15 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – CYCLE A – 2020

The theme of the first reading and the Gospel is about agriculture: earth, water, seed; but these realities of our earth are used to take us to the level of the Word of God which does not go back before having fulfilled his mission, in the same way as the rain fertilizes the earth and the seed, the Word changes our hearts and fulfills his mission: transforming us into the image of Jesus.  

FIRST READING : Is 55: 10-11

Ø  The Word that goes forth from God does not return without having accomplished its mission, 

Ø  Jesus, the Word made flesh speaks to us words of life, teaches us, calls us, and for love of us abandons himself in our hands   to be crushed   by our sins.  

Ø  In so doing he does the will of the Father who sends him to fulfill his saving mission: fertilize, make the seed germinate, to give food to….  

  RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (Lk 8:8) The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God's watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

The psalms may be classified in different ways. One is according to the final doxology after some psalms.  Using this method we discover 5 books of psalms.    

v The psalms were not written by King David alone, he wrote some of them only. But since he is portrayed usually singing the praises of God using musical instruments, the tradition considered him the author of psalms.     

v The psalms are prayerful poems. They are the expression of the diverse feelings common to all human beings in the diverse situations of human life.   

v The church from the beginning has organized the liturgy of the hours distributing the psalms along a pre-established time frame. In the church many pray the psalms every day, and it is true that sometimes we pray a psalm of sorrow and we are happy, but this is not a contradiction.    

v Why? Because we pray as a community, as a church in the name of the whole human race and giving voice to the entire creation. There are always human beings who weep, laugh, are born, die, are sick, are persecuted, are abandoned…. 

The vocabulary of this psalm is very beautiful and evokes the theme of the earth, of agriculture:  

·       The Lord waters the earth, his clouds are filled with water which falls upon the earth  

·       Thus the earth is softened and allows the seed to germinate   

·       And with the food that the fields produce, the flocks multiply.  

GOSPEL: Mt 13:1-23

     This parable is like the model for all the other parables of Jesus narrated by the evangelists. 

     The parable    

o   Describes a situation or a real event, from the daily life, a human reality with which the listeners may identify  easily.   

o   And after narrating this which we could call a story, Jesus makes us jump to another level of our life, the level of the relationship with God, with the other human beings and with ourselves.   

o   And leaves us with the task to draw the consequences in our own life, our response to the call that God makes to us through the parable.  

     In today’s reading:   

o   The story is the work of a farmer and the seed  

o   The farmer, the sower goes out to sow, this is his work  

o   And to sow he throws the seed abundantly in the furrows 

o   And the seed o seeds fall in different places: the road, the stones, the thorns, and some in the furrows.   

o   According to the place the seed has landed its life will be different: it will be trampled under feet, burned by the heat, chocked by the thorns, will produce the grain in different measure.  

     Jesus ends this story saying “He who has ears….”   

     The disciples want to know the meaning and also the reason he speaks in parables.  

     Jesus repeats the words of Isaiah which are difficult for us to understand because they are said according to the Semitic mind: God does everything, makes hear and makes us deaf…  But what this expression means is that if we do not want to listen, even if we are told we will not understand.  

     And Jesus explains the parable:   

o   The seed on the road: the evil one takes the word from us when we listen without understanding, without reflecting on what we hear.    

o   The seed on the rock: sprouts very soon but it withers after a short time. Thus the one who receives the word with joy, with euphoria, but since it does not have roots it withers also, the enthusiasm dies out when the hardships to follow the Word appear in our life.           

o   The seed among thorns: The word is chocked in our heart by the many worldly worries and the seduction of riches.  

o   The seed that falls on fertile ground: The one, who listens to the Word, understands it and gives fruit. This understanding is the fruit of reflection and prayer, it is a responsible understanding. 

     After finishing this explanation Jesus leaves to our responsibility to understand and make fructify the good God has put in our heart, and also in the heart of every human being.

SECOND READING : Rom 8:18-23

v Paul considers that the sufferings of the present time cannot compare to the glory that waits for us. 

v He says that creation is subjected, in some way, to suffering and groans with birthing pain, until it will give birth to the new creation fruit of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. 

v Then the glory of the children of God will be revealed, glory like the glory of the Son Jesus.  

