« Jesus
continues his ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom, healing all sorts of
sicknesses.
« Today
Jesus makes clean a leper.
« Paul
invites us to imitate him, because he is imitating Christ.
BOOK OF THE LEVITICUS
Ø This
third book of the Pentateuch, is called in Hebrew Wayyiqrā’ = “and He called.”
Ø The
name Leviticus comes from the Latin translation of the Greek translation of the
Bible in times of the Old Testament “Leuitikon.”
Ø The
name is well given since it is a book about liturgical laws for the priesthood
of the Levites.
Ø Besides
these laws there are other laws in regards to the holiness of life, in all its
different aspects: physical, psychological and moral.
Ø
THE
AUTHOR – THE BOOK
o
As it is the case for all the books, it is
difficult, imposible to know who the author is. The book was being formed over
several centuries with the contribution of many hands.
o
It belongs to the “priestly” tradition.
o
The legislation points out to Moses.
o
Although we find in this book some ancient laws,
in its present shape the book belongs to the time of the return from the
Babylonian exile.
o
The book has the following parts:
I THE
LAW OF SACRIFICE
II THE
PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS
III THE
LEGAL PURIFICATIONS
IV THE
FEAST OF THE ATTONEMENT
V THE CODE OF
SANCTITY.
FIRST READING Lv 13:,1-2; 44-46
Many skin diseases were included under the name of “leprosy.”
Leprosy was an infected skin disease that was
permanent, it was not necessarilly the same disease we know now as leprosy.
Other skin diseases were temporary and able to
be cured.
The leprosy, or all the infectious skin diseases,
when declared so by the priest make the person impure due to his or her
sickness, and unable to be among other people.
The consequences derived from leprosy were
painful for the person. He or she had to walk with wasted clothes, having a bad
look. As they walked from one place to another they had to keep saying “impure”
so that nobody would approach them.
Let us think of the suffering not only physical,
but especially and more psychological and spiritual. How
this sickness could also estrange the person from the relationship with God.
Let us remember that by that time they
attributed everything to the will of God. What was good as a reward, and what
was bad as a punishment.
In regards to sickness they always thought there
was somehow a punishment for the sins. Let us remember the book of Job, which we
reflected on last Sunday
In all this legislation we find a combination of
hygiene rules and rules which distinguish between sacred and
profane.
The leprosy with the lost of parts of the body,
made the person not only contagious but also dangerous and unable to worship
Yahweh.
GOSPEL – MARK 1:40-45
ü
We continue reading from the first chapter of
the Gospel of Mark.
ü
Mark describes Jesus doing during only one day a
tireless apostolic activity
ü
Probably not all these works were performed in
one day, but Mark puts them together here to make his community understand how
Jesus was pressed by the need to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
ü
Today a leper approaches Jesus and asks him to
be cured.
ü
Jesus say a few words and touches him, at once
the man is cured from his leprosy.
ü
Jesus touches an impure man, and that made him
legally impure
ü
Jesus does not obey the human laws that do not respect the dignity of
the human person.
ü
The Father through Jesus continues to touch our
wounded, sick and impure human condition and heals us. He says through the
words of Jesus “yes I do will, be made clean”
ü
Jesus asks the man not to tell anything about
the cure, but he must fulfill what the law prescribes.
ü
Only doing what the law prescribes he will be
able to return to the community.
ü
Marks says at the end of this episodo, wich is
also the end of the first chapter, that people were coming to him from
everywhere.
SECOND READING 1 Cor 10:31-11:1
- Paul speaks to his community about Christian freedom in
respect to food.
- Today’s reading follows the teaching about eating meat
from animals sacrificed to the idols, either because they are used for
meals, or because they are sold in the market.
- The Christian person may eat anything because he or she
does not believe in idols, but if this behavior gives offense to others
they have to avoid it.
- We should always do what gives glory to God.
- They should seek the good of all, not their own benefit, thus imitating what Paul does to cooperate in the salvation of his brothers and sisters.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FALEY, ROLAND
J., T.O.R. “Leviticus” in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey 1988.
FLOR SERRANO, GONZALO. “Salmos” en Comentario al
Antiguo Testamento II, Casa de la Biblia, 1997.
LOZANO, Juan Manuel, Escritos María Antonia París, Estudio crítico, “El Misionero
Apostólico”. Barcelona 1985.
VIÑAS,
José María cmf y BERMEJO, Jesús, cmf.
“Autobiografía” de San Antonio María Claret en San
Antonio María Claret Autobiografia y
Escritos Complementarios, edición bicentenario Buenos Aires-Argentina 2008.
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The missionary must be always
kind and be all to all but without losing his composure and religious
circumspection.
Beware that due to his
carelessness the veneration and respect ought to be given to the priestly
character that he is invested, be lost.
Do not familiarize
with anybody but be kind to everybody. During his travels he must speak
little and meditate very much. His
lodging in the cities be in the hospital.
Do not play jokes to his
brothers or companions of travel much less to (strangers).
Do not argue with anybody, (…)
but yield to everybody. (María
Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, The Apostolic Missionary, 2.1-2.5)
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During my stay in Viladrau all the sick of the
town, as well as those who were brought there from other places, were cured.
As word of this spread, in whatever town I went to, people would bring me a
large number of sick persons suffering from all kinds of illness. There were
so many sick and so many different illnesses, and I was so busy hearing
confessions, that I didn't have time for prescribing physical remedies. I
told the people, instead, that I would commend them to God, and in the
meantime I would make the sign of the Cross over them, saying, "Super aegros manus imponent et bene
habebunt. After I did this, they
said that they were cured.
(Saint
Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 180.)
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