Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Monday, March 06, 2006
Thy Kingdom Come ...
(commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs)
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030706.shtml
Reflection:
The Gospel of John begins with these words; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." When I read the reading from Isaiah this morning those words from John came bolting into my head.
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Yes, indeed, God sent his Word to the world and it transformed the world before it returned. "Now is the time of fulfillment;" is what Jesus said in Mark's Gospel on Sunday. Now today we see one of the predictions he came to fulfill.
When we follow the Word to the Gospel of Mathew we find one of the means by which he did God's will through us. He taught us to pray and the Gospel today that gives us the Lord's Prayer is a direct response from the Lord to the disciple's request.
I really good family or individual exercise during this Lenten season would be to take each strophe of the Lord's prayer and ask what it means and, since we are asking God for something; how will we know when he answers? And God always answers. Pax
If you wish to comment and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Is 55:10-11
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
10 For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats,
11 So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
10-11. The Word comes from God, but it can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and spoken with human accents. Dt-Is explains world history, particularly the sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent presence of the Word (cf. Wis 8:1; 2 Cor 9:10). M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate origin of the Johannine theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster, 1957] 100). We hear its echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come down from heaven and received as bread (Jn 6:32, 35).
Scripture from Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Jerome Biblical Commentary
4 Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
Ps 34. A wisdom Ps, although it is widely classified as a Ps of thanksgiving. It is alphabetical (cf. S. Holm-Nielsen in ST 14 [1960] I-53, on acrostic Pss) and is filled with typical maxims in favor of the just against the wicked (13-22). The testimony in 5-7, which suggests a thanksgiving Ps, is really didactic in character. The reference to I Sm 21 :10-15 in the Ps title as the life setting is unconvincing. Structure: 2-4, hymnic introduction that anticipates the lesson to be announced ("the lowly will hear me..."); 5-11, a brief mention of deliverance (5), which develops into didactic exhortation to trust and to fear the Lord; 12-22, the psalmist appears as a sage, inculcating typical wisdom lessons; 23, the Pe verse (it begins with that consonant) is a didactic device to arrive at a 22-23 line acrostic poem spelling out the root 'Ip (meaning "to teach"; see comment on Ps 25 :22).
5 I sought the LORD, who answered me, delivered me from all my fears.
6 Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush for shame.
7 In my misfortune I called, the LORD heard and saved me from all distress.
5. A succinct description of deliverance (to which 7 is parallel) that serves as a springboard into the wisdom teaching.
16 The LORD has eyes for the just and ears for their cry.
17 The LORD'S face is against evildoers to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18 When the just cry out, the LORD hears and rescues them from all distress.
19 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.
12-22. The psalmist has become a wisdom teacher (in the style of Prv 1:7; 5 :7; etc.) inculcating "fear of the Lord" and offering "life" (explained by prosperous days); for a literal Egyptian parallel to 13, see B. Couroyer, RB 57 ([1950] 174ff.). The rest of the teachings deal with admonitions and statements of retribution. Although the doctrine of retribution follows the optimistic trend of wisdom tradition, there is a recognition that suffering is part of the lot of the just-but Yahweh "watches over." The Pe verse (23) takes up an idea ("guilt") from 22.
Scripture from Mt 6:7-15
Jerome Biblical Commentary
7 3 4 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
3 [7-15] Matthew inserts into his basic traditional material an expansion of the material on prayer that includes the model prayer, the "Our Father." That prayer is found in Luke 11:2-4 in a different context and in a different form.
4 [7] The example of what Christian prayer should be like contrasts it now not with the prayer of the hypocrites but with that of the pagans. Their babbling probably means their reciting a long list of divine names, hoping that one of them will force a response from the deity.
44 (ii) Prayer (6:5-I5). The saying on prayer follows the pattern of the saying on almsgiving. The prayer in public was prayer that was uttered at set times of the day; the devout Jew stopped wherever he was, unless the place was unclean, and recited the proper prayers in a standing position. Moslems also worship in
public at prescribed times, and it is regarded as a sign of great devotion to observe this practice.
