On 19 March the episcopal ordination of Fr. Wilmar Santin, O.Carm. was celebrated in the stadium “Ginásio de Esportes Noroestão” of the Brasilian city of Paranavaí, Paraná. Fr Wilmar is a member of the of the Commissariat of Paraná of the Upper German Province and was recently appointed bishop of the Territorial Prelature of Itaituba, in Brazil.

The three consecrating bishops were the Archbishop emeritus of Curitiba, Dom Pedro Fedalto, the bishop of Petrolina Dom Paulo Cardoso, O.Carm., and Dom Edson Taschetto Damian, the bishop of São Gabriel da Cachoeira. In addition, many other bishops concelebrated, including Carmelites Dom Antonio Muniz and Dom João José Costa, as well as many members of the commissariat of Paraná, the provinces of Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, and numerous diocesan priests.

The Prior General, Fr Fernando Millán Romeral and the Prior Provincial of the Upper German Province, Fr Dieter Lankes, O.Carm., both addressed the bishop at the end of the celebration, encouraging him to live his ministry with the gospel spirit of service and with the simplicity of the Carmelite charism.

Pope begins retreat, encourages Lenten battle against evil  

None of the brothers must lay claim to anything as his own, but you are to possess everything in common; and each is to receive from the Prior - that is from the brother he appoints for the purpose - whatever befits his age and needs. Carmelite Rule 12.

Father of love, source of all blessings,

help me to pass from my old life of sin

to the new life of grace.

Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.

I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You

and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

The Gospel here places no words in the mouth of your mother. And you, too, my Jesus speak not a word. Your silence is eloquent. ~ Bl. Titus Brandsma

Father, our source of life,

I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;

let me walk more readily in Your ways.

Guide me in Your gentle mercy,

for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Those who know how to say the canonical hours with those in orders should do so, in the way those holy forefathers of ours laid down, and according to the Church’s approved custom. Carmelite Rule - 11.

Lord, during this Lenten Season,

nourish me with Your Word of life

and make me one

with You in love and prayer.

A 'scientia crucis' can be gained only when one comes to feel the cross radically. The entire sum of human failures can be blotted out by the expiation of the cross. ~ St. Edith Stein

God, heavenly Father,

look upon me and hear my prayer

during this holy Season of Lent.

By the good works You inspire,

help me to discipline my body

and to be renewed in spirit.

"Jesus lavishes his crosses as the most certain mark of his tenderness, for He wills to make you like Him. So why be afraid of not being able to carry the cross without weakening?" ~ Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

 

God, heavenly Father, look upon me and hear my prayer during this holy Season of Lent. By the good works You inspire, help me to discipline my body and to be renewed in spirit.

Without You I can do nothing. By Your Spirit help me to know what is right and to be eager in doing Your will. Teach me to find new life through penance. Keep me from sin, and help me live by Your commandment of love. God of love, bring me back to You.

Each of you, to weigh his words in; keep a tight rein on your mouths, lest you should stumble and fall in speech, and your fall be irreparable and prove mortal. Carmelite Rule. 21.

Dear Lord Jesus,

by Your Passion and Resurrection

You brought life to the world.

But the glory of the Resurrection

came only after the sufferings of the Passion.



You laid down Your life willingly

and gave up everything for us.

Your body was broken and fastened to a Cross,

Your clothing became the prize of soldiers,

your blood ebbed slowly but surely away,

and Your Mother was entrusted to the beloved disciple.

"When the soul reaches the stage at which it pays little attention to praise, it pays even less attention to disapproval. Blame strengthens the soul; what's more, it acquires a special and tender love for its persecutors." ~ Saint Teresa of Avila

Lord, teach me to accept all afflictions

after the example You have given.

Let me place my death in Yours

and my weakness in Your abandonment,

Take hold of me with Your love,

that same foolish love that knew no limits,

and let me offer myself to the Father

with You so that I may rise with You to eternal life.

