A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 13, n. 35)
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time and Weekday 17: July 26 - August 1, 2015 ****
(N.B. The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from three perspectives. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 1. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 4. For reflections based on the Second Reading, open Series 7. Please go to Series 10 - Series 13 for the back issues of the Weekday Lectio. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: July 19-25, 2015, please go to ARCHIVES Series 13 and click on “Week 16”.
(Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: July 26 – August 1, 2015.)
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July 26, 2015: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Bread to Be Shared”
BIBLICAL READINGS
II Kgs 4:42-44 // Eph 4:1-6 // Jn 6:1-15
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today’s Gospel reading (Jn 6:1-15) reminds me of a true story for inspiration that I read in Guideposts magazine. A housewife was worried. Some friends from out of town called up for an impromptu visit. She and her husband were delighted to see them, but she was troubled because there was not enough food in the house. They had been working on a shoestring budget and the pantry was practically empty. She went to her bedroom to pray. Then she heard a kindly voice assuring her, “You have food to serve.” She went to the kitchen to check. She found a fistful of ground meat in the freezer; two pieces of withered carrot and some onions in the vegetable bin, and a small box of biscuit mix in the cabinet. She hurriedly prepared a small pot of meat stew from this meager supply and baked mouth-watering biscuits, her specialty. The guests came and sat with them. She dreaded that there was not enough food for all. But as they amiably exchanged stories and the food was passed around, the guests, as well as the hosts, were able to serve themselves. They even treated themselves to a second serving. After dinner, when she was complimented by their guests for the delicious stew and biscuits, she was aghast that there was even leftover. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves was replicated in their lives!
The Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves teaches us that personal involvement is needed in carrying out a miracle of love for God’s people. Although overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation, Andrew does not detach himself from the problem. He says to Jesus: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Andrew is creatively involved in the pastoral situation of the hungry crowd. Rather than being passive, he explores possible solutions. In the process, he unwittingly points to a basic material for Jesus’ miraculous intervention. From the modest portion offered by the boy, Jesus prepares a banquet for all.
St. Augustine reflects on this miracle that is meant to lead the human mind through visible things to the perception of the divine: “Christ did what God does. Just as God multiplies a few seeds into a whole field of wheat, so Christ multiplies the five loaves in his hands - for there is power in the hands of Christ. Those five loaves were like seeds, not because they were cast on the earth but because they were multiplied by the one who made the earth. This miracle was presented to our senses to stimulate our minds; it was put before our eyes in order to engage our understanding and so make us marvel at the God we do not see because of his works which we do see.”
The following poem (cf. T.V.N., Loaves and Fishes) expresses the beauty of giving our “little lot” and the miracle of God’s love that transforms our “little lot” into abundance.
Then perhaps the lad said proudly,
“Jesus took my little lot,
blessed and broke my loaves and fishes.
See what everybody’s got!”
Lord, I haven’t much to give you.
But I’ll give you all I’ve got.
You could make it work wonders,
bless and use my little lot.
***
The Secular Franciscan, Mike McGarvin, the founder of Fresno’s Poverello House, a place where the homeless can get food for body and soul, started his ministry of redeeming lives in the Fresno area with a few loaves of bread. Mike narrates:
It was 1973, just a few months after we had moved back to Fresno. I went to a day-old bread store, loaded up on loaves, got some peanut butter and jelly, and went to work. I took it all back to our trailer, and Mary and I made up a bunch of sandwiches. I got some disposable cups, a jug of ice water, and drove the short distance to Chinatown.
I was working nights, so I had days free, and I started going to Chinatown daily, taking sandwiches and the water, walking and giving them out. People were suspicious at first, but as time went on, they started warming up to me. It helped that I was big, had a black belt in judo, and wasn’t intimidated.
The homeless people I encountered had no place to go. There was a rescue mission in town, but at the time it didn’t have a day program. Most of these folks were typical skid row types – older alcoholics and drug addicts, worn-out prostitutes, and poor, disabled men. They hung out on the streets in the summer heat and the winter cold because there was nowhere to turn. They weren’t wanted by anyone … I had stumbled onto a whole community of outcasts.
That old Poverello spirit was starting to take hold of me again. I loved going out and seeing the smiles on the faces when I handed out sandwiches. I enjoyed the jokes and the stories I’d hear. I liked getting to know people by name, and many of them seemed to crave not only the food, but also the attention.
Indeed, God can multiply the meager resources that we offer to him and together with him feed our hungry brothers and sisters. He can make abundant and copious the little bread that we wish to share with the poor and needy. The story of a small amount of food being able to feed so many, that we hear this Sunday in the Old Testament reading (2 Kgs 4:42-44) and in the Gospel reading (Jn 6:1-15), is heartwarming and astounding. The Elisha account of the multiplication of the twenty barley loaves to feed a hundred hungry prophets prepares us to appreciate more deeply the abundance and sacramental significance of the five loaves of barley bread multiplied by Jesus Christ to feed the hungry crowd of five thousand.
Concerning today’s Old Testament Reading, the authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, comment on the implications of the bread of the first fruits generously offered to Elisha by a kind man from Baal-shalishah: “In the biblical tradition, Elisha, who played an important role in the northern kingdom, is presented as a person whose life was marked by many miraculous episodes. The liturgy has chosen the miracle of the multiplied loaves as a counterpart to Jesus’ miracle. The episode itself is most simple. There was a famine in the land (2 Kgs 4:38). A man offers Elisha twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha has this providential food distributed among his prophet-brethren who are with him, numbering one hundred. Not only is the small quantity of food sufficient for all, but remnants are collected … We are dealing with bread multiplied in order that it might be shared … In the Bible, bread, the gift of God to humans to strengthen them, symbolizes intelligence and wisdom. It is a sign of concluded peace, of life. The barley loaves are those of the bread offering. The gesture of the man who brings to Elisha the first fruits, which earth has given and human hands have made, has a definite liturgical connotation. Finally, the abundance of the bread that will feed the poor has come to suggest, in a later tradition, the banquet of the end times, when at last God himself will liberally satisfy all human needs.”
