Monday, May 28, 2012
BIBLICAL COMMENTARY
During the months of June and July we will not publish the biblical commentary. We will resume it on the first Sunday of August. May all of us have a blessed and peaceful summer. Regina
Thursday, May 24, 2012
PENTECOST – MAY 27, 2012
«
We have reached the end of the Easter Season.
«
Pentecost happens during one of the Jewish Festivities.
«
Israel celebrated in this day the giving of the Law by Yahweh on Mount
Sinai.
«
Today we celebrate the birth of our Church.
FIRST READING – Acts 2:1-11
-
Luke has a theological intention on writing about the event of
Pentecost.
-
The Spirit is very much present in the Work of Luke: Gospel and
Acts.
-
This presence comes to its highest point in the narration of
Pentecost.
-
It is a fascinating account of the coming and presence of the Spirit in
the Church.
-
The Spirit of God who was over the waters at the beginning of creation,
the Spirit who together with the Word transformed chaos into a wonderful and
beautiful creation, in our universe.
-
In this day Israel commemorated the Law received on Mount Sinai.
-
To us in this day God gives us the new Law of Grace, the Law of Jesus,
the Law of the Spirit of God who teaches us the only precept given by our
Redeemer: the love of God made visible in the love of neighbor, of our brothers
and sisters.
-
Let us meditate some aspects of this Reading:
o
Let us begin with the word spirit “Ruah” in ancient Hebrew
language:
§
It means the atmospheric space between the earth and the sky.
§
It can be either calm or agitated.
§
It is an open space, where the wind can be perceived easily.
§
It is the vital space where man moves and breathes.
o
Let us see now the meaning of Ruah
in the Bible:
§
It means two things: wind and breath.
§
The Greek word pneuma and the Latin word spiritus have the same meaning
as the Hebrew word Ruah.
§
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa says that the two books that God has written:
creation made of mute elements and the Bible made of words, they mutually
illuminate each other.
§
The Bible speaks very often of the Spirit of God as wind, Jesus uses
this expression when he speaks to Nicodemus.
§
The wind in nature and in the Bible is always the manifestation of a
powerful force, only the wind is able to
agitate the ocean.
§
Breathing, the other meaning of Ruah, is represented as a whisper or as
a gentle breeze.
§
The gentle breeze symbolizes kindness, peace.
o
Both meanings of the word Ruah are used in the Bible to present to us
the two different manifestations of God: God is the Other, the One completely
different from us: the transcendence of
God. But God also is present to us
in a very intimate way: the immanence of
God .
§
The Holy Spirit shows clearly the mystery of God, He is at the same time
absolute power and kindness without limits, movement and quietness.
§
In the life of the Church we have moved from the symbol: wind, breath,
to the reality of the Person of the Holy
Spirit. He is at the same time a mystery
of power and a mystery of kindness, gentleness.
o
The mystery of communion
among the followers of Jesus: the community of the believers.
§
The Spirit comes, when they are together, all are filled with the Holy
Spirit, who has in all the same manifestations: speaking in different
languages, tongues of fire come upon them.
o
The universality of
salvation.
§
All those present hear about the wonderful works of God in their own
language.
§
This miracle is the wonderful reality of salvation given to all the
peoples of the earth. This continues to be a reality in the evangelizing
mission of the Church.
o
Let us say together the response of the responsorial psalm.
LORD
SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
SECOND
READING 1Co 12:3b-7,12-13
This Reading present two aspects of the work of the
Holy Spirit in the community of the believers in Jesus:
Ø Diversity
o
The different gifts of the Spirit, different services and works in the
community.
Ø Unity:
o
But it is the same and only Spirit who gives the gifts, who moves to
serve in the different works.
o
It is the Spirit who makes
§
Of one group of apostles an apostolic college.
§
Of a group of believers a community and a Church.
o
The same and only Spirit makes of us through baptism a body, where we
are all together Jews and Gentiles, free and slaves.
o
All of us have been given to drink of the same Spirit.
GOSPEL Jn
15:26-27; 16:12-15
The Gospel teaches to us some other aspects of the
Holy Spirit:
«
He is the advocate
o
He is sent by the Father and gives testimony of Jesus.
o
And they (the Apostles) will also be witnesses, because they have been
with Jesus from the beginning.
«
He is the Spirit of Truth
o
He will lead us to the full truth.
o
He will speak of what he hears in the Trinity, in the intimate life of
the Three.
«
He is the Teacher who teaches
us and reveals God to us:
o
God is the totally Other.
o
He is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves.
o
The eternal God and at the same time the God who becomes one of us in
the Incarnation.
o
The Spirit reminds to us the
words of Jesus.
Let us repeat
with enthusiasm:
COME HOLY SPIRIT, FILL THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL,
AND ENKINDLE IN THEM THE FIRE OF YOUR LOVE
SEQUENCE OF PENTECOST
Holy Spirit,
Lord of Light,
From the clear celestial height.
Thy pure beaming radiance give.
From the clear celestial height.
Thy pure beaming radiance give.
Come,
thou Father of the poor,
Come, with treasures which endure;
Come, thou Light of all that live!