Verses 7 to 15 interrupt the pattern and are placed here under a loose topical arrangement. The Lord's Prayer in Lk II :2-4 is given in answer to a request from the disciples for instruction in prayer, and this is no doubt the original context of the prayer in Q. The Lord's Prayer is contrasted in 6 :7-8 not with Jewish prayer but with pagan prayer, which is dismissed as "babbling." There may be an allusion to the long and tedious magical formulas in which meaningless epithets are piled up (C. K. Barrett, NTB 3I-35). The saying is not sympathetic to long prayers, however, of which Judaism of NT times presents numerous examples. The lengthy recital of one's needs is discouraged on the ground that God does not need to be informed of them.
The Lord's Prayer in Lk has a shorter invocation and six petitions against Mt's seven, omitting the third petition in Mt.
9 5 6 "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, 7 your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
5 [9-13] Matthew's form of the "Our Father" follows the liturgical tradition of his church. Luke's less developed form also represents the liturgical tradition known to him, but it is probably closer than Matthew's to the original words of Jesus.
6 [9] Our Father in heaven: this invocation is found in many rabbinic prayers of the post-New Testament period. Hallowed be your name: though the "hallowing" of the divine name could be understood as reverence done to God by human praise and by obedience to his will, this is more probably a petition that God hallow his own name, i.e., that he manifest his glory by an act of power (cf Ezekiel 36:23), in this case, by the establishment of his kingdom in its fullness.
7 [10] Your kingdom come: this petition sets the tone of the prayer, and inclines the balance toward divine rather than human action in the petitions that immediately precede and follow it. Your will be done, on earth as in heaven: a petition that the divine purpose to establish the kingdom, a purpose present now in heaven, be executed on earth.
9. Father in heaven: A common phrase of Mt (5:45; 7:2I; 12:50). The first three petitions are really synonymous; they express the desire for the eschatological realization of the reign. hallowed be your name: This occurs when it is recognized as holy and confessed to be holy by men. The coming of the reign is the effective actualization of the will of God "on earth as in heaven," where God's supremacy is not questioned.
11 8 Give us today our daily bread;
8 [11] Give us today our daily bread: the rare Greek word epiousios, here daily, occurs in the New Testament only here and in Luke 11:3. A single occurrence of the word outside of these texts and of literature dependent on them has been claimed, but the claim is highly doubtful. The word may mean daily or "future" (other meanings have also been proposed). The latter would conform better to the eschatological tone of the whole prayer. So understood, the petition would be for a speedy coming of the kingdom (today), which is often portrayed in both the Old Testament and the New under the image of a feast (Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 8:11; 22:1-10; Luke 13:29; 14:15-24).
11. daily: The word epiousios, traditionally translated "daily," is of uncertain meaning; it does not appear in any Gk literature before the Gospels, and the etymology is uncertain. "Daily" is a very probable rendering; the word seems to designate the bread of the coming day, and the petition is thus related to the sayings against excessive solicitude (6:3 I-33). However, K. Stendahl has raised the question whether the petition may not refer to the Messianic banquet (PCB 778); see comment on 8 :11. This also is in harmony with 6:3 I-33;' for the petition is then not directed even to the simple provision of daily basic needs, but to the ultimate realization of the reign in which basic daily needs cease to exist. In this interpretation the fourth petition belongs with the first three.
12 and forgive us our debts, 9 as we forgive our debtors;
9 [12] Forgive us our debts: the word debts is used metaphorically of sins, "debts" owed to God (see Luke 11:4). The request is probably for forgiveness at the final judgment.
12. our debts: The fifth petition is a prayer for the forgiveness of them. Lk has "sins," an easier word for non-Jewish readers. The condition of forgiveness 'is that one has forgiven.
