19 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Ø  Jesus continues to teach us during the journey of our Christian life, about the following he proposes to us. 

Ø  Today the readings speak of faith/trust, hope, vigilant waiting, where do we keep our treasure.   

THE BOOK OF WISDOM

ü  This book has been called Wisdom of Solomon and in the edition Vulgate of the Bible it is called simply The Book of Wisdom. 

ü  Chronologically it is the last book written of the Old Testament. 

ü  His author, we do not know his name, but for his style and his way to think we infer that it is a Jew who lives in the diaspora, that is away from the land of Israel.  

ü  We are told that he lived in Alexandria from Egypt. 

ü  He addresses mainly the men and women of his people with whom he shares the same faith.  

ü  In his book he joins his Israelite faith and an open dialogue with the culture that surrounds him, where he probably was born, the Hellenistic culture, that is Greek culture,  with its philosophies, cults, gods, and thirst for knowledge…  

ü  I believe that to read and meditate that book can do much good to us,   because we live also our faith in the midst of a pagan world which worships the body, money, social status in a word the ego.   

ü  We will see how the author of this book does not reject what is good in the culture where he lives, but that he takes what can be useful to proclaim his faith to his contemporaries and to who desires to listen.  

ü  We can do the same. Let us not despise without examination what our brothers and sisters who do not  believe in the existence of God.   Let us enter in dialogue with them, let us listen and share without angry or disrespectful words, without condemnations, simply like brothers and sisters that wish to share and seek the truth  (Sagrada Biblia  p.1064). 

FIRST READING   Wis 18:6-9

§  The author invites us to remember what God has promised and done in the past. 

§  How the people prepared itself, not only in the night of the liberation, but before, because they truly believed that God would fulfill the promises made to their fathers.  

§  They hoped to be saved and that God with what was saving them would condemn their oppressors.  

§  Let us remember that Jesus had not come yet. He is the one who has told us to love our enemies, before, the law said an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…  

§  And the descendants of the father saw the fulfillment of the promises.   

§  Do we have a faith like this? Do we hope against hope?  

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  - Salmo 32: 1 y 12. 18-19. 20 y 22

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
 praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
 the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
 upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
 and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own

Our soul waits for the LORD,
 who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
 who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own

 

v  After each stanza we will repeat BLESSED THE PEOPLE THE LORD HAS CHOSEN TO BE HIS OWN.  

v  Yes, but let us go forth to share our joy, so that all will feel truly happy since God has chosen all of us and  we know this through Jesus.  

v  The last stanza says that we put our trust in the Lord, and we will never be deceived.  

GOSPEL  Lk 12:32-48

      Jesus says   with very kind words “Do not be afraid little flock” 

      Why, because the Father wants to give the kingdom to us: yes, the Father seeks us to invite us to enter into his kingdom of peace, love and joy…  

o   After saying these words he invites us to sell what we have and to share the profit with others, keeping our treasure in heaven.  

o   What does the Lord tell us?   the Lord invites us to  sell, that is to get rid of what we possess, but in exchange for another  good, in this case money, to share with those who do  not have what they need.   

o   And what is this treasure in heaven? I believe that this treasure is our good works that the Father keeps for us for the time when we go to his home.  

o    Some will know that they followed the voice of the Lord, others will not know, they will only know that they helped that person ... that boy, that young man, that old man, that businessman... For he who does good even though he does not believe or does not know the Lord is following the voice of the Lord Jesus.  

o   Now he invites us to be ready,  with the festive clothes because when the Lord arrives, he himself will serve us. What a joy for us that the Lord will surely come, for he has said it .

o   He puts now the waiting like the one who knows a thief is going to arrive, he will not sleep in order to defend himself.

o   To Peter, who wants to know for whom   has Jesus said this parable, Jesus responds with another saying that makes us understand that it is for all.

o   So let us be prepared, for the moment when the Lord will come  into our life, and he comes every day.   At the end of our journey He will introduce us into the house of his Father where there are many dwellings. 

