A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday and Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 11, n. 16)
LENT WEEK 5: March 17-23, 2013 *****
(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 C from three perspectives. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5. For reflections based on the Second Reading, open Series 8. Please go to Series 10 and Series 11 for the back issues of the Weekday Lectio.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: March 17-23, 2013. The weekday reflections are based on the First Reading. For the weekday reflections based on the Gospel Reading, please open Series 10.)
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March 17, 2013: FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Was the Ultimately Accused”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 43:16-21 // Phil 3:8-14 // Jn 8:1-11
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The movie, “The Accused”, for which Jodie Foster won an Academy Award for her performance as Sarah Tobias, a rape victim, is based on actual events that took place in Massachusetts, U.S.A. Sarah Tobias, a working-class waitress who lived with a man outside of marriage, sought to unwind in a bar after a fight with him. Three young men raped her while the patrons of the bar looked on and did nothing to help her. Kathryn Murphy, the assistant district attorney appointed to prosecute the case against the men, seemed at first committed to winning the case against them. But, when faced with the fact that Sarah would not make a sympathetic case because of her behavior the night of the assault when she drank, smoked pot, and dressed and acted provocatively, Kathryn let the rapists plea to a lesser charge. Sarah felt betrayed because she was not given a chance to tell her story in court. She was deeply pained and humiliated. Though not impeccable in her behavior, she was truly a victim of sexual violence. She practically became “the accused”. Sarah Tobias is like the woman presented in today’s Gospel reading, a woman in need of justice and mercy, a woman in need of redemption.
This Sunday’s Gospel reading continues to underline the radical nature of God’s compassion and forgiving love. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees were pointing their fingers at the adulterous woman as “the accused”, but their real intent was to build a case against Jesus, the one they truly wished to accuse. The sinful woman was being used as the main element in their ploy to trap Jesus in a very difficult case, in which any solution he would give would work to his disadvantage. Indeed, a decision to stone her would be an indictment against Jesus’ stance of mercy and compassion; a resolution to release her would convict him of a lack of justice and righteousness. The malice of the scribes and Pharisees was viciously directed, not at the adulterous woman, but at the greater “accused”, Jesus Christ. From the perspective of salvation history, the one ultimately “accused” and condemned was Jesus, in whom the mercy and justice of God had embraced. Falsely accused and punished for carrying humanity’s sins, he would die for us on the cross, becoming the font of justice, mercy, and healing for all.
The response of Jesus to the quandary was a symbolic action. According to the Gospel writer: “Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger” (Jn 8:6). This parabolic act is probably an allusion to Jer 17:3: “Those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” If so, Jesus’ writing on the ground was an indirect reminder of the “guilt” of those who were condemning the adulterous woman. When the scribes and Pharisees continued to ask him about his judgment concerning the woman’s fate, Jesus straightened up and said: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). Jesus bent down again and wrote on the ground, in a symbolic action made more powerful and meaningful by the words he had just spoken. In response to Jesus’ symbolic action and words, the accusers went away one by one, beginning with the elders. Jesus’ writing on the ground and his astonishing challenge to cast the first stone confronted the accusers’ culpability and frailty. His incisive wisdom in this death- dealing situation bluntly exposed the accusers’ falsehood and their own need for justice, mercy, and healing.
The last scene of today’s Gospel episode portrays with exquisite beauty the poignant encounter between the adulterous woman and Jesus, the source of forgiveness and grace. The accusers had left. Jesus straightened up and asked her two questions that would gently underline her astounding experience of salvation: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” (Jn 8:10). When the redeemed woman answered that there was no one, Jesus gave a compassionate admonition that would radically set her on the road of conversion and restoration: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore” (Jn 8:11).
Jean Vanier comments on the life-giving encounter between the redeemed and the Liberator: “It must have been a very deep meeting … The woman becomes conscious that she is in front of the Liberator, because when Jesus looks at her and says, Do not sin again, he creates a relationship with her. She loves him for he has saved her, and she goes away with a new force in her being. She will not sin again, because there has been a communication between the eyes of Jesus and her being, the being of Jesus and her being, and strength comes into her.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Did we ever falsely condemn anyone and “cast the first stone”? How can we make amends? Do we acknowledge our own personal participation in the condemnation and punishment of the ultimately “accused”, Jesus Christ, our redeemer? In what way are we like the adulterous woman, the object of Christ’s forgiving and redeeming love and set on the road of renewal and restoration?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
your beloved Son Jesus, our redeeming Lord,
was falsely accused.
