Fragmenda

Scripture

3 Kings 15–17

3 Kings 15

The acts of Abiam and of Asa kings of Juda. And of Nadab and Baasa kings of Israel.

1 

Now in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, Abiam reigned over Juda.

2 

He reigned three years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom.

3 

And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father.

4 

But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:

5 

Because David had done that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, except the matter of Urias, the Hethite.

6 

But there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam all the time of his life.

7 

And the rest of the words of Abiam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? And there was war between Abiam and Jeroboam.

8 

And Abiam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa, his son, reigned in his stead.

9 

So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned Asa, king of Juda,

10 

And he reigned one and forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom.

11 

And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David, his father:

12 

And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made.

13 

Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrated to him: and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and burnt it by the torrent Cedron:

14 

But the high places he did not take away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days:

15 

And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and he had vowed, into the house of the Lord, silver and gold, and vessels.

16 

And there was war between Asa, and Baasa, king of Israel, all their days.

17 

And Baasa, king of Israel, went up against Juda, and built Rama, that no man might go out or come in of the side of Asa, king of Juda.

18 

Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hands of his servants: and sent them to Benadad, son of Tabremon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:

19 

There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: therefore I have sent thee presents of silver and gold: and I desire thee to come, and break thy league with Baasa, king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

20 

Benadad, hearkening to king Asa, sent the captains of his army against the cities of Israel, and they smote Ahion, and Dan, and Abeldomum Maacha, and all Cenneroth; that is all the land of Nephthali.

21 

And when Baasa had heard this, he left off building Rama, and returned into Thersa.

22 

But king Asa sent word into all Juda, saying: Let no man be excused: and they took away the stones from Rama, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasa had been building, and with them king Asa built Gabaa of Benjamin, and Maspha.

23 

But the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his strength, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

24 

And he slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father. And Josaphat, his son, reigned in his place.

25 

But Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel the second year of Asa, king of Juda: and he reigned over Israel two years.

26 

And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

27 

And Baasa, the son of Ahias, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and slew him in Gebbethon, which is a city of the Philistines: for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gebbethon.

28 

So Baasa slew him in the third year of Asa, king of Juda, and reigned in his place.

29 

And when he was king, he cut off all the house of Jeroboam: he left not so much as one soul of his seed, till he had utterly destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite:

30 

Because of the sin of Jeroboam, which he had sinned, and wherewith he had made Israel to sin, and for the offence wherewith he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 

But the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

32 

And there was war between Asa and Baasa, the king of Israel, all their days.

33 

In the third year of Asa, king of Juda, Baasa, the son of Ahias, reigned over all Israel, in Thersa, four and twenty years.

34 

And he did evil before the Lord, and walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.


3 Kings 16

Jehu prophesieth against Baasa: his son Ela is slain and all his family destroyed by Zambri. Of the reign of Amri father of Achab.

1 

Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasa, saying:

2 

For as much as I have exalted thee out of the dust and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins:

3 

Behold I will cut down the posterity of Baasa, and the posterity of his house, and I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

4 

Him that dieth of Baasa, in the city, the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls of the air shall devour.

5 

But the rest of the acts of Baasa, and all that he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

6 

So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela, his son, reigned in his stead.

7 

And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet, against Baasa, and against his house, and against all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam: for this cause he slew him; that is to say, Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet.

8 

In the six and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Ela, the son of Baasa, reigned over Israel, in Thersa, two years.

9 

And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen, rebelled against him: now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the house of Arsa, the governor of Thersa.

10 

And Zambri rushing in, struck him, and slew him, in the seven and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda and he reigned in his stead.

11 

And when he was king, and sat upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa, and he left not one thereof to piss against a wall and all his kinsfolks and friends.

12 

And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa, according to the word of the Lord, that he had spoken to Baasa, in the hand of Jehu, the prophet,

13 

For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela, his son, who sinned, and made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, with their vanities.

