29 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE A – 2020

THE BOOK OF THE SECOND ISAIAH

Ø  The second part of the Book of Isaiah cc 40-55 reveals a historical reality different from that of the first part or Book of Isaiah from Jerusalem   

Ø  The people from the Kingdom of Judah had been deported to Babylon  

Ø  In the year 539 BC Cyrus, the Persian, enters triumphant in Babylon and proclaims the liberty of all the deported, who are allowed to return to their country.   

Ø  The Second Isaiah, so called because we do not know his name, could be one of the deported that were coming back to their country.    

Ø  His ministry has two different moments although it is always about consolation:

o   cc.40-48 the texts speak about the exiled who have to begin the way back home. The prophet consoles and encourages them explaining the meaning of the time of the exile. 

o   cc.  49-55 the texts are about those who have come back from exile and do not feel welcome by those who remained in the country. The prophet’s mission is to console them. In this part of the book we find the poems of the Servant of Yahweh, and also the   openness of the pagan nations to the God of Israel.   

FIRST READING  Is 45:1. 4-6

Ø  The Lord, the God of Israel speaks to Cyrus, the king of Persia, a pagan king, and calls him his anointed.  

Ø  And tells him how he has taken him by hand to be his instrument for the liberation of the peoples.   

Ø  God has called Cyrus and God will accomplish the work of liberation for love of his servant Jacob, and for his chosen one Israel.    

Ø  He says to Cyrus that he has called him by name     

Ø  How true it is that we are all children of our God, not only those who believe in Him, but all.   

Ø  He says to Cyrus that his title of honor has been given by Him, although Cyrus does not know Him.  

Ø  What a wonderful reading that opens up the heart and uncovers unexpected and infinite horizons to our faith. God takes care of all of us and he asks all of us to be his collaborators, believers and pagans, just and sinners, from different colors, races and religions…. and even unbeleivers.  The one who opens his heart to his presence, in spite of not knowing Him, does good works, changes the direction of his life.   

Ø  Every generation remembers Cyrus, the pagan king, who did not know the true God of Israel but who was his collaborator. 

 RESPONSORIAL PSALM:  Ps  96: 1 y 3. 4-5. 7-8. 9-10a y c

Ø  R. (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Ø  This psalm sings the wonders done by God and invites us to announce nation after  nation the wonders God  does. 

Ø  He is the only  one who is God 

Ø  God governs the nations with justice and he calls all human beings and invites us to do the same, he calls us to be his collaborators.    

GOSPEL  Mt 22:15-21

Ø  The Pharisees were not too happy, they were angry, because Jesus in the Temple had destroyed their business, and also they did not like the parables of the two sons, the tenants of the vineyard and the wedding feasts of the son because they clearly questioned and accused them for their behavior. 

Ø  Since they are intelligent and well educated they believe that they know much more than this young and poor rabbi who has always been a carpenter. And they agree to put Jesus to the test.  

Ø  They ask him about the taxes, this has always been and continues to be a problem, something we do not like, to pay taxes  to the country and for them it was worst because it was for a foreign and oppressive country they hated.  

Ø  Jesus asks for the coin used to pay the taxes.   

Ø  And he asks whose face is it?   

Ø  Cesar’s they answered, than it is very obvious that they will have to return to Cesar the coins because they have his picture on it.   

Ø  But Jesus adds something, which we use and repeat a lot, but I think we miss the point many times.   

Ø  Give to Cesar what belongs to him, what has his image, but give to God what belongs to him.   

Ø  And I read something that I found so interesting and helpful to understand the words of Jesus.   

Ø  Give to God what belongs to him, what is it? My time, my talent, my treasure…? What I read said: if you give back to Cesar what belongs to him, the coin to pay the taxes because it has its image, than we have to give back to God his image which is our own being, nothing less  “let us make man in our image….”   

SECOND READING  1 Thes 1,1-5b

Ø  We will begin the first letter of Paul to the community of Thessalonica.  

Ø  If we read this text alone, we could personalize it saying the name or our parish.    

