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!
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!
|
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.
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