Healing the Demon-possessed boy

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 37-43

Contents

• Luke ix. 37-43.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the commentary in Madame Cecilia's Scripture Manuals (1904)

Luke ix. 37-43.

37 And it came to pass the day following, when they came down from the mountain, there met him a great multitude.

Factum est autem in sequenti die, descendentibus illis de monte, occurrit illis turba multa.

38 And behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one.

Et ecce vir de turba exclamavit, dicens : Magister, obsecro te, respice in filium meum quia unicus est mihi :

39 And lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out, and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him.

et ecce spiritus apprehendit eum, et subito clamat, et elidit, et dissipat eum cum spuma, et vix discedit dilanians eum :

40 And I desired thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.

et rogavi discipulos tuos ut ejicerent illum, et non potuerunt.

41 And Jesus answering, said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring hither thy son.

Respondens autem Jesus, dixit : O generatio infidelis, et perversa, usquequo ero apud vos, et patiar vos? adduc huc filium tuum.

42 And as he was coming to him, the devil threw him down, and tore him.

Et cum accederet, elisit illum dæmonium, et dissipavit.

43 And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father.

Et increpavit Jesus spiritum immundum, et sanavit puerum, et reddidit illum patri ejus.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

37. And it came to paſſe the day folowing, when they came downe from the mountaine, there met him a great multitude.

38. And behold a man of the multitude cried out, ſaying: Maiſter, I beſeech thee, looke vpon my ſonne because he is mine only one.
39. And loe, the ſpirit taketh him, and he ſodenly crieth, and he daſheth him, and teareth him that he fometh, and with much adoe departeth renting him.
40. And I deſired thy Diſciples to caſt him out, and they could not.
41. And IESVS answering ſaid: O faithles and peruerſe Generation, how long ſhal I be with you and ſuffer you? bring hither thy ſonne.
42. And when he came to him, the Diuel daſhed, and tore him.

43. And IESVS rebuked the vncleance Spirit, and healed the boy, and rendred him to his father.

Annotations

[Taken from the Scripture Manuals commentary by Madame Cecilia on St Mark's Gospel (1904). The verse numbers refer to St Luke's account]

    37. there met him a great multitude. This happened the day following (ix. 37), as St Luke tells us. This seems to indicate night as the time when the Transfiguration took place.

    38. And behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one. The man had brought his son, hoping to find Jesus with the disciples.

    39. And lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out. Since St Luke tells us he suddenly crieth out (ix. 39), we may conclude the boy could not utter articulate sounds.

    and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him. The father describes minutely the effects of the natural disease of epilepsy, attributing them to the action of the dumb spirit.

    40. And I desired thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. The man had clearly heard of miracles worked by the Apostles.

    they could not. He attributes the failure to want of power, not lack of good will. The Apostles had tried to cast out the devil, but had failed signally.

    41. And Jesus answering, said: O faithless and perverse generation,  St Matt, gives unbelieving and perverse generation (xvii. 16).

     how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? To bear with and to teach you.

   43. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father. This spirit is characterised as dumb and unclean. These words shew clearly that the boy was possessed. This is an example of a double cure : of healing, and of possession of the devil.

      

Additional Notes

    On prayer and fasting. The utility of fasting as a preparation for spiritual graces, is shown by the following examples: —

    (a) It was when St Peter was “ praying and fasting ” that a vision was granted to him.

    “ Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour. And being hungry, he was desirous to taste somewhat. And as they were preparing, there came upon him an ecstasy of mind ” ( Acts x. 9-10).

    (b) It was while “ministering to the Lord and fasting ” that the Holy Ghost enlightened the Apostles, regarding the mission of Saul and Barnabas.

    “And as they were ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them ; Separate me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have taken them. Then they fasting and praying, and imposing their hands upon them, sent them away ” ( Acts xiii. 2, 3).

    (c) St Paul speaks of himself as frequently praying and fasting :

    “ In much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often” (2 Cor. xi. 27), and these penitential works rendered his mission more fruitful.

    Many examples of fasting might be cited from the Old Testament, e.g. Moses, Elias, David, etc. Maldonatus says : “ Faith expels the enemy by believing, prayer by petitioning, fasting by tormenting and starving him ; as an enemy is driven out of a fortress, not only by force, but by starving him.” The doctrine here formulated by our Lord concerning “ prayer and fasting ” is not contradictory to the answer He made concerning fasting, when questioned by the Pharisees as to why the disciples did not fast. “ Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast ; but thy disciples do not fast?” (St Mark ii. 18). His answer in that case, “as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast” (St Mark ii. 19), referred to fasting of supererogation, which was unseasonable while He was with them. We know that both Jesus and His disciples observed the fasts, imposed by the Law of Moses, since He fulfilled the Law to an iota, but He did not observe the extra fasts prescribed by the Pharisees, nor imitate the rigorous abstinence of St John the Baptist.

+       +        +

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.

The Transfiguration

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 28-36

Contents

• Luke ix. 28-36.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the commentary in Madame Cecilia's Scripture Manuals (1904-1906)

Luke ix. 28-36.

Master, it is good for us to be here.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

28 And it came to pass about eight days after these words, that he took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into a mountain to pray.

Factum est autem post hæc verba fere dies octo, et assumpsit Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem, et ascendit in montem ut oraret.

29 And whilst he prayed, the shape of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and glittering.

Et facta est, dum oraret, species vultus ejus altera : et vestitus ejus albus et refulgens.

30 And behold two men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elias,

Et ecce duo viri loquebantur cum illo. Erant autem Moyses et Elias,

31 Appearing in majesty. And they spoke of his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem.

visi in majestate : et dicebant excessum ejus, quem completurus erat in Jerusalem.

32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. And waking, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

Petrus vero, et qui cum illo erant, gravati erant somno. Et evigilantes viderunt majestatem ejus, et duos viros qui stabant cum illo.

33 And it came to pass, that as they were departing from him, Peter saith to Jesus: Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias; not knowing what he said.

