XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B – 2018

The readings for this coming Sunday have an apocalyptic tone and color.   

THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Ø  This prophetic book has traits of the apocalyptic literature. 

Ø  It has several peculiarities:   

o   The first and second chapters are written in Hebrew. 

o   Then from 2,4b to 7,27 they are written in Aramaic.   

o   And afterwards it continues in Hebrew .

o   The Greek version includes passages not included in the Hebrew Scriptures, probably these are episodes that circulated around the Jewish communities and were added to the original book: the three young men prayer in the furnace   3,24-90, the judgement of Susana    c.13 , and the story of Daniel and the idols    c. 14

Ø  In this book we discover the following structure:  

o   A series of stories about Daniel and the three companions in the court of the king of Babylon (cc. 1-6.)

o   Revelations that Daniel receives through heavenly visions  cc. 7-12

o   Intervention of Daniel in the judgement of Susana and the fall of the idols   cc. 13-14.

o   Each one of these sections presents a different structure:   

§  The first one describes the life of the Jewish community in the diaspora, the good relationships with the civil authorities.    

§  The second pictures the persecution suffered by the Jews under the kingship of Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Daniel speaks of 4 kingdoms and the coming of the Kingdom of God after the death of the king.  

§  The third part shows an undetermined historical concept, signals the triumph of justice and the nonsense of idolatry.  All of this can happened in any historical moment.  

Ø  The leading thread which gives unity to the book is:   

o   The person of Daniel  

o   The  exile  in Babylon  

o   But overall “God who has the power over the kingdoms of the earth will establish his kingdom sometime in the future.”  

Ø   Composition  of the Book

o   The book is written in  several languages   

o   The central point is the vision of the 4 kingdoms and  the Son of Man

Ø  The Message of the Book of Daniel  

o   Hope in the coming of a new situation in which, those who are faithful to God will reign, where evil or sin will be no more, and which will be eternal.   

FIRST READING  Dn 12,1-3

ü  This Reading is taken from the second part of the book, when the Jews were suffering persecution for their faithfulness to their faith.   

ü  Michael the angel who takes care of the humans will rise up to take action.    

ü  From the People of God all those whose names are written in the book will be saved.  

ü  This is like what happens in the nations and in the cities, those who belong there have their names written in the civil registries.   

ü  The reading speaks of resurrection for life or for death.   

ü  The wise, not those who accumulate intellectual knowledge, but the true wise men, those who savor the truth, the beauty, the goodness of God, those who discover his footprints everywhere around them, and who learn from his inner whisper.  

ü  Those who taught others justice, that is the truth of God, the knowledge of God, the love of God, goodness. 

ü  All of them will shine in the firmament like the stars for all eternity, forever.   

ü  What a wonderful image, so full of meaning!

RESPONSORIAL PSALM   Ps  16

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
O Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the Lord ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!

v  We repeat over and over “You are my inheritance, O Lord.”    

v  Yes, the Lord is our inheritance, our joy, our delight, the cup of our happiness, our portion.   

v  He will never abandon us; he will not allow us to suffer corruption.  

v  He shows us the way to Him, towards life where joy is eternal.   

GOSPEL  Mk  13:24-32

§  The situation that the communities lived at the beginning, especially the community of Mark was of suffering due to  persecution.  

§  Persecution which led to physical death, but also another type of persecution “to be considered of lower status in society, to be like people who do not count…” How many human beings still now continue to suffer the same situation!  

§  The temptation of tiredness is a reality.   

§  And Mark wants to encourage his community, to remind them some of the words of Jesus that could enlighten them, give them courage, give them strength.   

§  In that day… what day? The end of history, when God will be all in all.    

§  When the falsehood and the truth of our history will be manifested, because all that distract us now: sun, moon, stars, human and nature powers will be no more.   

