The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Thursday, August 6, 2026

Matthew 17:1–9

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.  As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The Feast of the Transfiguration began to be celebrated locally in the 900’s on various dates in Western Europe.  It was promulgated to the whole Church by Pope Callistus III in the year 1456 in thanksgiving for the victory of the Hungarian Count John Hunyadi over far larger Moslem forces at the Battle of Belgrade, who threatened to enslave Europe after taking Constantinople three years before.  The victory by this ragtag, quickly assembled army of peasants and mercenaries forced the Muslims to retreat and saved Europe.  

The feast commemorates the manifestation of Christ’s glory to his most zealous Apostles Peter, James, and John, who would later describe this to the others.  It occurred as the Lord led his disciples to Jerusalem in order for him to enter his Passion, and it served to strengthen them for its coming as well as to prepare them for his Resurrection.

“Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”  Mount Tabor, the traditional site for the  Transfiguration, rises almost two thousand feet above the surrounding plain near the Sea of Galilee and presents a marvelous view from its summit.  It is a rather steep feature and it would have required a lot of work to get to the top, particularly since no roads went up it at the time.  It takes a few hours to climb.  Since Jesus often chose places like this to pray, his Apostles might have thought, as they made their way up, that he proposed to do this here.  On the other hand, he preferred to go off by himself to pray.  They knew that when he took the three of them along apart from the other Apostles, they saw wondrous healings and even the dead rise.  

“And he was transfigured before them.”  The Greek verb here is the root of the English “metamorphosis”, which means “a transformation”.  The Greek is customarily translated as “he was transfigured”, which has the sense of being transformed into something greater or more beautiful.  The question arises, then: Was he or his appearance transformed into this greater reality, or was he or it revealed to be thus in actuality?  We can think of Jesus himself as a sacrament in which the outer appearance signifies the power of God.  In the case of Jesus, the appearance of his Body was that of a Jewish man, but his words and his actions, also part of his appearance, indicated far more.  In this way, the Transfiguration meant the revealing of his glory inasmuch as human eye could bear it.  It was also a sign of the transformation his Body would undergo in the Resurrection, when it became spiritualized.

“His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.”  The Lord’s Transfiguration dazzled his Apostles, and yet it drew their vision on with its glory.  This was the light of pure love, the end of every human desire.  Peter later described it in the presence of St. Mark, who duly recorded his words: “And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white” (Mark 9, 2).  St. Luke says, “His shape of his countenance was altered and his raiment became white and glittering” (Luke 9, 29).  

“And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.”  St. Luke adds: “And they spoke of his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9, 31).  That is, of the Lord’s Passion and Death.  Jesus stood in the center of these two holy men, showing himself to be their superior.  Both had seen a vision of God, Moses while still alive, and Elijah when he was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot.  God had formed the people of Israel from the law and the covenant which he made through Moses.  Elijah was to come again at the beginning of the end of the age to announce the Messiah, who would form the people anew.  The Fathers saw Moses as signifying the Jewish law, and Elijah as signifying the prophets calling the people to observe that law.  Together, they signify the old covenant, which would be “transfigured” into the new covenant of Jesus: “This is my Blood of the new covenant, which shall be shed for many” (Mark 14, 24).  

“Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  St. Mark adds, “For he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear” (Mark 9, 5).  Peter evidently surmised that Jesus meant to make this mountain his headquarters and that he and James and John were brought along to serve Jesus, Moses, and Elijah there.  They could not have raised proper tents, of course, but they could have gathered wood from the trees that abound on Tabor for shelters until something more fitting could be constructed.

“A bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice.”  This might remind us of the dedication of the temple of Solomon, nearly a thousand years before: “A cloud filled the house of the Lord, 

and the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8, 10-11).  Here, the dedication of the Body of the Lord, for which the earthly temple was but a sign, is manifested by his Father for his coming Sacrifice on the Cross.  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him”, the Father’s own words thundering through creation, as they had at the beginning of his Son’s earthly ministry, reaching even our ears today.

