Solemnity of Christ the King – 21 November 2010
Gospel : Luke 23 : 35 – 43 Year C Above Him there was an inscription….. It was in Hebrew, in Greek and in Latin. Everybody must be able to read and know who it is that is condemned to death! It attracted the attention of numerous pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover…. It continues to attract the attention of people of all times, of all places. This is the King of the Jews! This Crucified One is not a criminal like the others. You are King, Lord Jesus! If the inscription is a mockery on the part of Pilate, it proclaims in reality, the summit of the love of God. The cross is the throne where You have freely ascended: There is no greater love than to give your life for your friends. What is people’s response? What welcome is there for Your royalty? The leaders jeered Him…. the soldiers mocked Him too… It’s always the same thing. Nobody wants a king without human prestige, without an army, a king who makes himself a servant… Those who have the power and authority do not want You because You upset them. The people stayed there watching Him …. The crowds of to-day are there also watching. Continue, Lord, to fulfil Your promise : when I will be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself (Jn.12:32) Jesus, remember me … The first to proclaim Your royalty is condemned to death, like You. But He, “he deserves it”, he recognises. His profession of faith opens for him the entry to Your Kingdom: To-day, you will be with Me in Paradise! Grant us, Lord, the trust of this man ….. let us live to-day, every day, in Your...
Read MoreThirty-Third Sunday – 14 November 2010
Gospel: Luke 21:5-19 Year C The Temple that you are thinking about, not one of its stones will remain on another ….. Lord, You Who admired the beauty of flowers in the field and invited us to consider them (Mt.6:29), were You insensitive to the beauty of the work of human hands, to the beauty of the Temple? What a cold shower for Your disciples and for all of those who heard You! It was almost a blasphemy in the eyes of the Jews that You spoke like this. Will You be numbered among the prophets of doom? Certainly, You announce doom, but it is not to make us live in fear. You want to put us on guard against the dangers which surround us and You invite us to trust. We risk only remembering what amazes us and not paying attention to what is essential, to the message on which You insist: – do not let yourselves be led astray by false prophets… – do not be frightened on hearing of wars or natural catastrophes – do not worry about your defence against persecution … – I will give you an eloquence and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict… – Not a hair of your head will be lost…. What calls to trust! All the things that you are looking at, days will come when nothing of them will remain…. You have no disdain for the Temple; it is Your Father’s house (Lk.2:49) You chased the merchants out of it one day so that it would be a “House of prayer” … But You invite us to stick to what is essential, to stick with God alone. This is what should guide us in our choices on this earth where everything passes…. Even if the Temple is destroyed, the relationship with God is not severed. The Jewish people, Your people Lord, is a living example of that: despite the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, almost 2000 years ago, they remain the people of the Covenant. Let us persevere in our quest for the essential, in the love of Him Who, alone, can fill our hearts. Your endurance will win you your...
Read MoreThirty-Second Sunday – 7 November 2010
Gospel : Luke 20 : 27 – 38 Year C Some Sadducees – those who say there is no resurrection The Sadducees wanted to be faithful disciples of the Law of Moses, and they were opposed to anything that seemed to them to be novel in religious matters …Now, “Novelties”… You are bringing them, Lord Jesus! In Your teaching and in Your way of interpreting the Law… Among other things, You spoke of eternal life, of the resurrection … They remain with the words of Genesis, interpreted to the letter: you are dust and to dust you will return (Gen.3:19). Sure of possessing the truth based on this sentence alone, they seek to put You in a spot by inventing a far-fetched story: There were seven brothers …. According to the Law of Moses, these seven brothers successively married the same woman. What drama at the resurrection …. Whose wife will she be? You do not answer their question directly, but You invite them to look at the Word of God in another way. The Bible is not a list of truths to believe or cold commandments to observe. It is the revelation of God and of His plan of love for mankind. *God: He is not the God of the dead but of the living! You support Your affirmation in referring also to Moses like the Sadducees: Moses calls the Lord “the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob”… So these patriarchs are always alive! *The Plan of God for humankind : they are the sons of God. The “Living God” has created us to make us live with Him eternally. He wants a covenant with His people, with each one of us, for ever, not just for this life. You came to make us share Your life; You draw us into Your Resurrection. It is not a return to the earthly life: we will be like angels. Through the Eucharist, You put into us a germ of the Resurrection and of eternal life: whoever eats My Flesh … has eternal life; I will raise Him up!...
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