PALM SUNDAY – CYCLE A – 2020

« With Palm Sunday we begin Holy Week in which we will celebrate the great mysteries of our faith and  of our redemption 

« The week begins on Palm Sunday and will end on Easter Vigil. 

« The last three days of the week are the Easter Triduum : The last Supper of the Lord, the Death of the Lord and the Easter Vigil which anticipates the glory of the resurrection. 

« Because these faith-anchoring events are historical  they cannot be repeated or “reenacted”

« That is why the church’s long tradition insists that what happened once in history passes over into the mystery of the assembly’s liturgical and sacramental celebrations.  

« These holy days celebrate God’s taking possession of our hearts  at their deepest core, 

« Recreating us as a new human community broken like the bread for the world’s life 

« Community rich in compassion, steadfast in hope, and fearless in the search for justice and peace.

« The readings and the celebration of this Sunday can give strength and hope in the difficult times the whole humanity is immersed.   Time in which we see how many of our brothers and sisters all over the planet are suffering, die, suffer loneliness.   May our hearts and our prayers accompany them as well as the health care community.  

« It is also a time of light, enlightened by the good works and diverse initiatives that the people do in different parts of the world in order to cheer up, alleviate and raise the spirit.  

FIRST READING  – Is 50:4-7

This passage from the prophet Isaiah is part of a series of 4 poems called the Poems of the Servant of Yahweh:   Is 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12.

§  This servant can be: 

o   The faithful portion of the people of Israel, called to an especial mission. 

o   The prophet himself

o   In the Christian tradition Jesus is considered to be this faithful servant of God, the Father.

§  Sometimes the description of the servant has so many details that it seems that  they describe Christ’s sufferings and glory 

§  However the prophet does not know Jesus, but since the word of God has different levels of understanding, over the centuries the reflection and meditation of the Church has discovered that these oracles speak of Jesus. 

§  On the second poem of the Servant 

o   The Servant has been given a well-trained tongue that he might know how to speak 

o   Morning after morning his ears are opened   that he may hear. With his tongue he will speak what he hears.  

o   He accepts his mission even being difficult   

o   Because he knows that he will not be put to shame, Yahweh is his teacher. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 22

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

All who see me scoff at me

They mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:

“He relied on the Lord; let him deliver him,

Let him rescue him, if the loves him.

Indeed many dogs surround me

A pack of evildoers closes in upon me

They have pierced my hands and my feet

I can count all my bones

They divided my garments among them

And for my vesture they cast lots

But you O Lord, be not far from me

O my help, haste to aid me.

I will proclaim your name to my brethren

In the midst of the assembly I will praise you

“You who fear the Lord praise him

All you descendants of Jacob give glory to him;

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.”

ü  The first stanzas of this psalm describe the suffering, humiliation and abuse suffered by the faithful servant.

ü  Also his suffering,  feeling his God far away from him, feeling abandoned by him.

ü  The last stanza speaks of light, joy, new life, we could say resurrection. 

 SECOND READING  – Phil 2:6-11

Paul invites his community of Philippi, and he invites us too now, to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus 

     Being in the form of God and equal to God 

     He emptied himself, in the incarnation, to be one like us, in everything except sin. 

     By the incarnation he took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of man.

     Those who saw him, saw a vulnerable, limited, humble and simple man, full of love and tenderness always welcoming every one. 

     He was obedient as Isaiah’s servant, accepting death and death on a cross. 

     He knew that he would not be put to shame because his trust is in Yahweh,  Jesus

o   Has been exalted because he humbled himself, being obedient to the Father  

o   Thus he has received a name above every other name, He is the Lord 

o   The first communities proclaimed “Jesus is Lord“ and  everything that the Old Testament had said about Yahweh is now applied to Jesus who is our Lord and God

o   Because he is God every knee bends   in adoration before him. 

READING OF THE PASSION ACCORDING TO MATTHEW  – 26,14-27,66. 

There are several scenes in this Gospel 

1.     THE LAST SUPPER, before and during the meal

a.     Before:

                                                    i.      Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples, makes a deal with the Jewish authorities to hand Jesus over to them. 

                                                  ii.     Before Judas goes to the authorities, the Gospel tells us that a woman buys a very expensive perfume to anoint Jesus, and Judas considers that this money could have been used to buy food for the poor. 