Et factum est cum discederent ab illo, ait Petrus ad Jesum : Præceptor, bonum est nos hic esse : et faciamus tria tabernacula, unum tibi, et unum Moysi, et unum Eliae : nesciens quid diceret.

34 And as he spoke these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they were afraid, when they entered into the cloud.

Hæc autem illo loquente, facta est nubes, et obumbravit eos : et timuerunt, intrantibus illis in nubem.

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son; hear him.

Et vox facta est de nube, dicens : Hic est Filius meus dilectus, ipsum audite.

36 And whilst the voice was uttered, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of these things which they had seen.

Et dum fieret vox, inventus est Jesus solus. Et ipsi tacuerunt, et nemini dixerunt in illis diebus quidquam ex his quæ viderant.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

18. And it came to paſſe; when he was alone praying, his Diſciples alſo were with him; and he aſked them ſaying: Whom doe the multitudes say that I am?

29. And whiles he prayed, the ſhape of his countenance was altered: and his raiment white and gliſtering.
30. And behold two men talked with him. And they were Moyſes and Elias,
31. appearing in maieſtie. And they told his deceaſe that he ſhould accompliſh in Hieruſalem.
32. But Peter and they that were with him, were heauie with ſleepe. And awaking, they ſaw his maieſtie, and the two men that ſtood with him.
33. And it came to paſſe, when they departed from him, Peter ſaid to IESVS: Maiſter, it is good for vs to be here; and let vs make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moyſes, and one for Elias: not knowing what he ſaid.
34. And as he ſpake these things, there came a cloud, and ouerſhadowed them: and they feared, when they entered into the cloud.
35. *And a voice was made out of the cloud, ſaying: This is my beloued Sonne, heare him.
36. And whiles the voice was made, IESVS was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in thoſe daies any of theſe things which they had ſeen.

Annotations

    28. And it came to pass about eight days after these words. “ St Luke says, after eight days, not contradicting St Matthew, but most fully agreeing with him. The one expressed both the day on which Jesus spoke (i.e. His discourse on His Passion) and that on which He led them up, but St Mark speaks only of the days between ” (St John Chrys., Hom., lvi.). The Jews generally reckoned time inclusively.4

    he took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into a mountain to pray. As He had done when He raised Jairus’ daughter. They were to be the three privileged witnesses of his Transfiguration, that they might he strengthened to witness His Agony in Gethsemani ; — Peter, the future Vicar of Christ; John, the beloved disciple ; and James, the first of the apostles who suffered martyrdom.

    Note. — “Three” was the number of witnesses legally exacted by the Jewish Law. There were also three heavenly witnesses — God the Father, Moses, and Elias.

    and went up into a mountain to pray.. In like manner, on Ascension-day he led them out as far as Bethania (St Luke xxiv. 50).

An ancient tradition points out Mount Thabor as the scene of the Transfiguration. It lies to the north-east of the Plain of Esdraelon, and stands nearly 2000 feet above sea-level. Later commentators, chiefly non-Catholic, prefer Hermon as the high mountain in question. The older tradition, however, has greater weight. Two churches, now in ruins, built on Mount Thabor, one by St Helena probably, the other by the Crusaders, testify to the antiquity of this tradition.

    apart. He led them apart, and then retired Himself to pray. This was the usual prelude to any event of great moment.

    29. his raiment became white and glittering.. Lit. he was “metamorphosed” (μετεμορφώθη). Changed in outward appearance. Our Lord appeared in glory ; the Divine Nature, habitually concealed, now revealed Itself by glorifying the humanity of our Lord. In reality, it was less a miracle than the cessation of the miracle, which had thus kept the Divinity hidden in the Sacred Humanity since the Incarnation. The “clarity” of Jesus’ body was thus visible to the apostles. The bodies of the just after the resurrection will have the four qualities of clarity, impassibility, agility and spirituality.

    the shape of his countenance was altered.  “When our Lord was transfigured He did not lose His form and aspect, hut He appeared to His apostles as He will appear to all at the day of judgment” (St Jerome). Our Lord, though glorified, was recognized by His apostles. So, too, the saints in heaven will retain their personal identity.

    white and glittering.. All the Codices except D have here “white as light” ( λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς). St Mark has white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. In St Luke we read, his raiment became white and glittering. All three Synoptists note the brightness of our Lord’s garments, and the words failed them to express their dazzling whiteness : — they glistened like snow. Perhaps the snow-capped peaks of Lebanon suggested the comparison.

    30. two men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elias, The apostles could only know who they were either —

    (a) By a special revelation.

    (b) By the conversation which took place.

    (c) Perhaps by their appearing as the Jews generally represented them.

    Note. — Moses was the lawgiver ; Elias, one of the greatest of the prophets. Hence their apparition with Jesus proved that these leaders whom the Jews professed to follow and obey (i.e. the Law and the Prophets) acknowledged Jesus as the Messias.

    talking with him. Both Moses and Elias appeared in majesty, and they spoke of his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem (St Luke ix. 31). Therefore this vision corroborated our Lord’s previous prophecy, and mentioned the place of His death. The original word is “exodus,” or “going forth” (τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτου). “Exodus” is a very weighty word, involving “ His Passion, Cross, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension.”

    33. Peter saith to Jesus: Master, it is good for us to be here. He was as ardent and impetuous as ever. The voices aroused the three apostles from their stupor. Cf. Peter, and they that were with him, were heavy with sleep. And waking, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him (St Luke). Some commentators are of opinion that they did not actually give way to sleep, since the words of St Luke, waking, they saw his glory, etc., would, in the original Greek, be better translated “nevertheless remaining awake” (διαγρηγορήσαντες ). Others conclude that they actually slept, but were aroused by the brightness of the light and the voices. The three disciples, when thoroughly aroused from their drowsiness, perceived Moses and Elias, The “ sign from heaven ” demanded by the haughty Pharisees, and refused to them, was granted to the three lowly disciples.

