A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 22, n. 52)
Week 34 in Ordinary Time: November 24-30, 2024
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: November 17-23, 2024 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Ordinary Week 33”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: November 24-30, 2024.)
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November 24, 2024: OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE (34th or Last Sunday of Ordinary Time)
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Is a Sacrificial Kingship”
BIBLICAL READINGS
Dn 7:13-14 // Rv 1:5-8 // Jn 18:33b-37
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A, Gospel Reading (Jn 18:33b-37): “You say I am a king.”
On several occasions I have viewed the powerfully evocative movie, “The Fourth Wise Man”, which depicts the magi Atabar’s yearning and long search for the King of the Jews, the one who would give meaning to his life and joy to his soul. His compassionate act for a sick traveler detained him in the desert. Hence, he was not able to catch up with the caravan led by the three other magi – Melchor, Gaspar and Balthasar – on their journey to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn King. Atabar, accompanied by his slave, Orantes, followed in pursuit of the infant King to Bethlehem and to Egypt, but to no avail. His odyssey led him to a leper colony in Israel that greatly needed his healing ministry. He spent his lifetime in service of the wretched poor, becoming one of them. The precious gifts that he had intended to present to the King were given away, one by one, in the process of saving the lives of the distressed and afflicted. At the end of his life, the aged and infirm Atabar finally saw the King from a distance, during his passion as the Suffering Servant and his crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem. On Easter morning, the King whom he had longed for and served unknowingly in the poor and outcast revealed himself to the dying Atabar in his glorified form as the Risen Lord and welcomed him into his kingdom.
The Gospel of today (Jn 18:33b-37) presents us with the true meaning of Christ’s kingship. The form of kingship that Jesus assumed is that of servitude and fidelity to truth. The King of the Jews is the beloved Servant of Yahweh who brought to fulfillment the Father’s saving plan to save the poor and the sinners. Indeed, Jesus is a King, but not of earthly origin. His kingdom is not of this world (cf. Jn 18:36), but of the spiritual order. His exercise of kingship consisted in bearing witness to the truth (cf. Jn 18: 37). He is the Messiah sent from heaven to reveal the truth about God’s love. Hence, the kingdom that Jesus inaugurated in his entire life of service and self-giving is a “kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace” (cf. Preface of the Feast of Christ the King).
The Kingdom of God is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. The phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs 122 times in the Gospels, 90 of which are on the lips of Jesus. The biblical scholar, Eugene Maly remarks: “The truth is that Kingdom of God is meant to conjure up the dynamic notion of God powerfully ruling over his creation, over his people, and over the history of both … The Kingdom of God is a total, global, and structural transfiguration and revolution of the reality of human beings; it means the cosmos purified of all evils and full of the reality of God.”
Our Redeemer Lord, Jesus Christ – “the faithful witness, the first born from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth” – has made us into a kingdom, priests for God the Father (cf. Rev 1:5-6). Today’s solemnity of Christ the King helps us to focus not only on the greatness of his kingdom, but also on the royal dignity and responsibility he has given to his people, who are part of that kingdom. At the end of the liturgical year, which is a spiritual itinerary of “christification”, let us submit ourselves anew to the dominion of the Shepherd-King who came to seek the lost, unite all peoples of the earth and integrate the whole of creation.
Let us heed the exhortation of the Benedictine abbot, Alban Boultwood to follow the ways of sacrificial kingship of Christ in this life, sharing his acceptance of the conditions of this world, its suffering and mortality, and transforming these by that self-giving which is filled with grace. He reminds us: “All his followers in the royal priesthood must always form a serving, suffering, loving Church. We inherit the kingship of Jesus by fulfilling the mystery of his blessed Passion, death and resurrection in the witness of our own personal life … Christ’s kingship truly continues on earth in us; this is both the wonderful dignity and the tremendous responsibility of our Christian vocation.”
B. First Reading (Dn 7:13-14): “His dominion is an everlasting dominion.”
I was flipping through the pages of James Underwood Crockett’s book, “Roses” when I came upon a picture of the breathtaking and fabulous 13th century rose window of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Tinted light glows with incredible beauty as it passes through the stained glass “petals” in the shape of a rose. The glass “petals” radiate from a central figure of Christ the King, seated on his throne. Four small “petals” border the royal image of Christ, forming a fascinating equilateral cross. On this last Sunday of the liturgical year when we celebrate the royal enthronement of Jesus Savior, who died for us on the cross, we recognize and acknowledge with reverence the sacrificial aspect of his kingship. By his redemptive suffering, Jesus is the center of history and the king of all his Father’s creation.
In the reading (Dn 7:13-14), Daniel’s vision of the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven and receiving dominion, glory and kingship originally represented the vindication of the persecuted people of Israel, bitterly oppressed under the reign of the detestable pagan Syrian king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes whose kingship was about to be shattered. The image of the human figure enthroned in glory, however, later came to be applied to the expected Messiah. Christians see the fulfillment of this apocalyptic vision in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus brought to perfection the enigmatic working principle, “Through suffering to kingship”. Reigning from his cross, the messianic King drew all peoples and creation to himself by the power of his self-surrendering love. The Benedictine writer, Alban Boultwood comments: “In the noblest and truest sense of all, Jesus is king of all his Father’s creation, for in him all things find their purpose, salvation, and fulfillment. The incarnate Son is the only Mediator in the plan of divine love, by which all creation attains its true end and comes to the Father. At the birth of Jesus we sang the old hymn asking What child is this and Christian faith and devotion answered This, this is Christ the King. As this same Jesus was dying on the cross, Pilate set above his head the ironic sign, more to mock the Jews than the Crucified: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. What king is this? Christian faith answers more fervently than ever that this is indeed the true King, whose cross wins redemption for sinners, and whose death wins victory over all the powers of death. Christ gained his victory and established his kingdom not through the power of worldly success, but through a love stronger than all the powers of this world. His authority was from above, from his perfect union with the Father’s will.”
The Christian disciples who are the object of the Father’s grace are called to participate in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial kingship, by living out in their own lives the mystery of his paschal destiny. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, exhort us: “To follow Christ, King of the Universe, by going against the ways of the world, brings many difficulties … But God gave to the one he made king the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for his possession. We trustfully raise our eyes toward him who, his heart opened on the cross, draws everyone to himself to lead them with him into his kingdom.”
C. Second Reading (Rv 1:5-8): “The ruler of the kings of the earth has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father.”