Ø  And listen to the words Paul says to the community in Thessalonica as words said to each one of us “we give thanks for you, for you John, for you Sylvia, for you Rosendo, for you Mary….   We remember   

o   The activity of your faith   

o   The effort of your love

o   The firmness of you hope     

o   That is how the three theological virtues received in your baptism are acting in your daily life.   

o   And all of this In Jesus Christ, you and the whole community are in Jesus Christ, and you allow Him to guide you.     

Ø  And Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy remind the community that they have been chosen; in the first reading it was God who reminded that to Cyrus      

Ø  And in the last verse we read Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy remind the community that their preaching was not only with words but, also with the strength of the Holy Spirit. 

 

CLARETIAN CORNER

 Claret and  Maria Antonia insisted on the need of conversion to be able to live and proclaim the Gospel,  being part a community that lives a radical and real poverty.   In so doing we denounce the evils and we announce the joy of salvation, which is the Gospel.  

The answer that Claret and María Antonia offered to the evils of the Church of their time was a universal response, which goes beyond the concrete situations.  Thus we may give today the same answer to the evils of the world and of the Church, although the methods are going to be different.    

We may express it as follows: 

To live the Gospel faithfully. 

With evangelical poverty  

To proclaim the Gospel    (Two Pens…. pp.180-181 of the Spanish edition)

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 MUÑOZ, Ma. Hortensia and TUTZO, Regina, Claretian Missionary Sisters. Paris and Claret Two pens moved by the same Spirit. Called to Renew the Church. 2010

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

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

 

 

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME- CYCLE A   -  OCTOBER 15, 2017

ü   The first reading and the Gospel speak of the Kingdom of God by means of analogies. 

ü  For Paul his strength is in God.   

FIRST READING   Is 25:6-10ª

Ø  This Reading is taken from the first part of the book that we call Book of Isaiah, whose author is the First Isaiah or  Isaiah from Jerusalem. 

Ø  His prophetic activity can be situated between the years 740 to 687 B.C. 

Ø  It covers three periods:   

o   First period that is short, it goes from the death of King Uzziah to the death of his son Jotham in 735.  It is a time of peace; the country enjoys a good prosperity.   

o   Second period 734-733 time of political unrest. 

o   The third period longer than the previous ones, the leaders of the country seek the contact with Egypt to free themselves from the Assyrian protection.  

WHAT DOES THE READING FOR THIS SUNDAY TELL US? 

-        The change they experience is provoked by God, and the author uses four symbols to describe it:  

o   The mountain, place of the banquet  

o   The banquet   

o   The presence of a multitude of peoples  

o   The change from suffering to wellbeing.  

-        Isaiah speaks of what will happen on this holy mountain, Jerusalem    

o   The holy mountain is at the beginning Jerusalem, but it becomes the happy eternity where death will be destroyed. 

o   Not only death or the end of our earthly life, but the many interior and exterior deaths we suffer, provoked by others or by us.

o   Whenever we speak of wellbeing we speak of abundant and tasty fruits, good wines. 

o   All veils will be destroyed on this holy mountain, the veil that covers the peoples, the veil of ignorance, of lack of freedom, of everything that darkens in us the capacity to discover the presence of God in us, in all and in everything.  

o   Death will be destroyed forever on this mountain which symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, as well as every  place an situation of encounter with God.  When He is present even if we die we will live.    

o   On this mountain God will wipe out the tears from the eyes, what a beautiful and consoling promise! How many tears are shed in our world, how much human suffering!  

o   All of this which the prophet describes is the work of God to whom we turn our eyes to be saved. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Sal 23: 1-3a. 3b – 4.5.6 

R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. 

     Psalm of a great beauty that describes the peace and security of the person who feels the presence and company of God in his or her life.

     As if one would go through life in the hands of the Lord, like the little bird fallen from the nest.  

     Company and security which the psalmist describes with very evocative images: the prairies, the water of the springs, the table and the oil which anoints and perfumes. 

     The psalmist ends the psalm saying that  goodness and kindness will always be his companions throughout his life,  

     All of this and much more surround us when we feel and experience the presence of the Lord in our life.  In fact he surrounds us always, but we only perceive it when the Lord makes this gift to us, then we feel ourselves in the loving presence of our God and Lord. 

