Catholic Doctrine and the Sunday Readings for November 2023

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for November 2023 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. As Michael Hanby has reminded us, St. John XXIII said,

The greatest concern of the Ecumenical [Vatican II] Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously.

In that spirit, let’s learn doctrines that are supported in the Catechism of the Catholic Church by key verses from November’s Sunday and Holy Day Readings.[i] Doctrines are the Magisterium’s authoritative clarification of Revelation and Faith that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic.

November 1, Solemnity of All Saints

Today we celebrate and honor “those who dwell in heaven” (CCC 956[ii]). The Catechism teaches (CCC 1138) who they are by interpreting verses from the First Reading and other verses from the Book of Revelation. The saints in Heaven include “the servants of the Old and New Covenants (the twenty-four elders), the new People of God (the one hundred and forty-four thousand), especially the martyrs . . ., and the all-holy Mother of God . . ., and finally a great multitude which no one could number . . .”

The saints “take part in the [Heavenly] service of the praise of God” (CCC 1138). Heaven is the greatest of liturgies, “where celebration is wholly communion and feast” (CCC 1136). It is also good to know that the Holy Spirit and the Church enable us to participate in this eternal liturgy whenever we celebrate the Sacraments (CCC 1139).

Among the many doctrines supported by verses from today’s Gospel, let’s focus on “Blessed are the clean [or pure] of heart” (Matthew 5:8), given the nature of this series of columns on the doctrinal meaning of the Readings: “‘Pure in heart’ refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith” (CCC 2518).

• From the First Reading[iii] (Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14): Rev 7:2-3 is cited in CCC 1296; Rev 7:9 in CCC 775 and 1138; and Rev 7:10-12 in CCC 2642.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6): Ps 24:6 is cited in CCC 2582.
• From the Second Reading (1 John 3:1-3): 1 Jn 3:1 is cited in CCC 1692; 1 Jn 3:2 is cited in CCC 163, 1023, 1161, 1720, 2519, and 2772; 1 Jn 3:3 is cited in CCC 2345.
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 11:28): Mt 11:28 is cited in CCC 1658.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12a): Mt 5:1 is cited in CCC 581; Mt 5:3-12 in CCC 1716; Mt 5:3 in CCC 544 and 2546; Mt 5:8 in CCC 1720 and 2518; Mt 5:9 in CCC 2305 and 2330; and Mt 5:11-12 in CCC 520.

November 5, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Fatherhood of God is mentioned in today’s First Reading, Alleluia, and Gospel. The Catechism refers to Matthew 23:9, which is in the Alleluia and the Gospel, in a doctrine on human sexuality: “Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God. Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life” (CCC 2367). This doctrine “cannot be separated” (CCC 2363) from another doctrine: “Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal [marital] love of man and woman” (CCC 2360) “through acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses” (CCC 2361). So: “The conjugal love of man and woman thus stands under the twofold obligation of fidelity and fecundity” (CCC 2363). The doctrines that flow from this double purpose of sexuality – doctrines that provide for the greatest happiness and fulfillment – can be found in CCC 2331-2400.

• From the First Reading (Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10): Mal 2:7-9 is cited in CCC 1540; and Mal 2:10 in CCC 238.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 131:1, 2-3): Ps 131:2 is cited in CCC 239; and Ps 131:2-2 in CCC 370.
• From the Second Reading (1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9, 13): 1 Thes 2:13 is cited in CCC 104 and 1349.
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 23:9b, 10b): See below.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 23:1-12): Mt 23:9 is cited in CCC 2367; and Mt 23:12 in CCC 526.

November 12, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings from this week and next week prepare us to better celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King on the last Sunday of November.

It is Catholic doctrine that just as Christ is risen from the dead into an eternal existence that includes not only a soul but also a glorified body immune to suffering and death, so will the righteous be raised (CCC 988-1004). “Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity” (CCC 989).

The Catechism quotes 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to support the doctrine that the resurrection of the dead will take place when Christ returns to earth in glory to judge the living and the dead (CCC 1001). Those who are living when Christ comes again will likewise be transformed to have eternal bodies and souls (CCC 1060).

“This eschatological [end-time] coming could be accomplished at any moment” (CCC 673) is the doctrine supported by Matthew 24:44, which is proclaimed in today’s Alleluia.

The time between the Resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead is “a time of watching and waiting,” as in today’s Gospel parable – “a time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time marked by distress and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days” (CCC 672).

