The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Christ Redeemer Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Lectionary: 162

Reading 1.  2 SAMUEL 5:1-3

In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh. In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. 
And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"  When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel.

Responsorial  PSALM 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5 

R. (cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Reading 2.  COLOSSIANS 1:12-20

Brothers and sisters:

Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 
He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.  For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Alleluia.  MARK 11:9, 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel.  LUKE 23:35-43

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."  Even the soldiers jeered at him.  As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."  Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us."  The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation?  And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal."  Then he said,"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

527. “Amen”

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 527

Ave Maria series

Why do we end the Our Father with “Amen”?

Christians and Jews alike from ancient times have concluded all their prayers with “Amen”, thereby saying, “Yes, so be it!”  [2855-2856, 2865]

This the procession statue of Our Lady of Good Help that is kept at the National Champion Shrine 16 miles northeast of Green Bay on County Highway K.  Here it is seen displayed in a mirrored cabinet at the shrine Visitor Center. –Don L. Bragg photo 

When a person says “Amen” to his words, “Amen” to his life and his destiny, “Amen” to the joy that awaits him, then heaven and earth come together and we are at the goal: with the love that created us in the beginning.  165

 “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” --The clause added to the Our Father when it is recited at Mass is from the Greek word “emballein” which means “insert”.

“The Amen of our faith is not death, but life.”  --Michael Cardinal Faulhaber (1869-1952)

[2855-2856, 2865]

THE FINAL DOXOLOGY

2855 The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the first three petitions to our Father: the glorification of his name, the coming of his reign, and the power of his saving will. But these prayers are now proclaimed as adoration and thanksgiving, as in the liturgy of heaven.¹⁷⁶ The ruler of this world has mendaciously attributed to himself the three titles of kingship, power, and glory.¹⁷⁷ Christ, the Lord, restores them to his Father and our Father, until he hands over the kingdom to him when the mystery of salvation will be brought to its completion and God will be all in all.¹⁷⁸ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition 

176. Comparre Revelation 1:6; Rev 4:11; Rev 5:13.

177. Compare Luke 4:5-6.

178. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.

2856 "Then, after the prayer is over you say 'Amen,' which means 'So be it,' thus ratifying with our 'Amen' what is contained in the prayer that God has taught us."¹⁷⁹ –CCC

179 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. myst. 5,18:Patrologia Graeca 33,1124; compare Luke 1:38.

Statue  Procession OL Good Help Don L Bragg photo

Roadmap of the Catholic Faith online catechism lessons will resume anew on February 21, 2020 (on my 90^th birthday, God willing!).

LESSON 527 brings us to the end of the YOUCAT catechism booklet. In this most recent online class instruction we have now merged the related numbered paragraphs of CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH with YOUCAT.  Going further,  we have identified the paragraph footnotes with the documents being referenced by the CCC catechism writers. 

Our blog http://roadmapofthecatholicfaith.blogspot.com/ hyperlinks the footnote references allowing you to instantly bring forth the cited Bible verse or other church document supporting the catechism lesson.  By using our blog you are just one click away from the referenced document.

Unfortunately, Facebook does not have hyperlink capability.

We hope to see you back at this same location on February 21, 2020 and, as the Benedictines would say, “Pray for each other.” 

526. “Deliver us from evil”.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 526

Ave Maria series

What does it mean to say, “Deliver us from evil”?

“Evil” in the Our Father does not mean a negative spiritual force or energy, but rather Evil in person, whom Sacred Scripture knows by the name of “the tempter”, “the father of lies”, Satan, or the devil.  [2850-2854, 2864]

The raging bull sums up optimism and prosperity as a modern day golden calf.  “The devil’s most cunning trick is to convince us that he (the devil) does not exist.”  --Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867, French poet).…..526

No one can deny that evil in the world is devastating in its power, that we are surrounded by devilish suggestions, that there are often demonic processes at work in history.  Only Sacred Scripture calls things by their name: “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness” (Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 6:12).  The petition from the Our Father “deliver us from evil” brings all the misery of this world before God and begs God Almighty to free us from all evils.

