El vigésimo primer domingo del tiempo ordinario

El vigésimo primer domingo del tiempo ordinario

predmore.blogspot.com

26 de agosto de 2018

Josué 24: 1-2, 15-18; Salmo 34; Efesios 5: 21-32; Juan 6: 60-69

Muchos de ustedes que están sentados en los bancos de la iglesia esta semana ya han respondido la pregunta que Jesús les hizo: "¿También quieren irse?". Su presencia aquí significa que han dicho algo así como: "Señor, ¿a quién iremos? . Usted tiene las palabras de la vida eterna ". No significa que no haya pensado en irse porque es completamente comprensible hacerlo.

Las noticias sobre las acciones malvadas en nuestra iglesia son desalentadoras. Enoja. Se debilita. Paraliza. Disgusta. Lanza una gama de emociones que son difíciles de mantener en equilibrio cuando entramos a la iglesia para adorar. Muchas personas se irán porque la confianza fundamental se ha erosionado. Pocas personas saben qué decir para abordar los problemas y simplemente no parece ser una situación que cualquiera pueda controlar.

Si bien Boston fue el epicentro de las noticias sobre abusos a principios de la década de 2000, la crisis ha afectado a todas las diócesis del mundo y su alcance apenas se está haciendo realidad. Historias adicionales inundarán las estaciones de noticias y las redes sociales y será difícil resistir el alcance de estas historias. Las personas que han sufrido antes sufrirán nuevamente y aquellos que continuaron confiando en la iglesia pueden sentirse traicionados una vez más. Nadie tiene palabras para aliviar este sufrimiento.

Lo que sí sé sobre el sufrimiento es que el maligno trata de aislarnos cuando necesitamos unirnos. El sufrimiento empeora cuando nos retiramos y guardamos nuestras historias y pensamientos dentro. Necesitamos compañeros en el camino que escuchen, reflexionen, se abstengan de juzgar, se abstengan de dar consejos y simplemente crean las historias que escuchamos. Necesitamos ir en contra de nuestros impulsos acercándonos a otros que simplemente estarán con nosotros en solidaridad.

Me he dado cuenta de algo más sobre el sufrimiento. Aunque no podamos experimentarlo en el momento, Cristo está presente en el sufrimiento. Podría llevarnos años descubrirlo, pero sabremos de la presencia de Cristo en algún momento cuando repetidamente hacemos las preguntas: "¿Dónde estás, oh Cristo, cuando paso por este trauma?" A menudo he encontrado a Cristo quebrado, llorando , impotente como él está suspendido en su cruz y está atento a nuestro sufrimiento. Él está allí en todas sus vulnerabilidades y anhela un mundo sanado.

No puedo abandonar la iglesia porque no puedo abandonar al Pueblo de Dios y no puedo dejar a Jesucristo. ¿Dónde más estaría? Él y yo hemos pasado demasiado juntos, y no puedo dejar a mi amigo. Con él, y con muchos otros peregrinos, sufriremos juntos, y elegiremos permanecer en la relación. Por supuesto, quiero una iglesia cambiada, y tengo que permitir que el Espíritu de Dios continúe la obra divina de reconstruirla, pero quiero ser parte de la restauración. Solo hay una persona que conozco que tiene las palabras de la vida eterna, y elijo permanecer a su lado.

Escritura para la misa diaria

Primera lectura:
Lunes: (2 Tesalonicenses 1) Debemos agradecer a Dios siempre por ti porque tu fe florece cada vez más, y el amor de cada uno por los demás crece cada vez más.

Martes: (2 Tesalonicenses 2) Te pedimos que no te sacuda de repente,
o estar alarmado por un "espíritu", o por una declaración oral, o por una carta supuestamente de nosotros
en el sentido de que el día del Señor está cerca.

Miércoles: (2 Tesalonicenses 3) Porque ustedes saben cómo debemos imitarnos. Porque no actuamos de manera desordenada entre ustedes, ni comimos alimentos recibidos gratuitamente de nadie. Por el contrario, en labores pesadas y fatigosas, día y noche trabajamos para no agobiar a ninguno de ustedes.