13 and do not subject us to the final test, 10 but deliver us from the evil one.
14 11 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.
10 [13] Jewish apocalyptic writings speak of a period of severe trial before the end of the age, sometimes called the "messianic woes." This petition asks that the disciples be spared that final test.
11 [14-15] These verses reflect a set pattern called "Principles of Holy Law." Human action now will be met by a corresponding action of God at the final judgment.
13. lead us not into temptation: This petition probably does not refer to the daily encounter with evil; Matthew would no doubt agree with Paul that God can give an escape from temptation (I Cor ro:I3). The eschatological tone of the prayer suggests that the temptation meant is the great eschatological test, of which Mt says (24:22) that no one could bear it unless it were abbreviated. deliver us from evil: Similarly, the eschatological catastrophe is very probably "the evil" from which the Christian prays to be delivered in the final petition. The ambiguity of "evil" and "the evil one" previously noted (5:37,39) is found here too.
A doxology, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen" is found in many Gk mss: The presence of a similar doxology in the Didache (8:2), a work written before AD 100, suggests that the doxology is a very early expansion. It was normal in Judaism to conclude prayers with a formal doxology, and the early Christian communities often followed the Jewish practice. The doxology, however, is not found in the. most reliable mss. It has been used in the Protestant churches; it is sheer accident that it did not appear in the Gk mss that Jerome used in translating the Vg.
Verses I4 and I5 are a commentary on the fifth petition, emphasizing the duty of forgiveness as a condition of receiving.. forgiveness. The passage is very loosely parallel to Mk 11:25-26 See 5 :23-26; I8:35.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1968
PERPETUA
Also known as
Vivia Perpetua
Memorial
7 March
Profile
Lay-woman born to a noble pagan family. Convert. Wife and mother. Martyred with her maid, friend, and fellow convert Saint Felicitas. In centuries past, their story was so popular that Saint Augustine of Hippo warned against giving it the weight of Scripture.
Died
mauled by wild beasts and beheaded 7 March 203 at Carthage, North Africa
Patronage
cattle; martyrs
Representation
cow; woman with a sword by her; woman with a wild cow or ox in an amphitheater
Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Perpetua
Additional Information
Google DirectoryGoogle DirectoryChristian Biographies, by James KeiferCatholic OnlineCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, Father Alban ButlerPassion of Saints Perpetua and FelicityCatholic Encyclopedia,For All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinVietnamese Echaristic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
FELICITY
Also known as
Felicitas
Memorial
7 March
Profile
Lay-woman. Convert. Maid, friend, and fellow convert Saint Perpetua. Martyred with her In centuries past, their story was so popular that Saint Augustine of Hippo warned against giving it the weight of Scripture.
Died
mauled by wild beasts and beheaded 7 March 203 at Carthage, North Africa
Patronage
cattle; martyrs
Representation
cow; woman with a sword by her; woman with a wild cow or ox in an amphitheater
Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Felicity
Additional Information
Google Directory: Tertullian's PassionGoogle DirectoryChristian Biographies, by James E KeiferCatholic OnlineCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, Father Alban ButerPassion of Saints Felicity and FelicityCatholic EncyclopediaFor All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinVietnamese Echaristic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
Reading
From the story of the death of the holy martyrs of Carthage
(Cap. L8, 20-21: editt. van Beek, November, 1936, pp. 42, 46-52)
Called and chosen for 'the glory of the Lord
The day of the martyrs' victory dawned. They marched from their cells into the amphitheater, as if into heaven, with cheerful looks and graceful bearing. If they trembled it was for joy and not for fear.
