Catholic Doctrine and the Sunday Readings for August 2023

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for August 2023 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. Let’s join the Psalmist in praying, “Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4-5). God most clearly makes known His ways, teaches His paths, and guides us in His truth through Catholic Doctrine. Let’s learn the doctrines supported in the Catechism of the Catholic Church by key verses from August’s Readings.[1] Doctrines are the Magisterium’s authoritative clarification of Revelation and Faith that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic.

August 6, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

The meaning of the First Reading (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) is that the prophet Daniel “announced the judgment of the Last Day” (CCC 678[2]). Jesus continued this announcement in His own preaching. The fulfillment of this preaching, including “Daniel’s vision concerning the Son of man” (CCC 664) in the last verse of the First Reading, will be “[o]n Judgment Day at the end of the world [when] Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil” (CCC 681). By calling Himself the “Son of Man” at the end of the Gospel Reading, Jesus reveals that He is the one about whom Daniel prophesied (CCC 440).

The Second Reading (2 Peter 1:16-19) and the Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9) recount the Transfiguration. When the Catechism recounts the Transfiguration, it cites both readings (CCC 554). “The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming, when he will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (CCC 556).

At the Transfiguration, “[t]he whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud” (CCC 555). “[A]t two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his ‘beloved Son’” (CCC 444).

• From the First Reading[3] (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14): Dn 7:10 is cited in CCC 678; Dn 7:13 in CCC 440; and Dn 7:14 in CCC
• From the Second Reading (2 Peter 1:16-19): 2 Pt 1:16-18 is cited in CCC
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 17:5c): see below.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9): Mt 17:1-8 is cited in CCC 554; and Mt 17:5 in CCC 444).

August 13, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Kindness and truth shall meet” the Responsorial Psalm proclaims (Psalm 85:11). The Catechism cites this verse to affirm that love and truth have always supremely met in God. “In all his works God displays not only his kindness, goodness, grace, and steadfast love, but also his trustworthiness, constancy, faithfulness, and truth” (CCC 214).

The Catechism explains why people addressed Jesus as “Lord,” like Peter did in today’s Gospel (Matthew 14:30). “This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing. At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, ‘Lord’ expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus” (CCC 448).

• From the First Reading (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a): 1 Kgs 19:1-14 is cited in CCC
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14): Ps 85:11 is cited in CCC 214; and Ps 85:12 in CCC
• From the Second Reading (Romans 9:1-5): Rom 9:4-5 is cited in CCC 839; and Rom 9:5 in CCC
• From the Gospel (Matthew 14:22-33): Mt 14:30 is cited in CCC

August 14, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Vigil

The only verse from all of today’s Readings that is cited by the Catechism is from the Second Reading: “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). It supports the doctrine that “Man’s sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death” (CCC 602). Death and suffering entered the world only because the first human beings freely chose to disobey God, as every human being has since then. God always has wanted and always will want human beings to be free of suffering and death (CCC 54-55).

None of the verses in the Readings for either the Vigil or the Mass of the Day is used by the Catechism to support the dogma (infallible and unreformable doctrine) of the Assumption: “when the course of her earthly life was finished, [Mary] was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory . . . so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” (CCC 966). Mary has the same kind of resurrected existence as Jesus has had since His Resurrection – a supernatural existence that transcends death and earthly limitation but that is still somehow physical (CCC 645).

• From the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:54b-57): 1 Cor 15:56 is cited in CCC

August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mass During the Day

The woman described in the First Reading (Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab) is Mary (CCC 1138).

The Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-27) essentially means that “Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ himself – is the principle and source of our future resurrection” (CCC 655). Christ is the principle of our resurrection because on the Last Day we will be transformed like He was at His Resurrection – to have a mode of supernatural existence that is still physical. Christ is the source of our resurrection because we will only experience resurrected bodies thanks to Christ’s Resurrection.

Christ is the principle and source of Mary’s Assumption, which is her resurrection. “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians” (CCC 966).

