Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God of power and mercy,
protect us from all harm.
Give us freedom of spirit
and health in mind and body
to do your work on earth.
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 17,7-10

Jesus said: 'Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, "Come and have your meal at once"? Would he not be more likely to say, "Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards"? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, "We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty." '

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today narrates the parable which is found only in Luke’s Gospel, and has no parallel in the other Gospels. The parable wants to teach that our life has to be characterized by an attitude of service. It begins with three questions and at the end Jesus himself gives the answer.
• Luke 17, 7-9: The three questions of Jesus. It treats of three questions taken from daily life, and therefore, the listeners have to think each one on his own experience to give a response according to that experience. The first question: “Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep would say to him when he returned from the fields, ’Come and have your meal at once?” All will answer: “No!” Second question: “Would he not be more likely to say, ‘Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards?” All will answer: “Yes! Certainly!” Third question: “Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?” All will answer “No!” The way in which Jesus asks the questions, people become aware in which way he wants to orientate our thought. He wants us to be servants to one another.
• Luke 17, 10: The response of Jesus. At the end Jesus himself draws a conclusion which was already implicit in the questions: “So with you, when you have done all you have been told to do, say ‘We are useless servants, we have done no more than our duty”. Jesus himself has given us example when he said: “The Son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve” (Mk 10, 45). Service is a theme which Luke likes. Service represents the form in which the poor in the time of Jesus, the anawim, were waiting for the Messiah: not like a king and glorious Messiah, high priest or judge, but rather as the Servant of Yahweh, announced by Isaiah (Is 42, 1-9). Mary, the Mother of Jesus, says to the Angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word!” (Lk 1, 38). In Nazareth, Jesus presents himself as the Servant described by Isaiah (Lk 4, 18-19 and Is 61, 1-2). In Baptism and in the Transfiguration, he was confirmed by the Father who quotes the words addressed by God to the Servant (Lk 3, 22; 9, 35 e Is 42, 1). Jesus asks his followers: “Anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave” (Mt 20, 27). Useless servants! This is the definition of the Christian. Paul speaks about this to the members of the community of Corinth when he writes: “I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God gave growth. In this neither the planter nor the waterer counts for anything, only God who gave growth” (1Co 3, 6-7). Paul and Apollos are nothing; only simple instruments, “Servants”. The only one who counts is God, He alone! (1Co 3, 7).
• To serve and to be served. Here in this text, the servant serves the master and not the master the servant. But in the other text of Jesus the contrary is said: “Blessed those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. In truth, I tell you, he will do up his belt, sit them down at table and wait on them” (Lk 12, 37). In this text, the master serves the servant and not the servant the master. In the first text, Jesus spoke in the present. In the second text, Jesus is speaking in the future. This contrast is another way of saying: the one who is ready to lose his life out of love for Jesus and the Gospel will find it (Mt 10, 39; 16, 25). Anyone who serves God in this present life will be served by God in the future life!

4) Personal questions

• How do I define my life?
• Do I ask myself the three questions of Jesus? Do I live, perhaps, like a useless servant?

5) Concluding prayer

The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care,
their birthright will endure for ever.
Yahweh guides a strong man's steps and keeps them firm;
and takes pleasure in him. (Ps 37,18.23)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God of power and mercy,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
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 14,12-14

Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today continues to present the teaching which Jesus was giving about different themes, all related to the cure in the environment of a banquet: a cure during a meal (Lk 14, 1-6); an advice not to take the first places (Lk 14, 7-12); advice to invite the excluded (Lk 14, 12-14). This organization of the words of Jesus around a determinate word, for example, table or banquet, helps one to perceive the method used by the first Christians to keep the words of Jesus in their memory.
• Luke 14, 12: Interested invitation. Jesus is eating in the house of a Pharisee who has invited him (Lk 14, 1). The invitation to share at table is the theme of the teaching of today’s Gospel. There are different types of invitations: the interested invitations for the benefit of oneself and disinterested invitations for the benefit of others. Jesus says: "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you”. That was the normal custom of the people: to invite friends, brothers and relatives to eat. And nobody would sit at table with unknown persons. They would sit around the table only with persons who were their friends. That was the custom of the Jews. And even now we also act in the same way. Jesus thinks differently and orders to invite unknown people; these were invitations which nobody used to make.
• Luke 14, 13-14: Disinterested invitation. Jesus says. “On the contrary, when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. So you will be repaid when the upright rise again.” Jesus orders to break the closed circle and asks to invite the excluded: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This was not the custom and it is not either today. But Jesus insists: “Invite these persons”. Why? Because in the disinterested invitation, addressed to excluded and marginalized persons, there is a source of happiness: “And then you will be blessed for they have no means to repay you”. This is a strange type of happiness, a diverse happiness! You will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. It is the happiness that comes from the fact that you have done a gesture totally gratuitous, without asking for anything. Jesus says that this is the happiness which God will give us in the resurrection; the Resurrection which he will give us not only at the end of history, but even now. To act in this way is already a resurrection!
• It is the Kingdom which will be confirmed. The advice which Jesus gives us in the Gospel today recalls the sending out of the seventy-two on the mission of announcing the Kingdom (Lk 10, 1-9). Among the different recommendations given on that occasion, as signs of the presence of the Kingdom, there is: (a) the invitation to the table and (b) the acceptance of the excluded: “Whenever you go into a town, where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you, cure those who are sick and say: the Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10, 8-9) Here, in these recommendations, Jesus orders to transgress that norm of legal purity which prevented fraternal living together.