    Lord, it is good, etc. St Peter thought it preferable to remain there ; thus our Lord might avoid His enemies in Jerusalem. From St Luke we learn that these words were said as Moses and Elias disappeared. Cf. And it came to pass that as they were departing from him, Peter saith to Jesus : Master, it is good, etc.

    and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias;. Tents of wattled boughs, such as were used at the Feast of Tabernacles. St Luke remarks that St Peter spoke, not knowing what he said. He was too much overcome by fear and other emotions to reflect that the Son of man must suffer many things, and that to remain on the Mount of the Transfiguration would frustrate this design.

    34. And as he spoke these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they were afraid, when they entered into the cloud.. Moses and Elias had disappeared, and now Jesus and His three apostles seem to be enveloped in a “ bright ” cloud. Probably it was the Shechinah or visible glory of God. “ Because it was His desire not to alarm but to teach, it is bright cloud” (St John Chrysostom), not a “very thick” one, as on Mount Sinai.

    35. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son; hear him. The voice of God bore witness to His Beloved Son, The same words are repeated that were uttered at our Lord’s Baptism, with the addition. Hear ye him.

    This is my beloved Son; hear him — i.e., my Son, the Beloved. The original Hebrew expression means the only begotten Son by eternal generation, not “a son of God” by adoption, like the blessed and those in a state of grace. St Matthew alone gives the words in full, in whom I am well pleased.

       

Additional Notes

    The three narratives of the Transfiguration harmonized.

(St Matt. xvii. 1-13. St Mark ix. 1-2. St Luke ix. 28-36.)

    (1) It took place on the eighth day (inclusive) after St Peter’s confession of faith.

    (2) Jesus leads Peter, James, and John apart up a high mountain.

    (3) Jesus prays, and is transfigured ; Moses and Elias appear and speak with Him concerning His “ decease.”

    (4) The apostles are aroused from their drowsiness, hear the voices, and see Christ transfigured.

    (5) As Moses and Elias are departing, Peter proposes to build three tabernacles.

    (6) While he is speaking a bright cloud overshadows them, and they are afraid when they enter into the cloud.

    (7) A heavenly Voice is heard saying, “ This is my beloved Son,” etc.^ while this Voice is speaking, Jesus is found alone.

    (8) The apostles fall upon their faces in fear.

    (9) Jesus touches them ?ind says, “ Arise and be not afraid.”

    (10) They look up “immediately” and see no man, but Jesus only with them.

    (11) He charges them to tell no man until after His Resurrection.

    (12) They obey, but question among themselves.

    Sequence of events leading up to the Transfiguration.

    (A) Jesus is rejected by the Pharisees, and He departs from them and leaves Galilee.

    (B) St Peter makes his glorious confession of faith in Christ as the Messias at Cmsarea Phili})pi, and acknowledges His Divinity.

    (C) Jesus reveals to St Peter his future greatness as Head of the Church.

    (D) The mysteries of the Passion are gradually unfolded to the disciples. St Peter rejects the idea of a sutfering Messias,

    (E) Jesus teaches that self-renunciation is necessary for all His followers.

    (F) The Transfiguration reveals to the favoured three that Christ is the Messias of whom the Prophets spoke, and the Voice from heaven proclaims Jesus to be the “ Son of God.”

    The bright cloud. In Holy Scripture, God is frequently represented as revealing His presence and majesty by a “cloud.” Thus we read, “behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud” (Exod. xvi. 10). “ Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud,” etc. (xix. 9). “ Who makest the clouds thy chariot,” etc. (Ps. ciii. 3). Many 

other texts might be cited. St Luke says, “ they were afraid when they entered into the cloud” (ix. 34). It has been questioned to whom the “ they ” refers. Did the disciples enter the cloud ? The most common opinion is that they did, for certainly the first ‘ ‘ they ” refers to the apostles, and why should they be afraid at seeing the vision disappear ? It would seem that all entered the cloud, then Moses and Elias gradually disappeared. St Peter spoke as though he would hold them back, then the Voice was heard when Jesus was alone and still transfigured.

   The Time of the Transfiguration. Was it night or day ? The general consensus of opinion leans to night, since —

    (a) Jesus retired to pray, and He was accustomed to retire thus at night.

    (b) The apostles were heavy with sleep, hence we may conclude it was night.

    (c) St Luke tells us, “ the day following when they came down from the mountain there met him a great multitude,” etc. This looks as though our Lord and His apostles had passed the night on the mountain, and that the next day the nine apostles and the multitude were going up the mount to seek Him and implore His aid.

    Why the Apostles were allowed to see Jesus transfigured.

    (1) In order to strengthen their faith in Christ as the Messias, and to prepare them for the Passion of Jesus,

    (2) To teach them that, by His Passion, He was fulfilling the Law and the Prophets, and that both pointed to Him as the Messias.

    (3) To teach them that the path to glory lies by the road to Calvary.

    (4) To attach them more firmly to His service.

    Note. — From the time of the Transfiguration we remark that —

    (a) Our Lord works fewer miracles : five only are recorded between the Transfiguration and the Passion.

    (b) Our Lord’s public sermons are more rare ; He speaks oftener with the Twelve, and His Passion is frequently the subject of His instructions.

    The Transfiguration naturally made a deep impression on the three apostles. St Janies the Great did not live long enough to leave his impressions in writing, but St Peter, about thirty-five years after the event, thus wrote : 

“ For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ : but having been made eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father, honour and glory : this voice coming down to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I have pleased myself, hear ye him. And this voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount” (2 St Peter i. 16, 17, 18).

    St John also evidently had the Transfiguration in mind when he wrote the following passages: — 

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth ” (St John i. 14).

“ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life ” (1 St John i. 1).

+       +        +

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.

But whom do you say that I am?

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 18-27

Contents

• Luke ix. 18-27.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary of Cornelius A Lapide

Luke ix. 18-27.

Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God. 
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples also were with him: and he asked them, saying: Whom do the people say that I am?

Et factum est cum solus esset orans, erant cum illo et discipuli : et interrogavit illos, dicens : Quem me dicunt esse turbæ?

19 But they answered, and said: John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again.

At illi responderunt, et dixerunt : Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero unus propheta de prioribus surrexit.

