XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE A – 2020

Ø  The themes of the Liturgy for the last two Sundays   have been about the following, how the disciple is supposed to be and what it means to follow the Teacher.   

o   On the XII Sunday we heard Jeremiah complaining with God because God did not tell him the consequences of following him,   his friends and fellow citizens, whom he loved dearly, turned their back against him.   

o   On the XIII Sunday our Teacher spoke to us about the need to do good for love of God,  love of the Lord and love for human kind.   

Ø  The readings today will teach something else to us: humility and meekness. Let us listen to and reflect in our  heart. 

FIRST READING – Zec 9:9-10

Who was the prophet Zechariah?  

v His name means “The Lord remembers” or “May the Lord remember.”    

v It seems that he belonged to a priestly family; he had a great interest in the temple.   

v This book  has two parts:  the first part (c. 1-8 )  is written by  a prophet called Zechariah. The second part (c.9-14) was written in a different time by a prophet who has been called Second Zechariah.       

v The prophet of the first part is considered to be the pioneer of the apocalyptic visions, in his visions we discover fantastic elements ( red horses, women with wings…) and the presence and action of a divine messenger.   

v The time of his mission was  520 B.C. to  518 B.C.   

v His message like the message of all the prophets is very much related to the political situation of his people.   

v Zechariah agrees with the reconstruction of the temple and of the monarchy, but acknowledges the ethical requirements of faith.   

v Maybe we can say that he wants a reconstruction of what in the past had helped the people, and it seems that he does not see this needs under the light of the future.   

v The second Zechariah cc. 9-14 was written by another prophet as we have said above, this prophet wrote between the years 330 B.C. to 300 B.C.

v Although,  there are many authors who think that this part was written in the time of the Persian domination on the V century before the missions of Nehemiah and Ezra, before the reconstruction.  

Message  of the reading for this Sunday     

ü  Daughter Zion, the city of Jerusalem, is invited to rejoice, why? Her king comes humble and meek.   

ü  These qualities are reflected on what he is riding, an ass not a horse, which was considered to be the symbol of power, dominion, and human pride.    

ü  This humble and meek king will destroy; eliminate war, violence from the midst of his people.  This is symbolized in the elimination of war chariots and, the bows and arrows. 

ü  He will proclaim peace not only for his people, but for the entire human race.  

ü  A prophet before speaking looks at the political situation of his time. The prophet is always involved in the political situation either of his people or of the whole world. The prophet discovers and understands the message from God in those situations.

ü  Do I listen to the voice of God in the midst of my daily life?

RESPONSORIAL PSALM- Ps 144: 1-2. 8-9. 10-11. 13cd-14

R.   I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

     The psalmist will praise and bless God day after day.    

     Because God is compassionate, merciful, generous, faithful,  slow to anger, his love is for all his creatures, he gives support and relieves those who are burdened.   

     What a wonderful litany of who God is.   

     The psalmist invites everyone to praise and bless God.

     During this week, in spite of the chaos that we see in many places around us, let us dedicate some minutes each day to truly give thanks to our Father and God, of whom Jesus said he was his “Abba=daddy”.      

GOSPEL Mt 11:25-30

§  These verses reveal to us the messianic prayer of Jesus before the surprising revelation of God to the dispossessed of this world.

§  Salvation does not depend on the knowledge we may have of the biblical texts and of the other articles of our faith, but on the capability to discover the path of God in history and the availability to accept his call.   

§  Together with the transfiguration, this is one of the highest points of the Gospel.    

§  We can discover in this text an exultant joy, fruit of Jesus experience of God as Father.   

§  Jesus invites all the  broken hearted, the overwhelmed by suffering, all those excluded by the social and religious mechanisms of our society; and he offers them to carry another yoke, another  load: the yoke of freedom which requires humility and meekness

SECOND READING  Rom 8:9. 11-13

o   Paul reminds the community of Rome that they are in the spirit not in the flesh, that is to say, that they live for God if they have opened up to the Spirit of God who lives in them.  

o   Because if we have the Spirit of Jesus, of God, we belong to him.     

o   And the One, who raised Jesus from the dead, will also raise us up.  

o   Paul invites us again to live according to the spirit, and not according to the demands of the flesh.    

o   This entails to live a truly human and honest life, and not a life of sin that dehumanizes us.   

o   St. Augustin has a sentence related to the love of God, he says “Our heart is not at rest until it rests in you.”

