The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 410

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 23 April 2022 to 3 May 2022.

General Audiences

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “If the young open themselves to gratitude for what they have received, and if the elderly take the initiative of relaunching their future, nothing can stop the flourishing of God’s blessings among peoples! #BlessingOfTime” @Pontifex, 27 April 2022
  • “Working safely allows everyone to express the best of themselves while earning their daily bread. The more we take care of the dignity of work, the more certain we are that the quality and beauty of the work carried out will increase.” @Pontifex, 28 April 2022
  • “A Christianity that seeks the Lord among the ruins of the past and encloses him in the tomb of habit is a Christianity without Easter.” @Pontifex, 29 April 2022
  • “The joy of knowing we are loved by God, despite our infidelities, enables us to face the trials of life to emerge from them better. It is in living this joy that constitutes our being true witnesses, because joy is the distinctive sign of a Christian.” @Pontifex, 30 April 2022
  • “Я задаюсь вопросом, действительно ли существует стремление к миру; есть ли желание избежать непрестанной военной и словесной эскалации; делается ли всё возможное, чтобы заставить замолчать оружие?” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “I beg you, let us not surrender to the logic of violence, to the perverse spiral of weapons. May the path of dialogue and peace be taken! #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Прошу вас, не підаваймося логіці насильства, спотвореній спіралі озброєнь. Нехай буде обрана дорога діалогу та миру! #МолімосяРазом” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Пожалуйста, не поддавайтесь логике насилия, извращённой спирали вооружений. Встанем на путь диалога и мира! #Молимсявместе” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “I wonder if peace is truly being sought, whether there is the will to avoid a continued military and verbal escalation, whether everything possible is being done so to silence the weapons.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Запитую себе, чи дійсно відбуваються пошуки миру; чи існує воля запобігати безперервній військовій і вербальній ескалації; чи робиться все можливе для того, щоби замовкла зброя.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “I suffer and weep thinking of the sufferings of the Ukrainian people, and, in particular, the weakest, the elderly and the children.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Я страдаю и плачу, думая о мучениях украинского народа, особенно самых слабых, стариков и детей.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Every day of May, let us #PrayTogether the Rosary for peace. My thought goes to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol’, ”Mary’s City“, barbarically bombed and destroyed. I renew the request that secure humanitarian corridors might be arranged for the people trapped in that city.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом кожного дня травня Розарій за мир. Думка відразу лине до українського міста Маріуполя, “Міста Марії”, варварськи бомбардованого та знищеного. Повторюю заклик надати безпечні гуманітарні коридори для людей, що заблоковані в цьому місті.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Каждый день мая будем молиться Святым Розарием о мире. Мои мысли обращаются к украинскому городу Мариуполю, «городу Марии», варварски разбомбленному и разрушенному. Я вновь призываю к созданию безопасных гуманитарных коридоров для людей, оказавшихся в ловушке в этом городе.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “When our nets are empty in life, it is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves, to have fun, to return to old pastimes. It is the time to start again with Jesus, to find the courage to begin again, to set out with him. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 21:1–19)” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “Страждаю і плачу, коли думаю про страждання населення України, особливо, про найслабших, похилих віком, дітей.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2022
  • “In this month dedicated to the Virgin Mary, let us learn from her that #prayer is the best weapon of Christian life; without persistent prayer, no victory over evil is possible.” @Pontifex, 2 May 2022
  • “On this World #PressFreedom Day, let us #PrayTogether for the journalists who pay in person, with their lives or imprisonment, to serve this right. Special thanks to those who courageously inform us of the wounds of humanity.” @Pontifex, 3 May 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether so that all young people, called to live life to the fullest, may discover in Mary’s life the way to listen, the depth of discernment, the courage of faith, and dedication to service. #PrayerIntention MyIEZOC Video” @Pontifex, 3 May 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel – John 21:1-19
Scripture

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel – John 21:1-19

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

John 21:1–19 ESV – Bible Gateway

Today’s reading discusses the third appearance of Jesus to a group of Apostles. Peter tells six other apostles that he will go fishing, and they agree to join him. They all labor that night to no avail. There has been discussion regarding their return to fishing and its reason.

Pope St. Gregory.

“It may be asked why Peter, who was a fisherman before his conversion, returned to fishing, when it is said, ‘No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ ” St. Augustine on the other hand said, “If the disciples had done this after the death of Jesus, and before His resurrection, we should have imagined that they did it in despair. But now after that He has risen from the grave, after seeing the marks of His wounds, after receiving, by means of His breathing, the Holy Ghost, all at once they become what they were before, fishers, not of men, but of fishes. We must remember then that they were not forbidden by their apostleship from earning their livelihood by a lawful craft, provided they had no other means of living.”

This makes the most sense of their motive, just as St. Paul would return to his craft of tentmaking to support himself. In Mark 16, it is clear that Jesus tells the women to tell the apostles to go ahead to Galilee. So they are where they should be awaiting Jesus’ arrival there.

Jesus is standing on the shore and calls out to them, asking, “Children, do you have any fish?” None of the apostles recognize him. This is like the other post-resurrection appearances with Mary Magdalene and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He then gives them instructions on where to cast their nets, and they comply. This seems rather strange at first that they would listen to instructions given by some stranger, especially after a night of effort from men who were professionals of their trade.

Steve Ray, in his commentary on John, clarifies this:[1]

It happens very often that the man with the hand-net must rely on the advice of someone on shore, who tells him to cast either to the left or the right, because in the clear water he can often see a shoal of fish invisible to the man in the water.’ Jesus was acting as guide to his fishermen friends, just as people still do today.

The result is a miraculous catch such that they were overwhelmed to handle this. At this point, John recognizes Jesus and states this fact. Peter Kreeft asks and answers, “how did they then eventually recognize him? The answer, in that case, is clear: they recognized him by what he did.”[2] Peter puts on his outer garment and jumps into the sea to get to shore.

There is just so much going on here. The large catch and the difficulty of handling it and only being able to drag it. Peter returned to the catch and hauled the net ashore.

Give a man a fish, and he is satisfied for one day. Give a man 153 fish, and he will spend the rest of Church history trying to understand the symbolism involved. There are plenty of theories projected from St. Jerome and St. Augustine onto the present day. Some very complicated mathematical proofs, such as from Augustine. Jeff Cavins says the number 153 is the numerical total for the Hebrew phrase Ani Elohim, which means “I am God.”

Other symbolism entails the untorn net, which has been interpreted to represent the unity of the apostles or the Church. That the Church will prevail to the end of time, holding its adherents.

We then come to the theologically and symbolically rich telling of Jesus’ questions to Peter.

From John Bergsma:[3]

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” (v. 15). The question is ambiguous. Who are the “these”? Does Jesus mean:

  • (1) “Do you love me more than [you love] these [other men]?” In other words, Do you love me above all other persons in your life?
  • (2) “Do you love me more than these [fish]?” In other words, Do you love me more than your profession, your way of life, your livelihood, your “comfort zone”?
  • (3) “Do you love me more than these [other men do]?” In other words, Do you have greater love for me than others do? Do you excel in love so as to be suitable to excel also in authority?

Ambiguity abounds in the Gospel of John, and I think it is intentional. All three interpretations may well be meant. Jesus is eliciting from Peter a comprehensive love to correspond to the comprehensive role of shepherding that he will bestow.

It has long been commented on that these three questions parallel Peter’s three denials. Less commented on in that in both of these episodes in the Gospel of John, a “charcoal fire” is mentioned.