The abundance in the multiplication of loaves in the Elisha story is surpassed by Jesus’ miraculous action of the feeding of the hungry crowd of about five thousand. The evangelist John tells us that after the meal, Jesus instructs his disciples to gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted. The disciples collect the fragments as instructed and fill “twelve wicker baskets”, a symbol that evokes the Church – “the new twelve tribes of Israel” – the Eucharistic community that continues to celebrate the breaking of the bread and gathers the elect from all corners of the world.
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The theme of the Church gathering together in unity is reinforced in today’s Second Reading (Eph 4:1-6). It is taken from the letter to the Ephesians, which is called “the epistle of unity”. Jesus Christ is the Savior sent by the Father to gather all human beings in the unity of the one body and one Spirit. Their vocation is to serve one Lord and to share one faith and one hope. Immersed into the blood bath of Christ, they are reborn and renewed by that one baptism and become the beloved children of the one God and Father of all. The scattered “fragments” of the one loaf – the dispersed members of the Body of Christ – are destined to be restored in the Eucharistic Christ and to be gathered in unity.
The sharing of a meal is a means and sign of unity. In the following story, we can have a glimpse of how the “gathering of fragments” and the spirit of love and unity is at work in a domestic Church in Guatemala (cf. “Missioner Tales” in Maryknoll, March 2009, p. 6.)
A village in the highlands of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, where I served as a missioner, was having its annual festival for its patron saint. Standing on the fringes observing the comings and goings, I noticed a man and a woman and two children – a girl about 8 and a boy maybe 6 years old. Most likely they came from an outlying area, and from their clothing, I sensed they were quite poor. Quietly and respectfully, they stood as a family enjoying the music and the activities. Nearby a man was selling ice cream cones. They were not expensive, maybe the equivalent of 10 cents. Suddenly, the father approached the ice cream man and bought just one cone. What I witnessed then made a lasting impression upon me. The father returned to his wife and children, and the four of them shared one ice cream cone.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Are we sensitive to the hunger of today’s poor? Do we believe that we are being called to share our modest portion of “five barley loaves and two fish”? Are we personally involved in making the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves happen in our community/society today?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus, bread of life,
help us to perceive
the marvelous “signs” of your love.
Like your disciple Andrew,
let us be personally involved
in caring for your flock.
Teach us to see the potential
of the resources available to us.
Do not let the needs of today’s poor overwhelm us.
Like the self-giving boy who provided you
with the material to feed the hungry crowd,
may we be generous
and share our “five barley loaves and two fish”.
You continue to nourish your flock
by offering yourself as the bread of life.
We thank and bless 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.
“Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining … They had their fill.” (Jn 6:11-12)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Spend a moment of quiet before the Blessed Sacrament, and ask the Lord to help you acknowledge the “five barley loaves and two fish” that you have. Identify the needs in your community/society and make a practical move to share your “five barley loaves and two fish” with the needy.
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July 27, 2015: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (17)
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Kingdom Is Like a Mustard Seed and a Transforming Leaven … He Intercedes for His People”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 32:15-24, 30-34 // Mt 13:31-35
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s Gospel (Mt 13:31-35), Jesus uses the figure of a mustard seed that grows into an enormous “welcoming” tree to symbolize the hidden power of the kingdom of God. The tiny mustard seed, with its dynamic character, represents the kingdom, which has humble beginnings but is destined for universal greatness. Jesus, moreover, depicts the transforming character of the kingdom by using the image of yeast which a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch is leavened. The kingdom of heaven is hidden in the world like yeast and will transform the world with radical newness. We are “leaven” in the world, vibrant and acting as ferment in the society, on account of Jesus who powers our witnessing and activity.
I went to the Sacramento State Fair in 2012. It was an awesome experience of America’s noble spirit. I muttered: “How come we always hear the bad, and very little of the good?” I had a great time at the livestock pavilion, horticulture pavilion, county pavilion, etc. At the end of the day I was tired. I found a bench near a plot of beautiful flowers and relaxed. A beautiful lady sat beside me and started a nice chat. Her disabled husband in a wheelchair also came. As ministers in their church, they help “at-risk” youth and guide them on the right path. One way is to bring them to the State Fair, which is very educational and inspiring. When I bid them goodbye, I was full of gratitude to God for their ministry and for all the wonderful works I witnessed that day. They all have “mustard seed” beginnings and testify that the “leaven” of God’s kingdom continues to be at work in today’s world.
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Today’s Old Testament reading (Ex 32:15-24, 30-34) depicts the apostasy of Israel and Moses’ intercession on their behalf. God again summons Moses up the mountain and entrusts to him the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments as well as instructions on worship. As Moses encounters God on the mountain for forty days and nights, the people left under the care of Aaron and Hur apostatize. They instigate Aaron to fashion a gold bull-calf. They worship it, saying “Israel, this is our god, who led us out of Egypt.” Their festival to honor the bull-calf degenerates into an orgy of drinking and sex. Coming down from the mountain and confronted with the people’s idolatry, Moses is furious and smashes the tablets of the divine commands. The people have turned away from God and their sinful action has ruptured the covenant. The breaking of the tablets signifies the destruction of their covenant relationship with God. After subjecting them to a punitive action, Moses goes up once more to the mountain to intercede for them. Moses, a self-sacrificing mediator whose prayer of intercession eventually leads to a covenant renewal, prefigures Jesus Christ, the ultimate mediator between God and people.