4) Personal questions

• An interested or disinterested invitation: which of these takes place in my life?
• If you invited in a disinterested way, would this cause some difficulties? Which ones?

5) Concluding prayer

Yahweh, my heart is not haughty,
I do not set my sights too high.
I have taken no part in great affairs,
in wonders beyond my scope.
No, I hold myself in quiet and silence,
like a little child in its mother's arms,
like a little child, so I keep myself. (Ps 131,1-2)

Ordinary Time

Click here to read the Lectio Divina of the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi 

1) Opening prayer

Father,

You show Your almighty power

in Your mercy and forgiveness.

Continue to fill us with Your gifts of love.

Help us to hurry towards the eternal life You promise

and come to share in the joys of Your kingdom.

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 10:13-16

Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

3) Reflection

● The Gospel today continues speaking about the sending out of the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10:1-12). At the end, after sending them out, Jesus speaks about shaking off the dust from their shoes if the missionaries are not welcomed or accepted (Lk 10:10-12). Today's Gospel stressed and extends the threats upon those who refuse to receive the Good News.

● Luke 10:13-14: “Alas for you, Corazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida!” The space which Jesus traveled or covered in the three years of His missionary life was small. It measured only a few square kilometers along the Sea of Galilee around the cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Corazin. Precisely in this very small space Jesus works the majority of His miracles and presents His discourses. He has come to save the whole of humanity, and He hardly went out of the limited space of His land. Tragically, Jesus had to see that the people of those cities do not want to accept the message of the Kingdom and are not converted. The cities fixed themselves in the rigidity of their beliefs, traditions and customs and they do not accept the invitation of Jesus to change life. Alas for you, Corazin; Alas for you Bethsaida! For if the miracle done among you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes". Jesus compares the two cities with Tyre and Sidon which in the past were unyielding enemies of Israel, ill-treating the people of God. For this reason they were cursed by the prophets: (Isa 23:1; Jer 25:22; 47:4; Ezek 26:3; 27:2; 28:2;  Am 1:10). And now Jesus says that these same cities, symbols of all the evil done to the people in the past, would have already converted if so many miracles had been worked in them as in Corazin and in Bethsaida.

● Luke 10:15: “And you Capernaum. Did you want to be raised high as Heaven? You shall be flung down to hell.”Jesus recalls the condemnation which Isaiah, the prophet launched against Babylon. Proud and arrogant, Babylon thought, "I shall scale the heavens; higher than the stars of God I shall set my throne. I shall sit on the Mount of the Assembly far away to the north. I shall climb high above the clouds, I shall rival the Most High" (Isa 14:13-14). That is what it thought! But it completely deceived itself! The contrary happened. The prophet says, "Now you have been flung down to Sheol, into the depths of the abyss!" (Isa 14:15). Jesus compares Capernaum with that terrible Babylon which destroyed the monarchy and the temple and took the people as slaves, from which it never succeeded in recovering. Like Babylon, Capernaum thought it was something important, but it fell into the most profound hell. The Gospel of Matthew compares Capernaum with the city of Sodom, the symbol of the worst perversion, which was destroyed by God's anger (Gen 18:16 to 19: 29). Sodom would have converted if it had seen the miracles which Jesus worked in Capernaum (Mt 11: 23-24). Today, the same paradox continues to exist. Many of us, Catholics since we were children, have such consolidated convictions that nobody is capable of converting us. And in some places, Christianity, instead of being a source of change and of conversion, has become the refuge of the most reactionary forces of politics of the country.

● Luke 10:16: "Anyone who listens to you listens to Me; anyone who rejects you rejects Me. And those who reject Me reject the One who has sent Me". This statement places the accent on the identification of the disciples with Jesus, in so far as He is despised by the authority. In Matthew the same saying of Jesus, placed in another context, underlines the identification of the disciples with Jesus accepted by the people (Mt 10:40). In both cases, the disciples identify themselves with Jesus in the total gift and in this gift is realized their encounter with God, and God allows Himself to be found by those who seek Him.

4) Personal questions

● Do my city and my country deserve the warning of Jesus against Capernaum, Corazin and Bethsaida?

● How do I identify myself with Jesus?

● What does it mean to “listen to Jesus” or to “reject Jesus”? Is listening just a passive activity? By using this term in opposition to the term “reject”, it has meaning as “accept”. To accept something is active, a conversion. Do I merely listen, or do I act?

● What does it mean to “listen to Jesus” or to “reject Jesus”? Do I act on what I hear? Do I hear all of what is said, or just the parts that suit me, as many do? To say “I believe!” is a start. Do I treat it as the end of my part?

