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
Cartas de los Orígenes de las RR. de Maria Inmaculada Misioneras Claretianas, Madrid 2009.
WIKIPEDIA, Celebration of a Jewish
Wedding
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