Sunday Bible Readings March 8 2009 Second Week of Lent

March 8 2009 Second Sunday of Lent

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/030809.shtml

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Douay-Rheims Challoner

After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him:

Abraham, Abraham.

And he answered:

Here I am.

He said to him:

Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision; and there thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will shew thee.

And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it; and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. And he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying:

Abraham, Abraham.

And he answered:

Here I am.

And he said to him:

Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake.

Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram, amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying:

By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake: I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Responsorial Psalm 115:1, 6-10 (Ps 116:10,15-19 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

I have believed, therefore have I spoken;
but I have been humbled exceedingly.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, for I am thy servant:
I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast broken my bonds:
I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people:
In the courts of the house of the Lord,
in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.

Romans 8:31b-34
Haydock New Testament

If God be for us, who is against us? He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all: how hath he not also, with him, given us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of the elect of God? God who justifieth, Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus who died, yea, who rose also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Mark 9:1-9 (9:2-10 NAB)
Haydock New Testament

AND after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John: and leadeth them up to a high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. And his garments became shining, and exceedingly white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can make white. And there appeared to them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answering, said to Jesus:

Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

For he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying:

This is my most beloved Son: hear ye him.

And immediately looking about, they saw no man any more, but Jesus only with them. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell any man what things they had seen, till the Son of man shall be risen again from the dead. And they kept the word to themselves: questioning together what that should mean: When he shall be risen from the dead.

Haydock Commentary Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. God tempted, &c. God tempteth no man to evil, James i. 13. But by trial and experiment, maketh known to the world and to ourselves, what we are; as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest. Ch.
• Ver. 2. Thy only begotten, or thy most beloved, as if he had been an only child; in which sense the word is often taken, 1 Par. xxix. 1. Ismael was still living; but Isaac was the only son of Sara, the most dignified wife. — Lovest. Heb. “hast loved” hitherto; now thou must consider him as dead. He has been to thee a source of joy, but now he will be one of tears and mourning. — Of vision. Sept. “high,” being situated on Mount Moria, by which name it was afterwards distinguished, ver. 14. M. — Every word in this astonishing command, tended to cut Abraham to the heart; and thence we may the more admire his strength and disinterestedness of his faith. He could hope, in a manner, against hope, knowing in whom he had trusted, and convinced that God would not deceive him, though he was at a loss to explain in what manner Isaac should have children after he was sacrificed. H.
• Ver. 9. The place. Mount Moria, on part of which the temple was built afterwards; and on another part, called Calvary, our Saviour was crucified, having carried his cross, as Isaac did the wood for sacrifice. — His son: having first explained to him the will of God, to which Isaac gave his free consent; otherwise, being in the vigour of his youth, he might easily have hindered his aged father, who was 125 years old, from binding him. But in this willingness to die, as in many other particulars, he was a noble figure of Jesus Christ, who was offered because it was His will. H.
• Ver. 10. To sacrifice; a thing hitherto unprecedented, and which God would never suffer to be done in his honour, though he was pleased to try the obedience of his servant so far. The pagans afterwards took occasion, perhaps, from this history, to suppose, that human victims would be the most agreeable to their false deities: (C.) but in this misconception they were inexcusable, since God prevented the sacrifice from being really offered to him, in the most earnest manner, saying, Abraham, Abraham, as if there were danger lest the holy man should not hear the first call. H.
• Ver. 12. Hast not spared. Thus the intentions of the heart become worthy of praise, or of blame, even when no exterior effect is perceived. H.
• Ver. 13. He took; God having given him the dominion over it. C.

Haydock Commentary Romans 8:31b-34

• Ver. 31. What shall we then say to these things? That is, though we live amidst temptations and afflictions in this life, we need not fear as long as we are faithful in the service of God, under his protection. — If God be for us, who is against us, or who shall hinder us from being saved. Wi.
• Ver. 32. He that spared not, &c. This is another argument for us to hope in the goodness of God, who hath so loved the world, that he hath delivered, and given his true and only Son for us all, to redeem all and every one, and has by his death obtained helps and graces by which we may all be saved. — How hath he not also, with him, given us all things? That is, since he has given for us his only Son, how can we doubt, but that, with him, he will give us all gifts and graces? He hath given us, says S. Chrys. his Son himself, and how can we doubt of other blessings? Wi.
• Ver. 33-34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of the elect of God? God who justifieth. Others read without an interrogation, it is God who justified us: the sense will scarce be different; for it is the same as to say, we need not fear that God will accuse us, since by his mercy he hath been pleased to die, and to rise again from death for us. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Mark 9:1-9

• Ver. 4. The law and the prophets were signified by Moses and Elias; both bear testimony to the divinity of Jesus Christ’s mission, which was effectually to close the old, and open the new dispensation. By the apparitions of these two illustrious personages, we learn also that sometimes, though not often, there is, by the permission of heaven, a certain intercourse between the living and the dead. B.
• Ver. 5. Peter had forgotten that the glorious kingdom of Christ was not of this world, but in heaven only; that himself and the other apostles, clothed as they were with their mortality, could not participate in immortal joys; and that the mansions in the house of the Father are not raised with human hands. He again shewed that he knew not what he said, by wishing to make three tabernacles, one for the law, one for the prophets, and one for the gospel, since these three cannot be separated from each other. Ven. Bede.
• Ver. 9. Risen from the dead. The disciples believed the resurrection of the dead, but they knew not what Christ meant by by his rising from the dead. Their thoughts were filled with the idea of a glorious kingdom in this world, in which they should enjoy great dignities and offices under the Messias. Wi.

