Wednesday, April 25, 2012

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – 2012


«  We continue the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 

«  This coming Sunday, 4th of Easter, the universal Church invites us to meditate and to pray for vocations especially to the priesthood and religious life.    

«  The Pope in his message says that the vocation comes from the unconditional love of God, the Creator. He invites us to pass this message on to the younger generations. 

«  The three readings tell us that Jesus has given his life for us and in turn invites us to do the same for our brothers and sisters.

«  The Good Shepherd calls us to unity.

«  The responsorial psalm says that He is the stone rejected by the builders. 

¡ALELUYA, JESUS THE LORD IS RISEN!!!! 

 FIRST READING  – Acts  3: 13-15. 17-19
«  Peter filled with the Holy Spirit speaks to the leaders of the people to let them know that they(Peter and John)  did not do the  miracle they just have seen, they have done it in the name of Jesus. 

«  In each one of the Sundays of the Easter season we have heard as a refrain: This Jesus Christ whom you killed, the Father raised him. 

«  He is the cornerstone rejected by the builders, and it is now the stone which supports the building. 

«  Peter repeats again that, there is no salvation in any other name, but in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Psalm 118:1.8-9,21-23,26,21,29
Ø  This is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise for the wonderful works that God has made. 

Ø   Most probably this psalm was used in the liturgical celebrations of the people of Israel.

Ø  The refrains speak of two actions of the liturgy: the entrance into the Temple and the procession to the altar.

Ø  The psalmist gives thanks to God for his wonderful actions, for having listened to him, because THE LORD IS GOOD, HIS MERCY IS EVERLASTING. 

Ø  ¿For which of the wonderful works of God in our life, do we want to thank him and sing his mercies?   

SECOND READING: 1 Jn 3:1-2
*      It is a very short Reading, only two verses, but rich in meaning.  

*      The author speaks of the love the Father has shown to us. 

*      Since we are not only called sons and daughters, but we really are. 

*      This is the reason that the world does not know us, and does not accept us, because they have neither known nor accepted God as Father. 

*      The author says that we already are children of God. Yes, we are children of God from our baptism. 

*      But everything is in shadows, without being able to see clearly. 

*      When “he appears” we will be like Him, and we will see him as He is. 

*      What  is the meaning of this words “he appears”, does John mean the Second Coming of the Lord? or does he mean our personal encounter with the Lord at the end of our earthly journey?    

GOSPEL JOHN  10:11-18
«  The Reading for this coming Sunday is taken from the discourse of the Good Shepherd.   

«  In the first part Jesus says that he is the door of the flock, a beautiful image but we will not read this part on Sunday. 

«  In the second part of this discourse Jesus says “I am the Good Shepherd”  

«  And he describes what it means to be the good shepherd: 

o   The good shepherd gives his live for the sheep.  This is what Jesus has done, He loves us so much that he has given  his life for us. Like the shepherd that lays at night at the entrance of the fold to protect the sheep from the wolfs, from evil. (the fold did not have a door, thus the shepherd slept at the entrance of the fold and in so doing he was like the door of the fold.)  

o   The two verses that follow describe the difference between the shepherd, owner of the sheep and the hired hand who works for a salary.  

o   Jesus repeats what he said in verse 11“I am the good shepherd” 

o   The Good Shepherd not only defends, protects and gives his life for the sheep, but 

o   The Good Shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know him. 

o   Let us reflect for a moment on the biblical meaning of the verb to know: 

§  To know is not only an intellectual action   

§  In the knowing the mind, the heart, the passion, the affection, the will, the intelligence, the imagination and the action are involved.  

§  It is the verb that the Old Testament uses to describe the loving intimacy between a couple, a man and a woman.  

The sheep have an intimate and deep relationship with Jesus his or her shepherd; a relationship similar to the relationship between the Father and the Son in the Most Holy Trinity. 

o   Because of this “knowledge”, to this deep intimacy between Jesus and the sheep, He gives his life so the sheep may have abundant life.   

o   What a beautiful image!  Our Shepherd invites us to enter into the intimacy between the Father and the Son in the Most Holy Trinity.   

o   For this he has died and rose again, and has ascended to the Father taking us with him and giving us his Spirit his love. 

o   THANK YOU GOOD SHEPHERD!

«  After that Jesus says that he has other sheep which are not yet in the fold. 

o   They are all our brothers and sisters who do not know yet their Shepherd, who have not yet entered into the fold. 

o   But the Good Shepherd has to find them and teach them to recognize his voice. 

o   The voice of the Shepherd, it is not an audible voice. It is the voice which resounds in the mot inner recesses of our being, and leads us to the “knowledge” of our Shepherd.    

o   All the sheep that hear, listen to, and know the Shepherd form one fold, because the voice of the Shepherd resonates within him or her, and this unites us to the only Shepherd and among ourselves. We are no longer estrangers to each other or enemies, we are THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE RISEN LORD and of ONE ANOTHER.   