“When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”  It shall be thus for the blessed souls at the end of time.  The angels will reconstitute their bodies and they will tremble in anticipation of the great judgment, but the Lord shall call to them still in their graves, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”

“And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.”  Suddenly, without warning, all was as it had been.

“Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”  St. Mark adds, “And they kept the word to themselves; questioning together what that should mean, when he shall be risen from the dead” (Mark 9, 9).  In their wonder at what they had seen, the Apostles must have thought that Jesus was speaking in parables here.  In light of this vision of his glory, at this validation by God himself, what could he mean?  So much they would not understand until after it had happened, when they looked back and remembered, and when he came back to explain it to them.  We cannot now imagine the glory of heaven although the Lord and his saints have told us about it, and entire chapters of the Book of Revelation are given over to it.  Still, “eye has not seen, nor ear heard: neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2, 9).  We have a hint, in the words of today’s Gospel reading, of the beatific vision.

 Revelation part 5:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YA91fqxBGh_bBcKkCFF9bZP9u0rUChNt/view?usp=drivesdk

Wednesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, August 5, 2026

The Feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major

Matthew 15: 21-28

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The city of Tyre lies thirty-nine miles from the Sea of Galilee, and Sidon several miles north of Tyre, a fairly formidable distance on foot, with rugged country to navigate.  St. Matthew does not say that Jesus traveled as far as Tyre, but only to the region, so perhaps this journey did not go so far.  His destination in the region remains a mystery, unless he meant to visit a synagogue in a town of that country.  Matthew does say that Jesus “withdrew”, which is one of the two main ways to translate the Greek verb here.  Another way would be to say that the Lord “retired” there.  As Matthew tells it, Jesus and his Apostles went directly from Jerusalem to the region of Tyre and Sidon, “withdrawing” or “retiring” there.  It is intriguing that he did not simply “withdraw” back to Galilee.  Perhaps Jesus wanted to spend some time in a place where he would not be thronged by crowds of people.  His Apostles would have benefitted from the respite, and he would have the opportunity to teach them privately.  Matthew does not tell us how long he spent there.

Mostly, the inhabitants of that place worshipped a mix of the old Phoenician gods and the imported Greek gods.  Matthew does not call them “Gentiles” but “Canaanites”, an anachronistic term.  The equivalent would be to call the Jews of the Lord’s time “Hebrews”.  Matthew does this in order to point up the ancient enmity that existed between these descendants of the original inhabitants of the Promised Land and the Hebrews who entered it under Joshua.  This has implications for what follows.

“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”  The reputation of Jesus has penetrated to this pagan land from Galilee, or perhaps Jesus had performed some miracles among the few Jews who lived in the area.  Whatever the case, this “Canaanite” woman is very certain that the Lord can help her.  She may not know his name, for she does not use it.  But she does call him “Lord”.  It is significant that she acknowledges this Jew as her Lord, for it shows the desperation of her situation.  The Phoenicians were a proud people with a long and storied history.  They regarded the Israelites as below them.  She shouts out for all to hear that her daughter is “tormented by a demon”.  This may mean that her daughter was suffering from a curse, an evil spell, or from demonic possession.  This latter was not confined merely to the Jews.  Matthew does not say that the girl was present with her mother and so we might surmise that she was confined st home.  

“But he did not say a word in answer to her.”  This lack of response from Jesus would not have surprised the Jews of the time, who mixed as little with the Gentiles as they could.  Even speaking with them was done only out of necessity.  “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”  The Apostles are annoyed with the shouting, or that it is a Gentile woman who is doing it.  We can see here two competing prayers made to the Lord.  Both are reasonable requests.  The woman earnestly desires her daughter’s deliverance, and the Apostles want to be free of an annoyance that could possibly draw an angry crowd against them.  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Presumably Jesus answers her in Greek, which would most likely have her language.  In referring to the “house of Israel” Jesus uses a term found in the law and the prophets, but which had no real meaning at the time in which he was speaking: there was Judah and Galilee, but no Israel.  Again, this points out the conflict between the two peoples.  “But the woman came and did him homage, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ ”  First, she publicly calls this Jewish man “Lord”, and now she renders him homage, perhaps bowing low to the ground and even lying prostrate.  Her prayer becomes more direct: “Lord, help me.”