He suffered the pain of injustice on the Cross.
Forgive us for, like the adulterous woman,
we have turned away from your love.
We were unfaithful to the quiet callings of your Spirit.
Forgive us for our hypocrisies.
We have ignored the afflictions
of those yearning for your redeeming love.
Forgive us for crucifying Jesus on the Cross by our cruelties.
We have failed to love the wounded of this world.
Forgive us for our indifference.
We have not protected
the dignity of the poor and the falsely accused.
Forgive us for not showing Christ’s mercy to the condemned.
May we allow ourselves to be renewed
and restored by the healing power
of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
May we imitate his life-giving ministry
to the poor, the outcast, and the accused.
We thank you and bless you, gracious God,
for giving us Jesus Christ, our font of love and justice,
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.
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” (Jn 8:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today, offer special prayers for women who have experienced, and are experiencing, any form of violence and exploitation. In any way you can, participate in the Christian task of liberating the victims of false accusations and injustice.
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March 18, 2013: MONDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (5); SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, bishop, doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Is a Saving Intervention”
BIBLE READINGS
Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 // Jn 8:12-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The Old Testament reading presents the gripping story of the chaste Susanna, a very beautiful and God-fearing Jewish woman residing in Babylon, falsely accused of adultery. Two very wicked old judges try to blackmail Susanna (her Hebrew name means “lily”, symbol of purity) to give in to their passion. She resists, preferring to be condemned to death rather than to sin before the Lord. She entrusts her fate to God and her prayer is heard. God stirs up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel who confounds the false accusers with his wisdom. The two lecherous elders are punished with the fate they meant for their innocent victim. Susanna’s moral integrity makes her a sterling example of a heroic love for God and complete trust in him. Susanna’s youthful savior, Daniel, is a powerful figure of Jesus Savior, the Son of God.
The saving intervention of Daniel on behalf of the innocent Susanna and the liberation that Jesus has wrought on behalf of a culpable adulterous woman continue to be replicated in today’s world. The following testimony tells about a woman’s “spiritual rescue” (cf. Maryanne Gogniat Eidemiller, Our Sunday Visitor, January 13, 2012, p. 12).
Tammy Pagels was 17 when she became pregnant from a rape and her mother forced her to have an abortion. (…) She told her future husband Darrell about it early in their dating, and he supported her journey of healing. “He is the one who taught me that God is the one who will be there for you”, she said. “Everything is possible as long as God is the center of your life.” The couple has now six children, seven months to 13, and Darrell, 40, was ordained a deacon four years ago. They are both coordinators of the Culture of Life in the Diocese of Pueblo, Colo., and are promoting the abortion healing ministry of Project Rachel. (…) Pagels came to a “different place” in her life through confession and Eucharistic adoration, and was able to forgive the man who raped her, her mother, and herself.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Like the Old Testament heroine Susanna, are we willing to suffer adversity and cruel fate rather than sin against the Lord and disobey him?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
you are kind and merciful.
Do not allow us to be overcome by adversities
and the pressures of today’s secularized world.
Let not our fear and weakness lead us to sin.
Like Susanna,
who had been trained in your life-giving Law,
may we have the grace to do what is right in your sight.
Help us to trust
in the saving intervention of your Son Jesus,
who triumphs over evil.
We love and serve you.
We praise and honor 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.
“Thus was innocent blood spared that day.” (Dn 13:62)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In your daily life, try to resist coercive forces and evil influences, especially through the misuse of the mass media, and imitate Susanna’s moral integrity and her complete surrender to God.
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March 19, 2013: SAINT JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
“JESUS SAVIOR: Joseph Was His Foster Father”
BIBLE READINGS
II Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 // Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 // Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
God is the sole Father of Jesus. Through Joseph of Nazareth, legal father of Jesus, Mary’s child Jesus came to be a part of King David’s lineage and with it, the fulfillment of the messianic promise. The patronage of Saint Joseph and the love and paternity he offered to Jesus contributed to the realization of the divine saving plan. In the person of the “Son” fostered by Saint Joseph is the radical fulfillment of salvation. God chose the carpenter Joseph, a just man, to care for Jesus in his childhood and youth. A silent witness, but a vital collaborator in the completion of the messianic promise, Saint Joseph images for Jesus, for the Church, and for today’s society the divine protection and paternity.