Come, with treasures which endure;
Come, thou Light of all that live!
Thou,
of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.
Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.
Thou in
toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
Light
immortal, Light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill.
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill.
If thou
take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turned to ill.
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turned to ill.
Heal
our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew,
Wash the stains of guilt away.
On our dryness pour thy dew,
Wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend
the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
Thou,
on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend.
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend.
Give us
comfort when we die;
Give us life with thee on high;
Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia.
Give us life with thee on high;
Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia.
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We know that many souls were saved through the prayers of St. Teresa of
Jesus and St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, and that many are now being saved through
the prayers of good and fervent nuns. For this reason I have always been ready
to preach retreats and sermons to nuns (although my time has been too
restricted to allow me to be their confessor), namely, that they might commend
me to God in their prayers. Sometimes I would tell nuns that they must play the
part of Moses on the mountain, while I played Joshua's in the field of
battle--they praying and I wielding the sword of God's Word. Thus, just as
Joshua claimed victory through the prayers of Moses, so I would expect to claim
it through the prayers of the nuns. And to urge them on to greater heights of
prayer, I would tell them that we would share the merits of the victory. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder
of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography
263.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CANTALAMESSA,
Raniero. Ven Espiritu Creador. Meditaciones
sobre el Veni Creator. Paulinas(Edición
española) 2010.
CLARET,
Antonio María. Autobiografía.
Internet:
Virtual Library.
PARIS,
María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos,
con Comentarios por Juan Manuel Lozano.
PASTOR
RAMOS, Federico. “Hechos de los
Apóstoles” en Comentario al Nuevo Testamento. La Casa de la Biblia 1995.
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Sunday, May 13, 2012
ASCENSION OF THE LORD – MAY 2012
«
Forty days ago we
have celebrated the Resurrection of the Lord, his victory over death.
«
During these
forty days the Lord has appeared in many different ways to his disciples who
will be the witnesses of his resurrection.
«
Today we
celebrate in the liturgy the mystery of the passage of Jesus from this visible
existence to the Father, from where he had come in the Incarnation.
«
We will not see
him anymore, his presence will be through the sacraments, the word, the witness
of his disciples, in a word through the Church.
FIRST READING – Acts 1:1-11
-
Jesus asks them
to remain in Jerusalem to receive the promise of the Father, of which Jesus has
spoken to them in different occasions.
-
Luke says that
the Lord has tried in many different convincing ways to tell them that he is alive.
-
John baptized in water,
but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
-
Let us enter into
the meaning of the word baptize,
which in Greek means submerge. Thus
the Lord is telling his Apostles that they will be submerged into the Holy
Spirit.
-
And this will
happen as well to all his disciples through history.
-
This means that we
do not remain outside, but we are introduced in the intimacy of the Trinity,
through the Holy Spirit.
-
They want to know
if the Lord will reestablish the Kingdom of Israel, but the Lord tells them
that the Father is He who has established the time and knows it.
-
But they will
receive the power of the Holy Spirit who will come upon them, and will make of
them witnesses of Jesus in the whole world.
-
It is important
to grasp the symbolic meaning of the words used to describe this mystery of
faith, the return of Jesus to the Father:
o
Lifted up = we always look to the blue sky when we speak
about heaven, the dwelling place of God. Lifted
up, means that Jesus enters into the world of God.
o
They continue
looking up to the sky, how good we feel when we experience the presence of God,
we forget about all other things.
o
Do not look to
the sky, He will return.
o
But now you must
be his witnesses, with all its consequences. Now the time of the Church begins,
our time in which we have to accomplish the same works that Jesus did. To this
we have been called through our Baptism.
-
It is not a sad
farewell, it is not a day of mourning, it is a day of victory, thus the Church
puts on our lips the words of the responsorial psalm:
o
We are invited to
clap our hands, to shout with cries of gladness, to sing the praises of our
King, to sing hymns.
o
Because the Lord
establishes his throne on high, he reigns over the nations, and he sits as King
on his sacred throne.
-
It is neither a
sad farewell, nor a day of mourning because Jesus has triumphed forever over
evil and death.
-
This triumph is
ours in hope, now for a short time we must work with the Lord and invite all to
the heavenly banquet for all eternity.
SECOND
READING Ephesians 1:17-23
-
The author of the
letter asks that the God of Jesus
o
May give us a
spirit of wisdom and understanding to know Him
o
May enlighten our
most inner being to acknowledge the great hope to which we are called.
o
May make us know the richness of the inheritance, destined
to be distributed among the members of the Church
o
May make us know his power in the
believers
§
The same power
which was shown by the Father in the resurrection of Jesus, and in giving him a
glory which is over the whole of creation.
§
Because He has
put everything under the feet of Jesus, this means that he has made Jesus, Lord
and Head of the Church, which is his body.
