Vol 11 Issue 25 ~  Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
June 23, 2018 ~ Vigil of John the Baptist

1. What is the Sacrament of Confirmation
2. Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
3. Nativity of John the Baptist
4. Family and Marriage
5. Articles and notices
   Dear Reader:

On Sunday the Nativity of John the Baptist is celebrated in place of the usual Sunday Mass. John the Baptist is Elias in the spirit (cf. Luke 1:17; Matt. 11:14 and 17:10ff). At the Transfiguration (cf. Matt. 17:2ff; Mark 9:1ff) there were Moses and Elias present speaking with our Lord about the coming redemption, which was reserved to just the three Apostles to witness. That of the Law and the Prophets being fulfilled in Christ (cf. John 1:45), the law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it.  (Luke 16:16). Our Lord said the kingdom of God is within you (cf. Luke 17:21) The Jews at the time of Christ looked not at God’s grace established in one’s soul and thereby a member of His dominion; rather, they looked at an earthly kingdom in sense of David and Solomon wherein the enemies of Israel were conquered and the nations came to pay tribute (cf. e.g., 3 Kings 10:1ff). A prophet in the spirit of Elias who moved the people back to God and stood up to the king and announced the coming of the Messias fulfilled the role of Elias returned; but the kingdom wasn’t a Jewish kingdom that would conquer the Romans—in fact, by divine Providence and to show how contrary their interpretation of the kingdom of God being an earthly power, the Kingdom of God (the Church) is called the Roman Catholic Church—yes, because the See of Peter is in Rome not Jerusalem. Our Lord said: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s: and to God the things that are God’s (cf. Matt. 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25); the Jew’s response: We have no king but Caesar. (John 19:15) In other words, the world gives them the material things they desire—meaning, they do not desire the spiritual which Christ offers: It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life.(John 6:64) And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come? he answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation (Luke 17:20). John the Baptist, therefore, fulfills the prophecy, As it is written in Isaias the prophet: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. And John was in the desert baptizing, and preaching the baptism of penance, unto remission of sins. (Mark 1:2-3, 4) This his father Zachary had already prophesied: And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways: To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins (Luke 1:76-77) Celebrating the birth of the Baptist reminds us that any reign of Christ (and the Queen Mother) will not be an earthly reign, but in the Kingdom of God.

As an addendum to last week’s commentary, it should be mentioned that there is no desire not to have a Pope, as the papacy is the will of God as part of the Church’s structure. Christ said to Peter: Upon this rock (the faith of Peter) I will build my Church (cf. Matt. 16:18). Christ said to Peter at the Last Supper: I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren. (Luke 22:32) And before Christ ascended into heaven He told Peter to feed His (Christ’s) lambs and sheep (cf. John 21:15ff.). In fact, it is preferable for unity of faith and all who are faithful Catholics would want nothing more. But it can’t be denied the Church is in that time that Paul speaks of: For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he (Peter) who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way. (2 Thess. 2:7) One could never consider Peter and Paul working separately—rather, always together—and so their feast will be celebrated together on June 29.

As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit. —The Editor

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WHAT IS THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION?

by Rev. Courtney Edward Krier

IX

The Nicene Fathers Continue Pentecost

Saint Isidore of Spain (+636), by the beginning of the seventh century, was already using the term Confirmation in the title: Concerning the Imposition of Hands, or Confirmation. (De Eccles. Officiis, 1, 2)

And Venerable Bede (+735), writing the life of Saint Cuthbert, give the following instance:

When he was one day going round his parish to give spiritual admonitions throughout the rural districts, cottages, and villages, and to lay his hand on all the lately baptized, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, he came to the mansion of a certain earl, whose wife lay sick almost unto death. (Vita Cuihb., c. 29)

The Church, therefore, gives, through her bishops and theologians, a continuous testimony that through the centuries Confirmation was recognized as a Sacrament distinct from Baptism, but a sacrament that was administered by the laying on of hands and anointing with Chrism. In the next section Saint Thomas’ work, the Summa Theologica, will be commented upon as summarizing the teaching surrounding the Sacrament of Confirmation that continues to be the guide post even today in the Seminaries of the Catholic Church.

