The parable of the Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbour?
Luke 10:25-37
1. LECTIO
a) Opening prayer:
Prayers of Blessed Giorgio Preca in Il Sacrario dello spirito di Cristo
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Give me wisdom to know your spirit.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Grant me the gift of the spirit of the Master, my Christ Jesus.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Guide my every way with your light.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Teach me to do your will at all times.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Do not let me stray from your Spirit, the Spirit of love.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
b) Gospel reading:
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Picture) 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" 27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." 28 And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" 30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
c) Prayerful silent time:
that the Word of God may enter into our hearts and enlighten our life.
2. MEDITATIO
a) A key to the reading:
This is chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel. It is the central part of Luke’s Gospel and it follows Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem: «Now as the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, he resolutely took the road for Jerusalem» (Lk 9: 51). We know that for Luke, Jerusalem is the city where salvation will take place, and Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem forms a central theme. Luke’s story begins in the holy city (Lk 1: 5) and ends in the same city (Lk 24: 52). In this middle section, Luke will repeatedly insist on the fact that Jesus is going towards Jerusalem (for instance in Lk 13: 22; 17: 11). In this text, which tells the parable of the good Samaritan in the context of a discussion with a doctor of the law concerning the greatest commandment, we again find the theme of a journey, this time from Jerusalem to Jericho (Lk 10: 30). The parable is part of this middle section of the Gospel that begins with Jesus, a pilgrim together with his disciples on their way to Jerusalem. He sends them ahead to prepare for him to stop at a Samaritan village and there they only find hostility precisely because they were on their way to Jerusalem (Lk 9: 51-53). The Samaritans avoided pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and were hostile to them. “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit” (Lk 10: 1). Seventy-two is the traditional number of pagan nations.
The Fathers of the Church (Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and others), keeping in mind all the symbolism associated with Jerusalem, the holy city of salvation, interpret this parable in a particular way. In the man who goes from Jerusalem to Jericho they see Adam who represents the whole human race expelled from Eden, the celestial paradise, because of sin. The Fathers of the Church see the thieves as the tempter who takes us away from God’s friendship with his wiles and who holds us slaves in our humanity wounded by sin. In the priest and the Levite they see the insufficiency of the old law for our salvation that will be accomplished by our Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, who, leaving the celestial Jerusalem, comes to the aid of our sinful condition and heals us with the oil of grace and the wine of the Spirit. In the inn, the Fathers see and image of the Church and in the inn-keeper they see the pastors into whose hands Jesus entrusts the care of his people, The departure of the Samaritan from the inn is seen by the Fathers as the resurrection and ascension of Jesus to sit at the right hand of the Father, but who promises to come back to reward each person according to his or her merit. Jesus then leaves the two denarii to the Church for our salvation, the two denarii that are the Sacred Scriptures and the Sacraments that help us on our way to holiness.
This allegorical and mystical interpretation of the text helps us to accept well the message of this parable. The text of the parable begins with a dialogue between a doctor of the law who stands to put the Lord to the test by asking: «Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?» (Lk 10: 25). Jesus replies with another question: «What is written in the law? What do you read there?» (Lk 10: 26). We must see this dialogue as a confrontation between two masters, a thing quite common in those days as a system of clarifying and deepening points of law. The polemical tone prevailing here is different from that in Mark where the question is asked by a Scribe who «had listened to them debating (Jesus and the Sadducees), and had observed how well Jesus had answered them» (Mk 12: 28) then puts the question to Jesus. This Scribe is well disposed to listen to Jesus, so much so that Jesus ends the dialogue with: «You are not far from the kingdom of God» (Mk 12: 34). Matthew, however, places this question in the context of a debate between Jesus and the Sadducees with the Pharisees present who when they “heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question…” (Mt 22:34-35). Jesus gives an immediate reply quoting the commandment of love as found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
Only in Luke’s text is the question not about which is the greatest commandment but about how to inherit eternal life, a question dealt with again in the Synoptic Gospels on the lips of the rich young man (Mt 19: 16; Mk 10: 17; Lk 18: 18). As in Mark, so also here, Jesus praises the doctor of the law: «You have answered right… do this and life is yours» (Lk 1:, 28). But the doctor of the law was not yet satisfied with Jesus’ answer and wanting «to justify himself» (Lk 10: 28) for having asked the question asks again “and who is my neighbour”! This second question introduces and connects the following parable with the dialogue between Jesus and the doctor of the law. We also notice an inclusion between verse 26 that ends the debate and leads us to the tale of the parable in verse 37, which ends definitively the dialogue and the parable. In this verse, Jesus repeats to the doctor of the law that he had defined the neighbour as one who was compassionate: «Go and do the same yourself». This phrase of Jesus reminds us of the words at the last supper as recorded in John, when, after the washing of the feet, Jesus invites his disciples to follow his example (Jn 13: 12-15). At the last supper, Jesus bequeaths to his disciples the commandment of love understood as willingness “to give one’s life” in love for each other as the Lord has loved us (Jn 15: 12-14).
