November 2009 – Steady Fire of Faith

Daily Bible Readings Monday November 30 2009 Feast of Saint Andrew The Apostle

November 30 2009 Monday Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Saint of the Day – St. Andrew

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/113009.shtml

Romans 10:9-18
Haydock New Testament

That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For, with the heart, we believe unto justice: but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith: Whosoever believeth in him, shall not be confounded. For there is no distinction of the Jew and the Greek; for the same is Lord over all, rich to all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? And how can they preach, unless they be sent? as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things? But all do not obey the gospel. For Isaias saith: Lord, who hath believed our report?

Faith then cometh by hearing: and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went forth over all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world.

Responsorial Psalm 18:8-11 (Ps 19 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls:
the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.
The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts:
the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever:
the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.
More to be desired than gold and many precious stones:
and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Matthew 4:18-22
Haydock New Testament

And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers). And he saith to them:

Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

And they, immediately leaving their nets, followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. And they, immediately leaving their nets and father, followed him.

Haydock Commentary Romans 10:9-18
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 9. Thou shalt be saved. To confess the Lord Jesus, and to call upon the name of the Lord, (v. 13.) is not barely the professing of a belief in the person of Christ: but moreover implies a belief of his whole doctrine, and an obedience to his law; without which the calling of him Lord will save no man. S. Matt. vii. 21. Ch. — This passage must be understood like many others of this apostle, of a faith accompanied by a good-will ready to perform what faith says must be practised; as it is required in this very place, that what we believe in the heart, we should confess with our mouth. Estius.
Ver. 14. &c. Or how shall they believe, &c. He shews the necessity of preachers, and that all true preachers must be sent, and have their mission from God. — Who hath believed our report?[1] Lit. our hearing? Some expound it thus: who hath believed the things we have heard from God, and which we have preached? The common interpretation is, who hath believed what he hath heard from us? Wi.
Ver. 15. Unless they be sent. Here is an evident proof against all new teachers, who have all usurped to themselves the ministry, without any lawful mission, derived by succession from the apostles, to whom Christ said, (Jo. xx. 21.) As my Father hath sent me, I also send you. Ch. — The Almighty sends people to preach two different ways. The one is extraordinary by internal inspiration, as was that of the Baptist, and all the other prophets; in which case, however, extraordinary proofs must be given that they are sent by God; and the other is ordinary, which is derived from Christ, and from the apostles and their successors, whom he has appointed to be his vicegerents on earth. Estius.
Ver. 18. But I say, have they not heard? He puts an objection, and by his answer shews the Jews are inexcusable in not believing, since the gospel has been preached all the world over, and in places where the Jews were, as it was foretold: and also because the Gentiles every where have believed; which even excites you Jews to jealousy against them, as Moses foretold: (Deut. xxxii. 21.) that is, when you now see, that the Gentiles, whom you despised so much, by believing in Christ, have received the gifts of the Holy Ghost, of working miracles, of speaking tongues, of prophecy, &c. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Matthew 4:18-22

Ver. 18. Jesus wished not only to prove that the establishment of his religion was heavenly, but also to humble the pride of man; and therefore he did not choose orators and philosophers, but fishermen, says S. Jerom. Cyprian, the eloquent orator, was called to the priesthood; but before him was Peter, the fisherman. S. Chry. — Jesus saw two brothers, &c. If we compare what is related by the evangelists, as to the time that S. Peter and S. Andrew became Christ’s disciples, we shall find Andrew, who had been a disciple of S. John Baptist, to have brought to Christ his brother Simon. Jo. i, v. 40. But at that time they staid not with him, so as to become his disciples, and to remain with him as they afterwards did, by quitting their boat, their nets, their fishing, and all they had in the world, which is here related; and by S. Mark, (c. i,) and by S. Luke, c. v. Wi.
Ver. 19. Jesus Christ here makes an allusion to the prior occupation of his apostles. David, in his Psalms, makes similar allusions to his former occupation of shepherd: “He took him from the flocks of sheep, he brought him from following the ewes big with young, to feed Jacob, his servant, and Israel, his inheritance.” Ps. lxxvii. v. 70. M.
Ver. 21. It was objected by the ancient enemies of Christianity, Porphyrius, Julian the apostate, and others, that Christ chose for his apostles simple and ignorant men, easy to be imposed upon, and not such as would have been on their guard against deception; thus converting that into an argument against the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which of all other circumstances most solidly and forcibly establishes its divinity and authority. Salmeron, trac. 25. — If Christ had persuaded the ignorant apostles only, there might be some room for such an argument. But if these 12 ignorant men triumphed over the learning, the eloquence, the sophisms of the philosophers themselves, over the strong arm of power in the hands of tyrants, and finally over the devils and passions of men, which were the last to give up the combat against a doctrine that established itself on their ruin, then we may conclude, with S. Paul, that it was wisdom in God to choose the weak things of this world to confound the strong—the foolish and the things that are not, to confound those which are. A.