X

Teachings of the Church from Augustine to Thomas of Aquinas

Little is mentioned about the Sacrament of Confirmation other than that it should be administered by the bishop after baptism. This is as fewer adults and more children were baptized, the ancient rites of the catechumenate, not applicable to children, gave rise to children simply being baptized by the priest and the neglect of their receiving from the bishop Confirmation. Pope Saint Gregory III answers questions from Saint Boniface, concerning missionaries from various parts of Europe who were administrating the Sacraments according to their varying rituals and languages among the Germanic and Slavic peoples Saint Boniface was charged to unite the Germans under his jurisdiction and had to contend with these various missionaries who had long worked independently. Having received an answer from Gregory II (715-731) that those baptized validly were to be accepted as baptized, Gregory III (731-741) writes his epistle Doctoris omnium (October 29, 739) reminding him of the obligation to see that they are confirmed: However, because they were baptized in the name of the Trinity, it is necessary that those indeed who were baptized through a diversity and a variation of the relationship of languages, be strengthened through the hands of imposition and of the holy chrism. (cf. D.B. 296b)

Almost 500 years later, Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) takes up the reform of many abuses and errors, as well as the issue of the Byzantine Church that was in schism and being opposed to the Latin Church, was imposing its rites in the East. The Pope reminds the Archbishop of Tirnova (Bulgaria) in the letter Cum venisset of February 25, 1204, that the minister of Confirmation is the bishop, not a priest. He also provides the effect of Confirmation in his explanation:

The imposition of the hands is designated by the anointing of the forehead which by another name is called confirmation, because through it the Holy Spirit is given for an increase (of grace) and strength. Therefore, although a simple priest or presbyter is able to give other anointings, this one, only the highest priest, that is the bishop, ought to confer, because we read concerning the Apostles alone, whose successors the bishops are, that through the imposition of the hands they gave the Holy Spirit [cf. Acts 8:14 ff.]. (Cf. D.B. 419)

The same Pope, addressing those who had fallen into the errors Durand of Osca and his Waldensian companions, made the following profession of faith upon their return to the Church that entails the Sacraments and the errors pertaining to them. Written for those in the Latin Rite, he simply states what is accepted: . . .We decree that confirmation performed by a bishop, that is, by the imposition of hands, is holy and must be received reverently. (From the letter, Eius exemplo, to the Archbishop of Terraco, December 18, 1208; cf. D.B. 424)

The Venetians with the Crusaders conquered Constantinople in 1204, brought the Church into tatters and the pope had to try to mend all the tears. First, excommunicating those responsible, Pope Innocent then attempted to bring all sides back into the Church. The Western Europeans wanted the Greeks to adopt the Latin Liturgy where they ruled and placed Latin Bishops in the Episcopal Sees. This only embittered the Greeks all the more; but the Greeks were also being annihilated by the Mohammedans from the East. Facing oppression from the West and annihilation from the East, the Greeks played both cards. The strength of the Pope was weakened by a rogue Emperor, Frederick II, and hampered the papacy and Europe to contend with both the Greeks in settling differences as well as stopping the Mohammedans from further advancing. Innocent IV (1243-1254) called the First Council of Lyons in 1245 to depose Frederick II. He then went on to agree to Latinizing the Greek Church—but this was short lived for the Greeks would soon drive the Latins out by 1261 and the Second Council of Lyons would approve and restore the Eastern Rites.

The following letter Sub Catholicae to the Bishop of Tusculum (Odo of Citeaux), of the Legation of the Apostolic See among the Greeks, March 6, 1254] is understood, then, during this turmoil.

