Psalm 27:1-6
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God, Our Light and Salvation
1 Of David.
The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh,[c]
it is they, my adversaries and enemies,
who stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army encamps against me,
my heart[d] will not succumb to fear;
even if war breaks out against me,
I will not have my trust shaken.
4 There is only one thing I ask of the Lord,
just one thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord[e]
and gaze on his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in times of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent[f]
and place me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is raised high
above my enemies who surround me.
In his tent I will offer sacrifices[g] with joyous shouts;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 27:1 Although enemies or the difficulties of existence may be multiplied, the believer finds a sure refuge in God—such is the cry of trust that opens this psalm. Then the movement of the prayer deepens, becoming the search and avid desire for God. It is in the temple that one discovers the presence of the Lord in the sacrifice, chant, supplication, and the law. If such a search becomes necessary for life, will not God be present to his most forsaken and pressured servant?
In praying this psalm, we can place a similar confidence in God and the Lord Jesus, one capable of enabling us to overcome all adversity and death itself. - Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light: “light” often symbolizes happiness and well-being (see Pss 18:29; 36:10; 43:3; 97:11) or life and salvation (see Isa 9:2; 49:6; 58:8; Jer 13:16; Am 5:18-20), whose source is the Lord (see Isa 10:17; Mic 7:8f).
- Psalm 27:2 To devour my flesh: the psalmist’s enemies are like rapacious beasts (see Pss 7:3; 17:12; 22:13f, 17); in the figurative sense, this refers to calumny (see Dan 3:8).
- Psalm 27:3 With the Lord as his stronghold and helper, the psalmist fears nothing—not even an army arrayed against him. So long as this strong union with God remains unbroken, the psalmist is secure. Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 27:4 Tarrying in the house of the Lord is an expression and sign of spiritual union with God and intimacy with him. Beauty of the Lord: i.e., his goodness (see Ps 90:17).
- Psalm 27:5 Shelter . . . tent: references to the sanctuary of Jerusalem (see Rev 7:15f). See also Pss 31:21; 32:7; 61:5; 91:1.
- Psalm 27:6 I will offer sacrifices: see note on Ps 7:18.
Proverbs 6:16-19
New Catholic Bible
Six Things That the Lord Hates[a]
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are abhorrent to him:
17 haughty eyes,[b] a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,[c]
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness[d] who spews out lies,
and one who sows dissension among brothers.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:16 This is the first “numerical proverb”; it reflects a popular way of coining incisive maxims that are easy to remember and imitate, being a kind of conundrum. Here the description of the deceitful and liars is rendered more realistic by the enumeration that evokes the different parts of the human body.
- Proverbs 6:17 Haughty eyes: they are usually the outward sign of a proud heart, and both will incur the judgment of God (see Prov 21:4; 30:13; Pss 18:28; 101:5). Lying tongue: see Prov 2:12 (and note); 12:19; 17:7; 21:6. Hands that shed innocent blood: see Prov 1:11, 16; 28:17.
- Proverbs 6:18 A heart that devises wicked schemes: see Prov 1:31; 24:2; Gen 6:5. Feet that are quick to rush into evil: see Prov 1:16.
- Proverbs 6:19 False witness: Proverbs sets forth the harm caused by the false witness (see Prov 12:17-18; 25:18); see also note on Ps 5:10. It also indicates the punishment that awaits him (see Prov 6:15; 19:5, 9; 21:28). Spews out lies: see Prov 14:5, 25. Sows dissension: by false accusations he foments distrust, which leads to alienation and strife (see Prov 18:6).
Matthew 17:14-21
New Catholic Bible
14 Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon.[a] When they returned to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, fell to his knees before him, 15 and pleaded, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is subject to epileptic seizures and endures great suffering. He falls often into fire and often into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Jesus said in reply, “O unbelieving and perverse generation, how much longer shall I remain with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was cured from that very moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him privately, “Why were we not able to cast it out?” 20 He answered, “Because you have such little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain: ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. [ 21 But this kind of demon does not come out except by prayer and fasting.]”[b]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 17:14 This miracle has the purpose of highlighting the power of Jesus against the power of Satan, thus erasing all doubts that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus states with some disappointment that not even his disciples have attained true faith.
