November 12, 2026
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 494
Reading 1
Beloved:
I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the holy ones
have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ
to order you to do what is proper,
I rather urge you out of love,
being as I am, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me.
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the Gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
And if he has done you any injustice
or owes you anything, charge it to me.
I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay.
May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.
Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord.
Refresh my heart in Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord:
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
Then he said to his disciples,
“The days will come when you will long to see
one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111226.cfm
Commentary on
Philemon 7-20
Today we begin reading from the three shortest books of the
New Testament—a reading from Paul’s Letter to Philemon. The whole ‘book’
consists of just one chapter and is, in the strict sense, a letter from one friend
to another. Paul even claims to have written it in his own hand; most of his
longer letters were dictated to secretaries, or even partly written by them
following Paul’s instructions. The letter was written about the same time as
the Letters to the Colossians and Ephesians. Paul is in prison, but where is
not quite certain. It is thought that Rome was too far away for him to have
been visited by the slave, Onesimus. One possibility is Ephesus, where Paul
seems to have been imprisoned for a while, and which was not too far from
Colosse, where Philemon lived.
The situation is that a slave, Onesimus, seems to have run
away from his master, Philemon, and found shelter with Paul. There is a
suggestion that Onesimus may have run away because he had stolen from his
master, in which case, Philemon—understandably—may not have been very well
disposed to his slave. However, during his time with Paul, Onesimus became a
Christian. Philemon was also a convert of Paul’s, so Paul felt a special
affinity for these two men and was anxious for reconciliation between them as
brothers in Christ. The letter is written in very tactful language (by one not
particularly known for his gift of diplomacy), as if Paul is not at all sure of
the outcome.
Today’s passage begins with outright praise for Philemon
himself. Paul is delighted to hear of Philemon’s love:
…because the hearts of the saints [i.e. the
Christians of his church] have been refreshed through you…
It seems as if Philemon is a church leader and that, of
course, means that higher standards are expected of him, e.g. in dealing with a
runaway slave.
Paul continues by appealing to Philemon’s love rather than
his duty (which might be to punish the errant slave). He further appeals as an
“old man” languishing in prison for his Christian faith. He calls Onesimus:
…my child…whose father I have become during my
imprisonment.
This appears to be a way of indicating that the slave had
been converted to Christianity. Paul was now his ‘father in Christ’. In Paul’s
eyes, this changed the status of Onesimus with respect to his master, also a
Christian and also a “child” of Paul’s.
He suggests that Onesimus—no doubt as a result of the
formation that Paul has given him—has changed:
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed
useful to you and to me.
This is a play on the Onesimus’ name which means ‘useful’.
Paul says that he would like to have kept Onesimus with him:
I wanted to keep him with me so that he might minister to
me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel…
Despite this, he wants to send Onesimus back to Philemon:
I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order
that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.
Clearly, he is not altogether sure of Philemon’s reaction,
and that is why he is writing this letter first. He does not want to force
Philemon’s hand; he would prefer that Philemon himself take the initiative in
inviting back his slave, now that he knows where he is.
And Paul is sending back Onesimus now not just as a slave,
but as someone who is a brother in Christ both to Paul and Philemon. The
implication is not just that Onesimus is now a baptised Christian, but that he
has changed as a person. So Paul begs Philemon to take Onesimus back and, if
there is any talk of restitution for stolen property, Paul will take care of it
himself. The guarantee is the letter written in his own handwriting. And
because the gift of faith had come to Philemon through Paul, Philemon is, in a
sense, indebted to Paul. He can pay part of that debt by taking Onesimus back.
We do not know, of course, what happened as a result of this
letter. But it is a good example of Christian forgiveness and reconciliation.
And in a world where slavery and its resultant inequality was never questioned,
it shows how Christian love must eventually lead to people being treated on
exactly the same level where human dignity and worth are concerned. It was
already pointing the way to the abolition of slavery, a condition that would
still continue for many centuries to come.
And that is why this informal letter of one friend to
another finds its place in our Bible, as the Word of God. It gives an example
for all of us to follow.
It is often difficult for us to trust a person who has
wronged us in some way. It is often difficult to accept that people can change
radically. We see this in our attitudes to people who have been in prison.
There was great disquiet some time ago in the US, when a woman on death row,
who had clearly become a totally rehabilitated person and a sincere convert to
religious faith, was nevertheless sent to the electric chair for the crimes she
committed earlier in a ‘different’ life. Our society tends to want to exact its
‘pound of flesh’, i.e. to want to punish rather than to reform or rehabilitate.
Jesus was not like that. He was the one who consistently ate
and drank with sinners and social outcasts. As a Church, we should hope that
accusation will be thrown at us frequently.
Commentary on Luke
17:20-25
Jesus was asked by some Pharisees when the Kingdom of God
would come. In their mind, it was a definitive time that would be suddenly
realised by the arrival of a triumphant Messiah-King. Jesus says it is not
going to be like that at all. The Kingdom cannot be found by looking around for
telltale signs so that you can say it is ‘here’ or ‘there’.