CLARETIAN CORNER

Venerable María Antonia Paris - They will have Seminaries where the young men who will be ordained should be educated.  They should provide God-fearing men, who are also zealous of his Holy Law, as the Teachers of these young men.  They should educate them detached of all interests, without there being a distinction of what is yours and mine in all Seminaries; this even when they themselves cover the expenses, and if anyone gives any sign that what he really desires is to be ordained for his own benefit, or to help his family, rather than for God’s glory, he should not be ordained.  Greed has destroyed religion.  Greed has its foot on it and does not allow it to breathe.  (Renewal of the Church # 22 in Paris and Claret, Two Pens Moved by the Same Spirit, 

2010) 

St. Anthony Mary Claret - Each diocese must have a theological seminary, that may be a true seed-bed of  good priests . This is a very essential point, since if the Bishops succeed in forming good clergymen, they will be their collaborators; but if they have the misfortune to see in their dioceses bad clergymen, this will be the greatest obstacle for the good, and from no one will they suffer so much as from the bad clergymen. (From Notes of a Plan to Keep and Preserve the Beauty of the Church   in Paris and Claret, Two Pens Moved by the Same Spirit) 

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – 2020

The liturgy of this Sunday speaks about doing good for love of God. The family in the first reading prepared a comfortable room for the prophet Elisha, the “man of God”, the psalm repeats Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord, and the Gospel says that those who do something good for others will not be left without a reward.

THE BOOK OF KINGS

Ø  The book of Kings can be approach in several ways.

Ø  They contain history and are an important source of information about the Israelite Kingdoms.

Ø  The theological interpretation has two principles: to justify the disintegration of the Davidic empire and the need for the religious unity of the people of God.

Ø  As a counterpart of the stories of kings, we find the stories of women and of many prophets.

Ø  The destiny of Israel is in God’s hand.

Ø  Through prophets, the divine will is made known on earth to kings and  people

Ø  The future consequences of their response to God’s will are spelled out.

FIRST READING  2 Kings  4: 8-11. 14-16a

Ø  According to Wikipedia, the town of Shunem  (Hebrew: שׁוּנֵם‎) was a small village   in the possession of the Tribe of Issachar, near the Jezreel Valley and  South of Mount Gilboa (Joshua 19,18).It may be identified as the modern village of Sulam.

Ø  It seems  that Elisha, disciple of Eliah, went frequently to the town of Shunem and to the house of a good couple. 

Ø  In the Old as well as in the New Testament we find stories about good women who welcomed into their homes men who were passing by their city, as if they were messengers of God.  

Ø  Here the woman and her husband prepare a comfortable place where Elisha could rest. 

Ø  The recompense is huge and surprising; the couple will have a son. They have prayed so much to have a son and the child never came.       

Ø  This is the generosity of God who recompenses the good we do. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps  88: 2-3. 16-17. 18-19

R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever;"
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and the Holy One of Israel, our king.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

ü  The psalmist  shows feelings of joy, of thanksgiving and of  praise to God. 

ü  He invokes God whose love is eternal, merciful and faithful.   

ü  The psalmist says that the people   

o   Who walks under the light of God and praises him is happy.  

o   He is happy also because God is his shield and his king. 

GOSPEL Mt 10: 37-42

Ø  The Gospel is the continuation of last Sunday’s reading. Only 4 verses are omitted.  

Ø  Verses 37-39 explain the demands, the conditions of the following of Jesus:

o   The first condition is the fidelity to the Lord that

§  Illumines all the other fidelities required for a life as a disciple of Jesus 

§   goes beyond the fidelity   toward our family and any other fidelity 

§  asks us to carry the cross in his following  

§  and finally, accordingly  to what the Gospel says, it teaches us that if we hold on to our life willing to keep it we will lose it, but if we allow the Lord to organize and decide over our life, if we surrender to him, if we put ourselves completely in his hands, we will keep and gain our life.  

Ø  The verses 40-42 speak of the recompense to this fidelity in his following:  

o   When we welcome someone it is Jesus whom we welcome and, in turn we are welcoming  the Father.   

o   The recompense will be according to who we think we are welcoming:  

§  Prophet, just person, disciple   

§  Even the glass of fresh water that we give to a little one (poor, marginalized…) will not be without a recompense.  

Ø  In the responsorial psalm there is phrase that says  My kindness is established forever,
 How true this is!   

LETTER TO THE ROMANS

     In this part of chapter 6 Paul reflect on baptism and in its consequences

     In baptism we were submerged into the death and resurrection of Christ

     However, Paul knows well that sin has not been completely banished either from the world, or from us Christians who have been submerged into the life of Christ.

     Thus he explains baptism as a process of gradual transformation in Christ.

SECOND READING    Rom 6: 3-4. 8-11

Paul speaks here about baptism 

v We have been baptized into Christ Jesus death.   

v And  if we have been baptized into his death,  so too into his resurrection, his new life. 

v We have been given the power to die to sin, to have the strength and the energy to live a life for God far from evil, counting of course on the participation in the life of Christ Jesus. 

