Catholic Doctrine and the Sunday Readings for February 2023

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for February 2023 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. It is Catholic Doctrine more than anything else that we should get out of the Sunday Readings because Catholic Doctrine more than anything else lets us know who God is, what He wants, and who we are. Let’s better understand verses from February’s Readings by learning doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that clarify them. Doctrines are those truths with which we must agree in order to be Catholic.

CCC below abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 782” means paragraph 782 of the Catechism.

So many verses from February’s Sunday Readings are cited by the Catechism that this column cannot deal with each citation. A thorough list of the verses from a Sunday Reading that are cited in the CCC is at the end of my commentary for that Sunday. If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.

February 5, The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Catechism makes clear that when Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), “you” is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church’s “mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world” in a way that “distinguishes it from all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history” (CCC 782). The difference between the Catholic Church and every other group is that the Catholic Church alone has the fullness of union with Christ and “receives from [Christ] the fullness of the means of salvation which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the day of the Parousia” (CCC 830).

• Regarding the First Reading (Isaiah 58:7-10), Is 58:6-7 is cited in CCC 2447.
• Regarding the Alleluia (John 8:12), Jn 8:12 is cited in CCC 2466.
• Regarding the Gospel (Matthew 5:13-16), Mt 5:13-16 is cited in CCC 782 and 2821.

February 12, The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the shorter form of today’s Gospel, Jesus mentions “Gehenna.” In the longer form, He mentions it a total of three times. “Jesus often speaks of ‘Gehenna,’ of “the unquenchable fire’ reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted” (CCC, 1034). What did Jesus mean?

The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell . . . The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom man alone can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs (CCC, 1035).

Catholic doctrine on Hell is an “urgent call” to conversion and to use our freedom in view of our eternal destiny (CCC 1036). God does not want anyone to spend eternity in Hell (CCC 1037). “We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him” (CCC 1033).

Lust is mentioned in the Gospel (Matthew 5:28). “Lust is disordered desire for inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (CCC, 2351). Every Catholic sexual doctrine flows from the two simultaneous purposes God has given to genital activity: the fully committed love of the husband and wife and their openness to having children (CCC, 2366).

Matthew 5:32 (“But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife . . .”) from today’s Gospel means that “Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. . . . Between the baptized, a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death” (CCC 2382).

When Catholic Doctrine and Canon Law on all marriage and sexual issues are understood, we see that they are compassionate and challenging and for our own good.

• Regarding the Alleluia (Matthew 11:25), Mt 11:25 is cited in CCC 153, 544, and 2785.
• Regarding the shorter form of the Gospel (Matthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37), Mt 5:20 is cited in CCC 2054; Mt 5:21-22 in CCC 2054 and 2257; Mt 5:21 in CCC 2262 and 2302; Mt 5:22-39 in CCC 2262; Mt 5:22 in CCC 678, 1034, and 2302; Mt 5:27-28 in CCC 2330, 2336, and 2380; Mt 5:28 in CCC 1456, 2513, and 2528; Mt 5:33-34 in CCC 581, 2141, and 2153; Mt 5:33 in CCC 592 and 2463; and Mt 5:37 in CCC 2153, 2338, and 2466.
• Regarding the longer form of the Gospel (Matthew 5:17-37), Mt 5:17-19 is cited in CCC 577, 592, and 1967; Mt 5:17 in CCC 2053; Mt 5:23-24 in CCC 2608, 2792, 2841, and 2845; Mt 5:24 in CCC 1424; Mt 5:29-30 in CCC 226; Mt 5:29 in CCC 1034; Mt 5:31-32 in CCC 2382; and Mt 5:32 in CCC 2380.

February 19, The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

In these times when “hate” is such an issue, e.g., “hate speech,” let’s look at the doctrinal meaning of Matthew 5:43-44 from today’s Gospel: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.” It is Catholic doctrine that “The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor [of all]” (CCC 1825).

So what is hate? “Hatred of neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil” (CCC 2303). However, it is not a sin to hate the evil someone does as an enemy (CCC 1933). But how do we know what is evil? Evil is what Catholic Doctrine says is evil. Who is truly hated? Not someone claiming to be hated—unless they are being treated in a way contrary to Catholic Doctrine. It seems we cannot recall too often the wisdom of Saint Augustine: Hate the sin, but love the sinner. Those who claim they are being hated need to know what Catholic Doctrine teaches is good for them and bad for them, and they should love those who “hate” them.

Also in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The Catechism uses this verse to support the doctrine that “All are called to holiness” (CCC 2013). How do we become holy? To summarize the entire Catechism, by acting, participating in the Sacraments, and praying in harmony with Catholic Doctrine.