This commandment goes beyond the observance of the law. The priest and the Levite have kept the law by not approaching the poor wounded man who is left half dead, so as not to defile themselves (Lev 21: 1). Jesus goes beyond the law and desires his disciples to do as he does. «By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples» (Jn 13: 35). For the disciple of Jesus mere philanthropy is not enough. The Christian is called to something more, which he or she accomplishes in imitation of the Master, as the Apostle Paul said: «We are those who have the mind of Christ» (1 Cor 2: 16) «Because the love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that one man has died for all» (2 Cor 5, 14).
b) Some questions to direct our meditation and practice:
* What touched you most in the parable?
* With whom in the story do you identify?
* Have you ever thought of Jesus as the Good Samaritan?
* Do you feel the need for salvation in your life?
* Can you say with the apostle Paul that you have the mind of Christ?
* What urges you to love your neighbour? Is it the need to love and be loved, or is it compassion and the love of Christ?
* Who is your neighbour?
3. ORATIO
Canticle - 1Pt 2, 21-24
21 Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
4. CONTEMPLATIO
Contemplation is knowing how to adhere with one’s mind and heart to the Lord who by his Word transforms us into new beings who always do his will. “Knowing these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13: 17)
The sending of the 72 disciples
Rebuilding Community Life
Luke 10:1-12.17-20
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection. Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A key to the reading:
Jesus’ preaching draws many people (Mk 3:7-8). A small community begins to form around him. At first, two persons (Mk 1:16-18); then another two (Mk 1:19-20); then twelve (Mk 3:13-19); and now in our text, more than seventy-two persons (Lk 10:1). The community continues to grow. One thing Jesus insists on is community life. He set the example. He never wished to work alone. The first thing he did at the beginning of his preaching in Galilee was to call people to live with him and share in his mission (Mk 1:16-20; 3,14). The ambience of fraternity that grows around Jesus is a foretaste of the Kingdom, a proof of the new experience of God with the Father. Thus, if God is Father and Mother, then we are all one family of brothers and sisters. Thus is the community born, the new family (cf. Mk 3:34-35).
This Sunday’s Gospel tells us of practical things to direct the seventy-two disciples in their proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom and in rebuilding community life. Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and rebuilding community life are two sides of the same coin. One does not exist and cannot make sense without the other. While reading the text, try to look for this connection between community life and the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
b) A division of the text to help with the reading:
Luke 10:1: The Mission
Luke 10:2-3: Co-responsibility
Luke 10:4-6: Hospitality
Luke 10:7: Sharing
Luke 10:8: Communion around the table
Luke 10:9a: Welcoming those excluded
Luke 10:9b: The coming of the Kingdom
Luke 10:10-12: Wiping the dust from their feet
Luke 10:17-20: The names written in heaven
c) Text:
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. 2 And he said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. 3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" 6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. 8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. 9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you." 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, 11 "We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near." 12 I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.
17 The seventy-two came back rejoicing. 'Lord,' they said, 'even the devils submit to us when we use your name.' 18 He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you power to tread down serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. 20 Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.'
3. A moment of prayerful silence
so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What pleased or struck you most in this text? Why?
b) Name each of the things that Jesus tells the disciples to do and the things to avoid.
c) What does Jesus wish to clarify through each of these suggestions so different from those common in everyday life?
d) How can we put into practice what the Lord asks: “take no purse with you”, “do not move from house to house”, “salute no one on the road”, “wipe off the very dust from your feet”?
e) Why are these suggestions of Jesus a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God?
f) Jesus tells us to be attentive to the most important thing when he says: “your names are written in heaven!” What does this mean for us?
5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme
a) The literary and historical context:
A little before our text, in Luke 9:51, is the beginning of the second phase of Jesus’ apostolic activities, that is, a long journey to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51 to 19:29). The first phase took place in Galilee and began with the presentation of Jesus’ programme in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk 4:14-21). In the second phase, he goes to Samaria, sends messengers ahead of him (Lk 9:52) and draws new disciples (Lk 9:57-62). The second phase begins with the appointment of the other 72 disciples and with the presentation of the programme that will guide them in their missionary activities (Lk 10:1-16). Thus Luke suggests that these new disciples are not Jews from Galilee but Samaritans, and that the place where Jesus proclaims the Good News is no longer Galilee but Samaria, the territory of the excluded. The aim of the mission given to the disciples is the rebuilding of community life. In Jesus days, many movements tried new ways of life and of sharing life: the Pharisees, the Essenes, the Zealots, John the Baptist and others. Many formed communities of disciples (Jn 1:35; Lk 11:1; Acts 19:3) and had their missionaries (Mt 23:15). But there was one great difference. The communities of Pharisees, for instance, lived apart from people. The community around Jesus lives among the people. Jesus’ proposal to the 72 disciples is to recover the old community values that were being lost, like hospitality, welcoming, sharing, communion around the table, accepting the excluded. Jesus tries to renew and reorganise communities in such a way that they may become an expression of the Covenant, an expression of the Kingdom of God.
b) A commentary on the text:
Luke 10:1: The Mission
Jesus sends the disciples to the places he would be visiting. The disciple is Jesus’ spokesperson. He is not the master of the Good News. Jesus sends them in pairs. This allows for mutual help and thus the mission is not that of an individual but of the community. Two persons represent the community better.