Sunday Bible Readings November 29 2009 First Sunday of Advent

November 29 2009 First Sunday of Advent

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/112909.shtml

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel, and to the house of Juda. In those days, and at that time, I will make the bud of justice to spring forth unto David, and he shall do judgment and justice in the earth. In those days shall Juda be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell securely: and this is the name that they shall call him, The Lord our just one.

Responsorial Psalm 24:4-5, 8-10, 14 (Ps 25 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause.
Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.
Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour;
and on thee have I waited all the day long.
The Lord is sweet and righteous:
therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.
He will guide the mild in judgment:
he will teach the meek his ways.
All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth,
to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Haydock New Testament

And may the Lord multiply you, and make you abound in charity towards one another, and towards all men: as we do also towards you, To confirm your hearts without blame, in holiness, before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. Amen.

For the rest therefore, brethren, we pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what commandments I have given to you by the Lord Jesus.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Haydock New Testament

Jesus said:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves: Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads: because your redemption is at hand.

And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life: and that day come upon you suddenly. For as a snare it shall come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Haydock Commentary Jeremiah 33:14-16
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 15. Bud, or orient, Christ, (C.) of whom Zorobabel was a figure. Theodoret. All cannot be verified of the latter. v. 16. C. — The Jews themselves explain this of the Messias. Calov. — It evidently refer to him, as he was born of David, whose posterity should continue till Christ, the founder of an eternal kingdom. W.
Ver. 16. Him. Sept. Chal. &c. The Heb. has “her” Jerusalem, or the Church, which receives all its beauty from Christ. C. — See C. xxiii. 5. where all read him. H.

Haydock Commentary 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

Ver. 12. And may the Lord multiply you. That is, increase the number of Christians among you. Wi.
1 THESSALONIANS 4
CHAPTER IV.
Ver. 1. In this chapter the apostle begins to remind them of their obligation of always striving to increase in virtue. Though he praises them through the whole epistle, he still thinks it necessary to warn them not to be surprised in uncleanness. He repeats what he had taught them before; first, that there is vengeance awaiting the workers of evil; and secondly, that the favour of God is the reward of those who deal with the brethren in simplicity, and preserve themselves from the defilements of the Gentiles. S. Ambrose, Comment. hic.

Haydock Commentary Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Ver. 26. The powers of heaven, &c. Some explain this of the angels, who shall be terrified and tremble at the sight of so many calamities. Others understand it of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, stars, &c. which shall in some sort, likewise, be confused in the general dissolution. The prophets often make use of such expressions, when speaking of the fall of monarchies, or the ruin of nations. The heavens shall be astonished and moved, &c. Ezech. xxxii. 7. Joel iii. 15. Calmet.
Ver. 27. The Jews shall not see him corporally, but at the last judgment. Then, says the Scripture, (Zach. xii. 10.) They shall see him whom they pierced with nails. But in the ruin of Jerusalem, all who will compare his predictions with the event, can evidently see that this was the day of his coming, so plainly marked in his words. Every body could see that this was evidently the hand of God that punished them. Calmet.

Catena Aurea Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
From Catechetics Online