Ascension Press’ study “Jesus – The Way, the Truth, and the Life” references:

There are only two places in the New Testament where a charcoal fire is mentioned, both in John. The first being Peter’s triple denial that he knew Jesus, the second being Peter’s triple affirmation that he loved Jesus. There is an interesting detail about charcoal fires over a bonfire. A charcoal fire requires closeness to get warmed. Peter was recognized because of his closeness of people trying to get warm in the courtyard. Our affirmation of love for Jesus can only be close, not a distance, or it is not affirmation of love at all.

There has often been much made of the underlying Greek words Jesus used. John Bergsma offers an important caveat:

This gives the impression that Jesus asks twice, “Do you love me with divine love?” And Peter responds twice, “I love you with brotherly love.” And at last Jesus condescends to Peter’s capabilities: “Do you love me with brotherly love?” thus implying that such love will suffice: Jesus will accept what Peter, no longer brash and now painfully cognizant of his human weakness, knows he can offer. This interpretation is suggestive, but it must be entertained with caution because both phileō and agapaō are used elsewhere in John for both divine and human love.[4]

Other biblical scholars, such as Michael Barber, also say that the different meanings of these two words are a myth most famously popularized by C.S. Lewis.

Peter is hurt not because of the different Greek words used, but the question is asked of him three times in parallel to his three-fold denial. The awareness of our sinful actions often hurts us the most.

Jesus is “condescending to Peter’s human weakness.”[5] As Peter Kreeft writes:[2]

Jesus is always doing this: first bringing his disciples down and out of their pride when they feel up, then bringing them up and out of their despair when they feel down. He does that to us too.

Peter gets dressed down, but nevertheless, Jesus calls him to “Follow me.”

References

  1. St. John’s Gospel: A Bible Study Guide and Commentary for Individuals and Groups. Steve Ray, 2002  ↩
  2. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩
  3. bergsma  ↩
  4. bergsma  ↩
  5. bergsma  ↩
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 409

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 14 April 2022 to 26 April 2022.

Homilies

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “With Jesus, the Risen Lord, no night will last forever. Even in the darkest night, the morning star still shines.” @Pontifex, 21 April 2022
  • “We all need to make a contribution to halt the destruction of our common home and to restore nature: governments, businesses and citizens – we must act like brothers and sisters who share the Earth, the common home that God has given us. #EarthDay” @Pontifex, 22 April 2022
  • “How beautiful is a Church that can run through the streets of our world with the desire to bear the joy of the Gospel to everyone. That is what we are called to do: to roll away the stone from the tomb where we have often enclosed the Lord, in order to spread his joy in the world” @Pontifex, 22 April 2022
  • “Let us ask for the grace to feeling that we are in need of mercy: this is the only way that the salvation of God operates in us. #DivineMercy” @Pontifex, 23 April 2022
  • “I ask everyone to increase their prayers for peace and to have the courage to say, to show that peace is possible. Political leaders, please, listen to the voice of the people who want peace, not an escalation of the conflict.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Христос воскрес! Он воистину воскрес! Да наполнит Господь надеждой благие ожидания сердец, да принесёт Он мир, оскорблённый варварством войны.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Печально, что в эти дни – самые святые и торжественные для всех христиан – чаще раздаётся смертоносный грохот оружия, чем звон колоколов, возвещающих о Воскресении; печально, что оружие всё больше занимает место слов.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Я вновь призываю к пасхальному перемирию. Наступление обязано прекратиться, чтобы облегчить страдания измученного населения; необходимо остановиться, повинуясь словам Воскресшего, Который в день Пасхи повторяет Своим ученикам: ‘Мир вам!’.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Я прошу всех умножить молитвы о мире и смело заявить и показать, что мир действительно возможен. Политические лидеры, пожалуйста, прислушайтесь к голосу людей, которые хотят мира, а не эскалации конфликта.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Я прошу всіх посилити молитву за мир і мати сміливість говорити та демонструвати, що мир є можливим. Політичні лідери, будь ласка, прислухайтесь до голосу людей, які прагнуть миру, а не ескалації конфлікту.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Повторюю заклик до великоднього перемир’я. Нехай припиниться наступ, щоби вийти назустріч стражданням виснаженого населення; нехай зупиниться, слухаючись слів Воскреслого, Який в день Пасхи повторює Своїм учням: «Мир вам!»” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “I renew my appeal for an Easter truce. Stop the attack, so as to respond to the suffering of the exhausted population. Let it stop, in obedience to the words of the Risen Lord, who on Easter repeats to his disciples: “Peace be with you!” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “It is sad that in these days, which are the holiest and most solemn for all Christians, the deadly roar of weapons is heard rather than the sound of bells announcing the Resurrection. And it is sad that weapons are increasingly taking the place of words” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Сумно, що в ці дні, найсвятіші та найурочистіші для всіх християн, смертельний гуркіт зброї звучить гучніше, аніж передзвін, що звіщає Воскресіння; сумно, що зброя дедалі більше займає місце слова.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Христос Воскрес! Він воістину воскрес! Нехай же Він наповнить надією добрі очікування сердець! Нехай же Він дарує мир, скривджений варварством війни” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “This Sunday, we discover three ways the #DivineMercy acts in us: it gives joy, it grants forgiveness and comforts in difficulties. https://t.co/TlkICgagAb Event” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “There are difficult times when life seems to belie faith. It’s precisely then that we rediscover the Lord’s heart. In those situations, Jesus doesn’t perform earth-shattering miracles, but instead offers us heartwarming signs of #mercy. He comforts us by offering us his wounds.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Jesus is not afraid of our crises. He always comes back when the doors are closed and when we doubt. He always comes back, not with powerful signs that would make us feel inadequate, but with his wounds, the signs of his love. #GospelOfTheDay Jn 20:19–31” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Christ is risen, he is truly risen! May he fill with hope the good expectations of hearts. May he grant peace, outraged by the barbarity of war.” @Pontifex, 24 April 2022
  • “Let’s remember the forgiveness and peace we have received from Jesus. Let’s put the memory of God’s warm embrace before the memory of our own mistakes and failings. In this way, we will grow in joy. For nothing will ever is ever the same for anyone who has experienced God’s joy!” @Pontifex, 25 April 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом за всі жертви насильства та війни. VtSsQHCgO Image” @Pontifex, 26 April 2022
  • “When we bring peace to someone who is suffering physically or spiritually, when we spend some time listening, being present, or consoling someone, we encounter Jesus who repeats to us through the eyes of all those who are weighed down by the trials of life: Peace be with you!” @Pontifex, 26 April 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for all the victims of violence and war. Image” @Pontifex, 26 April 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе обо всех жертвах насилия и войны. vvYDnDlQ Image” @Pontifex, 26 April 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel John 20:19-31
Scripture

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel John 20:19-31

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

John 20:19–31 ESV – Bible Gateway

This Gospel passage is used on the Second Sunday of Easter for each liturgical year. The use of these verses goes back to before the liturgical reform of the lectionary and is the same reading still used for the Tridentine Rite of the Church. The reason being is that it details also the second appearance of Jesus to the Apostles “eight days later” and so is perfectly fitting for the Second Sunday of Easter.

Confession is very much the Sacrament of Divine Mercy. So it’s fitting that on this day we will both recall the appearance to Thomas that took place eight days after the resurrection and the institution of Confession which is the Sacrament of Divine Mercy. [1]

The Apostles gathered together are basically hunkering down for the duration. Gathered together in a locked room. “Proper residences were equipped with bolts and locks. Bolted doors would prevent anyone from entering (a heavy bolt could be slid through rings attached to the door and its frame).”[2] They are in fear, in fact, fear for their lives. As John writes “For fear of the Jews, they were hiding out.” They would have been afraid of any knock on the door. Jesus mysteriously comes and stands among them. Such an awkward moment as they both fear and rejoice at seeing Jesus again.