CLARETIAN CORNER

I thank you very much for the holy card of the divine law which you have sent me.  I am very grateful for it because the Holy Law is the only magnet of my love: from the moment God, Our Lord, taught me its beauty, the object of my meditation is the harmony of its beauty, and I would like to carry it written on my forehead to teach it to every creature.   (Taken from a letter of  María Antonia to St. Anthony M. Claret – Santiago of Cuba October 31^st  1857).

The second means is the formation of the youth from both sexes, and for this I will write the booklet you asked me for; but I cannot do it until my return from the trip of the Queen and her family, because during the trip I have to preach every day many sermons; some days I have preached up to 8 sermons: to the clergy, the people, the nuns, the prisoners….   (Taken from the Letter of St. Anthony M. Claret to María Antonia. Royal Place of St.    Ildefonso, August 31^st 1860).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, ST  Anthony Mary – Letters

CONFERENCIA EPISCOPAL ESPAÑOLA, Sacred Bible, official edition.

PARIS, Ma. Antonia – Letters

SCHOKEL, Luis Alonso. The Bible of Our People (text adaptation and commentaries by)  

 
 

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE A – 2020

Ø  The themes of the Liturgy for the last two Sundays   have been about the following, how the disciple is supposed to be and what it means to follow the Teacher.   

o   On the XII Sunday we heard Jeremiah complaining with God because God did not tell him the consequences of following him,   his friends and fellow citizens, whom he loved dearly, turned their back against him.   

o   On the XIII Sunday our Teacher spoke to us about the need to do good for love of God,  love of the Lord and love for human kind.   

Ø  The readings today will teach something else to us: humility and meekness. Let us listen to and reflect in our  heart. 

FIRST READING – Zec 9:9-10

Who was the prophet Zechariah?  

v His name means “The Lord remembers” or “May the Lord remember.”    

v It seems that he belonged to a priestly family; he had a great interest in the temple.   

v This book  has two parts:  the first part (c. 1-8 )  is written by  a prophet called Zechariah. The second part (c.9-14) was written in a different time by a prophet who has been called Second Zechariah.       

v The prophet of the first part is considered to be the pioneer of the apocalyptic visions, in his visions we discover fantastic elements ( red horses, women with wings…) and the presence and action of a divine messenger.   

v The time of his mission was  520 B.C. to  518 B.C.   

v His message like the message of all the prophets is very much related to the political situation of his people.   

v Zechariah agrees with the reconstruction of the temple and of the monarchy, but acknowledges the ethical requirements of faith.   

v Maybe we can say that he wants a reconstruction of what in the past had helped the people, and it seems that he does not see this needs under the light of the future.   

v The second Zechariah cc. 9-14 was written by another prophet as we have said above, this prophet wrote between the years 330 B.C. to 300 B.C.

v Although,  there are many authors who think that this part was written in the time of the Persian domination on the V century before the missions of Nehemiah and Ezra, before the reconstruction.  

Message  of the reading for this Sunday     

ü  Daughter Zion, the city of Jerusalem, is invited to rejoice, why? Her king comes humble and meek.   

ü  These qualities are reflected on what he is riding, an ass not a horse, which was considered to be the symbol of power, dominion, and human pride.    

ü  This humble and meek king will destroy; eliminate war, violence from the midst of his people.  This is symbolized in the elimination of war chariots and, the bows and arrows. 

ü  He will proclaim peace not only for his people, but for the entire human race.  

ü  A prophet before speaking looks at the political situation of his time. The prophet is always involved in the political situation either of his people or of the whole world. The prophet discovers and understands the message from God in those situations.

ü  Do I listen to the voice of God in the midst of my daily life?

RESPONSORIAL PSALM- Ps 144: 1-2. 8-9. 10-11. 13cd-14

R.   I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
 The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

     The psalmist will praise and bless God day after day.    

     Because God is compassionate, merciful, generous, faithful,  slow to anger, his love is for all his creatures, he gives support and relieves those who are burdened.   

     What a wonderful litany of who God is.   

     The psalmist invites everyone to praise and bless God.