BEDE; The events which were to follow the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles He explains in regular order, saying, There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.
AMBROSE; All which signs are more clearly described in Matthew, Then shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.
EUSEB. For at that time when the end of this perishing life shall be accomplished, and, as the Apostle says, The fashion of this world passes away, then shall succeed a new world in which instead of sensible light, Christ Himself shall shine as a sunbeam, and as the King of the new world, and so mighty and glorious will be His light, that the sun which now dazzles so brightly, and the moon and all the stars, shall be hidden by the coming of a far greater light.
CHRYS For as in this world the moon and the stars are soon dimmed by the rising of the sun, so at the glorious appearance of Christ shall the sun become dark, and the moon not shed her ray, and the stars shall fall from heaven, stripped of their former attire, that they may put on the robe of a better light.
EUSEB. What things shall befall the world after the darkening of the orbs of light, and whence shall arise the straitening of nations, He next explains as follows, And of the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea. Wherein He seems to teach, that the beginning of the universal change will be owing to the failing of the watery substance. For this being first absorbed or congealed, so that no longer is heard the roaring of the sea, nor do the waves reach the shore because of the exceeding drought, the other parts of the world, ceasing to obtain the usual vapor which came forth from the watery matter, shall undergo a revolution. Accordingly since the appearance of Christ must put down the prodigies which resist God, namely, those of Antichrist, the beginnings of wrath shall take their rise from droughts, such as that neither storm nor roaring of the sea be any more heard.
And this event shall be succeeded by the distress of the men who survive; as it follows, Men’s hearts being dried up for fear, and looking after those things which shall come upon the whole world. But the things that shall then come upon the world He proceeds to declare, adding, For the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
THEOPHYL. Or else, When the higher world shall be changed, then also the lower elements shall suffer loss; whence it follows, And on the earth distress of nations, &c. As if He said, the sea shall roar terribly, and its shores shall be shaken with the tempest, so that of the people and nations of the earth there shall be distress, that is, a universal misery, so that they shall pine away from fear and expectation of the evils which are coming upon the world.
AUG. But you will say, your punishment compels you to confess that the end is now approaching, seeing the fulfillment of that which was foretold. For it is certain there is no country, no place in our time, which is not affected or troubled. But if those evils which mankind now suffer are sure signs that our Lord is now about to come, what means that which the Apostle says, For when they shall say peace and safety. Let us see then if it be not perhaps better to understand the words of prophecy to be not so fulfilled, but rather that they will come to pass when the tribulation of the whole world shall be such that it shall belong to the Church, which shall be troubled by the whole world, not to those who shall trouble it. For they are those who shall say, Peace and safety. But now these evils which are counted the greatest and most immoderate, we see to be common to both the kingdoms of Christ and the Devil. For the good and the evil are alike afflicted with them, and among these great evils is the yet universal resort to licentious feasts. Is not this the being dried up from fear, or rather the being burnt up from lust?
THEOPHYL. But not only shall men be tossed about when the world shall be changed, but angels even shall stand amazed at the terrible revolutions of the universe. Hence it follows, And the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
GREG. For whom does He call the powers of heaven, but the angels, dominions, principalities, and powers? which at the coming of the strict Judge shall then appear visibly to our eyes, that they may strictly exact judgment of us, seeing that now our invisible Creator patiently bears with us.
EUSEB. When also the Son of God shall come in glory, and shall crush the proud empire of the son of sin, the angels of heaven attending Him, the doors of heaven which have been shut from the foundation of the world shall be opened, that the things that are on high may be witnessed.
CHRYS. Or the heavenly powers shall be shaken, although themselves know it not. For when they see the innumerable multitudes condemned, they shall not stand there without trembling.
BEDE; Thus it is said in Job, the pillars of heaven tremble and are afraid at his reproof. What then do the boards do, when the pillars tremble? what does the shrub of the desert suffer, when the cedar of Paradise is shaken?
EUSEB. Or the powers of heaven are those which preside over the sensible parts of the universe, which indeed shall then be shaken that they may attain to a better state. For they shall be discharged from the ministry with which they serve God toward the sensible bodies in their perishing condition.
AUG. But that the Lord may not seem to have foretold as extraordinary those things concerning His second coming, which were wont to happen to this world even before His first coming, and that we may not be laughed at by those who have read more and greater events than these in the history of nations, I think what has been said may be better understood to apply to the Church. For the Church is the sun, the moon, and the stars, to whom it was said, Fair as the moon, elect as the sun. And she will then not be seen for the unbounded rage of the persecutors.
AMBROSE; While many also fall away from religion, clear faith will be obscured by the cloud of unbelief, for to me that Sun of righteousness is either diminished or increased according to my faith; and as the moon in its monthly wanings, or when it is opposite the sun by the interposition of the earth, suffers eclipse, so also the holy Church when the sins of the flesh oppose the heavenly light, cannot borrow the brightness of divine light from Christ’s rays. For in persecutions, the love of this world generally shuts out the light of the divine Sun; the stars also fall, that is, men who shine in glory fall when the bitterness of persecution waxes sharp and prevails. And this must be until the multitude of the Church be gathered in, for thus are the good tried and the weak made manifest.
AUG. But in the words, And upon the earth distress of nations, He would understand by nations, not those which shall be blessed in the seed of Abraham, but those which shall stand on the left hand.
AMBROSE; So severe then will be the manifold fires of our souls, that with consciences depraved through the multitude of crimes, by reason of our fear of the coming judgment, the dew of the sacred fountain will be dried upon us. But as the Lord’s coming is looked for, in order that His presence may dwell in the whole circle of mankind or the world, which now dwells in each individual who has embraced Christ with his whole heart, so the powers of heaven shall at our Lord’s coming obtain an increase of grace, and shall be moved by the fullness of the Divine nature more closely infusing itself. There are also heavenly powers which proclaim the glory of God, which shall be stirred by a fuller infusion of Christ, that they may see Christ.
AUG. Or the powers of heaven shall be stirred, because when the ungodly persecute, some of the most stout-hearted believers shall be troubled.