4. Moreover, let bishops alone mark the baptized on the forehead with chrism, because this anointing is not to be given except by bishops, since the apostles alone, whose places the bishops take, are read to have imparted the Holy Spirit by the imposition of the hand, which confirmation, or the anointing of the forehead represents.
5. Also all bishops individually in their own churches on the day of the Lord’s Supper can, according to the form of the Church, prepare chrism from balsam and olive oil. For the gift of the Holy Spirit is given in the anointing with chrism. And particularly the dove, which signifies the Spirit Himself, is read to have brought the olive branch to the ark. But if the Greeks should wish rather to preserve their own ancient rite in this, namely, that the patriarch together with the archbishops and bishops, his suffragans and the archbishops with their suffragans, prepare chrism at the same time, let them be tolerated in such a custom of theirs.(Cf. D.B. 450)

Presided over by Pope Gregory X, the Second Council of Lyons (1274) was entered upon as a make or break Council. Saint Thomas Aquinas would die on the way there, on March 7. Saint Bonaventure would die during the Council on July 15.  But the Council succeeded in uniting the Church—though briefly, with the Greek representatives accepting the Council Declarations. The following is the Declaration on the Sacraments

The same holy Roman Church also holds and teaches that the ecclesiastical sacraments are seven: namely, one is baptism, concerning which we have spoken above; another is the sacrament of confirmation which the bishops confer through the imposition of hands when anointing the reborn; another is penance; another the Eucharist; another the sacrament of orders; another is matrimony; another extreme unction, which according to the doctrine of St. James is given to the sick. The same Roman Church prepares the sacrament of the Eucharist from unleavened bread, holding and teaching that in the same sacrament the bread is changed into the body, and the wine into the blood of Jesus Christ. But concerning matrimony it holds that neither one man is permitted to have many wives nor one woman many husbands at the same time. But she (the Church) says that second and third marriages successively are permissible for one freed from a legitimate marriage through the death of the other party, if another canonical impediment for some reason is not an obstacle. (Cf. D.B. 465)

As sparse as the teachings about Confirmation are, it only strengthens the fact that the unity in the Latin Rite concerning Confirmation was so undisputed that no controversies arose.                       (To be continued)

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Dr. Pius Parsch

The Church’s Year of Grace (1959)

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

First you must be reconciled with your neighbor.

Then, when you come, bring your offering.

1. Text Analysis.A striking difference may be noted between the spirit of the liturgy today and that of previousSundays. Our gratitude to Mother Church for this variety in the celebration of God’s holy mysteries. On previous Sundays the liturgy presented Christ in a series of tableaus: first as the good Landlord who invites His guests to a supper; then as the Good Shepherd who carries His little sheep into the heavenly sheepfold; and lastly as the good Fisherman who with His net draws the chosen fish into the bark of the Church.

Instead of painting another such picture for us today, Mother Church seeks to teach us a lesson, an important lesson, one that must become impressed deeply upon our hearts: the lesson of love toward neighbor. Before her mind is a community united in Christ through love—let us say, a family of Christians intimately joined to Christ through grace, a family, moreover, united among themselves by true neighborly love. And this family is now assembled for the holy Sacrifice which is being co-offered with the priest.

According to an ancient Ordo, today’s Mass formulary was assigned to the first Sunday after the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul. The Epistle is taken from the First Letter of St. Peter, thus breaking the regular sequence. By way of exception the principal parts of the formulary are thematically unified in that the Epistle, Gospel, and Collect all treat the virtue of love. This theme the Collect summarizes very beautifully: in His love God prepares for us bona invisibilia that will bear fruit only if we too show love.

2. Holy Mass (Inclina Domine).In orderly sequence the chants of the Proper express the sentiments of a soul from petition in deepest need to joyous praise in blessed union with Christ. At theIntroit procession the oppressed soul nears the sanctuary; from the depths of the heart she is imploring that her prayer for aid be granted. In the words of Psalm 26, a psalm of trust and confidence, the lowest note is struck: “Forsake me not, do not despise me”—an excellent disposition with which to enter the house of God.

The Collect, an exceptionally fine prayer formula, reminds us of the wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him. Nevertheless, love of God is no human creation; it can be infused only by God Himself. This divine love is the object of our petition, and we ask it in such measure as to love God “in all things and above all things.” How well this truth is phrased: to love God in His creation, yet transcending all creation! Our Collect certainly brings the Mass text to a theological crest, one that may even be regarded as a climax to these first Masses of the Pentecost season that turn on love.