John Bergma comments on this[3]:

The last time he saw this band of eleven men, he was looking at their backs, in the dark, as they all ran away from him rather than accompany him through his suffering and death (Matt 26:56). But Jesus does not mention this. He does not say, “Hey guys! Guess you didn’t think you’d see me again! Thanks for sticking by me there, in my hour of need.” Instead, he overlooks their dismal infidelity, and the word of Jesus is simply, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus would say “Peace be with you.” twice in this first encounter and again during the second one. They really need to let their fear go and for the peace of Christ to settle on them. Jesus is completing the commission he started at the Last Supper when he breaths on them and gives them the ability to forgive and retain sins.

When Jesus does this it recalls the book of Genesis when it says that “God breathed into the clay,” “breathed into the nostrils of Adam and he became a living being.” So what Jesus is doing here is, in a sense, inaugurating once again the new creation. But in this case the power that is being revealed through that action is not the Sacrament of Baptism as with the man born blind, but here it is the power to forgive and retain sin that will be passed down in the Church through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, through the Sacrament of Confession.[1]

The Council of Trent says:

“The Church has always understood—and has in fact defined—that Jesus Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which is exercised in the sacrament of Penance. ‘The Lord then especially instituted the sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, he breathed upon his disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.…” The consensus of all the Fathers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism’ (Council of Trent, De Paenitentia, chap. 1).

Now we come to the Apostle Thomas who is now with the other Apostles on this second encounter with the risen Christ. We don’t know why he was not there the first time. Yet it is to our edification that he wasn’t.

St. Gregory the Great[4]:

It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith than the belief of the other disciples. For the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our minds in belief, beyond all question

When he joins up with them he is told the story about how Jesus came upon them although the doors were locked. There is one distinct difference between how the other Apostles acted and how Thomas acted. When Mary Magdalene informed the Apostles, Peter and John ran to the tomb. Based on witness testimony they were willing to believe that this might be true and dashed off to verify it. Thomas on the other hand heard testimony from his friends and did not believe them. He not only discounted his friends but was not even willing to see how this was consistent with what Jesus told them ahead of time. He demands empirical proof, but when Jesus offers him that very proof—he no longer demands or needs it.

New Testament scholar John Barclay writes:

“There was no halfway house about Thomas. He was not airing his doubts just for the sake of mental acrobatics; he doubted in order to become sure; and when he did, his surrender to certainty was complete. And when a man fights his way through his doubts to the conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord, he has attained to a certainty that the man who unthinkingly accepts things can never reach.”

One consideration from Brant Pitre, regarding what Jesus asks Thomas:

Since ancient Greek manuscripts do not use punctuation marks, it is not clear whether Jesus’ words to Thomas in 20:29a are a question or a statement. The NABRE translates it as a question, Have you come to believe because you have seen me?, which hints at disapproval that Thomas needed tangible proof to believe. However, it is also possible to translate it as a statement, “You have believed because you have seen me,” in which case Jesus does not disapprove of Thomas’s faith but simply declares that Thomas has arrived at full Easter faith because of the tangible proof that has been given him.

The Catechismi[5] in paragraph 156 says:

156 What moves us to believe is not the fact that revealed truths appear as true and intelligible in the light of our natural reason: we believe “because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.”[1] So “that the submission of our faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit.”[2] Thus the miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church’s growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability “are the most certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all”; they are “motives of credibility” (motiva credibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is “by no means a blind impulse of the mind.

References

  1. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
  2. St. John’s Gospel: A Bible Study Guide and Commentary for Individuals and Groups. Steve Ray, 2002  ↩
  3. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma  ↩
  4. Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies 26; trans. J. C. Elowsky, ACCS, p. 367  ↩
  5. Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference.  ↩
2 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 408

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 7 April 2022 to 20 April 2022.

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “God’s presence is so humble, hidden, so invisible, that it needs an attentive, awake and welcoming heart to be recognized. #Eucharist #HolyThursday” @Pontifex, 14 April 2022
  • “Let us place ourselves before the Crucified One, the wellspring of our peace, and ask him for peace of heart and peace in the world. #GoodFriday” @Pontifex, 15 April 2022
  • “#PrayTogether #GoodFriday #Peace OSRuw Image” @Pontifex, 15 April 2022
  • “On this night let us allow the women of the Gospel to lead us by the hand, so that, with them, we may glimpse the first rays of the dawn of God’s life rising in the darkness of our world.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2022
  • “The light of the resurrection generates missionary disciples who return from the tomb in order to bring to all the Gospel of the risen Christ. That is why, after seeing and hearing, the women ran to proclaim to the disciples the joy of the resurrection.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2022
  • “Our hope has a name: the name of Jesus. He entered the tomb of our sin; he descended to those depths where we feel most lost, bore the weight of our burdens and from the dark abyss of death restored us to life and turned our mourning into joy.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2022
  • “Jesus is alive! Today, too, he walks in our midst, changes us and sets us free. Thanks to him, evil has been robbed of its power; failure can no longer hold us back from starting anew; and death has become a passage to the stirrings of new life.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2022
  • “The women proclaimed the joy of the resurrection. Easter did not occur simply to console those who mourned the death of Jesus, but to open hearts to the extraordinary message of God’s triumph over evil and death.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2022
  • “Давайте позволим победить себя миру Христову! Мир – возможен, мир – необходим, мир – это главная ответственность каждого! #Мир wRKgh Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “May there be #peace also for Libya and for Yemen, for Myanmar and for Afghanistan, for the entire African continent – particularly in the Sahel region –, for Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Let’s pray for the people in the eastern part of South Africa too.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “May there be #peace for the Middle East, racked by years of conflict and division. May there be peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and in particular for all the Christian communities of the Middle East.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “В моём сердце – все многочисленные жертвы украинского народа: миллионы беженцев и внутренних переселенцев, разделённые семьи, оставшиеся в одиночестве старики, разбитые жизни и стёртые с лица земли города. У меня перед глазами – взгляд осиротевших детей, бежавших от войны.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Ношу в своєму серці всі численні українські жертви, мільйони біженців і внутрішньо переміщених осіб, розділені сім’ї, похилих віком, які залишилися самотніми, розбиті життя та міста, стерті з лиця землі. Маю перед очима погляд осиротілих дітей, що втікають від війни.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Пусть наступит мир для истерзанной Украины, тяжко страдающей от насилия и разрушений жестокой и бессмысленной войны, в которую она была втянута. Пусть над этим страшным мороком страданий и смерти поскорее взойдёт новая заря надежды! Да будет сделан выбор в пользу мира. #Мир” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Нехай настане мир для багатостраждальної України що переживає дуже важке випробування насильством та руйнуваннями жорстокої та безумної війни в яку вона була втягнута. Нехай над цією жахливою ніччю страждання та смерті якнайшвидше зійде новий світанок надії! Нехай буде обрано мир” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “May there be peace for war-torn #Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. In this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon appear! Let there be a decision for #peace.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Раны на теле воскресшего Иисуса – это знак сражения, которое Он вёл и выиграл за нас оружием любви, дабы мы могли иметь мир, быть в мире, жить в мире. #Мир R Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Рани на Тілі воскреслого Ісуса є знаком боротьби, якою Він боровся та переміг за нас, зброєю любові, щоби ми могли мати #мир, перебувати в мирі, жити в мирі. jC Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “The wounds on the body of the risen Jesus are the sign of the battle he fought and won for us, won with the weapons of love, so that we might have #peace and remain in peace. https://t.co/GVgQvBODaQ Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “The Lord is risen! Let us lift up our gaze, remove the veil of sadness and sorrow from our eyes, and open our hearts to the hope that God brings! https://t.co/laMdZhXIBe Homily” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “Дозвольмо, щоби Христовий #мир переміг нас! Мир є можливим, мир є обов’язковим, мир є першочерговою відповідальністю всіх! e Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “May the risen Christ accompany and assist the people of Latin America and the journey of reconciliation that the Catholic Church in Canada is making with the indigenous peoples.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “May we be won over by the #peace of Christ! Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone’s primary responsibility! qxaoyN Image” @Pontifex, 17 April 2022
  • “The Easter joy is not to be kept to oneself. The joy of Christ is strengthened by giving it, it multiplies sharing it. If we open ourselves and carry the Gospel, our hearts will open and overcome fear. #GospelOfTheDay (Mt 28:8–15).” @Pontifex, 18 April 2022
  • “The Lord is risen! Let us not tarry among the tombs, but run to find him, the Living One! Nor may we be afraid to seek him also in the faces of our brothers and sisters, in the stories of those who hope and dream, in the pain of those who we suffer: God is there!” @Pontifex, 19 April 2022
  • ““Honour your father and mother” is a solemn commitment. It is not just about our own father and mother, but about the old age of life… We received the love of our parents, of our grandparents, and now we return this love to them. #BlessingOfTime” @Pontifex, 20 April 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 407