§  Time will be no more either, the sun, the moon and the stars which signal now the years and stations will no longer shine   

§  Space will disappear also, “the stars will fall…” the distance between the sky and the earth will be eliminated  

§  And then without obstacles caused by the things which surround us, we will be able to see the presence of the Son of man, Jesus, the Lord of history.   

§  Jesus who has said to us that he will come, he has also said to us  that he is in every human being who comes to us in his or her need and asks for our help.  He has also said that he will be with us in our evangelizing mission, until the end of history.  

§  This Jesus who will come,  is already here and  walks with us.   Remember the two from Emmaus they walked with him (Jesus)  “but they did not recognize him, they did not see him, until they were  able to forget  themselves, their sadness, their worries and think about the stranger  whom they welcomed into their home, only then they were able to see him.  

§  Towards the end of this segment of the Gospel of Mark, it seems as if Mark changes the scenario from the end of history to the end of Jerusalem, of the temple “ this generation will not pass away…”     

§  Mark also invites us to look at nature, which warns us about the times, the phenomena, In the same way we are invited to look at history with the eyes of Jesus and discover its meaning.   

§  The Lord has come, the Lord is already here, the Lord will come. Mark does not speak about judgement, because the presence of the Lord which will illumine our lives, our history, will uncover our truth and our lie as well.   

§  Let us not await until the end to ask the Lord his help, to allow him to illumine us, and thus we will not fear that our lie be uncovered by Him. He is the only one who can change our lie into his truth.   

§  Come Lord Jesus! And give us the strength to allow your love and your presence   transform us.    

SECOND READING  Heb 10:11-14. 18

      The author of this letter continues sharing with us his thoughts about the priesthood of Jesus.  

      The priest of the old law offered repeatedly the sacrifice asking for forgiveness, but these sacrifices could not take away sin.    

       Jesus has offered only one sacrifice to take away the sins of the world, and he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. To be seated at the right hand means to have power, means equality with the one seated on the throne. In the earthly kingdoms the person seated at the right hand of the king is the most important person in the kingdom after the king.    

      And it ends saying “when there is forgiveness, sin is eliminated.”      

      This reflection of the author of the letter to the Hebrews is an invitation to trust, to truly believe that we have been forgiven, saved, redeemed.   That when I repent and I approach the sacrament of forgiveness my sins are eliminated, they do not exist anymore, because Jesus has destroyed them forever, and this is made visible and real for me through the sacramental  ministry which Jesus has given to the church.   

      Thank you Lord for your forgiveness, teach us to forgive in the same way, to forgive the offenses instead of nurturing them with our bitterness. Make us like you!   

	CLARETIAN CORNER

They were so humble that the Archbishop always commanded me to give my opinion and , with this family , he had myself – love well humiliated, because my rudeness did not understand anything of these matters, and, in virtue of holy obedience, I had to express my feelings, and I did not know how to say any other thing but that, for me, I preferred to be poor with Christ than to have rents to give to the poor . And that was the purpose of rents if we would not be able even to beg alms from them? That this was my opinion but that my will was no other than the will of my prelate and that he might do what he considered best before God.

 Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress, Autobiography 221.

I can see that what the Lord is doing in me is like what I observe going on in the motion of the planets: they are pulled by two forces, one centrifugal, the other centripetal. Centrifugal force pulls them to escape their orbits; centripetal force draws them toward their center. The balance of these two forces holds them in their orbits. That's just how I see myself. I feel one force within me, which I'll call centrifugal, telling me to get out of Madrid and the court; but I also feel a counterforce, the will of God, telling me to stay in court for the time being, until I am free to leave. This will of God is the centripetal force that keeps me chained here like a dog on his leash. The mixture of these two forces, namely, the desire to leave and my love for doing God's will, keeps me running around in my circle..Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder.     Autobiography, 623

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía

PAGOLA, José A. El camino abierto por Jesús. 2 Marcos.

PARIS, María Antonia, Autobiografía

DIARIO BÍBLICO 2018. Claret Publishing Group.

SAGRADA BIBLIA, versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.