SEGUNDA LECTURA Heb 11, 1-2. 8-12

o    Sisters and Brothers: Faith is the way to possess, from now on, what is expected and to know the realities that are not seen. For her, our elders were praised.

o   The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us three things here:  

o   Faith is a way to possess from now on what we expect

o   Faith is a way of knowing the realities that are not seen

o   By faith our elders were praised. Here Paul gives us some examples that we read in the Old Testament:

§  Abraham who left his country and went to the land that the unknown God,  whom he trusted, had  told him to go

§  Sarah still being barren had a son, the son of the promise, despite having doubted

§  Both Abraham and Sara always knew how to put their security in the unknown God. 

CLARETIAN CORNER

TESTAMENT MOTHER MARÍA ANTONIA PARÍS

Jesus

                  I, María Antonia de San Pedro, First Religious of the Apostolic Institute of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God and Our Lady, declare and certify that in the year 1867,  being His Excellency the Archbishop Claret, our Founder in Rome, he ordered me to reduce the Constitutions, because our Most Holy Father Pious Ninth had requested it.  I did it with complete submissiveness and good will because I do not have and never have had another [will] than that of the Holy See, and that of God’s representative who in the name of our Lord have guided and commanded me. 

 

                        I certify also that being in Rome the modified constitutions, Rev. Silvestre Rongier who was in charge, in the name of His Excellency Bishop Orbera, to negotiate the approval, he wrote to me asking if we wanted to make any changes in the governance of the Institute, or in any other chapter. Having consulted with the Bishop Orbera and with other wise and God-fearing subjects, theologians and canonist they decided  with His Excellency the Bishop of Valencia in whose Archdiocese I was on that date, to put the obligation of the First Mother of the Order to visit every three years, by herself or by another Religious of her trust, the houses of the Order to maintain in its vigor the mutual union and obedience of all, because some sad cases had proven that  the visit is necessary, due that some Prioresses had departed from the obedience to the First Mother and had tried to become independent, a thing so contrary to the spirit of our Holy Institute and from the will of  Our Lord, who wants us to be always one soul and one heart.    

 

                        Thus, I declare that in case I die before the Constitutions are printed, I want and it is my will that the last Constitutions written in my name by my Secretary M. Maria Gertrudis de San Felipe, which I have signed, be printed and kept in the whole Order. These are the Constitutions that have been presented in Rome for their approval and, Rev. Orbera has a copy made also by [M. Gertrudis Barril]. I want that the First Mother, my successor, order them to be printed in the way I have left them, once they are approved by the Holy See, and according to what the Holy See orders, in case they do some changes.   

                  This I my testament and last will.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONFERENCIA EPISCOPAL ESPANOLA. Sagrada Biblia, versión oficial. Madrid 2012

PARIS, María Antonia. Escritos. Estudio crítico, Introducciones y Notas por el P. Juan Manuel Lozano, cmf. Barcelona 1985.   

 

18 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2022  

Today’s readings invite us to reflect and think in the vanity of some things and actions of our life. Let us see what do  Qoohelet , the wise man from the Old Testament; Luke the Eangelist and Paul the great missionary of the gentiles, have to tell us.  

THE BOOK OF QOOHELET 

§  This book was called, and it is still called Ecclesiastes 

§  For its writing style we infer that the author wrote during the Hellenistic period, the time when Israel was under the domination of kings who favored de Greek culture.   

§  We are surprised by the free-thinking spirit of the author.  Surprising, in this small work, is the free-thinking spirit of its author regarding the theological tradition of his people and, his departure from all conventionalisms, which makes him original in the Israelite wisdom tradition.

§   Almost all the ideas cultivated by his co-religionists, engaged in wisdom, are subjected to his scathing and pragmatic criticism.     

§  Despite deserving the qualification of sage, Qoohelet emphasizes throughout his work the inability of wisdom to provide man with knowledge that assures him existence: prosperity, long life, happiness.

§  According to the traditional way of thinking in the people of Israel, except for Job, they had a rigid conception of divine retribution. According to this conception man is remunerated according to his deeds, good or bad, the just (or wise) is called to success in life, the wicked (or foolish) lives doomed to existential failure.