-
Alonso Schökel asks
a question in his commentary. Let us keep it in our hearts and meditate on it
during the rest of the week: Does the
author of the Letter to the Ephesians suggests that the Church is more than a earthly
reality, being already united with Christ in his victory, and in his glory,
filled with the fullness of the divinity?
o
We have a glimpse
here of the reality of the Church: fullness of Christ, imperfection of this
body formed by members who are still in process of formation during the journey
of life. The perfect reality together
with the process of the unfinished journey of the community, and of each one of
the member.
o
A good
preparation for the celebration of the Ascension of Jesus will be to ask
ourselves the following question:
o
Do I really know Jesus, in such a way that this
knowledge will fill me with hope, joy, strength and trust without limits? Let us have a heart to heart conversation with the
Lord.
GOSPEL
MARK 16:15-20
ü This Reading is part of the longer ending of the canonical
Gospel of Mark. (16:9-20)
ü
The Gospel
written by Mark ended on verse 8. Later this longer ending was added and was
accepted as part of the Gospel of Mark when the canon of the Scriptures was
made.
ü
The Lord sends
the 11 to proclaim the Good News to all creation
o
He who believes
will be saved, and he who does not believe will be condemned
o
The Gospel (the
Good News) binds us to take a position.
o
The Gospel
becomes a judgment of salvation or of condemnation.
o
It is not a
condemnation of he who has not heard of the Gospel, but of the one who has heard it and freely makes the decision not to
accept it.
o
The key word is
“freely”, we need to accept the Gospel message in freedom, as free human beings
created by God free, able to obey which means to listen to, and to follow de
voice of God. It means to recognize that
God exists, that He is not an imagination.
ü
Let us look at
the vocabulary used to communicate the deep meaning of the manifestations
(miracles) which will accompany those who believe:
o
They will
drive out demons = evil will be
defeated
o
They will
speak new languages = The Holy
Spirit comes upon the believers, all the peoples and all the cultures in a continuous Pentecost.
o
They will
pick up serpents with their hands = the serpent is the symbol of tension or fear, they will not hurt
them.
o
If they drink
any deadly thing it will not harm them = poison, the symbol of everything that hurts or kills life,
will be destroyed.
o
They will lay
hands on the sick and they will recover = the sick will be comforted and healed.
o
In a word,
the mission of the Church is the same mission of Christ who PROCLAIMED THE
KINGDOM AND CURED ALL WHO WERE AFFLICTED BY EVIL.
o
This mission
involves our whole being: word, senses, heart, mind hands and feet.
ü
The disciples who
are now without the visible presence of
the Lord Jesus:
o
Go in different
directions to different countries to preach the Good News of salvation, the
Good News of the unconditional love of God who is Father, Brother and Friend
(Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
o
The Lord is with
them, with his Church and confirms with signs the word which his followers
proclaim, signs that only He can do.
Let
me quote from José A. Pagola:
We
must, first of all, have absolute faith in the protective care of God. God
continues to work in the hearts and consciences of all his children, even
though we think of them as “lost sheep”.
He
continues to work within and outside the Church. God does not abandon any one,
even though they may never have heard of the gospel of Jesus.
But
this does not absolve us of our responsibility. How does the Lord want to make
the good news of Jesus available to men and women today?
CLARETIAN CORNER
During the time we were in the house of our good host many sins usually
committed, perhaps by ignorance in keeping the commandments of the Holy church,
were avoided, especially during the days of Holy week. On this matter, our Lord
thanks me for having corrected them with so much gentleness and prudence (God
has given me this in his infinite mercy)) and all those good people were very
contented and convinced. All were in full attentions to us in this island and
they said that their satisfaction was embittered by the remembrance of our
nearing departure. Something very funny happened that I do not like to omit,
since I had already describe so many sad events. And it was that on holy
Wednesday the news was spread that we would go to chant Matins for the singing
of the nuns, until the Captain, who was our second guardian Angel,
disillusioned them. With so many favors, God paid me the little tribulation I
suffered for his love. Blessed be such great bounty! Venerable
María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography
156.
We know that many souls were saved through the prayers of
St. Teresa of Jesus and St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, and that many are now being
saved through the prayers of good and fervent nuns. For this reason I have
always been ready to preach retreats and sermons to nuns (although my time has
been too restricted to allow me to be their confessor), namely, that they might
commend me to God in their prayers. Sometimes I would tell nuns that they must
play the part of Moses on the mountain, while I played Joshua's in the field of
battle--they praying and I wielding the sword of God's Word. Thus, just as
Joshua claimed victory through the prayers of Moses, so I would expect to claim
it through the prayers of the nuns. And to urge them on to greater heights of
prayer, I would tell them that we would share the merits of the victory. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder
of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 263.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET,
Antonio María. Autobiografía.
PARIS, María
Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos,
con Comentarios por Juan Manuel Lozano.
PAGOLA, José A. Following
in the Footsteps of Jesus. Meditations on the Gospel for Year B. CONVIVIUM
Press, 2011.
PÉREZ HERRERO, Francisco. “Evangelio Según San Marcos” en Comentario
al Nuevo Testamento. Casa de la Biblia 1995.
RAVASI,
Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras – Año B.
San Pablo-Bogotá, Colombia 2005.
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. LA BIBLIA DE NUESTRO
PUEBLO (comentarios). Misioneros Claretianos. China 2010.
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