Luke 10:2-3: Co-responsibility
Their first task is to ask God to send labourers. All of Jesus’ disciples must feel responsible for the mission. Thus they have to pray to the Father for the continuance of the mission. Jesus sends his disciples like lambs among wolves. The mission is a difficult and dangerous task. The system within which they lived and within which we still live continues to resist the reorganisation of people living in community. Anyone who, like Jesus, proclaims love in a society organised on individual and collective selfishness, will be a lamb among wolves and will be crucified.
Luke 10:4-6: Hospitality
Jesus’ disciples may not take anything with them, no purse, no sandals. All they can take with them is peace. This means that they had to rely on the hospitality of the people. Thus the disciple who goes carrying nothing but peace, shows he trusts people. He thinks that he will be accepted and that thus people will feel respected and confirmed. In this way the disciples were criticising the laws concerning exclusion and brought out the old values of community sharing of the people of God. Salute no one on the road means that they must not waste time with matters not pertaining to the mission. This may be a reference to the episode of the death the Sunamite’s son, where Elisha says to his employee, “Go! If anyone salutes you, do not answer” (2Kings 4:29), because this was a matter of life and death. Proclaiming God’s Good News is a matter of life and death!
Luke 10:7: Sharing
The disciples must not move from house to house, but must stay in the same house. They must live together with and share in the life and work of the local people, and live on what they receive in exchange, the labourer deserves his wages. This means that they must trust in sharing. Through this new practice, they recovered one of the old traditions of the people of God, criticising a culture of accumulation that was characteristic of the Roman Empire and so proclaimed a new model for people to live together.
Luke 10:8: Communion around the table
The disciples must take what food and drink they offer. When the Pharisees went on a mission, they went prepared. They took with them purse and money so that they could provide for their own food. They maintained that they could not trust the food of the people because it was not always ritually “pure”. Thus the observance of the Law of legal purity, instead of helping to overcome divisions, weakened the life of communitarian values. Jesus’ disciples must not be separate from the people but rather accept communion around the table. When coming into contact with people they were not to be afraid of losing legal purity. The community value of fraternal living together is greater than the observance of ritual norms. By acting thus, they criticised the current laws on purity, and proclaimed a new way to purity, to intimacy with God.
Luke 10:9a: Welcoming those excluded
The disciples must look after the sick, cure lepers and drive out evil spirits (cf Mt 10:8). This means that they must welcome into the community those who had been excluded from it. The practice of solidarity is a criticism of a society that excluded a person from the rest of the community. And thus is recovered the ancient prophetic tradition of goêl. From earliest times, the strength of the clan or the community was revealed in its defence of the value of a person, a family and the possession of land, and was concretely practised every “seven times seven years” in the celebration of the jubilee year (Lv 25,8-55; Dt 15,1-18).
Luke 10:9b: The coming of the Kingdom
Hospitality, sharing, communion around the table, welcoming the excluded (goêl) were four pillars for sustaining community life. But because of the difficult situation of poverty, unemployment, persecution and oppression from the Romans, these pillars were broken. Jesus wants to rebuild them and affirms that, if they go back to these four values, the disciples can proclaim to the four winds: The Kingdom of God is very near to you! Proclaiming the Kingdom does not mean teaching truth and doctrine, but bringing people to a new way of living and sharing, a new way of acting and thinking, based on the Good News that Jesus proclaims: God is Father and therefore we are all together brothers and sisters.
Luke 10:10-12: Wiping the dust from their feet
How can we understand such a hard threat? Jesus came to bring an entirely new thing. He came to recover the communitarian values of the past: hospitality, sharing, communion around the table and welcoming the excluded. This explains the severity of the words used against those who refuse to accept the message. They are not refusing something new, but their own past, their own culture and wisdom! Jesus’ plan for the 72 disciples was aimed at digging up the memory, recovering the communitarian values of the oldest tradition, to rebuild the community and renew the Covenant, to renew life and thus to make God the new great Good News in the life of people.
Luke 10:17-20: The names written in heaven
The disciples come back from the mission and get together with Jesus to evaluate what they had done. They begin by telling their stories. With great joy, they inform him that, in the name of Jesus, they were able to drive out evil spirits! Jesus helps them in their discernment. If they were able to drive out evil spirits, it was because Jesus had given them that power. While they stay with Jesus, no evil can come to them. And Jesus says that the most important thing was not driving out evil spirits, but that their names are written in heaven. To have one’s name written in heaven means to be certain of being known and loved by the Father. Some time before this, James and John had asked to bring down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans (Lk 9:54). Now, through the proclamation of the Good News, Satan falls from heaven (Lk 10:18) and the names of the Samaritan disciples are entered in heaven! In those days, many thought that whatever was Samaritan was of the devil, of Satan (Jn 8:48). Jesus changes everything!
c) Further information:
The small communities being formed in Galilee and in Samaria are above all “a foretaste of the Kingdom”. The community around Jesus is like the face of God transformed into New News for the people, above all for the poor. Is our community like this?
