Sunday Bible Readings October 4 2009 27th Week in Ordinary Time

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Daily Bible Readings Wednesday September 30 2009 26th Week in Ordinary Time

September 30 2009 Wednesday Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Jerome

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/093009.shtml

Nehemiah 2:1-8
Douay-Rheims Challoner

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king: that wine was before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king: and I was as one languishing away before his face. And the king said to me:

Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou dost not appear to be sick? this is not without cause, but some evil, I know not what, is in thy heart. And I was seized with an exceeding great fear:

And I said to the king:

O king, live for ever: why should not my countenance be sorrowful, seeing the city of the place of the sepulchres of my fathers is desolate, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire?

Then the king said to me:

For what dost thou make request?

And I prayed to the God of heaven, And I said to the king:

If it seem good to the king, and if thy servant hath found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me into Judea to the city of the sepulchre of my father, and I will build it.

And the king said to me, and the queen that sat by him:

For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return?

And it pleased the king, and he sent me: and I fixed him a time. And I said to the king:

If it seem good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors of the country beyond the river, that they convey me over, till I come into Judea: And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, to give me timber that I may cover the gates of the tower of the house, and the walls of the city, and the house that I shall enter into.

And the king gave me according to the good hand of my God with me.

Responsorial Psalm 136:1-6 (Ps 137 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept:
when we remembered Sion:
On the willows in the midst thereof
we hung up our instruments.
For there they that led us into captivity
required of us the words of songs.
And they that carried us away, said:
Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion.
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee:
If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 9:57-62
Haydock New Testament

And it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to him:

I will follow thee withersoever thou goest.

Jesus said to him:

The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air, nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

But he said to another:

Follow me.  And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go, and to bury my father.

And Jesus said to him:

Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.

And another said:

I will follow thee, Lord: but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house.

Jesus said to him:

No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Haydock Commentary Nehemiah (2 Esdras) 2:1-8
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Year. It seems the Persians began the year with Tizri, since both Casleu (the third) and Nisan (the seventh month of the civil year) fall on the twentieth of the king. — Wine. These kings drunk only that of Syria.  Strabo xv. — People of distinction were appointed cup-bearers; and even the children of kings did not esteem the office beneath them.  Herod. iii. 34.  Athen. x. 6.  Homer, &c.  C. — I was. Prot. “I had not been before-time sad in his presence.”  H. — Heb. lit. “I was not evil.”  Sept. “an enemy, or stranger.”  Arab. “disagreeable.”  Syr. “sorrowful.”  Sept. also, “there was not another (ouk hn eteroV) present,” C. v. 6.  S. Jerom seems not to have read the negation.  H.
• Ver. 2. Is not. Heb. “nothing but sorrow of heart;” (Syr.  C.  Prot.) or rather, thou art meditating only treason.  Sept. “This is nothing but wickedness of heart,” (H.) which often shews itself on the countenance.  The king might suspect that he was giving him poison.  M. — Hence Nehemias feared, (C.) dreading such suspicions, (H.) and aware lest the company might frustrate his good design, as contrary to the interests of the crown.  T.
• Ver. 3. Live; an usual salutation.  Dan. iii. 9. and v. 10.  So Ælian (var. i. 32.) says, “O king Artaxerxes, mayst thou reign for ever.” — Father, v. 5.  He knew that the Persians shewed great regard to the dead, (C.  T.) whose bodies they sometimes cover with wax, and keep in their house, (Cic. Tusc. i.  Alex. Genial iii. 2.) or inter.  Herod. i. 140.
• Ver. 4. Heaven, a fervent ejaculation, in secret, (T.) to touch the king’s heart, (C.) and to enable me to speak in a proper manner.  M.
• Ver. 6. And, &c.  In private the queen might dine with her husband, but not in public.  Est. i.  C. — Queen; probably Esther, if she were married to this king.  M. — But this is uncertain.  H. — Usher thinks it was Damaspia, mentioned by Ctesias.  C. — Time, when I should return.  Some king eight or ten years, and returned into Judea towards the end of the reign of Artaxerxes.  C. xiii. 6.  C. — He perhaps asked permission to visit Jerusalem for only a short period, at first, but his presence being deemed necessary, he was permitted to continue there as governor full twelve years.  M.
• Ver. 7. Over; give me a guard, (H.) or accompany me to Jerusalem.  M.
• Ver. 8. Forest. Heb. pordes, “paradise,” or garden planted with trees.  Pliny (v. 23.) mentions a “paradise,” in Cœlosyria.  Grot. — But Nehemias might petition to be supplied with cedars from Libanus, (T.) as they had been given for the temple.  1 Esd. iii. 7.  H. — Tower. Heb. bira, means also “a palace or temple.”  It may designate the porch of the temple, which was 120 cubits high; (2 Par. iii. 4.  C.) though that had been lately repaired by Esdras.  M. — Others think the doors of the courts are meant, as they were as strong as those of towers.  Vatab. — They were not yet finished.  C. x. 9.  Many believe that (C.) Nehemias speaks of the royal palace, which had been almost contiguous to the temple, (M.) where he intended to build one for himself, while he should reside in the city.  T. — But this might give umbrage to the king.  C. — He could not, however, intend his favourite to remain without a suitable palace; and the latter seems to have designed not only to repair that which Solomon had founded, but also to erect another house for the governor.  H. — Good hand; favour, (M.) and powerful aid.  H.