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 6 April 2022 to 13 April 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Papal Tweets

  • “: Це жертви, невинна кров яких взиває до неба та благає: нехай буде покладено край цій війні! Змусьте зброю замовкнути! Нехай більше не сіється смерть і руйнування! #МолімосяРазом” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Let us not forget the children who have had to flee and come to a foreign land: this is one of the fruits of war. Let us not forget them, and let us not forget the Ukrainian people. #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “They are victims whose innocent blood cries to Heaven and implores: put an end to this war! Silence the weapons! Stop sowing death and destruction! #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Не будем забывать о детях, которым пришлось бежать на чужую землю, – это один из плодов войны. Не будем забывать о них, не будем забывать об украинском народе. #МолимсяВместе” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Не забуваймо про дітей, які мусіли втікати і прибути до чужої землі: це однин із плодів війни. Не забуваймо про них, не забуваймо про український народ. #МолімосяРазом” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Невинная кровь этих жертв взывает к Небесам и умоляет: да прекратится эта война! Да умолкнет оружие! Хватит сеять смерть и разрушение! #МолимсяВместе” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “The recent news from #Ukraine, reports new atrocities, like the massacre in Bucha: ever more horrendous cruelty done even against defenseless civilians, women and children.” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Новости с Украины свидетельствуют о новых зверствах, таких как резня в Буче: всё более чудовищная жестокость, также в отношении беззащитных гражданских лиц, женщин и детей.
    #Украина” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “I chose the words ”with unusual kindness“ as the motto of my Journey to Malta because they indicate the path to follow so that the world might become more fraternal, more livable, and might be saved from a “shipwreck” that menaces all of us who are in the same boat.” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “Новини з #України засвідчують нові звірства, як от різанина в Бучі: дедалі жахливіші акти жорстокості, скоєні також проти цивільних, безборонних жінок і дітей.” @Pontifex, 6 April 2022
  • “The Season of #Lenten calls us to place our faith and hope in the Lord, since only if we fix our gaze on the risen Christ will we be able to respond to the Apostle’s appeal, “Let us never grow tired of doing good” (Gal 6:9).” @Pontifex, 7 April 2022
  • “Jesus spoke of this hope when he announced his passion and death saying he would “be raised on the third day” (Mt 20:19). He was speaking of the future opened up by the Father’s mercy. Hoping with him and thanks to him means receiving from his open Heart the Father’s forgiveness.” @Pontifex, 8 April 2022
  • “We are like little toddlers who try to walk, but keep falling, and need to be picked up each time by their father. It is the Father’s forgiveness that always sets us back on our feet. God’s forgiveness, #Confession, is the first step on our return journey to the Lord.” @Pontifex, 8 April 2022
  • “I ask Mary Most Holy to pray that this #Lent will open our hearts to hear the call to be reconciled to God, to fix our gaze on the paschal Mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with God.” @Pontifex, 9 April 2022
  • “#PrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Немає нічого неможливого в Бога. (Лк 1,37). Також зробити так, аби припинилася війна, якій не видно кінця. Війна, яка кожного дня ставить перед нашими очима нелюдські масові вбивства та нещадні акти жорстокості, скоєні проти беззахисних цивільних. #МолімосяРазом #Мир Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “‘У Бога не останется бессильным никакое слово’ (Лк 1,37). Для Бога нет ничего невозможного, даже прекратить войну, конца которой не видно, – войну, из-а которой каждый день у нас перед глазами чудовищные массовые убийства и зверские жестокости против беззащитных гражданских лиц. UjE Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Nothing is impossible for God (Lk 1:37). He can even bring an end to a war whose end is not in sight, a war that daily places before our eyes heinous massacres and atrocious cruelty committed against defenseless civilians. #PrayTogether #Peace gxm Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе #Мир #Украина Q Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом #Мир #Україна https://t.co/YWhssGjLgI Image” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Jesus is crucified in the refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms. He is crucified in the elderly left alone to die, in the young people deprived of a future; in the soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34). When violence is used, it shows that we know nothing about God, who is Father, or even about others, our brothers and sisters. We forget why we are in the world and end up committing senseless acts of cruelty.” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Jesus instead says: Father, forgive them (Lk 23:34). Jesus did not rebuke his executioners or threaten punishments in God’s name. Rather, he prays for the evildoers. Hanging from the gibbet of humiliation, the intensity of his giving increases until it becomes forgiving.” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “Save yourself. Take care of yourself. Think of yourself, not of others, only of your own well-being, your own success, your own interests, your possessions, your power, your image. Save yourself (Lk 23:37), is the constant refrain of that humanity that has crucified the Lord.” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “On Calvary, two ways of thinking collided. Against this self-centred mindset is God’s way of thinking. The mantra “save yourself” contrasts with the words of the Saviour who offers his self. #GospelOfTheDay” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “The folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time. Christ is once more nailed to the Cross in mothers who mourn the unjust death of husbands and children.” @Pontifex, 10 April 2022
  • “During this week let us welcome the certainty that God can forgive every sin, every distance; the certainty that with Jesus there is always a place for everyone; that with Jesus, it is never over, never too late. With God, we can always come back to life.” @Pontifex, 11 April 2022
  • “Let us journey toward Easter with his forgiveness. For Christ constantly intercedes for us before the Father. Gazing upon our violent and wounded world, he never tires of repeating: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” @Pontifex, 11 April 2022
  • “Let us gaze upon the Crucified One. It is from his painful holes caused by the nails of our sinfulness, that forgiveness gushes forth. Let us look to Jesus on the cross and realize that we have never been looked on with greater gentleness and compassionate.” @Pontifex, 12 April 2022
  • “If we want to evaluate our following of Christ, let us look at how we behave toward those who have hurt us. The Lord asks us to respond like He does with us. He does not separate us into good and bad, friends and enemies. For Him, all of us are beloved children.” @Pontifex, 12 April 2022
  • “While worldly power leaves only destruction and death in its wake, Christ’s #peace builds up history, starting from the heart of every person who welcomes us. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 13 April 2022
  • “The #peace of the Lord follows the way of meekness and the cross: it is taking responsibility for others. Indeed, Christ took on himself our evil, sin and death. In this way he freed us. His peace is not the fruit of some compromise, but rather is born of self-giving.” @Pontifex, 13 April 2022
  • “The weapons of the #Gospel are prayer, tenderness, forgiveness and freely-given love for one’s neighbour, to any neighbour. This is how God’s #peace is brought into the world. This is why the armed aggression of these days, like every war, represents an outrage against God.” @Pontifex, 13 April 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 22:14-23:56
Punditry

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 22:14-23:56

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Luke 22:14–23:56 ESV – Bible Gateway

While today’s passage is used for what is colloquially called Palm Sunday, it is in Chapter 19 where the entry in Jerusalem is described in explicit terms as a royal triumphal entry; people are greeting Jesus as a king who is coming in the name of the Lord.[1] Luke is the only one to mention the Pharisee’s reaction to the crowd and telling Jesus to rebuke his disciples. Jesus replies, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Liturgically this is Passion Sunday, so the passage used starts with the establishment of the first Mass, concluding with the death and burial of Jesus. Since this covers so much territory, I will highlight what is distinct to Luke.

