1962 Missal - Commentary on the Mass Readings: Mon, Mar 9

0:001. Monday March 9. The lesson from 2nd Kings, chapter 5, verses 1 through 15. In those days, Naman, general of the army of the King of Syria, was a great man with his master and honorable. For by him, the Lord gave deliverance to Syria, and he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper. While there had gone out robbers from Syria and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naman's wife. And she said to her mistress, I wish my master had been with the prophet who was in Samaria, he would certainly have healed him of the lepercy which he has. Then Naman went into his Lord and told him, saying, thus and thus said the girl from the land of Israel. And the King of Syria said to him, go, and I will send a letter to the King of Israel. When he departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold

1:01and ten changes of raiment and brought the letter to the King of Israel in these words. When you shall receive this letter, know that I have sent to you name in my servant that you may heal him of his lepercy. And when the King of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments and said, am I God to be able to kill and give life that this man has sent to me to heal a man of his lepercy? Mark and see how he seeks occasions against me. And when Elyseus, the man of God, had heard this, to wit that the King of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying, why have you rent your garments? Let him come into me and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of the house of Elyseus. And Elyseus sent a messenger to him, saying, go and wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh shall recover health and you shall be clean. Man was angry and went away, saying, I thought he would have come out to me and standing would have invoked the name of the Lord his God and touched with his hand the place of

2:01the lepercy and healed me. Are not the Abana and the far far rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel that I may wash in them and be made clean? So as he turned and was going away with indignation, his servants came to him and said to him, father, if the prophet had bid you to do some great thing, surely you should have done it. How much rather what he now has said to you, wash and you shall be clean? Then he went down and washed in the Jordan seven times according to the word of the man of God and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was made clean. And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came and stood before him and said, in truth I know there is no other God in all the earth but only in Israel. The King of Syria at this time was Benadad who had defeated a cab and was slain by his ale or according to others, his ale was already king at this time. Josephus passes over this history, it is not known for what reason unless he was staggered

3:04at the petition of Naaman. The malady of lepercy did not exclude him from court, the Hebrews allowed such to appear in public till the priests had declared them unclean but other nations viewed the lepercy with less horror. Robbers had invaded the dominions of Joachim, eruptions of this nature were then very common, see judges chapter 11, verse 3, and regarded as noble military exploits. The Arabs still maintain their right to live upon their neighbors, the Christian religion has introduced more gentle manners. The maid seems to have been well informed of the miraculous powers and goodness of Elisayus that is Elisha. The cure for lepercy was deemed very difficult as it generally kept gaining ground and destroyed the constitution. The letter written by the King was in effect written in a haughty style and the King of Israel might naturally infer that war would be the consequence. Elisayus supports the dignity of God's envoy and shows the general that his cure was to be attributed not to the presence of the prophet but to the will and goodness of God.

4:08Masters often derive benefit from the observations of their servants as Naaman did in this place. This may serve to correct their pride. How justly the advice of Naaman's servants might be addressed to penitents in the sacrament of confession. If bathing seven times in the Jordan had been an infallible natural remedy, there would soon have been no lepers in the land, and our Savior plainly intimates that the cure was miraculous, see Luke 427. The leprosy of Naaman, though in veteran, was cured in an instant. The father's discover in this miracle, a figure of the Gentiles called to the faith by the synagogue, which is in servitude, see Galatians 425. He bathed seven times because baptism cleanses us from all the seven capital sins so that no vestiges remain. So say Tertullian and St. Ambrose. The Gospel from Luke chapter 4 verses 23 through 30. At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees, you will surely quote me this proverb, physician

5:08to cure yourself, whatever things we have heard of as done in Capernaum, do hear also in your own country. But he said, Amen, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. In truth, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and to none of them was Elijah sent, but rather to a widowed woman in Sirrepta of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elijah the prophet, and not one of them was cleansed, but only name in the Syrian. And all in the synagogue, as they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him forth out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill, on which their town was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But he, passing through their mates, went his way. Hey, Doc, commentary. This trite saying was applied to such as attended to the concerns of others and neglected their own. Looking through the midst of them, he went his way, perhaps by making himself on a sudden

6:11invisible, or by striking them with blindness, or by changing their minds and hearts as he pleased. All commentators observe on these words that the evangelist wished to show that Christ worked a miracle on this occasion, and by it proved his divinity. This is the opinion of Saint's euphemous, Ambrose, and Thomas Aquinas. Saint Ambrose says we must observe that Christ did not suffer from necessity, but because he wished it. He was not taken by the Jews, but delivered up himself. At his own pleasure he has seized, and at his own pleasure he escapes. When he wills it, he is condemned, and when he wills it, he is freed. The most common opinion is that he rendered himself invisible on this occasion, though others imagine that he changed their wills, or withheld their hands. When we observe the outrageous treatment Jesus Christ met with from the people of Nazareth, we are not surprised that he should shut up the fountain of his beneficence against them for their incredulity, and return to Capernum.