"To give his life as a ransom for many"

My Gospel Blog beginning today composes of Gospel Theme Song, The Gospel and The Reflection. Stay Holy and Faithful readers....

Theme song for today's Gospel:

click here to download this beautiful song....


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:32-45.
They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him.
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles
who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


Commentary of the day : Saint Alphonsus Liguori
"To give his life as a ransom for many"

A God who serves, who sweeps the house and gives himself to the most onerous work – a single one of these reflections should be enough to fill us with love! When our Savior began preaching his Gospel he made himself «the servant of all», himself asserting that «he had not come to be served, but to serve». It was as though he had said he wanted to be servant to everyone. And Saint Bernard says that, at the end of his life, he was not satisfied «with having taken the condition of a servant that he might place himself at our service but he wanted to take on the appearance of an unworthy slave and be struck and undergo the punishment due to us by reason of our sins.»

See how our Lord, as an obedient servant to all, undergoes the sentence of Pilate, unjust as it is, and yields to his executioners... In this way has this God so loved us that, out of love for us, he wanted to obey like a slave even to death and die a death that was both painful and humiliating: the torture of the cross (Phil 2,8).


Yet in all this he obeyed, not as God but as man, as the slave whose condition he had assumed. There are holy men who have surrendered themselves as slaves in order to redeem a poor man and have won the world's admiration by this heroic act of charity. But what sort of charity is this compared with that of the Redeemer? Being God; desiring to redeem us from the slavery due to us to the devil and death, he made himself as slave, allowing himself to be bound and nailed to the cross. «That the servant might become lord,» Saint Augustine says, «God willed to make himself a servant.»

They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17:11-19.
And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.


Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
«They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.»

Listen everybody, Jews and Gentiles... Listen, all the kingdoms of the earth! I am not preventing you from ruling over this world, «my kingdom is not of this world.» (Jn 18:36) So don't be afraid with that senseless fear which seized Herod when my birth was announced to him... «No,» the Savior says, «my kingdom is not of this world.» All of you, come to a kingdom, which is not of this world; come by faith. May you not be made cruel by fear. It is true that the Son of God, speaking of the Father, says in a prophecy: «Through him, I was established as king on Zion, his holy mountain.» (Ps 2:6) But that Zion and that mountain are not of this world.

And what is his kingdom? It is they who believe in him, those to whom he says: «You are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.» But he nevertheless wants them to be in the world; he prays to his Father: «I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one.» For he did not say: «My kingdom is not in this world,» but rather: «It is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over.» (Jn 18:36)

For his kingdom really is here on earth until the end of the world and up until the harvest the weeds are mingled with the good seed (Mt 13:24f.)... His kingdom is not from here, for he is like a traveler in this world. To those over whom he reigns, he says: «You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.» (Jn 15:19) So they did belong to this world when they were not yet his kingdom, and they belonged to the prince of this world (Jn 12:3)... All who are born of Adam's sinful race belong to this world; all who were reborn in Jesus Christ belong to his kingdom and no longer belong to this world. For «God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.» (Col 1:13)

Yielding fruit in due season

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:1-8.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.


Commentary of the day : Blessed Charles de Foucauld
Yielding fruit in due season

Yielding fruit in due season

«Happy the man who... meditates on the Law day and night. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season» (Ps 1,1-3). O my God, you tell me how happy I shall be, happy with a true happiness, happy on the last day... and that, wretched though I be, I am a palm tree planted near running waters, waters running with your divine will, your divine love and grace... and that I shall yield my fruit in due season. Thus you deign to comfort me. It seems to me that I am without fruit, without any good works, and I say to myself: I was converted eleven years ago and what have I done? What comparison is there between the works accomplished by the saints and my own? I see myself with hands completely empty.

But you deign to comfort me; you tell me: «You will bear fruit in your season»... What season is this? The season that comes to all of us is the hour of judgement. And you promise me that, if I persevere with good will and in the struggle, however small I see myself to be, I shall yield fruit at the final hour.

The light of the world

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8:12-20.
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.
Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified.
I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me."
So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.


Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine
The light of the world

Monday of the Fifth week of Lent : Jn 8,12-20

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermons on St John's Gospel, no. 34

The light of the world

It would seem to me that the Lord's words: «I am the light of the world» are clear enough for those with eyes that enable them to have a share in that light. But those who only have bodily eyes are astonished to hear it said by our Lord Jesus Christ: «I am the light of the world.» There may even be those who say: «Would Christ be the sun that determines the day by its rising and setting?»... No, Christ is not that. The Lord is not the created sun but him by whom the sun was created. For «all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be» (Jn 1,3). Therefore he is the light who created the light we see. Let us love this light, understand it, desire it, that led by it we may in due course attain it and may live in it so as never to die...

So you see, my brethren, you see, if you have eyes that see spiritual things, what kind of light this is of which the Lord says: «Whoever follows me does not walk in darkness.» Follow that sun and let us see whether or not you walk in darkness. Behold how he arises and comes towards you. Following his course he makes his way westwards; but you on your part, must walk towards the rising sun, the Christ.

Loving God and neighbor

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12:28-34.
One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Commentary of the day
Pope Benedict XVI
Encyclical « Deus caritas est », § 17 – 18 ( © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Loving God and neighbor

The love-story between God and man consists in the very fact that this communion of will increases in a communion of thought and sentiment, and thus our will and God's will increasingly coincide: God's will is no longer for me an alien will, something imposed on me from without by the commandments, but it is now my own will, based on the realization that God is in fact more deeply present to me than I am to myself.[10] Then self- abandonment to God increases and God becomes our joy (cf. Ps 73 [72]:23-28).

Love of neighbour is thus shown to be possible in the way proclaimed by the Bible, by Jesus. It consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings. Then I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend... Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.

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.