SIXTH SUNDAY
OF EASTER - CYCLE C – 2022
The readings of
the sixth Sunday of Easter prepare us for the return of Jesus to his Father. The
Church will have to discover the presence of the Lord among us in a different
way, through the Sacraments and through every day’s life, persons and events. From
the document Lumen Gentium of Council
Vatican II we learn that Jesus is the
sacrament of God, and that we are the sacrament of Jesus.
After the day of
the Ascension we, the followers of Jesus, will make him visible among our
brothers and sisters who journey with us through the roads of history by means
of our life, ministry and worship.
FIRST READING ACTS 15:1-2,22-29
Ø The Church, the first communities of believers, is faced
with its first problem. From its solution depends the future of the Church, her
fidelity to the Project of Jesus.
Ø Some brethren had come from the community of Jerusalem,
and were saying to the community of Antioch that, to belong to the people of
God to be saved, they had to be circumcised, baptism was not enough.
Ø They had not yet understood the newness of the
teaching of Jesus who had come to reveal to us the
full
meaning of the covenant made with Abraham and his descendants.
Ø The faithful of Antioch went to the Apostles for an
answer. The Apostles were the leaders of
the community; they were the witnesses of the resurrection and, thus the
foundation of the Church.
Ø The Apostles convened a meeting to discuss the matter.
They invoked the Holy Spirit, they fasted, they reached the conclusion that to
be part of the community of Jesus it is enough with baptism, and they did not
have to be circumcised.
Ø They put only some conditions (do not to eat meat sacrificed to the idols, abstain from: blood and meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marital unions.) Paul explained in one of his letters about the food, he said that the follower of Jesus may eat any kind of food, because we do not believe in idols, but if my eating the meat sacrificed to an idol may cause my brother or sister to sin, then I will abstain from it. What continues to be forbidden are the illicit marital unions, since it is the will of God expressed in the 6th commandment.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 67
«
Psalm 67 has
three stanza separated by a refrain which is found in verses 4 and 6.
« Every good thing, every gift comes from the goodness of God, and this is the cause of our joyful thanksgiving.
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May God have pity
on us and bless us;
May he let his
face shine upon us
So may your ways
be known upon earth;
Among all nations,
your salvation.
O GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May the nations be glad and exult
Because you rule the peoples in equity
The nations on the earth you guide.
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May the peoples
praise you, O God
May all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us!
And may all the
ends of the earth fear him!
O GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
SECOND READING
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23
ü
Today instead of reflecting on the meaning of the Second
Reading, we will talk about some clues to help us to understand this wonderful book,
which is filled with words and images of hope.
ü
We know that to be able to understand a message we need to
know what led the author write the book and what message did he want to convey
to the reader.
ü
There are two authors of this book: the human author who
writes in a given time and place, in a concrete moment of history, with a given
psychology and spirituality, in a language different from ours in a very
different society. We need someone to explain the meaning of all of this to us
if we want to enjoy the message.
ü
But there is another author whom we may call the main
author, the Holy Spirit, and the only way we will be able to understand the
message, besides being aware of what we have already said, is in prayer.
Through prayer, we listen to the words the Spirit says to the Church, and which
one of the words of Jesus he wants to remind to the Church. (Jn 14,26)
ü
I list below four different ways to look at the contents of
this book:
1.
History. This book is about “the theology of history”. The whole Bible is understood
as a reading of history through the eyes of God. The apocalyptic literature
opens a door to hope: history has a meaning, evil does not have the last word, and
the victory belongs to Christ, the lamb that has been slain and is risen.
2.
Symbolism. The apocalyptic literature uses symbols:
colors, numbers, animals, plants, natural phenomena to describe an experience
which goes beyond our senses, beyond what is controllable.
It is not
enough to understand the meaning of the symbols, we need to submerge ourselves
into its meaning and allow the symbol to speak and to impress us.
3.
Crisis. The book of Revelation has been written in times of crisis
for the first community. The community was been persecuted by Romans and by
Jews. The book is not about the end of the world, but about moments in history like
those of the first community, when we think that everything is lost. It is the
book of the just who entrust their cause to God.
4.
Christology. The Word
apocalypse means revelation. The book is
the revelation of the Risen and Glorious Lord Jesus Christ. He died but now he is
alive. He is before the throne of God
and opening the book of the seven seals he reveals
to us the will of God, and the meaning of history. He,
the Lord Jesus, is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end of
history. Alpha is the first letter of
the Greek alphabet and Omega the last.
GOSPEL
Jn 14:23-29
Jesus speaks with his disciples after
the last supper, before his death. Last week he spoke to us about the new
commandment: to love as he has loved us. This week we will hear again, what he
wants to tell us about this commandment.
«
He who loves me will keep my Word. This is something easy to
understand, since we also keep and remember the words of those we love.
«
The Father will love those who keep the word of Jesus.
«
What follows is
unexpected: We will come to him and make our dwelling in him. Who are “we”,
from the text we understand it is the Father and Jesus, but as we continue the
reading we realize it is also the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the three divine
Persons will come to dwell in us.
«
The word of Jesus is the Father’s who has sent him to say to
us this word. There is only One Word, the Creating Word incarnate in Jesus of
Nazareth, sent by the Father to proclaim this Word which is himself.
«
Jesus has already said this Word to us, now the Holy Spirit
will remind to us the words of Jesus, and he will teach us how to live this
word in our human history.
« Jesus leaves us his peace, invites us not to be afraid, and even to be joyful that he leaves, because this is what is convenient for us, and because the Father is greater than him.
CLARETIAN CORNER
TERESITA ALBARRACIN
The most characteristic note of Teresita Albarracín is to make us see that in a person as young as her, the love of the Lord is filling with meaning and fullness the difficulties, the darkness, the tremendous physical pains ...
Let's look at his first steps in religious life: she began her postulancy on the morning of September 27, 1942. Life during the postulancy alternated between housework and prayer and even some classes. For most of the day the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. Postulants and Novices took turns for half an hour, making their worship time. Teresita was soon tuned in. She writes shortly after beginning the postulancy “"I don't know what it is that you have, my Jesus, in the Eucharist, that you absorb all my senses." Through the formation talks of the Mistress of Novices, the personal dialogues with her and life itself, she was learning this path of apostolic religious consecration. Around this time the spiritual childhood path learned from the Saint of Lisieux is modeled on her with greater force.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum, Mariae
Teresiae, Positio super virtutibus.
RAVASI, Gianfranco, Según Las Escrituras, Año C, 2006
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso, comentario a la Biblia de Nuestro Pueblo, 2010
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