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February 10, 2011 Dear Friends of St. Lazare Retreat House, May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Beginning in Advent, the Universal Church entered Cycle A for Sunday readings. This year’s gospel readings come generally from the Gospel of St. Matthew. May I share with you some contextual information which might enhance your reading of and listening to St. Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew was written by the apostle of the same name, aka Levi, who before his leaving all to follow Jesus Christ had earned his living as a tax collector. Early Church Fathers and many scripture scholars report that Matthew wrote in Aramaic the original Gospel to the Hebrews. In the first century, a disciple of Matthew translated and redacted into Greek what we now know as the Gospel according to Matthew. The sources for the current Gospel of St. Matthew include the original Gospel to the Hebrews, the Gospel of St. Mark, and a third source known as Q for the German word Quelle (source), which book Mark and Luke also used. This explains why Matthew’s gospel enjoys prominence of place as the first gospel even though it was written after Mark. This gospel was written after 70AD and before 100AD; scholars suggest 85AD as a generally acceptable date. The destruction of Jerusalem occurred at the hands of the Roman Emperor Titus in 70AD. This gospel was written before 100AD because this gospel and the apostolic era Didache (Teachings of the Twelve Apostles) seem to come from the same geographical and historical context. The audience for this gospel was Jewish Christians. Note that this gospel contains more references to Jewish terms, practices, and holydays than any of the three other gospels. Note that Matthew employs the term Kingdom of Heaven whereas Luke writes about the Kingdom of God. Matthew’s gospel is unique among the four gospels by his presenting the genealogy of Jesus, the presence of the Magi at the birth of Jesus, the Our Father prayer as the Church always has prayed it, and the Trinitarian Formula. Matthew is also the longest gospel and provides the highest number of quotations from Jesus. As a life-long teacher, I choose Matthew as my favorite gospel because of its numerous quotations from Jesus. The gospel may be outlined in countless ways. An easy way to remember the gospel’s structure is this general arrangement of chapters: 1-3 The genealogy, birth, and infancy of Jesus 4-7 The promulgation of the Kingdom of Heaven 8-10 The preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven 11-13 The Mystery of the Reign of Heaven 14-18 The Reign becomes Church 19-25 The first steps undertaken to establish the Reign of Heaven 26-28 The Last things: Passion, Resurrection and Ascension; Last Judgment & Great Commission
What might be your favorite quotations from this gospel? Think about it. Choose some verse. ... My favorites include the story of the Magi, the Sermon on the Mount which includes the Lord’s Prayer, the invitation “Come to me all you who labor and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest”; and the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Did you know that Catholics have been blessing themselves in this Trinitarian formula since at least the mid-second century?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a lighter note! St. Valentine’s Day occurs mid-way through this month. Hagiographers inform us that it seems that Valentine (d.c. 269), a priest of Rome, was ordained Bishop of Interamna (now, Terni), which is located 60 miles north of The Eternal City. During the persecution of Emperor Claudius, the bishop was sentenced to death, and was returned to Rome where on February 14, he was beheaded and buried. How did St. Valentine become identified with the Cupid of Love? The following explanation is provided by the website: www:AmericanCatholic.org. The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus [the god of fertility]. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year. Pope Gelasius I [r. 492-496] was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year. ... Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name. __________________________________________________________________________________ On an even lighter note!! Save the date: June 16, 2011 St. Lazare Golf Outing Grand Haven Golf Club $85 per golfer, or $300 per foursome 8am registration, 9am shotgun start, 1:30pm lunch and prizes
If you would like to volunteer for any of the following committees, please contact Fr. Vince. Sponsorship Committee to seek 36 sponsors at $100 per tee box or green. Prizes Committee to approach stores for prizes and/or gift certificates. Foursome Committee to invite and arrange foursomes up to a maximum of 94 golfers.
Sincerely, in Jesus and St. Vincent de Paul, Fr. Vincent J. O’Malley, CM
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