     During this week, in spite of the chaos that we see in many places around us, let us dedicate some minutes each day to truly give thanks to our Father and God, of whom Jesus said he was his “Abba=daddy”.      

GOSPEL Mt 11:25-30

§  These verses reveal to us the messianic prayer of Jesus before the surprising revelation of God to the dispossessed of this world.

§  Salvation does not depend on the knowledge we may have of the biblical texts and of the other articles of our faith, but on the capability to discover the path of God in history and the availability to accept his call.   

§  Together with the transfiguration, this is one of the highest points of the Gospel.    

§  We can discover in this text an exultant joy, fruit of Jesus experience of God as Father.   

§  Jesus invites all the  broken hearted, the overwhelmed by suffering, all those excluded by the social and religious mechanisms of our society; and he offers them to carry another yoke, another  load: the yoke of freedom which requires humility and meekness

SECOND READING  Rom 8:9. 11-13

o   Paul reminds the community of Rome that they are in the spirit not in the flesh, that is to say, that they live for God if they have opened up to the Spirit of God who lives in them.  

o   Because if we have the Spirit of Jesus, of God, we belong to him.     

o   And the One, who raised Jesus from the dead, will also raise us up.  

o   Paul invites us again to live according to the spirit, and not according to the demands of the flesh.    

o   This entails to live a truly human and honest life, and not a life of sin that dehumanizes us.   

o   St. Augustin has a sentence related to the love of God, he says “Our heart is not at rest until it rests in you.”

CLARETIAN CORNER

Venerable María Antonia Paris - They will have Seminaries where the young men who will be ordained should be educated.  They should provide God-fearing men, who are also zealous of his Holy Law, as the Teachers of these young men.  They should educate them detached of all interests, without there being a distinction of what is yours and mine in all Seminaries; this even when they themselves cover the expenses, and if anyone gives any sign that what he really desires is to be ordained for his own benefit, or to help his family, rather than for God’s glory, he should not be ordained.  Greed has destroyed religion.  Greed has its foot on it and does not allow it to breathe.  (Renewal of the Church # 22 in Paris and Claret, Two Pens Moved by the Same Spirit, 

2010) 

St. Anthony Mary Claret - Each diocese must have a theological seminary, that may be a true seed-bed of  good priests . This is a very essential point, since if the Bishops succeed in forming good clergymen, they will be their collaborators; but if they have the misfortune to see in their dioceses bad clergymen, this will be the greatest obstacle for the good, and from no one will they suffer so much as from the bad clergymen. (From Notes of a Plan to Keep and Preserve the Beauty of the Church   in Paris and Claret, Two Pens Moved by the Same Spirit) 

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – 2020

The liturgy of this Sunday speaks about doing good for love of God. The family in the first reading prepared a comfortable room for the prophet Elisha, the “man of God”, the psalm repeats Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord, and the Gospel says that those who do something good for others will not be left without a reward.

THE BOOK OF KINGS

Ø  The book of Kings can be approach in several ways.

Ø  They contain history and are an important source of information about the Israelite Kingdoms.

Ø  The theological interpretation has two principles: to justify the disintegration of the Davidic empire and the need for the religious unity of the people of God.

Ø  As a counterpart of the stories of kings, we find the stories of women and of many prophets.

Ø  The destiny of Israel is in God’s hand.

Ø  Through prophets, the divine will is made known on earth to kings and  people

Ø  The future consequences of their response to God’s will are spelled out.

FIRST READING  2 Kings  4: 8-11. 14-16a

Ø  According to Wikipedia, the town of Shunem  (Hebrew: שׁוּנֵם‎) was a small village   in the possession of the Tribe of Issachar, near the Jezreel Valley and  South of Mount Gilboa (Joshua 19,18).It may be identified as the modern village of Sulam.

Ø  It seems  that Elisha, disciple of Eliah, went frequently to the town of Shunem and to the house of a good couple. 

Ø  In the Old as well as in the New Testament we find stories about good women who welcomed into their homes men who were passing by their city, as if they were messengers of God.  

Ø  Here the woman and her husband prepare a comfortable place where Elisha could rest. 

Ø  The recompense is huge and surprising; the couple will have a son. They have prayed so much to have a son and the child never came.       

