Daily Bible Readings Friday December 19 2008 Third Week of Advent

December 19 2008 Friday Third Week of Advent
Saint of the Day – Blessed Pope Urban V

About the sources used. The readings on this site are from the Haydock Bible according to the daily Lectionary readings for the American Roman Catholic Church. The Haydock Bible contains traditional Catholic commentary and is free from copyright. Due to verse numbering differences and pastoral deletions in the actual Lectionary, these readings may at times vary from the actual readings.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/121908.shtml

Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren. And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son. Now therefore beware, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. Because thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. And when she was come to her husband, she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me: But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb until the day of his death.

And she bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him.

Responsorial Psalm 70:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17 (Ps 71 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength:
that thou mayst make me safe.
For thou art my firmament and my refuge.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner
For thou art my patience, O Lord:
my hope, O Lord, from my youth.
By thee have I been confirmed from the womb:
from my mother’s womb thou art my protector.
I will enter into the powers of the Lord:
O Lord, I will be mindful of thy justice alone.
Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth:
and till now I will declare thy wonderful works.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 1:5-25
Haydock New Testament

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priestly office before God, in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord; And all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said to him:

Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard: and thy wife, Elizabeth, shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John; And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord: and shall drink no wine, nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb: And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God: And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias: that he may turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare for the Lord a perfect people.

And Zachary said to the Angel:

Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.

And the Angel answering, said to him:

I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass: because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.

And the people were waiting for Zachary: and they wondered that he staid so long in the temple. And when he came out he could not speak to them, and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained dumb. And it came to pass, after the days of his office were accomplished, that he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife, Elizabeth, conceived, and hid herself five months, saying:

Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he hath had regard to take away my reproach among men.

Haydock Commentary Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 2. Saraa, in the confines of Juda and of Dan, ten miles north of Eleutheropolis. Euseb. — Manue seems to have resided in the country, near this town, v. 25. M.
• Ver. 3. Angel, in human form. Some Protestants pretend that he was “the Son of God,” and yet (v. 16) they say, “he sought not his own honour, but God’s, whose messenger he was,” (Bible, 1603) in which they plainly contradict themselves, or else teach Arianism, as if the Son were not true God, and equal to his Father. W. — The title of God, (Jehova) which is given to this angel, (v. 15, 21) is no proof that he was the Supreme Being. C. vi. 11.
• Ver. 4. Thing. Exhortations to observe the law are not unnecessary. S. Aug. q. 50. Besides the things which common people might take, such as wine, grapes, &c. were unclean for the Nazarites. The mother of Samson was required to abstain from every species of uncleanness as much as possible, at least while she bore and nursed her child. C. — Abulensis says, she was unquestionably under peculiar restrictions till her delivery. M. — This was a preparation for the child who should abstain from all unclean things, not only for a time, (Num. vi.) but during his whole life, that he might be a more perfect figure of Christ. W. — His dignity was not of choice, nor could he forfeit it by touching any thing unclean, nor by the violent cutting off his hair. As the deliverer of the people, he must often have been obliged to touch dead bodies. C. — Begin. The power of the Philistines was greatly broken by Samson. C. xvi. 13. M. — But Samuel, Saul, and David had still to contend with them. 1 K. vii. 13. H.
• Ver. 6. And when, &c. Heb. Chal. Syr. Arab. and the Vatican Sept. read a negation, “And I did not ask him whence he came; neither did he tell me his name.” The other copies of the Sept. S. Aug. (q. 51.) &c. agree with the Vulg. though S. Aug. suspected that the negation was wanting. C.
• Ver. 24. Samson signifies, “His sun, or joy;” or Syr. “service.” C. — “His, or a little sun.” M. — Blessed him with graces and strength, suitable for his office. C.
• Ver. 25. To be. Sept. “to walk along.” Jonathan, “to sanctify.” Samson began to manifest an eager desire to deliver his brethren. C. — Dan, as it was called from those 600 men who encamped here, when they were going to take Lais. C. xviii. 12. H. — God inspired him to commence the liberation of his country, when he was about 17 years old, (Usher) or 20 according to Salien. Then he entered upon his judicial authority, and punished the wrongs which the Philistines did him in person, as well as his countrymen. The seven years wandering of Æneas had terminated in his death just before, at the river Numicus. Halicar. 1. Salien, A.C. 1176. H.