Here are some characteristics of the community that grew around Jesus. These are characteristics of the face of God revealed in them. They may act as a mirror for the revision of our community:
i) “You have only one master, and you are all brothers" (Mt 23:8). The foundation of the community is not knowledge or power, but equality among the brothers and sisters. It is fraternity.
ii) Jesus insists on equality between men and women (Mt 19:7-12) and gives orders to men and women (Mt 28:10; Mk 16:9-10; Jn 20:17). They all “follow” Jesus from Galilee (Mk 15:41; Lk 8:2-3).
iii) They had a common house shared with the poor (Jn 13:29). Thissharing must reach the soul and heart of all (Acts 1:14; 4:32). It must reach the point that there are no secrets among them (Jn 15:15).
iv) The power of service. “Any one who wants to be first among you, must be slave to all!” (Mk 10:44). Jesus sets the example (Jn 13:15). "The Son of man came not be served, but to serve" (Mt 20:28). "Here am I among as one who serves" (Lk 22:27). "We are useless servants!" (Lk 17:10)
v) Because of many conflicts and divisions, Jesus insists that the community be a place of forgiveness and reconciliation, not of mutual condemnation (Mt 18:21-22; Lk 17:3-4). The power to forgive was given to Peter (Mt 16:19), the apostles (Jn 20:23) and the communities (Mt 18:18). God’s pardon is passed on to the community.
vi) They prayed together in the Temple (Jn 2:13; 7:14; 10:22-23). Sometimes Jesus forms smaller groups (Lk 9:28; Mt 26:36-37). They pray before meals (Mk 6:41; Lk 24:30) and frequent the synagogues (Lk 4:16).
vii) Joy that no one can take away (Jn 16:20-22) "Blessed are you!" Your name is written in heaven (Lk 10:20), their eyes will see what has been promised (Lk 10:23-24), the Kingdom is yours! (Lk 6:20).
The community around Jesus is the model for the early Christians after the resurrection (Acts 2:42-47)! The community is like the face of God transformed into Good News for the people.
6. Praying the Psalm 146 (145)
The face of God, confirmed by Jesus
Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, my soul!
I will praise Yahweh all my life,
I will make music to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in any child of Adam,
who has no power to save.
When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth,
on that very day all his plans come to nothing.
How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to help him,
his hope is in Yahweh his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
He keeps faith for ever,
gives justice to the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry;
Yahweh sets prisoners free.
Yahweh gives sight to the blind,
lifts up those who are bowed down.
Yahweh protects the stranger,
he sustains the orphan and the widow.
Yahweh loves the upright,
but he frustrates the wicked.
Yahweh reigns for ever, your God, Zion,
from age to age.
7. Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank you for your Word that has clarified for us the will of the Father. Grant that your Spirit may enlighten our actions and give us the strength to put into practice that which your Word has revealed to us. Grant that we, like Mary, your Mother, may not only listen to your Word but also put it into practice. Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
Your servant and Your Son,
You raised a fallen world.
Free us from sin
and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.
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 9:32-38
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents two facts: (1) the cure of a possessed mute person (Mt 9:32-34) and (2) a summary of the activity of Jesus (Mt 9:35-38). These two episodes end the narrative part of chapters 8 and 9 of the Gospel of Matthew, in which the Evangelist seeks to indicate how Jesus put into practice the teachings given in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5 and 7). In chapter 10, the meditation which begins in the Gospel of tomorrow, we see the second great discourse of Jesus: The Discourse of the Mission (Mt 10:1-42).
• Matthew 9:32-33a: The cure of a mute person. In just one verse Matthew describes the arrival of the possessed person before Jesus, the expulsion of the demon and the attitude of Jesus. The illnesses were many and social security non-existent. The illnesses were not only deficiencies of the body: deafness, blindness, paralysis, leprosy and so many other sicknesses. In fact, these illnesses were nothing else than a manifestation of a much deeper and vast evil which undermined the health of people, and that is the total abandonment and the depressing and inhumane state in which they were obliged to live. The activity and the cures of Jesus were directed not only against physical sickness, but also and above all against this greater evil of material and spiritual abandonment, in which people were obliged to live the few years of life. Then, in addition to the economic exploitation which stole half of the family stipend, the official religion of that time, instead of helping people to find strength in God, to resist and have hope, taught that sickness was a punishment from God for sin. This increased in them the sentiment of exclusion and condemnation. Jesus did quite the contrary. The acceptance of Jesus, full of tenderness, and the cure of the sick, form part of the effort to knit together human relationships among people and to re-establish community and fraternal living in the villages of Galilee, His land.
Matthew 9:33b-34: The twofold interpretation of the cure of the mute man. Before the cure of the possessed mute man, the reaction of the people is one of admiration and of gratitude: “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” The reaction of the Pharisee is one of mistrust and malice: “It is through the prince of devils that He drives out devils!” They were not able to deny the facts which cause admiration in the people, the only way which the Pharisees find to neutralize the influence of Jesus before the people is to attribute the expulsion to the power of the evil one. Mark presents an extensive argument of Jesus to demonstrate the lack of coherence and the malice of the interpretation given by the Pharisees (Mk 3:22-27). Matthew does not present any response by Jesus to the interpretation of the Pharisees, because when malice is evident, truth shines by itself.