Jueves: (1 Corintios 1) Doy gracias a mi Dios siempre en tu cuenta por la gracia de Dios que te fue otorgada en Cristo Jesús, que en él fuiste enriquecido en toda forma, con todo el discurso y todo conocimiento, como el testimonio de Cristo fue confirmado entre ustedes, para que no carezcan de ningún don espiritual mientras esperan la revelación de nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

Viernes (1 Corintios 1) Cristo no me envió a bautizar sino a predicar el Evangelio, y no con la sabiduría de la elocuencia humana, para que la cruz de Cristo no se vacíe de su significado. El mensaje de la cruz es insensatez para los que se pierden, pero para nosotros que se salvan es el poder de Dios.

Sábado (1 Corintios 1) Considera tu propio llamado. No muchos de ustedes eran sabios según los estándares humanos, no muchos eran poderosos, no muchos eran de noble cuna. Más bien, Dios escogió a los necios del mundo para avergonzar a los sabios, y Dios escogió a los débiles del mundo para avergonzar a los fuertes,


Evangelio:
Lunes: (Mateo 23) ¡Ay de vosotros, escribas y fariseos, hipócritas! Bloqueas el Reino de los Cielos ante los hombres. No entran ustedes, ni permiten la entrada a aquellos que intentan entrar.

Martes: (Mateo 23) ¡Ay de ustedes, escribas y fariseos, hipócritas! Usted paga diezmos de menta, eneldo y comino, y ha descuidado las cosas más importantes de la ley: juicio, misericordia y fidelidad. Pero estos deberían haberlo hecho, sin descuidar a los demás.

Miércoles (Marcos 6) Herodes fue quien arrestó y encerró a Juan el Bautista en la cárcel a causa de Herodías, la esposa de su hermano Felipe, con quien se había casado. Juan le había dicho a Herodes: "No te es lícito tener a la mujer de tu hermano". Herodías guardaba rencor contra él y quería matarlo, pero no pudo hacerlo.

Jueves (Mateo 24) ¡Manténgase despierto! Porque no sabes en qué día vendrá tu Señor. Asegúrate de esto: si el dueño de la casa hubiera sabido a qué hora de la noche vendría el ladrón, se habría quedado despierto y no dejaría que su casa fuera asaltada.

Viernes (Mateo 25) El Reino de los cielos será como diez vírgenes que tomaron sus lámparas y salieron a recibir al novio. Cinco de ellos eran tontos, y cinco eran sabios. Los insensatos, al tomar sus lámparas, no trajeron aceite con ellos, pero los sabios trajeron frascos de aceite con sus lámparas.

Sábado (Mateo 25) Su amo le dijo a él en respuesta, '¡Siervo malo y perezoso! ¿Entonces sabías que cosecho donde no planté y me reúno donde no esparcí? ¿No deberías haber puesto mi dinero en el banco para poder recuperarlo con intereses a mi regreso? ¡Ahora bien! Toma el talento de él y dáselo al que tiene diez.

Santos de la semana

27 de agosto: Mónica (332-387) nació cristiana en el norte de África y estaba casada con un Patricius no cristiano, con quien tuvo tres hijos, el más famoso fue Agustín. Su esposo se hizo cristiano por su insistencia y ella oró por la conversión de Agustín y su maniqueísmo recién adoptado. Monica conoció a Augustine en Milán, donde fue bautizado por el obispo Ambrose. Ella murió en el viaje de regreso ya que su trabajo estaba completo.

28 de agosto: Agustín, obispo y médico (354-430), fue el autor de sus Confesiones, su autobiografía espiritual y La ciudad de Dios, que describió la vida de la fe en relación con la vida del mundo temporal. Muchos otros escritos, sermones y tratados le valieron el título de Doctor de la iglesia. En sus años formativos, siguió a Mani, un profeta persa que trató de explicar el problema del mal en el mundo. Las oraciones de su madre y la predicación de Ambrosio lo ayudaron a convertirse al cristianismo. Bautizado en 387, Mónica murió un año después. Fue ordenado y cinco años más tarde nombrado obispo de Hipona y defendió a la iglesia contra tres herejías principales: maniqueísmo, donatismo y pelagianismo.