14 

But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15 

In the seven and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Zambri reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon, a city of the Philistines.

16 

And when they heard that Zambri had rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was general over Israel in the camp that day.

17 

And Amri went up, and all Israel with him, from Gebbethon, and they besieged Thersa.

18 

And Zambri, seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace, and burnt himself with the king’s house: and he died

19 

In his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

20 

But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and tyranny, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

21 

Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni, the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri.

22 

But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni, the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned.

23 

In the one and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years.

24 

And he bought the hill of Samaria of Semer, for two talents of silver: and he built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Semer, the owner of the hill.

25 

And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him.

26 

And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin: to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

27 

Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

28 

And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Achab, his son, reigned in his stead.

29 

Now Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda. And Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years.

30 

And Achab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

31 

Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored him.

32 

And he set up an altar for Baal, in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria;

33 

And he planted a grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

34 

In his days Hiel, of Bethel, built Jericho: in Abiram, his firstborn, he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son, Segub, he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Josue, the son of Nun.


3 Kings 17

Elias shutteth up the heaven from raining. He is fed by ravens, and afterwards by a widow of Sarephta. He raiseth the window’s son to life.

1 

And Elias the Thesbite, of the inhabitants of Galaad, said to Achab: As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.

2 

And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

3 

Get thee hence, and go towards the east, and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan;

4 

And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 

So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan.

6 

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.

7 

But after some time the torrent was dried up: for it had not rained upon the earth.

8 

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

9 

Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.

10 

He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 

And when she was going to fetch it, he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

12 

And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruise: behold I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

13 

And Elias said to her: Fear not; but go, and do as thou hast said but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me, and after make for thyself and thy son.

14 

For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruise of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.

15 

She went, and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day

16 

The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruise of oil was not diminished according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.

17 

And it came to pass after this, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.

18 

And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me, that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?

19 

And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 

And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a sort maintained, so as to kill her son?

21 

And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.

22 

And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.

23 

And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.

24 

And the woman said to Elias: Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

Catechism

An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Lesson 12, Question 132

132 Q. How is the Church apostolic?

A. The Church is apostolic because it was founded by Christ on His Apostles and is governed by their lawful successors, and because it has never ceased, and never will cease, to teach their doctrine.

"Apostolic," which means that the Church was founded at the time of the Apostles, and has been the same ever since. Since the time of St. Peter, the first Pope, there have been 261 Popes. You can go back from our present Holy Father, Pius XI, to Benedict XV, who was before him, to Pius X, who was before him, to Leo XIII, before him, and so on one by one till you come to St. Peter himself, who lived at the time of Our Lord. Thus the Church is apostolic in its origin or beginning.

It is also apostolic in its teaching; for all the doctrines it teaches now were taught by the Apostles. The Church does not make new doctrines, but it teaches its truths more clearly and distinctly when someone denies them. For example it would not be necessary for you to prove yourself good and honest till somebody said you were bad and dishonest. You prove your honesty when it is denied, but both you and your friends believed it always, though you did not declare it till it was denied. In just the same way the Church always believed that Our Lord is the Son of God; that there are seven Sacraments; that the Pope is infallible, etc. These truths and all the others were believed by the Apostles, and the Church proclaimed them in a special manner when they were denied. Then it called together in council all its bishops, and they, with the Holy Father, proclaimed these truths—not as new doctrines, but as truths always believed by the Church, and now defined because denied.

Protestants have not for their churches the mark apostolic. How could their churches be founded by the Apostles, when the Apostles were dead more than fourteen hundred years before there were any Protestant churches? What is more, they have changed the teachings of the Apostles; and so they have not the mark apostolic either in their origin or teaching.