THEOPHYL. It follows, And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Both the believers and unbelievers shall see Him, for He Himself as well as His cross shall glisten brighter than the sun, and so shall be observed of all.
AUG. But the words, coming in the clouds, may be taken in two ways. Either coming in His Church as it were in a cloud, as He now ceases not to come. But then it shall be with great power and majesty, for far greater will His power and might appear to His saints, to whom He will give great virtue, that they may not be overcome in such a fearful persecution. Or in His body in which He sits at His Father’s right hand He must rightly be supposed to come, and not only in His body, but also in a cloud, for He will come even as He went away, And a cloud received him out of their sight.
CHRYS. For God ever appears in a cloud, according to the Psalms, clouds and darkness are round about him. Therefore shall the Son of man come in the clouds as God, and the Lord, not secretly, but in glory worthy of God. Therefore He adds, with great power and majesty.
CYRIL; Great must be understood in like manner. For His first appearance He made in our weakness and lowliness, the second He shall celebrate in all His own power.
GREG. For in power and majesty will men see Him, whom in lowly stations they refused to hear, that so much the more acutely they may feel His power, as they are now the less willing to bow the necks of their hearts to His sufferings.
GREG. Having in what has gone before spoken against the reprobate, He now turns His words to the consolation of the elect; for it is added, When these things begin to be, look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh; as if he says, When the buffetings of the world multiply, lift up your heads, that is, rejoice your hearts, for when the world closes whose friends you are not, the redemption is near which you seek. For in holy Scripture the head is often put for the mind, for as the members are ruled by the head, so are the thoughts regulated by the mind. To lift up our heads then, is to raise up our minds to the joys of the heavenly country.
EUSEB. Or else, To those that have passed through the body and bodily things, shall be present spiritual and heavenly bodies: that is, they will have no more to pass the kingdom of the world, and then to those that are worthy shall be given the promises of salvation. For having received the promises of God which we look for, we who before were crooked shall be made upright, and we shall lift up our heads who were before bent low; because the redemption which we hoped for is at hand; that namely for which the whole creation waits.
THEOPHYL. That is, perfect liberty of body and soul. For as the first coming of our Lord was for the restoration of our souls, so will the second be manifested to the restoration of our bodies.
EUSEB. He speaks these things to His disciples, not as to those who would continue in this life to the end of the world, but as if uniting in one body of believers in Christ both themselves and us and our posterity, even to the end of the world.
THEOPHYL. Our Lord declared above the fearful and sensible signs of the evils which should overtake sinners, against which the only remedy is watching and prayer, as it is said, And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time, &c.
BASIL; Every animal has within itself certain instincts which it has received from God, for the preservation of its own being. Wherefore Christ has also given us this warning, that what comes to them by nature, may be ours by the aid of reason and prudence: that we may flee from sin as the brute creatures shun deadly food, but that we seek after righteousness, as they wholesome herbs. Therefore said He, Take heed to yourselves, that is, that you may distinguish the noxious from the wholesome. But since there are two ways of taking heed to ourselves, the one with the bodily eyes, the other by the faculties of the soul, and the bodily eye does not reach to virtue; it remains that we speak of the operations of the soul. Take heed, that is, Look around you on all sides, keeping an ever watchful eye to the guardianship of your soul. He says not, Take heed to your own or to the things around, but to yourselves. For you are mind and spirit, your body is only of sense. Around you are riches, arts, and all the appendages of life, you must not mind these, but your soul, of which you must take especial care. The same admonition tends both to the healing of the sick, and the perfecting of those that are well, namely, such as are the guardians of the present, the providers of the future, not judging the actions of others, but strictly searching their own, not suffering the mind to be the slave of their passions but subduing the irrational part of the soul to the rational. But the reason why we should take heed He adds as follows, Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c.
TIT. BOST. As if He says, Beware lest the eyes of your mind wax heavy. For the cares of this life, and surfeiting, and drunkenness, scare away prudence, shatter and make shipwreck of faith.
CLEM. ALEX. Drunkenness is an excessive use of wine; crapula is the uneasiness, and nausea attendant on drunkenness, a Greek word so called from the motion of the head. And a little below. As then we must partake of food lest we suffer hunger, so also of drink lest we thirst, but with still greater care to avoid falling into excess. For the indulgence of wine is deceitful, and the soul when free from wine will be the wisest and best, but steeped in the fumes of wine is lost as in a cloud.
BASIL; But carefulness, or the care of this life, although it seems to have nothing unlawful in it, nevertheless if it conduce not to religion, must be avoided. And the reason why He said this He shows by what comes next, And so that day come upon you unawares.
THEOPHYL. For that day will not come when men are expecting it, but unlooked for and by stealth, taking as a snare those who are unwary. For as a snare shall it come upon all them that sit upon the face of the earth. But this we may diligently keep far from us. For that day will take those that sit on the face of the earth, as the unthinking and slothful. But as many as are prompt and active in the way of good, not sitting and loitering on the ground, but rising from it, saying to themselves, Rise up, be gone, for here there is no rest for you. To such that day is not as a perilous snare, but a day of rejoicing.
EUSEB. He taught them therefore to take heed to the things we have just before mentioned, lest they fall into the indolence resulting therefrom. Hence it follows, Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass.
THEOPHYL. Namely, hunger, pestilence, and such like, which for a time only threaten the elect and others, and those things also which are hereafter the lot of the guilty for ever. For these we can in no wise escape, save by watching and prayer.
AUG. This is supposed to be that flight which Matthew mentions; which must not be in the winter or on the sabbath day. To the winter belong the cares of this life, which are mournful as the winter, but to the sabbath surfeiting and drunkenness, which drowns and buries the heart in carnal luxury and delight, since on that day the Jews are immersed in worldly pleasure, while they are lost to a spiritual sabbath.
THEOPHYL. And because a Christian needs not only to flee evil, but to strive to obtain glory, He adds, And to stand before the Son of man. For this is the glory of angels, to stand before the Son of man, our God, and always to behold His face.
BEDE; Now supposing a physician should bid us beware of the juice of a certain herb, lest a sudden death overtake us, we should most earnestly attend to his command; but when our Savior warns us to shun drunkenness and surfeiting, and the cares of this world, men have no fear of being wounded and destroyed by them; for the faith which they put in the caution of the physician, they disdain to give to the words of God.