The following article gives insight into the meaning of “idolatry” or the seeking of false gods in today’s world (cf. Gerard Murphy, “Special Feature” in Alive! January 2013, p. 4).
Last month we reflected a bit on the notion of freedom that dominates in today’s world. It is a simplistic notion that resents all limits, whether they come from other people, the law, nature or even God. The individual should be allowed to make virtually any choice he or she wants, so long as it doesn’t “harm anyone else”.
At its extreme we have demands that two people of the same sex be allowed to “marry” each other – human nature shouldn’t be allowed to restrict marriage to a man and a woman. If a woman wants to abort her unborn child, that should be her choice, and if we want help to kill ourselves, the law should permit it.
Ireland recently voted to allow parents to hand over any of their children to be brought up by the State. Even rearing their own children has become a matter of choice for parents.
When people still believed in God, the Commandments saved us from the most absurd and destructive extremes of this understanding of freedom. But with the loss of religious faith and with growing indifference to God, all barriers are being torn down – pure whim rules.
The decision of the strongest, or of the best manipulator, is the only rule now. No wonder bullying is such a huge problem in society. And government is becoming little more than the exercise of naked power.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we treasure the miracle of small beginnings and the transforming power of the kingdom of God? Do we allow ourselves to be a part of the miracle of the heavenly kingdom?
2. How does Israel’s sin of idolatry and unfaithfulness impact us? How does the figure of Moses and his ministry of intercession inspire us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
we thank you for the grandiose destiny of your kingdom.
Help us to embrace the challenge of its “mustard seed” beginnings.
Let us be leaven of transformation in today’s world
and instruments of the radical newness your salvation brings.
We love and adore you;
we praise and bless you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
All-powerful God,
you are loving and forgiving.
You heeded the ministry of Moses
on behalf of an idolatrous and unfaithful people.
We, too, lift up our hands in union with Jesus Christ,
the ultimate Moses-mediator,
for the people of today
who have made a false “idol” of their self-will.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and bring us back to you.
Let us live under the protective shadow
of your saving will.
You live and reign, 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.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... like yeast that a woman took …” (Mt 13:31, 33) //“This people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves.” (Ex 32:31)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Be responsive to the challenge of small beginnings. Use the resources you have, however small, to promote justice and peace in society and the integration of creation. // In reparation for the sins committed through the mass media and digital/social media, resolve to fast from the excessive and abusive use of these media.
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July 28, 2015: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (17)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Judge at the Harvest … He Speaks To Us Face To Face”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 // Mt 13:36-43
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The Gospel (Mt 13:36-43) tells us that in response to his disciples’ request, Jesus Master gives them tools to help them understand the parable of the weeds in the field. The “sower” of the good seed is the Son of Man, the judge at the harvest. The “good seed” are those who have been receptive to the divine word and have borne abundant fruit. The “bad weeds” are the evil ones who reject God’s offer of salvation. The “harvest” is the judgment at the end time. The judgment will determine the final destiny of the righteous and the wicked, and will purify the kingdom entirely. The wicked and the perpetrators of evil will be thrown into the “fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth”. The righteous will shine like the sun in the heavenly kingdom, for God’s brilliant presence will permeate them. Jesus’ parable invites us to be patient with the wicked and likewise assures us that unending doom is the lot of the unrepentant wicked. As Christian disciples in today’s world, we have a duty to catechize people about the “last things”: death, judgment, heaven, hell.
George Alford, a 67-year old surfer in New Smyrna, Florida, counts his mission to surfers and beachgoers as a very important ministry. When he goes to the beach, he plants a cross in the sand in front of his SUV to remind beachgoers that God loves them. On special occasions, he will hoist the 12-foot cross on his shoulder and carry it up and down the beaches. He testifies how God makes his ministry fruitful (cf. Kathy Alford, “Surfing for God” in St. Anthony Messenger, July 2012, p. 33).
One spring break, while George was carrying the cross down the beach, an inquisitive young man with multiple face piercings came walking toward the cross with a cigarette lighter in his hand. He asked, “Can I burn your cross?” “Why do you want to burn the cross?” George asked him. “He said, ‘Because I worship Satan.’”
“The young man wasn’t angry or hostile”, George says. “He just wanted to talk.” “That’s bad news, dude”, George replied. “No, Satan speaks to me in my mind”, the young man said. “Satan hates you. He wants to drag you into hell.” “Oh, that would be great – going to Satan’s house”, the young man responded. “No, hell’s a horrible place, full of anguish and suffering forever. You don’t want to go there.” At that point, the young man started backing away from George, and then he turned and walked away.
A year later, George was carrying the cross down the beach again during spring break, and he saw a young man who smiled at George and nodded. “He looked like he wanted to say something. I slowed down to give him a chance to talk, but he just smiled. I noticed that the young man had scars where piercings used to be. Later, as I walked down the beach, it occurred to me: that was the young man with the lighter!”
“His look had meant, ‘Look at me; I’ve changed. We’re brothers.’ I’ve prayed for another opportunity to see him again, but it didn’t happen. I still continue to pray that the Lord will bless him and help him grow in his faith.”