Today’s Second Reading (Rv 1:5-8) magnificently portrays the vast expanse of God’s Kingdom-Reign throughout all time: past, present and future. Christ’s redeeming power penetrates every moment of human history. He is “the Alpha and the Omega … the one who is and who was and is to come, the Almighty” (v. 8). The Second Reading likewise acknowledges Christ’s sacrificial love and its fruitfulness: redemption from sin and the establishment of a kingdom of priests to serve God the Father. As the faithful witness of the truth about God’s redeeming love for us, as the firstborn of the dead who guarantees our own resurrection and victory over death, and as the ruler of the kings of the earth who wields power over all peoples and creation, Jesus the Redeemer and Almighty King is sure to come at the end time: “Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him” (v. 7).
On this beautiful feast of Christ the King, we – the members of the kingly, priestly and holy people formed by his paschal sacrifice – are challenged to avow his kingship and reign over us. We must put his words of truth at the very core of our life and demonstrate our faithfulness in all situations. Our actions must mirror the compassionate and forgiving actions of Christ. In imitation of our Redeemer King, who is both priest and sacrificial victim, we must witness the Good News of salvation, even at the cost of our life. Let us therefore gaze upon Christ the King, whose heart was pierced while enthroned on the cross. On the throne of grace at Calvary, the King-Shepherd was drawing all peoples to himself and leading them into God’s eternal kingdom of love, justice and peace. Our priestly vocation in the heavenly kingdom obliges us to serve the cause of life and love, to the glory of God the Father.
The following testimony of Bill Pelke illustrates how the forgiving love of the Redeemer King on the cross transcends time and space, impelling his disciples to channel that grace into the “here and now” (cf. Jan Petroni Brown, “From Hatred to Mercy” in The Word Among Us, July 2006, p. 51-56). By imitating Christ’s compassionate acts, we promote and hasten the coming of his kingdom of justice, peace and love in today’s world.
(The) urge to extend compassion can lead to expressions of forgiveness that are more public. Bill Pelke, cofounder of Journey of Hope, helped to lead an international campaign to save the life of the fifteen-year-old girl who had killed his grandmother. As a result of Pelke’s work, more than two million people signed petitions protesting her execution in 1989, and Pope John Paul II asked that her life be spared. The effort was successful: Paula Cooper’s sentence was commuted to sixty years in prison. (…)
Only a “big God” could have brought Bill to the point of forgiving such a brutal crime. Ruth Pelke, the grandmother he knew as “Nana”, was a gentle woman who had trustingly opened her door to Paula Cooper and three other ninth-grade girls. Pretending to be interested in Bible lessons, the teens just wanted money to play arcade games. Once inside, they stabbed the seventy-eight year old woman over thirty-three times, took ten dollars, and drove off in her car.
In the months that followed, Bill felt that God was calling him to forgive the girls, especially Paula, who was considered the ringleader. It was beyond him. Painful images prevented him from feeling any compassion, he says. He kept picturing Nana “butchered on the dining room floor – the same dining room where our family gathered every year for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and birthdays.”
Bill’s moment of conversion came a year and a half later, as he began his three-to-eleven shift at work. Sitting fifty feet aloft in a crane cab, he visualized the photo of his grandmother that had accompanied the newspaper accounts of her murder. It showed a silver-haired woman with a sweet smile and wearing a light blue dress. This time, though, he saw something distinctly different in the familiar picture. Tears were flowing from Nana’s eyes and down her cheeks. “At first I thought they might be tears of pain”, he says, “but I immediately realized they were tears of love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family.”
In his book Journey of Hope, Bill writes: “As I sat in the crane, I pictured an image of Jesus crucified on the cross. I pictured the crown of thorns dug into his brow. I envisioned his bloody hands and feet and the nails driven through them. I recalled what he said: Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. I began to think that Paula Cooper didn’t know what she was doing when she killed Nana. A person who knows what they are doing does not take a twelve-inch butcher knife and stab someone thirty-three times.”
With tears “flowing like a river”, Bill begged for the strength he needed to forgive. From that moment on, it was as if a weight was lifted from his heart. He was finally able to picture his grandmother not as she had died but as she had lived – “what she stood for and what she believed in, and the beautiful, wonderful person that she was”.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we recognize that redemptive suffering is an important aspect of the kingship of Christ? Do we acknowledge that Jesus’ self-surrendering love is what makes for his effective rule? Do we strive to follow the ways of Christ’s sacrificial kingship that entails accepting the conditions of this fragmented world, with all its suffering and mortality? Do we try to be more receptive to the kingship of Jesus by fulfilling the mystery of his blessed passion, death and resurrection in the witness of our own personal life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for guiding us in our spiritual journey
through the Church’s liturgical year.
The year of grace 2012
is crowned with the Feast of Christ the King.
He is our Master-Shepherd and the Lord of history.
He is the Pantocrator - the almighty Lord of heaven and earth.
As we remember the past with gratitude
and live the present with enthusiasm,
we look forward with confident hope
to the final advent of Jesus your Son,
the sacrificial king ... our Redeemer King.
Bless us and strengthen us.
Form us into a serving, suffering and loving Church.
Help us to be true witnesses
of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom value.
He lives and reigns, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.” (Jn 18:36)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that today’s Christian disciples may understand more deeply the meaning and the challenge of Christ’s sacrificial kingship. Endeavor to promote the kingship of Christ by acts of justice and peace, and by a personal witnessing of love, service, and joy in the Holy Spirit. As humble participants in his sacrificial kingdom, let us courageously promote the culture of life and resolve to fight the culture of death that takes shape in many violent forms. If possible, take part in a public manifestation of love, honor and reverence for Christ, the King of the universe.
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November 25, 2024: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (34); SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA, Virgin, Martyr
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Father’s Totus Tuus … His Name Is Written on Their Foreheads”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5 // Lk 21:1-4
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 21:1-4): “He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.”
We are almost at the end of the liturgical year. Through the sacred liturgy, the Church helps us to be thankful for the divine compassion and the providence bestowed on us every moment of our life. Likewise, the bible readings in these days, especially today’s Gospel about the widow who gives all (Lk 21:1-4), invite us to respond to God with a generous and total love. As we are completing the Church’s year of grace, it is fitting to meditate upon the totus tuus quality of God’s relationship with us, as well as the totus tuus character of the response he demands from us.
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “Totus tuus … “totally yours” … Such total self-giving is characteristic of biblical religion. It is not to be understood as a purely human initiative. Rather, it is the expected response to the redemptive love of God. It is he who loves first. Then empowered by that love, we can love God and neighbor in turn…God’s initial love is always a presupposition. Our lives are, or should be, one large thank you to a loving God. And the thank you must be expressed wholeheartedly. The Gospel reading exhibits this theme. The widow who gave her two small copper coins gave all that she had to live on. This was her version of totus tuus to God. Because it was that, it was worth much more than the huge donations of the wealthy … The emphasis is on the completeness of the human gift … Jesus is the Father’s totus tuus to us. When we respond, it must also be in the once and for all spirit of totus tuus. In Christianity, God has given his all once and for all. We are asked to respond in the same way … That is why we say right here and now to God: Totus tuus, Lord”.