The importance of the role of Saint Joseph as father-guardian of Jesus and the spouse of Mary, and the importance of the “father image” in general, can be gleaned in the following story (cf. Mike McGarvin, POVERELLO NEWS, December 2012, p. 1-2).
From my perch in Poverello’s Dining Room (two chairs stacked together so that I don’t have far to get up) I usually just fold my hands and see what manner of life God sends my way. Needless to say, every mealtime gives me a panoramic view of life at the bottom.
As I watched one day, a mother and her ten-year-old son passed in front of me. Seldom had I seen a surlier, more depressed-looking child. Mom and son were so immersed in a heated argument that they didn’t even look up to greet me. I’d seen this pair before. The boy always sported a sad face or a snarl. Most of the time, mother and son would pass me by, locked in what seemed to be a perpetual argument. Either this was a kid born for contention, or the mom had zero skills when it came to communication. (…)
Then, recently, something happened. It was at first startling, then profound. I was doing my Poverello maitre de duties, when I saw the mother enter the Dining Room. Expecting the usual dark cloud behind her as her son followed, I was astonished to witness a transformed boy. He had a smile on his face and was actually skipping in his mother’s footsteps. I saw him bolt ahead of his mother to their table, and pull out and hold a chair for her, like a miniature gentleman. I was stunned.
I wasn’t about to let this remarkable alteration pass without trying to find out what happened. I went over to the table, and quietly asked how the boy was doing. She smiled, then inclined her head in the direction behind me, indicating a man who was belatedly joining them. “His dad’s back. He just got out of rehab. You can see that my son’s doing great.” I made room for the man to sit between his boy and wife. As I walked back to my Papa Mike’s chair, I saw the boy staring in sheer adoration and bliss at the father he hadn’t seen in months.
Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who has spent most of his ministry working among impoverished gang members in Los Angeles, wrote: “In the soul of nearly every homie (gang member) I know there is a hole that’s in the shape of his dad.” Most of the men in our drug program grew up with absent or neglectful fathers. A father’s absence says to a child: “You don’t matter to me. You aren’t important. I have other priorities.” That is a message that propels countless kids toward lives of self-destruction, because why bother trying to make something of yourself if you think you’re nothing, a cipher that has no value to the most important man in your life?
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we look upon Saint Joseph as a model of submission to the divine saving will? Do we imitate the sterling qualities shown by Saint Joseph as the guardian of the Holy Family?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(From the prayers composed by Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline Family)
Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, we bless the Lord for your intimate communication with him during his infancy and youth at Bethlehem, in Egypt, and at Nazareth. You loved him with a father’s love and he loved you with the love of a son. Your faith made you adore in him the Incarnate Son of God, while he obeyed you, served you, listened to you. You held pleasant conversations with him, shared work, great sufferings and most tender consolations. Obtain for us the grace never to offend Jesus by sin. Pray for us that we might always receive the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation fittingly, attain to a great intimacy with and a tender and strong love for Jesus while on earth, and possess him forever in heaven.
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, pure spouse of Mary, we humbly ask you to obtain for us a true devotion to our tender Mother, Teacher and Queen. By divine will, your mission was associated to Mary’s. With Mary you shared sufferings and joys; with her there was a holy rivalry in virtue, work and merits; union of mind and of heart. Saint Joseph, pray for fathers and mothers. Obtain for us the grace to know the Blessed Virgin Mary, to imitate her, to love her, to pray to her always. Draw many souls to her maternal heart.
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, protector of the universal Church, look kindly upon the Pope, the episcopate, the clergy, the religious and laity. Pray for the sanctification of all. The Church is the fruit of the blood of Jesus, your foster Son. We entrust to you our supplications for the extension, liberty and exaltation of the Church. Defend her from errors, from evil and from the powers of hell, as you once saved the threatened life of Jesus from the hands of Herod. May the desire of Jesus come true: “That there be one fold under one shepherd.”
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
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.