George pauses, then sums up his passion. “Changing lives: that’s the power of the cross!”
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Today’s Old Testament reading (Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28) is about the intimate relationship of God with Moses and how the mediator’s intercession leads to a covenant renewal. Moses is indeed God’s intimate friend. At the Tent of the Meeting, the Lord speaks to Moses “face to face, as one man speaks to another”. At Mount Sinai where he summons Moses once again, God reveals himself more intimately to Moses as “the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity”. In the awesome presence of a forgiving God who does not declare guiltless the unrepentant guilty, Moses begs for clemency: “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is, indeed, a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” Moses stays again at Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, at the end of which the covenant with God is renewed and the words of the Ten Commandments are inscribed once more on stone tablets. Indeed, Moses’ prayer for forgiveness is based on his intimate relationship with God as well as his sympathetic identity with the people of Israel. The salvation of Israel hinges in no small amount on this unique mediation of Moses, who prefigures the perfect saving mediation of Jesus Christ on the cross
The following story gives us an idea of what a “face to face” relationship with the Almighty God means (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 163).
There was an old Sufi who earned his living by selling all sorts of odds and ends. It seemed as if the man had no judgment because people would frequently pay him in bad coins and he would accept them without a word of protest; or people would claim they had paid him when they hadn’t and he accepted their word for it.
When it was time for him to die, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Oh, Allah! I have accepted many bad coins from people but never did I judge them in my heart. I just assumed that they were not aware of what they did. I am a bad coin too. Please do not judge me.”
And a Voice was heard that said, “How is it possible to judge someone who has not judged others?”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe that at harvest time we will be judged? How do we prepare for this deep encounter with God’s grace?
2. How does God’s intimate relationship with Moses impact us? Do we long to have an intimate relationship with God? What do Moses and Jesus Christ teach us about personal relationship with God and the ministry of mediation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Jesus,
we thank you for your patient love and great justice.
You are the sower of good seed
and the judge at the final harvest.
May we bear abundant fruit
and be counted as precious in your sight.
Bring us into your heavenly kingdom
where the presence of God
will make us shine with splendor and glory.
We pray for those who reject your saving love.
Give them light and show them the way.
Let this interim time
be an occasion of healing and conversion for us all
so that we may be spared from eternal doom.
We love you, Jesus,
for you are kind and merciful.
Glory and praise be yours, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Lord God,
you used to speak to Moses
“face to face, as one man speaks to another”.
You revealed yourself to him
as “a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness”.
His loving intimate relationship with you
brought healing to a contrite Israel
and the restoration of the ruptured covenant.
Help us to trust in the saving mediation of Jesus,
whose perfect prayer of intercession is offered on the cross,
the point of encounter between heaven and earth.
Restore us to your grace,
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 day. Please memorize it.
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Mt 13:43) //“The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face.” (Ex 33:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When the world events tend to depress you, find strength and comfort in the reality of the “last things”. Let the Church teaching on the final judgment be a guidepost on your spiritual journey to God. // Resolve to spend some quiet moments during the day with the Lord and allow him to speak “face to face” with you.
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July 29, 2015: WEDNESDAY – SAINT MARTHA
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Living Word and Eternal Life … He Is the Splendor of God”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 34:29-35 // Jn 11:19-27 or Lk 10:38-42
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
One thing I have in common with Sr. Mary Adele, a remarkable Sister born in a small scenic town close to Naples, Italy is a love for pasta. One day as we were enjoying a delicious, hot serving of spaghetti cooked “al dente” and topped with dense rich tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, she narrated to me a modern version of the Gospel story of Martha and Mary.
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. A plate of pasta and a glass of wine will do.”
In today’s alternative Gospel text (Lk 10:38-42) for the memorial of Saint Martha, Jesus, in the course of his paschal journey to Jerusalem, stops to rest in the home of Martha and Mary. The sisters receive him with solicitude and hospitality. Martha’s type of hospitality, however, is anxious and her intense concern misdirected. Martha’s “over-reacting” hospitality thus provokes a good-natured reproach from Jesus. He cautions her not to be anxious. It is the same advice that Jesus gives to his other disciples as they journey towards the cross and Easter glory. Indeed, Martha’s endeavor to prepare a perfect meal and her preoccupation for the “details of hospitality” distract her from the essential and primordial: to welcome Jesus in his life-giving Word.
***
The missionary tale in Maryknoll magazine (December 2004, p.5) narrated by Joseph G. Healey, M.M. is about a little girl who escaped the clutches of death and lived. This interesting story of a Tanzanian girl’s rescue gives us a glimpse of the marvelous work of Jesus in saving his beloved friend, Lazarus, from death and bringing him back to life.
One morning when Father Joseph Brannigan went to say Mass at a mission chapel in Shinyanga, Tanzania, he discovered an inert baby lying in front of the altar. The mother, explaining that the little girl was dead, asked if the priest could say Mass for her. Just then, the bundle moved. “She’s still alive,” Brannigan declared. “But she’s sick and I have no money for medicine. She’ll be dead soon anyway,” the mother replied. Giving the mother 10 shillings, the missionary sent her to the hospital with the baby. Seven years later a woman stopped Brannigan on the road. Breathlessly she explained, “My little girl lived. Here’s your 10 shillings. I’ve spent a long time looking for you.”
Today’s alternative Gospel reading (Jn 11:19-27) is also about the triumph of life over death. The raising of Lazarus from the tomb is a “sign” for it reveals Christ’s messianic and divine identity as the resurrection and life. The theological center of today’s account is found in Jn 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha, the sister of the deceased Lazarus, responds fully to Jesus’ words and declares: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Formerly an over-anxious hostess who has no time and leisure to welcome Jesus in his life-giving word, Martha has progressed deeply in her discipleship. Today’s episode shows her as listening to the words of Jesus and responding with full faith to Christ’s offer of eternal life.