*Advent wreath photo by Micha L. Rieser used according to Creative Commons license as found HERE at Wikipedia

Daily Bible Readings Saturday November 28 2009 34th Week in Ordinary Time

November 28 2009 Saturday Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. James of the Marche

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/112809.shtml

Daniel 7:15-27
Douay-Rheims Challoner

My spirit trembled; I, Daniel, was affrighted at these things, and the visions of my head troubled me. I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of him concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of the words, and instructed me:

These four great beasts, are four kingdoms, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom: and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever.

After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast, which was very different from all, and exceeding terrible: his teeth and claws were of iron: he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest he stamped upon with his feet: And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head: and concerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell: and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was greater than the rest. I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and prevailed over them, Till the ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom. And thus he said:

The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings. And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time. And a judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end. And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the most High: whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him, and shall obey him.

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:82-87
DR Challoner Text Only

O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 21:34-36
Haydock New Testament

Jesus said:

Haydock Commentary Daniel 7:15-27
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 17. Earth. The first was on the point of disappearing. C. v. 31. H.
Ver. 18. Most High, (Th.) or rather Chal. “the very high saints of God;” as also v. 22, 25, and 27.
Ver. 21. Saints. The Machabees at last prevailed. Christ will punish the Jews. Mat. xxiv. 30.
Ver. 23. Greater. Chal. “unlike,” as v. 7. Epiphanes was a greater scourge of the Jews than any of the preceding.
Ver. 24. Mightier. Chal. again, “unlike.” Antiochus the great had lost many provinces: but his son was the most implacable enemy of God’s people. He subdued them, Egypt and Armenia; or his three competitors. v. 8.
Ver. 25. Against, or “over against,” like an accuser. Sym. “as if he were God.” — Laws. He did this with regard to the Jews, (1 Mac. i. 41. C.) prohibiting their festivals. Antichrist will do the like, and pretend to work miracles. H. — A time, &c. That is, three years and a half; which is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution of antichrist. Ch. Apoc. xi. 2. and xii. 14. — Josephus (Bel. pref.) says the sacrifices were discontinued so long, or rather this time elapsed from the publishing his edict till the temple was purified. During six months, people offered sacrifice clandestinely. 1 Mac. iv. 36. 52.
Ver. 27. Him. The power of the Machabees was too limited, to be here understood. The Church and Christ must be meant.

Haydock Commentary Luke 21:34-36

Nothing

Catena Aurea Luke 21:34-36
From Catechetics Online

THEOPHYL. Our Lord declared above the fearful and sensible signs of the evils which should overtake sinners, against which the only remedy is watching and prayer, as it is said, And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time, &c.
BASIL; Every animal has within itself certain instincts which it has received from God, for the preservation of its own being. Wherefore Christ has also given us this warning, that what comes to them by nature, may be ours by the aid of reason and prudence: that we may flee from sin as the brute creatures shun deadly food, but that we seek after righteousness, as they wholesome herbs. Therefore said He, Take heed to yourselves, that is, that you may distinguish the noxious from the wholesome. But since there are two ways of taking heed to ourselves, the one with the bodily eyes, the other by the faculties of the soul, and the bodily eye does not reach to virtue; it remains that we speak of the operations of the soul. Take heed, that is, Look around you on all sides, keeping an ever watchful eye to the guardianship of your soul. He says not, Take heed to your own or to the things around, but to yourselves. For you are mind and spirit, your body is only of sense. Around you are riches, arts, and all the appendages of life, you must not mind these, but your soul, of which you must take especial care. The same admonition tends both to the healing of the sick, and the perfecting of those that are well, namely, such as are the guardians of the present, the providers of the future, not judging the actions of others, but strictly searching their own, not suffering the mind to be the slave of their passions but subduing the irrational part of the soul to the rational. But the reason why we should take heed He adds as follows, Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c.
TIT. BOST. As if He says, Beware lest the eyes of your mind wax heavy. For the cares of this life, and surfeiting, and drunkenness, scare away prudence, shatter and make shipwreck of faith.
CLEM. ALEX. Drunkenness is an excessive use of wine; crapula is the uneasiness, and nausea attendant on drunkenness, a Greek word so called from the motion of the head. And a little below. As then we must partake of food lest we suffer hunger, so also of drink lest we thirst, but with still greater care to avoid falling into excess. For the indulgence of wine is deceitful, and the soul when free from wine will be the wisest and best, but steeped in the fumes of wine is lost as in a cloud.
BASIL; But carefulness, or the care of this life, although it seems to have nothing unlawful in it, nevertheless if it conduce not to religion, must be avoided. And the reason why He said this He shows by what comes next, And so that day come upon you unawares.
THEOPHYL. For that day will not come when men are expecting it, but unlooked for and by stealth, taking as a snare those who are unwary. For as a snare shall it come upon all them that sit upon the face of the earth. But this we may diligently keep far from us. For that day will take those that sit on the face of the earth, as the unthinking and slothful. But as many as are prompt and active in the way of good, not sitting and loitering on the ground, but rising from it, saying to themselves, Rise up, be gone, for here there is no rest for you. To such that day is not as a perilous snare, but a day of rejoicing.
EUSEB. He taught them therefore to take heed to the things we have just before mentioned, lest they fall into the indolence resulting therefrom. Hence it follows, Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass.
THEOPHYL. Namely, hunger, pestilence, and such like, which for a time only threaten the elect and others, and those things also which are hereafter the lot of the guilty for ever. For these we can in no wise escape, save by watching and prayer.
AUG. This is supposed to be that flight which Matthew mentions; which must not be in the winter or on the sabbath day. To the winter belong the cares of this life, which are mournful as the winter, but to the sabbath surfeiting and drunkenness, which drowns and buries the heart in carnal luxury and delight, since on that day the Jews are immersed in worldly pleasure, while they are lost to a spiritual sabbath.
THEOPHYL. And because a Christian needs not only to flee evil, but to strive to obtain glory, He adds, And to stand before the Son of man. For this is the glory of angels, to stand before the Son of man, our God, and always to behold His face.
BEDE; Now supposing a physician should bid us beware of the juice of a certain herb, lest a sudden death overtake us, we should most earnestly attend to his command; but when our Savior warns us to shun drunkenness and surfeiting, and the cares of this world, men have no fear of being wounded and destroyed by them; for the faith which they put in the caution of the physician, they disdain to give to the words of God.