Here is a daily life example of a totus tuus gift to God (cf. Rick Hamline in Daily Guideposts 2014, p. 60).
In the middle of a busy morning at the office, I’d just finished a long e-mail to a colleague when the phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number but answered. A faint voice said, “I’m Bernadette.”
“I’m Rick Hamlin”, I replied, trying to remember if there was a Bernadette in any story I was working on. “May I help you?”
“I need someone to pray for me”, she said. My friend Mary is very sick from cancer. They’ve just put her on hospice care. I don’t know what to do …” Her voice broke.
They knew each other from childhood. They talked on the phone every day. The cancer had come very quickly. Bernadette was in shock. Each time she visited her friend she was afraid of dissolving in tears. “If I could just pray with someone”, she said.
I found myself asking, “Want me to pray with you right now?”
“Yes, please”, she said.
I closed my eyes and lowered my voice, hoping none of my colleagues would interrupt. I’m not sure what I said, but I trusted that the right words would come. “Be with Mary and Bernadette”, I ended. “Amen.”
“Amen”, Bernadette said. “Thank you, sir. That was nice of you.”
She hung up, and I returned to work. Maybe Bernadette was supposed to get my number. Perhaps praying for her was the most important thing I would do all day.
Dear Lord, let me know how to say yes when You call.
B. First Reading (Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5): “His name and his Father’s name are written on their foreheads.”
The reading (Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5) reminds me of a story I heard, when I was a young Sister, from Sr. Maria Stella Lilli, an Italian PDDM missionary assigned in the Philippines in the 1970s and 1980s. It is about a very hardworking Sister. As she toils for the Lord and his people, she does not even give her body the legitimate rest it needs. Her reason: “Morir es descanzar” … “To die is to rest.” One day she dies and as she enters the gate of heaven, she sees a comfortable, oversized reclining chair waiting for her. She sighs with pleasure as she claims the chair. Reclining on it, she remarks contentedly: “Finally, here is my merited rest!” But then the big boss Saint Peter comes. He nudges her good-naturedly and says: “Hey! What are you doing there? Get up! You have something to do. Here in heaven the virgins follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”
Today’s reading is about John’s vision of the Lamb, the symbol of Jesus Christ, and his people. The Lamb stands on Mount Zion, the unshakable rock and the mountain of the Messiah-King, to indicate that he has full and definitive powers. With him are 144,000 people who have the name of the Lamb and of his Father written on their foreheads. To have God’s name on the forehead signifies belonging and total consecration to his service. The 144,000 are those who have been sealed by God for salvation (cf. Rv 7:4). The seer sees them standing before the throne of God singing “a new song”, which only they could learn. The gathering of the redeemed singing “a new song” is the antitype to the worship paid to the beast, with its forces of evil. They are “virginal” and undefiled. They have not prostituted themselves with idolatry. Jewish prophetic language often speaks of idolatry as sexual immorality. These holy and virginal people follow the Lamb wherever he goes. This indicates their total participation in Christ’s paschal destiny of passion, death and glory.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Why is the donation of the poor widow in the Jerusalem temple most valuable and significant? How does her offering evoke Christ’s total gift of himself? In what does Christ’s totus tuus to the Father consist? Why is Christ himself the Father’s totus tuus gift to us? Do we strive to make of our life a totus tuus gift to God?
2. Do you wish to belong to the “144, 000” redeemed and do you intend to follow the Lamb wherever he goes even to his paschal destiny of “through death to glory”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for creating us in your image,
for redeeming us in your Son,
and for sanctifying us through the power of your life-giving Spirit.
Jesus Christ is your totus tuus gift to us.
On the cross of sacrifice,
he was the Priest and Victim par excellence.
By his passion and death on the cross,
you revealed your unmitigated love and compassionate care for us.
Dear Lord God,
we love you.
Like the widow who offered her last two coins at the Jerusalem temple,
let us learn to give all and everything – our totus tuus –
and be sustained by faith in your providence.
Bless us, loving God.
Amen.
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Almighty God,
we gaze at the Paschal Lamb Jesus Christ,
victoriously standing on Mount Zion.
Help us to sing the “new song” of the redeemed.
Grant that we may follow the Lamb wherever he goes
and make us faithful, holy and true.
We give you honor and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“This poor widow put in more than all the rest” (Lk 21:3) // “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” (Rv 14:4b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that our response to God’s compassionate love may be total, generous and wholehearted. By your personal dedication and service to the poor and needy, avow to God the totus tuus character of your love for him and your neighbors. // Like the “144,000” redeemed, resolve to follow the Lamb Jesus Christ, especially in the challenges of daily life.
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November 26, 2024: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (34)
N.B. TODAY IS THE “DIES NATALIS” OR BIRTHDAY TO ETERNAL LIFE OF BLESSED JAMES ALBERIONE,
FOUNDER OF THE PAULINE FAMILY.
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Prepares Us for the Last Things … He Reaps the End Time Harvest”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 14:14-19 // Lk 21:5-11
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 21:5-11): “There will not be left a stone upon another stone.”
The setting of today’s Gospel (Lk 21:5-11) is the Jerusalem Temple, where Jesus is teaching the people and proclaiming the Good News. A beautiful refurbishing of the Temple began about forty-six years before Jesus’ birth by Herod the Great. The Temple, though not yet complete, is already one of the wonders of the ancient world. Some of the granite stones in the Temple walls, as big as modern freight cars, are so expertly linked together without mortar that it is hard to see the joints. The magnificence of the Temple with its brilliant white marble and gold ornamentation awes the people. Today’s Gospel passage describes how some people are commenting on the Temple adorned with costly stones and votive offerings. In the midst of this enthused admiration, Jesus grimly utters a prophecy on the destruction of the Temple: “All that you see here – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down” (Lk 21:6).
At his last appearance in the Temple, Jesus makes a final statement on its destruction. Indeed, there is an intimate connection between the destruction of Jerusalem and the events at the end of the world. The crisis that Jerusalem faces in Jesus’ ministry is a harbinger of the crisis that Jesus and his message, and above all, his coming as the Son of Man, will bring to all. Jesus does not give a definite date for the destruction of the Temple; neither does he give a specific time for the parousia, or his second coming. At the brink of his paschal sacrifice, Jesus asserts the faith reality that God will triumph over all the forces of evil. By predicting the destruction of the Temple and by giving warning signs of cosmic destruction, Jesus prepares his disciples spiritually for what is ahead - for the “last things”.
Harold Buetow remarks: “So what do we do now about our thoughts on the last things? For one thing, within ourselves we ought to develop a deeper spirit of responsibility so that we seek to become dependable rather than dependent, givers rather than takers, generous rather than addicted to self- interest … Outside ourselves, we are to be busy with the calamities around us; not just deplore the world’s trouble spots, but to help their victims.”