20 And he said to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God.

Dixit autem illis : Vos autem quem me esse dicitis? Respondens Simon Petrus, dixit : Christum Dei.

21 But he strictly charging them, commanded they should tell this to no man.

At ille increpans illos, præcepit ne cui dicerent hoc,

22 Saying: The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again.

dicens : Quia oportet Filium hominis multa pati, et reprobari a senioribus, et principibus sacerdotum, et scribis, et occidi, et tertia die resurgere.

23 And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Dicebat autem ad omnes : Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam quotidie, et sequatur me.

24 For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it.

Qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere, perdet illam : nam qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, salvam faciet illam.

25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, and cast away himself?

Quid enim proficit homo, si lucretur universum mundum, se autem ipsum perdat, et detrimentum sui faciat?

26 For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels.

Nam qui me erubuerit, et meos sermones : hunc Filius hominis erubescet cum venerit in majestate sua, et Patris, et sanctorum angelorum.

27 But I tell you of a truth: There are some standing here that shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God.

Dico autem vobis vere : sunt aliqui hic stantes, qui non gustabunt mortem donec videant regnum Dei.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

18. And it came to paſſe; when he was alone praying, his Diſciples alſo were with him; and he aſked them ſaying: Whom doe the multitudes say that I am?

19. But they anſwered, and ſaid: Iohn the Baptiſt; and ſome, Elias; but ſome, that one of the Prophets before time is riſen.
20. And he ſaid to them: But whom ſay ye that I am? Simon Peter anſwering, ſaid: The Chriſt of God.
21. But he rebuking them, commanded that they ſhould tel this to no man,
22. ſaying: That the Sonne of man muſt ſuffer many things, and be reiected of the Ancients and cheefe Prieſts and Scribes, and be killed, and the third day riſe againe.
23. And he ſaid to al: If any man wil come after me, let him denie himſelf, and take vp his croſſe daily, and follow me.
24. For he that wil ſaue his life, ſhal lose it; for he that ſhal loſe his life for my ſake, ſhal ſaue it.
25. For what profit hath a man if he gaine the whole world, and loſe himself, and caſt away himſelf?
26. For he that ſhal be aſhamed of me and of my wordes, him the Sonne of man ſhal be aſhamed of, when he ſhal come in his maieſtie, and his Fathers, and of the holy Angels.
27. And I ſay to you aſſuredly: There be ſome ſtanding here that ſhal not taſt death, til they ſee the Kingdom of God.

 

Annotations

    18.  And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples also were with him: and he asked them, saying: Whom do the people say that I am? i.e., whom do they say that I, who out of humility, am wont to call Myself the Son of Man, am? And especially I now so call Myself, that I may examine your faith concerning Me, O ye Apostles. The Syriac less correctly divides the sentence, in this manner, What do men say concerning Me, that I am the Son of Man? For Christ does not here ask whether He be so called, but asserts that He is the Son of Man, and goes on to ask what further men think about Him.

    19. 19 But they answered, and said: John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again. The common people among the Jews were aware that for several hundred years Prophets had failed to be amongst them, together with the ark of the covenant and the oracles from the mercy seat. Thus they thought that Christ was not a new Prophet, but one of the ancient Prophets. For in Christ they beheld their virtues, their miracles and their doctrine Few indeed were they who believed with certainty that He was the Messiah. By far the greater number did not believe. They were offended at His humility and His poverty. They thought Messiah would come with regal pomp as the Son of Solomon; as the Jews still think and expect. Wherefore although some of the people had recently said, when they saw so many miracles done by Christ, “Is not this the Son of David?” and, “This is indeed that Prophet which should come into the world;” yet this was a sudden and transient cry, elicited by beholding a miracle, not a firm and settled opinion: thus Abulensis. They thought that the soul of one of the Prophets had passed into Christ by metempsychosis. So Jansen and Baronius. Or more probably they thought one of the prophets had risen again, and Jesus was he; as though Jesus were really John the Baptist, Elias, or Jeremias: For the Pharisees and the Jews generally believed in the resurrection of the dead. This indeed is plain from what Herod said of Christ: This is John himself who is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show themselves in Him. Some thought Jesus to be John the Baptist, because he appeared to be very like him in age, in sanctity and in his preaching. And since John had been shortly before put to death by Herod, he was fresh in their memory, and seemed to be worthy of rising again. Others thought Christ was Elias, on account of the like zeal in both; and because Elias was not yet dead, and was expected by all the Jews to return according to the prophecy of Malachi (iv. 5): “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet.” They thought therefore that Elias had returned, and that Jesus was he. Others were of opinion that Christ was Jeremiah, because Jeremiah was a most holy man, and a mirror of patience and charity; and because some thought Jeremiah would return with Elias to preach to the Jews, being moved by those words, “ I have given thee for a prophet to the Gentiles.” (Jer. i. 5.)

    20. And he said to them: But whom do you say that I am?. From the words but you, S. Jerome gathers that Christ here tacitly, as it were, calls the Apostles gods. “They indeed, because they are men have human ideas, but ye, who are gods, whom do ye think that I am?” But S. Chrysostom says with regard to the subject itself, “The Lord by His second Question admonishes His disciples to think more loftily concerning Him. By the very manner of His interrogation, He shows that those common opinions fell far short of His dignity. You, He says, who have been always with Me, and who yourselves have done so many miracles in My name, whom do ye say that I am?”

    Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God. He who was called Simon when he was circumcised, was by Christ named Cephas, i.e., Peter. Some think Peter, as it were the mouth of the Apostles, answered not for himself alone, but for all. So S. Jerome, also Anselm, S. Thomas, the Gloss, Dionysius, Lyra, Jansen, and S. Augustine. Also S. Ambrose (l. de Incarn. c. 4). With more probability S. Hilary, Abulensis, Maldonatus, Francis Lucas, Barradi, and others think Peter spoke for himself, and his own feeling. For the other Apostles being silent, and hesitating what reply to give, Peter being wiser than the rest, forasmuch as he was taught of God, and being more fervent, lest any one should answer unworthily concerning Christ, dashed in with his answer, and replied on behalf of all: not because he knew the mind of all, for he had not spoken with them concerning the matter, but because he wished that his own opinion should be common to them all. This was what S. Jerome and the others who have been cited really meant, namely, that Peter, as about to be constituted after the resurrection the Prince of the Apostles and of the whole Church, being more deeply taught and inspired by God, recognized the Divinity of Christ, and answered concerning it what all the rest would have answered. This is plain, because to Peter only, as the reward of this confession, Christ promised the most ample reward and prerogative. For he says to him by name above the rest of the Apostles, “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona,” &c.

    The Christ of God. Gr. ὁ Χριστός, with the article. Thou, I say, art the Christ, or Messiah, i.e., anointed by God with the unction of the grace of the hypostatic Union with the WORD, and by this consecrated the Chief Doctor, High Priest. Prophet, and King of the world. Doctor, that Thou mayest teach men the will and law of God: High Priest, that by offering Thyself a sacrifice to God, Thou mayest reconcile the world to God; a prophet, that Thou mayest declare the secret things of God, and foretell things to come: a king that Thou mayest rule over Heaven and earth, and all the things which in them are.

    of God: Not by grace and adoption, as all the saints are sons of God, but by nature and the Deity communicated to Thee by God the Father, by eternal generation. In S. Matthew, the Greek has the definite article, ὁ υἱὸς, i.e., that Son, viz., the only natural son, of one substance with the Father. Living, who thus, formaliter lives the Divine, uncreated and beatific life, that causaliter, He breathes into all things created by Him, His own strength and vigour, and into living things, life and a soul. For from Him, as from a fountain and a sun of life, there floweth all the light and life of all angels, men, animals and plants. Thus S. Leo (Serm. de Transfig): “The divine Peter, by the revelation of the Heavenly Father, overcoming corporeal things, and transcending things human, beheld the Son of the Living God, and confessed the glory of the Deity.” Thus too S. Chrysostom, Hilary, Theophylact, Euthymius, S. Augustine, and Athanasius (Serm. 3. contra Arian.), and others, passim, who from this passage prove the Divinity of Christ.

    Moreover SS. Hilary and Chrysostom and others are of opinion that S. Peter first of all men confessed the Divinity of Christ. Others deny this, saying that Nathanael confessed it before Peter, when he said, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel. Nevertheless it is plain that before this confession of Peter the Apostles acknowledged Christ to be God from His very words, and from the many and great miracles which He wrought to prove it. We see this from the words of Peter (John vi. 65), “Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ the Son of God.” Also from the words of the Apostles themselves, “Verily Thou art the Son of God.” (Matth. xiv. 33.) But the Apostles, inasmuch as they were uninstructed, had formed a very confused and poor conception of this doctrine, and believed, after a sort, that Christ was truly the Son of God, above other Prophets, yea that He was God. But after what manner this was so, whether by eternal generation, or by some other way they were ignorant. But Peter being enlightened by God, recognized it distinctly, clearly, and sublimely, and first being asked concerning this thing, openly and constantly confessed the same and testified in this place, that verily, Christ was peculiarly the Son of God, that is begotten of God the Father by eternal generation, and therefore consubstantial with Him, and very and eternal God. Christ required this faith concerning Himself from Peter and the Apostles—for the Apostles tacitly approved Peter’s confession, and tacitly confessed the same—as well because that faith is the foundation of our justification, as because the Passion and Death of Christ were at hand, in which it was needful that the Apostles should be sustained by this faith in the Divinity of Christ; lest when He was dead, they should think faith and all other things were dead with Him. This is plain from verse 21, &c.

    26. For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels, i.e. at the day of judgment, when He shall sit as judge in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and in the presence of all, both men and angels, reward the just, and punish the evildoers.

    For he that shall be ashamed of me. Whosoever, from false shame or from fear of others, shall deny his faith in Me or refuse to obey My commandments, or fear the reproach of the Cross and a crucified Saviour, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, i.e. him will Christ pass over, and make of no account when He comes in that glory which He has acquired by the humiliation of His passion. For the Cross of Christ seemed to many a shame and a reproach, for Christ crucified was “unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:” 1 Cor. i. 23. Many, therefore, from shame or fear, did not dare to profess their belief in the Cross, much less to preach Christ crucified. In opposition to whom S. Paul boldly declares, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek.,” Rom. i. 16.

    So the monk Martyrius took Christ, who appeared to Him as a wearied leper, upon his shoulders, and carried Him to the monastery, but felt not the weight of his burden, for the burden he was carrying supported him. There Christ assumed His own proper form, and ascending to heaven said, “As thou, Martyrius, wast not ashamed of Me on earth, I will not be ashamed of thee in heaven.”

    S. Gregory (hom. 39), also, explaining this passage of S. Luke, writes, 

“Each one should ask himself, in order to test the reality of his confession of Christ, not whether he is ashamed of the name of the Redeemer, but rather whether by strength of purpose he has subdued all false feelings of earthly shame. In time of persecution believers might have had cause for shame at the treatment to which they were subjected; but now that persecutions are past, there is another aspect of the matter to which we should give heed. We shrink often from being lightly esteemed, and from being evilly spoken of by our fellow men, and in case of a dispute with our neighbour, we are ashamed to be the first to make amends. Because the carnal heart, seeking this world’s glory, refuses the grace of humility;” 

and further on he gives the remedy for this false shame. 

“Let human pride be confounded, and let every man be ashamed, if he be not the first to seek to make amends to his neighbour; since, after we have done amiss, God by His ministers beseeches us to be reconciled to Him, whom we have offended.”

+       +        +

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.

The feeding of the five thousand

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 10-17

Contents

• Luke ix. 10-17.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary of Cornelius A Lapide

Luke ix. 10-17.

And they did all eat, and were filled. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all they had done. And taking them, he went aside into a desert place, apart, which belongeth to Bethsaida.

Et reversi Apostoli, narraverunt illi quæcumque fecerunt : et assumptis illis secessit seorsum in locum desertum, qui est Bethsaidæ.

