Tuesday, August 14, 2018


XX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B – 2018   



v  Wisdom sends her servants to invite to the banquet  of wisdom, of a coherent life.

v  Jesus invites us to eat his flesh, those who hear him are offended.  How can he say that? Why does he say that he has come down from heaven, if he is from our own town and we know him well…?   

v  Paul invites his community from Ephesus to a wise life, a life  guided by wisdom.    

v  In the responsorial psalm, we repeat: TASTE AND SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD!       



THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

«  The first Reading is taken from the book of Proverbs.  

«  We are surprised when we read this book, because it is like a mosaic of literary styles: prose, poetry, sayings…      

«  We do not find in it the theological spirit that we find in other books of the Old Testament; it seems to be absent.   

«  With the books of: Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom it is part of the wisdom literature. These books try to answer the questions that every human being has on the meaning of:    life, death, sickness, suffering, sin, goodness, evil…      

«  This literature developped after the return from the exile in Babylon, it has a great resemblance to the wisdom literature of the neighboring peoples.      

«  From its fragmentation, we deduce that it has several authors, from different times. The scholars believe that probably around 200 B.C. the book was already completed and included in the groups of Writings.  

«  It was customary in the ancient world to attribute the authorship of some books to important people expert in a given matter.  In Israel they attributed:

o   to Solomon, the wise King, the books of wisdom.   

o   to David the poetic books like the Psalms.   

o   to Moses the law.   

«  But Solomon is not the author of the book of Proverbs, the book has several different authors. 



First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6  

 Let us use our imagination to understand the message of this passage:



Ø  This fragment presents very beautiful images  

Ø  Wisdom is portrait as a feminine being   

o   That builds her house on seven columns, this number speaks of wholeness and we may think, looking at the New Testament, of the Holy Spirit, who in the book of Revelation is described as the seven spirits of God. 
o   She prepares a table with food, and wine, images that invite us to think about the pleasure in eating and drinking. The gift of Wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives to us  is not only an intellectual knowledge, it  means also to savor the realities that are related to God, to enjoy  the presence of God in our life. 
o   She sends her maid  servants to invite, but as we continue reading we understand that she is the one who invites.  Could it be that it is Wisdom who invites, but by means of her servants?   The same that happens with us, God invites us by means of his messengers.    
o   In this image of the table and the invitation we may discover the overabundance of Wisdom that is given without limits to those who welcome her.   
o   She calls the humble, those who lack knowledge, those who are willing to accept the invitation because they do not have anything, and are invited to eat and drink at her table.   
o   Thus, they will be able to reject   stupidity of evil and sin. 
o   And walk on the way of knowledge and understanding.   

o   Those who accept the invitation of Wisdom will be able to repeat with the psalmist:   

             Psalm  33:2-3. 10-11. 12-13. 14-15



Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.



v  The psalms fall into  the literary genre of poetry.

v  The psalms are hymns that are meant to be recited  preferably to the  accompaniment of a musical instrument in the context of worship.   

v  The word “psalm” comes from the Greek word psalmos which means “song,” In Hebrew they are called  mizmor, word that implies that its recitation  is accompanied by the harp or the zither. 

v  The authors of the psalms use the densely packed, image-filled language of poetry to express the yearnings of the human heart. 

v  Like poetry the psalms are not meant to be read quickly. They must be dwelt in, thought about, and meditated on until the words take root and the meaning becomes personal and can be prayed from the heart.



GOSPEL   John 6:51-58
*      We continue with the discourse of the Bread of Life.    
*      John in his Gospel does not intent to narrate events of Jesus’ life as such.  Rather he uses some of the events to make a theological reflection on the event in relation to our faith in the Son of man, the Son of God, the Christ.  
*      Jesus has given them bread to eat in abundance, using the five loaves and the two fishes that a young boy offered to him.    
*      From that event John speaks about the true bread that has come down from heaven, Jesus. 
*      In today’s reading   
o   Jesus proclaims himself the bread that has come down from heaven, he who eats it will live forever.   
o   The Jews argue and get angry, because Jesus speaks of himself as transcendent (come down from heaven) but they know his family.   
o   However, Jesus repeats again: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and do not drink his blood, you will not have life within you.  The verb used here for eating means to chew.   
o   On eating his body and drinking his blood, in the Eucharist, a bond is established between Jesus and the disciple, similar to the union that exists between the Father and Jesus.  

o   The disciple is a child of God because he/she is united to the Son of the Father made flesh for the salvation of the world. Like the Son he/she enters into an intimate and deep relationship with the Father.   