● What does it mean to “listen to Jesus” or to “reject Jesus”? One cannot see the whole person, much less the deeper meanings driving a person, by just looking at a moment here and there, or a quote here and there. There has to be effort in getting to know the whole person, and the motivations and drives beneath what one sees. It has to form a coherent picture and not a collection of disjointed fragments. Do I listen to all of Jesus, His life, His meaning, His story, His intent, His mission, His intersection with my life, and search for the cohesive picture that puts all of His parables and quotes and actions into what I should “listen” to? Or do I pick those things that suit me and aren't too challenging and convince myself I don't need to listen further?

5) Concluding prayer

Protect me, O God, in You is my refuge.

To Yahweh I say,

'You are my Lord, my happiness is in none.'

My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;

You, You alone, hold my lot secure. (Ps 16:1-2, 5)

1) Opening prayer

Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
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 8,19-21

Jesus’ mother and his brothers came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd.
He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.’ But he said in answer, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today presents the episode in which the relatives of Jesus and also his Mother want to speak with him, but Jesus does not pay attention to them. Jesus had problems with his family. Sometimes the family helps one to live the Gospel and to participate in the community. Other times, the family prevents this. This is what happened to Jesus and this is what happens to us.
• Luke 8, 19-20: The family looks for Jesus. The relatives reach the house where Jesus was staying. Probably, they had come from Nazareth. From there to Capernaum the distance is about 40 kilometres. His Mother was with them. Probably, they did not enter because there were many people, but they sent somebody to tell him: “Your Mother and your brothers are outside and want to see you”. According to the Gospel of Mark, the relatives do not want to see Jesus, they want to take him back home (Mk 3, 32). They thought that Jesus had lost his head (Mk 3, 21). Probably, they were afraid, because according to what history says, the Romans watched very closely all that he did, in one way or other, with the people (cf. Ac 5, 36-39). In Nazareth, up on the mountains he would have been safer than in Capernaum.
• Luke 8, 21: The response of Jesus. The reaction of Jesus is clear: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and put it into practice”. In Mark the reaction of Jesus is more concrete. Mark says: Looking around at those who were sitting there he said: “Look, my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, he is my brother, sister and mother (Mk 3, 34-35). Jesus extends his family! He does not permit the family to draw him away from the mission: neither the family (Jn 7, 3-6), nor Peter (Mk 8, 33), nor the disciples (Mk 1, 36-38), nor Herod (Lk 13, 32), nor anybody else (Jn 10, 18).
• It is the Word of God which creates a new family around Jesus: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the Word of God, and put it into practice.” A good commentary on this episode is what the Gospel of John says in the Prologue: “He was in the world that had come into being through him and the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him”. But to those who did accept him he gave them power to become children of God: to those who believed in his name, who were born not from human stock or human desire, or human will, but from God himself. And the Word became flesh, he lived among us; and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1, 10-14). The family, the relatives, do not understand Jesus (Jn 7, 3-5; Mk 3, 21), they do not form part of the new family. Only those who receive the Word, that is, who believe in Jesus, form part of the new family. These are born of God and form part of God’s Family.
• The situation of the family at the time of Jesus. In the time of Jesus, the political social and economic moment or the religious ideology, everything conspired in favour of weakening the central values of the clan, of the community. The concern for the problems of the family prevented persons from being united in the community. Rather, in order that the Kingdom of God could manifest itself anew, in the community life of the people, persons had to go beyond, to pass the narrow limits of the small family and open themselves to the large family, toward the Community. Jesus gives the example. When his own family tried to take hold of him, Jesus reacted and extended the family (Mk 3, 33-35). He created the Community.
• The brothers and the sisters of Jesus. The expression “brothers and sisters of Jesus” causes much polemics among Catholics and Protestants. Basing themselves on this and on other texts, the Protestants say that Jesus had more brothers and sisters and that Mary had more sons! The Catholics say that Mary did not have other sons. What should we think about this? In the first place, both positions: that of the Catholics as well as that of the Protestants, start from the arguments drawn from the Bible and from the Traditions of their respective Churches. Because of this, it is not convenient to discuss on this question with only intellectual arguments. Because here it is a question of the convictions that they have and which have to do with faith and sentiments. The intellectual argument alone does not succeed in changing a conviction of the heart! Rather, it irritates and draws away! And even if I do not agree with the opinion of the other person, I must respect it. In the second place, instead of discussing about texts, both we Catholics and the Protestants, we should unite together to fight in defence of life, created by God, a life totally disfigured by poverty, injustice, by the lack of faith. We should recall some phrase of Jesus: “I have come so that they may have life and life in abundance” (Jn 10, 10). “So that all may be one so that the world will believe that it was you who sent me” (Jn 17, 21). “Do not prevent them! Anyone who is not against us is for us” (Mk 9, 39.40).

4) Personal questions

• Does your family help or make it difficult for you to participate in the Christian community?
• How do you assume your commitment in the Christian community without prejudice for the family or for the community?

