FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JOSEPH, MARY AND JESUS

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. (Mt 2,13-15.19-23)

Now after they [the wise men] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” … When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

The light shines in the darkness

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1,1-18)

Today, Christians all over the world are celebrating Christmas. Unfortunately, some celebrate it only as a winter festival without letting Christ occupy his rightful place in what is really, and always has been, His birthday. Others are not allowed to celebrate their Christian faith and are persecuted, some of whom are killed mercilessly, as Jesus himself pointed out (Lk 21, 12-19). Many, many others celebrate this day in a Christian way and do all they can for people to put Christ back into Christmas and in their lives.

L'unità dei cristiani è una priorità per lei?

"Mai avere paura della tenerezza"

L'unità dei cristiani è una priorità per lei?

«Sì, per me l'ecumenismo è prioritario. Oggi esiste l'ecumenismo del sangue. In alcuni paesi ammazzano i cristiani perché portano una croce o hanno una Bibbia, e prima di ammazzarli non gli domandano se sono anglicani, luterani, cattolici o ortodossi. Il sangue è mischiato. Per coloro che uccidono, siamo cristiani. Uniti nel sangue, anche se tra noi non riusciamo ancora a fare i passi necessari verso l'unità e forse non è ancora arrivato il tempo. L'unità è una grazia, che si deve chiedere. Conoscevo ad Amburgo un parroco che seguiva la causa di beatificazione di un prete cattolico ghigliottinato dai nazisti perché insegnava il catechismo ai bambini. Dopo di lui, nella fila dei condannati, c'era un pastore luterano, ucciso per lo stesso motivo. Il loro sangue si è mescolato. Quel parroco mi raccontava di essere andato dal vescovo e di avergli detto: "Continuo a seguire la causa, ma di tutti e due, non solo del cattolico". Questo è l'ecumenismo del sangue. Esiste anche oggi, basta leggere i giornali. Quelli che ammazzano i cristiani non ti chiedono la carta d'identità per sapere in quale Chiesa tu sia stato battezzato. Dobbiamo prendere in considerazione questa realtà». 

Dall'intervista di Andrea Tornelli con papa Francesco su Natale, fame nel mondo, sofferenza dei bambini, riforma della Curia, donne cardinale, Ior e prossimo viaggio in Terra Santa

VATICAN INSIDER - ANDREA TORNIELLI - 15/12/2013

HE DOES NOT SAVE HIMSELF

Feast of Christ the King

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (Lk 23, 35-43)

The people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” This is the word of the Lord
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Whose wife shall the woman be?

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him another question. (Lk 20, 27-38)

Today’s gospel selection presents us with a question the Sadducees asked Jesus: “In the resurrection whose wife will the woman be?” Now, this woman, the Sadducees said, was married to seven brothers. The Sadducees, who did not believe in the immortality of the soul, resurrection and angels, made up the story based on a Law of Moses that obliged brothers to marry the widow of a childless brother, so as to “raise up children for his brother”. This question was thought as a trap. They were not sincere, and they did not want Jesus to clarify for them the reason for this law, and this question worked against them.

Hurry and come down

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Lk 19, 1-10)

    This is the story of Zacchaeus as we have it from the evangelist Luke.

RUŻARJU - MISTERI TAL-FERĦ

1- Marija taċċetta li tkun omm l-Iben t’Alla

L-anġlu tal-Mulej ġie mibgħut għand waħda mara żagħżugħa, minn Nazaret, jisimha Marija mgħarrsa ma’ mastrudaxxa jismu Ġużeppi. Wara li sellmilha l-anġlu taha l-aħbar: “Tibżax, Marija, ara int se tnissel fil-ġuf u jkollok iben u ssemmih Ġesù”. Marija tħawwdet. Rat il-wisa’ u l-profondità ta’ dak li qalilha l-messaġġier tal-Mulej.

Wieħed jieħu l-impressjoni li l-anġlu wasal għand Marija b’pakkett maħsub, deċiż u magħluq li fih ix-xbejba ta’ Nazaret ma kellha ebda għażla, bħallikieku l-unika triq li kellha kienet li tbaxxi rasha u tobdi. It-tħabbira tal-anġlu ma kinetx “Int se ssir omm, trid jew ma tridx”. L-aħbar li wasslilha l-anġlu kienet tispjega x’kien qed jipproponilha Alla, xi xtaq minnha, iżda hu ħalliha fil-libertà li taħseb, titlob u tiddeċiedi. Kien għalhekk li l-anġlu ma qabadx u telaq malli taha l-aħbar. Għinha tirrifletti biex tiddeċiedi. U baqa’ jistenna t-tweġiba ta’ Marija. L-anġlu telaq minn ħdejn Marija biss wara li din qaltlu bid-deċiżjoni tagħha: “Ara, jiena l-qaddejja tal-Mulej; ħa jsir minni skont kelmtek”. Telaq ferħan l-anġlu. Nimmaġinah iwassal l-aħbar it-tajba lill-Missier u lill-kori kollha tal-anġli.