                                                 iii.     The disciples prepare the room for the Passover meal 

b.     During the supper  

                                                    i.     Jesus sits at table with them 

                                                  ii.     During the Passover meal, which is the celebration of the liberation from Egypt and the Covenant on Mount Sinai, Jesus institutes the Eucharist of his body and blood.    

                                                 iii.     He transforms  the paschal lamb meal in the Eucharistic meal of the true lamb. He does sacramentally  what he will do on the next day, when he will give his life on the cross for us, for our love. 

                                                 iv.     He institutes also the New Covenant which will substitute the Old Covenant made on Mount Sinai. 

c.      In the garden of Gethsemane

                                                    i.     Jesus prays, feels sorrow and distress. 

                                                  ii.     He asks his disciples to be awaken to stay with him because his heart is broken. These are the same disciples who were witnesses of the transfiguration. 

                                                 iii.     He also prays the Father, if it is possible to take away this suffering from him, but the answer from the disciples and also apparently from the Father is silence.  

                                                 iv.     But in some way the Father has answer his prayer and given him strength because he has the energy to meet his friend. 

                                                   v.     Judas leads the group that comes to take him. 

d.     The Religious and Civil  Trials  

                                                    i.     He is taken in front of the Jewish authorities, who look for a reason to condemn him. This humble and simple man is a threat for them. Too many people are following him.

                                                  ii.     He is condemned as blasphemer because he makes himself son of God 

                                                 iii.     They insult and enjoy themselves torturing him. 

                                                 iv.     The trial before the Roman authority, Pilate. He tries by all means to absolve him, but overcome by fear to lose his political position, he sets free a criminal and condemns the author of life and of our salvation. 

e.     His two disciples Peter and Judas 

                                                    i.     While He is interrogated and mistreated by the authorities, Peter, who had said at the last supper that he was ready to  die with Jesus, fears now when a woman accuses him to be one of the followers of Jesus and denies even to know him. 

                                                  ii.     Judas the other disciple, who has never been able to really know the goodness and forgiveness of his teacher, hangs himself out of desperation realizing what he has done led by his ambition. 

f.       The way to Golgotha

                                                    i.     They stripped him of the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes. 

                                                  ii.     They put on his shoulder the cross, instrument of torture and death

                                                 iii.     They press a man from Cyrene to carry the cross for Jesus. Jesus is too weak to be able to carry his cross up to Golgotha. He would have probably died before reaching the place, but the authorities wanted  to kill him on the cross between his companions two criminals. 

1.     Maybe we can imagine the experience of Simon of Cyrene. 

2.     In the movie The Passion, the man from Cyrene goes   through a process of conversion. At the beginning he is reluctant and does not want to carry the cross, but as he walks with that man who does not complain and answers with love to all these mistreatments.  He has not done anything bad.

3.     Certainly Jesus has not done anything wrong, he has taken our place. 

g.      The Death of Jesus  

                                                    i.     After a long agony  Jesus cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit.  

                                                  ii.     To give the spirit may simply mean, he died. 

                                                 iii.     But it may also signify that Jesus gives us his spirit. John also uses the same words as Matthew to indicate Jesus’ death and meaning that he gives us the Holy Spirit.  

                                                 iv.     In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus dies alone, some women are looking from a distance,  they are: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.    

                                                   v.     To help us to understand the horror of this death, Matthews says that the dead rise from their tombs, the earth is shaken by an earthquake; the sun becomes dark as when it is night. Whenever there is a theophany nature is shaken. We have been able to kill the author of our life, the Creator. In paradise Eve and Adam wanted to be like gods, on Calvary the human race wants to eliminate God to take its place. 

                                                 vi.     At the death of Jesus, the soldiers who are pagans, in contemplating what is happening and the way he has died acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God. 

                                               vii.     Many of our brothers and sisters die alone, as Jesus on the cross. They are also crucified by COVID 19. We will never know how many beautiful stories of love between each one of them and their Creator. This virus is helping us to rediscover and discover the beauty of love, self-giving, smiling, helping, promoting harmony and peace, give joy to the suffering.