5) Concluding Prayer

Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your will,
and I will observe it.
Give me understanding and I will observe your Law,
and keep it wholeheartedly. (Ps 119,33-34)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God of power and mercy,

protect us from all harm.

Give us freedom of spirit

and health in mind and body

to do your work on earth.

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 17:1-6

Jesus said to His disciples, "scandals are sure to come, but alas for the one through whom they occur! It would be better for such a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round the neck than to be the downfall of a single one of these little ones.

Keep watch on yourselves! If your brother does something wrong, rebuke him and, if he is sorry, forgive him.

And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I am sorry,’ you must forgive him.”

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

3) Reflection

• Today the Gospel gives us three different words of Jesus. One on how to avoid causing scandal or scandalizing the little ones, the other one on the importance of pardon and a third one on faith in God which we should have.

• Luke 17:1-2: First word: To avoid scandal. “Jesus said to His disciples: “It is unavoidable that there are scandals, but alas for the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around the neck than to be the downfall of a single one of these little ones”. To cause scandal means to make people trip and fall. At the level of faith, it means that which drives away the person from the right path. To scandalize the little ones means to be the cause of their drawing away from God and to make them lose their faith in God. Anyone who does this deserves the following sentence: “A millstone round the neck and to be thrown into the sea!”. Why such severity? Because Jesus identifies Himself with the little ones who are  the poor (Mt 25:40.45). They are those He prefers and the first ones to whom the Good News will be given (cf. Lk 4:18). Anyone who touches them touches Jesus!, Because of our way of living faith, we Christians throughout the centuries have been the cause of why the little ones have many times drawn away from the Church and have gone towards other religions. They have not been able any longer to believe, as the Apostle said in the Letter to the Romans quoting the Prophet Isaiah: “In fact, it is your fault that the name of God is held in contempt among the nations.” (Rm 2:24; Is 52:5; Ez 36: 22). Up to what point are we guilty? Is it our fault? Do we also deserve the millstone around the neck?

• Luke 17:3-4: Second word: Forgive your brother. “If your brother does something wrong rebuke him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I am sorry’, you must forgive him”. Seven times a day! This is not little! Jesus asks very much! In the Gospel of Matthew, He says that we should forgive seventy times seven! (Mt 18:22). Forgiveness and reconciliation are some of the themes on which Jesus insists the most. The grace to be able to forgive persons and to reconcile them among themselves and with God was granted to Peter (Mt 16:19), to the Apostles (Jn 20:23), and to the community (Mt 18:18). The parable on the need to forgive our neighbor leaves no doubt: if we do not forgive our brothers we cannot receive pardon from God (Mt 18:22-35; 6, 12.15; Mk 11: 26). There is no proportion between the pardon that we receive from God and the pardon that we have to offer to our neighbor. The pardon with which God forgives us gratuitously is like ten thousand talents compared to one hundred denarii (Mt 18: 23-35). It is estimated that ten thousand talents are 174 tons of gold. One hundred denarii are not more than 30 grams of gold.

• Luke 17:5-6: Third word: Increase our faith. “The apostles said to the Lord: ‘Increase our faith!’” The Lord answered: If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you”. In this context in Luke, the question of the apostles seems to be motivated by the order of Jesus to forgive, in one day, up to seventy times seven the brother or the sister who sins against us. It is not easy to forgive. It is only with great faith in God that it is possible to reach the point of having such a great love that it makes it possible for us to forgive, in one day, up to seventy times seven the brother who sins against us. Humanly speaking, in the eyes of the world, to forgive in this way is foolish and a scandal. However, for us this attitude is the expression of divine wisdom which forgives us infinitely much more. Paul said: “We announce Christ crucified: a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness for the gentiles (I Co 1:23).

4) Personal questions

• In my life, have I been  a cause of scandal for my neighbor?  Have others been a cause of scandal for me?

• Am I capable to forgive seven times a day my brother or my sister who offends me, or even seventy times seven times a day?

5) Concluding prayer

Sing to Him, make music for Him,

recount all His wonders!

Glory in His holy name,

let the hearts that seek Yahweh rejoice! (Ps 105:2-3)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and ever-living God,

strengthen our faith, hope and love.

May we do with loving hearts

what you ask of us

and come to share the life you promise.

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: 12-19

Now it happened in those days that Jesus went onto the mountain to pray; and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

When day came He summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; He called them 'apostles': Simon whom He called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.

He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples, with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear Him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him because power came out of Him that cured them all.

3) Reflection

• Today the Gospel speaks about two facts: (a) to describe the choice of the twelve Apostles (Lk 6: 12-16) and (b) it says that an immense crowd wanted to meet Jesus to listen to him, to touch him, and to be cured (Lk 6: 17-19).

• Luke 6: 12-13: Jesus spends the night in prayer and chooses the twelve apostles. Before the final choice of the twelve Apostles, Jesus goes up to the mountain and spends the whole night in prayer. He prays in order to know whom to choose and He chooses the Twelve, whose names are given in the Gospels. And then they received the title of Apostles. Apostle means one sent, missionary. They were called to carry out a mission. The same mission that Jesus received from the Father (Jn 20: 21). Mark elaborates on the mission and says that Jesus called them to be with Him and to send them out on mission (Mk 3: 14).