• Matthew 9:35: Tireless, Jesus goes through the villages. The description of the tireless activity of Jesus is beautiful in which emerges the double concern to which we referred: the acceptance full of tenderness and the cure of the sick: “Jesus went through all the towns, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness.” In the previous chapters, Matthew had already referred several times to this itinerant activity of Jesus in the villages and towns of Galilee (Mt 4:23-24; 8:16).
• Matthew 9:36: The compassion of Jesus. “Seeing the crowds He felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Those who should be shepherds were not shepherds; they did not take care of the flock. Jesus tries to be the shepherd (Jn 10:11-14). In this, Matthew sees the realization of the prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh, who took upon Himself our sickness, and bore our infirmities” (Mt 8:17 and Isa 53:4). As it was for Jesus, the great concern of the Servant was “to find a word of comfort for those who were discouraged.” (Isa 50:4). Jesus shows the same compassion toward the abandoned crowd on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves: they are like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 15:32). The Gospel of Matthew has a constant concern in revealing to the converted Jews of the communities of Galilee and of Syria that Jesus is the Messiah announced by the prophets. For this reason, frequently, he shows that in Jesus’ activity the prophecies are fulfilled (cf. Mt 1:23; 2:5,15,17, 23; 3:3; 4:14-16, etc.).
• Matthew 9:37-38: The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few. Jesus transmits to the disciples the concern and the compassion which are within Him, and in paraphrase: “The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few! Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest!”
4) Personal questions
• Compassion for the tired and hungry crowds. In the history of humanity, there have never been so many tired and hungry people as today. Television transmits the facts, but does not offer any response. Do we, Christians, have the same compassion of Jesus and communicate it to others?
• The goodness of Jesus toward the poor disturbed the Pharisees. They have recourse to malice to neutralize the discomfort caused by Jesus. Are there many good attitudes in the people who disturb me? How do I interpret them: with pleasant admiration as the crowds or with malice as the Pharisees?
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
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 - John 20:24-29
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
3) Reflection
• Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, and the Gospel speaks to us about the encounter of Jesus with Thomas, the apostle who wanted to see in order to believe. For this reason many call him “Doubting Thomas.”
The message of the Gospel today is much more profound and timely than it might initially appear. Let us look deeper into it:
• John 20:24-25: The doubt of Thomas. Thomas, one of the twelve, was not present when Jesus appeared to the disciples the week before. He did not believe in the witness of the others who said, “We have seen the Lord.” He gives some conditions: “Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in His hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into His side, I refuse to believe.” Thomas is very demanding. In order to believe he wants to see! He does not want a miracle in order to believe. No! He wants to see the signs on the hands, on the feet and on the side! He does not believe in the glorious Jesus, separated from the human Jesus who suffered on the Cross. When John writes, at the end of the first century, there were some people who did not accept the coming of the Son of God in the flesh (2Jn 7; 1 Jn 4:2-3). They were the Gnostics, who despised matter and the body. John presents this concern of Thomas to criticize the Gnostics: “To see in order to believe.” Thomas’ doubt also makes us see the difficulty of believing in the Resurrection!
• John 20:26-27: Do not be unbelieving but believe. The text says “six days later.” That means that Thomas was capable of maintaining his opinion for a whole week against the witness of the other apostles. Stubborn! Thank God, for us! Thus, six days later, during the community meeting, they once again had the profound experience of the presence of the risen Lord in their midst. The closed doors could not prevent the presence of Jesus in the midst of those who believe in him. Today, it is also like this. When we are meeting, even when we are meeting with the doors closed, Jesus is in our midst. The first word of Jesus is, and will always be, “Peace be with you!” What impresses us is the kindness of Jesus. He does not criticize, nor does He judge the disbelief of Thomas, but He accepts the challenge and says, “Thomas, put your finger in the hole of My hands!” Jesus confirms the conviction of Thomas and of the communities, that the glorious Risen One is the tortured crucified One! The Jesus who is in the community is not a glorious Jesus who has nothing in common with our life. He is the same Jesus who lived on this earth and on His body He bears the signs of His Passion. The signs of the Passion are found today in the sufferings of people, in hunger, in the signs of torture and injustice. Jesus becomes present in our midst in the people who react, who struggle for life and who do not allow themselves to be disheartened. Thomas believes in this Christ and so do we!
• John 20:28-29: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Together with Thomas we say: “My Lord and my God!” This gift of Thomas is the ideal attitude of faith. And Jesus concludes with a final message: “You believe because you can see Me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe!” With this phrase, Jesus declares blessed all of us who find ourselves in the same condition: without having seen, we believe that Jesus, who is in our midst, is the same One who died crucified!