29 de agosto: El martirio de Juan el Bautista recuerda los tristes acontecimientos de la decapitación de Juan por Herodes el tetrarca cuando Juan lo llamó por su matrimonio incestuoso y adúltero con Herodías, que era su sobrina y esposa de su hermano. En una fiesta de cumpleaños, la hija de Herodias, Salomé, bailaba bien ganándose el favor de Herodes, quien le dijo que le daría casi todo lo que quisiera.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

• 26 de agosto de 1562: El regreso del Padre. Diego Laynez de Francia a Trento, los Padres del Concilio que desean escucharlo hablar sobre el Santo Sacrificio de la Misa.
• 27 de agosto de 1679: el martirio en Usk, Inglaterra, de San David Lewis, apóstol de los pobres en su Gales natal durante tres décadas antes de ser atrapado y ahorcado.
• 28 de agosto de 1628: el martirio en Lancashire, Inglaterra, de St. Edmund Arrowsmith.
• 29 de agosto de 1541: en Roma, la muerte del p. John Codure, un Savoyard, uno de los primeros 10 compañeros de St. Ignatius.
• 30 de agosto de 1556: en las orillas del río San Lorenzo, los iroqueses heridos de muerte. Leonard Garreau, un joven misionero.
• 31 de agosto de 1581: en la Capilla de San Juan, dentro de la Torre de Londres, tuvo lugar una discusión religiosa entre San Edmund Campion, que sufría de torturas recientes, y algunos ministros protestantes.
• 1 de septiembre de 1907. La Misión de Buffalo se disolvió y sus miembros fueron enviados a las Provincias de Nueva York y Missouri y a la Misión de California.

Spirituality: Kent M. Keith, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council

The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.”

Spirituality:Tracie Peterson, What She Left for Me

“abruptly. “That’s the way it always is. People hurt you and walk all over you. They lie to you and betray you, and then with those two little words, they expect it should all somehow be wiped from the slate. As if I’m sorry had some sort of magical powers to take away the pain.”...I know your faith says you’re supposed to forgive people when they ask for it, but I think that’s malarkey. Why give absolution to someone when they’re only seeking forgiveness to ease their own conscience ? They don’t care that what they’ve done has permanently scarred you. They don’t care that they’ve robbed you of all security.”...When pressed for a reason for their actions or when facing the consequences, people are suddenly ever so sorry and apologetic .” She looked at Jana, but Jana was sure she didn’t see her. Her mother was a million miles away. “Consequences don’t just go away. They aren’t suddenly dissolved just because forgiveness has been desired or given.”

Spirituality: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Chronic remorse, as all the moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.

Spirituality: Michael Bassey Johnson

Apologizing is different from begging, it doesn't change your status, go ahead and get on your knees, spill tears if you got it, for the person you offended, if at all you had a place in their hearts, you'll be totally forgiven and accepted.

Spirituality: Jamie Arpin-Ricci, The Sinner Saint: A Novella of St. Patrick of Ireland

You spoke of the saints a moment ago. You spoke of them as though they were men and women of exceptional, inhuman holiness, so far above us mere mortal men that they could only be revered from afar. Never could they be looked to as examples—never role models for us to emulate. I understand your feelings. It pains me to admit that we, the church, have too often failed you by perpetuating this inaccurate image of the saints. In truth, they are very much human, very much like you and me. They lived in the world with the same fears, temptations, and failings that everyone must. So you see, what made them saints was not the absence of fear or failure, but instead their willing surrender to the grace of God, a grace available to all who come to the Cross. Yes, that does mean suffering and perhaps death, but for Jesus Christ they were prepared to suffer still more.

