Tuesday, November 20, 2012

SOLEMNITY OF JESUS CHRIST KING OF THE UNIVERSE. CYCLE B- NOVEMBER 25, 2012


 
«  We have reached the last Sunday of the liturgical year cycle B. In the liturgy we will celebrate the kingship of Jesus 

«  We began the ordinary time with the solemnity of the Baptism of Jesus. After being baptized in the Jordan River by John the voice of the Father was heard saying “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”   

«  Jesus hears the Father telling him that he is his Son; the Father in some way confirms the vocation of Jesus as the Messiah. After this event Jesus begins to announce the Kingdom.   

«  During the liturgical year we have seen Jesus heal  and teach, forgive, discuss with the religious authorities of his people, in a word Jesus has lived a fully human life, showing to us the unconditional love of the Father for us.   

«  At the end of this journey through the life of Jesus, the Church puts in front of our eyes this same Jesus, whom we have seen so vulnerable sometimes, as King and Lord.  

«  Even being King and Lord he has not lost his tender love, on the contrary  his kingship is made of love and tender care for all. 

«  To have more information about the meaning of this Sunday we may go the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 671.   

FIRST READING: Daniel 7:13-14 
Ø  Last week we explained   some aspects of the book of Daniel. Today we are going to concentrate our attention to the message on chapter 7.   

Ø  The Reading introduces a character the “Son of Man”, title which Jesus assumed very frequently in the Gospel of Mark. 

Ø  It is a title of sovereignty, of authority because he has been given:  

o   Royal power and dominion   

o   All the peoples and languages will respect him, and will bend before Him. 

His dominion is foreve, his kingdom will not pass away. 

Ø  I transcribe here the translation of the commentary of Luis Alonso Schökel:

o   In our time, the believer cannot be satisfied with simply waiting for a celestial being that will appear to judge the modern oppressors, and the oppressive structures of power.  

o   In and from his or her faith the Christian  convinced of the liberator, consoling and, full of hope value of the Word and of the Project of Jesus, has to transform his or her struggles and efforts into an active  prophecy.      

o   The times have changed, but God is the same, he does not change his point of view.   

It is our decision to do good works of justice, solidarity and fraternity in the midst of this world divided and governed by the forces of evil.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM – Psalm  93 – THE LORD IS KING IN MAJESTY ENROBED
*      This psalm belongs to the IV book of psalms (90-106)  

*      It is a hymn to the divine kingship of the Lord.

*      His power holds creation. 

*      The commandments of the Lord are faithful and true. 

*      His house is adorned with holiness.   

*      The kingship and the power of God are his holiness, his love and his tenderness toward all he has created.   

GOSPEL OF JOHN  18:33-37
§  The encounter between Jesus and Pilate is narrated by John in a series of little scenes. 

§  The one we are going to read this coming Sunday is the second.

§  It takes place into the palace of Pilate. 

§  During the interrogation Jesus declares that he is King, but not a King of this world. In some way he not only declares that he is king, but that he is also divine, since his kingdom does not belong to this present world.  

§  He is a King who gives witness to the truth.  What truth? The truth of God and of the truth of the human person.   

§  Only he who accepts the truth is able to hear the voice of the Teacher.   
YOU WILL REIGN FOR EVER    

SECOND READING : Revelation  1:5-8
ü  This passage belongs to the first chapter of the Book of Revelation. 

ü  After an introduction and a greeting to the Churches, the author of the book of Revelation describes, in a poetic and beautiful way,  who Jesus is

o   The faithful witness   

o   The first born of the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth.  

o   He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. 

o   He has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father

ü  He comes over the clouds; these words remind us of the Son of man in the book of Daniel.

ü  Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. 

ü  Now it is Jesus who identifies himself 

o   I am the Alpha and the Omega 

o   The one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.  


When God our Lord had decreed from eternity that I would leave the convent, His Divine Majesty disposed, for my greater affliction the coming of the royal permission to accept profession. It has more than 15 years that it was forbidden by the government and almost ten since I was a novice, eagerly expecting the happy day of my profession. A moment of true anguishes!  
His Excellency, Mgr. Claret, already consecrated a bishop was at the point of sailing for his diocese. Since God our Lord gave me a such a firm  certainty in the words this servant of God told me when he came to talk  with me, as I have said – doubting that the work would become a reality – I was unable to remove  from my memory how could it be  to profess in that convent if it was God’s will for me to go on with the work His Divine Majesty had entrusted to me.  Venerable Maria Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 94-95
 
My God, you know that, despite all my proposals and resolutions, I must have failed against the holy virtue of modesty. You know whether or not someone has taken scandal at my failure to observe this virtue. Pardon me, my God. I give you my word that I shall put the Apostle's words into action and strive to let my modesty be known to all men;  and my modesty will be that of Jesus Christ, as the same Apostle exhorts us.  My Jesus, I give you my word that I shall also imitate the humble St. Francis of Assisi, whose modesty was a sermon in itself; who converted people by his good example. Jesus, love of my heart, I love you and want to draw everyone to your most holy love. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters,  Autobiography 389. 
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiography.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiography 
RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras-Año B. San Pablo 2005.
Schökel, Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.
Sagrada Biblia. Official Translation of the Conferencia episcopal española.

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