• Regarding the First Reading (Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18), Lv 19:2 is cited in CCC 2811; and Lv 19:18 in CCC 2055.
• Regarding the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13), Ps 103 is cited in CCC 304.
• Regarding the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 3:16-23), 1 Cor 3:16-17 is cited in CCC
• Regarding the Gospel (Matthew 5:38-48), Mt 5:42 is cited in CCC 2443; Mt 5:43-44 in CCC 1933 and 2844; Mt 5:44-45 in CCC 2303 and 2608; Mt 5:44 in CCC 1825, 1968, and 2262; Mt 5:45 in CCC 2828; Mt 5:46-47 in CCC 2054; Mt 5:47 in CCC 1693; and Mt 5:48 in CCC 443, 1693, 1968, 2013, and 2842.

February 26, The First Sunday of Lent

“The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7 from today’s First Reading) “expresses this reality in symbolic language”: “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. . . . [the human person], whole and entire, is therefore willed by God” (CCC 362).

The Catechism also uses this verse to give us two sexual doctrines, the importance of which cannot be overstated. One doctrine is that man and woman are equally human persons with the same inalienable dignity. The other doctrine is that man and woman are different, that “being man” and “being woman” are both “good and willed by God” (CCC 369).

These doctrines are needed in order to be Catholic about currently ubiquitous issue of transgenderism. The authoritative Latin edition of the Catechism was promulgated, in 1997, before transgenderism became the issue it is now. A very recent application of these doctrines and of other Magisterial statements to the issue of transgenderism has been recently promulgated by the Diocese of Des Moines in its Gender Identity Guide and Policies. “A person’s ‘gender’ is inseparable from biological sex.” It is not Catholic to think and act as though there are more genders than the two sexes of male and female. “Any response that merely ratifies and reinforces the perceived disconnect between biological sex and gender affiliation is not genuine compassion.”

The verses from Genesis 3:1-7 from the First Reading are cited in ten paragraphs of the Catechism. Verses from the Second Reading are cited in thirteen paragraphs. Catholic Doctrine can be summarized as follows, keeping in mind that “Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man” (CCC 390):

• The first man and woman were created in a state of holiness and perfect happiness. They were in harmony with God, each other, and the rest of creation. His and her body, mind, desires, and emotions were in harmony. They were free from suffering and death. Catholic Doctrine gives different names to this state: “Original Holiness,” “Original Justice,” “Original Grace,” “Original Rectitude,” “Paradise.”
• All this was lost (the “Fall” happened) when the first man and woman committed the Original Sin by disobeying God after becoming dissatisfied with being near-gods and wanting to be God’s equal and to free of God.
• As a result, all the original harmonies have been lost and will only be regained when Christ comes again on the Last Day to fully establish the Kingdom of God.
• Admission to the Kingdom is made possible by Christ’s death for Original Sin and all personal sins. Admission to the Kingdom is made actual by one’s free choice to love God and neighbor. We best love God and neighbor by being in harmony with Catholic Doctrine.

The Devil is mentioned in the First Reading and the Gospel. Catholic Doctrine is very clear. The Devil and the other demons are real (CCC 391-395). “Satan or the devil and the other demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to serve God and his plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to associate man in their revolt against God” (CCC 414).

• Regarding the First Reading (Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7), Gn 2:7 is cited in CCC 362, 369, and 703; Gn 2:8 in CCC 378; Gn 3:1-5 in CCC 391; Gn 3:1-11 in CCC 397; Gn 3:3 in CCC 1008; Gn 3:5 in CCC 392, 398, 399, and 1850; Gn 3:6 in CCC 2541 and 2847; and Gn 3:7 in CCC 400.
• Regarding the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17), Ps 51:6 is cited in CC 431 and 1850; and Ps 51:12 in CCC 298 and 431.
• Regarding the Second Reading (Romans 5:12-19), Rom 5:12-19 is cited in CCC 388; Rom 5:12 in CCC 400, 402, 602, 612, and 1008; Rom 5:18-19 in CCC 605; Rom 5:18 in CCC 402; and Rom 5:19 in CCC 397, 402, 532, 615, and 623.
• Regarding the Alleluia (Matthew 4:4b), Mt 4:4 is cited in CCC 2835.
• Regarding the Gospel (Matthew 4:1-11), Mt 4:1-11:394 is cited in CCC 2849; Mt 4:4 in CCC 2835; Mt 4:10 in CCC 2083 and 2135; and Mt 4:11 in CCC 333.