But they say the Catholic Church fell into error and made mistakes, and that God wished reformers to correct these errors. How could the Church fall into error when Our Lord promised to remain always with it, and to send the Holy Ghost to guide and teach it forever? And, secondly, if God sent the Protestants to correct the mistakes of the Catholic Church, what proof do they give us that they have such power from God? When, as we have seen, God sends anyone to do a special work, He always gives him power to prove his mission. When He sent Moses, He gave him signs—the plagues of Egypt. When He sent His prophets, they called down fire and rain from Heaven. (3 Kings 18). But Protestants have shown us no signs and performed no miracles; therefore we cannot believe their assertion that God sent them to correct the Catholic Church. Neither can we believe that Our Lord broke His promise to stay with the Church. We shall see the whole truth of the matter if we go back to the establishment of the Protestant religion and consider the life of Luther and the others who founded it.

Luther, then a young man, while out one day saw his friend killed at his side by a stroke of lightning. Much affected by that sad event, Luther became a priest in the order of the Augustinians. He was a learned man and a great preacher, but very proud. The Holy Father was completing St. Peter's Church in Rome, and about that time granted an indulgence to those giving alms for the purpose, just as pastors now offer Masses for those who contribute means to build a new church, or hospital, asylum, etc.

The Holy Father sent Dominican priests to preach about this indulgence and collect this money. Then Luther, when he found that he, a great preacher, was not appointed, was probably jealous. He first began to preach against the abuses of indulgences: but pride made him go further, and soon he began to preach against the doctrine of indulgences, and thus became a heretic. Then he was condemned by the Pope, and cut off from the Church. Being proud, he would not submit, but began to form a new religion, now called Protestant. But how did he get the people to follow him? Oh, very easily. Then, as now, there were plenty of bad and indifferent Catholics. At that time the Church was rich and had much property and lands; because when rich Catholics died they often left to the Church property for its own support and the support of its institutions. Even during their lifetime kings and princes sometimes gave the Church large donations of lands and money. The Church then was supported by these gifts and the income or rents of the lands, and did not need to look for collections from the people, as it has to do now. Here, then, is how Luther got many to follow him. He told greedy princes that if they came with him they could become rich by seizing the property of all the churches, and the greedy princes, glad of an excuse, went with him. Then he told the people—the bad Catholics—that fasting was too severe; going to confession too hard; hearing Mass every Sunday too difficult; and if they renounced their faith and embraced his new religion he would do away with all these things: so they also followed him. He himself broke his solemn vows made to God, and the people easily followed his example.

Those attending the Protestant churches in our times are generally rich and refined people, but you must not think that the first Protestants of three hundred years ago were just like them. No. Many of them were from the lowest and worst—I do not say poorest—classes in society; and when they got an excuse, they went about destroying churches and institutions, burning beautiful statues, paintings, music, books, and works of art that the Church had collected and preserved for centuries. This you may read in any of the histories of the Church and times. The Protestants of the present day praise all these works of art now; but if their ancestors had had their way every beautiful work of art would have been destroyed.

Some persons say they would not be members of the Catholic Church because so many poor people attend it. Then they do not want to belong to the Church of Our Lord, because His Church is the Church of both poor and rich. When St. John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Our Lord if He were really the Messias, Our Lord did not say yes or no, but told them to relate to John what they had heard and seen (Matt. 11:5), namely, that He (Christ) cured the blind, the lame, and the deaf, and preached to the poor. Therefore Our Lord gave preaching to the poor as a proof that He is the true Redeemer; and since Our Lord Himself had the poor in His congregation, the Church everywhere must have the poor among its members, for it must do what Our Lord did. So if you see a church to which the poor people never go, in which they are not welcome, you have good reason to suspect it is not the Church of Our Lord—not the true Church. Again, poverty and riches belong only to this world and make a distinction only here. The one who is poorest in this world's goods may be richest in God's grace. Indeed, if most Protestants studied the early history of their religion they would not be proud, but ashamed of it. How little they would think of their ancestors who gave up God for some worldly gain, while the Catholic martyrs gave up everything, even their lives, rather than forsake God and the true religion.