                                              viii.     From the cross, instrument of humiliation and death came the resurrection. From the sickness and death produced by COVID 19 life will flourish again renewed and appreciated, more be

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT -  A – 2020   

• The fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday, the Sunday we are invited to rejoice because Easter is closer than when we began our Lenten journey.  Laetare is the first Word of the antiphon at the beginning of the Mass.   
• This Sunday the catechumens, who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation, have the second scrutiny, the second opportunity to examine themselves and see how their journey toward Easter goes, and have the opportunity to allow the Lord to correct whatever is needed of change.  
• Last Sunday the theme of the liturgy was the water, this coming Sunday the theme is the light.    

THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL

Ø  These two books are found between the book of Judges and the books of Kings.

Ø  According to the Jewish tradition they are part of the Ancient Prophets: Joshua, Judges,

1       and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings   

Ø  According to the Christian tradition they part of the historical books: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Maccabees.  

Ø  The repetitions and  the diversity of literary styles found in these books make us think that they were composed by many different authors over a long period of time.  

Ø  Each book has a particular central theme. 

Ø  Besides the literary forms of these books, we need to look at the theology they transmit.  

Ø  The main point is the monarchy.   

Ø  Connected with this theme we find other themes: history, human initiatives, vocation, religious confrontations and some other themes.  

FIRST READING:   1 Sm 16: 1b,6-7,10-13a

ü  The author of the book of Samuel narrates how David was anointed King of Israel

ü  In reality, he was anointed king but did not become the king of Israel until later.  In the second book of Samuel chapter 4 we find another story about David becoming the king of Israel.  

ü  Samuel is sent by God to Jesse’s home in Bethlehem of Judah. 

ü  Samuel is drawn by the external appearance of the sons of Jesse, but the Lord keeps telling him “not this one” until David comes, then the Lord commands Samuel to anoint him.  

ü  As he is anointed, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon  him.   

ü  We are anointed at our baptism and confirmation, as kings to be kings like Jesus, who came to serve and not to be served.  

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Ps 23: 1-3a-3b-4,5,6

v Psalm 23 is one of the most beautiful psalms. The last stanza is especially beautiful; we sing that the goodness and mercy of the Lord will accompany us all the days of our life.  

v The author is sure, leaning in this goodness of the Lord, that he will live in the house of the Lord forever. Do I believe that?    

v In the first reading, we have read that David was elected King of Israel. We have remembered how we have been anointed kings in our baptism, kings and queens to serve our brothers and sisters.

v To learn how to be servants we need the presence and accompaniment of God in our life.  

  SECOND READING: Eph 5:8-14

     The author of the letter to the Ephesians reminds us  how we have come from darkness to light in Christ through our baptism.  

     Now that we are light, we are invited to live in the light of Christ, because his light makes us do good works, works of light.    

     We are invited to leave aside whatever has been and is darkness in our life, to be light.  

     Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew says that a light is not to be covered it is to be visible. If someone lights a candle in his home, in some way it invites others to do the same, very soon the place that was dark before becomes a light to be seen by all.

     The reading ends with an invitation “awake, o sleeper, and rise from the dark and Christ will give you light.”   

     Yes, let us arise, let us begin with decision and enthusiasm our journey of conversion to Christ, let us allow Him to help us to go day by day from darkness to light.

GOSPEL  Jn 9:1-41

  John presents again to us a theological reflection over a real event, a blind man to whom Jesus gives back his sight.   

The story can be divided in 6 different scenes.    

First scene

ü  As Jesus is on his way with his disciples, he finds a blind beggar.  

ü  The disciples, as good Israelites, know what those who interpret the Scriptures have taught them: if you behave, God will bless you, if not he will not bless you. Thus if something goes wrong in your life it means that your behavior is bad. Let us recall the book of Job. Job has a very hard time trying to convince his friends that he has not done any wrong to be visited by so many sufferings. This story told by John is like a reduced version of the book of Job.  The disciples ask Jesus: who has sinned him or his parents?    

ü  The question seems out of place, because who can sin before being born? since this man was born blind.  

ü  Jesus tells them that nobody had seen that the glory of God would be made known through that man. God can transform darkness into light, give back the spiritual and physical sight to someone.

