Daily Bible Readings Friday January 30 2009 Third Week in Ordinary Time

January 30 2009 Friday Third Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Hyacintha of Mariscotti

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/readings/013009.shtml

Hewbrews 10:32-39
Haydock New Testament

But call to mind the former days, wherein, being illuminated, you sustained a great conflict of afflictions, And on the one part indeed, by reproaches and tribulations made a spectacle: and on the other, made companions of them that were so treated. For you also had compassion on those who were in chains, and received with joy the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and permanent substance. Do not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward. For patience is necessary for you: that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a very little while, and he that is to come will come, and will not delay. But my just man liveth by faith: but if he withdraw himself, he shall not please my soul. But we are not the children of withdrawing unto perdition, but of faith to the salvation of the soul.

Responsorial Psalm 36:3-6, 23-24, 39-40 (Ps 37 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Trust in the Lord, and do good,
and dwell in the land,
and thou shalt be fed with its riches.
Delight in the Lord,
and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.
Commit thy way to the Lord,
and trust in him, and he will do it.
And he will bring forth thy justice as the light,
and thy judgment as the noonday.
With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed,
and he shall like well his way.
When he shall fall he shall not be bruised,
for the Lord putteth his hand under him.
But the salvation of the just is from the Lord,
and he is their protector in the time of trouble.
And the Lord will help them and deliver them:
and he will rescue them from the wicked,
and save them because they have hoped in him.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Mark 4:26-34
Haydock New Testament

And he said:

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, And should sleep, and rise, and night and day, and the seed should not spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not. For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear: And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

And he said:

To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or to what parable shall we compare it? It is as a grain of mustard-seed, which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth: And when it is sown, it growth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof.

And with many such parables he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear. And without parable he did not speak unto them: but apart, he explained all things to his disciples.

Haydock Commentary Hebrews 10:32-39
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 32. But call to mind the former days, &c. After having laid before them the severity of God’s judgments, he comforts them with the hopes they may have of their eternal salvation, from what they had already suffered soon after they received the light of the gospel, and were illuminated by baptism. Wi.
• Ver. 36. He encourages them to patience in the short time of this mortal life. Wi.
• Ver. 37. Yet a very little while, and the judge that is to come, and who is to judge every one, will come. Wi. — O ercomenoV, he who is coming. It is observed by commentators, that this is the appellation given by the Jews to the Messias. See Matt. xi. 3. and xxi. 9.
• Ver. 38. But my[8] just man, he that liveth according to the doctrine I have taught, liveth by faith, which is the groundwork and foundation of a good life. — But if he withdraw himself, and fall from this faith of Christ, he shall not please my soul. It is a Hebrew way of speaking, and as it were in the person of God. Wi. — Luther and Calvin teach that faith alone is sufficient for justification, and they define this faith to be an assured confidence that their sins are forgiven them wholly by Christ’s passion. No text, however, in Scripture teaches that a man is justified by faith only. In Romans, (ii.) Luther makes S. Paul say that a man is justified by faith only, without the works of the law: the authorized Protestant version has omitted the word only, foisted into the German translations. Solifidians vainly cite this text, as its obvious meaning is, that neither the works of the written law, done by the Jew, nor the works of the law of nature, done by the Gentiles, before either of them believe in Christ, can without faith in Christ justify any one. Saving faith is a faith working through charity in Jesus Christ, a faith which includes hope, love, repentance, and the use of the sacraments. Hence S. James (C. ii.) declares, that a man may have faith but not works, but that faith without works will not save him. S. Paul teaches the same, 1 Cor. xiii. 2. “If I should have all faith, so as to move mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing;” where we should observe the word all faith.
• Ver. 39. But we are not the children of withdrawing;[9] i.e. we are not such as withdraw ourselves in this manner from the true faith to perdition, but remain constant in the faith and law of Christ. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Mark 4:26-34

• Ver. 26. So it is with him who announces the gospel of the kingdom of God, as with the sower. For whether he sleep or rise, the see will grow up while he knoweth not; and the well prepared soil will, by the blessing of God, be productive: so the word of God she abroad in the heart of man, will increase and fructify independently of all the preacher’s solicitude, till he who has received it, being arrived at the measure of the age and fulness of Christ, shall be withdrawn by God from this world, and be called to himself. V.
• Ver. 29. When the fruit is brought forth: lit. when the fruit[1] hath produced. By the fruit is here meant the seed; i.e. when the seed by degrees hath produced the blade, then the ear, and lastly the corn, which is become ripe. Wi. — This is a secondary sense of the text, when the fruit hath come to maturity, and by no means a forced interpretation.
• Ver. 33. This seems to contradict what was said v. 12, that seeing they may not see, &c.; but we must observe, that parables have more explanations than one, some more easy, whilst others are more difficult to be understood. In parables, the multitude understood the more literal interpretation, whilst Christ explains the more abstruse and hidden sense to his apostles. Hence there is no contradiction in these texts. Nic. de Lyra.