• From the First Reading (Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab): Rv 12 is cited in CCC
• From the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-27): 1 Cor 15:20-22 is cited in CCC 655; 1 Cor 15:20 in CCC 632; 1 Cor 15:21-22 in CCC 411; 1 Cor 15:24-28 in CCC 2855; 1 Cor 15:24 in CCC 668; 1 Cor 15:26 in CCC 1008; and 1 Cor 15:27-28 in CCC
• From the Gospel (Luke 1:39-56): Lk 1:41 is cited in CCC 523, 717, and 2676; Lk 1:43 in CCC 448, 495, and 2677; Lk 1:45 in CCC 148 and 2676; Lk 1:46-55 in CCC 722, 2619, and 2675; Lk 1:46-49 in CCC 2097; Lk 1:48 in CCC 148, 971, and 2676; Lk 1:49 in CCC 273, 2599, 2807, and 2827; Lk 1:50 in CCC 2465; Lk 1:54-55 in CCC 706; and Lk 1:55 in CCC

August 20, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Second Reading (Romans 11:13-15, 29-32) is excerpted from St. Paul’s lengthier reflections on the role of the Jews in God’s plan of salvation in light of Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Messiah (Romans 9:1-11:36), which is well worth reading. Here are some key points he makes:

• “I ask, then, has God rejected his people [the Jews]? Of course, not!” (Romans 11:1).
• “If some of the branches [of the olive tree, which is the Jews] were broken off, and you [Gentile, or non-Jewish, Christians], a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. . . . consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you” (Romans 11:17-18).

The Catechism treats this topic in paragraphs 674 and 839-840. “The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant” (CCC 839). While Jews share with Christians the belief in the Messiah, Jewish waiting for the Messiah “is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus” (CCC 340). While Catholic Doctrine calls for respecting the human dignity of every person and the universal right to freedom of religion, “the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation” (CCC 845). This is another reason for being Catholic.

• From the Second Reading (Romans 11:13-15, 29-32): Rom 11:15 is cited in CCC 674; Rom 11:29 in CCC 839; Rom 11:31 in CCC 674; and Rom 11:32 in CCC
• From the Gospel (Matthew 15:21-28): Mt 15:22 is cited in CCC 439 and 448; and Mt 15:28 in CCC

August 27, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock on which He will build His Church and gives him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to bind and loose (Matthew 16:18-19). This passage and many others in the New Testament, as well as the earliest Christian writings, show that Jesus made Peter the leader of the Twelve Apostles and that Peter’s leadership of the Twelve continued to be accepted by the other Apostles and by the rest of the Church after the Ascension.

The primary leadership of Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, passed on to succeeding Bishops of Rome (CCC 551-553 and 880-881). “The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, . . . has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” (CCC 882). The doctrine of the pope’s singular authority is called Papal Primacy.

The first Christians were Catholics because the first Christians did what only Catholics do – they accepted the primacy of Peter and his successors. Why be Catholic? Because Catholics alone accept that Christ made Peter alone “shepherd of the whole flock” and that “[t]his pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope” (CCC 881). It is the office or authority “to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church” (CCC 553). (“Discipline” in this sense means rules for the Church, such as Canon Law and liturgical rubrics.) To be Catholic is to be like those first Christians who personally knew Jesus and who personally knew those who knew Jesus.

However, Papal Primacy does NOT mean that every pope is infallible whenever he teaches. We are free to disagree with popes when they are not presenting doctrine and discipline. (Not all doctrine is infallible, and no discipline is infallible.) Nor does Papal Primacy mean that a pope has the authority to contradict any doctrine, whether or not it is infallible. For more on infallibility and the authority of the pope, see CCC 74-90, 888-896, 1555-1561, and 2032-2040. No pope is superior to the Word of God or is the Word of God; every pope is the servant of the Word of God, which is found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (CCC 86).

• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8): Ps 138:2 is cited in CCC
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 16:18): see below.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20): Mt 16:16-23 is cited in CCC 440; Mt 16:16 in CCC 424 and 442; Mt 16:17 in CCC 153 and 442; Mt 16:18-19 in CCC 881; Mt 16:18 in CCC 424, 442, 552, 586, and 869; and Mt 16:19 in CCC 553 and 1444.

[1] There are too many citations, or references, in the Catechism to the verses in a month of Sunday Mass readings to identify all the pertinent doctrines, so I will use my best judgment to select which verses and doctrines to cover in a column that may not exceed 2,000 words. The bullet points allow you to explore further the Biblical basis of Catholic Doctrine.

[2] CCC abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 678” means paragraph 678 of the Catechism.

[3] If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.