In the Epistle, Peter, the prince of the apostles, whose feast comes at the end of June, stands before us as the preacher. He too teaches us how universal the love of God must be: “You should all be of one mind. Show sympathy toward one another and brotherly love. Be merciful, modest, humble. Never return evil for evil or abuse for abuse; on the contrary, pay back with blessings. For such is your vocation; and in the end you will inherit blessing.” Think over these simple words. What does the Church ask of us? Unity. To be one in prayer, one in love, one in grace. We have but one Father in heaven; Christ is our only Mediator; He is our Head and elder Brother, and all of us are brothers and sisters.

Now in the Mass, which surely is the Christian’s principal service toward God, we are to pray in unison to our Father, not each one for himself but all with a single voice. That is praying with the Church. And if we wish to pray as one, then we must also live as one. As in a good family all suffer when one member is sick, so too it should be among us Christians. We ought act in a sisterly, brotherly manner toward one another. We are brothers and sisters because through baptism we have become brothers and sisters in Christ. In a very true sense we have become blood relatives—divine blood, divine life surges within us. Therefore we must suffer, must easily forgive, willingly yield to others and be humble.

Recall the last verse of the Epistle: “In your hearts worship Christ the Lord.” These words point to a second union. The first union is that between Christian and Christian; the second is between Christian and Christ. In baptism we have “put on Christ,” the apostle says. As a garment when put on becomes, as it were, a part of the wearer, so we have become intimately bound up with Christ. This Epistle, if perfectly practiced, would change our whole community life.

The Gradual goes a step higher on the ladder of confidence. We feel ourselves already out of danger; God is our protector, we are His slaves. The Alleluia verse tells of Christ the King who once won the Easter victory and now in great glory rejoices at the right hand of God, while we, the redeemed, exultingly shout Alleluia! The Gospel, culled from the Sermon on the Mount, delves still more deeply into the lesson of love. Hard words come from the lips of Jesus: hating one’s neighbor is equivalent to murder in His kingdom; the heavenly Father will accept no gifts or sacrifices from my hands if I am hostile toward my brother.

Christ’s Gospel-teaching still rings in my heart as I chant the Offertory. I am thankful to Him for my knowledge of and insight into the law of love; nevertheless, without Him I am unable to transform this love into action. Therefore Christ with His grace stands as a warrior at my side in the holy Eucharist that I may not waver. The Secret, a well composed community prayer, requests that what we as individuals have brought to the altar during the Offertory procession should be of benefit to all. Unmistakably this prayer points to the ancient practice of having the faithful bring suitable gifts to a table near the altar. These offerings were made and brought by the individual members of the community, yet all were to benefit thereby.

At the Communion we again pray Psalm 26, but the verse selected is not so much a petition as a cry resembling Peter’s “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” The moments following holy Communion are precious: “One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life!” In the Communion Banquet we have attained the end proper to the holy Sacrifice, viz., union with Christ and union with fellow-Christians. The Postcommunion, petitioning that we may be cleansed from secret failings and delivered from the snares of enemies, expresses another of the Mass’s multiple effects.

3. Divine Office.We may center attention upon the two main readings, the tragic death of Saul and theSunday Gospel. The three greater antiphons (Lauds and Vespers) stem from these pericopes. On Saturday evening: “Mountains of Gilboa, neither dew nor rain must come upon you! For upon your slopes the shield of heroes met disgrace, the shield of Saul as though it had not been anointed with oil. How the valiant have fallen in battle! And Jonathan slain on the heights! Saul and Jonathan, so lovable, so very charming in life, now even in death have not been parted!” This is part of David’s touching funeral dirge over Saul and Jonathan as given in the opening chapter of Second Samuel.

At Matins St. Gregory the Great asks: “How is it that David, who to those that did him evil would not return it, when Saul and Jonathan fell in war, cursed the mountains of Gilboa, saying: ‘Mountains of Gilboa, neither dew nor rain must come upon you nor upsurgings from the deep! For upon your slopes the shield of heroes met disgrace, the shield of Saul as though it had not been anointed with oil’? It is because the word Gilboa has the (etymological) meaning of ‘running down.’ Now by Saul, anointed and dead, the death of our Mediator was foreshadowed. And the mountains of Gilboa well represent the proud uplifted hearts of the Jews, for by running down after the cravings of this world they became enmeshed in the death of Christ, that is, of ‘the Anointed.’ Because among them an anointed King died physically, they too-became deprived of all the dew of grace.”