Catena Aurea Mark 4:26-34
From Catechetics Online

• PSEUD-CHRYS. A parable occurred, a little above, about the three seeds which perished in various ways, and the one which was saved; in which last He also shows three differences, according to the proportion of faith and practice Here however, He puts forth a parable concerning those only who are saved. Wherefore it is said, And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, &c.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; The kingdom of God is the Church which is ruled by God, and herself rules over men, amid treads down the powers which are contrary to her, and all wickedness.
• PSEUD-CHRYS. Or else He calls by the name of kingdom of God, faith in Him, and in the economy of His Incarnation; which kingdom indeed is as if a man should throw seed. For He Himself being God and the Son of God, having without change been made man, has cast seed upon time earth, that is, He has enlightened the whole world by the word of divine knowledge.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; For the seed is the word of life, the ground is the human heart, and the sleep of the man means the death of the Savior. The seed springs up night and day, because after the sleep of Christ, the number of Christians, through calamity and prosperity, continued to flourish more and more in faith, and to wax greater in deed.
• PSEUD-CHRYS. Or Christ himself is the man who rises, for He sat waiting with patience, that they who received seed should bear fruit. He rises, that is, by, the word of His love, He makes us grow to the bringing forth fruit, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand, by which is meant the day, and on the left, by which is meant the night of persecution; for by these the seed springs up and does not wither.
• THEOPHYL. Or else Christ sleeps, that is, ascends into heaven, where, though He seem to sleep, yet He rises by night, when through temptations He raises us up to the knowledge of Himself; and in the day time, when on account of our prayers, He sets in order our salvation.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; But when He says, He knows not how, He is speaking in a figure; that is, He does not make known to us, who amongst us will produce fruit to the end.
• PSEUD-CHRYS. Or else He says, He knows not, that He may show free-will of those who receive the word, for He commits a work to our will, and does not work the whole Himself alone, lest the good should seem involuntary. For the earth brings forth fruits of its own accord, that is, she is brought to hear fruit without being compelled by a necessity contrary to inner will. First the blade.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; That is, fear. For the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Then the full corn in the ear; that is, charity, for charity is the fulfilling of the Law.
• PSEUD-CHRYS. Or, first it produces the blade, in the law of nature, by degrees growing up to advancement; afterwards it brings forth the ears, which are to be collected into a bundle, and to be offered on an altar to the Lord, that is, in the law of Moses; afterwards the full-fruit, in the Gospel. Or because we must not only put forth leaves by obedience, but also learn prudence, and, like the stalk of corn, remain upright without minding the winds which blow us about. We must also take heed to our soul by a diligent recollection, that, like the ears, we may bear fruit, that is, show forth the perfect operation of virtue.
• THEOPHYL. For we put forth the blade, when we show a principle of good; then the ear, when we can resist temptations; then comes the fruit, when a man works something perfect. It goes on: and when it has brought forth the fruit, immediately he sends the sickle, because the harvest is come.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; The sickle is death or the judgment, which cuts down all things; the harvest is the end of the world.
• GREGORY; Or else; Man casts seed to the ground, when he places a good intention in his heart; and he sleeps, when he already rests in the hope which attends on a good work. But he rises night and day because he advances amidst prosperity and adversity, though he knows it not for he is as yet unable to measure his increase, and yet virtue, once conceived, goes on increasing. When therefore we conceive good desires, we put seed into the ground; when we begin to work rightly, we are the blade. When we increase to the perfection of good works, we arrive at the ear; when we are firmly fixed in the perfection of the same working, we already put forth the full corn in the ear.
• GLOSS. After having narrated the parable concerning the coming forth of the fruit from the seed of the Gospel, he here subjoins another parable, to show the excellence of the doctrine of the Gospel before all other doctrines. Wherefore it is said, And he said, Whereto shall life liken the kingdom of God?
• THEOPHYL. Most brief indeed is the word of faith; Believe in God, and you shall he saved. But the preaching of it has been spread far and wide over the earth, and increased so, that time birds of heaven, that is, contemplative men, sublime in understanding and knowledge, dwell under it. For how many wise men among the Gentiles, quitting their wisdom, have found rest in the preaching of the Gospel! Its preaching then is greater than all.
• CHRYS. And also because the wisdom spoken amongst the perfect expands, to a extent greater than all other sayings, that which was told to men in short discourses, for there is nothing greater than this truth.
• THEOPHYL. Again, it put forth great boughs, for the Apostles were divided off as the boughs of a tree, some to Rome, some to India, some to other parts of the world
• PSEUDO-JEROME; Or else, that seed is very, small in fear, but great when it has grown into charity, which is greater than all herbs; for God is love, whilst all flesh is grass. But the boughs which it puts forth are those of mercy and compassion, since under its shade the poor of Christ, who are meant by the living creatures of the heavens, delight to dwell.
• BEDE; Again, the man who sows is by many taken to mean the Savior Himself, by others, man himself sowing in his own heart.
• CHRYS. Then after this, Mark, who delights in brevity, to show the nature of the parables, subjoins, And with many such parables spoke he the word to them as they could hear him.
• THEOPHYL. For since the multitude was unlearned, he instructs them from objects of food and familiar names, and for this reason he adds, But without a parable spoke he not to them, that is, in order that they might be induced to approach and to ask Him. It goes on And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples, that is, all things about which they were ignorant and asked Him, not simply all, whether obscure or not.
• PSEUDO-JEROME; For they were worthy to hear mysteries apart, in the most secret haunt of wisdom, for they were men, who, removed from the crowds of evil thoughts, remained in the solitude of virtue; and wisdom is received in a time of quiet.