- Matthew 17:21 This verse is missing in the most important manuscripts and seems to be taken from Mk 9:29.
Acts 20:1-16
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 20
Journey to Macedonia and Greece.[a] 1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he embraced them and set out on his journey to Macedonia.[b] 2 As he traveled through those areas, he gave the believers much encouragement. Then he arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months.
Return to Troas. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot against him was devised by the Jews, and so he decided to return by way of Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.[c] 5 They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas.[d] 6 We sailed from Philippi after the feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
Paul’s Witness and Testament[e]
Paul Raises Eutychus to Life. 7 On the first day of the week, when we gathered for the breaking of the bread, Paul spoke to the people, and because he was going to leave on the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled, 9 and a young man named Eutychus, who was sitting on the window ledge, became ever more drowsy as Paul talked on and on. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below, and when they picked him up, he was dead.
10 Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and took him in his arms. “Do not be alarmed,” he said. “He is still alive.”[f] 11 Then he went back upstairs and broke bread and ate. He went on to converse with them until dawn, at which time he left. 12 Meanwhile, they had taken the boy home, greatly relieved that he was alive.
13 Journey to Miletus. We went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard, since he intended to continue his journey by land. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene.
15 We sailed from there, and on the following day we reached a point opposite Chios. A day later, we reached Samos; and the day after that, we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 20:1 This departure constitutes an important moment as indicated by the fact that Luke inserts a list of Paul’s companions. Then he describes three brief journeys: one to Greece, to revisit the communities, especially that of Corinth, which had caused some trouble; the second to Troas; and the third to Miletus, on the return route to Jerusalem.
In connection with these journeys we discover new aspects of the life of the communities. The Eucharist, which had been mentioned at the beginning of Acts (2:46), is clearly referred to here: Christians came together on Sunday (“the first day of the week”) in order to “break bread,” after a lengthy hearing of the Gospel and a communal reflection on it. The raising of the boy is a sign of the presence of the Lord; through his Resurrection, life is possible in its fullness. - Acts 20:1 Paul had apparently been seeking to preach in Troas on his way to Macedonia, meet Titus at Troas with a report from Corinth (see 2 Cor 2:12f), and continue collecting the offering for Judea (see Rom 15:25-28; 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1—9:15).
- Acts 20:4 These men have no doubt been assigned to accompany Paul and the collection for the needy in Judea (see 2 Cor 8:23).
- Acts 20:5 Here begins the second so-called “we-section” of Acts (see note on Acts 16:9-15).
- Acts 20:7 In this chapter, it is no longer a case of proclaiming the word or creating a Church; it is a moment of respite and retreat that clears up Paul’s personal destiny and expresses the principal concerns for the development and perseverance of a Church. Paul is aware that he will never return (see Acts 21:14), and he envisages undergoing the same suffering as Christ. The Book of Acts will not recount his martyrdom, no more than it will enlighten us about Peter’s martyrdom, for this Book is not intended to be a biography of the apostles. Its purpose is to make known the life of the Churches and the power of the Spirit who animates them, the great realities that ensure their development, their relationships and their unity. The communities are to find themselves devoted to one another, but with the Spirit (v. 28) and the living tradition that carries them along. The atmosphere recalls Christ’s discourse after the Last Supper (Jn 14–16). Paul gives his testament.
- Acts 20:10 Paul’s action of throwing himself upon a boy thought to be dead recalls that of Elijah in raising the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Ki 17:21) and that of Elisha in raising the son of the Shunammite (2 Ki 4:34). Thus, as Peter had raised Tabitha (Acts 9:40), so now Paul raises Eutychus.