The following story is very heartening and encouraging (cf. Tom Price, “The Other Haiti” in America, October 18, 2010, p. 23-25). It is a modern day example of a responsible and creative stance in a cataclysmic situation. It inspires hope and teaches us how to promote the advent of the kingdom of God in the here and now … with toil and labor!
Try to imagine Haiti, ravaged by a massive earthquake last January, and images of rubble, masonry at crazy angles and huge homeless camps come to mind. Port-au-Prince, the capital, is still dotted with the camps that people spontaneously formed after the quake and white Land Cruisers of the United Nations and other relief agencies. While cleanup is underway, collapsed buildings and debris overwhelm the landscape. In Leogane, west of the capital and close to the center of the quake, barely a building is left standing. To see how the nation is changing and to glimpse its future, you have to take a road out of Port-au-Prince.
I recently traveled to Haiti for Catholic Relief Services to document the plight of rural Haitians. There I observed a number of projects fully or partially funded by C.R.S. that provide short-term jobs, grant micro-loans to small businesses, subsidize daily meals for Catholic schoolchildren and help local communities plant trees and grow food. A small agricultural school teaches men and women farming techniques to enrich the soil, increase crop yields and channel runoff. I also saw how the Haitian countryside has been affected by the quake.
In the southern and western departments (or provinces) island life is beginning to look more normal. The people here are poor, but the buildings are intact. Yet the quake has brought enormous pressures: Some 110,000 internally displaced people live in the Sud Department – more than the 80,000 of whom live in the two largest camps in Port-au-Prince to which the prominent visitors and film crews come. Many of the displaced people now in Sud lost their homes in the capital during the quake and have returned to their rural roots in these provincial towns to stay with family. The two neighboring departments of Grand Anse and Nippes also “host” displaced Haitians from the capital, almost 200,000 of them. With their arrival, household sizes in Sud have swelled by an average of five people. In rural areas like the small coastal town of Carrefour, I met many families who had left Port-au-Prince.
Meprilant Desire is philosophical when he talks about making ends meet with extra mouths to feed. “God gave them to us, so we make do. Some days we get enough, some days we don’t,” he smiles. Desire now supports nine children, four of his own and five who fled the quake. Recently widowed, he is caring for them alone. Straight across the dirt road that runs through the town, his neighbor Frisca Saint Juste, 23, has a similar story. He is sheltering his cousin and his cousin’s three children, plus his mother and father.
Both Desire and Saint Juste have planted seeds they received as part of a church distribution at a seed fair. They are both tending strips of peas and corn. The peas provide vital nitrogen to the soil for the next crop. Saint Juste depends on the crops he grows behind his small house. His cousin helps out, but it is backbreaking work, especially with no nearby water source to irrigate the crops. Saint Juste explains to me how bringing water close to the field, with a community water pump, for instance, would greatly help him and his neighbors. Desire is a man with a heavy weight on his shoulders. He is nevertheless optimistic about the future. He attributes his optimism to the new agricultural venture. “I got seeds at a seed fair, and I know enough not to eat them but to plant them”, he laughs. “I am stronger now, I have more energy, and I have the energy to plant more.” He has ambitions to plant peanuts next.
B. First Reading (Rv 14:14-19): “The time to reap has come because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.”
My mom conceived when my dad was sick with tuberculosis. She felt she could not afford to have another baby and took contraceptive pills. One night she had an awful dream: two children with long-handled sickles were running after her. She woke up perspiring and trembling with fear. The following morning she went for confession. The priest protracted the absolution and asked her to help the baby live. My mother went to a friend – a nurse – for help. The baby survived. He became a dentist and he cared for my mom in her old age.
The “sickle”, a farming instrument for reaping, figures prominently in today’s reading (Rv 14:14-19). John narrates his vision of the harvest at the end time: the first pair of angels gathers the grain (the just) and a second pair harvests the grapes (the unjust) that are to be thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath. At the harvest of the earth, John sees one sitting on the cloud who looks like a human being, “with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand”. This represents Jesus Christ who wears the crown of a conqueror, but the sickle shows that he comes now as a judge. The Lord Jesus carries out the eschatological harvest and gathers the faithful ones in heaven. The injunction he receives to gather the harvest comes from the temple to indicate that it is the Father who is the master of the harvest.
John’s vision continues with a grim description of another angel swinging his sickle over the earth, cutting the grapes from the vine and throwing them into the wine press of God’s furious anger. The gathering of “the grapes of wrath” signifies the execution of God’s punishment. From the time of the post-exilic prophets, God’s judgment against sinners has been compared to the work of a vintager, crushing grapes underfoot. Indeed, at the end time, the fate of the “assembly of the just” is assured in heaven. The wicked and the reprobate have a “bloody” end.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What message do the tumultuous events in the world, natural and man-made calamities and the threats of ecological destruction, bring to us? What is our attitude towards the “last things”?
2. Do we give attention to the reality of the final judgment? Do we wish to join the “assembly of the just” and escape “the winepress of God’s furious anger”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
your Son Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple,
the jewel of the city
and the unique center of worship
for the people of the first covenant.
In his prophecy and revelation,
Jesus assures us
that your victorious saving hand is at work.
Although we do not know the hour
and the circumstances of the end time,
nor the specific moment
of the ultimate coming of Jesus in his glory,
we resolve to work perseveringly
in the final realization of his Kingdom.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
***
O loving God,
let us be included in the harvest of you Kingdom
and join the assembly of the just made perfect in heaven.
Deliver us from sin
so as to avoid the wrath of your righteous anger.
You are merciful and just in all your ways.
We adore and glorify you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“All that you see here – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone.” (Lk 21:6) // “The time to reap has come.” (Rv 14:15)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the Jewish people and today’s city of Jerusalem in the Holy Land. In the Eucharistic celebration, proclaim the memorial acclamation with devotion and conviction. Allow the assurance of Christ’s coming to brighten your life and encourage you to labor mightily for the Kingdom of God. // Pray for the grace of a happy death and let everyday of your life be a preparation for the final judgment.
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November 27, 2024: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (34)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Wants Us to Persevere … His Is the Song of the Lamb and of Moses”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 15:1-4 // Lk 21:12-19
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 21:12-19): “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.”
The article, “A Tree Grows in Kenya” in Guideposts magazine (January 2004) deals with the inspiring effort of Wangari Maathai to fight off ecological destruction in her native land, Kenya. The author, Christopher Davis, narrates the gargantuan feat of this enterprising woman, whose perseverance epitomizes today’s Gospel exhortation: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”.
