Sunday Bible Readings February 8 2009 Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

February 8 2009 Sunday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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/020809.shtml

Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Douay-Rheims Challoner

The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. As a servant longeth for the shade, as the hireling looketh for the end of his work; So I also have had empty months, and have numbered to myself wearisome nights. If I lie down to sleep, I shall say: When shall I rise? and again, I shall look for the evening, and shall be filled with sorrows even till darkness.

My flesh is clothed with rottenness and the filth of dust; my skin is withered and drawn together. My days have passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver, and are consumed without any hope. Remember that my life is but wind, and my eye shall not return to see good things.

Responsorial Psalm 147:1-6
DR Challoner Text Only

Alleluia.
Praise ye the Lord, because psalm is good:
to our God be joyful and comely praise.
The Lord buildeth up Jerusalem:
he will gather together the dispersed of Israel.
Who healeth the broken of heart,
and bindeth up their bruises.
Who telleth the number of the stars:
and calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power:
and of his wisdom there is no number.
The Lord lifteth up the meek,
and bringeth the wicked down even to the ground.

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Haydock New Testament

For if I preach the gospel, it is no glory to me: for a necessity lieth upon me: for wo is unto me, if I preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation is committed to me. What is my reward then? That preaching the gospel, I may deliver the gospel without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For whereas I was free as to all, I made myself the servant of all: that I might gain more.

To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I became all things to all men, that I might save all. And I do all things for the gospel’s sake: that I may be made partaker thereof.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Mark 1:29-39
Haydock New Testament

And immediately going out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. And Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her. And approaching lifted her up, taking her by the hand: and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. And when it was evening, after sunset, they brought all to him that were diseased, and that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door.

And he healed many that were suffering of divers diseases: and he cast out many devils, and he suffered them not to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, going out he went into a desert place: and there he prayed. And Simon, and they who were with him, followed after him. And when they had found him, they said to him:

All men seek for thee.

And he saith to them:

Let us go into the neighbouring towns and cities, that I may preach there also; for to this purpose I am come.

And he was preaching in their synagogues, and in all Galilee, and casting out devils.

Haydock Commentary Job 7:1-7
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Warfare. Heb. “is it not determined” (H.) for some short space, as the Levites had to serve from 30 to 50 years of age; (Num. iv. 3. and viii. 25.) and the days of a hireling are also defined and short. Isai. xvi. 14. Amama. — No soldier or hireling was ever treated so severely as Job. Yet they justly look for the term of their labours. Sept. have peirathrion. Old Vulg. tentatio. “Is not the life of man a temptation?” C. — Palæstra, school, or time given to learn the exercise of a soldier and wrestler; or of one who has to prepare himself for a spiritual warfare, and for heaven. H. — Are we not surrounded with dangers? and may we not desire to be set at liberty? The Vulg. is very accurate, (C.) and includes all these senses. H. — A soldier must be obedient even unto death, and never resist his superior. W. — Hireling, who has no rest till the day is spent. C.
• Ver. 3. And have. Heb. “they have appointed for me.” C. — God treats me with more severity, as even the night is not a time of rest for me, and my months of service are without any present recompense. H.
• Ver. 4. And again. Heb. “and the night be completed, I toss to and fro,” (H.) or “I am disturbed with dreams, (C.) till day break.” Vulg. insinuates that night and day are equally restless to a man in extreme pain. H. — As I find no comfort, why may I not desire to die? M. — I desire to be dissolved, as being much better, said S. Paul.
• Ver. 6. Web. Heb. “the weaver’s shuttle.” C. xvi. 23. Isa. xxxviii. 12. H. — The pagans have used the same comparison. But they make the three daughters of Necessity guide the thread of life. Plato Rep. xii. Natal. iii. 6. — Sept. “my life is swifter than speech.” Tetrapla, “than a runner.” C. — Hope. Heu fugit, &c. Ah! time is flying , never to return! H.
• Ver. 7. Wind. What is life compared with eternity, or even with past ages? C. — “What is any one? Yea, what is no one? Men are the dream of a shadow,” says Pindar; (Pyth. viii. SkiaV onar onqrwpoi) “like the baseless fabric of a vision.” Shakespeare.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23

• Ver. 16. It is no glory. That is, I have nothing to glory of. Ch. — If I preach the gospel through compulsion, fear, or mere necessity, having no other means of maintenance, I must not look for a reward in heaven; but now doing it through charity and freely, I shall have my reward from God; and the more abundant the charity, the greater the reward. S. Aug. de Op. Mor. i. 5.
• Ver. 17. But if against my will. That is, if I do not do it with alacrity and zeal, but instigated by the sole motive of punishment, woe unto me, as he says in the preceding verse, if I am instigated by this motive alone; still the dispensation of the gospel is entrusted to me, and I must comply with that obligation, either with the zeal and alacrity of a son, of for fear of punishment, as a slave. Estius.
• Ver. 19. Free as to all. That is, whereas I was under no obligation to any man, yet I made myself the servant of all, &c. Calmet.
• Ver. 23. How convincing it this and many similar texts against those who deny the merit of good works, and who would not have men to act with a view to any recompense, though rewards and recompenses are very frequently mentioned in holy writ. A.