Ø  This is the generosity of God who recompenses the good we do. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps  88: 2-3. 16-17. 18-19

R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever;"
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and the Holy One of Israel, our king.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

ü  The psalmist  shows feelings of joy, of thanksgiving and of  praise to God. 

ü  He invokes God whose love is eternal, merciful and faithful.   

ü  The psalmist says that the people   

o   Who walks under the light of God and praises him is happy.  

o   He is happy also because God is his shield and his king. 

GOSPEL Mt 10: 37-42

Ø  The Gospel is the continuation of last Sunday’s reading. Only 4 verses are omitted.  

Ø  Verses 37-39 explain the demands, the conditions of the following of Jesus:

o   The first condition is the fidelity to the Lord that

§  Illumines all the other fidelities required for a life as a disciple of Jesus 

§   goes beyond the fidelity   toward our family and any other fidelity 

§  asks us to carry the cross in his following  

§  and finally, accordingly  to what the Gospel says, it teaches us that if we hold on to our life willing to keep it we will lose it, but if we allow the Lord to organize and decide over our life, if we surrender to him, if we put ourselves completely in his hands, we will keep and gain our life.  

Ø  The verses 40-42 speak of the recompense to this fidelity in his following:  

o   When we welcome someone it is Jesus whom we welcome and, in turn we are welcoming  the Father.   

o   The recompense will be according to who we think we are welcoming:  

§  Prophet, just person, disciple   

§  Even the glass of fresh water that we give to a little one (poor, marginalized…) will not be without a recompense.  

Ø  In the responsorial psalm there is phrase that says  My kindness is established forever,
 How true this is!   

LETTER TO THE ROMANS

     In this part of chapter 6 Paul reflect on baptism and in its consequences

     In baptism we were submerged into the death and resurrection of Christ

     However, Paul knows well that sin has not been completely banished either from the world, or from us Christians who have been submerged into the life of Christ.

     Thus he explains baptism as a process of gradual transformation in Christ.

SECOND READING    Rom 6: 3-4. 8-11

Paul speaks here about baptism 

v We have been baptized into Christ Jesus death.   

v And  if we have been baptized into his death,  so too into his resurrection, his new life. 

v We have been given the power to die to sin, to have the strength and the energy to live a life for God far from evil, counting of course on the participation in the life of Christ Jesus. 

ü  Paul ends his reflection saying: consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. 

Maybe it would help us to remember persons, things and events related to our baptism, or to the baptism of our children.

CLARETIAN CORNER

Venerable María Antonia París - This, which at first sight may appear to the Bishops as something of little importance, is the only weapon with which they should defend the Holy Law which they should preach, and understand that without this, all of their works will be fruitless.  I could say great things here about the esteem that a Prelate should have of the example of his Divine Master, as God has taught me, but it seems to bold to me, for I speak with whom I am not worthy to hear, and so it appears to me I will fulfill my obligation simply writing the most essential points that His Divine Majesty has pointed out to me without excluding any, without failing to observe the Lord’s command. 

Therefore, after renewing themselves and their associates, the Bishops should fully devote themselves to distributing the bread of the Divine Word.  From Plan for the Renewal… 15-16 in the book Paris and Claret Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit.

St. Anthony Mary Claret –

The Bishops are the successors of the Apostles and, thus they have to be with their good example the light of the world.  

They have to practice the good works, in such a way that their example be as a bright light that may shine before others and move them to glorify their heavenly Father   

The Bishops have to be friends of prayer, in imitation of Jesus…   

In the fire that burns in meditation all scoria is taken away, men melt and are molded into the image of Jesus, they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and begin to speak…  

The Bishops have to teach, following the mandate of Jesus to his Apostles…  

The Bishops have to be the salt of the earth through their doctrine… (From  Notes to preserve and restore the beauty of the Church : “Who are the Bishops nn. 1-8”  in Paris and Claret… )

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MUÑOZ, Ma. Hortensia and TUTZO, Regina  Claretian Missionary Sisters. Paris and Claret Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. 2010.

SCHÖEL, Luis Alonso, “ of the text and Commentaries” – Biblia del Pregrino 2015

“Letter to the Romans”  in THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, Revised Edition 2000.