“It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  To us this seems a very harsh way to speak, but it reflects the attitude of a Jew of the time towards a Gentile.  We note here too that Jesus speaks to her as a haughty lord would speak to his slave.  He has accepted her naming him “Lord”, but he acts as though he were merely the Lord of the Jews.  “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  The woman shows herself a quick-thinker with her clever rejoinder, but she has also humbled herself to the lowest point possible.  First, she calls him Lord; second, she renders him homage; third, she accepts his calling her a “dog”.  She is not even the slave of this Lord, but beneath even that.  With this admission, Jesus astonishes all by answering, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”  He credits her with faith, for only belief in him as Lord could result in such humility, and he delivers her daughter from the demon.  He does this without causing scandal for her by entering her home (she could not have let him in without her husband present, and if she had been married, her husband would have gone to Jesus instead of her), and without incurring uncleanness through his doing so, in the same way as was done with the Gentile centurion’s servant.  And in performing this miracle the Lord heals the rift between the Jews and this people, the descendants of Noah’s son Canaan, signifies by the final words of this reading: “And her daughter was healed from that hour.”  Jesus shows himself as much their Lord and Savior as that of the Jews, from whom, at this time, he had “withdrawn”.  

We see in this reading how Jesus answers prayer.  He desires our heartfelt acknowledgment of him as Lord, homage, and complete submission to his will while confessing our unworthiness.  Jesus answers the prayer of his Apostles too, although in a way they had not expected: by casting out the demon from afar, he sends the woman away, back to her home.

Today we celebrate the dedication, in the year 434, of the largest church in Rome named for the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In this time of anti-Catholic violence, we ask for her intercession for the divine protection of all church buildings consecrated to the worship of God and for the faithful who come to them.

Personal Note: The recording of the next part of the Bible Study on the Book of Revelation has now been posted. The link for it is found on the right side of this blog page, in the Archive. All previous parts are also found in the Archive.

Tuesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, August 4, 2026

Matthew 14:22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”  After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed. 

Reading this account brings to mind a comment made by St. Albert the Great: “The Savior never delayed, but proceeded from the salvation of one person to the saving of another.”  Here, after a long day during which he preached to a large crowd and then fed them (which he would have begun to do in the afternoon when the main meal of the day was taken), he makes his way onto a mountain and prays there into the darkness of evening.  Descending the mountain, he walked a few more miles across the Sea of Galilee until coming to the Apostles in their boat.  At times, studying the Gospels, we have to ask ourselves, When did he sleep?  When would we sleep if we had to follow this schedule?  St. Albert answers this question by quoting the Lord’s own words: “I am come to cast fire on the earth. And what will I, but that it be kindled? And I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized. And how am I pressed until it be accomplished?” (Luke 12, 49-50).  Nothing before or since compares with his zeal.  One of the great wonders of the Gospel is that he had any Apostles at all, for, without grace and faith, they could not have kept up with him or seen any reason to do so.

And yet, the Lord finds fault with their faith.  When he approaches the boat and they recognize him as the Lord, it is Peter who cried out, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  The other Apostles simply look on.  And Peter takes a few steps, but slips into the billowing water when he looks about him and feels the wind blowing in his face.  After pulling him up and putting him in the boat, the Lord reproves him with, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Peter would have been shivering and sputtering sea water and trying to get his breath back.  The Lord does not coddle him with reassurances that he almost made it to him, as a parent might a small child learning to walk and falling down a lot.  The Lord earnestly desires Peter and the others to grow to such faith that they can walk on the water to him.  He burns with this desire, but he will not make them.  They must grow.  Jesus had given Peter the ability to walk on the water, but he would not make him walk, and would not make up for his lack of will, for it was this lack of will which resulted in the insufficiency of his faith.  The Lord, here, wants Peter to understand this about himself, that he had far to go in the growth of his faith.  And if Peter had a ways to go, how much more the other Apostles?