No, says Jesus:
…in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.
Not only is it “among” them, it is right in front of them!
It is first of all in the very person of Jesus, who is the embodiment of God’s
Reign. He is the Messiah-King. He is the living incarnation of God’s loving
power revealed in his authoritative teaching, in his many healings of the sick,
in his freeing of those from the power of evil spirits, and in his compassion
for the sinner and the outcast. All are clear evidence that the reign of God
“is among you”.
In every age, including our own time, there are people who
get worked up about the ‘final coming of Christ’. But instead of focusing on a
date in the calendar, we should be focusing on the realities of our everyday
lives where, to those with eyes that see, the reign of God can easily be
discerned working in other people’s lives and in our own. Wherever people are reflecting
in their lives the vision of life—the values that Jesus revealed to us—the
Kingdom is there. And such people are not confined to the Church. They can be,
and are found, everywhere.
Jesus then turns to his disciples, telling them they :
…will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and
you will not see it.
In the very early Church, many were convinced that Jesus
would make his final coming during their own lifetime. It is likely that, from
time to time, certain events were interpreted as signs of that final coming.
People were saying, “Look there! or Look here!”, i.e. he is to be found in this
place or that. But by the time Luke’s Gospel was written, many in that first
generation of Christians had already died and there was still no sign of Jesus’
coming.
The ‘days’ following his expected coming may have all the
more been longed for during times of severe persecution, when they looked for
relief and help from their pain. An anxiety is reflected in the story of the
disciples’ attempts to wake a sleeping Jesus while their boat is
threatened by mountainous seas (see Mark 4:35-41).
Jesus says that, when his day does come, it will be:
…as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one
side to the other…
It will be both sudden and everywhere. In the meantime,
Jesus:
…must endure much suffering and be rejected by this
generation.
These words clearly refer to his own suffering and death,
but can also be applied to the whole Risen Christ, including the Church, his
risen Body, into our own age.
So, on the one hand, the reign of God is already here among
us, and we need look no further than the daily experiences of our own lives to
know and encounter the power and presence of Jesus. On the other
hand, the time of that final coming which “will wipe every tear from [our]
eyes” and be the end of all suffering and rejection is not for us to decide—nor
to be anxious about.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Thursday,
November 12, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy, protect us from all harm. Give us
freedom of spirit and health in mind and body to do your work on earth.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 17: 20-25
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come,
Jesus gave them this answer, “The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit
of observation and there will be no one to say, ‘Look, it is here! Look, it is
there! For look, the kingdom of God is among you.'”
He said to the disciples, “A time will come
when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of man and will not see
it. They will say to you, ‘Look, it is there!’ or ‘Look, it is here!’ Make no
move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of
heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of man when his Day comes. But
first he is destined to suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.”
Reflection
Today’s Gospel gives us the discussion
between Jesus and the Pharisees on the coming of the Kingdom. The Gospel today
and that of the following days deal with the coming of the end of time.
•
Luke 17: 20-21: The Kingdom is among you. “Asked
when the Kingdom of God was to come?” Jesus answered: “The coming of the
Kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say,
‘Look, it is here! Look, it is there! For look, the Kingdom of God is among
you!’” The Pharisees thought that the Kingdom could come only after people
would have reached the perfect observance of the Law of God. For them, the
coming of the Kingdom would be the reward of God for the good behavior of
people, and the Messiah would have come in a very solemn way as a king,
received by his people. Jesus says the contrary. The coming of the Kingdom
cannot be observed as the coming of an earthly king is observed. For Jesus, the
Kingdom of God has already come! It is already among us, independently of our
effort or merit. Jesus sees things in a different way. He has another way of
reading life. He prefers the Samaritan who lives with gratitude to the nine who
think that they merit the good that they receive from God (Lk 17: 17-19).
•
Luke 17: 22-24: The signs to recognize the
coming of the Son of Man. “A time will come when you will long to see one of
the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look it
is there! or Look, it is here!’ Make no move, do not set off in pursuit; for as
the lightening flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be
the Son of Man when his Day comes.” In this affirmation of Jesus there are
elements that are taken from the apocalyptic vision of history, quite common in
the first centuries and after Jesus. The apocalyptic vision of history has the
following characteristic: in the time of great persecutions and of oppression,
the poor have the impression that God loses control of history. They feel lost,
without a horizon and without any hope of liberation. In those moments of
apparent absence of God, prophecy assumes the form of apocalypse. The
apocalyptic, seek to enlighten the desperate situation with the light of faith
to help the people not to lose hope and to continue to have courage on the way.
To show that God does not lose control of history, they describe the different
stages of the realization of the project of God through history.