After the institution of the Lord’s Supper, the disciples dispute among themselves as regards who is the greatest. I have to wonder just how attentive they were to what just happened. It seems they surmised something Momentive had happened and were involved in it. Yet, their sight is still shortened on their egos and not the establishment of a new covenant put into place and ratified by Jesus’ coming death on the cross and resurrection.

From Brant Pitre’s[1] commentary on this:

Literally in the Greek, what Jesus says here, “As my father covenanted the kingdom for me, so I covenant to you, that you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” So, effectively what Jesus is doing is constituting (in the figure of the Apostles) a new Israel, where they will rule over this new Israel, sitting on twelve thrones.

Secondly, notice also that within these twelve Apostles who are going to reign over the new Israel, Simon Peter has pride of place. And it’s easy to miss that if you read it in English, but in Greek it’s really clear: when Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to have you”, the Greek word there is “you” in the plural. So if you wanted to translate it into English: “Satan has demanded to have ya’ll.” (I’m from the South, we have a 2nd person plural, it’s called “ya’ll”, and that’s what the Greek word there is.) Satan has demanded to have “you all”. “But I have prayed for you (singular) that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen you brethren.” So what Jesus is referring to here is two things: First, the unique role that Simon Peter has as leader of the twelve apostles and as the one who strengthens the brethren. And I just bring this up because (obviously) there’s a long standing debate about the origins of the papacy and the authority of the bishop of Rome and that kind of thing, but I want to highlight the fact that in Luke’s gospel, according to Luke, at the Last Supper Jesus singles Peter out as the one who has a special mission to strengthen the other apostles after he turns back from his fall of denying Jesus, and that Jesus prays a special prayer for Simon (and Simon alone) that his faith may not fail.

We see multiple examples of Jesus’ humanity in that he is both fully God and fully man, and not God putting on a costume as a man. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he says, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” He requires strength for his coming ordeal. His guardian angel strengthens him, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

I had often heard that this was a condition called hematidrosis caused by great stress. I have also heard other claims about how this would make Jesus even more sensitive to pain. Actual cases of hematidrosis are relatively rare and are not necessarily connected to stress. Thomas W. McGovern, M.D. looks at these claims in his book “What Christ Suffered: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Passion.” Based on Luke’s description, he concludes that a bloody fluid was coming out of his skin. Jesus’ blood and sweat mixed on the skin, not in the skin within the sweat glands.

More importantly, there is a lot of imagery here tying the agony in this garden back to the events of the Garden of Eden. This is a constant theme in Luke that Jesus is the new Adam. Adam and Eve were cast out. He is going to have to labor by the sweat of his brow. Brant Pitre draws out further connection with Jewish tradition in that the Tree of Life is an Olive Tree and that Gethsemane means “oil press.”

Jesus is the new Adam, and he will go to the new tree of life which is the cross. And there he will be crushed, he’s going to offer his life, and his blood will undo the effects of the fall of the first Adam. And the oil that will flow from the new tree of life is an oil that brings healing and salvation to the whole world. Just as the first tree of life was supposed to give immortality, so the new tree of life (the cross) is going to undo the curse of death and bring everlasting life to the world.[1]

While all of the synoptic Gospels tell us about the carrying of the cross, only Luke writes about the women who lamented and wailed for Jesus on the way to Calvary. It is tough to imagine the physical state of Jesus at this point. The agony in the garden, his arrest, and possible severe mistreatment before the trial. How he was treated at the trial itself. More abuse after the trial, severe scourging, and even more mockery and abuse with the crown of thorns. Added to this is the crossbar (stauros or patibulum) placed across his shoulder he carried to the place of execution. Yet, his heart and mind are still focused on the sufferings of others. Luke also records Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

When I was reading over this, something in my own life came to mind. When my wife was in the very last days of her life in the hospice, she could not eat. Chipped ice was all that she could consume. In her pain and deep awareness of how little time she had left with us, she was still concerned about whether we had eaten yet. This is what it means to be Christ-like.

The dialog between the thieves on either side of Jesus is also only in Luke. One thief is railing against Jesus, while the other says that we deserver our fate, but not Jesus. He then speaks, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And in response, Jesus says something that’s powerful, but also puzzling: “Amen, I say to you, this day you will be with me in paradise.”

I have heard Jesus’ reply parsed in several ways since emphasizing different words can change the meaning. The meaning is argued over regarding the necessity of baptism or the doctrine of Purgatory. So I was interested to see that this might also be another Lucan reference to the Garden of Eden as per Brant Pitre[1]

The Greek word there, Paradeisos , doesn’t occur very often in the Bible. The first time it occurs, one of the few times it occurs, is in the book of Genesis 2 and 3, when it’s describing the paradise of God. Literally, the word paradise means “a garden” or “an orchard”; in other words, the Garden of Eden.

Jesus’ final words on the cross are also unique to Luke. “Father into your hands I commit my spirit” is quoted from Psalm 31.

Sources

  1. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
2 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 406

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 30 March 2022 to 5 April 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Prayers