• Luke 6: 14-16: The names of the twelve Apostles. The names of the Twelve are the same in the Gospels of Matthew (Mt 10: 2-4), Mark (Mk 3: 16-19) and Luke (Lk 6: 14-16) with little difference. Many of these names come from the Old Testament: Simon is the name of one of the sons of the Patriarch Jacob (Gn 29: 33). James (Giacomo) is the same name as Jacob (Gn 25: 26). Judas is the name of the other son of Jacob (Gn 35: 23). Matthew had the name of Levi (Mk 2: 14), the other son of Jacob (Gn 35: 23). Of the twelve Apostles, seven have a name which comes from the time of the Patriarchs: two times Simon, two times James, two times Judas, and one time Levi! That reveals the wisdom in the pedagogy of the people. By the names of the Patriarchs and the ‘Matriarchs’, given to the sons and daughters, people maintained the tradition of the ancients alive and helped their own children not to lose their identity. Which are the names that we give today to our sons and daughters?

• Luke 6: 17-19: Jesus comes down from the mountain and people look for him. Coming down from the mountain with the twelve, Jesus encounters an immense crowd of people who were seeking to listen to His word and to touch Him because they knew that from Him came out a force of life. In this great crowd there were Jews and foreigners, people from Judaea and also from Tyre and Sidon. They were people who were abandoned and disoriented. Jesus accepts all those who seek him, Jews and Pagans! This is one of the themes preferred by Luke who writes for the converted Pagans.

• The persons called by Jesus are a consolation for us. The first Christians remembered and recorded the names of the Twelve Apostles and of the other men and women who followed Jesus closely. The Twelve, called by Jesus to form the first community with him, were not saints. They were common persons, like all of us. They had their virtues and their defects. The Gospels tell us very little about the temperament and the character of each one of them. But what they say, even if it is not much is a reason of consolation for us.

- Peter was a generous person and full of enthusiasm (Mk 14: 29.31; Mt 14: 28-29), but in the moment of danger and when taking a decision, his heart becomes small and he turns back (Mt 14: 30; Mk 14: 66-72). He was even Satan for Jesus (Mk 8: 33). Jesus calls him Pietra- Rock (Pietro). Peter of himself was not Rock, he becomes Rock (roccia), because Jesus prays for him (Lk 22: 31-32).

- James and John are ready to suffer with and for Jesus (Mk 10, 39), but they were very violent (Lk 9: 54). Jesus calls them “sons of thunder” (Mc 3: 17). John seemed to have a certain jealousy. He wanted Jesus only for his group (Mk 9, 38).

- Philip had a welcoming way. He knew how to get others in contact with Jesus (Jn 1: 45-46), but he was not very practical in solving problems (Jn 12: 20-22; 6: 7). Sometimes he was very naïve. There was a moment when Jesus lost patience with him: Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? (Jn 14: 8-9)

- Andrew, the brother of Peter and friend of Philip, was more practical. Philip goes to him to solve the problems (Jn 12: 21-22). Andrew calls Peter (Jn 1: 40-41), and Andrew found the boy who had five loaves and two fish (Jn 6: 8-9).

- Bartholomew seems to be the same as Nathanael. He was from that place and could not admit that something good could come from Nazareth (Jn 1: 46).

- Thomas was capable of maintaining his opinion for a whole week, against the witness of all the others (Jn 20: 24-25). But when he saw that he was mistaken he was not afraid to recognize his error (Jn 20: 26-28). He was generous, ready to die with Jesus (Jn 11: 16).

- Mathew or Levi was the Publican, a tax collector, like Zacchaeus (Mt 9: 9; Lk 19: 2). They were persons committed to the oppressing system of the time.

- Simon, instead seems belonged to the movement which was radically opposed to the system that the Roman Empire imposed on the Jewish people. This is why they also called them Zelots (Lk 6: 15). The group of Zelots succeeded in provoking an armed revolt against the Romans.

- Judas was the one who was in charge of the money of the group (Jn 13: 29). He betrayed Jesus.

- Nothing is said about James of Alphaeus and Judas Thadeus in in the Gospels  except the name.

4) Personal questions

• Jesus spends the whole night in prayer to know whom to choose, and He chooses these twelve. What conclusions do you draw from this gesture of Jesus?

• The first Christians remembered the names of the twelve Apostles who were at the origin of their community. Do you remember the names of the persons who are at the origin of the community to which you belong? Do you remember the name of some catechist or professor who was significant for your Christian formation? What do you especially remember about them: the content of what they taught you or the witness that they gave you?

5) Concluding prayer

The Lord is good,

his faithful love is everlasting,

his constancy from age to age. (Ps 100: 5)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and ever-living God,

strengthen our faith, hope and love.

May we do with loving hearts

what You ask of us

and come to share the life You promise.

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 13: 22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

3) Reflection

● The Gospel today narrates an episode that took place along the road that Jesus was going through from Galilee to Jerusalem, the description of which occupies one third of Luke’s Gospel (Lk 9:51 to 19:28).

