Day 125 · Christ First

Scripture

Numbers 12–14

Numbers 12

Mary and Aaron murmur against Moses, whom God praiseth above other prophets. Mary being struck with leprosy, Aaron confesseth his fault. Moses prayeth for her, and after seven days’ separation from the camp, she is restored.

And Mary and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of his wife the Ethiopian,

And they said: Hath the Lord spoken by Moses only? Hath he not also spoken to us in like manner? And when the Lord heard this,

(For Moses was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth)

Immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Mary: Come out you three only to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were come out,

The Lord came down in a pillar of the cloud, and stood in the entry of the tabernacle calling to Aaron and Mary. And when they were come,

He said to them: Hear my words: if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream.

But it is not so with my servant Moses who is most faithful in all my house:

For I speak to him mouth to mouth: and plainly, and not by riddles and figures doth he see the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak ill of my servant Moses?

And being angry with them he went away:

The cloud also that was over the tabernacle departed: and behold Mary appeared white as snow with a leprosy. And when Aaron had looked on her, and saw her all covered with leprosy,

He said to Moses: I beseech thee, my lord, lay not upon us this sin, which we have foolishly committed:

Let her not be as one dead, and as an abortive that is cast forth from the mother’s womb. Lo, now one half of her flesh is consumed with the leprosy.

And Moses cried to the Lord, saying O God, I beseech thee heal her.

And the Lord answered him: If her father had spitten upon her face, ought she not to have been ashamed for seven days at least? Let her be separated seven days without the camp, and afterwards she shall be called again.

Mary therefore was put out of the camp seven days: and the people moved not from that place until Mary was called again.

Numbers 13

The twelve spies are sent to view the land. The relation they make of it.

And the people marched from Haseroth, and pitched their tents in the desert of Pharan.

And there the Lord spoke to Moses, saying.

Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers.

Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending from the desert of Pharan, principal men, whose names are these:

Of the tribe of Ruben, Sammua the son of Zechur.

Of the tribe of Simeon, Saphat the son of Huri.

Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone.

Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

Of the tribe of Ephraim, Osee the son of Nun.

Of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti the son of Raphu.

Of the tribe of Zabulon, Geddiel the son of Sodi.

Of the tribe of Joseph, of the sceptre of Manasses, Gaddi the son of Susi.

Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

Of the tribe of Aser, Sthur the son of Michael.

Of the tribe of Nephtali, Nahabi the son of Vapsi.

Of the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi.

These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to view the land: and he called Osee the son of Nun, Josue.

And Moses sent them to view the land of Chanaan, and said to them: Go you up by the south side. And when you shall come to the mountains,

View the land, of what sort it is, and the people that are the inhabitants thereof, whether they be strong or weak: few in number or many:

The land itself, whether it be good or bad: what manner of cities, walled or without walls:

The ground, fat or barren, woody or without trees. Be of good courage, and bring us of the fruits of the land. Now it was the time when the firstripe grapes are fit to be eaten.

And when they were gone up, they viewed the land from the desert of Sin, unto Rohob as you enter into Emath.

And they went up at the south side, and came to Hebron, where were Achiman and Sisai and Tholmai the sons of Enac. For Hebron was built seven years before Tanis the city of Egypt.

And going forward as far as the torrent of the cluster of grapes, they cut off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a lever. They took also of the pomegranates and of the figs of that place:

Which was called Nehelescol, that is to say, the torrent of the cluster of grapes, because from thence the children of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes.

And they that went to spy out the land returned after forty days, having gone round all the country,

And came to Moses and Aaron and to all the assembly of the children of Israel to the desert of Pharan, which is in Cades. And speaking to them and to all the multitude, they shewed them the fruits of the land:

And they related and said: We came into the land to which thou sentest us, which in very deed floweth with milk and honey as may be known by these fruits:

But it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled. We saw there the race of Enac.

Amalec dwelleth in the south, the Hethite and the Jebusite and the Amorrhite in the mountains: but the Chanaanite abideth by the sea and near the streams of the Jordan.

In the mean time Caleb, to still the murmuring of the people that rose against Moses, said: Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it.

But the others, that had been with him, said: No, we are not able to go up to this people, because they are stronger than we.

And they spoke ill of the land, which they had viewed, before the children of Israel, saying: The land which we have viewed, devoureth its inhabitants: the people, that we beheld are of a tall stature.

There we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac, of the giant kind: in comparison of whom, we seemed like locusts.

Numbers 14

The people murmur. God threateneth to destroy them. He is appeased by Moses, yet so as to exclude the murmurers from entering the promised land. The authors of the sedition are struck dead. The rest going to fight against the will of God are beaten.

Therefore the whole multitude crying wept that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying:

Would God that we had died in Egypt: and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another: Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell down flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel.

But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone, who themselves also had viewed the land, rent their garments,

And said to all the multitude of the children of Israel: The land which we have gone round is very good:

If the Lord be favourable, he will bring us into it, and give us a land flowing with milk and honey.

Be not rebellious against the Lord: and fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them: the Lord is with us, fear ye not.

And when all the multitude cried out, and would have stoned them, the glory of the Lord appeared over the tabernacle of the covenant to all the children of Israel.

And the Lord said to Moses: How long will this people detract me? how long will they not believe me for all the signs that I have wrought before them?

I will strike them therefore with pestilence, and will consume them: but thee I will make a ruler over a great nation, and a mightier than this is.

And Moses said to the Lord: That the Egyptians, from the midst of whom thou hast brought forth this people,

And the inhabitants of this land, (who have heard that thou, O Lord, art among this people, and art seen face to face, and thy cloud protecteth them, and thou goest before them in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night,)

May hear that thou hast killed so great a multitude as it were one man and may say:

He could not bring the people into the land for which he had sworn, therefore did he kill them in the wilderness.

