A A great sign appeared in the sky.
A great sign appeared in the sky,
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child
and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon,
with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.
Then I, John, heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them."
Then the dragon became angry with the woman
and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring,
those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to
Jesus.
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This selection from the Book of Revelation is of that same eschatological prophetic genre as that found in Daniel 7:9ff. Here, St. John envisions the battle for heaven, joined by the forces of God led by St. Michael. The battle is considered to be the heart of St. John's Revelation.
The "dragon" represents the devil's forces, the "beast" (the Roman Empire) to pursue the woman (the Blessed Virgin) and her son (the Messiah), attempting to destroy them and the Church ("... those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus").
The vision makes clear that those who were thought to be from God but who opposed the “anointed one,” Christ, were influenced by Satan. The vision also shows the devil’s defeat by the blood of the Lamb; God’s victory is assured and the truth will prevail.
CCC: Rv 12 1138; Rv 12:9 391, 2852; Rv 12:11 2853; Rv 12:17 501, 757, 2853
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B I will put enmity between you and the woman.
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
"Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?"
The woman answered the serpent:
"We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
But the serpent said to the woman:
"You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil."
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So the woman took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.'
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
her offspring will strike at your head,
while you strike at their heel."
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The selection begins as the Book of Genesis provides the account of the story of “The Fall.” We hear how man fell from grace through Original Sin. The account is given of the temptation by the serpent. It first distorts the truth to tempt the woman, telling her that there would be no punishment. It then tells her that she would become like God. The use of the serpent to represent fallen human nature is probably a reference to the serpent used in pagan fertility rituals at the time. The serpent is one of the “beasts of the field” named by man and is not intrinsically evil.
As a consequence of its evil designs, God (vv. 13-15) curses the serpent to be always the enemy of mankind. Always man and serpent (the evil one) will be in contention and without peace.
CCC: Gn 3 390, 2795; Gn 3:1-5 391; Gn 3:1-11 397; Gn 3:3 1008; Gn 3:5 392, 398, 399, 1850; Gn 3:6 2541, 2847; Gn 3:13 1736, 2568; Gn 3:11-13 400; Gn 3:14-19 2427; Gn 3:15 70, 410, 489; Gn 3:16-19 1607; Gn 3:16 376, 400, 1609; Gn 3:16b 1607
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (2d) Rejoice and call on the name of the Lord.
A new hymn I will sing to my God.
O LORD, great are you and glorious,
wonderful in power and unsurpassable.
R. Rejoice and call on the name of the Lord.
Let your every creature serve you;
for you spoke, and they were made,
you sent forth your spirit, and they were created;
no one can resist your word.
R. Rejoice and call on the name of the Lord.
The mountains to their bases, and the seas, are shaken;
the rocks, like wax, melt before your glance.
But to those who fear you,
you are very merciful.
R. Rejoice and call on the name of the Lord.
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Commentary on Judith 16:13,14,15
This passage is the "Canticle of Judith" or "new song" in the style of Psalms 96 and 98. The Lord is praised by all creation, the work of God's hands. The power and majesty of God is exalted as is his infinite mercy.
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GOSPEL
This was the first of Jesus' signs.
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there. ,
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,
"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
"Fill the jars with water."
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
(although the servers who had drawn the water knew),
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
"Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.
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The author gives us the story of Jesus' first revelatory action following his baptism by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan. Jesus and his disciples are invited to a wedding and the wine runs out. Jesus’ mother lets her son know that the time has come for his revelation, even though Jesus does not think so. The Greek in the exchange between Jesus and his mother is ambiguous; some would interpret it, "‘What concern is that of mine or yours?’, but it is more probably to be understood as a Hebrew idiom, ‘What have I to do with you?’, that is, ‘Leave me alone, do not interfere with me’, as in Matthew 8.29, and in many passages of the Old Testament." [1]
Significantly the stone water jars were there for the ceremonial cleansing, the very Hebrew custom John the Baptist used in his call to repentance. The Hebrew custom was symbolic (as was St. John's invitation to be baptized in the Jordan); the Lord would later make baptism efficacious as sins were forgiven. We also note the Hebrew numerology applied to this scene. The number six represents one less than the perfect number seven. It was not yet Jesus’ time. The water became wine, not his blood which was yet to be poured out for the salvation of mankind.
The final statement in this story: “his disciples began to believe in him,” is the only time in the Gospel of St. John where there was any doubt about the Lord’s true identity on their part.
Significantly the stone water jars were there for the ceremonial cleansing, the very Hebrew custom John the Baptist used in his call to repentance. The Hebrew custom was symbolic (as was St. John's invitation to be baptized in the Jordan); the Lord would later make baptism efficacious as sins were forgiven. We also note the Hebrew numerology applied to this scene. The number six represents one less than the perfect number seven. It was not yet Jesus’ time. The water became wine, not his blood which was yet to be poured out for the salvation of mankind.
The final statement in this story: “his disciples began to believe in him,” is the only time in the Gospel of St. John where there was any doubt about the Lord’s true identity on their part.
Reflection:
Ever since our first parents exercised their God-given free will and disobeyed their Heavenly Father, falling from grace and allowing sin to enter the world, God has been trying to show us the way back to life. It is God’s great love for us that has motivated these actions.
Just as God saw that his creation was good, he also saw the decisions being made by his favorite creation were bad for them. A parent must teach their children, and our Heavenly Father set out to teach his. He sent people Moses and the prophets, holy men and women, to give his chosen people direction, to show them the way to peace. But they refused to see the love the Father had for them. All they saw was the consequences of their own decisions and determined that because bad things happened, it must be God punishing them. (That’s the God we frequently see described in the Old Testament.)
After he had tried and tried to bring them home to paradise with earthly guides, he sacrificed himself, sending his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to demonstrate, not only how much love the Father had for them, but to show them, by example, how to attain the peace and happiness we all so desperately seek.
We see this even as we look at the Lord’s first public miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. And who is it that encourages her Son to take up his task of demonstrating God’s love? Our Holy Mother, Mary. She shares in our Lord’s mission of bringing God’s children to understand how much God loves each of us. It is she who, while pointing us at her Son, helps us to realize the treasure laid before us.
We praise and love her for her selfless task, encouraging us to see how God’s love is revealed in all of his creation. We, her children thank her for this help and aid which she too provides through her words and actions.
Pax
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| The Immaculate Conception by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767–1769 |
Just as God saw that his creation was good, he also saw the decisions being made by his favorite creation were bad for them. A parent must teach their children, and our Heavenly Father set out to teach his. He sent people Moses and the prophets, holy men and women, to give his chosen people direction, to show them the way to peace. But they refused to see the love the Father had for them. All they saw was the consequences of their own decisions and determined that because bad things happened, it must be God punishing them. (That’s the God we frequently see described in the Old Testament.)
After he had tried and tried to bring them home to paradise with earthly guides, he sacrificed himself, sending his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to demonstrate, not only how much love the Father had for them, but to show them, by example, how to attain the peace and happiness we all so desperately seek.
We see this even as we look at the Lord’s first public miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. And who is it that encourages her Son to take up his task of demonstrating God’s love? Our Holy Mother, Mary. She shares in our Lord’s mission of bringing God’s children to understand how much God loves each of us. It is she who, while pointing us at her Son, helps us to realize the treasure laid before us.
We praise and love her for her selfless task, encouraging us to see how God’s love is revealed in all of his creation. We, her children thank her for this help and aid which she too provides through her words and actions.
Pax
[1] Knox Bible footnote on Jn 2:4.
