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.

Come, thou Father of the poor,
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 in toil art comfort sweet;
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.

If thou take thy grace away,
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.

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
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.

Give us comfort when we die;
Give us life with thee on high;
Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia.

CLARETIAN CORNER  
 





At last, “Rosalia”(the ship)  was restored, and we left this port of Lanzarote where we had received so many graces of God. They fixed the holy cross made of the blessed palms in the main mast together with a miraculous medal because it was by miracle that we arrived to that island, and we hoped to reach our desired destination. So we left that port, the ones who left happier that the ones left behind since all of them cried as if they lost a great treasure.  Venerable María Antonia París, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 157.   

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.    












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.