XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE B –   2018 

Today in the Gospel Jesus tells us that the poor widow put more money in the Temple’s treasury than anybody else.       

FIRST READING: I Re 17:10-16 

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

Ø  In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, called the Septuaginta, and in the Latin translation called Vulgata, the books of Kings are called III and IV of Kings, because the books of Samuel are called I and II Kings.  

Ø  These books are part of what is called the Deuteronomist history, which goes from the entrance into the promised land to the Babylonian exile (587 BC) 

Ø  In the Hebrew Scriptures  these books are called “The former prophets” 

Ø  The author of these books writes them after the return from the exile.  

Ø  They have the same theology as the rest of the Deuteronomist books: 

o   Monotheism. The God of Israel is the only God.     

o   The messianic hope,  for the Southern Kingdom we have the promises of the Emmanuel, which fulfills the promise made to David, that his dynasty will remain on the throne of Israel.   

o   On the other hand, the Northern Kingdom establishes its legitimacy in their condition as heirs of Jacob and Joseph.   

o   The exile is seen as a punishment for their infidelity to the Covenant with Yahweh. 

In this Sunday’s reading we encounter the prophet Elijah.  The ministry of this prophet is narrated  in what it is called the Cycle of Elijah   (cc. 17-19 of  I Kings). Elijah does his prophetic ministry in the Northern Kingdom, he denounces the infidelity of the kings and of the people.      

«  The country suffers a strong drought and in the book of Kings it is attributed to the words of Elijah who asked God to stop the rain until Elijah will ask him the contrary. 

«  Elijah has asked this as a punishment for the unfaithfulness of the Kingdom of Israel or the Northern Kingdom.   

«  After Solomon’s death, his kingdom was divided in two Kingdoms: Northern-Israel, Southern- Judah.   

«  The culture of those people attributed all the natural phenomena to God, they are his weapons.   

«  The scene of this Sunday first reading is situated in the context of the great drought and the poverty, which comes from it.  

«  Elijah arrives to Zarephath  of Phoenicia as God had told him.     

«  Elijah talks with a widow. He asks her for food and drink, the woman has only a small amount of food for her and her son; afterwards she will wait for death to come.   

«  Elijah asks her to give him food, and assures her that the little provisions she has will last until the drought comes to an end.   

«  The woman believes in the word of the man of God, and the promise becomes a reality.  

RESPONSORIAL PSALM –  .

R.   Praise the Lord, my soul!
 The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R.   Praise the Lord, my soul! 
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R.   Praise the Lord, my soul!
 The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R.   Praise the Lord, my soul!
  

ü   This psalm is a hymn to God,  the creator of the universe and defender of the poor.  God  

o   makes justice to the poor

o   gives food to the hungry

o   gives freedom to the captive

o   gives sight to the blind

o   raises those who are bowed down

o   loves the just and protects the foreigner    

o   upholds the widow and the orphan   

o   destroys the plans of the wicked.   

  

ü  We may say that God reigns by protecting and caring and serving his creature with love and tenderness.    

GOSPEL  Mk 12:38-44

«  Jesus begins saying that we need to be careful and do not trust those who seek honors and distinctions, making us believe that they are superior and different from us.  

«  These who ask us to honor them, instead of all of us honoring God, devour the little that the poor have, for their own benefit.   

«  Jesus, who is observing the people who give their donation for the Temple, sees a poor widow who comes also and deposits two coins, because she has nothing else   to give. Nobody pays attention to her donation, which is so insignificant.

«  Jesus sees more, he sees the heart, our truth or our lie. He sees the truth of the poor woman, her full trust in her God.   

«  Jesus considers this situation so important that he calls his disciples around him, in the same way he did when he wanted to teach them about service. Now the lesson will be about complete trust in God, which is the true poverty mentioned in the first beatitude.  

o   Look, he said, this widow has given more than anyone else has. We can imagine the surprise in the face of the disciples, really our Teacher says sometimes estrange things.   

o   She has given more than anyone else has because she has given the little she had for her sustenance, while the others have given the leftovers.   

«  How happy we would be if we could open up ourselves to Jesus. He invites us to be free from the little or the much we have, and to have the freedom to share it with others.  

«  Happy are we if we learn the lesson on poverty, how free we will be!

SECOND READING : Heb 9:24-28

ü  We read again from this beautiful letter on the priesthood of Christ.  

ü  Christ has entered not into a copy of the true sanctuary, like the sacred temple of Jerusalem, but he has entered into God’s abode in heaven.    

ü  To be in the presence of God and to intercede for us, He is our mediator, our redeemer.    

ü  He does not have to offer sacrifices repeatedly. He came at the end of time, and he offers the sacrifice once and for all for all of us, for the people from the past, present and future.   