At times we may be tempted to think that our faith is full up, or that we have grown in it as far as we need to do, but we all have a long way to go before it is perfect.  Our faith is also seriously tested from time to time when we experience a crisis.  These tests are meant for us to see how far we have come and how far we have to go.  We must be able to walk on the raging waters of this world in order to come to the waiting arms of the Lord.  

Monday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, August 3, 2026

Matthew 14:22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”  After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed. 

Reading this account brings to mind a comment made by St. Albert the Great: “The Savior never delayed, but proceeded from the salvation of one person to the saving of another.”  Here, after a long day during which he preached to a large crowd and then fed them (which he would have begun to do in the afternoon when the main meal of the day was taken), he makes his way onto a mountain and prays there into the darkness of evening.  Descending the mountain, he walked a few more miles across the Sea of Galilee until coming to the Apostles in their boat.  At times, studying the Gospels, we have to ask ourselves, When did he sleep?  When would we sleep if we had to follow this schedule?  St. Albert answers this question by quoting the Lord’s own words: “I am come to cast fire on the earth. And what will I, but that it be kindled? And I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized. And how am I pressed until it be accomplished?” (Luke 12, 49-50).  Nothing before or since compares with his zeal.  One of the great wonders of the Gospel is that he had any Apostles at all, for, without grace and faith, they could not have kept up with him or seen any reason to do so.

And yet, the Lord finds fault with their faith.  When he approaches the boat and they recognize him as the Lord, it is Peter who cried out, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  The other Apostles simply look on.  And Peter takes a few steps, but slips into the billowing water when he looks about him and feels the wind blowing in his face.  After pulling him up and putting him in the boat, the Lord reproves him with, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Peter would have been shivering and sputtering sea water and trying to get his breath back.  The Lord does not coddle him with reassurances that he almost made it to him, as a parent might a small child learning to walk and falling down a lot.  The Lord earnestly desires Peter and the others to grow to such faith that they can walk on the water to him.  He burns with this desire, but he will not make them.  They must grow.  Jesus had given Peter the ability to walk on the water, but he would not make him walk, and would not make up for his lack of will, for it was this lack of will which resulted in the insufficiency of his faith.  The Lord, here, wants Peter to understand this about himself, that he had far to go in the growth of his faith.  And if Peter had a ways to go, how much more the other Apostles?

At times we may be tempted to think that our faith is full up, or that we have grown in it as far as we need to do, but we all have a long way to go before it is perfect.  Our faith is also seriously tested from time to time when we experience a crisis.  These tests are meant for us to see how far we have come and how far we have to go.  We must be able to walk on the raging waters of this world in order to come to the waiting arms of the Lord.  

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 2, 2026

Matthew 14:13–21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Our God creates us, sustains us in existence, nourishes us, heals us, and will raise us from the dead at the end of time.  Here, we see how God nourishes us, and how he provides not merely sufficient food, but more than sufficient.  His desire to feed the people and his desire to show how capable he is of doing this lead to everyone eating until they “were satisfied”, and that twelve large baskets held what remained afterwards.

It pays to compare the feeding of the five thousand men, recorded in all four of the Gospels, with the miracle at the Wedding at Cana, recounted in the Gospel of St. John.  In both Gospels, someone pointed out a need to the Lord Jesus: in the case at Cana, it was the low supply of wine.  In both Gospels, Jesus gives directions for the remedy.  At Cana, he has servants pour water into stone jars and then take some out and present it to the master of ceremonies.  Here, he has the Apostles distribute the food.  In both cases, an over-abundance is brought about.  At Cana, he made about 180 gallons of wine, which might have amounted to two or three gallons per guest.  In the feeding of the five thousand, enough was left over to feed hundreds more people.  