At the Benedictus: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill. And if anyone did, he would be liable to judgment.” At the Magnificat: “Should you be carrying your gift to the altar and chance to remember that your neighbor is at odds with you, put your gift down even at the very altar and leave. First you must be reconciled with your neighbor. Then, when you come, bring your offering, alleluia.”

Discussing the Gospel, St. Augustine says: “For the Pharisees justice consisted in not committing murder; but for those who seek to enter the kingdom of God justice consists in never yielding to anger without good reason. Not to kill, then, represents a minimum morality; and one who accomplishes that will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. By fulfilling the law not to murder, one does not straightway obtain title to greatness, and thereby become fit for the kingdom of heaven. Still he definitely has taken a step in the right direction; he will, however, attain perfection only when he no longer becomes irate without good reason. And having arrived at that stage, his chances to commit murder will be remote indeed. Therefore He who teaches us not to become angry does not in any way abolish the law against murder; rather, He brings it to perfection, for now we maintain innocence both in external actions by refraining from killing another as well as internally by restraining ourselves from anger.”

4. Meditation.A. CommunitySunday. On these first Sundays after Pentecost Mother Church exhorts us to foster and cherish the most precious of Christian virtues: love—love of God and love of neighbor. The present Sunday may be called “The Sunday of the Love of Neighbor.” In the Gospel Christ spoke very seriously on the love of neighbor. Hating one’s brother is tantamount to murder in the Christian community; and the heavenly Father will accept no offerings from a child who cherishes ill will. In the Epistle St. Peter touchingly counselled love of neighbor, and in the Collect we sincerely petitioned for the love of God above all and in all, especially in our brethren.

Nevertheless, the title “Community Sunday” would perhaps be better suited to the liturgy today, the fifth Sunday of the Pentecost cycle. For today the Church endeavors to cast a dual bond about her children, the bond of the love of God and the bond of the love of neighbor. We ought constitute a community welded into unity through the divine life of grace in Christ and through the love of neighbor among the separate members.

It is the will of Christ that we work out our salvation not as isolated individuals but rather in communion with the great family of the Church. Virtue is perfected by contacts with others. We form one Body, and as members of this Body we mutually aid one another. But we form not only that one great community, the Catholic Church; we should also feel ourselves as part of the smaller unit, the parish. From such awareness the finest stimuli toward both personal and social virtue can arise. We Christians ought pray in common, sacrifice in common; we ought afford mutual edification, having regard for one another, care for one another. The first phrase of today’s Epistle provides a whole program for Christ-like community life: “You should all be of one mind. Show sympathy toward one another and brotherly love. Be merciful, modest, humble.” The focal point of spiritual life in a community and at the same time the fountain of all graces is the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sunday Mass provides the most noble expression of true community endeavor. It would be interesting and very useful to consider the entire Mass, delving further into each word or action that tells of or suggests this ideal. We must, however, be selective.

1. a) What perfect communion and solid unity stems from the Sacrifice Banquet! For no other reason is it called communion, that is, “a union with. . . ” In the first place there is the union with Christ who says: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him.” Nevertheless, it must not be forgotten that holy Communion is also the best basis for union between men. Through the Body and Blood of Jesus we become in the highest sense blood-related; we become real brothers and sisters in Christ. This would be a fitting place to note three “community acts” that should be fostered and exploited spiritually with regard to the Mass. Results, however, do not depend as much upon external performance as upon the accompanying spirit. I refer to the Offertory procession, the kiss of peace, and the love-feast or agape.
2. b) The Offertory procession. It is well established that at every Mass the early Christians held an Offertory procession at which they brought bread and wine to the altar as well as other gifts. Perhaps today’s Gospel helped to occasion this Offertory procession, for Jesus says: “Should you be carrying your gift to the altar. . . .” Now what is the spirit of the Offertory procession?