Daily Bible Readings Friday November 27 2009 34th Week in Ordinary Time

November 27 2009 Friday Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Francesco Antonio Fasani

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/112709.shtml

Daniel 7:2-14
Douay-Rheims Challoner

I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heavens strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle: I beheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the earth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was given to her. And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side: and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh.

Blake_ancient_of_days — The Ancient of Days William Blake

After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had upon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it. After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with his feet: and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before it, and had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out of the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

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, because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt: And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.

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.

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:75-81
DR Challoner Text Only

Mountains and hills, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all forever.
O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye fountains, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 21:29-33
Haydock New Testament

And he spoke to them a similitude:

See the fig-tree, and all the trees: When they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the reign of God is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Haydock Commentary Daniel 7:2-14
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 2. Winds, to imply the tumults occasioned by fresh kingdoms (W.) in the world. Theod.
Ver. 3. Four great beasts; viz. the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the successors of Alexander the great, more especially of them that reigned in Asia and Syria, (Ch.) or in
Egypt. C. ii. 40. H.
Ver. 4. Man. The emperors of Babylon were forced to confess that they were nothing more. C. — Their cruel and rapid conquests (W.) are denoted by this monstrous animal. Its wings shew how the lands were divided between the Medes and Persians. Perhaps Neriglissor, &c. shared a part. C. v. 1. C.
Ver. 5. Bear, which is cruel, and eats what is set before it greedily. W. — Side. Cyrus did not attack the Jews. S. Jer. — He stood ready to attack the Chaldeans. — Three. He ruled over the Medes and Chaldeans, as well as over the Persians. C. — Rows. Gr. “wings or sides” of an animal, (H.) or “bones.” Grot. — Cyrus was always at war; and Justin (1.) says, that Tomyris II. of Scythia, ordered his head to be cut off, and thrown into a vessel full of blood. His troops are styled robbers, Jer. li. 48. The ambition of Cambyses, Hystaspes, &c. are insatiable.
Ver. 6. Leopard, a small spotted beast, may denote the size and disposition of Alexander, as well as his rapid conquests. When he was asked how he had subdued so many, he answered, “by never putting off.” C. — Four. He led his forces on all sides; (H.) and after his death, his empire was divided into four, (W.) Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Macedon, (Theod.) as he had united in his person the empire of the Chaldees, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. C.
Ver. 7. Unlike. It is not named: but shews the incomparable power of the Romans, governed by kings, consuls, tribunes, dictators, emperors, at different times. W. — This in the opinion generally received, which we shall explain. Yet many think that the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt are designated, as C. ii. 40. S. Jerom acknowledged that what is understood of antichrist, had been partly verified in Epiphanes, his figure. The beast was to be slain before the coming of the Son of man. v. 11, 26. It would persecute for three years and a half; but God would grant victory to his saints, as he did to the Machabees. Yet they only exhibited a faint idea of what has been done by the Church. The same subject is treated, C. xi. Many things caused the dominion of the successors of Alexander to be unlike that of others. It was never united, and was very destructive to the Jews. C. — Horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. xvii. 12.) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled: or ten kings of the number of the successors of Alexander, as figures of such as shall be about the time of antichrist. Ch. — Epiphanes was the eighth king, and Laomedon, Antigonus, and Demetrius, had been governors of Syria before. Most understand this of antichrist, whom Epiphanes foreshewed. Others think that it points out Vespasian, the tenth successor of Cæsar, who made war on the Jews. The same prediction may regard different events, as the abomination (C. ix.) may allude to the profanations committed by Epiphanes, by the Romans at the last siege, and by antichrist. Others apply this to the Turkish empire, which may be paving the way for the great antagonist of Christ. C. Dioclesian and Julian may also be meant, as well as other forerunners of the man of sin. H. — He shall overcome many, but his fury shall continue but a short time. v. 25. W.
Ver. 8. Little horn. This is commonly understood of antichrist. It may also be applied to that great persecutor, Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of antichrist. Ch. — He was the youngest son of Antiochus the great, and was a hostage of Rome. While he was returning, his elder brother died, and Epiphanes excluded his son Philometor, of Egypt, and the usurper Heliodorus. He also defeated three, Philometor, on the south; Artaxias, king of Armenia, on the east; and the strength, or God’s people, v. 24. and C. viii. 9. — Man. He gained several at first, by his affability. — Things: blasphemy. 1 Mac. i. 23. 43. C.
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. 11. Spoke. I wished to see how the king would be punished. He felt the hand of God as he was going to destroy all the Jews, when he pretended to repent. 1 Mac. vi. and 2 Mac. ix. 4. His successors could not much disturb the Jews. v. 13. C.
Ver. 12. Time. Each of the four empires had its period assigned. That of Rome attracted the prophet’s attention most, and is mentioned first. M.
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 Luke 21:29-33