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “The elderly can teach the younger generations how to trust in God, how to be merciful, and how to pray fervently not only in good times, but especially in difficult ones. #BlessingOfTime @PontAcadLife @LaityFamilyLife” @Pontifex, 30 March 2022
  • “If prayer is real, it necessarily bears fruit in charity. And charity sets us free from the worst form of enslavement, which is slavery to self. Lenten charity brings us back to what is essential, to the deep joy to be found in giving. #Lent” @Pontifex, 31 March 2022
  • “Tomorrow I will go to #Malta on an #ApostolicJourney in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. It will be an opportunity to know at first hand a Christian community with a millennia-old history. I ask every one of you to accompany me in prayer. Thank you!” @Pontifex, 1 April 2022
  • “I feel shame for the role that a number of Catholics with educational responsibilities have had in the abuse and lack of respect for the identity, culture and spiritual values of the Indigenous Peoples in Canada. All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” @Pontifex, 1 April 2022
  • “Listening to the voices of the brothers and sisters of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, I heard the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse experienced, particularly in the residential schools. I bear these stories with great sorrow in my heart.” @Pontifex, 1 April 2022
  • “Let’s not view the migrant as a threat. Others are not a virus to protect ourselves from, but people to be welcomed. Certainly, hospitality requires renunciations. Yet every sacrifice, every renunciation made for a greater good, for life of another who is God’s treasure, is holy!” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “We have been saved by the same blood, we are one family, so let us welcome each other, love each another, heal each other’s wounds. Let us be a “synod”, in other words, “journey together”. For God is present wherever love reigns! #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Fraternal love and the welcome we show our neighbor is so important in the Church! The Lord reminds us of this on the cross in entrusting Mary and John to each other’s care. He urges the Christian community of every age not to lose sight of this priority. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Saint Paul unexpectedly came to #Malta’s coast and found ready assistance. He was a man in need of assistance. In the name of the Gospel that he lived and preached, let us open our hearts and rediscover the beauty of serving our neighbours in need! #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Let’s hear people’s thirst for #peace and go back to international peace conferences gatherings where the central theme is disarmament! May the enormous funds that continue to be destined to weapons be diverted to development, health care and nutrition. #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “The growing migration emergency – here we can think of the refugees from war-torn Ukraine – calls for a broad-based and shared response. Some countries cannot respond to the entire problem, while others remain indifferent onlookers! #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “The Mediterranean needs co-responsibility on the part of Europe, in order to become a new theatre of solidarity and not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilization. #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “This is the #Gospel we are called to live: to welcome others, to be experts in humanity and to light fires of tender love when the coldness of life engulfs those who suffer. #AposolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “The tender love of mothers, who give life to the world, and the presence of women are the true alternative to the baneful logic of power that leads to war. We need compassion and care, not ideologies fueled by words of hatred. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Once again, some potentate is provoking and fomenting conflicts, ordinary people sense the need to build a future that, will either be shared, or will not be at all. Now in the night of the war, let us not allow the dream of #peace to fade! #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Today is the World #Autism Awareness Day. Let us walk together with people with autism, not only for them, but above all with them!” @Pontifex, 2 April 2022
  • “Let us respond to the challenge of migrants and refugees with humanity, lighting fires of fraternity around which people can warm themselves, get up again and rediscover hope. Let us strengthen the fabric of social friendship and the culture of encounter!” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “We listen to the stifled plea of millions of migrants whose fundamental rights are violated, sadly at times with the complicity of the competent authorities. They are not statistics, but flesh and blood people with faces and dreams, dreams that are sometimes dashed.” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “Thousands of people have been forced to flee Ukraine because of war. Many others have also had to leave their own lands in Asia, Africa and the Americas. All of them are in my thoughts and prayers. #Apostolic Journey #Malta” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “Pour out upon us your Holy Spirit and grant us a new heart capable of hearing the pleas of our brothers and sisters who have lost the warmth of their homes and homeland. Grant that we may give them hope through our humanitarian deeds. Amen. #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “I thank all those who worked hard to prepare this #ApostolicJourney and the citizens of #Malta for your welcome. I will remember the luminous face of Malta! You are a treasure in the Church and for the Church. Do not forget: the joy of the Church is to evangelize.” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “To save ourselves from this shipwreck which brings the risk of sinking the ship of civilization, we must conduct ourselves with humanity, regarding people not merely as numbers, but for what they really are: brothers and sisters. #migrants #Apostolic Journey #Malta” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for #peace, thinking of the humanitarian tragedy in war-torn #Ukraine, which continues to be bombarded. Let us not tire of praying and offering assistance to those who suffer! #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “Those who believe they are upholding the faith by pointing their finger at others may have a certain “religiosity”, but they have not embraced the spirit of the Gospel, for they disregard mercy, which is the heart of God. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 8:1–11)” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “The Lord wants that we, his disciples, forgiven by Him, become tireless witnesses of reconciliation, of a God who always forgives and gives us the chance to live a new and different life under the banner of mercy. #ApostolicJourney #Malta” @Pontifex, 3 April 2022
  • “The logic of war has imposed itself yet again because we are no longer used to thinking with the logic of peace. We are stubborn, we are in love with war, with the spirit of Cain. #Peace #Ukraine” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “Знову нав’язалася логіка війни, бо ми вже більше не звикли мислити згідно з логікою миру. Ми вперті, ми закохані у війни, в дух Каїна. #Мир #Україна” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “Логика войны была снова навязана, потому что мы отвыкли мыслить согласно логике мира. Мы упрямы, мы влюблены в войны, в дух Каина. #Мир #Украина” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “We need to cry over their tombs. Don’t our youth matter? I am grieved by what is happening today. We never learn. May the Lord have mercy on us, on all of us. Every one of us are guilty! #Peace #Ukraine” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “На могилах потрібно плакати. Молодь не береться до уваги? Я засмучений тим, що сьогодні відбувається. Ми не вчимося. Нехай же Господь буде милостивий з нами, з нами всіма. Всі ми винні! #Мир #Україна” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “Нужно плакать над могилами. Неужели нам безразлична молодежь? Мне горько оттого, что происходит сегодня. Мы ничему не учимся. Да смилуется над всеми нами Господь. Вина – на каждом из нас. #Мир #Украина” @Pontifex, 4 April 2022
  • “In this season of conversion, sustained by God’s grace and by the communion of the Church, let us not grow tired of doing good. The soil is prepared by fasting, watered by prayer and enriched by charity. #Lent” @Pontifex, 5 April 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for health care workers who serve the sick and the elderly, especially in the poorest countries. May they be adequately supported by governments and local communities. #PrayerIntention Video” @Pontifex, 5 April 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel John 8:1-11
Scripture

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel John 8:1-11

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

John 8:1–11 ESV – Bible Gateway

Each year for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, we get a selection from the Gospel of John. The chapter division here seems awkward as it splits a sentence after Jesus speaks, and there is division among the people thinking Jesus is a prophet and the Pharisees deny this. “The early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53–8:11.”[1] and so do not include this story. ”St. Jerome says the story was found in both Latin and Greek; St. Ambrose says it was always famous in the Church, and St. Augustine expounds the story.“ It seems to have been known in second-century Syria. This passage is even found in some ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke. This passage is referred to as the pericope adulterae. A periscope *_pronounced_ ”peh-RIH-cuh-pee“) is an individual ”passage“ within the Gospels, with a distinct beginning and ending so that it forms an independent literary ”unit.”

In an article on this passage, Jimmy Akin references Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu and principles are used in assessing the pericope adulterae. He concludes:

This means that the pericope adulterae–by being included in the Vulgate–does not contain errors of faith or morals when properly understood.

And so those would be the two points that–in the absence of a current, binding statement from the Magisterium on the authenticity of the passage–one would naturally conclude regarding it: Critical scholarship must determine whether the passage was in the originals but, even if it was not, the passage does not contain errors of faith or morals when understood in a Catholic sense and so it may safely be appealed to as a passage from which Christians may learn.

The circumstance here is Jesus teaching people at the temple in Jerusalem and sitting down with a group when some Pharisees bring a woman to him who they say they caught in the act of adultery. There is no mention of the man she was with or that he would have equally been liable to death by stoning. This seems like a setup in which to trap Jesus. I find it hard to imagine the circumstance of how a group of Pharisees come upon this act, grab the woman, and then head to the temple to bring her before Jesus. Even Admiral Ackbar would realize this is a trap.
John Bergsma, in his commentary[2], writes that there is some possibility that this woman is just a paid actor to entrap Jesus, we just don’t know. The Pharisees lay out the charge and ask Jesus’ opinion hoping that it would go against the law Moses gave. Pure duplicity with no interest in the truth.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen puts the circumstance well in his book Life of Christ.

“They had invoked the Law of Moses. So would He! Whence did the Law of Moses come? Who wrote it? Whose finger? The Book of Exodus answers: Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Tokens in his hands, inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back they were inscribed. The tablets were the handiwork of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets (Ex 32:15–17).