Perpetua was the first to 'be thrown down, 'and she fell prostrate. She got up and, seeing that Felicity was prostrate, went over and reached out her hand to her and lifted her up. Both stood up together. The hostility of thee crowd was appeased, and they were ordered. to the gate called Savavivaria. There Perpetua was welcomed by a catechumen named Rusticus. Rousing herself as if from sleep (so deeply had she been in spiritual ecstasy), she began to look around. To everyone's amazement she said: "When are we going to be led to the beast?" When she heard that it had "already happened she did not at first believe it until she saw the marks of violence on her body and her clothing. Then she beckoned to her brother and the catechumen, and addressed them in these words: "Stand firm in faith, love one another and do not be tempted to do anything wrong because of our sufferings."
Saturus, too, in another gate, encouraged the soldier Pudens, saying: "Here I am, and just as I thought and foretold I have not yet felt any wild beast. Now believe with your whole heart: I will go there and be killed by the leopard "in one bite." And right at the end of the games, when he" was thrown to the leopard he was in fact covered with so much blood from one bite that the people cried out to him: "Washed and saved, washed and saved!" And so, giving evidence of a second baptism, he was clearly saved who had been washed in this manner.
Then Saturus said to the soldier Pudens: "Farewell, and remember your faith as well as me; do not let these things frighten you; let them rather strengthen you." At the same time he asked for the little ring from Pudens' finger. After soaking it in his wound he returned it to Pudens, as a keepsake, leaving him a pledge and a. remembrance of his blood. Half dead, he was thrown along with the others into the usual place of slaughter.
The people, however, had demanded that the martyrs
be led to the middle of the amphitheater..-They wanted to see the sword thrust into the bodies of the victims, so that their eyes might share in the slaughter. Without being asked they went where the people wanted them to go; but first they kissed one another, to complete their witness with the customary kiss of peace.
The others stood motionless and received the deathblow in silence, especially Saturus, who had gone up first and was first to die; he was helping Perpetua. But Perpetua, that she might experience the pain more deeply, rejoiced over her broken body and guided the shaking hand of the inexperienced gladiator to her throat. Such a woman-one before whom the unclean spirit trembled could not perhaps have been killed, had she herself not willed it.
Bravest and happiest martyrs! You were called and chosen for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Thy Kingdom Come ...
(commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs)
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030706.shtml
Reflection:
The Gospel of John begins with these words; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." When I read the reading from Isaiah this morning those words from John came bolting into my head.
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Yes, indeed, God sent his Word to the world and it transformed the world before it returned. "Now is the time of fulfillment;" is what Jesus said in Mark's Gospel on Sunday. Now today we see one of the predictions he came to fulfill.
When we follow the Word to the Gospel of Mathew we find one of the means by which he did God's will through us. He taught us to pray and the Gospel today that gives us the Lord's Prayer is a direct response from the Lord to the disciple's request.
I really good family or individual exercise during this Lenten season would be to take each strophe of the Lord's prayer and ask what it means and, since we are asking God for something; how will we know when he answers? And God always answers. Pax
If you wish to comment and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Is 55:10-11
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
10 For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats,
11 So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
10-11. The Word comes from God, but it can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and spoken with human accents. Dt-Is explains world history, particularly the sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent presence of the Word (cf. Wis 8:1; 2 Cor 9:10). M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate origin of the Johannine theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster, 1957] 100). We hear its echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come down from heaven and received as bread (Jn 6:32, 35).
Scripture from Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Jerome Biblical Commentary
4 Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
Ps 34. A wisdom Ps, although it is widely classified as a Ps of thanksgiving. It is alphabetical (cf. S. Holm-Nielsen in ST 14 [1960] I-53, on acrostic Pss) and is filled with typical maxims in favor of the just against the wicked (13-22). The testimony in 5-7, which suggests a thanksgiving Ps, is really didactic in character. The reference to I Sm 21 :10-15 in the Ps title as the life setting is unconvincing. Structure: 2-4, hymnic introduction that anticipates the lesson to be announced ("the lowly will hear me..."); 5-11, a brief mention of deliverance (5), which develops into didactic exhortation to trust and to fear the Lord; 12-22, the psalmist appears as a sage, inculcating typical wisdom lessons; 23, the Pe verse (it begins with that consonant) is a didactic device to arrive at a 22-23 line acrostic poem spelling out the root 'Ip (meaning "to teach"; see comment on Ps 25 :22).