In 1960 Wangari won a Kennedy scholarship to study in America. She earned a master’s in biology from University of Pittsburgh, then became the first woman from Kenya ever to earn a Ph.D. Wangari returned to her county in 1966 and was shocked by what she found. The forests had been cut down for lumber. Heavy rains washed most of the good soil away, since there was no longer vegetation to protect it. Rivers were silt-choked, the soil leached of nutrients. Nothing grew and nothing bloomed anymore … Worst was what had happened to Kenya’s most precious resource – people. Men abandoned farms for jobs in overcrowded cities, leaving wives and children behind. Trees in the countryside were so scarce that women walked miles to gather a few sticks for a fire – the center of village life.
“There were so many problems,” Wangari says. “I did not know where to start, except to pray.” Then she remembered what the missionaries said: Every forest begins with a single seed. She planted a tree. Then another. Then hundreds. In 1977 she founded a group called the Green Belt Movement, which promotes tree planting in rural areas and trains farmers in eco-friendly farming methods. Since the group started, it has planted some 20 million trees in Kenya and has changed the way Kenyans look at their environment.
On October 8, 2004, Wangari Maathai was announced the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The patient perseverance of the tree planter, Wangari, who did not allow herself to be overwhelmed by a disastrous situation, but exhibited creative and life-giving attitudes under duress, anticipates the victorious quality of God’s coming at the end time. Indeed, by living out the spirit of stewardship and care of God’s creation, she presents to the world of today the patient endurance that leads to life.
The biblical scholar Carroll Stuhlmueller remarks: “Christians must adjust to a long period of waiting and persecution. In doing so, they are following the sorrowful way of the cross, taken by Jesus to arrive at glory.” Indeed, the basic tone that permeates the Gospel passage concerning the Temple destruction and the end time is the absolute assurance of the Lord’s control of history and his ultimate victory. Despite all the evil that can be imagined, the hand of God that guides our personal and cosmic destiny will emerge victorious.
Today’s Gospel reading (Lk 21:12-19) concludes beautifully with Jesus’ reassuring words: “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your life.” The promise that no harm will come to even one hair of a Christian disciple is simply a graphic statement depicting the ultimate spiritual protection of those who endure persecution for the sake of Jesus. After giving this heartwarming assurance, Christ then exhorted his disciples to manifest the sterling quality of perseverance – the courageous attitude that will help us participate in the ultimate victory of God.
B. First Reading (Rv 15:1-4): “They sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.”
The reading (Rv 15:1-4) tells us that John sees in the sky another mysterious sight: the seven angels with seven plagues, which signify the final expression of God’s anger and point to the consummation of history. But before the seven plagues unfold, the seer beholds a sea of glass mixed with fire, symbolizing God’s transcendence and holiness. Moreover, he beholds “the victors over the beast” standing beside the sea and singing the “song of Moses” and the “song of the Lamb”. The “victors over the beast” are the faithful Christians. Like Moses, they have followed the Lamb across the “Red Sea of tribulation” into the new “Promised Land” – the heavenly Jerusalem. With harps given by God, they sing a hymn to the omnipotence and justice of God in salvation history. They avow that the Lord God Almighty is the absolute Master. The acclaim that all his interventions are perfect, especially the redemption accomplished by the Lamb and the consummation of history to be described in the vision of the “seven bowls of plagues”. They assert that all nations, seeing the marvels of God and his just actions, will come to worship God.
The following modern day account gives insight into the role of music in giving worship to God and in building a community of God-worshippers (cf. Rick Hamlin, Daily Guideposts 2015, p. 69).
“Don’t sing here, Daddy!” my kids would tell me when I was tempted to sing out loud on the streets or in the car or at the dinner table or in the subway. “Okay, okay”, I’d say, but that’s the irrepressible power of music.
The other morning I was on the subway heading to work, closing my eyes, meditating on a passage from the book of Psalms, when, above the rumble of the train, I heard a woman singing one of my favorite hymns: “Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, all thy works shall praise thy name from earth and sky and sea …”
I opened my eyes to see a handsome West Indian woman in a black dress, singing as she was handing out tracts: “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”
“I love that hymn”, I told her, “But that’s not the tune I usually sing it to. Do you know this tune?” I sang it back to her. She hummed along with me. Then I sang along with her version, the two of us forming an impromptu choir. The train was coming to my station.
“Amen, brother”, she said as the doors opened. “Amen to you too, sister”, I said, darting off.
When I got to the office I e-mailed my now-grown sons. “You can be glad you weren’t with your old man when he burst into song on the subway today. Just to let you know, I wasn’t alone. Sang ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ with a woman on the train.” I could picture them rolling their eyes, but just as they’d get the message I added: “Music is a great way to connect.”
It is. With the best part of yourself, with your neighbors, and with our Creator.
Thank You, Lord, for giving us music to make our spirits sing.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we endeavor to persevere in the love and service of our Lord Jesus? Do we trust that though we will be hated by all because of his name, “not a hair on our head will be destroyed”? Do we dedicate ourselves, in toil and labor, to promote the advent of the kingdom of God? How do we respond to Jesus’ comforting words and vigorous challenge: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”?
2. Do we unite our “song of praise” to God with the entire Church and creation as they sing the “great and marvelous works” the Lord God has done?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving God, victorious over all,
we reverence your name.
Teach us to love and serve you faithfully
and to trust in your protection.
Help us to act responsibly and compassionately.
Let us be creatively involved
in helping our brothers and sisters
overcome the pain and distress of today’s fragmented world.
Help us promote your kingdom of justice, peace and love.
We eagerly await
the glorious advent of your Son Jesus Christ
at the end time.
We give you thanks and praise.
We adore and glorify you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
(Cf. Rv 15: 3-4)
Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty.
Just and true are your ways, O king of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Lk 21:19) // “Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty.” (Rv 15:3)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that the Christian disciples may continue to promote God’s kingdom in toil and labor. Assist the victims of natural and man-made calamities to cope with the pain and hardship of their situations. // At Mass, do you very best to sing for the Lord and, united with the whole Church, give God praise and glory. Let the song that you sing be fully expressed in your daily life of love and service to one another.
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November 28, 2024: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (34)
THANKSGIVING DAY (USA)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Assures Us that Our Redemption Is Near … Just and True Are His Ways”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a // Lk 21:20-28
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 21:20-28): “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
July 16, 1990: A terrible earthquake jolted the island of Luzon in the Philippines and wrought havoc and misery. People were entombed alive in the collapsed buildings. One young man was buried for two weeks in the basement of a ruined hotel in Baguio City. On the 13th day he lost hope of being rescued and decided to hasten his death. He started to bang his head viciously against a concrete slab, but a pair of invisible hands gently restrained him from killing himself. A serene feeling took hold of him and there was the assurance that redemption was at hand. He relaxed his battered body on the cold slab. On the 14th day the rescuers found him and were able to break through. He was liberated from his tomb of death. As he weakly mouthed his words of thanks (“Salamat! Salamat!”) to the rescuers, his family and friends wept for joy. The young man’s advent yearning for redemption was fulfilled.
