16. In Time of War or Civil Disturbance #897-901

MASSES FOR VARIOUS NEEDS AND OCCASIONS

II. FOR PUBLIC NEEDS

16. In Time of War or Civil Disturbance

897 Reading from the Old Testament

First Option

Genesis 4:3-10

Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil,

while Abel, for his part,

brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.

The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

but on Cain and his offering he did not.

Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.

So the LORD said to Cain:

"Why are you so resentful and crestfallen.

If you do well, you can hold up your head;

but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door:

his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master."

Cain said to his brother Abel,

"Let us go out in the field."

When they were in the field,

Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"

He answered, "I do not know.

Am I my brother's keeper?"

The LORD then said: "What have you done!

Listen: your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Gn 4:3:10

The story of Cain and Abel describes the effect sin has in the world. Cain allows feelings of jealousy to fester into hatred. He turns a deaf ear to the Lord's urging and follows his baser instincts, killing his brother. As we see, when Cain first became envious, the Lord warned him about sin. God explains that it is always ready to take the unwary, a “demon lurking at the door.” In this same way evil and violence festered in the world since the beginning.

CCC: Gen 4:3-15 401; Gen 4:3-7 2538; Gen 4:4 2569; Gen 4:8-12 2259; Gen 4:10-11 2259; Gen 4:10 1736, 1867, 2268

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second Option

Micah 4:1-4

In days to come

the mount of the LORD's house

Shall be established higher than the mountains;

it shall rise high above the hills,

And peoples shall stream to it:

many nations shall come, and say,

"Come, let us climb the mount of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

That he may instruct us in his ways,

that we may walk in his paths."

For from Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples

and impose terms on strong and distant nations;

They shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

One nation shall not raise the sword against another,

nor shall they train for war again.

Every man shall sit under his own vine

or under his own fig tree, undisturbed;

for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Mi 4:1-4

This passage begins the core message of the book [Micah 4:1-5:15]. The prophet expresses hope in the consolation flowing from the messianic age to come. (Many scholars believe that this optimism comes from the rule of King Hezekiah of Judah's great reforms (761-686 BC).)[1]

The selection itself is almost identical to Isaiah 2:2-4 and very similar to Zechariah 8:20-22. It envisions the end times (eschaton) when all things will be renewed and all people will hear the redemptive word of God. This messianic age will be one of idyllic peace where war and rumors of war will no longer exist. The world will come to unity and all peoples will live in harmony.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Option

Zechariah 9:9-10

Thus says the LORD:

Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,

shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king shall come to you;

a just savior is he,

meek, and riding on an ass,

on a colt, the foal of an ass.

He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

and the horse from Jerusalem;

the warrior’s bow shall be banished,

and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.

His dominion shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Zec 9:9-10

The oracle of the Prophet Zechariah speaks of the restoration of Israel following the great exile. In this section he speaks of the coming of the Messiah. “The Messiah will come, not as a conquering warrior, but in lowliness and peace. Not like the last kings of Judah, who rode in chariots and on horses (Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4), but like the princes of old (Genesis 49:11; Judges 5:10; 10:4), the Messiah will ride on an ass. The Evangelists see a literal fulfillment of this prophecy in the Savior's triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:4-5; John 12:14-15).”[2]

CCC: Zec 9:9 559

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

898 Reading from the New Testament

First Option

Galatians 5:17-26

Brothers and sisters:

The flesh has desires against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh;

these are opposed to each other,

so that you may not do what you want.

But if you are guided by the Spirit,

you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious:

immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,

sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,

outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,

dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,

drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, as I warned you before,

that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, generosity,

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus

have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Gal 5:17-25

St. Paul in this selection reminds the Galatians that with freedom in Christ comes a higher calling. He contrasts “works of the flesh” with “fruit of the Spirit”, providing a catalogue of sins and of virtues. The evangelist gives the community a clear warning that those who follow the flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God but those who “belong to Christ Jesus” have experienced an inner conversion. Those “crucified in their flesh” are able to rise above worldly desires and live in the spirit.

CCC: Gal 5 1454; Gal 5:17 2515; Gal 5:22-23 736; Gal 5:22-23 Vulg. 1832; Gal 5:22 1108, 1695, 2345; Gal 5:24 2515, 2543, 2555; Gal 5:25 736, 782, 1695, 2516, 2842, 2848

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second Option

Ephesians 4:30—5:2

Brothers and sisters:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.

All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling

must be removed from you, along with all malice.

And be kind to one another, compassionate,

forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,

as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us

as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Eph 4:30—5:2

St. Paul continues to exhort the church at Ephesus to live as imitators of God in Christ. He lists the virtues of Christ’s love and excludes a litany of behaviors inappropriate for those who wish to be part of the community; insisting that such people have no share in the inheritance of the Kingdom of God (of Christ). In Ephesians 5:2 there is a strong Eucharistic reference as the Apostle refers to Christ’s sacrifice as “a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma”.

CCC: Eph 4:30 698, 1274, 1296; Eph 4:32 2842; Eph 5:1 1694; Eph 5:2 616

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Option

James 4:1-10

Beloved:

Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?

Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?

You covet but do not possess.

You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;

you fight and wage war.

You do not possess because you do not ask.

You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,

to spend it on your passions.

Adulterers!

Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?

Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,

The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?

But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: God resists the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.

Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners,

and purify your hearts, you of two minds.

Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.

Let your laughter be turned into mourning

and your joy into dejection.

Humble yourselves before the Lord

and he will exalt you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Jas 4:1-10

St. James takes aim at divisions within the Christian community. He lays blame for the "passions" that tear people apart on love of things of the world. Once again we hear that the Christian must be apart from the world while living in the world. It is clear from the heat of his language that he is asking for conversion of the heart, not just the lips, for the longing of the heart is never filled with things of the world.

“Wars among men are a symptom of the spiritual war within man, whose incessant drive for power and possessions spreads envy and violence throughout the world. The root problem is that our members too easily yield to the inclinations of our fallen nature (1 Peter 2:11).”[3]

“The concern here is with the origin of conflicts in the Christian community. These are occasioned by love of the world, which means enmity with God (4). Further, the conflicts are bound up with failure to pray properly (cf Matthew 7:7-11; John 14:13; 15:7; 16:23), that is, not asking God at all or using God's kindness only for one's pleasure (James 4:2-3). In contrast, the proper dispositions are submission to God, repentance, humility, and resistance to evil (James 4:7-10).”[4]

CCC: Jas 4:1-10 2737; Jas 4:2-3 2737; Jas 4:4 2737; Jas 4:5 2737

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

899 Responsorial Psalm

First Option

Psalm 72:lbc-2, 3-4, 7-8, 12-13, 18

R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

and with your justice, the king's son;

He shall govern your people with justice

and your afflicted ones with judgment.