Third Sunday after Easter—Patronage of St. Joseph.
EPISTLE AND GOSPEL OF THE FEAST.
EPISTLE. Gen. xlix. 22-26.
JOSEPH is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold : the daughters run to and fro upon the wall. But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him. His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob : thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel. The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers : until the desire of the everlasting hills should come; may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
GOSPEL. Luke iii. 21-23.
At that time : It came to pass when all the people was bap tized, that Jesus also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened : and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape as a dove upon Him : and a voice came from heaven : Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased. And Jesus Himself was beginning about the age of thirty years, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph.
WHAT WE ABE TO BELIEVE CONCERNING THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS.
In what does the perfection of the Christian life consist? In the perfection of love (Col. iii. 14). The more a man separates himself from the world, and unites himself with God, the more perfect he will be. We can attain to the perfection of the Christian life by means of certain excellent practices known as the evangelical counsels which Jesus Christ lays before us, and to which He calls us, without directly commanding us to adopt them. So that the difference between the commandments and the evangelical counsels consists in this : that the commandments bind us by an indispensable obligation, but the evangelical counsels do not. The evangelical counsels are: 1. Voluntary poverty. 2. Perpetual chastity. 3. Entire obedience under a spiritual director.
By voluntary poverty is understood a free-will renunciation of the riches and goods of this world in order to follow Jesus Christ in His poverty. By perpetual chastity we understand a free-will, life-long abstinence, not only from everything that is contrary to purity, but also abstinence from marriage, in order to live only for God and His holy service in virginal purity. By entire obedience we are to understand a voluntary renunciation of one s own will in order to follow the will and command of a superior whom one chooses for himself. In practising the evangelical counsels there are three points to be observed, in order that they may serve, or help to eternal salvation : 1. They must be practised with a pure intention, seeking thereby nothing else than to please God and to praise His holy name.2.With great humility, in no way giving ourselves preference over others. 3. By great fidelity in observing not only what one has vowed, but also what is commanded. Also, one should live diligently and strictly according to the commandments, otherwise the practising of the evangelical counsels will be of no avail.
INTROIT, PRAYER, EPISTLE, AND GOSPEL OF THE SUNDAY.
The Church continues to encourage us to rejoice and praise God for the resurrection of Jesus, and sings accordingly, at the Introit of the Mass, “ Shout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia. Sing ye a psalm to His name, alleluia. Give glory to His praise, alleluia ! alleluia ! alleluia ! Say unto God how terrible are Thy works, O Lord. In the multitude of Thy strength, Thy enemies shall lie to Thee” (Ps. Ixv.).
Prayer
O God, Who dost show the light of Thy truth to those that go astray that they may return to the way of justice, grant to all who are numbered among Christians to reject those things which are incompatible with this name, and to pursue those which are becoming. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, etc.
EPISTLE, i. Peter ii. 11-19.
Dearly Beloved: I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul, having your conversation good among the gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God s sake : whether it be to the king as excelling : or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of the good : for so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men : as free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thanks-worthy, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Explanation.
St. Peter here reminds us, 1, that we are only pilgrims on earth and should not fasten our hearts on the world and its goods. He admonishes us, 2, to lead an edifying life, particularly when we are among the adversaries of our faith, for, while we may thus do great good, and awaken respect for the Church an un-Catholic and un -Christian life not only brings shame upon him who leads it, but gives scandal to non -Catholics, and places the Church in a false light. He admonishes us, 3, to be subject to our superiors, for God s sake, for it is He Who commands this obedience (Rom. xiii. 1).
Aspiration.
O Jesus, I will impress deeply upon my heart the teaching of Thy apostle, that this world is not my home. Though I should meet in my pilgrimage many adversities, I will patiently combat them, and will not suffer anything to keep me from the way to my true home, heaven. Give me Thy grace, O God, to fulfil this resolution.
GOSPEL. John xvi. 16-22.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples : A little while, and you shall not see Me : and again a little while, and you shall see Me : because I go to the Father. Then some of His disciples said one to another : What is this that He saith to us : A little while, and you shall not see Me : and again a little while, and you shall see Me, and because I go to the Father? They said therefore: What is this that He saith, a little while? we know not what He speaketh. And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask Him, and He said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said : A little while, and you shall not see Me : and again a little while, and you shall see Me ? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice : and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice : and your joy no man shall take from you.
What is the meaning of the expression, “yet a little while”?
Jesus meant that He was soon to leave His disciples, and that during the time of His passion they would have much to endure; but that He would soon see them again, and that then no one should any more take their joy from them. What, in deed, are the sufferings of time, in comparison with the eternal joy to follow, but a small and trivial thing, passing away in the twinkling of an eye? (2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.)
Why did Jesus tell His disciples beforehand of their sufferings and joys?
1.That they might bear their trials the more easily. 2.That they might not believe their master to be unable to preserve them from sufferings. 3. That by looking to the eternal joy they might make light of present troubles, and keep up their courage! Therefore, says St. Chrysostom, “Tell me, if you were called to a temporal kingdom, but before entering into the palace, where you were to be crowned, had to spend the night in a dark and offensive stable, would this be hard for you? would you not bear it cheerfully in expectation of the kingdom?
ENCOURAGEMENT TO PATIENCE IN ADVERSITY.
“ You shall lament and weep.” John xvi. 20.
--------------------------------------------------
Next: Fourth Sunday after Easter
