My heart delights in wisdom.
Sirach 51:13-18, 20-22
When I was young and innocent,
I sought wisdom.
She came to me in her beauty,
and until the end I will cultivate her.
As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes,
the hearts joy,
my feet kept to the level path
because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.
In the short time I paid heed,
I met with great instruction.
Since in this way I have profited,
I will give my teacher grateful praise.
I became resolutely devoted to her
the good I persistently strove for.
For her I purified my hands;
in cleanness I attained to her.
At first acquaintance with her, I gained understanding
such that I will never forsake her.
My whole being was stirred as I learned about her;
therefore I have made her my prize possession.
The LORD has granted me my lips as a reward,
and my tongue will declare his praises.
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Commentary on Sir 51:13-18, 20-22
This passage from the epilogue of Sirach is an acrostic poem (each line beginning with the next successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet) urging young men to search for the wisdom of God. Sirach is similar in this sense to the Book of Proverbs which also ends in an acrostic poem (Ch. 31) praising the good wife. In these verses the song recounts how great was the value of wisdom when it was found. It causes those who find it to wish even purer love for God. The Wisdom of God is a treasure, priceless and something to be praised forever.
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (See John 6:63c) Your words. Lord, are spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words. Lord, are spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The statutes of the LORD are true,
all of them just;
more desirable than gold,
than a hoard of purest gold,
sweeter also than honey
or drippings from the comb.
R. Your words. Lord, are spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth meet with your favor,
keep the thoughts of my heart before you,
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words. Lord, are spirit and life.
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Commentary on Ps 19:8-9,10-11,15
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In this passage we give praise to God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtue of obedience and steadfastness to the Law and its precepts. The passage also reflects the idea that following God’s statutes leads to peace and prosperity.
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GOSPEL
A The mother of Jesus treasured all of these things in her heart.
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.
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Commentary on Lk 2:41-52
In this account Jesus is discovered after three days (possibly symbolic of the three days in the tomb). This narrative from St. Luke tells the only story from the gospels of Jesus growing up as a boy, part of the family with Mary and Joseph. (There are numerous stories found in the apocryphal gospels that attribute miraculous abilities and acts to the young Jesus but these are considered to be of a tradition similar to the boyhood stories of other ancient heroes such as Cyrus and Alexander by those affirming the canon of the Bible). In this account Jesus is discovered at the temple, engaged in discourse with “teachers,” implying he was in the outer halls of the temple. This would have been completely consistent with Jewish Law. The implication, based on Joseph's and Mary’s reaction to Jesus' actions in the temple, is that they do not completely understand their son’s mission at this point in his life.
We note that he is listening and answering questions and is not presuming upon his station to brag or put himself forward. When Mary and Joseph found him, we are told that Jesus asked “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” This statement connotes a familiarity with God the Father, for the first time identifying that relationship over the role fulfilled by St. Joseph, his foster father.
Above all, the Blessed Virgin Mary treasures the gift of her son, knowing the greatness in him and beginning to understand the sorrow that had been predicted.
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B Extending his hands toward the disciples, he said:
Here are my mother and my brothers.
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you."
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother."
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Commentary on Mt 12:46-50
In this selection from St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus emphasizes the importance of the family of faith over the biological family. It is likely a parallel to the situation found in Mark 3:21. It is important to note that the Catholic Church holds that Mary bore only one child, Jesus. The reference in this passage to “your brothers” (the word “brethren” is used in most other translations) refers to kinsmen, other relatives of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Similarly, other scriptural references to Jesus’ relatives find this same interpretation issue. The Aramaic term for brother/sister referred to relationships within the extended family (see notes on Mark 3:31ff). In apocryphal literature, specifically the History of Joseph the Carpenter, it is indicated that Mary was Joseph’s second wife, his first having died. From this union, the document explains, Joseph had four sons and two daughters, Judas, Justus, James, and Simon. The names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia. This is one more possibility driving the language of the Gospel.
In Galatians 1:19 we find: “But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord.” “James the brother of the Lord: not one of the Twelve, but a brother of Jesus (see note on Mark 6:3). He played an important role in the Jerusalem church (see note on Galatians 2:9), the leadership of which he took over from Peter (Acts 12:17). Paul may have regarded James as an apostle.”[1]
To further support this point, logic tells us that if Mary had other biological children, Jesus would not have entrusted her to St. John as he hung upon the cross. (John 19:26-27)
Jesus’ initial indication that the disciples are his family is clarified by the statement: “whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." Through his acceptance of the will of God, Jesus provides a natural continuation of our adoptive status as his brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29 ; 1 John 3:1).
CCC: Mt 12:49 764, 2233
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C Or Appendix III, 19
Whoever has done the will of God is my brother, my sister, and my mother.
Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers (and your sisters)
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and (my) brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
(For) whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
This passage, while affirming our own adoption as brothers and sisters in Christ, does cause some confusion among those who take scripture at face value without understanding the culture of the time. The first part of this reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is somewhat controversial in that many of the Protestant and Evangelical apologists take the term “and his brothers” to mean his familial or biological brothers. The Church teaches that Mary bore only one child – Jesus. Responding to this scripture, Catholic scripture scholars teach that “in Semitic usage, the terms 'brother,' 'sister' are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf Genesis 14:16; Genesis 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.”[2]
Another possible explanation, although it comes from an apocryphal source from the second or third centuries A.D., is that the Lord’s foster father, St. Joseph, had been previously married (and widowed). According to “The History of Joseph the Carpenter” from this first marriage, “[2.]… he begot for himself sons and daughters, four sons, namely, and two daughters. Now these are their names— Judas, Justus, James, and Simon. The names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia.” These would have been the half-brothers and sisters of the Lord.
Because of this, when Mary comes looking for Jesus in this selection, she is, as would be expected, joined by members of the extended family. Jesus extends the family even further though his adoption of those “seated in the circle” who listen to his word and believe, telling those gathered that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
CCC: Mk 3:31-35 500
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Reflection:
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| "Pietà' Daniele Crespi, c. 1626 |
From her immaculate
conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary received special graces from God the Father
to be predisposed to faith and obedience to God. This is evidenced the first
time Holy Mary appears in Sacred Scripture, at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26 ff.). Her response to God’s invitation demonstrates
the generous deposit of faith given to the very first disciple of the
Lord. She offered her body as a vessel
and, knowing the possible negative reaction of the society in which she lived,
accepted the possibility of a martyr’s fate.
Later, at her meeting with her cousin Elizabeth, Blessed Mary, now carrying the Savior of the World, would demonstrate the humility of the perfect disciple with her profession of faith, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my savior.” (Luke 1:46ff.) From that point onward her whole life was one of service to her God and his Son, Jesus, first as vessel and then as parent. She suckled him and taught this fully human child to accept his own birthright. Even knowing from the beginning the role he was born to take, still she marveled at her son’s spirit as first he taught in the temple (Luke 21:37-38) and later, her son now grown, she felt in her heart it was time for him to assume the great role he was to play in our salvation as she instructed him at the wedding feast at Cana. (John 2:1-5)
Throughout his public ministry, Mary was a member of the Lord’s entourage, following him, his most loyal disciple. She undoubtedly served as a secondary teacher to the Twelve as they faltered from time to time. Her constant faith and mother’s love must have been a beacon to those who witnessed the Lord passing from fame into danger as his popularity grew. She did not flee when, in the garden, one he loved betrayed him. She did not desert him, even as he underwent his passion, the blows he received landing as surely on Mother Mary as they did on our Lord. She was there at Golgotha, at the foot of the cross. And she received him when his body was taken from the cross as she had received him in that manger at Bethlehem all those years before.
A disciple is one who learns from their teacher and follows in the path of the one they reviver. Our Holy Mother Mary shows by her example what that means in a very pragmatic way. May we who follow God’s Only Begotten Son follow her example as well, knowing we can never be as perfect as her son.
Pax
Later, at her meeting with her cousin Elizabeth, Blessed Mary, now carrying the Savior of the World, would demonstrate the humility of the perfect disciple with her profession of faith, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my savior.” (Luke 1:46ff.) From that point onward her whole life was one of service to her God and his Son, Jesus, first as vessel and then as parent. She suckled him and taught this fully human child to accept his own birthright. Even knowing from the beginning the role he was born to take, still she marveled at her son’s spirit as first he taught in the temple (Luke 21:37-38) and later, her son now grown, she felt in her heart it was time for him to assume the great role he was to play in our salvation as she instructed him at the wedding feast at Cana. (John 2:1-5)
Throughout his public ministry, Mary was a member of the Lord’s entourage, following him, his most loyal disciple. She undoubtedly served as a secondary teacher to the Twelve as they faltered from time to time. Her constant faith and mother’s love must have been a beacon to those who witnessed the Lord passing from fame into danger as his popularity grew. She did not flee when, in the garden, one he loved betrayed him. She did not desert him, even as he underwent his passion, the blows he received landing as surely on Mother Mary as they did on our Lord. She was there at Golgotha, at the foot of the cross. And she received him when his body was taken from the cross as she had received him in that manger at Bethlehem all those years before.
A disciple is one who learns from their teacher and follows in the path of the one they reviver. Our Holy Mother Mary shows by her example what that means in a very pragmatic way. May we who follow God’s Only Begotten Son follow her example as well, knowing we can never be as perfect as her son.
Pax
[2] From the reference note on Mark 6; 3 in the NAB
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