I
FIRST READING
I saw water flowing from the temple, and all who were touched by it
were saved.
The angel brought me
[Ezekiel]
back to the entrance of
the temple,
and I saw water flowing
out
from beneath the
threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple
was toward the east;
the water flowed down
from the southern side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the
north gate,
and around to the outer
gate facing the east,
where I saw water
trickling from the southern side.
He said to me,
“This water flows into
the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the
sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river
flows,
every sort of living
creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be
abundant fish,
for wherever this water
comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the
river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not
fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall
bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be
watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve
for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
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Commentary on Ez
47:1-2, 8-9, 12
The scriptural offerings
begin with a first reading taken from a (truncated) excerpt from Ezekiel’s
vision of the renewed temple in Jerusalem (47:1-2, 8-9, 12). Because the
presence of the Lord has returned to the temple (following the return of Israel
itself from exile), the waters flowing from the temple have become life-giving
in the spectacular way described – even the Dead Sea is seen as being made to
teem with fish when the waters enter it. The vision has entered Christian
imagination as a powerful symbol of the life (grace) that flows to human beings
through God’s presence in the temple of the Church.[1]
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (3) You will draw
water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and
unafraid.
My strength and my
courage is the LORD,
and he has been my
savior.
With joy you will draw
water
at the fountain of
salvation.
R. You will draw water
joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD,
acclaim his name;
among the nations make
known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is
his name.
R. You will draw water
joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD
for his glorious achievement;
let this be known
throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O
city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water
joyfully from the springs of salvation.
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Commentary on Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
This hymn of praise is a
profession of faith: “My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been
my savior.” It is also interesting in that it challenges those who profess
their faith in the Lord to proclaim it in the world: “among the nations make
known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.”
This canticle emphasizes
the peace and confidence found in his servant, enjoying the salvation of God.
He sings his praise to God and exhorts all of Israel to praise him as they see
his constant presence among them in the blessings they receive.
CCC: Is 12:3 2561
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GOSPEL
One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance,
and immediately there came out blood and water.
Standing by the cross of
Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple whom he loved,
he said to his mother,
"Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the
disciple,
"Behold, your
mother."
And from that hour the
disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that
everything was now finished,
in order that the
Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, "I
thirst."
There was a vessel
filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge
soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his
mouth.
When Jesus had taken the
wine, he said,
"It is
finished."
And bowing his head, he
handed over the spirit.
Now since it was
preparation day,
in order that the bodies
might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of
that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate
that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and
broke the legs of the first
and then of the other
one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to
Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his
legs,
but one soldier thrust
his lance into his side,
and immediately Blood
and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has
testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is
speaking the truth,
so that you also may
come to believe.
For this happened so
that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be
broken.
And again another
passage says:
They will look upon him
whom they have pierced.
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Commentary on Jn 19:25-37
Here is Jesus’ last
address to his mother. Although the address sounds unnecessarily formal ("Woman,
behold, your son.") this would have been considered a polite address
in biblical times. The reference, “Woman,” is possibly to Genesis
3:15 which describes
the mother of the Messiah as the “woman” whose offspring conquers the devil (CCC 726, 2618). [2] The Lord, nearing the end of his life,
commends the care of his mother to the disciple whom he loved. It is presumed this
is done because Jesus has no brothers or sisters, and his adoptive father,
Joseph, has already died.
In this instance, assuming
that the disciple referred to is St. John, the author of the Gospel, the tender
consignment of the care of the Lord’s mother is seen as iconic. That is, she is
given into the care of all of the disciples, whom Jesus loves. Seeing her Son
dying upon the cross is one of the seven sorrows the Blessed Mother endured in
faith.
The narrative continues
describing the Lord's last moments of life on the cross. The prophecy to
which John refers when saying "in order that the Scripture might be
fulfilled" was Psalm
69:22. While Matthew
and Mark speak about this event, only John relates it specifically to the
prophetic literature. After this final act, the Lord "handed over
his spirit."
What happens after
Jesus' death demonstrates to the Jews the nature of his sacrifice. "Jesus
dies on the Preparation day of the Passover - Parasceve- that is,
the eve, when the paschal lambs were officially sacrificed in the temple.
