Following initial discussions during the Council of Provinces at San Felice del Benaco, Italy, in September 2009, the provincials of the Italian, Neapolitan, and Maltese Provinces together with the Commissary General of "La Bruna" held two subsequent meetings with the Councillor General for Europe, Fr. John Keating, O.Carm. one at Sassone (10th September 2010) and the second at Carmine Maggiore, Naples (31st January 2011). As a result of these discussions, they decided to resurrect the Italy/Malta Region, which was first established in 1984. They also drew up new statutes in conformity with the 1995 Constitutions. Fr. Michael Farrugia, O.Carm. was elected President of the Region for the next two years. The General Council approved the new statutes during its February meeting. In the geographical area of Europe there are now three regions, Iberia, Northern Europe and Italy/Malta. The General Delegation in France has already decided to join the Northern European Region.
- Prioress: Sr. Lucia LaMontagne, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. Sheryl Guzek, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor: Sr.Jane Winkler, O.Carm.
- Director of Novices: Sr. Lucia LaMontagne, O.Carm.
- Treasurer: Sr. Sheryl Guzek, O.Carm.
- Prior Provincial: Fr. Mathew Neendoor, O.Carm.
- First Councilor: Fr. Shaji Kuzhinjalil, O.Carm.
- Second Councilor: Fr. Paul Poovan, O.Carm.
- Third Councilor: Fr. Sebastian Vadakeparambil, O.Carm.
- Fourth Councilor: Fr. Thomas Thalachirayil, O.Carm.
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
You redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents four blessings and four curses in Luke’s Gospel. There is a progressive revelation in the way in which Luke presents the teaching of Jesus. Up to 6:16, he says many times, that Jesus taught the people, but he did not describe the content of the teaching (Lk 4:15,31-32,44; 5:1,3,15,17; 6:6). Now, after having said that Jesus sees the crowd desirous to hear the Word of God, Luke presents the first great discourse which begins with the exclamation, “Blessed are you who are poor!” and “Alas for you, rich!” and then takes up all the rest of the chapter (Lk 6:12-49). Some call this discourse the “discourse on the plain” because, according to Luke, Jesus came down from the mountain and stopped in a place which was flat and there He pronounced His discourse. In Matthew’s Gospel, this same discourse is given on the mountain (Mt 5:1) and is called “The Sermon on the Mount.” In Matthew, in this discourse there are eight Beatitudes, which trace a program of life for the Christian communities of Jewish origin. In Luke, the sermon is shorter and more radical. It contains only four Beatitudes and four curses, directed to the Hellenistic communities, formed by rich and poor. This discourse of Jesus will be meditated on in the daily Gospel of the next days.
• Luke 6:20: Blessed are you, poor! Looking at the disciples, Jesus declares, “Blessed are you who are poor, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!” This declaration identifies the social category of the disciples. They are poor! And Jesus promises them, “The Kingdom is yours!” It is not a promise made for the future. The verb is in the present. The Kingdom belongs to them already. They are blessed now. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes explicit the meaning of this and says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit!” (Mt 5:3). They are the poor who have the spirit of Jesus; because there are some poor who have the mentality of the rich. The disciples of Jesus are poor and have the mentality of the poor. Like Jesus, they do not want to accumulate, but they assume their poverty and with Him, they struggle for a more just life together, where there will be fraternity and sharing of goods, without any discrimination.
• Luke 6:21-22: Blessed are you, who now hunger and weep. In the second and third Beatitude, Jesus says, “Blessed are who are hungry now, because you shall have your full! Blessed are you, who are weeping now, you shall laugh!” One part of the sentence is in the present and the other in the future. What we live and suffer now is not definitive; what is definitive is the Kingdom of God which we are constructing with the force of the spirit of Jesus. To construct the Kingdom presupposes pain, suffering and persecution, but something is certain: the Kingdom will be attained, and you will have your fill and you will laugh!
• Luke 6:23: Blessed are you when people hate you...! The 4th Beatitude refers to the future: “Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out on account of the Son of Man!” Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look, your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way your ancestors treated the prophets!” With these words of Jesus, Luke encourages the communities of his time, because they were persecuted. Suffering is not a death rattle, but the pain of birth pangs. It is a source of hope! Persecution was a sign that the future that had been announced by Jesus was arriving, being reached. The communities were following the right path.
• Luke 6:24-25: Alas for you who are rich! Alas for you who now have your fill and who laugh! After the four Beatitudes in favor of the poor and of the excluded, follow four threats or curses against the rich and those for whom everything goes well and are praised by everybody. The four threats have the same identical literary form as the four Beatitudes. The first one is expressed in the present. The second and the third one have a part in the present and another part in the future. And the fourth one refers completely to the future. These threats are found only in Luke’s Gospel, not in Matthew’s. Luke is more radical in denouncing injustices.
In front of Jesus, on the plains, there are no rich people. There are only sick and poor people, who have come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19). But Jesus says: “Alas for you the rich!” Luke, in transmitting these words of Jesus, is thinking more of the communities of his time. In those communities there were rich and poor people, and there was discrimination against the poor on the part of the rich, the same discrimination which marked the structure of the Roman Empire (cf. Jas 5:1-6; Rev 3:17-19). Jesus criticizes the rich very hard and directly: You rich have already received consolation! You are already filled, but you are still hungry! Now you are laughing, but you will be afflicted and will weep! This is a sign that for Jesus poverty is not something fatal, nor the fruit of prejudices, but it is the fruit of unjust enrichment on the part of others.
