Navarre Bible Commentary:Monday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Monday, September 22, 2008

25th Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

Luke 8:16-18

Parable of the Lamp

(Jesus told the crowd,) [16] "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the light. [17] For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. [18] Take heed then how you hear; for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

Cited in the Catechism:  In declaring the promulgation of 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 Matthew 13, which parallel this Gospel reading are cited and explained in the Catechism in paragraphs 546, 787 and 1724.

Commentary:

[EDITOR’S NOTE: There is no commentary available for Luke 8:16-18. The commentary for the same parable found in Mark 4:21-25 states:]

16-17. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ's doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "What you hear whispered, proclaim it upon the housetops" (Mt 10:27); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mk 16:15). The other teaching is that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in favor or against Christ, will not become public or manifest.

24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching he is giving: they are receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will more be given ...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished (cf. Mt 25:14- 30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological virtues: "If you say 'Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, Sermon 51). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines: "Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 427).

[The commentary for still another similar parable found in Matthew 13: 12 states:]

12. Jesus is addressing his disciples and explaining to them that, precisely because they have faith in him and want to have a good grasp of his teaching, they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not "follow him" (cf. note on Mt 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and will grow even blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a parable which gives us a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God's gifts become closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they eventually lose God's grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us--without taking away our freedom--to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.

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

Vatican Releasing Catechism App

On the eve of the upcoming World Conference of Catechists, the Vatican announced that it will be releasing a Catechism app on September 25th. For now, it appears the app will only be available in Italian, but should be made available in other languages soon after.

Pray, Love and Live the Creed

As we close out the first week of the Year of Faith, a thought occurred to me. Do we know what faith Pope Benedict is speaking of? In other words what do we believe? What are we supposed to believe? What is it we believe as Catholics?

The answer (a start at least) can be found in our Profession of Faith – the Creed. This is actually one of the four pillars included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (yes, that's another hint to read the CCC. It's not too late to sign up for the daily updates to read the CCC in one year). All four of the pillars, together make up the fullness of the truth that is our Catholic faith.

As you watch the video below, think to yourself, do I pray the Creed or do I just say it?

Read the Catechism in a Year

Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged Catholics to study their faith during the upcoming Year of Faith. What better way to do that than by reading the Catechism of the Catholic? Well Matthew Warner and the folks at Flocknote have established a way to read a small part of the Catechism daily. With your subscription, you receive a daily email with an excerpt from the Catechism beginning October 11th.

Subscribe at Flocknote.

Powered on Twitter @CatechismAPI!

What is the New Evangelization?

As we get closer to the Year of Faith celebration, I think it is important for us to get more acquainted with the concept of the New Evangelization.

Here is Dr. Scott Hahn's take on the New Evangelization:

Tuesday Tech Talk:Reading While You Drive

The intent of Tuesday Tech Talk has been two-fold: 1) review new technology that can be leveraged to enhance your spiritual life and 2) to discuss the way we perceive and use technology in our daily lives and the impact that has on us spiritually.

I have a confession to make: I read while I drive. I listen to audiobooks. So my sister-in-law insists that's not reading, but I contend it harkens back to the days of oral tradition.  Anyway,  I consistently have a forty minute to one hour commute to work each day. Years ago I figured out to keep my sanity, lower my blood pressure and reduce the likelihood of road rage, I should listen to books on tape. I started listening to novels in a cassette player with headphones while I drove. Later, I would upgrade to CD's I checked out from the library. Eventually, I found these methods limiting because of the lack of titles. About eight years ago, I signed up for Audible.

Audible is digital audiobook service. For a monthly fee of $22.95 you can download to audiobooks a month. Audible has a decent collection of Catholic books. They have Pope Benedict's Jesus series as well as most of Scott Hahn's books. They have several Catholic classics and works written by saints. They even have an audio version of the USCCB Catechism for Adults.

Audible often runs an offer to new members in which they can receive a free trial book.

Get Your Answer on Catholic Answers

Perhaps you have noticed the banner under the Joe Catholic logo from Catholic Answers. If you visit daily, you know that it changes each day. When you click on the banner you are taken to a page with questions that had previously been submitted to Catholic Answers. Before Catholic Answer existed as a radio program, it began as a series of written tracts created by Karl Keating in 1979. He wrote them in response to a Fundamentalist church that had left anti-Catholic leaflets on cars at a local San Diego parish during mass.

Eventually Keating wrote another series of tracts. Keating followed this up with a monthly newsletter in 1986. By 1988, Keating realized “real need for information on Catholic apologetics” and he quit his law practice and began work on a full-time apostolate. The apostolate grew quickly and the newsletter was soon replaced with This Rock, a 10-issue-a-year periodical. The magazine is arguably the best Catholic publication for the laity on the subject of apologetics and evangelization.

Catholic Answers also hosts one of the most comprehensive websites dedicated to providing solid catechesis. The site has a Library tab that contains a wealth of authentic Catholic material, including free tracts on frequent objections to Catholicism. The library also has Answer Guides, Special Reports, and online copies of some of their booklets. The site also contains an archive of This Rock back issues dating back to 1990 when the magazine was first published.

Catholic Answers also has an online store in which you can purchase books, CD’s and DVD’s of some of their speakers and writers. You can listen to Catholic Answers’ radio programming through the site. You can even schedule a Catholic cruise with members of the Catholic Answers team.

The one area that I think the site is lacking in is its forum where online discussions on various subjects take place. I don’t think the moderators are able to monitor well enough to respond to statements made by people who post who may not know what they are talking about. I would stay clear of this section if you are not firmly planted in your knowledge of Church teaching.

Overall the Catholic Answers website is a tremendous resource. I begin all of my research for presentations with a look at this site. I recommend you bookmark in your favorites.

The History of Joe Catholic

About eight years ago a friend and I tried to form a men's small faith group (patterned after the St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers) in our parish and it failed.  Year after year some guy would come up to me after Mass and ask me when we were going to bring back the "Joseph's group."  I smiled nicely and said "we'll see," knowing well I was not interested in another failure.  A little over two years ago I relented and invited some of the male leaders in our church to discuss revamping the group.  (This idea was founded on John Maxwell's Law of Explosive Growth).  We kicked around format ideas and settled on a new name - Joe Catholic. I got the idea from Joe the Plumber in the recent presidential election. We also liked the name because we wanted to promote that we were just ordinary guys trying to learn our faith.

Joe Catholic now meets the fourth Saturday of each month, bright and early at 7:00AM.  Over forty men have attended at least one gathering and we consistently have fifteen or so at each get together.  We have settled on a three prong format: Catholic Toolbox, Saint Talk and FAQ of Faith.  Each session lasts about 15-20 minutes and they are non-sequential by design.  The Catholic Toolbox is normally a catechetical talk. Saint Talk covers the life of a saint whose feast we will celebrate during the month we are meeting. FAQ of Faith takes an apologetic approach to questions Catholics are often asked by their non-Catholic friends and family. We maintain a casual environment encouraging men to show up late if they have to and leave early when they need.  The bottom line is that we want to help men grow in their Catholic faith.

Last year, Bishop Kevin Vann invited us to the Fort Worth cathedral (St. Patrick) to celebrate mass with him and subsequently to present one of our meetings to him.  He has since taken in an interest in our little group and has asked for another visit.

This blog began as a supplement to the gatherings with resources for deeper study of the topics covered in the gathering. Now, we hope it will be an instrument to promote the apostolate on a wider scale, casting the net into deeper waters.

NOTE ON THE LOGO: The artisan's toolbox represents that we are all working men living ordinary lives.  The green book is the Catechism of the Catholic Church representing that we are loyal to the Church's teachings.  The black book is the Holy Bible to represent that we are men of the Word of God. The Rosary represents that we are men of prayer.  The hammer and rule are representative of traditional symbols of St. Joseph - the original Joe Catholic and our patron saint.