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and everlasting God,

our source of power and inspiration,

give us strength and joy

in serving you as followers of Christ,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 12: 13-21

A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.' He said to him, 'My friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?' Then He said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.'

Then He told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.'

3) Reflection

● The episode in today’s gospel is found only in the Gospel of Luke and does not have a parallel in the other Gospels. It forms part of the long description of Jesus’ trip from Galilee to Jerusalem (Lk 9: 51 to 19: 28) in which Luke places most of the information which he collected concerning Jesus which is not found in the other three Gospels (cf. Lk 1: 2-3). The gospel today gives the response of Jesus to the person who asked Him to be the mediator in the distribution of an inheritance.

● Luke 12: 13: A request to distribute an inheritance. “One from the crowd told Jesus: Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance”. Up until today, the distribution of an inheritance among the living relatives is always a delicate question and, many times, it is the occasion of disputes and of tensions without end. At that time, the inheritance also had something to do with the identity of the person (1 K 21: 1-3) and with survival (Num 27:1-11; 36:1-12). The greatest problem was the distribution of the land among the sons of the deceased father. If the family was numerous, there was a danger that the inheritance would be divided into small pieces of land which would not have guaranteed survival of all. For this reason, in order to avoid the breaking up or disintegration of the inheritance and to carry on the name of the family, the firstborn or eldest received double of what the other sons received (Dt 21:17. cf. 2Rs 2: 11).

● Luke 12: 14-15: Response of Jesus: attention to greed, to cupidity. “Jesus answers: My friend, who appointed me your judge or the arbitrator of your claims?” In the response of Jesus appears the knowledge which He has of His mission. Jesus does not feel sent by God to respond to the request to be arbitrator between the relatives who argue or quarrel among themselves concerning the distribution of the inheritance. But the request of this man leads Him to the mission to orientate persons, because “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs”. It was part of his mission to clarify the sense of life. The value of life does not consist in having many things, but rather in being rich for God (Lk 12: 21). Because when gain occupies the heart, it does not know how to distribute the inheritance in an equitable way and with peace.

● Luke 12: 16-19: The parable that makes one think on the sense of life. Then Jesus told a parable to help persons to reflect on the sense of life: “There was a rich man who having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself: What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops”. The rich man was very obsessed by the concern of his goods which had increased in an unforeseen way because of an abundant harvest. He thinks only of accumulating in order to guarantee a life without worries. He says: This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them and I will say to my soul: My soul, now you have plenty of good things laid for many years to come, take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time”.

● Luke 12: 20: The first conclusion of the parable. “But God said to him: ‘Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul, and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when someone stores up treasures for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God”. Death is an important key to discovering the true sense of life. It makes all things relative, because it shows what perishes and what remains. Anyone who only seeks to have, and forgets to be, loses everything at the hour of death. Here we have a thought which appears very frequently in the books of wisdom: Why accumulate great quantities of goods in this life if you do not know what will become of themand if you do not know what the heirs will do with what you will leave them. (Qo 2: 12.18-19. 21).

● Luke 12: 21: second conclusion of the parable. “So it is with someone who stores up treasures for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God”. How can one become rich for God? Jesus gives several suggestions and advice: Anyone who wants to be first, let him be last (Mt 20: 27; Mk 9: 35; 10: 44); it is better to give than to receive (Ac 20: 35); the greatest is the smallest (Mt 18: 4; 23: 11; Lk 9: 48) he/she who loses his/her life will save it (Mt 10: 39; 16: 25; Mk 8: 35; Lk 9: 24).

4) Personal questions

● The man asked Jesus to help Him in the distribution of his inheritance. And you, what do you ask Jesus in your prayer?

● Consumerism creates needs and awakens in us the desire of gaining. What do you do so as not to be a victim of gain brought about by consumerism?

5) Concluding prayer

Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,

serve Yahweh with gladness,

come into his presence with songs of joy! (Ps 100: 1-2)