Catena Aurea Mark 9:1-9
From Catechetics Online

• Pseudo-Jerome: Wherefore it is said, “And after six days Jesus taketh with Him, Peter and James and John, and led them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and He was transfigured before them.”
• Chrys., Hom. in Matt. 65: Luke in saying , “After eight days,” does not contradict this; for he reckoned in both the day on which Christ had spoken what goes before, and the day on which He took them up. And the reason that He took them up after six days, was that they might be filled with a more eager desire during the space of these days, and with a watchful and anxious mind attend to what they saw.
• Theophylact: And He takes with Him the three chief of the Apostles, Peter, as confessing and loving Him, John, as the beloved one, James, as being sublime in speech and as a divine; for so displeasing was he to the Jews, that Herod wishing to please the Jews slew him.
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: He does not however shew His glory in a house, but He takes them up into a high mountain, for the loftiness of the mountain was adapted to shewing forth the loftiness of His glory.
• Theophylact: And He took them apart, because He was about to reveal mysteries to them. We must also understand by transfiguration not the change of His features, but that, whilst His features remained as before, there was added unto Him a certain ineffable brightness.
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: It is not therefore fitting that in the kingdom of God any change of feature should take place, either in the Saviour Himself, or in those who are to be made like unto Him, but only an addition of brightness.
• Bede, 3, 37: Our Saviour then when transfigured did not lose the substance of real flesh, but shewed forth the glory of His own or of our future resurrection; for such as He then appeared to the Apostles, He will after the judgment appear to all His elect. It goes on, “And His raiment became shining.”
• Greg., Mor. 32: Because, in the height of the brightness of heaven above, they who shine in righteousness of life, will cling to Him; for by the name of garments, He means the just whom He joins to Himself. There follows, “And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.”
• Chrys., Hom. in Matt., 56: He brings Moses and Elias before them; first, indeed, because the multitudes said that Christ was Elias, and one of the Prophets. He shews Himself to the Apostles with them, that they might see the difference between the Lord, and His servants.
• And again because the Jews accused Christ of transgressing the law, and thought Him a blasphemer, as if He arrogated to Himself the glory of His Father, He brought before them those who shone [p. 166] conspicuous in both ways; for Moses gave the Law, and Elias was zealous for the glory of God; for which reason neither would have stood near Him, if He had been opposed to God and to His law.
• And that they might know that He holds the power of life and of death, He brings before them both Moses who was dead, and Elias who had not yet suffered death. Furthermore He signified by this that the doctrine of the Prophets was the schoolmaster to the doctrine of Christ. He also signified the junction of the New and Old Testament, and that the Apostles shall be joined in the resurrection with the Prophets, and both together shall go forth to meet their common King.
• It goes on, “And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”
• Bede: If the transfigured humanity of Christ and the society of but two saints seen for a moment, could confer delight to such a degree that Peter would, even by serving them, stay their departure, how great a happiness will it be to enjoy the vision of Deity amidst choirs of Angels forever?
• It goes on, “For he wist not what to say;” although, however, Peter from the stupor of human frailty knew not what to say, still he gives a proof of the feelings which were within him; for the cause of his not knowing what to say, was his forgetting that the kingdom was promised to the Saints by the Lord not in any earthly region, but in heaven; he did not remember that he and his fellow Apostles were still hemmed in by mortal flesh and could not bear the state of immortal life, to which his soul had already carried him away, because in our Father’s house in heaven, a house made with hands is not needed.
• But again even up to this time he is pointed at, as an ignorant man, who wishes to make three tabernacles for the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel, since they in no way can be separated from each other.
• Chrys. [ed. note: This passage is found neither in St. Chrysostom, nor in Possious' Catena, nor in Peitanus' translation of Victor: it is however in the Catena of St. Mark, edited by Dr. Cramer. As it stands in the text, a part of it is so unintelligible, that recourse has been had to the Greek.]
• Again, Peter neither comprehended that the Lord worked His transfiguration for the shewing forth of His true glory, nor that He did this in order to teach men, nor that it was impossible for them to leave the multitude [p. 167] and dwell in the mountain. It goes on, “For they were sore afraid.”
• But this fear of theirs was one by which they were raised from their usual state of mind to one higher, and they recognised that those who appeared to them were Moses and Elias. The soul also was drawn on to a state of heavenly feeling, as though carried away from human sense by the heavenly vision.
• Theophylact: Or else, Peter, fearing to come down from the mount because he had now a presentiment that Christ must be crucified, said, “It is good for us to be here,” and not to go down there, that is, in the midst of the Jews; but if they who are furious against Thee come hither, we have Moses who beat down the Egyptians, we have also Elias, who brought fire down from heaven and destroyed the five hundred.