Haydock Commentary Luke 1:5-25

• Ver. 5. The Almighty appointed Moses that there should be but one high priest at a time, to whom, at his decease, a successor should be chosen. This rule obtained until the time of David, by whom, by the inspiration of God, many were appointed at once. 1 Paralip. c. xxiv. According to this regulation, Zachary is said to perform the office of priest, according to the order of his course. Ven. Bede. — Zachary seems here to be described as high priest, who once year entered alone in the inward sanctuary with the blood of the victims, which he offered for himself and the sins of the people. S. Ambrose. — He was not chosen by a fresh lot to offer up incense, but by a previous lot, according to which the family of Abia succeeded to the office of high priest. The people waited without, according to Levit. xvi. 112.; whilst the high priest carried the incense into the holy of holies, on the 10th day of the 7th month. Ven. Bede. — Of the course of Abia.[2] What we read in the Greek for course, is commonly put for the employment of one day, but here for the functions of a whole week. For by appointment of David, (1 Paral. xxiv,) the descendants from Aaron were divided into 24 families; of which the eighth was Abia, from whom descended this Zachary, who at this time was in the week of his priestly functions. Wi. — It is worthy of remark, that there were three Herods. The first was the one here spoken of, (surnamed Ascalonite, from is palace in the city of Ascalon, in Palestine) the same who murdered the Innocents. The second was the son of the first, (surnamed Antipas) who derided Christ at the time of his passion, the same who beheaded the Baptist. The third was Herod Agrippa, who beheaded S. James, imprisoned S. Peter, and who afterwards, for his great pride, stricken by an angel, and devoured by worms. Our Saviour was born in the reign of the first Herod, by whom the prophecy of Jacob, related in the book of Genesis (c. xlix,) was fulfilled: The septre shall not be taken, &c. Herod was an Idumæan, and made king of the Jews by the Romans. The Jews, after they entered the land of promise, were first governed by judges, until Saul: then by kings, until the Babylonian captivity; after that by high priests, until the time of Hyrcanus, whom Herod having killed, succeeded. From that period to the present day, they have been governed by strangers. Ven. Bede, and D. Dion. Carth. — Elizabeth was of the race of Aaron, by her father; but her mother was probably of the race of David, from whom the blessed Virgin, cousin of Elizabeth, descended. See infra, v. 36.
• Ver. 6. Both just, . . . walking . . . without blame.[3] Not that in the sight of God they were exempt even from all lesser failings, which are called venial faults; but only from such sins as might make them forfeit the grace and favour of God. Wi. — Three things are here to be noticed: 1. that good men do keep all God’s commandments, which some moderns declare to be impossible; 2. that men are justified not by imputation only of Christ’s justice, nor by faith alone, but by walking in the commandments; 3. that keeping and doing the commandments, is properly our justification through Jesus Christ. The Greek word dikaiomata, is properly rendered by Catholics, justifications or commandments, because the keeping of them through Jesus Christ, is justification. But our separated brethren purposely avoid this word against the justification of the Catholics, as one of their leaders in innovation blushes not to advance. Hence Beza, in his annotations on the New Test. ann. 1556, uses the word constituta, which his scholars render into English by ordinances. B.
• Ver. 9. It was his lot. The priests drew lots for the different functions to be performed in the same week; and now it fell by lot to Zachary, to burn or offer up incense, morning and evening, in that part of the temple called the holy, where was the altar of incense: Zachary was in this part of the tabernacle. Wi. — See Exod. xxx. 6, 8.
• Ver. 10. And all the . . . people were praying without: i.e. in that part of the temple called the court of the Israelites. For the Jews themselves were not permitted to enter into the first part of the tabernacle, called the holy, much less into the second part of it, called the holy of holies; the people then prayed, and performed their private devotions, in that division of the temple called the court of the Israelites, and were there waiting for the coming out of the priest Zachary. Wi. — We here see that the priest’s functions profited the people, though they neither heard not saw the priest, but only joined in intention with him; and so may the prayers of the priest in the Catholic Church, though offered up in an unknown tongue.
• Ver. 12. The cause of this fear, was the general sentiment that obtained with the Jews, that they would die immediately on seeing an angel. V.
• Ver. 13. Thy prayer is heard. We cannot suppose, as S. Aug. observes, (l. ii. QQ. Evang. c i, tom. 3, part 2, p. 249. Ed. Ben.) that he was praying to have children, when his wife was so advanced in years; that he did not think possible; but he was praying for the people, and for the coming of the Messias. See S. Chrys. hom. ii. de incomprehensibili, tom. 1, p. 454. Nov. Ed. Ben. Wi. — Zachary so far despaired of having any offspring that he did not believe the angel, when he made him the promise. When therefore the angel says, thy prayer is heard, we must understand it of the prayer he offered in behalf of the people, to whom salvation and remission of sins were to be brought by Christ. The angel, moreover, told him of the birth of his son, who was to be the precursor of Christ. S. Austin. — The son that is to be born of thee, will shew that thy prayer is heard, when he cries out, behold the Lamb of God. S. Chrysos. — It is always a mark of singular merit, whenever the Almighty either appoints or changes the name of a man. Ven. Bede. — The name of John is derived from the Hebrew word, Jachanan, which frequently occurs in the Old Testament, as 1 Par. iii. 15. and vi. 9. and xii. 12. &c. and signifies, blessed with grace or divine favour; see also in Isai. xxx. 18, 19.