11 Which when the people knew, they followed him; and he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing.

Quod cum cognovissent turbae, secutae sunt illum : et excepit eos, et loquebatur illis de regno Dei, et eos, qui cura indigebant, sanabat.

12 Now the day began to decline. And the twelve came and said to him: Send away the multitude, that going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place.

Dies autem cœperat declinare, et accedentes duodecim dixerunt illi : Dimitte turbas, ut euntes in castella villasque quæ circa sunt, divertant, et inveniant escas : quia hic in loco deserto sumus.

13 But he said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless perhaps we should go and buy food for all this multitude.

Ait autem ad illos : Vos date illis manducare. At illi dixerunt : Non sunt nobis plus quam quinque panes et duo pisces : nisi forte nos eamus, et emamus in omnem hanc turbam escas.

14 Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

Erant autem fere viri quinque millia. Ait autem ad discipulos suos : Facite illos discumbere per convivia quinquagenos.

15 And they did so; and made them all sit down.

Et ita fecerunt : et discumbere fecerunt omnes.

16 And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed them; and he broke, and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude.

Acceptis autem quinque panibus et duobus piscibus, respexit in cælum, et benedixit illis : et fregit, et distribuit discipulis suis, ut ponerent ante turbas.

17 And they did all eat, and were filled. And there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets.

Et manducaverunt omnes, et saturati sunt. Et sublatum est quod superfuit illis, fragmentorum cophini duodecim.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

10. And the Apoſtles being returned, reported to him whatſoeuer they did: and taking them he retired apart into a deſert place, which belongeth to Beth-ſaida.

11. Which the multitudes vnderſtanding, followed him & he receiued them, and ſpake to them of the Kingdom of God, and them that had need of coure he healed.

12. And the day began to draw towards an end. And the Twelue comming neere, said to him: Dimiſſe the multitudes, that going into townes and villages here about, they may haue lodging, and find meates; because here we are in a deſert place.

13. And he ſaid to them: Giue you them to eate. But they said: We haue no more but fiue loaues and two fiſhes; vnles perhaps we should goe & buie meates for al this multitude.

14. And there were men almost fiue thouſand. And he said to his Diſciples: Make them ſit downe by companies fiftie and fiftie.

15. And so they did. And they made al ſit downe.

16. And taking the fiue loaues and the two fiſhes, he looked vp vnto Heauen, and bleſſed them; and he brake, and diſtributed to his Diſciples, for to ſet before the multitudes.

17. And did al eate, and had their fil. And there was taken vp that which remained to them, twelue baſkets of fragments.

Annotations

[The following Notes are based on those in the Great Commentary of Thomas A Lapide which refer to the same incident in St Matthew's Gospel. The verse numbers are those in St Luke's Gospel.]

    10.  And taking them, he went aside into a desert place, apart, which belongeth to Bethsaida. Adrichomius (in his description of the Holy Land), Jansen, and others think that this desert in which Christ fed the five thousand was called Bethsaida, not because it was close to that city, but on the opposite shore, across the sea of Galilee, between Julias and Dalmanutha. They attempt to prove this, because S. John says Christ went away across the sea of Galilee, and Matthew (xiv. 34) that He passed over the sea.

    But I say this desert was near Bethsaida, on the same shore, and so between Bethsaida and Tiberias. This is proved, 

    1. because Luke says expressly (ix. 10), He departed by Himself into a desert place, which is Bethsaida. The Arabic has, into a desert place near the city, which is called Bethsaida.

    2. Burchard testifies the same thing—viz., that this place was near Tiberias, and is called Mensa (a table).

    3. Because Nicephorus (l. 8, c. 3) writes that S. Helena built a church of twelve thrones in the place in which Christ fed the five thousand.

    4. Because after Christ had made this multiplication of the loaves, when He fled from the multitude (who wished to make Him a king), He commanded His disciples to sail to Bethsaida, as though it had been nigh at hand. Again, John says (vi. 23): “But other ships came in from Tiberias; nigh unto the place where they had eaten the bread, the Lord giving thanks.” This place, therefore, was near Tiberias, i.e., between it and Bethsaida. When therefore the multitude saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they took shipping, and came to Capharnaum, seeking for Jesus., as S. John subjoins.

    To the argument that Christ is said to have crossed over the sea, I reply: He did not sail over to the opposite shore, but went from one part of the same shore to another place by sea, from one bay of the lake to another, or from one side of a bay to the other side, by a straight course across, instead of going round by the land and following the windings of the shore. So Francis Lucas, Maldonatus, and others. The mountain to which Jesus retired, and from which He came down to the crowds who followed Him (John vi. 3) seems to have formed this bay. Lastly, across means the same thing as beyond.

    11. Which when the people knew, they followed him. “You will ask, How could people on foot follow Christ going across the sea in a ship? I answer, that when Christ went into the ship, the multitudes spread abroad His fame through the neighbourhood in all directions. Many, therefore, were stirred up to follow Christ going in a straight course in a ship, by passing round the sea of Galilee, until they came to Bethsaida, and from thence to Capernaum, where they found Christ, as S. John relates (vi. 24, 25).

    12. Now the day began to decline.—the time of dinner, i.e., of taking food.

    13. But he said to them:. Christ is preparing the way for the miracle of the multiplication of the bread. Therefore He detained the multitude until the evening, that His disciples might ask Him to dismiss them; whereupon He bids them to give them food, that thereby the miracle might be better attested and the benefit be more grateful, inasmuch as they saw themselves devoid of all means of supplying such vast numbers of people with bread in the desert. S. John adds: “And this he said to try him; for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little..”

    Christ asked Philip rather than the others because he was more candid and docile than the rest, but not so quick-witted, and was accustomed to ask many things that were sufficiently plain—as (in John xiv. 8) he asked Christ, saying, “Philip saith to him: Lord, shew us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Thus S. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and S. Cyril.

    Two hundred pence would amount to about £20, which would nearly suffice to purchase bread for 2000 persons. But here there were 5000 men, besides women and children. Many were also hungry from long fasting. Truly, therefore said Philip that two hundred pennyworth would not suffice for feeding so great a multitude.