Begun in a determinate significant moment in the past, this
project of God advances, stage after stage, through the situations lived by the
poor, until the final victory is obtained at the end of history. In this way,
the apocalyptic place the present moment like a stage which has already been
foreseen in the overall project of God. Generally, the last stage, before the
coming of the end is represented like a moment of suffering and of crisis, of
which many have tried to profit to deceive people saying: “They will tell you:
Look it is here, or look it is there; do not move, do not follow them. Because
like lightening flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will
be the Son of man when his Day comes.” Having the eyes of faith which Jesus
communicates, the poor can perceive that the Kingdom is already among them (Lk
17: 21), like lightening, without any doubt. The coming of the Kingdom brings
with it its own evidence and does not depend on the forecast or prediction of
others.
•
Luke 17: 25: By the Cross up to the Glory. “But
first he is destined to suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.”
Always the same warning: the Cross, scandal for the Jews and foolishness for
the Greek, but for us the expression of the wisdom and the power of God (1 Cor
1: 18-23). The path toward the glory passes through the Cross. The life of
Jesus is our canon, it is the canonical norm for all of us.
Personal Questions
•
Jesus said: “The Kingdom is in your midst!” Have
you already found some sign of the Kingdom in your life, in the life of your
nation or in the life of your community?
•
The cross in our life. Suffering. How do you
consider or see suffering? What do you do about it?
Concluding Prayer
He keeps faith forever, gives
justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry; Yahweh sets prisoners free.
(Ps 146: 6-7)
Saint Josaphat, Bishop and
Martyr
John Kuntsevich (whose family name is also found as
Kuncevic, Kuncevyc and Kuntsevych) was born of a merchant family in the small
town of Volodymyr (Vladimir) in the region of Volhynia (Vilna), then part of
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, about 1580.
After a local education, he was apprenticed to a merchant in
Vilna. In 1604, at the age of twenty-four, John entered the Monastery of the
Trinity of the Basilian Fathers in Vilnius, and it is here that he took the
name Josaphat. His religious devotion, charity and sanctity rapidly became
known, and prominent people came to consult him. About the same time, after a
distinguished life as a layman, a certain Benjamin Rutski also joined the
order. The number of novices steadily increased under Rutski, who had meanwhile
been ordained priest.
Then began the regeneration of Eastern Catholic religious
life among the Ruthenians (Belarusians and Ukrainians). In 1609, after private
study under under the Jesuit priest, Fabricius, Josaphat was ordained priest by
a Catholic bishop. After a period of time, he became the superior of several
monasteries, and on 12 November, 1617, was reluctantly consecrated Bishop of
Vitsebsk, with right of succession to the Archbishopric of Polotsk. He
subsequently became archbishop in 1618.
Five hundred years before, a schism had taken place between
the Eastern and Western Churches. Over the years, the split only grew worse,
mainly centred on the authority of the pope in Rome. Then in the 16th century,
in what is now known as Belarus and Ukraine, but was then part of
Poland-Lithuania, an Orthodox archbishop of Kiev and five Orthodox bishops
decided to commit the Christians under their pastoral care to reunion with
Rome. Josaphat was still a young boy when the Synod of Brest Litovsk took place
in 1595-96. However, there were many of the faithful who did not accept the
bishops’ decision. Sadly, efforts to solve the disagreement involved not only
words, but violence. Among the leaders of the anti-union party, Meletius
Smotrytsky was conspicuous, and the most celebrated of his opponents was
Josaphat, who promoted Catholic unity with Rome. There were martyrs on both
sides and Josaphat tried to be a voice of peace and reconciliation.
As Archbishop, Josaphat restored the Byzantine churches,
issued a catechism with instructions that it should be learned by heart,
composed a code of behaviour for priests, assembled synods in various towns in
the dioceses and firmly opposed the Polish Imperial Chancellor Sapieha, who
wanted to make concessions in favour of the Eastern Orthodox. Throughout all
his labours, he continued his religious life as a monk, with no lessening in a
life of penance and prayer.
In 1620, a rival hierarchy was set up and Josaphat now had a
serious problem of widespread schism to deal with. The situation was complex.
There were conflicting interests, stirred by nationalism, long-standing customs
and an Eastern dislike of Rome. Josaphat strongly supported union with Rome,
but also held the right of Byzantine clergy, together with their local customs,
to be on the same level as those of the Roman church.
During the schismatic conflict, he refused to avail himself
of the opportunity of flight afforded him. Sadly misrepresented by both sides,
Josaphat eventually became the victim of a murder plot, instigated by violent
and uncontrolled supporters of his rival to the bishopric of Polotsk.
He clearly foresaw he would die a violent death. Finally on
12 November, 1623, while pleading that none of his servants should be made to
suffer, he was struck by a halberd and then shot by Orthodox supporters.
After numerous miracles were claimed and reported, a
commission was appointed by Pope Urban VIII in 1628, to inquire into the cause
of Josaphat, and examined on oath 116 witnesses. Although five years had
elapsed since Josaphat’s death, his body was claimed to still be incorrupt. In
1637, a second commission investigated his life, and in 1643, twenty years
after his death, Josaphat was beatified. He was canonised in 1867 by Pope Pius
IX.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary/f1112s/
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét