28 March 2010-Palm Sunday
Gospel : Luke 19 : 28 – 40 Year C (Procession) Jesus went on ahead of His disciples, going up to Jerusalem…. You “go up” to Jerusalem. It is Your last pilgrimage, one which will end badly, humanly speaking. But nothing will prevent You from going to the end. You go ahead of Your disciples; You walk “in front”, You show the way to follow. All Your life, You walked focused on the Father. Let us share, Lord, Your filial love…. Let us follow You on the way of fidelity, of loving obedience, whatever obstacles we meet on our path. You will find a little donkey …. bring it here! You are a King, Lord Jesus …. You will demonstrate this on entering Jerusalem to the applause of the people. But You are not king in the way of this world. You do not arrive triumphantly at the head of armies. You have nothing … You must borrow a little donkey for this entry into Jerusalem. You are the all-powerful God, but You do not want to do anything without us. You ask for our agreement, our little contribution ….To promote Your Kingdom on earth, to make Your entry into the world of to-day, You want, like back then, that we go and untether a little donkey and bring it here. If You need me, Lord …. grant that I may be available! Blessings on our King Who comes! The crowd of little humble people welcome and acclaim You, whereas the Great people (those who think they are great!) want to silence them. They don’t want You, Your poor royalty, so deceptive for human pride. Your response is clear: nothing can prevent Your Kingdom from coming: If these keep silent, the stones will cry out”. It is a recollection of the prophet Ezekiel, a call to change our heart: I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ez.36:26) Give us, Lord, this heart of...
Read More21 March 2010-Fifth Sunday of Lent
Gospel : John 8 : 8 – 14 Year C The scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a young woman They wanted to be faithful defenders of the law of Moses. But their behaviour does not conform to what the law prescribes: They will be put to death, the man and the woman (Lev. 20:10). Why did they only bring the woman? On the other hand, it is not concern for the glory of God that motivates them: they wanted to put You to the test in order to be able to accuse You, Lord …. The same temptation sometimes awaits us. Restrain us from using the Word of God to serve our pride …. or to accuse others. Jesus bent down, and with His finger, He started writing on the ground. What a lesson for us! You don’t want to hear ill spoken of others. If You hate sin, You love the sinner. You attitude is clear : the sin does not interest You! You do not look at the accused woman … You do not look either at those who maliciously accuse her. You want the good of all of them : the accused and the accusers. These people do not understand …. they do not want to understand! So You make them confront their conscience : Let whoever is without sin cast the first stone! Remind us of these words, Jesus, whenever we are tempted to judge, to criticise. Let us share Your mercy. Give us Your vision to see others like You do. Come change our hearts in order to love like You! You told us :Whoever eats Me will live by Me (Jn.6:57) ; Through Communion, come and put Your thoughts in us, Lord. Come to help us to detest sin, all sin …. and to love the sinner, all...
Read More14 March 2010-Fourth Sunday of Lent
Gospel : Luke 15 : 1-32 Year C The sinners were all coming to Jesus…. Here I am, also, Lord Jesus, with the crowd of sinners of Your time. I need to be enlightened, healed, pardoned, saved…. You reiterate for us the infinite love of our Father in heaven with this marvellous parable invented by Your heart. Help us to discover the depth of Your teaching. Instead of remaining with the prodigal son, the sinner…. lead us to the Father …. He is the real prodigal, unceasing extravagant love…. towards His two children, towards all His children. The younger son went away, having claimed his share of the inheritance. What arrogance in this attitude! He demands as a right, what is a gift from his father. An image of human pride: to live in his own way, to be his own master …. He left his father … and he found hardship, degradation, slavery! But the father himself has not changed. From afar, seeing him coming, he ran … and covered him with kisses. He doesn’t ask forany explanation. My son was dead, he has come back to life! Let there be a feast! The ungrateful, become a beggar, finds again his place as a beloved child: Quick, bring the most beautiful garment (literally: the “first”, the one of long ago: that he may become my child again!). The elder son did not create scandal like his young brother. In the eyes of people, and in his own eyes too, he is a model: I have never disobeyed your orders! Yes, perhaps, but it is the obedience of a slave, not of a child. He is centred on himself, like his brother but in a different way. He has not understood his real happiness: you are always with me …. all I have is yours!…. Lord Jesus, let us understand, let us welcome always more, in joy and trust, this love of the Father for each one of us. And make us merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful. Let us see in others children of God, therefore brothers,...
Read More7 March 2010-Third Sunday of Lent
Gospel : Luke 13 : 1 – 9 Year C The events reported in the Gospel remind us of television news! People massacred …. accident victims… we hear about this every day! And, like long ago, a scapegoat is sought in these tragedies …. Sometimes even, we don’t hesitate to accuse You, Lord : “ Why has God taken my child, my husband….? Why does God allow robbers, assassins to function? Why does He not prevent these bad things? … We look for the culprits, instead of hearing Your calls. For You, it is not a question of blame, of sin to be punished. You are clear : The Galileans were not greater sinners than others … the 18 people killed by the tower were not greater sinners than others … But for You, everything is a sign from God. In this way, through the real victims of all the modern Pilates ….through the victims of the tower of Siloam …and all the accidents of to-day … You draw our attention to what is essential. Such tragic events are a reminder of our own fragility and a call to repentance : If you do not repent, you will perish as they did. To repent is to turn about in order to look at God …. It is to renounce our way of thinking, to rejoin the thought of God. For Your thought, Lord, Your task, is the happiness of mankind, it is that we repent, turn towards You and live with You in trust, in joy, in love. The examples You give are not there to frighten. You insist so that we won’t waste any more time…. The proof that You are not a God Who punishes, is Your patience. You are the vineyard owner Who always hopes: the fig-tree planted in his vineyard will end up bearing fruit. Lord, let us answer Your calls with confidence, far from fear. Let us live with You in love. Help us to use well the time that You give...
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