Today’s Gospel (Lk 21:20-28) presents us with apocalyptic images: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and waves …”. These images are not meant to frighten us, but rather, they are an invitation for us to open ourselves to the saving intervention of Christ and the grace of his kingdom. We have nothing to dread, for in his final coming Christ will avow his victory and lordship as redeeming Master. We should look forward with expectation to his message of hope: “Your redemption is near!” In our preparation for the different “advents” of Christ in our life and history, let us strive to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father.
B. First Reading (Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a): “Fallen is Babylon the great.”
In today’s reading (Rv 18:1-2, 21-23: 19:1-3, 9a), John describes the fall of “Babylon”, a codeword for the Roman Empire, as well as the heavenly rejoicing for the Babylonian defeat. It also gives a glimpse into the wedding feast of the Lamb. Today’s passage begins with a death sentence pronounced on Babylon: “She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen!” This is uttered by a powerful angel whose splendor brightens the whole world. This elegy is followed by the heaving of a big millstone into the sea. This is an action symbolizing the destruction of the Roman Empire, which is the seat of sins and vices of the ancient world. Just as a large stone thrown into the sea would disappear without a trace, so “Babylon”, that is, Rome, will be annihilated. Rome has used her commercial-political power to propagate her false standards of life. Rome has spellbound and misled the world by means of vices and idolatry.
The vision of the fall of Babylon is followed by the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven saying: “Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.” Their song celebrates God’s justice as manifested by the punishment of Babylon. God punishes Babylon/Rome for killing his servants. The Lord God avenges the blood of the martyrs.
What follows is a glimpse of the wedding feast of the Lamb. The bride of the Lamb, the Church, is the antitype of the prostitute Babylon. The bride has been given a clean shining linen robe to wear, symbol of the good deeds of God’s people. The righteous are to share in the salvation of the Lamb at that great wedding banquet in heaven. The wedding of the Lamb symbolizes the joyful, intimate and glorious union of Christ with the community of the elect. Indeed, as the angel says: “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
The victorious note of the wedding of the Lamb becomes more vivid against the backdrop of the apocalyptic destruction suffered by the “prostitute” Babylon and her lamentation. The following modern day article gives insight into the meaning of an apocalyptic destruction (cf. “Fighters Struggle to Contain California Blazes” in The Week, September 25, 2015, p. 5).
Wildfires swept through drought-parched Northern and Central California this week, destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses and charring the landscape for hundreds of square miles. As many as 30,000 firefighters struggled to contain the infernos, which claimed at least one life and forced thousands to flee their homes, some with only 30 minutes warning. The Valley fire – which struck Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties and was at one point destroying 2,000 acres an hour – reduced to ashes the entire village of Middletown, where some of the 1,300 inhabitants had to drive through walls of flames and explosions to escape. “I felt it was the End Times”, said resident Janis Irvin. (…) Summer after summer, Western wildfires produce apocalyptic images and “tear-jerking” anecdotes of residents who have lost their homes.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we respond to Christ’s message of hope: “Your redemption is near”? Do we allow its liberating promise to penetrate our lives so that we look critically at our present time, discern what really matters, and engage in our daily work with courage and joy? Do the convulsions of today’s distressed world lead us to dismay and fear; or do we consider them as a prelude to the redemptive final consummation of the salvation worked by Christ, the Son of Man, on the cross?
2. Do we have reverential fear for the justice of our loving and merciful God? Do we seek to walk on the right path and follow his righteous ways? Do we look forward to share in the wedding of the Lamb?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Father,
you are the wellspring of hope.
Make us realize that the convulsions of your beloved creation
are a prelude to the Son of Man’s final coming.
In the midst of the travails and miseries of today’s world,
help us to trust in his Message:
“Your redemption is at hand.”
We praise and bless you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
(Cf. Rv 19:1-7)
Alleluia, alleluia!
Salvation, glory and power to our God;
his judgments are honest and true.
Alleluia, alleluia! Sing praise to our God, all you his servants: all who worship him, reverently great and small.
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord, our all-powerful God is King:
let us rejoice, sing praise and give him glory.
Alleluia, alleluia!
The wedding feast of the Lamb has begun
and his bride is prepared to welcome him.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Your redemption is at hand.” (Lk 21:28) //“Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” (Rv 19:9a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When the world events as presented by today’s mass media daunt you, trust in the Lord’s assurance that our redemption is at hand. Fast from the excessive use of digital media as a way of preparation for his advent. // In your daily life as Christian disciples, clothe ourselves with compassion, mercy, kindness and gentleness that you may be ready to join in “the wedding of the Lamb”.
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November 29, 2024: FRIDAY – WEEKDAY (34)
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Words Will Not Pass Away … The Martyrs Give Witness to Him”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 20:1-4, 11-21:2 // Lk 21:29-33
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 21:29-33): “When you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.”
In today’s Gospel (Lk 21:29-33), Jesus underlines that the signs of the arrival or “advent” of God’s kingdom are as obvious as the change of season. Jesus remarks that “the fig tree and all the other trees” – when their buds open – they indicate that summer is near. The trees seem “dead” during winter, but with the annual return of sap through the bare spiky twigs, the trees burst with new life. Just as the blossoming trees in spring indicate that summer is coming, so also the occurrences of messianic “signs” and apocalyptic convulsions point to the coming of the kingdom. One “sign” is the imminent destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The Parable of the Fig Tree emphasizes the certainty of the fulfillment of salvation history. It is ongoing, but it will be completed. The “blossoming” of the tress likewise evokes the future destiny of the Church: only after the faith community has withered the storms of winter and experienced the agony of “paschal” death will the kingdom be near. The final words of Jesus are powerful: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” The words of Jesus endure because of his absolute authority. As the Son of God, he is not just a foreteller of the course of history, but its origin, meaning, purpose and goal.
Like the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, the 9/11 tragedy is an apocalyptic “sign” – not of total destruction – but of the power of life. The faith, love, prayers and heroism that emerge from the rubble and ashes of 9/11 show that evil does not have the final word. The Lord Jesus has the ultimate say for “heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will not pass away”. We believe that in the midst of tragic events the kingdom of God is near at hand and that God is in control. Here is a faith testimony about the 9/11 event (cf. Brigitte Weeks in Daily Guideposts 2014, p. 279).
The elevator stopped at the twenty-second floor and I got off, just as I did every weekday. “Hey”, Elizabeth said, “I heard there’s been a plane crash somewhere downtown.” We had no information and no idea of the enormity of what was happening on that September day in 2001.