The union that is formed through the bread and the wine –the body and blood of Jesus- is not meant to be static. The disciple is meant to be sent to share this intimate life with others. 



SECOND READING: Ephesians 5:15-20



§  In the Sunday’s liturgy of the ordinary time the first reading and the Gospel have the same theme, and usually the second reading has another theme

§  However, today the second reading has also the theme of wisdom, wisdom as life for those who welcome Jesus.  

§  Paul invites the community of Ephesus to live wisely, making the most of the present time.   

§  Seeking to know the will of God  

§   Instead of the excesses in eating and drinking, the author invites the community to prayer, praise, thanksgiving, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

§   What a wonderful program of life for those who want to begin anew every day in the following of our God and Lord!   

CLARETIAN CORNER (From the documents of the Founder and the Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters)  


… many parents, from the best considered among the population for their social situation and
profound religiosity, manifested strong wishes that as soon as possible we requested the due authorization for the canonical and legal establishment of the Holy Institute for the education that we want to profess.   One of us, Most Excellent and Illustrious Sir,  has already received the crown that she was looking for, having God   disposed it in his inscrutable judgement which we obey;  this and the other proofs with which the Lord has visited us, and tested our vocation, which far from  becoming lukewarm, has been boosted because in the distress we know very well that the works of God are better manifested.  In the Peninsula there are many companions who want to be associated to our holy enterprise and they are only waiting to be called in order to come to our aid and share with us our works and our glories -   May Your Excellency. kindly receive our petition which with reverence we formulate, trusting that in your religiosity you will authorize our foundation in due form by the means established by the sacred canons and the laws of the kingdom which govern these overseas possessions.    Sr. Ma. Antonia París, Sr. Ma. Josefa Caixal, Sr.  Ma. Rosa Gual, Sr.  Ma. Encarnación Gual  kiss the ring of Your Excellency (from the petition for the foundation to St. Anthony Mary Claret of the sisters,  Ma. Antonia París, Hermana Ma. Josefa Caixal, Hermana Ma. Rosa Gual, Hermana Ma. Encarnación Gual).



Anthony Mary Claret, Archbishop of Cuba, kneeling at the feet of Your Holiness, reverently explains:   That certain maids who had offered themselves to the service of God   in the religious life, began their novitiate   in a monastery     dedicated to the education of girls in the city of Tarragona, in Catalonia,   they could not profess their solemn religious vows due to the current political circumstances in the Spanish Government.   Two sisters among them:  Antonia and Florentina had been in the novitiate of that monastery for ten years, practicing the religious virtues.   By the Divine Providence and with the approval of Your Holiness, by virtue of the presentation by the Royal Patronage, I was promoted and consecrated, although being unworthy, to this Archdiocese.  As soon as these novices knew this, moved by the desire of a greater perfection, they did not hesitate to leave their motherland, and dedicate themselves to a greater perfection than that of their monastery.  Burning for love toward their brethren, wishing to take care of the education of the girls of this new world, who were lacking such remarkable Institute; after having asked fervently to God, and completely submissive to the opinion of their spiritual director,  who  they had humbly consulted; and having  examined and meditated such huge enterprise, they pleaded with me to kindly receive them,  accompanied by other three young women, who, being very much inclined to the religious state, were moved by similar impulses of charity and wished to come to these regions (St. Anthony Mary Claret, from the petition sent to Pope Pius IX)  

 BIBLIOGRAFIA

BIBLIA, versión de la Conferencia Episcopal Española, 2010 

BIBLE, oficial translation United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (website)

CAVINS, Jeff, CHRISTMYER, Sarah & GRAY, Dr. Tim. Psalms. The School of Prayer, 2009.

CLARET, Anthony Mary. Letters.

PARIS, María Antonia. Letters.  


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