By stressing this, the Evangelist implies that Christ's sacrifice took
the place of the sacrifices of the Old Law and inaugurated the New Alliance in
his blood (cf. Hebrews 9:12)."[3] Typically, when the executioners wished to
speed up the death of one crucified, the legs would be broken. This would force
the victim to suffocate quickly. In the case of Jesus, this was not done
(see Psalm 34:20-21). Instead we are told the guards pierced his side with a
lance and "immediately Blood and water flowed out."
While the outflow of
water and blood have a natural explanation, there has been great theological
importance placed upon it in numerous sources (St. Ambrose, St. Thomas Aquinas,
and St. Augustine). Water and blood have already been established as
signs of salvation (John 3:5 and
John 6:53ff).
"With Christ's death and the giving of the Spirit already signified
in v. 30, the life-giving work of the Church begins, and hence the Church can
be said in a sense to have been born from the wounded side of Christ."[4]
St. John next adds a
theological reflection of his own in the form of testimony from an
eyewitness. Using references to prophetic literature, the witness points
out that Jesus' body ritually followed Jewish law governing the Passover
sacrifice, which designated that the bones of the sacrificial animal
should not be broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12). Christ becomes the Christian's Passover Sacrifice and meal. And
in the second proof "They will look upon him whom they have pierced,"
he makes reference to Zechariah
12:10.
CCC: Jn 19:25-27 726, 2618; Jn 19:25 495; Jn
19:26-27 501, 964, 2605; Jn 19:27 2677, 2679; Jn 19:28 544, 607, 2561, 2605; Jn 19:30 607, 624, 730, 2605; Jn 19:30b 2605; Jn
19:31 641; Jn
19:34 478, 694, 1225; Jn 19:36 608; Jn
19:37 1432
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II
FIRST READING
Fountain of the garden, well of living water.
Until the day breathes
cool and the shadows lengthen,
I will go to the
mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of incense.
You are all-beautiful,
my beloved,
and there is no blemish
in you.
You have ravished my
heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my
heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one bead of your
necklace.
You are an enclosed
garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a
fountain sealed.
You are a park that puts
forth pomegranates,
with all choice fruits;
nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,
with all kinds of
incense;
myrrh and aloes,
with all the finest
spices.
You are a garden
fountain, a well of water
flowing fresh from
Lebanon.
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Commentary on Sgs
4:6-7,9,12-15
In the allegorical
reading, the various qualities of the beloved are applied to the Church,
because "As a lover often sings the praises of the one he loves, and
especially delights in her shapeliness and in the beauty of her face. God
speaks of the elegant figure of the Church, the beauty of her members and the
features of her face" (Fray Luis de Leon, In Canticiim Canticorum triplex
explanatio. 4, 3). But it is the Virgin Mary who possesses the qualities of the
bride to the highest degree, so it is not surprising that the Tradition of the
Church should have read vv. 7 and 12-15 as announcing her preservation from sin
(she is the Immaculate) and her perpetual virginity.
"In the Song of
Songs, you are called the 'enclosed garden' and 'sealed fountain' by the spouse
who came from you. An enclosed garden, because the sickle of corruption has not
touched you, nor have you yet arrived at vintage; in all your innocence, you
grew as the flower of the root of Jesse for all mankind, tended by the one,
pure Holy Spirit. A sealed fountain, because the river of life, which sprang
forth from you, flooded the whole earth, but no trace of a spouse was to be
seen in the spring-water" (Hesychius, De Sancta Maria Deipard). [5]
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (15:9d) You are the
highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you,
daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on
earth;
and blessed be the LORD
God,
the creator of heaven
and earth.
R. You are the highest
honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will
never be forgotten
by those who tell of the
might of God.
R. You are the highest
honor of our race.
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Commentary on Judith 13:18bcde, 19
This short hymn in
praise of Judith (who at the time of its writing represented the faithful
people) is predictive of the blessed role Mary will play in human salvation. In
the story immediately preceding these verses Judith offers to sacrifice herself
for salvation of the people and is here found praiseworthy for her willingness
to do so.
