32 Sunday in Ordinary Time  – A – 2020

The readings speak of wisdom, a wisdom that helps us to live a life in vigilance, attentive to the successes and persons, seeking the meaning of the events.   

FIRST READING  – Wis  6:12-16

Ø  Wisdom is represented as a person  

o   The first two verses speak about something radiant, without corruption  

o   But in the other verses it seems to speak about a person: who wants to be found, who hastens to make herself known…   

o   He who watches for her at dawn will find her sitting at his door, this wisdom might also be God himself, who is always near us, waiting for us.  

o   Those who seek her in their thoughts will reach prudence and freedom.  

o   Wisdom is full of kindness and collaborates with our human projects.   

Ø  In this text we find the verbs to seek and to find.  

o   The human being seeks wisdom  

o   She (Wisdom) makes herself to be found…  

Ø  This text is of a great literary beauty and it projects a very attractive image.   

 RESPONSORIAL PSALM:  Ps. 62: 2. 3-4. 5-6. 7-8

R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. 

Ø  This psalm does not speak of that attractive character called wisdom, but here the soul is thirsting for the living God.  

Ø  It is as thirsty as the soil when it has not rained for a long time.   

Ø  The psalmist seeks God, in the same way as the person in the first reading was seeking wisdom.  

Ø  The psalmist says that the love of God is more valuable than life itself.  

Ø  And his whole being joins in this praise: he raises his hands, and his lips sing with joy.  

GOSPEL    Mt 25: 1-13

Ø  Jesus has compared the Kingdom to a field, to a wedding feast, to a treasure…  

Ø  Today the Lord says that it is like, the 10 maids who accompanied the bride to the house of the bridegroom.    

Ø  Five of them lacked wisdom and the others were prudent, they allowed themselves to be guided by  the wisdom the first reading speaks about.   

Ø  All did the same, they fell sleep waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. 

Ø  The bridegroom here seems to be the main character and the most desired one. The maids will supplicate the bridegroom to allow them to be part of the celebration “Lord, Lord open the door for us?” 

Ø  When they got up on hearing that the bridegroom is near, they all had to trim their lamps. Five had oil besides the oil in the lamp, they could follow the bridegroom…   

Ø  The others did not have the oil for their lamps, so they could not enter into the wedding feast, which is the symbol of the kingdom. 

Ø  There is something strange in this parable, which makes us ask: what do you want to tell us, Lord?  You always urge us to help others and here you say, in some way, that it is ok not to share the oil. Why Lord?    

Ø  I have tried to understand this parable and I have sought to answer this question, because being a parable of Jesus it must have a message of kindness and truth. 

Ø  This oil may be the grace, the good works,  and we cannot give  any of these to others because it is not ours.  

Ø  The Gospel ends inviting us “To be prepared…” 

Ø  This means let us allow wisdom to lead us.

Ø  Maybe some of you may find another meaning to this parable.   

SECOND READING:   1 Tes 4, 13-14

Paul says to the community of Thessalonica:  

Ø  He does not want them to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep  

Ø  Why? In order not to be sad like those who are without hope  

Ø  What is the hope we have?  

Ø  It comes from the believe that those who die in the Lord Jesus, that is united with Him by faith and love, or by the good works done for love to other persons even if they do not know either Jesus or the true God, the Father will take them with Him, because they are their children he has created for eternal life with Him, and because none can do a good work if God is not with him or her.    

Ø  Death continues to be something we are invited to accept in faith; if He has died and is raised from the dead, being united with Him we too will be raised after death.   

CLARETIAN CORNER

 María Antonia París, María Josefa Caixal, María Rosa Gual and María Encarnación Gual from the convent of the Teaching Sisters of the Company of Mary, in the city of Tarragona, make manifest to Your Excellency with due respect: that after having lived some of them for several years in the novitiate of that Monastery they come from, having been accepted to make their first religious profession there as some of their companions, they preferred to come to this Great Antille considering it more needed of the spiritual help of religious education, taking part, in their own way, in the Holy Mission that brought Your Excellency to this shores  with your companions [...] we suffered everything and we left everything behind  for love of Christ, eager of more perfection and of dedicating ourselves to his holy service where the spiritual needs might be most urgent, and our efforts more acceptable to the eyes of God, where religious education were in greatest need to be taken care of. We did not set any other goal for us than the greatest glory of God in the fulfillment of the holy rule we have embraced. Venerable María Antonia Paris, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Letter n.13 to Claret September 25 1852 in Cartas de los Origenes.

Most Holy Father:

Antonio María Claret y Clará, Archbishop of Cuba, prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, reverently presents:

      That some virgins, desiring to serve God in the religious live, began their novitiate in a monastery dedicated to education in the city of Tarragona in Catalonia, but they could not make their solemn vows due to some circumstances beyond their control, caused by the political government of Spain in that time.

      Among them are Sister Antonia and Sister Florentina, who spent ten years in the novitiate and in the practice of  the religious virtues [...]

      Burning with charity toward their neigbbour, they wished to consecrate themselves to the education of girls in this region, in need of such wonderful institute. After having consulted with humility  their confessors,  asked for the divine help and seriously examined and discerned this situation, they asked me to receive them as well as the other three young women, eager to become religious and moved by the same holy principles of charity and burning with the desire to sail and arrive to these regions. In fact they arrived to this port of Cuba on May 26 1852, and nine other young women came later on January 15 of the present year. At the present time  all the mentioned virgins, that dwell religiously in the house, are novices [...] I  humbly come to Your Holiness asking you to give me the faculty to admit to the profession some of these virgins, once your Holiness have approved their novitiate. In this way such a useful institute will have its origins in this region, and thus its spirit to serve God and help their neighbor will be quickly spread. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Sisters, Petition to His Holiness Pius IX , November 20  1854 in Cartas de los Origenes n.44

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cartas de los Orígenes de las RR. de Maria Inmaculada Misioneras Claretianas, Madrid 2009. 

WIKIPEDIA, Celebration of a Jewish Wedding