First Reading Commentary
The purpose of this missionary journey by Paul
and Barnabas was to oversee the organization of new churches and to add to the
numbers of those adhering to the Christian faith.
“It is necessary for us to undergo many
hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Origen, one of the early Church writers, shares these words: “God does
not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. There is a certain usefulness to
temptation. No one but God knows what
our soul has received from Him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us
to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are
obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church adds: “The
Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth
of the inner man. We must discern
between being tempted, and consenting to temptation. Discernment unmasks the lie of temptation,
whose object appears to be good, a delight to the eyes and desirable, when in
reality its fruit is death” (CCC 2847).
Truthfully, most of us would rather get
through this life without any temptations or hardships. This kind of philosophy, however, cannot be
embraced without first considering this warning from Denys the Carthusian: “Woe
to you, lovers of this world, who wish to pass your lives without
tribulation. Enemies of the Cross! Is the disciple above his Master? Did it not become Christ first to suffer, and
thus to enter into His glory? Shall we
pretend to enter by any other means?”
A new heaven and a new earth is the definitive realization of God's plan to bring under a single Head, all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth (cf.
The holy city or new Jerusalem is
understood as the citizens of heaven: the angels and saints. This is the Church triumphant.
“Behold, God's
dwelling is with the human race.” The
Latin Vulgate is translated as: “Behold, the tabernacle of God with men.” It expresses that we, the chosen sons and
daughters of God, will dwell in His tabernacle forever and ever; and in this
perfect existence sorrow will no longer be a part of our makeup. The Catechism refers to this moment as God's
victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause His Bride to come
down from heaven (cf. CCC 677).
At this moment all is accomplished and all is made new. Until we have arrived at that place, however,
where “there shall be no more death and mourning, wailing or pain”
consideration should be given to the human tabernacle – the indwelling of
Christ. As we expect to walk into our
churches and see a Tabernacle that is beautiful, those same expectations should
be true of the human tabernacle. Christ
deserves to dwell in a heart and soul that attempts to remain as spotless as
possible, turning to our spotless Blessed Mother as our model and intercessor.
Gospel Commentary
All this glorifying sounds confusing! It is much easier to grasp if you keep in
mind that the Father is God and the Son is God, therefore the Father and the
Son are One. Not even that is completely
understood especially when you add the Holy Spirit to the mix. Jesus said: “Now is the Son of Man glorified,
and God is glorified in Him.” Christ is
referring to the miracle of His death and Resurrection. Jesus is glorified as Man because He was able
to rise from death which also glorifies God because rising from the dead is
impossible without God. Christ promises
resurrection for us but this requires two beings: It requires us, that is, the
human person who is to be resurrected and it requires God, Who does the
resurrecting. With Christ’s Resurrection,
only One Being was required as He is both God and Man.
Since we’re in the Easter Season, it’s best
to forget that this Gospel story occurs before Christ’s death. It’s more beneficial to focus on the
glorification of Christ as God and Man because of these events.
Jesus commands us to love one another. As human beings, when we think about strong
bonds of love we tend to consider the love a husband has for his wife and a
wife for her husband, and the love that parents have for their children. It’s difficult for us to apply that kind of
intense love to acquaintances and perfect strangers; and without God, indeed it
is downright impossible. Let us keep in
mind, though, that if Christ commands it, it is very possible or else He would
never have commanded it.
Faith assures us that our Lord supplies the
graces needed to do that which human logic doesn’t consider possible. Our part in this is to be conformed to the
will of God. Saint Augustine offers an
excellent way of expressing this divine love for one another with these words: “As
Christ the Savior loved us, so charity should be a thirst for the spiritual
salvation of our neighbors, all of whom God wills to be saved.” Just this past week Pope Francis tweeted
these words: “Love is the only light which can constantly illuminate a world
grown dim.” Thus the Holy Father
presents to us the reality…and the solution.
