Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Sunday, February 1, 2009

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

The Excellence of Virginity
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[32] I want you to be free from anxieties.  The unmarried man is anxious about
the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; [33] but the married man is an-
xious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, [34] his interests are divided.
And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how
to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly
affairs, how to please her husband.  [35] I say this for your own benefit, not to
lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your un-
divided devotion to the Lord.

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Commentary:

35. There is clearly no question of trying to deceive anyone by encouraging him
to dedicate himself to a way of life in which he cannot persevere. All St Paul is
doing is pointing out that the unmarried person is more available to the service
of the Lord.

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".  Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.  We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

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"The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever
in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it.
   --  St John of the Cross