***
Today, the memorial of Saint Martha, the following poem composed by Angela O’Donnell gives important insights into the saint’s personality (cf. America, February 9, 2009, p. 35).
ST. MARTHA
“She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.” (Lk 10:39)
A silly child she ever always was –
our mother said so a thousand times –
her quick eye caught by the flight or buzz
of some pretty creature’s mastering wings.
Lazarus tried to keep her out of sight,
to spare his clever sister women’s tasks.
I hauled the water, rose before first light,
set bread upon the board before they asked.
The day You came to us our prayers were granted.
My hands obeyed the rhythms of my labor
while Mary sat beside You like a man,
embraced within the circle of Your favor.
I stood apart, Your beauty kept from me,
and only when You left us did I see.
***
Today’s Old Testament reading (Ex 34:29-35) is about the radiance of Moses’ face that results from his intimate encounter with the Lord. As he goes down from Mount Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments, his face shines because he has been speaking with the Lord. The radiance of Moses’ face reflects the divine glory that he has contemplated and experienced on the holy mountain. Moreover, his shining face is a symbol of the authority he has received from God. Indeed, Moses’ face becomes radiant when he communes with God and when he fulfills his ministry of mediation on behalf of the people. The one who has been challenged and rejected by the Israelites as mediator now restores them in covenant. Moses, a figure of Jesus Christ, the splendor of God, is imbued with divine glory as he continues to participate faithfully in the divine saving plan.
In Moses’ selfless “self” the divine glory shines through. The radiance of the spirit shines when the “self” is overcome through contemplation and deep communing with the Absolute. We can glean this in the following story (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 138).
A woodcarver called Ching had just finished work on a bell frame. Everyone who saw it marveled, for it seemed to be the work of spirits. When the Duke of Lu saw it, he asked, “What sort of genius is yours that you could make such a thing?”
The woodcarver replied, “Sire, I am only a simple workman. I am no genius. But there is one thing. When I am going to make a bell frame, I meditate for three days to calm my mind. When I have meditated for three days, I think no more about rewards and emoluments. When I have meditated for five days, I no longer think of praise or blame, skillfulness or awkwardness. When I have mediated for seven days, I suddenly forget my limbs, my body; no, I forget my very self. I have consciousness of the court and my surroundings. Only my skill remains.
“In that state I walk into the forest and examine each tree until I find one in which I see the bell frame in all its perfection. Then my hands go to the task. Having set myself aside, nature meets nature in the work that is performed through me. This, no doubt, is the reason why everyone says that the finished product is the work of the spirits.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we hospitable? Why or why not? In what ways are we Martha? In what ways are we Mary? Is our Christian discipleship characterized by receptivity and true listening to the word of God? // Is our response to Christ’s faith assurance: “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25) like that of Martha, the sister of Lazarus? Are we willing to be a “sign” of resurrection in the death-dealing situations of today’s wounded world?
2. Have you experienced divine glory shining through you? What does it mean to be filled with the splendor of God’s glory? What are its implications?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Opening Prayer of Mass – Memorial of Saint Martha)
Father,
your Son honored Saint Martha
by coming to her home as a guest.
By her prayers
may we serve Christ in our brothers and sisters
and be welcomed by you into heaven, our true home.
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.
***
Almighty God,
your glory shines through in the face of Moses
after an intense commune with you.
His face also shines
as he carries out his ministry of mediation
on behalf of your people.
But the full splendor of your glory
rests upon your Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to be totally configured to Jesus
so that we, too, may share in your divine glory,
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.
“Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Lk 10:42) // “I am the resurrection and the life … Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:25-26) //“His face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord.” (Ex 34:29)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Invite three friends to visit the PDDM Website: www.pddm.us for the pastoral tools, “Breaking the Bread of the Word” and “Eucharistic Adoration through the Liturgical Year” to help them grow in contemplative action and prayer. // Resolve to be faithful to the practice of meditation and contemplation. Allow this to shape you into persons capable of radiating the glory of God, just like Moses and Jesus, the Mediator par excellence.
*** *** ***
July 30, 2015: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (17); SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, Bishop, Doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Kingdom Is Like a Dragnet … In Him the Divine Glory Dwells in Us”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 40:16-21, 34-38 // Mt 13:47-53
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s Gospel (Mt 13:47-63), Jesus gives us the parable of the dragnet. The dragnet, hauled to shore by fishermen, brings with it all the fish of the enclosed area. Some of the catch are inedible and some unclean according to Jewish law, and these will have to be thrown back into the sea. The good edible fish will be separated and put into buckets. The parable of the dragnet underlines the same point contained in the parable of the weeds growing among wheat: the good and bad exist together until the end of the age, when the Son of Man will make the final judgment.
At the conclusion of his series of parables, Jesus asks his disciples a significant question: “Do you understand all these things?” The disciples answered an emphatic “Yes”. The Divine Master has been helping them delve into the meaning of the kingdom of God with the use of parables. The disciples are like “scribes” who study the divine word. The “storeroom” of their lives contains what is “new” – the teaching of Jesus – and what is old – the law and prophets. They are called to see the radically new act of God in Christ in the light of the Old Testament tradition. They realize that Jesus’ message of the kingdom now takes precedence over the old and gives it new meaning.
The following story gives insight into how we will be judged at the end time (cf. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 137-138).
An old woman died and was taken to the Judgment Seat by the angels. While examining her records, however, the Judge could not find a single act of charity performed by her except for a carrot she had once given to a starving beggar.
Such, however, is the power of a single deed of love that it was decreed that she was to be taken up to heaven on the strength of that carrot. The carrot was brought to court and given her. The moment she caught hold of it, it began to rise as if pulled by some invisible strength, lifting her up toward the sky.
A beggar appeared. He clutched the hem of her garment and was lifted along with her; a third person caught hold of the beggar’s foot and was lifted too. Soon there was a long line of persons being lifted up to heaven by that carrot. And strange as it may seem, the woman did not feel the weight of all those people who held onto her; in fact, since she was looking heavenward, she did not see them
Higher and higher they rose until they were almost near the heavenly gates. That is when the woman looked back to catch a glimpse of the earth and saw this whole train of people behind her.
She was indignant! She gave an imperious wave of her hand and shouted, “Off! Off, all of you! This carrot is mine!” In making her imperious gesture, she let go of the carrot for a moment – and down she fell with the entire train.
There is only one cause for every evil on earth: “This belongs to me!”
***
Today’s Old Testament reading (Ex 40:16-21, 34-38) is about the preparation and the dedication of the “Tent of the Lord’s Presence” (also called the “Tabernacle” or the “Dwelling”). Moses meticulously follows God’s commands regarding the Tabernacle, the vesture and the anointing of priests. The Lord God then takes possession of the sanctuary and his glory fills the “Dwelling”. Israel’s care for the elements of worship is salutary. It enables Israel to experience the “divine beauty and glory”. Cultic elements are linked to, and manifest, the presence of the Lord among his people. The Book of Exodus concludes with a very consoling note of divine indwelling. As Israel journeys to the Promised Land, the cloud of the Lord’s presence covers the Tabernacle and the dazzling light of divine glory fills it.
Israel’s experience of “divine beauty and glory” through cultic and artistic elements gives them hope. In the same vein, Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to artists, gathered in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in 2009, underlines how the experience of “divine beauty and glory” through the work of artists leads to hope (cf. Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 2013, p. 12).
Dear friends, let us allow these frescoes to speak to us today, drawing us toward the ultimate goal of human history. The Last Judgment, which you see behind me, reminds us that human history is movement and ascent, a continuing tension toward fullness, toward human happiness, toward a horizon that always transcends the present moment even as the two coincide. Yet the dramatic scene portrayed in this fresco also places before our eyes the risk of man’s definitive fall, a risk that threatens to engulf him whenever he allows himself to be led astray by the forces of evil. So the fresco issues a strong prophetic cry against evil.
For believers, though, the Risen Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. For his faithful followers, he is the Door through which we are brought to that “face to face” vision of God from which limitless, full and definitive happiness flows. Thus Michelangelo presents to our gaze the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of history, and he invites us to walk the path of life with joy, courage and hope. The dramatic beauty of Michelangelo’s painting, its colors and forms, becomes a proclamation of hope, an invitation to raise our gaze to the ultimate horizon.
The profound bond between beauty and hope was the essential content of the evocative Message that Paul VI addressed to artists at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on December 8, 1965: “To all of you”, he proclaimed solemnly, “the Church of the Council declares through our lips: if you are friends of true art, you are our friends!” And he added: “This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration. And all this through the work of your hands … Remember that you are the custodians of beauty in the world.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I prepare myself for judgment day with acts of charity so that I may become an object of God’s mercy and saving grace? Do I treasure the radical newness of the Christ event and see it against the backdrop of the Law and the prophets?
2. How does the expression “the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling” impact you? What are your experiences of “divine glory and beauty”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Lord,
at the end time,
let us be the object of your saving grace.
When the dragnet of our destiny is hauled into the eternal shore,
please count us among the redeemed.
Grant us divine wisdom so that,
as scribes of the kingdom,
we may delight in the radical newness of your saving work.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Almighty Father,
you are the font of beauty.
You fill with your glorious presence
the Tabernacle of the Ten Commandments tablets.
The works of Israel’s artists and craftsmen
adorn the Tabernacle of your divine presence.
Dwell in us with your beauty and grace
for we, too, are “tabernacles” of your Holy Spirit.
Transfigure us into the image of your Son Jesus Christ,
the Beauty that saves the world.
Let the works of artists and artisans
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.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” (Mt 13:47) //“The glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling.” (Ex 40:34
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your acts of mercy and kindness, prepare for the definitive encounter with God’s mercy and justice at the hour of death and at the end time. // Pray for artists that through their gifts and ministry the people of today may experience the divine beauty and glory. Do what you can to make the church where you worship conducive to prayer and a true dwelling place of the glory of God.
*** *** ***
July 31, 2015: FRIDAY – SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, Priest
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Experienced Rejection and He was Persecuted … He Calls Us to a Sacred Assembly”
BIBLE READINGS
Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37 // Mt 13:54-58
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s Gospel episode (Mt 13:54-58), we come face to face with the mystery of a resisting and unbelieving heart. One can close one’s heart and mind to the Prophet of truth and Savior of the world. The townsfolk of Jesus are prejudiced by the utter ordinariness of his background. Jesus is amazed by the lack of faith that he found at Nazareth. The popular proverb he cites, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house”, situates him in line with all the prophets who were subjected to rejection by their co-citizens. Jesus is affected by the power of their unbelief and is not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. Jesus respects human freedom. The decision of an unbelieving and resisting heart, which negates the gratuitous offer of his love, is respected.
