XXI SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE C – 2019
The
Word of God of today’s liturgy reminds us that the Lord trusts always in
humankind.
Let
us give fruits of justice and peace on our journey.
Let
us believe as Jesus did in the God of the impossible.
FIRST READING Is 66:18-21
v This text belongs to the third part of the Book of
Isaiah, Third Isaiah. The
historical time is the time after the return from the exile.
v The Lord says:
o I know their works and their thoughts, I know them.
o I come to gather the nations, the peoples who speak
different languages.
o But in spite of this diversity they will come and they
will see the glory of God.
o How will God go about to gather the peoples? He will
send the fugitives to their nations.
o And on coming back to Israel they will bring the exiled, their brothers and sisters
from Israel, as an offering to the Lord.
o Those who had been exiled will return in glory, riding
horses and camels, proud and strong animals.
o They will arrive into Jerusalem, the sacred mountain
of God
o The author compares this return to the worship which
the chosen people was giving to God in the temple
o From among them, God will call priests and Levites,
men who will serve God in the temple.
o What a grandiose vision of the return.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 117:1-2
This psalm belongs to the group of hymns, psalms which are considered hymns, which praise God singing his greatness.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good
News.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
The psalmist invites us, invites all the nations, to praise
the Lord because his love is great and He is always faithful.
GOSPEL – Lk 13:22-30
Jesus on his way to Jerusalem passes through towns and
villages.
In one of these places or on the road, someone asks:
Lord, are they few those who will be saved?
Jesus does not give a concrete answer, but he says that
each one is called to follow the way of goodness “the narrow gate.”
As humans, we are very much accustomed to measure
everything by means of statistic. How many?
I think that this question is wrong; each human being
is the work of God who loves him or her because they are his work of art, his
son or his daughter.
He works mysteriously in the human heart. We see only
the outside and we dare to judge what we do not know.
In each human heart, we say, that a battle takes place
between good and evil, and this is certainly true
But I prefer to think that in each human heart, during
the lifetime of each one of us, a love story between the Creator and his creature
is being weaved.
And many of us, we do not realize this until some
especial moment in our life, moments of joy
but especially moments of suffering, then we are more ready to discover
the presence of our God in our life. We
become aware of his tender and merciful love for us.
Jesus speaks of those, who believe they save
themselves because of their efforts,
that they have the “passport” to enter into God’s Kingdom. They do not know or
have forgotten that the Kingdom is a
gift.
They know much about God and speak also very much
about him, but they do not speak to Him.
Jesus does not recognize their teaching, probably
because they did it for their own pride not for the service of their brothers
and sisters.
Again, here in the Gospel we are given a sense of
universality: East, West, North, South…
This is the image of the eternity, of salvation with Jesus.
Let our heart be filled with this light, this hope,
this trust and security in the unconditional love of God our Father.
But let us be at the same time vigilant and alert, to
avoid the possibility to be of those who teach with pride and treat their
fellow men and women with arrogance, oppressing them instead of serving
them.
SECOND READING : Hebrews 12:5-7.11-13
ü The author of
this letter reminds us the exhortation that had been given to us
ü “Do not disdain the discipline of the Lord “
ü These words can help us in difficult times, when it
seems that God is deaf when we call him, that he does not listen to our
prayers.
ü And thus we think that what is happening is his
punishment for our sins
ü I do not think that God sends the sickness, or the
accidents, or the bad relationships among the members of the family, between
the couples, or makes our children do drugs….
ü But I really believe that when we find ourselves in
any difficulty, when we found ourselves completely lost; it is the moment when
we are ready to discover the presence of God in our life.
ü The suffering we endure, may sometimes for a while, harden
our heart, make us bitter, proud,
rebellious, but it will eventually help
us to open up to God, whom we have
ignored for so many years.
ü It is the time to begin a journey of conversion, a
change in direction in our life, to encounter the God who has been waiting for
us since the first moment of our conception, when he has created us and loved
us. It is also the time when we realize the existence of the other human
beings, our brothers and sisters.
ü God says to us the same words he said to Jeremiah “before you were fashioned in your mother’s womb I
had chosen you, before you were born I consecrated you….
ü Let these thoughts and words fill us with tenderness, trust
and thankfulness to our Father for loving us unconditionally
ü His commandments, his calls, his admonitions and
exhortations have the purpose to make easy the way of salvation, there are not
meant to make it difficult or complicated.
ü Let us always remember that he knows us and loves us.
CLARETIAN CORNER
|
One
day, in prayer, I was crying very much asking the Lord to declare to me if it
was pleasing to Him that obedience imposed by my confessor of writing the gifts
and graces received from the Lord for I felt more repugnance than ever, and our
Lord told me: “Yes, my daughter, obey always and in everything; this anguish
you feel is hell trying to impede my glory. Tell your confessor, my servant, to
help you. “I think this was on the same day our Lord told me that this servant
of his, pleased Him very much because of his humility. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 78
At this time I chanced upon another book called A Good Day and a Good Night , which I read with great
pleasure and profit. After reading from it awhile, I would close it, press it
to my heart, look up to heaven with tears in my eyes, and say, "Lord, how
many good things I was ignorant of. My God, my Love, who could ever help loving
you?"
The realization of how much good
I have derived through reading good and piovs books has prompted me to
distribute them generously, in the hope that they will bring my neighbors, whom
I love, the same happy results they brought to me. May all men know how good
and lovable and loving God is. My God, make all creatures come to know, love,
and serve you with full faith and fervor. All you creatures love your God, for
He is good and his mercy is endless.
St. Anthony
Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 41-42
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, San Antonio María. Autobiografía.
MATHIEU, Yvan. « Dieu toujours à l’œuvre. » Prions en Église, Août 2019.
PARIS, Venerable María Antonia . Autobiografía
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. Comentario a La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.
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