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GOSPEL
Streams of living water shall flow from his heart.
On the last and greatest
day of the feast,
Jesus stood up and
exclaimed,
"Let anyone who
thirsts come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me,
as Scripture says:
Rivers of living water
will flow from within him."
He said this in
reference to the Spirit
that those who came to
believe in him were to receive.
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Commentary on Jn 7:37-39a
“On each of the eight
days of the feast of Tabernacles the high priest went to the pool of Siloam and
used a golden cup to bring water to the temple and sprinkle it on the altar, in
remembrance of the water which sprang up miraculously in the desert, asking God
to send rain in plenty (cf. Exodus
17:1-7). Meanwhile, a passage
from the prophet Isaiah was chanted (cf. Isaiah
12:3) which told of the
coming of the Savior and of the outpouring of heavenly gifts that would
accompany him; Ezekiel 47 was also read, in which it spoke of the torrents of water
which would pour out of the temple. Jesus, who would have been at this
ceremony, now proclaims - in the presence of a huge crowd, undoubtedly, because
it was the most solemn day of the festival- that that time has come: "If
any one thirst, let him come to me and drink …” This invitation recalls the
words of divine wisdom: "Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your
fill" (Sirach 24:19; cf. Proverbs 9:4-5). Our Lord presents himself as him who can fill man's heart and
bring him peace (cf. also Matthew
11:28). In this connection St
Augustine exclaims: "You made us for yourself. Lord, and our hearts find
no peace until they rest in you" (Confessions, 1, 1, 1).”[6]
Although the referenced
scripture is not a direct quote, Jesus' scriptural reference is probably
to Ezekiel 36:25ff providing a strong the theological link between the initial
gift of the Holy Spirit (“I will put my spirit within you “) and
baptism (“I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your
impurities"). This symbolic action of washing, a Hebrew ritual,
becomes an efficacious sign of grace when coupled with God’s presence in the
Holy Spirit.
CCC: Jn 7:37-39 728, 1287, 2561; Jn 7:38-39 1999; Jn
7:38 694; Jn
7:39 244, 690
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Reflection:
The Blessed Mother
carries over fifty different titles and
even so, there are more words that describe her blessed role in our ongoing
faith. She is named here as “Fountain of
Salvation.” It was through her that our
Lord, Jesus Christ, came into the world and as he says to us in St. John’s
Gospel: "Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes
in me, as Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him." The Lord is the river of living water, flowing from the
fountain of life, the womb of the Blessed Mother, Mary, the Theotokos.
The gift of the water
flowing from Jesus is this life-giving water that transformed us in baptism,
creating us as children of God, his adopted sons and daughters. In the water flowing from the font that is
Mary’s love, running through her son, is a gift that allows us to draw on our
advocate and guide that we might have life in the spirit.
For us, the Lord’s
modern-day disciples, Mary, the Fountain of Salvation, is so necessary. We know that without water, the body dies
quickly. In the same way, with spiritual
water, the spirit dies. It needs to be
constantly refreshed or it withers. We
see this frequently in those who fall way.
They do not drink from the springs of salvation. They do not think that it is necessary to be
refreshed in this way. And consequently
they do not feel the death of the spirit within them. It is a fading, even while they may yearn for
the spiritual water that is peace-giving, they turn from it, and like a plant
that is afflicted by drought, the spirit wilts.
Of course the analogy of
a plant withering for lack of water has its limitations. The spirit, once given in baptism, will never
die. It may be suppressed and its voice
may shrink to a whisper, but it will not die.
Salvation is there for the asking.
So it is up to us to bring water from Our Lady’s font to bring it back
to vitality. Drink deeply today. The spiritual spring welling up within us,
fed by the Fountain of Salvation, may be called upon to give drink to one who
needs it desperately.
Pax
[1] Commentary written
by Fr. Brenden Byrne, SJ.
[2] Ignatius Catholic
Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 198.
[3] The Navarre Bible,
“Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 695.
[4] Jerome Biblical
Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 63:172, p. 462.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms and the Song of Songs”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 504
[6] The Navarre Bible, "Gospels and Acts,"
Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 699.
