Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch,
Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 470
Lectionary: 470
Brothers and sisters:
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his Blood, to prove his righteousness
because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,
through the forbearance of God–
to prove his righteousness in the present time,
that he might be righteous
and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out.
On what principle, that of works?
No, rather on the principle of faith.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Does God belong to Jews alone?
Does he not belong to Gentiles, too?
Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one
and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his Blood, to prove his righteousness
because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,
through the forbearance of God–
to prove his righteousness in the present time,
that he might be righteous
and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out.
On what principle, that of works?
No, rather on the principle of faith.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Does God belong to Jews alone?
Does he not belong to Gentiles, too?
Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one
and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 130:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB
R. (7) With
the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
AlleluiaJN 14:6
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 11:47-54
The Lord said:
"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
'I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute'
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
'I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute'
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, please
go here.
Meditation: Do not lose the
key of knowledge
How
can God's wisdom free us from being double-minded and spiritually blind? God
sent his prophets to open the ears of his people to hear and understand God's
word and intention for their lives. God's wisdom is personified in the voice of
the prophets, a voice that often brought rejection and death because they spoke
for God rather than for human favor and approval. Jesus chastised many of the
religious leaders of his day for being double-minded and for demanding from
others standards which they refused to satisfy. They professed admiration for
the prophets from the past by building their tombs while at the same time they
opposed the message that the prophets spoke in God's name. They rejected the
prophets' warnings and closed their ears to the word of God.
Jesus
in the key of knowledge that opens God's kingdom for us
What does Jesus mean when he says they have taken away the key of knowledge? The religious lawyers and scribes held the "office of the keys" since they were the official interpreters of the Scriptures. Unfortunately their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were "shut off" to the Scriptures. They not only shut themselves to heaven - they also hindered others from understanding God's word. Through pride and envy, they rejected not only the prophets of old, but God's final prophet and Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "key of David" (see Isaiah 22:22; Revelations 3:7) who opens heaven for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. He is the "Wisdom of God" and source of everlasting life.
What does Jesus mean when he says they have taken away the key of knowledge? The religious lawyers and scribes held the "office of the keys" since they were the official interpreters of the Scriptures. Unfortunately their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were "shut off" to the Scriptures. They not only shut themselves to heaven - they also hindered others from understanding God's word. Through pride and envy, they rejected not only the prophets of old, but God's final prophet and Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "key of David" (see Isaiah 22:22; Revelations 3:7) who opens heaven for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. He is the "Wisdom of God" and source of everlasting life.
Humility
helps us to be receptive to God's wisdom
Only the humble of heart - those who thirst for God and acknowledge his word as true - can truly understand the wisdom which comes from above. [See Psalm 119:99ff: "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."] God is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us true wisdom and understanding. Do you hunger for the wisdom which comes from above?
Only the humble of heart - those who thirst for God and acknowledge his word as true - can truly understand the wisdom which comes from above. [See Psalm 119:99ff: "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."] God is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us true wisdom and understanding. Do you hunger for the wisdom which comes from above?
"Lord
Jesus, may your word take root in my heart and transform all my thoughts and
actions. Give me wisdom and understanding that I may know your will for my life
and have the courage to live according to it."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: The key of knowledge that opens the
kingdom of God, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"We
consider that the key of knowledge means the law [of Moses] itself, and by
faith in him, I mean justification in Christ. Although the law was in shadow
and type, yet those types show to us the truth, and those shadows depict to us
in many ways the mystery of Christ. A lamb was sacrificed according to the law
of Moses. They ate its flesh. They anointed the lintels with its blood and
overcame the destroyer. The blood of a mere sheep could not turn away death.
Christ was typified under the form of a lamb. He endures to be the victim for
the life of the world and saves by his blood those who are partakers of him.
One might mention many other instances as well, by means of which we can
discern the mystery of Christ sketched out in the shadows of the law. When
speaking to the Jews, he once said, 'There is one that accuses you, even Moses,
whom you trusted. For if you had believed Moses, you should have also believed
me, because he wrote of me' (John 5:45-46). 'You search the Scriptures, because
you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness
to me' (John 5:39). Every word of divinely inspired Scripture looks to him and
refers to him. As it has been shown, if Moses speaks, he typified Christ. If
the holy prophets that you name speak, they also proclaimed to us in many ways
the mystery of Christ, preaching beforehand the salvation that is by
him." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 86)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, LUKE 11:47-54
(Romans 3:21-30; Psalm 130)
(Romans 3:21-30; Psalm 130)
KEY VERSE: "Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed" (v. 47).