Let then the strength of the Lord be magnified, as thou hast sworn, saying:

The Lord is patient and full of mercy, by taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Forgive, I beseech thee, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, as thou hast been merciful to them from their going out of Egypt unto this place.

And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word.

As I live: and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

But yet all the men that have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice,

Shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me behold it.

My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall possess it.

For the Amalecite and the Chanaanite dwell in the valleys. To morrow remove the camp, and return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.

Say therefore to them: As I live, saith the Lord: According as you have spoken in my hearing, so will I do to you.

In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and have murmured against me,

Shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my hand to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun.

But your children, of whom you said, that they should be a prey to the enemies, will I bring in: that they may see the land which you have despised.

Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness.

Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed in the desert,

According to the number of the forty days, wherein you viewed the land: a year shall be counted for a day. And forty years you shall receive your iniquities, and shall know my revenge:

For as I have spoken, so will I do to all this wicked multitude, that hath risen up together against me: in this wilderness shall it faint away and die.

Therefore all the men, whom Moses had sent to view the land, and who at their return had made the whole multitude to murmur against him, speaking ill of the land that it was naught,

Died and were struck in the sight of the Lord.

But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone lived, of all them that had gone to view the land.

And Moses spoke all these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned exceedingly.

And behold rising up very early in the morning, they went up to the top of the mountain, and said: We are ready to go up to the place, of which the Lord hath spoken: for we have sinned.

And Moses said to them: Why transgress you the word of the Lord, which shall not succeed prosperously with you?

Go not up, for the Lord is not with you: lest you fall before your enemies.

The Amalecite and the Chanaanite are before you, and by their sword you shall fall, because you would not consent to the Lord, neither will the Lord be with you.

But they being blinded went up to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord and Moses departed not from the camp.

And the Amalecite came down, and the Chanaanite that dwelt in the mountain: and smiting and slaying them pursued them as far as Horma.

Catechism

An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Lesson 6, Question 51

51 Q. Is Original Sin the only kind of sin?

A. Original Sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.
Sin is first or chiefly divided into original and actual; that is, into the sin we inherit from our first parents and the sin we commit ourselves. We may commit "actual" sin in two ways; either by doing what we should not do—stealing, for example—and thus we have a sin of commission, that is, a bad act committed; or by not doing what we should do—not hearing Mass on Sunday, for example—and thus we have a sin of omission, that is, a good act omitted. So it is not enough to simply do no harm, we must also do some good. Heaven is a reward, and we must do something to merit it. Suppose a man employed a boy to do the work of his office, and when he came in the morning found that the boy had neglected the work assigned to him, and when spoken to about it simply answered: "Sir, I did no harm"; do you think he would be entitled to his wages? Of course he did not and should do no harm; but is his employer to pay him wages for that? Certainly not. In like manner, God is not going to reward us for doing no harm; but on the contrary, He will punish us if we do wrong, and give no reward unless we perform the work He has marked out for us. Neither would the office boy deserve any wages if he did only what pleases himself, and not the work assigned by his master. In the same way, God will not accept any worship or religion but the one He has revealed. He tells us Himself how He wishes to be worshipped, and our own invented methods will not please Him. Hence we see the folly of those who say that all religions are equally good, and that we can be saved by practicing any of them. We can be saved only in the one religion which God Himself has instituted, and by which He wishes to be honored. Many also foolishly believe, or say they believe, that if they are honest, sober, and the like, doing no injury to anyone, they shall be saved without the practice of any form of religious worship. But how about God's laws and commands? Are they to be despised, disregarded, and neglected entirely, without any fear of punishment? Surely not! And persons who thus think they are doing no harm are neglecting to serve God—the greatest harm they can do, and for which they will lose Heaven. God, we are told, assigned to everyone in this world a certain work to perform in a particular state of life, and this work is called "vocation." One, for instance, is to be a priest; another, a layman; one married; another single, etc. It is important for us to discover our true vocation; for if we are in the state of life to which God has called us, we shall be happy; but if we select our own work, our own state of life without consulting Him, we shall seldom be happy in it. How are we to know our vocation? Chiefly by praying to God and asking Him to make it known to us. Then if He gives us a strong inclination—constant, or nearly constant—for a certain state of life, and the ability to fulfill its duties, we may well believe that God wishes us to be in that state.
After we have begged God's assistance, we must ask our confessor's advice in the matter, and listen attentively to what the Holy Ghost inspires him to say. The signs of our vocation are, therefore, as stated: first, a strong desire, and second, an aptitude for the state to which we believe we are called. For example, a young man might be very holy, but if unable to learn, he could never be a priest. Another might be very learned and holy, but if too sickly to perform a priest's duties, he could not, or at least would not, be ordained. Another might be learned and healthy, but not virtuous, and so he could never be a priest. Aptitude, therefore, means all the qualities necessary, whether of mind, or soul, or body. The same is true for a young girl who wishes to become a religious; and the same, indeed, for any person's vocation. We should never enter a state of life to which we are not called, simply to please parents or others. Neither should we be persuaded by them to give up a state to which we are called; for we should embrace our true vocation at any sacrifice, that in it we may serve God better, and be more certain of saving our souls. Thus, parents and guardians who prevent their children from entering the state to which they are called may sin grievously by exposing them to eternal loss of salvation. Their sin is all the greater when they try to influence their children in this matter for selfish or worldly motives. As they may be selfish and prejudiced without knowing it, they too, should ask the advice of their confessor, and good persons of experience. Oh! how many children, sons and daughters, are made unhappy all the days of their life by parents or superiors forcing them into some state to which they were not called, or by keeping them from one to which they were called. This matter of your vocation rests with yourselves and Almighty God, and you are free to do what He directs without consideration for anyone.