ü  The reading ends with these words: in the same way that we die once and afterwards comes the judgement 

ü  In the same way Christ offered his life only once to take away the sins of many=all  

ü  And he will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who anxiously await for him 

ü  In the Eucharistic Celebration, we proclaim his death and we await his second coming.  

CLARETIAN CORNER  

And so it has happened in this foundation, that though the Archbishop was unwilling to be concerned for this or that,  he has been, by Divine impulse, concerned for everything, because I have never expressed a desire of mine except when I have been asked. I think that my silence itself gave place to them to ask me, and God put in them more desire to advance the work, more than what I manifested, because this is the way of God in this work. I say this for the new ones coming to us, to learn how to hope in God against all hope.  Venerable Maria Antonia París, Foundress.  Autobiography 218.

I sometimes ask myself, "What cause have you to be so upset? Everyone in the palace respects you; the whole royal family appreciates you and values your presence; Her Majesty the Queen loves you and dotes on you. Well, then, what makes you have such violent feelings on the subject?" In truth, I have none. I can't come up with any good reason for it. My only answer to the enigma is that the repugnance I feel is a grace God has sent me to prevent me from becoming attached to the prestige, honors, and riches of this world. For I can see clearly that this constant feeling of disgust for the court and my desire to escape from it have kept me from envy and from setting my heart on the things the world holds dear. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder. Autobiography 622.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía  en Escritos.  

Schökel, Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.

Sagrada Biblia. Versión oficial de la Conferencia episcopal española.

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B – 2018  

Ø  Last Sunday the readings invited us to reflect on the need of faith, as a loving adherence to the will of God, and as the longing to see the face of God, as   the blind man said to Jesus.    

Ø  Today we are reminded of the need to keep, during our entire life, the commandments of the Lord our God.   

BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Ø  The book of Deuteronomy is placed at the end of the Pentateuch and it is the summary of the  first four books of the Pentateuch and the prologue to the Historical Books.   

Ø  Some scholars consider that this book should not be included in the Pentateuch and should be part of the Historical books, since it shares with them the same Deuteronomist theology. 

Ø  Other scholars, on the contrary, believe that it should be part of the Pentateuch, as   the book of Joshua should also be.    

Ø  The Deuteronomy develops its own  spirituality and a theology which have had a decisive influence on the faith of Israel, which could be summarized as follows:  

Obedience to the Lord brings prosperity; disobedience brings devastation and death.   

FIRST READING   Dt 6,2-6

Ø  When Israel is about to enter into the land God promised to his ancestors, Moses speaks to the people and tells them to keep the commandments all the days of their live.  

Ø  Commandments, which Moses puts on the people; if they keep them they will have a long life. For the people of the Old Testament, “long life” was a sign of God’s blessing and thus of a just life.   

Ø  The fidelity to the law of the Lord goes together with “to receive and to keep the land from which flows milk and honey” that is the land of abundance.   

Ø  Only in this way could Israel make sense of the Babylonian exile. According to the Deuteronomist theology, when Israel behaves well it prospers and things go well; but when Israel is unfaithful, it suffers defeats, exiles and all sorts of calamities.        

Ø  Many centuries will have to pass until Israel questions the equation: prosperity= just life, and realizes that it is not so easy to explain the sufferings and difficulties in life. They belong to the mystery of life, the mystery of God, and mystery of man.   

Ø  Moses concludes with these words addressed to the people: “Listen Israel, love the Lord your God with all your being.“  These words are also for us Christians from the XXI century, Listen… truly love your God more than anybody or anything else. Maybe we should say: be in love with Jesus, your Lord and Savior.    

RESPONSORIAL PSALM. Ps 18

R.   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 author of the psalm says that God is our strength, protector, liberator, refuge, shield, hope

Ø  Is this our experience of God? 

Ø  In the third stanza, we bless the Lord for all he does for us.    

GOSPEL Mc 12: 28-34

Ø  Following the theme of the first reading, the Gospel presents a scribe who wants to know from Jesus, which one is the first commandment. 

Ø  Jesus tells him what Is written in the Deuteronomy, and which the scribe knows by heart after repeating it so many times in his life,  

Ø  When he hears Jesus saying that the first is to love God above all, he is very happy.   

Ø  Jesus adds that there is a second commandment, which is as important as the first; it is to love our neighbor.   

Ø  There is no commandment above this two.   

Ø  Jesus summarizes for the scribe all the commandments in these two: the first three that are about God, and the other seven, which are about our neighbor.   

Ø  The scribe says to Jesus that to fulfill these two commandments is more that any holocaust or sacrifice.   