Spirituality: Good Morning

The other day, I boarded Boston's MBTA Red line on my way into the city. The woman announcer starts to speak on the Public Address System. She says something like this:

"Good morning, friends. I hope you are having a good day. It is quite a good day and I wish you blessings, peace, and much happiness. I hope good things come your way today and that you are able to turn to your neighbor and wish them a good morning as well."

People giggled and shook their heads, not in disgust, but in disbelief.

"She continued. We are neighbors and it is always better when we see each other as fellow travelers that we can wish well. Enjoy your day, and greet your neighbor."

She signed off and people laughed. They turned to their neighbors to check their expression and within seconds everyone was talking with each other and laughing.

Spirituality: Mary's Time

As we celebrate the principal feast to honor Mary and to usher in her octave, I will list several ways in which Mary was present to Ignatius of Loyola.

She was present to Ignatius when he left his former life behind him and made a vigil before the Black Madonna at the Montserrat monastery on the very of the feast of the Annunciation in 1522.

She was there when the first companions at Montmartre made their first vows on the feast of the Assumption in 1534. Jesuits profess their first vows near the feast of the Assumption .

Mary was present when he celebrated his first mass on Christmas Day in the church that honors her in Rome: St. Mary Major.

After the Society of Jesus received approval by Pope Paul IV, Ignatius and five companions made their consecrated vows today at Our Lady's Altar in St. Paul Outside-the-Walls on April 22nd, 1541.

In Rome, Ignatius used to pray using a medieval image of Our Lady of the Way (Madonna Della Strada). When the newly founded Society of Jesus built their first church, they did so on the grounds of the earlier chapel. The first church was called the Gesu. 

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Prayer: Edith Stein

And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God's hands and leave it with Him.

The Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

predmore.blogspot.com

August 19, 2018

Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58

Comparing the Jesus in John’s Gospel with Lady Wisdom brings up many paradoxes in our faith. Who is this mysterious Lady, who represents a key attribute of God? In Jewish lore, she is said to be the personified presence of God walking through streets crying out in a loud voice for people to follow her. If people listen to her words, they will have eternal life. She is the one who makes the Wisdom of God alluring.

Proverbs tells us that Lady Wisdom was begotten of God, as a part of God’s creation, and a first creation of God. She stands alongside God when the rest of creation is formed and together they delight in all God has made. She informs the human intellect and is given universally to people of all nations to come to know God. Her unity with God is unbroken. God delights in her and she delights in God. The feminine imagery helps people access the traditional roles of women in biblical culture as wife, mother, and teacher. Jesus represents a marked departure from Lady Wisdom. Jesus existed eternally as the Word of God, which distributes Wisdom. He was with God at the beginning and all creation happened through him. Both Jesus and Wisdom boast of feasting, but Jesus asks us to eat his very body. Lady Wisdom also stands in contrast with Lady Folly who is introduced later in Proverbs 9.

In this Gospel passage, we are asked to choose the Wisdom of the world, but we do it by eat the flesh of Jesus. In some ways, that sounds foolish. By eating his body and drinking his blood, we will be satisfied though we will experience physical hunger. How strange. We make friends with suffering in order to lessen its grip on us. We follow the law and the commandments, so we can have freedom. We die in order to live forever. Our faith is full of contrasts and the road ahead is not easy.

We must seek the Wisdom of God in these difficult days within the church. Cardinals and Bishops are punished for decisions, the seminary in Boston is under investigation, and a report of over 300 priests involved in crimes against our youth makes it difficult for the church to be a credible witness to God’s love and fidelity. It is understandable that people might pull away from it because of institutional errors.

Leaving the church is not the right thing to do. As the People of God, we still need to be fed by Jesus and experience our suffering with him. We cannot stay away from the sacrament because Jesus is the one who will give us the Wisdom through his Words and his Body. He needs us to get angry and act until our voices are heard because he does not want to see one more person suffer by the hands of a minister of the church. When trust is broken, it might be time to break conventions until our church is responsive to our pain and suffering. Together, you and I and many others, will be fed by Jesus who will show us the way forward. Do whatever he tells you, even if it does not make sense or if it frightens you. What may seem like folly to this world might be the Wisdom of God in action.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Ezekiel 24) Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears. Do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread. That evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.

