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We have heard
where to find happiness and we have heard also that we have been called to be
light and salt.
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Today's readings
speak to us about the Law and about the freedom to chose that has been given to
the human person.
FIRST READING Sir 15:15-20
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We can chose to
keep the commandments, this is salvation for us or we may reject them and this
is condemnation.
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The Lord has
given us the freedom to choose between fire and water, good and bad, life and
death.
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The sacred writer
tells us that whatever we choose will be given to us. God is respectful toward
his creation, he respects the freedom he has given us.
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God is wise and
all powerful.
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His eyes are on those who love and fear him, and he
understands men's every deeds.
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God never
commands anyone to do evil or to sin.
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How an
interesting theme, the Law and human freedom.
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The law is for
our good, but we have the freedom to reject it. However the Lord will continue
to call us, to seek us and to wait for our coming back to him.
RESPONSORIAL Ps 119: 1-2,
4-5, 17-18, 33-34
BLESSED
ARE THEY WHO FOLLOW THE LAW OF THE LORD
Blessed are they whose way is blameless
who walks in the law of the Lord
Blessed are they who observe his decrees
who seek him with all their heart.
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes.
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words
Open my eyes that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Instruct me O Lord in the way of your statutes
that I may exactly observe them
Give me discernment that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
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This psalm is the
longest psalm and it sings the beauty of the Law of the Lord.
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It says how happy
those who follow the ways of the Lord. In this way the Lord has given us his
commandments to guide and protect us. .
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The commandments
were given to be observed, and the psalmist manifests his desire to be
faithful.
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He asks God to
open his eyes to contemplate the wonders of his Law.
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The last verse we
will read this coming Sunday is an invocation asking the Lord to show to
us the way of his precepts.
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He also asks the
Lord to instruct him so that he may be able to keep the Law with his whole
heart.
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For an Israelite
the Law is not made of a group of external rules, but something we carry inside
and gives life to us.
GOSPEL Mt 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a,
37
v
Some verses
before today's reading Jesus says that he has come not to abolish the law but
to fulfill it.
v
Yes, the Lord has come to help us to make his law
real in our life. He has come to help us
to love the law and to conduct our life
according to it.
v
Then Jesus
unfolds before our eyes the real meaning of the law, he gives it its
fulfillment
v
Let us see what
he says to us and let us pay attention to his teaching so that we may be able
to live according to what Jesus teaches about the Law.
v
He adds that if
their justice, their truth is not superior to that of the Pharisees and the
scribes, they will not be able to be part of the Kingdom, of his project.
v
The Pharisees
were known to be faithful in keeping the words of the law, but not always were
they worried about the real meaning of the law.
v
Jesus is going to
reveal to us the real meaning of some of the laws, those that worry him the
most.
ü
You have heard
that it was said to your ancestors "You shall not kill"
But I say to you whoever gets angry with
his brother will be subject to judgment.
There
are many ways to kill. With our words, looks, gestures we may hurt in such a way the self-esteem of someone
that he or she will live without enthusiasm, without
any dreams for the future, considering him or herself worthless. That is, that person is dead even if he or she continues
to live.
ü
You have heard
that it was said "You shall not commit adultery"
But I say to
you whoever looks at a woman with evil desire has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. Adultery is committed
in the heart, even if there are no external actions, because adultery is an
infidelity toward the person with whom I have committed myself. It is a lie I
say with my behavior.
ü
You have heard it
was said " Do not take a false oath"
But I say to you, do not swear at all, may your speech
be yes or not.
We have been given the ability to speak so that we may
communicate with each other, proclaim
and say the truth, and this not only with words but with our life. Our life cannot contradict what our lips say.
We see how Jesus takes the law to its deepest meaning,
to our inner being, from the exterior to the interior. That is to say from the appearances that
sometimes are false to a sincere and open life without lies.
SECOND READING: 1Co 2:6-10
In the verses we
read last week Paul said that he had decided to know nothing except Christ and
Christ crucified, wisdom of God and nonsense for those who do not love
him.
Today Paul says
that he speaks with a wisdom which does not belong to this world, and that none
of the rulers of the world can understand.
If the rulers of
this world had known this wisdom, a wisdom that God gives to all of us, they
would certainly not crucified the Lord Jesus.
He continues
saying that God has prepared for those who love him, what eye has not seen and what ear has not heard.
At the end of
this fragment he says something very interesting, this has been revealed to us by the Spirit, because the Spirit knows God
depth. I think that this sentence is an invitation to pray and seek its
meaning in order to discover its richness. 
These
promises encouraged them very much. All was necessary because people told them
things that, if they would not have been chosen by the hand of God they would
have many times given up. Above all, I felt compassion for their poor parents,
who with so great a sacrifice, were giving them permission to cross the seas
without hope of seeing them anymore, exposed to so many and so great dangers as
along navigation supposes, especially to so young women without any other
custody than our guardian angels and without any other protection than the one
of the Divine protector. Ah! How many things come now to my mind to explain the
great, the never well pondered wonders of God!!! Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 124.
My most time-consuming task was hearing all the
confessions because everyone wanted to make a general confession of his life.
To be able to do this, I asked the other priests to help me and explained to
them a procedure for doing the job both quickly and thoroughly. I wanted to
avoid having penitents quarreling over their place in line, and so, as they
arrived, I had them form in groups of eight, four men and four women. Then I
had them bless themselves and say the Confiteor and all the preliminary prayers
for confession along with me. I found this most helpful, for otherwise I would
have had to spend a great deal more time waiting for them to say all these
prayers individually. This way, after they had said the prayers in common, they
could begin their confession directly, when their turn came. And so we not only
saved time and avoided squabbles but also avoided having crowds of people
pressed up against the confessional.
Whenever I finished a mission, all the
townspeople would accompany me on my departure; and the people from the next
town would come out to receive me--one group bidding me farewell amid tears and
the other welcoming me with joy. If I tried to relate all the things that
happened to me in those towns, I'd never be able to finish. I will relate just
one of my experiences so that the missionaries may learn from it. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder
of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography
482-483
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET, Antonio María Claret, Autobiografía
PAGOLA, José A.
El camino abierto por Jesús. PPC 2012
PARIS, María Antonia, Autobiografía
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. Adaptación de textos y comentarios
a la BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO.
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