● Luke 13:22: The journey toward Jerusalem. “Through towns and villages He went teaching, making His way to Jerusalem”. More than once Luke mentions that Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem. During ten chapters he describes the journey to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51 to 19:28).  Luke constantly recalls that Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem (Lk 9:51,53,57; 10:1,38; 11:1; 13:22,33; 14:25; 17:11; 18:31; 18:37; 19: 1,11,28). What is clear and definitive from the beginning is the destiny or end of the journey: Jerusalem, the capital city where Jesus suffers His Passion and dies (Lk 9:31, 51). But Luke rarely tells us about the places through which Jesus passed. This he says only at the beginning of the journey (Lk 9:51), in the middle (Lk 17:11) and at the end (Lk 18:35; 19:1), and thus we know something about the places through which Jesus was passing. In this way, Luke suggests the following teaching: the objective of our life should be clear, and we should assume it decidedly as Jesus did. We have to walk; we cannot stop. The places through which we have to pass are not always clear and definitive.  What is certain is the objective: Jerusalem, where the “exodus” awaits us (Lk 9:31), the Passion, Death and the Resurrection.

● Luke 13:23: The question regarding the number of those who are saved. Along the road all kinds of things happen: information on the massacre and the disasters (Lk 13: 1-5), the parable (Lk 13:6-9, 18-21), discussions (Lk 13:10-13) and, in today’s Gospel, a question from the people: “Sir will there be only a few saved?” It is always the same question concerning salvation!

● Luke 13:24-25: The narrow door. Jesus says that the door is narrow: “Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter but will not succeed”. Does Jesus, perhaps, says this to fill us with fear and to oblige us to observe the Law as the Pharisees taught? What does this narrow door signify? About which door is He speaking? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus suggests that the entrance into the Kingdom has eight doors. These are the eight categories of people of the Beatitudes: (a) the poor in spirit, (b) the meek, (c) the afflicted, (d) the hungry and thirsty for justice, (e) the merciful, (f) the pure of heart, (g) the peacemakers and (h) those persecuted for justice (Mt 5:3-10). Luke reduces them to four categories: (a) the poor, (b) the hungry, (c) those who are sad and (d) those who are persecuted (Lk 6:20-22). Only those who belong to one of these categories mentioned in the Beatitudes will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the narrow door. It is the new view of the salvation which Jesus communicates to us. There is no other door! It is a question of the conversion which Jesus asks of us. And He insists: “Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you many will try to enter and will not succeed. Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying ‘Lord, open to us’, but He will answer, ‘I do not know where you come from’”. Concerning the hour of judgment, now is the favorable time for conversion, to change our opinion, our view of salvation and to enter into one of the eight categories.

● Luke 13:26-28: The tragic misunderstanding. God responds to the one who knocks at the door: “I do not know where you come from.” But they insist and argue, “We have eaten and we drank in Your presence, You taught on our streets!” It is not sufficient to have eaten with Jesus, to have participated in the multiplication of the loaves and to have listened to His teachings on the streets of the cities and  villages! It is not sufficient to be in Church and to have participated in catechism class. God will answer, “I do not know where you come from; away from Me, all evil doers!” This is a tragic misunderstanding and a total lack of conversion. Jesus considers unjust what others consider just and pleasing to God. It is a totally new way of seeing our salvation. The door is truly narrow.

● Luke 13:29-30: The key that explains the misunderstanding. “People from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God. Look, there are those now last who will be the first, and those now first who will be last.” It is a matter of the great change which takes place with the coming of God down to us in Jesus. All people will have access and will pass through the narrow door.

4) Personal questions

● To have a clear objective and to travel toward Jerusalem: are the objectives of my life clear or do I allow myself to be blown around by the wind of  public opinion?

● The narrow door. What idea do I have of God, of life,  and of salvation?

● If “only those who belong to one of these categories mentioned in the Beatitudes will enter the Kingdom of Heaven”, what of the Commandments? What constitutes belonging to one of these categories? Is there a “more perfect” belonging in some ways than in others? How does it all come together?

5) Concluding prayer

All Your creatures shall thank You, Yahweh,

and Your faithful shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingship

and tell of Your might. (Ps 145:10-11)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and ever-living God,

strengthen our faith, hope and love.

May we do with loving hearts

what you ask of us

and come to share the life you promise.

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 13: 18-21

Jesus went on to say, 'What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.'

Again He said, 'What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.'

3) Reflection

• Context. Along the road that leads Him to Jerusalem, Jesus is surrounded by “thousands” of persons (11, 29) who crowd around him. The reason for such attraction from the crowds is the Word of Jesus. In chapter 12 one can notice how the people who listen to his Word alternate: the disciples (12: 1-12), the crowd (vv.13-21), the disciples (vv.22-53), the crowds (vv.54-59). IThe scandal of death is the dominating theme of Luke 13: 1-35. In the first part it is spoken about as the death of all (vv.1-9), in the second part, the death of Jesus (vv.31-35) and then to the death avoided by sinners because their conversion is expected. But there is another theme together with the dominant one: the salvation given to men. The cure of the woman who was bent, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had held during eighteen years, is liberated by Jesus. And in the center of this chapter 13 we find two parables that constitute the overall theme: the Kingdom of God as compared to the “mustard seed” and to the “leaven or yeast”.