TO KNOW: Jesus continued his tirade against the scribes, the "scholars of the law" (v. 45). He charged them of depriving people of the key to knowledge of God's kingdom by distorting God's word and not practicing it themselves. By their superficial religiosity, they were following in the footsteps of their ancestors who killed the prophets. While they piously built memorials to the prophets, they refused to do what they required: "to do right...love goodness, and to walk humbly with God" (Micah 6:8). The blood of those who died for the truth stretched from "A-Z"—Abel to Zechariah, the first and last murders in the Hebrew canon of scripture (Gn 4:8; 2 Chr 24:20-22). The religious leaders would be charged with their blood. Jesus warned his disciples that if they clung to their lives, they would lose it. If they gave it away in love, like Jesus did, they would get it back a hundred fold.
TO LOVE: Do I neglect the spirit of the God’s Law in following the letter of the Law?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, I pray for all who faithfully witness to the Gospel even to the point of death.
Thursday 17 October 2019
St Ignatius Of Antioch
Romans 3:21-30. Psalm 129(130):1-6. Luke 11:47-54.
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption – Psalm
129(130):1-6
‘The Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and
apostles”’
Today is the feast of St Ignatius of Antioch, a first century
bishop and martyr. Ignatius was a key witness to the basic elements of the
faith, especially the centrality of the Eucharist and the role of the local
bishop as a source of unity and leadership. His steadfast proclamation of the
Gospel led to his martyrdom.
In the gospel, Jesus reminds us that the persecution of prophets
and apostles is a reality when people are closed to the Good News. While Jesus
addresses the hypocrisy of the leaders and lawyers, his words remind us that we
can all drift into such hypocrisy and be deaf to the prophets in our midst.
Lord Jesus, you are the way to life. You are the source of all
consolation. Be for us a companion for our days. Send forth your Holy Spirit to
anoint all those who call upon your name today.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Saint of the Day for October 17
(d. c. 107)
 |
| Detail | Saint Ignatius with Madonna and Child | Lorenzo Lotto |
Saint Ignatius of Antioch’s Story
Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually
became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and
forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius
would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome.
Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the
long journey from Antioch to Rome. Five of these letters are to churches in
Asia Minor; they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to
obey their superiors. He warns them against heretical doctrines, providing them
with the solid truths of the Christian faith.
The sixth letter was to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was
later martyred for the faith. The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not
to try to stop his martyrdom. “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to
offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be
ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.”
Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus.
Reflection
Ignatius’s great concern was for the unity and order of the
Church. Even greater was his willingness to suffer martyrdom rather than deny
his Lord Jesus Christ. He did not draw attention to his own suffering, but to
the love of God which strengthened him. He knew the price of commitment and
would not deny Christ, even to save his own life.
Lectio Divina: Luke 11:47-54
Lectio Divina
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 11: 47-54
Jesus said: 'Alas for you because you build tombs for the
prophets, the people your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness to
what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the
building.
'And that is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them
prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this
generation will have to answer for every prophet's blood that has been shed
since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the Temple." Yes, I tell
you, this generation will have to answer for it all.
'Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge!
You have not gone in yourselves and have prevented others from going in who
wanted to.'
When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began a
furious attack on Him and tried to force answers from Him on innumerable
questions, lying in wait to catch Him out in something He might say.
3) Reflection
• Once again for the hundredth time, today’s Gospel speaks about
the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities of that time.
• Luke 11: 47-48: Alas for you because you build tombs for
the prophets. “Alas for you because you build tombs for the prophets, the
people your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness to what your
ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building”.
Mathew says that these were the Scribes and the Pharisees (Mt 23: 19).
Jesus’ reasoning is clear. If the ancestors killed the prophets and the sons
built the tombs, it is because the sons approved the crime of their fathers.