How to pray correctly

 Jesus then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18, 9-14)

Just before this gospel selection Jesus spoke about how important it is to pray and never stop praying (Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge - Luke 18, 1-8). Today, Jesus teaches us how to pray correctly. He does this through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Jesus tells us that both Pharisee and tax collector went up to the temple to pray. Both had good intentions. Both of them were sincere.

RUŻARJU / MISTERI TAT-TBATIJA

1 – Kristu fil-ġnien tal-Ġetsemani

     

  Wara l-aħħar ikla ma’ ħbiebu, Ġesù, imdawwar b’dawk li kienu ħalfu li jħobbuh, telaq lejn il-ġnien fejn kien soltu jmur jitlob. Hemm sab ruħu imdawwar minn naħa l-waħda bil-ħbieb li ħadhom in-ngħas u raqdu, u minn naħa l-oħra mill-għedewwa li kienu resqin biex jaqbduh bi traditur quddiem u suldati armati sew warajh.

   L-evanġelista Luqa jitkellem dwar anġlu li deher mis-sema biex ifarraġ lil Ġesù li kien qiegħed jgħereq l-għaraq tad-demm meta kien qed jiġi mitlub li jaċċetta t-tbatija tal-passjoni li kienet qrib sewwa. Luqa qisu ried ipoġġi eku tat-tħabbira tal-anġlu lil Marija. Jekk hu hekk, allura, aktar milli jwassal il-faraġ, kien aktar anġlu ħabbar li kien qed jistenna biex iwassal it-tweġiba ta’ Ġesù lil Missieru. “Ħa jsir minni skont kelmtek” wieġbet l-Omm; “Mhux kif irrid jien, imma kif trid int” wieġeb l-Iben. Hu għalhekk li l-liturġija tfakkarna “[Ġesù] aċċetta li minn rajh ibati”. Mill-ġnien tidwi wkoll il-kelma, “li spirtu iva jrid, imma l-ġisem dgħajjef” (Mt 26, 41).

Will there be faith on earth?

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 18, 1-8)

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

In today’s gospel, Jesus asked his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Before we try to give an answer to Christ’s question, we have to ask: “What is faith?”

To pray, to bless, to preach

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (Lk 10, 1-12)

“After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.”

 This is the Word of the Lord.

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Let your light shine!

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:18-23)

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

This is the word of the Lord.

On July 26 the Church celebrates the memorial of Saints Joachim and Anna, the parents of Our Lady, and grandparents of her son Jesus.

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Are we curious enough?

 “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you…

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mt 7, 6. 12-14)

This is the Word of the Lord.

Today’s gospel reading is made up of three instructions that apparently have no link, nothing in common except that they are reported as spoken by Jesus Christ at the end of what we normally call “The Sermon on the Mount”.

The first one instructs the faithful not to give what is holy to dogs and not to throw pearls before pigs. The reason given is that dogs and pigs, will not appreciate the value of the things we throw to them, and they will turn against us and harm us. It is not easy to understand what Jesus really means by this, and scholars try to understand the instruction. I will not enter the discussion here. However, it seems to me that it asks us to identify and appreciate what is holy, and that pearls are precious. We do not, normally, throw away things that we value or that are precious. In a way, then, Jesus asks us to learn how to make good use of what we have.
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A prayer to Mary, our Mother

Mother of the silence that preserves the mystery of God, deliver us from the idolatry of the present, to which those who forget are condemned. Purify the eyes of pastors with the balm of memory: that we might return to the freshness of the beginning, for a praying and penitent Church.

Mother of the beauty that blossoms from fidelity to daily work, remove us from the torpor of laziness, of pettiness, and defeatism. Cloak Pastors with that compassion that unifies and integrates: that we might discover the joy of a humble and fraternal servant Church.

Mother of the tenderness which enfolds in patience and mercy, help us burn away the sadness, impatience, and rigidity of those who have not known what it means to belong.

Intercede with your Son that our hands, our feet and our hearts may be swift: that we may build the Church with the truth in charity.

Mother, we will be the People of God, on pilgrimage towards the Kingdom.

Amen.

 by Pope Francis

Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/05/24/pope_leads_italian_bishops_in_profession_of_faith/en1-695043 of the Vatican Radio website

I believe in God

From all eternity, God spoke one word which said all He had to say. It was not a human word, and therefore it was not limited. The word God spoke is God. "The Word was with God and the Word was God" (Jn 1, 1) John told us in the prologue to his gospel.