Haydock Commentary Luke 9:57-62

• Ver. 57. Follow thee, &c.  Although the Sovereign Lord of all is most munificent, yet he does not lavish his gifts on all without distinction, but bestows them on the worthy only.  When, therefore, this man offered to follow Christ, he answers him by telling him, that all who follow him, must daily take up their cross, and renounce the conveniences of this life.  Thus he mentions what was reprehensible in his person.  There appears likewise great presumption in his conduct, as he did not petition to be admitted, as other Jews did, but seems to claim the honour of the apostleship; an honour which none must assume, but such as are called by God.  Heb. v.  S. Cyril in Divo Thoma.
• Ver. 60. Bury their dead, &c.  Though this was an act of religion, yet it was not permitted him; that we may learn to prefer always the concerns of God to all human considerations.  S. Ambrose. — However necessary this might appear, however easy, however short the time which it would take up, might be, it is not permitted him.  Not the least delay can be allowed, although a thousand impediments stand in the way; for spiritual things must be preferred to things even the most necessary.  Chrys. hom. xxviii. on S. Matt.
• Ver. 62. Putting his hand to the plough. A proverb and metaphor, to signify that nothing must hinder a man from God’s service.  Wi. — Christ seems here to allude to the call of Eliseus by Elias.  The former was at the plough, and the latter called him.  Immediately Eliseus quits his plough, runs with Elias’s permission to bid adieu to his father and mother, sacrifices two of his oxen, roasts them with the wood of the plough, and joins the company of the prophets.  Jesus Christ wishes that all who follow him, should in like manner think of nothing else.  Calmet.

Daily Bible Readings Tuesday September 29 2009 Feast of

September 29 2009 Tuesday Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael – archangels
Saint of the Day – Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

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/092909.shtml

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Douay Rheims Challoner

The Ancient of Days William Blake

I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat:

his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool:
his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire.
A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him:
thousands of thousands ministered to him,
and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him:
the judgment sat, and the books were opened.

I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days: and they presented him before him.

And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom:
and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him:
his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away:
and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.

Revelation 12:7-12ab
Haydock New Testament

And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels: And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and Satan who seduceth the whole world, and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying:

Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein.

Responsorial Psalm 137:1-5 (Ps 138 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart:
for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the angels:
I will worship towards thy holy temple,
and I will give glory to thy name.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth:
for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me:
thou shalt multiply strength in my soul.
May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee:
for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
And let them sing in the ways of the Lord:
for great is the glory of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 1:47-51
Haydock New Testament

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him: and he saith of him;

Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.

Nathanael said to him:

Whence knowest thou me?

Jesus answered, and said to him:

Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.

Nathanael answered him, and said:

Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.

Jesus answered, and said to him:

Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see.

And he saith to him:

Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Haydock Commentary Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 9. Ancient. The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both, yet all three are coeternal.  W. — Hence the Father is sometimes painted in this manner, though he be a pure spirit.  His throne resembled that seen by Ezechiel, C. i.  H. — He takes cognizance of all, and punishes accordingly.  C.
• Ver. 10. Fire. Ps. xcvi. 3. — Thousands. Gr. implies one million and one hundred millions.  M. — The angels are very numerous, particularly the  highest, styled assistants.  S. Tho.  W.
• Ver. 13. Heaven. Christ appeared about sixty years after the subversion of the Syrian monarchy.  Yet these expressions literally refer to his second coming.  Mat. xxvi. 64.  C. — He had the form of man, as he had the nature.  M. — He is clearly predicted.  by his power antichrist is overthrown.  W.
• Ver. 14. Destroyed. The eternal dominion of Christ could not be expressed in stronger terms.  He seems to allude to them, Mat. xxviii. 18.  C.