The mandate: “As the Father sent Me so I am sending you!” From this Jesus, who was crucified and rose from the dead, we receive the mission, the same one which He has received from the Father (Jn 20:21). Here, in the second appearance, Jesus repeats, “Peace be with you!” This repetition stresses the importance of peace. Making peace is part of the mission. Peace means much more than the absence of war. It means to build a harmonious human life together in which people can be themselves, having everything necessary to live, living happily together in peace. This was the mission of Jesus and is also our own mission. Jesus breathed and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22), and with the help of the Holy Spirit we will be able to fulfill the mission which He has entrusted to us. Then Jesus communicates the power to forgive sins: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained!” The central point of the mission of peace is reconciliation, the effort of trying to overcome barriers which separate us. This power of reconciling and of forgiving is given to the community (Jn 20:23; Mt 18:18). In the Gospel of Matthew, this power is also given to Peter (Mt 16:19). Here we can see that a community without forgiveness and without reconciliation is not a Christian community. In one word, our mission is that of “forming community” according to the example of the community of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
4) Personal questions
• In society today, the divergence and the tensions of race, social class, religion, gender and culture are enormous and they continue to grow every day. How can the mission of reconciliation be carried out today?
• In your community and in your family is there some mustard seed, the sign of a reconciled society?
For further study
Saint Thomas traveled east to India and converted many in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to Christianity in the first century. The history of the Church in India is very diverse, with many rifts. However, one of these communities of “Saint Thomas Christians” (Nasrani) is the Syro-Malabar Church, one of several Eastern Churches which are in full communion with Rome.
Take some time to look at the history of some of these Eastern Churches this week. In addition to the various Roman Rites, there are several other Rites used throughout these Churches. These historical traditions are preserved within the Vatican through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, all nations,
extol Him, all peoples,
for His faithful love is strong
and His constancy never-ending. (Ps 117)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
Your servant and Your Son,
You raised a fallen world.
Free us from sin
and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.
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 9:18-26
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel leads us to meditate on two miracles of Jesus. The first one was in favor of a woman considered unclean because of an irregular hemorrhage which had lasted for more than twelve years; the second one in favor of a girl who had just died. According to the mentality of that time, the person who touched blood or a corpse or dead body was considered unclean and whoever touched that person became unclean. Blood and death were factors of exclusion! This is why those two women were marginalized people, excluded from participation in the community. Whoever touched them became unclean, and therefore, would not be able to participate in the community and could not relate with God. In order to be admitted to participate fully in the community, it was necessary to go through the rite of purification prescribed by the norms of the law. Now, curing the impurity of the woman through faith, Jesus opens a new path toward God which does not depend anymore on the rites of purification, controlled by the priests. In resurrecting the girl, Jesus conquers the power of death and opens a new horizon on life.
• Matthew 9:18-19: The death of the little girl. When Jesus was still speaking, an official of the place came to intercede for his daughter who has just died. He asks Jesus to go to impose His hands on her so that “she will live.” The official thinks that Jesus has the power to make his daughter rise from the dead. This is a sign of much faith in Jesus on the part of the little girl’s father. Jesus rises and goes with him, taking only His disciples. This is the starting point of both episodes which follow: the cure of the woman who had been suffering for the past twelve years from a hemorrhage, and the resurrection of the little girl. The Gospel of Mark presents both of these episodes, but with many details: the official was called Jairus, and he was the president of the Synagogue. The little girl was not dead as yet, and she was twelve years old, etc. (Mk 5:21-43). Matthew gives a briefer version of Mark’s lively narration.
• Matthew 9:20-21: The situation of the woman. While they were on the way to the official’s house, a woman who had been suffering for twelve years because of an irregular hemorrhage got close to Jesus seeking to be cured. Twelve years with a hemorrhage! This is why she was marginalized, excluded, because as we have said, at that time blood rendered the person impure. Mark says that the woman had spent all she had with doctors, but instead of improving her situation had become worse (Mk 5:25-26) But she had heard some speak about Jesus (Mk 5:27). This is why a new hope sprang up in her. She told herself, “If I can just touch His clothes, I shall be saved.” The catechism of that time said: “If I touch His clothes I will remain impure.” The woman thinks exactly the contrary! This was a sign of great courage! It was a sign also that women were not in agreement with everything that the religious authority taught. The teaching of the Pharisees and of the scribes did not succeed in controlling the thinking of the people. Thank God! The woman got close to Jesus from behind. She touched the end of His cloak and she was cured.
• Matthew 9:22. The word of Jesus which enlightens. Jesus turns and seeing the woman declares: “Courage, My daughter, your faith has saved you.” A brief utterance, but which makes us see three very important points: (1) In saying “My daughter”, Jesus accepts the woman in the new community which has formed around Him. She was no longer excluded. (2) What she expected and believed takes place in fact: she was cured. This proves that the catechism of the religious authority was not correct and that in Jesus was opened a new path which gave people the possibility of obtaining the purity which the law demanded and also to enter into contact with God. (3) Jesus recognizes that without the faith of this woman, He would not have been able to work the miracle. The cure was not a magic rite, but an act of faith.