Nothing

Catena Aurea Luke 21:29-33
From Catechetics Online

EUSEB. He speaks these things to His disciples, not as to those who would continue in this life to the end of the world, but as if uniting in one body of believers in Christ both themselves and us and our posterity, even to the end of the world.
GREG. That the world ought to be trampled upon and despised, He proves by a wise comparison, adding, Behold the fig tree and all the trees, when they now put forth fruit, you know that summer is near. As if He says, as from the fruit of the tree the summer is perceived to be near, so from the fall of the world the kingdom of God is known to be at hand. Hereby is it manifested that the world’s fall is our fruit. For hereunto it puts forth buds, that whomever it has fostered in the bud it may consume in slaughter. But well is the kingdom of God compared to summer; for then the clouds of our sorrow flee away, and the days of life brighten up under the clear light of the Eternal Sun.
AMBROSE; Matthew speaks of the fig-tree only, Luke of all the trees. But the fig-tree shadows forth two things, either the ripening of what is hard, or the luxuriance of sin; that is, either that, when the fruit bursts forth in all trees and the fruitful fig-tree abounds, (that is, when every tongue confesses God, even the Jewish people confessing Him,) we ought to hope for our Lord’s coming, in which shall be gathered in as at summer the fruits of the resurrection. Or, when the man of sin shall clothe himself in his light and fickle boasting as it were the leaves of the synagogue, we must then suppose the judgment to be drawing near. For the Lord hastens to reward faith, and to bring an end of sinning.
AUG. But when He says, When you shall see these things to come to pass, what can we understand but those things which were mentioned above. But among them we read, And then shall they see the Son of man coming. When therefore this is seen, the kingdom of God is not yet, but nigh at hand. Or must we say that we are not to understand all the things before mentioned, when He says, When you shall see these things, &c. but only some of them; this for example being excepted, And then shall they see the Son of man. But Matthew would plainly have it taken with no exception, for he says, And so you, when you see all these things, among which is the seeing the coming of the Son of man; in order that it may be understood of that coming whereby He now comes in His members as in clouds, or in the Church as in a great cloud.
TIT. BOST. Or else, He says, the kingdom of God is at hand, meaning that when these things shall be not yet shall all things come to their last end, but they shall be already tending towards it. For the very coming of our Lord itself, casting out every principality and power, is the preparation for the kingdom of God.
EUSEB. For as in this life, when winter dies away, and spring succeeds, the sun sending forth its warm rays cherishes and quickens the seeds hid in the ground, just laying aside their first form, and the young plants sprout forth, having put on different shades of green; so also the glorious coming of the Only-begotten of God, illuminating the new world with His quickening rays shall bring forth into light from more excellent bodies than before the seeds that have long been hidden in the whole world, i.e. those who sleep in the dust of the earth. And having vanquished death, He shall reign from henceforth the life of the new world.
GREG. But all the things before mentioned are confirmed with greet certainly, when He adds, Verily I say to you, &c.
BEDE; He strongly commends that which he thus foretell. And, if one may so speak, his oath is this, Amen, I say to you. Amen is by interpretation “true.” Therefore the truth says, I tell you the truth, and though He spoke not thus, He could by no means lie. But by generation he means either the whole human race, or especially the Jews.
EUSEB. Or by generation He means the new generation of His holy Church, showing that the generation of the faithful would last up to that time, when it would see all things, and embrace with its eyes the fulfillment of our Savior’s words.
THEOPHYL. For because He had foretold that there should be commotions, and wars and changes, both of the elements and in other things, lest any one might suspect that Christianity itself also would perish, He adds, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away: as if He said, Though all things should be shaken, yet shall my faith fail not. Whereby He implies that He sets the Church before the whole creation. The creation shall suffer change, but the Church of the faithful and the words of the Gospel shall abide for ever.
GREG. Or else, The heaven and, earth shall pass away, &c. As if He says, All that with us seems lasting, does not abide to eternity without change, and all that with Me seems to pass away is held fixed and immovable, for My word which passes away utters sentences which remain unchangeable, and abide for ever.
BEDE; But by the heaven which shall pass away we must understand not the ethereal or the starry heaven, but the air from which the birds are named “of heaven.” But if the earth shall pass away, how does Ecclesiastes say, The earth stands for ever? Plainly then the heaven and earth in the fashion which they now have shall pass away, but in essence subsist eternally.