“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” (II Sm 7:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Through the intercession of Saint Joseph, pray for Pope Francis who will be installed today as shepherd-guardian of the universal Church. Let the sterling qualities of Saint Joseph animate the father-children relationship in your family.
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March 20, 2013: WEDNESDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is Our Deliverer”
BIBLE READINGS
Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 // Jn 8:31-42
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today’s Old Testament reading is about the rescue of the Jewish young men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. They willed to suffer martyrdom rather than give in to idolatry. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a gold statute made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and issued an order that as soon as the music starts, everyone is to bow down and worship the gold statue. Some Babylonians took this opportunity to denounce the Jews. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were the King’s officials in the province of Babylon, were confronted. The Jewish young men did not try to defend themselves. They trusted in the God of Israel whom they serve and who could rescue them from the blazing furnace if he wills it. Even if he doesn’t, they will not worship nor bow down to the gold statue that the king has set up. Thrown into the fiery furnace, the three faithful ones were rescued by the angel of salvation sent by God. The fourth men in the blazing fire who looks like “a son of God” prefigures Jesus Christ, our deliverer.
The fidelity of the Jewish young men to God, and their refusal to bow to an idol, had a great impact on a nurse in an American hospital who accidentally killed her patient, terminally ill with cancer. During a night shift, instead of sodium chloride solution she injected potassium chloride solution which was fatal for the patient. Following the normal procedure, she had administered the solution that was prepared on the table, which was the wrong solution. That potassium chloride solution was not meant to be there in the first place. She wanted to hide the truth for fear of losing her job. She tried to rationalize that the cancer patient was terminally ill and was just waiting to die. But in her meditation on today’s Old Testament reading, she was struck by the courage and fidelity to God of the three young men who would not vow to false idols. She turned herself in and was suspended right there and then by the supervisor. As a single parent, she and her daughter had to survive on peanut butter sandwiches. They were also forced to use hand soap to shampoo their hair. Her case was investigated. She was reinstated in her job eight month later. Her story was published. She was awed by the outpouring of letters from doctors and nurses who have accidentally killed their patients, but did not dare reveal the truth. One medical doctor commended her: “The truth has set you free.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Are there instances in your life when you dared to be faithful to God, and the truth about God, and suffered the consequences for it? Are there instances in your life when you were not faithful to the truth?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
you redeemed the three young men
from the blazing furnace.
Help us to be faithful to you
and give us the courage to reject false idols.
May we never distort the truth,
but help us to be apostles of truth.
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.
“We will not serve your god.” (Dn 3:18)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the grace to identify the “false idols” in your life and for the grace to reject them.
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March 21, 2013: THURSDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (45)
“JESUS SAVIOR: In Him the New Covenant is Ratified”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 17:3-9 // Jn 8:51-59
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s Old Testament reading, God makes an everlasting covenant with Abraham, who is ninety-nine years old. The patriarch “Abram” called by God from the land of Ur when he was seventy-five, receives the new name “Abraham” to indicate that he would be the ancestor of many nations. The change in the patriarch’s name signifies his new relationship with God and the new life granted by the covenant. The Lord God says to him: “I will be your God and the God of your descendants.” The covenant treaty that God initiates with him includes the promise of the land in Canaan for Abraham’s descendants. On the part of Abraham, he and his future descendants, must agree to keep the covenant throughout the ages. Circumcision of Abraham and his male descendants represents a sign of commitment to the covenant. Jesus Christ is the most illustrious descendant of Abraham’s covenant relationship with God. In Christ Jesus, the new Covenant in the Spirit is sealed.
The concept of a covenant treaty continues to be experienced in the here and now - particularly in the life of the Pauline Family, founded by Blessed James Alberione. The meaning of his “pact with the Lord” can be gleaned from the following words written on January 7, 1919, by Blessed Timothy Giaccardo, the first priest in the Pauline Family.
Last night our dear father invited all of us to make a pact with the Lord, the pact that he himself had made: to study for one and learn for four. This morning in the meditation he repeated to us the importance, the basis, the condition and the invitation. His words were full of fire, full of conviction and very persuasive. The basis is: faith in God who has promised to grant wisdom to those who ask Him for it … The pleasure of God that we confide in Him. The will of God that this House exist and that it prosper: and the impossibility we find ourselves in to study as much as would ordinarily be necessary in order to learn … Faith is the first means for learning: with it we, who study only one-fourth of the time, can even challenge all the other students and seminarians.