• Luke 6:26: Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you, because this was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets! This fourth threat refers to the sons of those who in the past praised the false prophets; because some authorities of the Jews used their prestige and power to criticize Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Do we look at life and at people from the viewpoint of Jesus? What do you think in your heart: is a poor and hungry person truly happy? The stories which we see on television and commercial advertising, what ideal of happiness do they present?
• In saying “Blessed are the poor,” did Jesus want to say that the poor have to continue to be poor?
• Rich and poor are two terms with many interpretations. What is my interpretation? How does this fit with the meaning Jesus intended? Do I live authentically and without compromise in my interpretation of His message and meaning?
5) Concluding Prayer
Upright in all that He does,
Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
He is close to all who call upon Him,
all who call on Him from the heart. (Ps 145:17-18)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what You promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.' Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.' Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.' His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"
3) Reflection
•Today’s Gospel presents to us the parable of the talents. This parable was between two other parables: the parable of the ten virgins (Mt 25:1-13) and the parable of the final judgment (Mt 25:31-46).These three parables clarify and orientate people concerning the coming of the Kingdom. The parable of the ten virgins insists on vigilance: the Kingdom may arrive at any moment. The parable of the final judgment says that in order to possess the Kingdom it is necessary to accept the little ones. The parable of the talents directs us on what to do to make the Kingdom grow. It speaks of the gifts and the charisms which people receive from God. Every person has qualities, knows something that he/she can teach others. Nobody is just a pupil; nobody is just a teacher. We all learn from one another.
A key to understanding the parable: one of the things which has greater influence on the life of the people is the idea which we have of God. Among the Jews who followed the Pharisees, some imagined that God was a severe judge, who treated people according to the merit they had gained through the observance of the Law. That produced fear in the people and prevented them from growing. It especially prevented them from opening a space within them, to receive and accept the new experience of God which Jesus communicated. In order to help these people, Matthew tells the story of the talents.
• Matthew 25:14-15: The door of entrance in the parable. Jesus tells the story of a man who, before going abroad, entrusted his goods to his servants, giving them five, two and one talent, according to the capacity of each one. One talent was equal to 34 kg. of gold, which is not something small! Basically, each one receives the same amount, because he receives “according to his capacity.” Anyone who has a big cup, receives a full cup. The man went on his journey abroad, where he remained for a long time. The story produces a certain moment of suspense. One does not know for what purpose the man entrusts his money to the servants; neither does one know the end.
• Matthew 25:16-18: The way of acting of each one of the servants. The first two servants worked and made the money produce a double amount. But the one who received one talent buried it so as not to lose it. It is a question of the goods of the Kingdom, which are given to people and to the communities according to their capacity. Everyone receives some good of the Kingdom, but not all respond in the same way!
• Matthew 25:19-23: Rendering an account of the first and the second servants, and response of the master. After a long time, the man returned. The first two servants say the same thing: “Sir, you entrusted me with five/two talents, here are five/two more that I have made.” And the master gives the same response: “Well done, good and trustworthy servant, you have shown you are trustworthy in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
• Matthew 25:24-25: Rendering of account of the third servant. The third servant comes and says, “Sir, I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you had not sown and gathering where you had not scattered, so I was afraid and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is!” In this phrase we have a mistaken idea of God, which is criticized by Jesus. The servant considers God as a severe master. Before such a God, the human being is afraid and hides behind the exact and narrow-minded observance of the Law. The person thinks that acting in this way, the severity of the legislator will not punish him. In reality, such a person has a flawed view of God, and believes only in self and in the observance of the Law. This person closes up in self, separates herself from God and cannot be concerned about others. This person becomes incapable of growing and developing as a free person. This false image of God isolates the human being, kills the community, puts an end to joy and impoverishes life.
• Matthew 25:26-27: The response of the Master to the third servant. The response of the master is ironic. He says, “Wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered; you should have deposited my money with the bankers and on my return I would have got my money back with interest!” The third servant was not consistent with the severe image which he had of God. If he imagined that God was severe, he should have, at least, placed the money in the bank. Then, he is condemned not by God but by the mistaken idea that he had of God and which makes him more immature and fearful than what he should have been. It was not possible for him to be consistent with the erroneous image which he had of God, because fear dehumanized and paralyzed life.
• Matthew 25:28-30: The last word of the Lord, which clarifies the parable. The master orders that the talent be taken from him and given to the man who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but anyone who has not, will be deprived even of what he has.” This is the key which clarifies everything. In reality, the talents, the “money of the master,” the goods of the Kingdom, are love, service, sharing. It is everything which helps the community to grow and reveals the presence of God. Anyone who closes himself in self out of fear of losing the little that he has, at the end will lose even the little that he has. But the person who does not think of self, and gives herself to others, grows and receives in turn, in an unexpected way, everything which she has given and even more. Anyone who loses his life will find it, and anyone who has the courage to lose his life will find it.”
• The different money of the Kingdom. There is no difference between those who have received more and those who have received less. All have their gift according to their capacity. What is important is that this gift be placed at the service of the Kingdom and make the goods of the Kingdom grow. These gifts are love, fraternal spirit, sharing. The principal key of the parable does not consist in making the talents render something, but rather in relating to God in a correct way. The two first servants ask for nothing; they do not seek their own good; they do not want things for themselves; they do not close up in self; they do not calculate. In the most natural way, almost without being aware and without seeking their own merit, they begin to work, in such a way that the gift received from God may produce for God and for the Kingdom. The third servant is afraid, and because of this does nothing. According to the norms of the ancient law, he acts correctly. He fulfills the requirements. He loses nothing and gains nothing. And because of this he loses even what he had. The Kingdom is a risk. Anyone who does not want to run risks will lose the Kingdom!
