A Page Set Navigation element will display here when the current page becomes part of a Page Set

XXXII Sunday in Ordinary Time  – Cycle A – 2017

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 have to trim their lamps. Five are oil besides the oil in the lamp, they can follow the bridegroom…   

Ø  The others do not have the oil for their lamps, so they cannot enter into 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 because it is not ours.  

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

Ø  This means let us allow wisdom to lead us.    

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 that hope?  

Ø  It comes from the faith that those who die in the Lord Jesus united with Him by faith and love, God the Father will take them with Him.    

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

RINCON CLARETIANO

Since then our Lord has given me the grace to have him ever present, and to have very intimate communication with Hid Divine Majesty, especially with the Most Holy Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Blessed sacrament. There were so many tokens of love shown by our Lord to this miserable sinner that many times I was obliged to exclaim: “enough, Lord enough! You either widen my heart or put an end to these attentions of love. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 12.

If a son had a very kind father and saw that he was being maltreated for no reason at all, wouldn't the son defend the father? If the son saw that this good father was being led to execution, wouldn't he do all that he could to set him free? Well, then, what should I be doing for the honor of my Father, who is offended with such indifference and who, though innocent, is being led to Calvary to be, as St. Paul says, crucified anew by sin? Wouldn't it be a crime to remain silent? What would be the sense of not doing everything we could? My God, my Father! Help me to prevent all sins, or at least one sin, even if I should be cut to pieces in the attempt.Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, SAINT ANTHONY MARY. Autobiography

PARIS, VEN. MARÍA ANTONIA , Autobiography

WIKIPEDIA, Celebration of a Jewish Wedding

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  –CYCLE A – 2017

ü  Two Sundays ago the Lord said that we have to give to Cesar what is his, the coin with his face and inscription, but we have to give back to God his image, which is each one of us. We belong to Him.  

ü  Last week Jesus said that the love of neighbor is a commandment of equal importance than the first commandment “to love God…”  

ü  Today the Lord invites us, he urges us that our works agree with our words, he wants us to be sincere and honest about our responsibilities.   

Prophet Malachi

·         The book is the echo of the situation of Judah and Jerusalem in the Persian era, around 450 B.C.  

·         The situation looks seemingly normal in relation to society in general.   

·         The main interest of this book is the “worship” 

·         Malachi recriminates the priests who are negligent and cynical in the service of the Lord. 

·         He does not forget either about the fundamental requirement of Israel’s faith: justice. 

FIRST READING      Mal 1:14–2, 2. 8-10

Ø  The Lord introduces himself as the sovereign king whose name is fearsome among the nations, among those who do not belong to the people of God.   

Ø  And He gives some warnings to the priests:  

o   They have strayed from the road of righteousness

o    They have been the cause for others to stumble, because they wanted to imitate them.  

o    The consequences of this is that the priests were not respected by the people.   

Ø  And the prophet asks a question that  we still continue to ask    

o    Is it not God our Father and Creator of all?  

o    Do we imagine that God has preferences as we do?   

o    Or does God has a double standard, one for those he loves and another for those he does not love, but we say that God loves all of us equally. 

o    Why do we desecrate the covenant betraying one another among brethren?

Ø  This Gospel   deeply challenges our behavior: if all of us are brothers and sisters:  

o    How come we destroy one another? Not only with weapons, but with our words and our discriminations.  

o    How can we remain day after day insensitive to the cry of so many  human beings mistreated by hunger, by need,   things which are the consequence of  the selfishness of other human beings, our brothers and sisters ?      

Ø  Lord transform our heart, help us so that our works correspond to what we preach, teach and   believe. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM   -  Ps.  131: 1.2.3

R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

Ø  This psalm is the prayer of

o   A humble heart, that does not want to be more that what he is  

o   Someone who feels secure in the arms of God like the baby in his/her mother’s arms.  

o   And the last verse invites Israel, and all of us to always trust in the Lord.    

GOSPEL – Mt 23:1-12

v  In this gospel Jesus denounces the dishonesty, the lack of transparency and sincerity in the works of the representatives of his Father before the people. 

v  He asks the people to obey what they teach because they teach the truth.  

v  But he says   not to do what they do  

o   They preach but do not practice what they preach.   

o   They put many demands on the life of others with the excuse that this is what God wants but they themselves do not do it. 

o   They do everything to be seen, and Jesus someplace else says that they already have their reward.   

o   They seek and love the places and the treatment of honor, but it will not be so among you says Jesus do not allow anyone to call you with titles which will distinguish you from the rest.     

o   And why, because all of you are brothers and sisters, thus do not allow anyone to call you teacher and do not call anyone father on earth, because there is only one Father in heaven.   

v  The one who humbles himself will be exalted, and the one who exalts himself will be humbled.   

v  I do not think that God has any problem when we call teacher or father an human being, as long as we know, believe and act recognizing that we are all brothers and sisters, that the knowledge or the responsibility that we might have inside or outside the church does not make us superior, but it makes of us servants of all.   

v  This truth about our equality is a source of peace and joy because we do not have to do anything to exceed others because, no matter what we do, the truth is always the same: all of us have been created and redeemed   and all occupy a place of preference in the heart of our Father.   .

v   I think that we need to ask the Lord every day the grace to really believe that we are all equal, so that the Lord does not have to say to us what he said to the Pharisees on this Gospel.                                                                                                                                                                 

SECOND READING   1 Thes 2: 7b-9, 13

v  Paul gives a description of his ministry which is a lesson about evangelization, ministry done with compassion and tenderness like a mother. 

v  Paul did not want only to  share the Gospel but also his own life, thus he has worked tirelessly in order not to be a burden to anyone.  

v  And he gives thanks because the community of Thessalonica received the message as coming from God and not as a message from Paul.  

   CLARETIAN CORNER

Ever since this vision I have loved very much evangelical poverty ( I loved her already very much before) because our Lord told me that Holy Poverty should be the foundation of this new Apostles, and for lack of this holy virtue all religious order has collapsed. Venerable Maria Antonia Paris, foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 11  

This idea of a lost eternity that began to move me so vividly at the tender age of five  and that has stayed with me ever since and that, God willing, I will never forget is the mainspring and goad of my zeal for the salvation of souls. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 15.

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – CYCLE  A – 2017

The theme for this Sunday is: which commandment of the law is the greatest?  And the answer of Jesus it is the love of God and love of neighbor.   

BOOK OF EXODUS

Exodus means “exit”  “departure”  

Ø  This is the title the authors of the Greek Bible gave to the second book of the Pentateuch. The Jews call it   “Semot”= names, from the first words of the book. The book begins with a list of the children of Jacob/Israel, to establish the transition from the family of Jacob to the people of Israel.   

Ø  In the Exodus we find the beginning of the people of Israel   

o   Its physical birth = liberation from Egypt  

o   Its spiritual birth = the covenant on Mount Sinai   

o   Between the departure from Egypt and the arrival to Mount Sinai there is the desert.   

Ø  Exodus is one the books of the Old Testament with the largest theological content: liberation, covenant, theophany, law, sanctuary…  

Ø  God has a name that has to do with the verb “to be”

o   His name is Lord  

o   He is the God who saves   

o   God considers Israel his first born  

o   The song of Moses sings the victory of the Lord over Pharaoh.   

o   As the sovereign of Israel God takes care, guides and protects it.   

FIRST READING   Ex 22: 20-26

v  God gives three rules to his people  

o   Do not oppress the alien; you have been foreigners in the land of Egypt.    

o   Do not exploit the widow and the orphan.  They were the image of the marginalized and the destitute of society.  

o   Do not act as an extortioner toward the poor  when you lend money to him   

o   And if you take the cloak of your neighbor as a pledge, return it to him before sunset because it is the only thing he has to protect himself from the cold at night.   

v  When all these poor call to me, I will listen to them and I shall make justice.   

v  Because I am merciful    

v  In a course on  Social Justice the teacher explained to us that there is like a connecting thread that runs through all the books of the Old Testament, like the thread that  hold together the beads of a necklace, and this thread  is : God is merciful and takes care of the poor and destitute.    

v  This Sunday the reflection is on the main commandment,   

o   And the reading that the church has chosen for the liturgy of the Word is this reading from the book of Exodus where God teaches us how our life has to be in relation with one another.     

o   We are not told anything either about the respect due to God, or the love He is expecting from us, because to respect our neighbor we need to be full of the love of God.  

o   If I love my neighbor it is because I already love God.    

RESPONSORIAL SALMO: Ps  18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Ø  The five books of the Pentateuch have its replica in the five books in which the psalms have been organized.   

o   First book: psalms  1-41

o   Second book  – psalms 42-72

o   Third book  – psalms  73-89

o   Fourth book   – psalms 90-106

o   Fifth book – psalms 107-150

Ø  After each stanza that the lector will read or the cantor sing, the assembly will repeat   “I love you, Lord, my strength. “     

Ø  Maybe we could during the week think in what situations has God been our strength during the journey of our life.

GOSPEL – Mt 22: 34-40

      The Sadducees had asked Jesus on divorcing one’s wife, with the ill intention to embarrass him in relation with the resurrection of the dead in which they did not believe.   The answer of Jesus silenced them.

      Now it is the turn for the Pharisees, they want to catch him asking a question about the Law. Which is the first and most important commandment?  because there were more than 600 rules in the Law.  

      And Jesus answer with the words of the “shema” Dt 6,4-9  prayer that each good Israelite would recite morning and evening. In his answer Jesus uses Dt 6,4-5 part of the shema and adds one verse from the Leviticus, which is about the love of neighbor Lv 19,18.   

      Jesus unites them as the first and second most important commandment…..    

      And Jesus adds “These two commandments are the foundation of the law and the prophets. That is to say the Old Testament which the Israelites called the Law(Pentateuch) and the Prophets.    

      This explanation of Jesus continues to question us about the suffering in the world caused by our selfishness, suffering of those who die from hunger while those who have enough as ourselves waste it. God says that he will make justice….. because He is merciful.   

SECOND READING  : 1 Tes 1: 5-10

§  Paul reminds the community of Thessalonica his behavior among them and how they have imitated him.   

§  This has happened in the midst of suffering and also of great joy due to the presence of the Holy Spirit.    

§  They helped Paul and this is known by all the communities    

§  This is one of the main characteristics of the church of all times, to be a community, a family in which we rejoice and we suffer together in spite of our shortcomings and sins, but always with the renewed desire to encounter the Lord here and in the everlasting life.  

CLARETIAN CORNER

This vision was impressed me in my hearts and all the words that Christ our Lord told me so very present, that even now that I am writing, and have already passed 14 years, it seems to me that I see and hear our Lord Jesus Christ in the same very way.

Ever since this vision I have loved very much evangelical poverty ( I loved her already very much before) because our Lord told me that Holy Poverty should be the foundation of this new Apostles, and for lack of this holy virtue all religious order has collapsed. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 10-11.   

I often say to myself: It is of faith that there is a heaven for the good and a hell for the wicked. It is of faith, too, that the pains of hell are eternal. It is also of faith that a single mortal sin is enough to damn a soul because of the infinite malice of mortal sin, which is an offense against an infinite God. Since these principles are all so certain, the thought of the ease with which people sin--as if it were like taking a glass of water, as if it were something funny or amusing--the thought of the crowds that stay continuously in mortal sin and are thus on the road to death and hell--this thought robs me of rest, and I feel like running and crying out. And I tell myself:

If I saw someone about to fall into a pit or a fire, I would surely run and cry out a warning to save him from falling. Why shouldn't I do the same to save someone from falling into the pit and fire of hell? Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters,  11-12

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, SAN ANTONIO  MARÍA. Autobiography.

PAGOLA, JOSÉ ANTONIO. El camino abierto por Jesús. 2011

PAGOLA, JOSÉ ANTONIO. La Buena Noticia de Jesús. Cycle A. 2016

PARIS, VENERABLE MARÍA ANTONIA. Autobiography.

SAGRADA BIBLIA – Versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española, 2010.

STOCK, Klemens . La Liturgia de la Palabra. Comentario a los Evangelios dominicales y festivos. Ciclo A 2001