The Widow of Zarephath

Monday of the Third week of Lent

2nd book of Kings 5:1-15.
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife.
"If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria," she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
"Go," said the king of Aram. "I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy."
When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: "Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!"
When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: "Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel."
Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
The prophet sent him the message: "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean."
But Naaman went away angry, saying, "I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?" With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant."

Psalms 42:2.3.43:3.4.
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My being thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and see the face of God?
Send your light and fidelity, that they may be my guide And bring me to your holy mountain, to the place of your dwelling,
That I may come to the altar of God, to God, my joy, my delight. Then I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4:24-30.
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
The Widow of Zarephath

The Widow of Zarephath

The poor widow had gone out to look for two blocks of wood to bake some bread: it is at this time that Elijah meets her. This woman is the symbol of the Church; because a cross is made of two pieces of wood, the woman, who was destined to die, searches for something by which to live eternally. There is a hidden mystery in this...Elijah tells her: “Go, feed me first with your poverty, and you will not run out of your goods”. What a blessed poverty! If the widow received here on earth such retribution, what a reward may she hope to receive in the life to come!

I insist on this point: let us not expect to harvest the fruit of our sowing now, at the time we sow. Here on earth, we sow with difficulty what will be the harvest of our good works, but only later on will we gather the fruits of this with joy, according to what is said: “Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, Will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves” (Ps 125,6). Actually Elijah's act towards this woman was not her reward, but only a symbol of it. For if this widow would have been rewarded here on earth for having fed the man of God, what a miserable sowing, what a poor crop! She received just a temporal good: a jar of flour that did not go empty and a jug of oil that did not run dry till the day the Lord watered the earth with his rain. This sign that was given to her by God for a few days was therefore the symbol of the future life where our reward could not be lessened. Our flour will be God himself! As the flour of this woman did not run out in these days, we will not be deprived of God for all the rest of eternity...Sow with faith and your harvest will surely come; it will come later on, but when it will come, you will reap it endlessly.

Well for the man who is gracious and lends... who gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure for ever

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16:19-31.
There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Commentary of the day
Saint Basil (c.330-379), monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church
Homily 6 against wealth; PG 31, 275-278

"Well for the man who is gracious and lends... who gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure for ever" (Ps 112[111], 5,9)

However are you going to answer the supreme judge, you who drape your walls but do not clothe your fellow? you who dress your hair but do not so much as glance at your brother in distress?... you who hoard your gold but fail to assist the oppressed?...

What is there that belongs to you, tell me that? From whom have you received everything you carry with you through this life?... Didn't you emerge naked from your mother's womb? And won't you return equally naked to the dust? (Jb 1,21). From whom do you have possession of your present goods? Answer «by chance», and you are an irreligious person who refuses to know your creator or thank your benefactor. If you admit it is from God then tell me what is the reason you received them.

Could God be unjust in sharing out unequally the good things necessary for life? Why are you enjoying abundance while that other is in want? Isn't it solely so that one day, through your goodness and disinterested administration, you might receive your reward while the poor man will gain the crown promised to patience?... The bread you keep for yourself belongs to the hungry; to the naked belongs the cloak that you store away in your chest... So you commit as many deeds of injustice as there are people you might have helped.

The sign of Jonah

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:29-32.
While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

Commentary of the day
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130-c.208), Bishop, theologian and martyr
Against the heresies III, 20, 1 (cf SC 34, p. 339)

The sign of Jonah

God showed patience in the face of man's weakness because he saw beforehand the victory he would eventually give him through his Word. For, when «power was made perfect in weakness» (2Cor 12,9), the Word caused God's goodness and tremendous power to be made manifest.

Indeed, it was the same with man as it was with the prophet Jonah. God permitted Jonah to be swallowed by a sea-monster, not to make him altogether vanish away and die but so that when he had been vomited out by the monster he would become more subject to God and would give all the more glory to him who had given him this unexpected deliverance. It was, too, to lead the Ninevites to firm repentance and to convert them to him who would deliver them from death, amazed as they were by the sign accomplished in Jonah... In the same way, God permitted man to be swallowed by that great monster, the author of disobedience, not so that he should altogether vanish away and die but because God had prepared beforehand the salvation fulfilled by his Word by means of the «sign of Jonas». This salvation has been prepared for those who have the same feelings for God as Jonah did and who confess him in the same words: «I am the servant of the Lord and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land» (Jon 1,9).

God desired that man, by receiving an unanticipated salvation from him, would rise from the dead and worship God, saying with Jonah: «Out of my distress I called to the Lord; from the midst of the nether world he heard my voice» (Jon 2,2). God desired, too, that man would always remain faithful in giving him worship and unceasing thanks for the salvation he has received from him.

courtesy of the daily gospel

“Why does this age seek a sign?” - Believing even in darkness

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:11-13.
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."
Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.


Commentary of the day : Saint [Padre] Pio de Pietrelcina
“Why does this age seek a sign?” - Believing even in darkness

The Holy Spirit tells us: Don’t let your mind succumb to temptation and sorrow, for joy of the heart is life for the soul. Sorrow is no good for anything and causes our spiritual death.