«  Jesus says something that makes us wonder: the Father loves Jesus because He lays down his life to take it again. 

«  Nobody takes his life from him; He has the power to give it and the power to take it again. He is the Lord.    

«  This is the mission he has received from the Father.  

«  We have a long way to go as followers of Jesus, our Teacher and Shepherd we need  

o   A welcoming heart to seek the lost sheep, those that are not yet in the fold with us, those who do not know the voice of the Shepherd, and to accept them as part of our family, our church.  

o   A rejoicing heart because our brother or our sisters has come into the fold with us. 

o   A generous heart willing to give his or her life for the brothers and sisters, as Jesus did. 

o   A patient heart because each one enters into the fold at his or her own time. 

CLARETIAN CORNER 
 


I had made many acts of abandonment and self- offering in the arms of the Divine providence in the midst of so many perils, being certain and most sure  that God is never short of means to help his children in their necessities even in that immense space of waters where we had no other refuge than the violent waves . This faith so alive, that God has put in my soul made me rest in the midst of so many fights. And in this way God willed to show that the one who puts all his hope in his infinite power would never be confounded. Venerable María Antonia París, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 152.   

Then, speaking of infidels in general,  she(St. Mary Magdalene of Pazis) would say, "If I could, I would gather them all together and bring them to the bosom of the Church, that She might purify them of all their infidelities and regenerate them as her children, drawing them to her breast and nourishing them with the milk of the sacraments. How well she would feed and nurse them at her breasts! Ah, if I could bring them to her, how gladly would I do it!"San Antonio María Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 260.  

BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiography.
FLOR SERRANO, Gonzalo. Los Salmos en Comentario al Antiguo Testamento II. La Casa de la Biblia 1997.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos(Writings), with commentaries by Juan Manuel Lozano.
RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras. Año B. Ediciones San Pablo. Bogotá 2005.
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. Commentaries to the  BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO. Ediciones Mensajero. China 2010

Sunday, April 22, 2012

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER – 2012


«  We continue to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. 

«  Jesus comes in the midst of his friends. 

«  The book of Acts describes the way in which the first community of disciples lived their faith. They still considered themselves part of the Jewish religion. Little by little they will discover the newness of Jesus and of his preaching, and eventually they will separate themselves from the synagogue to walk on their own in the following of Jesus. Jesus had already said “new wine in new skins” 

«  Today Peter and John say words which the Church of all times should wish to be able to repeat: “we do not have silver or gold, but what we have we give it to you … are witness  of the RESURRECTION OF JESUS. The power is in Jesus not in our material means.   

¡ALLELUIA,  JESUS, THE LORDS IS RISEN!!!   

 FIRST READING – ACTS   3:13-15. 17-19
«  Peter and John go up to the Temple for the evening prayer. 

«  They see a paralytic man begging. They see the suffering of the man, his lack of mobility, his humiliation.   

«  Peter asks the man to look at them,   and says to the man that they do not have gold or silver, but they will share him what they have: the faith in the Risen Lord, their faith in the power of Jesus. STAND UP AND WALK!

«  In the liturgy of the third Sunday we read the explanation that Peter gives of this act of power done by their means. It is not them it is the Lord who has done it.  

«  Peter gives his second missionary speech: 

o   Why are you surprised? Why do you look at us as if we had done this miracle?  

o   The miracle, the healing of this man is the work of Jesus. And you should not be surprised since during his earthly life he did many of these miracles. He went about  doing good to all.  

o   Peter reminds his audience how the God of Abraham… has glorified his servant Jesus.  

§  They handed him over to the gentiles

§  They chose a criminal over the man that had done so many good things for all.  

§  Looking at this people that did not know how to choose well, that preferred death and evil, maybe we can see ourselves, we can see all the human generations since the beginning of time. 

§  They say that our culture is the culture of death. Let us think the different manifestations of this culture of death

§  But GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEATH AND WE ARE WITNESSES OF ALL OF THIS.   

§  Are we also witnesses of the resurrection, of the new life? With our life which has been changed after we have encountered the Risen Lord. Do we believe in the resurrection of Jesus and in our resurrection?  

o    Peter says to them that he knows that they acted by ignorance.  

o   He invites them to repent, to change their lives.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Ps 4:2.4.7-8.9

LORD LET YOU FACE SHINE ON US   

Ø  Psalm 4 is a psalm of complete trust in God because the psalmist has had the experience of being heard and defended  by God.   

Ø  Some of the verses have an extraordinary beauty of trust on the part of the praying person: You put gladness into my heart. As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling.      

Ø  The dwelling may be my home, my family, but it can also be my most inner being, my heart. 

Ø  I TRUST IN YOU FOR YOUR ARE MY GOD.    