Besides this, everybody knows that the dead prophet does not disturb anybody.
In this way the sons become witnesses and accomplices of the same crime (cf. Mt
23: 29-32).
• Luke 11: 49-51: To ask for an account of the blood that
has been shed since the foundation of the world. “That is why the wisdom of God
said: I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and
persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s
blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of
Able to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the Temple.
Yes, I tell you, this generation is lying in wait to catch Him out in something
He might say”. Compared with the Gospel of Matthew, Luke usually offers a brief
version of Matthew’s text. But here he increases the observations: “shed since
the creation of the world, of the blood of Abel”. He did the same thing with
the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew, who wrote for the converted Jews, begins with
Abraham (Mt 1: 1.2.17), while Luke goes back to Adam (Lk 3: 38). Luke
universalizes and includes the Pagans, then he writes his Gospel for the
converted Pagans. The information about the murdering of Zechariah in the
Temple is given in the Book of Chronicles: “The spirit of God then invested
Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said,
‘God says this, ‘Why transgress Yahweh’s commands to your certain ruin? For if
you abandon Yahweh, He will abandon you. Then they plotted against him and at
the king’s order stoned him in the court of the Temple of Yahweh” (2Cr
24: 20-21). Jesus knew the story of his people to the minutest detail. He
knew that He would be the next one on the list from Abel to Zechariah; and up
until now the list continues to be open. Many people have died for the cause of
justice and of truth.
• Luke 11: 52: Alas for you doctors of the Law. “Alas for
you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge. You have not gone in
yourselves and have prevented others from going in who wanted to”. How do they
close the Kingdom? They believe that they have the monopoly on knowledge in
regard to God and to God’s Law and they impose on others their own way, without
leaving a margin for a different idea. They present God as a severe judge, and
in the name of God they impose laws and norms which have nothing to do with the
commandments of God. They falsify the image of the Kingdom and kill in others
the desire to serve God and the Kingdom. A community which organizes itself
around this false god “does not enter into the Kingdom”. Neither is it an
expression of the Kingdom, and prevents its members from entering into the
Kingdom. It is important to notice the difference between Matthew and Luke.
Matthew speaks about the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven and the phrase is
written in the verbal form in the present: "Alas for you, lawyers of the
Law and Pharisees, hypocrites, who close the Kingdom of Heaven before men,
because in this way you do not enter and you prevent others from going in who
wanted to enter (Mt 23: 13). The expression to enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven could mean to enter in Heaven after death, but it is possible that it is
a question of entering into the community, around Jesus and in the communities
of the first Christians. Luke speaks about the key of knowledge and the phrase
is written in the past tense. Luke simply shows the pretension of the Scribes
to possess the key of knowledge in regard to God and to the law of God
which prevents them from recognizing Jesus as Messiah and prevents the Jewish
people from recognizing Jesus as Messiah: You take possession of the key of
knowledge. You yourselves do not enter and you prevent others to enter.
• Luke 11: 53-54: The reaction against Jesus. The reaction
of the religious authority against Jesus was immediate. “When He left there,
the Scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him, and tried to force
answers from Him on innumerable questions, lying in wait to catch Him out in
something He might say”. Since they considered themselves the only true
interpreters of the Law of God, they tried to provoke Jesus on questions of
interpretation of the Bible so as to be able to surprise Him in something
He would say. Thus the opposition against Jesus and the desire to eliminate Him
continues to grow. (Lk 6: 11; 11: 53-54; 19: 48; 20: 19-20;
22: 2).
4) Personal questions
• Many persons who wanted to enter were prevented from doing it
and they no longer believed because of the anti-evangelical attitude of the
priests. Do you have any experience regarding this?
• The Scribes began to criticize Jesus who thought and acted in a different way. It is not difficult to find reasons for criticizing anyone who thinks differently from me. Do you have any experience regarding this?
• The Scribes began to criticize Jesus who thought and acted in a different way. It is not difficult to find reasons for criticizing anyone who thinks differently from me. Do you have any experience regarding this?
5) Concluding prayer
Yahweh has made known his saving power,
revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98:2-3)
revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98:2-3)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét