XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  - CYCLE C - 2019

·       The theme of the liturgy is prayer, never get tired be persevering. 

·       However, all the parables  have more than one interpretation, more than one message.  

·       In the Gospel we read also that the widow asks for justice, her prayer is very concrete, she asks the judge to render a just decision for her. 

·       Our world is full of brothers and sisters who day and night cry out for justice, to be treated as human beings, to enjoy the same benefits as the rest of the population. Let us think about situations close to us, all those who do not have legal status in the countries where they live, and ask to be accepted officially in the country.

·       In a commentary, the author asks this question: when we approach the Lord to pray, do we discover in the heart of our Father the suffering of so many brothers and sisters?  do we hear the cry that comes from all the parts of the earth asking for justice, equality, brotherhood and solidarity? 

·       Or on the contrary our prayer is only about us, or being worried of what we call "spiritual", forgetting that the Son of God became flesh to live among us.    

FIRST READING  Exodus  17:8-13

ü  This is an interesting reading from the book of Exodus

ü  The effectiveness of Moses prayer is based on   having his hands raised.   

ü  Therefore, when he gets tired he has to be helped by two men.   

ü  This is what we read.  Let us try to discover the meaning of this.

ü  The support Moses receives may  mean also the communal prayer as Jesus said "when two or three... I am there with them. 

ü  The effectiveness of our prayer does not depend on us, or on those who support us, but in the presence of Jesus, the only Son of the Father who prays with us and is always heard by the Father.

ü  The fact that Joshua won the battle destroying Amelek, is not the message the Lord wants us to get from this reading. The message is the perseverance in prayer, not the destruction of the enemy because Jesus himself taught to love our enemies. 

ü  Jesus does not destroy us for the evil we do, but he allows evil to destroy him and in so doing he destroys  evil forever, saving us all and, earning life eternal for us. 

ü  It depends on us to accept this salvation which he has already accomplished for all of us. 

 RESPONSORIAL PSALM:  Ps 121: 1-2,3-4, 5-6, 7-8

OUR HELP IS FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH

I lift up my eyes toward the mountain

whence shall help come to me?

My help is from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

May he not suffer your foot to slip

may he slumber not who guards you

indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps

the guardian of Israel

OUR HELP IS FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH

 The Lord is your guardian, the Lord is your shade

he is beside you at your right hand

the sun shall not harm you by day

nor the moon by night.

OUR HELP IS FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH

The Lord will guard you from all evil

he will guard your life

the Lord will guard your coming and your going

both now and forever.

OUR HELP IS FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH

§  The psalmist sings that his help comes from the Lord. 

§  In the verses that come after this sentence, he describes the protection from   God with beautiful images: your foot will not slip... he does not sleep... his shade protects you...

§  What a beautiful way to describe trust in the unconditional and tender love of our God and Father.   

GOSPEL  Luke 18:1-8

     Luke tells us one of the parables of Jesus which is found only in his Gospel

     As it is the case with all the parables, we need to find the real meaning, not the meaning of the material words. 

     There are two characters: the corrupt judge who has all power, and the woman who is powerless and suffers injustice from her oppressors. 

     As the parable unfolds this roles are changed, the judge loses his power in front of the insistence of the woman, who ends up having power over the judge. 

     A judge should always dictate just sentences this is his mission. 

     Thus, there is nothing worse than a corrupt judge. Amos in his book speaks about that. 

     Power always corrupts those who have it, no matter what kind of power we might have: in society, in politics, in finances, at work, in the church, at home, in the school.... Power intoxicates us, like wine when we drink it in excess.  

     The woman, who like any poor does not have anything else to lose, comes over and over bothering the judge until the day when he imparts justice to her, so that she will not come   anymore. 

     Jesus tells us that if this unjust judge is able to make justice to the woman, God will do much more for us. 

     However,  he does not want to compare the behavior of the judge with God's behavior. 

     What Jesus wants to teach us with this parable is the perseverance in prayer without getting tired. 

     The insistence in prayer is not because God does not listen to us at the first time, it is because we are not ready, our heart is still hard and we do not allow the Lord to transform us, we take our time to accept his action in us.    

     It is not God who takes time, it is us.    

SECOND READING  2 Tm 3:14-4,2.

v We continue listening to what the author of the letter tells to his disciple Timothy: 

§  remain faithful to what you have learned 

§  remember what you have known of the Scriptures since your childhood 

§  Scripture is capable of giving you wisdom for salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ. 

§  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching 

§  I charge you to proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, using all the means at your hand.     

 CLARETIAN CORNER

While my confessor was still doubtful in making the decision because of the importance of the matter, he decided to go have his exercises with his Excellency, Mgr. Claret (who was going to start his last exercises and bid farewell to his dear brothers), and to consult the matter, while in my convent everything was being prepared for the profession. At last, my confessor came back from the interview, more or less in the same way as he went there, without any decision from Bishop Claret. Because he could not get anything from him except that the fruit was already ripe but not yet in season, and that in the mean while he would see how was that new world and if there was good disposition there. Venerable Maria Antonia Paris, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 96.

Because I wanted to improve my knowledge of manufacturing techniques, I asked my father to send me to Barcelona. He agreed and took me there. But, like St. Paul, I had to earn what I needed for food, clothing, books, teachers, etc., with my own two hands. My first move was to submit a petition to the Board of Trade for admission to classes in design. My request was granted and I used it to some advantage.  Who would have guessed that God would one day use in the interests of religion the studies in design that I undertook for Early Life business reasons? And, in fact, these skills have been most useful to me in designing prints for catechisms and works on mysticism. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 56.

BIBLIOGAPHY

CLARET, St. Anthony Mary Claret. Autobiography

PAGOLA, José Antonio. El camino abierto por Jesús. Lucas.

PARÍS, Venerable María Antonia. Autobiography.

LA BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO. Texto: Luis A. Schökel

  XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE C- 2019

The theme of this Sunday’s celebration “thanksgiving for the good we have received” 

Ø  Naaman is healed  from the leprosy and he comes back to thank the prophet for his cure.    

Ø  The Samaritan leper comes back to give thanks to Jesus for his cure from leprosy. 

Ø  Jesus asks where are the other 9.      

THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS

Ø  The two books of Kings are the continuation of the two books of Samuel. 

Ø  In the Hebrew Bible these books form a single literary work called Kings (Melakim).  

Ø  In the translation of the LXX (seventy) and in the  Vulgate they are called “third and fourth  Kings” 

Ø  Since the two books of Samuel are called “first  and second Kings”  

Ø  1 and 2 Kings are part of the Deuteronomist History  

Ø  Which goes from the entrance in the promise land (Joshua) to the Babylonian exile (587.) 

Ø    Solomon and his kingship play a major role.

Ø  The author is pleased to show the magnificence of Solomon, and also, at the same time, to show his sin. 

Ø  Whose consequences are the division of his Kingdom into the Northern Kingdom – Israel and the Southern Kingdom – Judah. 

Ø  The theological principle used to judge history is:   sin                  punishment                 return 

Ø   Two prophets have a great importance:  in 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah, in 2Kings, the prophet Elisha, the first reading today speaks about him.     

Ø  Theological points:

o   Monotheism        

o   Messianic hope

o   Institutions:

§  the monarchy, the King is God’s representative

§  the temple is the place of God’s presence    

§  the exile,   the end ?  or  a new beginning? 

FIRST READING  2Kgs 5:14-17

ü  The whole chapter is dedicated to the story of  Naaman

ü  Who was a general of the King of Syria, he was a leper.  

ü  They tell us the story of how this man comes to the kingdom of Israel  

ü  Today in the liturgy, we read the passage related to the cure of this man, not because of his faith, but because of the faith and trust of a young Israelite girl, his wife’s slave.  

ü  Naaman, as the prophet had told him, submerges seven times into the Jordan River and is cleansed from the leprosy. 

ü  Very simple act, apparently useless, aren’t there better rivers in Syria, Naaman had asked before going into the river.  

ü  However, it is not the material water, which cures the sickness of this man; it is the acceptance of the prophet’s word. In reality, it is the humility to believe that something so unimportant can cure.   

ü  Naaman goes back to the prophet, the man of God, to give thanks, and offer him abundant gifts

ü  The prophet does not accept them. The prophets of the Old Testament in Israel and Judah, were not   wage-earners, but men called by God to be his voice, his presence. 

ü  Naaman asks for some earth to take to his country to offer sacrifices to the true God. 

ü  For the people of those cultures, God was tied in a very especial way to his people, and each people had its own God. 

ü  However here Naaman, through his cure, discovers that there is only one God, the God who has cured him.   