• The Kingdom of God is similar to a mustard seed. Such a seed is very common in Palestine and particularly close to the Lake of Galilee. It is especially known because it is particularly small. In Luke 17: 6, Jesus uses such an image to express the hope that He has for the disciples that they have a at least a small seed of faith: “If you had faith like a mustard seed...”. This parable, which is very simple, confronts two diverse moments in the story of the seed: the moment when it is sown in the earth (the modest beginnings) and when it becomes a tree (the final miracle). Therefore, the purpose of this account is to narrate the extraordinary growth of a seed that is thrown in one’s own garden, and to this follows an amazing growth as it becomes a tree. Like this seed, the Kingdom of God also has its story. The Kingdom of God is the seed thrown into the garden, the place that in the New Testament is the place of the agony and the burial of Jesus (Jn 18: 1.26; 19: 41). Then it follows the moment of growth and concludes with becoming a tree open to all.

• The Kingdom of God is similar to yeast. Yeast is put into three measures of flour. In the Hebrew culture yeast was considered a factor of corruption so much so that it was eliminated from their houses, in order not to contaminate the feast at Passover which begins with the week of the unleavened dough. In the ears of the Jews the use of this negative element, to describe the Kingdom of God, was a reason to be disturbed. But the reader is able to discover the convincing force: it is sufficient to put a very small quantity of yeast in three measures of flour in order to get a big amount of dough. Jesus announces that this yeast, hidden or that has disappeared in three measures of flour, after a certain amount of time, leavens the whole dough.

• The effects of the text on the reader. What do these two parables communicate to us? The Kingdom of God, compared by Jesus to a seed that becomes a tree, is  close to the story of God as a story of his Word: it is hidden in human history and it is growing; Luke thinks of the Word of God (the Kingdom of God in our midst) is already developing but it has not as yet become a tree. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are supporting this growth of the Word. The image of yeast completes the frame of the seed. The yeast is the Gospel that is working in the world, as in the ecclesial communities and in the individual believers.

4) Personal questions

• Are you aware that the Kingdom of God is present in our midst and that it grows mysteriously and extends itself in the history of every person, and in the Church?

• The Kingdom is a humble reality, hidden, poor and silent, immersed between the competition and pleasures of life. Have you understood from the two parables, that you will not be able to get a glimpse of the Kingdom if you do not have an attitude of humble and silent listening?

5) Concluding Prayer

How blessed are all who fear Yahweh,

who walk in his ways!

Your own labors will yield you a living,

happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128: 1-2)

Ordinary Time

One Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and there before Him was a woman who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that crippled her; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright.

When Jesus saw her He called her over and said, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability,' and He laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God.

But the president of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and He addressed all those present saying, 'There are six days when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath.'

But the Lord answered him and said, 'Hypocrites! Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years -- was it not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?'

When He said this, all his adversaries were covered with confusion, and all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders He worked.

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today describes the cure of a woman who was crippled. It is a question of one of the many episodes which Luke narrates, without too much order, in describing the long journey of Jesus toward Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 1928).

• Luke 13, 10-11: The situation which brings about the action of Jesus. Jesus is in the synagogue on a day of rest. He keeps the Law respecting Saturday and participating in the celebration together with his people. Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching. In the Synagogue there was a crippled woman. Luke says that she had a spirit which crippled her and prevented her from straightening up. This was a way in which the people of that time explained sicknesses. It was already eighteen years that she was in that situation. The woman does not speak, does not have a name, she does not ask to be cured, she takes no initiative. One is struck by her passivity.

• Luke 13, 12-13: Jesus cures the woman. Seeing the woman, Jesus calls her and says to her: Woman, you are freed from your disability!” The action of freeing is done by the word, addressed directly to the woman, and through the imposition of the hands. Immediately, she stands up and begins to praise the Lord. There is relation between standing up and praising the Lord. Jesus does things in such a way that the woman stands up, in such a way that she can praise God in the midst of the people meeting in the assembly. Peter’s mother-in-law, once she was cured, she stands up and serves (Mk 1, 31). To praise God is to serve the brothers!

• Luke 13, 14: The reaction of the president of the Synagogue. The president of the synagogue became indignant seeing Jesus’ action, because He had cured on Saturday: “There are six days when work is to be done. Come and be healed in one of those days and not on the Sabbath”. In the criticism of the president of the synagogue, people remember the word of the Law of God which said: “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. You shall do no work that day”, (Ex 20, 8-10). In this reaction is the reason why the woman could not participate at that time. The domination of conscience through the manipulation of the law of God was quite strong. And this was the way of keeping the people submitted and bent down, crippled.