ü  Jesus makes clay with his saliva and sends the man to the pool of Shiloh, which means sent, to wash his eyes.   

ü  Jesus wants to give back the sight to this man, but the man will have to cooperate. The same thing is true in our life, the Lord wants to convert us to Him, but he asks us to cooperate with welcoming him in our life and doing what he asks from us.  

ü  The man comes back with his sight restored.

Second scene

ü  The neighbors of the man were divided among themselves over the identity of this man who was blind and now could see. 

ü  He kept repeating “it is I”    

ü  How can you see? He told them the man called Jesus anointed my eyes with clay, I washed my eyes and I see

ü  Where is that man? I do not know.  

Third Scene

ü  They brought the man that had been blind to the Pharisees. John says that when Jesus cured the man it was a Sabbath.  The Pharisees had interpreted the law about the Sabbath in a very strict way; to make clay was already a work that could not be done.   

ü  There is a dialogue very interesting and a bit ironic between the Pharisees, man who knew the Law  and that poor ignorant beggar. We can imagine how they considered that man, who in spite of his poverty and former blindness had a lot of wisdom and common sense; the wisdom given by God to every human being. 

ü  This man cannot belong to God because he works on the Sabbath… they were divided among themselves about this.

ü  What do you say ? They ask the man that had been blind, “he is a prophet.”    

ü  They sent the man away and called his parents.  

Fourth Scene

ü  To be sure that this was really the blind man, they asked his parents  

ü  Is he your son? Yes  

ü  How come he sees now? We do not know, ask him he is of age.  

ü  His parents did not want to have problems with the religious authorities.  

ü  We do not know if they stay to hear the second part of the conversation of their son with the authorities.    

Fifth Scene   

ü  They call the man again to continue their interrogatory.  

ü  Give glory to God, we know that, that man is a sinner.   

ü  If he is a sinner or not, I do not know, what I know is that he has given me back my sight.  

ü  How did he open your eyes?   

ü  Why do you ask me again? Do you want to become his disciples?  

ü  You will be his disciple, we are disciples of Moses. And God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where that man comes from.    

ü  This is what is amazing, that you do not know where he comes from, but what is true is that he has opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. (that man knew well that only God can do miracles)  

ü  Faced with the wisdom of this poor and simple man, without any status in society, the leaders feel threaten and they expel him from the Synagogue.  

Sixth Scene

This is the climax of the story, the revelation of Jesus to that man. Jesus revealed himself as Messiah to the Samaritan woman, today he reveals himself as Son of Man to the blind man.  

ü  Jesus comes to meet the man. God always takes the initiative to encounter us.

ü  Do you believe in the Son of man?  Who is he?  He who speaks to you. I believe.   

ü  Jesus manifesting in a loud voice what was in his heart, says the reason for him to have come to this world. It is to make the blind see and those who believe they see help them to realize they are blind and thus ask him for help.

ü  The Pharisees said, do you think that we are blind also? No, because if you were blind you would not be responsible, but you know and you do not want to see and thus change your life.     

ü  Let us put ourselves in place of this man and let us read the Gospel putting our name instead of the name of the blind man. Let us ask us if our faith is like the faith of the blind man or like that of the Pharisees. In whom do we believe?    Whom do we follow?

Saint Anthony Mary Claret - Later on Claret  understands the call to evangelize which gushes from his inner being,   like the experience of Jeremiah:    “…There seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones and although I wanted to quench it, I could not do it” (20,9); it was the grace of Christ himself which overflowed from his heart, by the Spirit.

We may draw a first conclusion: the apostolic vocation of Claret within the Church has come from his contemplation of Christ the evangelizer through the passage of Is 61,1.

Venerable María Antonia París - As a conclusion we may say that the Initial Experience had a decisive influence in her future life, especially because God imprinted in her soul the evangelical ideal that the Church was called to live, and within it the Religious Life.  This is the origin of her deep ecclesial spirituality.

With this experience María Antonia is open to the whole Church, not to some need of the people of God, but to the renewal of the Church as such to help her to regain the face of Christ through her continuous conversion.  She will have a strong love of the evangelical poverty.  The lack of this virtue has been the cause of the evils that the Church is suffering.  (Both fragments about Claret and Paris are my translation from the book Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit whose original is in Spanish)