Ø  Jesus says to the scribe: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”    

Ø  Let us often reflect on these words of Jesus about the law, let us ask ourselves if it is true   that the love of God and the love of neighbor govern our life.   

SECOND READING  Heb 7:23-28

Ø  Jesus since he remains forever can always intercede   for us. 

Ø  The author of the letter says “he is always able to save those who approach God through him”

Ø  Jesus does not need to offer constantly sacrifices as other priests do; he only offered one sacrifice once and for all, the sacrifice of his life.  

Ø  These words fill us with trust and invite us to rest peacefully in God’s arms, like the baby sleeps calm in the arms of his or her parent. 

CLARETIAN CORNER

Fragments from letters of  the Founder and Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters.     

I have just received a letter from our most beloved Nuns of Santiago de Cuba and with great pleasure I send to Your Excellency the copy of the Act of the Holy Visit that the Most Rev. Archbishop ordered to be copied in the book of the House;  because I have no doubt that it will please you very much to see, that Our Lord gives us another father so good that not only likes our Holy Poverty, but that with great love confirms us in it; this is a great consolation for me. Our most beloved Mother Mª Rosa has told me that when he was visiting the different offices he kept saying “everything is poor, everything in order;” I do not have to tell you the satisfaction of all, they keep giving thanks to God to have given them another father who with so much love and concern provides for their spiritual and temporal wellbeing. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress. Letter to Bishop  Caixal, March 15, 1863, in History of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, chapter X note 29.    

In the Granja and now in Madrid I have met several times the Archbishop of Cuba, and I know he values very much the nuns of Cuba and all the nuns of this Order. His secretary Rev. Ciriaco is a blessed man and he values you very much. S. Antonio María Claret, Fundador. Letter to   M. María Antonia París, Septiembre 27  1967 in History… chapter X note 30.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

ALVAREZ, Jesús , History of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, 1980.     

FALEY, Roland J. From Genesis to Apocalypse, Paulist Press 2005.

  

  XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE B – 2018

«  Faith is the most precious gift that God has given to us. 

«  Faith enables us to discover the loving presence of God in our life.   

«  Faith is a the light that illumines our way toward the eternal  embrace of the three divine Persons.   

«  Today’s readings open the eyes of the soul to the meaning of faith.    

 

FIRST READING : Jer 31:7-9

Ø  Again the liturgy offers a Reading taken from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. 

o   The reading is  from chapter 31 which together with chapter 30 are called the little book of consolation.   

o   These chapters have a message similar to that of the Book of Consolation or the Second Isaiah, which tells of the wonders that God will do during the second exodus, the return from the Babylonian exile, the journey of the captives toward Jerusalem, their beloved and long missed homeland.  

Ø  The prophet invites to shout with joy for Jacob, Israel. To shout for joy because the Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel, the faithful remnant, the anawin, the little ones, the poor, the oppressed and marginalized, who have been faithful.  

Ø  The prophet puts before our eyes a wonderful sight; it is the huge crowd that God gathers from all the corners of the earth where they had been exiled. The prophet himself exclaims, how large is the multitude that comes back.   

Ø  It is composed by blind and lame people, image of the sufferings from the past, there are  also

among those who  return, pregnant women about to give birth, image of the life which is being born, image of the future.  

Ø  God speaks and says that if they left weeping    

o   Now they come back full of consolation because God leads them and  

o   To running waters, this means that they are not anymore in the desert, they are where water flows and gives life   

o   He leads them through smooth roads, easy to walk on.  

o   We may apply all these images to our spiritual journey.   

o   The exiled who return, those who migrate from their homeland seeking peace, bread and a land to call  home, they continue their journey in search of…. As the exiled from the first reading, whom God gathers and guides toward the land that will be their home

Ø  God speaks to us today, in the XXI century,  through these readings he calls us to open our eyes and see the reality around us,  the suffering of so many displaced persons, and to remember that our ancestors  have also been  part of that multitude, which the Lord loves and guides, waiting for us to open our hearts and our arms, as He does for us, welcoming  our brothers and sisters who knock at our doors.          

 RESPONSORIAL PSALM  – Sal. 126   

R.   The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

ü  It is a psalm of joy. 

ü  It speaks of a reality of suffering and sadness in the past, they left weeping, they sowed in tears   

ü  To a situation of happiness and joy such, that their mouth was filled with laughter and songs.   

ü  What God has done is so great that even the nations acknowledge it

ü  God has changed the conditions of their lives in a way that only God can do it. He has changed mourning into dancing.    

The change is such that if they sowed in tears now they come back rejoicing carrying the sheaves.  