• Luke 13, 15-16: The response of Jesus to the president of the synagogue. The president condemned persons because he wanted them to observe the Law of God. What for the president of the synagogue is observance of the Law, for Jesus is hypocrisy: "Hypocrites, is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and take it down for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?” With this example drawn from every day life, Jesus indicates the incoherence of this type of observance of the Law of God. If it is permitted to untie an ox or a donkey on Saturday to give it water, much more will it be permitted to untie a daughter of Abraham to free her from the power of Satan. The true sense of the observance of the Law which pleases God is this: to liberate persons from the power of evil and to make them stand up, in order that they can render glory to God and praise Him. Jesus imitates God who sustains those who are unsteady or weak and lifts those who fall (Ps 145, 14; 146, 8).

• Luke 13, 17: The reaction of the people before the action of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus confuses his enemies, but the crowds are filled with joy because of the wonderful things that Jesus is doing: “All the people were overjoyed at all the wonders He worked”. In Palestine, at the time of Jesus, women lived crippled, bent, and submitted to the husband, to parents and to the religious heads of the people. This situation of submission was justified by the religion. But Jesus does not want her to continue to be crippled, bent. To choose and to liberate persons does not depend on a certain date. It can be done every day, even on Saturday!

4) Personal questions

• The situation of women has changed very much since that time, or not? Which is the situation of women in society and in the Church? Is there any relation between religion and oppression of women?

• Did the crowds exult before the action of Jesus? What liberation is taking place today and is leading the crowd to exult and to give thanks to God?

5) Concluding prayer

How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked

and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread,

nor a seat in company with cynics,

but who delights in the law of Yahweh

and murmurs his law day and night. (Ps 1,1-2)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and everlasting God,

our source of power and inspiration,

give us strength and joy

in serving You as followers of Christ,

who lives and reigns

with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them– do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today gives us information which is only found in Luke’s Gospel.  There are no parallel passages in the other Gospels. We are meditating on the long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and which takes almost half of Luke’s Gospel, from chapter 9 to chapter 19 (Lk 9:51 to 19:28). In this part Luke places most of the information  on the life and teaching of Jesus (Lk 1:1-4).

• Luke 13:1: The event which requires an explanation. “At that time some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of the their sacrifices.” When we read the newspaper or watch the news on TV, we receive much information, but we do not always understand all its meaning. We listen to everything, but we really do not know what to do with so much information and news. There are terrible news items, such as tsunami, terrorism, wars, hunger, violence, crime, attacks, etc. This is how the news of the horrible massacre which Pilate, the Roman Governor, ordered regarding some Samaritan pilgrims had reached Jesus. Such news upsets us, throws us off. And one asks, “What can I do?” To assuage their conscience, many defend themselves and say, “It is their fault! They do not work! They are lazy people!”

• Luke 13:2-3: Jesus’ response. Jesus has a different opinion. “Do you suppose that those Galileans were worse sinners than any others that this should have happened to them? I tell you ‘no’, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, killing them all? Do you suppose that they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem? I tell you ‘no,, but unless you repent you will perish as they did.”  He seeks to invite to conversion and to change.

• Luke 13:4-5: Jesus comments on another situation. “Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell, killing them all; do you believe they were worse offenders than all the other people in Jerusalem?”

It must have been a disaster which was much discussed in the city. A thunderstorm knocked down the tower of Siloam killing eighteen people who were seeking shelter under it. The typical comment was “punishment from God!” Jesus repeats, “I tell you ‘no’, but unless you repent you will perish as they did.” They were not converted, they did not change, and forty years later Jerusalem was destroyed and many people died, being killed in the Temple like the Samaritans and many people died under the debris or rubble of the walls of the city. Jesus tried to warn them, but the request for peace was not accepted: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” (Lk 13:34).

• Luke 13:6-9: A parable to make people think and discover God’s project. “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to his vinedresser, “for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none.” Then he said to the vinedresser, “Cut it down; why should it be taking up the ground?”  “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it; it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.” Many times the vine is used to indicate God’s affection for His people, or to indicate the lack of response on the part of the people to God’s love (Is 5:1-7; 27:2-5; Jer 2:21; 8:13; Ex 19:10-14; Hos 10:1-8; Mic 7, 1; Jn 15:1-6). In the parable, the landlord of the vine is God, the Father. The vinedresser who intercedes on behalf of the vine is Jesus. He pleads with the Father to extend the space, the time of conversion.

4) Personal questions

• God’s people, God’s vineyard. I am part of this vineyard. If I apply this parable to myself, what conclusion do I draw?

• What do I do with the news that I receive? Do I seek to form a critical opinion, or do I continue to have the opinion of the majority and of the mass media?

• In today’s world, there are not only the traditional news sources with their political agendas, but there is also social media – Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. They also reinforce each other. One will  pick up stories or ideas  from another and spin it. Do I have the skill to discern truth from these outlets? What can  I do or learn to be able to find the truth in world events?

5) Concluding prayer

Who is like Yahweh our God?

His throne is set on high,

but He stoops to look down on heaven and earth.

He raises the poor from the dust,

He lifts the needy from the dunghill. (Ps 113:5-7)