4) Personal questions
• In our community, do we try to know and value the gifts of each person? Is our community a place where people are able to make known their talents and make them available to others? Sometimes, the gifts of some generate envy and competitiveness in others. How do we react?
• How is the following statement to be understood: “For anyone who has will be given more; but anyone who does not have will be taken away even what he has”?
5) Concluding Prayer
We are waiting for Yahweh;
He is our help and our shield,
for in Him our heart rejoices,
in His holy name we trust. (Ps 33:20-21)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us
and hear the prayers of all who praise You.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe in Your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
3) Reflection
• The five verses of today’s Gospel continue with the words of Jesus to Peter which we meditated on yesterday. Jesus does not hide nor lessen the demands of discipleship. He does not allow Peter to take the initiative and puts him in his place: “Far from Me!” Today’s Gospel makes explicit these demands for all of us.
• Matthew 16:24: “Take up his cross and follow Me”. Jesus draws the conclusions which are valid even until now: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me”. At that time, the cross was the death sentence which the Roman Empire inflicted on marginalized persons and bandits. To take up the cross and carry it behind Jesus was the same as to accept to be marginalized by the unjust system which legitimized injustice. The Cross is not fatalism, nor exigency from the Father. The Cross is the consequence of the commitment freely taken up by Jesus to reveal the Good News that God is Father, and therefore, we all have to be accepted and treated as brothers and sisters. Because of this revolutionary announcement, Jesus was persecuted and He was not afraid to give His life. Nobody has greater love than this: to give one’s life for his friends (Jn 15:13). The witness of Paul in the letter to the Galatians indicates the concrete significance and importance of all this: “But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”. (Gal 6:14). He ends by referring to the marks of the tortures which he suffered: “After this, let no one trouble me, I carry branded on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).
• Matthew 16:25-26: “Anyone who loses his life for My sake will find it”. These two verses make explicit universal human values which confirm the experience of many Christians and non Christians: to save one’s life, to lose one’s life, to find one’s life. The experience of many is the following: anyone who is always seeking goods and riches is never satisfied. Anyone who gives himself to others, forgetting himself, experiences great happiness. This is the experience of the mothers who give themselves and of so many people who do not think of self, but think of others. Many do this and live in this way almost out of instinct, as something which comes from the bottom of the heart. Others act in this way because they have had a painful experience of frustration which has led them to change attitude. Jesus is right in saying, “Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for My sake will find it”. The reason is important: “For My sake”, or like Mark says: “For the sake of the Gospel” (Mk 8:35). He ends saying, “What, then will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?” This last phrase recalls the psalm where it is said that no one is capable of paying the ransom for his life: “But no one can ever redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God; the price for himself is too high, it can never be that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the abyss” (Ps 49: 8-10).
• Matthew 16:27-28: The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of the Father and He will reward each one according to his behavior. These two verses refer to the hope regarding the coming of the Son of Man in the last times, as judge of humanity, as he is presented in the vision of the prophet Daniel (Dan 7:13-14). The first verse says, “The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and will reward each one according to his behavior”. (Mt 16:27). This phrase speaks about the justice of the Judge. Each one will receive according to his own behavior. The second verse says, “There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with His kingdom”. (Mt 16:28). This phrase is an advertisement to help us perceive the coming of Jesus, the Judge of the actions of life. Some thought that Jesus would have come afterwards (1 Thess 4:15-18). But in fact, Jesus was already present in persons, especially in the poor. They did not perceive this, even though Jesus Himself had said, “Every time that you have helped the poor, the sick, the homeless, the prisoner, the pilgrim, you helped Me, it was Me!” (cf. Mt 25: 34-45).
4) Personal questions
• Anyone who loses his life will find it. What experience do I have regarding this?
• The words of Paul: “As for me, instead, there is no other glory than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified for me and I for the world”. Do I have the courage to repeat these words in my life?
• From Matt 16:25, to Lk 9:24, to Jn 21:18 we learn of the importance of following rather than leading. In my life, do I follow, give my life to others, or do I "lead my own life"?
5) Concluding Prayer
Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh,
let us acclaim His Name together.
I seek Yahweh and He answers me,
frees me from all my fears. (Ps 34:3-4)
1) Opening prayer
Father,
keep before us the wisdom and love
You have revealed in Your Son.
Help us to be like him
in word and deed,
for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel narrates the second announcement of the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Like the first announcement (Mk 8:27-38), the disciples were terrified and afraid. They do not understand the words about the cross because they are not capable of understanding or accepting a Messiah who becomes the servant of the brothers. They continue to dream of a glorious Messiah, and besides that, they show a great incoherence. When Jesus announces His Passion and Death, they discuss who among them will be the greatest. Jesus wants to serve, yet they only think of commanding! Ambition leads them to promote themselves at the cost of Jesus. Even to the present time, this same desire of self promotion exists in our communities.
• In the time of Jesus as well as in that of Mark, there was the “yeast” of a dominating ideology. Today, the ideology of business, consumerism, and television shows, all profoundly influence the thoughts and actions of people. At the time of Mark, the communities were not always capable of maintaining a critical attitude regarding the assimilation of the ideology of the Roman Empire. Do we have the same problem today?
• Mark 9:30-32: The announcement of the Cross. Jesus goes across Galilee, but He does not want people to know it. He is busy with the formation of the disciples and He speaks with them about the Cross. He says that according to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 53:1-10), the Son of Man has to be handed over and condemned to death. This indicates the orientation of Jesus toward the Bible, whether in the carrying out of His own mission or in the formation given to His disciples. He drew His teaching from the prophecies. As in the first announcement (Mk 8:32), the disciples listen to Him, but they do not understand what He says about the Cross. But they do not ask for any clarification. They are afraid to show their ignorance! So many are like this today. They read or listen and do not ask questions. The result can be either ignorance, shallow understanding, or imaginative interpretations that are incorrect.
