August 7 2009 Friday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Cajetan
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/080709.shtml
Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Douay-Rheims Challoner
Moses said to the Israelites:
Ask of the days of old, that have been before thy time from the day that God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to the other end thereof, if ever there was done the like thing, or it hath been known at any time, That a people should hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard, and lived: If God ever did so as to go, and take to himself a nation out of the midst of nations by temptations, signs, and wonders, by fight, and a strong hand, and stretched out arm, and horrible visions according to all the things that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before thy eyes. That thou mightest know that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.
From heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might teach thee. And upon earth he shewed thee his exceeding great fire, and thou didst hear his words out of the midst of the fire, Because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them. And he brought thee out of Egypt, going before thee with his great power, To destroy at thy coming very great nations, and stronger than thou art, and to bring thee in, and give thee their land for a possession, as thou seest at this present day.
Know therefore this day, and think in thy heart that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and there is no other. Keep his precepts and commandments, which I command thee: that it may be well with thee, and thy children after thee, and thou mayst remain a long time upon the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee.
Responsorial Psalm 76:12-16 and 21 (Ps 77 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only
I remembered the works of the Lord:
for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning.
And I will meditate on all thy works:
and will be employed in thy inventions.
Thy way, O God, is in the holy place:
who is the great God like our God?
Thou art the God that dost wonders.
Thou hast made thy power known among the nations:
With thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people
the children of Jacob and of Joseph.
Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 16:24-28
Haydock New Testament
Then Jesus said to his disciples:
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels: and then will he render to ever man according to his works. Amen, I say to you, there are some of them standing here, who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Haydock Commentary Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site
- Ver. 32. Heaven. To our senses the sky seems to rest upon the horizon. So Jesus says, Then he…shall gather…his elect…from the uttermost part of earth, to the uttermost part of heaven. Mat. xxiv. 31. Vatable translates, “from the east to the west.” In no age or place did God ever declare his will, as he had done at Sinai. C.
- Ver. 33. And lived. It was generally supposed that those who had seen a vision of God, or of his angel, would instantly die. See Gen. xvi. 13. H. C. v. 24.
- Ver. 34. Temptations. The Chal. and Arab. understand this of the prodigies which God wrought in favour of his people; though they may also denote the trials to which the Patriarchs and the Hebrews had been exposed, that their virtue might shine more brightly. Many indeed lost courage under these trials, but they were of great service to form a perfect people; and those who continued to lead a virtuous life received the reward of their labours. C. — Visions, during the three days’ darkness mentioned, Wisd. xvii. 9. 18, &c. (M.) or those terrible appearances on Sinai, v. 33. 6. C. v. 22. C. Heb. may be, “by great terrors.” — In Egypt. God himself fought for his people, when he brought them out of that country. He repeatedly made the king and his people feel the impressions of terror, but as they presently recovered their wonted insolence and pride, he at last miraculously divided the Red Sea, and buried vast multitudes in its waters. H.
- Ver. 38. Day. They had already conquered the mighty kingdoms of Sehon and of Og. M.
- Ver. 39. Other. The power of the true and only God is not confined to the sea, or to the land, &c. (C.) as the pagans believed that of their various idols was. H.
Haydock Commentary Matthew 16:24-28
- Ver. 24. If any man will come. S. Chry. Euthymius, and Theophylactus, shew that free will is confirmed by these words. Do not expect, O Peter, that since you have confessed me to be the Son of God, you are immediately to be crowned, as if this were sufficient for salvation, and that the rest of your days may be spent in idleness and pleasure. For, although by my power, as Son of God, I would free you from every danger and trouble, yet this I will not do for your sake, that you may yourself contribute to your glory, and become the more illustrious. S. Chry. hom. lvi.
- Ver. 25. Whosoever will save his life. Lit. his soul. In the style of the Scriptures, the word soul is sometimes put for the life of the body, sometimes for the whole man. Wi. — Whosoever acts against duty and conscience to save the life of his body, shall lose eternal life; and whoever makes the sacrifice of his life, or the comforts and conveniences of life for conscience sake, shall be rewarded with life eternal.
- Ver. 26. And lose his own soul. Christ seems in these words to pass from the life of the body to that of the soul. Wi.
- Ver. 27. Shall come in the glory. Jesus Christ wishing to shew his disciples the greatness of his glory at his future coming, reveals to them in this life as much as it was possible for them to comprehend, purposely to strengthen them against the scandal of his ignominious death. S. Chry.
- Ver. 28. Till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Some expound this, as fulfilled at his transfiguration, which follows in the next chapter. Others understand it of the glory of Christ, and of his Church, after his resurrection and ascension, when he should be owned for Redeemer of the world: and this state of the Christian Church might be called the kingdom of Christ. Wi. — This promise of a transitory view of his glory he makes, to prove that he should one day come in all the glory of his Father, to judge each man according to his works: not according to his mercy, or their faith, but according to their works. S. Aug. de verb. apos. serm. 35. — Again, asks S. Aug. how could our Saviour reward every one according to his works, if there were no free will? l. ii. c. 4. 5. 8, de act. cum Fœlic. Manich. B.
Steady Fire of Faith 