• Origen, in Matt. tom. 12, 40: Mark says in his own person, “For he wist not what to say.” Where it is matter for consideration, whether perchance Peter spoke this in the confusion of his mind, by the motion of a spirit not his own; whether perchance that spirit himself who wished, as far as in him lay, to be a stumbling block to Christ, so that He might shrink from that Passion, which was the saving of all men, did not here work as a seducer and wish under the colour of good to prevent Christ from condescending to men, from coming to them, and taking death upon Himself for their sakes.
• Bede: Now because Peter sought for a material tabernacle, he was covered with the shadow of the cloud, that he might learn that in the resurrection they are to be protected not by the covering of houses, but by the glory of the Holy Ghost. Wherefore it goes on, “There was a cloud that overshadowed them.”
• And the reason why they obtained no answer from the Lord was that they asked unadvisedly; but the Father answered for the Son. Wherefore there follows, “And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
• Chrys., Hom. in Matt., 56: The voice proceeded from a cloud in which God is wont to appear, that they might believe that the voice was sent forth from God. But in that He says, “This is My beloved Son,” He declares that the will of the Father and the Son is one, and that, save in that He is the Son, He is in all things One with Him who begot Him.
• Bede: He then whose preaching, as Moses foretold, every soul that wished to be saved should hear when He came in the flesh, He now come in the flesh is proclaimed by God the Father to the disciples as the one whom they were to hear.
• There follows: “And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves;” for as soon as the Son was proclaimed, at once the servants disappeared, lest the voice of the Father should seem to have been sent forth to them.
• Theophylact: Again, mystically; after the end of this world, which was made in six days, Jesus will take us up (if we be His disciples) into an high mountain, that is, into heaven, where we shall see His exceeding glory.
• Bede: And by the garments of the Lord are meant His saints, who will shine with a new whiteness. By the fuller we must understand Him, to whom the Psalmist says, “Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin;” [Ps 51] for He cannot give to His faithful ones upon earth that glory which remains laid up for them in heaven.
• Remig.: Or else, by the fuller are meant holy preachers and purifiers of the soul, none of whom in this life can so live as not to be stained with some spots of sin; but in the coming resurrection all the saints shall be purged from every stain of sin. Therefore the Lord will make them such as neither they themselves by taking vengeance on their own members, nor any preacher by his example and doctrine, can make.
• Chrys.: Or else, white garments are the writings of Evangelists and Apostles, the like to which no interpreter can frame.
• Origen, in Matt. tom. 12, 39: Or else, fullers upon earth may by a moral interpretation be considered to be the wise of this world, who are thought to adorn even their foul understandings and doctrines with a false whitening drawn from their own minds. But their skill as fullers cannot produce any thing like a discourse which shews forth the brightness of spiritual conceptions in the unpolished words of Scripture, which by many are despised.
• Bede: Moses and Elias, of whom one, as we read, died, the other was carried away to heaven, signify the coming glory of all the Saints, that is, of all who in the judgment time are either to be found alive in the flesh, or to be raised up from that death of which they tasted, and who are all equally to reign with Him.
• Theophylact: Or else it means, that we are to see in glory both the Law and the Prophets speaking with Him, that is, we shall then find that all those things which were spoken of Him by Moses and the other prophets agree with the reality; then too we shall hear the voice of the Father, revealing to us the Son of the Father, and saying, “This is My beloved Son,” and the cloud, that is, the Holy Ghost, the fount of truth, will overshadow us.
• Bede: And we must observe, that, as when the Lord was baptized in Jordan, so on the mountain, covered with brightness, the whole mystery of the Holy Trinity is declared, because we shall see in the resurrection that glory of the Trinity which we believers confess in baptism, and shall praise it all together.
• Nor is it without reason that the Holy Ghost appeared here in a bright cloud, there in the form of a dove; because he who now with a simple heart keeps the faith which he hath embraced, shall then contemplate what he had believed with the brightness of open vision. But when the voice had been heard over the Son, He was found Himself alone, because when He shall have manifested Himself to His elect, God shall be all in all, yea Christ with His own, as the Head with the body, shall shine through all things. [1Co_15:28]
• Origen, in Matt. tom. 12, 43: After the shewing of the mystery on the mount, the Lord commanded His disciples, as they were coming down from the mount, not to reveal His transfiguration, before the glory of His Passion and Resurrection.
• Wherefore it is said, “And as they came down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.”
• Chrys., Hom. in Matt., 56: Where He not only orders them to be silent, but mentioning His Passion, He implies the cause why they were to be silent.
• Theophylact: Which He did lest men should be offended, hearing such glorious things of Him Whom they were about to see crucified. It was not therefore fitting to say such things of Christ before He suffered, but after His resurrection they were likely to be believed.
• Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: But they, being ignorant of the mystery of the resurrection, took hold of that saying, and disputed one with another.
• Wherefore there follows, “And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”