    13. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes;. These fishes were already cooked, so that they might be immediately distributed by the Apostles, when Christ bade them. S. John explains this verse (vi. 8, 9): “There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves, and two fishes; but what are these among so many?”

    14. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company. That He might multiply them by His benediction. The Apostles obeyed and brought them. And this their prompt obedience and faith, together with their charity and desire to relieve the hunger of so many thousand people elicited this miracle from Christ.

    Make them sit down by fifties in a company.. S. Mark relates the first part of this verse more at length: and commanded them, to make them all sit down by companies upon the green grass. These companies were the several gatherings of people collected together to dine. Whence Luke (ix. 14) calls them feasts (convivia, Vulg.) i.e., companies of guests, in which for the sake of propriety, the men lay down with the men, and the women by themselves with their children, as Matthew here intimates. For formerly people did not sit at tables upon benches, but reclined upon couches, which were drawn close to the tables. Here the grass supplied the place of couches. Christ commanded them to lie down in companies, that no one should be passed over without receiving his portion of bread and fish.

    16. And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven. S. John has, Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to those who were set down. Wherefore the heretics explain the word blessed, by He gave thanks: but wrongly. For Christ, according to His manner, gave thanks to the Father first, then blessed the loaves. For Mark says, looking up to Heaven he blessed and brake the loaves. And Luke, he looked up to heaven, and blessed them; and he broke, and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude. 

    Christ therefore here blessed both God by praising Him and giving Him thanks, and also the loaves themselves. This He did in order that He might draw down Divine grace upon them, by means of which they might be multiplied, and acquire strength and efficacy to nourish, strengthen, and exhilarate so great a multitude, just as much as though they had been fed upon a rich feast of flesh and wine. Christ by this benediction endued these loaves with some, not physical, but moral virtue; that is to say, He ordained and appointed them for miraculous multiplication, whereby He placed His hand, as it were, i.e., His own Divine virtue upon the loaves, that they should straightway be really multiplied. And this indeed He did by converting the neighbouring atmosphere, or some other material gradually, but without being perceived, into bread. For God creates nothing de novo out of nothing, but produces and transforms all things from the matter which was created at the beginning of the world. In a similar manner He multiplied the meal and the oil of the widow of Sarepta, for the sake of Elias. That these loaves were most excellent and endued with vast nutritive virtue is plain from this, that they were Divine loaves, produced by Christ by a miracle. For all God’s works are perfect. So God, when at the beginning of the world He blessed all the various species of created things, by this blessing endued them with these very powers of generating, propagating, and multiplying themselves: for He said, increase and multiply. Thus Christ instituting the Eucharist at the last Supper, blessed the bread and transformed it into His own body. And this multiplication of the loaves by means of Christ’s benediction was a kind of type of the transmutation in the Eucharist; for shortly afterwards He uttered His long discourse upon the Eucharist which S. John gives in his sixth chapter, when he compares the Eucharist to manna. “Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead, whoso eateth this bread shall live for ever.” S. Augustine gives the reason (Tract. 24. in John.) “From whence God multiplies the crops of corn from a few grains, from thence He multiplied the loaves in His own hands. For the power was in the hands of Christ. For those five loaves were, as it were seed, not indeed committed to the earth, but multiplied by Him Who made the earth.” Whence S. Chrysostom says, “Those five loaves were multiplied in the hands of the disciples, and diffused abroad after the manner of a fountain.” As S. Hilary says, “Fragments succeed fragments, and that which was broken off continually escapes from Him who breaks it.” As S. Jerome says, “Whilst they break there was a sowing of food.”

    Tropologically: Christ here teaches by this action, that bread and riches, corporeal as well as spiritual, are not diminished by being given in alms, but are multiplied a hundred and a thousandfold. Thus S. John, Patriarch of Alexandria, called on account of his liberality, the Almoner, was wont to say that he learnt by daily experience, that the more he gave to the poor, the more he received from God. He used to say, “I shall see, O Lord who will leave off first, Thou in giving to me, or I in distributing to the poor.” So Leontius in his Life. Pope Adrian II. succeeded Nicolas I. A.D. 914.—this Adrian, says Platina was a friend of Pope Sergius, from whom he once received forty denarii as a gift. He went home and gave them to his steward, to distribute them amongst the pilgrims and beggars who were standing in the vestibule of his house. When he attempted to fulfill his master’s behest he found that it would be impossible with so small a sum to satisfy so vast a number as required assistance. He returned to Adrian, and explained how the matter stood. Then Adrian took the money, and came to the poor himself, and gave three denarii to everyone of them, reserving as many for his own household expenses. The steward marvelled at the miracle. Adrian said to him, do you see how kind and liberal the Lord is, especially to those who are liberal and bountiful to the poor?

    S. Lydwin of Holland, a singular mirror of patience and charity, although she was poor herself was wont diligently to succour the poor. She had a few small coins in a purse: these she was always giving away, when others were supplied from heaven in their place, so that they never failed, but ever increased, and thus her purse came to be called the Jesus purse. Read her Life in Surius. See 2 Cor. ix. 6. seq., “Now this I say: He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings., (Vulg.) i.e. many benefits, shall reap in blessings, i.e. many benefits.” Wherefore when you give a loaf, or a coin to a poor man, you do not lose it, but you sow it; for as from one grain of seed many grains grow, so it is likewise with loaves and money.

    17. And they did all eat. There was a vast multitude of women and little ones besides the five thousand men. For the women were more devoted and more curious to behold Christ the new Prophet, than the men were.

    and were filled. You will say, there is no mention here of wine. How then were they filled, if they drank nothing; for a dinner without anything to drink is a dog-banquet. I answer, Christ did not give them wine, because there were streams of water at hand, of which they might drink.