• Matthew 9:23-24: In the house of the official. After that Jesus goes to the house of the official. Seeing the agitation of those who were mourning because of the death of the little girl, He asks everybody to get out of the room. And He says: “The little girl is not dead, she is sleeping!” People laugh, because they know how to distinguish when a person sleeps or when she is dead. Death was for them a barrier that nobody could go beyond. It is the laughter of Abraham and of Sarah, that is, of those who do not believe that nothing is impossible for God (Gen 17:17; 18:12-14; Lk 1:27). The words of Jesus still have a very deep significance. The situation of the communities at the time of Matthew seemed to be in a situation of death, even though they heard said, “It is not death, you are asleep! Wake up!”
• Matthew 9:25-26: The resurrection of the little girl. Jesus does not attach any importance to the people’s laughter . He waits for everyone to get out of the house. Then He enters, takes the little girl by the hand, and she gets up. Mark keeps the words of Jesus, “Talita kúmi!” which mean, “Little girl, I tell you to get up!” (Mk 5:41). The news spread throughout that region. The people believed that Jesus is the Lord of life who overcomes death.
4) Personal questions
• Today, what are the categories of people who feel excluded from participating in the Christian community? What are the factors which cause the exclusion of so many people and render life difficult for them in the family and in society?
• “The little girl is not dead. She sleeps!” She is not dead! You are sleeping! Wake up! This is the message of today’s Gospel. What does it tell me? Am I one of those who laugh?
• Have I suffered ridicule from others in society for having Faith? If not, why not? Trusting in God goes against many modern beliefs. Should I expect this reaction?
5) Concluding Prayer
I shall praise You to the heights, God my King,
I shall bless Your name for ever and ever.
Day after day I shall bless You,
I shall praise Your name for ever and ever. (Ps 145:1-2)
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 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
3) Reflection
• The Sermon on the Mount takes chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew. The purpose of the narrative part of chapters 8 and 9 is to show how Jesus put into practice what He had just taught. In the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches acceptance (Mt 5:23-25, 38-42,43). Now He puts it into practice by accepting the lepers (Mt 8:1-4), the foreigners (Mt 8:5-13), the women (Mt 8:14-15), the sick (Mt 8:16-17), the possessed (Mt 8:28-34), the paralytics (Mt 9:1-8), the tax collectors (Mt 9:9-13), unclean people (Mt 9:20-22), etc. Jesus breaks the norms and customs which excluded and divided people: fear and lack of faith (Mt 8:23-27) and the laws on purity (9:14-17) and He clearly states the requirements for those who want to follow Him. They should have the courage to give up many things (Mt 8:18-22). In the same way in the attitudes and in the practice of Jesus we see in what the Kingdom and the perfect observance of the Law of God consists.
• Matthew 9:9: The call to follow Jesus. The first people called to follow Jesus are four fishermen, all Jewish (Mt 4:18-22). Now Jesus calls a tax collector, considered a sinner and treated as an unclean person by the community of the most observant of the Pharisees. In the other Gospels, this tax collector is called Levi. Here, his name is Matthew, which means gift of God or given by God. The communities, instead of excluding the tax collector and considering him unclean, should consider him a Gift of God for the community, because his presence makes the community become a sign of salvation for all! Like the first four who were called, Matthew, the tax collector, leaves everything that he has and follows Jesus. The following of Jesus requires breaking away from many things. Matthew leaves the tax office, his source of revenue, and follows Jesus!
• Matthew 9:10: Jesus sits at table with sinners and tax collectors. At that time, the Jews lived apart from tax collectors and sinners and they did not eat with them at the same table. The Christian Jews should break from this isolation and sit at table with tax collectors and with the unclean according to the teaching given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the expression of the universal love of God the Father (Mt 5:44-48). The mission of the communities was that of offering a place to those who did not have one. But this new law was not accepted by all. In some communities people coming from paganism, even if they were Christians, were not accepted around the same table (cf. Acts 10:28; 11:3; Gal 2:12). The text of today’s Gospel shows us Jesus, who sits at table with tax collectors and sinners in the same house, around the same table.
• Matthew 9:11: The question of the Pharisees. Jews were forbidden to sit at table with the tax collectors and with sinners, but Jesus does not follow this prohibition. Rather, He becomes a friend to them. The Pharisees, seeing the attitude of Jesus, ask the disciples, “Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” This question may be interpreted as an expression of their desire to know why Jesus acts in that way. Others interpret the question as a criticism of Jesus’ behavior, because for over five hundred years, from the time of the exile in Babylon until the time of Jesus, the Jews had observed the laws of purity. This secular observance became a strong sign of identity. At the same time it was a factor in their separation in the midst of other peoples. Thus, because of the purity laws, they could not sit around the same table to eat with tax collectors. To eat with tax collectors meant to get contaminated, to become unclean. The precepts of legal purity were rigorously observed in Palestine as well as in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora. At the time of Jesus there were more than five hundred precepts to keep purity. In the years of the 70’s, at the time when Matthew wrote, this conflict was very timely.
