First Reading Commentary
In a literal sense, the word “prophet” is used
to communicate to the people of Israel that they need not fear when Moses is no
longer with them because God will continue to supply prophets who will speak
the Almighty’s words to guide them.
Prophetically, the “Prophet” is the Messiah as indicated by Saint Peter
when he said: “When the times of refreshment shall come from the Presence of
the Lord, He may send Him Who has been preached to you, Jesus Christ. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God shall
raise up to you a Prophet from among your brethren as He raised up me; to Him
you shall hearken in all things that He shall speak to you.’ To you first, God, raising up His Son, has
sent Him to bless you that everyone may turn from his wickedness” (Acts 3:20 ,
22, 26).
Saint Stephen, the martyr, reaffirms this (cf. Acts 7:37 ). The
verse’s application to Jesus has been argued by others who see it as no more
than a reference to Joshua, who led the people of Israel Saint Augustine
God says He will put His words into the mouth of
this forthcoming prophet. Jesus said:
“The words that I speak to you I speak not on My own authority. But the Father dwelling in Me, it is He Who
does the works” (John 14:10 ).
In this Reading, God lays on the hearts of those
who will not listen to Him a stern warning.
Returning to Saint Peter, he proclaimed these words: “It shall be that
every soul that will not hearken to that prophet shall be destroyed from among
the people” (Acts 3:23 ).
Fire and brimstone aside, Jesus is the Way, the
Truth and the Life (cf. John 14:6). The Catechism of the Catholic Church very succinctly
separates Jesus from the pack of the other prophets with these words: “Christ’s
whole earthly life - His words and deeds, His silences and sufferings, indeed His
manner of being and speaking - is Revelation of the Father” (CCC 516).
Second Reading Commentary
Marriage is a sacrament meaning that it is ordained
by Christ; therefore, Paul would never deem it to be hopelessly sentenced to
the affairs of the world. It’s true that
in married life there are many concerns especially when a couple’s love for
each other produces a family. But the
message here to married persons is clear: Don’t let the concerns of married
life and raising children be a roadblock in your relationship with the
Lord. Rather, allow Christ to be the
Lord of those concerns. Make Him the
Center of your marriage and family life.
For the unmarried person, being concerned solely
for “the things of the Lord” would be a great grace. But Paul’s “be aware” theme intends to warn
those who are single that they are just as susceptible to worldly distractions
as anyone else. Regardless of one’s
state in life, holy reminders are great aids to thwarting deviation and
nurturing a heightened awareness of the presence of our Lord. Some examples of holy reminders would be a
Crucifix on the wall or desk, carrying a pocket size New Testament or a Rosary,
having a bottle of holy water nearby, wearing a medal that has the image of our
Lord, or our Lady, or a Saint, and frequent pauses throughout the day to
acknowledge Jesus in our lives. If your
place of employment is near a Catholic Church, it’s always beneficial to pay a
visit to the Blessed Sacrament during your lunch break. These holy reminders can give us, as the
Latin Vulgate translates, “power to attend upon the Lord without
impediment.”
Gospel Commentary
It would seem that Satan takes one of two
approaches in his attempted onslaught of God’s people. It would be ideal for him if humanity didn’t
believe in his existence. And in this
day of New Age practices, that is a common trap many have fallen into. For those of us who believe differently, however,
the master of deceit opts for plan B.
Plan B is his attempt to get us to believe that he is bigger and more
powerful than he really is.
Notice the “key” words in the statements made to
Jesus: “What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?” The “us” in these two statements surely
suggests more than one, if not many, and therefore, difficult to defeat. The trouble with this is that this Gospel
story reveals beforehand “there was a man with an unclean spirit.” And “he,” meaning the unclean spirit, “cried
out.” Yes, “an unclean spirit” and “he” -
there’s only one; there aren’t many as he would want Jesus to believe. That is not to say that demons don’t exist,
but in this Gospel story Satan or a demon appears to be working alone.
The late comedian Flip Wilson and his portrayal
of the character “Geraldine” helped popularize the phrase: “The devil made me
do it.” Some theologies blame Satan for
everything that goes wrong. Giving Satan
too much credit is a formula for being brainwashed into believing that he can
perpetually pull our strings. Many of
our trials come from the choices we make.
God gave us the gift of free will and therefore God won’t force us to do
anything.
Out of love for us, Jesus gave us His teachings
and has revealed to us everything He intended to reveal. The choice to abide in Him, however, is
completely ours. On the flip side, sin
begins with temptation; and once again the choice is ours whether or not to
succumb to it. Surrendering to temptation
starts the ball rolling that leads to another temptation, and another, and
another; and today we live in a world whereby the end result of successful
temptations have become the norm for standard living and have nearly
desensitized us to immorality: Disagreements or misunderstandings lead to
dissolved friendships; on government levels they lead to wars. Risqué
suggestions lead to promiscuity, broken marriages, adultery, premarital sex, unwanted
pregnancies and finally abortion. In the
cases of war and abortion, innocent lives are destroyed because of the
decisions of a few. This is the domino
effect of succumbing to temptation.
There are countless examples of how one seemingly harmless temptation can
lead to disaster. Concupiscence in
itself is not sinful, but if not pushed aside quickly could and most likely
will create a doorway for sin to enter.
Satan is not the source of all that is wrong in
life but for those of us who believe in his existence, he greatly desires to
have us also believe that he indeed is the source of all sin and therefore
irresistible. Of course Jesus is not
weak and isn’t fooled and simply says, “Quiet!”
A habitual succumbing to temptation without reconciling to God could
become an invitation for the evil one to enter into one’s life; and then
visiting the confessional will become increasingly more difficult while one’s
lifestyle will gradually keep sinking further into immorality.
Through Him, with Him and in Him is the only way
to be conformed to Christ’s will and deal with temptation from the vantage
point of the Sanctuary of His Sacred Heart.
A serious, highest priority relationship with our Lord is the only way
because anything less or any sort of faith indifference can become a gigantic
arena for temptation to play and have its way.
The holiest men and women also are men and women who faced mountainous
temptations. God’s will is for us to
have a most intimate relationship with Him but that also has to be our desire
and downright conviction; and for those men and women in history who have
conformed to the will of God, we call them saints. Temptation strikes regardless of anyone’s
level of sanctity, but remaining close to the Bosom of Jesus makes us a channel
of His strength and consequently gives us the resolve to say, “Quiet!” when
evil knocks at the door of our hearts.
From the early Church, Diadochus of Photike
shares these words of wisdom: “We must by all possible means, and especially
through peace of soul, offer a resting place for the Holy Spirit, in order to
have the Lamp of knowledge always shining in us; for if it shines endlessly in
the innermost recesses of the soul, not only will these harsh and somber
insinuations of demons be shown up, but still more, they will be considerably
weakened, confused by this holy and glorious Light.”