The importance of the pact: it has to be done seriously, otherwise it loses its value, like using gold to make nails to mend one’s shoes. It will give our studies a lift which has now fallen so low; with it progress will be made and miracles performed. It’s true: God does not disappoint. It’s true: practice proves it. We believe that it is so.
The conditions: (1) Faith in God and good use of time. He who has enough faith to believe that he will do four with one should make the pact. If not, he should not make it. But then neither should he study in the House. (2) Make good use of the time set aside for study. Promise this and do it, otherwise the pact is null and void. (3) Promise to make use of whatever is learned solely for the Good Press and the glory of God. This promise is a serious one to be kept even at the cost of sacrifice and little gain. Without these conditions being taken seriously, the pact would be worthless and should not be made.
He invited everyone to enter into this pact which he himself had made with God, but he left absolutely free. God would be faithful. On our part, we must not fail, no matter what.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we take our baptismal covenant with the Lord God seriously? How does the covenant relationship between God and Abraham, our father in faith, inspire you?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Father,
we thank you for your gift
of covenant relationship with Abraham,
our father in faith.
Above all, we thank you for Jesus Christ,
the seed of Abraham,
who ratified the New Covenant
by his sacrificial blood on the cross.
In Christ Jesus,
we become your own covenant people.
Help us to live our baptismal consecration to the full
and bless manifold all our efforts to love and serve you.
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.
“You must keep my covenant throughout the ages.” (Gn 17:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Renew your baptismal promises and by your acts of charity and justice for the world’s poor, ratify your baptismal consecration.
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March 22, 2013: FRIDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: The Lord God Is With Him”
BIBLE READINGS
Jer 20:10-13 // Jn 10:31-42
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Suffering seems to be an integral element of a God-given mission. Some suffering is inevitable for those called by God for a special ministry. The pathos and intense pain of the prophet Jeremiah illustrate this reality. Today’s Old Testament passage depicts the drama of a persecuted prophet and illustrates the triumph of faith in the divine presence and intervention. Jeremiah lamented to God that his enemies were closing in on him, for he had obeyed God’s promptings and had prophesied that Judah, on account of its infidelity and social injustice, would be destroyed and its people led away in captivity.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, comment: “But after this profoundly human cry of distress, faith prevails, stronger and more tenacious than the fear that would submerge the prophet: But the Lord is with me: like a mighty champion; my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph … Thanks to this surge of trust, Jeremiah foresees that he will conquer overwhelmingly … It is to God that Jeremiah entrusts his cause, and it is upon him that he places the too heavy burden which overwhelms him. This cry toward God is prolonged by a thanksgiving in which we all are invited to share, each of us, personally and as a church. Jeremiah is really the father of this spiritual posterity of the poor, those dependents of God who in their material and spiritual distress place their cause in God’s hands.”
The Kingdom message that we – Christian disciples – are called to proclaim is “good news”, but at the same time confrontational and explosive for it impeaches a world based on false values. Conflicts are thus unavoidable. Indeed, a Gospel proclamation that is innocuous - bothers no one - and questions nothing is no longer a Gospel. The Church in Zimbabwe is experiencing intense trial as it fights social injustice and testifies to the Gospel values. In its endeavor to confront the civil authorities with the need for social justice and the defense of human rights, the Church in Zimbabwe is experiencing intense conflicts and hostility. Cf. “Resistance to Injustice Continues After Outspoken Prelate Resigns” by Henry Makori in OUR SUNDAY VISITOR, October 14, 2007, p. 4.
The fight for social justice by the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe will continue despite being wounded by the recent resignation of Archbishop Pius Ncube, a leading voice against President Robert Mugabe’s oppressive rule. Archbishop Ncube unexpectedly quit his post as archbishop of Bulawayo last month after an adultery charge that for weeks drew loud jeers from the president, his ruling party and the state-controlled media.