• Matthew 9:12-13: “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice.” Jesus hears the question of the Pharisees to the disciples and He answers with two clarifications: the first one is taken from common sense: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” The second one is taken from the Bible: “Go and learn the meaning of the words: ‘Mercy is what pleases Me, not sacrifice’.” Through these clarifications, Jesus makes explicit His mission among the people: “I have not come to call the upright but sinners.” Jesus rejects the criticism of the Pharisees; He does not accept their arguments, because they came from a false idea of the Law of God. He Himself invokes the Bible: “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice.” For Jesus, mercy is more important than legal purity. He refers to the prophetic tradition to say that mercy has greater value for God than all sacrifices (Hos 6:6; Isa 1:10-17). God has profound mercy, and is moved before the failures of His people (Hos 11:8-9).
4) Personal questions
• Today, in our society, who is marginalized and excluded? Why? In our community, do we have preconceptions or prejudices? What is the challenge which the words of Jesus present to our community?
• Jesus asks the people to read and to understand the Old Testament which says, “Mercy is what pleases Me and not sacrifice.” What does Jesus want to say to us about this today?
5) Concluding Prayer
Blessed are those who observe His instructions,
who seek Him with all their hearts,
and, doing no evil, who walk in His ways. (Ps 119:2-3)
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 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"– he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
3) Reflection
• The extraordinary authority of Jesus. To the reader, Jesus appears as a person invested with extraordinary authority by means of words and actions (Mt 9:6-8). The authoritative word of Jesus strikes evil at its root: in the case of the paralytic man, on sin that affects the man in his liberty and obstructs his living: “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 5); “Rise, pick up your bed and go home” (v. 6). Truly all the forms of paralysis of the heart and mind to which we are subject are canceled by the authority of Jesus (9:6), because during His life on earth He met all these forms. The authoritative and effective word of Jesus awakens paralyzed humanity (9:5-7) and gives it the gift of walking (9:6) in a renewed faith
• The encounter with the paralytic. After the storm and a visit to the country of the Gadarenes, Jesus returns to Capernaum, His city. And as He was on His way, He met the paralytic. The healing did not take place in a house, but along the road. Therefore, along the road that leads to Capernaum they brought Him a paralytic man. Jesus addresses him, calling him “My son,” a gesture of attention that soon becomes a gesture of salvation: “your sins are forgiven you” (v. 2) The forgiveness of sins which Jesus pronounces on the part of God to the paralytic refers to the bond between sickness, failure and sin. This is the first time that the evangelist attributes this particular divine power to Jesus in an explicit way. For the Jews, a person’s illness was considered a punishment because of sins committed. The physical illness was always considered a consequence of one’s own or one’s parents’ moral evil (Jn 9:2). Jesus restores to man the condition of salvation freeing him from illness as well as from sin.
• For some of those who were present, for the scribes, the words of Jesus which announced forgiveness of sins was a true and proper blasphemy. According to them, Jesus was arrogant because God alone can forgive sins. They did not manifest openly such a judgment of Jesus but expressed it by murmuring among themselves. Jesus, who penetrates their hearts, sees their considerations and reproves them because of their unbelief. The expression of Jesus “To prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” (v. 6) He is going to indicate that not only God can forgive sins, but with Jesus, also man.
• The crowd, in contrast to the scribes, is seized by fear before the cure of the paralytic and glorifies God. The crowd is struck by the power to forgive sins manifested in the healing. People exult because God has granted such power to the Son of Man. Is it possible to attribute this to the ecclesial community where forgiveness of sins was granted by order of Jesus? Matthew has presented this episode on forgiveness of sins with the intention of applying it to fraternal relationships within the ecclesial community. In it the practice to forgive sins, by delegation of Jesus, was already in force; a practice which was not shared in the Synagogue. The theme of forgiveness of sins is repeated also in Mt 18 and, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel it is affirmed that this is rooted in the death of Jesus on the Cross (26:28). But in our context the forgiveness of sins is linked with the demand of mercy present in the episode which follows, the call of Matthew: “…mercy is what pleases Me, not sacrifice. And indeed, I came to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:13). Such words of Jesus mean to say that He has made visible the forgiveness of God, above all, in His relationships with the Publicans or tax collectors, and sinners, in sitting at table with them.
• This account takes up again the problem of sin and the forgiveness which should be given. It is a story that should occupy a privileged place in the preaching of our ecclesial communities.
4) Personal questions
• Are you convinced that Jesus, called the friend of sinners, does not despise your weaknesses and your resistance, but He understands and offers you the necessary help to live a life in harmony with God and with the brothers and sisters?
• When you have the experience of betraying or refusing friendship with God do you have recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation that reconciles you with the Father and with the Church and makes you a new creature by the force of the Holy Spirit?
5) Concluding Prayer
The precepts of Yahweh are honest,
joy for the heart;
the commandment of Yahweh is pure,
light for the eyes. (Ps 19:8)
14 Dicembre Festa
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5 Dicembre Memoria facoltativa
Nativo di Mantova, nel 1452 era già sacerdote carmelitano della Congregazione Mantovana.
29 novembre Memoria facoltativa
I due lasciarono Goa con la delegazione il 25 settembre 1638 e, dopo un viaggio di successo, arrivarono ad Achén il 25 ottobre. La gioia con cui furono accolti era finta; furono presto fatti prigionieri.
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