We might ponder the meaning of this miracle, for it has a meaning.  All the Lord’s miracles acted as signs.  But we are also assured of this miracle acting as a sign in a remark the Lord makes to the Apostles during a later discussion: “Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?” (Matthew 16, 9).  For help, we look to the end of the account of the wedding at Cana, where St. John comments: “Jesus . . . manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2, 11).  This hints to us that while Jesus fed all those men and women because they were hungry, just as he provided wine for the benefit of the guests at the wedding, he also performed this action in order to show forth his glory and to strengthen the belief of his Apostles in him.  These miracles act to prepare the Apostles in this way.  The miracle at Cana prepared them for the Lord’s casting out of the money changers at the temple in Jerusalem, establishing thereby that he regarded this building as his own house; the miracle here prepares them for a great question which he will ask them and which Peter will answer: “Who do you say that I am?” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16, 18).

This feeding of the five thousand as well as the later feeding of the four thousand, in addition to the making of the wine, ought to remind us of Psalm 104, 27-28: “All look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.”  The Lord perfectly fulfills this passage in nourishing the souls which he has created by revealing the depths of God’s love for them, even by dying on the Cross to open heaven for them.  All this he does for us.  We have a fabulous abundance in the food of the Holy Scriptures and in the Holy Eucharist.  If we go hungry, we have only ourselves to blame.

Saturday in the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, July 30, 2022

Matthew 14, 1-12

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”  Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

The Church teaches that in the interpretation of Holy Scripture, we first need to find and understand its literal sense, the meaning intended by the biblical author through a consideration of the text in its original language, its historical context, and the context of the passage within the book or section of the book.  Thus, in looking at Luke 10, 25-37, we must note first that the Lord is telling a story, a parable.  He is not relating a historical fact.  Then we can examine what it meant to be a Samaritan at the time of Jesus, what inns of the time were like, and so on.  We can also peer into the Greek of the text to see what nuances we can find in the language of the story that would help us better understand it.  After determining the literal sense, we can read more deeply to discover the spiritual sense.  We can do this with the help of the Fathers, especially writers like St. Augustine and St. Jerome.  We can consult the works of St. Thomas and other medieval teachers, too.  Various Catholic editions of the Bible now in print offer these insights in the form of notes.  The spiritual meaning is the more fundamental reality of the text, presenting to us truths which we can learn by considering what lies beneath the literal sense.  In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we can understand the half-dead victim of robbers as the human race, despoiled of grace by the devil.  The Samaritan in the Son of God who raises the man up on his beast — that is, his Body — and takes him to an inn — the Church.  The wine and oil he uses on the man’s wounds are the Sacraments.

St. Albert the Great (d. 1280) taught at the .university of Paris and among his many books is a wonderful collection of his sermons on the feasts days of saints.  These are brief, direct, and filled with wisdom.  He preaches on the saint and also on the Scriptures used for the Mass of the feast.  In his sermon on the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, St. Albert teaches that we can understand the account of his death, in the spiritual sense, as the devil’s attack against the Christian.  He says that Herod signifies the devil, and that John the Baptist signifies the Christian in the world.  The devil attempts to destroy the soul of the Christian in five ways: sending (Mark 6, 17: “For Herod himself had sent”); apprehending (“and apprehended John”); binding (“bound him”); imprisoning (“and imprisoned him”); and beheading (Mark 6, 28: “And he beheaded him in the prison”).  The devil “sends” temptations to us.  He “apprehends” us through our consent to the temptations.  He conquers and “binds” us through our commission of sin.  He “imprisons” us when sin becomes a habit in us.  And he “beheads” us when we despair of ever repenting.  

St. Albert concludes his sermon with a prayer: “Brethren, pray that the divine mercy may snatch us from the chains and prison of the devil through our true repentance, lest Herodias — the envy of the devil — glory in our destruction, but rather that all the armies of the angels of God rejoice over our salvation.  Amen.”

The Holy Spirit has so caused the Scriptures to be written that untold riches remain to be mined even after thousands of years.  By finding these riches and adorning ourselves inwardly with them, we will persevere in time of temptation and comes into the presence of Almighty God.