CHAPTER 11 VER. 2. _When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name_. S. Matthew adds this prayer to the sermon on the mount, whilst S. Luke places it at a later period. Either, therefore, Christ taught His disciples this prayer on two separate occasions, or S. Matthew added... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight. _ At midnight, i.e. at a most inconvenient time. Christ puts forth this parable to teach His disciples not to be disheartened, nor to cease to pray because their petitions are unanswered, but to persevere,... [ Continue Reading ]
_For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him._ My friend, hungry and wearied with his journey, seeks refreshment, and I have nothing to set before him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not_. He makes excuse that he cannot wake his children from their sleep and disturb his household.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. _ Impot _unity α̉ναίδειαν_, _i.e._, impudence, used as the Latin word impudens _e.g._, labour impudens (_i.e_. unceasing labour) omnia vin... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I say unto you, ask and it shall be given you._ (See S. Matthew 7:7.)... [ Continue Reading ]
_Or if he shall ask an egg._ This verse is omitted by S. Matthew. An ege, because of the nourishment it contains.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass as He spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him_, &c., i.e. Thou art so holy and so blessed, 0 Christ, that because of thee thy mother must be also blessed. Although she was ignorant of the mystery, this woman was moved by the Holy... [ Continue Reading ]
_But He said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear one word of God, and keep it._ Christ does not say that His mother is not blessed, as Calvin would have us believe, but only that they are more blessed who hear the word of God and keep it, _i.e._ fulfil its precepts. Because to be the mother of G... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thy whole body therefore be full of light... the whole shall be full of light._ Not the body, but the whole man and all his faculties and powers. Maldonatus. But Toletus gives a different rendering: "If the eye, which is the principal and most noble part of the body, is full of light, then by me... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto Him, Master, thus saying Thou reproachest us also_. _ύβζίζεις_, blamest or dishonourest. Thou accusest us, and that openly, of much wickedness. But Christ exposed the wickedness of the Scribes, not to disgrace them, but to lead them to amend their liv... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe unto you, lawyers!_ Ye have usurped, as S. Ambrose renders the Greek _ήζατε_, the key of knowledge, _i.e._, the teaching of the law and the interpretation of scripture. Ye have used this knowledge for your own evil purposes, and have prejudiced the people against Me and the salvation which I ca... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently._ "To urge Him vehemently," _δεινω̃ς συνέχειν_; but the Vulgate has "to insist," as if _ε̉ιέχειν_ "and to provoke Him to speak of many things," _α̉ποστοματίζειν_, _i.e._ to catch something out of His mouth that they might accuse Him to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Laying wait for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth_. _θηζευ̃σαί_, "to hunt for," that they might accuse Him to Caiaphas or Pilate. For Euthymius says, "They thought by their rapid questionings to lead Him to commit Himself to some rash statement; but He answered them in all things... [ Continue Reading ]