The Sacrifice of the Mass consists in this: that through the hands of the priest we bring to the heavenly Father the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ. Strictly speaking, our contribution to the holy Sacrifice is nil, since we can do nothing touching its essence. Nevertheless, that this Sacrifice may also be our Sacrifice, we should bring the needed materials, the bread and wine that will be changed into the Lord’s Body and Blood. These gifts, however, must represent one’s own self, one’s whole person. In the gift we give self. Now consider the wondrous exchange that ensues. Everyone brings of his own, even, as it were, his very soul. But he lays it upon the Offertory table as a common gift. Therefore the Secret very appropriately petitions “that what each of us has offered may profit all unto salvation.” The poor bring little, the rich much, while all benefit from the common sacrifice. This, however, is not the exclusive privilege of Offertory gifts—all the prayers and merits of individual Christians should be oriented unto everyone’s good through the holy Sacrifice.

1. c) The kiss of peace. The kiss of peace may also be said to have been occasioned by today’s Gospel. Christ our Redeemer commanded: “Should you remember that your neighbor is at odds with you, put your gift down even at the very altar and leave. First you must be reconciled with your neighbor.” In deference to this command the Christians of earlier centuries gave to each other the kiss of peace before the Offertory. But in the Roman Mass it was placed before holy Communion. Nowadays the kiss of peace is retained only at solemn high Masses. How beautifully it reminds us that before the Giver of peace can come to my heart 1 must live in peace with those around me. My neighbor to whom I give the kiss of peace is, as it were, the representative of all men, especially of those with whom I do not get along too well. Therefore I express visibly forgiveness and love toward them before receiving holy Communion. Consider the deep significance of the kiss of peace. The priest first kisses the altar upon which the Body of the Lord is lying. The altar is the symbol of Christ, it is Christ. The kiss, then, comes from Christ and descends upon all present. A twofold unity is thereby shown: unity in Christ and unity of Christians among themselves. What a glorious manifestation of Christian community!
2. d) The agape. Some liturgical circles have adopted a practice to which more attention could be given, the agape or love-feast. After Mass the members gather for a common breakfast. This, however, must not be considered a mere social or secular affair, for it too belongs to the Mass. Christians of apostolic times concluded every Mass with a love-feast; they enveloped the holy Eucharist in love. The Christians of modern times would profit by resuming the practice. The family mealon Sundaycould serve well as an agape, or continuation of the Mass. It would afford a splendid opportunity of practicing those community virtues of which St. Peter reminds us today in the Epistle—sympathy, patience, modesty, humility. In short, the love-feast in a liturgical circle or at home as the family meal would be an ideal way in which to foster a holy, brotherly and neighborly charity, as also to practice social virtue. Christ would be in the midst of such company. Parishioners become a community of which the Holy Spirit is the soul, a community which carries Christ in its heart, which images the Catholic Church!
3. “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” Do you recall that sentence from the Epistle on the second Sunday after Pentecost? At the time St. John’s words may have made no great impression. Today our Savior says the same thing in the Gospel. The passage is taken from the Sermon on the Mount, which, as you know, sets forth the program and spirit of Christianity. In that sermon Christ point after point showed how the New Law rises heaven high over the Old. One such point in a passage that is somewhat difficult to follow is contained in today’s Gospel. Jesus says: In the Old Law the fifth commandment read: “Thou shalt not kill.” A murderer was to be arraigned before the local court and sentenced. In the New Law the fifth commandment really presents little difficulty, because no follower of Christ will commit murder. Nevertheless, there is in the New Law a sin that is comparable to murder, namely, hatred, enmity. Theretore whoever hates his brother has fallen under the law as if he had committed murder. Among the Jews there was, moreover, a higher court, the Great Sanhedrin before which the more serious crimes were brought. The Messiah was condemned by the Sanhedrin because the Jews accused Him of blasphemy. Our Gospel account continues: If hate is fostered and breaks into open insults (Racameans “fool”), then an ordinary court can no longer try the case; such a sin must be brought before the higher court. Yes, there even are sins against the love of neighbor which must be punished by nothing less than the flames of hell. .

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