly said that the boat was out on the sea and he alone on the land, because the Church has never been so intensely persecuted by the Gentiles that it seemed as if the Redeemer had abandoned it completely. But the Lord sees his disciples struggling, and to sustain them he looks at them compassionately and sometimes frees them from peril by clearly coming to their aid” (In Marci Evangelium expositio, in loc.).

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:Saturday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 8:1-10

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Feeding the Four Thousand

8 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 3 and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. 10 And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanu′tha.[a]

Footnotes:

1. Mark 8:10 Other ancient authorities read Magadan or Magdala

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 1329.

Commentary

Second miracle of the loaves

8:1–9. Jesus repeats the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish: the first time (Mk 6:33–44) he acted because he saw a huge crowd like “sheep without a shepherd”; now he takes pity on them because they have been with him for three days and have nothing to eat.

This miracle shows how Christ rewards people who persevere in following him: the crowd had been hanging on his words, forgetful of everything else. We should be like them, attentive and ready to do what he commands, without any vain concern about the future, for that would amount to distrusting divine providence.

8:10. “Dalmanutha”: this must have been somewhere near the lake of Gennesaret, but it is difficult to localize it more exactly. This is the only time it is mentioned in Holy Scripture. In the parallel passage in St Matthew (15:39) Magadan (sometimes Magdala) is mentioned.

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, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 7:31-37

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Jesus Cures a Deaf Man

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decap′olis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. 33 And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Eph′phatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

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 1151 and 1504.

Commentary

Curing of a deaf man

7:32–33. Holy Scripture quite often shows the laying on of hands as a gesture indicating the transfer of power or blessing (cf. Gen 48:14ff; 2 Kings 5:11; Lk 13:13). Everyone knows that saliva can help heal minor cuts. In the language of Revelation fingers symbolized powerful divine action (cf. Ex 8:19; Ps 8:3; Lk 11:20). So Jesus uses signs which suit in some way the effect he wants to achieve, though we can see from the text that the effect—the instantaneous cure of the deaf and dumb man—far exceeds the sign used.

In the miracle of the deaf and dumb man we can see a symbol of the way God acts on souls: for us to believe, God must first open our heart so we can listen to his word. Then, like the apostles, we too can proclaim the magnalia Dei, the mighty works of God (cf. Acts 2:11). In the Church’s liturgy (cf. the hymn Veni Creator) the Holy Spirit is compared to the finger of the right hand of God the Father (Digitus paternae dexterae). The Consoler produces in our souls, in the supernatural order, effects comparable to those which Christ produces in the body of the deaf and dumb man.

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, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Crumbs for Dogs by Jim Lepage

Mark 7:24-30

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[a] And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. 25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni′cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

Footnotes:

1. Mark 7:24 Other ancient authorities omit and Sidon

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 2616.

Commentary

The Syrophoenician woman

7:24. The region of Tyre and Sidon is nowadays the southern part of Lebanon-Phoenicia in ancient times. The distance from the lake of Gennesaret to the frontier of Tyre and Sidon is not more than 50 kms (30 miles). Jesus withdrew from Palestine to avoid persecution by the Jewish authorities and to give the apostles more intensive training.

7:27. Our Lord actually uses the diminutive—“little dogs” to refer to the Gentiles—thereby softening a scornful expression which Jews used. On the episode of the Canaanite woman see the notes on parallel passages, Mt 15:21–28 BELOW.

Notes from Mt 15:21-28

The Canaanite woman

15:21–22. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast, in present-day Lebanon. They were never part of Galilee but they were near its northwestern border. In Jesus’ time they were outside the territory of Herod Antipas (see the note on Mt 2:1). Jesus withdrew to this area to escape persecution from Herod and from the Jewish authorities and to concentrate on training his apostles.

Most of the inhabitants of the district of Tyre and Sidon were pagans. St Matthew calls this woman a “Canaanite”; according to Genesis (10:15), this district was one of the first to be settled by the Canaanites; St Mark describes the woman as a “Syrophoenician” (Mk 7:26). Both Gospels point out that she is a pagan, which means that her faith in our Lord is more remarkable; the same applies in the case of the centurion (Mt 8:5–13).

The Canaanite woman’s prayer is quite perfect: she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah (the Son of David)—which contrasts with the unbelief of the Jews; she expresses her need in clear, simple words; she persists, undismayed by obstacles; and she expresses her request in all humility: “Have mercy on me.” Our prayer should have the same qualities of faith, trust, perseverance and humility.

15:24. What Jesus says here does not take from the universal reference of his teaching (cf. Mt 28:19–20; Mk 16:15–16). Our Lord came to bring his Gospel to the whole world, but he himself addressed only the Jews; later on he will charge his apostles to preach the Gospel to pagans. St Paul, in his missionary journeys, also adopted the policy of preaching in the first instance to the Jews (Acts 13:46).

15:25–28. This dialogue between Jesus and the woman is especially beautiful. By appearing to be harsh he so strengthens the woman’s faith that she deserves exceptional praise: “Great is your faith!” Our own conversation with Christ should be like that: “Persevere in prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful” (St Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 101).

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