DAY 36: MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013

EXODUS 7-8

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

7 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.² You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. ⁵ The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lordcommanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. ¹² Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes; but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. ¹³ Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the river bank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. ¹⁶ Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’” ¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the river, and all the water in the river was turned into blood, ²¹ and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt. ²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. ²³ Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.
²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 ^[a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. ³ The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people,^[b] and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴ The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.’” ^5 [c] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, ¹¹ the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.”¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.^[d] 13 And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴ And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. ¹⁹ And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ²¹ For if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies; so also the land where they live. ²² But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lordam in this land. ²³ Thus I will make a distinction^[e] between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.’” ²⁴ The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.
²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so; for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.” ²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.” ²⁹ Then Moses said, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and would not let the people go.

PSALM 35

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

Of David.

¹ Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me!
² Take hold of shield and buckler,
    and rise up to help me!
³ Draw the spear and javelin
    against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation.”

⁴ Let them be put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
    who devise evil against me.
⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

⁷ For without cause they hid their net^[a] for me;
    without cause they dug a pit^[b] for my life.
⁸ Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
    let them fall in it—to their ruin.

⁹ Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
    exulting in his deliverance.
¹⁰ All my bones shall say,
    “O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
    from those too strong for them,
    the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

¹¹ Malicious witnesses rise up;
    they ask me about things I do not know.
¹² They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is forlorn.
¹³ But as for me, when they were sick,
    I wore sackcloth;
    I afflicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowed^[c] on my bosom,
¹⁴     as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;
I went about as one who laments for a mother,
    bowed down and in mourning.

¹⁵ But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,
    they gathered together against me;
ruffians whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
¹⁶ they impiously mocked more and more,^[d]
    gnashing at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you look on?
    Rescue me from their ravages,
    my life from the lions!
¹⁸ Then I will thank you in the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

¹⁹ Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,
    or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
²⁰ For they do not speak peace,
    but they conceive deceitful words
    against those who are quiet in the land.
²¹ They open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, “Aha, Aha,
    our eyes have seen it.”

²² You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent!
    O Lord, do not be far from me!
²³ Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
²⁴ Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and do not let them rejoice over me.
²⁵ Do not let them say to themselves,
    “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you^[e] up.”

²⁶ Let all those who rejoice at my calamity
    be put to shame and confusion;
let those who exalt themselves against me
    be clothed with shame and dishonor.

²⁷ Let those who desire my vindication
    shout for joy and be glad,
    and say evermore,
“Great is the Lord,
    who delights in the welfare of his servant.”
²⁸ Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all day long.

MATTHEW 20: 1-16

The Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.² After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,^[a] he sent them into his vineyard. ³ When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴ and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵ When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶ And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.^[b] 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.^[c] 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?^[d] 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^[e] 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^[f]

CATECHISM 290-294

II. CREATION - WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY

290 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth":¹²⁸ three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone is Creator (the verb "create" - Hebrew bara - always has God for its subject). the totality of what exists (expressed by the formula "the heavens and the earth") depends on the One who gives it being.

291 "In the beginning was the Word. . . and the Word was God. . . all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."¹²⁹ The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal Word, his beloved Son. In him "all things were created, in heaven and on earth.. . all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."¹³⁰ The Church's faith likewise confesses the creative action of the Holy Spirit, the "giver of life", "the Creator Spirit" (Veni, Creator Spiritus), the "source of every good".¹³¹

292 The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit,¹³² inseparably one with that of the Father. This creative co-operation is clearly affirmed in the Church's rule of faith: "There exists but one God. . . he is the Father, God, the Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, that is, by his Word and by his Wisdom", "by the Son and the Spirit" who, so to speak, are "his hands".¹³³ Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.

III. "THE WORLD WAS CREATED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD"

293 Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: "The world was made for the glory of God."¹³⁴ St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things "not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it",¹³⁵ for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: "Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand."¹³⁶ The First Vatican Council explains:

This one, true God, of his own goodness and "almighty power", not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel "and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal. . ."¹³⁷

294 The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us "to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace",¹³⁸ for "the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man's life is the vision of God: if God's revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word's manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God."¹³⁹ The ultimate purpose of creation is that God "who is the creator of all things may at last become "all in all", thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude."¹⁴⁰