“Be sober, be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8

“The devil’s most cunning trick is to convince us that he does not exist.”  --Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867, French poet)

 [2850-2854, 2864]

"BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL"

2850 The last petition to our Father is also included in Jesus' prayer: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one."¹⁶³ It touches each of us personally, but it is always "we" who pray, in communion with the whole Church, for the deliverance of the whole human family. The Lord's Prayer continually opens us to the range of God's economy of salvation. Our interdependence in the drama of sin and death is turned into solidarity in the Body of Christ, the "communion of saints."¹⁶⁴ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

163. John 17:15.

164. Compare Reconciliatio et Paenitentia 16.

2851 In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ. –CCC

2852 "A murderer from the beginning, . . . a liar and the father of lies," Satan is "the deceiver of the whole world."¹⁶⁵ Through him sin and death entered the world and by his definitive defeat all creation will be "freed from the corruption of sin and death."¹⁶⁶ Now "we know that anyone born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one."¹⁶⁷ –CCC

165. John 8:44; Revelation 12:9.

166. Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer IV,125.)

167. 1 John 5:18-19.

The Lord who has taken away your sin and pardoned your faults also protects you and keeps you from the wiles of your adversary the devil, so that the enemy, who is accustomed to leading into sin, may not surprise you. One who entrusts himself to God does not dread the devil. "If God is for us, who is against us?"¹⁶⁸ –CCC

168. St. Ambrose, De Sacr. 5,4,30:Patrologia Latina 16,454; compare Romans 8:31.

2853 Victory over the "prince of this world"¹⁶⁹ was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is "cast out."¹⁷⁰ "He pursued the woman"¹⁷¹ but had no hold on her: the new Eve, "full of grace" of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death (the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God, Mary, ever virgin). "Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring."¹⁷² Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: "Come, Lord Jesus,"¹⁷³ since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One.  –CCC

169. John 14:30.

170. John 12:31; Revelation 12:10.

171. Revelation 12:13-16.

172. Revelation 12:17.

173. Revelation 22:17,20.

2854 When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return By praying in this way, she anticipates in humility of faith the gathering together of everyone and everything in him who has "the keys of Death and Hades," who "is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."¹⁷⁴ –CCC

174. Revelation 1:8,18; compare Rev 1:4; Ephesians 1:10.

Deliver us, Lord, we beseech you, from every evil and grant us peace in our day, so that aided by your mercy we might be ever free from sin and protected from all anxiety, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁷⁵ –CCC

175. Roman Missal, Embolism after the Lord's Prayer, 126: Libera nos, quæsumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris, ut, ope misericordiæ tuæ adiuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi: expectantes beatam spem et adventum Salvatoris nostri Iesu Christi.

IN BRIEF

2864 In the last petition, "but deliver us from evil," Christians pray to God with the Church to show forth the victory, already won by Christ, over the "ruler of this world," Satan, the angel personally opposed to God and to his plan of salvation.  –CCC

Statue  Wall Street Bull  New York

525. “Lead us not into temptation.”

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 525

Ave Maria series

What does it mean to say, “Lead us not into temptation”?

Because every day and every hour we are in danger of falling into sin and saying No to God, we beg God not to leave us defenseless in the power of temptation.  [2846-2849]

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert by Satan by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890). …..525

Jesus, who was tempted himself, knows that we are weak human beings, who have little strength of our own with which to oppose the evil one.  He graciously gives us the petition from the Our Father, which teaches us to trust in God’s assistance in the hour of trial.

“Someone who is not tempted is not tested; someone who is not tested makes no progress.”  --St. Augustine (354-430)

[2846-2849]

“AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION”

2846 This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."¹⁵⁰ "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one";¹⁵¹ on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

150. Compare Matthew 26:41.

151. James 1:13.

2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man,¹⁵² and temptation, which leads to sin and death.¹⁵³ We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, ¹⁵⁴ when in reality its fruit is death. –CCC

152. Compare Luke 8:13-15; Acts of the Apostles 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Timothy 3:12.

153. Compare James 1:14-15.

154. Compare Genesis 3:6.

God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. . . . There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us.¹⁵⁵ –CCC

155. Origen, De orat. 29:Patrologia Graeca 11,544CD.

2848 "Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. . . . No one can serve two masters."¹⁵⁶ "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."¹⁵⁷ In this assent to the Holy Spirit the Father gives us strength. "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it."¹⁵⁸ –CCC

156. Matthew 6:21, 24.

157. Galatians 5:25.

158. 1 Corinthians 10:13.

2849 Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony.¹⁵⁹ In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to vigilance of the heart in communion with his own. Vigilance is "custody of the heart," and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: "Keep them in your name."¹⁶⁰ The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch.¹⁶¹ Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. "Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake."¹⁶² –CCC

159. Compare Matthew 4:1-11; Mt 26:36-44.

160. John 17:11; compare Mark 13:9,23,33-37; Mk 14:38; Luke 12:35-40.

161. Compare 1 Corinthians 16:13; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:8.

162. Revelation 16:15.

JT  Temptation of Jesus  by  Carl Heinrich Bloch