We all crowded together with questions that had no answers. There was a portable TV in the conference room, so we strained to make sense of the blurry images of what was happening only a mile and a half from our office. We were transfixed and horrified. As the truth of the disaster became clearer, those with family and friends in the financial district tried to make contact. We held hands with those who could get no response, while the sounds of police cars and fire trucks became one high-pitched wail.
As information trickled in, we began to feel panicked, helpless, unable to function. I felt a kind of unimaginably heavy responsibility because I was the boss. “Let’s go to my apartment”, I said. It was within walking distance, and we could stay together and find out more what was happening. Ten of us came together and prayed. Some prayers were simple: “Help us.” Others were the same prayer that was being said all over the city: “I am safe. Are you safe? I love you.”
As we prayed for all those who would never say those words, and for those whose lives were forever changed, we were grateful for the hands we held and the comfort we share.
Lord, comfort those who will never forget, and bring Your peace to the nations of the world.
B. First Reading (Rv 20:1-4, 11-21:2): “The dead were judged according to their deeds. I saw a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”
The reading (Rv 20:1-4, 11-21:2) presents John’s vision of the spiritual warfare, the final judgment and the new heaven and the new earth. John sees an angel from heaven throwing the dragon (that is, the Devil or Satan) into the abyss, locking over it and sealing it so that he could not deceive the nations until the “thousand years” are completed. The time indication “thousand years” is not a chronological fact but a theological statement about the salvation already inaugurated in the “present” by Jesus the Messiah, the victor and restorer of Paradise. Likewise, John sees the vision of those who have been executed because they have given witness to Jesus and the word of God. The reference to the fact that they come to life and reign with Christ for a “thousand years” means that the faithful ones already share in Christ’s glory and resurrection. Revelation 20:7-10 describes the total defeat of Satan. Set loose from prison after the “thousand years” are over, he marshals the evil forces to fight against God’s people. But fire comes down from heaven and destroys them. Thrown into the “lake of fire and sulfur”, the Devil, together with the beast and the false prophet, will languish there day and night, forever and ever. The Book of Revelation assures the faithful that though the spiritual warfare may be ongoing and of long-duration, God is in complete control. The almighty Lord is utterly victorious over evil.
John then gives a description of the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment. The image of God sitting on the throne symbolizes God’s absolute dominion; nothing can thwart his will. All are to be judged according to what they have done. Whoever does not have his name written in the book of the living is thrown into the lake of fire. The “lake of fire” is the “second death” and those who undergo this death must abandon hope of a new resurrection. The wicked suffer eternal punishment.
Finally, the seer gives a very beautiful description of the new heaven and the new earth that is the destiny of the faithful ones. The first creation has disappeared and there is a new creation that befits redeemed humanity. The brutal forces of evil and death are no more. John describes the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. God dwells in the Holy City Jerusalem and the intimate nuptial relationship between God and his people is fully and perfectly established. The intimacy that the first man enjoyed in Paradise and that Israel experienced in the desert and the temple is now granted to all members of the People of God.
The following account helps us to appreciate the faithful witness of the martyrs (cf. “The pro-consular Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Cyprian, bishop” in the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of the Readings of September 16). Saint Cyprian, decapitated on September 14, 258, is the patron of North Africa and Algeria. Indeed, we believe that for the martyrs it is the fulfillment of God’s promise that “he will wipe away all tears from their eyes … there will be no more grief or crying or pain … the old things have disappeared”.
Then governor Galerius Maximus read the sentence from the tablet: “It is decided that Thascius Cyprian should die by the sword.” Cyprian responded: “Thanks be to God!”
After the sentence was passed, a crowd of his fellow Christians said: “We should be killed with him!” There arose an uproar among the Christians, and a great mob followed him. Cyprian was then brought out to the grounds of the Villa Sexti, where, taking off his outer cloak and kneeling on the ground, he fell before the Lord in prayer. He removed his dalmatic and gave it to the deacons, and then stood erect while waiting for the executioner. When the executioner arrived, Cyprian told his friends to give the man twenty-five gold pieces. Cloths and napkins were being spread out in front of him by the brethren. Then the blessed Cyprian covered his eyes with his own hands, but when he was unable to tie the ends of the linen himself, the priest Julian and the sub-deacon Julian fastened them for him.
In this way the blessed Cyprian suffered, and his body was laid out at a nearby place to satisfy the curiosity of the pagans. During the night, Cyprian’s body was triumphantly borne away in procession of Christians who, praying and bearing tapers and torches, carried the body to the cemetery of the governor Macrobius Candidianus which lies on the Mappalian Way near the fish ponds. Not many days later the governor Galerius Maximus died.
The most blessed martyr Cyprian suffered on the fourteenth of September under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus, in the reign of our true Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong honor and glory for ever. Amen.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe in the saving power of Jesus who said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”? How do we collaborate with Jesus in bringing salvation history to completion?
2. Do we trust that in God who is on our side we are victors in the spiritual warfare against evil? Do we submit ourselves to God’s reign and do we look forward to the final judgment and “the new city Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven, from God”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you are the Lord of history.
You are its origin, purpose, meaning and goal.
You bring the divine saving plan to completion.
Your word of love and Gospel of salvation will endure.
Help us to cooperate with you
in bringing forth the advent of God’s kingdom.
We trust in you who said,
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
you have absolute domain over all.
Through the death and rising of your Son Jesus Christ,
death and evil are vanquished.
Be with us at the last judgment.
Let us rejoice in the vision of the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Lk 21:33) // “I saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Rv 21:2)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In the midst of today’s culture of death, renew your trust in God, the Lord of history. In your daily life, make choices that will promote the saving design of God. // By spiritual and material support, assist the Christians persecuted for their faith. Spend some quiet moments before the Blessed Sacrament and pray over the “last things”.
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November 30, 2024: SATURDAY – SAINT ANDREW, APOSTLE
“JESUS SAVIOR: Andrew Is His First-Called … His Apostle Andrew Proclaimed His Saving Word”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 10:9-18 // Mt 4:18-22
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 4:18-22): “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
The call of the first disciples (Peter and Andrew, James and John) is part of the prophetic fulfillment of the “great light” dispelling the gloom of darkness. Jesus, the “great light”, offers the gift of ministry to the fishermen by the lake: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”. In effect, he invites them to share in his mission of radiating the life-giving light of God. He summons them to follow him who is the light of life and to abide by his light. He calls them to share intimately in his life and messianic mission of being light to the nations. The response of the fishermen is immediate and decisive. They left their nets, boats, and relations to follow Christ. Through the grace of vocation, these disciples are rendered capable of being fishers of men and of spreading the light of Christ to the world.