• Mark 9:33-34: The competitive mentality. When they got home, Jesus asked: “What were you arguing about on the road?” They did not answer. It is the silence of the one who feels guilty, “on the road, in fact, they had been arguing which of them was the greatest”. Jesus is a good pedagogue. He does not intervene immediately. He knows how to wait for the opportune moment to fight against the influence of the ideology in those whom He is forming. The competitive mentality and prestige, which characterized the society of the Roman Empire, was already penetrating into the small community which was just being formed! Behold the contrast: incoherence: Jesus is concerned with being the Messiah Servant and they think only in who is the greatest. Jesus tries to descend, they think of going up!
• Mark 9:35-37:. To serve instead of commanding. The response of Jesus is a summary of the witness of life which He Himself was giving from the beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all! The last one does not win a prize nor obtain a reward. He is a useless servant (cfr. Lk 17:10). Power must be used not to ascend and dominate, but to descend and serve. This is the point on which Jesus insists the most and which He gives a greater witness (cf. Mk 10:45; Mt 20:28; Jn 13:1-16). Then Jesus took a little child whom He set among them. A person who only thinks to go up and to dominate would not lend much attention to little ones and to children. But Jesus overturns everything! He says: “Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me”. He identifies Himself with little ones. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God Himself!
• A person is not a saint and is not renewed by the simple notion of “following Jesus”. In the midst of the disciples, as always, the “yeast of Herod and of the Pharisees” (Mk 8:15) could be observed. In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears as a teacher forming His followers. “To follow” was a term that formed part of the educational system of that time. It was used to indicate the relationship between the disciple and the teacher. The relationship teacher-disciple is different from that of professor-pupil. The pupils go to the class of a professor in a defined subject. The disciples “follow” the teacher and live with him, twenty-four hours a day. In this “living together” with Jesus during three years, the disciples will receive their formation. Tomorrow’s Gospel will give us another quite concrete example of how Jesus formed His disciples.
4) Personal questions
• Jesus wants to lower Himself and serve. The disciples want to ascend and to dominate. What is my motivation in life? Does it match with all of my actions? Is it consistent with the instructions from Jesus?
• Do I follow Jesus and be with Him twenty-four hours a day, and allow His way of living to become my way of living and of living together with others?
• Do I follow Jesus by shuffling along the way, not really paying attention, “going along for the ride”? Or am I eager, looking and listening, trying not to miss a moment with Him?
• Many have leadership roles today in society: as a manager, or parent, or teacher, or official. How does one serve and be effective and responsible in that role and still “be last” and serve?
• How does a child learn? By watching every little action the parent does and imitating it! This how to learn as a disciple. Are we learning from Jesus by imitating His every action like children do, or are we too “adult” for that?
5) Concluding Prayer
May the words of my mouth always find favor,
and the whispering of my heart,
in Your presence, Yahweh,
my rock, my redeemer. (Ps 19:14)
- Prioress: Sr. M. Lourdes Santos Álvarez, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. M. Dolores Montes Márquez, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor: Sr .M. Winfred Nzisa Mutua, O.Carm.
- Director of Novices: Sr. M. Lourdes Santos Álvarez, O.Carm.
- Treasurer: Sr. M. Dolores Montes Márquez, O.Carm.
- Sacristan: Sr. M. Winfred Nzisa Mutua, O.Carm.
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father and protector,
without You nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings You have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 13:47-53
Jesus said to the disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the last parable of the discourse on the parables, the story of the net thrown into the sea. This parable is found only in the Gospel of Matthew without any parallel in the other three Gospels.
• Matthew 13:47-48: The parable of the dragnet cast into the sea. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that is cast into the sea and brings in all kinds of fish. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then sitting down; they collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are of no use.” This story is well known by the people of Galilee who live around the lake. This is their work. The story clearly shows the end of a day of work. The fishermen go fishing with only one purpose: to cast the net and to catch a great number of fish, to haul the net ashore and to choose the good fish to take home and to throw away those that are no good. Describe the satisfaction of the fishermen, at the end of a day, being very tired after having worked hard. This story must have brought a smile of satisfaction to the faces of the fishermen who listened to Jesus. The worst thing is to arrive at the shore at the end of the day without having caught anything (Jn 21:3).
• Matthew 13:49-50: The application of the parable. Jesus applies the parable, or better still, gives a suggestion in order that people can discuss and apply the parable to their life: “This is how it will be at the end of time, the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the righteous, to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” How are we to understand this blazing furnace? These are very strong images to describe the destiny of those who separate themselves from God or who do not want to know anything about God. In every city there is a place to throw away the garbage every day. There is a permanent furnace nourished every day by the daily garbage. The garbage place in Jerusalem was located in a valley called Gehenna, where, at the time of the kings, there was a furnace even to sacrifice to the false gods of Molok. For this reason, the furnace of Gehenna becomes the symbol of exclusion and of condemnation. God is not the one who excludes. God does not want the exclusion and the condemnation of anyone; He wants that all may have life and life in abundance. Each one of us excludes himself/herself.
• Matthew 13:51-53: The end of the discourse on the Parables. At the end of the discourse on the parables, Jesus concludes with the following question: "Have you understood these things?” They answered: “Yes.”. And Jesus finishes the explanation with another comparison which describes the result He wants to achieve through the parables: “Well, then every Scribe who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old.”