ü  Paul ends his reflection saying: consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. 

Maybe it would help us to remember persons, things and events related to our baptism, or to the baptism of our children.

CLARETIAN CORNER

Venerable María Antonia París - This, which at first sight may appear to the Bishops as something of little importance, is the only weapon with which they should defend the Holy Law which they should preach, and understand that without this, all of their works will be fruitless.  I could say great things here about the esteem that a Prelate should have of the example of his Divine Master, as God has taught me, but it seems to bold to me, for I speak with whom I am not worthy to hear, and so it appears to me I will fulfill my obligation simply writing the most essential points that His Divine Majesty has pointed out to me without excluding any, without failing to observe the Lord’s command. 

Therefore, after renewing themselves and their associates, the Bishops should fully devote themselves to distributing the bread of the Divine Word.  From Plan for the Renewal… 15-16 in the book Paris and Claret Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit.

St. Anthony Mary Claret –

The Bishops are the successors of the Apostles and, thus they have to be with their good example the light of the world.  

They have to practice the good works, in such a way that their example be as a bright light that may shine before others and move them to glorify their heavenly Father   

The Bishops have to be friends of prayer, in imitation of Jesus…   

In the fire that burns in meditation all scoria is taken away, men melt and are molded into the image of Jesus, they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and begin to speak…  

The Bishops have to teach, following the mandate of Jesus to his Apostles…  

The Bishops have to be the salt of the earth through their doctrine… (From  Notes to preserve and restore the beauty of the Church : “Who are the Bishops nn. 1-8”  in Paris and Claret… )

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MUÑOZ, Ma. Hortensia and TUTZO, Regina  Claretian Missionary Sisters. Paris and Claret Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. 2010.

SCHÖEL, Luis Alonso, “ of the text and Commentaries” – Biblia del Pregrino 2015

“Letter to the Romans”  in THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, Revised Edition 2000. 

 XII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  - 2020

We have returned to the Ordinary Time, time of our daily life without great lights or profound darkness, ordinary as the word says, simple but at the same time it can be very profound and favor in peace a meaningful and transforming encounter with the Lord.

FIRST READING  - Jer 20: 10-13

Ø  The first reading is taken from chapter 20 of the book of Jeremiah, chapter called “the confessions of Jeremiah.” 

Ø  The prophet is suffering from the betrayal of his friends, but also because his best friend “God”, who has called him from his mother’s womb to be his prophet, in some way, has also deceived him (seduced) or disappointed.   

Ø  Or at least he had never told him the consequences of his faithfulness to God’s call.   

Ø  The whole chapter 20 shows feelings of sorrow, and at the same time, of trust in the God whom Jeremiah loves with all his being. 

Ø  Maybe in the feelings expressed by Jeremiah we might be able to see our own sufferings.

Ø  May God grant us that our love for Him might be a fortress as it was for Jeremiah.

Ø  And may we be able to say and truly mean “I know whom I have trusted.”     

Let us see what the first reading for this Sunday tells us  

v On verse 10 Jeremiah describes the cause of  his sufferings and fear.  

v He hears the people and also his friends speak on his back, with falseness.

v They try all sorts of things to make him falter, to seduce him for their “cause.”

v However Jeremiah, has been seduced by God, and the fire he has inside does not allow him to abandon God from whom he feels seduced, attracted in such a way that he cannot get away from Him.

v On verse 11  Jeremiah seems to rise from prostration and despair and tells us what is the cause of his strength and security.  

v It is the Lord who is with him.  The Lord that has seduced him allows him to experience his loving and mysterious presence.

v He does not fear because his enemies are the ones who will stumble and be confused by their own evil actions.  

v On verse 12 Jeremiah speaks to the Lord whom he loves so much and in whom he trusts unconditionally.

v He invokes God as the one who knows the heart of every man and woman.

v But Jeremiah has not reach a love similar to the love God has for us, because we will need that the Son of God himself come to dwell among us, for us to learn that we cannot avenge ourselves.

v On verse 13, which is very short, only two lines, Jeremiah invites us to sing and praise the Lord, who has liberated the poor. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM – Ps 68: 8-10. 14 y 17. 33-35

R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!''
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

The three parts of this psalm follows the same movement of the first reading     

     First

o   He says what is happening to him, he has become a stranger for those of his town, of his race, of his family.    

o   The reason is because “zeal for the  house of God consumes me”   and

o   Thus the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

     Second   

o   He calls and invokes God to come to deliver him   

o   But in the psalm there is a peace and tenderness which is not found in the confessions of Jeremiah, who is still struggling with his sufferings.  

o   For the psalmist God is good and kind.     