Haydock Commentary Mark 1:29-39

• Ver. 30. It appears from S. Mark and S. Luke, that the cure of Peter’s mother-in-law and the other sick, here mentioned, happened after the preceding narrative, and probably on the same day. But S. Matt. does not observe this order; for having related that Jesus, after the sermon on the mount, entered Capharnaum, and healed the centurion’s servant, he hence takes occasion to mention this and the other miracles, which he had omitted, and which Jesus had wrought at his first coming to Capharnaum. Rutter.
• Ver. 34. The devils knew that it was Christ, who had been promised for so many ages before; for they saw him perform the wonders which the prophets had foretold of him; yet they were not perfectly acquainted with his divine nature, or otherwise they never would have persecuted to death and crucified the Lord of glory. S. Aug. — But Christ would not permit them to declare that they knew him. V. — See Luke iv. 41.

Catena Aurea Mark 1:29-39

• Bede, in Marc., 1, 7: First, it was right that the serpent’s tongue should be shut up, that it might not spread any more venom; then that the woman, who was first seduced, should be healed from the fever of carnal concupiscence. Wherefore it is said, “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, &c.”
• Theophylact: He retired then as the custom was on the sabbath-day about evening to eat in His disciples’ house. But she who ought to have ministered was prevented by a fever. Wherefore it goes on, “But Simon’s wife’s mother was lying sick of a fever.”
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc., 1, 32: But the disciples, knowing that they were to receive a benefit by that means, without waiting for the evening prayed that Peter’s mother should be healed. Wherefore there follows, “who immediately tell Him of her.”
• Bede: But in the Gospel of Luke it is written that “they besought Him for her.” [Luk_4:38] For the Saviour sometimes after being asked, sometimes of His own accord, heals the sick, shewing that He always assents to the prayers of the faithful, when they pray also against bad passions, and sometimes gives them to understand things which they do not understand at all, or else, when they pray unto Him dutifully, forgives their want of understanding; as the Psalmist begs of God, “Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults.” [Psa_19:12] Wherefore He heals her at their request; for there follows, “And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up.”
• Theophylact: By this it is signified, that God will heal a sick man, if he ministers to the Saints, through love to Christ.
• Bede, in Marc., 1, 6: But in that He gives most profusely His gifts of healing and doctrine on the sabbath day, He teaches, that He is not under the Law, but above the Law, and does not choose the Jewish sabbath, but the true sabbath, and our rest is pleasing to the Lord, if, in order to attend to the health of our souls, we abstain from slavish work, that is, from all unlawful things. It goes on, “And immediately the fever left her, &c.”
• Bede, in Marc., 1, 8: The health which is conferred at the command of the Lord, returns at once entire, accompanied with such strength that she is able to minister to those of whose help she had before stood in need. Again, if we suppose that the man delivered from the devil means, in the moral way of interpretation, the soul purged from unclean thoughts, fitly does the woman cured of a fever by the command of God mean the flesh, restrained from the heat of it concupiscence by the precepts of continence.
• Pseudo-Jerome: For the fever means intemperance, from which, we the sons of the synagogue [ed. note: See St. Augustine on Ps 72, no. 4, 5, "Ecclesia Socrus Synagogue." The Church is called the daughter of the Synagogue in the spurious 'Altercatio Eccles. et Synagog.' (Aug. Opp t. viii, p. 19.) They word 'synagogue' is applied to the Church by Justin M. Dial, see Tryph, p. 160 (Ben.) Clem. Alex. Str. vi, 633.], by the hand of discipline, and by the lifting up of our desires, are healed, and minister to the will of Him who heals us.
• Theophylact: But he has a fever who is angry, and in the unruliness of his anger stretches forth his hands to do hurt; but if reason restrains his hands, he will arise, and so serve reason.
• Theophylact: Because the multitude thought that it was not lawful to heal on the sabbath day, they waited for the evening, to bring those who were to be healed to Jesus. Wherefore it is said, “And at even, when the sun had set.” There follows, “and He healed many that were vexed with divers diseases.”
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Now in that he says “many”, all are to be understood according to the Scripture mode of expression.
• Theophylact: Or he says, “many”, because there were some faithless persons, who could not at all be cured on account of their unfaithfulness. Therefore He healed many of those who were brought, that is, all who had faith. It goes on, “and cast out many devils.”