Two points to clarify:
(a) Jesus compares the doctor of the law to the father in the family. What does the father of the family do? “He brings out from his treasure new things and old things.” Education at home takes place through the transmission to the sons and daughters of what the parents have received and learned over time. It is the treasure of the family wisdom where the richness of faith is enclosed, the customs of life, and many other things that the children learn with time. Now Jesus wants that in the community, that the people who are responsible for the transmission of faith be as a father within the family. Just like the parents are responsible for the life of the family, in the same way, these people who are responsible for the teaching should understand the things of the Kingdom and transmit it to the brothers and sisters in the community.
(b) Here there is the question of a doctor of the law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom. Therefore, there were doctors of the law who accepted Jesus, and saw in Him the one who revealed the Kingdom. Is this what happened to a doctor when he discovers the Messiah in Jesus, the Son of God? Everything he has studied to be able to be a doctor of the law continues to be valid, but it receives a deeper dimension and a broader purpose. A comparison can clarify what has just been said. In a group of friends one shows a photo, where one sees a man with a angry face, with his finger up, almost attacking the public. Everybody thinks that it is a question of an inflexible person, demanding, who does not allow for any intimacy. At that moment a young boy arrives, he sees the photo and exclaims, “He is my father!” The others look at him and comment, “A severe father, right?” He answers, “No! He is very affectionate. My father is a lawyer. That photo was taken in the tribunal, while he was denouncing the crime of a great landowner who wanted a poor family to abandon their home where they had lived for many years! My father won the case, and the poor family remained in the house!” All looked at him again and said, “What a pleasant person!” Almost like a miracle the photo lit up from within and assumed a different aspect. That very severe face acquired the features of great tenderness! The words of the son, the result of his experience of being the son, changed everything, without changing anything! The words and the gestures of Jesus, result of His experience as a Son, without changing a letter or a comma, illuminated from within the wisdom accumulated by the doctor of the law. And thus, God, who seemed to be so far away and so severe, acquired the features of a good Father and of enormous tenderness!
4) Personal questions
• Has the experience of Son entered in you and changed your perspective, making you discover the things of God in a different way?
• What has the discourse on the parables revealed to you about the Kingdom?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, my soul!
I will praise Yahweh all my life,
I will make music to my God as long as I live. (Ps 146:1-2)
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Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord,
be merciful to Your people.
Fill us with Your gifts
and make us always eager to serve You
in faith, hope and love.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 13:10-17
The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them. "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
3) Reflection
• Chapter 13 speaks to us about the discourse on the parables. Following the text of Mark (Mk 4:1-34), Matthew omits the parable of the seed which germinates alone (Mk 4:26-29), and he stops at the discussion of the reason for the parable (Mt 13:10-17), adding the parable of the wheat and the darnel (Mt 13:24-30), of the yeast (Mt 13:33), of the treasure (Mt 13:44), of the pearl (Mt 13:45-46) and of the dragnet (Mt 13:47-50). Together with the parable of the sower (Mt 13:4-11) and of the mustard seed (Mt 13:31-32), there are seven parables in the Discourse on the Parables (Mt 13:1-50).
• Matthew 13:10: The question. In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples ask for an explanation of the parables (Mk 4:10). Here in Matthew, the perspective is different. They want to know why Jesus, when He speaks to the people, speaks only in parables: “Why do You talk to them in parables?” What is the reason for this difference?
• Matthew 13:11-13: “Because to you is granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not granted. Anyone who has will be given more and will have more than enough; but anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has. The reason I speak to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. Jesus answers: “Because to you is granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. Anyone who has will be given more and will have more than enough; but anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has.” Why is it granted to the Apostles to know and not to others? Here is a comparison to help us understand. Two people listen to the mother who teaches: A person must not cut and sew.” One of them is the daughter and the other is not. The daughter understands and the other one understands nothing. Why? Because in the mother’s house the expression “cut and sew” means to slander. Thus, the mother’s teaching helps the daughter to understand how to put love into practice, helping her so that what she already knows may grow, develop. Anyone who has will be given more. The other person understands nothing and loses even the little that she knew regarding love and slander. She remains confused and does not understand what love has to do with cutting and sewing! Anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has. A parable reveals and hides at the same time! It reveals for “those who are inside,” who accept Jesus as the Messiah Servant. It hides from those who insist on saying that the Messiah will be and should be a glorious King. These understand the image presented by the parable, but they do not understand the significance. The disciples, instead, grow in what they already know concerning the Messiah. The others do not understand anything and lose even the little that they thought they knew about the Kingdom and the Messiah.
• Matthew 13:14-15: The fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Just as at another time (Mt 12:18-21), in this different reaction of the people and the Pharisees to the teaching of the parables, Matthew again sees here the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He even quotes at length the text of Isaiah which says, “Listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive! This people’s heart has grown coarse, their ears dulled, they have shut their eyes tight to avoid using their eyes to see, their ears to hear, their heart to understand, changing their ways and being healed by Me.”
• Matthew 13:16-17: “But blessed are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear.” All this explains the last sentence: “But blessed are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear. In truth I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and never saw it, to hear what you hear and never heard it!”