Haydock Commentary Revelation 12:7-12ab

• Ver. 10-12. Now is come salvation . . . rejoice, O ye heavens. The blessed in heaven rejoice for the victories of the faithful on earth, and also for the reward and glory which would shortly be given them in heaven.  Wi. — Wo to the earth, &c.  Both Pastorini and Calmet refer this wo to the persecution of Dioclesian.  The dragon, the devil, is more irritated than ever against the Christians; he therefore stimulates the pagans to exercise their utmost cruelty against them, knowing that a Christian emperor (Constantine) would in a short time extend the reign of Jesus Christ over the whole world.

Haydock Commentary John 1:47-51

• Ver. 50. Greater things than these. Greater miracles and proofs that I am the Messias, and the true Son of God.  Wi.
• Ver. 51. You shall see the heaven open, &c.  It is not certain when this was to be fulfilled: S. Chrysostom thinks at Christ’s ascension; others refer it to the day of judgment.  Wi.

Daily Bible Readings Monday September 28 2009 26th Week in Ordinary Time

September 28 2009 Monday Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Wenceslaus

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/092809.shtml

Zechariah 8:1-8
Douay-Rheims Challoner

And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Sion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am returned to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The sanctified mountain.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem: and every man with his staff in his hand through multitude of days. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If it seem hard in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days: shall it be hard in my eyes, saith the Lord of hosts?
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the going down of the sun. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth and in justice.

Responsorial Psalm 101:16-21, 29 and 22-23 (Ps 102 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

All the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
For the Lord hath built up Sion:
and he shall be seen in his glory.
He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble:
and he hath not despised their petition.
Let these things be written unto another generation:
and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:
Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary:
from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.
That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters:
that he might release the children of the slain:
The children of thy servants shall continue
and their seed shall be directed for ever.
That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion:
and his praise in Jerusalem;
When the people assemble together,
and kings, to serve the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 9:46-50
Haydock New Testament

And there entered a thought into them, which of them should be greater. But Jesus seeing the thoughts of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said to them:

Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me.  For he that is the least among you all, he is the greatest.

And John answering, said:

Master, we saw a one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.

And Jesus said to him:

Forbid him not: for he that is not against you, is for you.

Haydock Commentary Zechariah 8:1-8
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 2. Jealous for her, treating her as a spouse, (C.) and not neglecting her as one incorrigible.  H.
• Ver. 3. Truth. Idols and infidelity shall reign there no more.  The Jews were more faithful after the captivity.  But the Church of Christ is alone perfectly chaste.  C.
• Ver. 6. Days. If no prospect of such happiness now appear, is any thing difficult to Omnipotence?  H.  Lu. i. 37.
• Ver. 7. Sun, from Chaldea and the islands.  This chiefly regards the Christian Church.  C. — Assyria and Chaldea lay to the north.  The promises are too great for the synagogue.  W.
• Ver. 8. Justice. I will fulfil my promises, if they adhere to virtue.  C.

Haydock Commentary Luke 9:46-50

• Ver. 46. And there entered a thought, &c. It is improbable that all the disciples had fallen into this fault: but the evangelist, that he might not point out any in particular as guilty of it, says indiscriminately, that this thought had entered among them.  S. Cyril. ex D. Thom.
• Ver. 49. We forbade him. S. John having the most love for his Lord, and being particularly beloved by him, thought all were to be excluded from these gifts, who were not obedient to his divine Master.  S. Aug. — But we must remember, that not the minister is the author of these miracles, but the grace which is in him, who performs these wonders by virtue of the power of Christ.  S. Cyril. — How wonderful is the power of Christ, who by his grace works miracles in the persons of the unworthy, and those that are not disciples; as men are sanctified by the priest, though the priest should not be in the state of grace!  Theophylact.
• Ver. 50. Forbid him not. Our Lord is not moved by this event, to teach us that perfect virtue entertains no thoughts of revenge, and that anger cannot be found where the fulness of charity reigns.  The weak must not be driven away, but assisted.  Let the breast of the religious man be ever unmoved by passion, and the mind of the generous undisturbed by desires of revenge.  S. Ambrose.

Apology

Apologies to all. It’s early evening on Sunday and I realized that I forgot to do Sunday’s readings. I’ve been a bit distracted, and I thought they were done on Wednesday as usual, but I forgot then too.