5 I sought the LORD, who answered me, delivered me from all my fears.
6 Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush for shame.
7 In my misfortune I called, the LORD heard and saved me from all distress.
5. A succinct description of deliverance (to which 7 is parallel) that serves as a springboard into the wisdom teaching.
16 The LORD has eyes for the just and ears for their cry.
17 The LORD'S face is against evildoers to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18 When the just cry out, the LORD hears and rescues them from all distress.
19 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.
12-22. The psalmist has become a wisdom teacher (in the style of Prv 1:7; 5 :7; etc.) inculcating "fear of the Lord" and offering "life" (explained by prosperous days); for a literal Egyptian parallel to 13, see B. Couroyer, RB 57 ([1950] 174ff.). The rest of the teachings deal with admonitions and statements of retribution. Although the doctrine of retribution follows the optimistic trend of wisdom tradition, there is a recognition that suffering is part of the lot of the just-but Yahweh "watches over." The Pe verse (23) takes up an idea ("guilt") from 22.
Scripture from Mt 6:7-15
Jerome Biblical Commentary
7 3 4 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
3 [7-15] Matthew inserts into his basic traditional material an expansion of the material on prayer that includes the model prayer, the "Our Father." That prayer is found in Luke 11:2-4 in a different context and in a different form.
4 [7] The example of what Christian prayer should be like contrasts it now not with the prayer of the hypocrites but with that of the pagans. Their babbling probably means their reciting a long list of divine names, hoping that one of them will force a response from the deity.
44 (ii) Prayer (6:5-I5). The saying on prayer follows the pattern of the saying on almsgiving. The prayer in public was prayer that was uttered at set times of the day; the devout Jew stopped wherever he was, unless the place was unclean, and recited the proper prayers in a standing position. Moslems also worship in
public at prescribed times, and it is regarded as a sign of great devotion to observe this practice.
Verses 7 to 15 interrupt the pattern and are placed here under a loose topical arrangement. The Lord's Prayer in Lk II :2-4 is given in answer to a request from the disciples for instruction in prayer, and this is no doubt the original context of the prayer in Q. The Lord's Prayer is contrasted in 6 :7-8 not with Jewish prayer but with pagan prayer, which is dismissed as "babbling." There may be an allusion to the long and tedious magical formulas in which meaningless epithets are piled up (C. K. Barrett, NTB 3I-35). The saying is not sympathetic to long prayers, however, of which Judaism of NT times presents numerous examples. The lengthy recital of one's needs is discouraged on the ground that God does not need to be informed of them.
The Lord's Prayer in Lk has a shorter invocation and six petitions against Mt's seven, omitting the third petition in Mt.
9 5 6 "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, 7 your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
5 [9-13] Matthew's form of the "Our Father" follows the liturgical tradition of his church. Luke's less developed form also represents the liturgical tradition known to him, but it is probably closer than Matthew's to the original words of Jesus.
6 [9] Our Father in heaven: this invocation is found in many rabbinic prayers of the post-New Testament period. Hallowed be your name: though the "hallowing" of the divine name could be understood as reverence done to God by human praise and by obedience to his will, this is more probably a petition that God hallow his own name, i.e., that he manifest his glory by an act of power (cf Ezekiel 36:23), in this case, by the establishment of his kingdom in its fullness.
7 [10] Your kingdom come: this petition sets the tone of the prayer, and inclines the balance toward divine rather than human action in the petitions that immediately precede and follow it. Your will be done, on earth as in heaven: a petition that the divine purpose to establish the kingdom, a purpose present now in heaven, be executed on earth.