• The Parables: a new way of speaking to the people about God. People remained impressed by the way in which Jesus taught. “A new way of teaching! Given with authority! Different from that of the scribes!” (Mk 7:28). Jesus had a great capacity for finding very simple images to compare the things of God with the things of life which people knew and experienced in the daily struggle to survive. This presupposes two things: to be in touch with the things of the life of the people, and to be in touch with the things of God, of the Kingdom of God. In some parables there are things that happen and that seldom take place in life. For example, when has it ever happened that a shepherd, who has one hundred sheep, abandons the flock with 99 to go and look for the lost sheep? (Lk 15:4). Where have we ever seen a father who accepts with joy and a feast his son who had squandered all his goods, without saying a word of reproach to him? (Lk 15:20-24). When has it been seen that a Samaritan man is better than a Levite, than a priest? (Lk 10:29-37). The parable makes one think. It leads the person to enter into the story beginning from the experience of life. And through our experience it urges us to discover that God is present in our daily life. The parable is a participative form of teaching and educating. It does not change everything in one minute. It does not make one know; it makes one discover. The parable changes our perspective; it makes the person who listens a contemplative; it helps her to observe reality. This is the novelty of the teaching of the parables of Jesus, different from that of the doctors who taught that God manifests Himself only in the observance of the law. “The Kingdom is present in your midst” (Lk 17:21). But those who listened did not always understand.
4) Personal questions
• Jesus says, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom.” When I read the Gospels, am I like those who understand nothing or like those to whom it has been granted to know the Kingdom?
• What role does the Father’s gratuitous grace have in understanding these parables?
• Which is the parable of Jesus with which I most identify ? Why?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, Your faithful love is in the heavens;
Your constancy reaches to the clouds;
Your saving justice is like towering mountains,
Your judgments like the mighty deep. (Ps 36:5-6)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
Your light of truth
guides us to the way of Christ.
May all who follow Him
reject what is contrary to the Gospel.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 12:1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath." He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel we see that there are many conflicts between Jesus and the religious authority of that time. They are conflicts regarding the religious practices of that time: fasting, purity, observance of the Sabbath, etc. In our day, they would be conflicts regarding, for example, matrimony between divorced persons, friendship with prostitutes, acceptance of homosexuals, communion without being married by the Church, Sunday mass obligation, fasting on Good Friday. The conflicts were many: at home, in school, in work, in the community, in the Church, in personal life, in society. They were conflicts regarding growth, relationship, age, mentality. So many of them! To live life without conflicts is impossible! Conflict is part of life and starts at birth. We are born with birth pangs. Conflicts are not accidents along the way, but form part of the journey, of the process of conversion. What strikes us is the way in which Jesus faces the conflicts. In the discussion with His enemies, He was not trying to show them that He was right, but wished to make the experience which He, Jesus, had of God, Father and Mother, prevail. The image of God which others had was that of a severe Judge who only threatened and condemned. Jesus tries to have mercy prevail, since the objective of the Law is the practice of Love.
• Matthew 12:1-2: To pick grain on the Sabbath day and the criticism of the Pharisees. On a Sabbath day, the disciples went through the fields and they picked grain to eat them. They were hungry. The Pharisees arrived and invoke the Bible to say that the disciples were transgressing the law of the Sabbath (cf. Ex 20:8-11). Jesus also uses the Bible and responds invoking three examples taken from Scripture: (1) that of David, (2) that of the legislation on work of the priests in the temple and (3) from the action of the Prophet Hosea, that is, He quotes a historical book, a legislative book and a prophetic book.
• Matthew 12:3-4: The example of David. Jesus recalls that David himself did something which was forbidden by the Law, because he took the sacred bread of the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat, because they were hungry (1 Sam 21:2-7). No Pharisee had the courage to criticize King David!
• Matthew 12:5-6: The example of the priests. Accused by the religious authority, Jesus argues beginning from what they themselves, the religious authority, do on the Sabbath day. On the Sabbath day, in the Temple of Jerusalem, the priests worked very much more than the other days of the week, because they had to sacrifice the animals for the sacrifices; they had to clean, sweep, carry burdens, kill the animals, etc. Yet nobody said that this was against the Law. They thought of it as normal! The Law itself obliged them to do all this (Num 28:9-10).
• Matthew 12:7: The example of the prophets. Jesus quotes a verse from the prophet Hosea: I want mercy and not sacrifice. The word mercy means to have the heart (cor) in the misery (miseri) of others, that is, the merciful person has to be very close to the suffering of the people, has to identify himself/herself with them. The word sacrifice means to have (ficio) a thing consecrated (sacri), that is, that the one who offers a sacrifice separates the sacrificed object from profane use and places it at a distance from the daily life of the people. If the Pharisees had had this way of looking at the life of the prophet Hosea, they would have known that the most pleasing sacrifice for God is not that the consecrated persons lives far away from reality, but that he/she places his/her consecrated heart totally in the service of the brothers and sisters in order to relieve them from their misery. They would not have considered guilty those who in reality were innocent.
• Matthew 12:8: The Son of Man is the master of the Sabbath. Jesus ends with this statement: The Son of Man is the master of the Sabbath! Jesus Himself is the criterion for interpretation of the Law of God. Jesus knows the Tanakh (the Hebrew bible) by heart and invokes it to indicate that the arguments of the others had no foundation. At that time, there were no printed bibles as we have today. In every community there was only one copy written by hand, which remained in the synagogue. If Jesus knew the bible so well, it means that during the thirty years of His life in Nazareth, He had participated intensely in the life of the community, where Scripture was read every Saturday. The new experience of God the Father made Jesus discover God’s intention in decreeing the laws of the Old Testament. Having lived thirty years in Nazareth and feeling as His own the oppression and exclusion of so many brothers and sisters, in the name of the law, Jesus must have perceived that this could not be the meaning of the law. If God is Father, then He accepts all as sons and daughters. If God is Father, then we should be brothers and sisters among ourselves. Jesus lived this and prayed for this, from the beginning until the end. The law should be at the service of life and of fraternity. “The human being is not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for the human being” (Mk 2:27). Because of His great fidelity to this message, Jesus was condemned to death. He disturbed the system, and the system defended itself, using its force against Jesus, because He wished that the Law be placed at the service of life, and not vice-versa. We need to know the bible in depth and to participate deeply in the community, as Jesus did.