     Third    

o   The responsorial psalm ends inviting heaven, earth and sea 

o   Because God is never deaf to the cry of the poor whom he never abandons. 

And as a background choir the assembly repeats the theme of this Sunday:  God is good and listens to us, even  when our experience is that God keeps silence, and it seems as though he does not hear the cry of our suffering. 

GOSPEL Mt 10: 26-33

v vv. 26-27 Jesus says to his disciples

o   Do not  fear men, because there is nothing hidden that will not be known. 

o   And he invites them to speak and say what he has told them even those things which were whispered to their ears. 

v v. 28 Who we have to fear is the one who can not only kill you but throw us into hell. 

v vv. 29-31 Jesus tells them the reason why they do not have to fear  

o   He invites them to look around, to creation and fix their eyes on the birds which nobody pays attention to, like “the sparrows.”  

o   And however none is forgotten by the Father who takes care of them.  

o   And he leads them to look at themselves, “all the hairs of you head are counted…”  Do we realice what he is saying?    

o   Then,  if even our hairs are important for our Father, and if the sparrows are important too, why do we fear?  

o   Because we are worth much more than many sparrows.  

v vv.32-33 I have never been able to understand the two verses that follow, I do not understand what the Lords really wants to say  

o   If I acknowledge him, he will acknowledge me, but if not….  

o   These words are written by the evangelist because he had heard them from Jesus.   

o   But my difficulty to understand is because from the Gospel we know that the heart of the Lord forgives always. We have examples like Peter, “I do not know this man…” “Peter do you love me…” Feed my sheep, my lambs…  

o   I am sure that one day I will understand these two verses,  because I truly believe thatg all the words of Jesus contain a message of love and mercy for all.    

LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS  

     Before meditating on today’s message, maybe it will help us to know more about the letter to the Romans.

     Paul wrote it probably from Corinth the years 57-58.

     Paul wants to go to the center of the Roman Empire, the center of paganism, to share there his faith, but he wants to go there as a stop in his visit to the ends of the world known in that time “Spain.” In the coast of Galicia in the North West of Spain there is a place that was considered the end of the world, it is called Finisterre, which means End-of-the-world.

     It is a profound letter, which takes again all the central themes of Paul’s preaching and which we can summarize as follows: Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, dead and risen, offered to all men and women without discrimination.

     Letter, which during many years and centuries has been point of controversy with our brethren from other Christian traditions, the Protestant Reformation.

     Maybe it will help us during this week to meditate the main theme of this letter.

SECOND READING  - Rom 5: 12-15

§  Paul reflects on the reality of sin  

§  That, he says, entered the world through the sin of a man  

§  This helps us to think about the consequences of our sins, even those that nobody knows or sees. Any sin affects the entire human race as well as any good deed also affects it but in a positive way. 

§  The transgression of the first man brought death to all,  however the death of one man Jesus Christ brings life to all.  

§  Paul sees Adam as the first man and as a figure of Jesus Christ, the New Adam.

CLARETIAN CORNER 

Venerable María Antonia París -   The first thing that [the bishops]  should do is renew their lives, houses and families; that is, they should fix their houses with the most essential and absolutely necessary, without allowing superfluous things that serve vanity more than necessity. 

The Bishops should live in community with their associates, and there should not exist a distinction of what is yours and mine between them.  

Everyone’s income from properties and interest from dowries belongs to the poor (deducting exactly what each one needs), and therefore it should be given to them, and among these it could be taken into consideration if there is someone poor who is a relative of one of the associates.  The Bishops should not see this as childish, and take into consideration that if being poor was being childish, Our Lord would not have chosen to be born and live his entire life in a poor house.  Moreover, in these times people’s concept of our holy religion has gone down so much that to now give it its value and esteem, it is necessary to bring it up by where it has come down, first persuading through the eyes rather than through the ears. (París and Claret, Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. “Plan for the Renewal of the Church” ch.3, 15-18).

St. Anthony Mary Claret - Saint Jerome, writing to the Supreme Pontiff, says as follows: «I speak with the successor of the Fisherman. I follow no one but you: he who does not gather with you, scatters. I know that the Church is build upon you; I hope in the Crucified One, that by the authority you have, you let me know how do I have to speak about this matter.”(Epist. 57 ad Damasum). (París and Claret, Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. Plan to Restore the Beauty of the  Church ch.3, ‘About the Obedience to the Pope,” words of the Holy Fathers)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BAKER OFM, John R. and BELLINGER Karla J. Living the Word – Year A 2019-2020.

MUÑOZ, Hortensia and TUTZO, Regina, Paris y Claret. Dos plumas movidas por un mismo Espíritu. 2010 

SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso, Adaptación del texto y Comentarios- Biblia del Peregrino. 2015