It happens sometimes that the darkness of trial overwhelms your soul’s heaven; but this darkness is light! Thanks to it, you believe even in darkness; the mind feels lost, it fears no longer being able to see, no longer understanding anything. But this is the moment when the Lord speaks and makes himself present to the soul; and the soul listens, understands and loves in the fear of God. So don’t wait for Tabor to “see” God when you are already contemplating him on Sinai.

Progress in the joy of a sincere heart that is wide open. And if it is impossible for you to keep that happiness, at least don’t lose courage and keep all your trust in God.

The kingdom of God is at hand for you

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:1-9.

After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'

Commentary of the day
Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience of 13/12/2006 (© copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Timothy and Titus : two of Paul's collaborators

Three Letters traditionally attributed to Paul are addressed to his two closest collaborators, two to Timothy and one to Titus. 'Timothy' is a Greek name which means "one who honours God". Whereas Luke mentions him six times in the Acts, Paul in his Letters refers to him at least 17 times (and his name occurs once in the Letter to the Hebrews). One may deduce from this that Paul held him in high esteem...

Then, as regards the figure of Titus, whose name is of Latin origin, we know that he was Greek by birth, that is, a pagan (cf. Gal 2: 3). Paul took Titus with him to Jerusalem for the so-called Apostolic Council, where the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles that freed them from the constraints of Mosaic Law was solemnly accepted... After Timothy's departure from Corinth, Paul sent Titus there with the task of bringing that unmanageable community to obedience...

To conclude, if we consider together the two figures of Timothy and Titus, we are aware of certain very significant facts. The most important one is that in carrying out his missions, Paul availed himself of collaborators. He certainly remains the Apostle par excellence, founder and pastor of many Churches. Yet it clearly appears that he did not do everything on his own but relied on trustworthy people who shared in his endeavours and responsibilities. Another observation concerns the willingness of these collaborators. The sources concerning Timothy and Titus highlight their readiness to take on various offices that also often consisted in representing Paul in circumstances far from easy. In a word, they teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, realizing that this also entails a service to the Church herself... Through our commitment in practice we can and must... be rich in good deeds and thus open the doors of the world to Christ, our Saviour.

Persecutor transformed into preacher

Marcos 16: 15-18

15 At sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila, "Habang kayo'y humahayo sa buong mundo, ay ipangaral ninyo sa lahat ng tao ang Magandang Balita. 16 Ang sinumang sumampalataya at mabautismuhan ay maliligtas, ngunit ang ayaw sumampalataya ay paparusahan. 17 Ang mga sumasampalataya ay bibigyan ng kapangyarihang gumawa ng mga himala: sa pangalan ko'y magpapalayas sila ng mga demonyo at magsasalita ng iba't ibang wika. 18 Hindi sila maaano kahit dumampot sila ng ahas o uminom ng lason; at gagaling ang mga maysakit na papatungan nila ng kamay."

(English Version)
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16:15-18.

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Commentary:

From heaven's height Christ's voice overturned Saul. He received a command to carry out his persecutions no more and fell face downwards to the ground. He had first to be knocked down and afterwards raised up; first struck, then healed. For Christ would never have come to live in him if Saul had not died to his former life of sin. Cast down to the earth in this way, what was it he heard? «Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad» (Acts 26,14). And he replied: «Who are you, Lord?» Then the voice from on high continued: «I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting». The members are still on the ground while the head cries out from the heights of heaven. It is not saying: «Why are you persecuting my servants?» but «Why are you persecuting me?»

And Paul, who had put all his energy into his persecuting, is already preparing to obey: «What do you want me to do?» The persecutor is already transformed into preacher, the wolf has become a sheep, the enemy a defender. Paul learns what he is to do: if he has become blind, if this world's light is held back from him for a while, it is so as to make the light within shine in his heart. Light is taken away from the persecutor so that it may be given to the preacher; at the very moment he no longer saw anything of this world, he saw Jesus. This symbolizes the believer: those who believe in Christ must fix the eyes of their soul on him without paying attention to outward things...

So Saul was led to Ananias; the ravaging wolf is led to the sheep. But the Shepherd, who guides everything from heaven above, reassures it...: «Don't worry. I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name» (Acts 9,16). What wonder is this! The wolf is led, a captive, to the sheep... The Lamb who died for the sheep teaches them not to be afraid any more.

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "Be made clean."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5:12-16.

Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.


Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "Be made clean."

Jesus did not just say: «I will do it. Be made clean.» He went further: «He stretched out his hand and touched him.» Now here is something worthy of our notice. Given that he cured him by an act of his will and with a word, why did he touch him with his hand? For no other reason, it seems to me, than to demonstrate that he is not inferior but superior to the Law and that, from now on, nothing is impure for those who are pure... Jesus' hand did not become impure at the leper's contact; to the contrary, the leper's body was purified by means of the holiness of the hand. For Christ did not just come to heal bodies but to raise up souls to sanctity, and here he teaches us to care for our soul and purify it without bothering ourselves about external ablutions. The only leprosy we need to be afraid of is leprosy of soul, that is to say, sin...

As for us, let us show thanksgiving to God at all times. Let us thank him, not only for the gifts he has given to us but, still more, for those he has granted to others. In this way we shall be able to destroy our envy and nurture and increase our love of neighbor