“They reminded Him of the Law! He in turn reminded them that He had written the Law! The same finger, in a symbolical sense, that was now writing in the tablets of stone of the temple floor, also wrote on the tablets of stone on Sinai! Had they eyes to see the Giver of the law of Moses standing before them? But they were so bent on ensnaring Him in His speech that they ignored the writing and kept on hurling questions; so sure were they that they had trapped Him.” [3]

Meanwhile, Jesus bends down and starts writing with his finger in the dirt. The Pharisees continue to challenge him and he stands and says “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” After this, he actually bends down once more and continues to write in the dirt.

John Bergsma has some insightful commentary on the situation and the question Jesus asks them:[4]

By saying this, Jesus puts the responsibility for the woman’s execution squarely on the shoulders of the scribes and Pharisees. They certainly do think that they themselves are without sin, but they do not dare take up a stone to throw at the woman because they would immediately be arrested by the Roman soldiers who were keeping an eye on the Temple courts from the massive, adjacent Antonian fortress. The whole proceedings were probably being watched by soldiers from the parapets of this fortress, which Rome had built precisely for keeping peace in this most volatile area of Jerusalem.

So now Jesus has turned the trap on the Pharisees. If they throw stones, they will be arrested by the Romans. If they don’t throw stones, they will appear to be admitting that they have sin. In the end, they choose the shame of being outwitted in public rather than arrest, torture, and incarceration by the Roman authorities. The oldest and wisest are the first to figure out that Jesus has outwitted them; the youngest and most foolish keep hanging around, hoping there is some way out of their “checkmate.” Do not think for a moment that their decision not to throw stones was actually some kind of sincere conviction in their hearts that they truly were sinners in need of forgiveness! Certainly not! They just didn’t want to be arrested.

I had always assumed that Jesus’ question shamed them and they walked away knowing they were hypocrites. I now see his point as being more likely.

Now as to Jesus writing in the dirt, we do have to wonder why is this detail here? What was he writing? There are several common theories regarding this.

  • Jesus gives “a sign of indifference, showing that he refuses to be drawn into this trap.” [5]
  • That he is writing down the sins of the Pharisees.
  • Or that this is an allusion to scripture.

As the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture points out regarding the third theory.

…Jesus’ gesture is a subtle allusion to Jer 17:13, which literally reads, “O Hope of Israel, O †YHWH, all who abandon you will be put to shame, those who turn away will be written in the earth because they have abandoned the Fountain of Living Waters.” By writing on the ground, Jesus would be reminding the woman’s accusers that they too are sinners subject to God’s judgment, sinners who refuse Jesus’ invitation to come in faith to him, the “Fountain of Living Waters” (Jer 17:13; John 7:37).

I find this interesting in that towards the end of the previous chapter in the Gospel of John, Jesus references the “Fountain of Living Waters” after he says “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. This interpretation goes back to Saints Augustine and Ambrose and is the one most well-attested to today.

After the Pharisees leave there are no longer any witnesses left to accuse her. Jesus says “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Again we see the same mercy Jesus shows us when we go to confession that forgiveness is contingent on contriteness and a genuine desire to avoid the specific sin.

Closing off with John Bergsma:[6]

The Lord is ever forgiving. He does not condemn but encourages us to “go and from now on do not sin any more.” Yet he does not lie to us by telling us we can attain eternal life while indulging in sin. The Lord never tells us an untruth. Since salvation is by definition an “exodus” or freedom from sin, we cannot be saved while we are still sinning. Sin is what we are saved from. In the words of Pope Francis, “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”[7]

Sources

  1. St. John’s Gospel: A Bible Study Guide and Commentary for Individuals and Groups. Steve Ray, 2002  ↩
  2. bergsma  ↩
  3. Fulton Sheen, Life of Christ (New York: Image Books/ Doubleday, 1990), 184–85.  ↩
  4. bergsma  ↩
  5. Francis Martin, William M. Wright IV  ↩
  6. bergsma  ↩
  7. Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World Evangelii Gaudium (November 24, 2013), §I.3.  ↩
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 405

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 18 March 2022 to 29 March 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Letters

