Daily Bible Readings Friday July 11 2008 Memorial of St Benedict Abbot

July 11 2008 Friday 14^th Week of Ordinary Time – Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot
Saint of the Day – St. Benedict

About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/071108.shtml – Note. The Official Liturgical readings may not match the current NAB you may have.

Hosea (Osee) 14:2-10
DR Challoner

And now they have sinned more and more: and they have made to themselves a molten thing of their silver as the likeness of idols: the whole is the work of craftsmen: to these that say: Sacrifice men, ye that adore calves. Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the dust that is driven with a whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

But I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt know no God but me, and there is no saviour beside me. I knew thee in the desert, in the land of the wilderness. According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full: and they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me. And I will be to them as a lioness, as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians. I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps, and I will rend the inner parts of their liver: and I will devour them there as a lion, the beast of the field shall tear them.

Destruction is thy own, O Israel: thy help is only in me. Where is thy king? now especially let him save thee in all thy cities: and thy judges, of whom thou saidst: Give me kings and princes.

Responsorial Psalm 50:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17 (Ps 51 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text ONLY (I’m just putting the whole thing here)
Try reciting it out loud

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee:
that thou mayst be justified in thy words,
and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold thou hast loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom
thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 10:16-23
Haydock New Testament

Jesus instructed the Apostles:

Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and simple as doves. But beware of men. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings, for my sake, for a testimony to them, and to the Gentiles. But when they shall deliver you up, be not thoughtful how or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. For it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.

The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. Amen I say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man come.

Haydock Commentary Osee (Hosea) 14:2-10
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 3. Words. In captivity, legal victims cannot be offered. C. — But a contrite heart is always acceptable. Ps. l. — Good. While engaged in sin, (H.) “we can offer thee nothing good.” — Calves: victims of praise. S. Jer. — Heb. parim. Sept. omit m, (H.) and render fruit. They are followed by the Arab. and Syr. as well as by the apostle. Heb. xiii. 15. C. — We will offer what victims we please. E. Ps. lxix. 23. and lxv. 13.
• Ver. 4. Gods. The Assyrians, instead of protecting, oppress us; while Egypt, famous for horses, sits unconcerned. C. — But the source of all our evils are the idols, which we will follow no more. — In thee: adheres to the true faith in practice. H. — Israel was like an orphan during the captivity. Lam. i. 1. C.
• Ver. 5. Breaches, when Israel shall be converted, as some were to Christ, and many will be at the end of the world. W. — Heb. “their return.” Sept. “dwellings.” They shall be purified. — Freely. I have been forced to chastise, My heart dilates. C. — Sept. “I will love them manifestly.” Syr. “accept their free offerings.” H.
• Ver. 6. Dew. Israel has been like a plant dried up. C. xiii. 15. — Libanus. The cedars were tall and bulky, being well rooted.
• Ver. 7. Glory. Sept. “he shall be as fruitful as the olive-tree.” — Libanus, or incense. C. — The term has both meanings. H.
• Ver. 8. His. This may refer to the tree, or to God. The captives shall return, and be happy. But in a more sublime sense it refers to the nations which shall embrace the gospel. — Libanus, or fragrant. Such wine was esteemed in which certain odoriferous herbs were infused. Cant. vii. 2. C. — Libanus was also famous for generous wines. Siconita 11.
• Ver. 9. Idol? or God will no more reproach them, as their conversion is sincere. — Make. Heb. “be to him like,” &c. C.
• Ver. 10. Wise. This denotes the obscurity of the prophecy. Theod. — No human wit can explain the prophets: yet the just shall understand as much as shall be necessary. S. Jer. S. Aug. de Civ. Dei. xviii. 28. W. — Only few will make good use of these admonitions, and share in the promises. C.

