Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table

St Luke Chapter XXII : Verses 21-30

Contents

• Luke xxii. Verses 21-30.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary

Luke xxii. Verses 21-30.

Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me...
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

21 But yet behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

Verumtamen ecce manus tradentis me, mecum est in mensa.

22 And the Son of man indeed goeth, according to that which is determined: but yet, woe to that man by whom he shall be betrayed.

Et quidem Filius hominis, secundum quod definitum est, vadit : verumtamen vae homini illi per quem tradetur.

23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

Et ipsi cœperunt quærere inter se quis esset ex eis qui hoc facturus esset.

24 And there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should seem to be the greater.

Facta est autem et contentio inter eos, quis eorum videretur esse major.

25 And he said to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them, are called beneficent.

Dixit autem eis : Reges gentium dominantur eorum : et qui potestatem habent super eos, benefici vocantur.

26 But you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth.

Vos autem non sic : sed qui major est in vobis, fiat sicut minor : et qui præcessor est, sicut ministrator.

27 For which is greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? Is it not he that sitteth at table? But I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth:

Nam quis major est, qui recumbit, an qui ministrat? nonne qui recumbit? Ego autem in medio vestrum sum, sicut qui ministrat :

28 And you are they who have continued with me in my temptations:

vos autem estis, qui permansistis mecum in tentationibus meis.

29 And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom;

Et ego dispono vobis sicut disposuit mihi Pater meus regnum,

30 That you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

ut edatis et bibatis super mensam meam in regno meo, et sedeatis super thronos judicantes duodecim tribus Israel.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

21. But yet behold, the hand of him that betraieth me, is with me on the table.

22. And the Sonne of man indeed goeth according to that which is determined: but yet woe to that man by whom: he ſhal be betrayed.
23. And they began to question among them ſelues, which of them it ſhould be that ſhould doe this.
24. And there fel also a contention between them, which of them ſeemed to be greater.
25. And he ſaid to them: The Kinges of the Gentiles ouerrule them; and they that haue power vpon them, are called beneficial.
26. But you not ſo: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the yonger: & he that is the leader, as the waiter.
27. For which is greater, he that ſitteth at the table, or he that miniſtreth? is not he that ſitteth? but I am in the middes of you, as he that miniſtreth:
28. & you are they that haue remained with me in my tentations.
29. And I diſpoſe to you, as my Father disposed to me, a Kingdom:
30. that you may eate & drinke vpon my table in my Kingdom, & may sit vpon thrones, iudging the twelue tribes of Iſrael.

 

Annotations

    25. The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them, are called beneficent. Beneficent is a title of honour and praise which is bestowed upon princes because they are, or ought to be, good. The proper epithet of kings in former time was “good.” Virgil uses it of Acestes (Æn i. 195). Martial applies it to Trajan and Domitian, and Horace to Romulus. Homer thought nothing requisite in a king, but to be brave against the enemy, and good to the citizens. Paul calls Felix “Most Excellent.” Acts xxv. 3.

    26. But you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth. The Arabic has “Let the greater of you be as the least”—that is, let him among you who wishes to be the greatest, become the least. In this way he shall be the greatest.

    Morally, let us learn this parable of Christ, incredible to the world, but in itself most true, and by experience most certain, namely, that the way to exaltation is abasement of self. Do we wish to become greater? Let us become less. God has sanctioned and fixed this way by His eternal law, and therefore Christ was the first-fruits to enter upon it, that we, by the same law, might follow Him, as in Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10, 11.

    Hence S. Francis, a great follower and imitator of Christ, humbled himself to the lowest of all lowness, and wished to be the poorest and vilest of all men; and to a certain saint, a most lofty and splendid seat in heaven was shown, and when he asked whose it was, the answer was given, “It was the seat of one of the great ones among the fallen angels, but it is now reserved for the holy Francis.” S. Bonav., chap, vi., Life of St. Francis. The same S. Francis wished his followers to be called “Minores,” lest they should presume to become majores. His scribe, S. Francis de Paula, ordered the brethren of his order, to be called not Minores but Minimi. Hence the blessed Magdelena de Pazzi, who has been lately enrolled among the blessed by our holy Father, Urban VIII., received the following order from God, “Be of the order of Minimæ, and the least of them, that thou mayest strive as zealously to be the least as men of this world do to be the greatest.” S. Elizabeth, wife of the Landgrave of Hesse, and the daughter of the king of Hungary, personally, against the remonstrances of her friends, tended the sick and outcast, and said that if there were any position more humble still she would gladly fill it, the more closely to follow Christ, who from the first humbled Himself to be the lowest of men, as Isaiah describes, ch. liii; for in this consists the crown of virtue and perfection. The like did Hedwig, Duchess of Polonia, and her granddaughter, S. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal. So S. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, sold himself for a slave, for the good of a son of a widow, that he might imitate Christ, and make himself one of the most humble of men. Peter Telonarius did the same, as is related in the Life of S. John Eleemosynarius. This is what the wise man teaches, Ecclus. iii. 20. See what I have commented thereon.

    29. And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom. As My Father has decreed and prepared for Me, through humility and the cross: through so many labours and sufferings: a kingdom heavenly and eternal, so do I also appoint the same unto you: that is, I decree, prepare, and, going to death I now appoint, as by my will, that through the same humility, cross, and suffering, you shall possess a like, nay, the same kingdom with Me in heaven; dispute not then who among you shall be greatest, but who shall be less, that each may study to surpass the other in low estate and humility, for whoever does this, shall be first and greatest in my kingdom.

    30. That you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. As kings gave to their most intimate nobles a place at their own table, and made them companions of their banquets, but assigned to other and less famous nobles another table, so will I make you, My Apostles, the chief and foremost of My kingdom, and place you most nearly to Myself, and, as it were, at My table, and I will have you as the most intimate guests of My royal feasts. “In like manner,” say Euthymius, Titus, and Theophylact, “He shows that the Apostles, as the first and most illustrious of His followers, should enjoy the highest honours with their immortal king. It is by catachresis that the pleasures and honours of the kingdom of heaven are often compared in Holy Scripture to banquets, and feasts of meat and drink, and to the first seats at table with kings; because carnal men understand these things best, but are unable to estimate spiritual ones, and because, as meat and drink are incorporated into ourselves and made our own, so, in heaven by the beautiful vision and His other glorious gifts, God will be incorporated into us, as it were, and will be made our own.”

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.