The Lord’s frustrating experience of “rejection” also surfaces in our daily life, in one way or another. This can be verified in Papa Mike’s ministry to the homeless (cf. Mike McGarvin, Poverello News, May 2012, p.1).
When homeless people tell me about the difficulties of their lives, I tend to be a good listener, which is why they talk to me, I suppose. However, I also have a habit of jumping in and giving them my opinion. Sometimes, it’s because I think that I can actually help them; other times, I see someone “stuck on stupid”, and I want to give him a reality check.
Like Rodney Dangerfield, it seems that when I offer my two cents’ worth, I don’t get any respect. It’s a little frustrating, because here I am, freely giving this person bits of McGarvin wisdom achieved through that famous School of Hard Knocks, and he completely ignores my advice. You’d think I’d learn to just shut up, but I guess I can’t help myself.
One woman approached me during a lunch meal and, talking very fast, told me how bad things were getting “out there”. She said she doesn’t drink or use drugs anymore, but she doesn’t seem to get away from those who do. I suggested she stay at Naomi’s House, a suggestion that was quickly rejected. This woman suffers from schizophrenia, which may account for her reluctance to accept help, but it was yet another case where I gave someone a good suggestion that was ignored.
***
We begin today the readings from the Book of Leviticus. It is a call to a life of holiness founded on the presence of the “Holy One” dwelling among his Chosen People. Today’s Old Testament reading (Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37) presents the liturgical calendar of Israel. It is a schedule of important feasts to be celebrated with a holy assembly. God himself calls his people to assemble and celebrate these festivals: the feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, the feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Booths (called also Tabernacles, Tents, Ingathering, or Sukkot).
The feast of Passover celebrates Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt through God’s mighty hand. The Jewish pastoral rite of Passover becomes enriched with the springtime agricultural feast of the Unleavened Bread (Massot), which honors God, as the Lord of the harvest and of new beginnings. The feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost) is celebrated seven weeks after the feast of the Unleavened Bread and marks the conclusion of the wheat harvest and the offering of the first fruits. The feast of Pentecost becomes a fitting commemoration of the gift of the Torah at Mount Sinai and of the spiritual gifts that result from it. The Day of Atonement is a day of fasting and sacrifice in atonement and reparation for the sins of the people. The feast of Booths, celebrated at the autumn harvest, commemorates the “booths” made from branches and the tent dwelling of the Israelites in their desert sojourn. This feast reminds God’s people that they are still on pilgrimage.
These annual festivals celebrated with a “sacred assembly” (that is, with the active participation of God’s people) help them to be attuned to God’s word. In these festivals and in their religious observance of the Sabbath, they are able to focus their attention on the Lord and discover more deeply that he alone is God. They empower them to contemplate the saving events in their life as God’s Chosen People and “to remember” the transforming marvels God has done.
The freedom to worship and to come in a “sacred assembly” ought not to be taken for granted. The following story illustrates this (cf. Rhoda Blecker, January 30 Reflection in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 35).
Saturday morning services had become kind of routine. We sang the same songs; we said the same prayers. Some of the joy and mindfulness had gone out of worship, and most of us hadn’t actually noticed that we were only going through the motions.
Then one Saturday a woman we had never seen before came to a service with our social action chairwoman Clara. The new woman seemed nervous, despite the welcome we gave her. Clara explained that she had recently come over from the former Soviet Union, where she had not been allowed to attend a synagogue or even to admit openly that she had a religion.
Instead of having the Torah carried through the congregation before it was read, our rabbi created a ritual of passing it from person to person. Each of us took the velvet-covered scroll from the person on one side of us and passed it to the person on the other. It all went as usual until Clara held out the Torah to the Russian woman.
For a moment she was just frozen, staring at it. Then she reached out, hands shaking, and let Clara put the scroll into them. She slowly lowered her head over the Torah, cradling it, and silently she began to cry. Several minutes went by before she could turn and let the person on her other side take the Torah from her.
We were stunned, and as the Torah made its way through the rest of us and up the platform for reading, our surprise became excitement. The Russian woman had reminded us of how precious the freedom to worship together was and that we must never let it become routine.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What is our response to experiences of rejection? Are we gracious, or do we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by frustration?
2. What is our attitude toward “sacred assembly” and the call to worship as members of God’s people?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
your co-citizens were scandalized
by your humble “roots”.
You were not able to perform many mighty deeds in Nazareth
for the people’s lack of faith.
You are the true prophet who speaks the word of life.
Grant us the strength and the courage needed
to be true prophets like you.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Gracious Father,
great are your works.
How gracious you are
in calling us to celebrate your saving marvels
in a “sacred assembly”.
Let our festivals be life-transforming
and help us to be thankful
for the freedom to worship as Church.
You live and reign, 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.
“And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.” (Mt 13:58) //“These are the festivals of the Lord which you shall celebrate at their proper time with a sacred assembly.” (Lv 23:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In reparation for the rejection suffered by Jesus from his neighbors, do not react negatively to someone who treats you with hostility, but rather, respond to him/her with an act of kindness. // Be mindful of the great gift to freely assemble to worship. Resolve to participate more actively, consciously and fruitfully in the Church liturgy.
*** *** ***
August 1, 2015: SATURDAY – SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGOURI, Bishop, Doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: The Baptist Shared in His Paschal Destiny … He Proclaims the Great Jubilee of Salvation”
BIBLE READINGS
Lv 25:1, 8-17 // Mt 14:1-12
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In the Gospel (Mt 14:1-12) we hear that in upholding the integrity of moral truth against the malice of King Herod and his partner Herodias, John suffered martyrdom. His death was an intimate participation in the paschal destiny of the Messiah, of whom he was the precursor. In sharing intimately the universal work of salvation of Jesus Christ, the words of Yahweh in the Second Servant Song, could also be applied not only to Jesus but also to John: “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6).