Daily Bible Readings Thursday November 26 2009 Readings for Thanksgiving Day in the USA

November 26 2009 Thursday Thanksgiving Day
Saint of the Day – St. Catherine of Alexandria

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/112609.shtml

Sirach 50:22-26
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Then coming down, he lifted up his hands over all the congregation of the children of Israel, to give glory to God with his lips, and to glory in his name: And he repeated his prayer, willing to shew the power of God. And now pray ye to the God of all, who hath done great things in all the earth, who hath increased our days from our mother’s womb, and hath done with us according to his mercy. May he grant us joyfulness of heart, and that there be peace in our days in Israel for ever: That Israel may believe that the mercy of God is with us, to deliver us in his days.

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.

1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Haydock New Testament

Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God, that is given you in Christ Jesus: That in all things you are made rich in him, in all speaking, and in all knowledge: As the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that nothing is wanting to you in any grace, waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who also will confirm you unto the end without crime, in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful: by whom you are called unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 17:11-19
Haydock New Testament

And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men, that were lepers, who stood afar off: And they lifted up their voice, saying:

Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw, he said:

Go, shew yourselves to the priests.

And it came to pass, that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was cleansed, went back, with a loud voice, glorifying God. And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this man was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said,

Were there not ten made clean? and where are the nine? There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger.

And he said to him:

Arise, go thy way: for thy faith hath made thee whole.

Haydock Commentary Sirach 50:22-26 (Ecclesiasticus)
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 23. Prayer. Gr. “adoration, that they might receive a blessing from the Most High.” H. — Power. In keeping Philopator out of the temple. God granted his request, (C. litaneiaV) “and scourged him who was so insolent and bold…throwing him like a reed, unable to move, and speechless on the pavement.” 2 Mac. ii. 26. After Philopator’s guards had removed him, the high priest congratulated the people, (v. 26.) expressing his abhorrence of their enemies in general, though the only mentions three neighbouring nations which had shewn a particular enmity to the Jews, when a contrary behaviour might have been expected. v. 28. H.
Ver. 24. Now. A the sight of these wonders, the author exhorts the people to be grateful, and full of hope. C.
Ver. 26. His, Simon’s, (M.) or God’s days. When he may judge it convenient. H.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Ver. 4. That is given you in, or by Christ Jesus.[1] Where we may take notice with S. Chrys. for the understanding of other places, that in, is many times put for by or through.
Ver. 5. Rich in him in all knowledge. The apostles never addressed any epistle, except to persons who had been previously converted to the faith. Nor is it reasonable to expect, that infidel and pagan nations, merely by reading the inspired writings, will be able, by the light that is in them, to elicit from the said book the truths of religion. Would they not be tempted to worship the wily serpent, that succeeded in deceiving Eve? and how will they know that this serpent is the devil? A.
Ver. 6. As the testimony of Christ, what Christ testified and taught was confirmed in you, that is, your faith in Christ hath been confirmed by those graces and gifts which you received from the Holy Ghost at your baptism, and when by imposition of hands you were confirmed by me, or some other bishop. Wi.

Haydock Commentary Luke 17:11-19

Ver. 14. To the priests. Jesus sends them to the priests, to convince the latter of the reality of the cures which he wrought, and oblige them by that to acknowledge him for their Messias; 2ndly, that the lepers might enjoy the fruit of their cure, by returning to the society of their fellow men, after they had been declared clean, and satisfied all the demands of the law; for there were may ceremonies previous to be gone through. Calmet. — And lastly, to shew that in the new law, such as are defiled with the leprosy of sin, should apply to the priests. Hence, says S. Austin, let no one despise God’s ordinance, saying that it is sufficient to confess to God alone. Lib. de visit. infirm.
Ver. 19. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Were not the others also made whole? They were cleansed indeed from their leprosy, but it no where appears that they were justified in their souls like this Samaritan, of whom it said, thy faith hath made thee whole; whereas it was said of the others, that they were made clean, viz. of their leprosy in their body, though not justified in their soul: this the Samaritan alone seems to have obtained. Maldonatus.