GOSPEL Mt 22: 1-14

Ø   Jesus is speaking again with the leaders and priests of his people, he is trying by all means to convince and conquer those men who pull away more and more from their vocation as representatives of Jesus’ Father, the God of Israel, who has called them to be his representatives on earth. 

Ø  It is about wedding banquet, the wedding is the most joyful and lovely celebration in all the cultures, and for every couple that are in love with each other. 

Ø  The kingdom of God is like a feast, a wedding celebration. 

Ø  As in the parable of the vineyard, here the king sends his servants and messengers to remind those invited to the feast of his son’s wedding that everything is ready.  

Ø  But we are told that those invited ignored this reminder.   

Ø  A second time he sends other servants and we are told that those invited cannot go to the feast  because they have other more important things to do. 

Ø  The King becomes angry and sends his servants to invite anyone they find on the roads, any place. God does not abandon his project in spite of our little or no cooperation, he looks for other solutions.  

Ø  And all sorts of people come to the celebration some are good others are bad…. 

Ø  There is even one who does not wear the wedding garment.  Probably one who did not accept to wear the wedding garment offered to him as it was customary.

Ø  Is that man, like us when through the journey of our life, so many times, we refuse to wear the wedding garment that was given to us in our baptism when the priest gave us the white garment and  told us to keep it until the time when the Lord will call us?   

Ø  Jesus describes the consequences of not using the wedding garment as: “bind his hands and feet, darkness, bad relationships with others…

Ø  May the Lord grant us to cultivate the joy in our life, joy which will help us to recognize the Lord always walking with us during the journey of our earthly life, and this conviction will in turn increase our joy.   

SECOND READING    Phil 4:12-14. 19-20

Ø  Paul thanks the community of Philippi for their help. He had a very especial and loving relationship with this community that always show its love for him.  

Ø  But he tells them something that is very good for a missionary and evangelizer, maybe for all of us also: I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.

Ø  God will provide according to their needs, probably this is his experience.  

Ø  Yes, even if we are in need, God continues to provide for us in one way or another, sometimes we do not even understand it. 

Ø  God creates us, provides for us, we only have to open the eyes of faith and love to discover his work in us.

CLARETIAN CORNER  

We Dream of a Church...

As a Church we want to be a community of  Jesus’ followers: 

-        Founded in love, interpersonal relationships, dialogue and listening. 

-        Who loves life because it is a gift from God; showing this love in her joy in spite of sufferings. 

-        In a constant process of conversion and of a search for God 

-        Who discovers the inner secret which dwells in her, shows it in the way she lives, and transmits it to others.  

-        That joins action and contemplation 

-        That lives in the world, loving it and thus denouncing with her life and words its evils, and at the same time offering the Gospel values. 

-        That responds to the mandate of Jesus, to go into the whole world and preach the Good News that God is Father, that He loves, welcomes and accompanies us. 

-        That knows that she is being sent in mission; in a constant effort to give concrete answers to the problems,  that the world will present to her.  

-        Centered in the human person; promoting freedom and development, recognizing the human dignity. 

-        A Church of all because she is universal. 

-        A Church, a community which has eyes to see the injustices and, like the prophets of Israel, reminds and helps  to remember that the earth belongs to all, being herself a clear witness of poverty.    

-        Samaritan woman that understands her world, that pours oil and wine over   the wounds of so many persons who are abandoned on the margins of the roads of life. 

-        In a word, a Church who shows the face of Christ, a Church clothed only with the Gospel. (Paris and Claret two Pens Guided… pg. 178-179 of the Spanish edition.)

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 MUÑOZ, M. Hortensia and TUTZO, Regina. Paris and Claret to Pens Guided by the  Same Spirit. Called to Renew the Church,  2010.

PAGOLA, JOSÉ ANTONIO. El camino abierto por Jesús.(The Way Open by Jesus) 2011.

PAPA FRANCISCO, Angelus October 12, 2014.

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