9. Father in heaven: A common phrase of Mt (5:45; 7:2I; 12:50). The first three petitions are really synonymous; they express the desire for the eschatological realization of the reign. hallowed be your name: This occurs when it is recognized as holy and confessed to be holy by men. The coming of the reign is the effective actualization of the will of God "on earth as in heaven," where God's supremacy is not questioned.
11 8 Give us today our daily bread;
8 [11] Give us today our daily bread: the rare Greek word epiousios, here daily, occurs in the New Testament only here and in Luke 11:3. A single occurrence of the word outside of these texts and of literature dependent on them has been claimed, but the claim is highly doubtful. The word may mean daily or "future" (other meanings have also been proposed). The latter would conform better to the eschatological tone of the whole prayer. So understood, the petition would be for a speedy coming of the kingdom (today), which is often portrayed in both the Old Testament and the New under the image of a feast (Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 8:11; 22:1-10; Luke 13:29; 14:15-24).
11. daily: The word epiousios, traditionally translated "daily," is of uncertain meaning; it does not appear in any Gk literature before the Gospels, and the etymology is uncertain. "Daily" is a very probable rendering; the word seems to designate the bread of the coming day, and the petition is thus related to the sayings against excessive solicitude (6:3 I-33). However, K. Stendahl has raised the question whether the petition may not refer to the Messianic banquet (PCB 778); see comment on 8 :11. This also is in harmony with 6:3 I-33;' for the petition is then not directed even to the simple provision of daily basic needs, but to the ultimate realization of the reign in which basic daily needs cease to exist. In this interpretation the fourth petition belongs with the first three.
12 and forgive us our debts, 9 as we forgive our debtors;
9 [12] Forgive us our debts: the word debts is used metaphorically of sins, "debts" owed to God (see Luke 11:4). The request is probably for forgiveness at the final judgment.
12. our debts: The fifth petition is a prayer for the forgiveness of them. Lk has "sins," an easier word for non-Jewish readers. The condition of forgiveness 'is that one has forgiven.
13 and do not subject us to the final test, 10 but deliver us from the evil one.
14 11 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.
10 [13] Jewish apocalyptic writings speak of a period of severe trial before the end of the age, sometimes called the "messianic woes." This petition asks that the disciples be spared that final test.
11 [14-15] These verses reflect a set pattern called "Principles of Holy Law." Human action now will be met by a corresponding action of God at the final judgment.
13. lead us not into temptation: This petition probably does not refer to the daily encounter with evil; Matthew would no doubt agree with Paul that God can give an escape from temptation (I Cor ro:I3). The eschatological tone of the prayer suggests that the temptation meant is the great eschatological test, of which Mt says (24:22) that no one could bear it unless it were abbreviated. deliver us from evil: Similarly, the eschatological catastrophe is very probably "the evil" from which the Christian prays to be delivered in the final petition. The ambiguity of "evil" and "the evil one" previously noted (5:37,39) is found here too.
A doxology, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen" is found in many Gk mss: The presence of a similar doxology in the Didache (8:2), a work written before AD 100, suggests that the doxology is a very early expansion. It was normal in Judaism to conclude prayers with a formal doxology, and the early Christian communities often followed the Jewish practice. The doxology, however, is not found in the. most reliable mss. It has been used in the Protestant churches; it is sheer accident that it did not appear in the Gk mss that Jerome used in translating the Vg.
Verses I4 and I5 are a commentary on the fifth petition, emphasizing the duty of forgiveness as a condition of receiving.. forgiveness. The passage is very loosely parallel to Mk 11:25-26 See 5 :23-26; I8:35.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1968
PERPETUA
Also known as
Vivia Perpetua
Memorial
7 March
Profile
Lay-woman born to a noble pagan family. Convert. Wife and mother. Martyred with her maid, friend, and fellow convert Saint Felicitas. In centuries past, their story was so popular that Saint Augustine of Hippo warned against giving it the weight of Scripture.