SECOND READING  1 Jn 2:1-5 
«  Let us reflect on some aspects of this letter:    

o   The readers of this letter are new Christians, who are far in time and place from the events related to Jesus, far from the members of the first generation even of the second. 

o   Their behavior is based on the witnesses who saw and touched the Word of Life, and they proclaimed it to the next generation, and these to the present generation, so the joy of the one who proclaims shall be also the joy of those who hear the proclamation. 

o   These Christians have to endure the threats of the heresy about Jesus: the heresy taught that the historical Jesus was not important, and   minimized also the value of the shedding of his blood

o   The author uses different ways to help his brothers and sisters: 

§  He helps the community to be aware of the demands of the Christian Life  

§  Discernment between what it means to be a Christian and what it means not to be a Christian. 

§  He offers some criteria to make the discernment.  Those who follow the teachings of the Lord are in communion with the Father, and with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit

«  Let us meditate on next Sunday’s reading.  

§   John writes his letter to help the addressees of the letter to keep themselves far from sin.

§  But if we sin, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ the Just one. 

§  John tells us that to be sure that we know Jesus (to know means to have a knowledge based on love) if we keep his commands, we could say also if we are faithful to the new covenant sealed with his blood.     

GOSPEL OF LUKE  24:35-48
*      On Easter Sunday and on the Second Sunday of Easter we have read from the gospels of Mark and John. Today we will read from the end of the Gospel of Luke. 

*      Let us see the message it has for us  

*      Simon (Peter) has seen the Lord, and this has convinced the little community of believers of the truth of the resurrection.   

*      The two from Emmaus come, they tell those in the upper room what has happened to them and how they recognized him on the breaking of the bread.   

*      The little community believes because it has heard from the witnesses, but to become witnesses themselves they need to have the experience of the Risen Lord. 

*      Jesus comes suddently and stands in their midst  

o   But they cannot believe because of their joy. They had seen him dead on the cross. All of them left him in the moment he needed them the most. How can he come  and  speak  to us? 

o   It is me, look that I have flesh and bones, ghosts do not have flesh and bones as I have.   

o   These words from the Gospel of Luke make us think that they are seeing the same Jesus with whom they shared the life and ministry before his crucifixion. The Risen Lord  is the same Jesus of Nazareth, his Teacher and friend.  

o   Jesus wants to convince them, give me something to eat. You know that the dead and the ghosts do not eat.   

o   He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. He does for  them as he did for those on the way to Emmaus.

o   Is it not what he also does for us? He opens our minds to understand the Scriptures, what a consolation it is to know that when we read, meditate and share the Scriptures with love and faith, He is with us, and explains them to us. 

o   After seeing the Risen Lord, after understanding the meaning of the events of Good Friday, they are ready to be sent on mission: to be witnesses of all of this. What does it mean “this”? it means JESUS OF NAZARETH DEAD AND RISEN FOR US.   

o   To help them, to help us He will send the promise from the Father: THE SPIRIT, the strength that comes from the Father.    

*      We need to have the same experience that these men had, if we are to proclaim our faith:  

o   To see the Risen Lord, how? 

o   Everything begins for us when we have that special experience in our life; we call it the experience of God.   

o   Where? In a retreat, in a happy event of our life, in a deep suffering, when we have lost some one dear to us, in sickness… In anything that makes us say with enthusiasm “I have found the Lord” and it  will always be the risen Lord.   

o   Sometimes it will happened so suddendly that it might even be violent. Some other time it will be as quiet as the breeze that Moses heard. We will realize that something has happened, probably after some time.   

o   From this moment a journey of “conversion” begins for us. The Master goes before us, we have only to follow him.   

o   When the experience has been real, even if we have ups and downs in our spiritual life, the experience will always come back to us, and will continue to change our life. 

o   And this change which can be seen by all,  is our first means of proclaiming our faith in the Risen Lod.  And whenever we are asked we will explain the meaning of our faith. 

CLARETIAN CORNER 

My God Triune and One: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; I ask you, that in your infinite wisdom, you  illuminate me, so that I shall know you and I shall know me, and I shall know all that you want me to do, to serve and love you with the perfection which is possible in this life, with your divine help. Let me know my God, what is the best for the whole family you have entrusted to me, and for each one of my dear sisters: grant them your light so they all will know what you want from each one of them, thus   we will be docile, and  will  not oppose your inspirations and most holy will . (Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Morning prayer which she recited every morning)  

What is lacking then, my Mother? Would you perhaps avail yourself of some instrument with which to remedy so great an evil? Here is one who however vile and contemptible he knows himself to be, is yet assured that he will serve the better for this end, since your power will shine forth all the brighter, and all will see that it is you who are at work, not I. Come now, loving Mother, let us lose no time. Here I am: dispose of me as you will, for you know that I am wholly yours. I trust that you will do this out of your great kindness, pity, and mercy, and I ask you this through the love you bear for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen."(Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 156.   This prayers comes after another prayer in which he asks Mary to destroy all the heresies which existed in his time)