4) Personal questions
• What type of conflicts do you find in the family, in society, in the Church? What are the conflicts which concern religious practices which cause suffering to people nowadays and which are a cause of discussion and polemics? What is the image of God behind all these preconceptions, behind all these norms and prohibitions?
• What has conflict taught you during all these years? What is the message which you draw from all this for our communities today?
For further study
To know the bible in depth can be difficult. Various passages may seem to contradict each other, unless put into a broader context where all of a particular reference can be put together in one place. This is one way people use bible quotations to distort their real meaning. The Vatican has tools online to help. The bible is online in searchable form in an approved version at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_INDEX.HTM along with a concordance which lists and links every word in the bible in an index at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_FA.HTM and allows a user to collect similar words and ideas in one place to help discern their real meaning. Look at these online and see if they can help you learn the bible to a greater depth and understanding.
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, I muse on You in the watches of the night,
for You have always been my help;
in the shadow of Your wings I rejoice;
my heart clings to You,
Your right hand supports me. (Ps 63:6-8)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
You call Your children to
walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of Your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 8:23-27
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"
3) Reflection
• Matthew writes for the converted Jews of the years 70’s who felt lost like a boat in the middle of a stormy sea, without the hope of being able to get to the desired port. Jesus seems to be asleep in the boat and it seems to them that no divine power will come to save them from the persecution. In the face of this desperate and anguished situation, Matthew puts together several episodes of the life of Jesus to help the community discover, in the midst of an apparent absence, the welcoming and powerful presence of Jesus the conqueror who dominates the sea (Mt 8:23-27), who conquers and casts away the power of evil (Mt 9:28-34) and who has the power to forgive sins (Mt 9:1-8). In other words, Matthew wants to communicate hope and to suggest that the communities have no reason to fear. This is the reason for the narration of the storm calmed by Jesus in today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 8:23: The starting point: to enter into the boat. Matthew follows the Gospel of Mark, but makes it shorter and inserts it in the new outline which he has adopted. In Mark, the day had been very tiring because of the work that they had done. Having finished the discourse of the parables (Mk 4:3-34), the disciples take Jesus into the boat and He was so tired that He fell asleep on a cushion (Mk 4:38). Matthew’s text is very brief. It only says that Jesus went into the boat and that the disciples accompanied Him. Jesus is the Master. The disciples follow the Master.
• Matthew 8:24-25: The desperate situation: “We are lost!” The Lake of Galilee is close to high mountains. Sometimes, as the wind is forced upward by the mountains, moisture condenses over the lake causing a sudden storm. Strong wind, agitated sea, and a boat full of water are the result! The disciples were experienced fishermen. If they thought that they were about to sink, it meant that the situation was truly dangerous! Jesus, however, is not aware and continues to sleep. They cried out, “Save us, Lord, we are lost!” In Matthew the profound sleep of Jesus is not only a sign of tiredness. It is also the expression of the calm trust of Jesus in God. The contrast between the attitude of Jesus and that of the disciples is enormous!
• Matthew 8:26: The reaction of Jesus: “Why are you so frightened, you who have so little faith!” Jesus wakes up, not because of the waves, but because of the desperate cry of the disciples. He turns to them saying, “Why are you so frightened, you who have so little faith!” He then stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea, because there was no danger. It is like when one arrives at a friend’s house, and the dog, at the side of his master, barks very much. One should not be afraid, because the master is present and controls the situation. The episode of the storm calmed by Jesus evokes the episode, when people, without fear, passed across the water of the sea (Ex 14:22). Jesus recreates this episode. He recalls the prophet Isaiah who said to the people: “If you have to go across the water, I will be with you!” (Isa 43:2). The episode of the calmed storm recalls and fulfills the prophecy announced in Psalm 107:
Those who ploughed the waves in the sea on the ships, plying their trade on the great ocean, they have seen the works of the Lord, His wonders in the deep.
By His word He raised a storm-wind lashing up towering waves.
Up to the sky then down to the depths; their stomachs were turned to water.
They staggered and reeled like drunkards, and all their skill went under.
They cried out to Yahweh in their distress. He rescued them from their plight.
He reduced the storm to calm, and all the waters subsided.
He brought them overjoyed at the stillness, to the port where they were bound (Ps 107: 23-30)
• Matthew 8:27: The fear of the disciples: “Who is this man?” Jesus asks, “Why are you so frightened?” The disciples do not know what to answer. Astounded, they ask themselves, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” In spite of the long time that they had lived with Jesus, they still do not know who He is. Jesus seems to be a foreigner to them! Who is this man?
• Who is this man? Who is Jesus for us, for me? This should be the question which urges us to continue to read the Gospel, every day, with the desire always to better know the significance and the importance of the person of Jesus for our life. From this question comes Christology. It does not come from elevated theological considerations, but from the desire of the first Christians to always find new names and titles to express what Jesus meant for them. There are tens of names, titles, and attributes, from that of carpenter to Son of God, which Jesus expresses: Messiah, Christ, Lord, Beloved Son, Holy One of God, Nazarene, Son of Man, Spouse, Son of God, Son of the Most High God, Carpenter, Son of Mary, Prophet, Master, Son of David, Rabboni, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Son, Shepherd, Bread of Life, Resurrection, Light of the world, Way, Truth, Life, King of the Jews, King of Israel, etc. Every name, every image, is an effort to express what Jesus means for them. A name, no matter how beautiful it is, never succeeds in revealing the mystery of a person, and much less of the person of Jesus. Jesus does not enter into any of these names, outlines, or titles. He exceeds everything; He is the greatest! He cannot be put into a frame. Love takes up all this, not the mind! Starting from this experience of a love which is alive, the names, the titles and the images receive their full significance. Definitively, who is Jesus for me, for us?