Messages

Prayers

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Let us ask the Lord of life to deliver us from war. Everything is lost with war. There is no victory in a war. May the Lord send His Spirit to make us understand that war is a defeat of humanity. #PrayTogether #Peace” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе также о том, дабы правители осознали, что покупка и производство оружия не является решением проблемы. Решение заключается в совместных трудах во имя #мира. #Мир” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом також і за те, щоби правителі зрозуміли, що вирішенням проблем не є закупівля та виготовлення зброї. Вирішенням є разом трудитися на користь #миру.” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for government leaders, that they might understand that buying and making weapons is not the solution to the problem. The solution is to work together for #peace.” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “Попросим у Господа жизни избавить нас от войны. С войной всё потеряно, в войне не бывает победы. Да ниспошлёт Господь Своего Духа и да поможет нам понять, что война – это поражение человечества. #МолимсяВместе #Мир” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “The elderly enter the promised land, which God desires for every generation, when they offer to the young the beautiful initiation of their witness. Then, guided by the Lord Jesus, the old and the young together enter into His Kingdom of life and love. #BlessingOfTime” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “Просімо у Господа життя, щоби визволив нас від війни. З війною все втрачається; у війні немає перемоги. Нехай же Господь пошле Свого Духа і дасть нам зрозуміти, що війна – це поразка людства. #МолімосяРазом #Мир” @Pontifex, 23 March 2022
  • “Let us prepare ourselves to live a day of prayer on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, asking the Mother of God to lift up the hearts of those who are afflicted by the cruelty of war. May the Act of Consecration to her Immaculate Heart bring #peace to the world.” @Pontifex, 24 March 2022
  • “Подготовимся ко дню молитвы в торжество Благовещения, испрашивая у Божьей Матери сердечного утешения для всех, кто сокрушен жестокостью войны. Акт посвящения Её Непорочному Сердцу да принесёт #мир всему миру.” @Pontifex, 24 March 2022
  • “Приготуймося пережити день молитви в урочистість Благовіщення, просячи, щоби Божа Мати підбадьорила серця пригнічених жорстокістю війни. Нехай же акт посвячення Її Непорочному Серцю принесе світові #мир.” @Pontifex, 24 March 2022
  • “We consecrate ourselves to the #ImmaculateHeart of Mary in order to be fully at the disposal of God’s plans. May she now take our own journey into her hands: may she guide us through the steep and arduous paths of fraternity and dialogue, along the way of #peace.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Если мы хотим, чтобы мир изменился, сначала должны измениться наши сердца. Воззрим на Непорочное Сердце Марии: с ней Господь смог начать новую историю спасения и мира. Бог изменил историю, постучавшись в сердце Марии. #НепорочноеСердце” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “The Consecration to the #ImmaculateHeart of Mary is an act of complete trust as children who, amid tribulation turn to their Mother, entrusting themselves to her, placing in that pure and undefiled Heart all that we have and are, so that she may protect us and watch over us.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Посвячення #НепорочномуСерцюМарії є жестом повного ввірення дітей, що в скорботі прибігають до Матері, віддаючи Їй себе самих. Це означає віддати тому чистому Серцю все, що маємо і чим ми є, щоб саме Вона нас захищала й оберігала.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Посвящение Непорочному Сердцу Марии – это жест всецелого доверия детей, которые прибегают к Матери, вверяя ей самих себя. Это означает поместить в её пречистое сердце всё, что мы имеем, и всё, чем мы являемся, дабы она защищала нас и хранила. #НепорочноеСердце” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “If we want the world to change, then our hearts must change first. Let us look to the #ImmaculateHeart of Mary. God was able to begin a new story of salvation and peace with her. God changed history by knocking at the door of Mary’s Heart.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Якщо ми хочемо, щоб світ змінився, спочатку повинно змінитися наше серце. Погляньмо на #НепорочнеСерцеМарії: через Неї Бог зміг розпочати нову історію спасіння та миру. Бог змінив історію, постукавши в Серце Марії.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Мы посвящаем себя Непорочному Сердцу Марии, чтобы полностью отдать себя в распоряжение Божьих планов. Пусть Матерь Божья возьмёт в свои руки наше паломничество: да поведёт его непростыми и утомительными тропинками братства и диалога в направлении мира. #НепорочноеСердце #мир” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “#PrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace Xi Prayer Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом #Україна #Мир N Vatican Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе #Украина #Мир Vatican Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Ми присвячуємо себе #НепорочномуСерцюМарії, щоб повністю віддати себе Божим задумам. Нехай же Пресвята Богородиця сьогодні візьме нас за руку на нашому шляху: нехай провадить нас на стрімких та виснажливих стежках братерства та діалогу, на шляху #миру.” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Одно лишь Божье прощение в силах истребить зло, погасить обиду, возвратить мир в сердце. Вернемся же к Богу, к Его прощению! D Event” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Марии, Матери Искупителя, вверяем вопль о мире народов, угнетенных войной и насилием, дабы мужество диалога и примирения возобладало над искушениями мести, высокомерия, коррупции. #БлаговещениеГосподне” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Only God’s forgiveness eliminates evil, disarms resentment, restores peace to our hearts. Let us return to God and to his forgiveness! https://t.co/yIKVVMLJpd Event” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Приглашаю всех верных присоединиться ко мне сегодня в 17.00 (по римскому времени) во время совершения Акта посвящения всего человечества, в особенности России и Украины, Непорочному Сердцу Марии. #МолимсяВместе ZEW YouTube Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Запрошую всіх вірних єднатися зі мною сьогодні о 17:00 римського часу в урочистому Акті посвячення людства, й особливо, Росії та України, Непорочному Серцю Марії. #МолімосяРазом k YouTube Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “I invite all the faithful to join me to day at 5:00pm (Rome time) to perform a solemn Act of Consecration of humanity, especially of Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. #PrayTogether py https://t.co/COztLtbKge YouTube Image” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Марії, Матері Відкупителя, ввіряємо благання про мир, яке підносять народи, гноблені війною і насильством, аби мужність діалогу та примирення перевищили спокуси помсти, деспотизму й корупції. #Благовіщення” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “To Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, we entrust our cry for peace for the people who are oppressed by war and violence so that the courage of dialogue and reconciliation might prevail over the temptation to revenge, tyranny and corruption. #AnnunciationOfTheLord” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “Боже прощення – це єдине, що викреслює зло, знешкоджує образу, повертає мир у серце. Повернімося до Бога, до Його прощення! D Event” @Pontifex, 25 March 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе #Мир #НепорочноеСердце PYrhbpVh Video” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом #Мир #НепорочномуСерцюМарії g Video” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “#PrayTogether #Peace #ImmaculateHeart Lm Video” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе #Украина #Мир https://t.co/eAzfqSTyNM Image” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом #Україна #Мир Q Image” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “#PrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace q Image” @Pontifex, 26 March 2022
  • “Кожен день війни погіршує ситуацію для всіх. Тому знову звертаються із закликом: досить, потрібно зупинитися, нехай змовкне зброя, нехай ведуться серйозні переговори задля миру!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Ми не повинні звикати до війни! Ми повинні, натомість, перетворити сьогоднішнє обурення на завтрашнє зобов’язання. Бо якщо з цієї історії ми вийдемо такими самими, якими були перед тим, то всі, певним чином, будемо винними.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Перед обличчям небезпеки самознищення, людство повинно усвідомити, що настав час скасувати війну, стерти її з людської історії, перш ніж вона викреслить з історії людину. Кожен політичний лідер замислитися і візьме на себе зобов’язання щодо цього!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “We need to reject war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers and sisters without even having seen them, where the powerful decide and the poor die.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Every war worsens everyone’s situation. Therefore, I renew my appeal: Enough. Stop it. Silence the weapons. Move seriously toward peace!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “We should not accustom ourselves to war. Instead, we need to convert today’s anger into a commitment for tomorrow, because if, after what is happening, we remain like we were before, we will all be guilty in some way.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Before the danger of self-destruction, may humanity understand that the moment has come to abolish war, to erase it from human history before it erases human history. May every political leader reflect and dedicate themselves to this!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Війна нищить не лише теперішнє, але й майбутнє. Від початку агресії проти України кожна друга дитина стала біженцем. Це нищить майбутнє, завдає болючі травми найменшим і невинним. В цьому – звірство війни, що є варварською і святотатською дією!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “War doesn’t devastate only the present but the future too. From the start of the aggression in Ukraine 1 of every 2 children has been displaced. This destroys the future, traumatizing the smallest and most innocent. This is the bestiality of war, a barbarous and sacrilegious act!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Потрібно відкинути війну, яка є місцем смерті, де батьки і матері хоронять своїх дітей, де люди вбивають братів, навіть не бачивши їх, де могутні приймають рішення, а вмирають убогі.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Перед лицом опасности самоуничтожения человечество обязано понять, что пришёл момент упразднить войну, стереть её из истории человечества, пока она не стёрла человека из истории. Я прошу каждого политического лидера задуматься над этим и взять на себя обязательства.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Война не может быть чем-то неизбежным: к ней нельзя привыкать. Напротив, мы должны превратить сегодняшнее возмущение в старание о завтрашнем дне. Ибо если мы выйдем из этой ситуации такими же как прежде, то вина каким-то образом ляжет на каждого.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Я читал, что с начала агрессии каждый второй украинский ребёнок покинул страну как беженец. Это означает разрушать будущее, наносить драматические травмы самым маленьким и невинным среди нас. Таков зверский облик войны, варварского и кощунственного злодеяния!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Необходимо отвергнуть войну – место смерти, где отцы и матери хоронят детей; где люди убивают своих братьев, даже не видя их; где сильные мира сего принимают решения, а бедные умирают.” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Two years ago in this piazza, we lifted up our plea for the end of the pandemic. Today, we have done so for an end to the war in #Ukraine. #PrayTogether #Peace https://t.co/UiBrOuIagl YouTube” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Два роки тому з цієї площі ми підносили благання про завершення пандемії. Сьогодні ми це зробити за завершення війни в #Україні. #МолімосяРазом #Мир
    a YouTube” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “#МолимсяВместе #Украина #Мир l YouTube” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Those who have make mistakes often feel reproached in their own hearts. Distance, indifference and harsh words do not help. Therefore, like the Father, it is necessary to offer them a warm welcome that encourages them to go ahead. #GospelOfTheDay (Lk 15:11–32)” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “каждый день войны ухудшает ситуацию для всех. Поэтому я вновь обращаюсь с призывом: хватит, остановитесь, да умолкнет оружие, займитесь всерьёз делом мира!” @Pontifex, 27 March 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether untiringly to the Queen of Peace, to whom we consecrated humanity, in particular Russia and Ukraine, with such a large and intense participation for which I thank all of you.” @Pontifex, 28 March 2022
  • “Будем молиться снова, не уставая, Царице Мира, которой мы посвятили человечество, особенно Россию и Украину, с широким и интенсивным участием, за которое я благодарю всех вас. #Помолимсяместе” @Pontifex, 28 March 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом, не втомлюючись, до Цариці миру, Якій ми посвятили людство, а зокрема Росію та Україну, за великої та активної участі вірних, за що дякую вам усім.” @Pontifex, 28 March 2022
  • “#Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.” @Pontifex, 29 March 2022

Papal Instagram

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Newer Posts
Older Posts