GOSPEL  MK 10:46-52

«  In the   two previous Sundays Mark has presented to us three men that could see with their eyes, but were blind in relation to the teachings of Jesus.   

o   The man who wanted to reach eternal life  

o   The disciples who wanted the first seats   

«  Today Mark introduces to us a blind man who cannot see the light of the sun, but in the depth of his being he has the light of faith which makes him cry out Son of David, has pity on me, Lord that I may see!     

«  Not too often do the Evangelists give the name of a blind man, but here Mark says that it is Bartimeus the son (Bar) of Timeous or Timothy.  The Gospels mentioned very often-blind persons, it seems that this was a common condition in Israel.   

«  Jesus calls him, and asks   what do you want from me?  Lord I want to see.  Jesus says to him go your faith has saved you.   

«  The light, the ability to see is compared in Scripture with faith, which is the ability to see the truth of God, to discover his presence in our life, in the world.   

«  Jesus does not touch him; he only asks him and then says your faith has saved you.  The Lord is speaking to us of something, which goes beyond our natural sense of sight, faith in Jesus.   

«  For several weeks Mark has presented Jesus in his journey toward Jerusalem where he will give his life for us, and as he travels he teaches his disciples  

o   The hard lesson of how to be a disciple, to be like the Master

o   Lesson which reached its highest pick last week when Jesus taught about service as a service which is given, not doing things, but giving up our own life in service to others,  so that men and women may be able also to see with the eyes of faith.          

o   And, this service is the supreme love, like the love of Christ on the cross, the call to love every human being as brother and sister in imitation of Christ.  

o   Today, the severity and also the  fear that Jesus’ words on the following after him,  may cause        

o   Becomes lighter, and full of light like the eyes of the blind man Bartimeus,   

o    We have read in the first reading, the exiles return like the reapers singing as they carry their sheaves.    

o   He who gives his life for love will receive the same gift as Bartimeus, the light of the inner eyes, the light of faith, which enables us to discover the loving presence of our God, even in the midst of shadows.  

SECOND READING : Heb 5:1-6

ü   We continue the Reading of the letter to the Hebrews  

ü  We have already said that in this letter the author makes a theological reflection on the priesthood of Christ,   eternal and only high priest of the New Law, the New Covenant.   

ü  The author says that any high priest  

o    Is of the same condition as the rest of his brothers and sisters  

o   That he has not given to himself this priesthood, that he has received it  from God who has called him. 

o   He is called to offer sacrifices for his sins and for the sins of others  

o   Since he is part of the same people; he knows  weakness and  sin because he experiences them too. 

o   Neither Christ did confer to himself the dignity of priesthood, but he received it from the One who said to him:    

§  You are my Son, today I have begotten you.   And You are priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech, who offered bread and wine.   

§  The One who said to him at the Jordan River You are my son, in whom I am well pleased,.    

 CLARETIAN CORNER

 One night while praying and in bitter tears, pleading to our Lord that by the merits of His Passion and death to have mercy on the necessities of His church which at that time were many, our Lord told me and pointing at Mgr. Claret as if I saw him between our Lord and me.” This, my daughter, is the apostolic person whom you have asked me for so many years and with so much tears”.

His Divine Majesty showed me the grace He poured on that holy soul for the preaching of the gospel, and our Lord told me that there was no other remedy for the peace of the church. I did not know that person. Only a few days before I heard that a   certain chaplain by the name of Monsen Claret began preaching with much zeal about the honor due to God and the salvation of souls. It seems to me that have been at least eleven or twelve years ago.  Venerable María Antonia Parías, Foundress,   Autobiography  19.  

The queen made the Spiritual Exercises that first year and has made them annually ever since. She always leaves them with a great sense of contentment and has asked others to make them. She especially likes the text of them that I published, and she has asked me to bring her copies so that she can have the pleasure of giving them as gifts; and she counsels the recipients to at least read them.

All the ladies of the court have a copy of both The Straight Path and the Spiritual Exercises. Their Majesties both enjoyed The Straight Path so much that I had a deluxe edition brought out for them by Aguado Printers in Madrid. At present, both Their Majesties and the ladies of the court lead very edifying lives: they hear Mass, read the lives of the saints daily, recite the Holy Rosary, and frequent the Sacraments. The queen and the infanta, as well as many ladies of the court, come to me for confession. They all keep busy all the time. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 615-16.    

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Anthony Mary . Autobiography.

PAGOLA, José A.  Following in the Footsteps of Jesus. Meditation on the Gospels of Year B. Convivium, Bogotá 2011.

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiography, in Writings      

Ravassi, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras- Año B. San Pablo  Bogotá 2005.

Sagrada Biblia, Versión oficial de la Conferencia episcopal española, Madrid 2011.