Spoken from eternity the Word brought about the beginning of time through creation, for “All things were made by Him and without Him nothing was made that had been made”. (Jn 1, 3)

After creation, God made his Word known in many ways and at many times through those he chose so people could come to know Him, the true God and to embrace the project He set in motion when He created everything that is in the heavens and on earth.

Who can be saved?

A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark: Peter began to say to [Jesus], “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age - houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mk 10, 28-31) This is the word of the Lord.

This gospel reading is sort of framed between two stories. Jesus was “setting out on a journey”, he was walking, therefore. A young rich man ran up to him and asked him “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered that he should obey the commandments. When the young man answered that he had kept them all since his youth, Jesus looked at him and loved him, and he challenged him to give up everything he had to follow him [Jesus]. The young man “was shocked and went away grieving”. The disciples were shocked too for Jesus told them how difficult it was “for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” They said to one another: “Then who can be saved?” 

RISE, LET US BE ON OUR WAY.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said to his disciples: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way (John 14, 27-31). This is the word of the Lord.

In today’s gospel selection, the last sentence caught my attention: Rise, let us be on our way. It lies at the end of John’s chapter 14 and it seems to close Christ’s farewell discourse to his disciples after having participated in the Last Supper he had eagerly desired to eat with them. But Jesus’ discourse goes on for another three chapters. Bible scholars discuss this matter at length. This is not the place to expand on this discussion. I only want to quote St. Thomas Aquinas who, commenting on this reading from John’s gospel recalls St. John Chrysostom saying that “He [Jesus] said this because he saw they [the disciples] were afraid, … Consequently they were not paying attention to what he was saying. So Christ led them to another hidden place, so that feeling more secure they could listen with more attention to what he would say to them and understand it better” (Commentary on John’ gospel, Ch14, Lecture 8,  no 1977). 

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He is alive!

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. (Jn 20, 1-9)

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  This is the word of the Lord

Today we are celebrating Easter. The Church invites us to rejoice and sing: Alleluia! Jesus is alive.

For the Christian faithful, Easter is the most important feast. It is the biggest feast, because it gives us a sure and true foundation for our faith in Jesus Christ.

listen on  http://word.op.org/2013/03/31/

Pope Francis to Diplomats

Pope Francis

Discourse to Diplomats - Friday, March 22, 2013

    Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Heartfelt thanks to your Dean, Ambassador Jean-Claude Michel, for the kind words that he has addressed to me in the name of everyone present. It gives me joy to welcome you for this exchange of greetings: a simple yet deeply felt ceremony, that somehow seeks to express the Pope’s embrace of the world. Through you, indeed, I encounter your peoples, and thus in a sense I can reach out to every one of your fellow citizens, with their joys, their troubles, their expectations, their desires.

    Your presence here in such numbers is a sign that the relations between your countries and the Holy See are fruitful, that they are truly a source of benefit to mankind. That, indeed, is what matters to the Holy See: the good of every person upon this earth!

    And it is with this understanding that the Bishop of Rome embarks upon his ministry, in the knowledge that he can count on the friendship and affection of the countries you represent, and in the certainty that you share this objective.

    At the same time, I hope that it will also be an opportunity to begin a journey with those few countries that do not yet have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, some of which were present at the Mass for the beginning of my ministry, or sent messages as a sign of their closeness – for which I am truly grateful.

    As you know, there are various reasons why I chose the name of Francis of Assisi, a familiar figure far beyond the borders of Italy and Europe, even among those who do not profess the Catholic faith.

In the cross of Jesus

… In the cross of Jesus Catherine discovered not the repugnant horror of death pushing us away, but the gracious face of love drawing us close. No human power nailed Jesus to the cross, for earthly forces could not bind him to the wood had his own love not held him fast (Letter T 253 to Trincio De’ Trinci da Fuligno and Corrado his brother). A tortured death thus paradoxically shines as the revelation of the most profound beauty: “He bows his head to greet you, wears the crown of thorns to adorn you, stretches out his arms to embrace you, lets his feet be nailed that he may stand with you” (Dialogue - Ch. 128). Raised on high before the gaze of the entire universe, the cross of Jesus unveils infinite love vulnerable to the last measure of self-giving, as love alone shines forth from every part of Jesus’ torn body.

Yet the source of love, Jesus’ heart, no one could see. … 

Mary Ann Fatula, Catherine of Siena’s way, p.124-125

To go or not to go

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John: (11, 45-57)

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’ He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?’ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

This is the word of the Lord. 

Listen on: http://word.op.org/2012/03/31/ 

To go or not to go, this is the question three types of people asked in this selection from the Gospel written by John.