• Ver. 14. This was fulfilled not only at his birth, but ever after by the Catholic Church, celebrating his nativity. A.
• Ver. 15. After the angel had assured him of the joy this son should bring to many, he acquaints him of the excellency of his virtue. He shall be great before the Lord. He did not extend the boundaries of empire; he did not obtain the triumphs of war, and force captive and degraded kings to pay him homage: but, what is much greater, preaching in a desert, he renounced the pleasures of the world, and with the great fortitude repressed and subdued the concupiscence of the flesh. Therefore it is said, he shall drink no wine, nor strong drink. S. Ambrose. — And shall drink no wine, nor strong drink:[4] lit. sicera, by which is signified any liquor that is apt to make a man drunk, according to S. Jerom. Wi. — This prohibition of the angel wa a part of the consecration of the Nazarites. See Numb. vi. 3. The word sicera properly signifies wine of the palm-tree; and next to wine of the grape, there was no more common liquor, none more intoxicating. V. — And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb; from which words some conjecture, that S. John the Baptist, though conceived in original sin, yet might have been freed from the guilt of it before he came into the world. Of this see S. Aug. Ep. lvii. now Ep. clxxxvii. ad Dardanum. t. ii, p. 685. Ed. Ben. Wi.
• Ver. 17. Turn the hearts of the fathers, &c. The angel applies these words (Malach. iv. 6.) to S. John the Baptist; telling his father, that he shall convert many of the children of Israel, &c. by bringing them to the knowledge of Christ. Secondly, that he shall go before him, or be his precursor and forerunner. — In the spirit and power of Elias; i.e. S. John shall be the forerunner of Christ’s first coming to redeem mankind, as Elias shall be the forerunner of Christ’s second coming to judge the world. Thirdly, that S. John, by converting the Jews, shall also turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, &c. The meaning of which obscure words seems to be, that whereas Moses, Abraham, and the prophets, (whose souls were in a place of rest) knew by a revelation from God, that their children, the Jews, lived in sin and disobedience to the laws of God; and on this account were offended and displeased at them: now when they shall know that they have been converted by the preaching of S. John, they shall rejoice, and be reconciled to their children, the Jews: for as our Saviour tells us, (Luke xv. 7.) there is joy in heaven upon any one sinner that doth penance. The angel, to explain the foregoing words, adds, and the incredulous to the wisdom and prudence of the just; i.e. S. John’s preaching shall make them truly wise and just. Wi. — With reason is he said to precede Christ, who was his forerunner both in his birth and in his death. In the spirit of prophecy, and in the power of abstinence, and patience, and zeal, they resembled each other; Elias was in the desert, S. John was in the desert also. The one sought not the favour of king Achab, the other despised the favour of Herod. The one divided the Jordan, the other changed it into a laver of salvation. The one is to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ’s second coming, as the other was of his first. S. Ambrose.
• Ver. 18. Whereby shall I know this? Zachary could not question the Divine Power, but he doubted of what the angel told him. Wi. — It was customary with the Jews, when they heard that any wonderful event was to take place, to inquire whether the Almighty had manifested his will by any supernatural sign. Zachary puts this question to the angel, not through any doubt concerning the omnipotence of God, but because what was promised could not be compassed in the natural order of things: for, I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years. D. Diony.
• Ver. 19. The name Gabriel signifies, the strength of God; or, God is my strength. The angels are sometimes styled by proper names, in order to shew their respective duties; thus, no angel could better be appointed to declare the precursor, as also the Messias himself, than he who was styled the power of God: since he came to declare the coming of one who was to destroy the power of the devil, and overthrow his kingdom. Nic. de Lyra. See Tob. xii. 15. Apoc. i. 4. and viii. 2.
• Ver. 20. On account of the many signs the angel had given, that what he said was true, the unbelief of Zachary seemed inexcusable; for the angel appeared in a holy place, in the temple, and during divine service: he, moreover, foretold what related to the redemption of all the people, and to the glory of God; from all which circumstances, Zachary ought to have concluded, that it was a good angel, and that what he said would eventually come to pass. Nic. de Lyra. — Shalt be dumb, &c. He seems to have been both dumb and deaf by the Greek text, and by what we may learn from v. 62; where we find, that those who were present did not speak, but rather made signs to him. Wi.
• Ver. 23. After the days of his office were accomplished; i.e. the weekly ministry; for during that time, the priests lodged in buildings joining to the temple, separated from their wives. Wi. — When it fell to the lot of any of the priests to offer incense, they not only separated from their wives, but left their house; wherefore it is said, as soon as the day, &c. As it was ordained that the priesthood should continue in the family of Aaron, it was necessary they should have wives. But, as we do not now so much seek after priests of the same family, as those who are virtuous, it has been decreed, that priests should observe perpetual continency, that they may be able to assist at all times at the altar. Ven. Bede. — For the law of perpetual celibacy of the clergy, See S. Jerom, l. i. c. ix. 19. advers Jovin. et. ep. 50; also S. Ambrose, in 1 Tim. iii.