§  For his part, Qoohelet openly distrusts this paradigm, and bases his negative view on existence itself. (taken from the Sagrada Biblia, official edition  of the  Conference of Bishops of Spain, pp. 1037-38)

FIRST READING   Ecclesiastes (Qoohelet) 1:2;2:21-23

ü  The author of the book asks what is the use of all the concerns human beings have during their life. 

ü  We work and then we must leave the fruit of our work to others who have not worked, but receive the fruit of our cares

ü  He wonders what does man get out of all his labors and pursuits under the sun?

ü  Only pain, sufferings, and fatigues.  

ü  What this author says would be true if we did not know, by faith, that all these cares are not vain for those who believe in Jesus, the only Son of the Father, ultimately for those who believe and trust unconditionally in God.

ü  Here we need to ask ourselves what is the God I believe in?

ü  Is it the same God that Jesus came to announce to us as the great good news?

ü  The God who loves us individually and as a people, who knows us and who seeks us because He wants us to live forever with Him in eternity where He is happy.

ü  Let us devote ourselves with peace, but with effort, to change the sin that is in our world so that, our world  becomes the kingdom of God.

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 89: 3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14 y 17 

R. (1) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
 are as yesterday, now that it is past,
 or as a watch of the night.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
 the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Teach us to number our days aright,
 that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
 Have pity on your servants!
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
 that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
 prosper the work of our hands for us!
 Prosper the work of our hands!
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 

Ø  The author of this psalm invites us to reflect on the shortness of our life, even if we live 80, 90 or 100 years.  

Ø  He prays that God may help us to see the truth of our life, only then we will be truly prudent or wise.  

Ø  He prays that God fills us with his love in the morning and then our life will be happy, because if God fill us with his love, what else can we ask for.  

Ø  Then all our works will be to make every human being know, by our life, that God is my Father, our Father and, that He loves each one of us unconditionally.  

GOSPEL Lk 12: 13-21

v  Today’s gospel has three different scenes, all related among themselves  

v  The first scene: the man who asks Jesus to intervene in the distribution of an inheritance with his brother.   

v  It was customary at that time to ask the rabbis this interventions, but Jesus replies that it is not for him to do such a thing.

v  The second scene: “Avoid all kinds of greed, for man's life does not depend on the abundance of the goods he possesses.”

v  Jesus warns us about greed in our life, am I greedy?   Why do I work continuously?  Let us answer ourselves sincerely, without exaggerations of any sort, either positive or negative.   

v  Jesus says that our life, and we could add our happiness, does not depend on what we have.  

v  The third scene: it is a very graphic parable that we may apply to our life, to our plans.  Why do  I strive to earn more and more and possess more and more? Am I deceiving myself when I say that all this is necessary?

SECOND READING  Col 3: 1-5. 9-11

      Paul invites us to look at the goods from above and, this is  because we have been raised with Jesus.   

       If we all truly rose again with Christ on the day of our baptism, when we were immersed in his death and resurrection through the baptismal waters. 

      The reality of the resurrection will become visible in us in eternity

      Then Paul invites us to get rid of what is evil and mentions idolatry.

      Let us look at what our idols are. Maybe we say that we do not have idols, but the great idol might be myself. 

      In this new order, the risen life in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and non Jew, Israelite and Pagans, slaves and free,   but Christ is all in all .

      Words from Paul that remind us the urgent call of our Pope Francis to acknowledge that we are all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same an only Father and God. (cf. Encíclica Fratelli Tutti)

CLARETIAN CORNER

I have copied below a passage from chapter 4 of the book París and Claret: Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. Called to Renew the Church.  

1.       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.

 

BIBLIOGRAFIA

CONFERENCIA EPISCOPAL ESPANOLA. Sagrada Biblia, versión oficial. Madrid 2012

MUNOZ, Hortensia y TUTZO, Regina. París y Claret, Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit, Called to renew the Church.  2012

 

 

 

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