The courageous stance of John the Baptist in defense of truth and justice lives on in the Christian disciples of today’s world. This is marvelously illustrated in the lives of Fr. Gregory Schaffer and Fr. Rother (cf. Kayla Ann Smith, “Standing for Guatemalans” in Maryknoll, May-June 2005, p. 19-21). Kayla, a Minnesota teen inspired by those who champion oppressed Central Americans, writes:
Father Schaffer’s true courage to stand up for the poor of Guatemala was put to the test when, in the 1980’s, there were armed campaigns pointed at the natives of Guatemala. Even though the priest from the New Ulm Diocese knew he could be killed at any time for helping the indigents of Guatemala, he remained with the people he had come to love. He was in an especially dangerous position, since he was aiding the innocent of Guatemala as well as being a Catholic priest. Through his many acts of charity, he spoke plainly and boldly that the poor cannot be ignored, and that we are called to help the less fortunate.
Soon Father Schaffer found that he had been put on a death list. Although the fact of possible death would have scared many people to leave the terrorized country, Father Schaffer remained in Guatemala. He barely saved his life by convincing a military commander that he was not an ally of the guerrilla terrorists. Father Rother, who was a priest in the neighboring town, Santiago de Atitlan, was not as fortunate as Father Schaffer. Father Rother was murdered by the death squads. The farmer’s son turned priest from Okarche, Oklahoma, paid the ultimate price for being a soldier of Christ.
The loss of Father Schaffer’s fellow priest friend saddened him almost to the point of anger until he realized that Father Rother’s passing would be a powerful event that united all the people.
***
In today’s First Reading (Lv 25:1, 8-17), God establishes in Israel the observance of the Jubilee. This fiftieth year, announced on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), is to be a sacred time proclaiming “liberty” for all. The goals of the Jubilee Year are human liberation (releasing captives and so curbing the institution of slavery), economic liberation (restoring land to its original owner and so controlling the distribution of wealth), and ecological liberation (respecting the earth and the animals on it by allowing them to rest and replenish themselves).
The biblical scholar Armando Levoratti comments: “The legislation associated with the Year of Jubilee presents the most radical program for continuous social reform to be found in the Old Testament. The main purpose of these laws is to prevent the utter ruin of debtors. People who incurred debts they could not repay could be forced to sell off their land or even their personal freedom by becoming slaves. When left unchecked this process leads to serious social division, with a class of rich landowners exploiting a mass of landless serfs. Leviticus 25 prohibits all the people of Israel from selling themselves or their land permanently. Therefore Israelites may only rent out their land or their labor for a maximum of 49 years. At the end of that period those who have been enslaved return to their families, and the land sold during the preceding years was to be returned to the original owners or their descendants.
Israel’s Jubilee celebration prefigures the day when God’s reign would be finally and fully revealed. In the fullness of time, Jesus Christ proclaims the great Jubilee of salvation and by his paschal offering on the cross makes it operative for all peoples and creation. The Church’s “Great Jubilee of Redemption” at the beginning of the new millennium fosters the salutary effect of the “Jubilee of salvation” ushered in by our Lord Jesus Christ. The following song composed by the Filipino priest Carlo Magno S. Marcelo captures the meaning of the Christian Jubilee.
THE JUBILEE SONG
It’s a time of joy, a time of peace,
a time when hearts are then set free,
a time to heal the wounds of division.
It’s a time of grace, a time of hope,
a time of sharing the gifts we have,
a time to build the world that is one.
Refrain:
It’s a time to give thanks to the Father, Son, and Spirit,
and with Mary, our Mother, we sing this song.
Open your hearts to the Lord
and begin to see the mystery
that we are all together as one family.
No more walls, no more chains,
no more selfishness and closed doors
for we are in the fullness of God’s time.
It’s the time of the Great Jubilee!
It’s a time of prayer, a time of praise,
a time to lift our hands to God,
a time to recall all our graces.
It’s a time to touch, a time to reach
those hearts that often wander,
a time to bring them back to God’s embrace. (Refrain)
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Like John the Baptist, are we prophets of truth and are we ready to undergo sacrifice for the sake of truth?
2. What does the Jubilee Year, established by the Lord for the observance of Israel, mean to us? What does the Great Jubilee of salvation ushered in by Jesus mean to us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
God our Father,
you called John the Baptist
to be the herald of your Son’s birth and death.
As he gave his life in witness to truth and justice,
so may we strive to profess our faith in your Gospel.
When persecuted for our faith,
let us feel your saving power.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
***
Father,
in your great compassion you establish the Jubilee Year
for the observance of Israel.
This is meant to bring liberation
to people, the land and all that dwell therein.
And for this we greatly thank you.
Above all, we give you glory and praise for Jesus Christ
for his “Great Jubilee of salvation”.
Help us to treasure the spirit of the Christian Jubilee
and let it transform our life.
You live and reign, 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.
“Herod had John beheaded in the prison.” (Mt 14:10) //“It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property.” (Lv 25:10)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for Christian disciples who promote God’s kingdom of truth and justice. In your daily life, endeavor to be a prophet of truth. Pray for the persecuted Christians and for the courage to be peaceful. // By your acts of compassion and Christian charity, help those who are enslaved by any form of addiction to be set free.
***
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