    For to drink water is natural and wholesome, and sufficient for nature. Christ did not wish to excite their throats with wine. God gives food for necessity, not for luxury and gluttony. Thus, an angel brought to Elias in the desert bread and a cruse of water, but no wine. So a raven, by God’s command, brought daily half a loaf to S. Paul, the first hermit; but he used to quench his thirst at a neighbouring fountain. God did the same to other saints. Indeed, from Adam until the Deluge—a space of sixteen hundred years, to the time of Noah, who first planted a vineyard—religious men neither ate flesh, nor drank wine; but their food was fruit, and their beverage water. Yet they lived to be nine hundred years old. Abstinence, therefore, is the mother of health, as well as of wisdom and holiness.

    And there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets. They brought back, therefore, more bread than they had brought to Christ at first. For the twelve baskets would contain not five, but thirty or more loaves. It is probable Christ first broke the five loaves with His own hands, and in breaking multiplied them, and placed them in these baskets for distribution. These were afterwards, by His command, distributed by the Apostles to the different companies, and were gradually more and more multiplied; by which means they brought back to Christ as many baskets of fragments as they had received baskets of loaves from Him at the beginning. Cedrenus (Compend. Histor.) relates that these twelve baskets were carefully preserved in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, which Constantine the Great built at Constantinople.

    In the Greek, these baskets are called cophini. They were much used by the Jews. This appears from a line in Juvenal:

    “The Jews have cophini and hay for furniture.”

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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.

Christ sends the Apostles to preach the Kingdom of God

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 1-9

Contents

• Luke ix. 1-9.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate).
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Catena Aurea

Luke ix. 1-9.

He sent them to preach the kingdom of God.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. 

1 Then calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Convocatis autem duodecim Apostolis, dedit illis virtutem et potestatem super omnia dæmonia, et ut languores curarent.

2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Et misit illos prædicare regnum Dei, et sanare infirmos.

3 And he said to them: Take nothing for your journey; neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.

Et ait ad illos : Nihil tuleritis in via, neque virgam, neque peram, neque panem, neque pecuniam, neque duas tunicas habeatis.

4 And whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there, and depart not from thence.

Et in quamcumque domum intraveritis, ibi manete, et inde ne exeatis.

5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet, for a testimony against them.

Et quicumque non receperint vos : exeuntes de civitate illa, etiam pulverem pedum vestrorum excutite in testimonium supra illos.

6 And going out, they went about through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.

Egressi autem circuibant per castella evangelizantes, et curantes ubique.

7 Now Herod, the tetrarch, heard of all things that were done by him; and he was in a doubt, because it was said

Audivit autem Herodes tetrarcha omnia quae fiebant ab eo, et haesitabat eo quod diceretur

8 By some, that John was risen from the dead: but by other some, that Elias had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

a quibusdam : Quia Joannes surrexit a mortuis : a quibusdam vero : Quia Elias apparuit : ab aliis autem : Quia propheta unus de antiquis surrexit.

9 And Herod said: John I have beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.

Et ait Herodes : Joannem ego decollavit : quis est autem iste, de quo ego talia audio? Et quaerebat videre eum.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

1. AND calling together the twelue Apoſtles, he gaue them vertue and power ouer al Diuels, and to cure maladies.

2. And he ſent them to preach the Kingdom of God; and to heale the ſicke.

3. And he ſaid to them: Take nothing for the way, neither rod, nor ſkrip, nor bread, nor money, neither haue two coates.

4. And into whatſoeuer house you enter, tarie there, and thence doe not depart.

5. And whoſoeuer shal not receiue you, going forth out of that citie, ſhake off the duſt also of your feet for a teſtimonie vpon them.

6. And goind forth they went a circuit from towne to towne euangelizing and curing euery where.

7. And Herod the Tetrach heard al things that were done by him; and he ſtaggered because it was ſaid of some, That Iohn was riſen from the dead.

8. But of other ſome, That Elias hath appeared; and of others, that a Prophet one of the old ones was riſen.

9. And Herod ſaid: Iohn I haue beheaded; but who is this of whom I heare ſuch things? And he ſought for to ſee him.

 

Annotations

    1.  Then calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

 It was fitting that those who were appointed the ministers of holy teaching should be able to work miracles, and by these very acts themselves be believed to be the ministers of God. Herein He brings down the haughty pride of the devil, who once said, there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or made the least noise. (Isai. x. 14. LXX.) CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA.

    3.  And he said to them: Take nothing for your journey; neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.

 Now in sending His disciples to preach, our Lord enjoined many things on them, the chief of which are, that they should be so virtuous, so constant, so temperate, and, to speak briefly, so heavenly, that no less through their manner of living than their words, the teaching of the Gospel might be spread abroad.  GREGORY NAZIANZEN. (Orat. ii. 69.)

    Many things indeed He ordained hereby; first indeed it rendered the disciples unsuspected; secondly, it held them aloof from all care, so that they might give their whole study to the word; thirdly, it taught them their own proper virtue. But perhaps some one will say that the other things indeed are reasonable, but for what reason did He command them to have no scrip on their way, nor two coats, nor staff? In truth, because He wished to rouse them to all diligence, taking them away from all the cares of this life, that they might be occupied by the one single care of teaching. CHRYSOSTOM. (ubi sup.) 

    Of what kind then he ought to be who preaches the Gospel of the kingdom of God is marked out by these Gospel precepts; that is, he must not require the supports of secular aid; and clinging wholly to faith, he must believe that the less he requires those things, the more they will be supplied to him. AMBROSE.

    4.  And whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there, and depart not from thence. He pronounces it to be foreign to the character of a preacher of the heavenly kingdom to run from house to house and change the rights of inviolable hospitality; but as the grace of hospitality is supposed to be offered, so also if they are not received the dust must be shaken off. AMBROSE. 

    5. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet, for a testimony against them. The dust is shaken off from the Apostles’ feet as a testimony of their labours, that they entered into a city, and the apostolical preaching had reached to the inhabitants thereof. Or the dust is shaken off when they receive nothing (not even of the necessaries of life) from those who despised the Gospel. BEDE. 

    But if any by treacherous negligence, or even from zeal, despise the word of God, their communion must be shunned, the dust of the feet must be shaken off, lest by their vain deeds which are to be compared to the dust, the footstep of a chaste mind be defiled. BEDE. 

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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.