Admittedly, the resignation stunned many people. “Personally, I did not expect this to happen. I do not think many others did”, Father Oskar Wermter of Jesuit Communications in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, said. “It is a shock, and it is very painful to all of us.” But, he said, people “Will recover and continue their resistance. Maybe it teaches them that this clash between Church and state is serious and needs real commitment.” The resignation has not diminished the Archbishop’s stature in the eyes of most Zimbabweans, said Sister Veronica Dingi, spokeswoman for the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA). “People still respect him and are still praying for him in different parishes”, she said. The major challenge for the Church at the moment, Sister Dingi said, is that of being ridiculed at every opportunity and its bishops being looked upon as having no wisdom. “That is a pain for many Catholics.”
Archbishop Ncube publicly blames his woes on “a state-driven, vicious attack, not just on myself but, by proxy, on the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe.” He said he resigned “to spare my fellow bishops and the body of the Church any further attacks.” The archbishop also said he would face the charges as an individual so the Church was not put on trial. The resignation of Mugabe’s most ardent critic – who garnered worldwide media attention for his public resistance – has also worsened fears among Catholics who suspect the regime of closely monitoring the Church because of its stand against his persecution of the people … “Anyone resisting the regime is being targeted,” said Father Wermter. “As usual, of all the Christian churches, most of the opposition comes from the Catholic Church. That is nothing new.” (…)
There are still questions in Zimbabwe as to whether the state resorted to dirty tricks against the archbishop to silence him – as it often does against political opponents. Zimbabwean bishops said the accusations were “outrageous and utterly deplorable” and “an assault on the Catholic Church.” Archbishop Ncube’s resignation means the Church here, and all Zimbabweans, have lost one of their bravest and most candid voices against oppression. But the fight is not over, according to Father Wemter. “The defense of human rights and social justice will continue, with or without him,” he said. “It is not this or that individual leading this fight; it is the Church as a whole.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What were the conflicts and sufferings that the prophet Jeremiah was experiencing? What was his ultimate “confession” and act of faith? How did the reality of the Lord’s protective presence strengthen him in moments of distress and trials? Do we experience in our own life the convergence of mission and suffering?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for Jeremiah,
your faithful persecuted prophet.
You are his “mighty champion” and protector.
In his painful experience as prophet of truth,
Jeremiah had recourse to you.
Most of all, dear Father,
we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ,
the ultimate suffering prophet and the incarnate word of truth.
Jesus taught us to trust in you.
In our mission of proclaiming the Kingdom value
in today’s society,
help us not to be overcome by fear.
Let your beloved Son-Servant
give us the courage to speak your prophetic word
and to confront social injustice
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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 week. Please memorize it.
“But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion” (Jer 20:11a).
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In any way you can, support the missionary endeavors of the Church especially where there is violent conflict and persecution.
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March 23, 2013: SATURDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (5); SAINT TIRIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, bishop
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Will Shepherd Them”
BIBLE READINGS
Ez 37:21-28 // Jn 11:45-56
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today’s Old Testament reading presents Ezekiel’s prophecy about when God will bring the scattered tribes of Israel from foreign lands and make them “one nation upon the land”. Ezekiel hopes not only for the restoration of the Judean exiles in Babylon, but also for the reassembly of the exiles of Israel who were deported by the Assyrian invasion in 721 B.C. The restored people will be cared for: “there shall be one shepherd for them all”. God promises to dwell among his people and he will make an everlasting “covenant of peace” with them. The Lord God will be their God and they shall be his people.
Last Wednesday (March 13) our community was summoned to go to the television with the big news that “We have a Pope!” We saw the impressive image of thousands and thousands of people converging into Saint Peter’s Square. People from all nations … from all races and cultures … full of energy and excitedly rejoicing! It was a young and energetic crowd rejoicing for the gift of the Pope-Shepherd in the person of Pope Francis. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, continues his pastoral ministry in the person of the newly elected Pope Francis. The Ezekiel prophecy becomes a reality once again.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How does the Ezekiel prophecy “There shall be one shepherd for them all” affect you? What is your response to God’s gift in the person of Pope Francis?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(From the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions: For the Pope)
God our Father, shepherd and guide,
look with love on Pope Francis, your servant,
the pastor of your Church.
May his word and example inspire and guide the Church,
and may he, and all those entrusted to his care,
come to the joy of everlasting life.
Grant 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 day. Please memorize it.
“And there shall be one shepherd for them all.” (Ex 37:24)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Offer special prayers and sacrifices for Pope Francis and continue Christ’s pastoral mission by extending the Good Shepherd’s peace and compassion to the people around you.
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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