ü  They say that when someone is cured by God in an extraordinary way, which we usually call miracle, there is not only a physical wellbeing, but a whole wellbeing, like a new birth which relates the person in a very especial way to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power..

v We will repeat singing 

o   “The Lord has revealed his love…” His love that does not make differences, that has cured a foreigner, a pagan, because all of us are the work of his love, we are his children. 

o   The Lord has shown his faithfulness, the Lord is always faithful.  

GOSPEL   Lk 17:11-19

Ø  Luke tells us what happened to 10 lepers who met Jesus.     

Ø  They ask him to have pity on them    

Ø  Luke tells us that when Jesus approaches them and sees he does not speak about healing them, or of their faith, but he tells them to go to the priest.  

Ø  When someone was cured from his or her leprosy, the Law established that they had to go to the priest who would declare that, they were cured, thus allowing them to go back to their normal life in family and in society.      

Ø  The lepers go on their way; did they understand that what Jesus was telling them is that they were cured?  We do not know, Luke tells us that on their way they realized that they were cured.  

Ø  One of them, a Samaritan, full of joy and admiration and gratitude comes back to tell Jesus how happy he is, and give thanks to him.  

Ø  Jesus question: where are the other 9?   

Ø  Luke does not give any answer, but we can reflect on our own attitudes.  

Ø  They say that to be thankful, we need to allow us to be surprised, to be able to discover the newness and more than anything else to be able to see more the good than the evil.  To have light or to let the light of Christ fill us.   

Ø  Are we able to give thanks?   Do we rejoice for the good we see, even if we also see the evil?   Do we let God to surprise us?

SECOND READING  2Tm 2:8-13

ü  The Apostle invites us to remember Jesus Christ 

o   Risen from the dead   

o   And a descendant of David    

o   Jesus is risen, he is our God who lives forever,  

ü  Paul speaks of his imprisonment, as a criminal without freedom, but he says that the Word of God is not in chains, nobody can silence it. 

ü  If we have died with Him, we also will be raised with Him   

ü  But if we deny Him, He will deny us. What does the Apostle mean with these words?   ? 

ü  But Jesus will always be faithful, because this is his nature.   

 CLARETIAN CORNER

when God our Lord had decreed from eternity that I would leave the convent, His Divine Majesty disposed, for my greater affliction the coming of the royal permission to accept profession. It has more than 15 years that it was forbidden by the government and almost ten since I was a novice, eagerly expecting the happy day of my profession. A moment of true anguishes! 

His Excellency, Mgr. Claret, already consecrated a bishop was at the point of sailing for his diocese. Since God our Lord gave me a such a firm  certainty in the words this servant of God told me when he came to talk  with me, as I have said – doubting that the work would become a reality – I was unable to remove  from my memory how could it be  to profess in that convent if it was God’s will for me to go on with the work His Divine Majesty had entrusted to me. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography, 94-95

My God, how good you have been to me and how poorly I have responded to your favors! If you had given such graces to any other son of Adam, he would surely have done better than 1. I am so embarrassed and ashamed. How shall I answer you on judgment day when you say, "Render an account of your stewardship"? (Luke 16: 2).

Mother Mary, how good you have been to me and how ungrateful I have been to you! My Mother, I wish to love you from now on with all my heart, and not only to love you myself, but to bring everyone else to know, love, serve, and praise you and to pray the holy rosary, a devotion that is so pleasing to you. Mother, help me in my weakness and laziness so that I may be able to live up to my resolutions. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 54-55.

 BIBLIOGRAFÍA:

CLARET, St. Anthony Mary Claret, Autobiography.

PAGOLA, José Antonio. El camino abierto por Jesús. Lucas.

PARIS, Venerable María Antonia. Autobiography.

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferecia Episcopal Española.

DAILY ROMAN MISSAL

27 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE C – 2019   

The theme of the celebration seems to be “faith”   

Ø  Faith so full of trust that allows  us to  present to  God our complains and supplications   

Ø  Faith so strong as the strength needed to uproot a strong tree   

Ø  Faith so full of novelty as it would be to plant a tree in the sea  

Ø  Faith so simple that discovers the presence of the God that is behind all reality.    

THE PROPHET  HABAKKUK

Ø  The name of this prophet is unique in the Bible, it might come from the name of a plant “basil” 

Ø  We  know neither his origin, or his family, or his hometown

Ø  The three chapter of this book are difficult to understand. 