We too are called to be fishers of men and to spread the light of the Gospel. The apostle Andrew, honored in the Eastern Church with the title “Protoclete” or “First-Called”, is a model of total response to this call. Saint Andrew, the apostle, shows to us what it entails to proclaim the Gospel and to enable people of all nations to hear and respond to the word of faith. Here is his biographical profile taken from the Internet’s Wikipedia.
The New Testament states that Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter, by which it is inferred that he was likewise a son of John or Jonah. He was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Both he and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade, hence the tradition that Jesus called them to be his disciples by saying that he will make them “fishers of men”. At the beginning of Jesus’ public life, they were said to have occupied the same house at Capernaum.
The Gospel of John states that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist to follow Jesus. Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened to introduce him to his brother. Thenceforth, the two brothers were disciples of Christ. On a subsequent occasion, prior to the final call to the apostolate, they were called to a closer companionship, and then they left all things to follow Jesus.
In the gospels, Andrew is referred to as being present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus. Andrew told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes (John 6:8), with Philip told Jesus about the Greeks seeking him, and was present at the Last Supper.
Eusebius in his Church History 3,1 quotes Origen as saying Andrew preached in Scythia. The Chronicle of Nestor adds that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper River as far as Kiev, and from there he traveled to Novgorod. Hence, he became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia. According to tradition, he founded the See of Byzantium (Constantinople) in 38 A.D., installing Stachys as bishop. According to Hippolytus of Rome, he preached in Thrace, and his presence in Byzantium is also mentioned in the apocryphal “Acts of Andrew”, written in 2nd century. Basil of Seleucia also knew of Apostle Andrew’s mission in Thrace, as well as Scythia and Achaia. This diocese would later develop into the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Andrew is recognized as its patron saint.
Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras in Achaea, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. Early texts, such as “Acts of Andrew” known to Gregory of Tours, describe Andrew as bound, not nailed, to a Latin cross of the kind on which Jesus is said to have been crucified; yet a tradition developed that Andrew has been crucified on a cross of the form Crux decussata (X-shaped cross or “saltire”), now commonly known as a “Saint Andrew’s Cross” – supposedly at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been.
Cypriot tradition holds that a ship which was transporting Saint Andrew went off course and ran aground. Upon coming ashore, Andrew struck the rocks with his staff at which point a spring of healing waters gushed forth. Using it, the sight of the ship’s captain, who had been blind in one eye, was restored. Thereafter, the site became a place of pilgrimage … Other pilgrimages are more recent. The story is told that in 1895, the son of a Maria Greogiou was kidnapped. Seventeen years later, Saint Andrew appeared to her in a dream, telling her to pray for her son’s return at the monastery. Living in Anatolia, she embarked on the crossing to Cyprus on a very crowded boat. Telling her story during the journey, one of the passengers, a young Dervish priest became more and more interested. Asking if her son had any distinguishing marks, he stripped off his clothes to reveal the same marks and mother and son were thus reunited.
B. First Reading (Rom 10:9-18): “Faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes from the preaching of Christ.”
Today’s First Reading deals with the confession of faith of Christian believers. Our faith in Jesus Christ must be expressed fully in our words and actions, indeed, by our very lives. Our inner conviction must be confessed and our faith in the Risen Lord must be witnessed to all. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 2, explain: “Paul is speaking of the word of faith, the object of apostolic preaching that announces Jesus dead and risen. To profess on the lips and from the heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead brings righteousness and gives access to salvation: none of those who have this faith will regret it at a time of judgment … To call on the name of Jesus is, therefore, a total act of faith in the Risen Lord who saves. It is an unconditional welcome to his power of resurrection, his strength for salvation … Such a path to salvation is open to all.”
The following testimony of a young lady physician gives insight into the meaning and challenges of making a confession of faith in today’s world – a faith confession already made by Saint Andrew in his life of ministry and martyrdom (cf. Cailin O’Reilly, “What God Means to Me” in Alive! September 2015, p. 10).
When I was younger I felt embarrassed about displaying my faith. One memory I still laugh at is the first day I moved into my halls in the University. I was so frightened about leaving home for the first time, and I decided to bring along my picture of the Sacred Heart. It was too big to fit into my luggage so I had to carry it into halls. Every person I met along the way stared at me as if I had three heads. I felt so mortified at the time as I thought everyone would make fun of me. They didn’t, thank God.
My picture of the Sacred Heart reminded me of the presence of God I my heart, and this is what gave me the inner strength to work for my dream of becoming a doctor. I have four brothers, one of them my twin, and I grew up in Armagh City. We are a very close family. I did my medical degree in University College Dublin, graduating in June 2014.
Mother Teresa once said: “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” These words epitomize what God means to me – he is love. He is reflected in how we choose to treat others and how we choose our lives. God has always been there to guide me in very choice I make. (…)
In Today’s society it is hard to keep God where he should be, t the very heart of our lives. It is so worth it if we try. He will help us through life which, as we all know, can be a struggle at times. When I struggle or stress, with every tear I say a prayer to God, Our Lady, my guardian angel. They carry me over every obstacle I hit.
It was caring for my beloved Nanny Mullen after her diagnosis with a brain tumor that inspired me to follow my vocation to care for the sick. Working alongside the hardworking nurses and dedicated members of the medical team, I am so blessed to be able to help the lives of those struggling with illnesses.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Like Saint Andrew, do you respond positively to the call of Christ to participate in his saving mission as the light of the world? What do you do to spread the Gospel and facilitate the people’s response to Christ, “the light to the nations”?
2. Do we imitate Saint Andrew in his zeal to proclaim the Gospel and in his sacrifice for the Gospel? Are we awed by the many people he touched by proclaiming the saving Word?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for the miracle of vocation
and the grace of faithful response to that call.
We thank you for the prompt and radical response
of Peter and Andrew, James and John
to the call addressed to them by Jesus:
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”.
Their intimate participation in the saving love of Jesus
transformed them into bearers of light and torchbearers of faith.
O dear Father! Let the light of Christ shine upon us.
Fill us with the warmth of his compassion
and the flame of his apostolic zeal.
Let us replicate in today’s troubled world
the saving event that happened in the Galilee of the Gentiles,
when the people of gloom had seen a great light.
Help us to imitate Saint Andrew, the “First-Called”,
in radiating the light of the Gospel to the nations on earth.
You live and reign, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Lord,
in your kindness hear our petitions.
You called Andrew the apostle
to preach the gospel and guide your Church in faith.
May he always be our friend in your presence
to help us with his prayers.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“At once they left their nets and followed him.” (Mt 4:20) //“Faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your words and example, and by material and spiritual means, promote priestly and religious vocations in the Church. Imitate Saint Andrew in his zeal to spread the Gospel. // Today resolve to share a kindly word with those around you and, in any way you can, let them hear the word of faith proclaimed with passion and devotion.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US