• From the Second Reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 or 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14): 1 Thes 4:13-14 is cited in CCC 1012; 1 Thes 4:14 in CCC 649 and 989; 1 Thes 4:16 in CCC 1001; 1 Thes 4:17 in CCC 1025; and 1 Thes 4:18 in CCC 1687.
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 24: 42a, 44): Mt 24:44 is cited in CCC 673.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13): Mt 25:1-13 is cited in CCC 672 and 796; Mt 25:1 in CCC 672; Mt 25:6 in CCC 1618; and Mt 25:13 in CCC 672.

November 19, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Verses from today’s Second Reading add to our understanding of Christ’s Second Coming to judge the living and the dead and so help us prepare for the Solemnity of Christ the King next week. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 is cited in CCC 675 to support the doctrine: “The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist.” “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial” which “will unveil the mystery of iniquity in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.” Apostasy is abandonment or desertion.

• From the Second Reading (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6): 1 Thes 5:2-3 is cited in CCC 675; 1 Thes 5:2 in CCC 673; 1 Thes 5:5 in CCC 1216; and 1 Thes 5:6 in CCC 2849.
• From the Alleluia (John 15: 4a, 5b): Jn 15:4-5 is cited in CCC 787; and Jn 15:5 in CCC 308, 737, 859, 864, 1694, 2074, and 2732.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30): Mt 25:14-30 is cited in CCC 546 and 1936; Mt 25:21 in CCC 1029, 1720, and 2683; and Mt 25:23 in CCC 1029 and 1720.

November 26, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

When we celebrate Christ’s Kingship of the universe, we celebrate the Kingdom He establishes.

“The Kingdom of God is at hand” is the message that Jesus Himself preached (Matthew 4:17, 4:23, 9:35; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:43, 8:1). It was the theme of many of His parables. It was the message he commissioned the 12 Apostles and the 72 disciples to preach (Matthew 10:7; Luke 9:2, 10:9). It is what He told us to pray for in the Our Father. It was the concern about which the Apostles asked Him before He ascended (Acts 1:6).

“At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness [as today’s Gospel tells us]. Then the just will reign with Christ forever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be ‘all in all’ [as today’s Second reading tells us]” (CCC 1060). With Christ’s Second Coming – His return to earth in glory – there will be “a new universe” in which “God will have his dwelling among men” and “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (CCC 1044). The fullness of the Kingdom will be the “final realization” “which God willed from creation” (CCC 1045) – it will be the universe “restored to its original state” of Eden before Original Sin (CCC 1047).

In order to enter the Kingdom of God, we must “do for the least of [Christ’s] brothers,” as today’s Gospel enjoins us. “The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be” (CCC 1932). Catholic social doctrine is covered in CCC 2234-2246, 2258-2317, 2351-2359, 2401-2463, and 2488-2499. It might be helpful to quote the following:

The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modern times with “communism” or “socialism.” She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of “capitalism,” individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor. Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace fails social justice, for there are many human needs which cannot be satisfied by the market (CCC 2425).

The Solemnity of Christ the King appropriately ends the liturgical year since it celebrates the end of the fallen universe with its sin and evil, the ultimate triumph of Christ the King, and the complete establishment of the Kingdom of God “when the mystery of salvation will be brought to its completion and God will be all in all” (CCC 2855).

• From the First Reading (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17): Ez 34:11-31 is cited in CCC 754.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 231:1-2, 2-3, 5-6): Ps 23:5 is cited in CCC 1293.
• From the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28): 1 Cor 15:20-22 is cited in CCC 655; 1 Cor 15:20 in CCC 632 and 991; 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 15:28 in CCC 130, 294, 671, 674, 1050, 1060, 1130, 1326, 2550, and 2804.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46): Mt 25: 31-46 is cited in CCC 544, 1033, 1373, 2447, and 2831; Mt 25:31-36 in CCC 2443; Mt 25:31 in CCC 331, 671, 679, and 1038; Mt 25:32 in CCC 1038; Mt 25:36 in CCC 1503; Mt 25:40 in CCC 678, 1397, 1825, 1932, and 2449; Mt 25:41 in CCC 1034; Mt 25:45 in CCC 598, 1825, and 2463; and Mt 25:46 in CCC 1038.

[i] 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.

[ii] CCC abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 956” means paragraph 956 of the Catechism.

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