Haydock Commentary Matthew 10:16-23

• Ver. 16. Wise as serpents, &c. It is a proverbial way of speaking; and an admonition to be circumspect and discreet, but harmless, innocent, sincere in all our actions and dealings. Wi. — Simple. That is, harmless, plain, sincere, and without guile. Ch. — In the midst of wolves. Although Christ sent his apostles not only against wolves, but even into the very midst of wolves, still he commands them to behave with the meekness of sheep, and simplicity of doves. Thus he evinces the greatness of his power, in overcoming the wolves by the sheep, which were continually exposed to be devoured and torn in pieces by them, still never failing to change the fierce nature of the ravenous wolf into their own nature, in mildness and innocence. As long as we retain the nature of sheep, we easily overcome our adversaries; but no sooner are we changed into wolves, than we become the derision of our enemies: the supreme Pastor, who superintends the sheep, not the wolves, withdrawing from us the powerful protection of his grace, and leaving us to the misery of our own weakness. — Our Saviour, in his infinite wisdom, knew full well the nature of things; passion was not to be overcome by passion, but by meekness only. Thus the apostles did, when the Jews having apprehended them, said, Have we not again and again commanded you not to teach in this name? Acts, C. iv. Though they had the power of working the greatest miracles, yet they let nothing harsh, nothing severe, escape them, either in words or actions. With simplicity they made answer, Judge ye, if it be just to hear you rather than God; and at the same time shewed their prudence, saying, We cannot but speak what we have heard and seen. S. Chrysostom, hom. xxxiv. — As sheep, &c. He compares them to sheep, not only because of their innocence, but also because they were sent unarmed and destitute of all human support. M. — Wise, &c. That you may guard against the snares of your enemies. The prudence of the serpent is celebrated, because when it cannot escape, it strives at least to preserve its head free from hurt, whilst it leave the rest of its body exposed. Thus Christians, who have Christ for their head, must preserve his faith and religion, though with the loss of every thing else. M.
• Ver. 17. They will deliver you up in councils. Christ, in this and the following verse, warns his apostles of the many troubles and persecutions to which the preaching of the faith would expose them. S. Chrysostom assigns several reasons for his choosing to foretell them such sufferings: 1st. that he might shew that he had the gift of prophecy; 2nd. that they might not think such evils came upon them on account of his weakness; 3rd. that knowing beforehand the great trials to which they would be exposed, they might not be discouraged when they happened. S. Chrysostom, in S. Thos. Aquin.
• Ver. 18. For a testimony to them, &c. That is, that by suffering with fortitude and constancy, you may bear testimony of me, as men must know, that it is not any vain thing for which they see you are prepared to die. Or the sense may be, that this may be for you a testimony against them in the day of judgment, and may render them inexcusable, since they will be unable to say that they have not heard the gospel. M.
• Ver. 19. Be not thoughtful, with too great a concern of mind. Wi. — That the apostles might not be discouraged at the description, which our Saviour gave them in the two preceding verses, of the troubles which they would have to sustain in their ministry, he now endeavours to console them. When you are called before councils, says he, do not think how or what to speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. A truly comfortable thought for all who should afterwards engage in the ministry of Christ. Whatever troubles, whatever persecutions may fall to your lot, if even you should be cited before kings and councils to answer for your faith, do not be troubled. You engage in the conflict, I will fight: you speak, but I will tell you what you ought to say. A.
• Ver. 22. He that shall persevere, &c. We are here told, that to be saved it is not sufficient that we were once virtuous, we must persevere to the end. We are also assured of the same truth in Ezechiel. If the just man shall turn away from his justice, and shall commit iniquity, he shall die in his sins, and his justice which he hath done shall not be remembered. C. iii, v. 20. A. — Some, says S. Chrysostom, are accustomed to be fervent at the beginning of their conversion, but afterwards grow remiss; of what advantage are seeds that flourish in the beginning, but afterwards wither and die? S. Chrysos. S. Thos. Aquin.
• Ver. 23. Flee into another. Tertullian, with some others, held it never lawful to fly in the time of persecutions, against both the doctrine and example of our Saviour, Christ. — You shall not finish, &c. S. Chrys. thinks the sense of these words is, you shall not go through, and have finished your preaching in all the cities of Israel, till I, who follow you, shall come, and join you again. Others expound it, till the coming of me, your Messias, shall be published, and owned after my resurrection. Wi.