Died
mauled by wild beasts and beheaded 7 March 203 at Carthage, North Africa
Patronage
cattle; martyrs
Representation
cow; woman with a sword by her; woman with a wild cow or ox in an amphitheater
Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Perpetua
Additional Information
Google DirectoryGoogle DirectoryChristian Biographies, by James KeiferCatholic OnlineCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, Father Alban ButlerPassion of Saints Perpetua and FelicityCatholic Encyclopedia,For All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinVietnamese Echaristic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
FELICITY
Also known as
Felicitas
Memorial
7 March
Profile
Lay-woman. Convert. Maid, friend, and fellow convert Saint Perpetua. Martyred with her In centuries past, their story was so popular that Saint Augustine of Hippo warned against giving it the weight of Scripture.
Died
mauled by wild beasts and beheaded 7 March 203 at Carthage, North Africa
Patronage
cattle; martyrs
Representation
cow; woman with a sword by her; woman with a wild cow or ox in an amphitheater
Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Felicity
Additional Information
Google Directory: Tertullian's PassionGoogle DirectoryChristian Biographies, by James E KeiferCatholic OnlineCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, Father Alban ButerPassion of Saints Felicity and FelicityCatholic EncyclopediaFor All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinVietnamese Echaristic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
Reading
From the story of the death of the holy martyrs of Carthage
(Cap. L8, 20-21: editt. van Beek, November, 1936, pp. 42, 46-52)
Called and chosen for 'the glory of the Lord
The day of the martyrs' victory dawned. They marched from their cells into the amphitheater, as if into heaven, with cheerful looks and graceful bearing. If they trembled it was for joy and not for fear.
Perpetua was the first to 'be thrown down, 'and she fell prostrate. She got up and, seeing that Felicity was prostrate, went over and reached out her hand to her and lifted her up. Both stood up together. The hostility of thee crowd was appeased, and they were ordered. to the gate called Savavivaria. There Perpetua was welcomed by a catechumen named Rusticus. Rousing herself as if from sleep (so deeply had she been in spiritual ecstasy), she began to look around. To everyone's amazement she said: "When are we going to be led to the beast?" When she heard that it had "already happened she did not at first believe it until she saw the marks of violence on her body and her clothing. Then she beckoned to her brother and the catechumen, and addressed them in these words: "Stand firm in faith, love one another and do not be tempted to do anything wrong because of our sufferings."
Saturus, too, in another gate, encouraged the soldier Pudens, saying: "Here I am, and just as I thought and foretold I have not yet felt any wild beast. Now believe with your whole heart: I will go there and be killed by the leopard "in one bite." And right at the end of the games, when he" was thrown to the leopard he was in fact covered with so much blood from one bite that the people cried out to him: "Washed and saved, washed and saved!" And so, giving evidence of a second baptism, he was clearly saved who had been washed in this manner.
Then Saturus said to the soldier Pudens: "Farewell, and remember your faith as well as me; do not let these things frighten you; let them rather strengthen you." At the same time he asked for the little ring from Pudens' finger. After soaking it in his wound he returned it to Pudens, as a keepsake, leaving him a pledge and a. remembrance of his blood. Half dead, he was thrown along with the others into the usual place of slaughter.
The people, however, had demanded that the martyrs
be led to the middle of the amphitheater..-They wanted to see the sword thrust into the bodies of the victims, so that their eyes might share in the slaughter. Without being asked they went where the people wanted them to go; but first they kissed one another, to complete their witness with the customary kiss of peace.
The others stood motionless and received the deathblow in silence, especially Saturus, who had gone up first and was first to die; he was helping Perpetua. But Perpetua, that she might experience the pain more deeply, rejoiced over her broken body and guided the shaking hand of the inexperienced gladiator to her throat. Such a woman-one before whom the unclean spirit trembled could not perhaps have been killed, had she herself not willed it.
Bravest and happiest martyrs! You were called and chosen for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
posted by Deacon Jim | 2:16 AM
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