Ø  The content is a proclamation received during a vision  

Ø  The prophet does not understand and, suffers for the social situation,  and asks God for an explanation 

Ø  The time of its composition is between   606 a.C  and the Babylonian exile 587 a.C)

Ø  The message seems to be: we must abandon the traditional way to understand the retribution from God.  We must understand the intervention of God in our human history in a different way. 

FIRST READING  Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4

ü  The prophet complains because he asks help from God, and it seems that God does not listen 

ü  Why do I have to see violence and destruction?   

ü  The answer from God is to tell the prophet to write the vision  

ü  “If it delays, wait for it, because it will certainly come, without delay.” 

ü  The reading ends saying “the just will live by his faith” 

ü  We have this same reading in the Liturgy of the Hours one of the days of Advent.

ü  To know that He will certainly come, fills our heart with hope and enkindles in it the fire of love. 

ü  In addition, certainly, the Lord has come, and He continues to come into our life; sometimes we complain, like the prophet, because we do not realize that He is already here. 

Salmo 95, 1-2. 6-7. 8-9

 R.  If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 

v The psalmist invites us  

o   To praise God,  

o   To adore God

o   To listen to God     

GOSPEL  Lk 17:5-10

Ø    This Reading has two parts.   

Ø  In the first part the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith   

Ø  Maybe when they heard the mission that Jesus wanted to entrust to them, they realized that the traditional faith, still childlike, would not help them. 

Ø  Thus their petition, sometimes we do the same petition to the Lord. 

Ø  It does not mean that we do not have faith, but that our faith is still the faith the First Communion Catechesis, or the faith taught to us by our grand-mother, but that we have not made it our own yet, thus it does not help us. 

Ø  Jesus gives them a surprising answer.  

Ø  It seems that with this comparison He wants to tell them that they need:  

o   A faith as strong as the strength needed to uproot  a mulberry tree, a strong tree, difficult to uproot  

o   A faith able to accept and propose the novelty, as it would be a novelty to plant a tree in the sea. 

Ø  I copy below a fragment from a book of José Antonio Pagola, it has helped me a lot, and I wish to share it with you. (it is my own translation from Spanish)  

The theologian  Karl Rahner said, this “abandonment” proper of faith is the “maximum audacity of man.”  A tiny particle of the cosmos (universe) dares to enter into a relationship with the “incomprehensible and foundational wholeness of the universe,”   and it does it, trusting absolutely in his power and in his love. As Christians we have to be more aware of the audacity of daring  to trust in the mystery of God. 

The original message of Jesus is precisely, to invite the human being to trust unconditionally in the unfathomable Mystery, which is at the origin of everything.    This is what we hear in his proclamation “do not fear… trust in God…. call Him Abbá, loving Father. He takes care  of you. Even the hairs of your head are counted. Have faith in God.”   

SECOND READING  2Tm 1,6-8;13-14

ü  Rekindle the gifts you received with the imposition of my hands. Return to your first love.

ü  God does not want us to be cowards but daring, motivated by love and not by fear 

ü  Do not be ashamed to witness to Jesus.    

ü  Carry the hard work allotted to you.  What work?  The proclamation of the Gospel with words and  deeds. 

ü  Keep the treasure, which is in you, and in all of us, with the help of the Holy Spirit.  

ü  What treasure? The faith we have received at our Baptism, and which we need to make it grow, with the friendship and intimacy with Jesus in our prayer and in our life. 

 CLARETIAN CORNER  

 Now that I have said something about how much God our Lord is pleased by a disinterested heart, this great king of heaven and earth has protected, guided and governed me since the moment His powerful hand took me out of the convent of Tarragona (which was my first heaven) until he brought me to this new world, Santiago, Cuba city, with so great security in the midst of so many and imminent risks that only your infinite power, my God could save my life. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Sisters. Autobiography 93

As a small child I and my sister Rose, who was very devout, made frequent visits to the shrine of the Virgin called Fussimanya, a league away from my home. I cannot describe the devotion I felt at this shrine. Even before I got there, as soon as I could see the outline of the chapel, I felt so emotional that tears of tenderness welled up in my eyes. We started saying the rosary and kept praying all the way to the chapel. I have visited the shrine at Fussimanya whenever I could, not only as a child but as student, priest, and even as archbishop before I left for my diocese.  St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 49.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA:

CLARET, St. Anthony Mary. Autobiography.

PAGOLA, José Antonio. El camino abierto por Jesús. Lucas.

PARIS, Venerable María Antonia. Autobiography

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferecia Episcopal Española.