4) Personal questions
• What was the agitated sea at the time of Jesus? What was the agitated sea at the time when Matthew wrote his Gospel? Today, what is the agitated sea for us? Have you ever been on the point of drowning in the agitated waters of the sea of your life? What saved you?
• Who is Jesus for me? Which is the name of Jesus which expresses my faith and my love better?
• Do I take time to ask and pray for “the peace of Christ”, to have calm in my personal storms?
5) Concluding Prayer
Each age will praise Your deeds to the next,
proclaiming Your mighty works.
Your renown is the splendor of Your glory,
I will ponder the story of Your wonders. (Ps 145:4-5)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide and protector of your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for your name,
and keep us always in your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 7:21-29
Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the last part of the Sermon on the Mount: (a) it is not sufficient to talk and sing, it is necessary to live and to practice (Mt 7:21-23). (b) the community constructed on the foundation of the new law of the discourse on the mount will remain standing at the moment of the storm (Mt 7:24-27). (c) the words of Jesus are a severe judgment on the contemporary religious leaders, the scribes (Mt 7:28-29).
• The end of the Sermon on the Mount presents some opposition and a few contradictions which exist even in our time: (a) people who continually speak of God, but who do not do God’s will. They use the name of Jesus, but do not practice a relationship with the Lord in their life (Mt 7:21). (b) There are people who live in the illusion of working for the Lord, but on the day of encounter with Him, they will discover, tragically, that they have never known Him (Mt 7:22-23). The two last scenarios of the Sermon on the Mount, the house built on the rock (Mt 7:24-25) and the house built on sand (Mt 7:26-27), illustrate these contradictions. By means of these, Matthew denounces, and at the same time tries to correct, the separation between faith and life, between speaking and doing, between teaching and practicing.
• Matthew 7:21: It is not sufficient to speak, it is necessary to practice. What is important is not to speak of God in a beautiful way or to know how to explain the bible well to others, but rather to do the will of the Father, and in this way, be a revelation of His face and of His presence in the world. Jesus made the same recommendation to the woman who praised Mary, His Mother. Jesus answered: “Blessed rather are those who listen to the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 11:28).
• Matthew 7:22-23: The gifts should be at the service of the Kingdom and the community. There were people with extraordinary gifts, for example the gift of prophecy, of exorcism, of healing, but they used these gifts for themselves, outside the context of the community. In the Day of Judgment, they will hear a hard sentence from Jesus: “Away from Me all evil doers”. Evil is the opposite of justice. It is to do with Jesus what the doctors did with the law: to teach and not to practice (Mt 23:3). Paul will say the same thing with other words and arguments: “Though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains, if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned, if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever”. (1Cor 13:2-3).
• Matthew 7:24-27: The parable of the house built on the rock. The final conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount is to open oneself and to practice. Many people entrust their security to extraordinary gifts or to observance. But their true security does not come from prestige or from observance. It comes from God! It comes from the love of God who has loved us first (1 Jn 4:19). His love for us, manifested in Jesus, exceeds everything (Rm 8:38-39). God becomes our source of security when we seek to do His will. There He will be the rock which supports us in the moments of difficulty and storm.
• Matthew 7:28-29: To teach with authority. The Evangelist closes the Sermon on the Mount saying that the crowds admired the teaching of Jesus, “because He taught with authority, and not like the scribes”. The result from the teaching of Jesus is a critical understanding of the people in regard to the religious authority of the time. His simple and clear words resulted from His experience of God, from His life dedicated to the Father’s plan. People admired and approved the teaching of Jesus.
• Community: the house built on the rock. In the Book of Psalms, we frequently find the expression: “God is my rock and my fortress… My God, my rock, my refuge, my stronghold, my saving strength…” (Ps 18:3). He is the defense and the strength of the one who seeks justice (Ps 18:21,24). The people who trust in this God, become in turn, a rock for others. Thus, the Prophet Isaiah invites people in the exile saying: “Listen to me you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh! Consider the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who gave you birth” (Is 51:1-2). The prophet asks people not to forget the past. The people should remember that Abraham and Sarah, because of their faith in God, became rock, the beginning of the People of God. Looking toward this rock, the people should acquire courage to struggle and to escape from slavery. Matthew also exhorts the community similarly to have rock as foundation (Mt 7:24-25) and thus, they themselves can be rock to strengthen their brothers and sisters in their faith. This is the sense of the name which Jesus gave to Peter: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16: 18). This was the vocation of the first community, called to unite itself with God, the living rock, so as to become also a living rock, because they listen and put into practice the Word. (Ps 2:4-10; 2:5; Ep 2:19-22).
4) Personal questions
• How does our community seek to balance prayer and action, prayer and practice, to speak and to do, to teach and to practice? What could improve in our community, so that it will be a rock, a secure and welcoming house for all?
• To be rock for another is also to be in truth. Do I, and my community, know and understand Church teaching and the bible well enough and in truth such that I and we can be rock for others who need help in their Faith?
• There is another kind of rock. The rock in the parable of the sower. The seed (the Word) could not grow on rock. Do I read, learn and grow from the Word and from the saints that have given example before us, and from Church teaching? Am I like the rocky ground in the parable where the seed dries up or am I like a strong rock who gives stability to my brothers and sisters?
5) Concluding Prayer
Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of Your name;
Yahweh, wipe away our sins,
rescue us for the sake of Your name. (Ps 79:9)