• Pseudo-Augustine, Quaest. e Vet. et Nov. Test. 16: For the devils knew that He was the Christ, who had been promised by the Law: for they saw in Him all the signs which had been foretold by the Prophets; but they were ignorant of His divinity, as also were “their princes, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” [1Co_2:8]
• Bede: For, Him whom the devil had known as a man, wearied by His forty days’ fast, without being able by tempting Him to prove whether He was the Son of God, he now by the power of His miracles understood or rather suspected to be the Son of God. The reason therefore why he persuaded the Jews to crucify Him, was not because he did not think that He was the Son of God, but because he did not foresee that he himself was to be condemned by Christ’s death.
• Theophylact: Furthermore, the reason that He forbade the devils to speak, was to teach us not to believe them, even if they say true. For if once they find persons to believe them, they mingle truth with falsehood.
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: And Luke does not contradict this, when he says, that “devils came out of many, crying out and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God:” [Luk_4:41] for he subjoins, “And He rebuking them, suffered them not to speak;” for Mark, who passes over many things for the sake of brevity, speaks about what happened subsequently to the abovementioned words.
• Bede: Again, in a mystical sense, the setting of the sun signifies the passion of Him, who said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [Joh_9:5] And when the sun was going down, more demoniacs and sick persons were healed than before: because He who living in the flesh for a time taught a few Jews, has transmitted the gifts of faith and health to all the Gentiles throughout the world.
• Pseudo-Jerome: But the door of the kingdom, morally, is repentance and faith, which works health for various diseases; for divers are the vices with which the city of this world is sick.
• Theophylact: After that the Lord had cured the sick, He retired apart. Wherefore it is said, “And rising very early in the morning, He went out and departed into a desert place.” By which He taught us not to do any thing for the sake of appearance, but if we do any good, not to publish it openly. It goes on, “and there prayed.”
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Not that He required prayer; for it was He who Himself received the prayers of men; but He did this by way of an economy, and became to us the model of good work.
• Theophylact: For He shews to us that we ought to attribute to God whatever we do well, and to say to Him, “Every good gift cometh down from above,” [Jam_1:17] from Thee. It continues: “And Simon followed Him, and they that were with Him.”
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Luke however says that crowds came to Christ, and spoke what Mark here relates that the Apostles said, adding, “And when they came to Him, they said to Him, All seek thee.” [Luk_4:42] But they do not contradict each other; for Christ received after the Apostles the multitude, breathlessly anxious to embrace His feet. He received them willingly, but chose to dismiss them, that the rest also might be partakers of His doctrine, as He was not to remain long in the world. And therefore there follows: “And He said, Let us go into the neighbouring villages and towns, that there also I may preach.”
• Theophylact: For He passes on to them as being more in need, since it was not right to shut up doctrine in one place, but to throw out his rays every where. It goes on: “For therefore am I come.”
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: In which word, He manifests the mystery of His “emptying himself,” [see Phi_2:7-8] that is, of His incarnation, and the sovereignty of His divine nature, in that He here asserts, that He came willingly into the world. Luke however says, “To this end was I sent,” proclaiming the Dispensation, and the good pleasure of God the Father concerning the incarnation of the Son. There follows: “And He continued preaching in their synagogues, in all Galilee.”
• Augustine, de Con. Evan., ii, 19: But by this preaching, which, he says, “He continued in all Galilee,” is also meant the sermon of the Lord delivered on the mount, which Matthew mentions, and Mark has entirely passed over, without giving any thing like it, save that he has repeated some sentences not in continuous order, but in scattered places, spoken by the Lord at other times.
• Theophylact: He also mingled action with teaching, for whilst employed in preaching, He afterwards put to flight devils. For there follows: “And casting out devils.” For unless Christ shewed forth miracles, He teaching would not be believed; so do thou also, after teaching, work, that thy word be not fruitless in thyself.
• Bede: Again, mystically if by the setting of the sun, the death of the Saviour is intended, why should not His resurrection be intended by the returning dawn? For by its clear light, He went far into the wilderness of the Gentiles, and there continued praying in the person of His faithful disciples, for He aroused their hearts by the grace of the Holy Spirit to the virtue of prayer.