Tuesday: (Ezekiel 28) Because you are haughty of heart, you say, "A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!"— And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god. Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel, there is no secret that is beyond you.

Wednesday: (Ezekiel 34) Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep? You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured.

Thursday: (Ezekiel 36) For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.

Friday (Revelation 21) "Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.

Saturday (Ezekiel 43) I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD. Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man stood beside me. The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 19) "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Tuesday: (Matthew 19) "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"

Wednesday (Matthew 20) "The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.

Thursday (Matthew 2) "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away.

Friday (John 1) Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

Saturday (Matthew 23) "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen.

Saints of the Week

August 19: John Eudes, priest (1601-1680) preached missions, heard confessions, and assisted the sick and dying. He founded a new religious order for women, which includes Our Lady of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters. He eventually left the Oratorians to found the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. 

August 20: Bernard, Abbot and Doctor (1090-1153) became a Benedictine abbey in Citeaux because of its strict observance. He was sent to set up a new monastery in Clairvaux with 12 other monks. He wrote theological treatises, sermons, letters, and commentaries that dominated the thought of Europe. His writings had a tremendous influence of Catholic spirituality.

August 21: Pius X, pope (1835-1914), was an Italian parish priest for 17 years before he became bishop of Mantua, the cardinal patriarch of Venice, and eventually pope. He urged frequent communion for adults, sacramental catechesis for children, and continued education for everyone. He is known for rigid political policies that put him at odds with a dynamically changing world that led to World War I.

August 22: The Queenship of Mary concludes the octave of the principal feast of Mary as she celebrates her installation as queen and mother of all creation. This feast was placed on our calendar in 1954 following the dogmatic proclamation of the Assumption.

August 23: Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was the first canonized saint of the New World. She had Spanish immigrant parents in Lima. Rose joined the Dominicans and lived in her parents' garden to support them while she took care of the sick and the poor. As a girl, she had many mystical experiences as she practiced an austere life. She also had many periods of darkness and desolation.

August 24: Bartholomew (First Century), according to the Acts of the Apostles, is listed as one of the Twelve Disciples though no one for sure knows who he is. Some associate him with Philip, though other Gospel accounts contradict this point. John's Gospel refers to him as Nathaniel - a Israelite without guile.

August 25: Louis of France (1214-1270) became king at age 12, but did not take over leadership until ten years later. He had eleven children with his wife, Marguerite, and his kingship reigned for 44 years. His rule ushered in a longstanding peace and prosperity for the nation.  He is held up as a paragon of medieval Christian kings.

August 25: Joseph Calasanz, priest (1556-1648), was a Spaniard who studied canon law and theology. He resigned his post as diocesan vicar-general to go to Rome to live as a pilgrim and serve the sick and the dying. He used his inheritance to set up free schools for poor families with children. He founded an order to administer the schools, but dissension and power struggles led to its dissolution.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Aug. 19, 1846: At Melgar, near Burgos, the birth of Fr. Luis Martin, 24th General of the Society.

·      Aug. 20, 1891: At Santiago, Chile, the government of Balmaceda ordered the Jesuit College to be closed.

·      Aug. 21, 1616: At Pont a Mousson in Lorraine died Fr. William Murdoch, a Scotchman, who when only 10 years of age was imprisoned seven months for the faith and cruelly beaten by the order of a Protestant bishop. St. Ignatius is said to have appeared to him and encouraged him to bear the cross bravely.

·      Aug. 22, 1872: Jesuits were expelled from Germany during the Bismarckian Kulturkampf.

·      Aug. 23, 1558: In the First General Congregation, the question was discussed about the General's office being triennial, and the introduction of Choir, as proposed by Pope Paul IV, and it was decreed that the Constitutions ought to remain unaltered.

·      Aug. 24, 1544: Peter Faber arrived in Lisbon.

·      Aug. 25, 1666: At Beijing, the death of Fr. John Adam Schall. By his profound knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, he attained such fame that the Emperor entrusted to him the reform of the Chinese calendar.